Gun control is not a debate = Sign the Petition

 SIGN THE PETITION TO WHITE HOUSE HERE

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/stronger-gun-control/WsJhPmQT

Perennial gale of creative destruction

Are we likely to see anti-trust lawsuits against Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon?
Here is an interesting article from The Economist

Vegetarian Choices in the bay area

Medicine restaurant San Francisco http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=medicine+restaurant&find_loc=San+Francisco%2C+CA
Millenium in San Francisco  http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/
Loving Hut South Bay locations http://www.lovinghutcuisine.com/menu.asp
Vegetarian House San Jose vegetarianhouse.us/
Calafia Restaurant PALO ALTO http://calafiapaloalto.com/

Others
&&&&&&
Opa in Willow Glen http://www.opawillowglen.com/
Thai Chilli Santa Clara - http://thai-chili.com/contact.htm
New Penang Garden  Milpitas http://www.yelp.com/biz/new-penang-garden-milpitas
Amarin Thai - Santa Clara http://www.amarinthaicuisine.com/

The LION of MUMBAI – A LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP

    

Some regarded him as Hindu Hriday Samraat ("Emperor of Hindu Hearts"), some as a “Maharashtrian chauvinist”, championing the cause of the Marathi Manoos, some as the greatest orator of our generation, some as the “remote control” and a shrewd politician, while some as spawning a unique brand of fascism....like a true artist - he had a million interpretations, but undoubtedly everyone had to bow to him..and why so?

With almost 2 million attending his stately funeral, the first public funeral at Shivaji Park, after …..Bal Gangadhar Tilak! Yes, that Lokmanya Tilak…Bal Thackeray has definitely entrenched himself in Mumbai’s history book.

Bal Thackeray was a literati just like Tilak – an accomplished cartoonist, the founder-editor of Marathi newspaper Saamna and Hindi newspaper Dopahar Ka Saamna;  but shared traits with Subash Chandra Bose – who he shared the birthday with,  having no qualms in being the “Rebel” – and with Lala Lajpat Rai who he shared his death day with. Yes, the Lion of Mumbai – he totally dominated the Mumbai scene for more than four decade, in fact the very name MUMBAI has to be attributed to him and Shiv Sena – the party that he founded in 1966, much of the inspiration and ideologies being derived from Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj (a name that still evokes zealous inspiration for many of us Mumbaikars who had the chance to study him in 4th grade) -  thus the name Shiv Sena.

Mumbaikars found resonance with his philosophy, calling a spade a spade – and sticking to his guns, all of them blazing hard. The lack of hesitancy he exhibited in calling out anti-national elements; Shiv Sena was a huge balance that put fear in terrorists as well as the under-world. As they said “Challenge him, and you will regret it”. Not a fly by night operator – he knew what he wanted and there was nothing artificial about him. The aura of invincibility stuck to him like a cloak, thanks to the conviction he exhibited in his belief systems and that character and attitude has farmed itself out to Mumbaikars. In this day and age, is there a  politician/ neta / leadership that evokes such righteousness? 

Bal Thackeray exhibited an extraordinary intelligence, initially targeting the communists, ousting them from the trade unions, then the anti-nationals and 'outsiders'; making it a US versus THEM, he definitely knew how to push the right buttons - but seemingly everything was driven with good intentions and that firm belief and conviction. The Shiv Sainiks were completely ingrained into the Mumbai ecosystem; they protected the common man. Neighborhood issues  were resolved quickly, thanks to the big brother Shiv Sena who almost stood around as vigilantes, ready to prevent injustice to the ones without a voice; sometimes even helping circumvent a failed system. The belief of the common man is what provided Thackeray the staying power of four long decades, and that resulted into the homage galore with his passing with the WHO's WHO of Mumbai at his funeral.

"Balasaheb Thackeray was a strong leader of his people - respected and admired by many. He was outspoken but driven by his principles," Ratan Tata

'The silence from the 2 million gathered at Shivaji Park during the last rites, demonstrated two things - the respect for Bala Saheb Thackeray…… Today the thread that bound all the seeds, broken” AMITABH BACHHAN

The Lion of Mumbai will be missed...and will be inspiration for future generations of Mumbaikars!

