-a * -b = + ab

I was tired and sleepy after my 4 mile walk..
Sasa asked me to answer a question:
The max number of hair on human head = 2 lakh
population of a city is 40 lakh
what is the probability that 2 ppl will have same number of hair..
I did come up to the answer = 1, but not with the speed and alacrity that Sasa expected.

Sasa claimed the answer was so obvious that I shouldnt have taken even a tired longer moment. Sasa calls it pigeonhole axiom. Say there are 4 pigeonholes and 5 pigeons, what is the probability that at least 1 pigeonhole will have >1 pigeon? Ans = 1. (Typical Dee quip: how do you know that every pigeon wants to go in the hole and n ot spread its wings a bit? ) 

I ranted that Sasa will make me prove all the axioms next, like prove that multiplication of 2 negative nos is positive. Bad example for a rant. Sasa really made me prove it!

Here goes my proof..
Proove that multiplication of 2 -ve integers is +ve. If I can prove this, extend the logic to all -ve numbers.
Lets see how 2*3 works..
multiplication is defined as repetitive addition.. 2*3 = 2 + 2 + 2
so a* 3 = 0 + a + a + a
so a* (-3) = 0 -a -a -a
so, -2 * -3 = 0 - (-2) - (-2) - (-2) = +6
hence -2 * -3 = +ve
hence proved that multiplication of 2 -ve integers is +ve.

I joked that if this was a 10th standard board exam question, this proof would have been wrong, as in would not have earned me any marks. :P 

Oceanside picnic

Had started in the morning to check out a car. It took a bit longer at the mechanic's and I missed the bus. Since it was the lunch break, the next bus was after 2 hours. I tried going to a couple of delis, which were closed for some reason (later realized they were serving at the festival). That was when I heard music at the oceanside.

The saturday post thanksgiving is when the US dons a informative role, I had already seen a bible parade earlier this day. This was the Ocean, Beach and Reef festival. Catered towards families with kids, it had several stalls like "what do you spot on the beach", "what lives in the sea", "which part of the beach to steer clear of to save the turtles", beach cleaning signup, kayak/surfboard rentals etc. There werent just posters around, but each stall was manned by Professors from the nearby Florida Tech University Oceanology Dept talking to the kids. (Again one cant help wonder why do such things dont happen in India.)

some cool thing on display

After checking out a few stalls I headed out to the beach for a stroll.

शंख शिंपल्यांचा सडा 

I highly recommend the Indian Harbour beach, and also wish that I had spotted this stretch of sand earlier. It is an amazing beach, and this was the first time I saw heaps of conches and shells.

In the US, the food stalls at football games, or festivals like theses typically serve hotdogs; but the planner in me always has a backup lunch stashed no matter how early in the morning I have started. I just had to get Cheesy dips from a nearby CVS to make the lunch less dry, and off to an impromptu oceanside picnic!

After I returned from my stroll + lunch with more conches and shells than ever, I waited for my turn to talk to the Professor to help me identify the stuff. I spoke to Prof. Richard Turner, and we had an interesting talk. Before talking to him, everything was just "शंख शिंपले " to me, he helped me identify the different types. 

Thanks to Prof. Turner, I can now identify "olive shells" (bottom left set of 2), "moon shells", "ears" made by scallops, and pigmented "arcs" of snails..can also identify how eroded arc Vs non-eroded arc looks like 

While I was waiting for the bus, my cell was low on battery. The infodesk lady pointed out that all the beachside pavilions have an electric socket. I was so impressed that I couldnt help but blurt out "I love USA". The point to be noted is that these pavilions were at a small town, and not a popular tourist destination like Miami. Yet, all the pavilions are equipped with a drinking water source, a tap to wash off the sand, barbeque spots, and my recent discovery - electric sockets. The point also to be noted is that such pavilions are present every half a mile down the beach, and note once again that this is not a spot that features on any "top 10" lists. I was appreciating some artists's stalls when he came over to chat, asked if I was an Indian, and told me that he has learnt many of his techniques from streetside painters in India. The infodesk lady gave me a free bottle of water, (cant help but compare to overpriced water bottles bought during Mood Indigo! )

Indians will keep on debating whether US is advanced because it has good roads or vice versa. Many mayors and whoevers keep on visiting the US on official visits. Why cant we ever learn these tips about how to project India as a tourist friendly nation.



P.S: Shrikant, you are so right about the "Life in the US" blogs being super-convergent about comparing US and India!! Cant help it :P Just waiting for you to come to the US and then let's see if you dont compare things in your head if not on the blog :))

Pumpkin seeds

Who doesnt love to pop open dried pumpkin seeds? I recently tried that with cooked ones..because I was too lazy to dry them in a clean space, and discovered that easier to pop those than dried ones. Bite just behind the fleshy part, and the whole fleshy part pops out.
Note of caution: However amazing it is, it's to be tried only when you are alone, lest a manners nazi gets a fit. For a more civilized/ less disgusting version, one might try popping seeds with nails. I just tried, and it was messier than the bite method.
Protest against unfairness: The same manners nazi will not object to someone biting off a piece of meat from a bone..

Thanksgiving P-log

While we were hiking down a unused trail in the Sebastian Inlet State Park, my colleague asked me what do I do with the many pics that I take, do I even see those later. She suggested I have a picture blog, and I thought it was a great idea.

My plan for a perfect Thanksgiving 4 day off was:
Day 1: Everglades in the morning, Miami by night. Spend the black friday night/early morning shopping in Miami.
Day 2: Explore Miami
Day 3: Start early, scenic drive to Key West + water sports. Hope there's at least a single spot in Key West where you can see both sunset as well as sunrise the next day. Find that spot and camp there.
Day 4: The long drive back home.

**RANT ALERT**
But both Sasa and my colleague had Thanksgiving dinner plans. My colleague told me she had to go to the office to check if anything needs to be done and then we'll start. जो दुसऱ्यावरी विसंबला तो संपला.. A day that could have been spent car shopping when the mechanics were open. The plan was then modified to a short daytrip on Saturday to nearby Sebastian that should encomapss hiking + water-sports + beach. Parasailing and kite surfing were both "windependent". I really hate it when I end up planning for nearly all the trips and hence if the trip goes wrong the onus is mine! (Thank God that I have plans B/ C).  (Harry, Rutu n Aswin - wholehearted thanks for donning the planning cap :) ) .  Modified plan was -  go to State park, go for parasailing, if time permits go kite surfing.
What happened was - Start late, dont trust that I have correct GPS co-ordinates to park, go to Parasail place instead, ponder what to do till the Parasailing appointment, (My back up plans were jet skii and paddle surfing), try paddle surfing, go parasailing, then hike at the State park, and catch up an amazing sunset Note: sunset at East Coast = jumping at the opportunity nature gave us.
** Rant Over**

Its thanksgiving my dear..be thankful that you have a colleague who has just 3 more weeks to go before her intern ends, and is bound to be busy in the last month of her intern. Be thankful that you dont depend upon smartphone, but are smart and spirited enough to plan your day on your feet. Be thankful that you have a friend who agrees to your "tends-to-dangerous" plans of hiking on any trail you see.. And never the least, be thankful that your "wish I were in Dallas" mood-offs stay only for a few minutes and you can lap up the natural wonders of Florida.

I am so tired of planning every trip

Amazing driving along US1

After falling off the surfboard twice, upturning it once..i finally GOT IT!!

Parasailing

Our boat, its wake, and the shadow of our parachute..parachute was harnessed to us + it's water underneath (though by Newton's 3rd law the fall would still be serious), so I was very relaxed even with the winds, unlike my skydive

View from top thru my cam..spotted a couple of dolphins and a turtle

Hiking on a unused trail.. with marina on one side and standing water on the other..I was worried there might be an aligator/ snake lurking. Seeing a mangrove forest for the 1st time..notice the stemmy projections

different type of खारफुटी /mangrove?

Random shots during the hike

Sunset from the easternmost strip of East coast..wonders of the world

On guy friends

A few days ago, I had a super awesome time pillion jetskiing with A, when out of nowhere a thought popped in my head.  My friend calls her committed friends as "3D" 3 dimensional - parents friends and the GF/BF. She claims that she doesnt enjoy an outing with her committed friends + their BF/GF because when together they have absolutely no time for her. For the past 2 yrs I was hanging out with a different kind of crowd, many were single, a handful had their GF/BFs in India or in other universities, many got added to the list of UF couples during the 2 yrs that we spent at UF.

