Friday, March 13, 2009

yoga and philosophy at barcamp bangalore 8 (bcb8)

presented the session on 'the lesser known aspects of - yoga the philosophy.
had a decent attendance, search flickr for bcb8 for some pics.
upon request from some attendees, here is the material used for the presentation.
remember, this is in short and cryptic, so if you didn't attend the session to hear the explanations, then you will most probably misunderstand it.

click here to view the presentation PDF

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-- sj

Sunday, March 8, 2009

bachana e hasino!



shot at PSBB bangalore playground, during sports day is azeem-o-shaan-shahanshaah, chikki!

i always thought this can't be commanded , but pranjal is almost there! he can already pose at will, and hold it as well.
i hope that when becomes a bollywood heartthrob, he still remembers how much i love him, spend on digital SLR and 300mm zoom lens and tell him stories.

that is my retirement plan!

what is yours?

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-- sj

Thursday, March 5, 2009

barcamp bangalore 8 - sessions

so, i finally registered my sessions at barcamp bangalore 8 (bcb8). here is some detail:

session 1: lesser known aspects of yoga - the philosophy (click to join)
  • - yoga is Asanas? or more?
  • - why the philosophy? aren’t the Asanas enough?
  • - the basic 4 questions of philosophy - what is heya (to be avoided)? what is its cause? what is its absence? and how to avoid it?
  • - the one line answer to ‘what is to be avoided?’ (from sage patanjali, the most prominent figure in yoga) - and its meaning
  • - the one line answer to ‘what is yoga?’ (from sage patanjali, the most prominent figure in yoga) - and its meaning
  • - which is better - gyaan, karma or bhakti yoga? and by the way, what are they? how to combine all three?
  • - where do Asanas fit in all this then?
  • - some powerful shloks that shed light on the true meaning of yoga!
  • - when rAma meets hanumAn for teh first time, he says, ‘you are dearer to me than my own brother’. why? where is the philosophy of yoga in there?
  • - the embedded system! how is sanskrit unique language? apparently the only language with inbuilt prANAyAm in it! why is that important?




session 2: ancient wisdom modern times (click to join)

a general session on ancient wisdom of india and how it can be of use to modern hi-tech world. ideas in the form of symbols of culture and religion? how words and language convey ideas specific to a culture.
understanding ourselves in the process. demystifying concepts, clarifying misunderstanding, and sharing amazing insights, many other verbs on many other nouns
e.g.
  • - qualities of a good leader? - from bhAsa’s kAdambari!
  • - what does the visual representation of shiv mean? - the names mahAkAl, mahAdev; the snakes, ashes, two earrings? what does lakshmI, saraswatI, viShNu, durgA, ayodhyA, dharma etc mean? understanding the meaning will give a totally new insight into our ’superstitions’ 
  • - a simple daily practice that reduces chances of heart attack? - there is actual a hard science reason for this, even recent TOI news (reported too late) says heart attacks happen mostly in early morning hours, the waking hours.
  • - mantras for every occasion? - right from waking, bathing, eating, sleeping etc. why? and what is the psychlogical/spiritual significance.
  • - status of women in ancient indian society? - in the recent ‘culture protector’ events in news, this will be an eye opener.
  • - where not to live? - before moving to a place, what should you check out?
  • - do we have no rights on the results of our deeds? - the most misunderstood concept of indian philosophy!




like it? then become a fan of the blog

-- sj

Monday, March 2, 2009

barcamp bangalore 8 is at Yahoo! EGL on 7-8 March 2009

so barcamp bangalore 8 is happening this weekend, 7-8 march 2009.

where? no, not IIM-B this time, but at Yahoo! EGL facilities.
(disclosure: the author currently works at Yahoo! India Bangalore EGL office, but has nothing to do with BCB8 planning)

where is it?



what is barcamp? total anarchy? total pedestrian? rule of two feet and 32 teeth apply!
you suggest a topic, if they like, they will come, else you are the village bum!

