Lesson for Renters

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In essence: buying home is the best option. 

If buying is prohibitive , renting home or condo is always better option than renting apt .

Movies I watch

Long time ...
Check out what movies i have been watching these days.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pW0TDuy1ynPQppxjr9WIUEA

Ike finally hits

TI is laying off 300 employees. a very sad news.
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/10/20/daily23.html

Nationwide statistics

by military expenditure:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_exp_dol_fig-military-expenditures-dollar-figure
By Airforce personnel:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_air_for_per-military-air-force-personnel

List of countries by armed forces. Proud to see India at top#3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_size_of_armed_forces

Maathinalli Helalarenu...

Beautiful song from Bombat movie.

Ee vesha nodabeda

one of my favourite song from Narada vijaya.

Get this widget | Track details | eSnips Social DNA

'Bombat' music !

Yet another marvelous album from Mano Murthy.
http://bellitere.com/2008/07/bombat.html#msuicreview
http://www.kannadaaudio.com/Songs/Moviewise/home/Bombaat.php

Kannada MP3 songs for download and Internet Radios

I recently wanted to burn a Kannada MP3 CD to listen with 600 W Sony XPLOD.
I know lots of kannadigas out there do lots of googling to find the Kannada songs to download.
Here is the _simple_ way to download. You will find almost all, including latest, songs. http://music.cooltoad.com/music/category.php?id=10285&order=newest

When I become RICH I would consider buying CDs from http://www.kannadastore.com/

There are couple of radio channels :
1. http://www.shreegandha.org/
Windows Media player
Winamp
2. http://www.kannadaaudio.net/
3. http://www.kannadatorrents.com/
Last two seems to be out of service. hope they will come back with bang!

mast maja maadi
Jai hind Jai karnaataka maathe.

Coke and Teeth

Sodas promote bacterial growth in the mouth to produce a very favorable environment for cavity development. Coke would lead to rapid tooth decay.

I don't want my fine teeth yielding to cavity. No more coke!

Technologies could not save 15k+ people

Today when i tuned into CNN IBN, i was shocked to hear about the deadliest Myanmar disaster. I felt sad. Then I was wondering what is the benefit of all the TECHNOLOGIES we human claim to possess if the same TECHNOLOGIES could not save more than 15000 people.

What are we achieving with all the technologies, let's look at few examples.
We built artificial satellites but their effective use is for TV broadcasting and for telecommunications relays which are money minting applications. We do have weather monitoring satellites but not as many as comsats. Our TV and Internet never breaks but we always fail to predict weather !

We have invented atomic technologies, but the same was mostly being used for making nuclear weapons and hardly for energy requirements(though, not effective).

Recently lot of industries, organisations and companies have turned their attention to 'GO GREEN' buzz. Those organisations are promising their customers to provide 'Eco friendly' products and services. But the agenda is clear, to take advantage of concerns over global warming effect. The companies claim innovation targeted only at their business.

Are the technologies really helping to address basic problems of human lives or are they driven by mere BUSINESS.

validity of Indian driver's license in Texas

most of the Indians who come here to work in Texas does not know this information.

1) How long can I drive with an out-of-country driver license?

Generally, a person 18 to 75 years of age with a valid out-of-country driver license in their possession may drive a private, non-commercial motor vehicle in the State of Texas for up to one year from date of entry into the United States, if their home country has reciprocity with the U.S.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/driver_licensing_control/faq/answers_dl_id.htm#q51

India has the Reciprocity relation with USA.
http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=37&pt=1&ch=15&rl=91

Though, the Texas driver's license is good to have as this is the ID in Texas.

Blog split

I have created new blog exclusively for Linux and technology.
http://linuxbytes.blogspot.com/

Pride and Prejudice - 1995 TV serial from BBC

Pride and Prejudice is the most famous of Jane Austen's novels and one of the first romantic comedies in the history of the novel. The novel has been the subject of numerous television and film adaptations — this was the sixth adaptation for the BBC alone.

This version of Pride and Prejudice is simply outstanding and excels in essentially every aspect. It is faithful to the book, particularly capturing the spirit of the book and the energy and constant tension of the story. It excellently portrays the world of the book as it relates to the story. This timeless tale of hate that blossoms into love is as good as it gets.

It is its faithfulness to the original that makes this drama so good. No one has ever written a more tightly plotted novel. Its series of climaxes make the novel difficult to put down; just as one plot-line reaches its climactic conclusion, another is building. And the duel of wits and sharp dialogue between Darcy and Elizabeth as they get to know each other is entrancing. And then comes that moment. She is at the piano befriending Darcy's sister, Georgiana, when he holds her gaze with a silent declaration of his love and admiration. This involved a fine piece of editor-timing.

Moreover, the actors were on the whole outstanding. I fail to see how anyone could have portray Darcy better than did Colin Firth, who perfectly captured the character's aristocratic refinedness, his shyness and sense of decorum that come across as apparent stuffiness and disdain, and his underlying passion, all at the same time. He perfectly blends all these different traits and is utterly convincing in portraying the outward stiffness as a simple facade for the strong emotions and character underneath, rather than simply being stiff and wooden. His looks, and especially his eyes, say so much of the complexity of his character and his feelings with subtle expressions. Similarly Jennifer Ehle excellently portrays Lizzie, showing her to be tender, witty, thoughtful, occasionally prone to strong judgments without all the information, yet trying to grapple with different feelings as her involvement with Darcy, et al., progresses.

