My friends are friends

I don't know if any of my dear readers have ever tried to clap for 5 minutes non-stop. It hurts your palms - at least my experience says so. As a part of the Christmas Program, for which I was the tutor, I took my students to the ballet - "Le Corsaire". The ballet was simply superb and it has totally changed my opinion about ballet/opera/etc.

There were a minimum of 60 performers on the stage and about 1200 (supposedly elegant/elite) people watching the performance. It was awesome and the hall was roaring with claps for at least 5 minutes. :)

Whenever you get a chance, do go for such a thing - at least once. [Boys: Take your girl-friend with you. Girls: If your boyfriend doesn't, then dump him].

This was just one of the umpteen wonderful things which happened in my life during the past few days. It would take hours before I could write everything here and I don't intend to bore you with all those details. And if I am to write the unconventional thoughts which occurred to me during my absence, then it would take ages to write them all.  :)

Anyway there is one little thing I want to write. Just like Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) says in "You've got mail", I feel slightly bad after a tit-for-tat reply to someone - even if that person earned it from me. [Apparently, I am usually good at these tit-for-tats]

And this happened during the Xmas celebration of the Kerala-Community in Munich.

I had never spoken with her earlier. So it was the first time ever conversation and I was decently gentlemanly. Well, She tried to insult me and what I said was a little over board and she just deserved it.

At that time I felt that a larger audience would have been nicer. The nasty version of me. ;)

I got to leave. My friend is coming home and I had promised "Blueberry pancakes" - let me go make them! Yummy!!!!!!!!! :)

Signing off, Sands.

PS: It's been sometime since I blogged the last time. Lack of mobility, lack of access to Internet etc. are the reasons for my absence. Well, now I am back - just to give some updates and leave soon. I shall be back with more power on my fingertips - later.

PPS: Almost forgot to tell about the title - I love to introduce my friends to each other. If they are friends among themselves too, then life becomes really good, right? This happened with 3-4 friends of mine and I am so happy about it.

Tricks of the trade!

In one of the web-sites I visit (more or less) regularly, I read the following line as someone's signature:

Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.

That single line made me smile, for it was just that morning, I was thinking something on similar lines. I was just feeling completely content about my identity. I was just feeling happy that I am happy in myself - the real self of mine. Just me -- not my status/relationships etc.

While walking from home that morning, I told myself that I could be really happy even if I was taken from this world and put in a different place - where everything would be new/unknown. I wouldn't be a doctoral student; I won't be an Indian. A place where none of those adjectives are valid - I will be still happy with the man I am.

Great, isn't it? Would everyone has this realisation-day? Am I too late or early in thinking so? Perhaps LATE: that could be the case - because I had another realisation that I am late in drawing conclusions, where as some of my friends make up their minds even before getting all the facts. So, it could very well be the case that I am late in getting this so called vision. Right?

Well, I don't know if this is the time when one is to leave all this material world and go, and turn to a monk. If it is so, I don't intend to do so! Let the reasons lie secret.  :)

Morning Beauty

Now, let's go to some little light weight stuff.

Yesterday, I was sitting beside a friend of mine and was reading a book. She was reading some book too. My position was a little behind her, so that I could not have seen her face, let alone her eyes. But I could see her book well.

At some point, I just stopped reading and placed my finger below a line in the open page of the book she was reading. And asked her - "Are you reading this line, right now?".

I should say that she was taken totally aback by surprise or shock; because of my reading her intimate thoughts? or by my telling of something which is perhaps impossible even if I had seen her eyes.

I couldn't have seen her eyes, she was not moving her fingers along the lines of the book. And it was not the very first line of the page, just when she turned the page. I reached my results with observations and my logical deductions! ;)

I had expected an accuracy of plus or minus one line. But it was luck that made the result so stunning.

Well, even though her pride usually denies accepting such intuitions, yesterday she did question me until I gave up my observations and deductions - for which the response was in the lines of "Oh, it was just so simple, just elementary". :( :(

I explained the whole incident to another friend, who asked me "how". And after listening to "how", she too said - "Well, you knew her well. No big deal". (Too bad that she didn't tell it before knowing the "how" part). The moral is that never give out the tricks of the trade.

End of It.

The picture you saw above is one I took this very morning. All the patterns are self formed - beautiful they are, right? There are two more of similar pictures. I give them below.  [Click to see larger/clearer images]

Could someone explain in detail about the designs and golden-ratio? Please do. Thanks in advance. If no one does, I shall have to do it myself.

Signing off, Sands.

PS: I am not being too pride of having done the reading the body-language thing. But it DID feel good!

~

I'm glad to... [a unordered post]

Yes, I am glad to be back to blogosphere. After being away from Internet for a few weeks' time, it gives me pleasure to be blogging again.

After the longest vacation at home in the past few years, I am glad to be back to be in working condition. I am excited to see my friends again, to chat/speak with the ones who are not near me.

Just like almost always, I am filled with energy. And I have come back to the game again and I am going to play well - very well. :)

Have to pick up everything from where I dropped them. That is going to be fun. Loads of challenge and thrill and fun. And to make things terrific, I have already signed up for the tutorship of Xmas program in the international students centre.

Getting good friends after 25 was thought to be not so easy a thing. Many people have told me so too. But I should beg to differ. After having found some of the best souls in the planet in the past 24 months, I shouldn't agree with it anymore, right? There are some of our thoughts which make us happier, if proven wrong! :)

So once again, let me say - I am glad to be back - with full power in mind and half power in my right leg.

The chocolate seller friend of mine once told me - "your craziness is limitless". Perhaps it is true - for one of the most important things I am going to miss because of the broken leg is that I cannot jump three of four steps together - while climbing up/down the stairs; I cannot run around jumping. What a pity, right? And of all the things, this is what I am most upset about! I should prioritise things better.

- the rest of the post is optional -

Another glad thing is that I and my cousin just realised that we are indeed cousins. Here is the excerpt from our chat. She praised me [holmes-ish] for a wonderful deduction which I did during our highly philosophical discussions about boundaries of the world -- both physical and ideological boundaries. [gtalk]

.....

She: kind of holmes-ish  [about me]

me: hey... :)
i have never had such a pleasure.... as i had now .. after seeing this holmes-ish...
:) :)
i am a 100% holmes fan

She: so am i!

....

.... long discussion about holmes ...

....

me: it is great to know that you are as crazy as I am... about holmes! :)
wonderful! :)

She: hmmm

...
....skipping.....
...

me: i would buy that .. if you replace holmes with potter (harry)

She: don't say a word against Potter
i won't have it

me: i am a harry potter fan and it's totally okay with me if one avid reader hasn't read potter
[Now only I saw what her opinion about potter was. So, after reading what she wrote about Potter I wrote:]
you indeed ARE my own dear cousin! :)

She: ha...wow!
now we know for sure!!!

me: yes! we do! :)

....

I had thought that she was normal! ;) And what a way to prove cousin-ship!

Signing off, Sands.

PS: I do promise to write better posts in the near future. :)

Am I Normal?

Was it sofia? or sonia? Would they announce it in every flight today?

After hearing the announcement "Happy B'day Sofia/Sonia", in the flight, I asked my neighbor. This was the very first thing I spoke with him.

