American Terrorism

I may be a little timid when it comes to politics, but I do understand that the incident that took place at Columbia University on 25th was simply atrocious, childish and un-professional on Mr. Bollinger’s part. I have no say in either country’s politics and am a neutral observer. But yet I feel the over-powering urge to comment on this childish behaviour.

But the way the Iranian President Ahmadinejad was literally insulted in public was simply a disgusting spectacle to watch. A respected and learned man such as Bollinger could have done without such petty word-wars, that too in his inaugural speech before the President had a chance to speak. But i must commend the President for tackling such horrid remarks diplomatically.

Mr. Bollinger should check his facts first. Iran isn’t the one and only country in this world that has ever used a nuclear weapon (no prize for guessing who the award goes to). This inhumane, uncultured act of terrorism  killed over 300,000 people and millions are suffering from its repercussions even now. Iran is not currently one of the leading causes of acts of terrorism the world over.  Israel, Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, various African countries… the list goes on… Or have you conveniently forgotten? Is Iran going to be added to this distinguished list very soon Mr. Bush?

Calling a person holding a doctorate an undereducated, illiterate and ignorant person is totally unwarranted. And when this is directed at the head of a state, it simply upholds the opposite of free-speech, democracy and humanity. It is an insult to a whole nation and its people. When a person makes such strong allegations, he should at the very least do some research. No wonder many countries all over the world are still doubtful about the power of democracy. Is this any way for a self-proclaimed World Leader and its prestigious institutions to act?

You decide – in reality- who really has a fanatical mindset, is ignorant, arrogant, illiterate and under-educated among the two…

Basics of Good Health

This is the Holy Month of Ramadan. This is the month of observing restraint. It is also an oppurtunity to restructure and renew one’s life as well as priorities. During this month, I traditionally pick one special topic and do minute research on it. This time, I picked fitness and health. Below are my findings which I hope will be helpful and meaningful to atleast a few of you.

First of all, my notion about health: getting your daily allowances of the required nutrients(internal) and having good skin coupled with a dynamite body/physique (external). My research flowed along these lines.

Aside from the essential nutrients like vitamins and other minerals, the food we eat consist of three basic components. These are Carbohydrates, Fat and Protien. The best thing you can give your body from among these three is protien. Protien helps in building muscles and regeneration. So that is definitely something you would need. Next is carbohydrates. The energy that we constantly require to do work is obtained from carbohydrates. So this would seem good. But there is a catch. Carbohydrates are converted to energy for your body only on a as-needed basis. If you do not use up enough energy (exercise?) the excess carbohydrates will be converted to fat. Which is bad, bad, bad! This brings us to Fat. As the name suggests, this is something that we should do without. I shouldn’t have to explain why. You have – in all probability – have already read a lot about the ill-effects of excess fat.

So, here’s my suggestion for maintaining a balanced diet: At the risk of sounding grandmotherly, I cannot stress enough that you “Eat a lot of Fruits and Vegetables”. This is not as bad as it sounds. At least one meal a day can be predominantly constituted of fruits and vegetables like: Apples, bananas, grapes, orange-juice, salad consisting of cucumbers, carrots and lettuce. These should provide you with enough nutrients. Plus they are fat-free and extremely tasty. What else could-you ask for.

Then I suggest you drink lots of cool/cold water. It has been proven that the body expends energy in trying to warm the water. It takes up about 96 calories of energy for a person who drinks the proverbial 8 glasses. Moreover, water flushes out the impurities and intoxicants from your body. Another good reason is that most of your body consists of water. Enough said.

Now to the external aspects. For me, the zenith of a good body is Brad Pitts amazing body in Fight Club, Snatch, Troy etc. (see pic). But before someone can even dream of achieving something similar, he has to know a lot. Like, Brad had gone on an intensive diet that saw his total body fat reducing to around 5%! You would have to be insanely committed to achieve something like that! But anyway, no harm in trying huh? Achieving a body somewhere in the vicinity of Brad’s six-pack touting frame is enough for me.

Here is how it can be achieved. The basic info you have to arm yourself with is that our body consists of muscles covered by fat. When we exercise, the fat gets converted to energy and is expended or absorbed by the muscles. But there are two kinds of exercise: Aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic is where you perform exercises like running, swimming and cycling (Cardio). Here, the fat is burned while you exercise. Anaerobic exercise is when you do exercises like wight training that directly affects your muscles by toning it through resistance training. In this case, the fat is burned hours after the exercise.

Here is how I would go about it. I would do a series of weight training like bench-presses, push-ups, curls, etc. to tone muscles. Various exercises can be done to tone muscles from all over your body. This brings the required shape and depth to your muscles. But if there is a coat of fat covering your body, these muscles won’t be visible. So, we have to get rid of the fat. The best way is a combination of a fat free diet and lots of cardio work-out.

I hope this article has shed some light into the intricacies that go into achieving that fab abs and gorg pecks. A lot, lot more information can be unearthed at this great site: EXRX.

