The Dark-ened Knight

Sometimes when you come out of a movie theater you have a satisfied feeling. You feel riveted through the time you sat through the movie.
Hats off to Heath Ledger for making one of my favorite villains into my "Favorite Villain". I mean there are enough tributes paid to his role as the Joker in the Dark Knight, and I say he deserves each and every one of it. Its only tragic his life had to be cut short. All for what?
Well he did what is a quoted in the movie : You either die a hero, or you live long enough to become the villain. He quit when he was at the top - and what a top is has been. We will remember you for this one - R.I.P Heath Ledger, R.I.P

Kung Fu-ntastique

Kung-Fu Panda is easily the best animation movie to come out of Hollywood for some time now. Its been so long I forgot what was the last good pure animation movie I've seen in the last decade.
So Americans love the perpetual under-dog story. Little guy shackled in a boring life, suddenly gets thrust into the limelight, and a few montages later is ready to heed his call. Been there, done that a million times, and its not so much with the story line. After all its an animation movie. The animation is fast paced typical of kung-fu movie genre. Double takes, great dialogues, and great characters make this a good watch.
The only sad part was the movie was pretty short - 1:25 runtime is normal for movies of this nature, but I was just sad it all had to end. Some of the animators and story tellers had some amazing imagination because the fight scenes - especially Tailang's escape from prison, and the fight scene across the rope bridge were really amazing.
And the characters are all based on typical chinese good luck fortunes or cultural references, without any fake heavy accents - very neutral, very normal - without being caricatures. Its a feel good movie to go have a look at, and it sure has made my weekend.
I feel like a dragon warrior.

This lady is hilarious - She is a SW engineer [bleh, who isn't] but she breaks the monotony with her kavita in chaste Hindi - with a touch of American tadka.

I liked it a lot, so I'm paying her a little tribute.

Just posted a link to her youtube video on my blog.

Good take on matrimony in the Silicon Valley.

Funny Man - 1

Tell us a joke oh funny man
Tell us a joke tonight,
`Coz we are all in a mood for laughter,
And you've got us feeling all right..
La.. la .. la dee dee daa.. La dee dee daa...

[Shamelessly ripped from Billy Joel's album and song by the same name : Piano Man]

Watch for post 2 on this topic.
I plan a taxonomy of jokes. Something Darwinian. Like separating into different categories. Just not that exhaustive. Probably try a structured attempt at humor.

The Perpetual Fountain

Well before I post the remainder of the blog, let me put up a disclaimer.
It AINT possible. Nyet! You are not going to have a perpetual motion machine at least on planet earth.
The perpetual machine works on a simple concept. Well - just that isn't possible, but its a different matter. It states that the a perpetual motion machine works on the principle that it produces more energy output than its input energy. Now in the IT industry, we know people are over-paid slobs. But that's another matter. It is not possible for any machine, your mechanics text-books would tell you for you to build a machine which is > 100% efficient.
The main problem behind a perpetual motion machine obviously lies in the conversion losses. All reactions lead to losses in terms of either resistance or friction.
In the following picture, the classic case of the perpetual motion machine shows how friction on the shaft actually slows down the movement of the ball bearings.


There is a fountain in front of the place that I work - it has two simple levels across which water cascades as shown below.
My aim was to build an energyless [yea I know it sounds stupid - since I know what happens with perpetual machines], but I came up with this idea nevertheless.
Somehow I thought this was a panacea - although I kind of knew this wouldn't work, and it would be apparent to a high school student, I wasn't quite convinced otherwise. It took me a good 30 minutes before I figured out why.
Imagine the gardener who decided to build this perpetual fountain. The moment he drops water into the bigger tank it would start filling up the other tank as well. So what if I close the inlet valve between the two tanks you ask? Well the moment you open up the inlet valve, it is in the nature of water, and characterized by Bernoulli's principle that water will find its level, provided no external forces are acting upon it [energy input = 0 in my case], and so the tanks would try to level off. If the level in one isn't enough it will spill out of the shorter tank until it so reaches a volume [max height of small tank] where the two levels would reconcile and the fountain would stop. This has to do with the forces of gravity trying to ensure that the pressure exerted by one column of water downwards is the same as that by the other provided no other forces act upon it, and the redistribution of water levels ensure this parity.
Oh well, another day gone, and another lesson learnt.

