Is the world flat?

The World Is Flat, it's just not that I am answering my own blog title but reading the title of a book written by Thomas L. Friedman in '07. I am going thru it now after it collected a thin layer of dust in my shelf. I have to say, it is quite interesting with his introduction of Ten Flatteners. Each one he goes thru in detail, how Netscape turned the world towards clickable information, Google's incredible power of searching anything on the web, and the insourcing and outsourcing activity etc. In summary: Digitization, Virtualization and Automation of everything.

Bottom line message is: Change is hard. Change is hardest on those caught by surprise. Change is hardest on those who have difficulty changing too. But change is natural; change is not new; change is important. And that is why the greatest challenge for our time will be to absorb these changes in ways that do not overwhelm people but also do not leave them behind. None of this will be easy. But this is our task. It is inevitable and unavoidable. It is the ambition of this book to offer a framework for how to think about it and manage it to our maximum benefit.

I don't want to plagiarize the entire material but I thought it would help lot of my naive friends who are upset and mad about activities such as offshoring, outsourcing, China and India and so on. Tom gives a good way to look at the situation and how to deal with changing times. He calls it funnily, how to become untouchable. How to recognize the dead-end jobs and move to an occupation that may help win a bread. As you know, not all jobs can be outsource-able and offshore-able. Not every job can be completely automated, digitized and virtualized. When the going is tough, tough get going... dig inside!

I will end up luring you to read his book with some of his quotes, What I tell my own girls? When I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, "Tom, finish your dinner. People in China and India are starving." Today I tell my girls, "Finish your homework. People in China and India are starving for your jobs."

And that's the only thing to tell people. That's the fact. I always say, "When the world goes flat, reach for a shovel, not a wall." Dig inside yourself. Dig inside your company. Find the secret of the sauce inside. If you're reaching for a wall, it's a losing strategy because the technology is going to blow that wall down.


^{Note: I like to hear your genuine thoughts on this. Don't flame me, as I do understand some of you out there who's job has been outsourced.}

Elevator Etiquette

Elevator (aka lift) by definition a vertical transport vehicle that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building. OK, now that we are done with the definition part of it, we can safely move to the ridiculous part of it. Well I am not exactly ridiculing the elevators...

Anyway, did you ever observe the unwritten elevator etiquette out there in the society? When we go in front of the elevator or inside the elevator suddenly all our idiosyncrasies make the best of us. Even the most sociable person forgets how to greet or talk in front of the elevators with other strangers. The quick wit fades off with a duh resounding in the brain...

Consider the situation, you are standing in front of the elevator and there are others waiting there already and the elevator button is lit. Everybody mechanically be looking at the top of the elevator or impatiently press the already lit button as if pressing harder or pressing more times make any thing change. That ugly waiting, ugly silence and if you catch somebody's eyes that uneasy or constipated looks or smiles. At the best an odd hi or hello try to pop, even that you just wanted not to say but too many stares from that person made you do that...

Consider another situation, you are talking loudly on your cell phone and suddenly the elevator door opened and it's packed with people and there is room just for you. You suddenly become fidgety and have to disconnect the phone. Not many people talk in the elevators, they all try to avoid the existence of others and everybody look up desperately for their floor to come.

If you are walking with others and talking jovially and laughing loud all that will go away when you enter an elevator with one stranger. Everyone suddenly find themselves in some awkward position and stare. And, there are few they make it a point to be very nice to others by offering to press the buttons and say have a nice day or some other clever joke about politics or weather or commenting on the dress, shoes and even hairdos. Some even get embarrassed to talk in their native languages because that's a complete no in their minds. Some are even fun to watch with their bluetooth sticking to their ears and talking in a low pitch as if they are mumbling to themselves like mad people.

In fact, you can do so many weird things when you find yourselves with strangers in constrained corners. I can think of so many but there is this list you can try next time when you find yourself fidgety or staring up or pressing too many buttons or the same button in frustration or find yourself dumbfounded.

Even elevators have ups and downs!

Another Day, Another Dollar!

Every so often the reality hits you, you are not waiting for it to happen but it happens. You almost feel like you are living the mechanical life. You get up, get dressed, catch the breakfast, drive to work, get to the office, get to the cafe for a second cup of coffee, usual small talks and get back to the grinding. Is this what we signed up for? We call this a fun thing to do? We wasted all our precious youth doing hard work to get here?

Such as a woman's cleavage some situations are just not to be introspected too closely. But ask yourself, do you are really enjoy doing this work while a good sunny day pass you by outside? Would you rather be some where else? I think the bottom line problem is we all get content with life, accept things as they are, just not in a mood to push or challenge ourselves at time. Well admit it, we are kinda married to what we call it as Work. In this frame of mind any change that may pop it's ugly head makes us nervous and throws us out of balance.

