tanhaaiyaaN

Notes from the underground!

Drupal — the design errors that just won’t go away!

Written By: tanhaa - Apr• 06•10

Recently, while designing a site in Drupal using the theme acquia prosper (awesome theme, very customizable, gives a lot of control without you needing to go deep into theme css files or sub-theming), I just happened to fumble upon a few things that just wouldn’t go away.. ah the hours wasted! Well if this can help someone, I’d be very happy.

1.  FCKEditor loves to add <p> tags.  Problem becomes even worse if you are making a block with only an image in it and FCKEditor just won’t let you take that <p> tag out.  Of course you can disable FCKeditor and enter everything manually, but I’m sure we will all agree that FCKEditor along with IMCE just makes life a lot easier when adding images to the site.  One solution is to configure the FCKEditor module so that on <Enter> it adds a <br /> tag instead of a <p> tag.  The other solution ties in with the second problem below

2. Even without FCKEditor, when you go and check your site on IE, you see the block is just not positioned properly! What’s going on?  You check the source and you find a <p> tag AGAIN around the image!  What the?  If you create a block with the intent of only including a simple image tag in the code (or anything besides text), Drupal will surround your code with paragraph tags. The tags, by default, come along with a 1em margin on both top and bottom — right, while Firefox may show your design properly, IE definitely doesn’t.  Solution?  You can always just put a small code in the CSS file.  In my case, with Acquia prosper (and Skinr module), I was able to add a custom CSS class to the block which then was defined in the local.css file:

.custom-css-name p{
margin:0;}

So that works.  You can also try a CSS override in the following manner:  #your-block-id p { margin: 0; }

Or finally, you can always create a new block input type that doesn’t convert spaces into unwanted tags.  Basically a new input format that will have the following property unchecked:

Converts line breaks into HTML (i.e. <br> and <p> tags).

I hope this helps if you have also run across this problem … ah that pesky <p> tag that just won’t go away!


If you create a block with the intent of only including a simple image tag in the code (or anything besides text), Drupal will surround your code with paragraph tags. The tags, by default, come along with a 1em margin on both top and bottom,

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maaN chintapuranii chaaliisaa

Written By: tanhaa - Mar• 29•10

This is Chinnamastikaa chaaliisaa for maaN Chintapuranii.

You can find it below in Hindi (Unicode devanagri) and Roman script.  You can also download a PDF version (in devanagri) by clicking here: chhinmastika-chalisa

मां चिन्तपुरनी चालीसा

.. दोहा ..

छिन्नमस्तिका मां मेरी, वंदन करो स्वीकार .
चिन्ता हर लो दास की, दे संतोष धन अपार ..
मङ्गल करो सर्वमङ्गला, हे मां क्रिपानिधान .
दीन, हीन हूं शरण में, करो सर्व विधि कल्याण ..

.. चौपाई ..

