Vaanga engineering pannalaam

There was a story that our language teacher in school used to relate, quite often. too often.
You can imagine..with the kind of memory power that I have, it has still hung on to my brain.

back in the times of yore, there was this learned guy, who used to speak a lot of languages. he was so skilled in all of them that no one really knew which language was his mother tongue. This guy used to go to several kings' courts and challenge the ministers there to find his mother tongue. The kings' men used to bring scholars and linguistic experts and make them analyse the wise guy's language to find out if his speech had an accent or inclination to certain state, area or country. but none of that worked and wise guy kept getting popular and making money out of his challenges.

One shrewd minister thought of a not-so-nice way to find out the truth. while wise guy was asleep, well into night, the minister slipped in through his bedroom window with a huge hammer. The minister then tip toed close to wise guy and banged hard with the hammer on wise guy's right toe and immeditely slipped behind the curtains.

Wise guy woke up into a fit and started cursing black and blue and not finding what had stung him, went back to bed still muttering and cursing and whining from the pain.

Next day in court, the minister related the previous nights accounts and announced with conviction the mother tongue of the wise guy. Finally the challenge was won.

Ya so, as it goes, This language- our mother tongue, the thing that we think in.. also the one by which we show our extreme emotions- We get angry in that, we love in that, we crack jokes in that. but facts can always be taught and understood in any language. E=mc^2. Mariana trench is 35,797 ft deep. The first world war was between 1914-1918. I learnt them in english, which is definitely not my mother tongue, but i still know them facts and in fact learning them in english has helped me not to confine myself within the state of tamilnadu.

So what I really dont understand is, why has the tamilnadu government decided to introduce new engineering courses in Tamil?! and how does the government expect the kids graduating from these colleges to find jobs???

Why cant they just leave us to do our cursing and joking in tamil.. who are they trying to please by making us learn engineering in tamil, what purpose do they think that education will serve? Enna koduma sir ithu..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/TN-to-experiment-with-engineering-courses-in-Tamil/articleshow/5614006.cms

Nagala

Yes, the sun rises in Chennai. But on that day, I did wonder how many of us would miss it if it did not turn up one morning... Granted, we will miss the light, but who will miss the beauty?

That was just the start of the day. Seen above is the sunrise among koyambedu traffic. But, it was a different sunset for me that day. It felt nice to be there to witness the beauty away from the blaring horns and the dust and smoke.

Good people, Nagalapuram waits, for those who care to explore, roughly 2 hours north of chennai.

Images en route.

First view
Fruits of labour

Fringe benefits ;) - the fishes give me a free pedicure in crystal clear waters

Closing ceremony

A day of pebble paths, unforgiving rocks, cuts and bruises, photography, nature, like minded company, pure air, pristine water and a shy sunset. I rate it first class! :)

The pleasure of nonsense. We are loving it

Temporary brain coma made enjoyable by our Thalaivar.

Rajnikanth starrer Endhiran (the robot) released last friday to unprecedented ticket buy-outs and the usual craziness that is attached to any Rajni release. We all can send zillion jokes about Rajni, but the undeniable truth is that he gives real meaning to the phrase 'larger than life'.

This most expensive project of Indian movie industry had made more than what was spent in its making before it saw the first weekend out. Still going strong, it will probably be the best money maker that tamil/hindi cinema has ever seen.

Getting tickets to watch the spectacle.

Come on brains, lets play dead, it will be fun :D

"At one point in life you either have the thing you want or the reasons why you dont"

T shirt quote in Chennai Times today :)

A date tonight... with Paws

I need to catch a train tonight, but then, that can wait. I have a date with Paws, its going to be a very important evening. I am really excited about it :) I am going to pop the question!

Well, someone has to do it. For obvious reasons, he is not going to. So.. I might as well do it. So here goes..

"Who is taking home the FIFA world cup?"

