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!