Miscellaneous Facebook posts & comments in or around Jan. to Mar. 2023

When author of post or comment is not mentioned, it should be assumed that it is me (Ravi S. Iyer).

To save time, I am usually not providing my FB post links but only contents. I am also not hyperlinking links. So readers may have to copy-paste links from this post onto a browser link box and then browse to that link.

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Awesome rendition of a 1960s emotionally charged Hindi film song about estranged friendship between two young men (the singer in the movie is blind). The rendition was in 2017.

Chahunga Main Tujhe Sanjh Saware - चाहूँगा मैं तुझे साँझ सवेरे from Dosti (1964) by Javed Ali, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKZ_cWhyQTU , 5 min. 4 secs.

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Have archaeologists found India’s lost port of Muziris? - BBC News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVAPqZQ0mgU , 7 min. 28 secs, published 2 weeks ago.

Muziris was a famous port of Kerala known from Roman times with Muziris being an important port for Indo-Roman trade. It disappeared in the 14th century!

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Linux is free software and its source code is accessible for others to view, download and use. A terrific "service to society" from Linux developers and GNU developers to the world at large from the early 1990s.

The Making of Linux: The World's First Open-Source Operating System, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0Q9KnYSVLc , 11 min. 32 secs, published 6 days ago.

Note that Android uses Linux kernel (modified version). From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system) , "Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance, though its most widely used version is primarily developed by Google."

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Fascinating article by Shri D.K.M. Kartha about the power of healing herbs

How Peppermint (and Poet Mirabai along with Her Eternal Lover) Helped Me Get Rid of My Nicotine Addiction: Fight a Toxic Weed Using a Healing Herb, https://www.manushi.in/how-peppermint-and-poet-mirabai-along-with-her-eternal-lover-helped-me-get-rid-of-my-nicotine-addiction-fight-a-toxic-weed-using-a-healing-herb/ , 18th Aug. 2020

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4psRiE_YaM

The video title is inaccurate but the 6 min. 41 secs. video is interesting. Prof. Galloway talks more about the benefits and dangers of ChatGPT kind of AI tool and speculates a little about how it may turn out in future. Anderson Cooper raises some interesting questions and points.

ChatGPT AI powered chatbot seems to be a very hot thing now. Prof. Galloway said it got to 1 million users in 5 days (as compared to Instagram getting to 1 million users in 17 days)! 

I too was wondering whether I should have a go at ChatGPT, which I read is free for anybody to use. I tried to explore using it yesterday, IIRC. I wanted to check what it says about Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Bhagavan Sri Shirdi Sai Baba. But it asked me to share my mobile number as part of my registration (needed before one can use the chatbot) which I was not comfortable giving to a company I really don't know anything about. I mean, giving one's mobile number to Gmail (Google) or Facebook (Meta) is one thing as one expects confidentiality of information from these well established companies but I was not willing to take a chance with ChatGPT.

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Amidst the very sad news of not one but two recent mass shootings in California, USA, I was awed and so happy to see the following two videos showing how Brandon Tsay, an ordinary guy, a computer coder, who had never held a gun before in his life, transformed into a hero by grabbing the gun from the mass shooter of the first mass shooting (who incidently was a 70 plus year old man), and threatening to shoot him if he did not go away, at which point the mass shooter left. That saved many lives!

Anderson Cooper does a fantastic job in drawing out details of the encounter from Tsay, and Tsay comes across as a down-to-earth and decent guy who tells the truth in the interview, including about how he initially got frozen (in terror), and how the thought that this man may commit many murders in the dance hall where he was working, spurred him to fight with the shooter.

Surveillance footage shows hero confronting suspected gunman, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtlQbzhStXk , 10 min. 15 secs.

NBC News short video showing the struggle and (what must be) Brandon Tsay getting control of the gun and threatening the 70 plus years old mass-shooter after which the shooter leaves: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rtuQwV_w_IE

Related NBC News article (with a video but which did not play for me): https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/watch-exclusive-video-captures-moment-man-disarms-monterey-park-shoote-rcna67061

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From my FB post with pics: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/pfbid02fNHZscSBDUM9fFLpBfFj9sLFKwKP8fBAnZejZgULcfAbpJAhjCoMhq1kPhzyoe3wl : (the post also has some comment exchanges)

A visitor outside my flat door in Puttaparthi that I saw around half an hour back. When I first saw it, it was next to my slippers and I thought it was a (fresh) leaf that had been blown in the wind towards my slippers. But when I looked closer I saw that it was an insect!

Update: Took better quality pics later which are attached. First two pics are better quality pics followed by the earlier lower quality pics. My maid informed me that it is called aaku thelu (in Telugu) and that it feeds on leaves. She also said it should not enter our homes and so drove it away with a broom.

Further update: No it does not seem to be Microcentrum (whose wiki page does not mention India as a place where it is found). Instead it seems to be "Katydid in the subfamily Phaneropterinae, family Tettigoniidae." as per https://www.knowyourinsects.org/Orthoptera1.html . 

