tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54286232012-02-16T16:07:19.594-06:00Hello! Welcome to my blog.Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.comBlogger301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-14557044725585554282010-11-04T20:45:00.009-05:002010-11-17T21:26:32.883-06:00

Yesterday, we left our workplace at 7 pm. I wanted to go to Kohl's and Sears. Whereas Mahesh wanted to get some soup and go home. After the dilemma of which way to go, we decided to go the stores. We went only to Kohls. I wanted to go to Sears just to exchange a t-shirt for a different size but Mahesh rejected the idea. Instead of our routine work to home city route, we took the K10 highway (from

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-52426380196767325612010-08-15T21:35:00.005-05:002010-08-15T21:54:46.103-05:00

In spite of having a huge yard in our new house, I was not able to do much of gardening this year because of my health conditions. However, I chose few plants – Mister Lincoln Rose, Peace Rose, Wintergreen Boxwood and Crimson Pygmy Barberry to start with. We bought them and Mahesh with the help of my chithappa/uncle (an expert at gardening) planted them in our front yard. The plants are doing

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-31039086856928500852010-07-10T20:15:00.001-05:002010-08-28T20:19:17.675-05:00

Here is one another patriotic song by A.R. Rahman. This patriotic song is dedicated to the Tamil language and is the theme song for the World Classical Tamil Conference that was held in Coimbatore last month. Many talented and popular playback singers have sung the song. The lyrics were written by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister/Tamil Writer M.Karunanidhi and the video was directed by the film director

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-52162651796143712292010-03-10T00:46:00.019-06:002010-03-16T18:23:37.338-05:00

Around the age of five I started playing board games, of course, initially played without reading the instructions or following the rules. My brothers brought their favorite board games along with them when they came to India from the US while I came with funny little toys and cute dolls. My little friends & cousins were all attracted to the games which we had at home, therefore I always had

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-32150904018721298802010-01-07T01:20:00.010-06:002010-01-26T22:10:00.604-06:00

2008 was a fortunate year for our car. Unfortunately, in 2009 it was victimized by hit-and-run damaging the rear bumper. 2010 has just begun and already our car is a victim of hit-and-run misdemeanor, this time it is on the driver's door. Both incidences happened in Lawrence, while last year was in a shopping center parking lot, this time is in our workplace parking lot! It has happened within 3

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-83612158589491539852009-11-14T22:26:00.013-06:002010-01-26T01:35:19.897-06:00

Are you a person who curiously wait for the next google logo or google doodles? Well, I am. The doodle 4 google competition has unveiled that there are many more emerging Dennis Hwang, the google webmaster and the designer of the google doodles. The winner of 2009 competition held in the US is 12 year old Christin Engelberth whereas 9 year old Puru Singh is the winner in India. The designs are

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-80961178937842917082009-10-29T21:18:00.006-05:002010-08-15T21:29:45.369-05:00

This year, we planted the "big boy organic tomato" plant. Although it has to be grown on direct sun, we grew her indoor. However, we kept her out for few hours every day. She gave rise to several young flower buds. I was so excited but the excitement did not last for long. The flower buds turned into immature flowers. Finally, she got two matured flowers. I was excited again! Soon, the flowers

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-63467482956387759892009-09-20T20:42:00.007-05:002009-09-23T21:13:36.656-05:00

Last winter, nights were disturbing for me and my husband because of the midnight monsters. We heard scratching, digging, fighting, playing ...all kind of disturbing noises from the roof/wall in the middle of our sleep. We were becoming more irascible, once we ended up banging the wall and screaming back asking them to be quiet. One evening, I observed foot prints (larger than a dog's) on the

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-11970341625755485212009-08-29T20:55:00.005-05:002009-12-04T21:12:19.630-06:00

Amma has told me “drinking water in the morning is good” and appa has said “eating old fermented rice in the morning is good”. These are two of many other practices that has been practiced for many many years...from my great grandparents to grandparents to parents. Unfortunately not common within my generation.First thing in the morning, my mom drinks luke warm water, she has been practicing this

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-49842682969273081172009-06-05T23:20:00.004-05:002010-03-10T00:44:44.744-06:00

This is the first time I have come across this species of turtle. I took a picture using my cellphone, will post it later. It looked so weird to me...it had sharp claws & a tail! I warned mischievous Mahesh about the potential risk. We came back home and found that it was a "Snapping turtle". It seems it has also sharp jaws that could amputate a finger. I told Mahesh to imagine him with a missing

