Thrissur Homestay with AestheticHoliday

Tags : AsiaKeralaList of Hindu temples in KeralaThrissurThrissur PooramVadakkunnathan Temple

When you talk about Thrissur Homestay, AestheticHoliday is the first choice. AestheticHoliday is a serviced villa with all modern amenities, and it is not just a homestay. It is ideally suited for small groups of about 10 to 20 people. The ambience is ideal for small parties and we have a swimming pool in the

Welcome to Thrissur, Kerala

Lonely Planet has named Kerala among the world’s 10 best family destinations in 2014. This is a historic moment, and an opportunity to help the reeling economy of the state badly battered by the returning expatriates. But are we (and our leaders) ready to embrace this opportunity? Thrissur is also known as the Cultural Capital of Kerala because

The Carluke Apple Orchard and the Thrissur Nutmeg Orchard

Tags : AncasterAppleCarlukeOntarioOrchard

The Nutmeg Orchard is located at Kombodinjamakkal, 30 km from Thrissur City. AerstheticHoliday offers luxury accommodation for up to 20 people in  the middle of a tropical nutmeg garden. The Carluke Orchard is located at 2194 Shaver Road S, Ancaster, Ontario.The Inksetter Family first planted the orchards way back in 1965. We visited Carluke orchard last

Dundurn Castle and The Thrissur Pooram

Tags : DundurnHamiltonWar of 1812

One of Hamilton’s most-recognized landmarks, Dundurn Castle is a National Historic Site that illustrates the life and times of Sir Allan Napier MacNab.

gate.io

Tags : KeralaNiagaraWine

Read the full series. The aroma of the Niagara wines reminded me of the nutmeg shells. Probably nutmeg shells are deeply imprinted in my memory database. I should tell my Mom to try making nutmeg wine! Mallu winemakers traditionally use Bharani (ഭരണി ), the locally available porcelain container with a lid as French or American

Wineries of Niagara – part 1

Tags : EmiratesGrapeNiagaraOakOntarioThrissurWineWine tasting

My Mom makes wine. Her wine was the only wine I got to drink for a long time till I got hooked to the taste of Chilean wine served on Emirates flights. I am not a connoisseur of fine wines and I may not be able to differentiate red from white if blindfolded. But ever

Princess Point – Hamilton, ON.

Horizon (Photo credit: beapen)                       Princess Point is located in the south east corner of Cootes Paradise Marsh, and is the principle access point to the surrounding natural areas. The property is part of the Cootes Paradise Nature Sanctuary owned and managed by the Royal

Spring 2014

The Chedoke Radial Recreational Trail is a pedestrian and bicycle pathway developed on the former right of way of the Brantford and Hamilton Electric Railway.  It is part of the Bruce Trail.  Beginning at Hillcrest Avenue, the trail runs for 2.7 kilometers southwest, crossing the Chedoke Golf Course and traversing the escarpment to Scenic Drive.

Scottish Rite Club of Hamilton & Frozen Niagara

There was an open-house at Scottish Rite Club, Queen Street, Hamilton. This ‘farmhouse’ originally built by James Mills in 1820 was later modified in 1895 by George T. Tuckett. We ventured out in the freezing wind to have a glimpse inside this mansion. The woodwork was elegantly rustic, and their majestic cathedral used for masonic

Palli Perunnal to Festival of Lights

Went for the festival of lights at the waterfront yesterday, marking the beginning of Xmas celebrations. Was it impressive? Well, not for someone who has seen  ‡¥ï‡µÅ‡¥¥‡¥ø‡¥ï‡¥ü‡µç‡¥ü‡µÅ‡¥∂‡µç‡¥∂‡µá‡¥∞‡¥ø ‡¥™‡¥≥‡µç‡¥≥‡¥ø ‡¥™‡µÜ‡¥∞‡µÅ‡¥®‡µç‡¥®‡¥æ‡µæ , ‡¥Ö‡¥Ø‡µç‡¥Ø‡¥™‡µç‡¥™‡µª ‡¥ï‡¥æ‡¥µ‡µç‚Äå ‡¥â‡¥§‡µç‡¥∏‡¥µ‡¥Ç and Kombodinjamakkal ‡¥ö‡¥®‡µç‡¥¶‡¥®‡¥ï‡µç‡¥ï‡µÅ‡¥ü‡¥Ç.  üôÇ Sinu asked me a question there, that every wife asks the husband many times. What are my favourite

Kerala among top ten holiday destinations!

