February 28, 2007

Dream Mentor Programme - II

25th Feb saw the second session of the Dream Mentor Programme. It was held at the Indian Social Institute of Jesuits. Some interesting facts on Child development were shared by Dave.

He gave the following equation and graph to convey his points.

Equation:
Nutrition + Emotion (love) + Right Time = Normal Development of a child

The equation means: for a child to have a normal development, nutrition and emotion - basically love - should be fed at the right time.




The WHO Growth Charts/Graph’s Y-axis represents the growth parameters of a kid (e.g. length, weight etc.). The X-axis represents the age. A kid having y1 length/weight - when he is born at x1 - should have y3 length/weight when he reaches the age of x2. The blue curve shows the normal growth curve. The red one is that of an underprivileged kid. His growth curve tends to be bumpy due to lack of nutrition and emotion given at the wrong time. The reason why underprivileged kids are not physically fit when compared to mainstream kids is because of this bumpy ride in their life. This bumpy curve could happen to a mainstream kid too... if proper care is not given to that kid.

To drive in his point further, Dave drew the figure given below...


During the 1st year, when the kid starts making sounds, he needs his caretaker - mother - to be around... ALWAYS... esp. when he meets a strange environment. As he progresses through age two... that is, when he starts learning 'words', he would develop the courage to move away from his caretaker... but only for a few minutes… and a few steps. When he is in his 3rd year mastering more words, he develops the habit to 'explore' his surroundings. And as he passes through his fourth year, when he learns proper sentences, he would want to run through the 'world' making it difficult for the caretaker to control him.


If you have noticed, all these states – from taking a few steps to running around, and from mumbling to speaking proper sentences – happens in sequence. Imagine this situation: a two year old takes a few steps away from his caretaker; confronts something strange; gets spooked; rushes back to his caretaker... only to realize that his caretaker is not around! What will go through his mind?! Won't it affect his growth and development if he keeps facing this almost daily? Underprivileged kids go through something like this. The bumps, mentioned in the growth curve, take its shape when love and caring is not given in the right quantity at the right time. Learning sounds, words, sentences etc are signs of growth that takes place in his brain. And for that to happen, both nutrition and love are required. Say... a mainstream kid mumbles some word; his mother hears that; goes to him... and encourages him to say that again. If that kid was in an orphanage, he might have lost that chance of ‘encouragement’. And that 'encouragement' is very important for a child's development. The reason why IQ of a kid goes bad, when he goes through a rough patch of life, is due to those bumpy curves. If that kid gets proper care, you will see his IQ shooting up.

There is another problem with these bumpy curves. If the kid doesn't get what he is supposed to get... at say… the age of two. At some later point of time in his life, effects of this will show up. E.g. when he hits his teen-age and if he confronts something complicated, he might react like an immature brat. It will take time, effort, love and patience to make him face that ‘complication’ without let him budge in OR go through 'confused maturity'

To summarize…

If a child fails to thrive for its first ten weeks – this damage can be measured at ten years.


A nice message :-)

Pat-on-the-back by your boss makes you happy. Awards can be enthralling. Recognition by friends and colleagues delights you. All these are trophies of your ability. All these trophies can lose their sheen and shine if your subordinates bitches you for the very thing you were recognized for. Balancing all these parameters is tough. I don't know whether I have been successful in balancing all these parameters. But I guess I got the last one right... :-) I was happy to see the following message that was sent by my team member

"Frankly speaking... I feel great to be working with a person who is so knowledgeable, dynamic and has concern for all"

Thank you mate for that lovely message :-)

A Red-Indian Story...

