Wind Power

So much power and we still want to cling on to a nuclear power for dear life? It is not as though I am opposed to the Nuclear Power, but when this country has not utilized other resources which is much cheaper then we have no right to talk thus. Producing, maintaining and protecting nuclear energy is very expensive compared to other sources of energy. Wind energy like solar energy still remains a power un-tapped except in few states like TN, Maharashtra etc. Even otherwise TN has always gone ahead with many projects successfully.

Today I read in the news that the Indian Railways may go for more wind power. It has found much unused land in its coastal network and wants to use it to tap wind energy.

"We get power at Rs 6 per unit whereas we can get power from our own generation units at as low as Rs 4.50 per unit," the official said.
The pilot project at Perambur would need an investment of Rs 40 crore. Depending on its success, larger projects would be set up near existing wind energy farms.
The government has identified wind energy as one of the renewable energy sources where the country has tremendous potential for growth. It is thus encouraging investment in this area by offering sops that include interest subsidy and capital subsidy, 80% accelerated depreciation, tax holiday under Section 80 IA and various subsidy schemes.

The present wind energy capacity is close to touching 5000 MW mark much ahead of the targeted year of 2011-12. The country has potential to add 45,000 MW of power under this route in the next 15 to 20 years.

Worldwide Installed Capacity of Wind Power A Worldwide installed capacity of wind power is 78,728 MW as on 31st March 2007. The first five countries are Germany (20,952 MW), Spain (12,500 MW), USA (12,376 MW), India (7093 MW) and Denmark (3136 MW).

(Source : Wind Power Monthly, July 2007)

The Indian wind energy sector has an installed capacity of 7093.9 MW (as on March 31, 2007). In terms of wind power installed capacity, India is ranked 4th in the World. Today India is a major player in the global wind energy market.
The potential is far from exhausted. Indian Wind Energy Association has estimated that with the current level of technology, the ‘on-shore’ potential for utilization of wind energy for electricity generation is of the order of 65,000 MW. The unexploited resource availability has the potential to sustain the growth of wind energy sector in India in the years to come.

New Wind Power Projects in Kerala It is learned that Kerala Government has given technical approval to Suzlon and Vestas India for developing wind power projects at Agali, Palakkad and Ramakkalmedu in Idduki District respectively. In the first phase, Suzlon is likely to installed 4.8 MW capacity and Vestas India 9.75 MW capacity during the financial year 2007-08.


Of course this energy has its limitations too...

And talking about Nuclear Energy, finally when the nuclear has been signed and ready to be installed, the country will face yet another resistance. Which State will accept the responsibilities that goes with it? Definitely not Kerala, we will be the first one on the streets to make it go away. Anyway the Center will never consider Kerala for obvious reasons so we rest in peace.

That is the way!

I felt very happy reading this news. It is not often that you see such acts coming from those who have achieved much in their lives. They have gained the best education that our country can provide and should be on their way to enjoying some of the best jobs a company can offer. This is enough for one to forget the rest of the world and enjoy what they have gained with their hard work. But they have thought beyond themselves.

IITians run school for children of labourers

Yogesh Vajpeyi, IANS
Hamirpur (Uttar Pradesh), September 27, 2007


The children of Bidokhar village call it Apna Skool, or our school. An NGO - formed by the faculty and student of Kanpur's Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - has set up the non-formal school in Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh for elementary education of children of migrant labourers.

Inside Man

Since we are having Ramadhan timings, we have much time in our hands and hence all those movies that were waiting to be watched are now being enjoyed.

Inside Man is about a Bank Heist Thriller... the main actors being Denzil Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster. I have always liked Denzil.

We enjoyed this movie and it is the first time that I watched an American Action/Thriller movie where none gets killed!

This reminds me of the day I was first introduced to an American Action movie. It was Arnie’s Total Recall. Until then I never had a chance to see such movies since the place where I grew up did not have a theatre showing English Movies. The nearest theater itself was many kilometers away and our Father used to drive us there only once a month, whenever a new movie was released.