Questions will be welcome….

The Rebirth of Cricket

Short. Fast. Colorful. Three terms that can be used to describe the new Twenty20 Cricket World Cup that is going on in South Africa. This new form of cricket that marks the third stage of evolution of the ‘Shepherd’s Game’ from 5-day tests to 1-Day Internationals (50 Overs) to just 20 Overs a side. The game has been compressed more and more by the passing of the ages.

But this is not a bad thing if the frenzy at South Africa around the Twenty20 World Cup is any indicator. The new form has proved to be a run-away hit. The stands are full. The organizers are happy. The spectators can look forward to watching matches, each one promising to be explosive to say the least. Just look at the number of sixes and fours that have been smashed in this World Cup alone. Yuvraj Singh has become the fastest run taker  smashing an incredible 50 off 12 balls in an innings that saw him hit every ball of an over for six (the poor bowler!).

I think the new form of the game is an excellent way to revive the game that was losing its sheen of late. The Twentry20 version of the game has truly given Cricket a new lease of life.

Sorry state of Communism in India

Communism in India is in an advanced state of decay. With all due respect to powerful leaders such as Sitaram Yechury and the likes, communism in India will only decay further. Every political party in the world has learned to progress with the times. But the communists in this country prefer to go back in time and clutch older values close to their heart.

I used to be a great fan of communism. The values and considerate social aspects of its politics were enduring and enigmatic. But not anymore. By not progressing with the times and holding on to outdated values, communism in India is killing itself. One example that shows this general suicide of the parties is when computers where introduced into Kerala – a southern state of India under the Leftist rule. When computers were introduced, the party frivolously objected saying that many people will lose their jobs to these machines called computers. And many party officials proceeded to destroy computers in the government offices and other establishments! And look how that is changing India for the better today.

Similarly, the US n-deal deserves mention. Moreover, the parliament is being continuously brought to a standstill by these criminals of politics and important bills (some that might even take precedence of the US n-deal) are starting to rust in the parliament. What good can this bring to the common man. Today, the communists are in a heightened sense of self-denial. They are too stubborn to admit that they could be wrong. They just want to utilise their political clout in the name of the common man – who doesn’t have the time or resources to think for himself – and blindly follows what these alleged social do-gooders say. Thus the communists have gained a sizable support to allow them such liberties.

But what the Communist parties should do is reform themselves. Make themselves open their eyes towards the inevitable change that is taking place all around them. The Congress party has, to an extent, been successful in achieving this (more or less). Their are thinking of the future generations and making plans accordingly. Even other communist countries like China are endorsing this forward view while only the Indian communists are moving backwards! Time to change Mr. Yechury. Time to change.

The other side of the coin

You might have already read a similar post. But why is Islam a hidden target in the fight against anti-terrorism? I know I’m treading dangerous waters here but I have to get it out of my system. Many people still believe that Islam is a religion of violence. Nothing is farther away from the truth.

Today marks the 6th year since the outrageous attack on the WTC took place. As you will no doubt already know well, this offence to the human race was commited by a ‘muslim’ organisation by the name of Al-Qaeda under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden. But his views are not those of a proper muslim. I should know. I am a muslim. Islam is never a religion of spite and vengence. The Islam I know (and most muslims all over the world follow) is a religion of peace and harmony. It promotes an environment where all people can live in total respect for each other.

The acts of the so-called muslim Osama Bin Laden stems from a religiously fanatic fundamentalism that is rare. A few radical leaders are all that is needed for any religion to commit acts of terror. No religion is free from fundamentalism. Such radical thoughts should be banned from the very roots that it springs from. Attacking a nation on these grounds will only create more of such radical fundamentalist leaders.

I implore each and every reader to realise that just because there are a few rotten tomatoes, we don’t stop eating tomatoes all together. Similarly, just because these so-called ‘muslims’ are rotten, not all muslims are the same. So, next time you see meet a muslim and wonder, “Is he a terrorist?”, please remember that these muslims are also peaceful and caring individuals who wouldn’t even dream of supporting a terrorist act let alone commit one.

India win Asia Cup 2007

Well, well, well. As much as I would like to say, “I told you so!”, I am restraining myself. Why? Because we all know that India has a curious way of proving you (or anyone, for that matter) wrong on a consistent basis. That’s what the country is all about and that’s why I love it so much.

What am I talking about? Today India won the Asia Cup 2007 by defeating South Korea. The score line speaks for itself: 7 – 2. This year’s Asia Cup has seen a dream run made by India. In the end, India ended the tournament with a jaw-dropping 57 goals without losing a single match and winning twice against South Korea. What’s infinitely more amazing is the fact that India achieved this while conceding just 5 goals! All this despite the fact that there were many established hockey teams like China and South Korea! A job well-done.

This coupled with the Nehru Cup win might just script India’s most successful Sporting year in a long while. All I can say at this juncture is let’s hope that all this new-found glory does not get to the players. Here’s wishing them all the luck.

Chak De India!

