techno-arrest

This may be new term to you. Yes, of course it may be. It’s a term defined by me out of my experience. This term has nothing to do with technology or police. The birth of this term is as follows:

The validity period in my prepaid mobile got over on 14th November 2005. Many of my friends, clients, and colleagues have tried calling me and have ended in recording a voice mail (many of them are frustrated bcoz they are charged for voicemail). It is the 10th day today. Without calling and messaging my friends, and vice-versa, I feel like a dead. Am unable to do my routine activities without a mobile. It’s just a 10 days gap, but I have been and also worked without a mobile for over 5 yrs. But, this 10 days gap is making me feel dead.

The mobile which shows the progress of technology over years has become blood and skin of our life.

I wonder what would happen to the world if all the technologies invented or innovated disappears suddenly (at least for a minute)@!$#@$#@ I know its a weird thought, but still...

! Would all of us be able to survive in the absence of technology?
! Is technology driven by humans or driving the humans?

Q & A

Right from my LKG to my PG final examination I had difficulties in writing exams for the entire prescribed time. But here, one man, the first citizen of the nation has answered 645 (Six hundred and forty five) questions at a single stretch posted by children on the eve of Children's day.

Check out those questions and answers at http://www.presidentofindia.gov.in/scripts/childrenques.jsp

India Inc's Portal

Its a wonderful feel for me when i visited http://www.india.gov.in/ - a National Portal aiming at a single window access to various Indian Government entities. It has pleasant colours, well designed and easily accessible modules and everything about India and its Government. The portal, developed by National Informatics Centre is launched today.

The features which impressed me are;

• 
  Citizens Login - Each and every citizen can register themselves with the portal and when logged in he/she is welcomed by a customized page based on their profile.
• 
  Greetings Card section across categories; Celebrations, Heritage, Culture and Glimples of India
• 
  Kids Corner - A section for Kids all over the world to know more about the Country
• 
  Business Section - Compiled Information for Formation of a Company, Guidance for Entrepreneurs
• 
  Language Selection in Hindi
• 
  Opinion Poll Section which has a Current Issue for poll

Above all a section for rating the portal, suggestions and improvements from the visitor is really pleasing. This is a portal which has to be visited by each INDIAN.

Standard Motor Products of India Ltd

Once upon a time in India there were only three car manufacturing industries. They were Ambassador in Calcutta, Fiat in Bombay and Standard Motors in Madras.

The first two are familiar with everyone now. A brief about Standard Motors Ltd

Standard Motor Products of India Ltd is the manufacturer of Standard 2000 car based on a Rover model which had a low market in England during 1960’s. Following the Standard 2000 model, Tata Motors introduced the Contessa Model which failed to tap the market previously captured by Standard 2000. Then Standard Motors introduced a commercial vehicle (Van) in the name “Standard’ which was a runaway success. Standard Motors remained a leader in the automobile sector then. This company started its operations from a low level and competed with the big players in the market.

Standard Motors then had 2000 employees in its rolls under the leadership of Mr. Karthik Narayanan who was considered as the visionary of the company. It was Karthik Narayanan who took the company into great heights.

This company is situated at Perungalathur along the Chennai-Trichy National Highway at an area of 57.84 acres. Most of the people crossing this long building - stretching up to half-a-kilometer do not know that as a place where once business was on upswing. Standard Motors was the first car manufacturer in Chennai, Tamilnadu; which is now called “Detroit of South India”.

Standard Motors is no more today. In the late 80's, the MA Chidambaram group took over the company and attempted to rope in foreign partners to resume production which had stopped due to political and internal problems, but to no avail.

Today the Madras High Court has cleared the sale of the landed property, plant, machinery and other assets of Standard Motors Limited for Rs. 154.10 crore.

The entire stretch of the company fascinates me and I can still visualize the splendor of the place at its presence. Standard Motors is a past glory to Perungalathur - the place where I live now…

Baashai

Here is a language which is a mix of English and Regional Languages and is unique in its use. The sub-region is easily identified by this language. This language is also called "Tanglish" by linguists'.