नमो नमो सुखकरनी माता .
भाग्य संवारो भाग्यविधाता .. १ ..
जय जय जय मां चिन्तापुरनी .
विघ्न विनाशक मां सुखकरनी .. २ ..
पूजन आपका परम फलदायक .
ऋधी सिद्धी व सुखदायक .. ३ ..
मनमन्दिर में करो बसेरा .
हर पल पाऊं मां दर्शन तेरा .. ४ ..
मम्तामयी आंचल ओढ़ाना .
रोग संताप मां दूर भगाना .. ५ ..
चौसठ योगिनी मङ्गल गावे .
स्तुतिगान कर शीश निवावे .. ६ ..
तुम्हरी महिमा अगम अपारा .
शीश निवाये जगत है सारा .. ७ ..
एकाग्रचित्त जो होय समर्पित .
सब सुख करती, मां हो अर्पित .. ८ ..
कर में खप्पर, खण्डे वाली .
आप सा न कोई, मां बलशाली .. ९ ..
अपनी दया बनाये रखना .
सेवाभाव जगाये रखना .. १० ..
भक्ति में मन-चित्त लगाऊं .
मुक्ति की युक्ति यूं पाऊं .. ११ ..
भगतन पे हो दया की सागर .
भर देना मां ज्ञान की गागर .. १२ ..
अवगुण पे मां ध्यान न धरना .
असंभव को भी संभव करना .. १३ ..
मैं याचक तू सुख प्रदायिनी .
कल्याण करो मां हे कल्याणी .. १४ ..
जगजननी मां पालनकरनी .
दया द्रिष्टी सदा ही करनी .. १५ ..
हरो अमङ्गल मङ्गल कर दो .
वर्दानों की मां वर्षा कर दो .. १६ ..
संतोष का दीजो मोहे दान मां .
बल-बुद्धी मैं पाऊं ज्ञान मां .. १७ ..
दिव्य आलौकिक रूप तिहारा .
भव सागर से तारनहारा .. १८ ..
सौभग्या, आरोग्या दान में देना .
सुख-सुविधा वर्दान में देना .. १९ ..
दानव दलिनी, भयमोचिनी .
हे दुःखभंजन, पिण्डी रूपिणी .. २० ..
आपके हाथ मेरे लाभ व हानी .
कल्याण करो मां हे कल्याणी .. २१ ..
हाथ जोड़ कर करूं मैं वंदन .
जीवन में हो मां कभी न क्रंदन .. २२ ..
विनती पे सदा ध्यान मां धर्ना .
कारज सकल संपूर्ण कर्ना .. २३ ..
आप की क्रिपा जो है पाता .
निर्बल से वह सबल हो जाता .. २४ ..
पिण्डी रूपिणी, भय नाशिनी .
हरो मां चिन्ता, पर्वत वासिनी .. २५ ..
सुमिरिन करे भाव से जोई .
जन्म मरण से छूटे सोई .. २६ ..
आप तो नाना रूप धारिणी .
दैत्या दलिनी मां भय संहारिणी .. २७ ..
भगतन पे मां जब हर्षाती .
यश, कीर्ति मां फैलाती .. २८ ..
जब हो विपद ने मुझको घेरा .
चिंतामुक्त करो मन मेरा .. २९ ..
निर्मल मन जो करे पर्णाम .
सुख-सुविधा का देती हो दान .. ३० ..
माई दास मां शरण में आया .
मान-सम्मान व वैभव पाया .. ३१ ..
श्रद्धा सहित जो नाम ध्यावै .
पाप संताप निकट नहीं आवै .. ३२ ..
याद करूं, तब ही मां आना .
संकट मोचन, मां बन जाना .. ३३ ..
विनती पे मेरी ध्यान मां धर्ना .
हर विधि काज संपूर्ण करना .. ३४ ..
सर्व सुखों की आप तो दाता .
दुष्ट आप से भय को पाता .. ३५ ..
दुविधा में सुविधा बन जाती .
आपकी दया है सुख प्रदाती .. ३६ ..
श्रद्धा सहित जो पूजन करते .
दुःख दरिद्र तन से झरते .. ३७ ..
असंभव को मां संभव करती .
वर्दानों से मां झोली भरती .. ३८ ..
पढ़ै चालीसा जो चित्त लाय .
परम सौभग्या, नवनिधि पाय .. ३९ ..
बुरी आत्मा नहीं है सताती .
“शौंकी” कवच है मां बन जाती .. ४० ..

दोहा

पिण्डी रूपिणी मां मेरी, सर्वकला संपन्न .
शरणागत हूं द्वार पे, होना मां प्रसन्न ..

नवदुर्गे स्तुती

नमो नमो नवदुर्गे जय जय, नमो नमो नवदुर्गे जय .
संकटहरनी, मङ्गलकरनी, सदा हो तेरी जय ..
नमो नमो …

शैलपुत्री, ब्रह्माचारिणी, हे कूष्माण्डा माता .
तेरा तो है भगतजनों से, हर पल मैया नाता ..
जिस संग तेरी क्रिपा रहती, रहता वह निर्भय .
नमो नमो …

चन्द्रघंटा, कात्ययनी मां, कालरात्रि, महागौरी .
प्रेम-सुधा बरसाओ मुझपे, दुविधा हर दो मेरी ..
ममताभाव विखेर के मां, पल दे दो सुखमय .
नमो नमो …