Shifting to Melbourne especially, after spending 2 rocking years at UF + Dallas felt very drab and I planned many getaways. Now that I think of it, spending these couple of "single" years in Dallas amongst many more friends would have been better for a wanderlusty person. Yet when I actually went to Dallas for a week, I found out many friends who a year back had similar wheels to their feet were now spending friday nights/ weekends @bars. And then it was my amazing Austin trip..

As I stepped off the jetskii with my knees tired after hugging the jetskii with all my life, I couldnt walk straight for an hour. (The previous day, even post 2 shots, I could still walk straight.)  I told A that I was high on him! Suddenly it dawned that probably its the last time we are having so much fun together. Soon, destiny will introduce him to his significant other, and then the person riding pillion would be her and no one else. One of my Dallas roomies was married and now her words- "you stop being friends with your friends once you are married" start sounding resoundingly true. (One of my MLB roomies is married too, and she totally agrees.) There could be jealousies etc, and even simple hanging out could be time crunched, and probably no more salsa together or crashing overnight at your close guy friend's place!

I guess all we are left with is to reminisce the awesome times spent together once we come to that point, and enjoy while it lasts.

Car search update

1. Used car Vs New car..
To put it in Sasa's words, I need a car just as a safe cube to get me point A to point B. My preference is definitely going places and flying to vacations than splurging on a new car. A thousand bucks saved on a car is equivalent to 2 vacations. US is a huge country and 90% of nice spots are out of Deepika's car range ( because she will still think about whether it is justificable to drive and waste fuel+harm earth than spend more money but fly there, that plane is going to be scheduled irrespective of whether Dee flies on it or not. )
My recent vacations in the past 2 months were Seattle, Atlanta and Dallas, and I would fly of course. Other top spots on my wish list are New York, a cruise in Alaska, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and Smokies. )

2. Used car..
In search of a "आखूड शिंगी बहू दुधी गाय" medium mileage/ relatively not so old, and a price tag that goes with both these qualities. But looks like I can only find 1 quality at a time. If there's a car that matches both qualities, It will have a "Call for price" written in the online ad. Yeah right, all people going for a used car are going to be so jobless that they have no other work but to call all the dealers for their "potential shortlist?" cars.

3. Features
Yet another group of cars will satisfy both qualities but lacks ABS/ Cruise control. I dont give a damn to whether AC works or not, or whether it has power windows - my parents car had neither and yet was comfortable. One dealer called me back to say there was no ABS but there was a Satellite Radio.
Quoting Shashank: Satellite Radio वर गंधर्व गाणार आहेत का? (Translates- Do I get to hear celestial singers if there's a satellite radio.)

4. Dealer fees
Either I completely lack negotiation skills or whatever. There was only 1 dealer who included dealer fees in the cost listed online, and only a couple others who bothered to list their dealer fees on their own website. Again apparently everyone has spare time on hands to call the dealer for the dealer fees (which ranged 249 to 999 in MLB/ MCO) for all potential shortlists.

5. Online price
Most cars will have a better price online, as one dealer said, to get your foot in the door.

6. Mechanic hunt
Most dealers will have a service branch in the same premises. Yet there will be no warranty on the car. You, with all the free time in the world, have to make a few more calls to find a mechanic in the area who charges the least for looking at a used car and giving their opinion about it.

7. Manufacturers warranty
You will find a 2011 rental car with "just" 30k miles on it. Its 5k less than a new car (=10 more vacations for me.) It will still have manufacturer's warranty left on it. If its a Nissan, chances are that the rental car has used it up - easier to reject it on the spot. If its a Certified Nissan/ Honda/ Hyundai, you are better off with the warranty. You call up Hyundai to confirm about it and they will give you a list of exclusions from the warranty.

8. Manual Vs Automatic
You find the purrrfect car, its 2011, still has warranty left, what you ignore to read is that its Manual. 2 yrs out of India I forgot driving anything, leave alone driving a Manual. You still brace yourself and go for a testdrive.. best luck with that!

9. Thanksgiving offers
Some dealers do have specials/ offers. But Mechanics are either booked/ on vacation. 

Thus endeth my 2 weeks since I started serious car search. Shortlists:
2003 camry 117k miles 9k usd - ranks 1st bcoz its the only one approved by mechanic so far, mechanic says its really good inside
the cost doesnt justify the miles at all.
3* 2011 rental cars ranging 30-35k miles @12k. 
2008 hatchback accent without cruise control - hey if I buy a car which is good enough to be taken for a longer ride, I surely wish for a cruise control and enjoy the drive!
Sasa specializes in sensors and actuators and claims that getting one installed खाउची पेंड नाही आहे! (not a piece of cake - hey this is one of the rare idioms that uses the exact same analogy in both the languages)

Better safe than..

Was just reading the gory details of Hetal Parekh rape and murder case..
The rapist was accosting Hetal for some days and she had complained to her mom. Her mom had got the lift attendant transferred to another building. He went to Hetal's apartment when she was alone and had told another security guard that he needed to make a phone.

All the girls out there,
Please dont open the door unless you know the person. Else call your neighbour over. It is okay to be labeled as someone who got scared over nothing.

Long time after my mom's family shifted, we had visited that area. My mom n granny were nostalgic and wished to see their old home. We went to the home, and the parents of the girl had gone out. She called her neighbour over, who came over with a couple of dogs and only then she opened the door for us. Of course at that time, the unknown people entering her home were a family of 2 kids, their parents and granny; still its always wise to be careful. As portrayed in the movie Changeling, anti-social elements may gang up with kids to force others to let their guard down.

If someone asks to use the phone, you dont need to open the door. Tell him/her to give you the number, you call and say that you can pass on the message. 

If you are biking/ walking alone, its better to take the main road than the sleepy bylanes.

Parents and teachers, please..its high time we teach our kids to differentiate "good touch" and "bad touch". There is nothing wrong in raising your voice if you feel uncomfortable in a situation. Most "bad touches" come from someone you know, and kids need to be taught that its not their fault and they need to report it.

Me and my friend were travelling in a bus, and the old guy behind us started getting touchy. My friend stamped on his foot hard. When that didnt help either, she raised her voice enough to let the whole bus know, and asked the guy to keep his hands to himself. In a situation like this, a group psychology is to help.

To Parents, it is okay to ask your kids not to open the door to remote uncles or cousins or electricians or repair-wallahs or whoevers if they are alone. The Indian family concept and extending your welcoming door is okay, but not at the cost of your kids safety. Either ask your neighbour to come over, or dont open the door.

My family taught me not to send anyone away without atleast giving them water. Nothing wrong in  passing a bisleri bottle to the unknown wo/man through the grilled door.

After doing every household chore for the past 2 yrs, I now know that we can do without kaamwali baais. I noticed a slow change in the maids' attitudes post Ekta-Kapoor-super-rich-serials. We even have had one maid just flicking something and taking it with her. When it was noticed and we asked her about it - she simply said that she took it because we have too many of those! Why have kaamwaalis unnecessarily for them to hold grudges against you for purported low wages or you catching them red-handed or for sacking them? 

Saja-e-maut

I was too young to know about it when Auto Shankar was hanged.  The capital punishment being implemented in India, when I was old enough to know about it was Dhananjoy Chatterjee's execution. 

His crime was proven, yet people backed the "son of their soil" as a community. They agreed that his crime was heinous indeed, yet protested against the capital punishment. I guess Gandhiji has made protesting so fashionable, that many used the platform to propel their careers as self-proclaimed human-rights-activists (which for some reason helps protect the rights of only media-popular cases).

Just as Dhananjoy Chatterjee case came up, we read about an incident in Shivaji's life as a part our school curriculum. An influential "Patil" (a post analogous to sheriff of a small village) had raped a poor woman. This "Patil" was the head of the village, on top of that, he was a kin of Shivaji, and therefore, he assumed that he was above law.  The victim's helpless father turned to Shivaji. Shivaji ordered that the Patil be arrested and brought in court. He was tried in court, and Shivaji ordered that the Patil's hands be chopped off. I want to point out 3 major points which are relevant today too.
1. The incident dates to 1600 AD, there was no DNA testing, no chemical analysis of circumstantial evidence.A crime of such a nature has no witnesses.
(Just because details of a classified trial are not revealed to general public, it doesnt mean trial wasnt fair.)
2. Just because the Patil was a politician's kin (or belonged to same state), he was not above law. 
3rd is what Shivaji said to his courtiers.. he said that he has to be strict and the punishment has to be so severe that in future no one should dare do a similar crime.

