Keep Walking!

Do you think you find no time to eat your breakfast? Then this is for you. I used to be a breakfast-skipper. I have changed now, after seeing one of my friend's suffering from Ulcer. Eating breakfast, I consider, gives a very good start to my day. So, I never skip a breakfast. See for yourself, have breakfast for a month and see the changes. You can perform better in your school or work. So, have breakfast . Even, if your job is in danger, have breakfast and go. Even, if you had written a suicidal note, have breakfast and then proceed. Read this! Thiru

I was in the airport VIP lounge in route to Seattle a couple of weeks ago. While in there, I noticed Bill Gates sitting comfortably in the corner, enjoying a drink. I was meeting a very important client who was also flying to Seattle, but she was running a little bit late. Well, being a straightforward kind of guy, I approached the Microsoft chairman, introduced myself, and said, "Mr. Gates, I wonder if you would do me a favor." "Yes?" "I'm sitting right over there," pointing to my seat at the bar, "and I'm waiting on a very important client. Would you be so kind when she arrives as to come walk by and just say, 'Hi, Ray,'?" "Sure." I shook his hand and thanked him and went back to my seat. About ten minutes later, my client showed up. We ordered a drink and started to talk business. A couple of minutes later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Bill Gates. "Hi, Ray," he sai...

CLASSIC VERSION... The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MODERN VERSION... The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. BBC, CNN, GEO, ARY, INDUS show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table fil...

Top 10 women: It's easy to name 10 women whom I think are making a difference in the Society. But, it's hard to rank them 10 to 1. If it's not appealing to you, forget and move on. Everyone sees this world differently! 10. Jayalalitha: A single woman, who can challenge other male dominated politics. Amazing Courage and confidence! (I am not involved in Politics) 09. Aishwarya Rai: Not glorifying her image, she has turned the global entertainment industry towards Brand India. She is inspiration for many girls to expand their horizons out of India. I agree that she could do more to the society with her image. 08. Indhira Gandhi: Last charismatic Indian woman, I admire her because of her boldness 07. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: Founder, Chairman of Biocon which one of the top 10 companies in India. Role model for entrepreneurs 06. Arundhati Roy: The Goddess of small country who won the Booker Prize. 05. Jhansi Rani: There are many women freedom fighters, but, I pi...

I went to a web page and found a link "Last Page on the Internet" and curiosuly, I clicked! What I found is this: 404 File Not Found The requested URL was not found on this or any server because.... You have reached the end of the Internet There are no more web pages.  There is no where else to surf. Turn off your computer. Go visit your friends and family. Go outside and get some sun. How about that?

Yesterday, I saw this movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" (Yes, I am too late to see this wonderful movie!). I have heard this is such a good film in the Men Vs. Beast cadre. Like the recent Hindi movie, Kaal (Is it good?) . Set in East Africa, the story is about a British Engineer taking an extra-ordinary task of building a bridge in 6 months in very unfriendly conditions. Then, there are these lions – man-eaters – who leisurely hunt the workers (mostly Indians and Africans) not for their food but for fun– Our own Ompuri has acted as group leader. Those two lions "The Ghost and the Darkness" as per the African legend, slaughter the mankind to drive them away from the construction site. With a firm will, our Engineer says, "I will kill the lions and build the bridge!" Micheal Douglas joins hands as the professional hunter. It is a real story – it says "the most incredible parts of the film are only real". Very captivating one – it wi...

"Yume No Chikara" Couldn't understand anything I said? Roughly translated it says "The Power of Dreams", in Japanese. It's a delight to watch this Honda's new advertisement - visit http://www.honda.co.uk/ and click on Watch Honda's New 'YUME NO CHIKARA' FILM The web page says, "In Japan, dreams and realities are much closer. The Japanese don't even say others, ' Have' a dream . They say ' SEE' a dream . Already they're picturing it happen... Dreams..Alive!

"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) Don't know why Mr. Einstein is occupying most of this blog space nowdays. Incidentally, I discovered (??!!) that 2005 is celebrated worldwide as " Einstein Year " - commemorating his 100th Anniversary of the publication of his revolutionary theories. And also, this year for the same reason is obeserved as " World Year of Physics " In 1905 Albert Einstein (he was just 26) published three papers and changed physics and the way we understand our world. He is not the one who does the experiments on the lab. On the other hand, he used to contemplate the theories in mind! One hundred years on Einstein Year is celebrating the excitement and diversity of physics today. A range of events and activities will bring the fascination of physics to audiences of all a...

