Some time ago, I rambled this about the concept called “love”:

How does it feel like to be in love? For that matter what is love? Is love a tangible thing or an abstract idea? Is love merely a self reinforcing feeling where liking and/or attraction become strong and turned into something inexplicable, and therefore you love? I don’t know the answer to that,  but I do know this for sure: love is beyond simple physical attraction. Whatever may be its final manifestation, love germinates from an inexplicable liking to an idea, a thought about the person it is targeted at….

I am not completely closed to the idea, but I am not a believer in love stories ending in “happily ever after.” To me, there is only one thing certain about love -- it can cause a lot of pain -- tremendous pain. Here is a proof. I took this call on my May 13th show. The caller wanted to be anonymous. The woman he loved was getting married in India as he was speaking to me. He was struggling for words. But came from the deep and thick pain he was enduring was classic poetry. (A very well written and heart-felt kavitha).

Call him a bhagna premika, or a loser or whatever you want to call him, but take a listen and feel his pain -- it is real. I wish him all the best.

Edited 5:45 PM, May 23:

Air date: May 13, 2011

Language: Telugu

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2. 33 Questions For An Interview With Yourself
3. A Phone, A Pal, and A Story – Part3

Click here to see poll results

Related posts:

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2. Poll 3: Now, Will You Give, or Take?

Posted: March 26, 2011

Here is the interview you have all been asking me to upload for the last several days. I have added a 5 min response to the criticism at the end of part two of the interview.

The interview was conducted on March 9, broadcast on TORi on March 11 -- 2011

Audio language: Telugu and English

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2. Mohana Murali Interviews Legendary Dancer Smt L. Vijayalakshmi 2 of 2
3. Origins of TORi (Srilatha Interviews Mohana Muralidhar)

This news hits close to home. However tempting it might be to push the envelope, don’t take chances with the law. Your family deserves better than the temporary comforts breaking the law may provide. Very unfortunate development.

News via Washington Examiner:

Three local restaurant owners are charged with pretending their employees worked in the computer industry to help them fraudulently obtain visas.

Charging documents say Prashanth Goguri, Kishore Konda and Mannem Reddy are the owners of Symmetric Solutions, which operates Minerva Indian Cuisine and other retail businesses in Virginia and Maryland. From 1998 until last year, the documents say, the three men submitted fraudulent immigration applications on behalf of their workers, telling authorities that the employees worked in computer technology, rather than in the restaurant industry.

That allowed employees to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the United States when they otherwise wouldn’t have been eligible, prosecutors say.

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You don’t want to wait until the temperatures are freezing before you visit your furnace, because if there’s anything wrong, you’ll be caught in freezing temperatures while you repair it. As winter approaches, give everything a good test run to make sure it works so you aren’t scrambling to find a repairman before your pipes freeze. Photo by Eneas De Troya.

9. Use a Space Heater to Heat One Room at Low Cost

If you’re only spending time in one room of your house, you can usually give your heating a break and use a smaller space heater. They’ll only cost about $50 to $100; far less than the cost of keeping your entire home warm—plus, you have quite a few models to choose from to best fit your needs.

8. Install a Programmable Thermostat

If you haven’t invested in a fully programmable thermostat, now might be the time, as they can make your life a lot easier. Not only are they more energy-friendly, but after installing the system, there’s very little hassle involved later on. They’ll just adjust themselves depending on the time of day, so when it’s warmer out, you’re not wasting heat (and when you’re at work, you can leave your house a bit cooler).

7. Make Your Fireplace More Efficient

An evening fire not only does a good job of keeping you warm, but it provides a very pleasant atmosphere on those cold winter nights. Unfortunately, fireplaces can be a bit inefficient, pulling tons of heat up through the chimney (which is even worse when you don’t have a fire going). Luckily, there are a few DIY solutions to maximize the heat a roaring fire provides. Make sure to sprinkle some coffee grounds in there, too, for easier cleanup later on.

6. Try Some Less Well-Known Homemade Warming Beverages

There’s nothing wrong with hot chocolate and tea, but switch it up by trying something new, like the spicy, honey-based Russian beverage Sbiten. If it’s too late and you’ve gone past chills and into a cold, you might opt to try a throat-soothing honey lemon ginger infusion, or one of our many other homemade cough and cold remedies.

5. Weather Strip, Seal, and Curtain Your Windows

While it’s important to have a good heating system in your house, the other half of the equation is making sure heat doesn’t escape. Before it gets too cold, take some time to weather strip your windows to keep cold air out (and warm air in). If you don’t have the time for a full weatherproofing, a quick bubblewrap application will do the trick nicely.

4. Insulate Outlets and Switches

While keeping air from escaping out your doors and windows may seem obvious, they aren’t the only places in your house air can escape. Power outlets and light switches can contribute a remarkable amount of draftiness if not insulated properly. With just a screwdriver, some inexpensive foam plate seals, and maybe some expanding foam, you can plug those sneaky air holes up tight.

3. Harness the Sun’s Energy to Add Some Extra Heat to Your Home

While it probably won’t heat your whole house, you can probably cut down your heating costs by making your own solar heater. You can use nearly anything you have lying around—like old metal light fixtures or a tower of soda cans—and some black paint to create a free heat collector. If the sun doesn’t shine where you come from, you can also build your own rocket stove to heat your home using wood scraps.

2. Make Your Own Heated Clothing

Heated blankets are a godsend in the winter, but if you find you could use a little extra electric-powered body heat all the time, you can use some Teflon and copper wire connected to a battery to make your own heated thermal underwear. It’s extreme, sure—but there’s nothing like that toasty, fresh-out-of-the-dryer feeling all day long.

1. Winterize Your Body to Stay Fit and Healthy

Apart from actually creating and insulating the ever-precious heat, you need to make sure not to neglect your body’s changing needs in the winter. Being cold, sick and depressed is a lot worse than just being a little chilly. Getting enough sunshine, water, vitamins, and social activity is crucial to keeping yourself comfortable in the winter, so read up on the best ways to stay healthy in the winter before you get sick.