ऋधी, सिद्धी देना मैया, संकद जननी, सिद्धदात्री .
वरदायिनी, ज्ञानदायिनी, काटो दुःख की रात्रि ..
“शौंकी” जिसे सहारा मां दे, मां होता वह अजेय .
नमो नमो …

आरती चिन्तपूर्णी देवी जी की

चिन्तपूर्णी चिन्ता दूर करनी,
जन को तारो भोली मां .
काली दा पुत्र पवन दा घोड़ा,
सिंह पर भई असवार भोली मां .. १ ..
एक हाथ खड़ग दूजे में खंडा,
तीजे त्रिशूल संभाले, भोली मां .. २ ..
चौथे हाथ चक्कर, गदा पांचवें,
छठे मुण्डों दी माल, भोली मां .. ३ ..
सातवें से रूण्ड-मुण्ड विदारे,
आठवें से असुर संहारे, भोली मां .. ४ ..
चम्पे का बाग लगा आति सुन्दर,
बैठी दीवान लगाय भोली मां .. ५ ..
हरि हर ब्रह्मा तेरे भवन विराजे,
लाल चंदोया बैठी तान, भोली मां .. ६ ..
औखी घाटी विकटा पैंडा,
तले बहे दरिया, भोली मां .. ७ ..
सुमर चरन ध्यानू जस गावे,
भक्तां दी पेज निभाओ भोली मां .. ८ ..

Roman Version

This version has been trasncribed below as per the iTrans Transliteration Scheme which can be found at http://www.aczoom.com/itrans/

maa.n chintapuranii chaaliisaa

.. dohaa ..

Chinnamastikaa maa.n merii, va.ndan karo sviikaar .
chintaa har lo daas kii, de sa.ntoSh dhan apaar ..
ma~Ngal karo sarvama~Ngalaa, he maa.n kripaanidhaan .
diin, hiin huu.n sharaN me.n, karo sarv vidhi kalyaaN ..

.. chaupaaii ..

