Earth Capture of the Day

Blue Lake locked around Barren Land - Australia Credits to Google Earth

Truly Awesome!

Today I downloaded a copy of Google Earth (Beta) and tell u wat..I'm truly amazed by this piece of software that lets us to virtually dive in or fly around the globe. That's not all... Well,Instead of me restating wats already been said y dont u check out for urselves wat da makers of this kewl software have gotta say? Also, Be pre-warned that u need to have high-speed internet connection if u aren't one of the folks that's patient enuf to keep staring at the monitor, however , Wait not to jump over here..but do get bak ..:) I am yet 2 Xplore this tool ,nonetheless, I have already used this tool to capture a neat aerial view of the place where i live in (Lafayette). You might have already noticed that in the sidebar. Ain't it kewl? Update : Unfortunately, Google has closed this offering of the Beta Software but has promised to come back. One more quick software update b4 i quit..... :) Are u one of the many bloggers that have gotten discomfited by the default template editor (Blogger)? Then, Thank w.blogger coz thev' come up with a neat application that offers u different kinds of services to make ur blogging more easier than ever. Basically, it's an interface between u and the blogservice provider such as Blogger...sortaf like a FrontPage HTML editor for blogging...Check out da software and all the related info u wanna know abt this over here...btw, as u might have guessed, this post is partly powered by w.blogger.:) bloggin out krishna

A Kick-Ass Winamp Plugin

Just in case u haven't heard of or gotten ur copy of "Dolby-surround" DSP plug-in for Winamp, don't forget 2 check that out over here. It has got some real kewl features like "3D surround" that'll totally re-define the way u listen to music. bloggin out krishna

America on Red Alert

If I say that the lives of more than a quarter of people in the U.S is at stake ,would you believe me?..What if the source of info is Reuters?? U may bet ur head.. What do u think might cause something so dreadful? now,wait wait wait. I can see your thoughts drift towards disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes...but, this time, for a difference, death might show up it ugly face thru its avian messengers. Surprised U won't be ...had if u remembered this(tried to emulate Yoda,my favorite star wars character..:) ..More abt the news ova here. Having read that, would u start seriously thinkin' abt heading bak to India if u are in da US currently?;) bloggin out krishna

An Escape Into Nature

It was a lovely saturday morning with clear blue skies when I and my roomies' walked out of our stacked up apartment complex. Our destination..Sabine Wildlife Refuge .. It was gonna be a 150 mile drive down to the Gulf Coast. Little did we know (or shuld i say cared to know)abt wat's installed for us when we hit the un-interesting highway to Lake Charles ,a place pretty close to the park. All we wanted was a stress-relieving escape from our daily modus operandi. As we took LA-27 from Lake Charles and drove like 15 mins from there, we got totally impressed by the country side and the swamps. All of a sudden, the ruthless humdrum of our ride was kicked-off. I was wondering wat was so different abt the place that made it so pleasing. It was partly because of the absence of any sort of a man-made object. No billboards, no buildings ,very few people,nothing except grasslands, swamps ,flora ,fauna and nature untouched. Well,,we were already having fun..but there was more to come...We reached Sabine arnd mid-morning.Let me try and put in words the aura of the place..In the center of grass lands and swamps there stood the reserves' office girded by lovely trees that were adorned by Spanish mosses as they hung 5 feet from the branches. Disappointment Amidst Euphoria The fauna of the place was a huge disappointment. The place is supposed to be an alligator alley with lots of different kinds of birds. We hoped to see at least a few of 'em as we started the 1.5 mile nature trail but to our ill-luck they preferred to stay away from the hot sun (and from us) that was already taking the mercury up. We managed to spot a baby alligator deep underneath a shrub in the swamp and the mundane Red-Winged Black birds' that seemed to be following us all the way thru' the trail..:( Towards Blue Waters.. Yeah,,we decided to head towards a beach called as the Rutherford Beach which is like 25 miles from Sabine.From our past knowledge and from the comments of a couple that walked along with us in Sabines' nature trail, we concluded that most beaches in Louisiana are atypical and they shuld SUCK. But hey,,who cares man ...at least for the sake of adventure and for getting to see the blue waves of the ocean, we decided to head towards the gulf. We had to wait for another irksome half-hour b4 we are let into a barge that would get us us and our car to the other side of the Calcasieu lake that flushes into the Gulf. Apparently disgusted by the setback, I decided to take a walk around. I spotted a cow with horns turned up.Time to take a picture. Nothing would stop us now from hitting the beach after that and It was not so long b4 that .We got all set to have some Hydrofun but we were thwarted 'gain by a billboard that had an advisory for swimming ,owing to the increasing amounts of bacteria.As we walked over the beach sand, there was even more disappointment..this time not failing to get any worser.The waters were devoid of any blue.In fact, they were murky.We would'nt hang arnd there for long b4 we head back home. Finally, we would reach bak home after passing thru a heavy thunderstorm.The trip ,tho' lacking much excitement in the latter half was nonetheless relaxing and rejuvenating to our minds bloggin out krishna

