Here is a bit notice I got last day. From a local caterer, the notice is quite interesting. It speaks for itself.
Did you understand what they meant ? If Yes, then it's OK. If the caterer is not good at English, atleast the DTP operator or someone else must have helped him make it reasonable. No one expects a "Shakespearean language', but it must be reasonably correct.
Any attempt for suicide is a crime. The MP from AP, Sri. K C R, is on a suicide attempt. It's certainly a suicide attempt, for what ever reason he is on that. Why is that our "law enforcers" and the Government silent ? ( I know, that's politics ! ) Whatever 'politics' he is engaged in, he should be refrained from such act of 'suicide'.
This may not be something interesting to you. But, I've been waiting for this magic number on my 2wheeler. It's here today morning. I am sooo....... haappy !!!
I feel irritated ! An author, Father JJ Pallath ( must be a Keralite ) wrote the following nasty text in his essay. The link is given below. This perverted 'father' abuses Namboothiris, and the whole of Keralites .
WOMEN AND CASTE DISCRIMINATION: The Namboothiri-Dominated Period of Kerala Culture and Society: The Oppression of Women and the Misuse of Religious Authority - Part 2
Fr. J. J. Pallath [Ed. Note: This is the second in our two-part series by Fr. J. J. Pallath about the Namboothiris, the Brahmins of the Indian state of Kerala. The first part was published in the May 2002 issue of Human Rights SOLIDARITY.]
'The Malayalees' psyche of double standards is all-pervasive. ' Care for Outward Appearance
The Malayalees' psyche of double standards is all-pervasive. The Malayalees take extra care in being externally clean in their dressing and housing. Kerala hotels are the only ones in the country where cooking is done behind a curtain without being noticed by the customers. We know though that the cooking is done in the most unhygienic manner. However, the facade of the hotel looks grand and neat. The same applies to latrines; for at home and in public, the Malayalees give little care in keeping their toilet clean and neat, but their houses are the most modern palaces. In short, Malayalees look externally well dressed, but their undergarments are dirty and stinking.
The guilt that they were exploiting the lower castes seemed to have continued to prick their conscience though, and the Namboothiris appear to have compensated for it by being externally clean through ritual baths and wearing white clothes as the practice of taking a bath both in the morning and evening and wearing predominantly white dress is still considered to be a Malayalee characteristic.
“
I wonder how many Keralites' stinky undergarments did Fr.Pallath try before writing like this.
Photographers are a preferred group in any function. They have a VVVIP positioning. Ofcourse the reason is clear. But.... Look what's going on.
A marriage ceremony is in progress. The audience seated in the hall just can't see those important moments. You are compelled to look at the inverted 'Ys' !
"Your mobile does everything for you except flushing the toilet." says an 'expert'.
But why ? can it not do that job also. I am sure it could do that well. But, probably Nokia (or someone else like that) does not want that.
It is certainly possible to integrate a "remote unit" for doing certain tasks like switching on/off electronic gadgets, and controllers ( for electrical devices). Why not ? May be these guys didn't think of that need at all.
Why not my 'mobile' be used for controlling my TV, my laptop or my music system ? And a small electrical unit can control my toilet flush. Let my mobile remotely operate the unit.
Today's mobiles are not just mobile phones. Its much more than that. The device is mobile, and so , may be, people like to call it 'mobile'.
Hey... I am in the toilet. Nokia, are you listening ? I need my mobile to flush my toilet ... at the press of a key on my mobile .. !
When Dr.Manmohan Singh speaks Economics, the whole world listens. But if he speaks politics, it raises a smile only.
When LaluPrasad speaks on cattle feed, everyone listens. But when he speaks on Management, everyone smiles (no ..., laughs).
This is true with Mr. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO, too. When he speaks on "Space", may be the whole of India would listen. But, if he talks on 'education', people would do what they do to Lalu on Management.
There was a press report, last day, that he spoke on Indian Education system and 'how poor it is '. It seems he is 'not happy' with our education system. He also said that 'the applicants to ISRO did not score even 50% of marks in the entrance tests'.
What else can one do, other than to laugh it off ? He forgot how much he scored in his BSc Electrical Engineering.
No one else in this world would say that there's a dearth of talent in our country. Probably, he didn't understand what's wrong with his "entrance exams", and unsure of what he should have tested.
