The title doesnt matter! ! !

Life as a set of Phd comics.

2012-01-30T11:03:00.000-08:00

This is about my life as graduate student,and I will not mince words when I say this - Graduate student life is very,very hard. I have been more cheery so far than some of my peers , but there are indeed some moments when I feel like I'm at the end of an alley,with no discernible place to turn to. One thing I would like to clarify at this point is this - I'm not advocating against graduate life or the possibilities and opportunities that come with it. I clearly have learnt a lot more in an year and a half of Graduate school so far than I did in four years of getting a bachelor's degree in Engineering,but to quote up a cliche, the path to a successful graduate degree is not strewn with roses,and has more than a fair share of thorns.

These are some points that one always needs to remember while in Graduate school :
1. You are not alone - This is an especially interesting point - One only needs to look at any of the various rants/posts/message-board support about life in graduate school,and academia to understand that there are a lot of other people in various stages of graduate life,experiencing the same problem that one is.
2. This too,shall pass - One needs to remember that grad school eventually does end,and with the passage of time,all will be left are bittersweet memories (Maybe just slightly more bitter than sweet,for some folks =) ).
3. Do not be afraid to seek help - Depression is not uncommon among graduate students, thanks to the sheer work that it demands,coupled with other things in life,and one should not be afraid to seek professional help about it. Most universities tend to have a free counseling center,and they can help with combating depression,anxiety and general stress. And besides,they're free!
4. Staying motivated is important - It doesn't take a great leap of analysis to understand that one's interest and focus towards a certain task/set of tasks are not necessarily the same at all times,especially with the stress involved,and it important that one does not lose a considerable amount of motivation that may hinder his/her progress in the research being done. Having said that, if the loss of motivation is due to realizing that the research is not something that doesn't stimulate one,or pique's one's interest anymore, it may be a good idea to attempt moving away to seek inspiration elsewhere.
5. There is life outside the lab - It is especially easy to forget this,but one's life ~~need not~~ should not be limited to one's research or work in the lab etc, and it is important to not let go off the little things that define oneself as a person. It also might be a good idea to find other such avocations. Of course,the key to it all ,like in any other situation, is moderation.

My experience as a graduate student so far has been nothing short of a saga - It has had it's share of happy moments, emotional upheavals , fast-paced moments, ridiculously slow-paced ones , and a lot of waiting. And when I graduate , I will be a better version of what I was when I came in,for like they say, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

No true Scotsman.

2012-01-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

The most common type of argument that I tend to encounter when talking about the inherent fallacies of religious systems is the 'No true Scotsman' argument. Firstly,let me define what this is :Wikipedia describes it as such -

'No true Scotsman is an informal logical fallacy, an ad hoc attempt to retain an unreasoned assertion. When faced with a counterexample to a universal claim, rather than denying the counterexample or rejecting the original universal claim, this fallacy modifies the subject of the assertion to exclude the specific case or others like it by rhetoric, without reference to any specific objective rule.'.

Let me transcribe a conversation that I sometimes am a part of, that also serves to make clear what fallacy that I'm talking about -

Me: I do not self-identify as a Hindu,but rather as a non-religious person.Other Person: Why?Me: Hinduism ,as a religion,has certain things that I don't agree with,including the caste systemOther Person: But,the caste system is not part of True Hinduism.

Essentially,what is happening here is that the other person agrees that the subject (In this case,Hinduism)'s negative trait (In this case,the caste system) being pointed out is indeed negative,but argues for the subject by indicating that 'True Hinduism' does not include the caste system.

As an ex-Hindu,most of my attempts at demystifying religion tend to involve Hindus , and so,I described a conversation referencing Hinduism, but indeed,this logical fallacy is quite common by people of any other religion ,as well.

An important thing about the scientific method is that it does not support the 'No true Scotsman' logical fallacy - a counterexample to an existing notion simply results in the rejection of the existing notion,to make way for a new notion.Thus,in my opinion,the scientific method is the more reliable way to contemplate the cosmos.

Everyone knows a person like that

2011-11-24T08:05:00.001-08:00

And moreover,Galileo said that the earth moved around the sun,not that the earth was flat.

The most dangerous thing.

2011-11-18T19:15:00.001-08:00

The world today is much more connected and smaller than ever before,and will definitely come together closer in the future,thanks to rapid advancements in communications and transportation.And yet,an irrelevant relic of the past haunts us,slowing down progress like no other.The thing being talked about is jingoism. While I have speculated about the origins of jingoism before,and written about it,this post will be focusing on the ills it brings.

Being proud of one's group is a fine thing, it becomes a problem when one tends to believe that one's group is intrinsically superior to all other groups that have existed,are existing ,and will exist.An individual having such beliefs and tendencies would be looked at as deficient in mental capacity and cognitive abilities,and yet a larger group agreeing with him tends to negate the absurd nature of his original claim (To members of that group). The situation becomes potentially more dangerous when other groups,having similar delusions of grandeur about themselves,come into the picture.The whole scenario then becomes potentially explosive and dangerous to be in.

In a world that is not bound by any natural boundaries,restricting oneself to life in a small circle is without any semblance of logic.We ought to free ourselves of the shackles of primitive thought in a postmodern world.

We humans are all comprised of the same set of anatomic parts,the same set of impulses ,the same set of emotions and the same set of weaknesses,and no one group can claim superiority in any form over any other,be it a race,religion,nationality,or any of the various other distinctions we use to segregate ourselves.That is the only way to a better future.

Tea,anyone ?

2011-08-16T16:54:00.000-07:00

Anyone who's lived in South-India for any amount of time will definitely be familiar with the small Tea-shops that dot the sides of the streets ,everywhere.

Indian Tea-shops(Tea Kadais,as they are known in Tamil) are a generic structure-They are all small hole-in-the-wall joints,having a bench or two right outside the establishment for customers to seat themselves,and most of them have not more than two employees - One person to prepare Tea,Coffee or other simple hot milk-based beverages,and another person to collect and wash the glass cups in which the drinks are served,and to help the tea-maker (AKA Tea-master) with other 'trivial' tasks.

The Tea shops also usually have stocks of snacks,that go well with the drinks - Savory local favorites such as Murukku(A snack made by deep-frying spiced millet dough in patterns that sometime resemble fractals),Thattais(A small hardened spicy pancake made from a spiced dough similar to the murukku batter,but more granular) and mixtures(An unimaginative name for an awesome snack made by mixing up small batches of other savory and sweet snack-foods) and butter cookies and tea-cakes.Apart from these,Tea-shops also act as newspaper stockists,with a number of national and regional broadsheets available for purchase).

Tea-shops are an important part of smaller towns and villages,where they serve a function,not unlike the taverns of 18th century England -People meet together at the Tea-shops,and discuss whatever is the most pressing news at that time-From disappointing cricket scores to the new political developments that have happened in the country.

Tea-shops are a classic example of local ,generic non-franchised businesses that are very hard to find in a lot of other places,with many food and drink chains opening up their 'branches' everywhere around the world.Also,Many tea-shops are shunned by the younger population who tend to prefer the larger and more expensive coffee-chains that have cropped up everywhere,due to the perceived 'coolness' factor associated with them.This is especially true in the bigger cities like Chennai and Bangalore.Also,many Tea-shops are looked down upon by the younger population as 'unhygienic' and 'dirty' ,even if the beverage preparation is done in the open,for all to see.

In spite of the many such hard-times that have fallen upon them,they will never ever disappear,for they have become an integral part of the scenery in South India,much like the Hot dog stands of New York and the Fish&Chips shops of London.To many South Indians,sometimes all that it takes to set right a day that has been bad to one is a perfect cup of Tea from the local Tea-Kadai,with a Thattai to go with it.

Cheesy romantics -Sheesh!

2011-07-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes,the most irritating things are what one tends to notices at once,and of all things that can be or are irritating,surely the top place goes to Cheesy romance (I was about to type romanticism,but realized that would be refering to an art form,which is everything that the subject is not).

