Saturday, November 20, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Lights vs human ratio
As I was flying from Seattle to San Jose yesterday, I was looking at the night lights in the cities and highways. Could it be possible that there are more lights than humans in this country?
Even at home, we keep the lights switched on, in most of the rooms after it gets dark. I'm now sitting in my living room, there are 2 lights here and one in our aquarium. 3 lights for one person:-(
We are taught from childhood not to keep the house dark. I've seen homes where all the rooms are lighted until everyone hits the bed. There are homes where they leave one or two lights switched on even if they go on vacation for 2 months (hoping that thieves wouldn't eye their home).
So much for the fear of Darkness and for security.
Reminds me of a news article i read recently about a cruise near San Diego where the ship went without power for 3 days. On the first day, there was this couple who slept for 24 hours because they didn't know what to do without power. And..they were just married.
Even at home, we keep the lights switched on, in most of the rooms after it gets dark. I'm now sitting in my living room, there are 2 lights here and one in our aquarium. 3 lights for one person:-(
We are taught from childhood not to keep the house dark. I've seen homes where all the rooms are lighted until everyone hits the bed. There are homes where they leave one or two lights switched on even if they go on vacation for 2 months (hoping that thieves wouldn't eye their home).
So much for the fear of Darkness and for security.
Reminds me of a news article i read recently about a cruise near San Diego where the ship went without power for 3 days. On the first day, there was this couple who slept for 24 hours because they didn't know what to do without power. And..they were just married.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
What have they done to milk?
I have been seeing this "half & half" in the dairy section. After all these years, I decided to figure out what exactly it is. It's supposed to be half milk and half cream. It's not palatable as it is, but used as a creamer in coffee and in ice creams. Here's an interesting article from CBS News. The last line gives a nice punch :)
The milk we get from cows has always had a special standing among the foods we eat. Mothers are always saying to kids, "Drink your milk."
So what in the world have they done to this simple and basic food? I'll bet a calf wouldn't drink most of the stuff called milk now sold in cartons. You can’t tell some of it from Diet Coke.
The companies that sell milk are upset because people are drinking less milk then they used to and they don't know why. Has it ever occurred to them that people aren't drinking it because milk isn't as good as it used to be?
Rooney picked up some cartons at the milk section of a grocery store: Lowfat Milk, Fat Free Milk, 2 Percent Reduced Fat Milk, Skim Milk.
Before milk was homogenized - that's mixing the cream in with the milk - cream came to the top of your milk bottle. If they took the cream off the top, they skimmed it off. What this ought to be called is not "Skim Milk" but "Skimmed Milk."
Saturated fats are bad for our arteries. We all know that, but do you know how much fat milk has in it as it comes from a cow? About 3.2 percent. So 2 percent is no big reduction.
I like half and half on my shredded wheat but when I say "half and half," I mean half milk and half cream. I bought some half and half the other day and I didn't like the taste so I looked at the label to see what it was half of and what the other half was. Listen to these ingredients: "Nonfat milk, milk, corn syrup solids, artificial color, sugar, dipotassium phosphate, sodium citrate mono, and diglycerides, carrageenan, natural and artificial flavors, vitamin A palmitate". This is half and half? It's not half anything I want and it has nothing to do with something as good as milk.
Three and a half percent is what they call Whole Milk. Why don't they just call it milk? Some of this other stuff tastes more like whole water.
They all like to use the words "farm" or "dairy" on their cartons.
One came from Farmland Dairies in Wallington, N.J. We went to Wallington looking for a dairy farm. The address was 520 Main Avenue. At the "farm," there was no cow in sight.
My suggestion, if they want to sell more milk, is that they go back to selling what comes out of a cow.
So what in the world have they done to this simple and basic food? I'll bet a calf wouldn't drink most of the stuff called milk now sold in cartons. You can’t tell some of it from Diet Coke.
The companies that sell milk are upset because people are drinking less milk then they used to and they don't know why. Has it ever occurred to them that people aren't drinking it because milk isn't as good as it used to be?
Rooney picked up some cartons at the milk section of a grocery store: Lowfat Milk, Fat Free Milk, 2 Percent Reduced Fat Milk, Skim Milk.
Before milk was homogenized - that's mixing the cream in with the milk - cream came to the top of your milk bottle. If they took the cream off the top, they skimmed it off. What this ought to be called is not "Skim Milk" but "Skimmed Milk."
Saturated fats are bad for our arteries. We all know that, but do you know how much fat milk has in it as it comes from a cow? About 3.2 percent. So 2 percent is no big reduction.