Please ask Mr. Mohandas Pai, whether there's any problem with the talents (that includes knowledge, skills, and attitudes) of our youth. Ask him if there's any dearth of talent here.
Certainly, there's scope and need for improvement, which anyone would agree.
Who discovered WATER on the moon ? ISRO or NASA ?
Please don't tell me 'combined effort'. Because, ISRO now says they discovered (confirmed the presence of ) Water on moon, with their MIP data, in June itself. NASA came out in September (last week) only, with their probe data. What will history tell the future generations?
I have a doubt about the "development of the first Electronic Computer ".
American books say, they introduced the first Electronic Computer in 1950, the ENIAC.
The British say the 'First Electronic Computer' was developed for the World war, and they called that machine the "Colossus".
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched PSLV C-14 which carried 7 satellites into the outer space.
Rs.70-crore PSLV rocket carried the Rs.130-crore Oceansat2 -- India's remote sensing satellite on Wednesday afternoon from Satish Dhawan Centre in Sriharikota. The PSLV carried six other nano satellites. PSLV will place India's OCEANSAT 2 satellite in orbit.
The Indian satellite will be ejected into a sun-synchronous orbit 720 km above the earth and it will cover the whole earth as the coverage strip will be moving.
The orbit is designed in such a way that the satellite will cross the Equator at 12 noon near India.
A global leader in remote sensing data, India has till date launched 15 remote sensing satellites of which nine are still in operation.
Even the Oceansat1 launched in 1999 is in service and will go into oblivion slowly. The design life of Oceansat2 is five years and it may outlast that period like its earlier version.
Thu, Sep 24 07:50 AM Chandrayaan-1 finds water on moon.
Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar mission, has found evidence of large quantities of water on its surface, The Times newspaper reported on Thursday.
Data from the spacecraft also suggests water is still being formed on the moon, the British newspaper said.
Wed, Sep 23 04:32 PM ISRO superstitious before rocket launch?
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), Sep 23 (IANS) Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) do not just rely on scientific calculations before a rocket launch - they also seek divine help.
Prior to every launch, the scientists make a visit to Tirupathi to have a 'darshan' of Lord Balaji seeking his blessings by placing a replica of the rocket to be launched.
It seems the superstition extends to numbers as well.
After the 12th commercial launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle termed PSLV-C12 from the spaceport here, ISRO has jumped one number and called its next rocket, that launched Oceansat-2 and six European nano satellites, as PSVL-C14.
Queried about the fate of PSLV-C13, a high ranking ISRO official told IANS: 'There is no such rocket designated with that number.'
He declined to comment when queried whether ISRO considered 13 an unlucky number. "
Two GREAT successes. An excellent performance. We are proud of you , ISRO !
Though the experiment (in Chandrayaan ) was NASA's, it's ISRO's effort too.
And finally it's about the superstitious Scientists of ISRO. Well...what's wrong ? Almost everyone is religious here. Prayers have their good effects. Beliefs have their roles in human thinking. So, if it does good, then that's right. Are not the Americans superstitious ?
Number 13 ! What's wrong if we skip that number ? Nothing ... It's just perfectly OK.
Visiting the temples ? Before the launch ? Yes they must have gone to the temples. What's wrong ? Even otherwise, most of those Scientists do go to temples / churches/ mosques.
When I have been a part of such scientific programmes, (running for weeks ), I used to go to the local temple there, and pray, everyday. For myself and also for the success of the programme I was involved in. I think that's sincerity, and honesty.
How can one be religious without being religious in their work too ? That's a good thing, and I believe so.
Again on Chandrayaan !
Please see the cartoon appeared in a business magazine, in its latest issue. The subject is the news regarding the official closure of ISRO's Chandrayaan project.
The cartoonist, (and so the publication) fails to understand Chandrayaan. The message of the cartoon is not in good taste and is distorted.
I think the media lacks understanding of Space programs, as ISRO lacks understanding of the media. Else, the goodness of Chandrayaan would have been projected positively to the people, making no room for such cartoonists.
Respecteed Sri. Shashi Tharoor,
We, Trivandrumites, (and may be most of Keralites, and may be some other Indians) are proud that YOU are our representative in the Parliament. We all know well that you are not a 'seasoned politician', and certainly not a 'Congressman'. That's why we all gave you our votes and made you through to the Parliament. Infact, we all LOVE you too ! and respect you.