UPDATE: A good friend just got back from Mumbai. The rumor goes like this: He actually passed away on Monday. The announcement was made on Saturday, wonder why? The Shiva Sainiks waited for almost a 5 days to announce his demise; cause hordes of anti-social elements had descended upon Mumbai from all parts of India and Maharashta, thinking that this was their opportune moment to do some lootmaar. The Shiv Sainiks delayed the announcement, which was actually preceded by an announcement Wednesday that he wason the path to recovery. By Thursday/ Friday these anti-socials had no choice but to leave Mumbai. Thus peace was maintained

Kashmir the new Jerusalem?

Are we discovering the new Jerusalem aka Kashmir in South East Asiawith the Muslims, Christians and Hindus converging there for a variety of reasons?

Jesus was MIA between 12 and 30.....There is speculation that he was in India picking up Buddhist philosophy. His tomb is now on the tourist TO DO list.


Read the article BBC's article on Jesus's tomb in Kashmir

Tourists flock to 'Jesus's tomb' in Kashmir

By Sam Miller Srinagar

A belief that Jesus survived the crucifixion and spent his remaining years in Kashmir has led to a run-down shrine in Srinagar making it firmly onto the must-visit-in India tourist trail.

Jesus is reputed to be buried in this run-down shrine in the Kashmir capital

In the backstreets of downtown Srinagar is an old building known as the Rozabal shrine.
It's in a part of the city where the Indian security forces are on regular patrol, or peering out from behind check-posts made of sandbags.

Yahoo sports magically rises from the dead!

How about Yahoo Sports playing SPOILSPORT?
And without the spoiler alert warning?

I had subscribed to Yahoo sports SMS notifications almost a good 5 to 7 years ago, and then turned it off for good - as these text messages were playing the same role as Kramer with Seinfeld and the Mets...you get the drift. In the age of TiVo, I seldom get a chance to watch a game live.

Well...as it turns out, the TEXTs magically re-appeared last year, and much as I tried to turn it off by logging into my Yahoo profile, I just couldn't.

Hmm...frustrating to say the least.

Well - just found a simple way to stop SMS
To unsubscribe or stop SMS messages simply reply to the received message with 'STOP'. This prevents any further unwanted messages. You can also try  STOP, QUIT, or END

 

5 - Tomorrow

Reports of a larger screen, thinner body, and compatibility with faster networks
Tim Cook kicks off at 10 a.m. local time in downtown San Francisco. New iPhones have typically hit the market two weeks after they are announced.

Ready for long lines outside Apple stores?

911 Conspiracy?

Remembering 911

http://www.policymic.com/articles/14518/9-11-truth-conspiracy-1-700-reasons-for-a-new-september-11-investigation

Every year, the conspiracy theory seems to hit a new stride.

Pirates of Silicon Valley

Pirates of Silicon Valley is a 1999 made-for-television film directed by Martyn Burke and based on the book Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine. The film documents the impact on the development of the personal computer of the rivalry between Apple Computer and Microsoft. It spans the time period of the early 1970s to 1997, when Steve Jobs (Noah Wyle) and Bill Gates (Anthony Michael Hall) develop a partnership after Jobs returns to Apple Computer.

The film opens with the creation of the 1984 commercial for Apple Computer, which introduced the first Macintosh. Steve Jobs (Noah Wyle) is speaking with director Ridley Scott (J. G. Hertzler), trying to convey his idea that "We're creating a completely new consciousness." Scott, however, is more concerned at the moment with the technical aspects of the commercial.

Groundhog Day Transformation

"What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you in your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to return to you, all in the same succession and sequence—even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself. The eternal hourglass of existence is turned upside down again and again—and you with it, speck of dust!'

Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus?

Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine!'

If this thought gained possession of you, it would change you as you are or perhaps crush you; the question in each and every thing, "Do you desire this once more, and innumerable times more?" would lie upon your actions as the greatest weight! Or how well disposed would you have to become to yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than this ultimate eternal confirmation and seal?" (Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science)

Complementary Currencies / Barter System

What is the future of the barter system - which seemingly is a business model for many startups? BitCoin, Junk silver, RipplePay, Villages.cc, and game currencies

SHOLAY - THE MAKING OF A CLASSIC

Reading a book, THE MAKING OF A CLASSIC SHOLAY by ANUPAMA CHOPRA (wife of Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Ramesh Sippy’s daughter)
Has me completely gripped!

Did you know Danny was picked to play Gabbar but he was shooting for Feroze Khan’s movie DHARMATMA in Afghanistan and couldn’t bail out. And Salim bumped into a bit stage actor Amjad at Bandra bandstand and invited him to meet the director Ramesh Sippy.

Did you know that Jaya was pregnant with Abhishek during the shoot?

Abhishek was literally on the sets of Sholay –thus bound for greatness even before birth.