I like half and half on my shredded wheat but when I say "half and half," I mean half milk and half cream. I bought some half and half the other day and I didn't like the taste so I looked at the label to see what it was half of and what the other half was. Listen to these ingredients: "Nonfat milk, milk, corn syrup solids, artificial color, sugar, dipotassium phosphate, sodium citrate mono, and diglycerides, carrageenan, natural and artificial flavors, vitamin A palmitate". This is half and half? It's not half anything I want and it has nothing to do with something as good as milk.
Three and a half percent is what they call Whole Milk. Why don't they just call it milk? Some of this other stuff tastes more like whole water.
They all like to use the words "farm" or "dairy" on their cartons.
One came from Farmland Dairies in Wallington, N.J. We went to Wallington looking for a dairy farm. The address was 520 Main Avenue. At the "farm," there was no cow in sight.
My suggestion, if they want to sell more milk, is that they go back to selling what comes out of a cow.
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Rajesh Durbal - Live Free, Live Amazingly
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/The_inspirational_Rajesh_Durbal_1771.html
ST: Tell us about your mantra and what other people might take away from it.
Rajesh: “LIVE FREE” “Live Amazingly” That came about, crying in pain while running in the rain, on my walking legs training up for my first Olympic triathlon last year. I was faced with many obstacles that tried to hold me down, and no one around to help me and all I had was my faith and prayer. I kept on praying wanting to be free from the chains that hold me down – small and large. I wanted to be free, and then Live Free was born.
Live Free, doesn’t mean you have to be physically challenge. It’s for everyone. Everyone can relate to a struggle they are dealing with in their life.
Live Amazingly, came from living life with purpose - Striving to live an Amazing life everyday. Amazing is not the mountain tops we look for. Amazing is seeing beauty and peace with simple things in life, knowing your purpose here is larger than a mountain top.
Live Free, doesn’t mean you have to be physically challenge. It’s for everyone. Everyone can relate to a struggle they are dealing with in their life.
Live Amazingly, came from living life with purpose - Striving to live an Amazing life everyday. Amazing is not the mountain tops we look for. Amazing is seeing beauty and peace with simple things in life, knowing your purpose here is larger than a mountain top.
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
What's time for a pig?
There was once a man from the city who was visiting a small farm, and during this visit he saw a farmer feeding pigs in a most extraordinary manner. The farmer would lift a pig up to a nearby apple tree, and the pig would eat the apples off the tree directly.
The farmer would move the pig from one apple to another until the pig was satisfied, then he would start again with another pig.
The city man watched this activity for some time with great astonishment. Finally, he could not resist saying to the farmer, "This is the most inefficient method of feeding pigs that I can imagine. Just think of the time that would be saved if you simply shook the apples off the tree and let the pigs eat them from the ground!"
The farmer looked puzzled and replied, "What's time to a pig?"
The city man watched this activity for some time with great astonishment. Finally, he could not resist saying to the farmer, "This is the most inefficient method of feeding pigs that I can imagine. Just think of the time that would be saved if you simply shook the apples off the tree and let the pigs eat them from the ground!"
The farmer looked puzzled and replied, "What's time to a pig?"
Monday, November 01, 2010
Skydiving at Monterey Bay
Finally....after a 9 year loooooong wait, Oct 31, 2010 was the day. I was so thrilled from the previous day, as soon as I registered, though I was a little upset that my husband didn't want to join me.
We(3 friends came along) reached the skydiving center by 8am, though our appointment was at 9:30 only. We finished all the paper procedures - signed almost 20 papers, maybe around 40 signatures. I should have had a good breakfast, instead of 2 hawaiian bread rolls, because by the time we got onto the flight it was almost 12noon.
There was not a single moment where I had a second thought about diving from the sky. I think I've waited too long, now only desperation remains. For a moment, I considered going for the 15000 feet jump, instead of 18000 feet - to save $60. I'm glad I decided to go for the 18K(4 miles), that gives an extra 30 seconds freefall. The freefall would now last 90 seconds and then we would parachute down to the land.
We went to the landing ground and waited for the 1st 2 groups to finish the jumps. As we were watching the 2nd group's flight take off, we saw the flight slowly vanishing into the sky - giving us a glimpse of how far we would go. We couldn't see the jumpers until they opened the parachutes and I loved to see how beautifully they flew around before landing gracefully on the land. My excitement started to grow.
