pavandeep

Poor guy...

Police: Man Killed While Adjusting Christmas Lights

COOPER CITY, Fla. --

Cooper City police said a man found dead on his front lawn was electrocuted while putting up Christmas lights Saturday.
Officers found Danny Callahan lying on top of an electrical cord that was connected to Christmas lights.

Each year millions of trees are murdered and subject to abuse and negligence. All this is done in the name of “Christmas”. I’m a pretty open-minded person, but I fail to recognize the point of killing a perfectly harmless and happy tree that is minding its business, cleaning the air WE breath, and asking for nothing in exchange. This selflessness should be rewarded not punished. It’s quite the debacle!

This isn’t the worst of it… after they're murdered they are subject to strange rituals including adornment with lights, and burdening their branches with “ornaments”. How would any of us like having metal, plastic, or glass objects suspended from our limbs?** I know I wouldn't like it.

It’s quite sad. If any of you (my three loyal readers) feel the need to “celebrate” Christmas, celebrate responsibly... please buy an artificial or potted tree, and encourage others to do so as well.


** ADDENDUM: I'm sorry... some people do wish to look like christmas trees:

In one of my night classes I usually sit in the back, next to an interesting middle aged man. When he found out I was from Canada, he told me he was looking for a job in Toronto, and that he really wanted to move North. This really confused me, because normally Americans pity Canada, and blame Canada for “cold fronts”. I asked him why he wanted to move to Canada. He went on to tell me he couldn’t stand living in a country run by an idiot. “George Bush is an idiot” he said.

An aside... I don't think that the lives of individual citizens are greatly affected by which party runs the country, certainly not so much that it warrants moving to another country.

Back to the conversation... “Why is George Bush an idiot?” I asked. He told me that George Bush didn’t know anything about history, citing examples of how his lack of knowledge was associated to his incompetence in running the country (something to do with civil wars, I think).

I told him I didn’t know much about American history, and then he started using British examples. Noticing the confused look on my face he said “Well I’m sure Canada has a rich history”. “Umm… yeah, probably. I actually don’t remember much about it.” He was a little surprised, and for a man who generally uses long words all he said was “Oh”.

Does that make me an idiot too? How unfortunate. :(

Wow... it's like they read my mind.

The Christmas Resistance Movement

You know holiday shopping is offensive and wasteful. You know Christmas "wish lists" and "gift exchanges" degrade the concept of giving. You know Christmas marketing is a scam, benefiting manufacturers, stores, and huge corporations, while driving individuals into debt. You know this annual consumer frenzy wreaks havoc on the environment, filling landfills with useless packaging and discarded gifts.
Yet, every year, you cave in and go shopping.
The relentless onslaught of advertising exerts constant pressure. So do the unified bleatings of herds of shoppers, who call you "Scrooge" if you fail to enthusiastically join their ritual orgy of consumption. Friends and family needle you with gift requests, store windows beckon with shiny colorful packages, the same "classic" holiday jingles are piped constantly through every speaker in town.
How can you resist?
Join the Christmas Resistance Movement!
The growing CHRISTMAS RESISTANCE MOVEMENT is joined in solidarity against the Shopping Season. For every 100 automatons who call you "Scrooge," there's a sparkly-eyed CHRISTMAS RESISTOR who supports YOU in NOT BUYING INTO THE HOLIDAY HYSTERIA.
Together, we boycott Christmas Shopping, Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, and every variety of Christmas Crap. We refuse to support the Holiday Industry. We show our love for friends and family by giving our time and care, not by purchasing consumer goods. We maintain the integrity of giving by giving spontaneously and from our hearts, rather than during a specified season.
You are not alone. Together, we can RESIST CHRISTMAS!

Will this woman stop at nothing? Thievery while in prison.


NICE SPICE RACK
-By RICH CALDER

November 26, 2004 --
Martha Stewart's prison secrets — right down to the spices she allegedly sneaks into her bra — have been revealed by her cellmates.

Fellow "Camp Cupcake" inmates are monitoring Martha's every move at the West Virginia lockup, and are disclosing the lengths she goes to to whip up gourmet treats behind bars, including stashing condiments and such in her unmentionables.

According to letters provided to The Post by one inquisitive inmate, prison guards searched the culinary queen's locker last month and found hidden food inside.

Stewart — Prisoner No. 55170-054 — was caught with the goods and punished with additional work duty after a prison pal ratted her out, the letters said.