[Via - Lifehacker]

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2. Humidify Your Home for Increased Winter Comfort
3. Converting Your Home Into A Solar Home

Watch it, and comment.

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By Deepak Chopra’s definition, wealth is:

• Progressive realization of worthy goals
• Ability to love and have compassion
• Good health
• Meaningful caring relationships
• Ability to get in touch with the creative power inside you

As per this definition, I am a wealthy man. Are you?

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Image by quinn.anya

Introduction

Accurately remembering names is one of the simplest yet most important components of interacting with people, no matter in what capacity. A person’s own name is the single most important word to him/her; it is intimately tied to his/her identity as an individual. How you deal with people’s names can have a profound effect on their impressions of you: Think about the times you’ve felt special when someone you admired addressed you by your name in a sincere tone; or think about the times when you’ve felt belittled when someone negligently called you by the wrong name, or worse, maliciously made fun of your name in front of you.

This article presents some tips I’ve acquired over the years with regards to remembering and using people’s names. There are many far more reputable professionals who have written about this topic, so I am not claiming that my tips are novel. However, such professional ‘human interaction gurus’ are often targeting their advice to a business-minded audience, giving tips on how to socially network, schmooze, or otherwise impress people at work. In contrast, I am writing based upon my own experiences growing up as a technically-minded kid without much in terms of schmoozing or popularity-acquiring skills, so hopefully other nerds and geeks can better relate to my advice.

Tip 1: DO remember someone’s name the FIRST time he/she tells it to you

Here is the most important tip of this article, so pay attention!

Unless you’re the Unabomber (or some other hermit living in isolation), you will have to make hundreds or even thousands of introductions to strangers throughout your lifetime. Like death and taxes, personal introductions simply cannot be avoided, so it’s wise to remember the most crucial bit of information that comes out of them: the other person’s name.

Unfortunately, most of us totally forget the other person’s name as soon as the introduction is over. Here is how a typical scenario plays out:

1. The other person says to you: “Hi, I’m Sasha”
2. You respond by presenting your own name: “Nice to meet you, Sasha. I’m Philip”
3. A split-second later, you totally forget Sasha’s name because your mind is too pre-occupied thinking about the next thing you’re going to say to carry the conversation forward, or too focused on listening to Sasha talk. Likewise, Sasha also totally forgets your name.
4. The conversation might proceed for a few minutes, and then by the time you and Sasha part ways, neither of you can remember the other’s name, but you’re both too embarrassed to ask for it again. Game over.

This has happened to me dozens of times, and it still continues to happen, although less frequently now that I’m more conscientious about remembering people’s names. The main lesson here is that if you don’t make an active effort to remember someone’s name the first time he/she tells it to you, then it’s really difficult for you to get another chance to do so.

One simple way to elide this awkwardness is to later ask a friend who knows Sasha to remind you of her name. But I feel that a better way is to try your hardest to remember names the first time around. Let’s revisit our same introduction scenario again:

1. The other person says to you: “Hi, I’m Sasha”
2. As soon as you hear her name, start repeating SASHA in your head loudly a few times — SASHA, SASHA, SASHA. If you want to practice saying it out loud a few times, ask her about her name. “Sasha, that’s spelled S-A-S-H-A?” or “Sorry, I’m not so good with names. How do you spell that?” The purpose of these questions is to simply get you and Sasha to repeat her name a few times to help you to remember. This step should only take a few seconds at most, or else it can start feeling awkward.
3. Now introduce yourself: “Nice to meet you, Sasha. I’m Philip.”
4. Unless you have something desperately urgent to say, let Sasha talk, and as you listen to what she has to say, keep associating what she says with the name SASHA. Think creatively about how you can clearly associate that name with her face. If you know someone else with the same name, try to associate that person with Sasha; or if you know some clever mnemonic or memory aid to help you remember her name, then use it, no matter how absurd it might seem.
5. When you finally part ways, mention her name to her! e.g., “Great talking to you, Sasha, I’ve gotta go meet up with my friend now.” This has the double benefit of making her feel good that you remembered her name, and also helps you reinforce her name in your head even deeper.

With some practice, you’ll notice that you will become much better at remembering people’s names, without appearing at all awkward.

Tip 2: DO make extra efforts to learn foreign-sounding or unconventional names

Most people you’ll meet will have conventional-sounding names, like Steve or Rachel (if you live in America). However, you will inevitably meet people with unconventional, foreign-sounding, or hard-to-pronounce names (with respect to your home culture). These folks are used to people forgetting or botching up their names, so you will make an extra good impression if you can accurately recall their names. It’s obviously harder for Americans to remember a name like Ramachandran than George, but that’s not an excuse for not trying.

My main advice here is to (apologetically) ask the other person to repeat and clarify how exactly to pronounce their name: “Sorry, I can’t hear too well with this noise in the background. Could you repeat how to pronounce your name?” These people are used to having to repeat or clarify their names, so they likely won’t mind, especially when you are meeting them for the first time. Don’t worry at all about how to accurately spell their names, but rather focus on making up a phonetic spelling that’s easy to remember. For a name like Chakravarty, you could think to yourself, “CHALK -- AHHH -- VAR -- TY, rhymes with party” And when you address them by their names again, you can ask for them to repeat it a few times, with something like “Pardon, did I pronounce it correctly? I want to make sure I get it right.” At the very least, they will appreciate that you are making an effort.

Tip 3: DON’T make any remarks about people’s unconventional names

Everyone with an unconventional name probably remembers being teased as a kid in school over his/her name, so such insensitive behavior during adulthood (even if not maliciously intended) can bring back less-than-fond memories.

You risk sounding ignorant, xenophobic, and bigoted if you make dismissive or insensitive remarks about people’s names that happen to be unconventional by your local definition. For example, “Boy, those Asian names are so hard to remember! Sheesh, I can deal with Dave or Mike, but Yamamoto, damn!”. Or even something as innocuous as “Whoa, that’s pretty weird-soundin’, dude! Where did that come from?!?” Even if you don’t actively intend to be prejudiced, such statements make you sound so. This is especially true if you’re a member of the majority group, i.e., a white person in America.