I for myself, I admire people who push themselves to reach the goal line. They know they signed up for something different, they have an American Dream and they are trying to get there by doing the right things.

But don't worry, we still have our good health and all our usual close work friends to keep us company. We can't leave them and go to some strange place to start all over, that's just crazy talk. We just have to tell ourselves, I like what I do, I love all my colleagues, I don't have to leave this place unless they ask me to leave and I am not compromising with anything. Besides it pays all my bills.

Remember, Work is Another Day, Another Dollar! (hopefully not Another Day In Paradise).





Sorry I am not offering solutions or asking you to stop working, it's just another blog!

I Follow The Moskva...

Nice day, walk in the park in a summer-like breeze, I was drifted away in thoughts, just reminiscing an old tune... that's how I feel with this weather in Boston Commons and a nice walk along the Freedom Trail!

I am exhausted (in a good way) - just don't have that much patience to write it all in a blog but leave you with these Scorpions. Click the first line if you want to enjoy it... Love you all!

I follow the Moskva 
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change

The world closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close,like brothers
The future's in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change

Chorus:
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever...

Hard to follow my thoughts as they are abstract as I am ...
If you know the song and background then you can follow my trail!
I love to hear if you have any comments on this though...

Drive Dreams Home...

Dreams ... the powerful state of mind. It's an in-built virtual reality of every human. I say humans because I don't know what the animals dream about or whether they dream. By definition, A dream is a succession of thoughts, images, sounds or emotions which the mind experiences during sleep. There is a lot of science and study about the stages of sleep and neural activity of brain during those. Hmmm.... I am drifting from what I wanted to talk about this tag line. Before I start talking about different cultures around the world and their incubation processes of dreams for prophetic meaning etc., let me get back...

Just the other day I was driving to work in a rubber-necking traffic (nothing unusual right), I got stuck behind a big metal ass (Van that is). I couldn't help but to read the huge letters that were glaring on the back of that, "Drive Dreams Home" ... that's all I concentrated and forgot to read anything else. I couldn't help but think about how we all dream about some things in life at different ages (aka Stages). No, people I am not talking about Day Dreaming either.

I for myself remember how my dreams that I wanted to drive home changed from the teen-years to now. I used to dream about going in to medical profession then I wanted to become a musician (Teen Age I guess) then I went in to Engineering. Forgot about dreaming for a while during those years as reality hit me. I continued in that line while working on the side. I finally got my Computer Science degree. I dreamt of working for one company versus the other and continued in that vague thoughts. I got bored of working for somebody and wanted to really have the American Dream of starting something on my own. I had a gig with another buddy of mine for a while before I realized working for your own means even more working... I pursued some hobbies and other gigs and for financial reasons went back to employment.

These days, I dream of hitting a lotto (Dollar and a dream), as I see it, why limit your dreams to something low? Sky is the limit. Take the millions, retire, find a vacation home in Tahiti for winter and one in Maine for summer, sit at the beach, enjoy blue skies, have a drink while enjoying eye-candy (I am sure you get bored of that as well). If you grab me however and ask me what my real dream is, I can't give you a quick answer. I am institutionalized now the only dreaming I enjoy besides the Pie In The Sky with Lotto I resort to visiting places around the world, meeting new people, flying like a bird, be with who ever I want and more *sigh*. Not to mimic the King but I can say I had A dream :)

I am no special, I am sure everyone of you go thru these stages of dreaming for future as well. If I ask you what is that one dream that you want to drive home, will you be able to answer? Just for curiosity what took so long to get to that? Will that make you happy for ever? Most importantly what are you doing now to achieve that? Dream on, as it's better to have one than just leading a boring routine...

Fun Reading: Interpretation of Dreams, Science of Dreaming (Oneirology)

Modesty Forbade?

Propriety, Sobriety and Modesty are a few among many decent qualities in a person, is it? I thought so for a long time in my life. I was told I am very modest by everybody I interacted with and I remember smiling at that comment every time I heard. That continued for a long time until I started to notice that modesty was mistaken for shy and reticent, some might have assumed it as ignorance too (Ignorance is definitely not bliss here). Modesty, a fine line between humility and low-self esteem, so walk the line carefully!

You might have observed some people how they catch the eye in the crowds by showing off even though they are halfwits or do not possess any subject matter expertise. It is human tendency to notice people who are generally outspoken, adventurous, loud or rowdy as opposed to quiet and humble ones. I am sure you all probably know that most popular person or crowd in your middle school or high school, those are definitely not the ones that fit the subject here (I envy ya'all though).

It almost hit me in my college years that there is no place for modesty in this world. Even then it used to take lot of energy to speak my mind in a group of strangers. I realized how some street smart colleagues took advantage of my modesty for their advantage when I started my employment. I grew an attitude as a reflex by ignoring the obvious chances to advance.