Surely,Anything to do with people in what is called a commitment(Which is also a word that refers to consigning someone to an asylum or a mental hospital) is sickening to watch and observe,but certain acts and certain specific 'commitments' are so cheesy that armies of mice start swarming the dwellings where the people concerned belong.Some of the sickeningly cheesy activities that I have been the sorry witness
of,include the following :

1.The act of Imitating an infant's speech pattern - This act involves the person concerned imitating ,to the best of her/his ability,an infant's speech pattern.This is mostly accomplished by replacing the letter R in a sentence with W,and sometimes replacing the letter L with a W .The seeming purpose of this act is to 'sound cute',with the underlying twisted logic being this - 'Infants are cute,and if one talks like an infant,one shall be cute,too'.But,the act of the baby-talk is indeed done for the purpose of courtship,and eventual sexual gratification,thus giving a horrible paedophilic subtext to it all.So,the next time if anyone were to observe the act happening,do not hesitate to call upon your nearest law enforcement agency.

2.The act of apellation of the other person with a nonensical combination of words - This act involves the person concerned,naming the other person involved in the 'commitment',with sickening combinations of adjectives,that are so sugary that merely hearing them would probably kill a diabetic.This ,when performed in tandem with the previously described act,is an especially deadly combination.

3.The act of lifting Cheesy lines from Cheesier movies - This act involves using repeating dialogues spoken in what are termed rom-coms- Basically movies that I believe are used by Cheese factores around the world to cater to help them produce good cheese for all the good people of the world.(None for the bad people).Here's a sample line - "Fate blah blah destiny blah blah love blah blah soulmate blah blah unconditional bah blah".This line just described all lines of dialogue from all rom-coms out there.

Surely,there are many other annoying things that can be listed,but I will stop here,for now,for one can only take in so much cheese in a day.The point to be noted though is this - If you are lactose intolerant,avoid couples like they are cheese!

Being Cool - Part 1

2011-07-12T01:56:00.001-07:00

"Ha,that's so uncool",said A.
"Why is it so?",I asked him,quite puzzled at his statment.
"Well,it doesn't look sleek at all,for starters,and frankly,what would people say,if they see it?",He said.
"Well,it is quite old,so obviously it doesn't look 'sleek' like any of the newer ones in the market,but it does it's job perfectly well,and truth be told,it is quite awesome at what it does.And does it really matter how it looks like,as long as it's functionality is retained?",I asked.
"Moreover,why do you need to care what others think of it ?",I added.
"Well,they're cool and you're not",he said.
I was quite irritated now,and said " who even defines what's cool,anyway? It's not like 'coolness' is a standard quantity,anyway.It's just the average of everyone's opinions taken,with a slight curving of the results to fit in with the most stupid of the lot"
He looked at me and was about to say something,when A's friend walked towards us ,took a look at what I was having and said,"You have that? That is so cool,man!",streching each syllable like it was a piece of rubber,and proceeded to talk with A.
I slapped myself on the forehead,shook my head hoplessly,and silently wished for a flying saucer to take me away to a better and more sensible place.

What death can teach us.

2011-07-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

I had signed into Facebook,when I learnt from my newsfeed that someone on my friends' list had posted a message on his wall about a friend of his being killed in an accident.I visited the departed person's profile to see it being flooded with messages wishing for his soul to rest in peace.I scrolled down a bit to see that just a few days ago,he had been online and had posted a link to a music video,had wished someone on their birthday,had changed his profile picture,and other such smal things that we all do when we are on Facebook.It was then that I thought to myself - The person who died surely did not know it was coming.The person who died must have had his share of ambitions,likes,dislikes,plans for the future etc.The person who died must have had a number of things that he had wished to do sometime in the future - Maybe he had wanted to learn something new,perhaps he wanted to confess love to someone he held dear,maybe he had had plans to apologize to someone he had hurt in the past,and maybe he had wanted to make peace with someone who had hurt him.
Perhaps when death was near,and he knew for a fact that he was going to be no more,he did regret not doing a lot of those aforementioned things.Maybe he thought of things that could have been but were clearly not going to be,now.
I then thought to myself-One can never know when one is going to be touched by the cold yet caring hands of death.And at the moment of one's death,though we will all have our regrets,ranging from the small and insignificant to the huge and monumental,it is upon us to see that we have as few as them as possible.I urge everyone who does read this,to go ahead and do something that he always has wanted to do.We all ought to,for we do not know what the next moment brings.

Fruit of Insomnia - A Nursery Rhymesque poem.

2011-06-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

Twas a midsummer's night,
And every other person did sleep;
Everyone except this humble one,
And I did try counting sheep.

The stars in the sky did glitter,
and the sandman's work was done;
But while everyone else got their forty winks,
I did not get even one.

The world did seem to be silent,
except for some snores;
I thought I'd sing myself a Lullaby,
And I sang till my throat was hoarse.

I closed my eyes and awaited,
for the sleeping to ensue;
But then I heard a very loud cry,
and it went 'Cock-A-doodle-do!'.

Now,The sun was back in the sky,
and the day was indeed bright;
Yet,now I was filled with hope,
Perhaps I shall sleep tonight!

Of things that could have been

2011-06-14T22:11:00.001-07:00

Yesterday has gone away,
and tomorrow remains to be seen;
All that is left are memories,
and visions of things that could have been.

The choices have been already made,
and the changeless chain has been set in motion;
One cannot change or alter and affect,
that which is cidevant causation.

Present-day's preferences' precipitates will persist,
long after the future is but the past;
Yet,one cannot discern if those choices,
are those that shall last.

Yesterday is etched in stone,
while today's choices are umpteen;
One should work to a better tomorrow,
than worry about things that could have been.

On the digitizing of taste.

2011-06-11T16:57:00.001-07:00

Modern computers have come a long way since their early mathematical calculator days,and their usage has made our lives a very pleasant experience.Using a computing device and an internet connection,we can do things that would have been considered impossible only a few decades ago,such as have a 'real',eye to eye conversation with another person on the other side of the earth. With the use of robotic arms,it is even possible to physically manipulate objects acorss the globe. We are now in a world that is becoming smaller,thanks to the advent of high speed computing,and high speed internet. Yet,there are certain aspects of our living experience that we have not yet attempted to 'replicate' virtually,one of the most important of them being our gustatory sense ,more commonly known as the sense of taste.

One's sense of taste may not seem to be a very important part of our life experience(Atleast,not as important as one's visual/ocular sense),but that definitely is not true. Our sense of taste can act as a comforting element,can be an antidepressant,and when acting along with its closely related cousing,the sense of smell,can trigger memories of long ago.Taste can also help us identify harmful chemicals,and identify the differences between two similar looking substances etc. Thus,digitising of taste would have a lot of potential uses,if realized.

One way that this can possibly be done is by considering the four basic (or five,depending on which part of the world you're from) tastes -Sweetness,Bitterness,Saltiness and Sourness (And Umami) as 'primary' tastes,with diffferent rations giving different composite tastes,not unlike how different combinations of the different primary colours give rise to the other colours.One potential problem with this prospect is the vast number of combinations possible.With only three primary colours,the total number of colours identifiable on a computer is 16,777,216,and the number of composite tastes would obviously be much greater than this number. Also,the effect of food's texture on taste would not have been considered then,though it is an important consideration(Ground potatoes taste different than sliced potatoes,for example).The second major challenge that exists is the construction of relevant transducers-What use does the digitising of tastes have,if one is not able to actually tap them in the real world ? The conversion of the 'taste' of an object into digital signals itself can possibly be overcome by emulating the way that the human body itself does it - Maybe by constructing an artifical tongue and associated set of nerves.The complimentary system though ,would be much more complex to realize.In a presentation that a associate and me gave on this topic 4 years ago,when in college(The presentation proceeded quite bitterly ,no pun intended),we speculated the usage of directly interfacing with the
taster's nervous system,but obviously this has its own risks,and is definitely not a simplistic system.

If one were to construct a taste-digitizer system,it would only be a matter of time before personal computing systems such as Macs,PCs and smartphones incorporated one within them.Restaurants and food companies would even be able to put up the 'tastes' of their products online,for people to relish and compare with the competitior's products.People would be able to try new and exotic cuisines from the comfort of their homes,and cookery shows would acquire a whole new dimension.I even envision a smartphone app that would probbaly show you how different combinations of different ingredients would taste like.It would also be able to bring people 'closer',in all new ways.Of course,apart from these uses,it owuld have potential uses in law enforcement corporations etc to identify drugs,and to identify if a certain product is contaminated etc.

I'm very excited at the prospects that the future holds,and hope to see the evolution of such a system sometime soon. Let us all look forward to what the future brings with it.

Parallel universes away ?