Speakin abt Generations....and..(ahem)fallacies

Whom did i refer to whenenver I used the term "Gen-x"? I was refering to the current generation of folks (people that are pretty much of the same age group as mine) and in particular , folks that don't bother to give a damn ( so easily ) about all the kool stuff that our traditional has got.It's simply uncool for them.They prefer things that are currently in vogue.Well,That was my viewpoint. But,holy smokes,...Little did i know that I was actually misusing the term and I seek an apology for that :) Sorry Guys!.At least Technically speaking, the term that I should have been using is Gen-Y(or Generation Y). Equally surprised huh?..Jump onto this to know wat am talkin abt.. Credits to Sriram for questioning about my usage that actually got me to know my fallacy. bloggin' out krishna

Remembering The Maestro

Hello friends, Being a Music fanatic, I have always had a great passion for Carnatic Music.Understandably,Not everyone can get 2 enjoy the symphonies' of this form of music. Just like any other form of music, carnatic music is also artist driven. For eg. U might like listening to guitar riffs ,it's because u might have been inspired by artists like Pink Floyd and Dire Straits ( just an e.g) In a similar manner, when i say that I enjoy listening to carnatic music, it's simply because I was inspired by the man in the picture below.Thanks to my parents that did a great job by instilling stuff of this caliber right from my younger days. Madurai Mani Iyer- The Nada Yogi Popularly known to his fan group as Madhura Mani , Ganakaladhara Madurai Mani Iyer is not just another Carnatic Musician. Despite his physical ailment, he has captured the hearts of many people by his style of rendering krithis.So,what's so special about the music of this person ,a quality that even forces a pass by rikshawala to stand by and listen to his Kutcheri (concert)? 1. Simplicity In these days when it is not hard to find even highly trained musicicans struggle a lot to render the simplest of the krithis, U are awe-struck when u listen to Madurai Mani as he non-chalantly renders even the toughest of raagas. 2.Shudham (Purity) One remarkable quality MMI possesed is his ability to preserve the Raga Lakshanam(Quality of the Raga). U wudnt't find him let go of the swaras' haywire(abaswaram). 3. Swaras Playing around with the Saptha Swaras(Sa ri ga..) while preserving the quality of the raga is not an easy task. MMI is a master of weaving swaras.His Sarvalaghu style(principal basis of a tala) of rendering swaras is a quality possesed by very few artists like M.S Subbulakshmi. Some of my favorite songs of MMI include 1.Kana Kan Kodi Vendum ( Kamboji raga) 2.Vallabha Nayakasya (Begada) 3.Yochana Kamala Lochana (Durbar) 4.Meenakshi Memudum Dehi (Purvi Kalyani) 5.Sahasrakara Mandithe (Vachaspathi) 6.Kaa Vaa Vaa (Varali) ...the list keeps going A note to Gen-X: Appreciating the value of traditional and pure carnatic music takes some time. Initially, u wudn't like the sounds because ur ears might have got tuned to lots of different adulterated forms of music. Hence, U need to be patient to truly admire the masters like MMI.Try to get the hang of it. U can read more about MMI here. Don't fail to check out the music downloads. U can also find more downloads over here and here Have Fun bloggin out krishna Related Artists: Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagawathar, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Alathur Brothers, Maharajhapuram Viswanatha Iyer.

