Amit's random thoughts

Honeybee's

2010-05-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

Got this article from a friend and found it very interesting, hence putting it here. It simply puts forth the effects of Global warming on a simple specie and how this can lead to a major disaster for others.

Honeybee's are simple creatures, which work whole day and collect pollen from flowers. You must be wondering what damage can this specie cause. Yes, even I thought the same way before reading this article.

WHY BEES MATTER
Flowering plants require insects for pollination. The most effective is the honeybee, which pollinates 90 commercial crops worldwide. As well as most fruits and vegetables – including apples, oranges, strawberries, onions and carrots – they pollinate nuts, sunflowers and oil-seed rape. Coffee, soya beans, clovers – like alfafa, which is used for cattle feed – and even cotton are all dependent on honeybee pollination to increase yields.In the UK alone, honeybee pollination is valued at £200m. Mankind has been managing and transporting bees for centuries to pollinate food and produce honey, nature's natural sweetener and antiseptic. Their extinction would mean not only a colorless, meatless diet of cereals and rice, and cotton less clothes, but a landscape without orchards, allotments and meadows of wildflowers – and the collapse of the food chain that sustains wild birds and animals.

The world may be on the brink of biological disaster after news that a third of US bee colonies did not survive the winter. Disturbing evidence that honeybees are in terminal decline has emerged from the United States where, for the fourth year in a row, more than a third of colonies have failed to survive the winter. The decline of the country's estimated 2.4 million beehives began in 2006, when a phenomenon dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD) led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies. Since then more than three million colonies in the US and billions of honeybees worldwide have died and scientists are no nearer to knowing what is causing the catastrophic fall in numbers. The number of managed honeybee colonies in the US fell by 33.8% last winter, according to the annual survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the US government's Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The collapse in the global honeybee population is a major threat to crops. It is estimated that a third of everything we eat depends upon honeybee pollination, which means that bees contribute some £26bn to the global economy. Potential causes range from parasites, such as the bloodsucking varroa mite, to viral and bacterial infections, pesticides and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods. The disappearance of so many colonies has also been dubbed "Mary Celeste syndrome" due to the absence of dead bees in many of the empty hives. US scientists have found 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax and pollen, lending credence to the notion that pesticides are a key problem. "We believe that some subtle interactions between nutrition, pesticide exposure and other stressors are converging to kill colonies," said Jeffery Pettis, of the ARS's bee research laboratory.

I feel preserving some of these simple species should be aim if not for them but at least for our own survival.

Rise of T20 cricket

2010-04-05T01:31:00.000-07:00

Recently went through a talk by Harsha Bhogle on Ted, “The rise of cricket, the rise of India”. It spoke about the advent of T20 cricket in India. As have been his talks previously, this too was very insightful as well as intuitive. It gave example of a test match which was played on 3rd of March 1939 and ended on 14th of March, and it only ended because English cricketers had to move from Durban to Capetown to catch a ship. An English cricketer later said that another ½ an hour and we would have won. If anyone spoke of such a thing to todays generation, the immediate response could be are they insane to go on playing and who will watch such a game, but this was how cricket was played till of late.

The game moved on after few years and India started playing 50 over’s cricket. Accident happened and we won the world cup, so more 50 over’s cricket. Then the first T20 world Cup took place in South Africa and again an accident happened and India won the cup, so obviously the next things is more T20 cricket. Companies/ individual started getting interested too, they had money, but just needed something to convert billions to trillions, and gave rise to fast paced league cricket in India. So, this gave birth to the IPL. This had the feel of a movie which Indian population loves. 3 hour entertainment, Lots of music, dance, animosity, unfaithfulness, passion, stunning and lots and lots of drama, these proved a lot useful for the organizers to attract the population to this new baby.

Recently read in the paper that the IPL would be taxed something 300 crore. This billion dollar baby has risen as one of the fastest growing company and it has not only pulled up itself but also has fostered the growth of the country too. In forst season of IPL, an MI cricketer wanted to fly to West Indies to attend to his national cricketing duties. So, as most cricketers do they fly a couple of days in advance to reach the country and get acclimatized to the team. The MI management said no way this is going to happen, in two days you would play two matches and then a private jet flew him in the evening as soon as the match was over to West Indies. Next day this player was playing test for his country. The amount of money involved in this game and the things at stake can be understood from these simple things, yet not so common for a common man to assimilate.

Is this going to change the Indian culture or is it going to run into political benefits, as anything that has money in it attracts attention? I guess it would be difficult to talk about it or make any judgment so soon, but it has definitely changed the way of thinking and making money.

Value Friendship

2010-01-27T21:25:00.000-08:00

We take many things for granted in our life. We take it for granted that the sun will rise again. Similarly we take it for granted that the friendship will never suffer. But that is false. If we don't water the plant of our friendship regularly, our friendship will suffer and we may create distance with our close friend. We need to value it and value his/her friendship.

An eternal question arises; do I really need a friend? I mean I have work; I enjoy spending time with my family and also have malls and theaters available for entertainment. Then why I need a friend? It is important to sit down sometime and ponder on this thought to really understand friendship. No relation in this world can stay long if it is one sided. Same is true about friendship, you need your friend to call you and talk to you. You need it when you are down; you need it when you want to sip some coffee. You don’t expect your friend to really think more about what others would feel; as if you do that then you care more about others than the person who is close to you as your friend.