He replied, "May be it's some passenger; So they need not do it in every flight".

"If that is a passenger, then they won't be using her first name. So, it could be one of the stewardess", I remarked.

He suggested that it could be child. Sure, then the first name could be used.

I thought that it made sense, but I let it rest without mentioning "Birthday Paradox" to say that, there are more than 23 people in the flight and blah blah blah to prove my point. [Well, I hadn't realised at that time that he had enough math background to understand without explanation]

But I marked it in my mind that my neighbor in the flight was a smart fellow indeed. :) ... and he turned out to be a really smart fellow.

Well.... that is not the point, right? Just wanted to show the oddity! ;)

After my accident, I never did a detailed report of the event. :) .. It was mainly three or four things which I thought about... just after the accident.

I had seen the car (a green one) coming towards me and I knew that it would hit me and of course, my calculation was right! [If only I were wrong!!]

Well, after getting hit, I was thrown away and my bike was thrown away as well. While in the air, I saw my bike flying above me (I say above, because, I remember it vividly that I saw the flying bike and sky was the background).

I fell, people came around me, informed the police ... blah blah blah. It was paining, my leg was the only organ which was hurting and I was not scared at all ... as I knew that it's only my leg which is hurt. (Even though I didn't know ... to what extent it was hurt. I hadn't expected to have broken both the bones)

First thought: WOW! Time slows down. I had seen it in a documentary, that... when we are having an accident or something, our brain-clock ticks way fast that we feel and see everything in slow motion. And I knew in that instant - why the sight of flying bike was so clear and vivid to me.

Second thought: What if I were a primitive man? I just thought that if I were a primitive man (say neanderthal) then there might not be anyone to help me out.. and some animal would come after sometime and eat me. Then I realised that I would be dead because of the cold even before any animal would find me. Then I corrected myself that, if I were indeed a primitive man, I wouldn't have had an accident at all. (Crazy me.. right?)

Third thought: I am missing the important meeting with professor. This one I even shared with the nice fellow who was holding me from moving and hurting myself further. He said me that it's fine. Then I also said him "So ist das Leben" -- meaning ... "Such is life" .. "no complaints". This was of course a very normal thought.

The fourth thought was really crazy and I should give the credit of the thought/dream to the sedative which was flowing through my arteries. I dreamt about matrix/real-world/what-is-real/Nietsche etc. etc. It was an awesome dream which felt like for hours but I can't explain all of it in words. That dream, I am sure, was really not so normal.

I didn't tell about these things to others, as they might find me a little(?) crazy. But now I am posing before you, the question "Am I normal?". Am I???? (Yes, I know, I am :) )

Signing off, Sands.

PS1: There was a BBC documentary series "Am I" -- "Am I normal", "Am I Obese" .. etc. etc. The title reminds me of the series

PS2: Does it sound like I am blowing my own trumpet? ;)

Overwhelming....!

Many a time, this word "overwhelming" is used to exaggerate. But this time, I should think that it is not enough.

Last weekend, I flew to home - back to India. As I am a little disabled for the coming month ,because of the broken leg, I preferred to stay with my family where I get enough care. (In fact, I was getting enough or even more than enough care at Munich itself. I don't have enough words to thank my friend. And also, thanking would make it formal and I don't like it.)

So, I reached home on Sunday, morning 10. :)

Now, take a guess - How many visitors did I have during the first two days?

There were 49 visitors in the first 36 hours at home. After seeing the number of people came to visit me at Munich, I was thinking - "hey I am popular enough". Now, after these many visitors here, I just don't know what to think.

Well, I so happen to be popular by myself; a son of well connected parents  (vitamin B) and the brother of a *very* active, popular sister. :)

I am going to have a 4 week vacation - just for reading and taking rest. :)

Signing off, Sands.

PS1: The idea of getting the count of visitors - credit goes to my sister. (she has written down even the names of all)

PS2: Vitamin B -- is a style/usage in German for "connections"/"good network of friends" ... etc.

Well, it's tough...

When I want to have two celebrations and a news update in a single entry, things are difficult... even giving a sensible title itself is tough.

I should perhaps start in the reverse order... starting with the news update. I met with an accident. I don't want to bore you with details. A few days after the accident, I called up a friend of mine and asked her to inform the rest of our group, she sent an email... a small one which explained everything well.

while going with cycle, car hit – thrown away– cycle  too was thrown – broken (right) leg  – hospitalized by police and helpful German people – steel rod inside leg – after operation, while getting awake, bit oxygen tube – lungs trouble, some small damage  – doctors concerned – put in Intensive Care – now lungs problem over – can walk with crutches – will get discharged tomorrow.

(As the email was partly in Malayalam, I have taken the liberty to translate/modify to English. And I have not asked her .. if I could use her email.. [permission taken for granted.. ;)] )

So that's the story and I was in the hospital for a week - starting with ICU, then Casualty and finally in normal ward. It was a different experience and no bad feelings at all. Now back at home for the past 5 days.

Now to celebration one : I have written earlier - I feel at times that I am getting more than I deserve, and I felt it again while in hospital. I was simply overwhelmingly happy by the people (so many of them) who came to visit me. I am so glad that all of them really did take the effort to come to me and spent time with me, spoke with me.. [well, that's an outright lie - in most of the conversations, I did more than 80% of the talking ;)]

Almost wherever I go, I land up having many friends or very good acquaintances. And the same is true here as well. My neighbor in the hospital ward was impressed. ;)

Once again I want to say that I was very glad that so many people came to me. I was not disappointed by the ones who were not in Munich... they did ring me up and gave their time and attention. My dear fellows, you all make a difference in my life and I am so glad. I feel blessed. :)

Now celebration two : This very entry happens to be the two hundredth (200) entry in my blog. Great... isn't it?

I thank all my wonderful, loyal readers. :)

Signing off, Sands.

PS: A bit of food for thought - While trying out Indian food, most of the foreigners like it in the first trial itself. While trying out European cuisine, most of the Indians complain about the lack of taste - in the first trial itself. And the worst part is here - Indians explain it that Indian food has all the great ingredients, masala etc. and is of course tastier. Wonderful explanation. But couldn't it be that foreigners adapt better, complain less and we are just cribbing all the time - thinking that *what we have* is better than *what they have*!!? ... Living in fools paradise?? What do you think?

Yet another one? - to make it half a dozen.

Before going to the main topic, I shall write down a small thing.

On 17th of September, I was coming to the 3rd floor of my department building in the elevator (Lift). One side of the lift is a huge mirror. On that mirror, I found some dirt. On inspection, I realised that it was the oil from someone's head - when that someone had leaned back on the mirror and had rested his head there.

Well, nothing to do with me. I just left it. (The mirror is in the picture below -- the ghost like person is none but -- yours truly ;) )

After two days, in the lift, I saw the same thing. Then I realised that the cleaning people haven't cleaned it yet. So, it was 19th of September. I just wanted to know how long will it be there.

On that oily patch, I wrote "19" with my finger - so that the date will stay there every day and I'll not have to keep a count of it. (This theory simply is wrong - I have to keep the count in my mind.)

Anyway, the point is that I made a mark "19" on it.

And that is still there -- today being 23rd of October -- meaning, it is/was there for one month and 6 days. I don't know what are these cleaning people doing!