And a Man sat alone.
Drenched deep in sadness.
And all the animals drew near to him and said: "We do not like to see you so sad... ask us for whatever you wish and you shall have it"
The Man said: "I want to have good sight"
The Vulture replied: "You shall have mine"
The Man said: "I want to be strong"
The Jaguar said: "You shall be strong like me"
Then the Man said: "I long to know the secrets of the earth"
The Serpent replied: "I will show them to you"
And so it went with all the animals.
And when the Man had all the gifts that they could give... he left.
Then the owl said to the other animals: "Now the Man knows much and is able to do many things... Suddenly I am afraid"
The deer said: "The Man has all that he needs. Now his sadness will stop him"
But the owl replied: "No. I saw a hole in the Man... Deep like a hunger he will never fill... It is what makes him sad and what makes him want. He will go on taking and taking... Until one day the World will say: I am no more and I have nothing left to give"

- Apocalypto



February 27, 2007

A letter to Ex-Girl Friend

Bumped into the given below letter. Courtesy: A fwded mail. Enjoy reading it...

Dear Monisha,
Thanks for being my love for one and half years, when you receive this letter I believe you might have selected a new boy friend and started enjoying your dating. Every lovers needs to struggle a bit to get a boy friend or girl friend.

Monisha … In order to recover your missing, I got another girl from next street & as you know this is my forth love, from all my past experiences I have learned a lot. When the love blossoms everyone starts writing love letters, you know very well… I have written many love letter to you , and writing a love letter in poetic way is not so easy nowadays MONISHA , and it’s a time consuming work, In order to avoid all this I need all my lover letters back so that I can put corrector and send to my new girl friend , please send it back to me , I don’t have poetic references or any photocopy of these letters.

Another thing MONISHA, I have given you one cute photo of mine , can you send it to me please , you know better that this is the only photo I look very cute & handsome and this photo I have taken when I was in my very first love.

And also, during my 1 ½ years of love days I have spend lot of monies for impressing you , I am attaching a list of expenses which I request you to clear it at the earliest.

The expenses are as follows: Lunch / Dinner ; 895, Cool Drinks 2938 Rs, Snacks 5645 Rs. , Juice 3845 Rs. Cinema 1235Rs. Internet Chatting 1499 Rs. , Mobile 2546 Rs. Petrol 4255 Rs. Gift Items 7850 Rs, - Grand Total : 30,708 rs (in Words : Thrity Thousand Seven Hundred and Eight Rupees).

Please try to clear the above amount so that I can spend these monies on my new girl friend, and more over if you have any of my gift lying with you, am ready to take these packs in half prices. Please calculate the value of packs left over and deduct it from the above statement of account.

I am enclosing herewith your love letters (Weigh around 4 Kg) so that you no need to write again to your boy friend and your photo so that you can give to your new BF.

Also, please advise your expenses which incurred during our dates, I don’t think you have got any expenditure during these dates, I have seen many time that you always forget your purse when it comes to pay. Anyway I hope you will clear the above outstanding at the earliest and wishing you a very wonderful 6th love affair with Subil.

Your Ex-lover ….
Manaasu


February 23, 2007

Ace Archer?

Checkout Lilia Stepanova's archer act from "America's Got Talent" - an act that would impress Arjuna. You will see her doing a Sagittarius.

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A "Traffic Signal" Puzzle

Decipher the traffic signal given below.



Does it mean?

a. Stop and Go
.
b. After taking a left turn, stop!

c. The traffic signal has a bug. It is not working!
d. None of the above.

Think... Think...

The answer is d. What it is trying to convey is: you can go straight or take a left; but you can't take a right. For those who stay in India, this won't be a puzzle at all. They are used to such kind of cryptic signals everyday.


February 22, 2007

Dream Mentor Programme

The orientation session of the Dream Mentor Programme conducted by Dr. Dave ( Dr. David C. Pearson ) and Dr. Fi ( Dr. Fiona C. Pearson ) offered something new to chew...

1) Dr. Dave said that the influence of a kid’s environment on him/her lasts for a lifetime. The effects of the environmental influence under which a 10-week-old-kid was brought up would show up when the kid turns 10!! He also said that from the moment the child is conceived, the environment starts influencing his/her nature and thereby his/her future. Which leads to the conclusion that one can predict the future of a kid based on where and when the child was conceived! E.g. the probability of the kids of beggars ending up as CEOs is very very less. The environment in which they continue to live will not let their mind loose the knot that was tied by their surroundings! If what Dr. Dave said is true, it could very well mean that astrology might have something to offer.

