Personal Weblog of Deepak Vasudevan

Starting up with Voice Blog ... Whilst casually browsing through, I came across an interesting website called Snapvine . This gave me an added advantage of learning about voice blogs. As usual, the first blog I test-published is a prayer to God. My sincere thanks to Ramesh for sending me his MP3 from his private collection based on the prayer texts that I told him over chat and he immediately sent by email. Check out my first voice blog post over Comment | Copy This

Teacher's Day around the corner ... India celebrates September 5 as Teacher's Day. September 5 is also the birthday of Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan (2nd President of India and academic philosopher). You can actually check out Teacher's Day in various countries over here . Let us quickly have our prayers to the Guru here: We are here in the world with more learning and achievements through the teachers of our school. If possible, let us visit our schools/colleges and get their blessings/wishes too. With the Internet age, we can also send emails and we can keep communicating with them too.

I am featured in Rang De Website as a 'Supporter' Sometime back, we were discussing about the new website called ' Rang De '. A week back, I learnt from Smita, the founder of Rang De about the new features that they have incorporated in the website to make it more convincing and helpful to assist the financially challenged strata of the society and enable them to climb up in the life. I visited the website and found a number of useful features which I just thought would share them here and which I trust would help more people to know about Rang De and participate in the noble service to the society. Rang De now supports Visa/MasterCard Credit cards so that anyone can now easily participate in the noble service. SmartInvest: If you are in a hurry and/or can not aptly choose someone who you want to help, you can opt for this program and RangDe would choose people who can be helped with your fund. Quick, Fast and Friendly 'Search Investors' UI to m...

Free Online Video Conversion Website Recently, I was searching out and figuring to convert a few MP3 files along with a small JPG into a WMV (Windows Media Video). Whilst I was playing with Windows Movie Maker, the file size was little big. I did research through ZamZar and Media-Convert too. Remember we have discussed this sometime back here . I just came across a webservice called Movavi Online Convert , which seems to be offering even online URL download and convert option besides file upload and convert like other websites. I just thought I would share this with others for your quick reference and benefit.

Web's Shortest Email ID I was just casually browsing through the various emails filtered by my inbox.com and there was one interesting advertising stuff. It was talking about web's shortest email id. It seems to be an innovative product of Web 18 (An Indian company). Check it out here . At least as a startup offer, they seem to be having a good number of lucrative features on the website like below: Whopping big storage of 10 Giga Bytes email box Linked Messages to see the conversational thread Scheduled Messages Online Music Playlists Just thought I would share it with other readers so that everyone can signup and avail the benefits of this cool service.

Sri Jayanthi Celebrations from Irving, Tx As I have posted about Sri Krishna Jayanthi celebrations , I have tried to have the celebrations at least in a small scale in my suite with a couple of prayers for my Lord . It is customary always to visit Guruvayoor (dedicated to Lord Krishna) en route Sabarimala and hence this time, I had my celebrations towards my Ayyappa. I would also like to share a few snaps that were taken towards this occasion.   Windows Live Spaces Many sincere thanks to the following for helping me in the Sri Jayanthi celebrations: Marriot for Apples Schepps Diary for the Sweet Delicious milk BlueBell Icecream My cute little HP laptop for being the priest in chanting the slokas during the pooja.

To breather healthy air ... Today whilst casually opening my suite refrigerator, I had an opportunity to watch a small device near it. Just curious and was observing it. It read as CO (Carbon Monoxide) detector. A little research in Wiki gave me this result too . We should really appreciate American hotels for bringing such concepts since it would be really very helpful for the guests to breathe safely the fresh air. Another feature, I like in Marriot hotels, during my current stay and previous stay at Renaissance Marriot in Seattle is that Marriot declares all its hotels are 100% smoke-free. Now, if you are detected of smoking in your room, a flat $250 room recovery fee would be slapped onto your roombill. At the same time, we should also appreciate the current Health Minister ( Anbumani Ramadoss ) who is trying his level best to eradicate smoking in all levels.  Let us try to see if we can help the people in the world to breathe a fresh new air by smoking out the smoking ha...

