the lost art

The art of questioning has become a lost art today. We are being taught not to ask questions. It begins from childhood. a young child begins to understand its environment. It's mind is filled with curiosities about its surroundings. What it learns forms how it will act in the future. The child is told by its parents that this is good and this is bad. It accepts that as realities. It also learns a lot from its own experinces like hunger can make you cry and falling down hurts. It grows older. Our young lad/lass goes to school. Its mind is filled with premonitions about the school and the teachers there. S/he takes time to adjust to the new environment. S/he learns that there are a lot of children like her. S/he likes some and dislikes some. It cannot understand why. Soon a couple of years pass. S/he is now five years old, learning quite a lot of things in school and home. The mind is now more inquisitive now. Lots of questions arise in thier minds, but no one can answer them. Parents and teachers now unable to cope up with the flurry of questions adopt a new approach. They tell the child that it is wrong to question everything. They tell that the child will understand why some things are the way they are when they grow up. The child accepts this. It knows that if it asks questions, they may not be answered or worse, it might be admonished. Our lad/lass is now entering its pre-teen years. It understands that questioning things might lead into trouble and that it is better to accept or keep quiet. Inwardly looking, the child is like a pot, brimming and boiling with questions. But poor soul, what can it do? It accepts what it has been told or comes to its own conclusions. Teen years - the wonder years. The child is now aware of many things. It is now becoming increasingly aware of changes, both physically and mentally. It is still hard to find answers and questioning at this age is dangerous. Unable to find answers from the people it has known for years, it turns to other avenues for information. Some turn out wonderful guides and some turn out rotten. The teen years end, moving through college, work, marriage and finally, even at the deathbed, the child ponders on the questions left unanswered. The child could be you... Like I said, the art of questioning is lost, buried under fear, prejudices and pure stupidity. And people who question are treated as if they are some rebels. Kicha had pointed out instances where questioning led to eminence and improvement of society. Yet it has been drummed into our minds that questioning is wrong. It means you are not trusting what people say; It means that you do not respect your elders; it means that you are not grown up. I could go on with a similar list. I remember an anectode I read. An outgoing teacher tells his new young replacement the following words. "In every class, you might find that there is someone who is eager to question your every statement. Your first impulse would be silence him. But before that, consider this. He might be the only person who is listening to your words." Interesting, if only teachers listened to this advice. This does not mean that nor do I endorse that you should question everything. I say that if you don't know something or don't understand something, question. And never let go till you find out the answer. And that requires courage and tenacity. A Norse proverb says, "It's better to ask twice than to lose your way once."

A few points on posting

Hi, as always it is nice to see everyone sharing their thoughts and views on various topics. One small note on posting:

1. Avoid using font and marquee tags.
2. Instead of b, use strong, and em instead of i.
3. When you are including quotations, use the blockquote tag, instead of using align=center.
4. Whenever possible, give your post a title and avoid the apostrophe sign

Hope no one is inconvenienced by these suggestion, these are to improve your HTML skills and also have a semantic blog. If you want to know more on semantic, try googling. I'll post my views on the last few posts later.

Experience the joy of doing things the new way

That was the caption of Ms Office XP. Relevant too for what am going to say. Just reminding you of Ranjini's lines in one of her posts - the inspiration behind this post..!! "....... is not a problem which is identified today but then long time back and a vivid solution to all such things were also proposed by eminent writers to be followed by all! " A phrase that needs to be looked upon with utmost care and caution. There is always a tendency for everyone to "accept" something from someone who is "eminent" (and "eminent" is a relative term). The human mind is so much attuned to "follow" the "greats" that we often tend to forget our ordinability in life... That stems from the fact that we feel that we know "lesser" compared to some people who are accepted to be eminent across times... Not completely untrue... I don't say we know "more".. but that, we have the power of discretion and of course the "common sense" that is expected to ring the horns on our heads to whatever the mind tries to perceive. What was stated as "this" by the 'eminent' person may not be "that" for me. But the mind often forces us to reject our thoughts and rather falls upon what the 'eminent' person has said, just because we feel "I can never be as right as that 'eminent' person. After all, the whole world agrees he's eminent...". This same theory can be extended to religion and religious practices. We do things just because some 'knowledgeable' person has said it should be done. I take you back to one of my earlier post about superstitions.. and am precisely referring to those same aspects. There is also a demarcation between being spiritual and being religious.. (I'll devote a separate post to that last line later, may be next week)... Religiousness is, among other things, predominantly confined to practices laid down my "eminent" and "knowledgeable" persons of the ancient/medieval times, while spirituality is beyond the realms of religious practices. If Galileo had accepted Aristotle's (who was an "eminent" scholar himself) Geo-centric theory, we would still be languishing and puzzling over a maze called "space". If Einstein did not dare to "assume" that nothing can travel faster than light, we would not have got the Relativity theory. These people became eminent because they had the guts to reject eminent people of their times. The bottomline is.. Of course, listen to your elders, teachers, sacred books, philosophy or the deemed eminent personalities.. but do remember, its not in reading sacred books or listening to 'eminent' people, that one gains wisdom... But, Listen to your feelings. Listen to your Highest Thoughts. Listen to your experience. Whenever any one of these differ from what you've been told by your teachers or read in your books, forget the words. Words are the least reliable purveyor of Truth. And you have to dare to do that...!! ----------------------------- Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on "I am not too sure." - H.L. Mencken

yes ram and sindhu...It was really touching and in fact I never felt missing my father till date...but as I read that poem I was able to feel myself on the day when I might miss my dad...

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Cares & Shares
Mahendran Jayavel

The love of a daughter

Removed due to copyright infringement. Please see this post.

to rini and valli

It's been a long time since I updated it. In fact the last time I updated it was back in May. Currently I'm using it as a testing blog. Take a look at the layout there. Since most items that I wanted topost there is being posted at Quod scripsi, scripsi, I decided to change its focus towards something else. I've got a couple of ideas about the directions that Rantings of a sane mind should take. I guess it might be the end of the year before it gets sorted out. So you'll have to wait for some time before it gets back on track. I wouldn't agree that bloging is my hobby. It has become a part of my regular life nowadays. Since we use the blog as a platform for discussing, I don't feel that blogging is a hobby. It's more like a indirect conversation. You were right in saying that reading cannot be considered a hobby. Searching for a definition of hobby gave me these descriptions:

hobby: (noun) -

1. An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure;
2. an auxiliary activity;
3. a subject or plan upon which one is constantly setting off;
4. a favorite and ever-recurring theme of discourse, thought, or effort;
5. that which occupies one's attention unduly, or to the weariness of others;
6. a ruling passion.

Considering point no. 4, 5 and 6, can it be presumed that love is a hobby? Any thoughts.

Rini's blog

Rini, I don't remember you mentioning about your blog, Flowers Flowers Flowers! here. Just now got back from reading it. It's wonderful. And to think that you had kept it for almost three months is unacceptable. Maybe you had transferred your garden here. Hmm! no posts for this month yet. Good work on the blog. Hey everybody, visit the blog.

my views

It's good to see a discussion taking place after quite some time. BTW what are we discussing about. Bala said that technology and modern life is taking a toll on our way of living. He cited a few instances where he would have been better off without the intervention of technology. Kicha replies that,"our innate feelings have taken the back seat... " since technology has invaded entered our lives. He said that we have no option left and that it is not the technology that is to blame, but the people. Our prioritizing (or rather the lack of it) is what causes the problems. Valli has cited an example where prioritizing allows her to enjoy a better life. And she also gave examples of how technology gave her some freedom echoing a few thoughts said by Kicha. Manny, Valli and Kicha have all said that technology is in the hands of the individual, not the reverse. Amazingly everyone has a valid point in agreeing that we cannot do without technology in the modern world. The question, what if technology begins to control us, is best left for sci-fi authors and writers to answer. As long we don't surrender the things that makes us human to technology, we are doing fine.

