A Mind is a Terrible Thing

"A Mind is a Terrible Thing" public service announcement of sorts:

Sri Kaleshwar Events List
         (see the bottom of the list for the following item…)
Sri Kaleshwar: Immortal Enlightenment Course

Fri, Jul 15, 2011 — Sun, Jan 08, 2012
Penukonda, India

Sri Kaleshwar is strongly recommending that all of his students, world-wide, travel with him to the most blessed, powerful temples and holy grounds in Northern India. He wants to spend the time teaching and passing on his knowledge to the most dedicated and spiritual students on the globe.

Please note the dates — it’s for Guru Purnima in 2011, with the course to last six months, here in India.  Enrollment is limited to the first 500 to sign up, so don’t delay.  More information and details at the link, which goes to the main website events list (scroll to the bottom for the registration link).

I make damned good vegetarian corn chowder.  The refined recipe just keeps getting better and better.

Refinements:

• Been increasing the batch by 50-100%, so as to have plenty for seconds and to freeze some.
• For frying the vegetables, start with the celery because it needs the longest to cook, then the carrots a couple minutes later.  I then often cook in the skillet for a while with the cover on, so the celery and carrots can both become tender. Add the onions last.  The chopped garlic can come anytime…usually I start it with the celery.
• Canned corn can be substituted for frozen, no problem.  Actually, we can get a better grade of corn here by going canned (either Green Giant or this other stuff imported from Singapore, available at Gourmet Food World).
• Rather than adding the tablespoon of flour directly to the chowder, it’s best to sauté it in melted butter first, then add (thanks Stephy).
• For a thicker, more hearty broth, add a quarter cup of heavy cream and/or additional potato flakes.

BTW, I never said this recipe was ‘cardio-friendly’.  *lol*

…and life is a barrel of monkeys.

Which, incidentally, have wreaked havoc on our balcony plants again.  Destructive buggers.

Oh, and they’ve also taken to ripping open the boxes of bottled water and chewing up the bottles so as to get drinks.

I’d have to say this has easily been the busiest four or six weeks I’ve ever had here in Penukonda…and the most rewarding.

BTW, down in that post of mine a little while ago, "Enjoying an Ashram Stay," there’ve been a few additions, including the address and details about a great shop in the "Public Utility Building", on MG Road in Bangalore.  It’s called Kanshan (aka "The Miss") and is a very good place to go for women’s punjabi and sari fashions for those on a budget.  More details in the post.

Me…well, I’m on a wee break this morning, so am trying to get caught up on laundry.

…to all the Dads out there in the world.

And to my own, who passed away in January, 2006.  We didn’t get along all that well, especially the end, but I loved him nonetheless.

This is a stupid little peeve, but it is this:  "Try" + "and" + (verb).

Like, "Try and succeed."  Or, "Try and relax."  Or, "I’ll try and be there."  I see this nonsense everywhere — television, movies, even in print.

This is incorrect.  It is "Try TO succeed."  Or "Try to relax."  Or, "I’ll try to be there."

Not a conjunction, but the infinitive verb.  Yeesh!

A few more about movies:

What’s the deal here with sequels, ‘re-visioning’ and do-overs?  Okay, I have to grant that the ‘re-visioning’ of Battlestar Galactica has resulted in pretty much the best television SF ever (from my perspective…not everybody likes it).  But they seem to be remaking EVERYTHING.  Nothing’s original.

10-20 years ago it was all sequels all the time.  If a movie was a semi-decent success, you could bet there’d be 2-3-10 more.  I think they’re STILL making Freddy Kreuger movies.  And more Friday the 13th’s than there’ve been actual Fridays numbered 13.

If it’s not a sequel, it’s a comic book.  Now, in addition to the sequels, I see one ‘live action’ comic book superhero adaptation after another.  Batman’s been started over again, as is The Hulk.  Fantastic Four (twice).  X-Men.  Iron Man.  Superman (which also had a do-over, sort of).

If it’s not that, then it’s a movie adaptation of a successful book.  The Golden Compass, Narnia, etc.  Even HBO’s rather well-done "John Adams" series was actually based on a book.

Where did true Creativity go?

An episode of what John Aravosis said:

Why is McCain getting $58,000 a year in disability income?
First off, I find it fascinating that John McCain, who is refusing to vote for the GI Bill for our troops because "it’s too generous," is himself getting $58,000 a year, tax-free, from the US government for his military service. Had McCain been getting that amount every year since Vietnam, that would total $2,000,000 for the man who isn’t into overgenerous government. I just find that interesting.
(snip)

Yes, he served his country. But something is wrong when we’re paying millionaires $58,000 a year, especially when those same millionaires complaine that we were being "overly-generous" to our troops currently fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the very least, it’s terribly hypocritical.

