Befunky

"BeFunky makes it easy to get photos from your favorite web sites. Apply special photo effects and save back to your account."

http://www.befunky.com/

Linux Keyboard Shortcuts - Safe way to exit during system freezes

"In Linux, when your entire system freezes, there are plenty of safe ways to exit and get back on track immediately. Alt + SysRq + (a selection of other keys) will do the magic trick. Note: 'SysRq' key is equivalent to the 'Print Screen' key.

Alt + SysR + K
Kill all processes (including X), which are running on the currently active virtual console.

Alt + SysRq + E
Send the TERM signal to all running processes except init, asking them to exit.

Alt + SysRq + I
Send the KILL signal to all running processes except init.

Alt + SysRq + L
Send the KILL signal to all processes, including init.

Alt + SysRq + S
Run an emergency sync (cache write) on all mounted filesystems. This can prevent data loss.

Alt + SysRq + U
Remount all mounted filesystems as read-only. This has the same effect as the sync combination above, but with one important benefit: if the operation is successful, fsck won't have to check all filesystems after a computer hardware reset.

Alt + SysRq + R
Turn off keyboard raw mode. This can be useful when your X session hangs. After issueing this command you may be able to use .

Alt + SysRq + B
Reboot immediately without syncing or unmounting your disks. Using this, you will likely end up with filesystem errors, so this is not highly recommended.

Alt + SysRq + O
Shut the system off right away.

If all these ‘Alt + SysRq’ keyboard combo are hard to remember, you can press Alt + SysRq + H to display a helpful list of the shortcuts above."


http://www.junauza.com/2009/01/linux-keyboard-shortcuts-to-exit-safely.html

Twisted radio beams could untangle the airwaves

"The human race is not only exhausting tangible resources such as oil. The radiofrequency spectrum available for wireless communication is becoming the increasingly crowded, with virgin "veins" of frequency running short.

However, Swedish physicists say that twisting radio beams into a helical shape as they are transmitted could help ease the congestion."

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16591-twisted-radio-beams-could-untangle-the-airwaves.html

Splashr

My Presentation



"Splashr is a tool for presenting Flickr photos."

http://splashr.com/

Pemako Ngakpa Dratsang School

"The school is a traditional ‘dra-tsang’, where the spiritual, academic, artistic and cultural treasures of the Tibetan people are passed from generation to generation. Blessed and named by the Supreme Head of the Nyingma Lineage, H.H. Minling Trichen Rinpoche, it upholds the Gokar-chang-lo’i-dé, the culturally vital non-monastic lineage of ngakpas representing one of the two original streams of Buddhism in Tibetan history that has flourished in Tibet since the 8th century. Following the Chinese occupation of Tibet it is in danger of extinction unless efforts are made to pass it on within the Tibetan community outside its homeland."

http://www.namchabarwa.org/about.htm

A Brief Pilgrimage to the Hidden Land of Pemakö

"In April and May 2006, I had the good fortune to accompany Lopon P. Ogyan Tanzin Rinpoche and Khandro Chöku Wangmo on a trip to their school in Payingdem village, Pemakö. For the benefit of Rinpoche’s Western students, who through him are connected to this hidden land, and to give a picture of Rinpoche’s remarkable activity there, I would like to share with you the following account of our journey; I have sought to weave into my depiction of our adventures some of the local lore I picked up along the way"

[PDF] http://www.nyingma.com/ogyan-cho-khor-ling/A%20Brief%20Pilgrimage%20to%20Pemako.pdf

"It is certainly a pioneering project, both in terms of being a centre specifically dedicated to the training of young ngakpas and ngakmas, and in terms of being the first non-governmental school in the area"

A Tibetan Book of Spells

"Can monks do magic? Should they? We often picture monks (or at least the ideal of the monk) firmly in the setting of the monastery, either seeking enlightenment through study and meditation, or carrying out in the affairs of the monastery. But magic? Well, it seems that throughout most of the history of Buddhism the answer to the first question has been yes, and to the second usually why not? In fact, the Buddhist canon contains enough spells to rival the repertoire of Merlin, Saruman and Harry Potter put together."

http://earlytibet.com/2009/02/19/a-tibetan-book-of-spells/


http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_scroll_h.a4d?uid=1621566049;bst=1;recnum=5253;index=1;img=1

Darwin Debated: Religion vs. Evolution

"Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Americans are still fighting over evolution."

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1105/darwin-debate-religion-evolution

A Monk's Vow of Stability

"Merton explains: “By making a vow of stability the monk renounces the vain hope of wandering off to find a ‘perfect monastery.’ This implies a deep act of faith: the recognition that it does not much matter where we are or whom we live with…Stability becomes difficult for a man whose monastic ideal contains some note, some element of the extraordinary. All monastaries are more or less ordinary…Its ordinariness is one of its greatest blessings.”

When I first read this, it reminded me of – what else, marriage. Marriage is a vow of stability, made with the conviction that by committing yourself to one person, you’re better able to achieve happiness than by searching continually for the “perfect” person, and that the ordinariness that descends on it after the early exhilaration and novelty wear off is, in fact, one of its most prized aspects."