Man's most brilliant creation

Of all the things that man has made, and he has made many, I am of the belief that music is the most abstract yet pleasurable creations ever. I am not one to willingly accept God, religion. I am a man of science who moves electrons without thinking twice, but there is poetry in the way the notes move on an instrument, or off the lips of a young female singer.
I was watching a movie last night - something I had seen back in 1998, its called Mr. Holland's Opus with the lead role played by Richard Dreyfus. It is a beautiful movie about one man's love for music, and why and how it mattered to him to make others love it as much as he did. But he struggles to teach his own son, who is deaf from birth, to love something which has been his life. What started out as a part-time job for him to make some money enough to get into composing for his own, turned on to become his life mission. To teach music to kids. To make them love it as much as he did. Not just reading notes, but to feel it through them.
In the end he gets a tribute for his 30 years of selfless devotion that brings tears to the eyes of those who watch as much as it did to Mr. Holland. What more could you ask for fulfillment in life?
The other movie that I liked, but was on a very different scale, was School of Rock - Jack Black is really amazing in his role as the fake substitute teacher. He made me love AC-DC again - he made hard rock cool, without the profanities. While a lot of the plot is suspended disbelief, he makes me love the way he loves to play.
Its a shame we in India never teach our children music in schools, except perhaps for the most priciest private schools. I learnt to play a little bit of the violin as a kid, and I learnt it more because I played by ear rather than learn music. I tried getting hooked on to the guitar but I never really caught on - and its sad. I love the beauty of music composition more than any other thing, and its the pleasure of hearing people create those melodies, which makes it all worthwhile.

Down at Fraggle Rock

When I was a kid, a couple of decades ago [sniffle, sniffle], I would watch this muppet series on TV on Saturday evenings. It was called Fraggle Rock.

Here is the intro song to every episode : The song is so friggin' timeless that even now 20 years later I recollect every word along with the funky claps in between the words as fillers, its just brings tears to my eyes...



So the fraggles are these tiny creatures without any leaders. And they love radish. They tend to steal the radishes from the garden of these 22 foot tall creatures called the Gorgs. The Gorgs are not the total evil neither good-natured idiots, and the Gorgs have never seen any civilization beyond their own family, and speak with a pronounced Southern [South as in America] accent. Which probably explains their almost trailer trash kind of existance.
Lots of interesting facts and features, include the talking garbage can/trash which spouts out worldly wisdom and advice. One of the characters had an uncle who travelled around the world, and made it a point to send postcards to his fraggle nephew. The nephew would risk life and limb everytime to go collect the postcard, as he had to negotiate a human [this was easy] and his eager to please gigantic furry dog.
I loved the fraggles, and looks like a few of their seasons are out on DVD. Would make a nice present though - and if I ever have kids, or if you have kids, I say this is highly recommended and clean viewing as compared to the Japanese nonsense conquering the screens of today. Its not highly moralistic, and has good entertainment value. And its nice to watch something that you grew up with, with your own kid, as it opens the nostalgia box.

Revenge of the Washing Machine

I threw in a load of my clothes to wash today into my Whirlpool top loader. She is not a very quiet machine especially when it comes to the final tumble cycle - but mostly she is a very good and spotless cleaner. I have had her for over a year now, and she has done an excellent job so far.
So as I said, I threw in a load today and was watching the telly. It was down to the last 7 minutes of the final rinse when my machine decided to tumble dry, but not where she stood. She had decided to take a little stroll around and explore other household items in the process. Needless to say the machine had jumped off its stand and was now ducking and weaving around like Muhammed Ali vs Joe Frazer. I had to come and tried to yank the electricity off, but she was cutting into my hand with those tubes and wires. Finally I managed to stop her.
I later found out the external stand she stands on was the culprit. A little weaker and out of shape after over a 100 washes in the past year. But it was quite disconcerting but funny nevertheless to see the machine go for a little stroll like that. It sure made my day!

Forgive me Lord..

