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April 12, 2005
A Puff of Smoke
Isn't it weird (not annoying, not hurtful, but weird) to run into an individual, to whom you have not spoken in the past nine months, at a random bowling alley and elicit the sole, non-verbal response of a puff of smoke blown defiantly into your face; ironically, a proverbial puff of smoke started the entire saga in the first place. By the time the smoke disperses, any potential moments of contriteness that could have occurred have been cleared along with the haze, leaving you and Smokey to move on with your respective lives until the next time a puff of smoke (metaphorical or literal) brings you together momentarily only to push you even further apart.
07:37 AM in Personal | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
April 10, 2005
Optimist or Pessimist
It comes after
nine months…
And can go off in nine seconds
Pain and tears
accompany its coming
And usually, its
going too….
It doesn’t come
easily,
Neither does it go fast
Well begun is
half done, and not well-begun is undone..
To a pessimist,
life is a dark, gloomy mist
That didn’t begin
well, and neither ended well.
All you get in
life, he says –
Is pain, tears
and misfortune
Who’s happy?
Neither the rich nor the poor
Neither the
sinners, nor the saints
Human Life, a
pessimist claims, is a biological misfortune.
Well begun is
half done, says the optimist –
Who wants life to
begin well?
If by birth you
do half of what you want to do –
Then you would
want to do very little.
Life is a
success, he claims –
Because its foundation
is tough – based on hard work, labour, sweat and tears –
That’s how all
great, lasting enterprises are built –
And that’s how
greatness is truly achieved.
When you start
off something you don’t think of the end –
Because if you
do, then you reach “The End” – even before it started
The beginning was
a fortune, and the end is necessary –
Because only if
things end – then new things begin.
To the optimist, human unhappiness is evident
–
But he says – the
unhappiness is not because life is cruel,
But because we
refuse to see its goodness,
And focus on the
dark side.
We always seem to
focus on what we should have got…
Rather than what
we can get –
Our opportunities
are not limited, and our spirit doesn’t die –
Our focus is
limited, and our dream dies -
The glass of
water always remains half-empty
It is up to us –
how to fill it –
Whether with
tears of sorrow,
Or with tears of
joy!
By
Prerak Ved
05:17 AM in Poetry | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 08, 2005
Whose Yoga Is It, Anyway?
First neem, and now yoga!
You've heard of the open source software movement, now it's the turn of yoga to fight for 'open source' in the US courts. Copyright and trademarking of yoga practices, something that is likely to shake up the roots of the centuries-old tradition, is now taking centre stage in the US.
While there's still some way to any decision, the California courts are now hearing the case for copyrighting of yoga routines, and lawyers and practitioners say this will have far-reaching implications on yoga practitioners all over the world.
The case comes out of a long-standing legal battle between the popular US-based proponent of Yoga, Bikram Choudhary, and an organisation of yoga-studio owners and teachers called Open Source Yoga Unity (OSYU). Choudhury has written a book, which is duly copyrighted, on a routine of asanas which he calls Bikram Yoga.
Some time back, he sent notices to a series of yoga studios to cease and desist from using this routine, as this constituted a copyright infringement. The studios formed OSYU, and are fighting it out in court. Vanessa Calder, chairperson, OSYU, objects to Bikram Yoga's claims, "One cannot copyright, or own in any manner, an exercise routine."
Traditional proponent of yoga, Prashant Iyengar, son of the legendary BKS Iyengar, rejects the very idea of any form of trademark or ownership over yoga. "We are not teaching a new brand of yoga, though our pupils like to call it Iyengar Yoga. We are following the age-old traditional methods of yoga. We can't claim ownership."
Lawyers beg to differ. Rahul Mathan, a patent expert, says, "US trademark and copyright laws are the broadest in the world, while their application is not global, they create an unhealthy precedent."
By
K Yatish Rajawat
04:19 PM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 07, 2005
Stress Kills 6 I.T. Geeks
via SV Chennai, March 28 Six
software professionals under the age of 33 have died and two top executives
from renowned software companies have become paralyzed because of
stress-related heart ailments in the last six months in Chennai, says a study
by Mitran Foundation, a Bangalore-based voluntary association of practicing
doctors. |
This study was a follow-up of Mitran Foundation's four-year detailed national
study on stress-related ailments for working professionals. It concludes that
software professionals have pushed doctors to second position in being prone
to stress-related disorders. At present, there are over one lakh software
professionals employed in the information technology sector in and around
Chennai. With the expansions and consolidations planned by IT majors, this
figure is expected to grow by another 50,000 this year. The Tamil Nadu
government has given clearance for 40 more IT parks i n and around Chennai.
This means jobs for another 75,000 professionals. IT investment in the state
has risen from Rs 1,100 crores in 2001 to Rs 6,500 crores today. But the
question of whether there has been a simultaneous improvement in the quality
of life of software professionals remains unanswered. By So, think again if you are staying late in the office regularly. |
05:18 AM in Current Affairs, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 06, 2005
Useful Tip
09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 05, 2005
A Crush on Zaheer
06:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 04, 2005
Arjun Sachin Tendulkar meets Greg Chappell
Arjun Sachin Tendulkar meets Greg Chappell
08:47 AM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
April 03, 2005
Unsafe Lipsticks
Recently
a brand called "Red Earth" decreased their prices from $67 to
$9.90.
It contained lead. Lead is a chemical which causes cancer.
The
Brands which contain lead are:
1.
CHRISTIAN DIOR
2.
LANCÔME
3.
CLINIQUE
4. Y.S.L
5.
ESTEE LAUDER
6.
SHISEIDO
7. RED
EARTH (Lip Gloss)
8.
CHANEL (Lip Conditioner)
9.
MARKET AMERICA-MOTNES LIPSTICK.
The
higher the lead content, the greater the chance of causing cancer.
After
doing a test on lipsticks, it was found that the Y.S.L. Lipstick
contained
the most amount of lead. Watch out for those lipsticks which are
supposed
to stay longer. If your lipstick stays longer, it is because of the
higher
content of lead.
Here is
the test you can do yourself:
1.
Smear lipstick on your hand.
2. Use
a Gold ring to scratch on the lipstick.
3. If the lipstick color changes to black then you know the lipstick contains lead.
08:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack