Here is my booklist

John Grisham

1.The Broker - 2005
2.Skipping Christmas - 2001
3.Bleachers - 2003
4.The Chamber - 1994
5.The Summons - 2002
6.The Appeal - 2008
7.The Partner - 1997
8.The Last Juror - 2004
9.The Runaway Jury - 1996
10.The Pelican Brief  - 1992
11.The King of Torts - 2003
12.The Street Lawyer - 1998
13.Ford County - 2009
14.Playing for Pizza - 2007
15.The Firm - 1991
16.The associate - 2009
17.The brethren - 2000
18.The Testament - 1999
19.A Painted House - 2001
20.The client - 1993
21.A Time to Kill - 1989
22.The Rainmaker - 1995
23.The Innocent Man - 2006

Malcolm Gladwell
·  Blink
·  Tipping point

Jefferey Archer
·  Not A Penny More Not A Penny Less
·  Kane and Abel

Tsung Tzu - Art of war
Lee Iacocca - Talking Straight

Blogspot to Wordpress

I have recently moved away from Blogspot (http://mohanramanujam.blogspot.com) to Wordpress (http://mohanramanujam.wordpress.com). Reasons:
1. Check my google trending post (http://mohanramanujam.blogspot.com/2009/11/google-trends.html)
2. Jughead has moved so I followed cautiously

On Travel

Watched a couple of tam movies Nadodigal and Pasangal in Qatar airways trip to India and back. Here is my take.

Pasangal: Good watch. I would recommend this movie since it is light and dwells into the psychology of kids.

Nadodigal: Gives a new way of looking at lovers. Thought provoking and different form several other movies. It reminded me of "The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde.

Seemantha puthran's names

Five names

• Barghavan
• Sriman
• Santanagopalakrishnan
• Kannan
• Sunderarajan

Vlog

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEhoOmMliX0

Hope the technology scales up for video blogging in the next few years!

Some details that I want to share:

• It is a Flip Video Mino HD 120 mins camera
• 58 sec video in mp4 compressed format occupies 80 MB!
• It takes at least 1 hour to upload the video!!
• Video making and presenting skills are required!!!

Notation and sound

The notation for marking the syllables for chanting is generally known as the swara notation, signifying the pitch variation applicable to the vowel in the syllable. The most basic variations, commonly accepted all over India are

    1. slightly decreased pitch usually referred to as "anudaatam".
    2. Normal pitch known as "udaatam" and
    3. Increased pitch known as "swaritam".

    An elongated swaritam is also specified in some instances and this is known as "deergha swaritam".

Anudaatam is notated by a short horizontal line below the syllable    Swaritam is notated by a short vertical line above the syllable. Deergha swaritam is denoted by to short vertical lines instead of a single one.

When Kumbhakarna asked for a boon (blessing) from Brahma, his tongue was tied by goddess Saraswati. So instead of asking "Indraasana" (seat of Indra), he asked for "Nidraasana" (bed for sleeping).

Traditional Learning Method

Just a hundred years ago, people like us were learning the 18 Vidyas -

The 4 Vedas - Rig, Yajus, Saaman, AtharvaNa
The 6 Vedangas - Siiksha, VyaakaraNa, chchandas, nirukta, jyothisha and kalpa
The 4 upangaas - Nyaaya, Miimaamsa, PuraaNa and Dharmashaastra
The 4 Upavedas - Ayurveda, Dhanurveda, Gaandharvaveda and Arthashaastra

One student spent 18 years in a Paathashaala learning and assimilating
these 18 Vidyaas.

Retrospection

Now that I am going back to India, it is time to look back at the last couple of trips with great emotion and joy.I would like to take you to a journey into the past. In what had been a great spiritual journey in life, we visited 14 temples in 3 days. Out of the 14 temples, 9 were Divya Desams (marked by *). To greatly add to the cherished memories was the presence of Vilakkudi Grandparents. I greatly admire the clear thoughts of Vilakkudi grandmother and her patience in explaining the concepts with great love and affection.

Day One

1. Pullabhootangudi * - Valvil Ramar
2. Adanur * - Andalakkumaiyyan
3. Oothukkadu - Kalinganarthan krishnan
4. Thirucherai * - Saranathan Perumal
5. Nathan Koil * - Jagannatha Perumal
6. Nachiar Koil * - Srinivasa Perumal

Day Two

1. Mannargudi - Rajagopala Perumal
2. Vilakkudi - Kasturi Rangan
3. Vaduvur - Ramar

Day Three

1. Narasimhapuram - Brindavanam
2. Thirukodalur * - Jagat Rakshaka Perumal
3. Kabisthalam * - Gajendra Varadan
4. Thiruvinnagaram * - Oppiliappan
5. Thirukodandai * - Sarangapani

Detailed discussions of each to follow in the next few posts after return from India.