Few words from the language:-

• Aapu adchichu
• Mattai
• Aalinaal Alaguraaja
• Appaala
• Bemani
• Dubaakor
• Galiju
• Kamnatti

... and more. For more info on this language and meaning for these words and to be familiar with this language please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madras_bashai

Convergence???

Most of us who have opted for Arts stream always think that Science is far away from us. It may be true in a few cases, but science is part of life which should not be unknown. I am actually trying to kindle your interest to the ‘would be’ buzz of tomorrow.

We all would have studied basic geometry in our schools. When asked to draw a set of standing parallel lines converging at the bottom, the image would be like this as below;

Now, assume that each of these lines is some technology.

And what you have understood now, is closer to what Digital Convergence is.

Digital convergence is all about-the coming together of diverse technologies into simple devices that are more useful than the original individual ones intended for. Digital convergence has just started off in a big note which promises a huge market not only for the hi-fi’s but also to a common man.

An indicative example of convergence: Some years back it was only the round object with some numbers in it, running with a help of battery which told us time. That was with the help of a technology then. Now, we have clocks all over the place-TV, Mobiles, DVD Players, and Computers, Refrigerator, Video Games, Music System and so many devices in different displays. Manufacturers threw the clock in diverse devices, people liked it and they demand a clock to be in every electronic device they buy today.

Digital Convergence is an unstoppable force that pushes innovation to the limits; it’s a revolution. It’s going to make the term “One World” come true.

Digital convergence is bringing three major industries together-the IT industry with its hardware and software expertise; the consumer electronics industry and the deeply rooted telecommunications and entertainment industry. Just a few years ago a mobile phone that too with a camera, audio/video player was unthinkable. But, today they have become a normal feature.

Following are some of the products with cutting-edge technologies.

Oakley Thump:
You would have seen audio players in different devices. This is first audio player to be built into sunglasses. It is made out of light weight durable plastic and hence suitable for use all day long.
The ear phones are well placed, highly adjustable; they can be rotated, extended or raised to fit any ears without discomfort. The controls are placed on the two arms of the shade. Buttons on the left side are for volume control and those on the right for Play/Pause/Stop and Skip/Shuffle. This product is available in two versions with 128 MB and 256 MB.

Samsung SCH-V770 Cell Phone:
A camera phone is a normal feature. But a 7 mega pixel camera phone! This has the sophistication seen on standalone digital cameras with 7mp sensor. It has 3x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom and auto focusing. The impressive feature is this camera phone can attach to a wide angle and tele-conversion lenses.

Solid Drive Speaker Drivers:
You will never believe if I say “I can turn your wall or table or door in to a speaker”. Yes, these drivers can make any flat solid object into a speaker, by vibrating it to produce sound. The best use of this would be inside the walls of your converged house.

What is Your Converged house? May be like this!

Manufacturers are fighting to enter your homes with sophisticated technology devices, consequently, their gadgets-into every aspect of your life.

• 
  The living room of the future could have unified audio/video output device with their respective streams coming from your PC, TV or Music System. Since, sound is to be heard, hidden speakers would be installed in walls and roof, producing surround sound. Volume and settings would be controlled via the room’s output device.
• 
  Paper Displays that can cover your walls like wallpaper in PC, enabling the change as you wish, of any size, on any part a wall and ceiling.
• 
  Each room would have a Visual Display Unit enabling the user to change the settings. A Centralized Unit controlling all the devices in the rooms and so on…

These types of technologies will intrude in every room of your house making it a paradise of your own.

Most of these inventions have to be dreamed before they are invented. Most of the companies don’t share with us what they dream for future. However, there is a website www.nec-design.co.jp/showcase to see what NEC Studios have lined up for future.

Interested in Science Now??

MADRAS 'nalla' MADRAS

(Rowwise)
1. Central Railway Station - 1925
2. First Line Beach - 1915
3. Mount Road - 1905
4. Mylapore - 1906
5. Napier Bridge - 1895
6. Parrys Corner - 1890

HAIL THY FREEDOM

"INDIA IS THE CRADLE OF HUMAN RACES"
LET US PROTECT OUR INDEPENDENCE BY SPREADING PEACE THROUGH YOUNG MINDS

r--._,----------.
"-, .c-.-----""""
/ i--'
C_J

LETS SAY NO TO VIOLENCE.