The woman squealed on Stewart after the guru of good living allegedly refused to pay her for helping collect food that would be sneaked back to Stewart's quarters and cooked. The letters discuss some of what The Post reported about Stewart's roller-coaster first six weeks behind bars but also provide outlandish details that were unknown until now.
For instance, Stewart on Oct. 18 was handed a list of items that her pal expected to be paid for, but Martha refused to pay "for the government's free stuff," the letter says. The pal gave Martha up, and the next morning, Stewart's locker was searched. Guards found brown sugar, powdered sugar, cinnamon, butter and other food hidden inside.
A second prisoner confirmed this story. She also said Stewart, since being caught, now smuggles condiments and small portions of food out of the kitchen by "stuffing them in her bra."
Dawn Zobel, a spokeswoman at the Federal Prison Camp in rural Alderson, W.Va., said she was unaware whether Stewart has violated any regulations or been reprimanded while incarcerated, adding that she "can't comment on such matters anyway" because of prisoner privacy laws.
George Sard, a spokesman for Stewart, declined to comment.

Stewart, 63, has been dubbed the "Contraband Queen" by fellow prisoners for hoarding items that are off-limits to inmates in their rooms, according to several prison sources. She was called into a lieutenant's office at least three times — at least twice for attempting to sneak eggs out of the main kitchen and another time for "being too nice" to other inmates, the letters said.
The penalties for hiding food in her locker included cleaning bathrooms, raking leaves and scrubbing a prison porch, the letters said.
The Post last month also reported that Stewart despises prison food so much that she's cooking her own meals — in a kitchenette with a microwave...

This summer I saw a Punjabi (Sikh) couple waiting for treatment at school. I was looking for my patient when I noticed that the woman was watching me. When I looked over she was whispering something to her husband. She was probably telling him to look over at the “apanee” because that’s what he did. I smiled at them as I walked by with my patient. They smiled back. I wasn’t sure they were Punjabi and Sikh until I saw the kara on the woman’s wrist.
I was in the elevator with my patient when a Muslim female wearing a hijab stepped in. My patient, who is also Muslim (but doesn’t wear a head covering), said the Muslim greeting, and the other women responded appropriately.
This made me think… I could have easily said something to the Punjabi/Sikh couple, and I probably should have. I didn’t know for sure that they were Sikh until I walked by… but at that point some sort of greeting would have been nice. I decided that if I saw them again I would say something. After finishing up with my patient I did see them… they were sitting in a different area of the school, but when they saw me they both looked up. I said “Sat Sri Akal” and they happily said it back.
On Saturday mornings I usually go to the Gurdwara for Asa Di Waar. This morning there was a black man in the elevator when I got on. He mumbled “salam mal ekam” (not sure exactly how to spell it). I said “pardon me?” to which he said “I asked how you were doing today” (that is NOT what he had said). I told him I was doing fine, and then he asked me where I was going so early in the morning. I told him I was going to the Gurdwara, the Sikh Temple. He asked if I went every morning, and I told him that I only went this early (5:30 am) on Saturdays. He told me that he was actually headed to the mosque himself, and that the world needs more people who pray in the morning. He asked if there were a lot of Sikh Temples in Philadelphia. I told him that there weren’t and the one that I was headed to was actually in Upper Darby. As we got off the elevator he wished me a good prayer (or something like that).
I arrived at the Gurdwara a little earlier than usual, and as I was washing my hands I saw one of the Uncles who is a regular. I’ve never talked to him, but I decided I would say Fateh… and just as I started.. so did he! It’s not so difficult to greet fellow Sikhs, and I should do it more often… even if I’m not sure the person is Sikh (well maybe that’s taking it a bit far).

One of the things I used to find annoying about Americans is something I now admire.

Canadians are way too friendly. I wouldn’t even call it friendly… it’s more like they're “fake”. In Canada you often hear people saying stuff like: thank-you, please, that’s okay, how are you? excuse me, sorry, and other things that I can’t remember. It’s not so much the words that bother me, it’s how frequently they're said… it could drive a sane person crazy. Oh yeah… I forgot to mention how you have to smile at everyone and act like you care about their day. Only clinically insane people smile for no reason.

I’m not against social pleasantries completely. I just don’t think you should have to pretend to care about how the cashier at the grocery store is doing. I also don’t enjoy that he/she acts like they are genuinely interested in my life… I’m just a random person buying milk... are they really thinking "hmmm, I wonder what she's doing this evening? I'll ask her". If that's the case, then maybe Canadians are just a nice group of people who sincerely care about the well being of fellow Canadians.