A Call to Gen-X

"Wat do we seek out of this life on Earth?" ....how much more philosophical can a question get? ..despite being aware that such a query will fend off many of the generation X from reading any further, I intend to investigate it hoping that some of u curious folks would reckon such an attempt to be rational. Simply put, we all seek Peace of mind. So, what is this "Peace of Mind" and How does it influence the way we live our lives? Am gonna TRY and keep things crisp and clean here. So. Cringe not..and keep reading...:) At any given point, our mind desires something (can be just about anything) and if we are skilled enuf to meet to its requirement ,we are pacified ,else, we continue our quest to conquer wat it wants. We are not totally certain about the results but we continue our quest hoping that the day will come..Note that this is a continual process.Orite,When does this search end?.. It happens , when we are totally fed up with life ,when we wud seek nothing but everlasting sleep or when we get 2 realize that certain things are pre-destined and are not meant for us (based on our karma) but as humans bound by our actions, the thirst for acquiring it would still remain buried deep inside continuing to bother us in some faintest way or other,which essentially means lack of piece in mind . Having said that, It's absolutely sane to think that no one cannot always have peace of mind in this world .Of course, we are not meant to have it always as humans. I know,I know,,u ask me.."y are u telling us sumthin that's been preached ova and ova by countless people?" Oh yeah..despite being preached relentlessly, have we learn't our lessons? We try our best in every possible way from attaining peace by making ourselves slaves of desires.Is there sumthin' that can be done abt it? Yes, there are extremely complex work arounds provided by the vedic scriptures that basically center around realizing (not just the knowledge) the self or the Brahman ,which is more than a gargantuan quest not easily accessible to a normal human but to people who transform themselves to perfect yogis by constantly seeking the true self. Coming to point,the path to peace of mind (Real Peace of mind) is multifolded 1. Knowledge about it. 2. Preparing ourselves for it by fine-tuning(purifying) our current nature by installing devotion for God in us ,if it is absent, and asking him to show us the right way to reach the Self(or peace of mind or God). This is like asking your teacher about how to become as good as himself or a better person than him. 3. Putting in efforts to reach the pinnacle of the realization and attainment of self (Mukthi or incessant peace of mind). Of the three phases ,only the last step is really that difficult ..but in order to reach the peak of the mountain of life ,u need to first hit its base camp. I am often dumbfound by the extent to which the current generation is ignorant about this very knowledge.Practicising Spirituality is something that is on a different and higher plane than just knowing spirituality. So, my fellow young minds, it is high time we realize the importance of hitting base camp at least before we grow old when we will have hoards of idle time to achieve the real elusive goal. Please note that this wouldn't give u the title of a "Spiritual Person" or a yogi. So,let's march forward in our quest by seeking to know about it,believe it,trust it and by choosing to perform noble-actions in order to purify ourselves.Compassion for fellow beings (including animals )and helping the needy ones are two such noble actions. so, the bottom line is , "Let us not befool ourselves by preferring not to know about what is really happening around us and let the world take on over us" As a final note,Let us always remember the mahavakya from the Upanishads ,"Aham Bramasmi" ( I am the Brahman) and seek to become that true form of ours,a form that has got peace writen all over it. bloggin out krishna