Here is an artificial intelligence based a game, named 20 Questions. Simple, Think of a general object like Apple, Shoe..it can be anything as long as it is general And answer the questions by computer like ..Is it colourful, Is it eatable..etc Within 20 questions, if the computer guesses your object, it won. Otherwise you win. Do not think of some 'special thing' such as "my dirty jeans", "priya aunt" etc. http://www.20q.net/ I bet you will like it!

Now, the students tell us how good their professors are. This Canadian website posts a rating system for professors (only in Canada & USA). I was just curous about Professor Larry Smith who is considered as IT Guru (author of "Beyond the Internet: How Expert Systems will truly transform business.") teaches Economic at University of Waterloo, Canada. Wonder, this might be a good system to assesss and value the gurus! (By the way, I know about Larry Smith - because of my research topic, Expert Systems) You can read an article about Larry Smith here .

Adelaide is not a busy city like Melbourne or Sydney. I can say it is much like Bangalore (Minus the population, traffic). It is very quiet city in the weekends. So, I felt initially that I am in a foreign country for few weeks. That's it. Now, I feel like any other home city (Which is very neat, spacious..similar to New Delhi?). Like New Delhi, Adelaide is a planned city and its layout is very famous. If I get a digital camera, I am thinking of starting a photo blog! So, this week, you can have a glimpse of my University and my room (almost) in the photographs of album " Where am I " Adelaide provides quiet environment for studying and the living costs are very affordable!

Another (Killer?) application from Google. Stranded in mid-way to reach an address? Want to find out the nearest theatre movie timings? Want some weather forecasts? All you need to do is send an SMS to Google. Type in your keyword, (and also where you are) and they will send you the information required. Google SMS (Short Message Service) enables you to send queries as text messages over your mobile phone or device and easily get precise answers to your questions. No links. No web pages. Just text — and the information you're looking for Now, I have been thinking an idea for a while. That is if you don't know the place where you are (Imagine you are new to a city), could your mobile can get all these information, driving directions, nearest theatre, hospital etc. Yes, it is possible. See this article .This article was too complex and I didn't like it. I was thinking of writing a short article about the potential applications of Mobile based location services. I am...

Photography is another interesting subject for me (what is not?)! So, here's a competition for the title "Photographer Of The Year 2005" from Popular Photography magazine. Already the top 10 photographers have been short-listed. Now, it's our turn to look at them and judge their skills. You could see their portfolios here . Identity is concealed, so vote by the photographer's number. You could also see the (current) standings. Not a surprise, there is an Indian entry. Guess which one. Ok, let me tell you. He is Sharad Haksar .  You might have seen his advertisements. I am not in favour of Indianism, so I am not going to request you to vote for an India. Be a judge for yourself! All votes must be cast by noon, May 31. Go and vote! Copyrights of the published photos rests with the photographer. If you are interested in knowing more about his works, you may visit his webpages .

Rice is life. I did not say this. United Nations Says this. Last year, (2004) was celebrated as the International Year of Rice. The theme is "Rice is Life". In India, we south Indians eat more rice than our north counterparts. Still, rice is the staple food, and we cook for dinner here also! The special website lists the facts, culture, history of rice cultivation and what rice means to different countries. Worth a read! Look at  the winners (with photos) of the photo-contest on the theme conducted by FAO listed here .

I would be fascinated by advertisements. Print Ads, Television Ads. Particularly, I would like to mention the logos. It is indeed a big challenge to make a statement with a small logo. My personal favourites are National Geographic (An Axe symbolising the quest for eternal discovery), Nike (Just motivates you do it!), TATA logo (symbolising a fountain of knowledge and could also be viewed as a tree symbolising the trust). And there are some logos where the message is hidden, may be you sub-consciously notice that. For example, the logo of FedEx – the courier company. I have seen this logo at least 100 times (Probably, you also). Have you noticed something unusual? Have you seen a hidden arrow in that? Just click the logo to make it large and see it now! Could not find 'that arrow'? Let me tell you how. Between E and X. Could you figure it. Yes! I wondered how it could be so subtle, whether it was accidental? The creator of logos has told that it is such a intentional act ...