2) On Anxiety: Dr. Dave gave this good example. Assume you are dog-phobic and there are some street dogs between your home and a bus stop. To go to school you have to catch the school bus at the bus stop. Now... due to the dog phobia you tend to develop a dislike to get into the bus and later… to go to the school. This dislike will linger for quite sometime even if the dogs are removed. The dislike originated due to anxiety and is lingering there, being an impediment to your personal development. Such situation is common in the case of underprivileged kids. They have a troubled home and poor parents. They have to handle the anxiety caused by their background before stepping out to reach out to a bright future.

Drave and Fi said that more will be covered in the future sessions. Looking fwd to it...

PS: Will affirmative actions like reservation help the upliftment of these kids?


February 20, 2007

For reckless trekkers

Today's TOI carried a news item - "Trekkers' bodies found". The bodies of three trekkers were found nine months after they ventured into the Manibitthi forest near Sakleshpur and went missing since May 28th. Sad to hear that. Sakleshpur offers a wonderful trekking range. The experience can be a good one ONLY for the less reckless folks. Venturing into dense forest and hoping to get back in one piece is recklessness. Not adventure.

Reminds me of something similar that happened in Kumaraparvata. An IISC guy who went for a trek decided to find a 'new path' in the forest. This was during the monsoon season when the rich-flora-growth makes it tough to recognize even the normal route. As anyone would expect, he went missing. The forest dept had to carry out a search and rescue operation to find him. Luckily he was found after nine days... alive! I have no clue how he survived OR how he satisfied his hunger in the leach and reptile (including king cobra) ridden forest. I guess he got the experience of his life... at the cost of others' trekking pleasure - After this incident, the Karnataka forest dept. banned trekking during monsoon in the Kumaraparvata range! Thanks to the foolhardiness of the IISC guy. Hope the forest dept. won't take similar measures in Sakleshpur.

Sometime back I watched this programme in NatGeo channel. It was about a Chinese team that ventured into the Amazon forest in search of a particular tarantula. They went missing for a few years... but returned in one piece. Wonder how they survived? On Tarantula flesh. It is rich in protein!


February 19, 2007

Funny NITC Notice

Given below is the notice that was published in NITC notice boards on Feb-8-2007. It is kinda funny because college is considered to be the cradle of free-thought and through this notice/order the Director of NITC is attmpting to curtail the freedom of thought and speech - a fundamental right of an Indian - guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Click here to get a background of the court order mentioned in the notice below

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, CALICUT

DO/14/07 February 8, 2007


Sub : Prevention of undesirable activities among the student community - reg


As you are aware, this Institute has an excellent record of academic performance and the Government of India is now in the process of uplifting it to new horizons. In the process of its growth, considering its importance as an Institute of National Importance, the Government of India look on us for input to all their policy matters.

With deep regret, it is noticed that a fraction of our student community indulges in activities which the Law had instructed to be curbed or tabooed for the salvation of educational system through rulings of the Hon'ble Court of Law on student politics in College campuses. Therefore, the Director appeals to the entire student community to keep themselves away from such activities that will tarnish the image of the Institute.

At the same time, it is brought to the notice of the students that acting against the rules of the Institute and Law of the land, that putting flags, posters, banners other than official ones and organizing or attending meetings other than official ones will automatically attract stringent disciplinary action to maintain peace in the campus. Needless to mention that consumption of alcoholic drinks and smoking inside the campus against the code of conduct of the Institute will invite remedial punitive measures. All these undesirable activities will contribute to spoiling of their personal records in the Institute. The student records will be made available to all the prospective employers during placement and later, if necessary. Hence all students are directed to abstain from any illegal activities and be productive and proactive in their academic front.

The Director appeals to the student community to realize the amount of confidence reposed in them, by their parents and the Governmental patronage through poor tax payer's money, and work for the noble objectives expected of each one of us.


Director, NITC


To
All student Notice Boards including Hostel Notice Boards,
All Deans,
All HODs for reading in classes
All faculty members

Copy to: All Parents


Hole in my pocket...

