My cloud 9 in the sky

Its about time

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 01:51:00 +0000

In something that was a long time coming, a small man (In physical height only) with a nonviolent hunger fast brought a mighty government and its inertial bureaucracy to the negotiating table. He got the entire nation singing his praise and rallying behind him for a cause everyone believed was a long time overdue. There were parallel hunger strikes, rallies, marches, sit ins, candle light protests, everything peaceful non violent and orderly.

Sounds an awfully lot like Mahatma Gandhi doesn't it. Except this is April 2011, well into the 21st century. A far cry away from the mid 20th century. A far cry merely in terms of decades past, but not in terms of empowerment of the middle class and the impoverished.

So who am I talking about? Well if you have been following the uprisings around the world that started in early 2011, you will have an idea. First it was Tunisia, Egypt though Libya recently has taken on a violent turn...keep going eastward and you reach India. A democracy for sure. One touted as a model for some years now by every politician, CEO or economist stopping by to bag some business for their country, company or organization respectively. Yeah the country is booming economically. The rich are getting richer..obscenely in some cases. The middle class is flush with money. Consumerism has caught on like wild fire. Huge projects are underway, warts, delays and schedule/cost overruns not withstanding. But people on the ground are not seeing the change that everyone else talks about. Definitely not non residents like me, who on every visit continue to experience culture shock in terms of the amount of corruption every day life entails, not to mention the scandal a day that seems characteristic of politics in the country.

Living in the developed world, blinds one to the fact that the developing world accepts as inevitable the corrupt practices required to just live through a day. To accomplish necessary tasks, something as silly as getting a broken telephone connection fixed. Something unimaginable in western society. So along comes a little known man (At least outside the activist, NGO circles) called Anna Hazare and kick starts a mini revolution that has at least set in motion an anti corruption bill that would give an independent ombudsman the authority to bring on corruption charges against anybody. Either in the government or bureaucracy or otherwise based on complaints from the public. Will this actually see the light of day? Will this be yet another toothless bill like all previous bills? I am not sure, but hope springs eternal. Hope that things can and will change..and not some distant day, but immediately. As the eternal rally song of the US Civil rights movement goes "We Shall Overcome....some day" and the Hindi version of it that I grew up listening to goes "हम होंगे कामयाब, हम होंगे कामयाब.... हम होंगे कामयाब एक दिन...ओह हो मन में हैं विश्वास ...पूरा हैं विश्वास.....हम होंगे कामयाब एक दिन.", its about time that someday is NOW.

This is a supporting cry that goes from a fellow Indian, though far away physically, but not far away in thought. Also as the middle east protests have shown, this is not just the Indians fasting to get their corrupt government and bureaucratic house in order, but to every society on earth that even in the 21st century struggles to get rid of the powerful amongst them who don't think twice when stamping on the basic rights of its populace. Enough is enough... is what the world is saying.

Anna Hazare - Fast unto death

KB thinks it is Karma

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 03:57:00 +0000

KB: Ha Ha Ha...ROFL....Ha Ha Ha
Me: What is it?
KB: I just can't believe your latest "Retrospective Series 13: When the Universe conspires" post...that is some serious karma man.
Me: Huh..
KB: I mean, seriously that is some sh***y karma dude.
Me: Yeah I guess.
KB: Wish I were there.
Me: Its ok, you don't need to rub it in. Besides it was decades ago, so its not like you were alive. Remember I said this was the 20th century. You are a Noob born in 2002.
KB: Yeah, whatever!
Me: (Sulks)

Writer's Block: Retrospective Series 13: When the Universe conspires

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:55:00 +0000

This weekend, an event had me traveling back in time and set my Retrospective bells ringing. As my little one gets to understand the concept of money, counting and addition, we (rather it was him) decided that it was time to get a piggy bank to collect pocket money earned or gifted. The exercise was pretty exciting for all parties involved because...

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Thus spoke Liam - The Lion Cub

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 02:00:00 +0000

Liam: (Excited voice) Dad.. Dad.. come here..look what I found?
Dad: What is it Liam?
Liam: I think I poked it in the eye and I also broke one of its legs.

