Tuesday, December 30, 2014

It was a mixed year

2014 was a mixed year. I lost my brother Dr. Vijaya Raghavan Krishnaswamy, a neuro-surgeon by profession. He left a void that cannot be filled.

I did not complete the book I was writing.

Regarding the blogs I did quite well with a record number of posts.
                                                 Year   Posts
Hodentek.blogspot.com           2013   94
                                                 2014   246

HodentekHelp.blogspot.com.  2013.  17
                                                 2014   56

HodentekMsss.blogspot.com   2013   34
                                                  2014  48
 
HoentekMobile.blogspot.com  2013   13
                                                  2014   56

I started a new blog in 2014- http://hodentekPlus.blogspot.com.

I also found that a certain person was pilfering (http://hodentek.blogspot.in/2014/12/domain-name-service-dns-and-dns-changer.html) entire content from blog, my hardwork of about 10 years. I complained to Google without any success. I suppose this is not on Google's priority. Google wants every post that is stolen with proof of content stolen. There were over 900 posts in my blog and you can imagine the work involved.
 

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Learn business visiting places in India



This is a nice opportunity to know India if you are planning to do business with India.
Jagriti Yatris is business school on wheels where you visit the businesses visiting the various places where businesses are located which includes most of the important locations. This coming year is the seventh time for this event with participants from many countries(around 40%) with ages in the range of 20 to 25. This is a nice event to get to know the realities on the ground. 



This is not exactly a complete Indian initiative. It is sponsored by the likes of Google, Coca Cola, etc. with support from Indian Railways. It costs around $1000 (approximate) with about $100 paid by the candidates. Candidates are sponsored based on their annual income.

Read more here:
http://www.jagritiyatra.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagriti_Yatra

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Get the Skype Qik video messaging and start chatting via video

Go to this site and get SKYPE Qik free app. It is an messenger app built around Skype which allows you to swap videos with groups of friends. All you need to do is a single touch that records those previous moments which you ccan immediately share. You shoot and send the video with your mobile. The groups are made of your phone contacts and these messages are private.

You can pre-record upto 12 short videos and you can drop the videos, Qik Flick as they called into your chat. Of course you can manage messages deleting and cleaning up and unlike other stuff on the Internet these disappear after two weeks, something very desirable. It can be used with Microsoft, Apple and Google phones.

Here is video that you may want to play and learn more of this interesting addition.



Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Hydrogen Fuel Cells powering cars and homes in Japan

Nuclear fusion was supposed to provide clean energy but it is perhaps decades away. It is a tough cookie. Now Japan's R&D has produced viable Hydrogen Fuel cells that can power homes and cars.Toyota motor has a model 'Mirai' on the market that is powered by Hydrogen and coming to US in the not so distant future. Now hydrogen fuel cells to provide energy for homes are being developed.

Hydrogen fuel cells for homes is something that is not on a drawing board, but already installed in many Japanese homes. I am sure this will get Japan back in the saddle and we will be having a better environment; less dependence on fossil fuels; less pollution; improved quality of life; fewer transmission, distribution losses as energy gets used where it is produced; and less of Fukushima scenarios.

Tokyo Gas and Panasonic Corporation have jointly developed the Fuel Cell which they call 'ENE-Farm' probably a diminutive for energy farm. In fact so far there have been couple of models starting Jan 2013 after debuting first time in May 2009. The price of the new model which came out in April 2013 was 1,995,000 Yen (April 2013 price) including tax but not installation. Right now it may seem prohibitive but the price is sure to go down.

Read more here:
http://news.panasonic.com/press/news/official.data/data.dir/2013/01/en130117-5/en130117-5.html
The following images are from the above site:



Summary of features copied from the above mentioned site:

"The "Ene-Farm" fuel cell co-generation systems generate electricity through a chemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and hydrogen extracted from city gas. The heat generated as a byproduct of this process is also used for hot water supply*7. This system is extremely eco-friendly. Since the electricity is generated and used at the same place, there are no losses in transmission. Also, all heat produced during electricity generation can be used without waste. Compared to conventional method of using electricity from thermal power plant and hot water supply using city gas*8, the fuel cell system allows primary energy consumption to be reduced by approximately 37%*9 and CO2 emissions by approximately 49%. Users can cut around 60,000 yen from annual utility bills, and CO2 emissions by approximately 1.3 tons a year*10."