namo namo sukhakaranii maataa .
bhaagya sa.nvaaro bhaagyavidhaataa .. 1 ..
jay jay jay maa.n chintaapuranii .
vighn vinaashak maa.n sukhakaranii .. 2 ..
puujan aapakaa param phala_daayak .
R^idhii siddhii va sukhadaayak .. 3 ..
manamandir me.n karo baseraa .
har pal paa_uu.n maa.n darshan teraa .. 4 ..
mamtaamayii aa.nchal o.Dhaanaa .
rog sa.ntaap maa.n duur bhagaanaa .. 5 ..
chausaTh yoginii ma~Ngal gaave .
stutigaan kar shiish nivaave .. 6 ..
tumharii mahimaa agam apaaraa .
shiish nivaaye jagat hai saaraa .. 7 ..
ekaagrachitt jo hoya samarpit .
sab sukh karatii, maa.n ho arpit .. 8 ..
kar me.n khappar, khaNDe vaalii .
aap saa na koii, maa.n balashaalii .. 9 ..
apanii dayaa banaaye rakhanaa .
sevaabhaav jagaaye rakhanaa .. 10 ..
bhakti me.n man\-chitt lagaauu.n .
mukti kii yukti yuu.n paauu.n .. 11 ..
bhagatan pe ho dayaa kii saagar .
bhar denaa maa.n GYaan kii gaagar .. 12 ..
avaguN pe maa.n dhyaan na dharanaa .
asa.nbhav ko bhii sa.nbhav karanaa .. 13 ..
mai.n yaachak tuu sukh pradaayinii .
kalyaaN karo maa.n he kalyaaNii .. 14 ..
jagajana_nii maa.n paalanakaranii .
dayaa driShTii sadaa hii karanii .. 15 ..
haro ama~Ngal ma~Ngal kar do .
vardaano.n kii maa.n varShaa kar do .. 16 ..
sa.ntoSh kaa diijo mohe daan maa.n .
bal\-buddhii mai.n paauu.n GYaan maa.n .. 17 ..
divya aalaukik ruup tihaaraa .
bhav saagar se taaranahaaraa  .. 18 ..
saubhagyaa, aarogyaa daan me.n denaa .
sukha\-suvidhaa vardaan me.n denaa .. 19 ..
daanav dalinii, bhayamochinii .
he duHkhabha.njan, piNDii ruupiNii .. 20 ..
aapake haath mere laabh va haanii .
kalyaaN karo maa.n he kalyaaNii .. 21 ..
haath jo.D kar karuu.n mai.n va.ndan .
jiivan me.n ho maa.n kabhii na kra.ndan .. 22 ..
vinatii pe sadaa dhyaan maa.n dharnaa .
kaaraj sakal sa.npuurN karnaa .. 23 ..
aap kii kripaa jo hai paataa .
nirbal se vah sabal ho jaataa .. 24 ..
piNDii ruupiNii, bhaya naashinii .
haro maa.n chintaa, parvat vaasinii .. 25 ..
sumirin kare bhaava se jo_ii .
janm maraN se chhuuTe so_ii .. 26 ..
aap to naanaa ruup dhaariNii .
daityaa dalinii maa.n bhaya sa.nhaariNii .. 27 ..
bhagatan pe maa.n jaba harShaatii .
yasha, kiirti maa.n phailaatii .. 28 ..
jaba ho vipad ne mujhako gheraa  .
chi.ntaamukt karo mana meraa  .. 29 ..
nirmal man jo kare parNaam .
sukh\-suvidhaa kaa detii ho daan .. 30 ..
maa_ii daas maa.n sharaN me.n aayaa .
maan\-sammaan va vaibhav paayaa .. 31 ..
shraddhaa sahit jo naam dhyaavai .
paap sa.ntaap nikaT nahii.n aavai .. 32 ..
yaad karuu.n, tab hii maa.n aanaa .
sa.nkaT mochan, maa.n ban jaanaa .. 33 ..
vinatii pe merii dhyaan maa.n dharnaa .
har vidhi kaaja sa.npuurN karanaa .. 34 ..
sarva sukho.n kii aap to daataa .
duShT aap se bhaya ko paataa .. 35 ..
duvidhaa me.n suvidhaa ban jaatii .
aapakii dayaa hai sukh pradaatii .. 36 ..
shraddhaa sahit jo puujan karate .
duHkh daridra tana se jharate .. 37 ..
asa.nbhav ko maa.n sa.nbhav karatii .
vardaano.n se maa.n jholii bharatii .. 38 ..
pa.Dhai chaaliisaa jo chitt laaya .
param saubhagyaa, navanidhi paaya .. 39 ..
burii aatmaa nahii.n hai sataatii .
“shau.nkii” kavacha hai maa.n ban jaatii .. 40 ..

dohaa

piNDii ruupiNii maa.n merii, sarvakalaa sa.npanna .
sharaNaagat huu.n dvaar pe, honaa maa.n prasanna ..

navadurge stutii

namo namo navadurge jaya jaya, namo namo navadurge jaya .
sa.nkaTaharanii, ma~Ngalakaranii, sadaa ho terii jaya  ..
namo namo \.\.\.

shailaputrii, brahmaachaariNii, he kuuShmaaNDaa maataa .
teraa to hai bhagatajano.n se, hara pala maiyaa naataa ..
jis sa.ng terii kripaa rahatii, rahataa vaha nirbhaya .
namo namo \.\.\.

chandragha.nTaa, kaatyayanii maa.n, kaalaraatri, mahaagaurii .
prem\-sudhaa barasaao mujhape, duvidhaa har do merii ..
mamataabhaav vikher ke maa.n, pala de do sukhamaya .
namo namo \.\.\.