"Within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we live". - Joseph Epstein

Coming back to my opening statement, what are we discussing about, 'Is technology ruining us or helping us?" Can someone tell me? Interestingly Bala also said that "Simple pleasures in life will make a huge difference." I wonder why no one has any comments on that statement. So instead of giving a few examples and explanations on whether technology is ruining our lives, I will speak about simple pleasures in life. There are several such things that can help you a lot. Small things like Rini's newest hobby of collecting pictures of Indian sculptures or Manny's hobby of reading books may seem a waste of your precious time, but they are helpful in your life. I recall a story that I read somewhere, I guess in "The Seven Habits". A new recruit to a group of woodcutters noticed that every couple of hours the woodcutters would stop their work and spend some fifteen to twenty minutes talking and joking. He thought that he should not be wasting that time (roughly one hour everyday). So for the next few days, he did not join the others during thier breaks and instead worked hard. At the end of the day, he felt proud that he had not wasted his day. But he noticed that the others had cut the same amount of wood that he had cut, inspite of them wasting an hour during the day. He couldn't understand it. Watching them keenly during the next couple days, he understood why. During the breaks that the woodcutters took, they sharpened their axes fine. The moral is that you can indulge in pleasures without compromising on anything. I feel that everyone should cultivate a hobby. It can be anything. Anything that you feel is precious to you and worth spending some time on it. BTW, Rini, what happenend to your garden. But I have to confess that I don't have a hobby. A hobby has to pursued with zeal and determination, which I feel I lack. Nowadays, I just go out at night as fast as I can on my vehicle. It is a refreshing experience. Especially with Coimbatore having a wonderful winter climate this year. The best times to go out is after 10 pm with little or no traffic and the fine mist descending to the ground. You should feel the cool wind blowing on your face, a mild shiver passing through your body, your breath forming little clouds in the air. It is an experience to be enjoyed. I guess it is hard to experience a similar feeling in Chennai now, but Bangalore, Lexington (i guess it is around 1 or 2 degrees C there) and Hinckley (what's the weather there, 10-11 degrees C) would provide the right climate for experience what I had described. Waiting to see where the discussion will lead, BTW, Kicha, your closing quote form Lennon was quite apt. But since quite a few people might have heard that song, I am posting the lyrics to the song. It becomes more meaningful.

Imagine there's no heaven, It's easy if you try, No hell below us, Above us only sky, Imagine all the people living for today... Imagine there's no countries, It isn't hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, No religion too, Imagine all the people living life in peace... Imagine no possesions, I wonder if you can, No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man, Imagine all the people Sharing all the world... You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one, I hope some day you'll join us, And the world will live as one.

Though this song may seem unrelated to our discussion, I felt that everyone can have a good feel of a world if we can just imagine. I hope you feel inspired by the song.

Having said and read all these about technology and its ill and good effects, I just remember an analogy, which I read from the book Living with Honour ...When somebody throws a dagger towards you, there are two ways to catch that. Either with the blade or with the handle...This is how we should see the technology and its effects and its up to u as to how you handle it....

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Cares & Shares
Mahendran Jayavel

Of Men and Materials

Interesting article by Bala... its so true that in the guise of shrinking the world with technology our innate feelings have taken the back seat... But having said that, my question is.. are we left with an alternate option... We are talking globalization, competition... The days of a laid-back Govt job, that gives you job security for life and also takes care of ur post-retirement life has become a thing of the past... the days where one could start from home at a comfortable 9AM and be back by 6PM are only available to be seen in films... On the other hand... the "cursed" WebCam is what enables an anxious mom to see her child's face who might be working thousands of miles away... imagine the happiness in her face... the equally "cursed" VoIP is what helps the beloved talk with her overseas counterpart without losing much weight in her purse... Did anyone ever think that a simple coffee could ever be made into so many different varieties... Did the pre-modern man ever had the privilege of tasting food stuff from across the globe right at his door step... some may not be all that good for health... but then, given the pollution levels, even breathing is bad for health... Washing machines and the chutney grinders may not do as neat or as delicious a work as does the dear one's (which normally refers to the female "dear") palm.. but it does give a break to her tired palm.. how many more eras will the so-called "dear one" spend in washing and cooking... that palm could also be used for some other creative work other than just washing and cooking that she's been doing for ages... So.. the bottomline is.. its the way you "choose" to use it... prioritize ur activity... the means are available for u... its up to you to put that to proper use... once in a while, a visit to coffee day or McDonalds is going to be enriching... but not if we do it everyday.. as the cliche goes "too much of anything is good for nothing"... Valli talks to her mom on weekends.. technology enables her... Bala himself has got a mobile for some special reasons... technology is helping him... And this very medium of discussion is because of a technology... Don't choose to use technology just because it is there... use it when there is a need to use... just as the simple difference between "want" and "need"... you drink coke... but you'll never use it as a replacement for water.. if you try to do it, that's where the dangers of technology begin.. as long as u don't do it... u have both coke's refreshing taste and also the impeccable panacea called water... if u understand what I mean...!! To quote bala... tell me one pleasant moment you and your loved one chewed the fat without being disturbed by a mobile call? If "chewing the fat" with your loved one is sooooo very important.. then, why the HELL don't you switch ur mobile off...??? Choose ur priority...!! Problem is with people.. not technology..!! --------------------- You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope some day you'll join us, And the world will live as one. - John Lennon, "Imagine"

to rini

Ranjini...visit this link abt temples in India....quite a comprehensive coverage of Indian temples...hope there are some archives of photo files of India temples.

I am with Honour...

I am living with Honour ...as per the Tamilnadu Government, I am living with Honour with a "H" seal in my family's ration card...ha ha.

What's Easy to See is Easy to Miss...

Living With Honour
by Shiv Khera

Hi pals,
Yesterday Shiv Khera talked to me!!! enna puriyalaya...I bought a new addition to my book shelf...."Living With Honour" by Shiv Khera...Read few pages in the shop itself out of curiosity (Irukkatha pinna...ranjinyoda voracious listla vanthathula irunthu i became a fierceful reader...ha ha...) nice to read...still going on with my reading...One of the lines in the book which I liked in the first few pages that I read was...

"Often when our conscience tries to call us, the line is too busy..."

Yet to read in full and i dont want to make it in a rush...good book and rest 'bout that in my next blogs...

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Cares & Shares
Mahendran Jayavel

Hi everyone

Valli, Good to hear that you'll be in India soon, Athukaga "Ghar aaja Pardesi.."nnuu engalala padda mudiyadhu. Sri, a very happy birthday da. Hope you have a wonderful day today. RIni, how are your dance and music classes going on? Planning on any arengetram soon. Send me your contact no's. Kicha and Ram, you too send your numbers. Last night, Saw "Alaipayuthey" for the n^th time, where n>20. This time on DVD. Though Rahman has mixed and improved the tunes of Alaipayuthey in 'Saathiya', nothing beats the original. The background score has the best till date from Rahman. Nothing to say about Mani Ratnam's direction and the camera-work by PC Sreeram. A wonderful story. Tonight, I'll be watching "Kannathil Muthmamittal". The two movies came packaged as a single DVD. Meanwhile, here are a few things to do when your net connection goes down.

Welcome Bala

Welcome Bala... to the exciting world of blogging... hope to see "different" and "creative" posts from u... So, one more into the arena... And then there was chaos...

speaking of photos

Rini, i'll have to see itto believe it. So why don't you post any of your snaps taken after your haircut to your Yahoo! Photos. Also I would also like to see photos taken by others (Valli, Sindhu, Ram, Manny etc.) to the Yahooo Groups or through mail. Though I cannot send you any photos, I'll try to send you as much information about sculptures whenever possible.

Jaya Acquitted....Justice Convicted.......

Movies and notes

Ram, hope you had a very nice birthday yesterday. Sorry da, I don't have your Bang. contact number. Infact I don't have any ones'c contact numbers at Bangalore. Could you send me your number, office and home or PP. (Kicha's and Rini's too). Well da Bala, I see your first post was a "chotta" one. Hoping to see a bada post from you soon. Kicha, Yes, it is deplorable. I guess that our Union Minister might have had the intention to make the selection process transparent. But how far it will be transparent is to be seen. Yesterday afternoon, I watched Dreamcatcher on DVD. It was wonderful. It wasn't scary like Sinduja had conveyed in one of her posts. I haven't read the book by Stephen King, the best selling horror fiction author. But I guess the director had toned down the horror factor in this film. Though many books by Stephen King have been made into movies, the best was "The Shawshank Redemption". Rini, you can add Stephen King to my list of favorite authors. He writes horror stories. But the above film, The Shawshank Redemption was one of best movies that was ever made. If you get a chance to see it, don't miss it. It is not a horror film. The film portrays the strength of the human spirit in such beauty that the film lifts you up. Coming back to Dreamcatcher, the location where the movie was shot was so beautiful that it takes your breath away. The alien creatures were not frightening. But the idea of a memory warehouse, a virtual storehouse where the hero stores his memory is so innovative and appealing, that I wish I had one like that. The movie had interesting dialogues with lot of humor that you forget that it is supossed to be a horror movie. The background score was impeccable, suiting the movie to a T. Last night, I viewed another film, Maverick, starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster. a hilarious comedy. I have not yet seen it fully, only about a half an hour or so. I'm planning to watch the rest tonight. More later,

Pulling a CAT out of the hat...