10 years after Dhananjoy, human rights activists have found another case to bleat around the media bush. What pains me is that a man who was studying to be a doctor to save lives was so brainwashed that he did the opposite. What pains me the most is that politicians are using his stalled walk to gallows to instigate people going astray. 

People's President

I came to know about President Dr. Abdul Kalam's visit to Florida through Team Asha. He was to speak at several lectures in UCF, Jacksonville, plus over lunch/ dinner at Ocala/ Jax.  Since the lectures were scheduled during UCF school hours = my work hours, Ocala it was, for me.

The organizers offered to fly him from Jax to Ocala, but he is a man without any airs and graces, and he suggested that he would travel by road. He entered the banquet hall amidst unanimous applause. He had refreshments right amidst people, another instance of the humble man that he is. (Another politician would have had food privately to emphasize how divine/ unlike common man he is)

As a school kid, I have heard him talk in person on 2 occasions in Pune while he was the President. This time, it was an completely different experience altogether. He started with a witty observation about how Ocala, which is  leading horse breeding city in US, now seems to be "breeding" doctors. A fourth of the crowd was 2nd generation Indians (since I was closer to that crowd, I also noticed that the 2nd generation kids seemed more interested in gossiping amongst themselves than hearing him talk). He addressed them, in a way completely different than what I would have expected an Indian President asking of NRIs. He said, if they wish to serve the society, they have to do it locally, they have to make Ocala a better place. Mind you, there is no imploring the kids, (whose only connection to India is their looks), to come to India and nurse its sick. Hats off Mr President, you won my heart right away.

The theme of his talk was, "what can I do". He spoke of a man who donated his kidney to a stranger, of a non-Indian lady doctor, who made India her "karmabhoomi". Another fourth of the crowd was UF students. His message to us was, dont come back to India as a job-seeker, return as a job-creator.

We soon started with a Q&A, where we realized for the 1st time that the enthusiastic man on the dias is an old man, and hence is hard of hearing. His assistants were live texting the questions to him, plus he had a hard time figuring out the accent of the 2nd generation kids. But the kids, who are not even at a fraction of wisdom or maturity that he has, wasted no time in laughing at his disability.

The questions ranged from what can be done about the pollution in India, or if veterinary science be chosen, or what in his opinion is an upcoming field in the next few years He cited an example of the stent for bypass surgery in  heart patients that he has helped design. He told us not to limit ourselves to just one field but expand our horizons to conglomeration of 4 technologies - nanotech, infotech, life science, (and something else that I missed).

After the Q&A, at lunch, people (including us) looked for an opportunity to take a photo with him; till the organizers had to announce to let him have food in peace.  Post lunch, the organizers announced that Dr Kalam would come to each table, to enable everyone to have a photograph and autograph with him. If I was just impressed with him earlier, I was completely bowled over. This is the President of India, mixing with people without any security personnel closing off people from him. He is the one who is talking to everyone, asking them what do they study, and if its a kid he is talking to, then is the kid a good girl/boy. When he came to our table, I thanked him for being a people's president.

But just being in the company of a good man doesnt make us any better humans. After the President had retired to his room to rest, there were queues of people hankering after him right in his room on the 6th floor. Couldnt they see that he is a 80 year old man who has flown from India less than a week ago, has driven for 4 hours a short while back, and is probably tired after speaking to everyone? Indians! when will we ever have a sense of responsibility for anyone except ourselves! He is one of the most popular Presidents, he has proven to be the People's Presidents, but when will we live up to be President's people? 

Austin, again!

I have been going places since I started working/ learnt driving and so I thought I could combine my weeklong Dallas training with a weekend Austin trip. Last year, we had been to Mt Bonnell, and I fell in love with one of the winding + hilly roads there, and it was one of my driving goals to drive on that road. My colleagues have scared me with anecdotes of fast and furious Texas drivers. I wasnt sure if I could brave it on my own, so asked my friend Aswin, whose driving experience runs length and breadth of the US, and his roomy to accompany me.

Aswin had warned that the I-95 (the highway, not the immigration document) would be busy, so we were to start early. By the time we reached Austin, and picked up my UF friend Kapil, it was late enough to have no good restaurants open. But Kapil has contacts (:P), and he literally  cajoled the maharashtrian cuisine restaurant owner. Its mind blowing to find a Maharashtrain restaurant in the US, and I had bhareet + bhakri (in India I used to dislike bhakris, its amazing how 2 yrs away from India changes you). I was worried about how spicy its going to be, as I told Aswin - my community eats less spicy food, and other people are known for the amount of spices they add! Aswin asked me to announce my surname on arrival and then the waiter should intuitively know how (un)spicy the food ought to be. Sure enough, the bhareet was so spicy that I had to ask for yogurt to calm my inflammed tastebuds. Nevertheless, Austin suddenly shot up in my list of favourite cities by simply having a Maharashtrian restaurant.

Now that I am in Florida, Aswin claims that I had no choice but adapt my choice to age 60+ men. Our night at 6th street hence involved me pointing awesome gals to Aswin, and Aswin pointing aged guys to me. My gang dared me to ask out a 60+ guitarist, he dint know English, and kept saying "yayayayaya".. which then became the mantra for our Austin trip.

Next day, we revisited the capitol. Last time, Aswin and I had chanced upon a portrait named "unknown judge". This time we decided to simply seek out the unknown judge, take a pic with him, and then explore the capitol lawns which we had skipped last year. Unfortunately, neither recalled where the judge was, and we ended reading the names of all the portraits in the capitol. Earlier, Kapil had pointed out the restaurant called "mirabeau" in his office and we had passed by the Lamar street. I was pretty excited to see the portrait of a guy called Mirabeau Lamar.This time around, I noticed a lot many paintings or floor-markings which had completely skipped our attention last year. I wonder if thats how it is if one returns to any place!

We were joined at the scenic Oasis hotel by another friend, who was with us in our last trip. We next went jet skiing. This time around I was much better than my previous attempt. But the showstopper was undoubtedly Aswin. Aswin shot around at 47 mph with me riding pillion and the jet ski literally bouncing off the waves. Ride of my life, followed by an amazing sunset at Mt Bonnell. We couldnt find the road near Mt Bonnell that had enchanted me last year..Austin I will be back - to taste the maharashtrian food, to look for my favourite drive, and to catch a closer glimpse of the lit UT Austin tower.

My day in heels

For as long as I can remember, I was taller than average. My KG memories of finding my 1st school best friend are that we both were tallest kiddos and hence back-bench-partners. My parents raised me to be mature enough to dress what is comfortable for me, and not dress to impress the other sex. I never wore heels except for a platform that I had bought in school, and a platform which my parents accidently bought for me.. and I kept tripping off those platforms too however supposedly stable platforms are over heels.

I wore flats for 2 high profile events..my UF graduation and a ballet at UF. But dressing for my office party is a different ball game. For starters, its in Dallas, where everyone takes dress code seriously even at office. I spent some tense days deciding what is a dress code for "office" "party". Formal evening wear in US is a long evening dress, and since it is longer-than-ankle length, its typically worn with heels so that the dress is not muddied. (Seriously Eww, Indians are so practical, sarees are worn just off ankle so that we never needed any high heels.)

When in doubt, ask Dana. Dana said its not just any formal party. Its formal "office" party, and so dress is out of question. It should be either skirt-suit or a suit. Since I somehow associate skirt-suit with airhostesses, suit it was. But still its a party not an interview, and I could wear dressy/ strappy heels so as to not be too formal.  I have always wanted silver tie ups, but those go with cocktail dresses, so my strappy heels definition was still tends to formal heels. Thankfully most US stores have an online catalogue, and I chose my not-so-high heels pretty quickly. I decided to break into them and walk around a bit lest I trip in front of people/ or worse if I sprain my ankle and cant drive back home!!
 
Observation 1: The shoe itself looks pretty because of the aesthically enhanced shape thanks to the pencil heels.
Observation 2: Frankly, the heels add nothing to the looks of the wearer..except for the height, which to me makes no difference.
Observation 3: Since the heels are so thin, the wearer has to walk weirdly, unstable if you ask me.
Observation 4: Spine aches when you are wearing the heels, pelvic girdle and shin aches like crazy after you call it a day.