But, why I start scribbling here (not tweeting, as you do ), is that some of your scribblings (tweets) makes so much of noise pollution here. That's not anything serious for us. However, I have a request. More than ' diplomacy', its time you understand our 'politics'. A word , used may be jokingly, could 'kill' you. Questions posed by the media and other individuals may become a trap for you. Be watchful , and be careful !
I understand that you didn't mean anything bad in the 'cattle and holy cows" issue. You just coined an "urulakku upperi" kind of answer. ( I hope that's what you did). I know you would never call all of us, the poor citizens, "cattle". I am sure the 'herd mentality' is not for we poor people, but for the 'big politicians'. That's why, when someone kicked the issue, many more joined the herd to fire you.
Anyhow, doesn't matter ! Please keep twitting.
But in the meanwhile, we all expect something creative and good for the poor Trivandrum, from you. I hope you get that.
Thank you.
".. you're mad ..." my daughter said.
"yes... may be... but I am thrilled " I said.
Look at the snap on my Scooter's dash board ( ! ) today morning. I had my daughter with me that time.
The beautiful number. It's not by chance, I got this on careful followup. I've been watching the movement for the last few days ... to get the number 222222.
Beautification is very good. See how they do it on the foot paths in our City !
The footpaths along the main roads are being paved with 'interlocking tiles'. Looks so clean and beautiful. But how much money is being spent ?
On the other side, there are very many roads with deep potholes and dumps of waste. They are not clean, and are a risk for the motorists (even to the pedestrians! ). I wish some part of this 'huge money' spent for beautification be spent for repairing our 'saadaa' roads.
We all make money transactions everyday, for something or the other. That's with currency notes and coins. We certainly count the currency, when me pay or receive. Infact, we don't watch for the printed denomination. We, right at the look, (by it's color and size) recognise the amount. That's very natural and convenient. But for the coins, now we really look at the denomination embossed on it. This has become essential these days (unlike earlier days) , as many coins of different denominations look similar. We all used to feel the coins, (without looking at it ) and pay. But that resulted in losses, many many times { Everyone complains of the 50 ps coin and the small 5 Re coin }. That made me too look at the coins, every time, and every transaction.
Now, that too has changed. You have to closely watch for the shape, size, and denomination on each coin. That's because, now there are many coins of the same size and look, but have different values. At the top of all, now there are coins to confuse you totally ! The number embossed in big letters are NOT the denominations. That number refers something else !
See the picture of the 5 Re coin. On one side, the number 50 is embossed very big. But that's not the denomination. On the other side, there's a small number '5' embossed. That's the denomination. The '50' is for the 50th year of ONGC's birth !
I feel, the denomination of the coin must be the most prominent, and beyond any doubts. Any commomoration is OK, but any number on the coin should not be misguiding.
Of late, I thing the 'coin designers' at our "Reserve Bank Mint" have lost the basic common sense of coins. They should think of the common man using them !
This is about 'Interviews'. What prompted me to comment is an article in Hindu (dt. 11-08-09, in the Education Plus supplement). This article talks on "Placements : slowdown blues persist".
And that's not my point here. There's a picture (shown below) showing a Company representative (of some IT major) interviewing a candidate, during a job fair.
I wonder, what's happening ? The picture shows 'how it should not be' ! Is this an Interview for a placement ? I don't like to call so. For various reasons.
The left side fellow is interviewing the right side boy. Just one fellow is 'assessing' a candidate ? Just impossible. (Or this guy must be God himself !)
The left side man must have been on the right side just three years ago. Does that enable him as an Interviewer ?
The scene is one of negative interaction. The body language of the Interviewer clearly spreads negative energy and shows his negative attitude. (Look at his face, and the posture !!). Infact, the candidate at the right looks positive.
Usually, the trainers of these boys tell them that they must be wearing 'formals' for the interview. Yes this boy did it right. But what about the Interviewer ? Does it mean that this guy can wear casuals, or for that matter, any damn thing? Clearly, it's not a serious activity for him. ( May be, since he is pocketing a few lakhs from his company.. then why care about the candidates ? or even basic principles).
Ok... Ok... I'll stop here. But I believe, these companies are just fooling the youth. Else, they should be reasonable, and should show that.
"There is a legitimate concern that technological process would transform the workforce by destroing a widening range of jobs, as well as force humans to learn to live with machines that increasingly copy human behaviour."