Servicing your Nikon DSLR camera in Bangalore can pinch your pocket dearly. It cost me Rs 3367/- to just clean the CCDs of my D70. Nikon's authorized service center in Bangalore (for its digital products) is located at Infantry Road. The address is given below
INTER FOTO India Pvt. Ltd.
310 Kedia Arcade
92 Infantry Road
Bangalore 560001
Tel: +91-80-41132935
website: http://www.interfoto.in
I was advised to approach one person (not authoized by Nikon) in Cambridge layout, Ulsoor, to get the stuff done for Rs 750/-. My excessive love for my camera, and fear of Nikon repudiating the D70 in case of any damage, made me rule out that option. Next time I guess I need to get the cleaning liquid and try CCD cleaning on my own.

February 18, 2007

Narrow minded people

“How was your US visit?” A family friend asked me.
“Great!” I said
“How are the people there?”
“Good!”
“Is it a nice place to settle?”
“If one wants to…, yes it is.”
“But... they don't have any family life there. There are no values, isn't it?”
“Why do you think so? They too have families... and family life... just like how we have here.
“But... their kids go bad when they grow up.”
“Have you interacted with a US family? I don't think it is right to pass a judgment when you have little knowledge about the topic or subject...”
“Well... yes. But I don't like the way they look at us. They see us as poverty stricken people.”
“Isn’t that true to a certain extend? Take a look at the slums and villages. Even if it is not, who are we to ask them to study about us?”
“But we study about them! We know more about them than they know about us!”
“So what? Does it put an obligation on them to study more about us? Do we know more about Ethiopia or Somalia than how much they know about us? We know more about US because US is well-off and we take interest in it. We know little about Somalia because we think it is a poverty stricken country and have least interest in that subject. Same is the case with them. Why should they 'learn' about India? It is their world! Their freedom to choose and learn a topic of their interest!”

I find it funny when people pass their judgment with no knowledge about a topic. They tend to generalize people. Like all beard men have a bend towards terrorism; all south Indians are Madrasis; our customs and culture are far superior to yours etc. Narrow minded people…! What else can I say? I was quite happy to read this article which echoed my thought.

PS: By passing the judgment of narrow mindedness, am I not generalizing and narrowing my mind?

A story of two slums

Liked this article... Felt good about India govt.'s arms & ammunition policy. In India, It is not easy to get license for a gun. There are +ve and -ve effects of it. I guess there is more +ve than -ve to it.

Sometime back I met a guy on my Kumaraparvata trek. He was there with two of his coteries. His friends started praising him as if he was some VVIP. They claimed he had three guns. Guns!? - An interesting topic! I started asking him questions regarding the procedure to procure a license. As per him it was not a big deal. With news items like "Software Engineer waylaid" taking rounds in Indian news papers, I can easily request for a license. What takes time is the red-tapism after submitting the request. You will have to pay the officials some "kick backs" to process the request fast. There is another problem too: Once you have the license, you got to get a good gun. And guns which are very very cheap outside, cost a fortune in India. He named a few companies, which I don't remember, and claimed that he was the proud owner of the guns manufactured by them. "What about air guns?" I checked with him hoping that it won’t require any license. He gave me some gyaan on it. Said that some air guns are really powerful. That there is this spring which decides the air guns' capability and that the India govt. won’t let people carry air guns whose spring has the strength beyond a limit set by the govt. The workaround? Get in the spring separately...

My friend who got married in Bihar had to carry a double barrel gun with him. He was carrying lot of expensive jewelries and had the fear of dacoits. He told me that he had to submit a reason, while purchasing the ammunition. This info he submitted goes all the way to the collectorate.

All in all, red-tapism seems to be doing good in checking the proliferation of guns in India.


Zadie's Mentation

Came across Zadie Smith in an article. Two of her mentation caught my attention
  1. The idea of being faithful - sexually, emotionally and spiritually - is amazingly profound. Marriage, as we understand it, is just a cheap tin version and it usually fails. But the idea behind it is incredibly beautiful.
  2. Beautiful! Very soon I will be old and ugly but I will still be writing. I write with my brain, not my face.
Zadie, looking fwd to get my hands on your books.