Well, coming back to the title. If I am not very much mistaken, I started my German course in October 2006, that is to say, I have been doing German courses for the past two years. And yes, I am enjoying the fruits of it. I am able to express myself better, I don't feel like an illiterate anymore, I can slightly flirt, my confidence has been boosted big time, I started a German blog etc. etc.

Again it is another October. Yes, on 22nd of October 2008, I have started to go for a French course (beginner's level). The first class was not bad at all.  This course is offered in the university and the teacher was really very sweet and wonderful.

Once I learn French too, then it will be the 6th language in my collection. Well, I almost never speak in Hindi for my accent is good enough to make any hindi-loving person have a broken heart! ;) .. but I count Hindi, as I can understand/read/write Hindi and also speak actually *well* with the wonderful mallu-accent!

Even though I fluently speak Tamil, I am an illiterate if you consider my writing/reading skills. Still, I do count Tamil! :)

Other languages being Malayalam, English and German. Not bad for a *young* fellow like me right? ;)

Give me another two years and then you'll see me speaking a little bit (very little bit) of Spanish as well... which is in the list of languages to be learned. :)

Signing off, Sands.

PS: The other day, I told my dad that my German has improved by leaps and bounds. Then he asked me - "So, Tamil or German -- which one is more easy for you?". I said, "of course Tamil". Then he laughed.. and said - "Ha ha .... now, I know how much your German must have leaped".

With a single sentence, he managed to crush my pride... by saying both my Tamil and German are bad! :( :( :(

Smart fellow, isn't he? ;)

Energetic People

Two days back, a friend of mine said - "I think, about 90% of all the people we meet are weird". Later, anyway she made it clear that I belonged to the rest 10%. I am sure that she was feeling good about being in that minority which she definitely considered to be "normal" .. or rather, "non-weird".

In fact, the definition of NORMAL itself is "what/how the majority does". If one looks from that point of view, we are the weird ones.

Fortunately, some of my friends, with whom I have *stuff* to do, belong to the minority of "weird" people. There is one common trait of these weird people - they are energetic. YES, THEY/WE ARE.

There is nothing in the world which can make them tired. Well, we are human too, we get physically tired, but the fire will be there inside us always. And many a time, we are good at sharing the energy! :) Great .. isn't it?

Trust me, it is not that difficult to have a good/positive way of thinking. It is perhaps much easier than having negative thoughts. If I get started on this topic, I am sure to go to "there is no spoon" - which is from the movie Matrix. But the idea "our mind is the most flexible thing" was developed by me even earlier! :)

Yes, that's the key. We, as specially intelligent creatures, can choose the mood which we want to be in. And I choose to be happy and energetic, with lot of plans and ideas always within me. {For the first time in the history of this blog, I dare say that if you think all this is just boasting, bragging.. I don't care}

Well, I have been blamed of writing too long posts. I better listen to my readers. And I should move my blogging days from Friday to Sunday/Monday - so that my readers are not tired when they see my blog! ;)

But there is a small message before I leave.

My dear fellow, you can decide whether you should let something affect you too much or too little. You can choose how happy you should be. Should you choose to be happy and energetic always, you will be. (Or at the least, most of the times). Please do give it a shot.

This message is to an Indian friend of mine - who comes to me everyday; who is almost always cribbing about life; who is a whining baby. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to listen to my advice! :(

Signing off,
Sands.

PS1: I once had an argument with the same friend (from the first paragraph) and another friend (a very energetic soul) about our ignorance of our ignorance. I am not ignorant that I am a normal human being who is bound to have the fatigue of a long week and I don't deny that I feel a little tired now. Let me head home! :)

PS2: These wonderful, lovely friends of mine here in Germany are from totally different fields of life - a programmer, a computer-linguistic student, a doctoral student and a German-teacher! :)

Post Script Long: The dialogue sequence from The Matrix [Youtube Link]

	Spoon boy:	Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead only try to realize the truth.
	Neo:	What truth?
	Spoon boy:	There is no spoon.
	Neo:	There is no spoon?
	Spoon boy:	Then you'll see that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.

Jam, Love, and Three girls

Lately, I am cultivating the habit of listening to some radio programs. Every morning, I do listen to one or two of the umpteen FM stations. (Language Learning through Radio Programs - I could write a book on that)

My favourite is (for no specific reason) Bayern Drei (don't bother the name). Just like every other station, they too have frequent reports on weather and traffic.

It is indeed surprising that, every morning, in the traffic report, they report at least 5 traffic jams; And that the traffic blocks are on an average 3 kilometres long. Indeed surprising, right?

Well, sometimes there is some news of an accident too, which could be accounted for one of the five traffic blocks.  Otherwise, how could there be so many long traffic blocks?

The fact which leaves me surprised is that, Germany wasn't developing (in the past 10 years or so) as fast as many third world countries are doing right now. I don't think that there was any car-population explosion, which was totally unexpected, so that the government didn't have enough time to make enough infra-structure. Still there are these JAMS!

After the report, I give a minute's thought to Bangalore and Chennai. And wonder, how bad it would be there?... if this is the situation here. (Don't forget that, here the pollution control is better, nobody sounds the horn and also that you can easily stay without lowering the glass - which is totally the other way around in India.)

(Did you expect something about the eatable jam?? after reading the cheesy title?)

Now is the better part: A little about languages.

How many words do we have in English, which mean LOVE? - Just one .. and that is LOVE. Whether it is a child's love to its mother, or a lover's love or any other love (even the love of/for God)

The situation is the same in German too. It is even worse because the word for love (liebe) is also used as 'dear' (only in female cases).

The word for 'love' is overloaded with so many meanings.

Now looking into Indian languages, there are a couple of words for love - depending on what type of love it is. Right? A mother's love  is not the same as a lover's love. There are different words for it.

All the same, a lover's love is best expressed in English! :) 
Since when am I this crazy? Writing about these things? That too, too incoherent!????

Well, let me wind up with a curious thing: I met three girls in the past 10 months. All three of them have something unusual in common - all three of them are children of dentist parents!
[ No,  they are not sisters ;) ]

Hmmm.. one of them is named Hermione. ;)
Others are real! ;)

Signing off, Sands.

~

Lot of Things :)

Since the last time I wrote something here, at least three topics have passed my mind, which I considered worth writing about. Lack of time kept me from writing.  :( ... Well, I was never in short of topics to talk/write about! ;)

At some point of time every year, I have a Holmes addiction phase. It usually lasts for about a month during which I re-read many/most of the adventures/stories of  Sherlock Holmes and refresh my memory. The stories are so wonderful that every time I read them, I have the same thrill (almost) which I had had in the first read. The wonderful friendship shared by Holmes and Dr. Watson gives me a special feeling too.

The language which Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle has used there is perhaps the best of all the English literature I have ever read.

This morning, I was listening to "The Hound of Baskervilles" (human-read MP3 -- available at project Gutenberg); later I listened to  "The Adventure of Empty House". At the end of this entry, I have added a small passage from "The Adventure of The Greek Interpreter", just to show the beauty of deduction. :) [You could very well avoid to read that]

But sometimes I do want to be able to remove the memories of some books which I've read, so that the re-read can be as pleasurable as the first read. I was reading a classic-of-the-future (Harry Potter part 1 and 2) again, and I felt the need of having forgotten the story to have the fresh-feeling! :)

This is surprising: - For the past two times, when I start to type in the new entry, I don't have the flow which I usually have. It feels like some block. My typing speed is really much above average (I believe) and this much of an entry should be typed in in a couple of minutes. But this time (last time too) I needed longer time than this much text-typing would take. I also hit the backspace a few times.