'"Possible threats to human jobs, like self-driving cars, software based personal assistants and service robots in the home."
"The new ability to reshape life by swapping genetic material among organisms. Concerned about possible bio-hazards and ethical questions, scientists had halted certain experiments."
"Computer scientists must respond to the notions of super-intelligent machines and AI systems run amok."
"Smart machines would design even more intelligent machines was proposed in 1965."
"Notion of a moment when humans will create smarter-than human machines, causing such rapid change that the "human era will be ended".
That's what I have been talking about - Mindines ! Mindines, the new species of life, that's beyond and much more than the humans. And much more than the most intelligent machines of today. The present day Scientists are getting scared of this species, the Mindines !
"I refuse to die " . That's what this 'Konna' tree tells me (and all of us ).
A few weeks ago, I've shown you the fate of the 'couple Konna' in my front yard. The couple were cut off .. their head and all limbs... leaving only a small trunk.
Now both are alive and are glooming with beautiful lush green leaves. That's a rebirth. That's survival of the strongest (though not the fittest !).
Yes... I can see them smiling , with their green leaves fluttering .... I can hear them telling aloud ... "No .. please don't kill me again !".
Man on the Moon. Forty years ago, on July20, 1969, man set foot on the Moon. What was I doing at that time on that day ? I wonder, I must have been reading my text books and class notes ... (without knowing what really happens in this world ) ... and nothing else in particular.
But that's not my point now. Years later, when I read about this achievement, I could realise that my next generation would read (and watch real time) man setting foot on another planet. ( But which planet ? Mars ?? ). I am sure !
To remind myself of the future, I have a poster (snaps here from a publication ) which I keep as a reminder. I thought I should share what I keep.
The law stipulates that all shops should display a price list (atleast for the essential commodities). In our City too, most of the shops attempt to abide by this law. The only problem is that the 'Price list' is only a list, and no prices are stated there in.
Look at the snap. This is in front of a big super market (kind of !).
We hear about many frauds, through email and other forms. Many fall prey to the cheats (with their thirst for free money or fortunes !). Nigerian prince's offer is ( running over a decade !) still a bait for the new generation (to Internet).
But, here is another kind of fraud. This is from the famous "Readers Digest". They offer it through the snail mail. Look at their tempting offers (snaps attached).
You may say, it's all in the marketing techniques (games !). But I disagree. This is certainly not an honest marketing technique. It's quite close to cheating (or as good as that ) and so, is this not a fraud ?
The first Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was the "Pushpakavimaana".
You know, Pushpakavimaana was the "mind controlled" aerial vehicle, owned by "Kubera". Later, "Ravana" grabbed it. And you know the rest of the story. But who holds the patent on "the first Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" ? Kubera or !! ??
A recent report says that Boeing laboratory is buzz with the research on UAVs. The recent experiments will make flying machines buzz about without any incident, and without direct control by any human. The current objective is to allow unmanned systems to operate at least as well as human piloted systems.
This is the story of two Konna trees. The twin Konnas, right in front of my home, were happy. And I too, as it gave me good shade (from the hot sun) and some greenery in my front yard (soothing to my eyes). But the happiness was short lived.
They had to be trimmed off their heads ! The electricity lines closeby demanded that. I had no option but to cut their heads. But I kept their headless body, the trunks.
And now, the nature is blessing me. New buds are coming up on from the truncated trunks. I hope they'll grow well and fast. I am in need of some protection from my Twin Konna.
Konna saves me, though I couldn't save the Konna.
Dear all, plant a tree a week. They will save you for years !
Let's all create our environment , a green and happy environment.
The 'tree lovers' all over the world must be very sad. But the 'bus passengers' at Vellayambalam ( Trivandrum) are very happy.
Our City Corporation is quite funny (.. ayyo.. is that the right word ? ) . They made a bus-bay two years back. But no bus ever stopped here. There were three huge trees. Last week, they have cut them. Look at the left overs.
Another scene of the 'kill' . But please see the trap to kill ! A wide road, and no divider. An electric post at the middle. Speeding vehicles can hit the post any moment ! Some Policeman understood it, and he put a few red pegs there. Let's all pray ... nothing happens there.
Kerala Water Authority - our 'jala daatavu' - is great.. really !
Look here... they have a water tap for display (a very old type they say !). And look.. who is guarding it !