(Dad curiously approaches to see Liam dissecting a hapless fly on the window sill)

Dad: Liam, thats cruel, you shouldn't be doing that. Its just a poor little fly. Let it be.
Liam: But the lion does stuff like that to all the animals in the jungle.
Dad: Yeah, but this is not the jungle is it?
Liam: But you said that I am a Lion cub.
Dad: Well.... that was because you were scared of the monsters under your bed and of Tigger who keeps jumping on Winnie. I just didn't want you to be scared of them.
Liam: So am I or am I not a Lion cub?
Dad: Well you are...but
Liam: But what daddy?

(Dad knows where this conversation will lead at bed time..so grudgingly agrees)

Dad: Well ..ok you are a Lion cub then.
Liam: Oh so that means I can roar and pounce on other animals and insects ...flies and ants too.
Dad: Not really Liam, you have to be a gentle cub who loves all animals.
Liam: Dad...
Dad: Yeah... (There is a trap springing..dad can sense it)

Liam: If I am a Lion cub, then you are a Lion aren't you....because you are my dad. No?
Dad: Yeah sort of.
Liam: Then shouldn't you love all animals.
Dad: Yeah... I think I do.
Liam: But remember the other day you saw a rabbit nibbling on the bean stalk in our kitchen garden and you chased it around and threw a rock at it.
Dad: Well....thats because.....
Liam: No dad, you should not do that. You should be a gentle Lion too.
Dad: Ok sorry buddy. I will be careful.
Liam: Dad, can we bury this fly in mom's spice garden?
Dad: (Sits down on the couch...just plain tired)

Sunday evening Haiku - Escape from Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 03:13:00 +0000

Tap Tap goes my keyboard,
Supposedly busy blogging
Is it that; Or just an escape from reality.

Thus spoke Liam - Watch your Language

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:50:00 +0000

KB: So yogi, you seem all gung ho about having woken me up?
Me: Yeah dude.. you look smart, I think we should put up our first serious post after the reboot.
KB: Yeah sure..why not..you always say that, but I don't see anything serious or useful or funny or even dull for that matter coming out.
Me: Well KB you see there is this little thing called Writer's Block. You wouldn't understand. Only serious writers (Ahem, yogi thy name is humility) go through such phases.
Blog Mother: Guys, I don't want a pointless banter here between you two. Please start blogging or shut your traps and leave me in peace. Agreed that I am the Blog mother, but even I have my limits, so please don't push it.
Me: Oooooooh, sorry. Somebody is in a bad mood today. Hey buddy looks like she is pissed. We better come up with something before she wreaks havoc in our lives. Man she could do something like pull the plug on the internet or something and we would be in the dark like Egypt these days. Completely without a net connection. Imagine that.
KB: Wow, that is some scary hypotheticals that you are proposing man. I am all ears, what can we do?
Me: You see, I want to restart my retrospective series, but that thing takes a while to start.. you know because I have to have a current story, then wind back to the past and then finish with a strong punch line about changed perspectives. That needs time, creativity and finesse. Something that is in short supply these days.
KB: Ok then post something else.
Me: Yeah the only thing I am good at these days is browsing stuff on my smart phone. (Due to security purposes the smart phone shall be unnamed)
KB: So you are a consumer of information and no longer a creator of information
Me: Yup, I know its sad.
KB: So....
Me: Ok, Ok, I get it...so here goes my first actual post after the reboot.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thus Spoke Liam - "Watch your Language"

This is a new series that begins with the adventures of a pre-schooler who goes by the name Liam. Now Liam is your typical pre-schooler for all practical purposes except when he goes into this deeply mature mode that causes everyone around him to pause and take a second look at him. Their look is primarily to confirm that he indeed is a pre-schooler and not some adult stuck in a pre-schooler's body. These adventures that we embark on are a small glimpse into the world of Liam.

Day 1:
Liam: Dad the other day, I was quietly working on my lesson and this girl in my class came over and pushed me. I was very upset about it.
Dad: Oh is it. Well what did you do?
Liam: I just pushed her back and told her "Go away, Stupid girl"
Dad: (Annoyed) No, No Liam, that is not right. You should not use bad words. Please watch your language. You should have said. "No thank you. Please do not push me"
Liam: Oh. Ok Dad.