Hope u are aware of what is happening around... the entire gamut of future-managers suffering because of some unscrupulous idiots... My point here is not that, the leak of CAT question papers springs a surprise.. In fact, it does not..!! For, such things have been the order for a lot of prestigiuous degrees... But what is surprising is what I read in The Hindu this morning... Besides the CBI investigation, the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, has decided to constitute a separate inquiry into paper leakage. It was only last week that the Ministry had indicated a likelihood of asking IIMs to restructure the CAT process by doing away with group discussions and interviews to make it more transparent. I wonder why people are trying to infuse politics into education at the levels of IIMs and IITs which have earned worldwide acclaim for the quality of students it produces. Was he thinking that he could enable people to "sell" themselves to the IIMs by scrapping the GD/interview in the name of "transparency"...?? Its better for the students and the country as long as politicians don't interfere with the affairs and procedures of such premier institutes of the country and leave it to the persons who really "know" what they are doing...

New Member

Hi all, just now invited Bala to the blog. Hope to see his posts soon. BYe for now,

Venkatramana Govidha Govindha!!!

Hi, Back again to office today. I was on leave for the past two days as I went to Thirumala and had a big fight with Lord venkatesa... he tried a lot to convince me but in vain... Had a goood darshan of Lord Venkatesa...The interesting part is that our president APJ, Chandrababu and the governor of andhra visited Thirumala just 30 minutes before we entered thirumala...high security and there was enough crowd due to president's arrival... enjoyed a lot in this ptrip to thirupathi with my anna... we both went there and there was pretty good crowd...everybody was rushing their way to see the lord and running literally like a stampede...at one point in time me and my anna also started running on our way...ha ha...once it happenend that my brother ran too fast in between the crowd and i started shouting ..."Anna ipdi vittuttu odureengale annaannu, govidhaaa vittuttu oduriye govindhaannu...haeeeeeeheeee...because i left my purse in the room and also i dont know the way also pretty well to the room and if i miss him then we may end up searching each other....ha ha...govinda govindannu kathikitte odinen...ha ha... This is my first visit to tirupathi since my birth... imm...let me see what's there in store for me from yeluguntalavaaadaaaaaaa for all these troubled and infact joyful dharshan!!!... and coming to dogs... imm...ranjini is right...nee unnoda voracious readers listla ennai sekkalannu three days aluthen theriyuma....he e hehhehehhehheeeeeeee... ippo kooda alugaya varuthu....nee sethukitta appuram thaan alugaye ninnuchu...ha ha... apram valli actually i started my research on man and ended up in dogs eventually(.............what to do...may be this may further lead me to apes and chimps....) I want to make a point here...hope u all remember a post by our blog father abt butterflies...so this dog's episode can be thought of as another episode of blog father's...okva... (rest about other animals in future...) Coming to VVS...i hope all VVS members are in great varutham nowadays...no posts and active participation...may be a number of reasons can be attributed for that...one being all the members of VVS except me Ram jax and kishore may not have enough access to the net and systems... so far me ram ajayan kishore ganesh jax vijay and bala are the members of VVS rini...let me try out something to make it more lively and interactive...the fact is that I dont have enough experience as our blog father has and I suppose that I may not be able to devote my time and effort to format the blogs ( thanks da Jax for formatting my post...) and provoke the participant's interest and moreover the success of these kind of societies communities and group activities will depend more on the kind of participants and their interests...and thanks to ganesh for posting his first 4 lines in VVS. Yes. Nowadays ganja cud not find enough time as he has to brush all his dealer's teeths for proving CPL product's performance..ha ha. ( kidding machaan...dont take it serious and dont stop brushing your dealer's teeths...) Nothing more interesting to say now...have a nice day cares & shares Mahendran Jayavel

Hacking...

I was in a training this forenoon... on secure coding... it was an amazing session... the trainer (one, Rangarajan from Microsoft), demonstrated how to hack... he simluated a small program in C to exploit a Buffer Overflow, which is the most frequent reason for security vulnerability in software products... I never thought hacking could be so easy.. that is, if u leave that much loopholes in ur code...

To Ganja and Sindhu

Sindhu and Ganesh, good to have you both back. Yenda Ganesh, phone panni blog pannunnu sonna than blog pannuvaiya. Illati romba busy. Kooda supporttuku un thangachi. Sindu,"The Other Side of Midnight" is not his latest book. Look at this site for his latest books. I'll get my books when I meet him him the next time. Rajesh and Bala came home last night. Last night watched half of "The Matrix Revolutions". It was too boring. No intellectual content as the previous two movies. Yet to see the fight for Zion and Smith/Neo fight. Hope that is atleast interesting. I'm eagerly awaiting "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". Hope it isn't disappointing as The Matrix Revolutions. As for books, I completed "The Covenant of the Flame" by David Morrell. David Morell was the man who wrote "First Blood" and "Rambo". "Jack: Straight from the guts" is halfway through. Today, I might start reading "Mayday" by Nelson DeMille. You can read the first chapter of the book here. Bye for now,

A dream to dream...

I had a fascinating night's sleep y'day. I had 3 dreams and remember each one of them to whatever precision I looked at them while dreaming... And dreams can never get crazier than this... 1. I'm fighting in Iraq... (Don't already laugh, there's lot to go)... But not wearing the army uniform, rather normally clad. I hear gun shots all around. I could hear them so well in my dream. It seemed so realistic... this proceeds for a while, and suddenly I begin to hear bigger sounds. The enemy (whoever it was) is starting to bomb... I think to myself "I don't have bombs.. they are technologically superior.. so its only a question of time before one falls on me.." moments later I hear a huuuuge thud on the roof right over my head... and I woke up... I was still alive.... 2. Then the second spell started after I slept.. I'm inside the "Bhooth" film... Urmila is going around killing everyone... Her modus operandi is.. take a knife and rip from the right forearm to the left forearm... and people seemed to fall like nine-pins.. and no one was offering any resistance.. she just goes about killing people... One guy keeps looking at all this.. But it was not Ajay Devgan... then she comes to me... Now.. the same dialog that happens between the President and the alien in the film "Independence day" (which I saw 2 weeks back on Star Movies) takes place between me and her... I ask her "What do u want me to do.." and in the same hoarse voice as the alien in the film she says "Dieeee..!!" ... and I woke up... 2nd time lucky.. am still alive... and slept again... 3. This is the most hilarious one... I'm watching cricket match.. India are down under playing the aussies. Sachin hits an exquisite cover drive... not sure if it went for any runs.. Bill Lawry is commentating.. Yeah.. I could recognize that voice in my dream... it was so real... He says..."India are only 4 wickets down.. and they got 2 wonderful players to follow.. Dhanraj Pillay and Mohd Kaif.. its a tough time for aussies"... Yep.. u read it right... Dhanraj Pillay - the hockey player.. in the Indian cricket team.. not sure what happened afterwards, but once I woke in the morning.. there was a large smile writ all over my face - I had made Dhanraj Pillay a "wonderful cricketer".. and Bill Lawry himself acknowledged that..!! Nevertheless, It happens only in dream..!!! Just feel like analysing a bit... and examine the sequence of events over the past few days that lead to imagining the specific images of these dreams.. will post my analysis as and when I get some points... Sigmund Freud into action..!!

New design

Rini, I had said earlier that I am trying to update the style sheets. But I am unable to do it from office. A look at Quod scripsi, scripsi will show how blockquotes work with different style sheets. Check out all style sheets. As you might have noticed, most of the current style sheets in All in a day's work! use a white background. I use the mint stylesheet. I don't know about the style sheets the others prefer. I am working on a couple of new styles, this time with background images and different presentation layouts. I hope to have them ready by next week. One will feature the sidebar on the left, and another design will feature the sidebar on the right. I have got the basics details worked out. Still got some work to do on fonts, spacing etc. Maybe by the end of November or start of December, they will be ready. So till then, you've got to adjust with the present format.

Interesting things

Manny, That was an interesting article that you had posted. Sorry, that I had to format it slightly to remove extra spaces. Idhay vellaiya poochu, onnu hard diskku, illa blog posttu. Ellatheyum addikadi format panna vendiyadha irrukku. Ram, I didn't understand your case study at all. Anyone made any sense of it. Dei, I can understand Eco, but not your case study. As Kicha said, the answer is a road, actually I was thinking of a highway. I guess this weekend will be a treat weekend for those in Bangalore, Kicha and Rini completing 1 year at thier work. Ram celebrating his birthday. Enjoy it. I was planning to go to Maduraio this weekend. But as my parents are going to Hyderabad, I decided to stay at home.

Learning About Life
from a Dog

Hi bloggers, i have been reading all the posts and watching as a silent observer for the past couple of weeks as i did not get any thing to say about philosophy or literatures...may be it takes some more time for me to taste those stuff...(may be after marriage when I may need peace of mind...) and here is a piece of information that i came across while surfing the net for info on dogs...quite interesting and i hope some of u may have read this earlier...even I suppose that I have read this previously...anyhow with respect to rini's words, I want to publish something...ha ha. and thanks rini for adding me too in the list of Fortune (500) Voracious readers...see i have been reading these kind of stuffs related to dogs and all...definitely I deserve a place in this list ma...ha ha.