Discovering the OpenSource Beauty

Note: This blog is a bit lengthy and I request ur patience to read this. Today I did a really wonderful thing or I should say I was tempted to do it. On my way back to work after having my lunch on a calm afternoon, I thought it would be great if I spent some time in solitude . So, instead of habitually walking pass the lobby and pressing the elevator button to reach my workplace(something that I do zillion times a day), I stopped by the entrance of the lobby and I sat down in one of the wooden benches laid over a raised platform, amidst the trees and right beside the building. In a few minutes , I was witnessing the beauty of a totally different world, a world that knows nothing about what is happening around it. It knows nothing about wat we(humans) are doing in this world and in fact it is totally nescient:) . It just stays right there and does its job ..the job of standing still and sheltering many other worlds that are not just the same as it is but abuzz with seemingly incessant activity. As u might have already guessed, I was talking about a mundane tree,something that might get the least attention among students of my age (for that matter, anybody) including myself 'till now . We'd rather prefer ogling at gurlz ( am talkin abt guys..my apologies for being a bit gender sepecific) which, of course ,isn't something supernatural. Probably its because of the absence of them around the campus (as it is spring break .Thanks to their paucity),my attention got redirected to this tree,which ,by then would have felt proud if it had senses that someone is admiring its beauty. so,,wat was so beautiful about the tree? 1. Firstly, the tree ,by its virtue, was magnificent. It was a giant tree with many branches covered by some sort of a tree climber. 2. As it was a bright afternoon, the tree was shimmering with the glaze of sunlight gracefully descending from the sky. 3. The leaves of the tree were tango-ing around whenever they heard the music of an occasional breeze. 4. Different kinds of birds were making melodic tones as they were hovering around the trees without any protocol defined for them to abide to ( unlike us). Like this , I can keep on narrating the elegant and subtle beauties as I see them. At this point, u might me tempted to ask ,"Hang on dude..So, wat are u trying to tell us here??Everybody spends time with nature but its simply because u were jobless and u had time u were able to enjoy it. " It is very true that we like to hang around in parks and lakes whenever we find time. But do we really enjoy the beauty??? May be some of u guys really do but am pretty sure that there may also be a lot of folks that don't. Going to parks is one thing and really enjoying its beauty is a whole 'nother thing but from my experience today, I really don't find a necessity for us to go to parks and enjoy nature.Nature's beauty is boundless.Its Open Source. So, let's try to find ourselves out of the mundane work we do and get 2 enjoy this timeless beauty whenever possible and not restrict ourselves to hanging arnd in parks ,beaches and bla bla bla As a final note b4 I quit, this experience of mine triggered some baffling thing in me,something that I'd like to conceal 'till my next few posts for I have already stretched out this blog and because I am on the look out for answers b4 I can write about it. Also,I am open to both constructive and destructive criticisms from u guys.Please do leave a comment about it below. blogging out krishna Not all Open Source things are meant to be Geeky

Trust me .. U can read this post

" i cdnuolt blveiee taht i cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht i was rdanieg. the phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mind is amazanig. aoccdrnig to a rscheearch taem at cmabrigde uinervtisy, it deosnt mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. the rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. amazanig huh? yaeh and yuo awlyas thohgut slpeling was ipmorantt." Surprised Huh? This is due to the Primacy and the Recency effect. So, What does this imply? and How does this phenomenon could actually be used? Check that out over here. Couldn't help myself from blogrobbing..:) bloggin out krishna

BioDiesel To The Rescue

Extracting Diesel from plants..? Aren't you reminded of this scam that turned out to become a spotlight of the media in India sometime around the turn of the century? So was I when I skimmed thru' the title of this article. As u might have already checked out the article,for heavens sake, there is no school drop out involved in the seemingly exciting prospective of extracting diesel from plants.Thanks to the researchers from the University of Wisconsin. If the researchers manage to scale up their technique , we would be witnessing an amazing change in trend in the automobile industry for the good of our enviroment.Internal combustion engines in the commercial cars in the US would have to be obviated and replaced with Diesel Engine that would spew out far less pollutants. It feels great to see something happening that might well be the rescuer (at least to an extent) of the rottening environment. bloggin' out krishna

Tym 2 grab som kewl lingo

som kewl info 4 all u lingo frEkz. How abt a nifty on9 tool dat cooks ^ hot lingo 4 ur txt msgz?? "Transl8it" iz d tool dat duz aL d cooking .u cn also cvert lingo txt bak 2 normL eng. Kewl indeed? Ain't it havN sed aL dat , I relly do Xspec most of u guys wud actually b tempted 2 git DIS post cvertD 2 pln eng by d tool..hmm..Not a bad idea @ aL bloggin' out krishna Credits 2 : Transl8It 4 doin da cookin job and Life Hacker 4 providn d actual info