Day 3:
(Dad and Liam are driving to the library to pickup books for Liam. The road is packed bumper to bumper and cars are not moving anywhere.)

Dad: Liam, looks like we are going to be waiting here for a long time. Look at all the cars.
Liam: Dad, did you see that lady in the green car. Why is she putting on her makeup while driving?
Dad: Well, she doesn't know better. Thats why.
Liam: Why dad?
Dad: She is probably a very busy person and did not have enough time to put on her makeup at home. But its not safe to do that in the car.
Liam: Ok.

(As they are talking, the traffic starts to ease a bit and cars start moving slowly. Dad's car starts to pick up speed. Just then a massive SUV cuts right in front of Dad's car and makes him slam his brakes to avoid a fender bender. Dad rolls down the driver's window, angrily yells and honks at the SUV)

Dad: (To the SUV) Are you stupid or something?
SUV: (Mumble Jumble)
Dad: Where do these guys come from? Jeez.
(Dad rolls the window back up and continues to drive)
Liam: Dad.
Dad: Yes Liam.
Liam: Dad. Did you know you did something wrong?
Dad: Huh. What did I do?
Liam: You just used a bad word? That is not very nice. You should have said "No Thank you." Instead you used a bad word.
Dad: Oh... Oh...Did I? Oh, I am so sorry buddy. I did not mean to. I am very sorry.
Liam: Yeah please don't repeat it again. Watch your language dad.
Dad: (Sighs) Sure. I will be careful next time.
Liam: Dad, the sun is poking me in my eyes. Can you ask it to move away from the window?
Dad: (Still reeling from whatever hit him)... Huh?

Cloud 9 - Reboot

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 22:58:00 +0000

My Cloud 9 was neglected. Really neglected. You can tell that from the frequency (or lack thereof) of my posts. The last three years were witness to a whirlwind of changes in life around me that blogging was the least of my priorities. Not that any of that has changed now. But recently I received a message from an old friend on a social network asking me what happened to my blogging and thats when it dawned on me that I had not blogged in ages? And to that friend I say, thank you for trying to nudge me out of my Writer's block.

So I gently wake myself up, wake KB up too who begrudgingly allows me to change his dress. I last dressed him up in some wintery snow flakes garb some two odd years back and he had been slumbering with that attire. Now that he has had a shower, fresh set of dresses he looks smart and ready to bloll if you pardon my fake word here. Fairy Blog mother was always awake and would keep whispering(at times nagging) in my ears, except I just chose to ignore her. But now she seems happy because she can see that both KB and I are awake.

Its still mid winter here on the east coast and hibernators typically do not wake up until at least GroundHog day.
So to begin this rebooted session let me start off with a Sunday evening Haiku

Stuck in traffic 'cause of snow
I pause to imagine; what if I'm
Out of gas or worse yet; have to pee

Why me ?

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:43:00 +0000

Yeah why me? For those who know me. Why me?

RIP Michael Jackson

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:17:00 +0000

Yesterday 6/25/09 Michael Jackson passed away. For lots of people it was a very saddening event. I believe he was a great entertainer who although mired in numerous controversies, was an icon of pop music. My school day memories are filled with Michael's music.

Rest in Peace Michael.

Belated Happy New Year !!!

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:43:00 +0000

Yeah I know, everyone's groaning.... look at this loser, comes along a month after the New Year and wishes everyone....as if we were eagerly waiting for this one last wish... Sorry folks, was on a sabbatical. Was visiting India after a very long time... pretty long in fact by modern standards. Will blog about it in the coming weeks. Am back, and refreshed after a much needed vacation. Though hectic, it was a departure from the usual grind of working a hectic day job. So to those that were wondering about me, sorry, I am still around. Better luck making me disappear next time.

Ciao
Yogi

Retrospective Series 12: Children of a lesser God (Apologies to Randa Haines)

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:02:00 +0000

Everyone experiences certain incidents in their lives, that change them permanently one way or the other. One incident that I remember changed me and affects me to this day.
I was probably 9 when this incident occurred, but I may be off by a year or so. The sight of the boy is clear as day in my memory, despite all this time having passed. He was probably a couple of years older than me, tall, lean as a stick, bones sticking out; especially evident because he was completely ...