Dogs have a natural, inborn philosophy toward the life they live. It doesn't matter where they are or who they are living with. You can learn some good attitudes to follow by observing what a dog does and enjoys.

Questions you may have about this are:

• What can I learn from such an animal?
• Can this be applied to business?
• How does that relate to my life?

18 things to do

Observing what dogs do can teaches us how we can lead a better life. The following list of 18 things dogs do--written by an unknown author--points toward attitudes to follow:

1. Never pass the opportunity to go for a joy ride
2. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
3. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
4. When it is in your best interest, practice obedience.
5. Let others know when they have invaded your territory.
6. Take naps and then stretch before rising.
7. Run, romp and play daily.
8. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
9. Be loyal.
10. If what you find lies buried, dig until you finally get it.
11. Never pretend to be something you're not.
12. When someone else is having a bad day, be silent, sit close and nuzzle gently.
13. Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
14. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
15. On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shade tree.
16. When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
17. Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
18. No matter how often you are scolded, don't buy into the guilt and start to pout. Rather, run right back and make friends.

In conclusion

We would all lead happier lives if we followed these 18 principles, taken from observing the way dogs act.

---

You must lift a leg to do things...ha ha...with Regards, Mahen

blockquotes

A blockquote is a HTML tag that is used when you want to quote something, usually something that's more than a line. You can use a blockquote as described here. Yeah, the Yellow color looks great on Black, but horrible on the other backgrounds. Use blockquotes instead. It is a pity that Rajesh will be out of India during Christmas. I was planning to invite him home. Anyway maybe next year da.

my shot at the puzzle...

Jax, here is my guess.. ROAD The road has a white line at the center... and there are bumps too... and it cuts through the land all the way...

Who am I?

The broken white line stretches far into the horizon. The tiny bumps reflect the bright lights. The dark swath cuts through the land with no regard for man made boundaries and at times with utter disregard to nature. Who am I?

Hi

Nice to hear Valli is coming to India... will try to meet u during ur stay... y'day we had a party among our batchmates celebrating our anniversary.. it was good.. lots of ice creams... and everyone sharing their piece of memories from the past... some of them amazed at where they have reached while others feeling just not quite the best they could... but completing 1 year of their respective careers was always something they would cheer about all their life... and y'day they were no exception to it...

a very short post

Valli, Good to hear that you'll be returning to India soon. Hope to see you then if possible. Sri, I guess you would have to give me a double treat for 1 year and for your avartham. But before that we have Ram's birthday. That too on a Sunday, So I guess he cannot escape from giving a treat to those in Bangalore. Anyone knows where Ganesh is? I am not finding time to meet Rajesh and Bala here. Since my last post was too long, I am keeping mum today. Of course, as the final between India and Australia will begin in the afternoon, I guess that's all from me today unless...

This day last year... PART 2

NOVEMBER 18, 2002: It was a warm weather in Mangalore. So I didn't care to touch the geyser.. while Dhinesh made the entire bathroom fill up with vapour... Went to have the complementary breakfast that was given everyday at the hotel.. Got to meet a few more joinees at the restaurant... with some hot bondas, idli and tea... it was a perfect breakfast for the first day... Then off we went to the bus stop with the offer letter tucked in our hand.. we knew what bus to catch.. as we had rehearsed it the previous day... We kept looking out of the window, as none of us were sure of when the stop comes... and finally got down at the right place... The security at the gate quickly glanced through the letter verified something with his list and sent us in... and there were already loads of people standing at the reception, not knowing where to turn... and we both joined the searching fun... And someone then showed us the way.. to a hall named "Nalanda". This is where most of our training classes would be held. And then, people flocked in to the hall... and took their most comfortable seats.. There was lots of murmering.. after all, we still were more of college students.. yet to come to terms with the professional realities... it was around 9AM, when finally someone wearing the ID card tag around his neck came into the room... and suddenly all noise ceased. How college like... He was the HR guy there.. and we played a little game.. for trying to know each other's names.. the icebreaker... And then, came one by one, and showed different presentations, on the company, policies.. and lots of forms to fill up... In the afternoon, the ICICI people came and opened an account for us... opening an account was never so easy an affair... We went home with a big load of forms to fill up overnight... the training, in genuine terms, was still some way from starting.. but we could already feel the ferver in the air...

To Rini

Dear Rini, It is unfortunate that you could not get any snaps. But anyway a good description with photos. When you are using a short quote, use the blockquote tags. Please, you seemed to have copy-pasted the short poem, it appears in bright yellow color, which is not nice at all with the white backgrounds. So I have changed it into a blockquote. Check the source code or click on edit within blogger to see how to put up blockquotes. Regarding semiotics, I am preparing a rough guide on semiotics. Here is a short culling from my notes.

Semiotics can be roughly defined as the study of signs. Semiotics comes from the Greek word, semeîon, meaning 'sign'.
Semiotics involves the study not only of what we refer to as 'signs' in everyday speech, but of anything which 'stands for' something else. In a semiotic sense, signs take the form of words, images, sounds, gestures and objects. Semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign.

In simple terms... For example, the word, 'Open' , when you encounter it on a shop entrance, you come to know that the shop is open and you can go inside to purchase something. The same word, when seen on a button within a lift, lets you know that the lift will open when you press the button. You may also see the word on a cardboard box top, specifying the direction in which the box is to be opened. What did you do now? You encountered a single word, yet the same word prompted you to perform different actions. The study of how a sign, in this case the word 'Open', could take on different meanings to different situations is called semiotics. It is the study of how signs take on thier meaning with respect to their context and surroundings. I could probably give lots of similar examples on how images or sounds, even gestures and objects could have different meanings in different contexts. You might have remembered a similar examples in our Marketing class about cultural differences or linguistical differences a brand can have. On Eco, I don't think that he is too hard to understand. In the excerpt that I had given, the third para speaks about simple maths and the value of pi. Remember no one has still understood how all circular objects are united by this seemingly simple, but complex number. The fourth para speaks on physics and the properties of the pendulum. The fifth one is really a tough one. It contains references to both mythology and geography. I had to read the para more than a couple of times to understand it. One interesting coincidence was that I had thought that Novaya Zemlaya was a mythological place, since I had never heard about it. The next day, I had gone to client's place. At the GM's office, I saw a huge map of the world. While waiting for the client to complete a call, I was looking at the map. I was trying to see if I could locate the places I had read the previous day. And to my surprise, I located Novaya Zemlaya. It is in Russia, very near to the North Pole. Back at the office, I searched for about it to see why it was mentioned. Amazing facts surfaced. For people to go to the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean (Europe was located in the northern postion of the Atlantic Ocean) entitled a long and dangerous journey around South America, if you can recall our high school geography. So seamen tried to find ways (north-east and north-west). The North Western passage would go through the North west Atlantic ocean and join the Pacific Ocean at the Bering Straits between Siberian Russia and Alaska. The North Eastern passage passed through the island of Novaya Zemlaya. While a few were successful in finding a path through the Northwest passage, many lost thier lives navigating the northeast passage. This was before aeroplanes came into existence and the railways were in thier infancy. Later on, the railroads across America paved the way for the country to become an advanced industrial nation it is today. Interesting to know how just a small passage can help you understand geography and history a lot. That is one thing I liked about his book. Each page and paragraph was so full of information that Antony Burgess, another great writer, said that."This book needs an index." Interestingly, Avalon mentioned in the excerpt is a mythological place in British myths. Microsoft has chosen the name as a codename for thier user interface in thier upcoming Windows OS Longhorn. Rini, the first page of the book starts with this quote.

Only for you, children of doctrine and learning, have we written this work. Examine this book, ponder the meaning we have dispersed in various places and gathered again; what we have concealed in one place we have disclosed in another, that it may be understood by your wisdom - Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, De occulta philosophia, 3, 65

In case you are interested in reading this book, I have an electronic version of the book as a text file. If required, I can send it to you. It comes around 1 MB. That's all for today,

Jay Jay - a review

Rini, I guess your short trip to Thanjai and Kudandhai went off well. So, are you and Kicha planning to celebrate your respective first anniversaries at work? Hope your curiosity on who wrote "My Identity" was satisfied. Manny, Sorry da, didn't get the mood to post anything on VVS. This week surely, there will be a few postings from me. Started reading "Jack: Straight from the Gut" by Jack Welch, ex-CEO, General Electric. Got the book from Sri. Guys, anyone planning to go to "Jay Jay". My advice: Don't. I learnt a lesson the hard way on Friday. First day, last show. The previous Tamil film I had seen in a theatre was "Rojakootam". After that, this one. No more watching tamil films in theatre here onwards. If it was a fifty rupees note in Rojakootam, this film features a hundred rupees note. I guess the next film that "Oscar" Ravichandran produces will feature a five-hundred or a thousand rupees note. The film is a total waste of time and money. And to think I skipped dinner to go to the movie makes me feel ..... The film is a straight copy from "Serendipity", shown on Zee MGM last month. The funny thing is that Nov. 7 saw the release of "Unnai Partha Naal Mudhal", Nov. 14 - "Jay Jay" and Nov. 21, "Ennaku 20, Unnaku 18" will be released. All three movies have been copied from "Serendipity". If you think, you can watch the movie for Madhavan, it is a total waste of his talents. If you think you can watch the movie for the heroines, forget it. The music by Bharadwaj gets irritating after a couple of times. Location-wise, Kolkatta and Greece provide some succour. There is no comedy at all. Villains are totally pathetic and cliched. If you have any hard feelings towards anyone, get them a ticket to this film and your revenge will never be such sweet.

