lazyme...

I had promised lazysusan that I will do this, quite a while ago... Frankly I donno what purpose it serves :-) .. except for the "light theesko" , and ummmm.. some questions are nice self reflections, the day before I turn 27 as per the Gregorian calendar ...

Meme it is... and here's from the M-W dictionary
: an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture

this one's named "A point in time"

Take the first book that you find underhand, open it on page 18 and copy what’s written on the fourth line from the top:-
"Several different rare-earth atoms can thus be used as good optically pumped...."
Siegman's basic book on lasers... page no: 18 out of 1200+

Interestingly my roomie read the author name and wondered.. siegman... siegman whatt .. freud ?! dude, thats sigmund

What was the last program you watched on tv?
Must b CNN news in the lunchroom

Without verifying, try to guess the time it is?
7 pm

Check out.
7:06 says the computer

Which noise can you hear apart from the one of your computer?
Some machine running (or is it the heater ??) running in some lab

When did you go out for the last time and what did you do?
Kerala Mela.. enjoyed the Chitra-Venugopal concert

What are you wearing now?
shirt, pants and a jacket... I feel cold manytimes in my lab !! so except the time when I am on experiments, you may see me with a jacket

Before you started this meme, what were you looking at?
checked my mail.. on the comp.. even before that was trying to, unsuccessfully run a labview pgm !

Did you dream this night?
must have, as per scientific theories, but don't remember.....

When did you laugh for the last time?
Hopefully not yet !!

What’s on the walls of the room in which you are?
Clock, a phone list ..... and a signboard which says "computer room"

Did you see something strange today?
Can't remember if I looked in the mirror today !

What do you think of this meme?
Can I skip atleast one question ?

Which was the last film that you saw?
"Mazha Peyunnu Madhalam Kottunnu" .. a great mallu comedy of the 80ies... mohanlal and sreenivasan.. was on TV the day before I came back from India..

The number of movies I watch in a year would b equal to the number many people watch in a week .... next in my wishlist "Sardar"

If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would be the first thing that you’d buy?
I guess I take refuge in this word that a friend of mine often uses ... "aaasai" !

Tell us something about you that we don’t yet know?
ha ha... now I know why someone made this meme !! as we wud say in IITM, "nice try"

If you could change something in the world apart from culpability and politics, what would you change?
Will keep that a secret until I actually succeed...

Do you like dancing ?
Came as a surprise to me that indeed I liked it... once in a dandiya and another time, when Prof Prema Pandurangan made her audience do the Vrindavan dance

Do you like George Bush ?
I leave that to Jay Leno

Which name would you choose if you had a girl?
ihhi ihhi ihhi .... apparently that cannnot be a unilateral decision.. so shall wait

And if it was a boy?
same as above

Have you ever thought about living in a foreign country?
I think this meme was made by some American !

What do you want God to tell you when you go through the doors of paradise?
God.. ain't in paradise....

What other blogger that you'd like to tag?
just about anyone who feel like .. don't have any particular names... Off late am not really part of any bloggerbrotherhoods !!

The "ABCD" of politics

Anthony Bangaya Centermein Defencemantri

So, why did MMS* do that ? Chucking the Bengali "Young" Turk Pranobda and inducting the Mallu ? (Pranobda has been shifted to Foreign Affairs.. ) Frankly, I would have thought a much more inefficient Home Mini Shivraj Patil to lose his job.... Well, politically the following could be the reasons

* Anthony's relatively "clean" image so far... and that also at a time when defence establishments are increasingly getting corruption-accusations and spying charges .. moreover, if Madam has to taken on Gerogie bigtime, she better have some one "clean" doing the job . Ever since MMS took over, there has been quite some corruption accusations against its Ministers and legal setbacks - Natwar Singh , the Jharkand Messup and Buta Singh, declaring of the Godhra panel set up by Laloo-the-Baloo as illegal ,


(Well I still do not consider the Indian Armed forces any particularly bad.. every Nations defence has its pitfalls.. and with a plethora of countries trying to corrupt the 1.3 million strong armed forces, I am actually glad, we are doing pretty good)

* A strong message for K Karunakaran .. had he stuck around and continued to lick Ma'ms' boots , look what he or his rogue son could have possibly gotten

(The other "muska"teer Vayalar Ravi is happily going around countries, eating away to glory and increasing his already big tummy... He already cannot see his own feet, times aren't far when he won't b able to see upto ten feet in front as well !!)

