The shrimps have it easy.

They have no debates whether they need to follow their head or their heart. Shrimp's heart's are in their heads. :)

Why do you seek categorization?

Is it to keep like things together (inclusion)? Or is it to keep unlike things away from each other (exclusion)?

If you seek exclusion, then, you are progressing towards a goal and don't want to waste your time unnecessarily on things that are not related to the goal and hence, you are excluding.

If you seek inclusion, then, you could be exploring options in order to set a goal, which you don't know or haven't been able to arrive at earlier. Or, you could be plain confused and don't know where to go and hence are collecting information from every place possible and hope to act on it.

Categorize to "Exclude", if you want to go ahead. Categorize to "Include" if you want to ponder.

For example, I cannot the amount of information a person following 356 people in twitter and having a reading list which generates about at least 100 unread items per day. Add to this, emails and links being suggested in twitter.

How much of this information is really useful? How much of this can actually be read? I can categorize by labels like sports, entertainment, tech, blah. But, what is the whole point?

(cross posted on tangents)

The world as I see it. An essay by Albert Einstein.

"How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving...

"I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts -- possessions, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible.

"My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a 'lone traveler' and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude..."

"My political ideal is democracy. Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized. It is an irony of fate that I myself have been the recipient of excessive admiration and reverence from my fellow-beings, through no fault, and no merit, of my own. The cause of this may well be the desire, unattainable for many, to understand the few ideas to which I have with my feeble powers attained through ceaseless struggle. I am quite aware that for any organization to reach its goals, one man must do the thinking and directing and generally bear the responsibility. But the led must not be coerced, they must be able to choose their leader. In my opinion, an autocratic system of coercion soon degenerates; force attracts men of low morality... The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life seems to me not the political state, but the creative, sentient individual, the personality; it alone creates the noble and the sublime, while the herd as such remains dull in thought and dull in feeling.

"This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of herd life, the military system, which I abhor... This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery -- even if mixed with fear -- that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds: it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity. In this sense, and only this sense, I am a deeply religious man... I am satisfied with the mystery of life's eternity and with a knowledge, a sense, of the marvelous structure of existence -- as well as the humble attempt to understand even a tiny portion of the Reason that manifests itself in nature."

The sixth sense

It is amazing. Would you buy the sixth sense? Will it become like a cell phone? I would love to own one. :) How about you?

Stumble upon

is a website I stumbled upon. This website once you register adds a toolbar to firefox which helps you bookmark good websites you well stumble upon.

Like this one I stumbled upon from stumble upon itself.

Last respects

Last Respects
Frozen Thoughts

One day not too long ago the employees of a large company in St. Louis, Missouri returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door. The sign said: "Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym."

At first everyone was sad to hear that one of their colleagues had died, but after a while they started getting curious about who this person might be. The excitement grew as the employees arrived at the gym to pay their last respects. Everyone wondered: "Who is this person who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he's no longer here!"

One by one the employees got closer to the coffin and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood over the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.

There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: "There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU." YOU are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.

Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life. The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself.

google.... oh! google

A distressed and confused friend searches "how to avoid confusion?" on google.......

along with many other links google displayed
"How to avoid confusion in decorating your home with wall clocks ..." as one of the results....

At least it made my friend smile. Google helps a person in one way or other! Impressive :)

Kadalekai Parshy - 2008

It was very good turn out of people... and interestingly amidst the numerous people..
I heard........
"yestu kobbu maga... avalige"
"edhu yella waste chinnu.. idu beda bere thegiskodtheeni baa"
"Mahajanagale... rathri 9.00 agidhe.. dayavittu manege hogi. Nimma nimma aabarana.. mobile phone.. purse galanna husharagi nodokondu hogi" --- it was brilliant
"Sikkapatte keltha iddare alli. i doubt we can work things out"
"yeddu hogoo illinda"- by police
It was indeed brilliant.. all of a sudden I see a lot of change in the way people perceive culture