My instructor(a man in his 50s or 60s) jumped twice before he took the flight with me. I wore the harness that would connect me to the instructor and got onto the flight. The cameraman beautifully captured all the moments, even as I was walking to the flight. I was eager to get all the instructions correct, that I didn't have time to be afraid or excited. I wore my goggles and went to the door in a crouching position. I think staying in this position would give the instructor a better control while jumping out of the flight. Just as I jumped out of the flight, I was filled with joy and amazement. I was in complete awe. I was falling towards the earth at a speed of 120 mph(or maybe more). After a few seconds, the instructor deployed the drogue parachute(a very tiny parachute to slow the freefall speed), and asked me to open my hands.
The cameraman then floated around us and took many photos. I held his hand and all 3 of us floated together for a few seconds. It reminded me of the human chain formations in the sky that I used to watch in television when I was young. All of us were falling towards the earth, but it only felt like floating. I could feel the wind on my face, but it still felt like floating.
I BELIEVE I CAN FLY.....
The instructor then made us spin around for 3-4 times, though I really couldn't feel it when I was there. I realized this only when I saw the video later. Those 90 seconds of freefall was really amazing. The cameraman was always near us(I wonder how he managed to maneuver himself) and I kept smiling at his camera(you can see the result in the photos). Suddenly I realized that I'm really flying and then I looked at the land below. It was such an incredible feeling.
How many times I've looked at birds and wondered how it would be to fly like them. Here I was, flying(actually falling.....LOL) high up in the sky, I just can't find words to describe how ecstatic I was.
The instructor kept a watch on the altimeter(measures the altitude) and deployed the parachute. The moment he opened it, we were pulled upward (or maybe I felt so because of the sudden drop in speed, not sure) and then once the parachute opened completely, we started descending slowly. He then taught me how to operate the parachute. To move left, I had to pull the left side strap(attached to the parachute strings) towards my shoulder. To move fast, I had to pull it to my hip. When I pulled it to my hip, the parachute actually tilted and it gave us a beautiful spin on the left side. The instructor then took control of the parachute.
After the freefall, this slow descending seemed dull and boring. This was the time for me to enjoy the "bird's eye view" of Monterey Bay area.
As we came down, the instructor taught me how to make a smooth landing. I landed correctly in a sitting position. When he asked me to get up, I couldn't because I was laughing like crazy. I was laughing for another 3-4 minutes. It's an incredible feeling to fall from a flight and fly like a bird.
I'm glad I was not afraid even for a single moment, that would have ruined this whole experience. I am grateful to the instructor who takes such a huge risk with beginners like me. The cameraman also did wonderful in capturing these moments - worth the extra money for video and photo shoot($89).
When I was young, I never dreamed of flying in an airplane, forget about diving from it. Life always has its surprises and I love it.
Life is Beautiful!!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
3 months after Anaadhi
It has taken 3 months for me to even grasp a little of what's happening after Anaadhi.
After Anaadhi, I traveled to India and Singapore - 2 months of pure family time. In the last one month, I had a lot of time to myself.
Everything seems unimportant. Except for one instance of extreme anger, my emotions are not intense. Even when I was angry and expressing it,I could see the whole thing as a movie - happening outside of me. There were a few days when I was bursting with Devotion. Mostly I feel blissful and untouched by external situations.
I used to be a determined, hard-working person. Both these qualities don't seem to define me anymore. I used to feel guilty very easily. Even that doesn't happen nowadays. Before Anaadhi, if I skipped my practices, I would beat myself up and feel so guilty. Not anymore. I know very clearly that I need to do my practice, but I don't feel bad for missing. I know that I'm not the doing the correct thing, but no determination or guilt helps me to do my practice. The realization of what has been offered to me is what makes me do the practices. The more aware I am, the more connected I'm with nature (especially the Sun), the better it is, for my practices.
I'm not a nice person now. I've always tried to be nice with people regardless of how I feel deep inside, but not anymore. The truth is just blurting out of my mouth in a confident tone (might look aggressive to some people).
So everything that's defined who I am is not "me" anymore. So I get confused. However, even this confusion does not worry me.
Yesterday I realized what this could mean. Have I become a clean slate? Of course, there are many more qualities that still define who I am, but the moment I am aware of that, I lose that quality. As I write this, I don't know even if this is true. I feel like I can now be defined using certain terms(subtle qualities) that were never 'me'.
All of my qualities that were deep rooted are not strong anymore.
What does all this mean? What should I do in this life? How should I be? Confusion suddenly led to a realization that this is how I can create my life the way I want it. Rather I should now be able to face Life "as it is".
Just go with the flow of the river that is LIFE. Be like water that takes the shape of the vessel in which it is contained.
I have not done anything to be like this. Sadhguru has led me to this point, holding my finger and gently guiding me. There were times when he had to drag me along as I struggled with all that is "me".