A lady in faded dress and her husband, dressed in a threadbare suit, walked in without an appointment into the office of the President of the most prestigious educational institution in America. The secretary frowned at them and said, ``He will be busy all day.'' ``We will wait,'' said the couple quietly. The secretary ignored them for hours hoping they will go away. But they did not. Finally, the secretary decided to disturb the President, hoping they will go away quickly once they meet him. The President took one look at the faded dress and glared sternly at them. The lady said, ``Our son studied here and he was very happy. A year ago, he was killed in an accident. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial for him on the campus.'' The President was not touched. He was shocked. ``Madam, we cannot put up a statue for every student of ours who died. This place will look like a cemetery.'' ``Oh, no,'' the lady explained quickly, ``we do...

Montreal Protocol (1987) (fully known as Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer) was an adopted in the consequence of the discovery of ozone hole over Antarctic in 1985. Then later, an amendment was made and an agreement was formed which is Kyoto Protocol, which tends to reduce not only Ozone depletion agents but also general greenhouse gas emissions. This was to avoid possible major climate changes – as you saw in "The Day After Tomorrow". So, Montreal Protocol was a solution to a specific, where as Kyoto Protocol is generic. Now, 141 countries till date have ratified (adopted in principle,) KP, but not all have signed. The exclusions include USA, Australia. In effect, the Kyoto Protocol requires the world's developed countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5% from 1990 levels by 2008-2010. Strangely, Australia is most suffering country because of the world's emissions. Many Australians get sunburnt (skin cancer) every day (at least in cle...

Alan Turing, a british mathematecian, scientist more importantly considered as "Father of Computer Science". He visulaised  (like our hollywood) the 'rise of the machines'  in the future - so, he devised a test to differentiate between a man and a machine. It is now termed as the famous "Turing Test". The test was inspired by a  party game known as the "Imitation Game", in which a man and a woman go into separate rooms, and guests try to tell them apart by writing a series of questions and reading the typewritten answers sent back. In this game, both the man and the woman aim to convince the guests that they are the woman. Ok, now we are using daily. the variants of these "Turing Tests". Wonder? Have you registered for some websites where it asks to read a distorted image and type in the letters? That's a captcha (an  acronym for " c ompletely a utomated p ublic  T uring test to tell c omputers and h umans a pa...

"If it's true, it's fundamental rewrite of the text-books," says Richard Boyd, a stem cell researcher (Wait, I'll explain all!) based at Monash University in Melbourne who has reviewed 'their' data firs-hand. It would be, he further adds, "Nobel prize-winning stuff" - Of course if it's proven! Ok. What is stem cell? What research? Who these Indians are? Unlike majority of cells in body, which are "specialised" as neuron cells, muscle or bone cells, "Stem Cells" are blank slates that can develop into many different tissue types and renew themselves differently. When we are forming inside our mother's womb, we are a ball of stem cells, as we grow, the cells divide and grow as individual organs. A small number of stem cells remain as 'clean slate' even in an adult body. One example is the bone marrow - which produce red blood cells (RBC) - as they need to replenished at regular interval. Now, what miracle will it ...

Hi, Is it because my birthday falls in World Environment Day? I don't know honestly, I have a special likening for Environment. So, I believe that I should contribute towards saving (or not destructing, at least!) the environment. I cam across an interesting web page http://www.coolkidsforacoolclimate.com which runs a cool kid project - Kids take initiative in planting Trees (of course, plants!). I found a Tree Calculator, how many trees you should plant to soak up the carbon dioxide produced by your journey (by car / bus)! regards, Thiru

Satellites which orbit the earth at 800-900 kms of height is giving us images of earth from few kilometres resolution to 61 centimetre resolution. The technology has a come long way now the lenses could easily see the people standing on the road. See the Vatican picture. Taken by US satellite DigitalGlobe OrbView 61 cem image. By the way, do you knowthat till 1998, India was providing the highest commercial (not spy satellites of US, Russia) resolution images of 5 metre to even US cutomers!! These images have immense application from natural resources identification, planning etc. (I know all these, because it's my subject area - if you have questions (easy ones) - post it to me - i will try to answer!) By the way, India is one among the forerunner in building and launching these satellites (both for Weather and Earth Observation). Recently, launched CARTOSAT will provide 2.5 metre resolution black-and-white image of earth (since the satellite is rotating all around the earth...