Conclusion: To all the ladies out there, if you cant embrace the way God made you, go ahead, i cant stop you from wearing heels. All I ask is to please use your consumer power to force heel-makers to put some knowledge about mechanics + anatomy in making heels. Afterall, God/ Nature is the best mechanical engineer out there and surely if he made our feet in a way that we should support our weight on front + back of our foot, there really must be something to it which is crucial, though beyond the comprehension of our beauty-seeking brains.
I wore flats to my office party. And my colleagues cared more about our conversation over the dinner than what the only 3 females at the party were wearing. 
To all the dress code enforcers out there.. keep your enforcements to yourself. 

The other viewpoint

A friend recently asked - a few years ago I was an avid debater at school. Do I still have that in me.
Then and even now, if I see the logic in the other point of view, I do accept it hands down. After all, one learns and widens his/her own perspective through the other view point!  वादे वादे जायते तत्त्वबोध: |

I was, and still am, a staunch supporter of vegetarianism/ no cruelty to animals. Yes, I am well aware that these days machines are used to get milk from cows; and if humans were cruel, machines are ruthless. And more often than not, its the hand that drives the machine or the hand that is too lazy to separate the machine from the cow who is the root cause.  But directly killing a cow puts cruelty to a different level altogether. I recently read an article - the well-advertised push towards non-vegetarianism was started by farmers themselves, because by feeding half their produce to animals, their profits increased. More importantly, by not giving that half produce to humans, the foodgrains stayed costly and the capitalists stayed rich.  The energy pyramid that was taught to me said that only 10% of energy from biomass is transferred to the upper level as you ascend the pyramid. So I still dont see how pushing people towards non-veg was profitable, forget about the water used up, or the waste created, or the environment harmed.

Then there are stupid humans who know that the rhino horn is chemically equivalent to their own nails and hair, yet will kill an endangered animal for a big */buck. I was upset at the photos of 2 wealthy guys showcasing their hunt of cheetahs and the severed tail of an elephant that they were kind-hearted enough to let the local africans eat. There are only 1024 tigers left in the world, but 18 were killed in 1 city on 1 day because a stupid human who had them as pets released them in un-wild.

My surfing led me to the mess created in the Everglades of Florida. Stupid humans who think they can pet a huge snake let them loose when the snakes grew unmanageably large. Soon, the everglades were teeming with exotic snakes, in an ecosystem where there had been no huge snakes for the last 16 million years. A few years after the snake invasion, native animals, most of which are already endangered, had dwindled by 95%. Now there was no other option but to hunt and kill the huge snakes for the larger purpose of saving those native animals. In other words, in this case hunting is totally justified, and is necessary to undo the harm to the environment.

Point noted, point taken!


  

Car shopping

It is never the time to take a plunge. Personally, I like my current setup. The buses work okay with me, and I get to see a few other people than 8 at office at 3 at home. In the US or I guess everywhere in the world, life has been more about "keeping up the appearance" than being what you really are. My office folks expect me to buy a car asap. I know that 1 less car on the roads wont do much to help the environment, but if I can really pull it off then why not? The only initiative I have taken so far was to get a Drivers License.

Yesterday me and the only other young woman from work stopped by a car dealer simply to check things out. The car that really hypnotized me was a Red Pontiac. My friend was surprised at my choice of flashy car. We discussed what could be the characteristics that I would seek in a car. My 1st was a roomy 4-door car, if my parents do decide to visit me. I do really care for the leg space considering that my whole family is taller than average Indians, and yeah would be tall enough in the US too. The Red Pontiac didnt meet the criteria, and was passed over. :(

I found another which was considerably new, had less miles on it, but I didnt like the colour. My friend chided me again that the engine performance was more important than the external appearance.

She told me about the AAA membership, which will help me out if I ever need help. She told me I should google stuff and really research a lot - which car has cheaper parts, what are the user ratings etc. My roomy who recently bought a car had a car mechanic accompany her.

Looks like it really isnt a casual buy :P  

Love is..

They met as a couple of teenagers hanging out at the skating rink. She was fighting Leukemia and even had a hospital graduation. He proposed several times, and she shook him off saying he is not serious. Acc. to him, those who know him will vouch that he never is :P. She never ceased smiling, no matter how painful her ordeal was. She worked at an kindergarten and touched the lives of several kids. After several years of courtship, they got married - briefly. She spent 4 happy years with him, till it was time to go "home".

Love is the memory of his best friend. Love is the patience to wait for her for 16 long years. Love is faith that whatever happened to her body, God was always in control of the situation. Love is the strength to know that she is free from pain and is at a happier place. Love is the celebration of life that they lived together. Love is hope, that he will meet her again later.

Greenestein

She is just an average girl seeking to decorate her office cube. She is recently back from her friends, who are looking for a plant in their bedrooms. She too has had that idea for a while, and they combine plant shopping with their Labour day plans. Other friends are sceptical about choosing a plant in a hurry, after-all its a living being. Those friends opine that the gals should spend some time with the plants and only then choose one. Eventually, they wind up their shopping sans the plant, and she is back to her town. By fluke, she spots plants for sale nearby, and even though she is looking for a basil or an orchid, she ends up buying an ivy. Poison ivy! is the 1st thing that comes to her mind when she reads its name, but the Walmart lady assures her that its not poisonous.

Soon the ivy is on its way to the office. It has been named babu, because to her, the name signifies an object of affection. She talks to babu, as her friends have told her that plants grow better if you talk to them.  She takes it out for lunch, hoping that it can grab a bite of its sunlight-lunch too!
She randomly googles the ivy, and finds out that it is exotic for one, poisonous and super invasive! Surely she doesnt want to be the cause for another Everglades-type exotic invasion. But her nature-savvy adopted granny puts her fears to rest, and she realizes that its too late to back away now, poisonous or not. Like the ivy has already spread some invisible tendrils around her.

The plant soon thrives in the artificial light of the office, and the loving talk directed to babu. One day, working away at her desk, she gets the feeling that she is not alone in her cube, she whirls around and screams a surprised fear. A green something is staring at the arch of her back, her curly mane and her awed eyes.  That something looks like a human male with really lean and long arms, and a disproportionately small head.

The "thing" assures her that if she loves it, babu will respond with magnified love in return. If she cant love it, she will get her dose of hate. She is intrigued enough to chat to it, and as the conversation proceeds she realizes it is like talking to a deep well. It is impossible to have an intelligent conversation with it, it only magnifies and sends back her own statements or questions.

Over the course of a few days, it has taken over her office. She is discretely googling DIY articles on getting rid of an ivy. She tries to rip its vines or uproot a few roots and solar-bake them whenever it is in its plant form. Babu now takes up a frightening and morose form. After several days of ripping vines and roots to no avail, she decides to move on to drastic measures, pesticide to begin with.

The day proceeds normally, and apparently nothing is amiss. Babu is silent the whole day, and she can actually concentrate on her work. So engrossed is she, that she doesnt notice the tendrils creeping towards her, nor the strong smell in the air. The last thing communicated silently to her is, "all i had asked for was a commitment".      

Inning 2 @ India: PMT bus

Cycling is good, but with the sun glaring at you there's a limited distance you can go.
My past experience with buses is before I started cycling to school, and hence dates to like 15 years back. Nevertheless, as far as I remember, travelling in a public bus isnt so great! I have faced pickpockets, overcrowding, rude conductors who conveniently forget to return change, and worst of all "touchy" men. Equipped with bus experience in the US, and hopefully nurturing the street smartness over the years, I thought I could brave PMT travel now.

My 1st was a visit to my dentist, whose clinic is near my Primary school on the Karve road, which is a busy road with people returning from offices, the flow of traffic being in the direction from my school to Warje/ towards my home. Hence, going to the dentist was a piece of cake with nearly empty bus. I have alighted at that particulat bus stop hundreds of times, since it is the same bus stop to go to school. So I am positive that I made no mistake in letting the conductor know which one is the stop I wish to alight at. Yet, through some comedy of errors the bus stopped at the next stop!

Returning from the dentist was tough. People literally spill out of the crowded bus, and this time I was the one on the last step, holding on to the bus with all might for my dear life. Thankfully my ordeal lasted only till the next bus stop, since new people got in, took my place, and I was pushed in a tiny bit inside the bus. 

My next braving-the-bus jaunt was to go out for Formals shopping at the so-called classy stores (read exorbitantly priced stores) on Bhandarkar Road. Since most of the buses from Kothrud go towards Deccan, I had to wait for a long time to get a bus to Bhandarkar road. I was at the bus stop during the lunch break of the Cummins factory nearby. There were some Cummins employees at the bus stop chewing tobaco, and spitting it out at the bus stop. Judging from the Cummins uniform, they appeared to be educated. But in India, being educated doesnt mean that you automatically develop any civic sense.