I would leave it to an individual to understand the value their friends bring to them in their life. Yes, but it is important to value them else you would lose them soon. Never hurt anyone once you call him/her your good friend or best friend.

Mixed Feelings

2009-07-15T22:09:00.000-07:00

Too many things are happening in life nowadays. One day you suddenly get up and find the heaven's opening and the downpour starts. It has been like a boon as the rains were anticipated since a long time now. Makes me delighted with all the greenary around and the atmosphere around you suddenly dazzles up.

Today I was dazed to read about Flintoff’s retirement from test cricket in the tabloid. Now here we go many people would argue about Freddie, as to if he really was a test cricketer. But on a serious note, that really does not matter to me much, as I have grown up watching him play and too me he was an excellent sportsman. He really was a good all-rounder and his quick boisterous bowling and destructive batting abilities, made him a formidable opponent. If I go down my memory lane, I can still remember his latest test century which he got against Australia in 2005. It was the first innings and he went on to score a 102 runs, thrashing the aussie’s all across the park. Finally England won the match and they took a lead of 2-1 in the 4th test. It feels sad to hear about his retirement, but the good news is he will continue to entertain us in one-days and may be T20's.

Things are not as bad as they feel, the nice things are the markets have bounced back, yippee!!!

Money has no memory

2009-06-10T02:41:00.000-07:00

Surprised right !!! Yes have not been blogging since a long time. Today came across a very stirring article so thought about putting it on the blog for all of you to read :

Money has no memory. Experience has. You will never know what the total cost of your education was, but for a lifetime you will recall and relive the memories of schools and colleges. Few years from now, you will forget the amount you paid to settle the hospitalization bill, but will ever cherish having saved your mother's life or the life you get to live with the just born. You won't remember the cost of your honeymoon, but to the last breath remember the experiences of the bliss of togetherness. Money has no memory. Experience has.Good times and bad times, times of prosperity and times of poverty, times when the future looked so secure and times when you didn't know from where the tomorrow will come... life has been in one way or the other a roller-coaster ride for everyone. Beyond all that abundance and beyond all that deprivation, what remains is the memory of experiences. Sometimes the wallet was full... sometimes even the pocket was empty. There was enough and you still had reasons to frown. There wasn't enough and you still had reasons to smile. Today, you can look back with tears of gratitude for all the times you had laughed together, and also look back with a smile at all the times you cried alone. All in all, life filled you with experiences to create a history of your own self, and you alone can remember them all.The first time you balanced yourself on your cycle without support... The first time she said 'yes' and it was two years since you proposed... The first cry... the first steps... the first word... the first kiss... all of your child... The first gift you bought for your parents and the first gift your daughter gave you... The first award... the first public appreciation. .. the first stage performance. .. And the list is endless... Experiences, with timeless memory... No denying that anything that's material cost money, but the fact remains the cost of the experience will be forgotten, but the experience never.So, what if it's economic recession? Let it be, but let there not be a recession to the quality of your life. You can still take your parents, if not on a pilgrimage, at least to the local temple. You can still play with your children, if not on an international holiday, at least in the local park. It doesn't cost money to lie down. Nice time to train the employees, create leadership availability and be ready for the wonderful times when they arrive. Hey! Aspects like your health, knowledge development and spiritual growth are not economy dependent.Time will pass... economy will revive... currency will soon be in current.... and in all this; I don't want you to look back and realize you did nothing but stayed in gloom. Recession can make you lose out on money. Let it not make you lose out on experiences. .. If you are not happy with what you have, no matter how much more you have, you will still not be happy.Make a statement with the way you live your life: How I feel has nothing to do with how much I have.

1983 verdict gets bail

2007-09-21T04:02:00.000-07:00

I really do not have any reason why I have not penned down since a year. Would like to apologize to all my readers for it though and will definately try to be better this time.

One thing has been boggling my mind. "1983 verdict may help Sanjay Dutt get bail" I read this article again yesterday. I don't know since now many days it is going on. Since the whole era about Sanjay Dutt's case is being going on. With this case starting many questions starting emerging in my mind as the things started to progress.

Is this not a simple case of a person violating law?
Isn't the law the same for a beggar and also for the king?
Why are people supporting a crime?

What I personally have failed to understand is the answer to this last question. I can somehow come to terms with the first two questions, with only the fact that there can never be a perfect system and people will always find way about it. But the last question I can never understand. Has human mind too started deceiving itself?

It is such a preposterous thing a largest democracy and people of that country are standing outside the prison and chanting slogans to free the verdict. Come on guys have failed to understand that he is just a prisoner in front of the law who has committed a crime and he needs to get punished for it. I really do not know if this continues then we would find influential people dominating and the sole purpose of democracy getting violated.

Budget Airlines

2006-08-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

Defying all the rules of gravity, an aircraft flies high in the thin air with a simple resemblance to a soaring bird. It has been an amazing experience to fly in an aircraft, till you decide to fly with these budget airlines. These airlines are horrible in all sectors ticketing, scheduling of aircraft, seating, hospitality and all sectors of an airline industry one can think of. Sometimes you are stuck with no option when you have a meeting next day and the only flight from Pune to Hyderabad daily is an ATR aircraft of Air Deccan. The ATR aircraft is the low body capsule airplane with the stairs integral part of the body and they open to allow people to walk in, the aircraft is propeller driven so it is not a jet aircraft. The propeller aircrafts are known for huge vibrations and noise during their flights. These features come complementary with your ticket!!!

