Midhun's Blog

The festival of 'Vishu' falls on the first day of the Malayalam month 'Medam' (Aries) which is the astronomical New Year day when the sun crosses the equator. The New Year's Day is considered the best to begin new ventures. It is believed that the first thing that one sees on waking up on Vishu day is indicative of the New Year's prosperity. Thus 'Vishukkani' (the first thing seen on Vishu day) has become a ritual of great importance here.Among the various Hindu festivals in Kerala, Vishuis unique. This is a symbol of the unostentatiousMalayali and so Vishu is free from the usual pompand show and merry-making associated with otherfestivities. Secondly, this one has nothing to dowith religion. Also the first day for Medam is theunchangeable day of Vishu, whereas other festivalsare determined according to the lunar asterisms onwhich they fall. This day is the astronomical new year day and itis celebrated as such. The Malayalis believe thatthe fortunes for the year depend upon the natureof the object one sees first in the morning ofVishu Day. So preparation is everything! . Rawrice is put in a circular bell-metal vessel knownas 'Urule' and over it a folded newly washed clothis spread. A golden coloured cucumber, betelleaves, betel nuts, metal mirror, yellow flowersof Konna tree (cassia fistula), a Grandha (book ofpalm leaves) and a few gold coins are then placedover the cloth in the vessel. Then some oil is putinto two coconut halves, a few wicks are lit andthis illuminates the goodies inside. A metal lampfilled with coconut oil is kept burning by theside of the vessel as well. The morning of theVishu at about 5 O'clock, one of the members ofthe house, usually the eldest female member, notsurprisingly, lights the lamp and looks at 'Kani'( an omen). She wakes up other members, one afteranother and the Kani is shown to everyone of them,taking particular care not to allow anyone to lookby chance at other things. Even the cattle are notdeprived of the privilege, as the Kani is taken tothe cattle-shed and placed before them to have adekho.Thenext item is the giving of handsel (Kaineetom).The eldest member of the family takes some silvercoins and gives them to a junior member with someraw rice and Konna flower. This is repeated in thecase of other members and they in turn give suchhandsel to their juniors, relatives, servants etc.After this the children begin to firecrackers. In the morning then it's all talk, bath and peopleput on their forehead the marks of ashes andsandal paste and go to the temple for worship.After worship, they prepare a feast which ismoderate andelegant. In certain parts of Kerala, where the paddycultivation commences after the monsoon, there isan observance called chal (Furrow) closelyassociated with Vishu . This is nothing but theauspicious commencement of the agriculturaloperations, in the new year

Hacking: types of attack
viruses - most common form of attack
denial of service attacks
trojans (or trojan horses)
brute-force and social engineering password attacks
port scanning and spoofing
phishing
ransomware

As the cost of hacking attacks continues to rise, businesses have been forced to increase spending on network security. However, hackers have also developed new skills that allow them to break into more complex systems. Hacking typically involves compromising the security of networks, breaking the security of application software, or creating malicious programs such as viruses.The most popular forms of network hacking are denial of service (DoS) attacks and mail bombs. DoS attacks are designed to swamp a computer network, causing it to crash. Mail bombs act in a similar fashion, but attack the network's mail servers. When eBay was attacked in February 2000, its Web server was bombarded with fake requests for Web pages, which overloaded the site and caused it to crash. Network hackers also try to break into secure areas to find sensitive data. Once a network is hacked, files can be removed, stolen, or erased. A group of teens in Wichita, Kansas, for example, hacked into AOL and stole credit card numbers that they then used to buy video games.Application hackers break security on application software—software including word processing and graphics programs—in order to get it for free. One way they gain access to software that requires a serial number for installation is by setting up a serial number generator that will try millions of different combinations until a match is found. Application hackers also sometimes attack the program itself in an attempt to remove certain security features.Hackers that create viruses, logic bombs, worms, and Trojan horses are involved in perhaps the most malicious hacking activities. A virus is a program that has the potential to attack and corrupt computer files by attaching itself to a file to replicate itself. It can also cause a computer to crash by utilizing all of the computer's resources. For example, e-mail systems were inundated with the "ILOVEYOU" and the "Love Bug" viruses in May of 2000, and the damage to individuals, businesses, and institutions was estimated at roughly $10 billion. Similar to viruses, logic bombs are designed to attack when triggered by a certain event like a change in date. Worms attack networks in order to replicate and spread. In July of 2001, a worm entitled "Code Red" began attacking Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) systems. The worm infected servers running Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and IIS 4.0 and defaced Web sites, leaving the phrase