A number of companies in US are engaged in Hydrogen fuel cells and some are already providing viable products and if the adoption picks up this industry can do a lot of good to our environment and generate lot more jobs as well.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Aston Martin DB10

Well, this is not Aston Martin's Database 10 but it is the new car James Bond will be driving in his next movie to be released next year (2015).

Very sleek and I suppose it has lots of special gadgets.

Here is DB10 from the Aston Martin site here:
http://www.astonmartin.com/en/live/news/2014/12/04/built-for-bond-aston-martin-debuts-unique-car-for-spectre

 

Friday, December 5, 2014

Toyota's hydrogen powered car coming to California summer 2015

Do not buy gas! Toyota's hydrogen powered car coming to California summer 2015.

Not long ago some one from the all electrical vehicle technology quipped playing on the word 'fuel cell' that Toyota is pursuing a foolish path in its development of hydrogen powered car.

No one in the right mind would gamble with $165 million and that is what Toyota is using to triple its domestic production capacity for Mirai (appropriately named meaning 'the Future') Fuel cell vehicle. Both corporations and government are interested. Frankly who wouldn't be except Elon Musk.

Toyota will ramp up the production at its Aichi factory. I have visited them, they are bunch of serious guys, don't you carried away by their apparent lack of emotion. They are deadly serious.

Mirai is coming to a distributor near you by Dec 15 assuming you are localized in Japan. Right now the capacity is only 700 vehicles according to this Nikkei news and of course they cannot promise on delivery time.

It is coming to 'Califoooornia' in the summer of 2015. I love to see this 'sumo fight' between Hydrogen and Battery. It expects to sell 3000 in 2017.

Honda will not be left far behind followed by Hyundai, Kia and others.

Guys the storm is gathering!

Older posts:
http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2014/07/battery-powered-car-is-history.html
http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2014/07/toyota-fchv-concept-vehicle.html

Here is the concept car:

Here is the car you can commute with starting summer of 2015:

 

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Do not let business murder the Great Barrier Reef!

How do we balance business interests with ecological assets? They seem to be in great conflict in many parts of the world. This has repeated over and over again since the time 'fire' was discovered.

Sign this petition below from Avvaz.org to send your personal message to avert this ecological
damage.

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/india_great_barrier_reef_loc_v1ss/?bMPbpbb&v=49509


Internet of babies(things)- Connected Baby

We saw a lot of internet of things ()but this other thing, the Internet of Babies(things) is surely a bigger business as it will involve a lot more devices and tie up a lot more services.

 http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2014/11/sap-executive-bernd-leukerts-take-on-iot.html

Here is a video from New York Times here:
http://www.nytimes.com/video/technology/100000003268525/the-connected-baby.html?playlistId=1194811622283&region=video-grid&version=video-grid-thumbnail&contentCollection=Health&contentPlacement=0&module=recent-videos&action=click&pgType=Multimedia&eventName=video-grid-click

Here are some stills from the above video:







Sunday, November 30, 2014

Our good friend Oliver in water color

Oliver is our kid-friendly dog, a mix of Shih-Tzu and Shar-Pei that our son Krishna picked up from shelter in San Diego. He is less wrinkly than Shar-Pei and with much brighter eyes than that of Shih-Tsu.  He is about 6 years of age with a signature extra-long, black tongue.

He is very peaceful and very fond of standing in a place and watching the cars and trucks. He is averse to water and hates rainy days. But, he is a great dog.

Here is his picture (hiding his tongue!) in water color drawn by one of our resident artists.



Here is a photograph of Oliver.


