My first English X-Mas with Geoff's family!!!!

Okay!!! its the first posting since I set off on my Highlands adventure trip. While talking with Geoff he invited me to come on my way to Scotland to come and spend my X-Mas with his family in Earby, Lancashire. Earby is a very traditional English village (population 5000) hidden in absolutely stunning North Yorkshire country side with very narrow lanes and a backdrop of picturesque hills....

So I reached Geoff's family on 24th Dec. and I was stunned to see the reveling beauty of Earby in misty and foggy evening. Anyway, Geoff's family immediately made me comfortable in his house and I was became a part of the communication in no time. More importantly I got three little friends on that day, Noah, Jessuah, and Hannah, Geoff's nephews and a niece, really sweet kids.

After tea, we all went to a really traditional Engligh pub called The Red Lion, and for the first time I tries really really nice English ale called X-Mas pud which by the way is a seasonal ale as opposed to commercial beers. And it really doesnt get more traditional than this to see a seasonal ale just brewed for instance for the occasion of X-Mas. Our rest of the evening passed chatting and having fun.

Next day was a X-Mas day and early in the morning me and Geoff were in a deep sleep when we were called downstaires to see Noah opening his presents, it was really a nice experience to see a kid enjoying opening his presents and getting thrilled with every present he unwrapped. It lasted for nearly 2 hrs. After that everyone started preparing for the X-Mas lunch. And then in the afternoon we all went to Geoff's sister's home for our X-Mas lunch and had a really nice Turkey. After that another round of presents unwrapping session took place. I really was excited to experience a tradiotional X-Mas day with an English family.

We spent our rest of the evening taking micky out of everyone, chatting, and of course playing card games and rest of the X-Mas games.

This was really a great beginning of my long journey towards Scotland, and further north to Highlands.

Next morning I set off from Geoff's lovely Earby to Glasgow for my second part of the journey. In this part there are many great things happenin such as my 3 days going around in Highlands to Cullodon Battle Field, Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, Fort Augustus, and then to Isle of Skye. The detailed description of my this journey in which I covered nearly 800 miles in 3 days along with nice photographs will appear soon.

Cheers
Dnyanesh

3.8 billion years old rock samples!!!

Yesterday one of my friend, Mouchine who works in the Earth Science department of The Open University has given me 2 small rock samples of Ishua Group which are discovered in Western Greenland.

These rock samples are 3.8 billion years old and contain carbonaceous remnants of very eary life.

Here is the reference for these samples from Nature: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v434/n7030/full/434155a.html

I am really excited not only with the fact that I posses some of the rarest and more imporatantly oldest of the rock samples in the world, but also because it is wonderful to think that these pieces of matter are around for last 3.8 billion years.

Cheers
Dnyanesh

Strange conversation with a Manchester guy!!!

Time: about 1.00am
Location: Manchester city centre, Revolutions.
Company: Dnyanesh, Geoff, Gaston, Vanessa, Oscar, Oscar's Girlfriend (sorry girl I forgot your name), a table holding my JD and coke, etc.

Right!!! so on the aforementioned location in a rainy Manchester night we all are talking about the different things such as how cool the book called Shantaram by Greogory David Roberts is, and Oscar happily describing how the man at the counter was getting physical with him (although it is really important to remember that Oscar is quite a straight guy), and how drunk he is, and we all are having a good time.

Then suddently I guess the same person appers to be passing from the table where we all are sitting and having drinks, and this Gizzer started saluting to me, and started smiling. Well, as a first reaction I smiled at a guy because he was apparently looking pissed. And then suddenly this bloke came over the table and started saying to me (with really loud music on the background)

Drunk Manchester Guy: "how you doing mate?"
Me: I am fine, cheers.
Drunk Manchester Guy: Forwards his hand for a shake hand.
Me: I shake his hand.
Drunk Manchester Guy: (kind of whispering, but it was like shouting because of music on the background) Hey! Do you know that Liam is going to be here in 10 mins time?
Me: Cool!!
Drunk Manchester Guy: I can show you to him if you want.
Me: (bit surprised) No I am fine.
Drunk Manchester Guy: Common on.
Me: No, its okay I am having a good time. Thanks a lot.
Drunk Manchester Guy: (persuading me) well its just going to take 10 mins. mate.
Me: (getting irritated) I told you that I am fine, and I guess you are making other people bit nervous.
Drunk Manchester Guy: (Smiling awkwardly) What?... What did you say?
Me: We are having a good time and you are making other people nervous....
Drunk Manchester Guy: are you sure?
Me: yeah! very much so....
Drunk Manchester Guy: But Liam....
Me: I told you that that I am fine....

The Drunk Manchester Guy left the table......Looking back at the table after walking small distance..

Well I must say it was a kind of strange experience. And then for a long time and also on the next morning Gaston kept on having fun with the fact that I was almost close of getting luck with Liam......Where according to Oscar the reason that Gizzer came to me is because of the ear ring I wear on my right ear on the top, and according to Oscar that gives a wrong indication to pepole that I'm not only not straight but I'm more gay because I wear on the top part of right ear....Hmmmm!! not sure how this deduction works really?

""Wearing a ring (called Bhikbali) is just a part of Pune, Maharashtra, Indian culture, which was heavily around and then it suddenly disappeared in the hussel and bussel of the fast city life and modernisation, etc. etc. so I decided to wear it just to keep the culture in tact...""

The world is full of strange people and Manchester has a strange piece of memory stuck into my cognitive map.

Cheers
Dnyanesh

In the midst of chaos the death is one bullet away!!!!

US citizen Rigoberto Alpizar, 44 was shot dead by the air marshals on board of the American Airlines flight. He satrted acting suspiciously and commented of carrying a bomb in his luggage. It was later confirmed that he didnt have a bomb in his luggages and probably was suffering from the mental illness.

According to the sources Alpizar had arrived in Miami, Florida, from Ecuador and was boarding a flight to Orlando at about 1410 local time (1910 GMT). Accounts from inside the plane suggest that Alpizar began behaving erratically before he was challenged by the marshals.
"He didn't look stable," fellow passenger John McAlhany told the Miami Herald.
As he ran down the aisle of the plane, a woman assumed to be his wife shouted for him to stop.

Its really crucial for any authority to check again and again before they open fire on the people. Of course other side of the coin holds equal stake considering that if the person did really carry a bomb then it would have resulted in higher numbers of casulties. However, its more easier to shoot a person when carrying a gun but impossible to bring back even on innocent life which has been lost in the midst of chaos!!!!

Cheers
Dnyanesh

First ever partial face transplant!!!

Dr Jean-Michel Dubernard of Lyon from France have performed the first ever partial face transplant on a 38-year old woman whose face was severly disfigured by a dog attack. He is also the first surgeon who successfully carried out hand transplant.

The two surgical teams have grafted the nose, lips and chin from a donor who was declared brain dead.

However, the Ethics committee in France and England have already rejected the full face transplant until the more research is done on the various implications that may cause due to such a type of surgery - the committee is concerned about the effect of the long term use of the immunosuppresive drugs, the probability of graft being rejected leaving patient in worse condition than before the procedure, the development of the cancer from the immunity suppresing drugs given to the patient to prevent the graft rejection, and more importantly the psychological problems that patient may face in adjusting with the new identity.

At this point it is still unknown the extent to which the woman's face was disfigured before the operation, and how much of the donor's face and underlying muscles, blood vessels and tissues were transplated.

If the outcome of this procedure is satisfactory it will open new avenues of research in clinical research.

Cheers
Dnyanesh