After I was done shopping, I waited for the bus at the designated bus stop. After waiting for half an hour, a bus passed by, and the driver completely ignored me and didnt stop at the bus stop. What? Am I invisible or what! Unlike US, just being at the stop is not enough. I recalled, that after you see the bus, you have to perform a war dance to let the Indian bus driver know that you wish to board the bus. So after a further hour-long wait, I waved like crazy at the next bus driver to get in.
That day, my papa was to meet Dr. and Mrs Amte. Thanks to the bus driver ignoring me, I missed the golden chance to meet the people whom I idolize.

With these 2 "how to get in/out from the bus" learning sessions, the rest of my bus travels to Lakshmi Road/ Tulashi baug were comparitively incident free. Or I guess, its the practice that makes one accustomed to it. 

Day 1 Inning 2 @ India

When my US roomies were visiting India, how I had laughed at them when everyone was up at 4 am on their 1st day in India, thanks to the jet lag.
I woke up quite early to the songs of birds, most prominently, of the kokil. How amazing is it, and how much I appreciate it now! Really I should come up with a list of stuff that is inherent to life in India, but not seen in the US. (So far the list is mangoes, chikku, usacha ras, and waking up to the sound of birds)

Mom had to go to work and I offered to drop her on MY pep. Mom sort of has confidence in my riding skills and was sure that they will be intact irrespective of 2 yrs of disuse atrophy. Kickstarting the pep, balancing myself + mom wasnt an issue at all, and I was already congratulating myself mentally, when we reached the chowk. 2 years back, Deepika would have penetrated this chakravyuh of vehicles coming in from all directions at the chowk. But now I simply couldnt do it. OMG!!
According to my friend H, 2 yrs back, I was the most over-confident driver she had known, and I could pull off antics in the middle of the road and she has photo-proofs of my insane mid-road dramebaaji :P Time changeth woman! 

Now that my bro had taken over my pep, and there was a lot of shopping that I needed to do, I turned to my good ol' cycle. It was last used 3 yrs back, so I hadnt expected the tyre tubes to be intact. But they were! I started on my 2nd road attempt of the day. This time it was around 9.30 am, which is a peak traffic hour. But I was able to brave the traffic, and managed sailing past the chowks, even the most crowded Karishma chowk. Thank God, back to normal!

If just the traffic was not enough, there was an elephant at the Karishma chowk! The infinite charms of India :)  
 

VishnuSahastranaam - 2

The Gator sahastranaam group in Gainesville is back on charts with the Fall Semester. The English transcript from Shirdi Sai temple that i was using was okay, but I found this one with Sanskrut + meanings.

Once again, I am amazed at how vibrant and awesome Sanskrit is. To start with, its the metre that is important, since this creation is meant as a strotra chant. Then the sheer poetry of the verses!
In Sanskrit, adjectives take the endings of the nouns they refer to, creating a myriad of rhyming words.
Ex: Yani namani gaunani vikhyatani mahatmanah

Time and again I come across alliterations,
Om vishvam vishnur_ vrushatkaro bhoota_bhavya bhavat_ prabhu:
Bhootakrut_ bhootabhrud_ bhaavo bhootatma bhoota_bhavanah

chaturatma charurvyuhah_ chaturdamshtra chaturbhuj

ishto vishisth: shistesht: 

ramo viramo virajamargo neyo nay: anay:   (there are many such examples of antithesis too)

vrushahi vrushabho vishnur_ vrushaparva vrushodar:
vardhano vardhamanasch vivikt: shrutisagar:  ||

Oh god! When I read this verse, it fully dawns why Goethe danced with ecstasy after reading a  Sanskrut epic poem.

some other interesting words / unique names: 
sudhanva - excellent archer
amogh - always successful

vyaala - he is the end destination of everything. For some reason, I had thought vyaala means hunter?

aja - one who does not take birth in a material body. In Marathi aja also means a sheep. Wish I had a dictionary / roopavali here / had an access to a polyglot to find out about the other etymology.

My recent roommate is a Nigerian. I was googling about Nigeria, and read about "Things fall apart", which I had previously read through my bro. Revisiting the book as an adult now, I realize how British have justified colonization / christianization. They sort of create a picture that their colonies were savage before they graced them with their rule. In reality, that is the grossest falsehood ever told!

British knew that the only way they could rule over Indians was to break their morale. Slowly and methodically, they made us look down upon our own culture. Wish there are better parents who think that if the children know their native language too, its good for their development than knowing just English.Wish there are good teachers who can negate all these biases created by parents and make students fall in love with Sanskrut all over again. Day in and day out I thank my parents and my grandmom for letting me read marathi newspapers/ books right from a very young age and inculcating a love for languages and moulding me to the person I am today. 


P.S: Thanks Ashvini for researching Goethe, the name I remembered was "gate"  :)

My India Visit

I got a job in the 1st week of April. I was waiting for the immigration docs, but decided that waiting can be done in India too (risky, but going to India was worth the risk). I got the updated I-20 on thursday, me and my roomy were surfing for good deals, we did find one, but by the time I booked it, it was Friday midnight and the ticket price suddenly shot up. More surfing for another ticket, and my roomy found another deal even better than the previous one. She was shocked that how could I book ticket for the next day when it will be obviously too costly, to which I replied that " माणसांसाठी पैसा असतो, पैशासाठी  माणस नसतात" ! Quicky booking, double quicky packing.. n off I go.

Shashank was my "saarathi" to drop me to the Orlando airport. While we were like 5 miles from the airport, arnd 4 am on saturday morning, we got confused whether the domestic and international airport were one and the same (ORL Vs MCO) and what we had entered in the GPS was really our destination. Neither had a smartphone on us. Thankfully, my brain seems to work under pressure and I recalled that my friend Akshay is the Night Auditor at the Reitz union hotel, and would be awake that early in the morning. Akshay tracked the flight and confirmed that MCO was really our destination.

We reached MCO in time to pass through the huge security check queue. I had a 8 hr layover at Newark, which was quite boring since I had forgotten to take something to read n my "deepika refurbished" laptop was stamped on during my MCO to NEW flight and the LCD screen broke permanently. After a short nap, I discovered another Indian gal who seemed to be hanging out since some time. I accosted her, she was to fly in the same flight too, and the rest of the time was well spent in discussing everything from her biotech college, which directly gives out University transcript instead of the marksheet, and saves the students hell lotta trouble, to our discussion on whether its possible to have a 24-chromosome-paired baby Renesme from a human Bella and a vampire Edward.

The next leg of the flight was a direct NEW to Mumbai flight, with us flying over the North Pole and even Pakistan. I requested my seat mate that this was the first time I am flying home, and wish the window seat. Pakistan looks super awesome from the top. We reached Indian air frontiers post sunset, so I couldnt really see how Gujrat looks like from the top. Mumbai was very obvious from the long stretch of the highways and lights all across. We circled Mumbai for a while and the descent began. Obviously I knew that Dharavi exists right next to the airport, but I had never imagined such a stark and shabby contrast between the airports abroad and Mumbai. Fortunately, just the feeling of reaching Mumbai/ India was so overwhelming that I soon couldnt see anything through teary eyes.

In the ~2 yrs out of India, I had got unaccustomed to Indian men staring at you. As soon as I stepped out of the jet landing, a once-over by a havaldar, a few steps further, a once-over by a porter! I am like welcome to India!!

But except for these 2 guys, the rest of the people at Mumbai airport were simply amazing. The airport was super clean, airy, and efficient. Special kudos to KK Travel guys who let me use their cell phones to call my mom, since I didnt have an Indian simcard.

There are simply no words to express the joy of seeing your mom after 20 months! As we neared Pune, I could tell where we were, could recognize buildings in Pashan etc. Once in Kothrud, it was a very familiar road to my friend Sonaki's home in Bhusari Colony, and I told them which shortcut to take that would take me home faster from Bhusari Colony. The KK guy was surely impressed, but this could have backfired because I have always passed by the road on a slim n trim Scooty pep, and a large Tavera probably could not have passed the bylanes, but thankfully that was not the case.

Special kudos to the song that was playing on the cab stereo when I reached my home.. तुम बिन ये घर सूना सूना है!

Been there, done that

Some things that I learnt the hard way ..

Keep a mobile charger handy always, and your cell charged. One gets interview calls literally out of the blue.
Dont be sceptical about applying online, it does work, I can vouch for that. I applied for a job online at 11.50 am and had got the call for initial screening by 12 o'clock! 
I had stepped in the kitchen to grab a quick lunch, with mobile on silent! But I was lucky that I was called again. Opportunity rarely knock at your door twice!