The theory is simple enough. Sell the tickets at low prices and more people will fly, even if they're herded into an all-economy aircraft cabin, without any food. But who cares? not the teeming thousands of ex-first class rail travelers who now jostle each other to grab unnumbered window and aisle seats having paid 30 per cent less than regular airline fares. These aircraft do not provide seat numbers so the act of grabbing a seat makes the entire scene a fish market.

The flight does not even care to serve the passengers with water. They claim "Despite many people telling us that water should be given free, we did not. If we did, there would be a lot of wastage with those not wanting it asking for it. And that costs money." Yes, probably they seem to be right the equation boils down to money, passenger safety and convenience; they seem to not have ever heard of such a thing, they do not exist in the list. The entire aircraft stinks of some smell, typically phenol as soon as you entire the aircraft. Do not get surprised if you see your fellow passenger asking for a mosquito coil. Yes, you are greeted by the mosquitoes while you board the plane as there is no airhostess to receive you. The complete aircraft has only one airhostess and she tries to yell at her highest decibel level to make the safety announcement as the concept of PA system does not exist. Politeness is absolutely unfamiliar concept with the airhostess as she never requests you but orders you, quite naturally though you are at her mercy. There are no landing instructions by the captain nor does the crew inform you to sit upright or buckle seat belts, all of a sudden the aircraft decides to make a step descent on the landing strip.

The overall experience of flying is really a dull journey. The passengers long till they reach the destination. The fun of enjoying the flight with nice ambience is far lost in these airlines. These budget aircrafts operate on tight margins so the maintenance of these planes is done in a shabby manner. So, think twice before you plan a trip in these aircrafts, but do not forget to keep on praying till you get out of these planes.

Happy New Working Year !!!

2006-01-03T03:52:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon I felt the real need for a break from my daily office routine. I wanted a weekend for myself and was waiting for that since the start of the week. But these two days of weekend turned out to be more vigorous than my entire work week. I left a bit early from office on Friday evening to spend sometime with kela.

Saturday morning, I get a surprise that we have an in-house party for the New Years. I had made some awesome plans to sleep, then again sleep and then again sleep. But I could clearly see them fade away as soon as the day started and as it progressed it became worse with everyone making complete use of my holiday to make preparations for the party. At the end of the day in the evening when everyone was looking fresh and neatly tugged up in their party attire, I was completely sapped. I was looking pale with my eyes sunk and legs feeling weary. This was the first New Year eve when I actually prayed for the year to pass and get some fresh blood to flow in my body as the clock struck 12.

Now, when I look back and think as people keep on asking me about my New Year eve celebrations. I feel I just did nothing, but again managed to do work, infact more than what I work in office.

Sunday, I had to make a quick visit to Bombay for Chinu’s engagement. The dejavu took me three years down my memory lane. I and Koko had to skip our dinner as I had to catch a bus back. That entire day too turned out to be hectic.

So finally, what I again did was a lot of work. Today as I sit in my office, I feel that the week days are better and I can actually relax more during these days than my weekends. So, that meant I would be working for two days and enjoying and relaxing for five days. But this can never be possible. So I know now that work is just a part of life and I have to learn to enjoy in whatever form it comes.

So I wish you all one more Happy New Working Year !!!

Renault !!!

2005-09-22T23:33:00.000-07:00

The Europes most famous gathering of all; the Frankfurt motor show had seen a simultaneous launch of the third generation Renault Clio and Fiat Punto . Both are Europes top selling models. But the Renaults caught the eye of the show.

The fabulous interiors.

The seats are supported from the sides and not from the bottom. The second row actually slides under the front row.

The Steering wheel along with the gears. The image quality is not that great as when downloading from the show site it got distorted.

Cricket !!!

2005-08-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

Cricket!!! Is it a shame or is it our pride? As the statistics go it looks like a humiliation. Greg Chappell, the new coach of our team does he know too much to cause this. Sometimes I feel too much of knowledge can even cause a problem. The coach’s (in) famous shuffling is with one goal: to figure out what the Indian team would be without players like Sachin, Dravid and Sourav. Indications so far are that he has identified Sehwag (opener), Kaif (the anchor) and Irfan Pathan (possible all-rounder) as the three who need to contribute at a more prominent level.

Playing too much with a situation or a team which precariously rests on a knife edge in all its games (especially finals) can cause the turbulent effect to shatter the fundamental players in the Indian team. I feel that is what is happening which is a direct effect of experimenting. With a vision of future the players are shuffled not sparing the captains too, how far does it affect the present moral or motivation of the players? The team finds its record in total doldrums.

The solution would be to play with a fixed few and play at their best position to deliver the good for the team and get a few knocks under their belt, and also a series win for the team at least and then possibly hobble the combination. Be it a firm decision needs to be taken at the earliest, before we find a team which were runners up in the World Cup lying lower than number 7.

An incident in my life

2005-08-10T04:28:00.000-07:00

Life here in TCS is cool, starts in its own way and at its own speed. No one looks to be in a hurry in a research atmosphere. It is no wonder a typical R&D atmosphere is created with the office building too located in the outskirts of the city. I have failed to understand, why R&D people are kept in their own world away from the usual life. Is it so as these people like to go in some sort of hibernation and come with a solution after a year (Eureka!!!) or is it so as they are sidetracked by the organization? Anyway, whatever the reason may be it feels nice to work in Research environment surrounded by all the talent around you.