It was in the year 1990 that this picture was released and I was in Trivandrum. It was in Sreekumar theatre and we were a bunch of cousins and friends. As you know Total Recall is a science fiction full of gore and violence. My senses were shocked and jostled around. I just couldn’t take the violence in the movie. It was the first time that I saw a gun being used so freely and dead bodies falling every scene. Somehow I managed to sit through the whole movie. When we came out I from my naivety blurted out how they can show such movies. My cousins who were all veteran American movie goers started laughing. I told them that this could affect the minds and dull the conscience of the movie goers. I guess I did not think about PG rating. But even with PG rating, I still think that some movies go beyond normalcy in showing crime and gore. I am not talking about American movies alone, the same goes for others too. Even now I cannot watch violent movies.. I still close my eyes or watch elsewhere!

Jai Hind

We won! We won! We won.. after so many years.. finally we have done it.

What a game it was! The second we settle down and think that India is going to win, the Paki’s turns it right back! And finally the tension ended. I think both the teams deserve great applause and even this time I wouldn’t have minded if our boys had lost to the Paki’s. It was fantastic cricket.

Hope you caught the Pathans piggy riding, Dhoni shirtless, Bhaji with his moustache turned up and his dance! And what were they digging on the ground? Each of our boys gave their best shot.

And then comes the comments from the veterans. 20-20 is not THE cricket. It is test cricket that tests a cricketer and after that the 50 overs one-day. They talk about “Temperament” . My dictionary says temperament is quality of mind. So did our boys lack it? Dint they continue playing smartly without buckling under pressure? Even when they lost the mighty Yuvraj and their captain dint they take the score to a decent level. But then for them to prove themselves they should be allowed to play for the coming series. Then let us judge them. But for now let us enjoy this moment.. dint we wait too long and to a point where most of were disgusted with Cricket.

Dhoni is a good study material for a "Leader". I loved the way he came running whenever one of his boy's faced a tough situation. I also hear that after the win with Aussies, he let the boys celebrate instead of continuing with practicing. For a team that went as underdogs, each win was a victory.

As Kapil Dev pointed out, it is good to remind ourselves that this in only a game. Maybe we shall have to wait again but until then we should stop throwing stones at those players even if they lose. Can we? Dhoni's house under contruction was razed to the ground and now he has collected enough and more money to build a complete steel structure! Oh.. it is cricket and neither the players nor their fans are going to change!

I still remember the year we lifted the world cup and also the Sharjah cup. And once Ravi Shastri visited Trivandrum for a match while I was in college. I forgot the year. But some of our girls visited him in his hotel room and that was a scandal! I still remember the bickering and snickering behind their backs. How dare they visit a hotel to see a cricketer!

I think the whole country and the Indians all over the world are celebrating. Yesterday we watched on TV the crowd in front of a shop at Calicut. It could have been half a stadium!

Blood Diamond

Finally finished watching Blood Diamond yesterday. A superb movie! Wonderful acting and great originality.

I don’t know if this had any impact on all the movie goers but I am sure only the hard hearted can get out of the theatres without any difference.

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea on the north and Liberia on the south, with the Atlantic Ocean on the west. The name Sierra Leone was adapted from the Portuguese name for the country: Serra Leoa, literally "Lion Mountain Range". During the 18th century Sierra Leone was an important center of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans.

The movie portrays the Diamond smuggling amid the civil war during the period 1991 to 2002.

In one scene when Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou enters a village strewn with dead bodies they meet a guy who still seems concerned. He asks them if they are lost and then rambles on. He wonders if diamonds could do this to a country, what if oil is ever discovered!

It also brings one point through Solomon. He says he can understand the outsiders doing thus to the country but not their own people. And another fact, if one has no unity within one’s own country then it is sure to be trampled upon by greedy blood suckers.

I guess Africa still has child soldiers which happens to be the worst part. Even a matured person cannot live a normal life after a war so imagine a child! So does Sri Lanka among the Tamil Tigers. This is the worst crime against humanity.

Now there is peace in Sierra Leone.... let us pray that it continues...

Jai Hind

Gosh! I cant believe that I am back enjoying cricket. The youngsters lured me back with their positive and energetic game. Was ready to forgive them even they had lost to the mighty Aussies.

Harbajan Singhs’s dance, Yuvi’s mighty roar… it is been a while since we witnessed pure joy from a game. And we have those dancing females barely covered by Reliance. Our son did the same dance for every Six and Four.

Some say that the 20-20 game is like a fast food and not fair enough. Who cares? At least it stops some senior players from clinging to their bats to increase their 50’s or 100’s. We had enough of that. Now, one has to perform or get out. And we reached the Finals with most of our Senior players out of the team. I guess this should have been done even for the last world cup.