Which is your favourite flower? If you ask me, I won't hesitate a second - It's Lotus! Such a fascinating, pure flower. I have seen lotus flowers in temple ponds, lakes, dirty mud, but, they radiate such a sense of energy and vigour in their colour. And also, irrespective of their surroundings, they are beautiful, always. We, the human beings also should be like this, I feel, Unique, distinct, special - not affected by surroundings! Also, the water droplets running on the lotus leaves.. they teach a million story.. if you are attached your desires like "water-drops-on-lotus-leaf", you will not be addicted anything! So, It gives me immense pleasure to just watch!! (Here's a show of lotus Courtesy: http://www.lotus101.idv.tw/new_page_22.htm ) You can find an animated version of a lotus in a pond there! Be Happy! Celebrate Life!! (this is a copyrighted signature of my friend, Pradeep!) See you, Thiru

Well, I have only heard this story - not read the book! But, immediately, I was in a position like that.. I have literally found myself working with others 'monkeys'.. when the 'monkey  owners' were having good time. Read! -Thiru The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey by Kenneth Blanchard, William, Jr. Oncken, Hal Burrows To be effective in management of your employees, of your time, or anything else in life, you need to develop the skill of monkey management! What is monkey management? Consider this true to life experience:     A manager is walking down the corridor in his office building when an employee approaches and says: "Do you have a minute? We have a problem."     The manager listens intently as the employee explains the problem in detail. After twenty minutes the manager looks aghast at his watch and realizes he is late for an appointment.     He responds to the employee: "I don't have time to discuss this...

I think I am infected with OCB. Obsessive Compulsive Blogging. Because, at least I think 100 topics which I could convert them in to blog entries. Making too personal will not be interesting to others, who read. I publish only 2% of my thoughts (??!!). I wonder how could I keep away from this habit. I have to do lot of other works also. Blogging gives you instant popularity. Suddenly, so many people look at you. say right, say wrong, say something. Oh..It is irresistible! Blogs will be driving the market economy. Why, because. It will influence the consumer decisions. How many time you bought a thing because , your close friend told 'it's good'. Blogs will rule! Want to read further? A Blog Revolution? Get a Grip, NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/business/yourmoney/08blog.html?pagewanted=1 Blogs Will Change Your Business, BusinessWeek, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931001_mz001.htm Keep posting your thoughts. Thiru ,

Have you ever imagined of being like Newton, or Edison or Einstein? Have you ever experienced the joy of discovery. That you have discovered something truly wonderful? Let's start with the bigger picture.Think of the discoveries made in earlier days (Once upon a time)! Whatever you come across will be a new discovery. A stone, tree, animal..Ooh.. discovering something would've been never be like a 5 year PhD work!! I think the discoveries are done within the mind. Just think of Newton. How many apples fell (falling, will fall) on the ground before he thought of the gravity question. So, the things are happening as usual. We, the poor human beings remain dumb until one day.. one among us..discover a 'NEW' thing. How beautiful the moment will be to find that you've discovered the truth. I (We) also discover things daily in the smaller scale. I feel a sudden surge of happiness when I discover a new friend in my life. Or, if you know that a person (whom you love) is ha...

I came across an interesting thing called "Thinking Machine". It is a Java based Chess game - where you will see the actual moves considered by the Computer (Expert System - my research topic!) before it actually moves it. Even though, I am a kid in Chess - fascinating! http://turbulence.org/spotlight/thinking/chess.html Good, easy way to understand why Deep Blue was a challenge to Kasparov (By the way, I heard he has quit the game to enter in to Politics. God save Kasparov!) Thiru

The World is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything. - Albert Einstein This is one of my favourite quote from my favourite scientist. Now, tell me honestly how often we have ignored some happenings saying, "I don't care!", "What goes to my father", "None of my business", "It's all F**King Government" etc etc. Bribery, Prostitution, Crime, Beggars, Theft, Abuse, Scandals.. What else. (We watch and sit silent , sometimes we discuss and forget ..Till we get a new topic!) We are very happy to (including myself) sit and watch television, read newspapers – discuss in the canteen, then go back and do the same thing again and again. We always blame the system. We forget that we are also part of the system. If you are not part of the solution, then you are also a problem. Is that sounds harsh? I don't know from where to start. Everyone is blaming everyone other than himself. I am H...

