Pictures From The Sky...

I was on my way from Taipei to Frankfurt. For the first time, I had a long flight during the day. I was afraid that it could be a boring and tiring flight, but in the end, it turned out to be pretty awesome. First of all, there were not many people in the flight (off season) and so I had all the 3 seats in the row for myself that I could even lie down and sleep. But the most amazing part was that the sky was pretty clear and I could get a wonderful view of some breathtaking scenery from my window. The route covered the desserts of Xinjiang, China, Plateau of Tibet, Tajikistan and Caspian sea.

I decided to take some pictures of some of them. These pictures here are nowhere close to the real stuff I saw through my eyes. Also that I am no professional and used a simple canon Ixus 75 pocket camera to take these pictures.

Its a HOAX!!! Please Don't Spread It...

This morning, when I opened my Facebook account, I found this message shared by some of my friends. The picture was really horrible and had the following message below it. "DO NOT LIKE IT. COMMENT. AND PLEASE SHARE IT OR JUST UPLOAD YOUR OWN...BUT SOMEHOW SPREAD IT IF YOU'RE EVEN 1% HUMANITY — ITS STILL NOT OVER YET... CHRISTIANS BURNT ALIVE BY JIHADS IN NIGERIA.."



There were a lot of heated discussions beneath and I was just curious to know when and how the incident took place. So I started browsing a little to know more information about it. In a short while, I came to know that the information spread along the shocking image is a complete HOAX. The image seem to be real but has no association with the Christian-Muslim problems in Nigeria. It is a tragic result of a tanker explosion that happened in Congo, another African nation.The real incident is here.

This is just one example of such hoax messages that keep spreading and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter make it even more easier to spread these information like wild fire.

One other such HOAX I came across recently is about the contact lenses melting in the eye of a guy who attended a barbecue party who finally lost his eye sight forever. Such information creates immediate attention and we think that it will help some of our friends and try to spread the information immediately. But, what we don't think is whether the piece of information we are trying to spread has any truth behind it. My intention is not to blame anyone who spreads these information as they do it out of good heart (or whatever possible reason it can be). But, what I want to convey here is that we should try to spend couple more minutes to see whether the information is from an authentic source and carries the right information.



Most HOAX messages come with one of the following ideas:
(1) Scientific details/medical science related issues that we are not completely aware of.
(2) Religious issues.
(3) Technology related issues.

Most of them try to create sympathy or use our unawareness and thus makes us spread the information. But, as an educated lot, it is better if we spread the right information and avoid passing these HOAX messages. If we are not sure about the message, it is better not to pass it on rather than passing a false information.

My dad - My Hero !!!

Today is Father's day. And in another 10 days, my dad is stepping into a new phase in his life, yes, he will be turning 60. So, I think there is no other apt time to write a few words about my hero here. I know that whatever words I write here won't do good to give a complete picture of him and our relationship, but I will try my best.

My dad, A primary school teacher with a very simple life,I remember my childhood days when he takes me and my sister to his school in his bicycle singing some songs from the 60's and 70's all the way. When I was in school, just like any kid, I always make trouble to wake up and get ready. He is a man with lot of patience, he will try to wake me up with lots of love and affection, with ma brush in hand, will get the hot water ready for my shower, have my uniforms ready and shoes polished.



I don't remember a single incident where he raised his voice against us when we do mistakes. All he does is to give us a piece of advice with the same soft tone. When I was young, I always hate keeping things in order (well, even now I do have that bad habit to some extent) and he always was there to get them back to order. If at all I have developed some good habits in life, all credits goes to him.

Though he was a school teacher, he never tried to interfere in things related to our education and gave us all freedom to choose what we wanted. Whatever he says will always just come as a suggestion and not an order, leaving the final decision to ourselves. He planted the habits of decision making and saving money from the very young age, which I think is very much helpful when I started managing my own life.

He always stands with us to fulfill our dreams and he sacrifices a lot for that. Even during tough times, he always tried to make sure we get what we need in terms of our education and other things. I know how much he struggled to get me my first motor-bike just because I loved to have one and also he didn't want me to suffer traveling the hard way to my college.When I decided not to take a job but to pursue with my higher education, again, he extended his support wholeheartedly.

I am not sure whether I am playing my part right, but, one day when I become a dad, I know what I should do. And if I am going to play that part right, all credits goes to my dad...My Hero!!!



I know that I can't be there close to him when he turns 60 but we are always connected.

My Advance Birthday Wishes to U... Luv U Dad... :))