Kerala Temple Festival (Photo credit: beapen) Lonely Planet has named Kerala among the world’s 10 best family destinations in 2014. This is a historic moment, and an opportunity to help the reeling economy of the state badly battered by the returning expatriates. But are we (and our leaders) ready to embrace this opportunity? I have

Vembanad Kayal to Lake Ontario

Though this particular post was not about Kerala (It was more about me!), because of the popularity of this post among tourists seeking information about Kerala I have decided to give it a facelift. The enchanting backwaters of Kerala (often called the Venice of the east) is sure to mesmerize you, if you have not

mHealth for fever ravaged Kerala

Kerala is a land of paradoxes. The most literate state in India with quality of life indicators similar to the west is ravaged by a fever epidemic from a variety of causes ranging from dengue and chikungunya to rat fever. Most of these are vector borne (predominantly mosquitoes) and similar pattern can be observed in

Power Crisis in Kerala – Part 2

ONE EARTH ONE LIFE: Electricity Crisis in Kerala and Possible Options -2008: ‘via Blog this’ English: On 140 acres of unused land on Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., 70,000 solar panels are part of a solar photovoltaic array that will generate 15 megawatts of solar power for the base. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) My ‘crazy’ post on

Potential Solutions to Kerala’s Power Crisis

To be mathematically correct, I have lived only 40% of my life in my home state of Kerala, often called the God’s own country. I was born in a village (villages in Kerala are not really villages any more) called Kombodinjamakkal in central Kerala. Our state (it is more important to be politically correct here

How to teach alternative medicine to your dog

A harmonic oscillator in classical mechanics (A-B) and quantum mechanics (C-H). In (A-B), a ball, attached to a spring, oscillates back and forth. (C-H) are six solutions to the Schrödinger Equation for this situation. The horizontal axis is position, the vertical axis is the real part (blue) or imaginary part (red) of the wavefunction. (C,D,E,F),

The brighter Moon

English: The brighter Moon (Photo credit: Wikipedia) <> Gem is skeptical, not passionate and gets easily bored. But Gem considers it the main ingredient of a quintessential innovative mind. Passion clouds your judgement. You tend to miss the negatives. Cognizance of the unfavorable is crucial for progress. Gem remains stationary. The world grows around him. Does the

The elusive Kallana (Stone Elephant)

Elephant Self-Portrait (Photo credit: Cybjorg) Kallana – ‡¥ï‡¥≤‡µç‡¥≤‡¥æ‡¥®  (the literal translation would be stone elephant) is an elusive species of elephant supposed to be seen in Kerala, that belongs to the realm of cryptozoology. The locals describe it as a adult elephant with a maximum height of 5 feet, but with normal trunk and tail. Till

Tourism in God’s Own Country

Sad day for tourism in Kerala as 4 people were drowned in a freak house boat accident in  Alappuzha – The Venice of the East. I think basic infrastructure development and proper waste management would go a long way in attracting tourists to the state than the much hyped Grand Kerala shopping festival! BTW posting few

A Medical Shave

Dear Reader Pardon me for choosing a very mundane topic this time. But someone actually asked me this question: How does a dermatologist shave?  Since dermatologists are humans and are unlikely to be different from the 7 billion others we have on the planet, I transformed the question into a more acceptable form. Is there

On Vacation

Posting vacation photos right from Singapore üòâ

Life of Pi

Yesterday I watched the movie, Life of Pi. I have read the book but I never understood what the author was alluding to. The 3D was not necessary, I believe and it did not enhance the visual experience much. But somehow the 3D glasses helped me to have a peek inside and I think, I