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-45627936802519036392009-03-14T22:33:00.005-05:002010-03-10T00:45:08.819-06:00

I have tried several brands of chappathi flour or atta but most of them are mixed with maida (all-purpose flour). One day, I bumped into a wheat grinding machine at the grocery store – HyVee. Nowadays I regularly grind chemical Free, GMO Free, 100% whole-wheat (Wheat Montana) to get fresh flour to make healthy chappathis & puris!While many nations including the EU and Canada have banned the use

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-78455567491138710712009-03-07T23:11:00.005-06:002010-01-27T00:22:05.652-06:00

I saw "Slum dog millionaire" as soon as it got released, actually watched it just for the music composer - AR Rehman. Did not hear the story nor read the reviews before seeing it. Just within the first few minutes of the movie I knew that I'm not going to like this movie and of course I was right. The so-called comedies/jokes on 'shit' makes the Americans laugh, leaving me in puzzled state.

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-27033341604565518512009-02-28T18:16:00.007-06:002009-03-14T20:55:26.483-05:00

I have never been so excited to watch an oscar event. The reason behind my excitement for Oscars 2009 is that A.R. Rahman, one of my favorite musicians has got three nominations through the film Slumdog millionaire. Two for the music-song and one for the music-score. Couple of hours after watching the event, the nominees for the music categories were announced. It was a thrilling moment...my feet

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-27926078548349247742009-01-18T15:59:00.036-06:002010-08-15T21:29:18.636-05:00

I have seen whales in close proximity at the Sea World. But after watching the movie 'Whale Rider', I wished to see them in their natural environment. Just couple of months back, I picked this movie from the library and watched it for the second time, this time along with Mahesh. He too enjoyed the movie. We remembered this movie when we were in Hawaii and were trying to imitate some things from

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-83296042018292667952008-12-14T18:42:00.001-06:002009-01-30T18:59:10.112-06:00

When I was a student in Heidelberg, Germany, I used to enjoy the cultural programs which were organized at least twice a year by the Heidelberg Indian Students Association (HISA). I thought I am going to miss those nice evenings. Fortunately, here in Kansas, there is this: “Kansas University Cultural India Club”. Last month, Mahesh and myself attended their “Diya 2008” event. It was a fabulous

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-39093323583769392402008-11-14T21:50:00.002-06:002009-01-28T15:57:43.755-06:00

After a series of orbit reduction manoeuvres, Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft reached its intended operational orbit, about 100 km from the lunar surface. Today, India successfully sent its first probe to the moon’s surface from its spacecraft orbiting the moon. Moon Impact Probe (MIP) was the first payload that hit the lunar surface successfully. The Indian flag was painted on the the sides of MIP. It

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-29803848164376209242008-10-22T20:47:00.001-05:002009-01-28T15:58:10.107-06:00

Today, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched Chandraayan 1, India's first mission to the moon. The Chandraayan 1 was launched using the spacecraft PSLV C11. It carried 11 payloads/Scientific instruments of which six belongs to India, three from European Space Agency (ESA), two from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and one from Bulgaria.The Scientists

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-9866933954835650122008-10-02T10:50:00.008-05:002008-12-17T14:51:12.571-06:00

Jaggery is unrefined natural sugar that is produced without adding any chemicals. More than 70% of the total world jaggery production is done in India. During my vacation in India (2006), I visited a small scale jaggery production site at the outskirts of my hometown. The sugarcane farm belongs to our neighbor. The sugarcane juice along with crushed ginger and lemon is a refreshing drink in India

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-12353112901679008652008-09-10T16:42:00.008-05:002008-09-24T17:30:10.420-05:00

Bisphenol A (BPA) is used to make polycarbonate plastics that are shatter-resistant and optically clear. These are found in baby bottles, some water bottles, dental sealants, dinnerware, eyeglasses, and in CDs. BPA is also used to make the resin that lines tin cans. This chemical has been shown to cause breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, obesity, hyperactivity, low sperm counts,

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-90125369038111385932008-09-02T20:56:00.008-05:002008-09-13T23:21:31.492-05:00

Just today, myself and my husband returned from our labor day weekend vacation. We visited our uncle and his family in Dublin, Ohio. The most unforgettable experience from this trip was that I met and spoke to Obama – next potential president of the United States of America! He gave his campaign speech at Dublin Coffman high school football stadium on 30th Aug, 2008. Myself, my huband and his

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-81535916163776635332008-08-29T23:11:00.009-05:002008-09-10T02:11:49.647-05:00

Senator Barack Obama gave an eloquent acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention last night. It was an historic event as he became United State's first African-American presidential nominee. Here is the video of his speech.