I would recommend this miniseries to anyone, especially those not yet familiar with Austen. This specific miniseries is so well done many people I have watched it with have sparked incredible interests in the intrigues of Austen's works. Good job BBC!

Preview this series at http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/prideandprejudice
For more information about this series : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice_(1995_TV_serial)

ಸುಭಾಷಿತ

Last week, one of my friend forwared this sanskrit apothegm:

ಅನ್ನ ದಾನಂ ಪರಂ ದಾನಂ ವಿಧ್ಯಾದಾನಮತಃ ಪರಂ
ಅನ್ನೇನ ಕ್ಷಣಿಕಾ ತೃಪ್ತಿಃ ಯಾವಜ್ಜೀವಂ ಚ ವಿದ್ಯಯಾ

-ಸುಭಾಷಿತ ರತ್ನ ಭಂಡಾಗಾರ

ಅನ್ನದಾನವು ದೊಡ್ಡ ದಾನ. ಆದರೆ ವಿದ್ಯಾದಾನವು ಅದಕ್ಕಿಂತಲು ಮಿಗಿಲು.
ಅನ್ನದಿಂದ ಒಂದು ಹೊತ್ತು ತೃಪ್ತಿಯು ಸಿಕ್ಕರೆ ವಿದ್ಯೆಯು ಆಜನ್ಮವೂ ತೃಪ್ತಿ ಕೊಡುತ್ತದೆ.

So knowledge share maadi !

Little Becky

Watch it,this little girl is nuts! Note the beautiful Irish accent.
The Irish accent is one of the world’s most beautiful, and nobody knows it better than the Irish.

WINDOWS VISTA AERO VS LINUX UBUNTU BERYL

3D desktop is amazing. Kudos to Beryl and Ubuntu. These softwares doesnt require special hardware requirements as by Vista.

Visit this site for how to get it: http://doc.gwos.org/index.php/BerylOnEdgy

Try yourself and have fun !

Parva - Mahabharata in realism !

After all, how many times are such brilliant masterpieces written?

As I pondered at the end of the book, there is this just one question. If this is what the author aimed, I bow to him for, I too have changed. Emptiness beyond the deepest well had overtaken me too at the end of this fascinating book. Beyond the waves, the rain, the silence, laid the emptiness of having accomplished something. I was almost there to witness the silence of the war, the thundering of clouds, the violence of rain, and the anger of waves upon the lands that fought the war in the name of Dharma. An empty feeling had over taken me as I reached the end of the book.

There in lies the beauty of the book. It captivates and holds you with such fervor that not for a moment do you think are in the present, but always a feeling that you are with them, seeing it, feeling it. Sheer Brilliance! It must be said, the masterful stroke of this book lies in the last 15 pages, describing events following the war. Every frame of the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas stay on in the mind long after you have read the book. Every incident, from Kunti’s monologue on the birth of Pandavas to the final walk led by Krishna to the Palace, each incident holds your breath, holds your mind and soul. Every single dialogue, be it a monologue, dialogue, introspection or plain description of events, each of them has been dealt with a hand of a genius.

The feelings of Draupadi are as magical as the Bhishma’s introspection of his life in the war. The pangs of Kunti for Karna is as much vivid as Gandhari’s love for him. Duryodhana’s questions are as interesting and complex as Shukha’s interpretation of life. The language of Bhyrappa is indeed amazing in the way he brings out the complex emotions which every character faces in the book.

In short, Parva is a Mahabharatha in realism. Every character is a human, and every character is a complex character feeling a gamut of emotions be it jealousy, anger, forgiveness or just politic. Pandavas fight amongst themselves as much as each of them introspects into their own lives and their decisions, giving rise to several important questions of basis of the epic. There are no gods here; there are no demons here, but just humans. Krishna is as much a human as much as Ghatokacha is a human of another kind. The author disproves any kind of Godly references the normal Mahabharata refers to, and thereby gives his work a rational perspective as well as a historical insight into the life of those times. The author, S.L. Bhyrappa backs his work with superior research going well into 7 years of hard work. Parva is an interpretation of Mahabharata in realism with ordinary people, rulers and clans.

Parva has been the most discussed and applauded among all of his novels. It narrates the social structure, values and the mystery of mortality in the epoch of Mahabharata very effectively. Bhyrappa reconstructed Mahabharatha from sociological and anthropological angle, through metaphors in this novel.

Parva is considered to be the best work by him. I thought I had read the best of books in this world when I laid my hands upon such a piece.

Parva is not just a masterpiece; it’s a brilliant masterpiece.

Back to Blogs !!

After very long time, i am resuming blogging.

I am starting off with something very interesting. I have been thinking for long time about complexities involved in every aspects of our lives, let it be computers, living, technology, relationship etc.
...

I end my blog with a simple(?) question. how can we simplify our lives?