2011-06-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

One can say that no moment of one's life is greater than any other,for each of them has shaped our present in their own ways.Yet,there are certain moments in the past that one seems to remember better than any other.One tends to ponder how different the present may be,if only he had acted in a different way in those moments,than he has.Certain choices ,made differently might have resutled in one being muuch more happier ,and certain other choices would probably have resulted in a more duller/sorrowful present.
Sometimes,I'd like to think that there are instances of me ,in other universes,taking a different choice than I have.The thought is a very comforting one to have,indeed.I wonder how my life has turned out to be,in those other 'planes of existence' and hope that those 'other mes' not too unhappy with life there.
Either way,Whether or not I'm happy with the results of choices I took in the past,I've learnt to be accepting of them all,and hope that the future will be filled with more of the good ones than the bad.
Thus,here I'm,looking ahead,with hopes that the future is filled with good choices,and wishing the same for all!

Also,if you have any such moments,and don't mind sharing them with the world,do tell us.We can talk about the things that could have been

An ode to Chennai

2011-03-18T23:57:00.001-07:00

I miss the street food on every chuck wagon,
also the front row seats in each theater,priced at Rs.10;
I miss the sound of the sea from near the shore,
and the smell of the soil ,when it would pour.

I miss the roads connecting all the corners and nooks,
and the boulevard shops selling dog-eared books;
I miss the train stations with their old-world charm,
and I miss the air,which was always warm.

I miss the hustling of the buses during nights,
and the bright blue sky dotted with kites;
I miss the bistros and their heavenly brew,
Oh Chennai, I miss you!

The origins of Jingoism ?

2011-03-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

As a former student of an instituiton with a large mixed student population,I have had many opportunities to witness jingoistic tendencies among people.The region from which one hails from,the primary language that one speaks,one's religious beliefs and even the kind of music that one listens to can all be hailed as reasons for people holding chavunistic attitudes.Passive jngoism always seems to be at play,and usually turns active after a trigger-Even something as trivial as a region-specific sporting event can act as a reason for violent confrontation between people belonging to different 'groups'.
It can also be clearly seen that fanaticism exists everywhere,and at every level-From small gangs and cliques to large nations with aggressive foreign policies.The number of people who do not identify themselves as belonging to any one group at any level are few and far apart.(It can also be argued that a group of two or more such people can be considered a group itself.)
Groups at any level also seem to possess the following traits :

1.Consensual agreement among its members for certain issues,even if the members do not agree with each other for other issues,seen as irrelevant to the functioning of the group itself.

2.A tendency amongst most of its members to regard their group as superior to other groups on the same level.

3.A tendency among most of its members to be aggressive to any member formerly part of the group,but is not anymore.

4.The members of a group at one level are all not necessarily part of a single group at another level,but the ones who are,tend to form sub-groups within a group.

The reason why groups exist is definitely not a singular one,and one reason surely cannot satisfactorily explain their prescence,though I believe that groups arise because humans are naturally pack animals,and in the absence of a rigid pack system,we tend to blend into what is the closest equivalent.In pack animals such as dogs and wolves,agression towards non-members of the pack is sometimes observed,and the parallel to this in human society may be jingoism.

Astrology website experiment! - PRANK!

2011-02-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

It was yet another boring night when I was Googling random stuff (as always),I came across this website that talked about astrology,solving problems with gemstones etc. After seeing that their 'basic' package that involved a reading,a solution,and how a 'premium' package can be helpful,I decided to pull a prank on them- I wanted to enter details of a totally fictitious character and random dates and events and send it across for a 'basic' reading.Due to total lack of creativity to come up with any other fictitious name,I entered the name 'Bruce Wayne'( The alter-ego of the Batman,for all those who just awoke from your cryogenic preservation).As for the dates,they were completely made up by me. There was also a column for entering details about any significant events that have happened so far ,and I entered details of events that did happen to Batman in the comics,such as his parents being shot down by a mugger,his back being broken,the death of Jason Todd(The second Robin) etc. Also,I created an email id specifically for this purpose - 'brucewaynerich@gmail.com',as I did not want to use my own email id (I'm a major spamophobe :P).

Today,I finally got a reply from the website.It reads as follows:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rakesh Singhal <lifescape@lifescapeastrology.com>
Date: Sat, Feb 5, 2011 at 8:54 AM
Subject: Re: Advice from Lifescape Astrology
To: brucewaynerich@gmail.com

Hello Mr bruce wayne,
a man who by heart is well wisher of society , colleagues and friends is getting worst from the same elements. your chart is likely to be included in our future training programmes.
your objectives are my objectives too, but before that, you need to be financially well off. you will do well in business, and in case there is any doubt, you remove them.
please wear emerald. keep in touch, and send us your observations after one month of wearing emerald.
yes, points mentioned by you can be read from your chart.
wish you good luck,
rakesh singhal

------ Original Message ------
From: webmaster@lifescapeastrology.com
To: lifescape@lifescapeastrology.com
Sent: 2/4/2011 12:00:08 PM
Subject: Advice from Lifescape Astrology

First name: Bruce

Last name: Wayne

Gender: M

Date : 19

Month : 2

Year : 1967

Hour : 5

Minute :

Town: Gotham city

State: NY

Country: USA

Email: brucewaynerich@gmail.com

Email 2: brucewaynerich@gmail.com

Eventdate1: October 1975

Event1: Parents killed by mugger

Eventdate2: June 1988

Event2: Partner dies

Eventdate3: January 1993

Event3: Back broken by a thug

Eventdate4: September 2008

Event4: Cheated by current girlfriend

Profession: Business

Problems: Bring peace to Gotham city and strike terror into the hearts of criminals

Casestudies: Yes

This clearly proves how true the website's claims are. I urge anyone who is reading this blog to try a similar thing with other such websites.Lets hunt these morons out!

Here is the image of 'Bruce Wayne's natal chart' that the website sent me:

Here's the excel file that I got from the website that has the details of the above chart in a spreadsheet:

bruce wayne.xls - 21.0 KB

Here's a pdf copy of the original form:

Gemstone Advice.pdf - 24.7 KB

I only have one thing to say to the website in question,and to other 'practitioners of astrology' : FAIL! :D :D

The real 'secret'

2011-02-06T11:09:00.000-08:00

If one were to look at any list of bestselling books of the last ten years, one can see that a good portion of the ones noted are what are known as 'self-help' books. One thing that's common to these books is their purported nature of showing the reader how to make the 'best use' of his/her life and turn out 'successful'.Some of the more recent ones even go as far as saying that it's possible to obtain anything that one wants by merely wishing for it.Another common feature of these books is the usage of pseudo-scientific terms such as 'Quantum consciousness','Collective subconscious' etc and the usage of non-existent phenomena to highlight the author's attempt at explaining what according to him/her is the nature of the working of the world.The blurbs on these books all seem to claim that the ideas espoused by the book in question is mankind's key to understanding the universe.

The authors of all these books want to point out that our lives so far has been empty and meaningless and that they are the ones who will rescue us from the mundaneness that we have created,and turn us into 'highly successful people',who know 'the secret' of being good at everything.

If the books have helped anyone become succesful at what they do,it is the authors themselves,no doubt having got considerably richer with the sales of the books.

It leaves one to wonder if people have become so insecure about themselves,that they need someone else to tell them how to go about their lives.

One just needs to pause and think to know that the world around is beautiful in its own regard. Surely,the stars in the sky are enchanting,even without a 'God' to hold them up.The way nature works is a marvel,even without a 'spirit' to drive it.And it surely is common-sense to know that one can have what one wants/needs,by suitably working at getting it.

Our ability to reason and understand is what drove our species to have considerable mastery over much of the world,and ignoring our voice of reason will not be a good thing at all.

Spelling is important - One letter can make all difference :P

2010-12-14T21:11:00.001-08:00

Trasnfarmers :P

Engineer's guide to the seasons

2010-12-13T20:17:00.001-08:00

So,who wants to be a superhero?

2010-12-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

In real life,a bite from a radioactive animal will only make the person sick.This is for anyone out there who may have wanted to engage in superheroics,at any point of time in their lives.This post gives you an idea for starting up your own super-career.

1.Source of 'Power'

This 'powerful' idea is probably the easiest-All it would require is that a homemade stun gun is made,and fixed on gloves or wherever.A stun gun can be made at home for less than 10 USD,by using a disposable camera's flash,or by using a high capacitance capacitor and a discharge circuit,with open leads.One can find quite a number of websites that teach you how to make your own stun gun.