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-1139622670538841782008-08-04T19:42:00.000-05:002008-08-18T11:49:13.789-05:00

I like the new age music. One of my favorite new age music song is “Anywhere is” from the album “The memory of trees” by Enya. Enya is an Irish musician. In 2002, I heard Enya's song for the first time. It was “Only time” from the album “A day without rain”. ANYWHERE ISI walk the maze of momentsbut everywhere I turn tobegins a new beginningbut never finds a finishI walk to the horizonand there I

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-32725910113710565702008-06-22T16:07:00.013-05:002008-12-17T15:33:08.665-06:00

According to the Globocan 2002 database, breast cancer ranks first among all cancers in terms of incidence and mortality in women in the world. The basic symptom of breast cancer is the appearance of a lump that feels different than the surrounding breast tissue. Breast cancer development can be due to non-genetic and genetic factors. Genetic risk factors for breast cancer was part of my doctoral

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-1739610934209134602008-06-05T16:38:00.016-05:002009-01-30T16:10:13.020-06:00

Collecting stuff is one of many hobbies which I started as early as when I was 5 years old. I started with pebbles as any other kid does. As I grew up, the collection went like this: stickers, flower petals, red beads, baby pictures, dog pictures, shells, stamps, coins...etc,. I treated my collectibles as if they were very sacred. As an adult, did the mania of collecting things disappear? No, it

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-86669797879971523272008-02-27T11:35:00.006-06:002008-09-12T21:01:30.894-05:00

Few weeks ago, I was perturbed by an incident. One of my relatives delivered a premature baby (fetus of approximately 20 weeks old) who died immediately after birth. It seems the doctors were not sure of the cause and are planning to do a biopsy. I am not sure whether I can put the term “placental abruption” for that condition in which the placenta partially or completely separates from the

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-83281375414011959142007-12-15T22:29:00.003-06:002010-08-15T16:02:20.016-05:00

When I was shopping for my wedding in Chennai Silks store, I came across this beautiful and most expensive saree. I was stunned to hear that it costs Rs. 40 lakhs ! (about $85,000 !!). The famous 20th century artist Ravi Verma's painting – “Lady Musicians” has been woven into it with 12 different precious stones and metals (gold, diamond, platinum, silver, ruby, emerald, yellow sapphire, sapphire

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-52988535754982074512007-04-11T11:50:00.002-05:002009-01-28T16:15:12.209-06:00

More than half of all menstruating women suffers from menstrual cramps or dysmenorrhea. There are two types of dysmenorrhea: primary and secondary dysmenorrhea. Primary dysmenorrhea includes symptoms like backache, leg pain, headache, and dizziness. Secondary dysmenorrhea are the cramps caused by another medical problem such as endometriosis or uterine fibroids.I was wondering what causes

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-1095373591523574952007-01-28T16:55:00.001-06:002008-07-30T16:18:35.909-05:00

"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel (2003)***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***Please do not read if you have not read this book. I highly recommend you to read the book first.I first saw this book on the Harvard coop store display. I was staring at the book while waiting for my bus. The next day, I went inside the store, picked up the book and found that it is about a 16yr old tamil boy in Pondicherry, a

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-1162654602792928252006-11-04T09:31:00.004-06:002008-08-18T11:45:46.882-05:00

I read an incident happened in Chennai on October 28th night. It was a very sad one. A software engineer identified as Balakrishnan (38) along with his colleagues, Balachander (28) and Arumugam (19) died due to Carbon monoxide poisoning in their car. With the engine revving, they waited for rain to stop and the water to recede. When Balakrishnan didn't return home in the night, his nephew Deepak

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428623.post-1113146579596662192004-12-26T10:00:00.018-06:002009-01-30T16:12:09.678-06:00

Today, is a disastrous day for Southern India and other waterfront Asian countries. A day of heart full of pain for me and for many others."Compassion is not something one person has for another, but rather something that arises when one begins to see all others as ones own self. As real compassion develops within, the sense of 'other' begins to lessen. When we cut our own finger, the first

Kalai Selvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08927587058808982695noreply@blogger.com0