Ragesh in Full Throttle!

“Ragesh!”, a loud cry comes from outside my balcony, I rush to the balcony to find my dear friend Barath ready to shower his sharp and witty comments, as soon as I come to the balcony.. We just stand there, and talk (put mokkai as it is called now, but sometimes even profound things, like Time Travel etc, he he) relentlessly on one thing after another. As we speak, we spot Samson and Srikanth chit chatting near their house. Both Barath and I cry out their nicknames so loud across the 300 yards distance separating them, they come running, atleast to stop us from uttering their nicknames over and over again, and getting damaged in public as our voices richo- chet across the buildings and produce surround sound. he he. Soon, there would be about 6 - 7 of us there , talking away, ah! bliss…good times , good times.. This was year 2000, when we were in Std X, when we didn’t have cell phones or bikes or cars! But still friends of mine and I managed to meet almost everyday (mind u, this is apart from 6 hours of being with each other in school! ).

Come 2003, after all the tension and hype of all the +2 examnations and umpteen entrances ranging from IIT-JEE’s to an examination conducted by a small college, we are free to roam like free birds for 3 solid months. oh and what fun it was. This time it was different though, we would go around in bikes and the friends circle expanded, tearing the streets, with Suku and gang, stopping at a street corner, to eat something, do some “bird watching” and then tease each other on anything that pops up in your mind, however illogical or senseless they are.. Again as we would meet everyday.. go for a walk around the beech, go to each others home.. We were sure our friends would be home, and if not we know where to find them, and hey u are visiting about 12 friends everyday, so odds are that you will find 8 of them.. I would come home for only for food.. hee hee.. just roam around using 1-2 liters of petrol everyday, and would go out no matter how hot, cold , rainy or windy it was.. so will my friends.. Again, we didn’t cell phones, in fact not all had even land phones i guess..

Then we enter college, well, it is not that easy to catch up with all the friends during weekdays because, by the time all of us come back home, it will be about 5:30 p.m and many people went far , even in other states to study, but even then, we would catch up on the weekends, oh yes! the same roaming around we used to in 12th will continue, only difference is each of us will hav a different story to tell about the good, bad and funny things about our colleges. But this time , we got cell phones, so even if we can’t meet, we woud be sendng SMS’s to our friends through out the day till our fingers hurt and go on even after that. Weekends would be fun, some roaming around, some visiting friends houses, mostly Kalpaka’s and eating out, in some road side vendor’s shop, where we can be our naughty and boisterous selves.

And then we got jobs. All interaction reduced to chats. But if it was so, then fine, but chat we used to do in college!, till the wee hours of early morning like the long late night chats I used to have with Kalpaka, Charanya, Sandhya and Srikanth L. Now, everyones online, but almost no one is talking to anyone, (except for Sandhya, Ghanesh and Ravikumar in my case with whom I chat a lot during weekends, and have lot of fun) Why? because, most are fagged out at the end of a long tiring day of 10 - 12 hours (see, I love my job very much, but 12 hours of work and travel will make tired whoever u are), that no one is feeling sprightly enough to communicate. What about SMSs? Oh, don’t get me started! the SMS craze is over, partly because, now the operators have started charging for SMSs and we got bored of it, and if you have a phone like I do, the Nokia N72, sending one SMS will give u ache in the fingers for 1 minute, compared to the 1100’s and 3315’s we owned in college in which u type 100’s of SMS a day faster than you type on the keyboard.. The main reason is we have now got so many avenues to communicate that we take it for granted, we think , “Well, we got phone and SMS and chat and orkut and what not, we can communicate whenever we feel like”, but the “feel like” does nt come more often and we end up not communicating at all. The gap increases, all the more reluctant we feel to catch up with old buddies, Why is it so difficult? I don know..