Americans don’t pretend like you matter, and that’s how it should be. I would much rather have someone treat me with genuine rudeness over fake friendliness.

Thanks for reading this, and I'm sorry if anyone was offended... please accept my sincerest of apologies. :-D

Every now and then I’ll search e-bay by entering “sikh” just to see if there is anything interesting for sale. Today I found a vintage International Sikh Youth Federation t-shirt. I think it would be cool to see a white guy wearing a shirt that says “KHALISTAN” on it. It is a nice shirt, bringing back memories of the “movement”, but I personally wouldn’t wear used clothes. There aren’t any bids yet… it’ll be interesting to see what it ends up going for (if it does sell). Hopefully it goes to a good home.




* ADDENDUM: The shirt sold for $15.50.

I think fall is my favorite season. The fall foliage is so beautiful… the trees look amazing when their leaves turn red, orange, yellow, green and brown. Most of the trees have lost their leaves by now, but they don’t look sad or pathetic. Quite unlike Cornelius, the peacock... when Cornelius had all his feathers he would stand in the parking lot and show-off by spreading out his colorful plumage. I don’t know who he was showing-off to. The only audience I saw was one lonely squirrel. Once he lost his feathers he looked so bewildered and a little bit embarrassed. The trees aren’t like Cornelius, they still stand proud. Maybe we can learn from the trees… don’t show-off… that way you won’t have anything to be ashamed of later on.

Here's a scientific article regarding abortions and female babies that actually shows Sikhs in a good light. The Sikh couple in Case 2 let their religious beliefs determine what actions to take. They proved the doctors wrong. Yay for Mr. and Mrs. K!!!!!

CASE 1:
Mrs. S is a married 35-year-old Hindu woman expecting her fourth child. She has 3 daughters and on several occasions has expressed her desire to have a son. Because of her age she is referred for amniocentesis to rule out genetic anomalies. A healthy female fetus is reported, whereupon Mrs. S requests a termination of pregnancy. The pregnancy is now at 20 weeks. Mr. and Mrs. S are referred for counselling.

CASE 2:
Mr. and Mrs. K, an orthodox Sikh couple, are happily anticipating the birth of their first child. The pregnancy is uneventful until 32 weeks, when gestational hypertension is diagnosed. Over the next 2 weeks Mrs. K's condition continues to deteriorate despite bed rest, hospital care and intensive medical management. Mr. and Mrs. K consent to cesarean section to save the lives of mother and child. At 34 weeks a female infant is delivered by cesarean section under general anesthetic. The baby is grossly edematous, looks dysmorphic and has an Apgar score of 1 at 1 minute. Her birth weight is 1000 g, and the placenta is small and calcified. Mrs. K is still under general anesthetic, and Mr. K is not in the operating room. The physicians need to decide on the degree of intervention. Fortunately, the infant responds to basic stimulation from towelling and drying under a prewarmed radiant heater and to resuscitation with oxygen by face mask. Her Apgar score is 6 at 5 minutes and 8 at 10 minutes. The baby is transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit, and a buccal smear is sent for karyotyping to rule out chromosomal abnormality. Following the surgery, the physicians meet with Mr. K to discuss the baby's condition. The neonatal specialist, considering the baby's condition to be grave and irremediable, advises against intensive intervention.

THE RESULTS...

CASE 1:
Contrary to the physician's expectation, Mr. and Mrs. S do not wait for the counselling appointment but travel to the United States to have the pregnancy terminated.
For Hindus and Sikhs the single most important ethical consideration surrounding the start of life is their belief in karma: that the fetus is not developing into a person but, rather, is already a person from the moment of conception. Abortion at any stage of fetal development is thus judged to be murder. However, abortion is accepted by Hindus and Sikhs if essential to preserve the life of the mother.8 Furthermore, the religious prohibition of abortion is sometimes at odds with the cultural preference for sons. For Mr. and Mrs. S, the desire for a son outweighs the stance of their religion against abortion.

CASE 2:
Mr. K affirms his religious belief in the sanctity of life and insists on maximum medical intervention. Baby K's edema resolves by 50% over the next 24 hours and resolves completely by 72 hours. She requires minimal medical intervention and leaves the hospital at age 10 days. Karyotyping results are normal.
In this example, it might have been easy to allow the cultural bias against female babies to prevail. However, unlike in the first case, the parents' religious beliefs overruled their cultural biases — and the clinical and ethical judgement of the physician involved.