Favourite authors

Hi everyone, Kicha and Rini, congratulations on completing one year at your concerns. Valli, It's good to have you back. No news from Sindhu. Any calls or mails from her. Yahoo Groups seems to be accessible again. I don't know how long it will be before it is banned again. Rini, you had asked me about my favourite authors. The truth is I have no favorite authors. There are several things that I like in different authors. For example: Frederick Forysth has the knack of keeping you on the edge of your seat through his prose; Wilbur Smith explains the richness and beauty of Africa through his works and Jeffrey Archer provides the most insane twists in the tale that you kick yourself for have not seeing it earlier itself. Ken Follet's stories are so thrilling and captivating that you want to read them again and again. Tom Clancy provides so much accurate information on military hardware that you become an expert on the subject. David Morrell writes about the strength of human spirit. Jonathan Black provides an insider's view on the power struggles and behind-the-scenes of the rich and powerful people and corporations. Michael Crichton blends technology and fiction that you are left wondering what is not possible by man. Colin Forbes and Craig Thomas provide interesting information about the British Secret Service and its part in the world stage through their works. Umberto Eco stitches different subjects to provide hours of excitement and discoveries. Different writers have different styles. So it is really difficult to pick any one. Even one-off writers like Bill Gates and Jack Welch have imbibed thier books with thier unique styles that at the end of the book, you feel like understood them. I like books that make me feel that I have lost a great friend when I complete it. Anyone writing such a book will be my favourite. Bye for now,

This day last year... PART - 1

Hi, I'm completing 1 year of my career tomorrow.. and so is Ranjini... if u r not aware.. me and ranjini started our careers on the same day - Nov 18 - last year... so, here's a piece of my nastalgia... NOVEMBER 16, 2002: I started from my home early in the morning and boarded the bus to Thiruppur.. to Bala's house... I had to catch West Coast Express to Mangalore that evening from coimbatore... after lunch we started to coimbatore.. Bala had some meeting in office... I put my luggage in cloak room and went for browsing.. chatted with vijay babu... then around evening.. sriprasath, bala, jax and ajayan were at the station... lots of talk about that Sri's famous letter to Rajkumar of Edge.. and amid a lot of hullabullo and noise and fun, I boarded the train... NOVEMBER 17, 2002: Reached Mangalore early morning at 5.30 ... and my eyes fell on someone whose face seemed familiar to me.. and it didn't take much time to realise who was walking past me.. it was Kadri Gopalnath.. the saxophone maestro... then, called up home and informed of my safe arrival and went out looking for an auto... Met the guy (Dhinesh) who would be my roommate, in the auto... incidentally he was also from Madurai (near arappalayam)... and we went to our hotel.. a 3-star one... and admiring and enjoying the luxury that had befallen us... after some chatting and breakfast.. both of us fell asleep... Dhinesh woke me up around 1.30PM for lunch... had a lousy lunch in a hotel... something that still makes us laugh our hearts out... We were curious to see the campus.. so enquired how to reach there and went to the campus... It was a very small one compared to Chennai .. but was looking very good, nevertheless... Came back from there.. and there was a big marketplace adjacent to our hotel... we went walking for a coupla hours around that place.. he got a earphone for his walkman.. and I got "Kaadhal virus" cassette... and came back to the room... got to meet some other joinees who were staying in the hotel... and slept for the day with lots of anxiety on how the next day - the first day of our career would turn out...

On Eco

Ranjini, as you had said, it is his words that are interesting. Umberto Eco, in my opinion, is one great writer. He is a professor of semiotics at the University of Bologna, Italy. His works are absolutely brilliant. You can read a short biography here. Eco does not write. He instead constructs sentences. Sentences enhanced by the architecture of semiotics. To understand his works, you need to have a through understanding of subjects ranging from arcane mythology to simple logic. The best way to read one of his books, especially his The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum, is to have an entire library at their disposal for reference. If some one says to me, they read a lot of books, I ask them, "Can you tell me if you have read Foucault's Pendulum?" That's it. That one book is equivalent to reading several books on a wide range of subjects. For example, I am reproducing the first 5 paragraphs of Foucault's Pendulum below. Read it and tell me your thoughts on it.

That was when I saw the Pendulum.

The sphere, hanging from a long wire set into the ceiling of the choir, swayed back and forth with isochronal majesty.

I knew—but anyone could have sensed it in the magic of that serene breathing—that the period was governed by the square root of the length of the wire and by Π, that number which, however irrational to sublunar minds, through a higher rationality binds the circumference and diameter of all possible circles. The time it took the sphere to swing from end to end was determined by an arcane conspiracy between the most timeless of measures: the singularity of the point of suspension, the duality of the plane’s dimensions, the triadic beginning of π, the secret quadratic nature of the root, and the unnumbered perfection of the circle itself.

I also knew that a magnetic device centered in the floor beneath issued its command to a cylinder hidden in the heart of the sphere, thus assuring continual motion. This device, far from interfering with the law of the Pendulum, in fact permitted its manifestation, for in a vacuum any object hanging from a weightless and unstretchable wire free of air resistance and friction will oscillate for eternity.

The copper sphere gave off pale, shifting glints as it was struck by the last rays of the sun that came through the great stained-glass windows. Were its tip to graze, as it had in the past, a layer of damp sand spread on the floor of the choir, each swing would make a light furrow, and the furrows, changing direction imperceptibly, would widen to form a breach, a groove with radial symmetry—like the outline of a mandala or pentaculum, a star, a mystic rose. No, more a tale recorded on an expanse of desert, in tracks left by countless caravans of nomads, a story of slow, millennial migrations, like those of the people of Atlantis when they left the continent of Mu and roamed, stubbornly, compactly, from Tasmania to Greenland, from Capricorn to Cancer, from Prince Edward Island to the Svalbards. The tip retraced, narrated anew in compressed time what they had done between one ice age and another, and perhaps were doing still, those couriers of die Masters. Perhaps the tip grazed Agarttha, the center of the world, as it journeyed from Samoa to Novaya Zemlya. And I sensed that a single pattern united Avalon, beyond the north wind, to the southern desert where lies the enigma of Ayers Rock.

Since you have got me interested in Eco, I will be posting more on him later. Maybe after you come back from your tour. Take pictures and put them online. Have a wonderful weeekend. Others, see you tomorrow!

views

Hi, The final chapter of My Identity was put up today morning. Unlike an exercise in egotism, it was really helpful in understanding a little bit about myself. Though I am not sure how of it is correct and how much it isn't. I really liked a few portions of the chapters. There were a couple of inconsistencies also at times. I guess I have the rest of the month to sift through them and understand myself better. BTW, any guesses on the origin of the report. Kicha, I'll check things out at my end (mail not being received). I had read a similar article a long time ago. It was more or less the same (I don't know it it is the same, cause the dates differ). I don't feel anything taboo about it. The article was clear and spoke about reality as it is. The more things are spoken about, more everyome gets to understand them. For example recently, Vijay had posted a mail that he received about being infected in public place with the Aids virii. People, unaware of the fact that the Aids virus cannot survive outside the human body very long, get tense and stressed. The reason is they are not properly educated on the Aids virus or on how it spreads. Likewise your article. I was sick yesterday. Didn't come to office. And God, how boring it is to sit at home doing nothing, no TV, no computer, no books to read. Seems the blog is becoming more philosophical nowadays. Two posts on Philosophy. Kicha's post, I got it as a forward some time ago. I don't know if it was from msitmmb or any other group. It was a stark representation of what we are today. Incidentally, from the posts during the past couple of weeks, more posts have been about questioning everyone's inner self through literature, philosophy and personal. It is good to hear that we also get to speak about quite a lot of thoughts and belief structures from everyone. Hope it continues in the future. Bye for now,

And some modern-day philosophy...

GEORGE CARLIN (post 9-11... his wife recently died...) (mouthy comedian of the 70's and 80's) The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete. Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent. Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Project Gutenberg...

Have u seen this before... I happened to stumble on this thing. With so much literary ferver around, this might interest all of u... Take a look at what Project Gutenberg is all about...

Jax....

