What do you do when your family betrays you?

I guess you say, "fuck them" and move on with your life. At least, that is what I am doing. And I am doing just fine.

Calling All Indians

Are you an Indian living in India, OR do you own a house in India? Is your house located in ANY resort area in India like on a mountain (my most preferred location), or on a seashore, OR in a tourist attraction place which is not awfully crowded (like Varanasi)? Do you have a spare room in your house? Can you accommodate a guest in exchange of money for a few (4-8) weeks, anytime between October and February? If so, please e-mail me at:

We will discuss details and negotiate terms privately by e-mail. Any state in India, any religion, Punjabi, Gujarati, or Tamil, vegetarian or non-vegetarian - anything is OK with me.

I am a retired Indian, male, living in America for almost three decades. I have traveled extensively and visited many countries of the world. I don't really have any place to stay in India, and am tired of staying in hotels. I want to stay with a local family and enjoy India from a different perspective and make new friends.

By the way, if you have read my last posting here (dated June 3), don't be scared. God did not like me. So he sent me back to THIS SIDE again where you live. I now have a body and lost my capability of wringing anybody's neck! My last e-mail address (shobansen@planchettemail.hel) is not good anymore.

Shoban Sen
http://bestnetguru.com/

Letter from the other side

Contrary to what you think, "life" in this side is much better. Don't eat right and exercise to prolong your stay on that side. You don't know what you are missing. Eat, drink, and be merry. And then come to this side quickly. You'll see the difference. If necessary, drink heavily and then drive. That way you'll increase your chances of coming to this side much quicker!

Hey, poor earthlings, join me in celebrating "life" on this side. The grass is really greener here. It is sooo serene on this side. The peace is eternal. We eat only 'Amrit', drink only nectar, and smoke only grass (no Surgeon General's warning on the pack). There is no noise here - only soft, soothing music in the background. The water in the rivers is so clean that you could have seen your reflection in it like a mirror, if you had a body! Since we do not have a body, nobody here is overweight or obese. We do not have any diseases here. We never get sick. No swine-flu, no heart disease, no cancer. Where will the illness reside? There is no "body". Hence no doctor, no hospital, no death! We live for ever. In eternal peace.

If you don't believe me, I'll wring your neck tonight. Afterall, you have a neck!

^*#@!~,(&00/x#@~^

 Save the trees, save the planet

Save paper. Recycle paper. Get your credit card bills online - electronically. Why? Because that way you help save the trees. Saving trees means greener earth. Cleaner atmosphere. More oxygen in the air. Less carbon-dioxide. It is better for the future of our children, grandchildren.

But during Christmas season, you are not only allowed to but actually expected to decorate your living room with an actual Christmas tree - to bring in the spirit of Christmas in your house! Eff-eeu-see-kay. Wake up Christian world. It is time to break up with the old tradition. Think of your children's and grandchildren's future. Save the trees. Save the planet.

Everything happens here after the damage has been done. Like wrong eating, wrong habits, and obesity. Now we are going to the gyms, trying to eat right, trying to reduce weight. Because we weigh too much. Our clothing size is at least XXL, if not bigger. We already have developed Type II diabetes and hypertension.

Dear lawmakers, please ban use of real Christmas trees for the sake of our children and grandchildren. Wake up folks. Stop cutting down those trees (imagine how many trees are slaughtered during Christmas season worldwide)! Multiply the number by say, 50. How many trees can be saved worldwide over a 50-year time?

And oh, learn to toast with a glass of water! One day, you'll be asked by the authorities to do so. Hear from me now and stay ahead in the game!

Passed with Flying Colors

In my posting here of July 18 2009, I had declared that my new passion was video editing, and I had proudly given a link to my editing sample in YouTube (video embedding did not work in Xanga that day).

Four month's later (I had a heart attack in the meanwhile which interrupted my efforts for some time), I am proudly announcing today that I have passed video editing with flying colors. This, of course, is self-proclamation. I did not join any school, did not take any courses, or anything like that. I learnt it all by myself and I think I have learnt it well as an amateur. I have graded myself based on the last 3 videos I produced. This is something similar to submitting final papers before gratuating from a school. I like to think it that way! You be the judge.

Video #1

This video shows several ways of editing and adding special effects to video clips to make your video stand out.

Video #2

This video shows how magical effects can be created in your videos using the chroma key technique.

Video #3

This video shows how to personalize and spruce up your video clips by using the Painting Creator available in Corel VideoStudio Pro X2.

Since I am done with video editing, I now need to move on to something else. But the question is what? May be Latin American Dancing? But for that I need a female partner. I hate the idea of dancing, holding a pillow! Is any reader interested? Please contact me if you are. Thanks.

Shoban Sen
http://bestnetguru.com/

Thank you Brigham and Women's
Hospital, Boston ...

... for giving me a third chance at life.

I salute you for your professionalism, expeditious, courteous, and friendly service, compassion, and the highest standards of treatment and medical equipments. I still cannot believe how you wheeled me into the "cath lab" within minutes of my arrival in the emergency room, and within an hour your friendly doctors opened up my two blocked coronary arteries with stents asking me all the while if I was OK. And contrary to last time, I did not have to keep my leg, through which the doctors inserted the catheter to reach my heart, still for eight hours following the "procedure". Thanks to the latest technology and the latest sealant you use to close the opening of the femoral artery. I was allowed to move my leg just after two hours this time!

I am back home to enjoy the long Labor Day weekend with my family after only one night's stay (most luxurious and comfortable stay) in the hospital. I now have two additional stents over and above the previous three stents  in my coronary arteries that you had given me five years ago. Amazing! I cannot believe I am still living!!

Shoban Sen
http://bestnetguru.com/

Epilogue: Everything has a limit. My time may be running out. G.A., if you want to e-mail me, this is the time. Don't wait until it is too late!

Make Your Home Movies Special

Hey, want to dress-up your home movies by adding special effects, animated titles, narration, picture-in-picture (PIP), music, etc. before uploading them to YouTube for the whole world to see? Do you want your home movies to stand out over the thousands of other "ordinary" ones?

See the sample movie below. Does it look special to you? Does it look like the camcorder shot it like you are seeing it? Your camcorder can shoot nice videos. You can make them more appealing by good editing. See the sample video first.

You can make this kind of video yourself easily. To learn, see my Home Movie Making Tutorials here. Don't worry. It is Free. No strings attached. I dispense knowledge for FREE. That is my hobby!

Shoban Sen
Shoban Sen's Videos on YouTube

Refute this ...

I can never understand when people leave an air-conditioned room saying, "I am going to get some fresh air." In my case, while strolling in the city park, I often feel the need to go home to get some fresh air. My home is totally climate-controlled -- heated in winter and air-conditioned in the summer, and I use the best air-filter that is available in the market. So my indoor air is absolutely free from dust, pollens, smoke, industrial fumes, gases emitted by car exhausts etc. which can be collectively called "allergen-free and carcinogen-free". And that is what I call fresh air. Outside air is never fresh. It always has all kinds of pollutants in it.

Refute this, if you dare.

Shoban Sen
http://bestnetguru.com/

Cardinals in my backyard

I spent a few minutes this summer afternoon with the cardinal couple who made a nest in my backyard. See them playing in this short video.

Shoban Sen
http://bestnetguru.com/

Another Video Embedding Experiment

My page may not have enough room to hold the entire width of the video. In that case, you can watch the video at YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcwOWfO9qc4

Shoban Sen
http://bestnetguru.com/