From the wikipedia page of Tettigoniidae, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tettigoniidae :

Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids (especially in North America),[1] or bush crickets.[2]

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Tettigoniids are found on every continent except Antarctica.[13] The vast majority of katydid species live in the tropical regions of the world.[4]

--- end wiki extract ---

---end further update ---

Google image search led me to the botanical name of the insect - Microcentrum (which was the second result). It's wiki page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcentrum . But this insect does not seem to be Microcentrum as the wiki page does not mention Asia or India as a place where it is found.

An around 2 min video on it in Hindi of what seems to be a similar insect which the video speaker perhaps mistakenly calls as Microcentrum: https://youtu.be/JNEDYiBoHgw .

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The video is about a (claimed) breakthrough in the search for the missing link between apes and humans. I have seen over half of it and plan to see the rest of it shortly. It is quite fascinating and so I thought of sharing the video right away. The title of the video is too expansive, IMHO, and so I added the first sentence above telling more accurately what the video covers.

How did humans come to be? | DW Documentary, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJIxtD1n6to , 42 mins. 25 secs., published 2 days ago.

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My comments (slightly edited) in assoc. FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/pfbid0znMQ1JmRE5RCcfhScfcWp8ssQoEWKj972XTWT5t5gfurm6VkR8cZ57anWrGLCxMVl

I am not sure about Hindu scripture referring to outer space aliens. But surely it talks of devas (divine beings which is rather loosely and not so accurately translated to gods in English) who have varying levels of supernatural powers, and who reside in a different abode from that of ordinary human beings. Note that this is beside the Avatars of Narayana which are descent into humanity of Lord Narayana, who is revered by the devas too, and to whom the devas pray to, to resolve any big problems they face. Rama and Krishna are the famous Avatars of Lord Narayana (also known as Lord Vishnu).

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The English translation point is that, as far as I could make out though I am not an expert in this matter, the English translation of the Bible does not refer to shining beings and other divine beings mentioned in it as Gods, other than Lord Jesus Christ and His Father (and Holy Spirit). I think with this approach some Christian preachers & theologians have the view then that Christianity is monotheistic (one God) whereas "pagan" religions are polytheistic which they are critical of. They say Hinduism is polytheistic as they say Hinduism has many Gods, which I think is a limited view of Hindu beliefs and Hindu scripture. I have put up my views on it in this blog post: Hinduism sometimes is inaccurately described as polytheistic in comparison to Christianity which is described as monotheistic (somewhat inaccurately, some say), https://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2019/11/hinduism-sometimes-is-inaccurately.html .

I think these Christian preachers and theologians view divine beings other than Jesus Christ (and His Father and the Holy Spirit) as angels/archangels (e.g. Gabriel) or prophets (e.g. Moses). Christianity also has saints to whom believers can pray to, to act as an intercessionary with God on their behalf.

Hinduism, as far as I know, does not have such nuances between God(s), angels and prophets. It has devas (e.g. Indra) and variations like mahadev (Lord Shiva) and devadev (Lord Vishnu) which I prefer to translate to divine beings with mahadev and devadev being more powerful divine beings like Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, rather than as Gods to avoid misrepresentation of Hinduism as polytheistic but Christianity being monotheistic by some Christian preachers & theologians.

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If you are referring to Vamana Avatar, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vamana , yes, of course. He is a very famous Avatar of Narayana (also known as Lord Vishnu). Further, I recently read the account related to him in Kamala Subramanian's Srimad Bhagavatam, which gave me more details about Vamana Avatar than I had known earlier.

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Oh yes! Vimana is the flying chariot like Pushpaka Vimana whose example you gave. Yes, I have come across quite a few such Vimana references in the Hindu scripture I have read.

BTW in Hindi Vimana is the word for an aeroplane. That would be the case for many Indian languages I think with the Sanskrit Vimana word being the origin.

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Ugandan Asians: 50 years on since expulsion | ITV News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptLyXsV02ck , 46 mins., published on 9th Dec. 2022. ITV News is a British channel and this program covers the Asians who moved to Britain after their expulsion from Uganda 50 years ago. 

Britain took in the largest number of these Asians as per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expulsion_of_Asians_from_Uganda: "Many of those who were expelled were citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies and 27,200 emigrated to the United Kingdom. Of the other refugees who were accounted for, 6,000 went to Canada, 4,500 refugees ended up in India and 2,500 went to nearby Kenya or to Pakistan.[3] In total, some 5,655 firms, ranches, farms, and agricultural estates were confiscated, along with cars, homes and other household goods.[3]"

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Interesting view!

[From FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/pfbid0SpHwZrGg8m9biCgD9cTHicGbPwxWwjeu1bq54D6ZcThxiUznWN7zTuQKPmv91PQCl which shares post with following quote:

Going to another country doesn't make any difference. I've tried all that. You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. ~Ernest Hemingway 

(Book: The Sun Also Rises https://amzn.to/3vvXy9H) ]

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During a tea break today, I watched this awesome highlights video of 1958 World cup semi-final match between Brazil and France which had a Pele hat-trick, 11 min. 38 secs.

(Black-and-White video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVYsN_lyFyQ .

P.S. 1958 was 4 years before I was born! I think the Internet is an awesome development as it got listed at the top of the videos in youtube when I visited it today (so some tracking of my browsing which would have shown that I visited some Pele related videos and links recently, along with some AI perhaps, in play), and I was able to see it for free.

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