Did you know that Script writer Javed and Jagdeep loved imitating the women of Bhopal, it was a standing joke between them; and ultimately was inserted into the script in the character of Soorma Bhopali. Soorma Bhopali had even a song recorded for him, that was cut out to contain the movie’s length..

Shatru was a bigger star than Amitabh and was a shoo-in for Jay’s role – but Amitabh’s rapport with Dharmendar helped clinch the spot.

Jay propositioning Mausi on Veeru’s behalf was actually a real life Salim propositioning Honey Irani’s dad on behalf of Javed.

This book provides a fascinating account of how this movie came about.

Worth a read!

Got Talent? (From Saratoga News)

Got talent? Show it off at the Blue Rock Shoot

Original article here

By Brian Babcock

bbabcock@community-newspapers.com

Posted:   02/27/2012 07:33:03 PM PST

Updated:   02/27/2012 07:33:03 PM PST

Click photo to enlarge

Photograph courtesy of Rishi Kumar Grace Peng, Saratoga Resident and Kevin Lynch (Palo Alto...

Saratogans hoping to show off their talents without having to take a trip to Hollywood now have a forum to do so in the city. Those looking to massage their vocal chords with a little singing, show off their wit with some comedy or bust out some James Brown dance moves can do so during the monthly "Saratoga's Got Talent" performance event at the Blue Rock Shoot in the Village.

The idea came from resident Rishi Kumar.

"It originally was supposed to be an extension of the weekly Village Marketplace. People were sticking around until about 6 p.m., but then they just headed home. So I was trying to think of something we could do to keep them in the Village and have them eat at one of the restaurants or shop," Kumar said.
The event was initially titled "Saratoga Village Karaoke" and envisioned as a weekly happening. The first event took place at the Bell Tower Bistro in July.
But with the new school year starting, the event was moved to every first Saturday of the month to accommodate families' schedules. It was also moved to the Blue Rock Shoot where there was a cozier environment for children and adults to hang out, Kumar said.
It's become more than just a clever way to bring foot traffic to downtown Saratoga.
"It's become a celebration of cultures," Kumar said. "What we want is an intermingling of people in Saratoga. We want a good representation of Saratoga's demographics."
Kumar, who is Indian, said those attending the event at first were friends of his with similar ethnic backgrounds. But recently the event has been "trending toward a good mix," he said.
The talent show has become an event for families, Kumar said. It was so popular with children that adults didn't want to interrupt them. So the event's organizers decided to give children the first portion of the show and leave the second half for adults.
The performance show has attracted those who can sing, dance, and like Mayor Chuck Page, tell a few jokes.
Page performed a stand-up comedy routine at the Feb. 4 event. He was able to poke some fun at the parking issue in downtown Saratoga at night.
"The parking out here is hard sometimes, right? I've never seen a place where every restaurant has plenty of tables open, but there's no parking. I don't know what these people are doing. It's like they're coming here and dropping off their cars and carpooling to Los Gatos," Page joked.
Page said he likes the idea of the event.
"It's good to see people come out and show off their talents," he said. "I think it has potential to bring more people into the city to partake in what we have to offer."
Kumar said people from Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Cupertino, Palo Alto, San Jose, Belmont and even East Bay cities like Pleasanton and Danville have attended the event.
"It's a win-win for everyone," Kumar said. "There's new foot traffic from people from all over who are getting introduced to our Village and they're having fun."

For more information on Saratoga's Got Talent, visit www.facebook.com/saratogas-got-talent#!/saratogatalent. Or sign up for email alerts at http://groups.google.com/group/saratogasgottalent.

Make it all count...every minute!

Very inspirational video....

In the end, it is not the years in your life that counts, but the life in your years Are you ready to ....go for a run?

What is happiness? (Collection from Forbes)

When what we are is what we want to be, that's happiness.
-- Malcolm Forbes

The better part of happiness is to wish to be what you are.
--Desiderius Erasmus

There is only one duty; that is to be happy.
--Diderot

Act in such a way that you will be worthy of being happy.
--Emmanuel Kant

There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.
--Robert Louis Stevenson

The game was to just find something about everything to be glad about-- ... You see when you're hunting for the glad things, you sort of forget about the other kind.
--Eleanor H. Porter

There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball,
And that is have either a clear conscience, or none at all.
--Ogden Nash

Happiness is good health--and a bad memory.
--Ingrid Bergman

Happiness is no laughing matter.
--Richard Whately

If you are foolish enough to be contented, don't show it, but grumble with the rest.
--Jerome K. Jerome