 Here is a video clip of Oliver  created some 4 years ago.
http://hodentekmobile.blogspot.com/2009/05/adding-video-clip-to-your-tilt.html

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Eye bags buster, it is temporary though

This seems to work really well. It is a special polymer, clear and when it dries gathers up the skin around tucking in the fat by confining it to the interior but it lasts only for short time like a day or so. Well it is better than a surgical fix. People who used it have given it rave reviews that even dermatologists do not dispute.

Yes, it is an option, if you want to make a public appearance or something. Perhaps just before the wedding may be.

This cosmetics has a name. It is called Neotensil, neo because it is new and tensil is also another acronym.

It is expensive like $500 for a kit and the cost may come down from adoption and competition form similar products.

This is product description from amazon which ships it for $475.00:

"Neotensil is a first-of-its-kind, invisible shapewear film that dramatically reduces the appearance of under-eye bags within hours. Discover this at-home, non-invasive solution to unsightly under-eye bags. It works immediately. No surgery. No needles. The Neotensil Under-Eye Reshaping Procedure requires the precise application of two layers. When combined, this proprietary system immediately activates to form the invisible cross-linked film. Each box of neotensil contains 50 applications, enough for about 7 weeks of once daily use on both eyes. Neotensil is a proprietary blend of polymers that provide compression, smoothing and superior hydrating benefits. Neotensil is hypoallergenic and fragrance-free, but has not been specifically tested on sensitive skin. Clinical product testing on 600+ patients has shown no concerns for sensitive skin. "

What about side-effects? Well, I don't know let us wait and see.

Here are two before and after screen shots.


Source: minarsdermotology.com

Source: wilmingtondermotology.com

I am not sure if these are really two different shots. If you happen to use it send me some pics.

Here is a video from this source:
http://www.healthyglowskinstore.com/Living-Proof-Neotensil-Daily-Under-Eye-Reshaping-p/0541.htm


Friday, November 28, 2014

What is your take on this new milk?

Concerns about sugar, obesity, artificial sweeteners and diabetes have driven many food and beverage related industries to review their products. This has resulted in slightly improved products health wise. However it seems to have made a very minor effect and companies are trying hard to improve their image.

Coca-Cola is also similarly driven and to remain in the 'liquid' business it has teamed up with a number of farms to produce a 'Super Milk' (some call it Milka-Cola) and the company anticipates that its sales will pick up and there will be a 'money rain', good news to its investors.



So what is so great about this milk?
Basically it is modified milk.
  • Protein content:    50% more -hope it is better than soya
  • Sugar   Content:   50% less -addresses diabetes
  • Calcium Content: 30% more -no need for calcium supplement
  • Price          :          100% more
  • Lactose        :        filtered out - lactose intolerance
Now it has a name, Fairlife and here is a picture (hngn.com)of the product.


Monday, November 24, 2014

Did you know about these benefits granted to OCIs (Overseas Citizen of India)?

Life became lot easier and travel peaceful after I became a OCI. Prior to that going by subway to the embassy and filling out the forms etc was a chore I never liked.

I knew about this when I became an OCI:

"A registered Overseas Citizen of India is granted multiple entry, multi purpose, life-long visa for visiting India, he/she is exempted from registration with Foreign Regional Registration Officer or Foreign Registration Officer for any length of stay in India, and is entitled to general 'parity with Non-Resident Indians in respect of all facilities available to them in economic, financial and educational fields except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties'."

These further benefits are also available:

a.Parity with Non-Resident Indians in the matter of inter-country adoption of Indian children ;
b.Parity with resident Indian nationals in matters of tariffs in domestic air fares ;
c.Parity with domestic Indian visitors in respect of entry fee for visiting national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India ;
d.Parity with non-resident Indians in respect of: i.Entry fees for visiting the national monuments, historical sites and museums in India;
ii.Practicing the following professions in India, in pursuance of the provisions contained in the relevant Acts, namely: ◾Doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists;
◾Advocates;
◾Architects; and
◾Chartered Accountants; and
e.Entitlement to appear for the All India Pre-Medical Test or such other tests to make them eligible for admission in pursuance of the provisions contained in the relevant Acts.
Reproduced from the content available at this government site:
http://moia.gov.in/services.aspx?id1=35&id=m3&idp=35&mainid=23
 