R^idhii, siddhii denaa maiyaa, sa.nkad jananii, siddhadaatrii .
varadaayinii, GYaanadaayinii, kaaTo duHkh kii raatri ..
“shau.nkii” jise sahaaraa maa.n de, maa.n hotaa vaha ajeya |.
namo namo \.\.\.

aaratii chintapuurNii devii jii kii

chintapuurNii chintaa duur karanii,
jana ko taaro bholii maa.n .
kaalii daa putra pavana daa gho.Daa,
si.nha par bha_ii asavaar bholii maa.n .. 1 ..
ek haath kha.Daga duuje me.n kha.nDaa,
tiije trishuul sa.nbhaale, bholii maa.n .. 2 ..
chauthe haath chakkar, gadaa paa.nchave.n,
chhaThe muNDo.n dii maal, bholii maa.n .. 3 ..
saatave.n se ruuNDa\-muNDa vidaare,
aaThave.n se asur sa.nhaare, bholii maa.n .. 4 ..
champe kaa baag lagaa aati sundar,
baiThii diivaan lagaaya bholii maa.n .. 5 ..
hari har brahmaa tere bhavan viraaje,
laal cha.ndoyaa baiThii taan, bholii maa.n .. 6 ..
aukhii ghaaTii vikaTaa pai.nDaa,
tale bahe dariyaa, bholii maa.n .. 7 ..
sumar charan dhyaanuu jasa gaave,
bhaktaa.n dii pej nibhaao bholii maa.n .. 8 ..

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To the Editors of Hindu – a letter RE MF Hussain

Written By: tanhaa - Mar• 26•10

This is a very thought provoking letter that arrived in a forward-mail in my inbox.  I find it presents an extremely interesting point of view and deserves to be shared on the web with others who may not receive this email in their inbox:

This is a Letter  to the Editor of The Hindu, from a practising Christian lady who was Professor in Stella Maris College, Chennai till recently; now settled at Baroda, regarding an Edit in The Hindu in favour of bringing back MF Hussain to India.

==============

Dear Ram,

I have taken time to write this to you Ram-for the simple reason that we have known you for so many years- you and The Hindu bring back happy memories Please take what I am putting down as those that come from an agonized soul. You know that I do not mince words and what I have to say I will-I call a spade a spade-now it is too late for me to learn the tricks of being called a ‘secularist’ if that means a bias for, one, and a bias against, another.

Hussain is now a citizen of Qatar-this has generated enough of heat and less of light. Qatar you know better than me is not a country which respects democracy or freedom of expression. Hussain says he has complete freedom-I challenge him to paint a picture of Mohammed fully clad.

There is no second opinion that artists have the Right of Freedom of expression. Is such a right restricted only to Hussain? Will that right not flow to Dan Brown-why was his film-Da Vinci Code not screened? Why was Satanic Verses banned-does Salman Rushdie not have that freedom of expression? Similarly why is Taslima hunted and hounded and why fatwas have been issued on both these writers? Why has Qatar not offered citizenship to Taslima? In the present rioting in Shimoga in Karnataka against the article Taslima wrote against the tradition of burqua which appeared in the Out Look in Jan 2007.No body protested then either in Delhi or in any other part of the country; now when it reappears in a Karnataka paper there is rioting. Is there a political agenda to create a problem in Karnataka by the intolerant goons? Why has the media not condemned this insensitivity and intolerance of the Muslims against Taslima’s views? When it comes to the Sangh Parivar it is quick to call them goons and intolerant etc. Now who are the goons and where is this tolerance and sensitivity?

Regarding Hussain’s artistic freedom it seems to run unfettered in an expression of sexual perversion only when he envisages the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. There is no quarrel had he painted a nude woman sitting on the tail of a monkey. The point is he captioned it as Sita. Nobody would have protested against the sexual perversion and his orientatation to sexual signs and symbols. But would he dare to caption it as ‘Fatima enjoying in Jannat with animals’?

Next example-is the painting of Saraswati copulating with a lion. Here again his perversion is evident and so is his intent. Even that lets concede cannot be faulted-each one’s sexual orientation is each one’s business I suppose. But he captioned it as Saraswati. This is the problem. It is Hussain’s business to enjoy in painting his sexual perversion. But why use Saraswati and Sita for his perverted expressions? Use Fatima and watch the consequence. Let the media people come to his rescue then. Now that he is in a country that gives him complete freedom let him go ahead and paint Fatima copulating with a lion or any other animal of his choice. And then turn around and prove to India-the Freedom of expression he enjoys in Qatar.