Last week, the same 7-8 of us who used to meet daily in shcool days, had to send a thread consisting of 300 mails just to decide when and where we all shall meet together, after a gap of aroud about 4 months. This week, my friend and colleague Rajeswari spent endless hours communicating and organising over two days, just to decide where, when and HOW she and 4 of her friends(Sathya, Swetha, Priya and Swathi, who used to meet daily in college and even in weekends), can meet this weekend.

See the HOW, that is a new clause added, first it was anytime anywehere, then it was anywhere but in a particular time coz someone has n’t returned from college and so on, then it was at a particular time, at a particular place coz people come from far away on a weekend, so they dont have enough time to come to all the friends place etc. Now it is how! ya How! everyone is available, but all are busy, “how can we meet? hey I have work, next week our project release, I have a client call next week, so i ll be home at only 9:00 pm and i have work on Sunday too”, so more often , people silently come home, sleep for a day , take rest and go back.

Weekends, are different now, not anyone to hang around, it is rare, It is 2- 3 months since I went out to roam with my friends, no one is available , no one is ready, everyones just sitting around, lazing, taking rest, me too..

Unbelievable! the things we took for granted, are now precious and rare and almost forgotten.. Everyone is preoccupied, or pretend to think so, or even fool ourselves into thinking that we all are preoccupied. We fee like the “Babuli” character in Std X CBSE English text book. We would have thought “I ll never change” and here we are! Time changes us all is n’t it? It might have changed me too. I don know, I don’t have a version control system installed for my character.. LOL!

All I can say is, next time you feel like seeing ur dear friend, don’t call him/her and ask for an appointment!, but yell out her/his name in front of her house, you would n’t want to miss out the pleasant surprise on your friend’s face when he/she sees you, do you? You want to see him/her in his/her shorts and not in their make up and Allen Sollys, don’t you?

.. And if you don’t find him/her at home, don’t go back! look for her/him, probably they are sitting on the same perch you both used to share many a secret, many a joke, and many a crush, probably even thinking about you….

Tagged by Ravi KKumma

Last movie seen in a theatre:

I am not enough a movie buff as to go to a theatre and watch. Yet to watch my 1st movie in a theatre, he he

What book are you reading?

Other than technical e-books or articles, not reading any book as of now.

Favourite board game:

As Ravi said, if Dias Tennis is a board game, then oh yes! DT it is!

Used to love Business game (Monopoly) when Divya and I used to spend long hours playing it..

I love playing Cricket trump cards, Rummy and 5 cards..

Favourite magazine:

AUTOCAR India.. Awesome! Vrrrroommm!. Reader’s Digest

Favourite smells:

Ravi has blown my cover, so gotta admit it, like the smell of new quality books. Then comes smell of my mom’s chicken, cologne ..

Favourite sound:

The sound of my car engine as it climbs to 5500 rpm as I floor the throttle.

Worst feeling in the world:

The fear that your achievements may go unnoticed.

When some one who you care about fails to understand you.

When you are accused of something you didn’t do..

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?

Sometiemes I think “Who am I?”

Sometimes I think “I can’t get up from the bed without drawing a free body diagram and resolving all force vectors”

Sometimes I think “I am an object of a concete class, which method should be performed upon me to make me get up”

Favourite fast food place:

Pizza Corner

Few small shops where I go with my friends.

Javagreen in my office.

Future child’s name:

Mercedes if the child is a female, and Benz if the chid is a male. Only child. I do not want the world population to increase in a fibonacci series because of me ..

Finish this statement, “If I had a lot of money I’d…”

1. Elevate the standard of living of my grandma

2. Buy all the cars I have listed in “The Cars I would love to own page“

Do you drive fast?

You bet! I would to like to embark upon an unending journey to eternity at the velocity of infinity

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?

LOL, what?? Sometimes I hug my mom.. But she is real..

Storms - Cool or Scary?
Cool. Romantic

Do you eat the stems on broccoli?

Nope. Don’t eat broccoli in fact

If you could dye your hair any colour, what would be your choice?

