ABC News anchor Peter Jennings dies of lung cancer

Peter Jennings died last night. To me, he personified the consummate journalist; his calming voice in the face of many a crisis was very reassuring to hear. Whenever there was a major news event, the first news channel I would invariably switch on was ABC, not because I was a fan of ABC News but because I knew Peter would be there reporting on it.

The only reason I would ever turn on the TV to hear news was when Peter was on. Normally I get all my "news" from NPR, but when I wanted to see a major news event as it was happening, it was Peter who brought it home to me.

There was no other journalist I trusted more than Peter. In the face of the mind numbing mediocre entertainment that's put out as news by TV networks these days, one man always stood out as the beacon of light, every evening, bring the news from around the world to us with the right perspective view on it.

For someone who never graduated high school, Peter was the most eloquent speaker and the wisest man I've heard on Television. His experience as a well travelled overseas correspondent showed in the insight he brought into his reporting and his quote about there being "no absolute truths" should be heeded by everyone.

I've been a huge fan of Peter for the past 14 years and I will miss him very much.

Mighty Mouse

Apple introduced on Tuesday its first computer mouse, named Mighty Mouse, with multiple buttons, including four sensors and a tiny scroll ball.

In a unique Apple fashion this mouse is different from all other "scrolling" mice; the scroll ball lets the user scroll sideways and diagonally instead of just up and down.

And the buttons are not real buttons but hidden sensors under the "skin" another set of buttons on the sides are squeezable and can be assigned specific tasks.

Apple thinks different once again. Way to go!!

IKEA : Here I come...

Well, maybe tomorrow.

The big news around DFW is the opening of the new IKEA store in Frisco. The shoppers who stood in line for the opening are getting their 15 minutes of fame, as nearly all the local "news" shows are covering the opening in great detail.

While I am a big fan of the store, I think I'll wait a few days before visiting, so that the initial rush subsides.

Mumbai Monsoon Aftermath

Speaking of Mumbai, the city is apparently slowly returning to normal after a week of heavy rains where Mumbai recorded the a highest rainfall (37 inches) recorded on a single day in India.

Transportation in Mumbai resumed to near-normal service as rains and floods finally let up after killing close to 1,000 people last week, but many low-lying parts of India's financial capital still remain under water.

Meanwhile...

Damage estimates are over 10,000 Crores with about 1000 lives lost.

Water bottlers make hay... makers of bottled water like Bisleri, Parle, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and a host of local regional players are striking it rich.

Mumbai airport will be back to normal today after a near disaster with Air India and several days of intermittent service.

After deluge, Kurla faces epidemic... the first symptoms of viral and bacterial infections spread through water.

Space Walk

In a bit of amazing news, "astronaut Steve Robinson plucked a couple of loose fiber strips from Discovery's belly on Wednesday in an unprecedented repair to the shuttle's heat shield."

Although all the time I was concerned that one of the tiles might shake loose when he pulled out the piece of fabric. Wonder if anybody else thought of that...

Miraculous Escape

The other news today is the miraculous escape of nearly 309 people yesterday from an Air France airline, flight 358 from Paris, which skidded off the runway in Canada and caught fire. This happened at Toronto's Pearson International Airport after the Airbus A340 landed at around 4 p.m. Tuesday in a heavy rain storm.

While this is a wonderful news. I am disappointed that the US news media only covers such incidents when they happen in Western countries. Where is the coverage of third world nations. Why wasn't there any reporting of a similar incident of an Air India jet skidding off the runway in Mumbai last week during the heavy rains?

War and Vacations

It was reported today, 14 Marines were killed in Iraq in a roadside explosion. This is in addition to 7 Marines killed in action earlier in the week.

Isn't it sad that Congress and the President can take a summer vacation while all this is going on. Shouldn't there be a law against politicians taking vacations while there is a war in progress?

Jhumroo

What does it mean?

Jhumroo is a title of a famous Indian movie from 1961, starring the classic Kishore Kumar; the versatile comedian, actor, singer, writer and director who brought a unique brand of entertainment to the masses.

The name doesn't have a specific meaning, but there is a famous song in the movie that gives some clues to its meaning. To me the name means a Bumble Bee, a Wanderer, a Messenger or an Optimist.

Someone who spreads the message of love and believes that there is good in the world, believes he can contribute to the overall good of all living beings on this earth.

A new beginning

After a long wait, since opening this account, I am attempting to start back on this new journey. I don't know now what this blog will end-up being, but I will try to use it as an online journal of my thoughts and general musings about the state of affairs in the world and my take on it.