When you respond to the mail asking your preferred dates for onsite interview,
let them know your Name, Date of Birth, the frequent flier #, preference for aisle/ window seat.
Most important: If you are okay to travel during the night to reach your University town the next day.

Dont put something on your resume if you cant explain it to someone in  your dreams. It was the Bandgap Reference for me :( :(

Error messages in any software are always so cryptic!

if using Cadence, MPS handle missing error: solution- select AWD in Options
Undefined instance of <blah blah>:  add model library

Why is Von Neuman architecture still used?
I blanked for a moment (must to a amused chagrin of my CompSci roomy), honestly I am a person who remembers concepts and not the jargon. I searched my mind database, and the word that 1st tumbled in my memory was Von Neumann bottleneck. The analytical me stepped in here, and I put 2 n 2 to get the answer.
Answer: Where you need flexible sizes of code and data memory.

Some really simple C questions, which are so easy that we have overlooked it in the Let us C
How does one know if its Little/ Big Endian: source

short int word = 0x0001;
char *byte = (char *) &word;
return (byte[0]? Little: Big);


Whats static, volatile: I never appreciated C so much till I used all such keywords!

Do you know so and so prog. language: I had always replied something like, if you know the basics of any prog. language, you can manage anything else with google. My friend Shrikant mock-interviewed me and made me realize that I should be saying: "I will need a syntax reference" instead.  A small change in the words makes a huge difference.

India, News and I

So let me get this straight, in a population of 100 crore, 1 crore are illegal immigrants in 1 state? Any statistics on illegal immigrants in Sikkim? In Kerala? In Mumbai? In Jammu-Kashmir? In Rajasthan? What was the government doing all this while? Why couldnt they seal the borders 65 yrs ago or eversince? No wonder if these 1 crore non-Indians hogged the land, the resources and employment opportunities. But wait, elsewhere in India, instead of standing up for our own bretheren, people had a support meet for those 1 crore non-Indians. Now, when the government feels obliged to acknowledge that those are really illegal immigrants, why is there no effort to send them back? Instead of rounding them up, we scared our own folks into leaving?

There is something seriously wrong if people feel alienated in their own country. Will we ever stop judging a person from their looks. Mary Kom won a medal for India. Dint we all rejoice when our medal count had increased because of her? People from Seven Sisters are an integral part of our history and our geography. We Indians take pride on knowing all 50 states in the USA and their capitals. Do we feel ashamed that we dont even know OUR own states?  Sure, I agree, love thy neighbours.. but show me one instance in any holy book in the world which asks you drive away your own people to create space for illegal others?

The other news that is creating ripples is Indian mission to Mars. Apparently, this has angered UK, and taxpayers wish to cut British aid to India. Is there any data on how much British had plundered from India when they ruled over us? Anyone gives any thoughts on why does India need to buy back its stolen treasures like Shivaji's sword or The Koh'i'noor? Sure, UK can return all that it has plundered over its 200 years of rule, and let that amount be matched up considering current inflation. "Aid" it seems!

The third news that restarted a thought was the death of ex-CM of Maharashta. Everytime some dignitary dies, the police fire 3 rounds of bullets in their honour. Considering the huge nation that India is, there must be several dignitaries dying each year, which amounts to [3* number of police who fired the honours * number of dignitaries who died] bullets fired in thin air. 2 thoughts, dont these bullets complete a projectile path and reach ground with a considerable velocity. Do they hurt/ kill some innocent bystander? 2. If those bullets are instead provided to our police/ army/ sportsmen being trained, will that mean a extra equipped army/ more medals at Olympics?    

The Hobbit

 Books are definitely more interesting than the movies based on them (except I guess for HP3). For one, a book lets you imagine your story and fill your own colours to the scene. My friends - esp. Varun and S are great fans of Tolkien. I had seen the LOTR movies, and could honestly not see what was the big deal about. I chanced upon LOTR 2 and 3 at the Friends of the Library book sale. Another friend, Teja, got the Hobbit, and I too found one at the MLB library. 

The choice of the protagonist is really the key to the success of the book. The protagonist is not a wise wizard, but someone as prone to err as anyone else. Not an over-zealous kid always getting into trouble, but a "respectable" middle-aged guy with a bulging belly. The word-ly imagery is simply marvelous, you can literally see the bearded dwarves, their tired ponies, and the endless journey. 

The book follows Bilbo Baggins' journey as he leaves his comfortable hobbit-home to follow his Took genes. The journey is full of adventures, right from being sacked by the trolls, packed in a barrel, webbed by giant spiders and ebbed by a magical stream to an eagle-top flight. Bilbo soon learns to defend himself, than be dependent on Gandalf and the dwarves. He lets words slip, as in the case of the talk with dragon, but also has the presence of mind to pose an un-guessable riddle which leads him to safety from Gollum. Bilbo is fiercely loyal to his dwarf company, yet when the time comes, he tries to avert the war by apparently ditching the dwarves.

I can only guess about the period of the books, but I do see allusions to pre-World war Europe. Throughout the book, Bilbo keeps reminding the readers that he yearns for his idyllic (read unindustrialized) life and lowly home than the massive gold that he might earn. For though power gives a lot, it corrodes much more! 

Ashwatthama

काही दिवसांपूर्वी Gainesville मध्ये असताना Man from the Earth चित्रपट पहिला होता. वेगळी मांडणी आणि प्रत्येकालाच जीवन - मृत्यू बद्दल पडणारे प्रश्न, नक्कीच one of the top Hollywood movies. नुकताच    Bicentennial man चित्रपट पाहिला, आणि आवडला सुद्धा. असाच immortality बद्दल विचार + surfing करता करता लहानपणी वाचलेली एक गोष्ट आठवली, बहुदा रत्नाकर मतकरींची असावी - एका माणसाला एक जखमी माणूस भेटतो, तो त्याची सुश्रुषा देखील करतो, पण जखमेवर त्याचा काहीच परिणाम होत नाही. शेवटी तो सांगतो, कि तोच अश्वत्थामा आहे. लहानपणी या गोष्टीनी मला नक्कीच nightmares आले असणार. पण काही म्हणा ह्या अश्वत्थाम्याच्या गोष्टीनी मला खूपच मंत्रमुग्ध केलंय. हिमाचल प्रदेश मधल्या एका गावात वर्षातल्या ठराविक दिवशी म्हणे ताड माड उंच, आणि आजानुबाहू  माणूस येतो. गावातले लोक तो अश्वत्थामा आहे या श्रद्धेने त्याच्यासाठी अन्न राखून ठेवतात. म्हणजे मी एकटीच या कथेनी intrigued नाहीये तर.. 


सप्तचीरांजीव म्हणजे अश्वत्थामा, बळी, व्यास, हनुमान, विभीषण, कृपाचार्य आणि परशुराम. चांगदेव देखील योगिक सामर्थ्याने १४०० वर्ष जगले. अश्वत्थाम्याचे चिरंजीवित्व इतरांपेक्षा वेगळे आहे, शापित आहे. 

त्यामागची गोष्ट पण बरेच प्रश्न निर्माण करते. साक्षात योगेश्वर श्रीकृष्ण हजर असताना २ ब्रह्मास्त्र थोपवायला व्यास महर्षी प्रकट झाले. म्हणजे अवतारी देवापेक्षा एका मनुष्याचे योगिक सामर्थ्य जास्त असू शकते असे तर सुचवायचे नसेल? देव उभा ठाकला आहे ते ठीक आहे, पण तरीही मनुष्यच त्याच्या जीवनाचा शिल्पकार / उद्धारकर्ता आहे ? सगळ्यात महत्वाचा प्रश्न म्हणजे जर द्रोणाचार्यांना अश्वत्थामा तापट आहे माहिती होतं तर मुळात ब्रह्मास्त्र प्रकट करायला तरी कशाला शिकवायचं?   अर्धवट ज्ञानाने अश्वत्थाम्याला ब्रह्मास्त्र म्यान करता आले नाही. पांडवपुत्रांच्या मृत्युच्या बातमीने दुर्योधन देखील व्यथित झाला, संपूर्ण कुरु वंशाचाच संहार झाल्याचे ते दु:ख होते. पण त्याच्या झळा अश्वत्थाम्याला कशा बसल्या नाहीत? 