Friday, November 21, 2014

Aadhar products evolves fast under Modi in India

Read previous posts on Aadhar here:
http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2013/12/big-data-generation-1-indias-aadhar.html
This is what Aadhar is:
Aadhaar is a 12 digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the Government of India.
This number will serve as a proof of identity and address, anywhere in India. Aadhaar letter received via India Post and e-Aadhaar downloaded from UIDAI website are equally valid.
"
New products have been developed around Aadhar which have the blessings of Mr.Modi:

The Biometric attendance system at all Government Offices as reported here:
http://post.jagran.com/government-introduces-aadhar-enabled-biometric-attendance-system-1416583846

No more late arrivals; after lunch walks and shooping before returning to work and early exits from offices. This is a really good piece of news as I have noticed myself many times half the seats in the office are empty at any given time. This alone should improve the productivity by a good 40 to 50%.
The next picture is from the above source.


The Jeevan Pramman-Digital Life Certificate for pensioners as reported here:
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-11-10/news/55955875_1_prime-minister-narendra-modi-pm-modi-central-pension-accounting-office

This simplifies the life of pensioners a lot. Now they do not have to present themselves in person to obtain their pensions.

The following paragraph is from this Economic Times' URL,
"The Department of Electronics and IT has developed a software application which will enable the recording of the pensioner's Aadhar number and biometric details from his mobile device or computer, by plugging in a biometric reading device. Key details of the pensioner, including date, time, and biometric information will be uploaded to a central database on real-time basis, ultimately enabling the Pension Disbursing Agency to access a Digital Life Certificate. This will conclusively establish that the pensioner was alive at the time of authentication,"

Read more Aadhar related projects here.
http://www.rediff.com/money/report/aadhaar-gets-a-second-life-from-modi/20141028.htm

Providing an identity goes a long way to help corruption especially those that are subsidized to help the economically backward to get their rations but miss used by profiteers.

Hey, Microsoft OS is so easy even a 5 year old can install

Well, not all five year olds but this kid Ayan Qureshi from UK apparently got his MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) certification scoring 700 out of 1000 at a conference in Birmingham.

MCP certification is qualified using these terms, "rigourous, industry-proved, and industry-recognized exams"

MCP is not an easy exam as I recall. It may be different now and may be more difficult as the OS has advanced in leaps and bounds and the exams might have gotten more interactive.It is  very commendable that Ayan can understand and respond to the complexities.

Here is a picture of Ayan with his toys as appeared on http://www.wired.com/2014/11/mcpkid/. The link also provides more details.

 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Mark up your calendars, today is UN's World Toilet Day


Read full article by Randall Hacky of Bloomberg News here:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2014/11/19/with-world-toilet-day-hopes-show-global-life-saving-potential/q4KCOIHUJgX7IMt78ZCa7J/story.html

This is not for every one but those who believe that relieving themselves in open without even thinking about it. It is a common scene in most Indian Cities (Silicon Valley of India included) and perhaps in all Indian countryside; a man relieving himself and sometimes exposing himself in unseemly manner. It is not just men, the women as well, but not so common in urban settings, but yes on either side of rail tracks.

I remember way back in the 1970's the local municipality built urinals with tiles and all. After a month; when it was inspected, the toilets were found to be impeccably clean but the outside of the urinals it was a different thing. The new urinals were simply not used.

Better sanitation is a must and no amount of throwing slogans will help. 'Toilets first, temples next' is a good start, but it really should be, 'Toilets first, toilets next, toilets always'. In fact, the sanitation around the sacred temples are the worst offenders. Go to Thirupathi or any other temple in India and you can see how bad the sanitary condition is around the temples. The economically depressed classes; the not so affluent pilgrims; the temples not providing facilities; the State Government are all to be blamed.   In as recent as 2009 I travelled the Southern Part of India visiting the famous temples that are included in the famous "Divya Deshams". It was enormously satisfying to a Hindu like myself, but the approaches to the temples; the routes to the temples; were the most disgusting to say the least. Even the road side famous eating places lack basic facilities.