2.Shielding

Unfortunately,we do not have rapid healing powers that will help us get away from our injuries,unharmed.And so,some kind of protection is needed against both projectiles such as bullets,and against direct physical blows. The best bet would be to have a helmet,not unlike a sports helmet or a biker helmet,and making sure that it covers the entire face. For the upper body and the limbs,a Kevlar vest is needed for sure,for protection against projectiles,and padding with thick rubber/foam or a chain linked suit ( Like a fencing costume).

3.Locomotion

I was initially thinking of a large set of ornithopter wings or helicopter blades,but then ,I realised that it would be impractical to have either of them,as they would be too heavy and too 'non- indiscreet' to carry around.The most practical solution seems to be a motorcycle,with a GPS system as a necessary add-on.

4.Utilities

These utilities will be necessary,for any emergencies :

-> A basic first aid kit.

- > A cellphone/any other communication device.

- > A set of handcuffs(OPTIONAL).

- >A pocket knife for cutting up ropes etc.

- >A flashlight.

- >Extra clothes.

These utilities will be needed to be carried ,at all times and the best way to do that will be in a backpack.

With all of these ,I estimate the cost of starting up one's superhero career ( not Including the cost of the motorcycle or the cellphone connection) to be around 800 USD. Happy superheroing,everyone! If anyone who reads this has a few ideas of their own,do tell me.

Extra-terrestrials and whistleblower websites.

2010-12-09T01:55:00.001-08:00

Disclaimer: The following post is a completely hypothetical one,and I do not believe in extra-terrestrials visiting earth regularly and working with governments.I do think it would be really cool if that were the case though 8).

Any day is a fine day for speculative controversy theories and in the spirit of the same,I'm posting about the probable reactions that will be generated if Wikileaks were ever to reveal that they have conclusive evidence about Extra-terrestrial beings being in contact with governments around the world.

The first reaction would probably be denial by the government(s) in question.But,as the news spreads around the world, they will eventually be forced to admit the 'truth'. Immediately after this,the ETs would be introduced to the world at large,and this would provide a lot of fodder for media around the world.Engineers and scientists everywhere would spend much of their time learning the workings of the ET's spacecraft and any gadgets that they have on board,and the biology of the spacemen themselves etc. Manufacturing companies around the world will attempt reverse-engineering anything fancy that the aliens might have with them,and start selling them. Religious leaders will ,yet again,come up with a 'reinterpretation' of their religious texts ,to accommodate the presence of the aliens,and there will be much debate on if the presence of the aliens proves or disproves the presence of a god(s).Magazines and blogs will be inundated with articles about the 'visitors' ,and people around the world will attempt learning about the various aspects of these non-human sentient lifeforms.Also,undoubtedly,there will be all new forms of porn coming up online(Even if it turns out that the aliens do not reproduce the same way that humans do).There will be a number of movies made that reference the aliens either directly or indirectly,and they would all be blockbusters.Governments around the world will add new laws to accommodate non-earthlings,including methods of punishment etc,and form all kinds of treaties with other governments. Economic relations with other planets will be planned,and the marketplace will change in ways one cannot even possibly imagine.

Over time,tourism to the planet/world inhabited by the aliens will start,and life as we know it will change drastically.

Mathematical model for zombie-human population behaviour.

2010-11-26T22:33:00.000-08:00

As a result of extreme boredom,I made the following analysis in Matlab:

"Nicholson-Bailey model for studying zombie-human population interaction"

As expected,Zombies were the parasitoids and humans were the hosts.This is the excrept of the m-file:

%Made by Srikumar Krishnamoorthy,TTU

%This model is directly based on the Nicholson Bailey Parasitoid model and

%the assumptions that are made are : 1.A Zombified Human cannot be

%zombified again. 2.A Zombie needs a human's 'life force to 'survive'(or

%whatever it is that zombies do) 3.There are equal number of Male and

%female humans at all times and they all are monogamously 'coupled' 4.No

%weapons can hurt a zombie.

r=1%r=No of offspring by a human that survive till adulthood(I assumed 2 children per couple or 1 chld per human

c=1%c=Searching efficincy or the probability that a zombie will encounter a human in his lifetime(Okay,'undeadtime' :P)

e=1%e=No of infections that a zombie makes on a human that result in the complete zombification of the human

H0=input('input initial population N0 of Humans: ')

Z0=input('input initial population P0 of Zombies: ')

n=input('input time period of run: ')

H=zeros(n+1,1);

A=zeros(n+1,1);

t=zeros(n+1,1);

H(1)=H0;

Z(1)=Z0;

for i=1:n

t(i)=i-1;

H(i+1)=r*H(i)*exp(-c*Z(i));

Z(i+1)=e*H(i)*(1-exp(-c*Z(i)));

end

t(n+1)=n;

plot(t,H,t,H,'o')

title('No of Humans'),pause

plot(t,Z,t,Z,'o')

title('No of Zombies'),pause

These are graphs of a few sample runs:

Conclusion :

Whatever the initial populations of the humans and the zombies may be,humans are doomed.

Social networking for states of matter.

2010-11-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

Indian science fiction -What's the deal?

2010-09-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

This post is partly due to the Tamil movie 'Endhiran'(Translation: Mechanical man. Robot will not be a proper translation as the word Robot originally referred to a bonded labourer) releasing in theaters around the world(And I'm currently located in one of the places it isn't :( ).It has been marketed from its pre-production as one of India's first science fiction flicks.I wondered about the veracity of this claim as I recall having seen a number of Tamil movies on TV that fit into the genre,when I was smaller.After some intense Googling, I made the following discoveries about the genre:

The earliest Science fiction Indian movie was a Tamil movie, 'Kaadu'(The forest) and was released in 1952.It was about a group of researchers investigating the abnormal behaviour of animals in a jungle,who eventually stumble upon a land where woolly mammoths are still alive.The plot seems very similar to Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost world and the producers were probably inspired by the same,as Conan Doyle was a very popular author in India in the 1940s.The producers must have decided to use Mammoths instead of Dinosaurs,to limit production costs.The move was a moderate critical success but failed to make high earnings from the box office.

In 1962,Kalai Arasi(Queen of the arts) starring MGR,Bhanumathi and Nambiar was released.The film's storyline involved Aliens abducting the lead actress with the intention of learning the performing arts from her.MGR ,in his role as the protagonist,brings her back to Earth,after rescuing her from a rogue alien(Nambiar).The movie can be found on this webpage:http://www.rajshritamil.com/Video/Kalai-Arasi

'The Alien' was a planned Satyajith Ray production which was eventually cancelled.The script was based on a story by Ray which was inspired from Spielberg's ET and involved a friendly alien who become's a young boy's best friend.The project eventually resurfaced recently as 'Koi Mil Gaya'.

Mr.India ,starring Anil Kapoor and Sri Devi was released in 1987 and was about a man who could make himself invisible.One can also say that this was Bollywood's first foray into the Superhero genre as well.The movie is still considered a classic in India.

Dasavatharam,released in 2008,had many science fiction elements in it,and the main plot involved the butterfly effect.

Apart from these,there are a lot of other Indian movies that can be categorized as Science fiction and / or as Science fantasy and I'l post a followup to this post later.

You? Yes? Yay!

2010-09-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

Discalimer: This post is intended only as a work of humour (If you agree) and is not meant to offend anyone,alive,dead or otherwise.

Binomial nomenclature is a system of naming and classifying different species and was developed by Carolus Linnaeus when he attempted to describe the natural world by giving all plants,animals and minerals a two-part name(eg Homo Sapiens , Cannabis Sativa , Canis Lupus etc). In this post,The author(Namely,me) will use BN to categorize the common types of Indian students in the US.

1. Expediticus Patrioticus : (Contrary to what the name sounds like ,these are not 'cus' words.) The ones who belong to this category are beset with a sudden bout of (Unhealthy) patriotism and denounce the place around them as a concentric locus to one of the nine circles of hell.This category of students can be seen asking an attendants at Walmart about why the place doesn't stock 'Imli' Paste.Favourite Catchphrase of this category: "Yaar! Most Americans can't even speak Hindi!"