Peel Score

Before I start, Merry Christmas and happy new year to you all. I have been trying to give a facelift to my skin deep blog. Its position keeps fluctuating between 1 and 10 on google for the search string ‘dermatology blog’. Recently I started reviewing dermatological devices and products on skin deep blog. Then I realised

National Day – 2012

The National Day brunch overlooking Dubai fountain and the tallest building! Dubai skyline at night on national day below. Related articles The Dubai Mall fountains to play the UAE National Anthem during holiday period The Dubai Fountain – World’s Largest Dancing Fountain

The male psychology

“OLD SPICE ODOR BLOCKER BODY WASH IS SO POWERFUL, IT CAN BLOCK B.O. FOR SIXTEEN HOURS!!!!!!!” (Photo credit: edwick) How to market a cosmetic product or service to men? From my experience women tend to notice new products in the market more than men. It may be easier to reach men through their partner because

Chakravyuh – Arjun Rampal

 Chakravyuh is a Bollywood political thriller directed by Prakash Jha starring Arjun Rampal, Abhay Deol, Esha Gupta, Anjali Patil, Manoj Bajpai and Kabir Bedi. The director along with his team (except the last two) came to Lamcy plaza for the promotion of the movie which is due to be released on 23rd, one day before

Gitex – 2012

Visited Gitex 2012 – the biggest and the best consumer electronics retail platform. It was very crowded. Didn’t see any new products!

Skin Color Measurement

English: “A Venerable Orang-outang”, a caricature of Charles Darwin as an ape published in The Hornet, a satirical magazine Deutsch: Man sieht Darwin als Affen dargestellt, was eine Anspielung auf seine Evolutionstheorie sein soll. Seiner Meinung nach entwickelten sich die Menschen aus den Affen, was damals eine v√∂llig neue Vorstellung war. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Today

The transgenerational conflict

English: This is a recreated vector image in SVG. The original “Human_evolution_scheme.png” was made by Jos√©-Manuel Benitos. The following was stated by the original author: “Simplified scheme of human evolution, it does not try to be trustworthy, but a symbol of this process” (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Listen2Me (Photo credit: beapen) Today I read a well

Bollywood Stars in Dubai

Few of the Bollywood‘s hottest stars came to Lamcy to promote their new releases. The crowd was manageable when Emraan, Esha and Bipasha came for the promotion of Raaz 3. But the crowd went berserk when they saw Kareena the next day! But it was fun. I was on the third floor, but could still

Not Fair!

Cosmetics (Photo credit: My Sight, as You See.) Should the cosmetic industry be regulated? Cosmetic industry historically is either not regulated or the regulations are minimal and ineffectual in most parts of the world. A topical pharmaceutical product takes years to reach the market after stringent safety and efficacy tests on humans and animal models.

Gem: An Introduction.

Gemini (Photo credit: Justinsanity) <>Gem is my Gemini twin. We often engage in elaborate conversations. From philosophy to health informatics. From marketing to dermatology, we discuss everything.  Knowing me is not knowing Gem. Gem is a believer and a communist at the same time, because Gem can live with contradictions. Gem is kiddish in some

Pound foolish Vishu

Pounds Sterling (Photo credit: 917press) Today is Vishu, the malayalam new year. People wear new clothes and elders gift money to children called ‘vishukaineettam’. The latest TV advertisement of Kerala State Lottery shows this gifting ceremony. But there is a twist in the tale. What the person is gifting is not Indian rupee! It is

Dr Who

A doctor examines a female patient. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Recently I was asked to find a solution to the following problem: Dr Who is a popular doctor with lots of experience in treating a particular cosmetic condition. Dr Who has multiple clinics in different geographic locations. How do we scale up Dr Who’s experience to all the

Airplane notes

Image via Wikipedia No doubt, memories can be quite painful sometimes. But can memorizing something become cheating and outright illegal! Well, it seems possible. A CNN story alleges that doctors studying to become dermatologists have for years shared exam questions by memorizing and writing them down after the test. It seems radiologists also too share this