For I have sinned.

Oh God, why have ye blessed me
with a tongue so sharp
And a wit so quick

I can't help but
Extricate myself out of situations
Where my mouth works
Faster than my brain

Lest I end up making fun of
That pretty little lady I meet
Can you please make something
Come out of me that sounds sweet?

Soaring the Skies

The thunderbird shall roar again..
She shall soar again,
Taking me underneath her wings
The chug of the engine,
The sound of the exhaust
The thump under the fuel tank,
Navigating the bends on the road
We shall visit places heard of
Once again..
The thunderbird shall soar again!

Problems in life? Get in the line, Dr. Freud will see you!

Often people pour their hearts out in emotional outbursts. They spill out their problems in life, in a manner befitting an Oscar. Very often, people love playing the wronged victim at the slightest hint of opposition or difficulty in their lives.
I have a lot or respect for people who are what they are despite all that. It shows true character. Anyone can notch up something good, when the going is good. But very often to get to a stage where the going is good, you need to make the right choices. A lot of times our choices result in unintended consequences, however it just seems logical that the paths we take influence the outcome more often than not.
There are times when the tide is against you, but that shouldn't stop you from swimming against it. I've seen the struggles and sacrifices I've had to make, and when I climbed that first peak, and then the second and so on, it was nothing but breathtaking to just cast a glance back and just exclaim : Wow, I did all that! And its the view from the top to the bottom that is the most breathtaking.

Buckle up Sally - for the ride is going to be rough. People who coast through life are very few in number. Remember when you rise to the top you can always weather any storm. For adversity is absolutely the truest test of one's abilities and character. For push comes to shove, you will be dancing around fate in the ring like Muhammad Ali.

My first IPL game

Delhi Daredevils took on the Chennai Super Kings last evening and I was there to catch all the action at the Chepauk Stadium.
Entertainment is the buzz-word for the T20 matches, and even as we setlled in at 5:45 pm well before the 8 pm scheduled start time, the singing from AS, and drumming from Sivamani kept people going through in the stifling heat.
The match, atleast the Chennai innings wasn't something to write home about. I suspected a good dismantling from Viru, and I got what I paid for - lusty hitting, great batting from the DD's. The last match I saw live was where Viru had taken on McGrath on day 4 of that cursed test where the last day got washed out. Watching his eye-hand coordination, his ability to pick up gaps was just pretty amazing. Even a couple of wickets in the kitty of the CSK team didn't do much to upset the DD applecart, but overall it was a one-sided and low scoring match which was expected given the departure of the CSK's Ozzy/Kiwi imports.
Overall, the IPL matches are a fun place to be in, where no matter who you cheer for, its an Indian team which wins the match.. Parochial sentiments set aside, the crowd in small measures enjoyed the brutal execution of Viru-Gauti.

Ill Effects of Alcohol

A study by some white folks, I won't even bother to look up to quote, reveals that "Alcohol impairs judgement."
Oh yea, you really think so? I mean wow, you people in the fake science community put your research grants to fantastic use. I mean seriously, who in the blazes doesn't know drinking alcohol makes your tongues wag, and basically gets you into bar brawls you'd normally eschew while sober?
India is trying to do two things here 1. Bring in "Stricter" laws to combat drunk driving. I think if you kill someone while you are drunk, its called "negligence", and 2. Bring down Vijay Mallya's surrogate (if you can call it that, I call it brazen) advertising via the IPL for his hooch factory called United Breweries. The health minister should have better things to do, as in providing basic health care - or atleast aiming to get a fatter budget for his department to aid in better health care for India's poor. Instead he is worried that 500 Rs. a bottle hooch is going to affect the livers of the 50-something diabetic/hypertensive old man running 10 factories, and who'd most likely head to the US/UK/Alps to get his next heart-bypass/gastric-bypass done. Long story short, people who can't afford Mr. Mallya's booze are not his target customers. And rich educated people know the choices they make before setting off on their bacchnalian orgies. Mis-placed priorities is what has screwed India's polity so far, and this Ramadoss character is one awfully good example of this. "Shut up and make a difference, Mr. Minister!"