A little slip into the alcohol ... The hectic stress along the week besides the politics-driven atmosphere made me little confused and this weekend, I had a little focussed into a different type of relaxation which you would have read here . But my every night introspection made me terribly confused over this. Plus alongwith that a few members having conversations amidst themselves on mature categorized content and their sharing of going to events catering to such services made me little feel very confused on whether I should linger back over there or start back then. If I immediately return, then it would mean a rude attitude. I was almost in the same situation as JKB in Sindhu Bhairavi; in a gesture of local song when he is a genius of Carnatic Music. Thanks to shae for sharing the Thanni Thotti song of Sindhu Bhairavi which reflected the same mental state I was in then:

A date with Citibank ATM at MacArthur Blvd -- Part II Yesterday I had a trip to Marketplace Walmart for the weekend shopping. On the way back, I had to have some cash transactions and balance enquiry. So we just dropped in at my favorite Citibank ATM in N. MacArthur . Again this time, I had some humorous incidents: The card slot was bit different than it is our familiar Indian ATMs. It took a while for us to familiarize to it before we could accomplish the transactions. A brief conversation with the PhoneBanking customer care there towards the problem enumerated in (1).

The Sweet Delicious IceCreams from BlueBell Creameries Yesterday I was wandering around the local Walgreens towards late evening. One of my friend was suggesting me BlueBell IceCream which is commonly available in all shops and supermarkets here and is also delicious. I just grabbed a few of the tins and stored them in my suite refrigerator too. I did some quick research on BlueBell over the Internet and they have given a spectacular movie on the ice cream preparation procedures over here . Just thought of sharing this with other readers so that when you visit US, try out BlueBell IceCreams too. If you have another ice cream brand, do suggest here as comments so that me (and other readers) would also benefit from the same.

Ganesh Chaturthi around the corner ... Come September and 3rd September 2008 would be Ganesh Chaturthi. Lord Ganesh, also known as Vinayaka, Vigneswara, Ganapathi is the supreme and foremost Lord that we need to worship before starting any activity. As a matter of fact, I also have a weblog dedicated to Lord Ganesh Temples worldwide which you can see it here . Though, I have started it sometime back, due to time and resource constraints, I was not able to update it. Let me schedule some time for the same too. For the purpose and benefit of other readers, I searched for Vinayagar slokam and got a video of Vinayagar Agaval, uploaded by sripadam in Youtube . I am sharing the here for your quick reference so that everyone can benefit getting the blessings of Sri Ganesh. It is always customary to exchange wishes to our near and dear on such occasions. And these days of Internet Age, distance is no longer a problem since the world has shrunk to a global village. Check out the e...

Sri Jayanthi Celebrations Tomorrow Tomorrow would be Sri Jayanthi Celebrations for us. One interesting feature with Sri Krishna Jayanthi (aka) Sri Jayanthi is that many subsects celebrate this in different dates. For us, it comes tomorrow. Just thought I would share the following YouTube video uploaded by weirdindia for the benefit of other readers so that others can listen to God's name and get His blessings.

Evergreen Memories (Album Collection) :: Dallas Trip I have been receiving a steadfast sequence of emails and suggestions that I should also consider uploading snaps associated with my travel and parties. I have been delaying this for availability of time. This weekend, being quite free, I just sat down and compiled the 'Evergreen Memories (Album Collection)'. Currently, I have uploaded a few photos which I have been taking during my current stay in Dallas, US .   Windows Live Spaces

The Friday Evening at TownePlace, Irving After the weeklong stretch and stress, this weekend start (Friday) was a little relaxing one. Myself, Peter (who came in yesterday), Praveen and Parthiban went to Centennial in Irving and bought some beer and other little beverages. We came back to hotel sometime around 1900 hours. I had an interesting learning now. Here in Irving, there seems to be a practice that we should not carry beverages bottles or those stuff visibly. They should be having a good packing and then it should be carried. We were having some light refreshments at Towne Place Marriots (the next hotel to my Residence Inn Marriot) on the same Walnut Hill Lane. As the discussion picked up and our team count was increasing, we had to move from the closed shelter to the adjoining pool. Initially, we four started off the weekend fun but later joined by a few more of my colleagues. The weekend meet also introduced my other colleague in his new avatar as a blogger . Let me in...

Interesting Quote in Car "Don't Follow me; Follow God" Sometime back, a month ago, while in Chennai, I have seen an interesting quote behind a car. In cars, normally, in Chennai, you can find interesting slogans and quotations bieng written as a gesture of making it lucrative and adoration of their vehicle. In one of the car, I saw this quotation. It seems to be carrying a real good philosophical thought that it carries a good message besides carrying passengers. God is supreme being and almighty. We should take every little step in serving Him and take His guidance towards every step in our day-to-day life. Hence just thought of sharing this with other readers too.