The Mumbai attacks sure has shaken the citizens of this country and across the world. The very thought of having a dinner with our dear ones, or attending a friend's party or even travelling can put one's life in danger is very scary.Even while going about one's daily chores,going to work or shopping,one needs to be on guard always,not knowing from where or when these fanatics can strike.There is no value for life at all, whether rich or poor,young or old. Its just crazy.
Is killing the only answer?
Why is violence looked as the only option?
When religions and nationalities should be uniting people, its just the opposite in these times.
Why should innocent lives be lost in such foolish,barabaric acts?
What are they achieving by going on a killing spree.
I just fail to understand. I know there are hardly any answers for the questions above, but I cant resist myself from asking?.
My heart goes out for the families who lost their loved ones.
I can only hope and pray some sanity would prevail and hope the day is not far when we can see an end to terrorism.

It isn't enough to talk about peace, one must believe it.
And it isn't enough to to believe in it, one must work for it.
-Eleanor Roosevelt

nice one.

Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who donot and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.
- - - Henri Fredrick Amiel

Why did you not tell us before Vishnu?

People check out the link and the video on the webpage.

http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=46832&altf=Wjtiovqsjzb&altl=Tibsnb

I wish we had learnt about this from Vishnu, would have made us happier.

Too Short

Ordinary People

If you have not seen this movie please see it. I loved it. It is a serious movie. Not a movie to watch when you are depressed. But a must watch. It is as the title says about ordinary people who struggle to find themselves, who struggle to forgive themselves and forget. I randomly watched this movie online without having any expectations from it. I guess you have to do the same. Happy viewing. After you see it let me know if you liked it. Would love to talk about the movie.

Dragon

Dragon Fly.

Even thou this time flower show in bangalore was not so great , but i found a dragon there. this dragon was something special.

It was standstill the way its in the snap for almost an hour, i donoo what was it doing so long , i took around 20-30 snaps of it , but i could only found one which was good engh to upload, one of the biggest dragon fly i have ever seen. it was huge. its eyes were beautiful , large wings. overall it was amazing to see such a large fly.

Echo sticks what?

Ever heard of Echo sticks? Never? Me neither, not till I sat through a class on Noise cancellation in Ultrasound. Well want to know what it is? It is the way Acoustics is pronounced in American. Phew.

Introductions and re-introductions.

Sushi has not yet accepted the warm welcome and invitation OO......Oh! has extended. So I will refrain from introducing her till she actually is a part of our authors community.

The rest of you strap up the ride is about to begin. (I am doing this in random order). It would be great if all of you could add to this in the comments section.

Pree/Preethi : I met her for the first time in the ice cream shop (I forgot the name :-\) on Vishnu's 2o something b'day 2006. (How old were you Vishnu?) Oh! got it corner house. First impression calm person. Did that last??? hmm She can sketch, write and bake among other things. She keeps moving from place to another in India with her husband Shyam. Shyam works for the army. (Right?). She was the one and only member of the Gree's phone fan club. :D (Remember?).

Guru : I used to chat with him much much before I actually met him. If I am not wrong I have seen him only twice.(Alva?). He is a corporate trainer. Claims he never gets angry. I have been told his water bottle and he were inseparable. He is almost always confused. He is even confused about his confusion sometimes :). A perfect son (He claims in his blog). He said to hell with UK and came trotting right back to Bengaluru. He is my inspiration. :D I would like to do a Guru sometime.

Aparna/Aps/btsvoice : I met Aparna at Rangashankara. First impression very strict person. Well, I don't think so anymore (Good or bad?) She is a very simple person with a lovely smile. She has lived in Pune. She likes to eat idli, upma, shavige and other dishes at a small place near the Malleshwaram Railway station. An introduction of Aps by me will not be complete without mentioning her husband Srihari Mukesh. Now I won't say more or this will turn out to be an introduction of Srihari Mukesh.