आज अनेक घरी गर्भातल्या अपत्याची हत्या होते. पण त्यांना कोणी जखम घेऊन फिरण्याचा शाप देत नाही!  न स्त्री स्वातंत्र्यम अर्हति हे आपल्या संस्कृतीच्या लक्षात आहे, पण निष्पाप जीवाची हत्या केल्यामुळे आजन्म तेल मागत फिरावं लागलं हे कसं हीच संस्कृती विसरली. बहुदा सगळ्यांच्या पापांचे व्रण घ्यायचं नशीब एकट्या अश्वत्थाम्याच्याच माथी आलंय. 

The "langdi" foot

As a kid, my playmate gang always thought that we all have a "langdi" foot, the stronger of the 2 feet, on which if we play langdi its faster and better.

Its been a while since I last played langdi.  I had even forgotten which one is my langdi foot. Recently I am teaching self skateboarding. I discovered that I can balance myself much better when my left foot is on the board n I am propelling myself with the right foot. Now that I think of it, probably left foot was my langdi foot!

Apart from learning to skateboard, I also learnt about some more gender-conceptions. When I went to Walmart to buy the skateboard, the guy, though very helpful, said, "but girls dont do skateboarding!" I said - well I will. Then he said that girls dont like skinning their elbows and knees. I dont like it either, but I dont mind skinning them once in a while. While I was practicing in my apartment complex, I did hear "are! yeh to ladki hai!" from ladies strolling with toddlers. And yes, there was whistling too, because apparently no other Indian girl makes her presence felt on the apartment complex road. Demurely in wraps shut inside the apartment?? In your dreams!!

I had no say in the state of affairs when my teachers taught me writing. But this time I am going to make sure that I can balance myself on the board equally well on either foot.. ambidextrous! Call it putting my best feet forward :) 

The Mockingbird

I recently stumbled upon an amazing lady..Scout Finch. My rank #2 favourite heroine position is now shared by Jo from Little Women and Scout. (rank #1 being Anne Frank).

My admiration started because like me, Scout knows reading and writing before she goes to school. The author succeeds to bring out emotions even during the minor subplots, like shocking the readers with the first-grader teacher's attitude.  Mr Atticus Finch is a lawyer and is defending an innocent (the mockingbird allegory) against a prejudiced society. For me, the best part of the book is when the 8 yr old Scout talks to one in an angry mob, and brings out the human in him! Hats off! I agree that it is a bit far fetched to imagine that an 8 yr old can be so wise, but the author has won hands down in this part.

Towards the end of the novel, another reference to the mockingbird is made. "Boo" Arthur radley is a misunderstood, and a much-gossiped-about man. He saves the lives of scout and Jem from a man bent on murder, but kills him instead in the process. The sheriff in the novel decides to let it be. Scout too decides to keep the incident to herself, lest Radley be subject to conjectures about his motives again.

It is a story about growing up,  be it learning when is it prudent to keep your mouth shut/ keep your fists to yourself  or learning that sometimes you have to take on a losing battle. But unforfunately, readers who praised the book failed to mature themselves, and alleged that the book could be ghost written, afterall, how can a female win a Pulitzer right! A mockingbird or two  keeps dying...thanks to the prejudiced society.  

Recent Reads

I came across the Melbourne public library when I needed to get the bus pass. My 1st few books were lycanthorpes etc, which have been on my hit list since Twilight series. The other "tends to supernatural/horror" was Stephen King's Rose Madder. I was completely disappointed by the book. Guess it really started a series of books, which I could have liked had I read it 10 years ago, but now I find them too vapid.

The new young adult series I started with was The Clique. I agree, Enid Blyton's school series are unparalleled, but some, like Sweet Valley twins series was a manageable mix of beauties with brains and more importantly, humility. But the Clique begs to differ. The protagonists are bitingly sardonic, its a shame to even call them protagonists. All they think of is their alpha position in their equally sycophanty school. And yeah, they have no issues ditching their friends who have really stood up for them.
The other series by Francine Pascal, is Fearless. Francine, I was aware of her thanks to the Sweet Valley series. Fearless is about a girl Gaia (I call the books "Gaia Gaia" series in tune to the bolly song "Maia Maia" much to the amusement of my new roomy) who is genetically fearless, and hence is the target of russian mafia and pharma companies. Did anyone consider that being brave Vs being fearless is as different as being wise Vs being intelligent?

And if the young adult books were a headache, the not-so-young adult books were a concussion on being hit on head with a comet. The books are called Harlequin Romances, and the definition of romance being that the pair is eager to shed their clothes at a moments notice.
Nora Roberts' Pagan Stone provided some respite from this crap. But again, whats the point of a thriller that doesnt even scare you?

The best book, currently being read, is To Kill a Mockingbird. Narrator is a smart girl who knows to read/write before she is formally schooled. The case being defended by her father is just hinted at at this point in the book.
So if all the worth reading books were by the likes of Enid Blytons n other authors of 1960's..what is the GenNext supposed to read? 

Of Alices and Elizas

Just saw Alice in Wonderland. No doubt there is a hint of romance between Mad Hatter and Alice.. and yes.. all the best people are a bit mad (Ron is impressed how mad his hero (Dumbledore) is.. when he says Nitwit Blubber Oddment Tweak!)
Alice promises Hatter that she'l be back, but she 1st has her father's business to put in order. She is brave, street-smart, independent enough to sail to the new territory by herself. And then there is Miss Eliza Dolittle, who, according to Shaw's original screenplay HAS to come to HER life.. 

शहर की इस दौड में

1 week in Melbourne.. can see the Atlantic ocean from the office.. yet havent been to the beach yet :(
Vs the same me who frolicked on the beach during the interview..

What's changed is that the buses in MLB run every 2 hrs.. Framing your schedule around the bus schedule, sun n sand.. Mumbai-isque though 180 deg. apart and sans the crowds..

Ghar se nikale the

Returned to gainesville to pack and go..

2 आठवड्यापूर्वी रूमी फोन वर का उदास होती ते आल्याआल्याच जाणवल (oh god this new blogger is horrible!!) ज्या घरात 2 वर्ष काढली ते घर 2 दिवसात सोडून जायचं.. साध्या hall मधल्या fire alarm शी सुद्धा आठवणी आहेत जुळलेल्या  .. 

रिकाम घर मी पण जाताना अजूनच पोरक होणार.. नव्या लोकांची वा_t  बघत .. 

When you sneak someone in..

My lab is closed on Sundays. Unless someone who has the access opens the door for you. If you dont know who's gonna be in the lab, you spend 15 minutes of your Sunday morning in calling PhD people to see if they are in the lab. There is a simple solution too..some good soul has opened the door already for you.

Fortunately, as soon as I alighted the bus, I found a stranger who could open the door for me. And I passed the good deed that came my way to others. Today I was the good soul who has opened the door a wee bit to let other MS folks in.

I hope an opportunity knocks at my door soon, am all set to welcome it with open hearts..

On Missing + Moving On

When I first left Dallas, i had an empty feeling. A feeling that I never had when school/ college was over. One expects the school/ college graduation and looks forward to the new beginning.
Yes, I did look forward to meet my friends in Gnv, and the new semester. Yet, I could not shake away the emptiness.. the apprehension when you leave something dear behind and wonder if you would ever get it back.   

This time, as I leave Dallas, my bag is full. I have a job to look forward to, at an scenic location. I have reconnected with my friends and cousin in Dallas, and this time its a 'we'll meet again soon" not a "God knows if we'll ever meet again".

Yet, when my cousin was driving me back to the hotel after spending a weekend with her family, and when I pointed out my favourite buildings in the Downtown Dallas to her kids, the weird empty feeling returned again. I am in love with the city. I am gonna miss the weekend outings. I am gonna miss my gang, who, each weekend, did agree to the ventures chalked by me. Where else can I meet a puneri ragini out-of-blue 4 yrs after we last met?

Change is the only thing permanent in life.. moving on.. starting afresh.. exactly an year after I started my journey to Dallas, I start from Dallas to the road ahead..

Twilight

This witty analysis of Twilight series has captivated my interest..something that the original series failed to do. Dont get me wrong, I had liked Twilight and Midnight Sun. I had read them word-to-word.
As the author of the blog puts it, the other books are a serious waste of paper.Who is interested to read an entire book about how large the hole in heart after a breakup is, or whatever! I distinctly remember, skip 10 pages and the narrative is exactly where you left it, like watching a Ekta Kapoor serial after a month.