Nobody cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy.
--Cynthia Nelms

Happiness is salutary for the body, but sorrow develops the powers of the spirit.
--Marcel Proust

I find my joy of living in the fierce and ruthless battles of life, and my pleasure comes form learning something.
--August Strindberg

We make ourselves our own distress We are ourselves our happiness.
--L.E. Landon

I'm five-feet-four, but I always feel six-foot-one, tall and strong.
--Yvette Mimieux

To be happy we must not be too concerned with others.
--Albert Camus

He loved being happy! He loved happiness like I love tea.
--Eudora Welty

Better to be happy than wise.
--Jon Heywood

All happiness is a form of innocence.
--Marguerite Yourcenar

There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.
--George Sand

Be virtuous and you'll be happy!
--Artemus Ward

I am happy and content because I think I am.
--Lesage

If you want to be happy, be.
--Leo Tolstoy

Art of Living's Sudarshan Kriya - Lots of Questions, and some 'answers'

Very interesting animated Q&A about Art of Living's Sudarshan Kriya.
Definitely worth watching.
Raises many interesting questions

How could Eastman Kodak, the 131-year-old film pioneer declare bankruptcy?

Founded in 1880 by George Eastman, Kodake stablished the market for camera film and then dominated the field. product.“You press the button, we do the rest,” was its slogan in 1888.

By 1976 Kodak accounted for 90% of film and 85% of camera sales in America. Until the 1990s it was regularly rated one of the world’s five most valuable brands.But, it ain't easy! First came foreign competitors, notably Fujifilm of Japan, which undercut Kodak’s prices. Then the onset of digital photography eroded demand for traditional film, squeezing Kodak’s business and in 2003 (finally) Kodak halted investing in its bread and butter.

When the train moves, you better jump in -otherwise you are left dealing with bankruptcy.

Kodak was still implicitly married to an outdated business model that relied on people printing their photos. (Do we HP following Kodak now with its reliance on INK for profits?)Kodak’s leadership has been inconsistent. Its strategy changed with each of several new chief executives. The latest, Antonio Perez, who took charge in 2005, has focused on turning the firm into a powerhouse of digital printing (something he learnt about at his old firm, Hewlett-Packard, and which Kodak still insists will save it. That did not happen).

Another reason why Kodak was slow to change was that its executives “suffered from a mentality of perfect products, rather than the high-tech mindset of make it, launch it, fix it,” says Rosabeth Moss Kanter of Harvard Business School, who has advised the firm. Working in a one-company town did not help, either. Kodak’s bosses in Rochester seldom heard much criticism of the firm, she says. Even when Kodak decided to diversify, it took years to make its first acquisition. It created a widely admired venture-capital arm, but never made big enough bets to create breakthroughs, says Ms Kanter.


“They were a company stuck in time,” said Robert Burley, an associate professor at Toronto’s Ryerson University who has photographed shuttered Kodak facilities in the U.S., Canada and France since 2005. “Their history was so important to them, this rich century-old history when they made a lot of amazing things and a lot of money along the way. Now their history has become a liability.”

Kodak also failed to read emerging markets correctly. It hoped that the new Chinese middle class would buy lots of film. They did for a short while, but then decided that digital cameras were cooler. Many leap-frogged from no camera straight to a digital one. Kodak was still attached to the old school revenue model - when they should have been innovating to adapt with the times and creating net new solutions and ideas. They failed to innovate!

Whereas Fujifilm has mastered new tactics and survived. Film went from 60% of its profits in 2000 to basically nothing, yet it found new sources of revenue. Kodak, along with many a great company before it, appears simply to have run its course. After 132 years it is poised, like an old photo, to fade away.

IT simplified - like driving a car? Checkout IBM's announcement

Announcement here

IBM has announced the introduction of a new category of "expert integrated systems."
IBM’s newly announced, Pure Systems family is the result of $2 billion in R&D and acquisitions over four years.....an unprecedented move by IBM to integrate all IT elements, both physical and virtual.
Traditionally, systems have been procured and managed as a myriad collection of hardware and software components.  Making disparate pieces combine into one, smooth user system can seem like a wartime challenge.
Steve Mills, IBM senior vice president and group executive of software and systems, indicates, “With its new scale-in design and built-in expertise, PureSystems represents an important advance in the evolution of computing.  By tightening the connections between hardware and software, and adding incomparable software know-how, PureSystems is designed to help clients to free up time and money to focus on innovation that many businesses cannot address due to ever rising costs and staffing needs in the traditional data center.”