What is happening to N. MacArthur Road? I have seen two traffic accidents where about three cars were smashed in the N. MacArthur Road in the past three days. I am not sure whether I have shared an obsevation but wanted to mention about my observation that I felt that N. MacArthur has significant traffic increase this year, as I compare the same to my visit the previous year. I shared this thought to one of my onshore managers and he was telling that a few companies have sprung up in this region which has contributed to a phenomenal traffic increase in this segment of Irving city. Yesterday while walking from office in Hidden Ridge to my home in Walnut Hill Line and at the time of negotiating the Meadow Creek traffic lights, I saw the police car with flashing lights. I was just thinking that someone would have flouted the laws and he is being 'ticketed'. But only I went near and was about to cross the road, I observed that one car was smashed in the back and the other was smash...

My Gayatri Japam from Irving, TX Following my travel to US for a period of three months from Aug 2008 to Nov 2008 and today being Yajur Upakarma, with the help of Sadagopan Mama (NY) and Ahobilam.com (Sri Vasu Vadhyar Mama) , I was able to have my Gayatri Japam done today without any hassles. The following resources were simply greatly useful and of course, with the grace of my Lord Swamiyae Saranam Ayyappa : Yajur Upakarma 2008 Procedures (including Sankalpam for US) Lifco Book Sandhyavandhanam/Avani Avittam Guidelines My Parents for preparing all the necessary things in a packet along with guidance.

"Poi Indri Meyyodu" Song of Ayyappan I used to listen to KJ's song 'Poi Indri Meyyodu Ney Kondu Ponaal...' dedicated to Sri Ayyappa. Yesterday whilst casually browsing YouTube, I came across a video clip of this song uploaded by Ravi Ragunath . I just thought I would share this with other interested Sri Ayyappa devotees and readers too so that everyone can listen to the song, view it and get His blessings.

My Yajur Upakarma from Irving, TX Following my travel to US for a period of three months from Aug 2008 to Nov 2008 and today being Yajur Upakarma, with the help of Sadagopan Mama (NY) and Ahobilam.com (Sri Vasu Vadhyar Mama) , I was able to have my Yajur Upakarma done without any hassles. The following resources were simply greatly useful and of course, with the grace of my Lord Swamiyae Saranam Ayyappa : Yajur Upakarma 2008 Procedures (including Sankalpam for US) Abhivadhanam Guidelines Lifco Book Sandhyavandhanam/Avani Avittam Guidelines Timely Wakeup Call from Residence Inn by Marriot My Parents for preparing all the necessary things in a packet along with guidance.

My Varalakshmi Vratham Pooja from Irving, Texas Since I am in US now from August 2008 to November 2008 , most of my religious celebrations or prayers would be from here. Today is Varalakshmi Vratham. Thanks to YouTube and Blogger ( Google Kids ) that I could offer my prayers to Lordess without any hassles. Typically, I could have the Sri Sooktham chanted in my room ambience along with Manthra Puspam. You may recall that Sri Sooktham video was prepared by me along with the MP3 chanting of the same from a public domain download. Sri Sooktham Manthra Puspam

Why do people think 'Public Property as Private Property'? It is really a most disgusting attitude of a few people who have got habituated to make use of public property and their workplace corporate possessions for their personal chores and to satisfy their bestial instincts. I am rather harsh yes. But the intensity and acuteness of this disturbing others is significant and people should really consider cleaning up their thoughts and think for public welfare too. Recently, I registered for Reliance Calling Card to India. Reliance gives a facility to generate and give an automatic number for those who stay in hotels. And for residents they can give their own telephone numbers for easy dialling. I just observed some crank prankster has registered for the calling card giving the hotel telephone number. The nett result of which is that others can not use Reliance Calling Card through hotel phone numbers. I remember even during my previous trip, my manager (Srinivas Wudali) used t...

The Pepper Crusher says "Slow. Slow. Slow and Steady wins the race" This was a learning from the Pepper Crusher which we use during the breakfast at Residence Inn by Marriott where I currently stay. If we rotate the Pepper Crusher quite fast, it just gives very few amount of powder to our dishes. But if we focus on the grind alongwith slowly and steadily rotating it, the amount of pepper that gets dropped onto our dish is more. There is a very common saying that 'Haste makes Waste' and 'Slow and Steady wins the race'. I just felt that the Pepper Crusher reemphasized this thought during the breakfast hour. There is another lighter hilarious recall with reference to the Pepper Crusher. In olden days, ladies used to grind betel nuts in a small hand-held stone right. Wouldn't this be kind of similar to that one? A new innovation has a finer traditional touch to that of an ancestral thought.