King of Niggar Jokes

By the power vested in me (thanks Blogger/Blogspot) as the owner of Spectrum blog, I hereby declare that Dave Chappel is THE king of niggar jokes.


http://www.vidilife.com/video_play_76495_dave_chapelle_niggar_family.htm.
Alternative site is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DelwItMuJiY.
Includes family discussion of son Jimmy’s upcoming date with a schoolmate, parents’ plans for a dinner party that evening, a cutaway to a conversation among the immediate family of Jimmy’s date, a visit from the milkman (played by Dave Chappelle), Jimmy’s dinner date, and the arrival of dinner guests to the Niggar house. Throughout, the boundary between proper name and racial slur is blurred.

Also watch http://cliptank.com/funny-clips/dave-chappelle-black-k-k-k-member.html. Alternative site is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuuBVWo_W3U.

Poem - confused

Bright light shines from one side,
Its dark on the other side.

Is it dawn or dusk,
Should I wake up or go to sleep.


Am I too pure to survive,
In this evil world.


Am I vicious to die,
An anomaly in HIS ABODE.

Google Trends

Here is an interesting tool from google called Google Trends.

With Google Trends, you can compare the world’s interest in your favorite topics. Enter up to five topics and see how often they’ve been searched on Google over time. Google Trends also shows how frequently your topics have appeared in Google News stories, and in which geographic regions people have searched for them most.

You can compare the brand strength as I have done (Samsung, Sony, LG), and see which brand has off late been in news. Has it been in news for good reasons or is it struggling. Have they released new products or has their existing product taken a hit are some answers that you can expect to find in a quick glance.

You can have a breakup by geography or language as shown below:Click on image to take a closer look. I can slice and dice the information and also export to a csv file. I was even naughty enough to do a comparison of Wordpress and Blogger. See here.








Do not tell Blogger that Google Trend shows its decreasing popularity when compared to Wordpress. See here.

Zayka - The New Restaurant in Brier Creek

Just opposite to BJ's and adjacent to Chik-fil-a and Wachovia bank is a new Indian restaurant called Zayka. They have lunch buffet all 7 days. Weekdays buffet costs 9.99 and weekends it costs 14.99. Their website is Zayka.

Now, they are very close to a high end and established Indian restaurant called Azitra. While price is on the higher end in both these restaurants, below is my comparison in a scale of 1 to 10.
------------------------------------------
-----Compared on--Azitra--Zayka--
-1---Price-------------5-------4----
-2---Tasty------------7-------7----
-3---Variety----------5-------7----
-3---Ambience-------9-------7----
-----------------------------------------
Zayka prices are as (un)competitive as Azitra. However, with a good wine menu, these restaurants will attract more of an American customer base.

Starbucks Coffee

Here is the top in my list:

Latte

• Chai Latte
• Soy Latte
• Cinnamon Dolce

Caramel Macciato

Frappuccino

• Java Chip Frappuccino
• Vanilla
• Mocha

PS: After all these years, my #1 choice is still South Indian Decaution Coffee. For both aroma and taste!

Go Microsoft Windows Movie Maker

I downloaded Audacity and with a few family photos was able to make this using Windows Movie Maker. Now all I need to do is to discover the artist in me.

Following is the song lyrics:
Where do you go, my lovely. I wanna know, my lovely,

You leave without a word, no message, no number
And now my head is pounding like rolling thunder
You left me with a heartache deep inside
Girl you should see me cry all night, and I wonder

Everybody says, what a shame, what is wrong
They don't like the game we play
Heard you're hanging round every night until dawn
I'm waiting for you night and day

You gotta break the silence, don't keep me waiting
Just like a river flowing to the sea
You're running back to me
Come hear what I'm saying

Save me...

Come back and dry the tears, I cried for you baby
You've gotta stop this heartache deep inside
You've gotta help me make it through the night safely
Come back and save me

Chess moves

I somehow kept loosing this night but at last got my moves right. Nothing great or cut throat, but it gave me the confidence to win the next few games. So here goes...

I, me and myself

Again, looking at the mirror to put things in perspective. Why is judging myself such a difficult thing? Quality of outcome is directly related to level of maturity. But I want to do it since June 18th is the most important day of my life. Much more important than July 15th. So here is my self assessment.