A prime incident happening in my life is much more exciting than my work. According to many it may not be a major one, but for me it is a challenge. A cat (many who know me know how much I hate them) has been successfully entering my residence and eating things. My dog too is helpless. He manages to chase them but that creature always manages to find a nice tree to hide. I am surely going to get rid of it soon before it starts up bringing its offspring around my house. Chinu I know how much you love these Machiavellian and dexterous animals but I have no affection for them. Previously there was a small chance, as I could at least tolerate them but now I cannot even think of it.

Apology for not blogging

2005-07-28T02:54:00.001-07:00

I am sorry could not blog due to some reasons but will be back soon with something to blog about.
Meanwhile rains have caused havoc all over Maharashtra. The only way people can commute as of today is by some boat or swim their way through. Bombay hit the record with the record rainfall crossing cherapunji too.
Few days back people were praying to rain gods to show some mercy by providing water for their fields and I guess they indeed showed a lots and lots of mercy yesterday.

A hand of friendship

2005-04-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

On Monday Chinese premier visited India for the possible talks over the joint development of the software industry. I think these are the same people who backstabbed us in 1962 on October 20th when the well equipped and well trained Chinese army attacked the ill equipped Indian army. They had the shouts of “Hindu – Chini bhai bhai”, which depicts the treacherous act by these people. Lets leave the artillery and ammunition aside the Indian army dint even have proper clothing at that time.

Now when the time passes and we develop in all fields and threaten to be a major power in the world these people want to unite again to make a joint development. TCS the software giant has already opened its branch in Hangzhuo and started operating. Wen Jiabao presented prime minister with an official map showing Sikkim part of India. He says we are going to put in place a bridge of friendship. A protocol is being formed to reduce the army on the LOC (line of control).

Why do we support these acts do we forget the innocent lives of our troops who fought these people in 1962? The tortures the Chinese soldiers conducted with the civilians and the soldiers. I somehow when look at these people feel they will always try to betray us.

Then some people feel the issue of globalization is essential for the growth in GDP. Yes, I do agree with this fact but the trade agreements can be done with people who stand with us and not with those who will stab us when we turn. They have always had a history of agreement failure. US have always adopted a hard-nosed policy with these people. The WTO (World Trade Organization) always has termed the country as most rapidly changing societies in the world over the past two decades. Yet they state that the country faces massive social, economic, and political challenges that genuinely threaten its overall stability.

The discussion is always open for doubts but with a political stand that we adopt I feel the doubts rise to foolishness. Today we do not need them for development of any kind and we rise with our own success. India needs to be stern in its stand with these two-faced people.

What is the real reason ?

2005-03-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

I was having a chat with China about why we do not find many Indians in aggressive sports. I was just wondering over the same thought our sporting events differ a lot from many countries, we do not play in aggressive sports. On field too when it comes to vigor, let us say about the most common game Indians play, Cricket. In this sport too as compared to the other country players we lack the passion in us

The excellence in sports is determined by the nutrition factor. I strongly feel there are two things to it, one is we lack motivation and talent or our genetic structure doesn’t allow us to be so. Steffi Graf was handed a sawed-off tennis racquet at age five by an encouraging father and thereby got a headstart, she may not have dominated women’s tennis for so many years if it was not for her father to motivate her

In an interesting study a couple had three daughters and they had decided to make them chess players though all the girls dint show any inclination towards the game. All the daughters not only did exceptionally well but the youngest went on to become the youngest ever international chess grandmaster. The girl was from the famous Polgar family

Why do we fail to produce Maradona or Mc Grath? It is our genes which determine our cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, and regulatory functions. Each has a crucial bearing on stamina and fitness. Simply put, irrespective of the resources we invest in certain areas of sport, we are never going to come home with the gold. When it comes to sports which do not require much physical strain, we pass muster. More emphasis is given on studies rather than sports and the attitude that sports is for the non-serious student is the real reason for the country not producing enough champs

I feel it is a topic which can be open for debate whether we are born with our genes not supporting sport or do we lack the drive to excel in sports. But one thing is sure if we gave sports the priority and respect it deserves, the medals and accolades will automatically come in thick and fast

Extraordinary Heroes

2005-03-18T16:52:00.000-08:00

Being a secret agent sounds so thrilling. You are continuously on your toes. A few days back SCG was saying she would like to shoot people, but for the law. Isn't the life of these people marked with vehement ?

On March 04th, 2005, Italian special agent lost his precious life saving an Italian hostage in Iraq. Nicola Calipari was Italian agent who sacrificed his life in saving Giuliani Sgrena. This 51 year guy had proven a lot as an agent. A street in Italy is being named by his name and for his funeral march the entire football ground and even the president gave a standing ovation

The government spends around 40% of the defense grants on these intellectual people. The life of the agents rest on a knife edge and without a second thought they give it to save the people and the country

Koyna Earthquake

2005-03-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

The one thing that scares me is Earthquake. The entire human specie cannot do anything against this, the scary truth of Mother Nature. Koyna dam witnessed two earthquakes on Tuesday,March 14th ,05. One was a slightly bigger 5.1 on Richter scale. Koyna dam lies in Satara district and is one of the major hydro electric power plants

To imagine a small damage to this dam could see cities under water with an unaccountable damage to human life and property. The most rudimentary understanding is that we do not own anything in this world. We live at the mercy of the nature and we can be nowhere within seconds

Earthquakes pose serious problems to the designers of dams, in that hazards have uncertainties associated with the occurrences of extreme events and decisions must be made as to the best way to handle these uncertainties. The koyna dam is susceptible to frequent earthquakes and therefore I feel designing such a dam which the engineers know lies in the zone of earthquake must be a very challenging job. Great work !!!