HAIL THY FREEDOM. JAI HIND!

Is your boss like this...

Scientists in a Rocket launching station in Thumba, were in the habit of working for nearly 12 to 18 hours a day. There were about Seventy such scientists working on a project. All the scientists were really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting the job.

One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him - "Sir, I havepromised to my children that I will take them to the exhibition going on in our township. So I want to leave the office at 5 30 pm."

His boss replied - O K, , You are permitted to leave the office earlytoday.

The Scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. Asusual he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch when he felt he was close to completion.The time was 8.30 p.m

Suddenly he remembered of the promise he had given to his children. He looked for his boss,,He was not there. Having told him in the morning itself, he closed everything and left for home.

Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed hischildren.He reached home. Children were not there.His wife alone was sitting inthe hall and reading magazines. The situation was explosive, any talkwould boomerang on him.His wife asked him - Would you like to have coffee or shall I straightaway serve dinner if you are hungry.The man replied - If you would like to have coffee, i too will have but what about Children???

Wife replied- You don't know - Your manager came at 5 15 p.m and hastaken the children to the exhibition.What had really happened was..

The boss who granted him permission was observing him working seriouslyat 5.00 p.m. He thought to himself, this person will not leave the work,but if he has promised his children they should enjoy the visit to exhibition. So he took the lead in taking them to exhibition.

The boss does not have to do it everytime. But once it is done, loyalty is established.That is why all the scientists at Thumba continued to work under theirboss eventhough the stress was tremendous.

By the way , can you hazard a guess as to who the boss was????????

He is now the first citizen of our Nation.

are u a management consultant?

it was a chill evening in a green pasture land with sky in its best blue colour. a shepherd was engaged in taking care of his flock of goats with his dog.

as, an unusual happening, a silver shining stylish BMW Z4 came in a rash mode and skidded near him. he was amazed when it was parked near him. the door opened and a young charming man with full fledged suit approached him. the conversation begun...

BMW guy: Hey shepherd, if i say u the number of goats in the flock without counting, will you give me one goat as a compliment?

The shepherd with a bit of stun agreed to it.

The guy took his laptop, connected a GPRS device to it, attained a satellite link, located the flock and the results were displayed in a minute.

The shepherd had no way than giving away a goat. He said, "Ok Sir, you can take any goat from the flock as you wish"

The young man (with a winning whistle and smile) took one and was about to start off from that place. The shepherd stopped him and asked

"You are a stranger to this place...If I say whom you are, Will you give back my goat?"

The young man agreed with surprise.

Shepherd: You are a Management Consultant
BMW guy: (with an open mouth) how do you know that?

Shepherd: It’s very simple. I observed two things.

1. You gave me information which I already knew in a different format.
2. You took my dog instead of goat.

BMW guy: @@~~@@

I am not Alone

I am singing alone in the street
with no one to listen
With no one to listen
makes me to sing loud

I am dancing alone in the street
with no one to see
With no one to see
makes me to swing and swirl

I feel alone
with no one to sense
With no one to sense
makes me to cry

There is no one to hear
There is no one to see
There is no one to sense
And I am Dead

Amaze! I am Alive
I hear the cuckoo singing
I see the orange leaves dancing
I feel the breeze

NATURE is witnessing me...

Child Reporters

These children at class V to VII in Orissa are not preparing for their mid-term exams.They are writing reports for a monthly journal which is a joint initiative of the District Administration and the Orissa branch of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).The magazine talks about issues such as water shortages, lack of roads and the absence of doctors in hospitals and teachers in schools. The reports show a desire to correct the flaws.

Some of their reports...