Remember, in most countries, your name sounds weird!

Tip 4: DON’T call people by nicknames or alternative forms of their names if they haven’t first sanctioned it

Play it safe by always addressing someone by the exact name he/she used when introducing him/herself. Hearing someone call you by an unsanctioned nickname or name variant can be mentally jarring, since you’re simply not used to responding to it. Even worse, it shows disrespect and arrogance on the part of the caller, since he/she seems to be asserting the right to modify your own name in front of you. Someone named Robert might not want others calling him Rob or Bob or Bobby-boy, or might have reserved those variants only for use by close friends or family members.

This action becomes even more offensive and bigoted when the other person has a foreign name. For example, if you meet someone named Katsuyami but you say something like, “God damn! What a weird-soundin’ name! How ’bout I call you Kat instead? You cool with that, kid?” What a fucking insult.

Tip 5: DO use people’s names occasionally in conversation, and especially when saying hello and goodbye

Once you remember someone’s name, the great thing about using it in conversation is that it can develop better rapport (since everyone likes hearing their name) and can also help you remember it even better. Of course, it’s gratuitous and phony-sounding to preface every sentence with mention of a name, but I’ve found that you should at least use names when saying hello and goodbye to enter and exit with a pleasant impression, respectively.

Tip 6: DON’T ever call people by the wrong name

Hearing your name mispronounced can be annoying but forgivable, especially if lots of people find your name hard to pronounce, but hearing someone call you by the wrong name is always infuriating! Out of all facts that someone can possibly misremember about you (e.g., your job, college major, or ethnicity), getting your name wrong is the ultimate insult. It simply leaves a yucky visceral impression that the other person doesn’t give a damn about you.

Thus, if you’re not 100% certain that you’ve got someone’s name correct, it’s probably better not to address them by it, and instead immediately find some covert way of re-learning it (e.g., asking a friend or even apologetically asking that person to re-introduce him/herself to you).

However, don’t just give up and not make subsequent attempts at learning someone’s name just because you didn’t get it the first time around. Hearing someone call you by the wrong name is horrible, but knowing that someone most likely doesn’t know your name and isn’t willing to learn it is also fairly irritating.

Tip 7: DON’T misspell someone’s name in writing

When you are writing emails to people (or letters, if you’re old-school), the single most important word to spell correctly is their name. Typos everywhere else can be tolerated, but people will reflexively cringe if they see their names misspelled. A person sees his name in writing probably more times than any other non-trivial word, so any misspellings will immediately pop out.

Many people have misspelled my name as Phillip in emails, even when my emails to them clearly spelled it Philip; this is one of my personal pet peeves, and I can’t help but notice every single time it occurs.

A brain-dead-easy way to get someone’s name correct in writing is to simply copy-and-paste it from a previous email they have written to you; the chances of someone spelling their own name wrong is far less than you spelling it wrong!

Tip 8: DO try to learn the names of important people surrounding your conversation partner

You can build even greater rapport with someone if you can remember the names of his/her significant other, spouse, kids, or even parents. That way, instead of sounding generic with something like, “So, how is your wife’s art project going?”, you can appear more personable with, “So, how’s Deborah’s art project going?”

Don’t stress as much about these names, though, since they are less important than getting the person’s own name nailed!

[Via - Lifehacker]

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దమ్ముంటే Costco!

అమెరికాలో ఉన్న తెలుగు వాళ్ళ దగ్గర షాపింగ్ టిప్స్ చాల చాలా తెలుసుకోవాలని మా మామగారు అంటుంటారు.
నా ఫ్రెండ్ సుబ్బారావు ఇంటిపేరు ఏమిటో చాల మందికి తెలీదు. షాపింగ్ సుబ్బారావు గా పిలువబడే అతని ఇంటిపేరే షాపింగ్ అన్నమాట. షాపింగ్ టిప్స్ లో competition అంటూ ఏదైనా ఉంటె, అందులో సుబ్బారావు అలవోకగా నేగ్గేస్తాడు.
మీరేమైనా సుబ్బారావు తో షాపింగ్ టిప్స్ మీద పందెం కడతారా?
అయితే, దమ్ముంటే Costco!

————————--

ఇంతకీ ఎవరీ సుబ్బారావు ఏమాతని కథ?
సుబ్బారావు పేరు చెప్పగానే, అతని ఫ్రెండ్స్ అబ్బో అంటారు. బ్రతక నేర్చిన వాడు. తిమ్మిని బమ్మి చెయ్యగలడు. పది డాలర్లతో ఇరవై డాలర్ల విలువ గుంజగలడు. అమెరికాకు వచ్చిన ఈ  అయిదేళ్ళలో, ఇక్కడి జీవనాన్ని కాచి వడపోశాడు.
Money management లో Reserve Bank Governor సుబ్బారావు గారు, మన సుబ్బారావు ముందు దిగదుడుపే.
Alan Greenspan గాని Ben Bernanke గాని సుబ్బారావును సంప్రదించితే ఈపాటికి అమెరికా ఆర్ధిక వ్యవస్థ ను పునరుద్ధరించగలిగేవారు.

చాల రోజుల తర్వాత మొన్న సుబ్బారావు ను Costco లో కలిసాను.