I am sensitive and moody, often heavily influenced by my environment. There is a shell around my feeling and the feelings of those close to me. My feeling of nurturing is strong but my mood can change. Trust is not my hallmark. I favor instead skepticism and distrust. In spite of that, I need to let others see who I am. If there aren't any takers around, I will disappear. When a dark mood takes over my behavior, it is common for me to be snappy. My normal nature is quiet and reserved, retreating when I feel threatened.

.. not a lot of good so far

I am sentimental and tend to cling to souvenirs. It is so hard for me to part with things I have attached value to, that I can become pack rat. Family and home are the center of my existence to the point that I can lose my individual self. There is a parental nurturing here that is protective and caring.

.. thats true. I am like the father (Prakash Raj) of Santosh Subramaniam

I am an excellent worker - dedicated to my task and respectful of authority. Disruption and change are not things I am comfortable with. Money is of top importance to me, but it is for the security that it brings rather than the spoils. I need to have safely in place.

.. thats how I work

Romantic relationship revolves around security. There is also a need for me to nurture or be nurtured. I need my partner to show weakness and vulnerability. I am emotional but not good at talking about it. I require some sign reading from my partner.

.. this is the portion which is likely to be subjective

I am not in favor separation and will unlikely to be the one that leaves. I don't like confrontations and would much rather be passive aggressive until the other person walks away. But it will take a lot for her get to that point. Insensitivity and betrayal are the two things that will send me towards the door. I am not good at being vulnerable and if their partner does something to damage the trust that I have shown, it may be forgiven but it will never be forgotten. I desperately need to be close to another person, although my often infuriating moods can make that hard to happen. But I am also gentle, sensitive, imaginative and protective.

.. keep reading the last sentence until you forget the rest

My Positives
· Emotional and sensitive
· Nurturing and protective
· Tenacious
· Dedicated and respectful of authority
· Traditional and oriented toward the past

My Negatives
· Over-emotional and defensive
· Smothering and overprotective
· Afraid to let go
· Tend to be a yes-man
· Fear of taking chances

PEP TALK

In a group how many would really be influenced by PEPTALK. How many would be influenced for an extensive period, say over 5 years.

The quality of a good leader is to have a good score. He should also be able to identify the people that he has influenced, the people that he can influence and those he cannot.

Assuming that you are a wannabe leader and there is a random sample of 1000 people, what would your score be for short term and 5 year term?

Pink Panther II

Absolutely hilarious. Don't go in with too much expectations and you will enjoy this movie. The scene where Steve Martin and the dream team go in search of the tornado was very funny. My favorite scene is when Jack Cloussau sets the restaurant on fire for the second time.

Spell your name

I was upset after being put on a long hold for the third time. When the third service representative got on call, things started back from square one. But this time I decided to answer differently in order to express my frustration. I was a lot louder and wacky.

TS: What is your first name?
Me: MOHAN.
TS: How do you spell it?
Me: DO YOU KNOW LINDSAY LOHAN?
TS: y..yes
Me: REPLACE THE "L" IN "LOHAN" WITH "M" AS IN "MIKETYSON".
...and so the conversation went.


While I was furious during the conversation, I couldn't help feeling amused when I recollected the incident.

Have you twitter …erred

As you might have found out by now, most of the articles in my blog are around 140 characters. That makes me wonder if I should twitter. Do not underestimate this great concept. Here are some uses.

• Tell your close ones what you are doing and get updates from them
• Get a sense of proximity to your role model or icon by subscribing to his/her twitter
  
• Get advice/guidance/info for your context rather than the generic google outcome
• Get a change of mind in the middle of hectic work schedule

Refer to June 15 edition of Time magazine for more tips.

You can find me in twitter at http://twitter.com/mohan9048 or at http://search.twitter.com/search?q=mohan9048.

How I use my iPhone

12 ways I use my iPhone.

1. Photo and send new wiedo haircut/leather jacket that I am going to buy for instant review
2. Games: Sudoku, Chess, Word Wrap
3. Save contacts through vcf
4. Yahoo mail and gmail (group accounts and personal account)
5. SMS for fun
6. Use iTalk recorder a lot for shopping list, to do list… Only wish I could e-mail my voice
7. Fandango: mostly watch movie previews
8. TwitterFon: Newfound interest
9. Yellow Pages: For desi restaurants and haircut shops near client location, post office..
   