Here is a picture of a dirty 'Kalyani (small pond where devotees sometimes take dips)' near a very famous South Indian temple. I am sure no one takes dips in this pond and has become a garbage dump.



 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Takakura Ken is no more (2/16/1931 - 11/18/2014)

Takakura Ken was a well known actor. During the time I lived in Japan, I saw most of his films. As a Yakuza he was superb, the way he slips his dress from one of his shoulders revealing the multicolored tattoes and throwing the dice in the gambling dens was truly artistic. He played traditional Yakuza roles which also included some real human values despite his being a 'gangsta'.

After I left Japan I had fewer chances of seeing his films (I believe he made over 250 movies). I miss him.

I would like to share his photos taken from other web/blog sites.


 

 

 

Friday, November 14, 2014

Blind can see better with Microsoft Headband

Cane + helper dog are good and an extra headband makes it all the more comfortable for the blind. Microsoft has come up with a headband that the blind can use to get to know their sorroundings better. Of course you need a few extra pieces to beam that information to your headband. The devices that beams the info are scattered around (someone has to install them) various public places and the headband would retrieve and provide the information to the blind by some audio devices in the headband. In UK these good people have installed them for testing:

First Great Western
First Group
Tesco
Barclays
Costa Coffee

I am sure various other coffee, soothie, burgers, and softdrink vendors will soon setup these useful devices to shore up their bottom line.

Microsoft started on this project way back in 2012 with the government and the project was called 'Cities Unlocked'.

http://www.microsoftproductreviews.com/microsoft-news/microsoft-working-headband-help-blind/

See the interesting video on Bllomberg's site here:
This video from Bloomberg is from this site:

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Rendezvous with our past

World first, European first to rendezvous with comet to understand how life began on earth. There are various theories like life started from comets; life started in the primordial plasma brew, etc. This European effort was to look at that puzzle; by landing a probing station on a frigid, icy comet and learn from looking at its surface carefully.

The numbers are staggering. It has taken almost 10 years to come to this stage for the lab to be deployed on the comet which has not much of a gravitational pull. The rendezvous point is some 500 million kms from earth and the lab was supposed to harpoon itself to the surface much like Moby Dick, did but looks like it could not land on the intended, chosen position yet. Probaly few more attempts will be made, albeit a different location for landing.
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/europe/european-probe-philae-lands-on-comet-fails-to-anchor/

As of the above link it is still not clear the status of the landing on the surface. Philae, the name of the lab separated from the mother Rosetta as scheduled.

This is what NASA has to say about this feat:

How audacious, how exciting, how unbelievable to be able to dare to land on a comet, to take that step that we’ve all wanted from a scientific perspective

Read this interesting account:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/rosetta-comet-landing-could-teach-us-about-life-on-earth-a-1002222.html

Video is from here:

This one from U-Tube:

Monday, November 10, 2014

Momentus time in history

Five and twenty years ago, the wall separating East and West Germany was demolished and augured the birth of unified Germany. This was really a momentous time and it is nice to know it happened in our life time.

Unification of Germany also helped the formation of the European Union although there are still a lot of people with negative ideas against this union.

It will be nice that such walls are not erected any more and that new walls are discouraged. But alas, We are not destined to have such happy moments considering recent world wide events.

Read this on MSN
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/on-a-memory-filled-date-the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-stands-front-and-center/ar-AA7jkOx

Here are some pictures of the celebration to commemorate this momentous event.