Aranmula kannadi or Aranmula metal mirror is a special type of mirror produced at Aranmula, a village in the state of Kerala in India. These unique metal mirrors are the result of Kerala's rich cultural and metallurgical traditions. The British Museum in London has a 45 centimeter tall Aranmula metal mirror in its collection. The origins of the Aranmula metal mirrors are linked with the Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple. Legend has it that eight families of experts in temple arts and crafts were brought by the royal chief to Aranmula from Tirunelveli district to work in the Parthasarathy temple centuries ago. Some undisclosed metals are alloyed with copper and tin to cast the mirrors. The procedure and metallurgy is now only known to a single family in Aranmula. To achieve their highly reflective surface, the finished mirrors need to be polished for one or two days. The major differences between an Aranmula kannadi and a normal mirror are: The Aranmula kannadi is not created from glass but from a special metal alloy. It is a front surface reflection mirror, so the secondary reflections and aberrations typical of back surface mirrors are not present. It is very rare and traditional. The price ranges from $100-$100000 The mirror making process is very special and traditional. It may takes many months to complete an aranmula metal mirror. Many people believe that owning an aranmula metal mirror brings good luck to their lives.

Angadipuram is a small village and important pilgrimage center located 1.5 km from Perinthalmanna, Malappuram District of Kerala, south India. Angadipuram is famous for its two temples, the Thirumandhamkunnu Temple and the Tali Temple.The Thirumandhankunnu Temple was built by the easrtwhile kings of Walluvanad. The goddess Bhagavathi at the temple is the family god (kuladaivam) of the ValluvokonathirisThirumandhamkunnu Temple is an important pilgrim centre in Malappuram dedicated to goddess Durga. Thirumandhamkunnu Pooram offers enormous festivity days in March-April. A cultural feast for seven days is an important part of the festival. Thirumandhamkunnu is 16 KM east of Malappuram in Kozhikode-Palakkad road.

KALAMPATTU-

Kalamezhuthu Pattu It is a folk art form that belongs to the northern regions of Kerala. This art form which is over 600 years old is performed by a group of five or fifteen people in Bhadrakali and Ayyappa temples. The rituals is performed around the Kolam - an elaborated picture , usually of Bhadrakali, drawn on the floor, using five colours. The performance in the light of temple torches lasts through the night. The singers are neatly dressed with women their hair on the side of the head. Aseries of songs (Kalampattu) are sung to the accompaniment of nanthuni and elathalam.

Thrissur Pooram

It is the most colourful temple festival of Kerala, south India. Thrissur Pooram attracts large masses of devotees and spectators from all parts of the State and even outside.
Celebrated in Medom (April-May) it consists of processions of richly caparisoned elephants from various neighbouring temples to the Vadakumnathan temple, Thrissur. The most impressive processions are those from the Krishna Temple at Thiruvambadi and the Devi Temple at Paramekkavu which is quite a significant event for its devotees.This festival was introduced by Sakthan Thampuran, the Maharaja of the erstwhile Cochin State in the late eighteenth century. Perhaps, there is no other festival in Kerala that draws such an unbelievable number of people to a single event. However Vadakkunnathan is a mere spectator at this festival, lending its premises and grounds for the great event. The pooram festival is also well known for the magnificent display of fireworks. Fire works start in the early hours and the dazzling display last three to four hours.The Pooram Festival is celebrated by two rival groups representing the two divisions of Thrissur Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi vying with each other in making the display of fireworks grander and more colourful. Each group is allowed to display a maximum of fifteen elephants and all efforts are made by each party to secure the best elephants in South India and the most artistic parasols, several kinds of which are raised on the elephants during the display. Commencing in the early hours of the morning, the celebrations last till the break of dawn, the next day.The procession of the Thiruvambadi Pooram to the grounds of Vadakkumnatha Temple and back is not only important, but also quite enlivening. The marvellous as well as magical effect of the Panchavadyam, a combination of five percussion and wind instruments is to be felt and enjoyed. Among the varieties of festivals celebrated in Kerala, Thrissur Pooram is the most thunderous, spectacular and dazzling. There are three temples participating in the event. It is an expression of popular fascination for sound and colour, and because of the pageantry, it appeals to all people. The images of the deities from all temples of the village are taken on elephants to the main temple. The climax of the festival is the exhibition of thirty elephants and the famous fireworks at 2.30 am local time.