I think only the Indian and Pakistan games bring the stadiums to full. And it is going to be a terrific game on Monday. Our Son has already taken permission to bunk his Karate classes and he also has his assessments on Tuesday. I dont think I can keep him away from the game unless India plays hopelessly!

And I am with Dhoni. Whatever the outcome maybe, let us not be tensed, but enjoy the game. Finally our boys are playing positively.

Mallu Land

I was planning to blog this for a while and that is when I read Maddy's article...

If one looks at the current political dramas one cant help praying that the whole Secretariat building along with its entire occupancy (when it is in full session) disappears! Poof! How great it would be.
We see MLA’s fasting with no visible signs of fatigue on them. The opposition brings a new allegation and the ruling party is quick to come up with counter allegation and then it dies sooner than the media or the poor subjects can even think! Aren’t they all enacting a drama? I am sure behind our backs both the opposition and the ruling parties find ways to cover each other’s back.

This brings to my mind a recent comedy skit on one of the Malayalam Channel Since this is the season of talent contests, our political leaders, namely, Anthony, Chandy, Karunakaran and VS were invited for a contest. The winner will be provided a fully paid trip abroad for 3 months in addition to 10 million or so cash and the same is sponsored by the viewers. And after the usual drama, the judges declare all four as the winner since their performance were equally good. After the price money was declared, the contestants ask the Judges, how this can be afforded since all of them needed to be paid equally. And the judges reply “they are ready to pay even more just to get you guys out of this State” - good riddance to bad rubbish!

It has come to this stage and I wont be surprised if we see the people taking law into their own hands like how it happened in Jhakarnd and Bihar.

Swami Vivekananda, you are right and we at GOC will continue to uphold your verdict

Sister Abhaya

Thought I shall share this shocking video that was forwarded by my friend.

Well.. I dont know what to say.

When ex-minister P.J. Joseph was accused, I never believed initially, but now I have reasons to believe from close quarters. Those who are close to him says he was taking medicines for depression. Does depression make one behave indecently?

Anyway it is time the whole Christian community irrespective of their denomination work towards bringing to light the murderers of Sister Abhaya. To stop speculations, rumours, and character assasinations and to purge the church, it has become necessary.

I pray that the authorities find the courage to publish the facts without any prejudice or fear since CBI has already submitted their report.

Jet Airways

Jet Airways will fly Gulf from Jan-2008.

This is good news to us Gulf wallas specially to GOC residents. All these years we were dependant on the State Carriers Air India and Indian Airlines for direct connection.

Our last trip to India was on Air India and we vowed never to board that plane again. And it was not even a Budget Airlines. We chose it since the kids were travelling unaccompanied and hence we wanted a direct flight. But it was not even direct but flying through Chennai. The agents did not tell us while booking. I know I sound un-patriotic. But then this feeling is shared by many. Air India has contracted Turkish Airways (incl crew) to fly the Gulf Sector. These planes are very small with 2 rows of seats and hence little luggage space. We were asked to shove our bags under our feet! As soon as we were settling down we heard a baby wailing. A Tang bottle had fallen from the luggage hold onto the poor baby’s head! There was shouting and swearing and it was acceptable since even the mother started crying. And the Turkish crew who knows no word of English just couldn’t console them. One of our friend who traveled in this Airlines asked for Pampers and the crew couldn’t understand what he was asking. Finally he had to produce the soiled Pampers to get a new one! (now I don’t know why he dint have a spare pamper with him!)

The worst part was the toilets! It started smelling the minute we settled down and the crew used to empty cans of neutralizers occasionally. And they don’t let you use the toilet while refueling and even when the plane has taken off. They asked us to wait until the seat belts signs are off. I think the pilot or whoever has to do it forgets to switch it off! Since there are less toilets the queue in front of the toilets are a sight to see.

I hear the Jet airways flights are well maintained. I know there will be no concession in rates during the peak seasons but at least the money that you spend is worth.

Good bye my feathery friend..

Yesterday our white Love bird died. It was the most active and we had a special love towards it.

We have been rearing Love Birds since some years and several have died since then. Since both myself and hubby grew up with pets, we thought the kids should have at least the pleasure of seeing a few love birds. For the kids only the initial excitement was there. They lost interest since Love Birds don’t need special attention like a dog and they are not friendly too.