For that matter why stop with Paws? I am going to have serious conversations with all the dogs, cats, parakeets and possibly any octopuses that I can find on the way to Nandanam. By the way, Paws is the pet cat of the aunty who i am staying with. (What are the chances of having a boy friend named Paws anyway)

Well, if I wanted to know who would win the FIFA world cup, you would think I have to actually watch the match for that. How technologically backward are you!? Dont you know how these matches are decided? O dear ignorant soul, read this-

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/now-a-parakeet-tips-holland-to-win-wc-2010/126284-5-21.html?from=tn

and this-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/09/psychic-octopus-paul-picks-spain

Here is the best bit: After FIFA, Nepal wants Paul the octopus to predict its political future. If you were one of those who went to cast the vote on polling day in Nepal, you must be feeling absolutely wasted, now that Paul the octopus is around
;)

Fortified with fiber

Had been taking the bus for sometime since my partner went low on battery and is being serviced back to health in the TVS service station. And since the bus driver does not trust my road sense, he does not let me sit at the wheel. That leaves me pretty jobless sitting at the passenger seat, with nothing to do other than gawk at people and posters en route to office.

So, this one poster caught my attention. It had the picture of maggi noodles and a caption that went 'The power of fiber'.

Would have suited rubicon mattress more.. still, 'power of fiber'?..perhaps thats a better tagline for the Coir board of India...or..may be plywood??

But no, the copywriter says Maggi noodles (of all things!) has the power of fiber. Come now, fiber is not your average vitamin or mineral!

Pray, somebody enlighten me. What did he mean? did he really mean fiber can give me energy when consumed? what kind of 'power' does fiber have that noodles can use, eventually worth this advertisement?

Calvin

12 angry men

How much can you enjoy a black and white movie of 1.5 hours when all you see in it is the inside of a dingy room, and the faces of 12, not very attractive men taking turns talking, and only talking? My answer is - enormously, if the movie is '12 Angry men'

A classic like no other, the movie surprises you into total attention as it starts narrating the story. It can be viewed as a movie with a social message or one that analyses human behavior, whichever way it is looked at, you would be convinced that it is a masterpiece.

It starts in a courtroom where the judge, bored after hearing a long trial, sends the 12 jurors to a closed room to make their final votes and decide whether to send the 18 year old accused to the electric chair on the charge that he killed his father. There is only one condition, the vote has to unanimous. 'Guilty' or 'Not guilty', all the jurors have to take the same stand.

At the preliminary vote, all but one man is sure of the guilt of the young boy. One against eleven, this man is also not sure that the boy is innocent, but only that his conscience does not allow him to send a fellow to death without first talking about it and feeling sure of the guilt. So eleven jurors, set about convincing the only guy who does not agree with them so that they can all go home soon.

The central character (the one who does not say 'guilty' yet), an architect, a man of no imposing personality, but mild and even slightly shy in his body language, almost uncertainly runs a campaign just to reach the right decision. As the movie moves from scene to scene, the viewer gets a good look at the various kinds of men and their way of thinking. Every single one of them remind you of one or other person you have met, worked with, been associated with in some or the other way. A facts guy - give him the facts and he is by you. A thinker - hurts his head thinking and digging so that he does the right thing. An indifferent guy - whatever happens in the world, he stays unaffected to the last. A few more such as a self observed guy, a guy with prejudices against sections of people, another who is never assertive even when provoked etc

Closed in a room with facts, prejudices, indifferences, genuine concerns and other emotions, the same men who strongly believed at the start of the movie that the accused was indeed guilty, laboriously reach the final verdict of 'not guilty'. The how is the essence of the movie.

If I say more about it (havent I already?), I would be ruining the fun of watching the movie for you. do grab a DVD and watch it. Its a very old movie, you may find it difficult to get in the store, but try your best. Its worth every minute of its running time.

People make such masterpieces once in a while, and thats why we watch cinemas

Calvin and I

Lord of war

You can never force someone to fall in love, but you can definitely improve your odds

From movie 'lord of war'.

more:

the secret to survival, never go to war, especially with yourself

How many car salesman talk about their work? 