"Our village has a large number of children. But half of them are not going to school. Their parents make them graze cattle. The children who refuse are beaten up"

"There are many liquor vends in our village. The people of our village are blowing up their day's earnings by consuming liquor at these vends. Many people are suffering from different diseases by consuming liquor"

"The Government planted saplings in our village, but they did not survive as they were planted at the end of monsoon"

This project by UNICEF is aiming to have a total of 1700 reporters with 10 reporters from each of 170 gram panchayats of Koraput in Orissa.
These child reporters will be a driving force being the development of the village and they will be monitors of the process of development plans which has been drawn in 16 villages.

The District Collector has given each child reporter a signed badge, which is pass for them to enter any Government office.

These child reporters are a force to reckon with.

A Date with Bill Gates

What will you do or how would u feel if you have an offer to meet Bill Gates whenever you wish?

Meet Ajul, 18 from Ahmedabad. He does not get paid, but Microsoft pays all his study fees. In return he helps them as and when asked.

Ajul, a tech wizard holding a MS from Harvard has managed to finish a two and a half year curriculum in five months.

He interacts with Bill Gates every week and says "Why do I need to meet Mr. Gates? I speak to him whenever we have a Microsoft online meeting. Instead, I would have loved to meet Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda and Napoleon Bonaparte"

A Merchant and a Monk

Sometime in 1893, a ship called Empress of India sailed from Yokahoma in Japan to Vancouver in Canada. On board were two extraordinary Indians – Jamshetji Tata and Swami Vivekananda. Both were headed for Chicago which was to host the World’s Columbian Exposition, a celebration of technology and Industrial progress. The exposition opened on 1 May 1893.

Tata was heading Chicago for getting new business ideas. Vivekananda, on the other hand was heading for a smaller show that was meant to compliment the industrial exhibition; The World Congress of Religions. There he shook his audience with that exceptional opening “My dear brothers and sisters...” speech on Vedanta.

It was a meeting of two visionaries; Tata, a keen supporter of social reform in India and the monk, very passionate about science and development. On board, the two discussed to start a steel mill in India. It is said that Swami told Tata that there were two parts to the challenge – manufacturing technology and the science of steel. The former could be bought from abroad, but the science has to be researched at Home.

This seeded the idea in Tata’s mind to start the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

Tata wrote to Vivekananda in 1898 asking for his support for the venture: “I know not who would make a more fitting general of such a campaign than Vivekananda”

That year was to mark the end of a period of modest but a volatile economy.

Mind in a stand-by mode

As usual I started the day, going through the newspaper. But, this day was different. Lot of interesting news both good and bad went straight to my mind and brain. Some of them...

• 
  Teen Smoking
• 
  Maddy's snippets
• 
  Soundara Rajan, a guy who has won several medals for cycling including International with his artificial lower limb
• 
  AIR's carnatic music sales
• 
  Sivathanu Pillai on Innovation
• 
  91 Indian women in race for Peace Nobel
• 
  Former US President Nixon's comment on Indira gandhi as "Old Witch" and Indians as Bastards
• 
  Picture of bodies from tunnel at Ghatghar hydel project
• 
  Hayden-Jones encounter

Thoughts were juggling, messing up all these in mind till i saw the picture of children in dynamic silhouette, with their care-free thrills as monsoon clouds gathering with a silver lining over the sky. In fact, i was starring at the picture for over 10 min with some memories running background @@@!!


WHERE HAVE THOSE DAYS GONE???

A series of fortunate events one evening...

I have heard stories of being good to strangers during my childhood. But, this is the first time i have encountered it.

Returning from a meeting with Karthik and Karuna of Evam and of course Student Concepts guys(members) there, i left my bag which had some books, notes and a set of my resume in an ATM centre. I was not aware of that.

I was watching the movie 'A series of Unfortunate Events' in Studio-5. Received a missed call and i thought my friend was kidding with me. Sent a message 'i am in a movie. pls call me later'. 'Your bag is in my charge', was the reply.