Mantras to Happiness

Today's TOI had an article on Happiness. Tal Ben-Shahar seems to pulling a lot of crowd in Harvard claiming to give them happiness. Some of his happines mantras are given below.


I liked one particular paragraph in the article. It is about multi-tasking, driving in the point which I have been vouching for for a very long time: "We email while we work and we try and multi-task. In other words we need to focus on whatever we are doing. So when we work, we work. When we focus on email, we do that. Multitasking distracts from the quality as well as the quantity of the work"

Cyber Coolies

Sometime back, during a brain storming session in my company, one of my colleagues quipped that Indians are mere cyber coolies, which I felt is more or less true. Long back when I joined the IT industry I used to be proud to say that I'm a software Engineer. I guess I no longer have that kinda feeling.

This TOI article has summarized, quite well, the myth called the Indian programmer.

Two interesting paragraphs are
  1. Last year, from IIT Powai, the top three Indian IT companies got just 10 students out of the 574 who passed out.
  2. A software engineer sums up his plight by vaguely recollecting a story in which thousands of caterpillars keep climbing a wall, the height of which they don't know. They clamber over each other, fall, start again, but keep climbing. They don't know that they can eventually fly. He cannot remember how the story ends but feels the coders of India today are like the caterpillars who plod their way through while there are more spectacular ways of reaching the various destinations of life.

February 15, 2007

Financial Intelligence

Take a look at the violet colored two storey building below...


Now take a look at the small-hut-like-building below...


That is where the owner stays. He is a taxi driver. The area where he has built this house is called Ejipura, Bangalore. During old days, people used to consider Ejipura as a slum area. Today, most of the Ejipura tenants are Software Engineers who owe NO apartment like this. Who is financially more intelligent? - Taxi Driver OR Software Engineers?

This reminds me about a conversation my friend had with an Auto driver.

The driver was in a very good mood to talk… So he starts…

Auto Driver: So sir... How are you? In which company do you work?

My friend (suspiciously): Mmmm… MBI

Auto Driver: Good good! You should be earning quite well!?

My friend (suspiciously and showing no interest in the conversation): Yes yes…

Auto Driver: How much?

My friend (with suspicion and surprise, but with a hope to cut the conversation): Rs 12,000/- per month.


He had purposefully reduced his salary amount. Why reveal it to an Auto-Rickshaw driver?


Auto Driver: That is quite less. Are you a fresher? My son gets more. He joined this year. He earns more than you.

My friend (startled but with admiration and with an interest to continue the conversation): That’s good. You should be proud of your son and yourself. You have made him a software engineer.
Auto Driver: Yes sir. I’ll be happier when my second son gets into an MNC. He is doing his final year BE.
My friend (with admiration): Your second son is doing his engineering! That’s cool. So once he is done you can take a break from this rickshaw job

Auto driver: No sir. I have a daughter. I want to make her a doctor. And also I need to build a house for her. I have already built two houses for my sons.

My friend: ….. Has no words. He kept listening to whatever the driver said with occasional one or two questions and clarifications


Who has more financial intelligence? - Auto Driver OR Software Engineers?


February 14, 2007

Magical Realism

When I was preparing for a long flight, a very good friend of mine, for whom I have high regards, recommended “One Hundred Years of Solitude” to spend my time with. I read that novel and found it quite crazy. I wondered why it was one among my friend's favorite books. A few months later I hit on my princiapal’s (NITC former principal) blog and came to know that the same book is his favorite too. The question gripped me - Why couldn't I appreciate that book as much as these two folks did? The answer appeared when I caught the word “magical realism” and the connection of the book with Columbian history. The circle of realization was complete when I could recollect how much I appreciated Salman Rushdies' “Midnight's Children” - another book that has brought fwd magical realism in a beautiful way...

February 13, 2007

Ads and valentine's day

There is this ad taking rounds in Bangalore FM channels... : "So... what did your sweetheart gift you on this valentine’s day? - A diamond necklace? A diamond ring? A candle light dinner at a five star hotel?"