I believe/hope that this is just temporary. (Well, in fact, knowing the reason for this is really bad.  I have something in my mind which I am dying to write. But keeping from writing, as my readers (nor I) are not really ready for it. It has something to do with the 2-3 year challenge I once mentioned). So I have to get over this background topic, before I come to any other thing. Hence the little trouble.

These last two paragraphs came is with such an ease, that I myself am surprised! :)

Hey, I almost forgot to tell about the famous Oktoberfest. I had been already three (four) times there at the festival. All the time, with some friends. I should perhaps dedicate an entire post to the festival. Let me have my pictures ready, then I might do the post. :)

Before leaving, there is a small quote from one of the books I am reading lately. I have spent lot of time in trying to convince people - about Evolution. Daniel C Dennett sums it up - all that I have to say on that topic.

"To put it bluntly but fairly, anyone today who doubts that the varieties of life on this planet was produced by a process of evolution is simply ignorant - inexcusably ignorant, in a world where three out of four people have learned to read and write"

-- Daniel C Dennett (Darwin's Dangerous Idea).

Not agreeing with evolution: I would compare it with people not having accepted/agreed with heliocentric system - a few centuries ago.

Signing off, Sands.

PS: Below is the excerpt from "The Adventure of The Greek Interpreter". Mycroft Holmes is Sherlock Holmes' brother.

The two [sherlock and mycroft] sat down together in the bow-window of the club. "To anyone who wishes to study mankind this is the spot," said Mycroft. "Look at the magnificent types! Look at these two men who are coming towards us, for example."

  "The billiard-marker and the other?"
  "Precisely. What do you make of the other?"

The two men had stopped opposite the window. Some chalk marks over the waistcoat pocket were the only signs of billiards which I could see in one of them. The other was a very small, dark fellow, with his hat pushed back and several packages under his arm.

  "An old soldier, I perceive," said Sherlock.
  "And very recently discharged," remarked the brother.
  "Served in India, I see."
  "And a non-commissioned officer."
  "Royal Artillery, I fancy,'' said Sherlock.
  "And a widower."
  "But with a child."
  "Children, my dear boy, children."
  "Come," said I. laughing, "this is a little too much."

  "Surely." answered Holmes, "it is not hard to say that a man with that bearing. expression of authority, and sun-baked skin. is a soldier, is more than a private, and is not long from India."

  "That he has not left the service long is shown by his still wearing his ammunition boots, as they are called," observed Mycroft.

  "He had not the cavalry stride, yet he wore his hat on one side, as is shown by the lighter skin on that side of his brow. His weight is against his being a sapper. He is in the artillery."

  "Then, of course, his complete mourning shows that he has lost someone very dear. The fact that he is doing his own shopping looks as though it were his wife. He has been buying things for children, you perceive. There is a rattle, which shows that one of them is very young. The wife probably died in childbed. The fact that he has a picture-book under his arm shows that there is another child to be thought of."

Isn't this great? This example here sounds a little too far fetched. But Holmes would say - "Simplicity itself"

Reporting from Holland

I haven't been able to sit peacefully in the past 4-5 days. Those paintings from the last entry were the beginning of a busy schedule.

The onam celebration on the next day; The study tour (I was the tutor) to Nürmberg on Sunday and then flying to Amsterdam on Sunday evening -- All these kept me busy.

Even after coming here I happen to be busy (at home: talking with my friend) and then to the conference/workshop place.

The talks are good. Most of them, I follow well during the first half, then the things get a little too complicated to understand. But I did really enjoy a few talks. There were a few boring talks too! :)

I haven't got a chance to go around the city, yet!. My host happens to be a not-out-going person. Well, I knew that earlier. But after reaching here, I even realized that he is lately traveling in straighline in life - a one-dimensional life. (if he reads this entry, he might argue back - trust me guys, I am so right here)

So, all the touring has to be done alone. Well, after the conf. tomorrow. :)

By the way, something which happened yesterday reminded me of IIT mess(canteen). Sometimes when we went for dinner, we would be around a table, students from Kerala, TamilNadu, Karnataka, Orissa, Maharashtra, W.Bengal, MP, Bihar and so on.

Yesterday when we (I and some other Ph.D students) went for dinner, we were - from India, Italy, Germany, Greece, Mexico, Russia, USA and France - all around the same table. Great... isn't it?

All are very nice people and needless to say - very smart too! :) [Loved their company]

I have to leave now. Or else, I will be late for the afternoon session.

Signing off, Sands.

PS1: Forgot to bring my camera! :(

PS2: In a hurry - so, for just this entry, you may have the liberty of reading between the lines, if you find me not so clear in expressing, provided you won't read any bad things. ;)

Ice Breaker! :)

I wouldn't be in the blogosphere for the coming 10 days. It will make that a looooooong break and I will need to have a wonderful post to break the ice.

So, I am putting these pictures, so that there wouldn't be any long silence. ;) I am finding reasons to put my paintings! :)

Tomorrow is the Onam Celebration of the Malayali group of Munich. And these paintings of mine are going to be on the back wall of the stage... to make it non-blank! :) Isn't it great?

[forgive me for those magnets .. which are used to keep the pictures to my white board] :)

This one actually took about 90 minutes plus, where as I had wanted it to be a fast work.

The one below is a fast work - about 40-50 minutes and I am proud of it! :)

Needless to say: The pictures are copyrighted. No one may use these pictures for any money-making purposes -- without written permission from me! (Who am I? M F Hussain or what? OR Van Gogh himself?)

That's it my friends!

Till later, Signing off, Sands. [2:40 at night :( ]

PS: The pictures are good, aren't they? :)

Fire, fight and then... (something) ;)

It is going to rain in sometime. I have to leave soon - before it pours. After reading an article, my mouth is watering .. to have some steak. In the article, somebody (important) has asked everyone to reduce meat intake for reducing Global warming (what an obedient citizen I am!!). So, before it pours, I even have to go to the supermarket!

Before I go to the main topic: Do you even know what is the connection between eating meat and global warming? It is something worth knowing. Simplest thing to think is production = warming. But in case of cattle, think about the gases from the faeces. :)

Now, back to track - to the title.

I had been in the city today. I got stuck in one railway station, as there was some fire in one of the railway lines. (I hope things are fine now).

So, after waiting for sometime, I decided to take the tram. The tram was fully packed. I had to stand near the door of the tram (which will be closed/locked safely before the tram starts). The crowd was just increasing owing to the railway problem.

Then came in an old man (65-70). He suggested/requested (very decently) to others to move in a little inside, so that more people could get in. I was shocked to see that this was received with anger and protest from 3 other passengers.

They were a young man, a young lady and a little old lady. They started scolding this old man. They shouted, there is no more space inside. They told him to get out of the tram. Well, this young man used pretty nasty language, very disrespectful.