The above from The Hindu (newspaper from Chennai, India)

 
1 of 20 from Reuters. Follow this link to the next 19 slides:

 
From BreitBart.com

East Berlin Wall app you should download from Windows Store. Here is what the Berlin Wall -East Side Gallery app is about:

"The Berlin Wall is to be admired as a monument in Berlin in the form of the East Side Gallery as the longest remaining section . It is a popular destination for locals and tourists alike from all over the world. The old gray wall was painted by 118 artists known for a length of 1300m . The developer of the app has taken the trouble to photograph the wall meter for meter, put together these photos and implement an interactive app . You can scroll left and right, jump to specific positions and see the name and title of the artist. Furthermore : A map in 3D with routing function , Wikipedia information, a video in HD and other features ."
 

Friday, November 7, 2014

Microsoft and its graphic designs

#It appears that Microsoft gave away some free stuff (wall papers) in return for the early testing of its Windows 10 OS. I caught some images (I am showing one of three) from the below site here.

http://betanews.com/2014/11/07/microsoft-thanks-windows-10-preview-testers-with-three-very-little-surprises/


I do not think they are cool. They are OK or so so.

As one comment (mshulman) on the above site says the following:

"Those are pretty bad. At first glance I thought this was going to be just about how giving wallpaper images away was bad and I don't think that giving free wall paper images is bad, but giving away really bad wall paper just plain sucks.
In this case, I think they would have been better off just not giving away anything.
"

#Microsoft is releasing its newly named smartphones, the Microsoft lumia within the next week. Microsoft released the below shown promotional image. Don't you think they could have done it better for an event like a name change?

 

Thursday, November 6, 2014

A Visit to the Coffee Country

Recalling a journey I took in November 2011

Google area map of the places mentioned are shown in the first photo.


On the slopes of the Western Ghats in India, perched on a tiny slice of Karnataka in the southern part of India there is a paradise called 'Coorg' (Anglicized version of 'Kodagu', they were never good at vowels). This is the hub of the friendly and hospitable native ethnic group more popularly known as 'Kodavas'. Coorg is the major producer (there are really two) of 'Coffee' in India producing the exotic spices like pepper and cardamom besides a host of others. Madikeri is the principal city in Coorg.
http://www.arkive.org/images/logos_external/arkive_black_onwhite_150.png

Bylakuppe, on the way to Madikeri (Mercara is the Anglicized name)
Pictures are worth a thousand words. But Coorg is beautiful. As you travel from Bengaluru (which we did), bypass Mysore city; the fabled city of the Maharajahs and hit the State highway 88 you would be traveling south-west from where you started. The road is nice and even, with many excellent restaurants providing both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food and even one or two specializing in fish. After about 220 (about 137 miles) KMs from where you started you come to the little town of Bylakuppe which provided the home to Tibetans who fled Tibet after the Chinese Occupation of their home land and formed settlements in India.

Entrance to the temple complex
This settlement is in fact a home away from home for them. A  visitor such as myself is greeted by the distinct architectural style from Tibet; the robed monks with tonsured heads; the sounds of gongs and chanting; the beautiful manicured gardens; the neatly laid courtyards and well kept precinct transports you into quiet an alien world.


 
Entrance to one of the main temples with 3 huge Buddhas
 

A garden adjoining the temples

The great hall with the Buddhas and the cluster of smaller temples; depicting  Buddhistic lore as perceived by the Tibetans following the Mahayana branch of Buddhism should be extremely interesting to those interested in Buddhism.


Great hall of Buddha

The pictorial renderings, the Shishi lions and the demon like Dwara Palakas (door keepers in many Hindu temples as well as in Buddhist temples such as the one in Nara, Japan) reminded me of my days in Japan visiting many of the great centers of Buddhism.

There is an unmistakable link with Japanese Buddhism; the spectrum of colors in Tibet trumping over somber greys and shades of the same in Japan.

Dubare, heartland of Elephants in Kodagu

Turning into Highway 27 and after driving another 20 Kms south you come to the Dubare Elephant Camp; a tourist oriented camp among many others maintained by Jungle Lodges and Resorts Limited, an organ of Karnataka Government's Forest Department. This is the place where you want to go with your children and see Elephants in their natural habitat. After arriving in Dubare you cross the Cauvery River in a ferry and reach the camp grounds after a very short ride. The get-on, get-off approaches to the boats are not rough hewn and you would exercise caution.