• సుబ్బారావు: మురళి గారు -- ఎలావున్నారు.
• ఆ సుబ్బారావు గారు, surprise surprise. New Jersey లో కదా వుండటం. Visitకు వచ్చారా?
• సుబ్బారావు: లేదండి ఇక్కడకు move అయ్యి ఒక నెల అవుతోంది. వచ్చి కలుద్దాం కలుద్దాం అనుకుంటున్నాను. మా ఆవిడను కూడా పరిచయం చెయ్యాలి కదా మీకు. మీ ఫ్యామిలీ అంతా బాగున్నారా? అన్నట్లు, ఏమిటి తల అడ్డంగా shake చేసుకుంటూ వస్తున్నారు? ఎవడన్న కేసు తగిలాడా?
• ‘తగిలాడు’ కాదు . తగిలింది. పావుగంట పైన తిరిగితే ఒక పార్కింగ్ స్పాట్ దొరికింది. అందులోకి పుల్ చేయ్యబోయానో లేదో, ఒకావిడ ఎక్కడినుంచో పరిగెత్తుకుంటూ వచ్చి ఆ space మధ్యలో చేతులు అడ్డంగా సాచి నిలబడింది. ఇండియాలో మనం బస్సులో సీట్ రిజర్వు చేసుకోవడానికి కర్చీఫ్ వేసినట్లుగా. అసలూ….
• సుబ్బారావు: అయ్యబాబోయ్. ఆగండాగండి.. అదిగో అక్కడ returns దగ్గర purple చుడిదార్ వేసుకొని పాపను ఎత్తుకున్నావిడేనా?  ఆవిడే మా ఆవిడ -- కవిత! తను వద్దు అంటూనే వుంది, నా గోల పడలేక…

ఇంకేమంటాను? వెధవ మొఖం ఒకటి పెట్టి అవును కాదు మధ్య తలూపాను. ఇంకా నయం, నేననుకున్నదేదో బైట పెట్టేశాను కాదు. బ్రతక నేర్చినవాడు కదా -- తనే మాట మార్చాడు.

• సుబ్బారావు: మురళి గారు -- ఇతను నా cousin కామేష్. ఈ  వారమే ఇండియా నుంచి H1-B మీద వచ్హాడు. అమెరికాలో షాపింగ్ experience ఎలావుంటుందో చూపిద్దామని తీసుకొచ్చాను. షాపింగ్ అక్షరాభ్యాసానికి Costco కంటే  మంచి ప్లేస్ ఏముంటుందో చెప్పండి.

PHD తొ కలిపి  నాకు నాలుగు డిగ్రీలు ఉన్నాయి. అయినా,  షాపింగ్ పరిజ్ఞానంలో సుబ్బారావు తో పోల్చుకుంటే నాకు అ ఆ లు కూడా రానట్లే. నాకప్పుడు అనిపించింది అప్పారావు గురించి ఇన్ని కథలు చెబుతారు, ఇతగాడి షాపింగ్ తీరు ఎలా వుంటుందో తెలుసుకోవాలని. నేనొక ఈగలా మారి తన షాపింగ్ కార్ట్ మీద వాలిపోయి కామేష్ కు ఏమేమి టిప్స్ చెబుతాడో చూడాలనిపించింది

అలా అనిపించిందో లేదో…… [sound effects]
[with echo ] Boom! -- నేనొక ఈగలా మారిపోయాను. ముందు భయపడ్డాను నేనేదో అయిపోయానని. ఇంతలో గుర్తొచ్చింది. మొన్న దేవుడు గార్ని మా ఇంటికి భోజనానికి పిలిచినప్పుడు, మా ఆవిడ చేసిన వంట ఆయనకు విపరీతంగా నచ్చేసి, మమ్మల్ని ఏదైనా వరం కోరుకోమన్నప్పుడు -- నేను అప్పుడే అవతార్ సినిమా చూసోచ్చానేమో నేను అనుకున్న రూపంలోకి మారిపోయే వరం అడిగాను. ఆయనేమో సరే అన్నాడు. మా ఆవిడ ఏమడిగిందో మీకు తర్వాత చెబుతాను. నేనయితే ఆ వరాన్ని ఇదే 1st time  ఉపయోగించడం అన్నమాట. నేను ఈగలా మారాక సుబ్బారావుకు కామేష్ కు నేనేమయిపోయానో అర్ధం కాలేదు. బుర్ర గోక్కుంటూ షాపింగ్ కార్ట్ నెట్టుకొంటూ electronics వేపుకు వచ్చారు. నేనేమో, వాళ్ళ కార్ట్ మీద వాలి ride చేస్తున్నాను.

• కామేష్: [రాయలసీమ యాసలో] ఏందన్నఈ  మూలనే ఇన్ని కంప్యూటర్లు కెమెరాలు, టీవీలు ఉండాయి? మనకాడ హైదరాబాద్ లోగూడ ఏ షాప్ లోను ఇన్ని ఎలేక్ట్రోనిచ్స్ ఉండవే. అసలు షాప్ సూడు ఎట్టా జిగేల్ మంటందో! షాప్ అంతా ఉత్తినే తిరగనీకి ఓ గంటన్నా పట్టేట్టు ఉండాది.
• సుబ్బారావు: దీన్ని wholesale warehouse అంటారులే. ఈ  Costco లాగానే Sam’s Club, BJ’s అని ఇంకో రెండు స్టోర్స్ ఉన్నాయి. అవికూడా ఇలాంటివే గాని, మన తెలుగోళ్ళు ఈ  Costco కే ఎక్కువ వస్తుంటారు.

అలా కృష్ణుడు అర్జునుడికి గీతోపదేశం చేసినట్లుగా చెబుతూ Digital cameras దగ్గర ఆగారు. Nikon SLR camera information పరిశీలించి, దాన్ని కార్ట్ లో  పడేసాడు సుబ్బారావు.

• కామేష్:  అదేంటన్న మొన్ననే మనింటికి ఇట్టంటిది ఓటి పోస్ట్ లో వచ్చింది గందా. మళ్ళీ కొంటండావేంది? ఈడ అన్ని తిరిగిచ్చేయొచ్చు అంటావుండావు  గందా, అది ఇచ్చేస్తండావా?
• సుబ్బారావు: మనింటికి వచ్చింది refurbished item రా.  అలాంటివి all sales are ఫైనల్. అందుకే, అది అమ్మినవాడు తిరిగి తీసుకోడు. కాని ఈ  Costco వాడు తిరిగి తీసుకుంటాడు.