I read the books long past teenage crushes on strictly handsome men. Who cares that Edward is a dream-like hunk, I liked him coz he's a monster who spares humans. Yup..I loved Angela, Jacob too.
 :(
The blog pointed out gaping holes in the whole thing.
1. Edward is manipulative. Which jerk messes up a car so that his girl wont meet her best friend?
2. Edward watches Bella sleep EVERY NIGHT? OMG! That is sooo creepy and intrusive on privacy. 
3. Vampires kill humans. Werewolves atleast according to the Twilight legends were born to protect humans from vampires. Yet Edward thinks Bella isnt safe around Jacob!
4. Bella, or the Cullen clan do nothing to prevent innocent humans from becoming vampire food..in Italy, in Seattle (during the vampire army thing), in Forks (when vampires gathered to protect Renesmee). 
5. The whole thing about humans = 23 pairs of chromosomes, werewolves = 24 and vampires = 25 is the most illogical thing i have ever read. Oh yes, I have heard of mutations. But mutations simply CHANGE some ATCGs. You cant build 25 things from the material of 23 things. Biochemistry doesnt work that way.
You cant make 24 pairs from haploids of 23 and 25. It still gives us 23 nicely matched pairs and 2 extra unmatched chromosomes both present on the same longer strand. 
I dont even want to go into the details of how a super cold frozen-in-time vampire can still father kid, who is not frozen-in-time-at-the-zygote-stage. 
And who tries to give scientific backing to a fantasy anyway?
6. Volturi arent interested in curbing the vampire army..recruiting Cullens is all they care about.
7. Quill and Jacob are PAEDOPHILES. She cant attribute it to imprinting. Its still pervert.
8. Alice's visions are bent whichever way it suits the story.

The author has another blog series about Harry Potter. I am not gonna read that...

Laptop Screen Saving

The Best Buy Geek squad told me that the repair will cost me 180$. Finally, after the term was over, and when I have enough time to fiddle with it, I summed enough courage to open up the bezel myself and look under the wraps. Frankly, if you have the right screwdrivers, it is not a big deal.

The screen was working perfectly..we just needed to give some pressure to the aluminim frame.. on close inspection..we found that the aluminium frame had bent convex instead of being straight.

The screen, it turns out was working correctly. There were no loose cables as I had thought. There was a mechanical issue due to the LCD panel's aluminium frame being bent. (Gosh! when did I drop my laptop so hard?). Have put on paper clips to support the frame now. Cost to repair = cost of 2 paper clips + set of 9 awesome screwdrivers bought from India + bitta super glue + cotton to clean the dirt under the bezel.. 5$ at the most..

So, used two paper clips with the gator night bands (orange and violet) stuffed in it to apply pressure to the LCD and attempt to straighten it over time.

My professor has a netbook; he himself replaced its screen. Infact my professor wondered why I took so long to repair mine myself. My research teammate has repaired one too. What lacks in the Indian mentality is sort of "go to a repair shop and get it repaired" attitude rather than "do it yourself". Or worse is the world's super-consumer attitude: "I have enough money to buy a new one even if just a small thing goes awry. Hence I will chuck the old one and buy a new one". If only we could shed both of these wrong attitudes, world will be a lesser e-wasted place. If this happens, there will be fewer jobs, but a greener earth will be worth it.   

Lessons learnt: Hats off to Dell's wire routing. The mechanical cable connectors are too cool to be true. I wonder if we get such things in India, because the cables that I had used for my projects in India had a huge connector which used to jut out of the PCB. I guess students use it because they were affordable, and easily available locally.

Edcation Under Fire

Saw 2 documentaries..both pertaining to Education.. First Generation and Education Under Fire.
US has a weird law by which a baby born in the US gets an US citizenship.. no questions asked. I personally know 2 "lucky" cases of my friends born in the US. Indian University marks-wise, and GRE score wise we were at par, but they could make it to the top 10 Universities (and I dint) thanks to the free feather in their caps called US citizenship. I also know of two other friends, who "chose" to deliver their "lucky babies" in the US. Naturally, I took the documentary First Generation with a pinch of salt.

Also, I just cant grasp the portrayed American poverty. A girl in the "First Generation" claims that she chose the neighbourhood community college over a University because of the 50$ application fee. Point to be noted: The girl had recently bought a car, and was paying for the car EMI + gas + insurance. I find this "i dint have money to apply" bleating really lame coming from someone who can afford a piece of luxury!

Education Under Fire deals with a much starker reality. Iranian students belonging to the Baha'i religion are denied education in Iran. The Baha'i Institute tried home-schooling the kids. But members of the Institute were arrested and the teaching material confiscated. In the post-documentary panel discussion, my friend Sasa suggested turning to Internet for online tutorials etc. as a virtual tutor.

Education is a human right. Some are not able to achieve it due to ignorance about the financial aid and scholarships available to them (First Generation). The simple solution is a career session maybe, and more career counsellors at the High school. But being denied education altogether is a crime! The concept of having a global pen-pal is long outdated, but in cases like this, could we share our educational resources and our scholastic experience to convey our solidarity and support?   

2nd attempt to proselytize me..failed

    एक दिवशी मी महाविद्यालयाबाहेर बागेत कृष्ण भोजन करत बसले होते. २ अनोळखी मुली येऊन गप्पा मारू लागल्या. मी कसं क्रीस्तीधर्म स्वीकारला तरच माझा उद्धार होईल वगैरे. बिचाऱ्या मुलींनी चुकीचा बकरा निवडला. मला त्यांनी सांगितलेला प्रत्येक मुद्दा मी खोडून दिला, Logically scientifically अनेक planes वर. तरी आश्चर्य वाटल्याशिवाय राहत नाही की हातात Organic Chemistry चा पुस्तक घेऊन फिरणारी मुलगी मला सांगते की Evolution ही फक्त theory च आहे आणि देवानी ६ दिवसात विश्व निर्माण केलं ह्याचे पण म्हणे पुरावे आहेत. ज्याला दिसतं त्याला आपण सूर्य दाखवू शकतो, आंधळेपणाचं सोंग घेतलेल्याला नव्हे ! तरी माझे काही प्रति- मुद्दे त्यांना खोडून काढणं शक्यच नव्हतं, तिने मला त्यांच्या pastor ला भेटायला सांगितलं. जाता जाता विचारलं, आम्ही तुझ्यासाठी काही pay करू का, मनात आलं होतं की म्हणावं की "हो, का नाही! इथे आलेल्या प्रत्येकाचा शिक्षण खर्च तू pay कर! " तर असं आमिष दाखवून भारतात गरिबांना convert करतात तर!

नुकतंच वाचलं की Anne Frank आदि Holocaust मध्ये मारल्या गेलेल्या ज्यूंना एक चर्च मरणोत्तर convert करत असतं. World War II चा इतिहास बदलायचा प्रयत्न! मृत पावलेल्या माणसाच्या इच्छेविरुद्ध! Illogical धर्मांधतेचा कळस आहे हा. धर्मासाठी काय करतील सांगता येत नाही.

Somebody's Grandpa..

Sticking out your palm with a lozenge in it to a random coughing old man in a bus..

Small things that make our day :) 

Resharing the delightful poem..
Somebody's Mother
- Mary Dow Brine (1816-1913)
    The woman was old and ragged and gray
    And bent with the chill of the Winter's day.
    The street was wet with a recent snow
    And the woman's feet were aged and slow.
    She stood at the crossing and waited long,
    Alone, uncared for, amid the throng
    Of human beings who passed her by
    Nor heeded the glance of her anxious eyes.
    Down the street, with laughter and shout,
    Glad in the freedom of "school let out,"
    Came the boys like a flock of sheep,
    Hailing the snow piled white and deep.
    Past the woman so old and gray
    Hastened the children on their way.
    Nor offered a helping hand to her -
    So meek, so timid, afraid to stir
    Lest the carriage wheels or the horses' feet
    Should crowd her down in the slippery street.
    At last came one of the merry troop,
    The gayest laddie of all the group;
    He paused beside her and whispered low,
    "I'll help you cross, if you wish to go."
    Her aged hand on his strong young arm
    She placed, and so, without hurt or harm,
    He guided the trembling feet along,
    Proud that his own were firm and strong.
    Then back again to his friends he went,
    His young heart happy and well content.
    "She's somebody's mother, boys, you know,
    For all she's aged and poor and slow,
    "And I hope some fellow will lend a hand
    To help my mother, you understand,
    "If ever she's poor and old and gray,
    When her own dear boy is far away."
    And "somebody's mother" bowed low her head
    In her home that night, and the prayer she said
    Was "God be kind to the noble boy,
    Who is somebody's son, and pride and joy!"