Not any more, as I know now, there is definitely a time and place for modesty. You can be kind and gentle with everyone but when you are the expert on a subject and you need to voice your opinion on something, or what ever the right situation be, make sure modesty doesn't forbid you from doing the right thing! 

I am not asking you to be aggressive but don't hold your expertise or your opinion to yourself. Stop and tell people when they are bullshitting, I am sure you come across these dime-a-dozen in life...

Modesty forbade you anytime? Do you act like the person on the left in the Cartoon above??

Earth Day (Rhetoric)...

Word of caution to the (in)frequent visitors of this blog, my world revolves around a few brand names from the time I get up until I retire for the day. Some of these may include NPR, BBC radio. I catch news on the way in and out of work. Some of this news leave hard impression on me and make me digest them thru the day and finally make me spill in bits and bytes (get it?). Some of the material may sound like a repeat in this effort but definitely not intentional. I call it plagiarism in style.

Anyway, Happy Earth Day. Like many things that earn one day significance in the year, we must also remember about the Earth once in a year. We can go on abusing it every day but remember it's a special day and we must give it a break! We do call her Mother Earth but we don't seem to treat our mothers the same way, heck to that matters not even the step mothers.

I am sure Earth has a plan to revive itself? The signals are many, A Series Of Unfortunate Events around the world. These are the signals for revival or warning signs? I think I will not bring up the Iceland Volcano eruption and the chaos it created for the European air industry, nooooo... it's overdone in the news already.

What I do offer is a thought (it's for free), every living species on earth demand a perfect living condition. We can't tolerate: too hot weather, too cold weather, drought, heavy rains, floods, no wind, too much wind (twisters), I guess you get the picture. When we have the perfect conditions we forget how we got all that for free. Well, we think it's for free as we are intelligent to take things for granted.

If you asked me a decade ago about what I thought of those people who were running around with the Save The Earth bags, demand paper bags for groceries, reusable water cans and plastic coffee mugs, I would have said, Huh bunch of fads!!  What an irony right?

I don't want to further humor with any help of anti-clichés but we are forgetting the delicate balance we must maintain with the nature everyday but thank god for Earth Day we can think about all this once in a year!!

Who got the Green Gift recently?

What makes you tick?

Most days you get up almost the same, you get to work, you pick up the coffee or tea, you have the usual small talk with people and get back to work. Why this boring prelude? Have you ever noticed that there are some days you are just not yourself. You feel something is missing, you are not energized like usual, the spark is gone yet there is nothing major changed in your routine.

Why are humans so complex? What are these unusual & funny moods? We must be thinking about someone or something that's directly or indirectly, knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously altering our behavior. We must be suppressing these deep feelings under some cover and at times these are just bursting out and overwhelming us? Not sure, I am not a psychologist but my sunny side clouds up on some days with out my involvement. It leaves me feel helpless and drains all my energy, which I can't even begin to tell you.

I hate to tell even close friends in my subtle ways as I hate to be taken as a moody fellow or weak minded fool or the worst case labeled as a sensitive guy. Easier to analyze this for another person under some syndrome, some stage in life, depressed about something, parting from something that's too dear or considered that way. We are all actors, we all pretend and we are all melodramatic in some ways...

As the wise would say, There are so many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart.  You can work on so many tasks at hand in a given day but a few will make you jump and do.

Does it ever happen to you? What makes you tick??

Cherish The Moment

It's been a while but it definitely feels like yesterday. I was a shy guy back then and I used to like the modest people. It was like magic when I first got introduced to her by my friend. I know there is something common between us. I was so attracted to her but I never told her. I was a damn good technician in my field and until I came along she was the one who was looked upon. So, we could have gone in a complete opposite direction hating each other's guts. But, I adored her so much I offered her help in making the next generation graphics. She liked my perfection and attention to details so much. We became very close.

She asked me to take her to lunch one day. I drove to a restaurant of her choice. We ended up having a few light drinks together. It was past the lunch hour but I was ignoring the obvious. Her mild and friendly voice and a beautiful smile was making me forget the time. I think we spent an hour more and I suddenly realized she was becoming more intimate with me. I never sneaked out of work for that long and felt a bit uneasy, but at the same time I liked the time I was spending in her company. She took my hands in to her and helped release the tension. I felt the urge to touch her to say that I really like her and her company. All I did was to make it easy for her to touch me.

We decided we had enough in the restaurant and paid the check and got back to my car. She thanked me for taking her out and spending time with her. We hugged each other friendly but couldn't separate from each other for minutes. I spent minutes smelling her hair and her warm body and she spent minutes kissing and pecking my neck. She held my face in her arms and told me that I had a beautiful and experienced soul.

I think that day was the changing day in my life to realize that there is something that's beyond the definition and consciousness. Every one of us come across such incidents in life but at times we try to make sense out of a few and a few we ignore or a few we fight thinking that is wrong to think that way because of stupid social barriers.