An Inconvenient Trith - Global Warming, Myth or Myth?

I was watching Al Gore, not as a politician, but as a man of science, walk his way through genuine scientific-data, asking his audience to connect the dots on the problem that stares and slaps the world in its collective face. The one on global warming.
An inconvenient truth is a wonderful documentary. Pithy without being preachy, insightful without being alarmist, and crisp without being an overblown science lecture. Al Gore walks us through a series of informative data slides, peppered with some minor snapshots into his life, and how he has come to champion the cause of global warming, on his way to winning the Nobel prize in 2007-08.
While I am still a little skeptical on the effects of how human civilization has the scale to completely overwhelm the planet, it is not a bad idea to go with the statistics and try to rein in our respective carbon footprints. A lot of the initiative has to come from developed countries, and developing countries need to do their bit by dutifully acting upon suggestions and alternatives suggested by them. Countries like America have the wherwithal to perform research on renewable energy sources, which India and China need to take the lead in implementing such technologies.

Empathy for the aggressor

The Sree vs Bhajji case is a classic case of one where the abuser gets away because the victim retracts his/her word at the last moment fearing that any punishment to the aggressor would ruin the victim's relations with them. This is especially typical in lower income Indian families where women rely on their husbands as sole income providers. In any which case, there is no justification for violence of this or any other kind, the worst kind of abuse is that of people who you are supposed to care for and protect. And yes the BCCI is right in saying that this is not an open and shut case, to be resolved between the parties, because it totally ends up sending the wrong signal - that it is okay to beat up your teammate as long as you apologize for it, and make the other person feel stupid for feeling like a victim.
Bhajji deserves the ban that he gets, and while a life ban is completely out of place in a situation like this, a 10 match ban would send the right message across. This is a non-contact sport, and we prefer to keep the decency in the Indian dressing room. Now its almost like we are going the lawless Pakistan way. And the obnoxious little weed needs to learn its lesson. And maybe this could be used as an excuse to tell Sreesanth to clean up his act as well. Too much of that staring, chortling at batsmen, and brushing past shoulders is not very cute. Give it only when someone else dishes it out. I can almost see the Oz media thrilles to bits with what has happened. Shame on us..

Spicy Bhajji brings tears to Sree's eyes..

Flashback : Mumbai Indians lose to Punjab by one of the largest margins in the tournament. Harbhajan falls plumb LBW to Irfan off ball number 1.
Harbhajan, as Punjabi as Saag & Makki di Roti is in the Mumbai team, has to play against his home side. And he has to lead a bunch of no-hopers in the form of the Indians into yet another match without Sachin. Leadership weight heavy on his shoulders. As they teach you in Management school, even a bad boss can be made to look good so long as the employees slog, and are paid well. Which is where the Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Sourav Ganguly is lucky so far, and Harby has had to take a hit.
Post - match...
"Hard Luck, Mate" says Sreesanth smilingly to Harby.
"What the F is this guy smiling at?" thought Harby? "My ass is on fire here, and all he can say is Hard Luck. Let me slap his smug ass!"
THWACK! goes a right hand across Sreesanth's face...
"Ayappa!" went Sreesanth wilting under the ferocious inexplicable assault.
Once Sreesanth took a few moments to realize the folly of his smugness - all thoughts came back to his mind - maybe it was because he had dropped a few catches off of him? Or that his break dancing ways in the land of the bhangda annoyed him?
But the best reaction came from the two Aussies, Symmo and Hayders, who were last seen rolling around in their respective hotel rooms, wishing they could do the same and get away with it!
Oh, and by the way, as a side note, Bhajji needs to be disciplined in more than one way - We all have problems at our respective work places but getting physical is a big NO NO. There needs to be repurcussions.

The REAL Cricket Carnival Begins..