PS Let’s not forget that the Republicans decided that the last election should be about whether a Vietnam war hero, who was awarded the Purple Heart, really was injured enough to get those medals. Imagine what the Republicans would have done had the Democratic candidate been profiting to the tune of $58,000 a year from the feds for a "disability" that didn’t stop him from staying in the military another eight years, where he took over the command of a training squadron, and which didn’t stop him from later getting elected to the US Congress for 26 years. Yes, you can be disabled and do all that, but again, imagine had the Democratic candidate had the vigor of John McCain, while claiming to be disabled to the tune of $58k a year. They’d eviscerate us. And they did, when the candidate was John Kerry.

The rest at the link…  Seriously.  The guy is a multi-millionaire.  McCain clearly has not been ‘disabled’ by his war injuries, as they have not prevented him from completing a military career and then serving in the Congress for nearly three decades.

He’s happy to accept 58-large a year… but won’t agree to a new GI Bill that doesn’t even match what he got.  And he’s against a salary increase for America’s troops that still doesn’t keep pace with inflation.

Yeesh.

This is mainly for those folks signed up for and attending the upcoming Guru Purnima program here in the Shiva Sai Mandir Ashram in Penukonda — but it could certainly be applicable for other times.  Following are some of those things I’ve found a comfort to have.  Call it my "Ashram Survival Kit", and it consists of just those things most useful for someone staying a week or two or three.

In no particular order, first the essentials:

• Insect repellent:  If you can handle the types with DEET or Picardin, bring a bottle.  Or non-DEET, if you have something that really works (thanks, Grant (from comments)).  I’ve seen people try to get by with the purely organic repellents, like with neem and citronella oils — but the mosquitoes around here drink that stuff for breakfast.
• Calamine lotion & Benadryl tablets:  Despite the repellent, the mosquitoes will likely get you anyway.  An antihistamine topical lotion for the skin and some Benadryl tabs really help keep the itching down.
• Sunscreen:  Few things can ruin an experience worse than getting a bad sunburn.  A good hat isn’t a bad idea either, especially for those like myself who can sunburn right through one’s hair.  Me, I often wear bandana kerchiefs or a large floppy hat.
• Small First Aid Kit:  Just get a ziplock bag and put some Band-aids (adhesive bandages) in it, along with a small tube of topical antibiotic.  Aspirin, Tylenol, and/or Ibuprofen.  Sinus meds, if you’re prone to allergies.  Your regular vitamin supplements.  Imodium for the nigh inevitable intestinal troubles (trust me on this one).  Motion-sickness pills.
• Hand fan:  Just one of those cheap Chinese-style folding hand-fans.  Often, I’ll be sitting in stifling heat, waiting for some talk or other to begin, and a simple $2 folding fan really makes it more bearable.  Battery-operated fans are too noisy for temple use.
• Notebook or notepad and pens:  For taking notes during talks.  Bring some colored pens, too, because you might need to draw something (and black is not recommended for such).
• Flashlight, with extra batteries:  A small 2-AA battery Mag-Light is good enough, or some other inexpensive model.  The kind with LED bulbs are best these days.  Reason?  Sometimes you gotta get around at night, and I have seen snakes…
• Footwear:  A pair of comfortable but easy to put on & remove sandals or flip-flops.
• Small day-pack, tote or shoulder bag:  For carrying the aforementioned items (the stuff, not snakes).  You can get cheap bags in Bangalore, on Brigade and MG Roads, or over on Commercial Street.  Get one big enough to carry a liter bottle of water, along with the other stuff.
• Extra Rupees cash:  You’ll need cash to buy bottled water for drinking (count on a couple liters a day, minimum, at about 180Rs/12 bottles), and it can also come in handy to buy snacks, drinks, and other stuff from the ashram dhaba store.  (They even sell clothes, towels, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and more.)  Often, there are things happening, processes during a program, which can require donation payment.  During one program, for example, we had a thing involving dozens of lotus flowers per person, and those were 20Rs each.  Also, there are usually books, CDs, DVDs, pictures, posters and more available from the Student Bookstore, many available only here in Penukonda and nowhere else.  And there ain’t no ATM, save back in Bangalore…so you figure it out, eh?

(More after the break…) (more…)

Airlines.

Economy seats cost X.

Economy + a few more inches (e.g., British Airways ‘World Traveler Plus’) costs 2x.

Business class costs roughly 4x or 5x.

First Class?  Forget it, unless one is ultra-wealthy or has an unlimited expense budget.

Why can’t the airlines offer something better than Economy, but at say a 20-40% premium at most?  I’d gladly pay it.  But if I can get "Cattle Class" tickets from Bangalore to SFO for, say, $2000, why is it $4000 just for an ‘Economy Plus’ upgrade?  Shouldn’t it be like $2500?

Yeesh.