One thing for sure is, when you meet that person regardless of their age, marital status and other socially defined attributes it will remain in your heart as a memory. I came across a few and I am not ashamed to say that they remain in my heart for a long time. I wish I can go back and relive those moments as I know now that it was memorabe ever!!

Crafting Own Destiny

Every day I tune to BBC radio station on my way in to and out of work, thanks to XM Radio. I always liked BBC news presentation as opposed to any others (OK NPR is my second choice). Out of a few evening news articles the one that most attracted me was contributed to this blog.

This article was all about, A railway station, financed and built by villagers near the suburbs of Indian capital, Delhi. Of course, I couldn't pick up the name of the village name etc. so when I came home, I tuned to BBC Internet Site. After reading the news article, I was so impressed with the determination of these villagers for making this happen on their own.

The BBC spokesman there interviewed few villagers, who were buying two or more tickets just so the railways can honor halting at their station. Some even buy the tickets even though they don't travel. They raised $45,000 to build the station. One of the villagers even took on his own to stay up late in the station for the safety of women (in case if any get down in their station at night). He was so proud to say in the native language that he wouldn't mind escorting them to their homes. He checks in to the station every morning and stays until late to promote safety for their station.

Many college students used to walk in the muddy roads to reach the city are ecstatic about the train station (or just a halt they call it). You hear this sort of thing in the movies, I was just moved with their determination and continued spirit to keep up with these efforts.

I am just quoting this from BBC Site, "We have been raising the demand [for a station] since 1982, but the railways told us they did not have funds. So, finally we decided to craft our own destiny" - I just have to say Bravo!

I Love What You Do To Me!

I am sure you remember this jingle don't you? You guessed it right, it's Toyota. The second most famous Japanese car in the world. You think Toyota became famous for it's price? or looks? What made this car so popular? Of course, it's reliability. I personally know a few of my proud co-workers and friends with 200+K miles on their Toyotas. I know because every time they took it to a regular maintenance they added another year to it's life. It's almost like a zombie, it never quit.

Go to any stadium and yell Somebody's Toyota is on fire, you will see half of the stadium running. If you correct yourself and scream No it's Honda, the other half of the place will become empty! That's how popular these cars are...

Jokes aside, ya'all know the latest ramblings about the Toyota recall due to a stuck accelerator pedal problem. This is the worst thing a brand name can do to itself. Especially a typical 4 member family at least owns one Toyota in this country because of it's reliability. Suddenly, I see that a can of worms open up with a series of accidents due to this recall. It became an excuse for some of the lousy drivers out there to say, Yeah, I rammed in to the tree because of the stuck pedal. Sorry Tiger Woods, you would have gotten away with that accident if it were a Toyota.

Toyota's sales already dropped by 16% before this recall was announced. Around the world they issued a recall for about 4.2 million vehicles and this may impact an already doomed financial picture.

When you look at all the crash pictures on the TV, the jingle, I Love What You Do To Me Toyota, leaves a bad taste in the mouth and raises a sudden urge to make out with Ford & GM!

Groundhog Day!

Punxsutawney Phil, they call him and a tradition that goes all the way back to 1886. I heard today that Phil came out and saw his shadow ... you know what that means, 6 more weeks of winter. I am not all worried about this snow as much as I used to.

In the past, I always contracted out snow cleaning to some one and used to hate it when it's time to drive out in a foot of snow from the uncleaned drive way when he still didn't make his rounds in the neighborhood. I have a German rear wheel drive car and oh I hated to drive it in the winters. So, as much as the Groundhog Day is a tradition, I used to hate it when ever the weatherman stood in front of his map and talk about Phil. How nice for him, he gets all the attention from his useless weather reports from latest equipment, he also has to resort to Phil.

Not this year... Yes, I bought a real lean mean blowing machine (sounds kinky?) - so the first time it snowed this season, I was out there waiting for it. Second time I was glad it snowed so went out and cleaned my driveway and helped the neighbor with his walkway. Third time, driving back from work I was hoping that there wouldn't be a whole lot of accumulation for me to clean but came home and cleaned anyway. Fourth time, I almost slipped with it and somehow managed to clean the rest. Fifth time, right in the middle of cleaning I ran out of gas and the rest of it I had to shovel. I think the newness wore out and I am not looking forward to a whole lot of cleaning in the middle of a wintery mix and gusting of cold wind. Well, my thinking was that I will break even the first year after using it a dozen times. Now I feel I can live with out using it another half dozen times for the sake of my satisfaction.

Cleaning after cleaning with this snow reminds you of Groundhog Day movie isn't it? Yup déjà vu all over again when I say this, Happy Groundhog Day! :)

TWD - It's the law!