I'm sending the Thought for the day and joke everyday... and ram, rini, kavi seem to be receiving it regularly... might be some trouble with ur angler ID.. check that...

To Ram and Kicha

Thanks Ram, I thought the page would have been corrected long ago. But now I find it has not been. I wonder how I didn't notice it this morning also. Well as you said, that's life. This shows how you cannot expect everyone to do things perfectly. At times, you've got to set things alright by yourself. I was expecting a few posts on your Thoughts and kept checking it twice a day, but it wasn't. When will it be updated, da? Kicha seems to have turned quite philosophical during the past few days. No Thought for the day or jokes from him. It is just a passing phase in everyone's lifetime. And it is also good for the mind. Hoping to hear a lot from you soon. BTW, anyone gone to view the match today? Busy keeping an eye on the scorecard now. Bye.

Hi

ram, I can't figure out what error u r trying to point.. can u elaborate... And these days, there's a lot of literary flavour in our blog. I'm doing some reading too... but those are predominantly satirical in nature... not stories or fiction or poems but articles/write-ups ranging from comments on the bygone days to certain issues/topics of my personal interest... they are certainly helping me look at things with a "different" perspective... a down-to-earth understanding of things which are so obvious yet difficult to comprehend. This certainly is a unique experience am undergoing... and my interest towards such reading is only increasing as I read more of them... hope to share a few things with u too...

Help on the poem

Dear Rini, Yeah, Rini, I went through the poem that day itself and like you, I have been trying to understand the poem. I took down a few notes for posting later. Since you were also searching, I am posting it now. I would say that, based on my experiences, The Waste Land is the poetic equivalent of Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. As a poem, it references a wide range of works spread across varying subjects from philosophy to mythology. It is an excellent example in semiotics.

The basic method used in The Waste Land may be described as the application of the principle of complexity. The poet works in terms of surface parallelisms which in reality make ironical contrasts, and in terms of surface contrasts which in reality constitute parallelisms. - Cleanth Brooks

Since you wanted a paraphase to the poem, here is the site I was referring to when reading the poem. As said earlier, I was reading a lot about semiotics the day you posted the link to the poem. Was it a coincidence that the poem was a real life example of semiotics. I don't know. If you are wondering what semiotics means, here is a list of definitions from Google. T.S. Eliot was called one of the great poets of the 20^th century. I hope you remember the following part of a poem of his.

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

He wrote an entire book about cats. The poem was modified into a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and it became a wonderful success. Recently, it was shown in TV.

Past couple of days

Hi everyone, For the past couple of days, I've been unable to participate much. Don't know if the situation may extend today also. I hope everyone remebers Venn Diagrams. Here is a small list of its practical uses. We have used it in Angler to explain our company in a better manner. You can see it here and here. My Identity has reached its ninth installment. Tommorow, I'll be posting the final installment. Kicha, you can mail the article. Don't send the link as I may not be able to access it. Hey, it's been a long time since we heard from Sindhu. Seems to be enjoying an extended vacation at home. And Valli also, are you caught up in your course work. I am yet to receive my MCJ materials. Seems like I might receive it just in time for my exams. I wonder when they might be. BTW, I have been given an additional designation at Angler, Project Co-ordinator in addition to my previous designation of Content Developer.

Hi

jax, Your point is true. But the fact of the matter is that, there are issues which are delicate enough to be addressed like other normal issues (in an "Indian" sense). If u r interested I'll send the link to that article to ur postmark ID. Its available in their website as well... I have quite a lot of things to say about all that is in that article. You read that and tell if I can post everything I feel about it in this blog. You'll understand, that will not be possible...!!!

Hi all

As my net connection was down yesterday, I was unable to particiapte or post anything. Rini, read your comments, I have posted mine too. Read them and reply there itself. Kicha, I don't think that anything is taboo in the modern day. The more people understand things, the more mature they become. If we are bound by things that are not to be spoken off, those things have no reason for existing at all. More later.

reply to jax and reg. pitha magan

to jax, ok da. i ll do according u said. Pitha Magan i do agree what sri told. everyone acted very well. as sri told, if u take scene by scene, that movie is really superb, in each scene everyone acted very well. if one scene vikram acted very well then in the next scene sivamainthan overtook him and at the end of that scene laila come and make her mark. so if u consider the entire film as scene by scene, sure everyone ll like it. this movie will score high marks, if it is shown in SunTV super scenes. by this time everyone could understand what i m trying to say. yes it is. if u see it as a entire movie, then from the next time u wont go for anyother Bala's movie. Psycho paiyan, kevalama padam pannirukkan. i went to this movie on the very next day of deepavali with my sivakasi gang. this is not only our comments, this was the comment by most of the people who saw with us. everyone murmured only like that. bcos i took my bike out of the theatre and waited for one of my friend in the roadside, one family came out of the theatre also stand nearer to me and waited for someone. everyone in that family gave similar comment like what i told, then my friend arrived there and told "dei machan oruthan intha padam supernnu solranda". then uncle(head of the nearby standing family) told "yaaruppa appadi solrathu, antha punniavanna konjam parkanumnnu sonnaru". bala took this movie for only the five or six persons whom sri mentioned. he gave them a very good chance to act and they too did well. but if u ask what is the story??????? nothing is there? its very boring? and u cant imagine a girl like laila from a village. family girls can be bold, but they should not fight with rowdies in the road. reg. vikram character - u can not imagine a person like him in the real life. bcos he was not born and brougt up in forest, but he behave like that. i can appreciate only one thing, that is surya's acting and characterisation, both are good. apart from that nothing is there in the film. this is only my view, but u can consider this b4 going to that movie. but my friend in chennai told that Pithamagan is a box office hit. so it seems more people hav Bala's view, if suppose u have Babu's(hihihiiii myself) view then dont go to that film.

Hi

Got to read an interesting article in y'day's Times of India. But it feels sad, that I will not be able to share my views on the article nor give a link to that article. The reason is... that article is written about a societal taboo...!!! something which has a negative halo attached to its head... and I'm not sure how many would really see the other side of things. I do wonder why some things are considered to be such "bad" to even talk about, while they are nothing but a component of life... In the recent times, things have changed a bit.. but such things are still looked upon with "disgust" and "fear" ...

Jax ur id: xavierroy@postmark.net is that right...? tell me...i have sent the invi...but if still u did not receive that....oops! may be the blog father has to see to it Mahen

urban legends...

Dear Vijay, If you have got the message through e-mail, then you have been a subject of mail hoax. This is a classic case of an urban legend. In case, you are ondering what are Urban legend is? click here. The legend is mainly sent to induce agoraphobia. In case you reeive such mails, please delete them. Don't forward them. For a fair account of what constitute an urban legend, visit The Urban Legend Archive. If anyone still has doubts about the Aids virus, visit these links. An interesting point in the forward was "a healthy victim could survive about 5-6 years". That is totally wrong. People can survive (and have also survived) with AIDS for more than a decade before succumbing to it. Any way, the first thing you do on reaching Mumbai is spread fear among us, da. The first line of your post is a good pointer. I am reproducing it below with my emphasis on th post.

What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Bye for now.

alert

> > "What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are > > tiny matters compared to what lives within us" > > This happened in Paris. A few weeks ago, in a movie > > theatre, person sat > > on > > something poking that was on one of the seats. When > > she got up to see > > what > > it was, she found a needle sticking out of the seat > > with a note > > attached > > saying: > > You have just been infected by HIV". > > > > The Disease Control Centre (in Paris) reports many > > similar events in > > many > > other cities recently. > > All tested needles ARE HIV Positive. > > The Centre also reports that needles have been found > > in the cash > > dispensers > > at public Banking Machines We ask everyone to use > > extreme caution when > > faced > > with this kind of situation. All public chairs/seats > > should be > > inspected > > with vigilance and caution before use. A careful > > visual inspection > > should > > be > > enough. In addition, they ask that each of you pass > > this message along > > to > > all members of your family and your friends of the > > potential danger. > > Recently, one doctor has narrated somewhat a similar > > instance happened > > at > > the Priya Cinema in Delhi to one of his patients. A > > Young Girl engaged > > and > > about to be married in a couple of months was pricked > > while the movie > > was > > going on. > > The tag with the needle had the message "Welcome to > > the World of HIV+ > > family". > > Though the doctors told her family that it takes about > > 6 months before > > the > > virus grow strong enough to start damaging your system > > and a healthy > > victim > > could survive about 5-6 years. The girl died in 4 > > months, perhaps more > > because of > > the " Shock - thought". We all have to be careful at > > public places, > > rest > > God > > help!

views and updates

Though this chapter may seem insignificant, it deals with how I evaluate whatever that is around me. It also represents my capacity to love as well as who or what attracts me. Read this very short chapter. Ram and Manny, I still haven't received the invitation mail. I checked yesterday and I checked today. Sorry, no invi there. Try resending it. Yes Kavi, I've been hearing it daily for the past week. Still I'm not bored by it. Will let you know when I find the answer. Kicha your article, "Dogmatic vs Pragmatic" was interesting in the sense that you are trying to show are they necessary. You might get different answers.

Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy; the mad daughter of a wise mother. - Voltaire

The question that would have to be answered is that "Do you life your life as you wish to live it?" or "Do you live your life as laid by others?" A pragmatic approach to life would be really a wonderful way to live life, but it would also mean that we have to remove traces of humanity within us. A dogmatic way of life also has this side effect of dehumanising us.

When the human race has once acquired a supersitition nothing short of death is ever likely to remove it. - Mark Twain

More on this later...

Dogmatic vs Pragmatic

Just a few thoughts. Would like to hear from all. Do you feel the "norms" and "practices" laid down in our ancient scriptures would find relevance even today. One easy reply is, some of them are relevant while others aren't. But to delve more into this... should we follow something just because it has been laid down in our scripture... one example.... these are the days when women crave for an identity for themselves rather than just playing second fiddle to their hubby and taking care of cooking and confining to kitchen. One step they take for this, is to have a career for themselves.. and for quite a few of them marriage is no deterrent to their career... But we have some old quotes like "vinaiyey aadavarku uyirey... manaiyurai magalirku avvaadavar uyir" .. dunno if the words are right.. but what it says might be evident.. for men, their work is the life's purpose.. while for the women servicing their hubby is the life's purpose... Traditional dogmatism is not just confined to the aspect of women and marriage... but in our daily life too... there are also things which directly impact our attitude on life and towards other beings.. like belief in "fate", superstitions like "raaghu kaaalam" (an inauspicious time), studying planetary positions (astrology) trying to know what "could be" good for the future... Are we being plagued by unncessary fuss about life and living with such things... Does it mean that one does the right thing if he forces his wife "not to work" suppressing her interests, just because an ancient scripture says so...?? Does it mean I might fail in an exam just because I started from home for the exam in a raaghu kaalam... Do the "planetary positions" really impact on what I do everyday or where I end up 10 years from now or whom I marry (studying horoscopes).. ?? Do I really need to care about them.. or be more rational about my life and go about what I feel is most suited for "my" life... what impact choosing either of it would have on me and my future...

An attempt at poetry

Here is my attempt towards poetry. Just a small change from writing prose. Leave your comments there, not here.

to rini

Yes, Ranjini, the comments part is autogenerated by an external site. You cannot edit the comments you have posted but, you can always add another comment saying the correction. Take a look at the blog again for my comments on your comments. As for your query, Let me try, because I have to sift thru almost six months of blog entries before I can give you any answer.

thoughts

Kicha, a personal blog is what it says, a personal view on things. But it can also be wide open. It can contain things like, say, a few links I come across, my thoughts on general issues. It need not be 100% personal in nature. As for interactions, we have several commenting systems available. They allow people to write what they feel about your post. But it is a double edged sword. You might be surprised to know how many of them read your blog. As long as you keep it interesting, people will come, read and know more about you. Think of a personal blog as a personalised marketing machine. You're advertising yourself to the world. My experiences with All in a day's work! has taught me a lot of things. I have a person asking if the Vijay Babu mentioned here is the Vijay Babu he was searching for (It wasn't). I have developed an interaction with a web designer based on one of my post. He wanted to know why I had mentioned that his demo was not suitable for viewing in IE 5.5. The possibilities are enormous. It depends on how you use it. Ram: look at the comment on Quod scripsi, scripsi.

Hi

Its catching up... each one coming up with a blog of his own. Somehow, I don't feel like starting my own blog atleast for now and rather prefer posting to "common" blogs like this one. But, I do feel some sort of outlet to record our feelings on issues of personal or common interest is a novel idea. But what discourages me is perhaps my "perceived" laziness that makes me feel I would really not go about expressing myself the way I would like it be... further, it has predominantly a one-way flow of thoughts that would not give me the "other side" of things... and would only make me focus things in "my" perspective alone everytime... though a personal blog is meant for flow of thought as "I" see it... I feel, I always like to hear the other side of it too, which may not happen if I start a personal blog. And I might get bored seeing only my name there everytime with no one telling what he/she feels on my views... These are some things that move me away from starting my own blog.. however, I love posting to common blogs like this one... and may be start my own, when I overcome those notions I have... might take time, though...

My Identity continues...

The third chapter of my identity has been put up at Quod scripsi, scripsi. This chapter mostly deals with my sensitivities and perceptions (mental processes). There are still a lot to come. Rini, I'll tell you about the origin of "My Identity" when all chapters have been put up. It was not written by me. I guess this month, Quod scripsi, scripsi will deal mostly with articles about myself. Last month was mostly about what I was feeling, my moods and emotions. Next month will be about... Wait till next month. Manny & Ram, get a commenting system in your blogs da. It'll be very useful and save time too.

New blogs!!!

Good to see a lot of individual blogs coming up. As a 'blog-father', I feel it is my duty to help the new blog-starters.

1. Keep updating: One problem I faced was keeping the blog updated. Since "All in a day's work!" was constantly kept updated by others, I didn't feel any difficulty. But when I started one individually, I ran into a lot of troubles keeping it updated.
2. Stick to a timeline: Decide that you'll update the blog regularly. It can be once a week or once a day or time-permitting, even twice or thrice a day. But stick to it.
3. Promote it: It was wonderful to see Manny promoting VVS on msitmmb. Ram's Thoughts is more of a personal blog á la Quod scripsi, scripsi. So you can't expect the latter two to be promoted actively. But promotions will help. By the way, It is also good to see reciprocal links between the blogs.
4. Listen to the experts: More important, listen to what the experts say. Get their advice and heed it. Because the next time, I won't be giving free advice. It gonna cost you a little bit.

Good Luck! guys.
Ram, Is "mentations" based on Lamentations?
Manny, Still awaiting for my invitation to VVS.

Do you know this...

Ever wondered where management blurb comes from...! Simply employ the 'MBA Buzzword' writing method. There are three columns of words involved, as follows: 0. balanced 0. management 0. contingency 1. total 1. organization 1.hardware or S/W 2. integrated 2. reciprocal 2. projection 3. compatible 3. monitored 3. time-frame 4. synchronized 4. digital 4. concept 5. optimal 5. modular 5. programming 6. responsive 6. transitional 6. mobility 7. functional 7. incremental 7. capability 8. parallel 8.third-generation 8. flexibility 9. systemized 9. policy 9. options Just select any three-digit number; then use the corresponding buzzwords from the above grid, e.g., 257:'integrated modular capability.' Don't worry if it doesn't make sense to you; it won't mean anything to anyone else either, but they all will think you're just smarter than they are so they won't say anything!! You can then propose 'systemized monitored options' (939) to achieve 'optimal transitional flexibility' (568) OR ‘synchronized modular capability’ (457) to achieve ‘integrated reciprocal mobility’ (226) !! It’s funny how the blurb hangs together...

my id

Hi Manny, You can find my id in the Contact link of the blog. I wonder who the "Varuthamilla Valibees" will do? Currently caught up in learning semiotics. So I'm unable to post any interesting news or links. Bye.

Thanks to Varuthamilla Ramgopal for bieng the first member to join the VVS (Varuthamilla Vaalibar Sangam)... Welcome Varuthamilla Ramgopal....welcome.

URL of varuthamilla Vaalibar Sangam

Hi, This is the URL of Varuthamilla Vaalibar Sangam... http://dontcareguys.blogspot.com I request our blog father Mr.Jax also to join this blog. Dei send me ur ID da...i forgot jax. Your guidance is needed...after all you are my blog father...haha. Mahen

Varuthamilla Vaalibar Sangam

Hello....Naan Varuthamilla Vaalibar Sanga Thalaivar pesuren... machaans... I have started a new blog spot. This is for us guys... The name of the blog is "Varuthamilla Vaalibar Sangam" (In English: Don't Care Guys Association"!!!!!!!) Hope the name itself conveys the blog's description...ha ha. so i need to send invitations to all varuthamilla vaalibars machi... i request all guys to send post your correct mail IDs so that I can add them as members... c'on and I welcome all Varuthamilla Vaalibars to join the blog group. Mahen

I, me & myself

I have put up the second chapter of "My Identity" at "Quod scripsi, scripsi".

Thaaanga mudiyala...

dai manny... unakku vandha forward la pera maathi... unakkum ramkum nadandha chat'nu engalukku kaaadhu kuthariyey... yennada... vela onnum illaya office la... romba free'a irundha sollu.. naan unakku edhavadhu vela tharren...

Technical Troubleshooting...