KP/Krispa/Krishna Pavan : Looks are deceptive is the best description of KP. He can get really angry and upset but will go to great lengths to hide it. Krishna believer, chess player, invisible man are some of the other words I use to introduce him to others. Korea and India are like adigemane bacchalmane for KP. Highly philosophical. I like chatting with him and most of the times agree with what he says but usually give him a totally different perspective. He then goes to lengths to convince me about his perspective. :) KP I forgot what you call your bike?

Chitra/Chi : Hey Chi long time. Chitra was my colleague =). Sings very well. Chi and I used to like the same songs. She is a creative person.(She designed all funky looking training material in office). She has a daughter whom I have not yet seen. She has not even sent a picture of her X-(. She was very popular in college and is a kannada activist of sorts.

Vishnupriya/Vishnu/Vee/Sleepyface : haha! Now tell me what you want to know about him? ;) Presently learning Spanish, a very trustworthy friend to have, multi talented in short. He is like an onion the more you know him the more layers you will find but he won't make you cry like one. Well since all of us know him. (Yes Aradita knows him too). Yes meet madidhya neenu.

Aradita/DK/Macho woman/Divya : Yo People, Aradita is none other than Divya. My engineering classmate. I still remember the first day in Engineering when I met Divya. I remember what she was wearing and what we spoke. I am not sure why I remember all that in so much detail.(Cause I don't remember any of the other people I met that day). But it is true. She is a very very good friend. She takes time to open up. But if you stick around patiently for long enough you would give yourself the treat of a great friend. She does not talk much. But when she talks oh boy does she hit the nail on the head. Divya can sing well. She is now on my insistence trying to write too. She went on to do her Master's in Embedded systems from Manipal and is presently sitting at home waiting for my return and Wipro to give her a joining date. She did a year long internship with Intel and traveled on the same bus as Sushi. Well I can write an entire blog about her and all the interesting things we have done together(Ex: How she punched a glass window to earn the name macho woman, How we tried to make avalakki bonda and ended up with plain avalakki with 0.5 lt ogarne in it etc etc)...

Last but not the least...
Me :) Just another one of you.
Well looking forward to your comments and inputs.

These have an equally likely chance

of getting on to my collar as I go to work. They all make perfect sense to me and my work.

Words - Story

He sat weeping in graveyard, obviously in grave silence, trying to read an epitaph, unclear in dark and unbelievable, thought of his days, his playful times, his play mate, his camaraderie, his friend. Someone disturbed his silence weep, he started weeping profusely. “You came?” he said, “How can I live without you?” said the other voice, “Did you like the words I chose for your epitaph?” He now wept with a smile.

Note: This was the last post on OOO, thought it would be good to continue from the past

A few instructions

Hey people,

I wanted to make a few things clear. Do use labels when you post. This would make the blog look more organized and retain the theme thing we decided on. So the themes and hence the labels would be:

-Gluttony (Would contain anything related to food and eating)
-Globe trotting (Places,monument, travel,cities,malls.... u get the idea right?)
-Geeky rhythm (Books, Academics, movies,music etc)
-Oh news (Politics, Olympics, Sports, personal news if u like, announcements)
-Think Tanks (Thoughts)
-A million words (Picture of the month)

You can surely cross label your posts across these labels.

Shortly after two new members join in I will introduce all of them.

Till then. Happy blogging.
Oh ya this is final no comments about changing labels will be accepted :P The era of Hitler's over here hath come Rafiki ;}

Squirrel antics

Check out the little squirrel enjoying the Adhirasam. There is a little ledge outside our bedroom window, which serves our purpose to keep little fresh rice everyday for the crows to eat. (This is a part of South Indian Brahmin tradition, which indicates us paying respects to our elders who have left us for the heavenly abode).

However, the poor crows are too slow for the swift squirrels which wait for some such tidbit to lay their hands on!
After trying in vain everyday, I finally managed to capture a quick picture of the squirrel pouncing on the yummy adhirasam made for Krishna Jayanthi :).