కామేష్ అర్ధం కానట్లు చూసాడు.

• సుబ్బారావు: మనం ఏమి చేస్తామంటే, ఆ mail order లో వచ్చిన  refurbished item ను ఈ  బాక్స్ లో పెట్టి Costco లో తిరిగిస్తామన్నమాట. అంటే, refurbished item cost కు మనకు కొత్తది వచ్చింది.
• కామేష్: అట్టాగూడ  చేయొచ్చన్నా? ఇలాజేస్తే ఎంత మిగులుద్దన్నా?
• సుబ్బారావు: ఓ ఏభై డాలర్లు
• కామేష్: అంటే -- రెండువేల రూపాయలకు పైనే.

ఆ క్షణంలో నాకు అనుభవం అయ్యింది ఈగకు తల తిరగడం అంటే ఎలా వుంటుందో. కామేష్ తన అన్న వంక గర్వంగా చూసాడు. విశాలమైన ఆ అంగడి లో వాళ్ళ పయనం కొనసాగింది. Furniture aisle దగ్గరకు రాగానే -- సుబ్బారావు కామేష్ ను పురమాయించాడు.

• సుబ్బారావు: కామేష్, ఆ పెద్ద కార్ట్ తీసుకురా.
• కామేష్: ఎందుకన్నా?
• సుబ్బారావు: Next weekend పాప birthday party పెట్టుకున్నాం కదా. ఒక ఇరవై కుర్చీలు నాలుగు tables తెసుకెళదాం.
• కామేష్: ఇయన్నీ పెట్టుకోడానికి చోటే డదన్న  మనకాడ?
• సుబ్బారావు: ఒక వారేమే గదరా. పార్టీ అయిపోగానే తిరిగిచ్చేస్తే సరిపాయే

నాకయితే ఇది ఎక్కడో తగిలింది. బక్క ఈగను కదా -- కొంచెం తట్టుకోలేక పోయాను.
వాళ్ళ Next stop -- bakery . రక రకాల breads samples పెట్టి customers ను ఆ breads కొనమని ప్రోత్సహిస్తోంది ఒక sales మహిళ. బ్రెడ్ ముక్కలు తీసుకొని రెండు కామేషుకిస్తూ అన్నాడు సుబ్బారావు:.

• సుబ్బారావు: ఆకలి అవుతుందిరా వదిన పాపను తీసుకొని బాత్రూం నుంచి వచ్చేలోపు ఒక శాంపిల్ రౌండ్ కొట్టి వద్దాము రా.

శాంపిల్ రౌండ్ అంటే మందు అయి వుండదు, రోడ్ మీద తిరిగి రావడమో, దమ్ముకొట్టి రావడమో అనుకున్నట్లున్నాడు కామేష్. అతని ముఖంలో confusion చూసి సుబ్బారావే మళ్ళీ  అన్నాడు

• సుబ్బారావు: శాంపిల్ రౌండ్ అంటే, వీళ్ళు  పెట్టిన food samples అన్నీ ఒక సారి రుచి చూసి రావడం. షాపింగ్ చేసేప్పుడు రెండో రౌండ్ వేస్తామన్నమాట.

అలా ఒక శాంపిల్ రౌండ్ వేశారు. Second round నడుస్తుండగా fruits దగ్గర ఆగారు.

• కామేష్: ఇందేందన్న, ఈడ ఈ  సీజన్లో లోగూడ మాగాయలు అమ్ముతార? చిత్రంగా ఉండాదే. ఇయ్యి మన బంగనపిల్లి అంత బాగుంటాయ?
• సుబ్బారావు: బంగినపల్లి అంత బాగోవు కాని, OK

మామిడికాయలు తొమ్మిదేసి ఉన్నాయి open-boxes లో. పండబోతున్న మంచి కాయలున్న బాక్స్ ఒకదాంట్లో కాయలన్నీ బాగా కుదించి, పక్క బాక్స్ లోని  ఓ మూడు కాయలను ఇందులో సర్దాడు. ముక్కున వేలేసుకున్దామనుకున్నాను. సుబ్బా రావు ఏమి చేస్తున్నాడో నాకు తెలుస్తోంది.  ఈగకు ముక్కు, వేలు ఎక్కడ ఉంటాయో తెలియలేదు. ఈ  సారి రూపు మార్చేముందు గూగుల్ సెర్చ్ చేసి ఆ జీవి anatomy పూర్తిగా తెలిసి మరీ మారాలి అని నిశ్చయించుకున్నాను.

• కామేష్: ఈడ మన చిత్తూరులో లాగ లెక్కెట్టి అమ్ముటారా లేక హైదరాబాద్ లో లాగ తూకమేసి అమ్ముటారా?
• సుబ్బారావు: రెండూ కాదు -- అక్కడ రాసి వుంది చూడు. బాక్స్ లెక్క.
• కామేష్: మరయితే ఆటన్నిట్లోను తొమ్మిదే ఉన్నైగా మరి గిదేంది, నువ్వు పన్నెండు ఎట్టుకొచ్చినావ్?
• సుబ్బారావు:ఇష్…. మెల్లిగా మాట్లాడారా, వాళ్ళెవరూ లెక్క చూడర్లేర. అంతే కాదు, మనం self -checkout లో వెళతాం. గేటుకాడ వాడు పట్టించుకోడు.
• కామేష్: వామ్మో… నీకాడ  చాల ట్రిక్కులున్నాయన్న
• సుబ్బారావు: అందుకేరా నన్ను షాపింగ్ సుబ్బారావు అంటారు. [గర్వంగా]

అప్పటిదాకా నన్ను స్టోర్ అంతా వెతుక్కుంటున్న మా ఆవిడ అక్కడకు వచ్చింది. నాకయితే మహా సరదా వేసింది. నన్ను చూడలేదు, చూసినా గుర్తించలేదు. అనుకున్నాను అలా. కాని నా వంక సూటిగా చూసింది. చూసి నవ్వింది. ఆ నవ్వులు కోటి అర్ధాలు. అన్నింటికన్నా మిన్నగా -- నువ్వెవరో నాకు తెలుసులే అన్నట్లు ఉండి ఆ నవ్వు.  సుబ్బారావు ను పలకరించింది. నేను కనపడి మాయం అయిపోయానని చేప్పాడు. ఇక్కడే ఎక్కడో ఉండి ఉంటారు లెద్దూ అని తను స్టోర్ లో మరో వైపుకు వెళ్ళిపోయింది.
సుబ్బారావు, కామేష్ తర్వాత Diapers సెక్షన్ దగ్గర ఆగారు.