2. Camouflagicus Automaticus : The ones in this category are the ones who are completely awed by all that they see and experience around them,that they start believing themselves to have lived here all their lives so far,in the hope that their belief will make it true.This category can be seen at all major sporting events,cheering for the team of their choice,without realizing that it was the other team that scored a touchdown. Favourite catchphrase of this category: "The Pizza in the US is waayy better than the one I had in Italy!"

3. Economicus Imbalancicus : This category hasn't yet comprehended the difference between American Dollars and Indian Rupees and is divided into two subcategories,based on their affiliation with either of the two categories mentioned above : "A packet of Chips costed me as much as Rs.10 in India while the same packet costs me only USD 2 here!I'm paying lesser!" OR "A bottle of Juice(Made in India) costs me upto USD 3 here while it costed me only Rs.20 back home!I'm paying extra!"

There are many more categories but the author is forced to conclude this post without listing them all out as a result of the still incomplete assignment that he just remembered.On a concluding note,he would like to say this : " “All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it. - Samuel Johnson”

Cyborgs?

2010-09-14T21:02:00.001-07:00

There are many books,movies and video games that deal with cyborgs(Cybernetic Organisms) in some form.A cyborg,by definition is an effective amalgamation of biological organisms with artificial/non-biological parts to augment certain traits .By the strictest of classifications,everyone who uses spectacles or hearing aids or even a mobile phone phonebook for storing data is a cyborg.Of course,when someone refers to a 'Cyborg',they usually are referring to an organism(Mostly human) who has been grafted with electronics/mechanical additions and is superior in some way to a normal human being,either with an increased range and/or functionality of an existing sense organ ,or having a completely new ,almost preternatural ability(Such as telepathy or the ability to see in infra-red or the ability to generate electricity etc) that is not usually observed in 'normal' human beings.

The latter definition of a cybernetic organism does not seem to be very far away in the future,with developments on the integration of human nervous systems to computers and with breakthroughs in the understanding of the human brain ,specifically and the human body,in general,happening rapidly.

Dr.Kevin Warwick of the University of Reading in the United Kingdom,in 1998,succefully had an RFID chip implanted in his hand ,with the aim of controlling nearby devices such as heaters etc,with the aim of finding out the extent to which the human body can accept foriegn bodies.Later,he had a more complex neural array implanted in him which had an array of over 100 electrodes that could send wireless signals to devices.A later implant in his wife made possible the first wireless signal between two humans which can be categorized as a 'rudimentary' form of telepathy.
Other breakthroughs in the field are being made,especially with a focus on orthotics and prosthetics.Notable contributions have been made by Dr.Herr of MIT and others.
The day is not far off when cyborgs might be commonplace in society and the definition of 'Human' has to be changed permanently.

About 'Ravan/Ravanan'

2010-07-30T00:15:00.001-07:00

Tis post is being written as a response to a few other blogs that I saw in which the author(s) had written about the movie Ravanan, mostly with a tone of disdain towards the portrayal of the characters in the movies that he felt were not an appropriate rendition and rather blasphemous as it was against the accepted convention that the protagonist Ram(a.k.a Ramar,Ram, etc) is an incarnation of a hindu deity. I would like to point out that there have been many versions of the ramayana in the past(And I'm not just talking about Valmiki Ramayana,Kamba Ramayana etc).The Ramayana (and many other epics) started out as a orally transmitted one before being recorded after writing became an integral part of human lives.Ie,it happened in a similar manner to other epics such as the Lliad. And though the above said epics are ascribed to one author or a group of authors,it is not really so. To bring an analogy, all versions of the Ramayana are like different linux distributions with certain distributions being more known publicly.

In fact,the indonesian version of the ramayana tends to treat hanuman as a more sinister character than other versions and these kind of variations are what contributes to the richness of the story of the ramayana(Im talking about a generic ramayana,not any specific version).

In that way,the movie Ravanan/Ravan can be expressed as the director's interpretation of the epic (Not a very good one though :P) but there is nothing very new about it as localized or individual interpretations of epics have been done for literally,thousands of years.Thus,there is no point to the outcry at all.

A bunch of thoughts.

2010-06-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

One's memories are a confusing thing - When memories of past happenings flash through the mind,one does not really relive the experience.Rather,one tends to view them with the not readily apparent purpose of deconstruction,with speculations about alternate choices and contemplation about what could have been,and satisfaction with what has happened.

I look back at the memories I have with me,from the earliest that I can remember to the present moment ,with a sense of awe with regard to the constancy of change,and I realize that life is about wanting to hold on to the present while the future draws us to it.And about how we as individuals change,subtly and in a manner that we ourselves don't seem to be aware of.

Life is also about finding happiness and satisfaction in one's existence and about trying to spread the cheer to the rest of the universe.

And there seem to be cycles that persist,with different people moving on to the roles that one once held and oneself moving on to other roles to play.Life is also about trying to reconcile with the past and look forward to a wonderful future.

And definitely,life is about understanding oneself and finding peace.

The relevance of individuality.

2010-06-13T21:17:00.001-07:00

"I'm unique,just like everyone else" - This is a catchy slogan that I have seen a lot of times , in a number of places. The seemingly self-contradicting statement brings out an important question that is quite relevant in today's world - How important and relevant is individuality in the world today?

Sadly, individuality seems to be a not-so-important thing ,with most people automatically conforming to a set group mentality , sometimes without even being aware of the change in them.One's peer group seems to influence a person's outlook on things to fit in line with a perceived 'normal' one.When an individual faces off against a group,more often than not,the will of th individual seems to be subjugated by the collective will and even if the individual really does not comply with the subjugation, he is perceived as inferior but he group in question and eventually,for the sake of maintaining his individuality,he is forced to ally with the group.

That leaves us with a conundrum of sorts with regards to the strength of individuality versus hive-minded collective strength.

Goodbye,Ol' year!

2009-12-28T04:21:00.000-08:00

Yet another year draws to a close and we await a fresh one.The end of any year is marked by a certain amount of wisdom gained by the mistakes that one made in the year that is just past ,and a lot of hope for the year that is to be.The year 2009 was special (like all the years that came before it!),for a variety of reasons and had its own share of joys and sorrows,testing times and moments of jubilation(few and far between :P).I await the year 2010 with hope in my heart and with the belief that I have the strength to battle all odds that might come my way and emerge triumphant.

Kollywood-Magic Masala

2009-07-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

Standard Tamil 'masala' movie setting:
Hero meets Heroine when he is visiting the city to check on his sister who had recently got married,falls in love with her at first sight and teleports to Switzerland along with the heroine where he participates in a song and dance ritual and then teleports back to Tamilnadu and beats up a bunch of goons who subject the heroine to very poor jokes replete with innuendos after which the heroine falls in love with the hero and the villain happens to see the heroine at a traffic intersection and starts lusting after her and sends goon after goon to abduct the heroine who keep getting beaten up by the hero who also takes breaks in between to sing duets with the heroine and to engage in a dance sequence at a local bar where a buxom lady with an abundant torso dresses up in ribbons and sings suggestive songs which have loud,percussion beats in the background.The villain finally manages to abduct the heroine and keep her tied up and gagged in a godown which the hero manages to infiltrate and finally face the villain in a fisticuff.
The outcome of this confrontation shall generally decide the climax of the movie.Lets try out different 'climaxes' in the above situation.

1.'Departed' ending:
Hero takes a gun and points it at the villain who is barely conscious.The villain's lead goon manages to get up from the trashing that the hero gave him and after seeing the mortal peril in which his boss is,takes his own gun and shoots the hero who just manages to shoot the villain,who also shoots from his gun but the bullet gets richoted and hits his lead goon and all three of them die.End-Credit sequence:Heroine marrying the police officer who unties and ungags her.

2.'Star Wars' ending:
Hero manages to trash the villain up and is about to killhim when the villain announces :"Iam your father" when a slowed down version of the movie's theme music plays in the background.Hero manages to kill the villain albeit with tears in his eyes.End-Credit sequence:Heroine hugging the hero who just cant seems to stop the efflux of tears from his eyes.The heroine remains unaware of this,of course.

3.'Octopussy' ending:
The heroine is revealed to be the real antagonist while the villain is simply a hapless victim of her manipulations.It is revealed that the heroine's sister had commited suicide ten years prior to the movie's setting after the hero had engaged in acts of voyeurism when she was bathing and ever since then,the heroine had only wanted to wreak vengeance on the hero.The hero manages to placate her rage after delivering a long monologue about how it was not him but his friend who had played peeping Tom, after which the heroine begins to feel remorse and apologizes to the hero but before he can reply,pieces of the ceiling fall on her and she dies.The villain disappears wihtout explanation by now.End-credit sequence:A yellow blurb on the screen appears,explaining the 'precariousness of love' with a voice over by the director,whose throat could well use a heavy dose of throat lozenges.