Mid-way in the river Cauvery
Getting off at Elephants Observation area
If you arrive there around 4 P.M or so, to coincide with their feeding time you would see elephants driven by their Mahouts (the elephant driver) sometimes as young as 7 or 8. The tourists flock around the elephants and witness elephants fed with rice, jaggery and coconut wrapped in rice straw.

Feeding Elephants

Visitors communicate with elephants petting them, feeding them and have great fun.


Petting Elephants
There are also elephant rides if you are inclined to ride. At feed time you can meet more than 20 elephants from the very young to the very old and aging. The elephants are trained here to participate in the Dussehra and many other public / religious events and come back here when not participating. At the time of writing there were 60 employed to look after the elephants.

Besides knowing elephants you can also participate in other activities such as coracle riding (native circular boats made of bamboo and reeds) and river rafting.

Dubare to Omkareshwar Temple

Following State Highway 88 a few kilometers further south (see map) brings you to the neighborhood of the temple. Built in 1820 Omkareshwar temple is a significant reminder of our secularism and harmony. The temple is built with a fine blend of Indo-Islamic and Indo-Saracen architectural styles.


Entering the temple from the parking lot
The main gopuram (pyramidal structure common to many South Indian temples and the ancient Tamil dominated regions in Indonesia and Thailand) of the South Indian Temples give way to a Dome above the sanctum-sanctorum surrounded by minarets with the dome at the corners. Built to propitiate the crime of killing a Brahmin, the then ruling king Lingrajendra the Second built this temple dedicated to Omkareshwar, the main deity of the temple. Given the strong Muslim population in Coorg and the neighboring state of Kerala the influence is very easy to comprehend. After parking the car you enter from a side which opens to an open Prakara (walled enclosure) in the center of which you see a Kalyani (a pond).





You need to climb a flight of steps to enter the temple. There is a sacrificial altar at the very entrance and a few more steps bring you to the sanctum-sanctorum.

The main deity, Shiva is flanked by his warrior son Kartikeya and the all-knowing Ganesha.

The above picture taken by Aasif K Farooki for his article on the following site and is used with his permission. The picture is taken from the steps leading to the temple looking out.
http://www.worldisround.com/travel/index.html

From Omkareshwar to TigersCorner Homestay at Hakattur

We tried to catch a glimpse of the Abbey Falls at Abborkatte (about 8 Kms North-East of Madikeri) but it was visitor closing time. I believe it is very beautiful with a hanging bridge and a scenic spot with coffee plantations on either side. Water collected over a large area drops down here to feed the Cauvery (also written Kaveri sometimes) river. Our next move was to get to our lodgings for the night. Unfortunately the directions are not well marked and it helps to hire a local driver who can easily locate the place. The lack of proper guidance to visitor in the form of direction markers and sign posts would help the visitors immensely.
The air was getting colder and we drove towards our stay for the night at a Homestay in Hakattur, the Tiger Corner. Hakattur is only a few Kms directly south of Madikeri. Notwithstanding the name tigers are not seen here as this is not the tiger country (Go to Nagarhole National Park). It is owned by the plantation owner Mr. Prasad and maintained by his wife and other support staff.


 From Madikeri to the Tiger Corner the road is not paved except for a few patches here and there, but it is well worth the coming. It beats or matches in price the other Home-stays in and around Madikeri and the personal touch of Mr. Prasad enriched our stay. The rooms are clean with running hot & cold water; heat from the solar heater added to the machine produced heat.


There is both television and Internet although both were in the process of getting hooked up. We chatted with the owner over a bottle of scotch and nick-knacks to absorb the local news. My friend who was from Kodagu, who later married my sister had many things to discuss. The conversation was a mixture of Kodava, Kannada, English and hand gestures.
The dinner was tasty (you could get both vegetarian and non-vegetarian) with Chapattis; rice noodles, rice, sambars, palya (cooked vegetable with simple spices), curds (what is called Yoghurt in USA); a sweet and coffee. You could also get non-vegetarian food if you order beforehand. Coorgees (that’s how people of Coorg are called) are not strict vegetarians.