* Potential "revival" of Kangress Party in Kerala.... which is torn into pieces due to infightings

(remember, the party could not win a single seat out of the 20 in Loksabha elections last time in Kerala)

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So how well do I think will this move suit ? In as much as I like Anthony for his rather clean image and frankspeak, I think he is too inefficient .. doesn't have the guts to make important decisions, neither have the ability to stand by and defend his decisions.. And known to make the wrong decisions at crucial times (calling KK back into the Congress coalition was one such)

What about the rather strong stance that he took on the "minorities" issue and a not-so-overtly-pro minority stance he seemed to take during the Marad issue ? Well, there may have been some honesty in him, but it may have been also trying to get the pro-Hindu votes.. especially that of the strong Dheevara community .. But then, under the cover of his satements and "neutral" stance, look what the Muslim officers in charge under him and the Congress ally IUML did did during the Marad Massacre (in which nine Hindu fishermen were hacked to death by Muslims) .. link (by the way, people in Kerala believe that the district colector is no more Sooraj, but Siraj, a convert to islam )

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Anyways, lets see how he does... Meantime, am a bit surprised the BRF does not have a thread yet on this.. or may be its not yet time.. However, I found a new humor thread.. :-)
http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewtopic.php?t=2169

* and lastly, MMS - you thought I meant ManMohanSingh .. Oh no, I meant Madame Maino Sonia !!

108

What better day to have my 108th blogpost than Deepavali day ..... ! And what a coincidence.. I will b turning 27 by the end of this month... thats 27 times 12 ... 324 months ! which is 3 times 108 !! Its like 108 months of the kid phase, the boy phase and the "youth" phase is over and now am preparing for the fourth phase, ha ha ... apparently some astro has predicted that it will be 36 by the time I get "well settled".... ha ha ha , thats another 108 months away !! (as a matter of fact 35-36 is about the MAXIMUM that I wanted to b in US, even before hearing any of the astro stuff .... ) .. would b interesting to watch how things shape up in my life ! isn't it cool to watch one's own life as though the drik were different from the drisya :-)

Deepavali ShubhAsayAH .... check out this nice message (and old one) by former Fiji Prime Minister and labour party leader Mahendra Chaudhury http://www.flp.org.fj/n021102.htm

And leaving thoughts on 108:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/108_(number)

for those mathematically inclined at 18 degress :-) ...

http://www.sulekha.com/blogs/blogdisplay.aspx?cid=4372
http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/articles/misc/why108.html

and for some personal philosophical notes

http://drisyadrisya.blogspot.com/2006/03/spiritual-trivia.html

comments welcome

ID appendix1 ! (janmashtami @ Kerala)

It started raining heavily, minutes before the scheduled time of the Shobhayatra, and yet, noone left, no parent complained on behalf of their kid..... they waited in anticipation.. the Balagokulam volunteers distributed "nanacha avalum sarkara-naalikerom" .. well soaked flattened rice with jaggery and coconut mixed.... to all the participating kids..that pointy I wished I too had dressed up as some.... O well, may be a Rakshasa as that wud have suited me better

Used that waiting time to have some fun for the kids.. dig cams are still a wonder for some of them, who were crowding around me to see their pics on the cam_screen

No waiting for complete stoppage of rain... after all Mallus know how to do things with umbrella in one hand :-)

The tablaeu put up by "our temple" .. by the way, this is the main juntion near my house and on the left of the pic you can see a part of the Tali temple - maintained and run by the Kshetra Samrakshana Samiti and for the libretaion of which stalwarts like Kelappaji had done satyagraha ... me used to go there atleast once daily, onway to school (those shirt and dothi restrictions do not exist there... in fact I don't actualy remember seeing the "no entry for non-hindu" board also there......)

Technology goes hand in hand with the tradition... For a while I kept wondering where the Chenda mElaM sound was coming from, when I could not see those musicians as part of the foot-procession... and then I figured out ... indeed, not for their protection from the rain, but for their instruments :-)

This was an awesome tablaeu put up one of the other two temples who were part of the procession .. the muni is actually a kid..... so how did they do it ?! :-) ... thats a secret !!

Drenched, and yet, shouting Krishna bhajans and slogans at the top of their voices.... the rich and the poor, the "big" and the "small" ............

Matki................................

Pics taken on Sep 14, 2006.... have to add that mea family donated a humble Rs 1160/- for the event :-)

a tactical error, Georgieee ?!

Methinks Fernandes lost it all, the moment he dragged Kalam into it.. I am not a personality worshipper (of Kalam or anyone for that matter) , and neither do I believe that anyone is above possible corruption , however, I think it doesn't take much to see that George goofed.. for

1) It doesn't make anyone a less criminal by dragging one more fellow ( Note: that is even assuming both himself and Kalam are guilty)

2) Unlike a rather solid evidence of something fishy has happened vis-a-vis Jaya Jaitley, there is, atleast so far no evidence against Kalam

3) There is nothing wrong in Kalam as scientific advisor suggesting and even showing any "extra" interest in getting those Israeli Baraks... boy, thats his job... and there isn't even any issue if George himself had pushed for it, the whole issue revolves around his party and its treasurer... did whatever that happened, happen with his knowledge ? why did he not ask her to step down until proven not-guilty (the evidence in this case was much more stronger than, say the Hawala accusation against Advani - and yet, its the latter who immediately stepped down and came back only after he was proven clean)

and now, one stroke, he has brought to ground all the goodwill he had in BJP.... by dragging in Kalam - BJP's favorite still - and sort of implicating the former PMO too in the process

I for one still want to believe that the 76_year_old , who quit a Christian seminary (priest-training) to become a socialist, is clean... and that he just happened to be the right man in the wrrong party... I have read with pride, his Siachen visit, and don't have any doubts that he was perhaps India's best defense minister... if sans the controversies .. His rapport with the armed forces, I have heard was so good...