Hunger

2005-03-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Sandy’s party it was figured out later that it was for her graduation. That was one of the reasons why she gave a party. I just realized the value of food yesterday. I had not eaten properly whole day and I was very hungry. I was also eating the carrot and cabbage from the appetizers with the awesome Thai spring roll sauce, these things I usually do not eat

I learned that when you are hungry whatever you eat at that moment seems to be pretty nice. It is only the food that matters. When we eat we eat with a taste and we find the food lavishing but when we are hungry do we manage to realize the taste. No, we don’t we just keep on hogging. As your stomach starts to fill up it is then that you start to choose and start understanding the taste. The fish which I started eating seemed to me to be the best fish I ever had, gradually I realized that it was not very fresh. So people who start to be choosy I know for sure that those people are not hungry

Hunger must be one of the worst things in the world. People stuck in the tsunami were hungry for more than a week. I could not stand the hunger for half a day, but I feel that after a threshold limit the hunger must be getting killed and then we may not be feeling hungry anymore. That is what I guess so. One thing I know for sure but that when you are on empty stomach and you see something to eat it feels like the best thing you ever had in the world

Killer Instincts

2005-03-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

Wichita is the largest city in Kansas and recognized as one of the major mid-sized cities in the nation. Founded in 1868, the city enshrined the name of Wichita Indians, who had made that area their home. The city is home to Boeing, Cessna, Learjet and Raytheon, the city has also been nicknamed the "Air Capital of the World."

The booming industries had got a lot of economical growth to the city. Something terrible was born on January 15th 1974; it was the dawn of a serial killer. He killed the Otereo family and immediately after nine month he sent a letter to Wichita Eagle newspaper that he had committed the murder and had the information about it in a mechanical engineering book at Wichita public library. The killer’s fetish was to bind them torture them and then kill the victim which named him BTK.

A quote from his letter is very interesting: "I can't stop it so the monster goes on, and hurt me as well as society. Society can be thankful that there are ways for people like me to relieve myself at time by day dreams of some victims being tortured and being killed. It is a big complicated game of the monster play putting victims number down, follow them, checking up on them, waiting in the dark, waiting, waiting.... the pressure is great and sometimes then I run the game to my liking. Hopefully you can stop me. I feel you can't. I have already chosen my next victim or victims. I don't know who they are yet. The next day after you read the paper, you will know, but it will be to late. Good luck hunting
"YOURS, TRULY GUILTILY"

The devil ended his killings in 1977 as they had started and it was as if the killer had vanished. After nearly 30 years of silence, BTK once again terrorized the city of Wichita. The killer resurfaced on March 19, 2004, when he sent a letter to The Wichita Eagle newsroom.

Dennis Rader, a family going man was charged of first degree murders of 10 victims on February 25th 2005 for leading a double life. Rader, 59, is a married father of two, scout leader and active member of a Lutheran church. He made his first appearance on March 1st 2005
The police and the entire community is still baffled over the reasons for his massive killings

DJ Teisto has done it again

2005-02-24T09:39:00.000-08:00

Winning awards worldwide, producing two artist albums and a pioneering performance during the official opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens. DJ Tiesto Rocks!!!

Tiesto had been voted # 1 DJ in the world by DJ magazine. He gave an awesome performance at Athens for the Olympic Games,2004 in the opening ceremony in front of the entire planets premier crowd watching him on the television. He played 90 minutes live for over 70,000 lucky people in the stadium watching him

He topped again the DJ magazine for the third time in October 2004. He also won best Belgium and Dutch DJ award in October 2004

Year 2004 and moreover October was a breathtaking month for Tiesto

I feel it makes more sense now to listen to Tiesto music for the camping trip. Vow I am totally charged for the camping atmosphere. I certainly agree with Chinu, camping is exciting event and is a lot easy in this country unlike those camping grounds of Sinhagad

Formula 1

2005-02-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

Isn't Formula 1 the most amazing sport? There are only two sports where the person involved can lose his life any moment. It is bull fight and Racing. Bullfight though I feel is a sad sport and I am sure the animal rights people will definitely support me

In a rollercoaster ride a person experiences a force from 3 to 4G. During a F1 race the force exerted can reach up to 4 to 5G. For a normal Human a force from 4 to 6 G if sustained for more than a few seconds, the resulting symptoms range from visual impairment to total blackout. No wonder it makes F1 a thrilling and exciting sport on the planet

A few statistics I found about this sport:

1) The top speed of a F1 car is around 375 Kph and Monza is the only circuit where such a mark is likely to be reached. Italy has two circuits Imalo and Monza. J. Montoya of Williams holds a record for fastest qualifying lap at this circuit with a top speed of 260 Kph
2) F1 cars can accelerate from 0 to 200 Kph and back again to standstill in less than seven seconds
3) Full braking from 200 Kph to standstill requires 1.9 seconds within a distance of 55 meters and this effect produces a deceleration force upto 5G, which 5 times the weight of the driver
4) The Cars change gear around 3100 times in a Monaco grand prix. The circuit is very nice and the race runs on the streets of Monaco Monte Carlo circuit
5) A F1 driver lose on an average 2 kg of weight during a grand prix. He may also lose around 1.5 liters of fluid on a hot day
6) Ayrton Senna has the most pole positions (65) under his belt. A Brazilian driver won his first race for Lotus. Michael Shumacher follows him closely with pole positions (63)
7) The only Posthumous world champion was Austrian Jochen Rindt in 1970, who died in a crash while driving his lotus
8) Ferrari holds the most Grand Prix wins, 144. World Champion, Michael Schumacher with most F1 points, 801
9) The last driver to win without leading a lap was Briton Damon Hill in Belgium in 1994. He was driving for Williams with Ayrton Senna
10) Narayan Karthikeyan is the first Indian driver to drive in F1. He will be driving for the 2005 season for the Jordans