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2009/01/how-a-monks-vow-of-stability-applies-in-ordinary-life.html

Robert Aitken : When you check into a hospital

"When you check in to a hospital the procedures are arbitrary and infantalizing. After you are there for a while you realize they are just right for you, yet the procedures have not changed. When you first take up zazen, you hear the expression "All Beings by Nature are Buddha". This is abstract and unreal. After you practice for a while, maybe a long while, you realize this very body is the Buddha, but it's not Buddha nature that's changed."

http://robertaitken.blogspot.com/

Prayer for the Swift Rebirth of H.H.Kusum Lingpa

"As dharmata is primordially unfabricated and pristine, and since interdependent causes and effects are infallible, through the power of our fully pure and genuine wishes and aspirations, may our aims be accomplished and hopes bear fruit, swiftly and without any hindrance."

http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com/2009/03/prayer-for-swift-rebirth-of-hh-kusum.html 

See also

http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com/2009/03/lama-sangs-relics-death-of-kusum-lingpa.html

http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com/2009/03/tens-of-thousands-pay-respects-to-kusum.html

Falcon, Raven, Snow Lion

"Two beads remaining is called Raven. A Raven on the first round means little support from the protectors, nothing can be accomplished, lawsuits will be unsuccessful, and enemies have the upper hand. A Raven on the second round indicates serious illness and a decline in force. Things will be lost or stolen. A Raven on the third round indicates bad luck for travelers, and sicknesses will not be cured."


http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com/2009/03/falcon-raven-snow-lion.html

World's Largest Mani

"Do eyes deceive, or is that the world's largest Mani (upside down) in this satellite photo? Reportedly 180 meters across, this was carved into a frozen reservoir at Gyegu in southern Qinghai province. Try looking at 32 deg 54'33-37N 97 deg 2'48.78E"

http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com/2009/03/worlds-largest-mani.html

Prayer Wheel Design and Engineering

"... Speaking personally, I prefer the old-fashioned, low-tech approach. A great, big cylinder filled with paper mantra rolls, spinning by hand, water, wind, or maybe even solar power."


http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com/2009/03/prayer-wheel-design-and-engineering.html

Dzogchen Practice in Everyday Life

"Simply plunging directly into meditation in the moment now, with our whole being, free from hesitation, boredom or excitement, is enlightenment."

http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com/2009/02/everyday-great-perfection.html

Visions of Pemakod

"In this hidden land, all mountains are like blooming flowers. All rivers spontaneously recite mantras and flow with nectar; rainbows are arched on trees and bushes. All the oath-bound protectors watch closely and protect true practitioners and punish those who merely pretend to be. Those who practice sincerely will attain enlightenment in this lifetime. Pure samadhi will spontaneously arise just by being in this land. One session of practice in this blessed land is equal to a year of practice in other places. Those who make three prostrations here will never take lower rebirth. Those who die after seven steps taken with the intention of arriving here will definitely be reborn in this land. Those who build stupas and temples, and perform other works of virtue in this land are my messengers. Therefore, my fortunate sons and daughters, keep devotion to this land. You will soon realize its significance." - Padmasambhava

http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com/2009/03/visions-of-pemakod.html

Zhangmu: The Tibet-Nepal Border

"Zhangmu, known as Dram in Tibetan and Khasa in Nepali, is an interesting town sitting along the Tibet-Nepal border about 750kms southeast of Lhasa. Unlike most of Tibet, Zhangmu sits only at 2250m/ 7380 feet and has a very humid, almost tropical climate. From the Thong La mountain pass at 5050m/16,570 feet, it is all downhill to Zhangmu. From the high pass to Zhangmu is 95kms/60 miles of winding road with more hairpin turns that you can count. The elevation drop of nearly 2800m/9184 feet is quite noticeable. You go from the frozen, barren, desolate Tibetan Plateau to the sub-tropics of Nepal in a very short time. It is quite amazing and can't be fully explained unless you see it for yourself. As you get closer to Zhangmu, the scenery changes drastically. Forests and dense vegetation appear as do numerous waterfalls that form from melting snow from the nearby Himalaya mountains. During the rainy summer season, the road can be quite rough and muddy to Zhangmu and the road closes periodically due to rock and mudslides. "

http://kekexili.typepad.com/life_on_the_tibetan_plate/2009/03/zhangmu-the-tibetnepal-border.html

“The Monastery of Mom and Dad”: Karen Miller’s 8 practical guidelines for parents

"Refrain from making judgments and foregone conclusions about your children. Watch their lives unfold, and be surprised. The show is marvelous, and yours is the best seat in the house."


http://preciousmetal.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/%E2%80%9Cthe-monastery-of-mom-and-dad%E2%80%9D-karen-miller%E2%80%99s-8-practical-guidelines-for-parents/

Tibetan Yang-yig Music Notation

"The MS belongs to the "Yang" tradition, the most highly involved and regarded chant tradition in Tibetan music, and the only one to rely on a system of notation (Yang-Yig). The chant consists of smoothly effected rises and falls in intonation, which are represented by complex curved lines. The notation also frequently contains detailed instructions concerning in what spirit the music should be sung (e.g. flowing like a river, light like bird song) and the smallest modifications to be made to the voice in the utterance of a vowel. On the whole, Yang chants are sung at an extremely low pitch and at a lingering and subtly changing pace, allowing full expression of the chanted text. Such texts as these would have been used as a mnemonic device by the Master of Chant in a monastery in leading the monastery in the performance of a chant."

http://www.schoyencollection.com/music.htm#5280

Being dead is the best way to live

"So, now that you have died, who is there to suffer? Who is there to be afraid? To be anxious? To be angry? To be jealous, to be envious, to covet? To feel like a loser or a failure? When you kill your self, you free yourself. With no ego attached to outcomes, you can live at the service of all beings - which includes yourself."

http://the-urban-monk.blogspot.com/2009/02/being-dead-is-best-way-to-live.html

Pema Lingpa (1450-1521)

"The saints, such as Ugyen Pemalingpa, contemplate our delusion; then they delude us into contemplation."

http://www.tealchemy.org/where/rinpoche/pemalingpa/

Wind-powered Prayer Wheels

"With all the current talk about "alternative" energy sources, it is amusing to recall that "spiritual engines" have been with us for a very long time. ..."

http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com/2009/02/wind-powered-prayer-wheels.html