My personal experience with KIRTADS healer

Image via Wikipedia So on to my personal experience with a KIRTADS healer. I went inside one of the shacks (there were many, specialised in various segments perhaps) and met a dark, well built healer with a smooth-shaven face. (Not the features you expect for a traditional healer.) I told him that one of my

KIRTADS

KIRTADS – The Kerala Institute for Research, Training and Development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, is conducting a ‡¥™‡µà‡¥§‡µç‡¥∞‡¥ø‡¥ï‡µä‡¥≤‡µç‡¥∏‡¥µ‡¥Ç (culture festival, the translation may not be accurate) in Mala, Kerala from Jan 22nd 2012 to Jan 30th 2012. Since I am in Kerala now on vacation, I visited this festival a couple of days back.

Is there more to yoga than exercise?

Image by aquababe via Flickr Today I read an article titled “jeevithayogam” about yoga in Malayala Manorama – Health. Though the title of this blog post may seem negative, I personally have no doubts about the many positive effects of yoga. In fact I have copied the title from an article published recently. We even provide

Crazy Idea – II (Mobile Communication Network)

Image via Wikipedia Here is another crazy idea! In countries like India, even a relatively small event can have a large number of participants. During these events a large number of people will be clustered in a limited space for a certain amount of time. Any mobile communication between participants of these events will be

Diluting the Diagnosis

Image via Wikipedia Today I want to add another episode to the SCAM (Specialist in Complimentary and Alternative Medicine) series. This is a true story that happened about 2 years back. One of my patients with (not so severe) psoriasis had lower back ache. He was aware of the possibility of psoriatic spondylitis. I told

The COMplete growth PLAN

Image via Wikipedia Just as we welcome Dr Prasad’s Laddoos, our TV advertisements also give us several “medically (in)correct” information. Today I saw one ad while watching a malayalam movie. A group of mothers go to a nutrition research centre to find the truth about a children’s dietary supplement. The doctor explains to them that

CRAZY IDEA – 1 [Smart Traffic Signal]

Image via Wikipedia Todays ‘CRAZY’ idea is for reducing the congestion in certain intersections. If the traffic signals at intersection are not efficiently timed, it can lead to traffic congestion. Ideally the green signal duration should be proportional to the traffic load in the segment. Right now (where I live) the duration is static and

Totalitarian Agriculture

Image by anaxolotl via Flickr So continuing with the discussion on diabetes, my theory is that diabetes is a by-product of the totalitarian agriculture. We can see that the incidence of diabetes increased with our gradual (cultural) shift from a predominantly protein based diet of hunter-gatherers to a predominantly carbohydrate based diet of agriculturists. As Daniel Quinn‘s Ishmael (

The Story of D

Image via Wikipedia Sorry guys! I am bored of Dr Prasad and his laddoos. So let me put him on the back burner for now and continue my discussion on diabetes. But I may return to this topic later, especially if I receive any comments on my previous posts. Let me start off today with

Sweet SCAM – Part 2

Image via Wikipedia So Dr Prasad has treated about 100,000 diabetic patients with the ‘unconventional treatment’, laddu! He claims that if sugar is included in the diet, it can rejuvenate the pancreas damaged by conventional treatments like insulin. So you just have to eat a laddu and go for jogging to cure diabetes. Our honourable

Sweet Scam – Part 1

Hey.. This is not about the top 10 Indian scams this year! I have used SCAM here as an acronym for a Specialist in Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. And you must be wondering who is the SCAM I am referring to. He is none other than Dr M.V.Prasad, who proposed a revolutionary sweet treatment for

Profiling a potential client

Recently someone asked me a reasonably straight forward question. How do we profile potential clients based on the input from a simple web form? I gave some suggestions to improve the form so that our intuitive profiling becomes a lot better. The person asked me if there is any way to automate this process at

H Syndrome

Hi Have Uheard ofH syndrome? OMIM 612391 H Syndromehashyperpigmentationhypertrichosishepatosplenomegalyheart anomalieshearing losshypogonadism,height is lowhyperglycaemia/diabetes mellitushallux valgus and Histologicallyhistiocytic infiltrate haha

The city of Kombodinjamakkal in Google Earth

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Speckled Lentiginous Nevus

Dubai Floods – 2008

A depression in the Persian Gulf caused torrential rains in UAE over the last 2 days.