Sugar the new toxin???

Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on new research coming out of some of America's most respected institutions, which find that sugar-- the way it's being consumed by Americans today-- is a toxin.





This week on 60 Minutes, Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on new research coming out of some of America's most respected institutions, which find that sugar-- the way it's being consumed by Americans today-- is a toxin. And it could be the driving force behind some of this country's leading killers, including heart disease.
We at Overtime couldn't believe our ears when we heard this report. We knew sugar was bad, but a "toxin"? We give our kids that stuff!
We weren't quite sure how to apply the new science in the 60 Minutes report to the challenges of everyday family life, so we sat down with Dr. Sanjay Gupta for some practical advice. Both a doctor and a father of three, Dr. Gupta offers his take on how a typical American family should think about the sugar in their diet.

Family room wars - Streaming, Apps & Set-Tops

Are you tired of your Cable fees?
The demise of "All you can eat buffet" Cable TV is here...or is it?

Comcast has me locked in with their Triple play.
All I need is internet and nothing else; hardly have time to sit in front of the idiot box, but there are no other options in my area (other than *slow* ATT DSL)
Anthony Woods, founder of Roku has this to say “ a major cable operator could begin offering separate a-la-carte programming via over-the-top internet services outside the typical bundled subscription as early as this year.”
Where is Roku going? Read it here
Interesting how once a Roku box gets inside people's homes, cable TV is unplugged in 40% of the homes.


 There are three kinds of war - CONTENT WAR, the APP WAR and the Device war that is being played out in millions of households in the family rooms and bedrooms
Streaming War - Netflix, HBO GO and XFINITY STREAMPIX are locking horns
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has positioned his streaming service as complimentary to cable/satellite TV. He does not really want cable and satellite his piece of the pie.

But guess what, the cable companies and content owners are not sitting on their hands, letting Netflix be complimentary. Comcast streaming option Xfinity Streampix was announced last month and Time Warner’s HBO Go are already eating into NETFLIX.

And talk about Roku the other player in this space that is playing nice - but can start competing *very* quickly too. For now they are happy dominating the set top box market...NUMERO UNO that they are. They have a quality product, a quality user interface, great price point $50, and almost 500 content providers (public and private Channels in the ROKU lingo) streaming onto 2.5 million devices  into homes. They are a NETFLIX/ HOTMAIL waiting to happen. There are lot of content providers that are shipping out free ROKU boxes, based up on subscription. The 500 content providers? Some are free and some are subscription based. The subscription is one time (games etc), to monthly fees (NETFLIX, AMAZON PRIME), Season Package (like MLB, NBA TV) and even channels that require a participating cable or satellite subscription (HBO GO

“Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works.  You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else.
The trick is the doing something else.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

This might as well be Anthony Woods, considering his track record and how their competition have blatantly copied their strategies and successes.

Another variable in this is the mobility and tablet market. If an enterprise can take over the TV space, it is a cinch to also capture the Tablet, PC/ Portable Media Device and provide that ubiquitous on-demand programming


Here are details from slashgear about Comcast's Netfinity StreamPix


If you’re a user of Netflix streaming service, HULU Plus, or both, you know that there’s a lot to differentiate the two, but that not a lot of ground is left to cover after they’ve taken their piece of the pie. That’s where Comcast comes in with Xfinity Streampix. The group has this week revealed, though not formally announced, their upcoming streaming video service which will take command of its 75,000 shows and films that Comcast already offers and adds deals with several large picture companies.


This service is currently signed between Comcast and groups such as Disney, Sony Pictures, and Time Warner’s Warner Bros. If this means that the Disney collection of animated movies are included in the catalog of streaming content, you’re going to see a gigantic windfall from this deal. As Marcien Jenckes, general manager of video services at Philadelphia-based Comcast said earlier today:

“This is about adding value to our existing multi-channel subscription.” – Jenckes

What she’s referring to is the fact that this service will not be offered to non-customers. That is, if you’ve got both internet and TV through Xfinity On Demand, you’ll be getting this service for free. If you do not purchase broadband from Comcast but still do get TV, this package will cost you an additional $4.99 a month – if you want it. If what this proposition is saying is true, and that in addition to these giant names providing new content that’s not already on Netflix or Hulu Plus, there’s a back catalog of 75,000 videos – this may well be a force to be reckoned with in the near future!
[timeline]
[via Bloomberg]