We were surprised when one of the birds started laying eggs and then sitting on it. We never expected anything to come out of it since we saw the same at our friend’s place. But one day we were surprised to hear small chirps and yes they had hatched! They looked like fishes since they did not have any feathers on them. But their growth was very fast, before a week they were covered with feathers. Unfortunately the mother died and it was up to the father bird to feed them. I think it fed them for a while since 2 of them died. The third was very friendly and used to hop on our hands as soon we put our hands inside. I believed that the Father was feeding it, but one day when I came back from work I saw the little one lying down. The minute it saw me, it stretched out and died. I was heart broken. It looked as though it waited for me. I think the Father had stopped feeding it and I had no idea how to feed such a small thing. Then we decided not to have any more Love Birds. That is when Hubby’s friend asked us to look after his Love Birds since it was getting too hot in his flat. And then the cage was full again. And with this batch came our white one.

From the beginning he was special. He did not have a pair and maybe since he was still too young. All the rest were in pairs. And it is always a pleasure to see them preening each other and no wonder they are called Love Birds! Whenever I stand near the cage, the White one will start pecking my clothes.

It was before our trip to India that he injured his legs. We left them with our friend and hoped it would heal. But it was still the same when we returned , but yet he was managing. But 2 days back I saw blood in the cage. We don’t know what happened and how it injured his legs again. Maybe a fight with his partner? Yesterday, he couldn’t climb even to the perch and I took him out and he did not protest at all. We thought it will recover but it was too weak and it died after sometime.

And now we have just one left and I am sure she will die of loneliness since we don’t plan to buy any more Love Birds!

Still regret…

It was during my first Pre-degree days. Me and my cousin sister were shopping at Trivandrum and were inside a small Ladies store, when suddenly a guy came barging inside, all excited. I could see that he had left a bunch of his friends outside. To my horror he came right up to me and asked me.

“Aren’t you so and so?”

I replied yes. I just couldn’t place this guy.

“Do you remember your class mate Sunil in school?”

I think I was too shocked to think or remember and just stood there like an idiot. Still fresh from school and in the big city (for me!) it was already giving me a jitter.

He left.. much disappointed.

And then I remembered. Yes he was Sunil and he left our school when he was in the 8th Standard if I remember. He was known as Sunil Gavaskar during those days. I think he had contacted my brother who was also studying in Trivandrum and came to know that I was in Trivandrum.

I still regret and feel hurt that I never recognized him. I tried to see him later but could never catch him.

If ever I get to see him again, I would like to apologize.

I know it gives us great pleasure to see our class mates. Even now I keep searching for mine through batchmates.com and alumini.net.. in vain. None of my school mates have registered in those sites, though I have made contacts with a few of my seniors and juniors.

Adam’s Bridge

Lord Rama built this bridge to rescue his wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana but little did he think that it would create wide spread protests and traffic jams so many years later!

Adam's Bridge, known in India as Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu, is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of India. The bridge is 30 miles (48 km) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (southwest) from the Palk Strait (northeast). Some of the sandbanks are dry and the sea in the area is very shallow, being only 3 ft to 30 ft (1 m to 10 m) deep. This seriously hinders navigation. It was reportedly passable on foot up to the 15th century until storms deepened the channel: temple records seem to say that Rama’s Bridge was complete above sea level until it broke in a cyclone in 1480 AD.[citation needed] This landbridge once connected Sri Lanka to South India during the Wisconsin glaciation


Space images taken by NASA reveal a mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. The recently discovered bridge currently named as Adam´s Bridge is made of chain of shoals, c.18 mi (30 km) long.

The bridge´s unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man made. The legends as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the a primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago

According to the legend of Ramayana, the land bridge was constructed by large numbers of monkey like beings under the supervision of Rama, who according to Hindus is a personalized almighty incarnation. The purpose of the construction was to reach Srilanka (across the sea) from the Indian mainland to rescue Rama's wife from the demon king Ravana. Ramayana, according to the Hindu time calendar, is supposed to have taken place in Tredha Yuga (The ancient scriptures in Hinduism discuss about events in terms of Yugas (Time phases of evolution) numerically four namely Sathya (17,28,000 years), Tredha (12,96,000 years), Dwapara (8,64,000 years) and Kali (4,32,000 years)). The current phase according to the calendar is kali, out of which 5000 years are supposed to have passed by. This means that Ramayana, to have relevance with the bridge, should have taken place between 8,69,000 to 21,65,000 years back (between the time period 0.869 - 2.165 million years).