"Philadelphia, your teeth are big and green!"
"Philadelphia, you smell like gasoline..."

Okay, Philadelphia doesn't have teeth... but if it did, I'm pretty sure they would be big and green. Anyone who visits me here thinks (and sometimes says) "ewwww". It's not that bad. Well, maybe it is.. but for some weird reason I like it.




This is a picture of the street behind my school. It looks a lot worse in person. It's really scary at night. I mean, it would be scary for someone who wasn't as brave as me.
One thing for sure is that living here makes me appreciate things I hadn't thought about before. For example, walking back to your car afterschool you don't know if it's going to be there or not. If it is there, it wouldn't be surprising if it has been broken into. Everytime I see my car I literally thank God. Not because I love my car or anything, just because it would be a huge hassle if it were stolen. I don't think I ever did that at home.

Hahaha.. this is really weird... as I was typing this I saw something on the news...


Source Of Mysterious Odor In Philadelphia Identified
PGW Looks For Source Of Odor

PHILADELPHIA -- Two schools in south Philadelphia were evacuated because of an odor of gas in the air, but police now say that the smell was not gas, after all.
Officials said that the odor started at the Navy Yard in southeast Philadelphia. A large amount of limestone was being transported from one train to another and the limestone released a cloud that was spread across the city by strong winds.
As a precaution, students from Furness High School at 2nd and McKean street and Thomas Middle School at 8th Street and Oregon Avenue were evacuated. Christopher Columbus charter school has canceled all after-school activities.
People across a two-mile area of south Philadelphia reported smelling the odor, including in the area around the Independence Mall. Complaints came as far apart as south Philadelphia, Camden County, northeast Philadelphia and Center City.
Some people in the subway also reported smelling the odor. As a precaution, SEPTA used shuttle buses along the Broad Street subway, but the trains are running again.

It kind of bothers me when people complain about the weather. Very few people are justified in their complaints, the rest of us have been brainwashed by the weathermen of the world to believe rain=misery. This isn't really true, but believing it probably does make people miserable.
There would be a lot of unemployed weathermen if they were unable to evoke such emotions. If we all agreed to accept the weather as is, and to not make a big stink about a little rain or snow... wouldn' t the world be a better place?
Just be thankful for the day you have and complain about other stuff... like people who lick their finger(s) before turning the page of a magazine or book, or before handing out papers. That's something worth complaining about.

Every once in a while my parents will surprise me with a Shakespeare quote or a cliche they learned in school. When I was 14 and my Dad was teaching me how to drive he saw that I had a false sense of confidence and he warned me by saying "a little learning is a dangerous thing". Last week I did something really dumb that made me remember that line.

Because of the dry weather and frequent hand washing I developed a skin crack on my thumb. It was kind of painful and a bandage didn't help at all. I thought it would be a good idea if I gave myself a couple of stiches. It really wasn't a good idea. The "procedure" didn't hurt but I wound up creating another tear in my skin running the opposite direction. I hadn't anticipated that the suture needle I had wasn't suitable for skin.

Well I had to do something about the mess on my thumb... I needed to hold the skin together somehow. The only thing I could think of was Krazy glue... and guess what? It actually worked. This was last week and now my thumb has completely healed. :-D

Actually "Monty" and "The Far Side" probably tie for funniest comic strip. This one in particular reminds me of someone but I'm not sure who.

So a couple of weeks ago I was at the post office in Center City (not my usual post office) and I needed to mail a book that I sold on half.com. This book was paperback, less than 200 pages long, and about 6" by 9". It was in a manilla envelope, with no padding. I'm sure most people would guess there was a book in the envelope.
I told the postal worker I wanted to send the "pacakge" by media mail. She, in turn, asked if there were any explosives in the "package". I replied "no". Then she asked me, rather suspiciously, what the contents of the package were. I said "it's just a book". At this point she proceeded to pat the package down. Now I'm thinking... if I was going to send explosives would I tell her? If only someone had asked the Unabomber what the contents of his pacakges were. Also, if it were an explosive should she really be handling it like that?
My package didn't pass her inspection, because she added a "SCAN ME" sticker to the front. [she hears voices? my package is talking to her? it's yelling "SCAN ME"?]
I am brown, so maybe I do look like a terrorist. There could be other explanations too, i guess... like maybe she just completed her first day of Hazmat training and was trying to show off to her colleagues?