Copper/Burgundy/Gold in different layers

Name all the different cities/towns you have lived in:

Udayanpuram (beautiful. scenic, in Kerala) and Kalpakkam

Favourite sports to watch:

Cricket, esp when Sachin is on song. Formula-1, esp when Michael Schumacher used to drive..

One nice thing about the person who sent this to you:

A typical Libran, driven by his moods, sometimes sober, sometimes light; sometimes cool, sometimes tensed; sometimes as calm as the ocean, sometimes the raging storm, an honest and smart guy who never tries to exploit or cheat anyone..

What’s under your bed?
What do u expect? 10,000$ which I earned selling my latest invention? I wish, he he.. Just the cot. he he

Would you like to be born as yourself again?

Yes!!

Morning person or night owl?

Night owl! anyday (I mean any night. lol)

Over easy or sunny side up?
Depends on my mood..

Favourite place to relax:
My home, if it is my current , then its in my bedroom, with my computer, else it is grandma’s place in my hometown in Kerala, the pulchritude of nature at her pristine best..

Favourite pie:

I have n’t tried, but I like pi though(3.141926…)

Favourite ice cream flavour:
Chocolate! (esp as Sundae or with lots of nuts)

You pass this tag to –

Kalpaka

Revs

Swat cat

(If you can tag yourself that will be great too)

Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?

I think it ll be Revs, (if she gets time/access to blog), coz she writes like 10 blogs per nanosecond. her blogging rates is counted at the rate of MPPS (Million Posts Per Second), lol

Make Money from your Blog with Bloggerwave. Well ya, Bloggerwave pays you to write about them and their partners whom you can promote through your blog. Just a novel way to monetize your blog. I know coz I just received  a 10$ from them. Quite exciting. he he. Try your luck as well. Happy blogging!

bloggerwave

I stumbled upon a video, which makes us rethink the phrase, “Pursuit of happiness”. Is happiness something that we should pursue? or is it within us which we can create? Watch the emotional, scientififc, biological and philosophical video at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/97. A must watch!

The most common complaint and comment about an Automatic tranmission car, is that “You have less control over it, there is less involvement, compared to a manual transmission car”. Agreed, you can’t dictate the car to change to any gear that you please when you have an automatic transmission, but from my experience, I can tell you, if you know your know your car well enough, and if you are able to feel what it is doing, you can make even an automatic transmission car do whatever you please (well almost!).

First of all it’s possible due to the fact that most engine management system of today’s cars are intelligent and are based on a feedback system. The car does n’t just do pre-programmed actions irrespective of anything anymore, but on the contrary, listens to the driver input, tries to gauge the intention of the driver and tries to act accordingly, producing wonderful results almost always.

Next is your talent, how much you know your car and can undestand what it’s trying to tell you.

Downshifting in an Automatic car

Apart from the obvious manual change to”L” or “2″, the modern day cars downshift when you floor the throttle (full(open) throttle), provided the current revs of the engine can accomodate a higher rev as a result of a downshift. Imagine, you are cruising along at a rather relaxing speed of 70 km/hr in Overdrive(highest gear), when you need to pass a lorry in front of you, and an intersection is approaching, so it’s a case of now or never. But since you are in Overdrive, obviously you may not have enough acceleration to complete the overtaking manoeuvre before the intersection. No probs! You just floor the throttle, the car immediately shifts down to the previous(lower) gear, u get a jolt of acceleration, the next thing you know is you have passed the lorry at a speed of 90 km/hr. No more waiting for the speed to build up and no more nervous times during a pass

Warning: Do not ease the throttle(i.e., always keep it in full throttle) in the middle of the overtaking manoeuvre or else the car will upshift and lose acceleration and phew! you don’t want that to happen. So keep it floored till you have completed the overtaking.