4.'Beauty and the beast' ending:
The hero manages to bash the villain up and is about to deliver a fnal blow when the heroine who has managed to ungag herself screams "No!" and then reveals that she is in love with the villain.The hero remains stolid while the villain breaks down.End-credit sequence:The heroine and the villain move towards the sunset while the hero settles own with the heroine's younger sister.

5.'Batman' ending:
The villain kills the heroine and laughs maniacally while the hero beats him up to a pulp after which the police arrive and take the villain into custody.Thr hero swears upon the heroine's funeral pyre that he shall avenge her death by protecting other innocent women and is next shown stalking a very devious looking character.End-credit sequence:Yellow blurb with 'thodrum'(Meaning 'to be continued') appears.

6.'Looney Tunes' ending:
The hero beats the villain into submission,rescues the heroine and marries her.The main comedian who also is the hero's best friendlooks into the camera,breaks the fourth wall and says the last line of the movie.

Nursery rhymes:Tarnishing innocence?

2009-06-21T02:28:00.000-07:00

It always takes a change of perspective in observing something to cause a paradigm shift and the observer may not really look at the issue/object being observed as he did before.As examples,i would like to showcase a few nursery rhymes and subject them to a slightly different kind of scrutiny than they are normally subjected to:

1. One,Two,
Buckle my shoe;
Three,four,
Shut the door;
Five,Six,
Pick up sticks;
Seven,Eight,
Lay them Straight;
Nine,Ten,
A big Fat Hen

This particular rhyme seems to resemble a set of instructions instructing the reader to dress up,close the door and engage in sexual activity,the eighth line-'Lay them straight' open to two different interpretations-1.Imagery of the erection of a phallus and 2.Engaging in intercourse,with 'Lay' being a common colloquially used argot for the same.The tenth line-a big fat hen can be interpreted as conjuring up the 'image' of a pregnant female.

2. Ding,dong bell;
Pussy's in the well;
Who put her in?
Little Tommy thin;
Who pulled her out?
Little Tommy Stout;

The above lines from a very popular nursery rhyme seems to put forth imagery of penile erection(Little Tommy Thin and Little Tommy Stout being possible euphemisms for a Phallus before and after erection).Also,the line Pussy's in the well can be understood to mean what is known more popularly as a 'Wet Pussy'.

With the targeted audience consisting of young children from the ages of 3 to 6 possessing a very receptive and adaptable psyche,perhaps we should start advocating the use of other,more ingenuously structured works of literature in place of 'Nursery Rhymes' like the above mentioned for the purpose of education of the same.

Coitus in Comics:The problems.

2009-06-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

The majority of the comic book characters being either of extra-terrestrial origin(eg.Superman,The Martian Manhunter,Captain Mar-vell) or belonging to a non-'human' species(The X-men),one wonders what is the mechanism by which these characters seem to fall in love and/or engage in sexual intercourse with other 'normal' characters,considering the fact that if they are of a different species than normal homo sapiens,the physiology of these characters must be considerably different.The accepted mechanism of sexual attraction between two members of the same species stresses on the vamero-nasal organ in the nose and on pheromones ejected by the two organisms in question.And generally,the attraction is endogamic for a species and does not affect members of other species.And so,under normal circumstances,sexual attraction shouldn't occur between the above mentioned characters and their human peers,especially the characters with the extra-terrestrial origin such as Superman for assuming the development of the kryptonian humanoid species to be as advanced as stated in the comic books,he must be highly evolved as compared with his human companions such as Lois Lane or Lana Lang.Another problem would be his strength and speed which will obviously be too great for a normal human female to handle.Also,considering that Krypto,Superman's canine companion from Krypton posesses human-level cognisance and intelligence,one wouldn't be wrong in assuming that humans are as evolved to kryptonians as dogs are to us(Assuming that the Kryptonians are themselves descendants of a terrestrial human like species,which will be highly unlikely too) and hence,any sexual activity between Kal-el(Superman) and Lois or any other human for that matter amounts to bestiality.
Even the X-men,though of a terrestrial origin ,are still an advanced species as compared to humans but the possibility of mutual sexual attraction between the mutants(homo superior) and baseline humans(homo sapiens) is still plausible as inter-species breeding has been observed(mostly in captivity) between verisimilar members of the same biological family such as between dogs and wolves and lions and tigers.But,in the case of mutants possessing profound physical manifestations of their mutations(eg.Beak of the X-men) which would also include changes to their gonads,this will not be the case.
Maybe,comic book characters and their romances are to remind us that love is all transcending and can unite even wholly different species.And considering the many alien abduction claimants in which the subject has claimed to have had sexual intercourse with one of his/her captors,one wonders whether this holds a key to superman's problems.

Dentistry on infinite earths!

2009-06-10T08:46:00.001-07:00

I was at the dentist's place getting a root canal procedure done on a tooth and comic book and cartoons fanatic that iam,i was wondering then,how different chracters would react ,when they are at the dentist's.
Everyone's favourite Wolverine/James Howlett/Logan wouldn't have a need to visit the dentist,thanks to his healing factor which will naturally ensure that a cavity never forms on his teeth as his healing factor will make sure that eroded parts,if any,automatically grow back.Also,his jaw bones being laced with Admntium will make impossible any attempted tooth extraction.
The Man of steel himself,Superman's dentist would have to be superstrong himself and also have a pair of the most efficient and strongest forceps.Also,i wonder,how would a dentist drill old Clark's teeth?Hmm,How about a Kryptonite drillbit?
Batman probably has a 'anti-dental problem spray' in his utility belt.
Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde of Xcalibur&X-men can simply phase the problematic tooth away.Her teammate nightcrawler can also do something similar-teleport without the tooth.
Johny Storm of the fantastic four can turn into his torch form and this shall burn any microbe that might be present.And he only needs to this a certain number of times a day to ensure oral hygiene and doesnt even need to brush or floss!(Not a great role-model for kids though.)
The only people who would have real problems with their teeth are the many non-superpowered ones or the ones who are still fundamentally human as fas ar their physiology is concerned-blue beetle,spiderman,Professor X,Green arrow,Vgilante etc.But even they wouldn't really have a problem thanks to the many 'alternate' treatments available in their respective worlds.

Point of growing up?

2009-06-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

We,as children were capable of a lot of things and more importantly,have the right kind of attitude and self-inspiration to set out and try and do something.But when we grew up,things keep changing and we ended up in the great rat race,in a void from which we cannot hope to exit.Things excited us,when we were kids.There were no labels for preferences and certainly no hidden worries about the viability of things.And we were truly happy as children and when we laughed,we meant it and our dreams almost always were about joyous things.Small things such as going out to eat,stroking a dog etc was all that was required to make us happy and every kind of worry could be whisked away in a matter of few minutes.
For some reason,when we grow up,we change from what we were as kids and the change is almost certainly not for the better.Things do not excite us anymore like they used to and our quest for understanding and learning dulls.
I,as a kid was genuinely interested in learning about new things.Science used to fascinate me and i had tastes of genuine happiness.There wasn't a need to conform and i was satisfied with what i was.Now,when i look back at my 20 years of life,i find that i haven't been living in the true sense of the word after i turned 13.Nothing seems to fascinate me anymore.I haven't truly laughed for 7 years and nor have i been clear in my head.
I am inspired to seek that shall get me up again.I wish to be truly happy and for that,i quest to find the child in me again so that i can live again.

Tempus Fugit

2009-01-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

Time is one of the lesser understood things about the universe and there have been many interpretations and attempts to explain time,scientifically and otherwise.Many great works of art and literature have attempted to personify time in different ways.According to me,the ideal way to represent time will be a shapeless mass with wings-Time simply flies at times(pun intended,if you consider the previous statement to be one).I guess that this is yet another post about reminiscences about the past and expectations for the future and i,for all,only seem to be posting about this particular topic.Anyway,there seems to be a sudden break in my train of thought so i shall continue with the topic later,hopefully.