10. Go for AOL Radio Bollywood and Beyond and Bollywood Classic Hits. Connect to cars auxiliary input for best results.
11. Catch up with latest news on AP News
12. Check out weather
    

Fully Booked in Houston Bush Intl Airport

This bookstore called “Fully Booked” is in the Houston Bush Intl Airport. I was in transit here for a little over two hours and this is a great place to spend time. They have a large collection of books unlike a lot of other airport book stores that carry only the popular ones. The other nice thing that I like is the bigger sitting area that they have. For frequent travellers such as myself, this is gift from heaven. Wish all airports have this kind of a store. This would need public and government support since the bookstore business might not be as profitable as some others.

Tail tales from Round Rock, TX

Two tailed sparrow (rettai vaal kuruvi) seems to be common in the area. I was extreamly delighted to find this bird. This reminded me of the crow which is very abundant in Singara Chennai. Just like the crow,they don’t seem to mind people passing by. As I tried to knock off items from my task list, I could not resist noticing a funny blue bird that kept banging against the semi transparent glass window of the conference room. The bird did seem to enjoy the game.

Diamond Versus Platinum

When you are living out of a briefcase, you can gain diamond or platinum status by staying frequently in Hilton or Marriott.

To me the two most important things that I look for in a hotel are internet access and courteous staff. I find Hilton to be better in both these aspects. Also, on an average, I can say that Hilton's Hampton Inn is better than Marriott's Residence Inn and Courtyard. I also like to stay in Hilton's Embassy Suites. I am not very fond to Hilton's Doubletree though.

Here is an interesting incident that happened on 06/02/2009 in Round Rock, TX. I had booked Marriott North Austin. When I went there I realized that they charge $10 per day for internet and $25 per day for the executive lounge access. I was already paying $145 per night for the room and the total came to $180. I called up nearby Hampton Inn and they had a room for me. They had free internet and friendly staff. I could now cancel my Marriott reservation (even though Marriott was our corporate partner) and move to Hampton Inn. I am glad that it was a wise decision.

In this case Diamond has won!

Playing with Blogspot

Here are a few tips:

To remove NavBar, add the following lines:
#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}

To get that Navbar space on top, use the following:
#b-navbar { height:0px; visibility:hidden }
body { position: relative; top: -22px; }


For repositioning Navbar to the bottom of the page:
style type="text/css">
body { position: relative; }
#b-navbar {
position: absolute;
top: inherit;
bottom: 0px;
margin-bottom: 0;
}


To remove all the widgets you can delete the line:
b:widget id='Blog1' locked='true' title='Blog Posts' type='Blog'

SrI MaTham HH 46th Jeeyar taniyan

vedAnta deSika yatIndra kaTAkshalabdha
traiyyanta sAramanavadya guNam budhAgryam |
nArAyaNAdya yatidhurya krpAbhishiktam
SrIranganAtha yatiSekharam ASrayAma ||
SrImate SrIvaN SaThakopa SrIranganAtha yatIndra mahA deSikAya nama:



anavadya guNam budhAgryam vedAnta deSika YatIndra kaTAKsha labdha
traiyyanta sAram

For sanskrit and tamil versions, the source of pdf is here.
Also refer the official Ahobila Mutt website

Most livable city

Pittsburgh is a great city with mountains and rivers in the heart of downtown. The traffic is only moderate even in peak hours. One nice place to stay is Hilton at 600 Commonwealth Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. You can get a view of the three rivers meeting. The rivers are Monongahela, Ohio and Allegheny.

Other unconfirmed info:
1. The Sri Venkateswara Temple was one of the first traditional temples to be built in USA.
2. They have the Allegheny Hospital that is world #1 for brain surgery and neuro-surgery
3. The Carnegie Science center has lot of fun do-it-yourself activities for kids and older enthu.
4. The CMU (Carnegie Mellon University) is one of the best.

Getting used to..

Things always even out for me .. says Seinfield.

Do we really get used to things in life. Would you go back to your starting salary or the smaller house that you used to live in or your old cell phone? I guess we get used to things that we like. I would never get used to waffle or breakfast cereals. I would prefer idli or dosa or paratha.

Renting home

How should I prioritize what I get from a rental home:

• Amenities like washer drier, gas stove, carpet...
• Clubhouse, swimming pool, business center, fitness center, snooker, tennis, basketball
• Lease breakage clause
• Proximity to office
• Cost
• Safety and security
• Size, # of rooms
  

Must be easy, especially if you have a month and a half to decide. Life is easy and its all fun stuff..

Settle in Seattle

Among the top places that I have visited is this wonderful place. Go to this place with the love of your life and you will not regret. Do visit Pugetsound and the floating bridge. The people of Seattle are super-cool.