Lets all gear up for this years season which starts at Melbourne on March 6th. Looking forward for the New Jordan driver to show some good skills

BLACK

2005-02-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

BLACK!!! Sanjay Lela Bansali has definitely done a nice job, though I feel the story itself has a lot to it. After the movie people were thinking of whether the movie goes for Oscar. Do I care about it? NO I don’t definitely whether they nominate it or not. I rate it at a high level. It has a paramount meaning associated with it which depicts the story of a pertinacious girl who is physically challenged. The young girl does a fabulous job. Rani Mukherji too has played a vital role but she could have done it a bit better. Again sitting here and writing is easy but that is what I feel.

The child is going through a different mode in life as she gets pampered due to the way she is. The teacher, Amitabh emphasizes on the fact that she needs some stern behavior to make her understand things, which make her a respectful individual in the society.

The cinema is providing a different edge to the world. We are blessed with a plethora of things we do not realize the importance of. Life without any single organ makes a tremendous difference. The life of these people is different, the basic tasks we perform we do not realize that how easily we do it , but these things too are difficult to get for these people. A child learns to talk, walk or imitate things by listening or observing different people and objects around. It captures the true beauty of nature in its mind through its eyes. Without sight the handicapped people learn to develop the picture of things around, speechless learn to communicate with people and also deaf understand people speak.

The challenges do not end for them they start every time, every day they step out. Even the thought of being different from someone else is so scary, but these thoughts they bear in their mind everyday. Even then they give out a smile, so why have we lost our smiles when we have all the things given by HIM.

Innovation is needed

2005-02-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

Career fair; it is only a fair for free stuff with not much happening there. The man at the counter gives u a smile and shakes hand and says that u may take what u want and gives u a booklet to apply online. He then pretends to take a few notes and then puts the resume back in one of the box, fabulous…

If they hire ingenious people then are the recuiters standing their representing their company lacking the same

Life starts to take turn its own way everyday. Never dreamt never felt and things happen suddenly. I believe one person will agree to this fact for sure. I am sure Technical skill is the mastery of complexity, while Creativity is the mastery of simplicity...

Wow!!! what an innovative way to do things, he asks his first girl out in his bedroom. No wrong intentions but what a place to start a relationship. Now the couple is forced to go out and enjoy, with different plans from connoisseur of dating. The only thing they need to do is get desserts for us. No that is not being mean to them it is instead being nice to them by leaving them alone

What have we achieved ?

2005-02-03T18:14:00.000-08:00

It was a nice day today. Do I mean weather was nice or is it that one of the random day when things feel or seem to be great

I just happened to realize how our minds have become narrow nowadays. We need to THINK IT OVER .I just feel like putting the ten things that have been coming to my mind this week

1. We have higher buildings and wider highways but shorter temperaments and narrower point of view
2. We spend more but enjoy less
3. We have large houses, but smaller families
4. We have more compromises, but less time
5. We have more knowledge, but less judgement
6. We have more medicines, but less health
7. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values
8. We talk much, love only little and moreover hate more
9. We have technology to reach moon and come back today, but we still find it hard to cross the road of hatred and meet our neighbors
10. We have always thought and conquered the outer space but not our inner space

These are the days when we have two salaries coming home but divorces increase.
So I believe lets not keep things for special occasion as everyday we live is a special occasion

Life is chain of moments to cherish it is not about survival

Let us tell and show to our families and close ones that we love them and they mean a lot to us

Who says we have not changed. We have definitely changed but not for our good certainly there is a lot to be done here

Salary Theorem

2005-01-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

A good postulate stated by someone called Gilbert. The theorem is quite good so thought of putting it on my blog

Theorem on Salary states that engineers and scientists never earn as much salary as business executives and sales people. This theorem can now be supported by a mathematical equation based on the following three facts:

Postulate 1: Knowledge is Power (Knowledge=Power)
Postulate 2: Time is Money (Time=Money)
Postulate 3: (as every engineer knows) Power = Work/Time

It therefore follows: Knowledge = Work / Time
And since : Time = Money,
We have : Knowledge =Work / Money

Solving for Money, we get: Money = Work/Knowledge

Thus, as Knowledge approaches zero, Money approaches infinity,regardless of the amount of Work done.
Conclusion : The Less you Know, the More you Make & vice-versa....
Corollary : This is the reason why BOSSES are paid more ! ! !

So we have now a scientific background to the fact of salary
So all engineers stop feeling bad even if you are paid less

Happy New Year

2004-12-30T22:12:00.000-08:00

Year 2004 started with technological developments but the end was bad due to the killer tsunami waves.

So on New Year Eve

Let us all gather round and cheer,
With a drink of wine or an ice cold beer

Perhaps you're like me and don't drink the swill,
Or your like my friends who live on its feel

Maybe this world seems harsh at times,
Due to the Waves which took a million lives

I'd say that this is a great place to be,
It all depends on how we can see

True we've had bad things in the present and past,
But we know in our hearts that these will not last

If we try our best to be simple and pure,
There's nothing our hopes and dreams cannot cure

So, I don't know the value this is worth,
But lets all try to be happy and heal Mother Earth!!!