TWD, what the heck is that? It's not Taiwan Dollar, Tail Wagging Dog or Total World Domination. TWD is another crime equivalent to DUI (Driving Under the Influence). Govt. wants you to be in your limits and obey the law when driving. Yes, it is Text While Driving. Blackberry's, Smartphones and not to forget the iPhones make you want to multitask any where in any position and situation.

The entire world is on this multitasking tour. Making a mental note to self, human brain is not designed to function the way we think, this topic should be detailed in another blog. We are always in a rush to think that we must stay in touch with family, friends, colleagues via any channel possible. Texting, phone, email, instant messaging, tweeting and writing on people's walls. Interesting study on this topic can be found here.

Coming back to the subject, I remember watching a real graphic video on NBC, which was intended to promote the awareness in people about texting while driving by Gwent Police Department in Wales. Studies show that 60% of teens do this with out even knowing that they are risking their life and others. Getting distracted while driving increases the crash chances by 20 times.

Recent accidents such as the California train crash due to texting sent too many alarms for commercial vehicles. Obama ordered about 4.5 million federal workers to stay off their cell phones while driving. DOT banned texting while driving for commercial drivers as well.

What about the other people who walk, bike and drive while texting? A San Francisco woman was killed by a pickup truck when she stepped off a curb while texting, and a Bakersfield man was killed last year by a car while crossing the street and texting. Many young adults and teens are arriving in emergency departments with serious and sometimes fatal injuries because they were not paying attention while texting.

Like the seat belt law it is very hard to impose this law. Frankly speaking, we are all guilty of tinkering with our phone or the other while driving. The distraction doesn't have to be related to texting but taking our eyes off the road while doing other things will prove to be fatal. So, next time people you know nearly or dearly boasting about their skills of texting while driving - just pull them aside and slap silly. Tell them it's the law! They have a right to kill themselves but no right to put other's life at risk.

Uh... I Heard It Through The Grapevine!

Been waiting for this.... Apple had done it again.... Steve Jobs is a genius.... are some of the tech reverie. I am not talking about the MacBook, iPod or heck not even about the iPhone and yes the talk of the rumor mill is a sleek and sexy Tablet. Don't go to Starbucks with out it ☺

What ever the product that comes out of Apple, Steve Jobs takes pride in demonstrating his vision. Visionary is a word loosely used in the business world, cause anyone saying anything different than the status-quo is hailed as one, what if they're wrong - do we grab their uniforms and rip their badges? Steve Jobs is one person who takes the word Vision and takes it far beyond the clichés. I don't think I will do justice describing this legend or don't want to sound like I have his picture in my locker (ok... Beyonce may be).

As most of you know and use the iPod as a de-facto music player as much as Google for all your research. There were many players before Apple in the game and iPod made them look silly. The entire Apple company was revived because of the craze for a music player. Similar story happened when Steve Jobs revealed the magic of mixing iPod, Camera, Internet and Phone as iPhone. As usual iPhone had become so popular people learned to compromise with the wireless carrier AT&T for the Phone, knowing that Verizon's coverage is far superior.

The trend will definitely continue with this Tablet. You know as much as anybody out there that Apple (again) is not the first one to come up with a handheld tablet computer. I am sure it will make it's mark and soon becomes a fad. Apple once used to be backed by hardcore geeks but thanks to iTunes, iPods and iPhones it is now the most wanted brand of the Abercombie Youth.

Out of many Steve Jobs quotes, the most attractive one for me is, I want to put a ding in the universe...

Let's see what he calls this masterpiece, iTablet?, iSlate, or iPad ... what ever that is iWantIt, are you in the game?

Weekend Hoo-Ha...

Funny as it sounds but due to a real busy week every week, I try to plan a quiet weekend. Quite the contrary to some folks out there who plan a busy weekend every weekend. They want to top the last best weekend with this one and want to do more exciting things than the next person so they can rub it on them. It is almost a race to prove that they are living the best life. Even in the office, you always hear some one in the group, telling us stories that they hiked, biked, camped, swam or skied, played all night poker (omitting to describe what type of poker), partied all night and if they are single the stories about the romantic date.

The problem is to listen to these details come out of a rhetorical question, how was your weekend?, I guess what they don't know is that the person who questioned don't want to hear your glorified weekend life, a simple good or busy or quiet would do.

I guess, I never indulged in idle gossip (sorry fellow bloggers, you are my victims), I always have the same boring answer, OK and You? (I pray that I won't be taking such questions in an elevator or other boxed areas). I dream of a rather quiet weekend such as - stay up a bit late on Friday and catch up some good movie, go out to dinner may be or just have a drink or two with some like minded folk. Get up a bit later than usual on Saturday morning, laze up a bit while drinking coffee, watch some TV, go for a nice run (if weather permits), have a light lunch (nothing fancy), sit in the couch and either watch some interesting show or read a book or this... Have a cup of Tea later and go for a window shopping in the Mall. Just rinse and repeat the same on Saturday to Sunday.