Thanks to the crazy ads that come through all sorts of media, gone are the days when a rose would convey all that really matters - LOVE!. Some ads give the impression that nothing less than a 40-cent VVS1 singleton diamond pendant will do. For the selling companies Feb is the season to increase their sales. And these ads help them a lot for sure. For the consumer, it leaves a bad taste. The word "Feb-14" raises the alarm; the prices of the gifts drops one's heart to his/her belly. A fortune need to be spent to keep your sweet-heart happy. He/She thinks that the norm is to splash money to convey how much their better half matters to him/her! The world... i mean the ads... say so...!

Thanks Mr. Valentine. You have given the business houses a good opportunity to stuff their purse.

Before you sign off, take a look at this valentine video. You might like it...



February 12, 2007

Bandh: N72 coverage...

I declare today's Karnataka Bandh a success in Ejipura area. The valuable proof - footage - is given below. Courtesy: Nokia N72 camera. Only a very few two wheelers could be seen on the road. Most of the vehicles stayed off the road. All the shops and institutes "appeared" to be closed. Intelligence report states that organizations like Dell had asked their employees to report to office by 4:30 AM so that they could sneak them into the office and close the gates so as to make it appear that no one was working on the day... "Dhandha" is important :D




An extra degree

An extra degree of temperature can generate steam that powers locomotives. Without that extra degree water is just "hot" water. An extra degree can make all the deference. One extra degree of effort in life seperates good from the great! Strive for that extra degree...

Those who scripted the inspirational "Race" have come up with "An extra degree". Click here to watch it.


February 07, 2007

Adieu Team

I bid adieu to my team. The manager thanked me for my contributions and told me that if I change my mind I can join back the team; any time.

Two particular messages made me feel good. One is a chat message and the other is a mail. Both are given below

The mail:
I am sorry I did not have the chance to talk to you in person this week to say good bye. I really enjoyed working with you. You added a great sense of ethics, enthusiasm and high quality work to the team. Your work was instrumental and a key leadership example for the SE&A team in India and US as well. You really mastered your role, helped us a lot to mature and tailor the SE Capability pattern based on dynamic conditions and provided an excellent inputs for other SE&A initiatives. I could continue for a good time describing details of the quality of work your provided ... "Thank You Very Much and We Will Miss You !"

The chat message:
Me: It is final. I'll be leaving the team this month.
Colleague: BOOHOOHOO
Colleague: I am still in denial that you are leaving.
Me: :)

Bye team mates. I'll miss you too. Earth is a small planet. I'm sure our paths will cross again.


A cinema and a laptop

7:10 PM. We looked at the clock before rushing out to get my bike. The show is at 7:15. Got to get the tickets before the movie starts. My friend doesn’t like missing even the 1st few seconds of a movie. With the crowded streets giving way to the thumping bullet, we managed to reach the cinema theater on time. We rushed to the ticket counter; grabbed the tickets and hurried to the security-desk for security clearance. After frisking us and checking my friend's backpack the security personnel declared that we can't get in the theater. Reason? There is a laptop in the bag and that is a security threat!!! How? Why? I don't know! Can you think of a reason? Is it possible to pack RDX in a laptop? Is that the reason? I'm clueless. My neurons couldn't churn a reason. Neither could the security personnel give a reason. I’m looking forward to meet the security head of any of the multiplexes to clear my doubt.

Blonde Joke...

I think Merc captured this blonde joke quite well...



AT&T History...

For all those who want to learn the history of at&t...



Guess no other charts/books/videos can beat it :)

Settled Life!

To all bachelors,

Here’s some food for your thought…

The other day I was talking to my friend over phone. He got married a couple of years back.

Me: You don't seem to have time for old friends - even when you are leading a "settled life.
Friend: Buddy, I don't know if you can call this kinda life a "settled" one. Coz it really "unsettles" a guy. You will come to know when you get married.

Aaeehhh... That’s a warning bell to all bachelors.