Let us all Welcome 2005 with a smile

HAPPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

Planning

2004-11-29T13:20:00.000-08:00

Weekend was nice with fun in AA. I don’t feel like writing if things don’t happen the way I think they should happen, but today was a different day

Last night was Sandhyas engagement and we all went late for it was not good on our part but as China says things dint go as we expected and so… but no excuses, Sorry for that Sandy. It has been really a lonely afternoon for me after Aunty has gone back. I can remember the afternoon chats we had. But last week was different with people in AA enjoying cards, mafia while others going out of AA to enjoy

I use to feel I need to plan my vacations, but may be not always impromptu stuff adds really nice spice to your holidays. I don’t know how many believe in that but planning in all aspects makes it more rhythmic

The snow pattern on the tip of the leaves and a cool blanket on the green grass make the landscape beautiful. It is a nice site to sit near your balcony and adore it but going out in this weather is really a bad experience

Soccer Tournament

2004-10-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

We had a nice soccer match last weekend. Speaking about soccer, really had not played this game for a long time. People have practice sessions; decide team approach before a game. We dint have time to do all this, I even borrowed the studs from China.

Teams were simple to make with all white shirt guys on one side and colored shirt people on other side. I was on the colored shirt team. The event began and we scored the first goal. The white’s goal keeper (Sid) was huge as compared to the goal leaving only a small amount of clearance to score a goal. So after two one touch attempts by me I finally scored the goal on the third kick. The other team came back with a goal from Bugger to equal the scores in the first half.

In the second half we scored one more goal to take lead. I really don’t know why one of our players when defending inside the D ludicrously touched the ball. I was standing near the center and I could not believe it. The obvious question that struck my head was why on earth some one would do this. To add to my chagrin these guys converted the penalty. So now the scores were equal.

Now we had few minutes left and both teams were eager to score a point. So this was a good time for skirmish. Things started with bugger getting involved with a hand controversy and then again bugger yelling on me for stamping his feet deliberately. It was hilarious. It was the extra adrenaline which lead but the things on field are to be forgotten on the field. So finally time was up and the organizer decided to go for penalty shoot outs instead of extra time.
Atmosphere was tense. The whites started the shout outs but we took a lead by 1 point. I was going to go for a last shoot but Yousuf wanted me to kick third. I was happy he believed in me. This was one of the most exciting moments for me. I tricked the goal keeper. He fell on his right a bit early anticipating my kick and so I comfortably put the ball to his left. Then white’s shooter missed his last kick and we won the finals. It was a nice game and I enjoyed it a lot.

Hurray we are the WINNERS!!! Anyway winning or loosing is a part of the game, playing the game is even more important.

Ganesh Utsav at Farmington hills

2004-09-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was Ganesh Chaturthi. I had been to Farmington Hills to meet my friends. Three of my friends Nikhil, Kapil and Saurabh picked me from AA. These guys along with Gunesh and Anant had shifted into a new apartment few days back. I reached home with all the décor. Two people, Kapil and Gunesh did most of the work. The other two, Sau and Anant were busy setting the network connections for the computer. They finally surmounted the task. All of us slept late that night, which resulted in getting up late the next day. Next day we did a few preparations and left for Rohits house. He and Supriya (his better half) had really decorated the place well. The Prasad was really first-rate; I liked especially the flavored milk.
From there we came back to our house for the aarti. Saurabh and I had cooked a good recipe for lunch. After the rituals we then munched. A friend had invited all the people for dinner and aarti at his place, so everyone left for that. I, Saurabh and pankaj instead decided to go to a temple. We went to Lansing and the temple was really superlative. Devotees had turned up in large number and so people were finding it difficult to park their vehicles. From there we returned home.
The other people came home at 4.00 am next day and we all went to a theatre in Novi. This was the place where they were showing the cricket match on a big screen. We were before time and so we got seats of our choice. Meanwhile an imprudent fellow while parking his car in the wrong slot hit our car. The explanation given by him was boisterous. He said that eventually when he arrived close to the car instead of stepping on the brake pedal pressed the accelerator by mistake. This was really insane. He literally smashed both our cars. It was sad as Kapils car especially was only a week old. There were a couple of scratches on Rohits BMW too. To add to this India lost the toss and also lost the match.
Then Nikhil dropped me at AA. I was really tired when I came back but even then went with the junta to a nearby mall. It was a nice short trip to meet my friends.