Finally, I raised my voice to help this old fellow. For the first time - an argument in German. I stressed only this much - If one really wants, there is space there to move further. Well, it didn't work. :(

I am at least happy that I didn't leave the old man alone even though my effort was fruitless.

Why don't many people give respect to their fellow beings? Haven't they heard about "Give and Take Respect"? We once had a chapter in German classes - about civil-courage/duties. Just as we learned in the book, no single person raised voice against this!

Another topic: There is a blogger who interests me a lot lately (more than lately). For some unknown reason, I like her - in fact more than a little. She blogs from Dubai. Is this mere curiosity? or something else????? I don't know -- but some_thing! :) [She reads my blog too. She would read this too. I hope that she wouldn't decide to stop coming to me. Knowing her a little, I know what she might think, but I won't say it here! :)]

Going home.. for a wonderful weekend, Sands.

PS: There was an awesome beautiful girl with some luggage and all... who must have got in to the tram, unless for the heavy luggage. I would stayed with her till the next tram and would have happily helped her with the luggage unless for an appointment and my punctuality! (She was simply adorable!)

PS2: An old puzzle came to my mind after writing about the old person and beautiful girl. Read it below.

You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus

• An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
• An old friend who once saved your life.
• The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.

Knowing that there can only be one passenger (driver is driver) in your car, what would you do?

From Close to Closer

First of all, a smile for you... :) .... Now read on!

Are you guys bored that I almost never complain here? Bored with something like "life is beautiful"? If yes, then you may want to leave now. Because I think, once again, Life is beautiful! :)

I was at my German teacher's [D] ancestral home - over the weekend - along with a fellow student and her husband. Before I started from home, I thought - "Well, this weekend I will have to speak everything in German". And yes, I did. Even though I showed only one tenth of my talkativeness, I did manage well.

The weekend gave me time and opportunity to reflect over a couple of things. I just identified a few things which make me a little different from most others. My interests, passions, dreams, knowledge and even point of view. I am so glad that I am like how I am! :) [ Three times "I am" in a single sentence!]

My concept of a German family too underwent change. The picture I had was not as good as what I saw with my own eyes. The family was wonderful. D's parents were very nice, her brothers very friendly and she herself was of course as sweet as always! :)

There was a grill party on Saturday evening. Awesome! After about cycling 50 kms, any food would have tasted very good to me; any place to sit would have been good enough.

But when it was grilled meat, that was the best I could ever have asked for. That too in open air, sitting by the side of a river! :) - Paradise, Bliss! :)

The picture here is taken from the grill place. (Sunday, early morning)

There was an invisible but experience-able division among the four of us. My friend and her husband together, D and I together - not always, but mostly. Good for me, for I did have quality conversations with D, for she is very knowledgeable, smart, clever and speaks well too.

Even after reaching Munich, I and D went for a coffee (Sunday evening, nothing much to do). Sitting in the cafe, we spoke for a long time - about lot of things. I always had had lot of respect and love for her. I have always felt her close to my heart.

I feel much closer now - after the weekend and especially those long conversations we had during this time. Such a wonderful person.

And finally a small sentence which she said, did touch me! :)

Life is beautiful, if you have such people around you! Right?

Signing off, Sands.

PS1: The only small (very small) problem was that my classmate's husband was a little possessive about her. Especially when it came to me! ;) A couple of times, I was at the brink of snapping one or two dialogues. But then, I am decent - I keep my level. That's it. But I did enjoy that 'irritating someone' part. [nasty I, right?]

PS2: After a long time, last night I had a dream - a friend of mine (chocolate seller) has sent me an email in which he has listed 125 problems he is facing in life and his take on each of them. Asking for my opinions. He has also promised me to send the rest of the problems in subsequent emails! -- what a strange dream to have!

PS3: Those two chairs were in the backyard of the house. I found them cute! :)

Angry at myself and CHROME

For about the past 10 days, I am behaving highly irresponsible. There were quite a number of things which I should never have avoided or never could have afforded to forget. But I did. I could give my relocation as one reason - but that is not a reason.. it's just an excuse.  [Luckily, the consequences weren't that bad :) ]

I don't mean to say that I was behaving like a total idiot. Just that I was a little bit of an idiot ;)

A little less vigilant than usual. A little less planned about what to be done on the next day. Just a little floating state. Hmm.. not really able to express. I guess, I can do that once in a blue moon .. or rather once in many blue moons!

But after getting back to my normal level today morning, I realised that I had forgotten to attend an important meeting; I had misplaced the key for my new house one day (which made me search for 10-15 minutes); I forgot to close the door of my new house yesterday. So after reaching heights of absent mindedness, I shook myself awake today morning. :) Totally ready for anything now. :)

--- Chrome ---

The rest of it is a little technical! I have been planning to separate tech-and-non-tech stuff in two blogs; I do even have one tech blog. But this is for a wider audience - something which my tech blog doesn't enjoy! :(

So, CHROME - the browser from Google is out. Yet another reason to stick with MS-Windows (available only in this platform)

First of all, I didn't like the name. The name is not smooth and also that it gives some different feel. But that is not really that important. Just that, I would have given a name like "feather" or similar - for a light weight browser. [(Provided it doesn't become an Oxymoron later ;) ]

Except for the dislike for name, I seem to like it.

Any single software which I have tried at BETA level, I have been able to find bugs. All the beta-stand-alone software, I had been able to crash within first few minutes. That is the way I usually decide to continue to use it or not.

IE7, IE8, Firefox, Office12 -- almost everything - I have crashed in the betas - mostly easily. Even with gmail (which is still in beta), I had once found a bug.

But I haven't been able to break chrome yet. It looks pretty fast (no benchmarking .. but the feel and my own personal testing***)

Still there are a few things to point out.

1. Personally, I close most of the windows by double clicking at the left top icon thing on every window. Chrome lacks that.
2. In the history page, once loaded, the search box should be focused - which is not the case. Also that "/" could be used for search (after all, it's from Google)
3. No way of managing bookmarks - which is something on very high priority. (which I am sure they are working on)
4. The refresh button is on the left side of the URL(address) as in Firefox. It would have been better if it were on the right side of URL - for me it is of more logical flow. (You type the address, then refresh it if needed. Why would you put it on the left (behind) the address?)

Well, my final take is to use it for a few days and see. As a big time beta-testing fan, I shouldn't lose the opportunity.

Signing off,
Sands.

*** : Personal testing (Could be a little technical)

One of my simple testing is this. In the browser, there are auto-populating lists. [Example] Something like when I type "abs", the list populates all the searches starting with "abs" -- "absent", "absolute"... etc.

My challenge is that I try to type fast that the browser cannot guess what I might want and before the browser brings in the word, I am done.

IE fails mostly, FF fails almost always. but Chrome (till now - meaning the list is small) stands the test. (this is again a *feel-factor* :) )

Let me wait and see! :)

Another move...., and Nice people..!!!

I have a bad(?) habit of looking at myself as a fool even for small mistakes. There are some situations in which I don't know how exactly I am supposed to behave - when a person conveys someone's regards to me, I am almost always not sure - how to respond. :) - which happened yesterday! :(
[This could be rooting from my perfectionism]

Well, that's not the topic. I relocated yesterday. This was by far the most hectic, but pleasant move till date. My friend and her dad helped me out with it.