I glanced through this book: The Nokia Revolution Nokia, started as a small company - revolutionising an industry. Thankfully, this success story NOT made in America! Thiru The Nokia Revolution (The Story of an Extraordinary Company that transformed an Industry) Author: Dan Stanbock June, 1999 Newsweek headlines state " The Future is Finnish". Reason, Nokia – a Finland company had emerged as global powerhouse in mobile communication. Traditionally, Finland's economy depended on forest resources (Do you know, still Finland is the most forested country in the world!). So, no wonder NOKIA started as a forestry based company making wood pulp, paper, ply wood. Then it moved into leather business. Finally, stormed into the mobile business and now it is the leader. Finland is now termed as "Wireless Valley". There are broadly two business divisions in cellular industry. One is infrastructure i.e, base station and switches and second is Mobile terminals or handsets. Nok...

Books... are my lifeline! They are like oxygen to me. From childhood, I am interested in reading whatever I get.. even a small piece of paer.. I read this in a book, "You will be the same person you are today in five year's time except the persons you meet and books you read!" - Charlie T Jones (I will talk about books in this edition, persons - a big story, will span to many editions) So, books - I could not remember any day without reading something. Subject? I read A to Z, everything under the sun, above the sun and around the sun ;-) Have you had Donald J Trump, Bill Gates, Lee Iacocca, Jack Welch as your teachers? I have them as my mentors. I consult them to solve my day-to-day problems. They answer me too..! Yes, Books are my teachers, mentors! I find it comfortable to read books, I enjoy this so much. I read less fiction. If I read, I read only good fiction which provokes my imagination like Life of Pi, Harry Potter etc. Remember, "Reading will build YOU!...

  Once upon a time, there lived a wise, old man who led a peaceful life aloof in top of a hill. Obviously, he was the oldest in the village and was having a great deal of practical wisdom. The people who lived in the seashore village had good respect for him and never disturbed his life.   On a festival occasion, all the villagers were gathered in the beach to celebrate with music and dance. Suddenly, the ocean waves retreated back into the sea exposing more beach and sand. The people were suddenly felt happy that water has receded to give them more space to live.   The wise old man who saw this retreat from the hilltop suddenly remembered his forefathers' advice. When, the sea retreated last, it resulted in a series of huge Tsunami waves, which washed away the entire village. He started making noise, but no one could listen to his voice from the distance. There was no time to come down and take the people.   Suddenly, the old man set fire to his home. By s...

I had picked this book to get an inside view of a typical millionaire's mind " The Millionaire Mind ". The author Thomas J. Stanley has selected more than 400 millionaires in United States for a comprehensive survey. It spans from what they eat, how much they scored in schools, how do they shop, how do they invest, how do they select their spouse (!). To give a quick recipe to become a millionaire, Here's the advice list from on "How to become a millionaire" by surveyed millionaires. Key Success Factors Our economy continues to reward Hard work, Integrity (Never lie or Cheat, Honesty WORKS!) and Focus Never allow a lacklustre academic record to stand in your way of becoming successful (Remember the drop out guys like Bill Gates? Toppers work for him!) Have the courage to take financial risk. Learn to overcome defeat. (Keep your emotions away from Money! Give before you receive) I have personally ...

Why Google is a phenomenon. Why Yahoo, MSN and others are actively spending billions and sweating out to improve their search engines. Because, searching will drive the future. Let me tell why I think so. Information revolution? Gone. Information overload. That's also over. Information burial is happening, now. You are choked to death by information. Imagine the World Wide Web as a thick, dark jungle. No one knows how big the forest is. You are provided with only a small torch to find a way. Obviously, you will want to a better torch, with more power, more coverage. Got the analogy? Search Engines will be like torch. Whoever can throw more light to show you the "Right Path" will win the competition. There will be a day, when you will search your car keys in Google. Feeling Lucky? May be!

Once upon a time, there was a prosperous country. A strange tradition was practiced in their kingdom. When their King reaches his old age (Age 90 to be precise), the citizens would transport the king (Retitrement?!) using a boat to a nearby desert island across the ocean. Without anything to eat, the king would evevtually die. So, every King will be very happy at the early part of their luxurious life. As they cross they age 70, they would begin to worry a lot about the desert island, so it would further degrade their health. Some kings would not survive enough till age 90. Then, there came a King. He used to be unusally happy all the time. Even after he crossed 70, 80 he was very happy. The day came after his 90th birthday. The citizens asked their king to board in a boat, the boat took the king to the island. To their amazement, they found.... NOT a desert island. It looked like a paradise on earth. YES! The King had meticulously prepared the island to become a luxury 'retirement...