Well, did I mention it's a dream. Some dreams just don't come true. Always running around with some chores/errands, sit with a book with a wandering mind, get a headache due to sleeping late and getting up early, finish some office work, on and on... The headache just continues to Monday morning as usual to work and here comes the nagging question, Hey, How Was Your Weekend. Grrrrrrrrrr.... (go away!)

PS: Do me a favor, don't look for the meaning for Hoo-Ha in Urban Dictionary.

Online Social Networking...

The word Network is defined as, a group or system of interconnected people or things but never imagined that people and things together. With the invention of Internet we proved that the machines from any where can connect and talk to each other. In this rapid electronic age, even humans decided it's best to talk to each other using the machines we created, thus a beautiful world of Online Social Networking (OSN) came to life.

Your popularity is derived from the online noise from these OSN sites. You could be having a great social life with out having to get out of your own bed room (reminds me of an SNL show). Just think about it. How convenient is that right? You don't have the pressure of wearing good clothes, deodorants/perfumes, sense of humor, nice hairdos and so on. To start all you need is a crazy nick name, best picture and a catchy tag line. Then you start inviting all the real people you know and over time add all the strange people you would normally never hoped to meet.

If you meet some one for the first time in real life, it's wrong to ask their age, their telephone number, birthday and other details they shared with their friends. It's considered rude and invasion of their privacy. How convenient in this OSN, you get all those details with out even asking.

Funny thing is you have a lot to talk about online everyday to everybody (let's call it the Buddy List). If you happen to meet some one for real then you search for words, have nothing more to say to their face other than, "I will write on your wall later". Writing on their wall (when did graffiti become socially accepted gesture) but not much to say to their face! This is the sort of living making us call some one in the hope that we get to their answering machine first. What is causing this unsocial behavior in the name of social networking?

On the other hand, there is a lot of pressure if someone finds out that you are not a member of atleast one of Yahoo, Google, Myspace, Orkut, Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, Hi5, Friendster, Multiply and so on. Even as a professional, you resort to LinkedIn, Plaxo etc. If you observed the social networking sites constantly looking to attract you with a catchy name such as Multiply (what are we rabbits now?), Twitter (and birds?).

I predict humans will eventually stop interacting completely and start with just machines, unless the machines (robots) already are on a head start. That way we can find the buddies of our liking and no pressure of meeting them in a party or in a super market.

Yes shamelessly, I am not only a hypocrite but also a victim of peer pressure. I will defer to the privacy issues of OSN in another blog. Write on my wall below!

Breasts or Legs or Both?

Juicy subject isn't it? Human's thinking and search engine's indexing scheme don't marry well here. It's interesting to see how many people either drools over the tag line or just hate it. All the feminists out there may utter, Typical men, One track mind, Simpletons and Disgusting pigs.

I also know some wise people out there who might think, I just knew it, I don't fall for these cheap tag lines. I on the other hand, want to leave the subject and tag line to your own interpretation. Don't let me reveal your craving for you. I like to know your thoughts, leave me a comment or two...

You could say:

• I like both as long as they are fried
  
• I fall for tall and slender Drumsticks
  
• I am all for breasts, bigger the better
  
• I am a meat lover and breasts are my pick
  
• I like anything with barbecue sauce
  
• I like neither, I am a vegetarian
  
• I like mash potatoes and gravy with them
  
• I am all for the heart...(you are a freak)
  
• I am a woman, what's the big deal here?
  
• I go for steak only
  
• I am just not in to Tattoos (this person doesn't get it)
  

So, what is your choice of food or otherwise? 
If you are too lazy to comment atleast click on the image for some interesting news

When the nature roars...

News about Haiti just makes my stomach churn. The nature has unleashed it's wrath yet again. From the middle ages in Greek mythology to almost all cultures realize and respect the great five elements (Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Sky) of the nature.

In the recent years, we had Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Cyclones, Wildfires, Terrorism, Wars and wait... the sexy G-Spot (Global Warming). We as humans if not pray the natural elements for some religious aspects, at least have to learn to respect them. We contaminate with Chemicals, Styrofoam, Plastics/Latex, dig deeper in the earth crusts for Oil to burn it back in to the atmosphere, Cut the forests for wood .... do you think we have a chance?

We advanced ourselves in the name of science and learned to Split our own atoms, invented Advanced weaponry, Send Satellites to the space if not to blast planets but to leave the rest of the spaceship jackets as space junk - every where we look, we invent ways to hurt our future generations than help ourselves.

G-Spot was debated to death as a myth but every signal of these extreme orgies we've been having with the weather indicates only one thing, End Of The World is nearing. May not be as dramatic as 2012 Movie but in bits and pieces we are destroying our own race. I know it's easier said than done but at least know that When the nature roars it will be Apocalyptic.