simple huh? then show up. 
me? i might be buried in work, but will be in vicinity anyways!



like it? then become a fan of the blog

-- sj

Sunday, March 1, 2009

net hoax - "Through a Rapist's Eyes (No Joke)"

another of the hoaxes, this time guised under a sensitive topic.

i got this as a forwarded message, 1000s of emails in the mail that i got, wonderful for harvesting emails. no one bothers to remove the older emails, so much for your privacy.

well, everyone wants to make sure others know how many friends they have forwarded to!

now, why am i so worked up for such a good cause? after all, the mail only prepares women against a possible rapist! well, two reasons, one there are many false information or assurances in it. and second, the email i got, had EVERYTHING, lines, blanks, paragraph markers as a LINK.

LINK as in to a website. hmmm? where to? some web based mail site called "wowmails - dot- com"

aha! so no matter where you put your mouse, or click by mistake, you go to their site! you think, clicking on the line about hairstyles will give you more info on that, nope! it merely takes you to their website.

now that is cheap publicity.

here is the full email text (without any links) and here is the link for the hoax at snopes (floating since 2000!) 

let me repeat again - THIS IS A HOAX, DO NOT FOLLOW THIS BLINDLY
while SOME of the common sense information IS useful, e.g. being distracted on dimly lit streets/places. 

----------------- start of forwarded mass email ----------------

Through a Rapist's Eyes (No Joke)

This is important information for females of ALL ages.

When this was sent to me, I was told to forward it to my lady friends, but I forwarded it to most everyone in my address book. My men friends have female friends and this
information is too important to miss someone.

Please pass it along

A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts:

1) The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun, braid or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed . They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets.

2) The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women who's clothing is easy to remove quickly . Many of them carry scissors around specifically to cut clothing.

3) They also look for women on their cell phone , searching through their purse, or doing other activities while walking because they are off-guard and can be easily overpowered.

4) Men are most likely to attack & rape in the early morning, between 5:00a.m. and 8:30a.m.

5) The number one place women are abducted from/attacked is grocery store parking lots . Number two: is office parking lots/garages. Number three: is public restrooms.

6) The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to another location where they don't have to worry about getting caught.

7) Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5 year sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years.

8) If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn't worth it because it will be time-consuming.

9) These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas , or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands. Keys are not a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these guys you're not worth it.

10) Several defense mechanisms he taught us are: If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it, or make general small talk: 'I can't believe it is so cold out here,' 'we're in for a bad winter.' Now you've seen their face and could identify them in a line-up; you lose appeal as a target.

11) If someone is coming toward you , hold out your hands in front of you and yell STOP or STAY BACK ! Most of the rapists this man talked to said they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be afraid to fight back.
Again, they are looking for an EASY target.

12) If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes) , yell I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a deterrent.

13) If someone grabs you , you can't beat them with strength but you can by outsmarting them If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the
arm (between the elbow and armpit) OR in the upper inner thigh VERY VERY HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands - the guy needed stitches. Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it - it hurts.

14) After the initial hit, always GO for the GROIN. I know from a particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy's parts it is extremely painful. You might think that you'll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble and he's out of there.

15) When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible . The instructor did it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.

16) Of course the things we always hear still apply.. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don't dismiss it, go with your instincts!!!

You may feel a little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the guy really was trouble.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!

2.Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans . If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM . Toss it away from you....chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

3.If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.

4.Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc.) DON'T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.

a. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot or parking garage:

A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat.

B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.

C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out..

IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!)

7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times. And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, preferably in a zigzag pattern!

8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP! It may get you raped or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well-educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked 'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her 'Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.'

The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, 'We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.' He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it , but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night.

Please pass this on and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby ----This
should be taken seriously because the Crying Baby theory was mentioned on America's Most Wanted this past Saturday when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana.

I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle. I was going to send this to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass it onto them, as well.
----------------- end of forwarded mass email ----------------

like it? then become a fan of the blog

-- sj