Talking about Freedom of Expression-this is the Hussain who supported Emergency-painted Indira Gandhi as Durga slaying Jayaprakas Narayan. He supported the jailing of artists and writers. Where did this Freedom of Expression go? And you call him secularist? Would you support the jailing of artists and writers Ram –would you support the abeyance of the Constitution and all that we held sacred in democracy and the excessiveness of Indira Gandhi to gag the media-writers- political opponents? Tell me honesty why does Hussain expect this Freedom when he himself did not support others with the same freedom he wants? And the media has rushed to his rescue. Had it been a Ram who painted such obnoxious, .degrading painting-the reactions of the media and the elite ‘secularists’ would have been different; because there is a different perception/and index of secularism when it comes to Ram-and a different perception/and index  of secularism when it comes to Rahim/Hussain.

It brings back to my mind an episode that happened to The Hindu some years ago.[1991]. You had a separate weekly page for children with cartoons, quizzes, and with poems and articles of school children. In one such weekly page The Hindu printed a venerable bearded man-fully robed with head dress, mouthing some passages of the Koran-trying to teach children .It was done not only in good faith but as a part of inculcating values to children from the Koran. All hell broke loose. Your office witnessed goons who rushed in-demanded an apology-held out threats. In Ambur,Vaniambadi and Vellore the papers stands were burned-the copies of The Hindu were consigned to the fire. A threat to raise the issue in Parliament through a Private Members Bill was held out-Hectic activities went on-I am not sure of the nature and the machinations behind the scene. But The Hindu next day brought out a public apology in its front page. Where were you Ram? How secular and tolerant were the Muslims?

Well this is of the past-today it is worse because the communal temperature in this country is at a all high-even a small friction can ignite and demolition the country’s peace and harmony. It is against this background that one should view Hussain who is bent on abusing and insulting the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Respect for religious sentiments, need to maintain peace and harmony should also be part of the agenda of an artist-if he is great. If it is absent then he cannot say that he respects India and express his longing for India.

Let’s face it-he is a fugitive of law. Age and religion are immaterial. What does the media want-that he be absolved by the courts? Even for that he has to appear in the courts-he cannot run away-After all this is the country where he lived and gave expression to his pervert sadist, erotic artistic mind under Freedom of Expression. I simply cannot jump into the bandwagon of the elite ‘secularist’ and uphold what he had done. With his brush he had committed jihad-bloodletting.

The issue is just not nudity-Yes the temples-the frescos in Konarak and Kajhuraho have nude figures-But does it say that they are Sita, Sarswati or any goddesses? We have the Yoni and the Phallus as sacred signs of Life-of Siva and Shakthi-take these icons to the streets, paint them -give it a caption it become vulgar. Times have changed. Even granted that our ancients sculptured and painted naked forms and figures, with a pervert mind to demean religion is no license to repeat that in today’s changed political and social scenario and is not a sign of secularism and tolerance. I repeat there is no quarrel with nudity-painters have time and again found in it the perfection of God’s hand craft.

Let me wish Hussain peace in Qatar-the totalitarian regime with zero tolerance May be he will convince the regime there to permit freedom of expression in word, writing and painting. For this he could start experimenting painting forms and figure of Mohamed the Prophet-and his family And may I fervently wish that the media-especially The Hindu does not discriminate goons-let it not substitute tolerance for intolerance when it comes to  Rahim and Antony and another index for Ram.

I hope you will read this in the same spirit that I have written. All the best to you Ram.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja, Vadodara  (her blog is at http://hildaraja.wordpress.com/ where other such thought provoking letters are available).