Sorry for digressing but may I encourage you to support the victims of Haiti by donating Cash to associations such as Red Cross?

What's that smell?

Yup, it's all about the smell, it's that simple. Good smell attracts as much as good looks. No wonder, 95% of Americans over the age of 12 reach for one product or the other. Good smell makes us confident to interact with others. Helps the Fragrance industry to be a Trillion Dollar Baby.

Before we go to the body odor topic, let's check some roots of fragrance shall we? I read some where that Egypt gave birth to fragrances used in rituals as incense, ointments, lotions as far back as 3500 years ago. Soon after the women started to wear some of these fragrances for their cosmetic and aphrodisiac qualities. France began expanding in to the perfume industry in the 1600s and the rest is history. It's among the few recession proof industries out there today. People prefer to starve but not smell bad!

Let's get to the dark side of the fragrance, you guessed it. It's that (in)famous Body Odor or BO for short. Body Odor begins with sweat. Some parts of the body produces the sweat which may contain a substantial amount of oil, which provides the food for bacteria. Despite the unpleasant side effects, sweating is actually an invaluable part of keeping your body cool -- even bacteria has many positive contributions to our lives. But let's face it no matter how good looking you are, a pungent body odor is not going to make you the life of the party!

Spicy foods with onions, garlic; high protein/low fiber diet; red meat; processed foods; even coffee and alcohol can contribute to bad body odor. Of course, it's impossible to avoid everything because of the side effects of the odor but the important fact is that wearing a deodorant stick shouldn't be considered as fashion. Especially when you interact with many people in closed spaces it should be considered as a minimum courtesy. Besides a deodorant stick costs much less than a Starbucks Caffe Latte!

Let's not limit the smells just to the places where we sweat. Some people also have problems keeping their breath under check. You may smell good because of a perfume but the bad breath from your mouth can't be covered easily. Oral hygiene is even more important to take care. At times we feel tempted to grab some people and tell them that they need to visit a dentist or a deodorant stick. I guess we are not that brave to do so or it's not considered polite in the society.

At times we pass by flower bushes and enjoy the natural fragrances. We also come across places, we must visit them a few times in a day but at times just entering in to them itself makes us puke. Even some kitchen areas because of the food reheat and various mixed smells, I guess you get the picture of this stinking thing...

Hey, what's that smell, who is cooking yummy food which is making me hungry?

Déjà Vu

Have you ever visited a place for the first time and felt odd as if you'd seen it before? Even the colors of the walls, the graffiti and even the smell around that place seem vividly familiar? Of course, I am not talking about having this feeling very frequently as I know it's attributed to epileptic conditions.

This topic really intrigues me. As much as we all want scientific proofs of such things there is a whole science out there yet to be found. I came across very recently about an ABC News article, dated April 2004, that was debated on Larry King Live show. The news coverage interestingly was about a 2-year old kid getting nightmares about the plane crashes. Turned out that 2-year old was remembering his days as a fighter pilot. His nightmares were traced back to the World War-II days.

I am sure there is some connection to having Déjà Vu feeling to reincarnation. I know it's getting even more harder and fascinating as if I am going head first thru a rabbit hole. I did some research (as you know, all research starts and ends with Google) on the topic and see if there are any smart scientists are after proving this phenomenon. I know from the religious faith that every soul travels from one living form to another after the death. This is true as much in Christianity, Judaism, Budhism and Hinduism.

Anyway, coming back to the scientific study, I came across an article written by Frank Poletti. Poletti nicely relates Biological Evolution to Mental and Soul Evolution. He quotes, if something like a soul does indeed come back and get re-entered into the system of soul-life, then reincarnation might be viewed as a higher iteration of the same process that drove the rise of complex biological life forms. In other words, the evolving universe created the reincarnating soul to accelerate learning and memory from life-to-life and thereby drive the rise of complex intelligence that spans across lifetimes. The very same process that drove the rise of biological life (closure and re-entry) may be responsible for the rise of complex mental life as well. In support of this potential homology between the evolution of life and mind, Poletti noted that Whiteheadian scholar David Ray Griffin has written about the unique features of the atom, cell, and human soul; they are novel emergent structures in universe. What distinguishes the soul is that it is an emergent form that allows memory to carry beyond and between precise physical structures (our bodies). The universe emerged souls that come back and reincarnate in different bodies with memory from past ones. A novel type of enclosure (the soul-body or subtle body) can continuously re-enter information into the larger system of mental life, or mind.

If you read the book, The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, you will quickly remember the whole faith in after life to the scientific proofs to prove that the soul has a weight that can be detected leaving the body on death. Stuff such as this is questionable to people who question everything for the sake of questioning but to me it's like a Déjà Vu all over again!

Soliloquy: Hot & Heavy...