Oh Shiva! I'm so blissed out with your GRACE. This insignificant person that I am, I have no way to express my gratitude, because nothing is close enough to how I feel.
SHAMBHO!
After Anaadhi, I traveled to India and Singapore - 2 months of pure family time. In the last one month, I had a lot of time to myself.
Everything seems unimportant. Except for one instance of extreme anger, my emotions are not intense. Even when I was angry and expressing it,I could see the whole thing as a movie - happening outside of me. There were a few days when I was bursting with Devotion. Mostly I feel blissful and untouched by external situations.
I used to be a determined, hard-working person. Both these qualities don't seem to define me anymore. I used to feel guilty very easily. Even that doesn't happen nowadays. Before Anaadhi, if I skipped my practices, I would beat myself up and feel so guilty. Not anymore. I know very clearly that I need to do my practice, but I don't feel bad for missing. I know that I'm not the doing the correct thing, but no determination or guilt helps me to do my practice. The realization of what has been offered to me is what makes me do the practices. The more aware I am, the more connected I'm with nature (especially the Sun), the better it is, for my practices.
I'm not a nice person now. I've always tried to be nice with people regardless of how I feel deep inside, but not anymore. The truth is just blurting out of my mouth in a confident tone (might look aggressive to some people).
So everything that's defined who I am is not "me" anymore. So I get confused. However, even this confusion does not worry me.
Yesterday I realized what this could mean. Have I become a clean slate? Of course, there are many more qualities that still define who I am, but the moment I am aware of that, I lose that quality. As I write this, I don't know even if this is true. I feel like I can now be defined using certain terms(subtle qualities) that were never 'me'.
All of my qualities that were deep rooted are not strong anymore.
What does all this mean? What should I do in this life? How should I be? Confusion suddenly led to a realization that this is how I can create my life the way I want it. Rather I should now be able to face Life "as it is".
Just go with the flow of the river that is LIFE. Be like water that takes the shape of the vessel in which it is contained.
I have not done anything to be like this. Sadhguru has led me to this point, holding my finger and gently guiding me. There were times when he had to drag me along as I struggled with all that is "me".
Oh Shiva! I'm so blissed out with your GRACE. This insignificant person that I am, I have no way to express my gratitude, because nothing is close enough to how I feel.
SHAMBHO!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Devotion
When I was young, I tried to be devotional. My grandmother taught me devotional songs and how to pray. It was nice, but it wasn't true. I think I only "tried" to be devotional.
Now I tasted and experienced Devotion in such a beautiful way. Devotion is just a feeling like "Love" or "Anger". It's how I feel within and is not oriented towards anyone or any object, just like Love.
When I'm loving, I love everyone around me. When I'm devotional, I feel devoted to everything around me - no wonder we are capable of worshiping a tree, animal or even a pebble.
Now I tasted and experienced Devotion in such a beautiful way. Devotion is just a feeling like "Love" or "Anger". It's how I feel within and is not oriented towards anyone or any object, just like Love.
When I'm loving, I love everyone around me. When I'm devotional, I feel devoted to everything around me - no wonder we are capable of worshiping a tree, animal or even a pebble.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
pre-Anaadhi
From a dear friend - beautiful birthday gift :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
a certain conviction it takes
straight to be with life
to traverse the depths
of seemingly simple surfaces
painful it is, a lot of times
worthless it seems, many a time
to stick on in the thick of temptation
it does take a lot
that conviction you earned this life,
may you know it to its depths
the time is ripe
the guide is wise
into the ninety day cocoon
a very timely birthday gift
a little less thought
and you are all set for the ride
another year just rolled off
but the realm of the timeless cares less!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
a certain conviction it takes
straight to be with life
to traverse the depths
of seemingly simple surfaces
painful it is, a lot of times
worthless it seems, many a time
to stick on in the thick of temptation
it does take a lot
that conviction you earned this life,
may you know it to its depths
the time is ripe
the guide is wise
into the ninety day cocoon
a very timely birthday gift
a little less thought
and you are all set for the ride
another year just rolled off
but the realm of the timeless cares less!
Thursday, April 08, 2010
எப்படியோ...நல்லது நடந்தால் சரி
Old man said "I don't have any children. I don't have any other commitment. So I can dedicate my life to do something good for this society"
Young man said "I want to dedicate my life to do something good for this society. So I won't have any children or create any new commitments in life"
Young man said "I want to dedicate my life to do something good for this society. So I won't have any children or create any new commitments in life"
Friday, March 12, 2010
Irony
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8557215.stm
What an irony - KSBC is opening hospitals specialising in treating alcohol-related problems. So you first market alcohol, get people drunk and then open hospitals to fix problems - now this will be the non-profit venture of this corporation.