And yet, I can't imagine why he would make such a tactical error.. an error which has effectively given an escape route for the hit_and_run italian lady ... and how could you have made enemies the very people who stood by you in the middle of the storm ?

vinashakaale vipareetha budhi ?

ps: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/14642.html

a hoax.. never mind !

It ain't the best of the news one wud want to hear days before Diwali... atleast the 350,000+ (assume all genuine signatures... or lets say even half that number) who signed the "US-PS Diwali Stamp Petition"

for just like the "Mars will appear as big as the moon".... it turned out to be a .. O well !!

http://www.sajaforum.org/2006/10/diwali.html

Gets me thinking about these online petiotions... and frankly I do not have Yes or a No answer... Before I go into some points, I must admit that I myself have indeed signed a lot of them... spread around some of them, and started some (actually just one ??)

1. Should I look at the Diwali bit as a dissappointment, or should I take it as "Oh wow, look a few hundreds or thousands of internet users actually wanted it" ?

2. Will that have a negative impact on future petitions... U know the feeling of being "cheated" at some level ?

3. What did those who started really intent to do ? "Just for fun", or a "sincere wish, but wrong or insufficient methodology" , or a trick to collect a huuge email database ?

4. For an already lazy and passive Hindu who used to take refuge in online petitions of all kinds and be satisfied that he has done his "sakkat" for the religion ... for such a Hindu.... wud be interesting to see if he (or she) stops doing even that or will actually start thinking doing something a little more solid ... or just continue with life as it is

To me looks like the "as it is" option is most likely whats gona happen.. for the same day, i.e today, I get another petition appeal .. for Abdul Kalams second term

http://www.petitiononline.com/apj/petition.html

Once more, should I see that as a positive for the fact that a scientist has won the heart and souls across India, or should I be saddened at the fact that a 75 year old seems to be the "only nice option" .... if only we had lots of visionaries to pick from.... after all we are a Nation of a Billion !

Monarchs... again

I had a post previousy as well on Monarch butterflies..

see http://drisyadrisya.blogspot.com/2006/03/nostalgia.html

And now, thanks to a tip off from Naresh's blog....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/03/science/03butter.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin

The butterfly that goes from Canada to Mexico and partway back lives six to nine months, but when it mates and lays eggs, it may have gotten only as far as Texas, and breeding butterflies live only about six weeks. So a daughter born on a Texas prairie goes on to lay an egg on a South Dakota highway divider that becomes a granddaughter. That leads to a great-granddaughter born in a Winnipeg backyard. Come autumn, how does she find her way back to the same grove in Mexico that sheltered her great-grandmother?

I just love reading about these ones... donno why...

May be the fact that such tiny creatures can achieve so much might be fascinating me....

May be the validation of "mayi sarvamidam protam......" (gita 7.7) might be the key .....

May be its just their beauty.... for once, can't I not worry about the reason ?! and enjoy ...

taaki aksar na ho afzal !

My email to B Raman .. lets see if he replies.......

meantime, comments invited from readers

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Dear Shri Raman

ref : http://www.saag.org/papers20/paper1972.html

Frankly , I was a bit dissappointed to see your article end non-conclusively and suggesting an abeyance - the main reason being the possibility of the punished being made into a hero/martyr (as per islam) . Zooming out on the bigger issue of islam itself, its almost as though one has to give in to what that religion is, how much ever illogical it sounds ... as tho' one doesn't have a clue as to what to do with a RELIGION which

* Asks to kill non-believers ( eg: 9:5 ... and plethora of other verses ) ... (the definition of non-believer is given in Chapter 109)

* Considers the land in which its not a majority as the land of struggle ( dar-ul-harb)

* Declares that singing praise of the land (vandemaataram) is against the religion

* And makes heros out of terrorists who have killed inocent lives

Isn't it obvious that India is forced to take islam as it is, and change accordingly ?

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Alternately, here's a suggestion, which may sound ridiculous, but for want of an alternative.... - since it is the RELIGION that tells him to Kill , since its the RELIGION that makes him a martyr and hero if he is punished, since its the RELIGION that tells him that he will get virgins in heaven - how about depriving him of that fundamental aspect ? Feed him some pork forcefully or convert him officially - as per law. If the law has the right to take away one's life thro' death penalty, and freedom through imprisonment, why should it not have the right to take away ones religion thro' proper means ?

And convert to what religion ? - either that religion against whom the fellow did the crime, or give him a choice - Jainism (which wud be an exact extreme oppossite of his religion) , Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity... you have plenty to choose from (atleast the local church I am sure will be more than glad to bring the water for dipping ...)

Will there be a better humiliation for him and the rest of the clergy encouraging the likes of him ? WatchOut before you do the next crime in the name of Islam - if caught you may lose your religion !!

time permits, would like your comments
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a new beginning ...................