Swine Flu

• Swine Flu is a contagious respiratory disease that affect pigs
• The flu virus, including this one – a type A/H1N1 flu virus, is most commonly spread in liquid droplets made airborne by coughing or sneezing.
• When the flu spreads person to person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to treat or fight, because people have no natural immunity.
• Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
• There is currently (as of April 27, 2009) no vaccine for swine flu.
• The acting head of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Dr. Richard Besser suggests " Americans planning to go to Mexico should put off their trips"

Possible Preventive Measures (Suggestions)

• Wash hands with soap or alcohol-based sanitizers
• Cover your mouth while sneezing or coughing
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth
• avoid contact with sick people
• Wear a face mask.

Stay safe out there.

Golden Dragon Acrobats - Miller Theater Houston

It was a rainy evening and Me, Manasee, Manasee's mom, Ranjani, Charan and Madhu were pleasantly surprised by the "Golden Dragon Acrobats" performing at the Miller Outdoor Theater. I am not even going to try to put my astonishment in words. Here it is...Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Bad planning - Forgot to bring my video camera and hence the poor quality of the videos.

Act - 01



Act - 02



Act - 03



Act - 04



Act - 05



Act - 06



Act - 07



Act - 08



Act - 09



Act - 10



Act - 11



Ramji

Professor Shoots 3 in Georgia

News about a professor of Marketing and Distribution shooting 3 people outside the University of Georgia campus. "George Zinkhan" a man in his early 50's is searched for killing 3 people. The police department in investigating this and the campus police is assisting the city cops.

RIP

Bull Shit - Sharia in Pakistan

Yes - that is right - Bull Shit is all I can say about Taliban trying to enforce "Islamic law aka Sharia" in Pakistan. What is the problem with people who think Islam calls to violate Human Rights?

I mean - being an ordinary human being blessed with below par writing skills - I am not able to express my disgust and anger through my words. Who on the face of mother earth gave these guys the right to violate woman. Just because these guys have dicks (or don't have one)- it does not mean that they can treat woman like the way they want to.

ughh - Taliban treating women - the mere thought makes me lose my appetite and makes me extremely angry. What the hell is Pakistan doing with all the military and the artillery they have. When some one calls "Democracy" non-Muslim - it sends a crystal clear message to the whole world - "WE DO NOT CARE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS!!!".


All said and done - folks in Pakistan are like brothers and sisters to my kin (my wife would strongly disagree). I am scared for them in my neighbouring country. All I can do is to pray to God for peace in Pakistan.

Peace.

Homicide in Maryland - April 18, 2009 (contd...)

After some investigation over the last 2 days, the police department has come up with some information about this horrible incident. Christopher Wood had a 460,000 dollars debt in the form of unpaid bills and an unsold home in Florida.

Even though he was earning 97,000 dollars a year, Christopher had huge financial problems and hence lots of stress. As he was extremely frustrated with the situation - he had to resort to killing his whole family and in the end committing suicide also. Looks like he was under medication for depression and stuff.

Death - 5
Reason - Debt.

RIP

Homicide in Maryland - April 18 2009

In Maryland, Christopher Wood, 34 killed his wife and 3 children on April 18. After this act of mercilessness - he kills himself also.

From CNN - I infer that he was working for a decent sized corporation. While the cops are conducting their investigation in that Maryland house - they have found several weapons and a shot gun also.

Looks like Christopher has left around 4 notes before committing this crime. Whatever the reasoning may be - this is unacceptable.

RIP

Dumb or Not?

Me and Manasee were at the Abercrombie and Fitch showroom at the Galleria in Houston trying to return a shirt Saye had gifted. We had picked the replacement clothing and were standing in the line.

There was a cute girl from another country in the line 2 customers ahead and she turns to the couple in front of us and she was wondering if she had picked the correct perfume. The shop smelt of that perfume and she was confused if it smelt too much like a man. As I was also listening intently to the conversation - looks like it was a unisex perfume. I did the evil eye hook thing and let it go. Just a few minutes earlier - me and manasee were in the same predicament - now I felt less dumb.

Ramji

Writing for Money?

Does it take the fun out of it? I have heard 2 things very similar to this and very interesting too. Me and Manasee were watching "Friends" and Phoebe goes - "Playing guitar for money - uughhh - that will kill the fun out of it. Smelly cat got only 25 cents and a condom and the other one got $1.75. I cannot do this!!!"

I was talking to "Jose" from Electronics this afternoon and he is a great cook, from what I hear from my colleagues. Since the work has slowed down in that department he started selling Steaks and he did pretty well also. While we were talking, in complete dejection he said " I think I should open a restaurant and be done with Praxair Electronics". I encouraged him and after a couple of minutes - he said "I love cooking and if I open a restaurant, that will kill the fun".

God spoke through these 2 people and I agree with the fact that "Writing for money" might kill the fun out of it.

Shootings & Killings in the USA

I am troubled by the recent amount of killings using a Gun in the USA. It is understandable that these are wide spread and are not connected to each other in any ways, but - I am disturbed nevertheless. I am going to try and keep a log of these things to understand if there is any set pattern for these things.

RIP

Damage

I woke up at 7:00AM this morning and that is late by 15 minutes. Manasee rolls into the comforter and asks me - "What are you going to do now?". I replied, "Just shower up and get ready". That is exactly what I did. As I got ready, the sweetie reminded me of something that I had asked her to remind me and we had to do a lil search which did not take long at all. Got that figured out with a bowl of cinnamon crunch in my hand. They make those cereals really good.

Manasee also reminded me about my morning snack and we got ready to head out. As I left the apartment and stepped outside - the cold breeze invited me and said "Good Morning Sunshine!!!". Loved it and told myself that this one is going to be a decent week. We strolled down the stairs and I walked past my car to place all my belongings in the trunk and I saw it.

A footprint on the right side of the car hood. A big dent on that side and my heart sunk. Remember that commercial where a guy walks up to his car to witness a mess earlier - same feeling. A thousand thoughts fleeted my mind and all I could do was to smile about it to her and asked her to go back to the apartment. I stepped on the gas and started thinking about the damage and I am still thinking about it. Reported a claim and I am contemplating whether to report this to the police.

Is Houston a good Sports town?

Houston Rockets, Astros, Texans - we have all 3 of the major sports in this country represnted. Are we good? Rockets have been to the playoffs the last 2 years and have lost in the first round. Astros - made it to the playoffs some 5 years ago and that is it. Texans - we are trying to make sure that we end up with a winning season and that is it.

Does this make us a good sports town? May be, may be not. When anyone talks about Sports - all I can think of are the 3 I have listed earlier. What about College sports, High school sports, NASCAR stuff, lacrosse, Golf, Houston Aeros and of course the great Houston Dynamos - I don't even have a clue about all this. Do I enjoy being in Houston with respect to my town's sports - No.

I really want to be a hardcore Rockets fan - But I have been trying for about 2 years now and I am still not there. Why? They are not deep enough to make a run in the playoffs. I am an outsider and for me to be a fan of Houston - They need to prove it, they need to be more exciting and provide a reason for me to watch them, other than - "You are a Houstonian".

I am waiting for that golden era when Houston will be the next LA or Boston.