I realized that i had left my bag, but couldn't remember where. I called that guy and he was waiting to give me the bag. His name is VENKAT, working in Radiant Kashyap, C P R Road, Alwarpet. “So many people leave their things(mostly mobiles) in the ATM centre and I have personally handed over them to the owner”, says VENKAT who goes to the ATM centre daily. Long live his service. I will remember him for ever.

my understanding of mathematics

ADD your BEERS without
SUBRACTing your PEERS
MULTIPLY your CHEERS with
DIVIDing your TEARS

sonnet on me by myself (none is ready to write on me. thats why!)

hello i am rajaram
born at madurai
studied in chennai
not in amsterdam

making things with perfection
taking a pride
in every stride
is always my passion

to be positive in thought
and doing things daring
is a bond in my heart
and friends with me caring

will take me high
scaling the whole sky

Fire…

I still remember that moment, when the Parade Officer with his baton struck with a huge force on my back. I was in the lying position with a Self Loading rifle (SLR) aiming at my target. The second I released the first bullet, the baton struck me. Turning back with fear and anguish I looked at the officer with a ‘Why’ look.

He asked me “Which is your target?”... “No. 4”, I replied

He asked “Then… where did you fire?”... Butterflies started flying in my stomach and brain.

I was in the Senior Division NCC of 13 Tamilnadu Battalion force. I was a first year cadet then. It was a thrilling and unforgettable experience for me that day. We had a very good drill (with rolls, monkey jumps) before we started firing.

Mighty sun was showing all its power on my head.

It was sweating and the weapon was about 10 kgs. It was 10 rounds to start with. The first one hit my co-cadet’s target earning me a slap from the baton.

Then, with the ache I pushed myself aggressively and finished my rounds.

I was having some tips on improvising from my co-cadet who said “I had hit all the 10 rounds in my target. The officer praised me for that”.

I was listening to him with a big ‘O’ in my mouth.

The proceedings came down earlier and the officer decided to give a chance with a superior weapon called Light Machine Gun (LMG), for those who had done well with the SLR.

The tip-guy (the guy who was giving me tips) was on a high. To his dismay, his name was not there in the list.
I was in a jubilant mood, not because of his rejection. My name was in the second place (from last) in the list.

That moment I saw a big ‘O’ larger than mine in the tip-guy’s mouth.

With a sense of pride having the LMG in hand and with perfection I released the trigger. That Parade Officer who hit me was nearby watching me. He posed a rewarding smile and said

“Go On... You will never miss your targets hereafter…”

The other bullets carried his words along with it.

It’s an unforgettable day in my life.

The face of Courage and Determination at 11

He looks frail. But Syed Abdul Razaak has nerves of steel. For a 11-year-old boy, raising Rs. 80,000 to save his mother's heart is no small achievement. In fact, he relentlessly continues to collect the rest of the Rs. 1.23 lakhs needed for aortic valve replacement for A. Ayesha, his 33-year-old mother.

This standard VI student of a school on Vincent Road here juggles with domestic commitment and studies. He has to look after a 10-year-old brother and a three-year-old sister. "I study while on bus to school and between midnight and 1 a.m. after I finish domestic chores."

Razaak is scared to say why his well-educated father left them. But he is determined to save his mother. "I travelled to Tiruchi, Gobichettipalayam, Dharapuram, Udumalpet, Mettupalayam, Udhagamandalam, Erode and Salem to meet people for surgery expenses."

People at a mosque here provided him with the address of philanthropists. (The surgery is to be performed at the G. Kuppusamy Naidu Memorial Hospital in the city. It has also provided some concession.)
The way he has collected funds so far reveals maturity beyond his age. "I first got Rs. 1,500 from a mosque in Coimbatore. Of this, I set aside Rs. 1,000 for the surgery and used the rest for travel to various places to mobilise funds."

On how he travelled, Razaak says: "I left by bus at 6 a.m. to these places. There I walked to meet various persons and got back to Coimbatore by 10 p.m."

Ayesha's heart disorder was detected only in April. Till then, she worked in a pharmacy for five years and as a postal savings agent. But the family is said to have struggled to make both ends meet. Fortunately for Razaak and his siblings, a minorities' trust pays their school fees.

"I like Science and Social Studies. I want to study well. I do not play any sport. I was happy collecting stamps and coins. But now I need to save my mother," he says.