The night was cool but not cold and the night sounds were soothing. The day one came to an end hitting the sacks.

Learning about the estate produce

The Home-stay is in the middle of the coffee estate. Mr. Prasad took us out to show the coffee plants. He showed us the Robusta, Arabica and the Kaveri varieties of coffee. Explained how difficult it is to cultivate the coffee. He also explained the dynamics of coffee market and how a good crop in Brazil affects the value of local crop. But they were not doing too badly and the estate owners are known for their wealth.

The planted area (ground) is wet and slushy with the chances of picking up a leech or two is high. You should therefore wear knee-high boots if possible and in any case cover your feet completely. Slippers are no, no. The coffee beans are formed in clusters and I was told when in bloom the white flowers are very fragrant and beautiful.

Mr. Prasad also showed us the pepper corn vines growing on the Arecnut trees providing the overall shade for the coffee bushes underneath. We tasted the pepper-corn and true to its nature it was hot but exhilarating and killed the remnant cold in the chest.

Arecanut (aka betel nut) trees produce a kind of hard nut that is chewed together with beetle leaves and a dash of calcium hydroxide (known as chunnum in Tamil) mashed in the mouth producing a rich red to scarlet color and the juices produced are supposed to improve the digestion. This is a must in most Hindu and Indian weddings after the wedding banquet.

The black soil is also conducive to the growth of cardamom another exotic spice from India. The berries which contain the cardamom pods are at the very bottom of what looks like ginger plants. They look like nodules in-situ and it needs to be processed before it hits the market. Mr. Prasad picked up a few of the berries for us to taste crushed in his palm and the taste of cardamom was superb and nothing like the ones I was used to.


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

A woman heads a prestigious European Organization - Girls feel proud!

The is the first time a woman has been chosen to head the prestigious European Organization, CERN. Fabiola Gianotti an Italian experimental physicist heads this organization which was responsible for discovering the Higgs Boson, sometime called the 'God Particle'. Come January 2016 she will be taking up her new job.


You may already be knowing that it was at CERN, the World Wide Web was born with the first of the 'html' pages used as a vehicle for communicating with fellow scientists.

It was in one of the experiments she was involved with that announced the Higgs Boson and was responsible for two of the physicsts to get awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013.

The close up picture of Fabiola is taken from this site:
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/04/cern_appoints_first_female_director/

Read more at the home site of CERN:
http://home.web.cern.ch

Chinese drone buster

This is a good thing to have. I do not trust drones as their intelligence is limited to their operators and they are not 'human'. The Chinese laser canon based on a Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics can shoot down the drones but their performance is limited, it appears, "It is effective up to a maximum altitude of 500 metres and against aircraft flying at up to 50 metres per second (112 mph). This should reduce drone related terrorism to a great extent.

This vehicle mounted laser canon seems to have a high percentage of hits for low-flying drones compared to aircraft/helicopter mounted lasers.


Details here:
http://abc30.com/technology/china-develops-laser-system-against-drones/380490/
http://www.canada.com/news/China+says+successfully+tests+laser+system+destroy+flying+drones/10351765/story.html
 

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Most interesting repurposing I have come across

The English love to repurpose. My on-line acquaintance sent me a listicle (as he calls it) of repurposed phone booths from good old UK. They are very interesting and I love to share them with my readers. I really liked some of them but you may like the others. Here is a selection of them. I love to receive comments. What other things can be repurposed, I wonder?

Aquarium
 
 BritishBathroom
 
Changing Room

 
Smoking rooms

 
Tiny bar

 
The couch
 


Here is a link to the source of these images:
http://www.ansaback.co.uk

If you have watched Dr.Who series you will have come across Tardis (SyFy Time machine) which used a police box as a prop.

If you have not, here is Tardis taken out of Wikipedia.
Tardis