Reminds me of a conversation with a friend. I was listening to a radio show where the host was interviewing a Pastor who is helping gangsters come out of their gangs and lead a better life. One service that he offers is tattoo removal. My friend commented "Interesting, first you open a tattoo business, attract gangsters and tattoo all over their body. Then start another business for tattoo removal". I felt bad when he said that because I really appreciated the efforts of this Pastor. When you look at the society as a whole, yes, it might look as though you create problems in one side and then fix it - all the while making money.
What an irony - KSBC is opening hospitals specialising in treating alcohol-related problems. So you first market alcohol, get people drunk and then open hospitals to fix problems - now this will be the non-profit venture of this corporation.
Reminds me of a conversation with a friend. I was listening to a radio show where the host was interviewing a Pastor who is helping gangsters come out of their gangs and lead a better life. One service that he offers is tattoo removal. My friend commented "Interesting, first you open a tattoo business, attract gangsters and tattoo all over their body. Then start another business for tattoo removal". I felt bad when he said that because I really appreciated the efforts of this Pastor. When you look at the society as a whole, yes, it might look as though you create problems in one side and then fix it - all the while making money.
Watching a live basketball game
I was at the Oracle Arena last night to watch a basketball game between Warriors and Blazers. This is my first time in a basketball court. I've watched 2 baseball games, but other than that, I've never been to any games. I enjoyed the game, but more than that I enjoyed watching the spectators(not all of them looked like fans).
In the first half, I was surprised to see that people were not very excited about the game. Some of them looked like they didn't have anything better to do on a Thursday evening, so decided to come here. They didn't seem much interested in the game. However, this changed in the 2nd half - one small group of Blazers fans were making lot of noise. So the whole stadium started making noise supporting the Home team.
During the break, I noticed that balloons were distributed to fans in one section. These people were sitting right behind one basket. Later I realized that this was a deliberate move to distract the Blazers from scoring points. Whenever, the Blazers team were trying to score a point, the fans would wave the balloons to distract the player.
Also, the music that was played when the teams tried to score was different - a motivating cheering music for the Home team and a boring drum beat for the Blazers.
When the home team got a 3-pointer, it was flashed on the screen, but when the visiting team scored a 3-pointer, nothing happened, just their score was updated.
All this was really shocking to me, I was fine with the fans supporting their home team, but the whole environment was against the Blazers. It was funny though when I realized what they were doing.
Cheerleaders, dancing girls, the Flying Warriors(who jumped on a trampoline, did some acrobatics before throwing the ball into the basket) and some clown like people entertained the fans during breaks. There were free t-shirts, pizzas, sandwiches and other gifts that were thrown randomly to fans who made the biggest noise.
The game as such was good - Warriors were in the lead mostly, but towards the end lost by 5 points. It was a good experience on the whole :)
In the first half, I was surprised to see that people were not very excited about the game. Some of them looked like they didn't have anything better to do on a Thursday evening, so decided to come here. They didn't seem much interested in the game. However, this changed in the 2nd half - one small group of Blazers fans were making lot of noise. So the whole stadium started making noise supporting the Home team.
During the break, I noticed that balloons were distributed to fans in one section. These people were sitting right behind one basket. Later I realized that this was a deliberate move to distract the Blazers from scoring points. Whenever, the Blazers team were trying to score a point, the fans would wave the balloons to distract the player.
Also, the music that was played when the teams tried to score was different - a motivating cheering music for the Home team and a boring drum beat for the Blazers.
When the home team got a 3-pointer, it was flashed on the screen, but when the visiting team scored a 3-pointer, nothing happened, just their score was updated.
All this was really shocking to me, I was fine with the fans supporting their home team, but the whole environment was against the Blazers. It was funny though when I realized what they were doing.
Cheerleaders, dancing girls, the Flying Warriors(who jumped on a trampoline, did some acrobatics before throwing the ball into the basket) and some clown like people entertained the fans during breaks. There were free t-shirts, pizzas, sandwiches and other gifts that were thrown randomly to fans who made the biggest noise.
The game as such was good - Warriors were in the lead mostly, but towards the end lost by 5 points. It was a good experience on the whole :)
Monday, March 01, 2010
Love between husband and wife
When I got married, I was so against the rituals and thali and everything else, because no one gave me any acceptable explanations. When I saw wives wearing 'thali', but in an unhappy marriage, I was only confused. Here, I finally realize that there is a meaning to it, though it's not done properly these days :-(
And what an amazing explanation on the relationship - especially how to handle it when the chemicals stop working :-)
Friday, February 19, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
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