• సుబ్బారావు: ఇవేంటో తెలుసా?
• కామేష్: పిల్లకాయల డైపర్లు గదన్న? ఇప్పుడు మనకాడగూడ దొరుకుతున్నాయి గందా? అన్నట్టు నాకో డౌట్ అన్నా.
• సుబ్బారావు: ఏమిటో
• కామేష్: మరి నువ్వు రెండేళ్ళు వాడిన furniture తిరిగి ఇచ్చేసినా అన్నావ్. ఇందాక వదినేమో సగం తినేసాక కుళ్ళు orange వచ్చిందని oranges బాక్స్ తిరిగిచ్చేసింది. ఇలా అన్ని తిరిగిచ్చేయోచ్చుకందా? వాడిన దిఅపెర్స్కూడా ఈడ తిరిగిచ్చేయోచ్చా?
• సుబ్బారావు: చాల్లే ఊరుకోరా. ఇస్తే తీసుకుంటారేమొగాని  కాని, వీళ్ళు మాత్రం బ్రతకోద్దేమిటి?

ఇది సుబ్బారావు కామేష్ కు ఇచ్చిన  షాపోపదేసం. ఇందులో ఒక కొసమెరుపు మిగిలింది…
వాళ్ళు అటు  చెకౌట్ కు వెళ్ళాక, నేను చిక్కుల్లో పడ్డాను. ఏమైందో తెలుసుకోవాలంటే తరువాయి భాగానికి వేచి ఉండండి.

—————-

Ending (as part two)

వాళ్ళు అటు  చెకౌట్ కు వెళ్ళాక, నేను నా మానవ రూపం లోకి వచ్చేదామని నేలమీద వాలాను. ఎన్నిసార్లు మనిషిగా మారాలని విష్ చేసుకున్న కాలేక పోయాను. ఒకవేళ మంత్రమేమన్న మర్చిపోయానా?   హాం గ్రీం ఫట్… ఫ్రం  గ్రీం హట్. తూం తాం తస్స్ … చస్ ఏ మంత్రం  అవసరం లేకుండానే ఇది పనిచెయ్యలే? నాకు పిచ్చి టెన్షన్ వచ్చేసింది. ఈగకు చెమటలు పడితే ఎలా వుంటుందో మరో సారి మీకు చెబుతాను. కాని అప్పుడు  మాత్రం నాకనిపించింది కనీసం ఫోన్ అన్న చేసుకో గలిగితే దేవుడు గారిని పిలవచ్చు ఏమైందో కనుక్కోవచ్చు. నా అదృష్టం బాగుంది. ఇంతలో దేవుడు గారే వచ్చారు ఆవుపాల నైవేద్యం కోసం -- Costco లో పాలు చాల చవక అని అక్కడకు రెగ్యులర్ గ వస్తూ ఉంటారంట. [Put Echo for voice of God]

• స్వామీ స్వామీ  ఏమిటిది. నాకేమయ్యింది? మీరిచ్చిన వరం ఎందుకు పని చెయ్యడం లేదు. ఎందుకని?
• God: భక్తా.. నేను నీకు మాత్రమే కాదు, మీ ఇద్దరికీ వరాలు ఇచ్చాను, కదా?.
• అవును స్వామీ అవును
• God: మీ శ్రీమతి  అడిగిన వరానికి నువ్వు మనిషిగా తిరిగి మారక పోవడానికి సంబంధం వుంది.
• స్వామీ అసలే టెన్షన్ లో వున్నాను మళ్ళీ ఈ  teasers ఏమిటి మహాశయా?  అంతేకాదు ఇప్పటిదాకా నా commentary అంతా echo లో వస్తే మీతో మాట్లాడేటప్పుడు నా మాట మామూలు గా వినపడి మీకు మాత్రమే echo వస్తోందేమిటి?
• God: చూడు బాబు, నువ్వొక ప్రశ్నల పుట్టవు.  సౌండ్ engineers ఎప్పుడూ నేనిచ్చిన రూల్స్ పాటిస్తుంటారు.  నా వాయిస్ ఎక్కడ వినిపించినా echo లో వినపడి తీరాలి. నేను సూపర్ బాస్ ను కనుక, మిగతా ప్రాణులకు, స్వగాతాలకు ఇచ్చిన echo నాముందు పనిచెయ్యదు అన్నమాట. ఇక వరాల విషయం -- నువ్వేమో  ఇచ్చా రూపం కావాలని కోరుకున్నావు. మీ ఆవిడేమో, ఒక్క వరం కోరుకోమంటే ఆ వరంస్థానే తెలివిగా రెండు వరాలు కోరుకుంది.
• ఒరినాయనోయ్. నాకిది  తట్టలేదే. ఎంతైనా తనవి కృష్ణ జిల్లా తెలివితేటలు. ఆ… మరి ఆ రెండు వరాలు ఏమి కోరుకుంది స్వామీ.
• God: నేను non-disclosure sign చెయ్యలేదు కనుక చెబుతున్నాను. తను కోరుకున్న మొదటి వరం నీ మనుసులో వున్నది ఎప్పుడూ తనకు తెలియాలని. రెండవది, నీ అభీష్టం మీద తనకు veto పవర్ కావాలని.
• అడ్డడ్డే  మొగుళ్ళ అభీష్టం మీద ఆ veto పవర్ నువ్వు ఆడవాళ్లందరికీ ఇచ్చే పంపించావుకదయ్యా!
• God: అనుకో. కాని, మీ ఆవిడ chances తీసుకో దలచుకున్నట్లు లేదు.
• అంటే ఇప్పుడు నన్ను ఈగ గానే ఉండిపొమ్మని కోరు కొంటున్నదా తను?
• God: లేదు. అది కృష్ణ జిల్లా వాళ్ళమీద  నువ్వు నోరు పారేసుకున్నందుకు నీకు కొంతకాలం పాటు తను విధిస్తున్న శిక్ష. నువ్వు నిజంగా పశ్చాత్తాప పడితే తనకు తెలుస్తుంది అప్పుడు నిన్ను క్షమిస్తుంది. సారీ మురళి, ఇప్పుడు football players prayers విని ఏ team ను గెలిపించాలో నిర్నయించాలి. వస్తాను.