The controversial Sethusamudram project

The route under the project,which involves dredging over a width of 300 metres and depth of 12 metres on Adam's Bridge, though inaugurated by Prime Minister on July 2, 2005, was approved as far back as October 2002 during the NDA regime.

"In fact, the project was vetted and endorsed by no less than 4 ministers of the previous NDA government - Arun Jaitley on March 9, 2001, V P Goyal on October 29, 2002, S Thirunavukkarasar on October 25, 2002, and Shatrughan Sinha - hence objections to the project are completely baseless," the Centre said.

It also rejected another contention of the petitioner that Adam's Bridge could qualify as an ancient monument and said there was no scientific basis to this contention. It was only a ruse to stop the project that would generate revenue from fees obtained from traffic passing through the channel. It said Taylor's proposal in 1860 was followed by similar proposals from Townsend (1861), Parliamentary Committee (1862),William Deninson (1863), Stoddart (1871), Robertson (1872), Sir John Code (1884), South Indian Railway Engineers (1903) and Robert Bristow (1922).

Dabbawala - Amazing!

Recently the discussion in our office turned to the Dabbawallas in Mumbai. I haven’t noticed them during my short stays in Mumbai but heard about them a lot!

1- No unions!
3- No forward and backward reservations!
4- No Congress, BJP, Left or right!
5- No fights – they don’t have the time!
6- The most respected.
7- A compartment in the local trains allotted just for them.
8- They give lectures to the IIM’s!
9- They have been awarded the Sig Sigma Rating!

So who are these dabbawalas?

They are the wonder workers in the bustling city of Mumbai or Bombay as it was called. They satisfy the needs of 1000’s of office workers who are forced to leave their homes at unholy hours and hence their food does not get packed in time. The home made food is delivered to their work place without any fail and it is till fresh and warm.

- They have been awarded the Six Sigma rating. A few years ago, US business magazine Forbes gave Mumbai’s dabbawallas a Six Sigma performance rating, or a 99.999999 percentage of correctness — which means one error in six million transactions.

Six Sigma is a process that helps organisations focus on delivering near-perfect products and services. If you use Six Sigma you can measure how many defects there are in a process and can systematically figure out how to eliminate them and try and achieve zero-defect status.

- Secretary of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust Gangaram Talekar and M Medge, a tiffin carrier contractor — both essentially dabbawallas — have been delivering lectures at premier institutes like the IIMs, CII conferences, Symbiosis institutes, WTC, for the last six years.

“It started with the Confederation of Indian Industry inviting us for a lecture,” said Talekar. “Our connections are well-managed, which is what we talk about at the lectures. Without putting in any capital ourselves, we manage to achieve a difficult feat,” he added.

Dabbawallas

* They rely on low capital and use cycles, wooden carriages and local trains to achieve their target.

* There are several groups that work independently and network with each other to achieve one goal.

* They meet once a month where all the groups gather and thrash out issues.

* There is no retirement age. People work as long as they want. to.

* Since their lifestyle is simple and involves a lot of physical exercise, they rarely suffer from illnesses.

* The dabbawallas have a credit society which gets them through money crunches.

How the dabba is delivered

* The first dabbawalla picks up the tiffin from home and takes it to the nearest railway station.

* The second dabbawalla sorts out the dabbas at the railway station according to destination and puts them in the luggage carriage.

* The third one travels with the dabbas to the railway stations nearest to the destinations.

* The fourth one picks up dabbas from the railway station and drops them of at the offices.

* The process is reversed in the evenings.

I guess every Logistic company would love to learn from these dabbawalas!

Mallu Interview.. too good!

Bill Gates organized an enormous session to recruit a new Chairman for Microsoft Europe. 5000 candidates assembled in a large room. One candidate is Kunju Abdullah, an Indian guy.

Bill Gates thanked all the candidates for coming and asking those who do not know JAVA program to leave.2000 people leave the room. Kunju says to himself, "I do not know JAVA but I have nothing to lose if I stay. I'll give it a try"

Bill Gates asked the candidates who never had experience of managing more than 100 people to leave. 2000 people leave the room. Kunju says to himself " I never managed anybody by myself but I have nothing to lose if I stay. What can happen to me?" So he stays.