Environment-Friendly Google?

It seems the people in this world are all of a sudden, leaving no stone unturned in their quest to stem the breaking-down of the eco-system. The latest, is a news article I read about a variant of Google.com that is more friendly to the environment.

Blackle.com is the site that uses Google’s search engine technology albeit in a more environment friendly way. When I saw this, I instinctively asked myself: How the hell do you make a search engine environmentally friendly? Well, Blackle.com has the answers.

Apparently, the predominantly white background of the Google site is responsible for a lot of avoidable wastage of energy. Blackle.com works on the fact that a monitor uses relatively lesser energy (upto 20% less) to display a black (or dark) color when compared to the energy taken to display white (or light) color. Blackle.com is just Google with a black background. The creator says that the idea came when he read a post: Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year.  According to the post, a black backgrounded google could save around 3000 MegaWatt-Hours a year. Not insignificant by any means. I say, every bit counts. And as the post says, it is an environment-friendly approach that just takes changing a few color-codes. So why not?

The Indian Engineer

The making of the Great Indian Engineer is not an easy task. It is a collaboration of many disciplined and restrained efforts. It involves patience, suspension of reason, lotsa money and a will made of an alloy of titanium and diamond. Although an Indian engineering grad will look normal to the outside world, there will be 10 centuries worth of wisdom and knowledge between his years. We are trained never to let the world know of our amazing abilities lest we be labelled as the definitive Indian geeks.

An Indian Engineer’s training to take on the world starts as soon as he enters the college premises for the first time. He is made to feel a false sense of security by the seniors until the parents accompanying them have left the college compound. Then he is given a lecture by his seniors on words he never knew existed – like ****** ***, ****** and even ******** – and rules are laid down, which each and every new student will inadvertently follow letter for letter. This is the first and (usually) only legitimate class that actually takes place for the next four years!

After that, everything else learned is through self discovery. Life governing Philosophies are learned step by step from “Thy toothpaste is thy entire hostel’s toothpaste” slowly making its way up to “Thy undergarment is thy neighbour’s undergarment”. Privacy, to an engineering student, is only something that can be had in the toilet, and that too separated by a thin, hole-ridden wooden (make-shift) door with negligible sound (and smell) proofing.

Classes occur rarely and when they do, except for a few uninitiated ‘day-scholars’ and an unfortunate professor, the class will be empty. The teachers serve little purpose other than to act as scarecrows to keep the children away from the staff rooms. Innocent love-birds are seen chirping at every nook and cranny of the college campus. Studies are non-existent for the entire length of each semester.

The only time he studies – and this is what sets an Indian Engineer widely apart from other kinds of engineers – is on the day before the final University Semester examinations. In fact, some engineers are gifted with an abundance of skill such that even this last minute studying is rendered redundant and needless. That being said, I have seen some of the brightest students in the world in these Indian engineering colleges. The way their brain absorbs information will put even a sponge to shame!

Nights in a hostel are all about partying. Walk through the corridor of an Engineering students hostel at night and you will inadvertently -> hear sounds of gunfire (Counter Strike), listen to loud and deriding wise-cracks, ‘clinging’ of paper-glasses accompanied with all involved students yelling “cheers!” and see different colored smoke as if the hostel was on fire or something. But you will also see one or two students sitting alone with their books not minding any of the distractions on offer as if they were some social outcasts.

But no matter what happens, when the 4 years of engineering are up, the ordinary Indian boy that went into the college will emerge as The Great Indian Engineer with companies ranging from Wipro or TCS to Yahoo! and AMD fighting over them. This is the story of The Indian Engineer.

Bourne vs. Bond

Jason Bourne (a.k.a. David Webb) and James Bond. Two extremely talented spies. Intelligent, suave and improvising specialists. Both trained to kill and survive in the harshest of environments. But who do you like best?

I feel that if, by some quirk of fate, the two were to meet under hostile circumstances, and a gruelling fight ensued, Jason Bourne would be the winner. Hands down. I’m not saying our jolly old Mr. OO7 isn’t a good super-agent or anything. I like him. He’s sophisticated and gets all the women. But for sheer intelligence and technique, I’d have to root for Jason Bourne.  I guess I like him better.

His instinctiveness and ‘home-made’ solutions to escape out of seemingly impossible situations is simple beyond compare. Bond is more like the secret-agent’s action figure, whereas Bourne is down-to-earth and pushed to do what he does reluctantly. His actions are impulsive and he tries his best not to kill (unlike our swashbuckling Mr.007 with his gleaming license to kill). I definitely like Bourne better. What about you?

The New iPods Released

The new iPods have been released. Sporting a completely different look and packaged in a much more compact size, the new iPods have increased storage space. The old 30 GB storage space has been completely done away with to make way for the new 80 and 160 GB models. The new models also have wider screens. Fans all over the world have been waiting with bated breath for this update to the now ageing iPods. Check out the pictures here. Also released is the new iPod touch which basically looks like an iPhone without the phone features.

Check out the pics here…