Drowzzzzy... I feel like I am drugged, what's happening to me? I look around my surroundings, it's pitch dark, I hear the rain drops dancing on my window, I see the blinding lightening flirting with the clouds followed by the roar of thunder, I am not moving.... I close my eyeeeeeessssssss....

I find myself in the middle of a busy street in a happening place. I am looking around and my eyes are searching for something or some one. The City is pretty awake and the hustle bustle is distracting my quest. I feel impatient yet I am not fully sure what I am searching for. I walk some more thru the stream of busy people, where are they all going at this time of the hour? Irony is everybody must be thinking the same. I feel like George Costanza playing the Frogger game. I digress, I slowed down a bit, I must say all the busy walking and the quest made me thirsty and spotted a corner pub to stop in.

At that same moment I spotted her. A round yet cute faced, short haired, kinda familiar smile, not that skinny and not that fat girl. She is not tall even with the heels but they are helping. She is wearing a white dress, which seemed a bit long on her, and seems to be in some hurry as if she is escaping from someone. As I was walking towards the pub she took a turn in to the pub from the other side. Our eyes met, she paused or at least I thought she did. She gave me a flirty smile as if she spotted me in the herd (alright, I thought she did ok?). It occurred to me then, "that's it, that's who I was looking for all this time".

Before I know she already walked in to the pub. I took a few more busy steps in a catching breath. My heart is beating to match my searching eyes. I looked around the floor, I don't see her. I walked inside and saw some steps to go up, I have one goal now, I have to see her from close. I didn't hesitate, I took the steps and went up. I passed a few tables and reached to the bar section. I still don't see her. The bar tender spotted me with a friendly, "what can I get you?". I am obligated to order something, I ordered my favorite Belgian White Ale with an orange peel hanging on the edge.

I sit down nervously and take a few quick gulps. I am sitting down while my eyes are walking around the floor with the XRay vision. I thought I lost her then the smell of Anais Anais hit my nostrils. I turn to my right eagerly to spot her standing next to me to order a glass of Pinot Noir. As she picked up the glass from the counter I spotted her ringless finger. She smiled at me with the same flirting eyes and asked me if the seat next to me is taken. I almost choked with excitement. I had the courage to get up and make the room for her to sit.

We got to talk the next hour or two (who's counting) over a few testing drinks. We both seem to like each other's company and doing a good job of flirting with each other. I observed her very closely, she is definitely a babe. She is checking me out in a similar manner (alright, that's what I think she is doing). I asked her if she wants to dance, she liked the idea. We are slow dancing, close to each other, I feel her pounding heart, the smell of her scent is intoxicating. I whispered to her (with my lips touching her cheeks and ears) to see if she likes to grab something to eat.

We came back to our seats and ordered some wings and fries. I paid for the drinks and snacks and grabbed her hand in a helping gesture. She didn't resist and took my hand in her hand. I gave a kiss on her cheek as a friendly gesture and she hugged and kissed on my neck back. I felt the intimacy in the hug... I felt proud walking out hand in hand with her.

As I was walking out in a hurry I stepped on an empty bottle and suddenly went airborne with a big roaring thunder crashing in to a table. I felt the lightening in front of me as I hit my head to the table edge. The big pitcher of beer came crashing to me and soaked me.

I feel cold & dizzzy... and then I wake up. I am still laying down in pitch dark. The rain drops are not dancing, no flirting lightening and the sky roared a last time. The clouds are giving way to a blue sky with nice big moon. I can't help thinking about her face while watching the moon. I roll to the other side of the bed with a heavy sigh!

Going For The Gold

Is it just me or the Movie going craze is increased to new levels these days? A decade ago, If I went to movies on a XMas day I find myself sitting among the other dozen fellow movie buffs. These days the theaters are packed with people, not because there are so many non-christians (although that's another fact) out there but almost everybody added the movies to their holiday feast.

I was driving back home and got attracted to yet another NPR article. The guest speaker is a reporter for Wall Street Journal. Anyway, the subject was how the American consumers are spending on movie tickets than on DVDs for the first time since 2002. The attraction is a result of movie makers focusing on big box office hits, movie sequels (such as Lord of The Rings, Harry Potter) and techno savvy (like Real 3D), on the other hand, theaters trying to offer more class and luxury to the whole movie watching experience such as, Gold Class Cinemas.

I am sure with the evolution of VCR to DVD to Blu-Ray to Streaming Media, the consumer find themselves attracted to the theaters as opposed to ever obsoleting technology and investment on the gear.

I have to leave a parting note on the recent movies that pave path for hit sequels and box office hits such as Avatar 3D. James Cameron did it again to attract the Sci-Fi buffs and even ordinary mortals. A combination of superb effects, sensitive story, techno and action packed an all family hit. People go to such movies with an apprehension of parking their ass for more than 2 hours but later find themselves begging for more. I am sure James got these poor souls by balls with more sequels in his bag.

I on the other hand, can't wait to try the Gold Class near me!