Then Bill Gates asked candidates who do not have management diplomas to leave. 500 people leave the room. Kunju says to himself, "I left school at 15 but what have I got to lose?" So he stays in the room.

Lastly, Bill Gates asked the candidates who do not speak Serbo - Croat to leave. 498 people leave the room.
Kunju says to himself, "I do not speak one word of Serbo - Croat but what do I have to lose?" So he stays and finds himself with one other candidate. Everyone else has gone.

Bill Gates joined them and said "Apparently you are the only two candidates who speak Serbo - Croat, so I'd now like to hear you have a conversation together in that language."

Calmly, Kunj turns to the other candidate and says "Entha Sugham alle" (How are you?)

The other candidate answers " Nee Poda Pulle" (Get lost you a*****le!)

Mallus yet again!

The Cross

Lately I have been getting many forwards on the cross. It is mostly about the cross that each one of us has to carry on this journey of life. If you look at the meaning of the word cross in this context it says “a difficulty in somebody’s personal life that is particularly testing, troubling, or painful”.

We all have to carry our crosses and there is no escape from this. But there are many who would like to escape from this and hence resort to drugs, liquor or other quick fixes which this world currently offers. But as depicted in these pictures, these quick fixes can never help you. You may feel that you have shed your worries or your troubles but a time comes when you are suddenly woken up from the false comfort and find that there is no escape. The cross that you ought to have carried would have equipped you to move forward but you discarded it for something temporary. Some then resort to do away with their life, since they did not gain the fortitude to carry it forward.

Whatever your cross, whatever your pain, there will always be sunshine, after the rain ....

Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall, but God's always ready, to answer your call ... HE knows every heartache AND sees every tear,

"God always sends rainbows .... after the rain ...

Bin Laden

I keep wondering if Mr. Bush and Laden have secret moments over the communication system.

Hey Bin.. time for another tape man.. my polls are yet again going down and they want our boys to get out of Iraq. Why don’t you give those shivering brains a scare in your usual style and please don’t forget to mention September 11.
No problems Bushy boy.. as along as you don’t let your boys come anywhere near my bunker.

Sept 11 – 2001. And today it is more than 5 years and the world’s largest and most sophisticated military power is not able to capture their number one enemy. Even when they have considerable power over the countries like Afganistan and Pakistan, Bin Laden seems to keep shifting his hiding place every day. My puny brain is not able to digest these facts. Help me God!

Sister Abhaya

We read that there have been more breakthroughs in this case. The police may soon arrest the culprits. As suspected initially, the priests and the nuns were involved in the murder. Sister Abhaya was killed since she saw something which ought to have never happened in a Convent.

This murder made a lot of impact upon the GOC residents. For me personally, since then, I lost whatever respect that I had for the priests and the nuns. I studied in a Convent School and I have seen the various faces of the nuns. There were good ones and the bad ones. But it was an accepted fact that they had given up a normal life for the work of God. But with this murder, whatever was bottled up against this class among the normal residents broke free. I think it was from this point of time that we heard the Mimicry artists mimicking the priests and making fun of them.

I am not saying that an act of a few has made the whole Clergy community bad but it has made a difference. After all, no one forced them to give up anything to do God’s work. It was their choice and they knew what they were giving up. This is similar to the sexual abuses which came to light and is now the cause for many law suits.

May God bring the murderers to light and may this be a lesson to all who profess to have given up everything to do God’s work. Let those who hid the murderers behind their cloaks remember that nothing can be hidden from the Almighty.

Prawns.....yummy!

It is Shrimp / prawns season in Kuwait!

Even we bought a good share of shrimps and last night I made Shrimp curry. It turned out okay, though hubby says it would have been better with a little more salt!

I put some coconut pieces to get those crunchy bites and enough red chilly powder. And while I was searching for a good recipe to make more curries, I came upon this site: It is great...

Great One liners

Thought I should post this here...

LESSONS IN LIFE

By Regina Brett, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45
lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested
column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK t o get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over-prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25 No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you re ally does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read some good books. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Bucket of Water

Most of us sleeping in A/C rooms atleast here in Kuwait, have experienced parched lips and dry skins while waking up in the morning. A month back a friend suggested keeping some water in a bucket. And it worked! I guess the theory behind is simple. The evaporated water provides sufficent moisture to the circulating air.

2 days back we forgot this and my son woke up with cracked lips and even my lips were beginning to crack.

Wish we had know this trick earlier.