Here’s a link to show some of the paintings by MF Hussain, you be the judge, tell us what you think when it comes to his paintings whether he is simply using freedom of expression or whether he has any other agenda.

http://su.pr/2Liv0b

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Nazm uljhi hui hai seene meiN – Gulzaar

Written By: tanhaa - Jan• 20•10

A beautiful beautiful beautiful Nazm (3 times — love the emphasis no?)
And so beautifully sung by Bhupinder in this video:

nazm uljhi hui hai seene meiN
misre aTke hue haiN hoNToN par
uRte phirte haiN titliyoN ki tarah
lafz kaaGhaz pe baiTh_te hi nahiiN

kab se baiTha hua houN maiN jaanam
saada kaaGhaz pe likh ke naam tera
bas tira naam hi mukammil hai
is se behtar bhi nazm bhi kyaa hogi!

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Good Looking Burgers — What’s the secret?

Written By: tanhaa - Jan• 08•10

Well here’s an interesting movie to watch

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Gus – The Gingerbread man!

Written By: tanhaa - Dec• 09•09

My adventures in Blender continue! Modeling is a lot of fun.  So I followed another tutorial, this time a simple one from blender.org and the result was a nice looking gingerbread man! So here it is, Gus the gingerbread man … as the tutorial called him:

Gus The Gingerbread Man

Gus The Gingerbread Man

and then I figured, time to make a simple model myself…. and this cup came out of blender!

Styrofoam Cup

Styrofoam Cup

I know it’s not perfect, but not bad for a newbie!

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My first blend – Get started in Blender!

Written By: tanhaa - Dec• 02•09

Started using Blender recently as an exploration into 3D modeling.  The tutorials at blenderunderground.com are great to start-off this experience for anybody looking to start learning this excellent open-source 3D software.  One of these tutorials do help you make a small tin-can as a simple model to practice the skills on.  After I was done with these tutorials, I got a hold of another one, excellent tutorial to make a snowman in a winter-scene.  Here’s the link. And here is the result of this tutorial (with some additions from another tutorial, link here, on how to make snow material in blender).

My very first blend! Isn't he awesome!

My very first blend! Isn't he awesome!

Landscape generated with Blender Landscape script

Landscape generated with Blender Landscape script

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Pranav Mistry – Sixth Sense

Written By: tanhaa - Dec• 01•09

This is just awesome! This type of technology will revolutionize the world as we know. I’m sure the applications are great, but what boggles my mind is how smart this young fella is.  Watch the video and enjoy:

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Onions and Flu — Beneficial or not?

Written By: tanhaa - Nov• 27•09

Onion_SuperStar

There’s no doubt that onions can be extremely beneficial for health when eaten.  Some of the benefits are:

  • anti-inflammatory
  • anti-carcinogen
  • anti-cholestrol
  • anti-oxydant (they contain quercetin, an antioxydant, other major sources of quercetin are tea and apples)
  • Aphrodisiac (in fact some sects in India don’t consume onion due to that reason)
  • Can be used to treat blisters and boils
  • Application of raw onions can be used to reduce swelling from bee stings
  • Products that treat topical scars usually contain extracts from onions
  • They can be used to treat sore throats (In fact, again in India they are used in a mixture with Jaggery as a remedy against sore throat)
  • There are claims that show them to be beneficial against diabetes, osteoprosis, gastric ulcers, cataracts and cardio-vascular diseases (by being a potent blood-thinner)
  • Source of Vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, folic acid, calcium, iron, have a high protein quality and are low in sodium and contain no fat.

Onion Rings Baked Onions

There have been studies done that show that increased consumption of onions can be good to reduce the risks of head and neck cancer (http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/84/5/1027).

So yeah, apart from adding flavouring to your food, they have tons of beneficial attribu

te

s, so don’t say no to Onions.

So what about this email I received saying leave the onion open

Here’s how the email goes:

A friend of mine told me a story about  when he was a kid he was in the hospital & nearly dying.  His Italian grandmother came to the hospital & told a family member to go buy her a large onion & a new pair of white cotton socks.  She sliced the onion open then put a slice on the bottom of each of his feet & put the white cotton socks on him.  In the morning when he awoke they removed the socks.  The slices of onion were black & his fever was gone.  The following story that someone sent to me might have some truth in it & we are going to try it this winter.