There are many people on this planet - who would help others out. But there aren't that many people - who would go out of their way to help others. This dad was such a person. A very nice person. After being with him for a day, I couldn't help comparing him with my own dad. Are all dads like this? -- so helpful?

I have always found it good to talk with elder people - there is always some gyan (knowledge) we get from them. It was no different yesterday. More than the gyan, it is their perspective which gives me different views on things.

After the packing, move and unpacking (75%), I have given today for rest. I haven't eaten anything since morning - which means, I should go eat now.

But before leaving, I have a question (below) for my readers.

I have had this problem a couple of times. When I eat out with my father, and a friend of mine, I would just leave the bill part to my dad. Neither I nor my dad would let my friend pay. But when I am eating out with a friend and his/her father, I am on the other side and I feel a little awkward if I don't pay for the group. I am contradicting myself with my actions - but I find both to be just fine.

I felt a little awkward yesterday! Then I later thought - it's a simple matter; Why do I fret a lot about that. :) Right? [connect again to perfectionism?]

This is a very simple thing. What would be the best thing to do?

So, I am starting to live in a new place - as a paying guest, with a German family. I am eagerly looking forward to the life here! and to the new experiences! :)

Signing off,
Sands.

PS: The above mentioned friend would most probably read this! So, I better don't praise her much! ;) [Let's call this a double-bluff ;) ]

Weakened mental abilities and easy blogging

Thinking about the first few days of engineering reminds me of a couple of things - starting from the horrible English of some lecturers up to the following thing.

It was one of those days someone said - "Now, you all can do very fast mental arithmetic. But now since you all are starting to use electronic calculators, you are slowly going to lose your ability to do this mental-magic"

Sure thing... some cashier in some local restaurant in India might do a faster job of number crunching than some math professor here. It's all about using that part of the brain. I wonder whether any professor adds any numbers larger than 100 in his mind. (No offense... professors are intelligent, smart people.. but they never need to do such trivial stuff, that's what I meant. They have more important things to think)

Luckily, I didn't lose that speed of mental math. Or perhaps not as much as many others did. Lucky I. :)

Unfortunately, I fell into another trap. And that is mobile phone.

Earlier, any phone-number I dialled was stored in my mind. I had to dial a number _once_ and only _once_ and it was recorded. But now, all that job is done by the small little computer inside the mobile phone. That part of brain which used to do the job is jobless and (to an extent .. useless too :( )

It is like cooking - by looking at a recipe book. The food might turn out to be good, but you never remember the procedure. (credits for idea: AJ - a fan of mine ;) )

But as you can see, it is not a bad thing after all. These new technologies are made for making the life easier and they do make life easier.

Now I shall come to the point which is of more interest to us all. BLOGGING.

I remember a time when I used to use the blogger interface to put a post. For making the post really beautiful .. or say, to fine tune it, I had to edit the HTML itself.

Later came better technologies - starting from scribefire to live-writer. Especially after live-writer came along, I never had to think about the processes in the back-ground. Inserting a picture became so easy that I started having a picture in almost every post. Blogging became so easy. [The minus being - only in Windows is it available]

Integration of RSS-readers with Browsers is another wonderful thing (Mac and Windows). I spend more time with Linux than with MS-Windows - but truly speaking - till date Windows is much better for a blog-life - both for publishing and for reading too. :) [Another nice thing if you are entering the blog-world is Google-Reader]

So what is the downside here? Life became easy at the cost of forgetting all those smart things I knew about fine-tuning a web-page! :(

So much for it. Now, there is something else I wanted to write. Perhaps after a couple of days. :)

Signing off, Sands.

~

For Another Change

I just shamelessly copied the blog colors from some other blog.

I have anyway stored the old template. If this looks too un-readable, then I might switch back as soon as possible. I am starting to doubt about the readability already.

This is a background color which I have seen in one German blog (Daniela's Gedanken).

Please do opine.

Otherwise, it was an almost night out for me last night. But not surprisingly, I did finish lot of work in a single night (of course, that's why I put a night-outer right? )

Had wanted to write a lot. Really a lot. But too sleepy to do that. :)

Signing off, Sands.

~

For a change..

First of all --  a little smile :) ... just for you! :) Now read on! ...

It's been quite some since I read some non-technical book. I cannot actually recollect -- which was the last fiction I read. (the little prince?)

Anyway, for a change, I started with the well celebrated novel - Pride and Prejudice. I started with it after being compelled a lot by someone.

I can totally understand that - the feeling to compelling someone - because whenever I read some wonderful stuff, or watch some nice thing, I strongly recommend those things to my friends. To some of them who are very close, I sometimes even insist on them reading the stuff I loved.

I have forced some of my friends to read a couple of books. Have insisted on them watching some nice shows. I don't know why would we do that - is it just the pleasure of knowing the dear ones too are having the same nice experience we had? Should be it, right?

Well it can't be totally true.. as I was forcing a friend of mine to watch a documentary "Survivors' guide to plane crashes" -- just two days before she was to fly. All my intention was to get her scared.

After watching that one, though ultimately informative, I was really not ready for an air-travel. Also, in all  of my later flights, I avoided alcohol : the reason - to be on the safer side. :)

But actually I really wanted to make her more knowledgeable about the kind of things which could happen during a flight - to bring her too to the safe side.

Well, Back to main topic: So, I started with the book. Usually, I have a threshold of 40 pages  - which means, if I get past 40 pages of any book, I'll mostly finish it. There are times where I reach about till 40 and drop the book and pick it up some other time.

But this book .. I just read through. The very first time I took a break was at 49. All the same, disappointingly, my reading speed is pretty low with this book. It could be because of the real old English (the book is 200 years old) and the different style. I really liked the book. This must be the oldest book I have ever read -- if not considering the epics/mythology. Well... let me finish it soon!

Other than that.. I'd been totally confused lately - like never before. I cannot point out why.. but the confusions arise mainly from the thoughts of "What can I do", "What should I do", "How can I do" -- something for the problems persisting in the world right now, starting from terrorism to gender-inequality to global-warming. Every one should do something .. I too should.

I need a proper action plan and I am making that action plan. In fact, the first post related to these global problems was posted in my Malayalam blog. But I think, I'll follow it up here in the world of English.

Turned out to be longer than what I had intended.

Signing off, Sands.

People, Friendships, Relationships and... Escapism.

Hats off to life .. again.. and again. Another set of lessons! I might not be able to explain the lessons. But the following are the things I saw around me.

- Friends being drifted off to worlds apart....
- People being confused a lot...
- Escapism helps a lot of them... escape from the problem, escape from the confusing situation.

I am seeing that quite a lot lately - it teaches me a lot too. Like.., What not to do? How not to act? How not to think?

As I had said earlier... confusion is a good thing - it gives you clarity, even though it takes you through troubled times. But don't give up -- don't ever give up. Don't try to escape. Figure out the reason and fight the problem. If everything else fails, fall to the option of seeing things materialistically. Try to look into the future - try to see which action would do what in the future. Plan the actions accordingly. ***

Isn't life so simple? Like everyone else, I do have my fair share of problems, my fair share of demoralised, low moments. Still everything has always looked so clear to me. Even when there were confusions, I could steer clear of them (Not always very easily and sometimes with the help of the below mentioned friend; sometimes other friends too). Still, mostly, I have been able to ... perhaps because I am unknowingly learning from others.