How many cigarette saleman? Both their products kill more people every year than mine. At least, mine has a safety switch. If those guys can leave there work at the office. So can I (**the guys occupation is selling guns)

Google says Andrew Niccol wrote the script for this movie. If you happen to read this and if you know other movies (good ones) this person has directed/written, please let me know.

Regional religion

**Disclaimer: This is not a ridiculing note, but an observation of a passer-by, i.e. me**

This is the neo age and dont think that its just the cars, suits, furniture and a countless other things that are custom made. We also have for you, Custom made... Gods!

Santhome Basilica, a temple of Christian Catholic faith and a monument of great touristic interest houses a statue of Mother Mary, in a glass and wooden dome within the church campus. This Sunday, she was wrapped in a bright purple saree complete with bright golden coloured zari work.

This is the Tamilnaattu Mary maatha, custom made for the Tamil people. I wondered how they dressed her up north.

An year ago, when a European colleague came visiting India, he was taken around Chennai for the traditional go-around of the city and on Sunday, keeping his high Catholic values in mind, the manager made arrangements for him to attend the sunday mass in one of the churches nearby.

Monday morning saw a grumpy European Catholic in the office. He was disappointed and depressed to find Mother Mary "strangely clothed"!

Well well, I told you, just an observation, remember?

Foodie alert

There probably isn’t anything I enjoy more than talking about food! Imagine my joy when I found this website that has the food joints, cafes, bars all listed down with address and phone numbers and a few reviews :)

burrp.com is a total foodie website, though very few Chennai joints have been reviewed, they do give you a fair idea of what to expect regarding cuisine and prices.

And of course, spreading the love, I am gonna do what I think I can do for the site- talking abt food. In fact, I have already written reviews for few food places in Chennai :)

It is classified on the basis of cities. The cities listed are Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkota, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune. I noticed that cities like Mumbai and Bangalore had more active people on the site.

I saw many reviews and also more joints listed there. In any case, the Chennai space is not bad at all!! I have not found any other website that’s exclusive for restaurants and cafes and burrp.com is gonna do just great for me :)

So next time you are looking for some place to have coffee/lunch/dinner have a peek at this site. And if you did visit any interesting restaurants, share your experience on the site by writing a review.

I just noticed the number of smileys i used in this post, my maximum so far in a single post i guess. Well, it happens. 'Food' is one of the only two topics that deserves so many smileys. the other one is, of course 'guys' ;)

Cats and Dogs

The aunty whom I live with, has a pet cat. Judging by the attitude he throws around the household, i feel that he(the cat) thinks we are all his pets, not the other way around.

Have you ever watched cats and noted how different they are from dogs? Dogs are pleasers. They make it obvious that they want you to like them. But cats, well.. I dont know what they think of themselves!

Aunty told me a cool story that clearly marks the difference between cats and dogs. It goes like this:
There lived a lady who had a cat and a dog as pets. Everyday, she feeds them and takes care of them, quite equally. So,
Dog thinks: Such a sweet woman, She gives me food, she takes care of me, she fulfills all my needs and she loves me. She must be God!
Cat thinks: Such a sweet woman, She gives me food, she takes care of me, she fulfills all my needs and she loves me. I must be God!

Have you ever wondered why you never find cats performing in the circuses or animal shows? I observed that people train practically any animal/bird on earth - including lions, tigers, fishes, birds...except a cat. It is because they are simply not trainable! Why is it so difficult to train this animal? I have not found a reasonable answer yet. You tell me if you know.

Life's little worries

This is a cute photo and caption that I thought would be fun sharing with you.

Appeared in 'The Hindu' Chennai edition on the last page of the main sheet this sunday.

The little fellow is really upset that his hair is all gone. As the caption says, life has its own worries.. We call this little, but it matters the world to this chap!

Trust Hindu to come up with such interesting images!