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Sunday evening haiku

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:30:00 +0000

Sunday evening, lazing on my couch
Chores complete;
Bliss lasts barely a minute.
As I recall my chores for next week.
- Yogi

Book Review: The Caliph's House

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:20:00 +0000

A very interesting book I finished reading recently was Tahir Shah's "The Caliph's House". A personal account of a family's transplant from a first world country to...
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Phi Kappa Phi

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:09:00 +0000

I recently received an invitation to join the Phi Kappa Phi fraternity. Because this is an invitation only society that confers membership to students and alumni of US universities who finish in the top 10% of the entire university across all disciplines, I was pretty excited about it and have decided to join.
So here's a moment of self promotion and some chest thumping. Drum rooooolllllll. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy !

As the stock markets crashed...

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:59:00 +0000

While the stock markets crash, and precious savings vanish in front of everyone's eyes, there are a few brave people who will log into their portfolio's and check on what happened and even attempt course correction. Then there are others who will want to stay away lest, they be faced with a sorrowful picture. I am afraid, I belong to the latter fold. Ignorance is bliss. I will wait for the markets to rally back before I login. Till then, portfolio, you are on your own. I shall not spend sleepless nights imagining what if scenarios, because I believe in the philosophy that what goes down must come up (Yogi's third law), especially if your holdings are golden. By the way if anyone owned Wachovia or AIG, sorry folks. Tough luck. Sh** happens.

P.S: I succumbed and did log in to invest into some gems that were going dirt cheap though, but covered my eyes so as not to look at the balance sheet. So in theory I did not keep up my word.... but hey what the heck, its my money.

Economy in a nose dive

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:07:00 +0000

Open letter to the politicians

Folks you guys have some balls to take my money and pass it on to wall
street

You will get my answer come nov 4th.
Yogi

Book Review: The God Delusion

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 03:52:00 +0000

I recently finished reading Richard Dawkins' book 'The God Delusion'. I bought the book, at my local Costco after reading the back cover, which lead me to believe that the book would provide a set of logical explanations and conclusively prove that God does not exist. After finishing the book [Read More...]

Forgive the mess

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:38:00 +0000

This blog is being revamped. So if you see some "dust" please bear with me. Drop me a note if you have problems viewing the blog. A late summer cleaning is in progress. Should have been done in spring, but then you know how procrastinators work !

iPhone App Review 1: Yelp

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:50:00 +0000

Starting today, I shall begin a new iPhone App review series. As I play with new iPhone Apps and install them, you should see some reviews and comments on what I feel about them. I shall try my best to be completely unbiased in my reviews.
Yelp http://www.yelp.com/
Yogi says

A neat little app that combines the best of search, reviews, ratings, location services and an indepth database of information provides the most uptodate experience in finding places near to where a user is located. Truly worthy of being installed on one's iphone.

Yogi's Scenario:

Friday afternoon, 12:45 PM. She calls me and asks me if I have plans for lunch. I obviously say "None". She then asks me if I want to take her out for lunch. I agree, get into the car with her and while driving, bring up Yelp on the iPhone. I search for a list of restaurants nearby. I filter on the cuisine options (We were in the mood for afghan), find one very highly rated kabob place, drive over there, find the place packed as mentioned in the reviews...wait while the food is prepared, and end up having some really really delicious fare. Well worth the wait !

Yogi's Rating

Turning a corner

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:33:00 +0000

This is a blog entry that I thought of as I was contemplating my return to the blog world. Like a million times before, I can various reasons why I have been unable to keep up the pace of blogging. My readers gently enquire, not wanting to sound rude I guess, but the close ones know the reason. But to the other nameless ones to whom I am yet another pseudonym', I shall offer this. I have just turned a corner. The anticipation of this corner was what had slowed down my pace over the past few months. I am done with my corner, having taken the bend without skidding... in fact I have managed to stay on track and come out with flying colors.

Speaking of turning corners, I guess every person goes through significant turns in their life. I myself can remember seven or eight such major and minor turns that have shaped me into the person that I currently have turned out to be. Good or bad, this is me. So this time around, we are going to have a blast. Why should this time be any different you ask... and I say, well wait and see. Or to put it in "Indian" as my colleague calls "Hindi",

"Aage aage dekhiye, hotha hai kya" or to typecast it in true form "आगे आगे देखिये होता है क्या !"