As Vimal said, I have too much time to think. I should give a thought to giving less time for thoughts! ;)
Glad that it's not devil's workshop... YET! :)

Time to sleep. Signing off, Sands.

***: Easily said than done. ;)

The Red Girl (again)

I was not at all like me. Life teaches you new things, every relationship teaches you new things. But, this was totally new - I saw a new face of mine.

After seeing the Emptiness post, the Red Girl asked me - "So you missed me?". Both the times this topic came, I replied, "Not really.. may be a little" - which was more or less true. Because, even though I wasn't enjoying the silence/emptiness while she was away, I knew she'd be back in a couple of days. More over, I am not the kind of person who'd miss people.

But now it is not even 2 hours since she left. I already miss her. It is for the first time in my life, I am showing such a weakness. Really!!

I have never missed even a single person in my life. Never means Never... NOBODY this way.

I myself hadn't realized that this very girl was so valuable! Isn't it surprising? Boy! She is damn sure special.

I know, she will be back in a couple of days again ... but this time is different!

Writing this down here is not going to help me but I cannot help recording such an intense feeling which I am having for the first time.

It was not like me at all, all the afternoon - in the negative side of moods. To add insult to injury, my voice trembled when she was just leaving! :( [too bad... shame on me :( ]

Well, I should change the topic. Or just go ahead and have some food!

Signing off, Sands.

List of 19..

Here is a list of English non-fiction books I want to read. I am happy that they made to the number 19 - a favorite number of mine. (Some links point to German Amazon website where as others point to the US-website)

Color code - Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Philosophy, non-cateorized,

1. Selfish Gene [LINK]
   
   What is selfishness? A vice... or a virtue ... or a trait? I had read a good portion of this book some months back; had to break. Now, I am reading it again... from start.
   

2. The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe [LINK]
   
   The title explains everything... doesn't it? This book too is in my night stand. I might need 2-3 more sessions to finish this.
   

3. Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda [LINK]
   
   Again, the title says it all. This too is in my night-stand. I would take a month to finish this huge-volume.
   

4. Physics for Future Presidents [LINK]
   
   The simple physics we need for day-to-day life - to find out the way the media is fooling us (eg.). And many other interesting stuff.
   

5. Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul [LINK]
   
   Brain theory.... I don't know much to give an explanation.
   

6. How to Calculate Quickly: Full Course in Speed Arithmetic [LINK]
   
   I guess, I am pretty fast at doing math in mind. Still I could try to improve a little. Why not? Right?
   

7. The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe [LINK]
   
   This is probably the largest and most difficult of the books here - half mathematics and rest physics - I would have to break my head to understand this (eg. Riemann surface and stuff like that).
   

8. Consciousness Explained [LINK]
   
   Well.. Philosophy? I don't know! :(
   

9. The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design [LINK]
   
   Anti-GOD. And the title explains it again.
   

10. Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon [LINK]
    
    Partly culture, partly biology, partly philosophy and psychology - this is what I would say. A study about/on religionS - not a specific one.
    

11. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything [LINK]
    
    I don't dare to explain it in other words, when the title says it very crisp and clear.
    

12. The Last Lecture [LINK]
    
    The book by Late. Mr. Pausch - the professor who died of Pancreatic Cancer. Inspirational, I would say.
    

13. Bookless in Baghdad: Reflections on Writing and Writers [LINK]
    
    Again, vague idea. I like this author - Mr. Tharoor.
    

14. Quantum Mechanics and Experience [LINK]
    
    Again physics - need to get QM clarified.
    

15. Woman: An Intimate Geography [LINK]
    
    After all, I need to know the *important* stuff. Shouldn't I?
    

16. The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: Reflections on India: The Emerging 21st-Century Power [LINK]
    
    India .. India .. India! and Mr. Tharror.
    

17. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything [LINK]
    
    Some basic stuff I wanted to learn - for a better living in these times of financial crunch.
    

18. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions [LINK]
    
    This could perhaps be the most imaginative stuff; or rather abstract. This could help me understand relativity better.
    

19. The Modular Brain How New Discoveries in Neuroscience Are Answering Age-Old Questions [LINK]
    
    Again, in the same class of Astonishing Hypothesis from above.
    

Well, I am not sure - when will I be able to finish all these books. Assuming, that I finish 2 books/month ... or may be 3 books in 2 months, I'd need about a year+.

Let me see.

There is a list of papers (Math and CS) which I want to read; I might have to forget fiction for a while. Or once in a while, pick up an easy-airport-read and finish it in a couple of days.

Signing off, Sands.

Not so Perfect Murder(s)

First, let's read a short conversation between Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson. [Ad. of the Speckled Band]

"What do you make of that, Watson?"

"It's a common enough lash. But I don't know why it should be tied."

"That is not quite so common, is it? Ah, me! it's a wicked world, and when a clever man turns his brains to crime it is the worst of all. I think that I have seen enough now, Miss Stoner, and with your permission we shall walk out upon the lawn." [source]

Recently I read about some murders which happened in Kerala. I am specifically talking about the guys who murdered their wives (respectively) and one of them killed all his children too. I do totally resent the whole affair.

Both of them had planned their deeds beforehand. Well, there must have been a trigger - but they were pretty sure about the murders to be committed.

Now, the surprising thing is that they were caught within a week's time. They had left all the clues/evidences which had pointed to them. As a good citizen/man, I am happy that they were caught, as they should be.

The surprise comes from the fact that they were caught within a few days - was that all their planning was? Shouldn't they have done a little more of homework before doing the thing? Idiots!!

Well, according to Mr. Holmes, then they weren't clever enough. According to me too.

I have always known that I am good at finding loop-holes and at closing them too (if needed). The few times I have got inside our locked home@Nellayi without keys, and some other wonderful experiences at Hyderabad have proven me right. [Those experiences would account for a long post - hence later].

If you are a criminal, before your act, try to get into the shoes of an investigator, THINK WELL and then do it. If you are an investigator, try to do the other way around. That would make you more successful. Don't you think so?

These idiots obviously didn't do that. Lack of competence and efficiency is something which I hate. Hence the post. Even the police officers wouldn't have enjoyed the investigation for the lack of challenge in investigation. Kerala Police is usually pretty good with complicated cases (exceptions are there though).

Enough said. Perhaps I should join the police force .. but if the criminals are this way, where is the challenge? ;)

Well, anyway as I said this much, I shouldn't leave without giving this wonderful link to a documentary from BBC - How to commit the perfect murder. You could watch it here_at_video_google [not for the faint of heart].

Moral of the post: If you do something, do it right. If you can't... just don't do it.

Signing off, Sands.

PS1: I am a good, law abiding, fellow-being-loving person. But this total idiots did make me think about their lack of planning and stupidity; and I wanted to comment.

Clarification: If so, why would I watch such creepy/negative stuff? - because, I am interested in literally everything. Starting from  Atom through Spy in the Jungle, Physics for future Presidents [vid] ,  Dangerous Knowledge [vid], Planet Earth, up to  Cosmic Voyage - touching the different areas including Physics, Mathematics, Nature, Sociology etc.