Upshifting in an Automatic car

Now it’s not as straightforward as the downshift because here you have got to do all the work. The secret lies in judging if the rev (engine speed) is appropriate for an upshift and playing with the throttle. Generally, an automatic car upshifts to a higher gear in the start-middle of the rev band appropriate to the next higher gear. But sometimes we need power. So to prevent an upshift untill all the revs (max revs) at the current gear is utilised and you get maximum acceleration, floor the throttle and don’t ease it until it upshifts. But sometimes at higher speeds, not letting the car upshift will sometimes keep you in a low speed gear when you want speed and not torque. For that, just ease the throttle when you want an upshift. The engine management system(EMS) senses that since you are no longer in full throttle, you don’t the need the acceleration and torque and can upshift. Once it has shifted up, you can get back on the throttle (but not full throttle, else it might downshift again), and drive away. The beauty here is you can upshift almosy whenever you want to (i.e., at whatever rev you want to) by easing the throttle. But there is a limit to it. You can use this easing the throttle to upshift only when you are in the right rev band. If you ease the throttle too early (before the rev band of the next higher gear), the car will not upshift and you will just slow down, and if you don’t ease the throttle at all, it might not shift untill it hits the red line which might be unnecessary sometimes. It’s a delecate balance between speed and torque, and it’s a wonderful feeling when you get it just right.

When the driver sensitive EMS of the car, and your feel for the car work in tandom, you can make it dance to your tunes. It’s sometimes more challenging than a manual car because, there are no explicit levers to do anything, you are just overriding the car by thinking from it’s perspective.

Imagine, you are in love with a girl for 17 years, and one fine day, she accepts your love. That was the exact feeling I had when on Sunday, August 19, 2007, I went to a quiet residential area in Cholaimedu, got down from the taxi, shook hands with my “wizard”, and walked a few paces to see, my new love, my sparkling new “Passion Red” Hyundai Santro Xing XL Automatic, modified with hand operated controls, so that atlast after 17 years of gazing at, thinking about, breathing, eating and sleeping cars, I could not only own, but drive one. The one month long sleepless wait after I ordered the car is over! Phew! Hurrah!!

First the “wizard” proceeded to drive the car, to show me how the new controls work. Of course, I knew how it worked, having read about it in websites, it’s called the Alfred Bekker System. I loved cars so much that I had a massive and detailed knowledge about how a car works, the dynamics, the mechanical details, and of course, about the nuances of driving a car, the only thing left was to get in and drive, and get used to the behaviour of the car. Since, it was a residential area, he could n’t let me drive much, which I was furious about by the way. I didn’t come all this way to be a passenger in my car!. So he let me drive about 100 meters. Sat in, shifted the tranmission into “[D]rive” mode, and drove, was careful, not to get carried away though. The power steering was very light and agile but lacked feel. But, at once I felt comfortable with the controls and just as I had imagined, was confident that I could master the car in a matter of hours. This was my first ever time in the driver’s seat of a car!

A driver drove and brought the car back home, although I drove another 300 yards while approaching my home. Gazed at the parked car, and retired for the night.

The next morning, I drove the car to a ground, with my mom and dad(who also had never driven a car before), and started to put the car through it’s paces, to get a feel of the steering, throttle etc. I drove for about 30 min, driving through a virtual circuit, making turns and straights to get the feel of the car, then my dad took the wheels, and drove another 30 min, then we hit the road, drove slowly (at 10-20 km/hr!) around the houses, another 30 min-30 min session. After lunch, I felt really confident and I was in the groove, I started to effortlessly maneuver the car along the twisty bends and was taking corners with increasing confidence. Now, I was no longer feathering the throttle, it was full throttle time and hit 80 km/hr near a small straight piece of road near the beach, he he but immediately reduced the speed as my dad started to stare at the speedometer from the pillion seat coz we are not supposed to drive it @ more than 70 km/hr, in the run-in period of the car

My real dream come true came when on Saturday (6 days after I got my hands on my baby), I got a chance to go to Chennai, what an absolutely unforgettable experience, I got to drive on the beautiful ECR, for about 100 km, still I had to back off the throttle as it was still run-in period. But this Saturday, I got a chance to drive to Chennai again, this time around, the car was out of the run-in period, and so was I, he he. The open road!, a beautiful, peppy little car!, what more do I need? So when I got a chance on an empty stretch, I caned it and reached a speed of 125 km/hr. What an absolutely wonderful feeling to see the speedo in front of you, at that time! But don’t be under the impression that my driving is haywire. I am a perfectionist, be it the driving technique or the following the traffic rules, and total control is my mantra.