Its movie time

I am sure you guys would have watched the hollywood movie "Speed" (Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. have i spelt them right??). For those who have not, it is an action drama where there is this bomb planted in a bus carrying some clueless passengers. The bomb is programmed in such a way as to blow up the whole bus if the speedometer falls below certain count (50 miles i guess), once it crosses it. So Sandra Bullock keeps driving the bus on and on without stopping or slowing against all odds on the road.

Now, I am talking about one particular shot, where the bus reaches the end of a half-constructed road. the road re-starts after an interval, and in between there is a deep space gap. In the movie, Sandra just accelarates, the bus is shown to be flying across the space and lands on the other side of the road wherefrom the road is operational.

Question: Do you think such a stunt is really possible? Since I cant hear you now, let me jus say what I think. NO way! There was a time when I thought things in motion if accelarated enough can go in a straight line even if they are not in contact with the ground. Eg: Bullet fired from a pistol. That was only till i watched this program which showed how they made this movie (Speed). The director was explaining how they could never have pulled it off no matter how they tried, because once the bus takes off from the road, it is pulled by the gravitational force from the earth deep below. So by all the glory of explanation, what the bus will do once it loses contact with the ground is- nosedive to where it is pulled from! So how did they make it fly up in the air? Simple, they elevated it.

Now that it is the end of the post, i have to give you something really interesting. Did you know that even a bullet that is fired does not travel in exact straight line in space? before it reaches the target, its altitude drops a bit because gravity pulls it down. Serious, i am not bluffing!

BRAIN and MIND

A very interesting question on Yahoo! Answers, and few answers that ppl had posted. One of these answers was posted by me. You have to guess which it is, ok?

What is the difference between BRAIN and MIND exactly-?(Wanted by someone for school project)

Answer 1-Brain is part of a human body:
It works to retain memory:
Mind is a non-physical one:
mind is the cause for all the activities of the human

Answer 2-brains is in actual term
mind is in factual term
i mean, brain is a physical quantity and mind is figment of our imagination
brain is part of mind if we think, but reverse is not true

Answer 3-Depending on what your exactly what you are looking for, people distinguish brain and mind in a biological and philosophical sense.
When people speak of the brain, it is usually spoken about in the sense of neurons and chemical processes that can be described in a more scientifc manner. The mind, on the other hand, is seen more as a philosphical idea.
To put in better words, the mind is seen as something apart from the body that reflects on ideas, thoughts, and feelings. This is a pretty general difference that people make between brain and mind but the debate goes on whether one or the other actually exists.
Hope this helped.

Answer 4-The brain is anatomical, the mind is not

Answer 5-Mind is the brainchild of the brain!
Let me explain, Brain controls all the body functions, including thinking. In the primitive days, nobody knew biology very clearly, So much so that they invented ways to 'understand' things in a way it can be easy. Simple people like them had difficulty believing that an organ made of flesh and blood (the brain) can do such marvellous things as thinking, analysing, distinguishing, philosophising and so on.
So, to make things to be easily understood, they started distinguishing the mind (conscience) from the brain. The fact is that, it is their brains that thought up such an idea! Interesting na?
Let me know if this helped!
Answer 6- The mind is how we think and the Brain is the actual organ

Answer 7- The brain is the actual, physical organ; the mind is a more abstract concept used to collectively describe many of the functions of the brain. Mind would not include things like the control of body functions or reflexes, but does include things like thought, perception, and memory

Answer 8- Brain- is a term used to indicate the organ in the head. Mind- resembles the activities of the brain

Answer 9- Brain is used in bio or science and mind is usually used in literature.There is no diffrence between them
Now leave in your comment and tell me which you think is mine and of course, give me your ideas of the 'difference'!

Aint it interestin!?

Listen to this! Something I found in the internet:
Men have 4% more brain cells than women, and about 100 grams more of brain tissue.

Now dont think I put this up here to glorify the not-so-fair gender..
Here comes the punchline:

Many women have asked the scientist why men need more brain tissue in order to get the same things done.
(Touche!)

;)

PS: Dont think I am bluffing about the facts. Here, go check it out for yourself:
http://www.doctorhugo.org/brain4.html