Looking forward,looking back

2008-12-28T07:15:00.000-08:00

I was reading a few blogs i had got hooked onto,randomly of course and the amazing thing was most of them had kept their blogs for a very long time(for a few years atleast!).And i,as usual,got set into the contemplative mood that about how time will move on real fast and in no time,i will be out on my own two feet!It just feels like yesterday when i finished school and heck,i remember my first day at college and time has moved on in a flash and iam in the middle of my third year of college(the penultimate year for undergraduate engineering in India)!In no time at all,my undergraduate education will be over and i have to move on to the next thing.Change is definitely something that iam bound for,like everyone else on this planet.Sometimes,i wish that life was like a newspaper comic strip(like Calvin and Hobbes,for eg.) in which change never happens and the characters are virtually stuck for ever(or till subscription is cancelled) in their ages but as i realized,life is more like a sitcom or a series with a beginning and an end,with change being a constant companion.In the 19 years till now,things have changed but the essential picture still remains the same.Omnia Mutantur,Nihil Interit,one might say and it is indeed a true realization.I laugh when i think of the trivial,very unimportant things i used to worry about when i was a kid and i shall be laughing at the things i worry about now,in the future.The new year is about to start in a few more days and it shall bring with it,its own tribulations and little joys,the ones which shall matter most,finally.One's experiences are what makes each of us unique and im thankful about the way my life is going on.
More importantly,Other people matter and no one can be a true recluse and iam thankful for having,as friends,the best people possible.I wish everyone a very Happy and 'Happening' New year and raise a toast in celebration of this meandering path called life on which we all trod on.
Cheers!

Transporter 3:Review

2008-12-09T20:46:00.001-08:00

Here's a toast to the fact that Hollywood is finally opening up to the concept of a 'Masala' movie/Mass movie,because that's what transporter 3 finally was-An Hollywood equivalent of a 'Masala' flick,complete with 'punch' dialogues(not bad,but they should consider hiring our captain Vijaykanth's personal scriptwriter. .),The lead pair falling for each other in a sugary sort of way and of course,the fights.

As a matter of fact,i expected a song and dance sequence Ala the 'duet' song sequences that we are so used to here which fortunately or unfortunately,did not happen.around 10 minutes into the movie,we are shown a confrontation between the hero and one of the goons as a 'flashback' sequence.I have already posted about it on a previous post so it will be redundant to post it again.The background score too was a mixture of good old tamil kuthu and a bit of orchestrated hip-hop and the usual 'action' score found in Hollywood(Now,that's what i call fusion!).The theatre was also filled with claps and whistles,adding on to the experience of a 'masala' movie.

The female lead,Valentina Vasilev was a bit of a letdown though. :(

Overall,the movie was not bad but there was nothing new in it,especially for us Indians who have grown up watching numerous 'mass' enterntainers.

Back for good?

2008-11-05T07:17:00.000-08:00

Im posting here after ages!The thing is actually,i dont ever feel like posting regularly,though i claim to the world that iam a blogger. . :).Me back home for study holidays.

The world through looney-eyed glasses. .

2008-09-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Stress is bad,they say.Stress can kill,they say too.And what has this got to do with what iamk going to write here?pretty much nothing except probably the fact that iam slowly slipping into a deep dark gorge of insanity,probably due to stress anddddd a lot of other things,which iam not really sure about.Nothing feels the same anymore at all,it feels like there's something wrong with the world. . i kina feel like bugs bunny in that old cartoon clip in which the artist keeps adding and removing stuff from the visible environment that bugs lives etc.And i know the whole mood of this post is a bit melodramatic and that's not without reason too-that's how iv been for quite some time now.and add that to the feeling of emptiness and a bit of paranoia i seem to have about how everyone seems to be edging on me,im becoming mad,if iam not already. . .

Movee of the century

2008-05-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

If you noticed the way 'movie' is spelt in the title and wondering why,here's the answer:I was soo 'moved' by watching a few videos of the following movies,i thought it would be better to call them a 'Move'e ( :-P ).
There have been quite a few great works of video-art from this state in India but only a very very small percentage of them can be deemed as real entertainers,in terms of comedic value.These are truly cult films and iam sure,will have a large fanbase for eons and eons to come.The following are a few that testify the 'grateness' of tamil cinema.

1.Veerasaamy (2007):

Starring none other than Tamil Nadu's own answer to Yogi Bear and other similar anthomorphic bears,this movie is one highly entertaining piece of cinema,with everything to boast-Its got er,highly melodious songs with equally fast paced dance numbers and videos,including a belly dance routine by none other than Karadi himself.

Plot-in-short:

Bear-man is a superhero of sorts who saves people and finally saves the world by dying in the end.

The trailer-True Animal Planet material :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ixP2fGKrYM

2.Yaarukku Yaaro (Year unknown. . .truly timeless material):

A song sequence from this truly great movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0iXYpHXWIA

This movie stars Sam Anderson-A messiah of sorts for tamil cinema.This guy stars as a Jesus Christesque figure who also works as a car mechanic and redeems thieves etc.A truly inspiring movie watching which will definitely make the sanity in you expire(Pun intended. . ).

Exams beckon me!

2008-05-06T04:31:00.000-07:00

The end is here.
The end of a week of not doing anything,with its share of visitations etc.
The end of the study holidays for my semester examination (?!).
Just before the holidays started,i made up my mind to study for the coming exams during my time here and also have my share of fun.Turns out that if you have two things at hand,you get either or you get none :P.So,now iam, a few hours away from boarding the train but ahvent really done anything in preparation for the exams.
Anyway,hoping for the best. . .
Here's to a fun-filled two weeks of exams! ! !(We guys in our college definitely know how to have fun and exam-time is no barrier to it. . .)

why do i blog?

2008-05-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

The above-written is the question that does rounds in my head whenever i sign into blogger(quite rarely,actually).I repeat the question:"Why do i blog?".Considering the fact that i don't really have anything to rant about nor do i have any 'solutions' that would help humanity progress and due to the extremely slow-nature of the wireless network connection which they provide in college and also the fact that blogger was websensed (and later,'dansguardianed'! ! ! or should it be 'dansguarded'?) and even when i come home,i rarely sign into blogger,Why do i blog???I guess this is my third blog now,the 2 predecessors to this having been erased from the history of blogsville.And when i started this,i went to the extent of creating multiple pages and linking them up using a new template that i downloaded and modded.I promised my virtually non-existent readers to update this blog once every week or atleast once every fortnight,like always but hey,promises are made to be broken!I guess iam not really making any sense now but hey,its my blog and i have the right to be nonsensical if i want to be! muhahahahahah! ! !I know quite a few people,dedicated bloggers who blog to inform their readers about the advancements in technology etc. . .Phew!Anyway,i get ideas for my blog every night but eh,im too lazy to actually type the whole darn thing out and post it. . .id rather have a coke .he he

CERTIFIED NONSENSICAL TYPING

Rss.6000 for a month! ! !

2008-04-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

My parents went to the states last month to visit my sister and before they left,deposited about Rs.13000 in my account,to handle any possible urgent need of cash when they werent here.Rs.1600 went to the mess bill of the month and the rest of the cash kept on passing thorugh my hands and now,i have only Rs.6000 left! ! !its not that my parents will be apprehensive about it or anything but i sort of feel guilty,considering the fact that i spent the entire stuff on soft drinks and snacks etc. . [:(]

Wanted:Ideas for un-websensing

2008-03-25T05:15:00.000-07:00

Its been quite a while since i last logged on,blogger being a banned site in my college's filtering system which uses websense and DansGuardian being the primary reason. A lot of other sites have been blocked too-orkut and other social networking sites(facebook is still accessible,for some reason).Most of the forums and blogs are blocked, including my favourite http:/www.badastronomy.com.
But,thankfully ,some sanity still remains and these sites are accesible from the common internet access point in Tifac-core.Lots of other people are using portable tor to bypass the filters but it doesnt seem to work on my computer.And without access to these sites,its almost like we hostelites have been caged-even the new grills on the hostel verandah openings and the newly consturcted walls seem to testify this!
Someone,please give me an idea that would help. . .