Vanilla Cultivation in Kerala (South India)

Vanilla planifolia is an orchid native to Mexico, now widely grown throughout the tropics. Decreased demand caused by the production of synthetic vanilla (95% of vanilla products), have pushed the international market price down to the $40 per kilo range in the middle of 2005. The farmers of the South Indian state of Kerala realized

Glycolic Paradox

Tags : Acne vulgarisbeautyCosmeticGlycolic AcidMethylparabenParabenPatch test (medicine)Propylparaben

Paraben paradox is a phenomenon described by Fisher in 1973. A paraben-sensitive persons, who react to parabens on patch testing and develop a dermatitis when paraben-containing products are used on compromised skin, may continue to use paraben-containing products on other areas of the body that have intact uninvolved skin, without any adverse reactions. Recently I

DermART – Vitiligo

Zostavax

Merck recently gained approval for a vaccine called Zostavax for preventing herpes zoster reactivation in elderly people. This live virus vaccine is unusual in that it is to prevent reemergence, not to prevent initial infection. Can the same concept be used for recurrent herpes simplex infection which is much more disabling than herpes zoster in

Seborrhoeic Keratosis

A biosy proven Seborrhoeic keratosis (acanthotic varient) in one of my European patients.  

Tomcat installation

Tomcat installationToday I installed Tomcat 5.5 on my computer. Though it may be helpful to debug my servlets (if I write a new one) I actually installed it because of some other reason. I started the service from the program menu. But the loop back address with 8080 port was not working.  I tried to figure

View from our flat

Ethics of Clinical Trial

What makes clinical trial ethical? [Notes from Clinical Research Training Program of NIH] Collaborative partnership: To be ethical, clinical research must involve the community in which it occurs. Social Value: To be valuable, clinical research must lead to improvements in health or advancement in generalizable knowledge. Scientific Validity: Fair Subject selection: Favourable Risk/Benefit ration: Independent

Psoriasis

A Case of psoriasis on phototherapy.  

Scalp Psoriasis

  [ Psoriasis on DermKnowledgeBASE ]

Google Desktop

Google DesktopI was very impressed with Google picasa. I do not know how they manage to pack so many useful features into such small software. Today I decided to try their next product DESKTOP. The installation was not very event free as I expected. My laptop crashed during the installation (Probably because of bad network

PGMEEnotes-for PGMEE AIIMS PGMCET DNB AIPGMEE MAHE USMLE PLAB PGIMER UPSC JIPMER-notes reviews advice books dates mock tests exams.

PGMEEnotes-for PGMEE AIIMS PGMCET DNB AIPGMEE MAHE USMLE PLAB PGIMER UPSC JIPMER-notes reviews advice books dates mock tests exams. My website GulfDoctor.net get many visitors from here! A nice blog for PG entrance exams.

Battle of Wesnoth

Battle of Wesnoth.Today I installed the GNU freeware game Battle of Wesnoth. Though I adore Age of Empires and European war Cossack, I have never played a good turn based strategy game before. There is a well designed training module and it is easy to learn. The network support is also good. A nice game

Chicken Pox scars

Chicken pox scars though not permanent is often a cause for serious concern in the young. Visit my Dermatology Blog for more skin related posts. 

Mango season @ keralafarm.com

I am going to miss mangoes this time! 

Home Networking

Finally I figured out the correct settings for connecting my Desktop and Laptop to the DSL modem. Desktop is connected through network card. A static ip was given over the DHCP range (192.168.254.101) The DNS server was set to the DSL modem’s ip (192.168.254.254) and NetBIOS was set to ‘Enable over TCP/IP’. Default gateway was

Hi. Welcome to my random thoughts Blog. Here I intend to put job applications and my crazy thoughts and events in my life.