My Birthday

2004-09-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

This day is special for everyone and each birthday is celebrated in a different way making it memorable incidence. My birthday this year was no exception to it making it too a special birthday. The birthday celebrations did not start on that day or the previous day. The plans for celebrating it were being made few days in advance, with Monto flooding all mail boxes. I was happy to see Monto so enthusiastic for my birthday. Was it because it was his friend’s birthday or for something else, whatever it was hats off to him. It started with Monto coming home and taking Harry and the two aunties for shopping. The real work started at 8.00 and they had lots of things to do with few people. I was not sure whether these guys could really get food ready in time but to my surprise the food was ready at 9.30, with two salads, soup, two types of Pastas and rice. It was really delicious food.
Initially we celebrated Sonia’s birthday as her birthday is one day before mine. It was a good birthday till now the devil act was still to come. Then some music was turned on and people danced, the controversy over playing the music was always there with few people who wanted to play the traditional hindi songs while others who wanted English songs. Five minutes before 12.00 phone calls started coming to wish me for my birthday. The moment had come for all the guys to show their hooligan act. As soon as I cut the cake I was smeared in cake all over my face. My hair was looking like shampoo had been applied to them. I had to take a really nice bath to get rid of the cake. After the bath I had to invest some time in removing the cake from my ear, which had turned me virtually deaf.
Then some nice birthday wishes came my way and I had my dinner. I knew worst things were yet to come so I did not eat to my full. As expected, Balle and Monto grabbed my feet and hands respectively to lift me up in the air, so that they could give me birthday kicks as present. Each one in turn had his chance. One kick was bad which hit me on my back. After all this then I could have my incomplete dinner again and the party was nearly over.
Next day due to that kick I had to apply all types of ointments on my back and had to take pillows to sit. Things did not stop here. In the evening we had an opportunity to have some samosas at the ISA meeting. A hindi movie was screened that day and it was really a horrible movie. People started walking out of the classroom in few minutes. The bollywood fan (Jammy) too could not bear it. Being a weekend we then finally went to hit the dance floor. I was actually not feeling like dancing as my back was hurting, but it was bugger boy who made the DJ make an announcement to wish me on my birthday. That was really nice of him and I was so happy that I danced after that. All these incidences were more than a birthday gift to me. The day ended but was filled with fun.
All thanks to all my friends here at AA for making this a beautiful birthday for me.

Canoe Trip

2004-09-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog. I happened to fall into this habit due to my friends here in Ann Arbor. The junta here keeps blogging and it is fun. the place has been a happening place. Last weekend was fun especially the Canoe trip was filled with fun and vigour. It was tiring as we all had slept late the day before that and had to get up early to leave. The fun started early morning itself. It was decided that one person would have to make a double trip. So happily it was Monto who volunteered. It was a nice opportunity to spend with time with the new junta. But the need for a second trip was cancelled. So we all left and Monto was comming back we happened to wave to stop him but unfortunately he did not see us or he pretended to do so. He thought ignorance is a bliss, but my friend he was wrong this time as everyone had already left home. So finally with a wierd look he reached the place alone to find all people had reached and were ready to leave for Canoeing.

Now dcube started pairing people for the trip. He systematically paired experienced people with the novices so as to make sure everyone would complete the trip safely, or atleast I hope that was the real reason! I and one more of my friend China (being commited) sat with some guy so that these guys could have fun with the new junta. We started and had to pass through a small patch initially and then we joined the big river. All people almost started together. Then suddenly we found that Monto's and my boat were way ahead of others. So we skillfully parked our canoes and waited for people to come. Then finally Dushant arrived and then we all three set for our journey. Monkel was racing his Canoe thinking it was his TRW vehicle and we always used to find him somewhere ahead. This was due to his habit of racing stimulated his nervous system to do so.

Meanwhile our Canoes where getting stuck everywhere and in that there was one hillarious incident. China and his team mate were trying to rescue someone else. While doing that the other fellow inspite of Chinas command was rolling the Canoe. Suddenly in a flash of a second china is in the water that scene was really funny and to add to his anger his mate was still in the boat with the boat upright. This was simply unbearable to China and so this boy pulled him down into the water. Then these guys like bandits stopped each and every Canoe to get them into the water. Dcube and his canoe partner were watching all this and looking at this they themselves stepped into the water. In between even our Canoe got stuck but Nari ( Jammy's friend ) provided us with sufficient energy using his Canoe to free us. Then our three Canoes reached the destination thinking that we had to reach in 2 hours . Slowly the others arrived. Nari came last and suddenly we could see a half dozen people hovering near his Canoe, some genuinely trying to get him out of the Canoe while others plotting of a plan to drop him in water. The evil minds finally succeeded to pitch him into the water. This fellow later using his mammoth body lifted and dragged jammy, but jammy pretending an appendix problem found out a canny way to escape his clutches.

Later the few Car owners went to get us some food and pop. Tthe pop incidence reminds me of somehting. I opened a can and all fizz came out of it. Jammy smartly collected all the of it and poured it on my head. I inturn ppured the whole can on his head but hurt him a bit for which I am really sorry. So this sticky mess was all over our bodies. Once the food came people hogged like mad.

The day dint end there after we arrived home all of slept for a while and then went to play beach volleyball in the willowtree court. This was too much for one day but it dint stop there. We found out there is some stuff Disco Dandia being played somewhere. So we all dressed up in traditional clothes left for it. The dandia stuff was full flop as the music was nowhere close to any dandia music and the stupid DJ that day had made up his mind to burst our ear drums. Suddenly people started leaving the place and the show ended. All the guys then decided to go to Apt # 3036 to watch a movie and so everyone arrived. The bollywood fan, Jammy got a movie called " Jaan jai par Praan na Jay". I wonder where this guy finds such movies. The movie was worth watching once but definately no more than that. the movie had one really good incidence, which was spotted by me, china and Harry and we urged jammy to rewind and see it. That incidence is worth seeing cannot be told by narrating it. So I believe who ever has not seen that have a look at that incidence definately. The movie was a very good dozing medicine and very few people really with a lot of determination saw the end of the movie. That was the end of one of the most happening day leaving the memories for all of us to cherish. I am sure there are many more such days to come with such enthusiastic people around me and ofcourse including me.