Emptiness...?

The semester vacation has started - which essentially means that most of my friends, with whom I used to go for tea/coffee, won't be around for two months.

My apartment mate, the red-girl, has gone home. My home is just simply silent.

The friend, with whom I usually had my lunch, has gone back to India.

My German lessons, which I always used to look forward to, has come to end.

All these happened in 3 days time. It could have been nice, if it had happened slowly. This week looks a little bit empty.

Well, that means that I am going to have more time for my own. Let me enjoy. Yesterday, I did some paintings after a long time of 2-3 months. I had taken a break from BBC dokus, which I have started to watch again. My time is being spent even more constructive! :)

Going for lunch. (It was a long time since I went for lunch alone - and the prospect of doing so triggered this post)

signing off, Sands.

Physics, Religion and Creationists-vs-Evolutionists

Lately, I've been reading a couple of blogs/articles where people argue over topics like GOD/Atheism, Indo-US Nuclear-Deal etc.

I had decided long back that I wouldn't participate in arguments of the following categories -- (i) God/Atheism (ii) Capitalism/Communism (iii) Selfishness/Altruism.

But.. in a week moment, I got involved in one of the arguments from the first category. I should say that I was surprised to see that many of the participants [from both sides] didn't even know the ground rules of carrying on a healthy discussion. And as one would expect, the debate got over without reaching a conclusion. :(

I am a hard-core atheist by all means - very much convinced about the non-existence of a supreme-intelligent-designer-being. But I realized that I was not knowledgeable enough to convince someone who wasn't convinced yet. If I really want one thing in life, it is knowledge. I started to make myself knowledgeable.

I started to:

1. Follow some of the links I got from the debates - links which even take you to the big-bang. [eg: First three minutes (book) by Steven Weinberg, Nobel Laureate]. Haven't finished the book - but till now, it'd been wonderful.
2. Read a religious text. Well, I could only start with it. It was ultra-mega boring - which means that it would take ages before I finish reading it. But I do want to read it.
3. Watch Mr. Dawkins - his debates in youtube and google-video, programs @ BBC. This person is an awesome character. Too smart to be true. Totally logical, sensible, terrific, awesome.
   
   I, whom I myself consider quite smart and intelligent, take sometimes a moment before really understanding his arguments. He is that good. Do you know, how useful these arguments could be - for your brain-muscle exercises? :)

So, I have been reading up Physics, Religion and listening to creationist-vs-evolutionist arguments. That is one of the reasons along with fever, which kept me away from the blog for about two weeks.

This entry was probably not a light read. Will try for a light read next time.

And this entry is dedicated to this great person, Dawkins, who never loses his temper, against pompous fools.

Signing off, Sands.

PS: If you are interested, you can watch a set of nice dialogues between Mr. Dawkins and Mr. McGrath - HERE. A long one, which gets a little boring in between.

PS2: The picture -- I took from Max Plank Institute

PS3: The post is over here - the following is the scrap/byproduct, from the production of the post.! :)

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Two friends of mine were arguing. One of them lost the argument. What does it mean?

Does it always mean, in an argument, when one of the participants lose, that the other person was right?
Not necessarily, right?

It could also mean that one of them was better at arguing.

Well, we are coming to the topic: Debates.

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I haven't been coming to my English blog as frequently as I used to earlier. Well, there are mainly two reasons.

(i) I was getting a little more involved in Malayalam blogland.
(ii) I was down with fever.

The beauty of Malayalam blogland is that, first of all it is not so huge and large as this one; I personally know most of the main players there.

Secondly, there are quite a few debates*/arguments going on among the bloggers - almost at all times.

Thirdly, one can find all genres of comedy too in there - which of course should be one of the main reasons for getting new people.

Small or Big?

Look at the picture.
How small the man is... compared to the machine he has made!

 

So, what should we say? the small man, or the big man?

Or "The small man with big brains"?

I actually have a lot of stuff to write, but a little busy right now. So, not to be absent from here for a long time, I leave the picture (some little food for thought) and take a leave! :)

Will get back soon,

Signing off, Sands.
PS: Photo courtesy - myself ;)

I did it?

This post is based on an incident - which happened just 20 minutes back. [Bragging included]

I was coming from the city, in the train, talking to a friend over phone. I was sitting in the last seat of one of the compartments of the train.

There was a Turkish family, with a kid, on the other end (front end) of the same compartment. At one station, when the train was stopped, the little kid (perhaps 4 years old) started running towards the backside of the compartment.

The compartment was more or less empty and she could run quite fast. [The picture shows the empty compartment after most people got down. The kid was at the far end and I was at the place from where I've taken the picture]

Seeing her starting to run, I knew that she would fall very badly if the train starts to move. The trains here have very good acceleration and it would really push her towards the backside of the compartment.

And on top of her running, when the push comes, she would have a pretty bad fall. I was sure.

The train started to gain speed.

I myself didn't know that I jumped from my seat and ran towards her. Well, I wasn't quick enough... She, kind of, was thrown by the push and fell just two feet in front of me.

But even before she realised that she fell, I had taken her. Just behind her was her father and I handed her over to him.

When I came back, the three people who were sitting around me were looking (staring) at me. Then I remembered that I had had my iPod on my lap. I hadn't even thought about it... it was lying somewhere (switched off). I was worried for a moment that it was damaged. Fortunately, it was working! :)

The surprising thing is that, when I usually ride my bike, I hold the iPod in my hand and always think - if I happen to have a fall/accident, make sure that only I get hurt; not the iPod.

Today in that reflex action, I didn't even think about it! Isn't it amazing?

And, when the family got out of the train, her mom and dad made her say good-bye to me and she waved her hands. It did indeed make me very happy. :) .. That's probably more than what I wanted!

Sometimes you need only small things to make you happy! :)

Signing off, Sands.

PS: Again accused of writing cryptic stuff. I hope that this one was not that bad. :)

Just Personal

This entry could be a little *cryptic* or say, abstract. Please bear with me. I shall put some simple, easy read post next time! (But do read this)

One never knows, what does life have for you in its gift box. Sometimes something very good, sometimes very bad stuff and sometimes something really challenging (shouldn't this come under good?).

Right now, I have got all the three varieties in a week's time.

The bad news first. I was hoping for something and now I am not sure whether I should expect that anymore. Nothing more to write about it. May be I should say the word I'd compare it to - Mirage. :(

I got something really nice.. which I had never expected to get/happen - one of the best things ever. I've got a new friend - a terrific new friend. Can't express how happy I am! :) .. Getting someone with whom you can get a perfect wave-length match -- isn't it great? [Well, it has its own downside too - we happen to waste lot of time together - instead of finishing piles of work, which we both have ;) ]

Finally, the challenge is something I can't afford to reveal. Something really secretive.... Something which even my closest friends might never know. Usually, I don't have any secrets at all; but this time.. I have a thrill of keeping something away from all.

The real reason is that, I want to surprise everyone with this new thing. But if in case I can't get it done, I don't want anyone to know about it! ;)

Signing off, Sands.

PS: I was not in a good mood to write; but I didn't want to give a gap longer than a week. Being regular and systematic is a very important thing in the blog world - hence the entry!