The Quickest Cost-Effective Relaxation in Irving, Texas Be it the previous year trip or the current travel, I have one observation. We have a cute little park called 'Thomas Jefferson Park' at the traffic lights intersection of Meadow Creek, North MacArthur and Hidden Ridge (typically located at 1201, Hidden Ridge Road) as outlined over here . Perhaps, I could recall that during my first visit, we had a number of photographs taken around this park too along with my the then colleague (Muthu Rajesh). This park is also refreshing for us in a very large number of ways: Quick cricket or other play activity. Of course, I admit, that during the current summer month (hot season) this might not be feasible. On a short business assignment, it is not always possible to have a dedicated car being rented out nor affordable to hire a taxi for every down the lane travel. So the only refreshing alternative that we have on hand is this cute little park. This park also bridges the distance for ...

Oh My! Where is my Pressure Cooker? When you stay away from home, it isn't a pressing task to manage through the managing tasks yourselves. Neither it isn't a big deal to take upon the responsibilities on your shoulder and deliver them impeccably. Rather, on a positive perspective, this hones your soft skills significantly. However, when it comes to aftermath maintanence of each task, it does sound a little stress though for anyone. For example, cooking food is not a big deal however, after cooking, having the vessels cleaned impeccably and keeping it ready for the next session would be one task that I have heard people wear a sulkier face. In a similar vien, yesterday after I cooked my food, I had put the pressure cooker into the kitchen sink in my suite scheduling a cleanup sometime today. Today, I got up late anyway, by virtue of being a Sunday. The routine room service got completed. When I was searching for the pressure cooker during lunch, it was missing from the sink. I ...

Hot Hot Summer in Dallas Hope you would have read my Chennai - Dallas trip over here . Today being weekend Saturday, I was just casually sitting down and writing about my travel experience and also about my quick jottings and observations here. A few of the quick jottings are: During my first visit, I started in February (Winter) and was till May (start of summer) and while during this visit, I would be in Summer till start of winter. The state of Texas is considered a little warmer state and the summer seems to be little hot. You can not afford to go for a casual stroll during an afternoon even for a quick byte that easily. I also observed that traffic in North MacArthur seems to be really on a very high compared to my previous visit. Perhaps more to share over the period of time. Stay Tuned!

Technical Issues and Updates Today afternoon, when I checked my email, a few of them had written me that they were not able to read the posts since, just after page loads, they are presented with an 'Operation Aborted' and then the Internet Explorer displays 'Can not find server or DNS error'. After close scrutiny, I have observed that the SiteMeter code was currently having an issue. Thanks to Prathiba Venkatesan's MyTidesandTidings , which was an inspiration for me to signup with GoStats a while back. Today, I have migrated the webstatistics from SiteMeter to GoStats. Let me know if you still face issues with any of my webpages, so that I can look at the same and address them.

Rang De Chennai Chapter Meet A little while we were discussing in brief about Rang De, an unique innovative micro-lending platform to cater to the financially challenged strata of the society. I just had an update from one of the founders (Smita Ram) about an upcoming Chennai Chapter meet of Rang De on 16th August evening. The chapter meet details are as follows: Event: Rang De Friends Meet (Chennai Chapter) Date: 16th August, 2008 Time: 1700 hours to 1800 hours Venue: IFMR Campus, 24, Kothari Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai -- 600 034. As of at the moment, there isn't a strict agenda put up other than the point that we can initiate as many (squeeze them in) or as few discussions (go into each one in greater depth); except that the theme of the meeting should revolve around social good. Perhaps, you can drop in a line at info (at) rangde.org for more details regarding registration to attending the Chennai chapter. Let us take the little first step in cont...

13th Prize Winner of Community-Credit July 2008 Contest I am very glad to inform that I have been winner again as a 13th Prize Winner for the month of July 2008 in the Community Credit website. I have conquered the 13th Prize this month. You can check out other winners at this page of Community-Credit . [You need to select July 2008 in the month dropdown]. The details of the prize are as below: Saturn Lamp The Saturn Lamp adds a soothing magical aura to any room. Turn it on and watch the colorful rings of Saturn rotate. • Mimics the patterns of Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in our solar system • Lightshow display transforms shapes and colors • Set anywhere for a soothing display • Always at your control, includes on/off switch • Dimensions: 10.5" x 7"