వారి బాబోయ్. కృష్ణ జిల్లా వాళ్ళు losers అన్నందుకే ఇంత గోలా. ఇంకా నయం, తెలంగాణా వేర్పాటువాదిని చేసుకున్నాను కాదు. చేసుకునుంటే, KCR ను దుయ్యబట్టినందుకు నాగతి ఎమయ్యివుందేదో.

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2. చిన్ననాటి తీపి గురుతులు. రండి, సరదాగా నవ్వుకుందాము.
3. Very Very Sad Day

Turn up the radio: Time to bond

by Padmini Copporapu

Increasing Number Of Radio Stations Based Abroad Are Dishing Out Programmes With A Telugu Flavour Aarti was going for her morning walk when she heard the unmistakable strains of M S Subbalakshmi’s Venkateswara Suprabhatam streaming out of a house in her Dallas neighbourhood. She did a double take, wondering if she had heard right – she was still in Dallas, Texas wasn’t she? Upon inquiring, Aarti found that the local Indian radio in her area broadcast the desi programme. Ever since, she has regularly tuned into Pravas Vani and Yuva, the two most popular desi radio stations in Dallas.

Those who think radio is passe have obviously overlooked mana Non-Resident Telugus (NRTs) in the United States. Like Aarti, they frequently tune into their favourite Telugu language-based radio programmes. So much so that passionate entrepreneurs have set up many such radio stations. These are fast evolving from being mere entertainment avenues to significant platforms of community bonding, helping local Telugus share, showcase and voice their ideas and concerns.

Madhavi, an RJ from New Jersey who hosts a popular Telugu show on Dhoom FM elaborates, “While entertainment is our basic fodder; I wanted to add more texture to the show. Radio is a clean and effective forum to air our views, gather vox populi and connect with the local community”.

Clearly there’s more to these radio programmes than just music and chitchat. For instance Sridhar Dadi’s Radio Hungama in Houston also started off with popular music-based programmes (Aa Patha Madhuralu), but it now boasts an eclectic portfolio including infotainment, game shows, kids’ talent shows (Pitta Koncham, Kootha Ghanam) and interviews of notable personalities.

While interviews of celebrities such as A R Rehman, S P Balasubramaniam and Sobha Naidu earn these stations an obvious patronage, other programmes serve a more utilitarian purpose. Shows such as ‘Ask your lawyer’ and ‘Dial a Doctor’ are immensely popular, say broadcasters of Radio Hungama and Yuva.

Raghu Malladi owns Pravas Vani a station which broadcasts 10 hours of live programmes in Telugu everyday including literary programmes, interviews, chat shows, call-ins. He says that while he didn’t expect Pravas Vani to be such a huge hit but now that it is, he wants to utilise it to the maximum to help serve the community. Most radio stations also help in publicising activities like Ugaadi celebrations organised by Telugu associations.

Even as the scale of their operations and the degree of their popularity varies; these pioneers claim that they ventured into radio more out of passion than of any commercial interest. Most run on a ad-based revenue model. While some seek to recreate the grand old days of All India Radio, others are giving the traditional radio a modern makeover.

Unlike radio stations which are bound by city limits, TORi (Telugu One Radio on Internet) enjoy seamless coverage. These are webbased radio channels; each with an estimated global listenership of 40-50 thousand people per month.

Not content with conquering the internet, 3G equipped smart phones are his latest target. His team has developed a free Iphone Application and is moving onto developing the same for Android phones.

TORi has made its own tech start to cater to its vast audience base. “Any of our RJs can host a live show, simply with a broadband internet connection and a good headset,” says Mohan Venigalla, host of TORi’s most popular call-in live show ‘Mohana Murali Gaana Lahari’. In fact, some of his loyal listeners have now become RJs themselves.

While this phenomenon is widespread over the US, radio stations in other nations are dishing out prgrammes with a Telugu flavour. The Mauritius Broadcasting Company, for instance, has several programmes such as ‘Bhakti Ranjani, ‘Manam, Mana Samskriti,’Ya Evam Veda Sri Guru Paduka’ and the likes which are very popular with Telugus there. The call-in programmes are especially popular as people get a rare opportunity to interact in Telugu with other Telugu speakers, says the host of a show.

Likewise, the national radio of Malaysia, Minnal FM, broadcasts one and half hours of song-based shows everyday where classic Telugu songs are played. Radio stations in Australia, South Africa and the Middle East too are gaining in popularity by broadcasting Telugu programmes.

Related posts:

1. NATS & TORI “Telugu American Idol” Singing Star Competition.
2. Cheer Team India on TORi: India-Pakistan Semi Finals
3. Article about TORI in India Today.

I am extremely happy that summer is here, but sad that it is so quickly coming to an end.  Living through the cold, somewhat dreary midwestern winter has given me a new appreciation for warmth and sunshine.  I grew up in Colorado, where there was never any shortage of sunshine, and I always took it for granted.  In the Midwest, sunshine is a commodity in the winter.  Generally, the outside world is gray, and it is the type of weather that makes me want to stay in bed all day.  Unfortunately, I’m in school, so winter hibernation is never a feasible option for me.  I get up every day and drag myself to school, cursing as the wind blows through my five layers of clothing and gnaws at my bones, and all the while, I’m wishing that summer would get here faster.