The Red Tide - Ain't No Martian Phenomenon

The Red Tide U might be wondering about the possibilities of such a thing happening on earth and hence i uploaded the pic above to convice u guys about a truly remarkable and bothersome phenomenon. The Cause -> Excessive growth of red algae that causes exponential bacterial growth,which inturn causes fishes to suffocate and die due to lack of oxygen The Consequences -> Stench odor all over beaches...imagine,..u are on a fun trip to LA and u are forced to stay indoors. Click here and here,if u wanna know more abt this tres bizarre stuff blogging out krishna Never venture out when u see the ocean red -Krishna

Nada Brahmam

I am and have always been a guy with a great zest for music. Despite being attracted to a wide spectrum of music ,I always enjoy listening to carnatic music more than any other form of music . So, what is so special in carnatic music? Is it because the songs were the works of the great composers like the Saint Tyagarajha, Muthuswami Dikshithar and Syama Sastri?Even there were great composers of Western Music like Mozart and Beethoven. Is it because they are composed in magnificient ragas? ...Even there are lots of songs ,especially in indian filmi music that are rendered on a plethora of raagas. or Is it because of the trained musicians that render the songs?? ...Musicians do enhance our listening experience especially if the song is rendered by an ace musician , but thats an additional add-on. What I think distinguishes and epitomizes Carnatic Music from others is the abundance of devotion. When divine music of this sort is rendered with devotion by a musician, the qualtity of the music is exalted. Dikshithar's Meenakshi Memudum dehi (especially the one rendered by Madurai Mani Iyer) and Tyagarajha's Jaganadhanandha karaka are two of such innumerous krithis. The apt medley of devotion , the raga bhava and the musicians' adeptness in rendering the song is the reason behind the experience that takes us to bliss.This experience that kindles the spiritual awakening in us can only be gotten thru' Carnatic Music-The Nada Brahmam. enjoy the divine music blogging out krishna Is there a sacred path than music and bhakti?". "O Mind, salute the gods of the seven notes" -Saint Tyagarajha

Tath Tvam Asi (Thou Art That)

hello folks, U might already be wondering what the title is .Some of u guys might have no clue about it .Some of u might have already known a great deal about it but I guess most of u guys might have heard about it but have no clear picture about what this famous saying tries to convey. So was I 'till now. O'rite, no more suspense... Tath Vam Asi is one of the six MahaVakyas that Upanishads of the Vedic System and is perhaps the most popular of them.Other Mahavakyas can be found here. So, What is is so great about this ? "Thou Art That" implies that we(Jeevathma) are all parts and parcels of the Lord (Paramathma) as it is artistically conveyed as "Paramaathmudu Jeevaathmudu" in Saint Tyagaraja's Krithi, JnanaMosagaradha in the extremely fitting Purvi Kalyani Raga. u might be already asking "wait a sec ,dude.. u mean to say that we are gods??" Not I,but the Upanishads. Let me try and explain this briefly. According to two popular school of thoughts of ancient india, VishishtAdvaita dares to explain us the subtle Truth conveyed in the phrase. For conveying some meaningful info to u guy ,I am forced to introduce a few vedic terms. Brahman: also refered as the Paramaathma ,the ever-lasting reality. Chit: A pure being that is sensitive Achit: material world Karma: Actions So says the Veda, " Before creation, there existed only the Brahman composing of Chit and Achit.Brahman decides to expand its components and so it expanded chit by giving it form,name etc according to its karma. Then Brahman got into chit and Achit".Hence,the Vedas say that Brahman is the material cause of the universe.hmm,,dont u sense something fishy going on???so, do i.:).. If the Brahman got into the chit and achit it should also be subjected to the influence of the karma. But the Vedas proclaim that the Brahman is "Untouchable".Sure it is 'coz the Brahman that got into Chit and Achit is not the same as Brahman itself. It is the Brahman with expanded Chit and Achits.Hence what actually expands and contracts is Brahman's forms and not Brahman itself. Thus,"We(You) are same as the Brahmin expanded" is the actual essence of "Tath Tvam Asi".Having said this, I'm still curious about y brahman wanted to expand in the first place?may be he wanted to see people trying so hard to understand some simple universal truth that has been conveyed in the vedas....just kidding..but I will be certainly be interested in knowing what u guys have to say? do leave me a comment More detailed explanation can be found here blogging out krishna Great indeed are the Gods who have sprung out of Brahman- Atharva Veda