In 1919 when the flu killed 40  million people there was this Doctor that visited the many  farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and  many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise,  everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what  the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied  that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms  of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The  doctor couldn’t believe it and asked if he could have one of  the onions and place it under the microscope.  She gave  him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in  the onion.  It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ.   She said that several years ago many of her employees were  coming down with the flu and so were many of her  customers.  The next year she placed several bowls with  onions around in her shop.  To her surprise, none of  her staff got sick.  It must work..  (And no, she is not in the onion business.)

The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them  in bowls around your home.  If you work at a desk,  place one or two in your office or under your desk or even  on top somewhere.  Try it and see what happens.   We did it last year and we never  got the flu. !!!!!! !!!!!!!!

I contacted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill…I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar…placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs…sure enough it happened just like that…the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

One more thing, never store cut onions and consume the next day.

Is that true?

We can easily debunk the story, while I can’t tell you if that’s true or not, there are facts in this story that can be easily shown to be false.

Consider this:

1.  In 1919, Electron Microscope hadn’t been invented, which means that the doctor saw the virus under an optical microscope.  That is not possible.
2.  Electron Microscope was invented in 1931
3.  The Influenza virus itself was first shown and extracted in 1933 in United Kingdom.

So the 1919 doctor could not have seen the virus (not bacteria as said in the email) absorbed by the onion.  It has to be impossible.  So one story debunked.

The hair-dresser in AZ that placed onions in onions41vj9bowls all over her salon, though speaking in jest, this must have caused a lot of people to not user her salon, less people = less infectious agents.  LOL

So what about leaving an onion open in the bowl and it becomes black soaking all the germs?  Comeon!!! Leave an apple open and it becomes black, leave a banana open and it becomes black.  This only happens because of oxidation as the vegetable or fruit reacts with the oxygen in the air and becomes oxidized.  This in turn gives it a black or brown color.  So no it doesn’t become black because it soaks up all the germs in the air.  Onion is not a bacterial / viral magnet!

Look, the cut onions soaking up viruses and bacteria to ward off diseases is just a old-wife tale as they call it, nothing magical about it and it has been around for ages! Read this link to find more about how old this tale really is: http://www.snopes.com/medical/swineflu/onion.asp

While I can’t explain how the kid whose grandmother placed cut onions in socks got better the next day, I can confidently say that the onion got black because of oxidation.  The last guy whose pneumonia got better because of onions that also (surprise surprise) turned black overnight, well that could be more of a psychotropic effect.  Psychology has a huge role to play in sickness, the placebo effect is well documented and often seems miraculous.  You can read more about placebo effect in the wikipedia or on the web.

onionNow lets talk about the last part of the email, eating a cut onion the next day…  Now this is interesting.  My research showed that onions, due to the fact that they have ground contact, could have bacteria on the surface which could go from the outside to the inside if the onion is not washed before chopping.  Now of course if you peel your onions, you are safe in that regard.  This can happen with other ground vegetables and fruit as well such as watermelon and cantaloupes and potatoes.  Well anything grown in soil, the outside can be contaminated with fecal bacteria or other soil bacteria, so you should wash them regardless, in fact, wash any raw vegetable or fruit before you eat them is a good advice.  As far as onions becoming toxic when left cut, I can’t see why they would become toxic!  If you took proper care in handling it and then you are going to cook it later on, then they shouldn’t be toxic to eat, especially if wrapped and left in the fridge.  If you are going to eat them raw after a couple of days, then they probably won’t taste so good as they would lose their pungency left open.  There is no logical reason for the onions to become toxic when left open for next day in the fridge, if anybody can think of one or can show me a source, I’d appreciate it.

Till then, don’t believe everything you get in a chain email, do some research to find out the truth or take everything with a grain of salt.

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Did you know?

Written By: tanhaa - Nov• 24•09

Here’s one that demonstrates your brain power!
In a contest, people were shown a photograph of six mothers and their six children, arranged randomly in a group.  Contestants strangers to the photographed group were asked to link the six mother and child pairs.  Forty people responded, and each had paired all of the mothers and children correctly!

Imagine that!!  That’s the power of your brain, the ability to distinguish each adult form and estimate, using finer discrimination, which child’s features / head-shape / expression best fitted with which adult.

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