On Sultan

2008-01-18T21:43:00.000-08:00

For quite sometime now,there has been some excitement and hoopla generated about the release of the animated movie:Sultan-The eternal warrior in which the main character likeness is based on the most bankable actor in indian cinema-'Superstar' Rajnikanth.The idea of a real-life actor being reimagined as a larger-than-life version of himself is not particularly new to Indian cinema.
The '80s comic-book series 'Supremo' starring Amitabh Bachhan(scripted by Gulzar and published by IBH) is what comes to mind.'Supremo' featured (no points for guessing) a superhero called Supremo whose alter-ego was the real-life Amitabh Bachhan.The comic book was,at one point of time,titled :"The adventures of Amitabh Bachhan"!
I feel that something similar is happening with 'Sultan',with animation effectively replacing the print/comic book media.But still,though Supremo eventually proved to be a failure,the same wont possibly happen with Sultan,mainly due to the fact that its Rajnikanth,who is riding on a high wave and that a full-fledged animation movie from an Indian studio will definitely be well-recieved,moreso with the various experts involved-A.R.Rahman for music direction,Thotta Tharini for art direction etc.
The second trailer which was recently released was promoted very well and looks fabulous.
Anyway,here are some links:
-> http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/supremoi.htm
This is the 'international superheroes database' profile page of supremo
- > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtju2gYrZFg
This is the trailer of Sultan-The eternal warrior
(As a side note,the art in sultan seems a bit like prince of persia.who knows,maybe a game featuring 'thalaivar' is up next!)
- > Here is the poster-art of 'Sultan':
- >Here are some of the pictures of 'The big B' as Supremo:

Anyway,i'v been thinking-how does a superhero based on vijaykanth sound?note the fact that hes already doing the job in all his movies!

The science of looking good.

2008-01-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

This post ought to have been a part of the science and technology tab but i have put it up here because i thought any person would be interested in the topic so iam putting it up here,in the general blog section.
Physical attractiveness has an important biological significance and to an extent,social significance.there was a small article in The Hindu some months ago,about a survey on the importance of beauty in their perception of people and it was found that people generally open up better to people who are conventionally beautiful than those who are not(though of course,the definition of beauty differs across cultures and people).
What constitute physical attractiveness is an interesting:
For men,a 'v' torso or atleast a proportionate torso,a slim waist and being tall constitute the main factors.Also,the face is expected to be slightly longer than the 'usual'.Also,a broad forehead and a broad jaw are generally thought to be symbols of masculinity.The importance of other secondary characteristics like the colour of the skin and the amount of muscle on the arms vary with people,though from what i have observed,in india atleast,people tend to prefer a fair complexion and muscular arms.Also,women seem to prefer an erect posture
in men.
Men dont have a universal set of protocol about women though.Different men seem to have a different idea on the attractiveness of women.While some men prefer thin females with a slim waist,others prefer plump females,though the waist to hip ratio seems to be a universal factor.Men also seem to prefer a female shorter than themselves and here,in india,a lighter skin tone though not too fair.

Essentially,people seek out mates who seem to be of better reproductive health.

I remember seeing a programme aired on discovery channel a few years ago which dealt with the same topic.It was shown that people prefer mates who are similar to themselves.ie,have similar kind of features.This is probably a evolutionary necessity to preserve one's features over generations.

'Cuteness' is another important factor which seems to be universal rather than culture-dependent,thus hinting at a common physiological reason.People and animals or anthropomorphic characters generally considered cute seem to have a larger head to body ratio,with larger facial features.This feature is seen in most of the young ones of different animals and so is a biological failsafe which ensured that the young ones of various species are cared for.

Humans also seem to have other criterion for judgement of looks such as clothes worn ,manner and like-mindedness etc.sometimes,trinkets and jewels are found to accentuate beauty.this behaviour is also seen among many animals during the mating season when some adorn themselves with items for ornamental purposes,such as leaves,shells etc.Clothes may affect the physical attractivenss of a person because they can accentuate and highlight the different characteristics by means of visual illusions.For example,vertical stripes will make a person look taller and horizontal stripes will accentuate the breadth of the torso,especially the chest.Here,in India,Full-sleeved shirts are generally worn by thinner people and half-sleeves by plumper people and this maybe because they seem to add proportion to the body.The colour of clothes worn are also important,though they vary with cultures.certain cultures seem to prefer duller shades while others seem to prefer brighter shades.

The way one talks also seems to be a criterion and this is significant because till now,humans are the only species that seem to have the concept of languages and the only species to invent them,probably.The way one talks may be a subconscious indicator of how he/she has adapted to using a recent development and hence,an indicator of stronger genes.Intelligence also seems to be a important criterion,and from the evolutionary point of view,is significant,i suppose.

And when i analyze myself,i dont seem to fit in anywhere here,lol. . .

Revamped blog

2008-01-12T23:21:00.002-08:00

Im in the process of doing a make-over of my blog.I have changed the template and created tabs for photos,stories and poems which i sometimes write ,science and technology.the revamping process is not yet complete and hopefully i will be adding more content and functionality. . .do give me your reviews and suggestions. :)

Our choice(really?)

2007-12-11T20:22:00.000-08:00

In our college,last semester,there was this hype about the fact that from the next sem (which is the immediately coming semester),we would be allowed to choose our courses and faculty etc. . .kinda sounded good then. . .and yesterday was the day they sorta activated it. . .but for this semester alone,cuz its a transition from the earlier system to this,it was posted that we would be allowed to choose our division only and that from the next semester,it would be activated in a full-fledged way.well,it turns out that in each of the so-called choices,there is really nothing different from the other and we got classes on Saturdays and we got classes till 19:30 hours on Fridays. . ie,the timetable is so cramped ,we don't even have space for breathing. . .the only redeeming factor is the presence of some real good faculty and the fact that most of the people i know are in the same division.
hmmm,on a side note,the vacation in chennai was so much fun and a major stress reliever. . .and i guess i would be needing more of it after the semester starts. . :P

Do 'U' want to be in the public 'I' in the 'E' world of Orkut?

2007-12-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple of things i thought i should post here(if i didnt think i should post here, would i be posting then?).Now in Orkut,them having introduced this 'updates from friends' ticker,its easy to be in your online friends' view all the time. . .how?click on edit profile and do some minor changes in your profile like adding or removing a comma in your 'about me' or adding a movie in your 'favourite movies' etc. . .these changes would show up on your friends' tickers and i guess they (some of them atleast)would want to visit your profile to see the changes and even if there is no sea-change,they would still try to see the change. . ..thus,the number of people visiting your profiloe would increase. . .

Anyway,on a side note,i sorta felt iam being more of myself in my blog rather than i was when i used to have a diary-of-sorts. . .lol. . .and anyway,the diary thing was just a passing fad. . .i maintained it for around 3-4 weeks and now,i have totally forgotten about it. . .and disposing my diary would be easy too. . .i just delete it(the diary is stored in my laptop in a seperate folder with different passwords for the folder and for the actual file. . .)

Mokkai central

2007-12-01T00:50:00.000-08:00

Last night,when on the intra-metro train from tambaram to mambalam,we passed a lot of stations. . .I tried thinking of some bizzare etymologies for them. . .

In a particular palce,there was a guy with a very bad toothache.He called his dentists up and they told,"Palla?Varom. . .".Hence,the place became known as pallavaram. . .:P

In another place,there was an office with no mass transportation facilities. . .So,they called the local vehicle factory up and told "Pala van thaangal". . .The place is of course,palavanthangal.

In yet another place,a guy was trying ti train his dog. . .it refused to budge,even a bit. . .and he said to it "Sei da,pet!". . .No points for guessing the name of the place,it is saidapet. . .

There was a guy on the train selling pens with LEDs on them. . .He was like,"Light pen,anju rooba!". . .I thought,how much would a 'heavy' pen cost then?

Today,when i logged onto orkut,on seeing the scraps in my scrapbook,a thought struck me :"Regardless of how many scraps u ahve,u still cant use it in a foundry"

And now,i kinda just logged off from gtalk. . .there was a custom message option. . .With a "custom message" option,why not an "easy message" option?

Funny!

2007-11-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

Duh!i guess certain things are only meant to crack you up. . .im talking about this lingerie ad in the metroplus supplement of The hindu for a particular company's line of bras and it says,"FLAT 50% OFF". . .i guess the peopel were just probably refering to some discount offered but the double-meaning totally cracked me up!also,when i went to globus,there was a sign pointing to the dressing room and just above that a notice saying "This place is under constant surveilance by security cameras". . .!

Post #1

2007-10-02T07:50:00.001-07:00

I was totally dissatisfied with my previous blog and i deleted it.This will be my new blog and i guess,it will find its own purpose soon enough. . .:)