There is something magical about the warm weather and the feeling of freedom that I always associate with summer.  That might have something to do with the fact that I’ve never had a full-time job.  For me, summer has always meant a welcome change from the drudgery of the rest of the year.  Whether it is liberation from the strict schedule of school or the prospect of an exciting adventure, summer has always been my favorite time of the year.  This year is no different.  I’ve been looking forward to the summer since last November, eagerly anticipating all the fun I’ll have and all the new things I’ll learn.

I always try to be outside as much as I can during the summer.  It makes me happy to see the bright sunshine and enjoy its warmth.  I can’t quite tell if that is the Vitamin D starvation talking or a genuine love of the sunshine, but either way, I am much happier and more energetic during the summer than I am at any other time of year.  The city is alive and I feel more like a person and less like a skeleton wrapped in twenty pounds of insulation.

Now that the summer is nearing its end, I feel like I haven’t enjoyed my vacation to its fullest.  I’ve been busy working and doing other things that are required of me, or so I tell myself.  As school comes into sight, I realize that I’m not ready to go back to the bitter cold and long days of studying inside our dungeon of a library.  So, I’ve come to a decision.  No, I’m not moving to the Bahamas.  I’m going to make a vow to do one hour of fun things a day that I will not be able to do after school starts.  Whether it be reading a book on the beach or playing tennis outdoors, I’m going to store up some summer happiness to get me through the rest of the year.

It is estimated that over 30% of adults in the United States are Vitamin D deficient*.  Deficiency can cause symptoms of lethargy and depression.  Getting a few minutes of sunshine every day can help your body produce sufficient Vitamin D.  So, I hope you’ll enjoy the warmth and sunshine of summer while they last!

*Holick, MF. High prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy and implications for health. Mayo Clinic Proc. 2006; 81(3): 297-299.

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One of premise in Transportation Systems Planning is that transportation is a derived demand. Meaning transportation is a means but an end in itself. In typical urban constellation people make millions of to-and-fro trips in day from their place of living to their destinations. Without much impact to accuracy, the work and education trips constitute a greater percentage of the total trips.

In early 1980s or late 1970s Alvin Toffler had envisioned these shifts and wrote an excellent futuristic book, a number one best seller those days, ‘The Third Wave.’

So coming back to our discussion, ‘Work From Home’ or WFM in short, has caught up to maturity in major corporations across the globe. While this is not applicable for all types of roles (especially front desk or customer facing roles), a great many service oriented opportunities can be de-linked from the traditional 4-walled office buildings.

In a First Wave Society, man is more like a prosumer, and his workplace is nothing but his own home or his own field. With the advent of industralisation in the Second Wave, man is forced to relocate to the factory or massive work compound from his place of residence. This has given rise to the birth of ‘work trip’ and brought to the fore the crux of moving people in large scale from their respective places of residence to respective places of work.

In the Third Wave dominated by ICT, created a newer vast pool of services industry, in turn office complexes to house these soft skilled people. On another front, ICT also enabled remote connectivity to enterprise computing virtually from anywhere, and the only requirement is that the person needs to have a desktop, laptop or any other mobile device, connectivity to the internet!

Leveraging on these possibilities major corporations de-linked their staff from cubicles. Here everyone is a winner: the corporations reduced drastically on workstation costs, utility charges, consumbles (coffee, tea…), and even storage space. Where the employee had the flexibility to work at ease from his home environment, avoiding or minimsing the need to travel. Even if a trip is required he could probably plan during off peak periods. Society has the advantage that it receives lesser traffic loads, improved infrastruture maintenance costs, less fuels, lesser carbon foot print…

Infact, this is primary enabler that shifted whole lot of work packages to off shore, ie., how India is enojoying todday the boom of ICT opportunities.

In essence, in the 2nd Wave people moved where there is work. The ICT Revolution facilitated to distribute back the work closer to the employee’s home. Implying work moved where the employee is!

This is a very interesting shift in work delivery, and I am sure many are enjoying WFH culture. Of course, the employee needs to be more disciplined, at times, faces boredom; and the managers face difficulty to enforce compliance; and there is lesser opportunity for inter personal relations. Despite of all these short comings WFH is still an inevitable move for the society, and for good.

In early 1990s I was working on Collaborative Models for a large scale project of Singapore Government. Of course, the technologies are more wide spread now than then, but those models I envisaged haven’t yet became common place yet. There must be a revolution in Communications or Internet, Security has to be strengthened. Once that happens Anywhere Workplace to a great majority becomes a norm rather than exception. I believe that may not be too far…

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The parents of Rhode Island high school student Eric Duquette were told their son would end up in an institution.

Instead, Duquette went on to become salutatorian of his high school class — and was accepted at every college to which he applied, ABC News reports.

Duquette was diagnosed with autism at an early age and didn’t talk until he was five. His mother worked with him to learn to talk, even teaching him sign language. Today, Duquette speaks English and Spanish.

And addressing his classmates this week, Duquette inspired his peers with wise words.

“Daniel Webster wrote that ‘if my possessions were taken from me with one exception, I would choose to keep the power of communication, for by it I would soon regain all the rest,’” Duquette said. “For me, learning to communicate did mean regaining all the rest.”

Duquette will start at Rhode Island College in the fall.

[Via - HuffingtonPost]

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This is an anonymous poll -- NONE of your information is collected. If you already took the poll, click here to see results.

Love letters: Did you write or receive them?

The FOCUS of the question is: did you write or receive a love letter from somebody other than your significant other? Don’t worry -- this Google form doesn’t collect your particulars. The information is confidential.

Click HERE if you don’t see the survey form.

Results at 50 responses:

Female -- before marriage: 13% wrote, 55% received
Male -- before marriage: 72% wrote and 22% received

Female -- after marriage: 0% wrote, 9.1% received
Male -- after marriage: 27% wrote and 23% received

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