If you are inclined to donate, consider this team.

Thanks, Vidur

These are snaps from Monday. This was about 5 pm when I stepped out of my office in Sunnyvale, CA.

Rainbow1 on 03/02/2009

Rainbow2 on 03/02/2009

Rainbow3 on 03/02/2009

I wish I had my camera for a close up

This is the article Prof plans ‘gift of life’ for hubby and this was my original post Help Gaurav. Finally an update from Help Gaurav

Lastly, the total financial contribution has now reached an incredible INR 98L (Approx US$ 217,000)!! Our sincerest thanks to all the contributors. This has been an incredible leap of faith for all of us and I must admit, I am overwhelmed by the support that we continue to receive every day. Needless to say, this is still a journey (with total cost of the operation being upwards of US$ 300,000) and hence any support is most welcome.

It’s important to acknowledge that no single weather event can be definitively caused by climate change — and it’s possible that the current inferno in Australia might have been as intense and deadly even without the warming of the past several decades. Police are beginning to suspect that many of the fires may have been deliberately set, and the sheer increase in the number of homes built in fire-danger zones in southern Australia today puts more people in harm’s way, raising the potential death toll. Still, heat waves and drought set the table for wildfires, and temperatures in the worst-hit areas have been over 110°F (43°C) while humidity has bottomed out near zero. Climate change will continue to be a threat multiplier for forest fires.

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So, when I read “Cellphones as Credit Cards? Americans Must Wait” I was “come on, there is enough money to be made! share it!”. The problem:

“In Japan it was easier,” explains Gerhard Romen, director for corporate business development at Nokia. “It was just the major guys saying, ‘This is how it will be.’ ” A single carrier, NTT DoCoMo, accounted for more than half the Japanese market at the time the system was rolled out and thus had significant leverage with financial institutions and handset manufacturers.

This is not the case in the United States. For such payments to work here, cellphone manufacturers, carriers, financial institutions and retailers must all play roles. There also must be some sort of intermediary that is trusted by both the financial institutions and the carriers to activate the virtual credit cards inside the phone.

Free market is a bottle neck and as I noted in my earlier post it doesn’t lead to very cheap access w/ comparison to some Asian countries.

Cellphones are being used in Japan to make credit card payments over the counter. It saves money, plastic and some butt pain.  Money and plastic because once the technology becomes pervasive people can ask for credit cards to be activated over the phone and credit card comapnies don’t need to ship them. Butt pain as now you don’t need to carry credit cards in your wallet. And nobody forgets the cellphones these days, so they are never out of money!

On the downside, I would like to digup how secure this is. Today, most gas stations ask for your zip code and if one gets his/her hands on my phone it easy to get the phone number and from there the zip code. And I hope short range is really short range like touching the keypad or else, folks would setup shop to run your credit card bills high remotely.

Let me see if I can find some folks in Japan and ask how it works.

Gaurav Tandon is a 34 year old professional in Mumbai, India living with his wife and their 6 year old son. Gaurav has AML, a type of Blood Cancer, and needs a Non-Related Allogenic transplant. Since such transplants are rarely performed in India, there is a high chance that it would have to be done in Singapore, UK or the USA.

The estimated cost of the treatment in Singapore and UK is around 1.5 Crore Indian Rupees (around US$ 333,000), whereas in the US is around of 2 Crore Indian Rupees (around US$ 444,000).

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Three things in life are never sure …
1.dreams 2.sucess 3.fortune.

three things in life that make you a great person..
1.hardwork 2.sincerity 3. sucess..

three things in life are most valuable..
1.love 2. self respect 3. friends

three things in life must not be lost….
1.peace 2. hope 3. honesty

three things in life that destroy a person…
1. greed 2. pride 3. anger

“May I help you?” she asked.

“I want to see Valerie,” the man replied.

“Sir, Valerie is one of our most expensive ladies. Perhaps you would prefer someone else,” said the madam.

“No. I must see Valerie,” was the man’s reply.

Just then, Valerie appeared and announced to the man that she charged $5,000 a visit. Without hesitation, the man pulled out five thousand dollars and gave the money to Valerie, and they went upstairs. After an hour, the man calmly left.

The next night, the same man appeared again, demanding to see Valerie.

Valerie explained that none had ever come back two nights in a row – too expensive and there were no discounts. The price was still $5,000.

Again the man pulled out the money, gave it to Valerie and they went upstairs. After an hour, he left.

The following night the man was there again. Everyone was astounded that he had come for the third consecutive night,but he paid Valerie and they went upstairs. After their session, Valerie questioned the man. “No one has ever been with me three nights in a row. Where are you from?” she asked.

The man replied, ” South Carolina “

“Really” she said. “I have family in South Carolina .”

“I know,” the man said. “Your father died, and I am your sister’s attorney. She asked me to give you your $15,000 inheritance.”

The moral of the story is that three things in life are certain:
1. Death
2. Taxes
3. Being screwed by a lawyer

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that’s it… Don’t waste them on exercise . Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that’s like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

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Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables . So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass
(green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products

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Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made
out of grain. Bottoms up!
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Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.
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Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?

A: Can’t think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain…Good!
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Q: Aren’t fried foods bad for you?

A: You’re not listening…. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they’re permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?
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Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
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Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable. It’s the best feel-good food around!!
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Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.
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Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?

A: Hey! ‘Round’ is a shape! !
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Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember: “Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways – Chardonnay in one
hand – chocolate in the other – body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming,
“WOO HOO, What a Ride!”