.
Man, I feel fresh from that long slumber. Hey Yogi! Whassup man. I must have been sleeping for a while now. Why didn't you wake me up? Anyways, feels good to be awake dude!
Yogi and KB, good evening. I was visiting my grand niece. She has a wonderful blog you know. She had invited me over for some advice. I was so home sick even though I did have a nice time with my niece. I was longing to be back and I guess I am back now. Hope you guys did miss me, because I sure did miss you.

Blogging from my iphone 3G

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:17:00 +0000

Yes! I can't believe it either. I stood in line for four hours on Saturday and am finally the proud parent of a cute little baby iPhone 3G. Both dad and baby are doing fine!

More thoughts on the new version is bound to be the subject of my next few blog posts.

Download Firefox 3 and Create a World Record

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:54:00 +0000

Procrastination

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:07:00 +0000

"So, did you call ?"
"Not yet honey. But I will once I am done writing this short story."
"Yeah, right!"
"Trust me, I will".
"So, what's the short story about ?"
"Its about a guy procrastinating over a phone call."
"Interesting, so how does it end ?"
"Haven't made up my mind yet !"

(c) copyright Karmayogi 04/26/2008
Note: If you like what you read, please link to this post instead of copying it. Please respect my copyright.

Gone : Yes, the writer's block is gone!

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 16:09:00 +0000

My absence for a while can easily be construed to be part of my routine disappearance from the blog due to other pressures...home, work you name it. This time around though, apart from these regular pressures there was one additional reason. Writer's block.
Yes, for those who write occasionally or even regularly, this disease is well known.
Why does it occur ?.
I have not the faintest idea.
How do you know you have this disease ?
Trust me, you will know it when you get it. Its that bad. The very idea of opening a document or a page or a tool to write something will get you feeling dizzy, nauseated, depressed and that strange feeling of guilt dawns on you, making you feel as if you have finally reached the end of your writing days. Alas, it was not meant to last too long.
When do you know you have recovered from the disease ?
Oh, that too you will know. Take my case for example. This morning I woke up, came down to check my emails on my laptop. Saw an email from my hosting service about some account renewal stuff and that's when I remembered. Oh!, I do own a blog. Ha, got to see what's happening there, poor KB and the Fairy Blog mother must be feeling lonely these days. So I browse to the URL and thats when my firefox browser tells me that the ScribeFire tool that I use to blog has been updated. I said "Hey thats neat, let me see what they have in the new version". So what do I discover ? A whole new friendlier interface that lets me blog right(initially typed it as write, God see what writer's block does to one's English.) from my laptop without having to navigate a clumsy web interface. Voila, what is this ? "me got to test that stuff out " says the geek in me. So here I am writing about it, and as I was half way through it, I realized...woah, what has just happened here ? Yes ! Yes! Yes! I have recovered from this episode of writer's block.
Does it reappear ?
You bet it does. It sometimes reappears within a day, sometimes within weeks, months or in certain cases years. For me, its always in weeks. So as the old adage goes,"Lets make hay while the sun shines"

James Hadley Chase

noreply@blogger.com (Karmayogi) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:55:00 +0000

There was a period in my teens when I had discovered an author who wrote western and other American mysteries. I had finished the entire collection that my local library had to offer on this guy. But so many years later, I have been wracking my brain to remember his name. Well finally as I was searching something on wikipedia I saw a name and recognition was instant. It was "James Hadley Chase". Yes for those of you who have read him, you will agree he is definitely an interesting read when you are younger, waiting to go into the world and see things and experience stuff.. for those who think he is a pure pulp fiction author, ok I'll buy that, but nevertheless he is worth a read. And for those who think they haven't read him and would like to give it a try, my advice, well ok give it a try but you might not appreciate it now if you are beyond your 30s. Or maybe I am wrong. Anyway here's to an author who provided entertainment during a lot of summer holidays, when the sun was too hot to venture out. May his soul rest in peace.

References:
Wikipedia on James Hadley Chase
P.S: Ok enough with the giggling ladies, its not what you think, the book covers are just a marketing strategy !.