The 50-50 world cup ain't got shit on this form of the game. Who said the 20-over format doesn't showcase skill? Can you launch a 158 run plunder in 70-odd balls in any format of the game? Yes - then why doesn't anyone do it then? Really, I don't see an excuse why not!?
The inaugural desi-T20 tournament has begun. For a country which shunned T20, and then went on to beat all but one team to lift its first World Cup, this is remarkable progress. Indians have gotten a smack of the real-deal with the WC win, and that was the shot in the arm the game needed. It was a script Lalit Modi or the ICC couldn't have written any better. We are easily the best team in the format of the game, with the sloppy game at the MCG being the only blip on the radar of the 10 odd matches India has played so far.
And to think we spoilt our appetite leading up to the IPL with that horrible test-series against South Africa. I can't even name 5 members of the Proteas' squad without a long pause. The only reason I can re-call Graeme Smith's heroics was for his super-hot model girlfriend, "Slinky" Minky (Ok that and his fantastic 90 off 55 at the Wanderers in that massive 430+ run chase against the Aussies).
Some khadi wearing leftists, those ugly toads - warts and all - touted the T20 as being about Money, and not about the game? Hello? When we grew up back in the 80's nobody even considered sport as a career, because we knew how India treated its sportsmen. No diet, no training facilities, and worst of it all, no money to show for all your efforts. Decades of socialist rot has messed up the minds of the generations past, but the current crop of youngsters in a crude way believe in the youngistan philospophy "Chaho to sab kuch hai asaan!". And so they should!
The IPL has had a teriffic start with the Royal Challengers being Royally F-ed. To have Jaffer and Dravid open the innings is a joke I haven't quite stopped laughing at. By now, Vijay Mallya (Dr.) needs to realize that Dravid is a spent force in each and every form of the game - for a man who ditched the Indian captaincy the way he did, he went a few notches down in my view. I mean the guy chews off his fingernails as a captain when opposition players built any semblance of a partnership. With Zaks, Knoffe and Cameron White being creamed at 18+ an over, the man must have had a damn hernia!! For the Royal Challengers Dale Steyn and Kumble were definitely missed. In all, the only worry with the IPL is the overdose of cricket. My feeling is that it should get a separate 3 month slot on the International calender. Preferably in winter. April, May and June are the worst times to play cricket in India - period - we can reserve these months for tours to the Southern Hemisphere or England.
Meanwhile somewhere in the ICL studios, Kapil Dev is still harping "Am I doing something wrong?" Yes, my man, you are! you bet on the wrong horse.

Colorful Emotions

Black is not a color. The absence of color is defined as black.
White is not a color but the amalgamation of all colors in the visible spectrum.
Two of the things which are visibly, and emotionally different can elicit responses which are diametrically opposite.
And yet there is a strange similarity between them.
Such is the curiosity of color. Such is the beauty that each lends to completely different situations. And yet curiously similar - is it just that the feeling of extremes should be avoided, for they are nothing but the manifestation of the one and whole same truth?
Possibly the presence of one greater truth, which when one feels very strongly either manifests itself as something very breathtakingly beautiful, or something extremely alien, hostile, dark or depressing.

Intimidation

How does one get intimidated by anyone?
a) The person in front of them is BIG
b) The person in front is menacing/threatening in demeanour
c) The person in front of them is Powerful/Omnipotent
So anyway, some folks, who shall remain un-named said "Harish" is intimidating. I do a lot of talking to possible candidates and I've rarely, if ever, I admit, have ever lost my cool. In any case if someone causes me to lose my cool, its a definite no-no. I'm a man of infinite patience with people who come to me and say "I don't know how to do this, I have an inclination to learn, but I need some hand-holding". I've not had any god-fathers, and I've learnt a lot of things the hard way, or through providence (don't ask me how!!) - and I'm eager to share it with anyone who genuinely wants to know how, and has the patience and inclination to learn.
And for all the folks I know out there, have always known me as extremely confident person. Am I cocky? I would like to think not. Cockiness is something that you can't miss - people misunderstand forthrightness and confidence for someone who comes on too strongly. I am not going to apologize for backing myself. As an engineer its a tough world out there, there is a lot of areas in which one's contribution can be measured, and I want to be there when someone decides to sit up and take notice. But I won't sacrfice my confidence, or my humility.

Great Expectations

How does it feel to be at the butt end of someone's beat-me-with-your-expectations stick?
What is the length, size, shape and color of said stick were arbitrarily different?
And what if you don't know when you would get beaten with it?