Here are some conversations that actually happened between me and Ramgopal one day... Ramgopal: "You've got to fix my computer. I urgently need to print a document, but the computer won't boot properly." Mahendran: "What does it say?" Ramgopal: "Something about an error and non-system disk." Mahendran: "Look at your machine. Is there a floppy inside?" Ramgopal: "No, but there's a sticker saying there's an Intel inside." !!!!!! Mahendran: "Ok, now click your left mouse button." Ramgopal: (silence) "But I only have one mouse." Ramgopal: "Excuse me can I use this disk? It has a hole in it. Mahendran: "Do you have 3 1/2 inch diskettes?" Ramgopal: "No, I only have 3 of them." Mahendran: "I need you to right-click on the Open Desktop." Ramgopal: "Ok." Mahendran: "Did you get a pop-up menu?" Ramgopal: "No." Mahendran: "Ok. Right click again. Do you see a pop-up menu?" Ramgopal: "No." Mahendran: "Ok, sir. Can you tell me what you have done up until this point?" Ramgopal: "Sure, you told me to write 'click' and I wrote 'click'." Ramgopal: "Now what do I do?" Mahendran: "What is the prompt on the screen?" Ramgopal: "It's asking for 'Enter Your Last Name.'" Mahendran: "Ok, so type in your last name." Ramgopal: "How do you spell that?" Ramgopal: "I received the software update you sent, but I am still getting the same error message." Mahendran: "Did you install the update?" Ramgopal: "No. Oh, am I supposed to install it to get it to work?" How was that... Poor Ramgopal...Poor Hughes... haha. Mahen

Thanks da

Thanks da machaan... But right now i just can do one good thing... Pray sincerely for that link to remain alive till the time when i want to write my business plan... But for that, I cannot get into writing a business plan now for my IntelliNet Corporation machi...haha...(afterall it is a startup (idea and not a company as such)...) BTW...recruitments are on for IntelliNet (But, dont worry!!! company is yet to be started) Mahen

a dream come true

I've dreamed of this, and now it is amazing to see it in action. I wonder how much it would cost? And Manny, here is a little bit of advice as you proceed on your Fortune 500 highway. A long time ago, I got a comphrehensive report on me. The first chapter is put up at "Quod scripsi, scripsi"

thinkin about it

Urban Life, no words to describe it. Full of hectic pace, people rushing by, cars whizzing past, there is no time for people to be people. You find extremes - people rushing past an accident victim and people rushing to help them. Strangers, that's what we are. To ourselves. To others. At times, strangers to our own kith and kin. But would you trust a stranger? Read the article. It was an eye-opener. I have always been fascinated by the phrase "Random Acts of Kindness". I don't remember where I first heard or saw it. A search revealed quite a few interesting links. Here is a short summary:

Kindness Defined and or Explained by Chuck Wall, Ph.D. An act that positively influences the life of both the giver and the receiver is a kindness. It doesn't have to cost money or be difficult to perform. It can be spontaneous (random) or premeditated. It can be as simple as a smile or a thank you, and as complicated as starting a non-profit organization to benefit those in need. Kindness has four working parts: dignity, respect, compassion, and humility, If you have all of these things for yourself, then you will be able to share them with others. If we reach out with dignity, respect, compassion, and humility, we are likely to feel it being returned. Actively seeking out opportunities to assist others will naturally bring a certain amount of warmth and feeling of self-worth to each of us. It feels good to help others and others feel good knowing someone wants them to help. "Consideration" and "helpful" are words often used to describe a kind deed. Kindness is what you define it as, rather than what someone else thinks you should believe it is. I suggest all people actively attempt to live by my phrase, "Today I will commit one random act of senseless kindness. Will You?"

Get ready to commit one random act of kindess. But before that, take a moment to read the rules of cricket. I'm still listening to "She". still searching for answers...

Great people and Wrong Decisions...

Hi all, here are some of the stories of great people at times making wrong decisions about great personalities (like me)... Candidate for a news broadcasters post was rejected by officials since his voice was not fit for a news broadcaster. He was also told that with his obnoxiously long name, he would never be famous. He is Amitabh Bachan. A small boy - the fifth amongst seven siblings of a poor father, was selling newspapers in a small village to earn his living. He was not exceptionally smart at school but was fascinated by religion and rockets. The first rocket he built crashed. A missile that he built crashed multiple times and he was made a butt of ridicule. He is the person to have scripted the Space Odyssey of India single-handedly- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. In 1962, four nervous young musicians played their first record audition for the executives of the Decca recording Company. The executives were not impressed. While turning down this group of musicians, one executive said, “We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out.” The group was called The Beatles. When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it did not ring off the hook with calls from potential backers. After making a demonstration call, President Rutherford Hayes said, "That's an amazing invention, but who would ever want to see one of them?" When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he tried over 2000 experiments before he got it to work. A young reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times. He said, "I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2000-step process." A school teacher scolded a boy for not paying attention to his mathematics and for not being able to solve simple problems. She told him that you would not become anybody in life. The boy went on to become Albert Einstein. Last but not least... A young bright youth not recognised by Indian IT giants and Corporates started a small outfit which is going to be one maong the top 10 Fortune 500 companies in the world and the youth is none other than Mahendran (CEO, IntelliNet Corporation). (FYI, IntelliNet is yet to be started and looking out for some ilichavaayans to invest) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mahen

She...

Having heard the song for over a hundred times in the last two days, I cannot still explain why I feel touched every time I hear it. FYI, I did not write it. It is a song from the movie, Notting Hill. The song was sung by Elvis Costello. Though the title of the song inspired me to write a story. Rini might remember the story. Coming back to the song, I cannot comphrehend what is it in the song that touches my heart, the lyrics or the emotions they evoke or the visions they bring. I'm still searching for the answer. Good to have Kicha back with us.

Hi

Hi All, I'm back after a prolonged illness... Last sunday I was almost travelling. I was feeling feverish that morning and went to the doc and got a few tablets. But nothing seemed as bad until I was standing at the railway station. It was almost time for the train's arrival when I felt something wrong with my stomach. I felt nauseated and dizzy and couldn't stand for long... I decided to skip journey and went back home... and slept. That midnight I started to shiver with a very high fever too... After trying my best to keep warm with kambli / hot water etc., next morning I went to the doc and got an injection... next 3 days I was in bed with the medications. And things slowly started improving around thursday. I'm feeling quite better now. But feeling very weak as well.. because of the injections and the tablets. Hoping to go a bit earlier than usual today.

my mobile no.

this morning i reached safely here in mumbai. please note down my mobile no. 98192 35632. -vijay

Shifted...

Rajesh and Bala have shifted thier room after staying in a place for one and a half months. They asked to help them. For my part, I helped move am empty water bottle and an useless book full of Reliance India Mobile coupons. Hope they stay here for atleast two months.

a few news

Hi all, Good to hear that Vijay is making his way to Mumbai to start a new chapter in his life. Valli, your last sentence, "Good Homer sometimes nods." Was it Homer Simpson you're talking about? Still waiting to hear from Sindhu about her Diwali. Read an interesting topic in today's newspaper about Diwali in India, Guy Fawkes day in Britain and Halloween in the US. All three have fireworks as a major aspect in thier celebrations. An coincidence? Take a look at these wallpapers. Wonderful! I guess it's time to make a few changes to the blog. I hear a few groans of 'Oh no, Not again'. Well this time, I'm not gonna make any radical changes. Just a few tweaking here and there. BTW, Valli or Sindhu, do you have access to a Mac machine? I would like to see how the blog looks in a Mac. If possible, send me a screenshot. Due to a severe cold, I bunked work yesterday. So I have a lotsa catching up to do today. Bye and have a nice weekend,

Hi, Good day! Vijay Babu left chennai...And he has become a vennai...ha ha..yes..Poor guy...Going to mumbai left alone in the great city... I went y'day night to Central station. ajayan is also in chennai but he cud not makeit up to bid adieu to vijay as he had to finish off his meeting...(ellam neram...munnadi ellam namakku send off kodukkurathu thaan full time job...ippo he was not able to turn up even...busy with his work...immm it happens...) Thanks valli. In fact even I was also amused and its this discussion of saambaar saatham that opened my eyes and let me know that there is another name for saambaar saatham (Bisibelaabaath). I shud thank rini also for this great innovative dish...ha ha... Vickkykku Kannalam, Vickkykku kannalam, Virudhunagar Vickkykku dhadabudala Kannalam... (kavithai elutha try panren...dont mistake me...rest of this kavithai will be posted in my next post). Kavithainnona kavitha nyabagam varudhu... Infosys is becoming a Call centre...u know that... Yes...Kavitha is becoming a call centre agent... haha...whenever u call her over phone you may get the following response from her... " imm...sollu...ippo thaan on site call attend paani kittu irunthen..." or she may also start with the following note... "imm...sollu...naan onsite call'kku wait panni kittu irukken" so if anybody wants a call centre job...plz contact kavitha, C/o Infosys, sholinganallur. nothing more gentlemen and ladies... Mahen