I have driven many of friends in my car, it is really a dream come true to drive them in my car, because, they have taken me in their cycles, and shoulders when I needed it.

By the way, last but not the least, the “wizard” who made my dream come true is:

Mr. Bhaskaran

NO 25, NEW MARKET STREET,
CHOOLAIMEDU,
CHENNAI - 600094

Mobile: 9841190690

To mention a few words about him, he is an obviously talented Automobile Engineer cum car modifier, who specialises in modifying cars for physically challenged people. He has modified more than 150 cars so far, with 100% success and satisfaction, including the top- guns like Mercedes Benz, using the Alfred Bekker system. For under just Rs 19,000 (this might be variable depending upon the car), he had fabricated and fitted custom built hand operated kit for the accelerator and brake and combined both into a single lever, which operates both, mutually exclusively, using a push-pull mechanism, which makes it fool proof. The whole process takes just about 4-6 days. As a client, I could not be any more happier with him, both as a car modifier and as a person. His work is impeccable, his manners, immaculate. He is a boon for physically handicapped people, atleast through out Tamil Nadu. He is a rare breed indeed, because, although there are many car modifiers in Chennai, finding such a car modifier for physically challenged people in Chennai, is like finding a pearl in a haystack. (Ya he is a Pearl!).

I think the “wizard” who made my dream of driving a car, come true, deserves an exclusive post. He is:

Mr. Bhaskaran

NO 25, NEW MARKET STREET,
CHOOLAIMEDU,
CHENNAI - 600094

Mobile: 9841190690

To mention a few words about him, he is an obviously talented Automobile Engineer cum car modifier, who specialises in modifying cars for physically challenged people. He has modified more than 150 cars so far, with 100% success and satisfaction, including the top- guns like Mercedes Benz, using the Alfred Bekker system. For under just Rs 19,000 (this might be variable depending upon the car), he had fabricated and fitted custom built hand operated kit for the accelerator and brake and combined both into a single lever, which operates both, mutually exclusively, using a push-pull mechanism, which makes it fool proof. The whole process takes just about 4-6 days. As a client, I could not be any more happier with him, both as a car modifier and as a person. His work is impeccable, his manners, immaculate. He is a boon for physically handicapped people, atleast through out Tamil Nadu. He is a rare breed indeed, because, although there are many car modifiers in Chennai, finding such a car modifier for physically challenged people in Chennai, is like finding a pearl in a haystack. (Ya he is a Pearl!). Try searching cars for physically challenged, in Google and you will see what I talking about. I dedicate this post to him.

A few snaps of the hand controlled system in my car :

6th sem: 31 May 2006: I got up to a new day, the day of the Engineering Economics and Financial Accounting (EEFA) exam. It was a very easy paper and one day was more than enough to prepare it well. So reached the college at 9:35 a.m, leisurely by car, with my dad, and went and sat in my usual place on a bench beside where my closest friend, Kalpaka was sitting, outside the exam hall. The exam was at 10 a.m.

Usually, she sits in the left end of the bench with her bag to her right, and I go and sit in the right end of the bench with my bag to my left. And we will be revising silently, not disturbing each other or discussing etc.

This day however, she was sitting in the middle ( to my luck actually) , and I went and sat beside her. Unlike usual days, I don’t know why but I just peered into the notebook that she was reading, and I saw an acronym. I found that strange and new, hence, out of curiosity, I asked what the expansion of that acronym was. She said something that ended with the term “Processor” (!!). I was like , what?? where the hell does Processor come in EEFA??. Still not exactly getting what the situation is I asked her jokingly, “Hey innakku EEFA exam thane? (Hey today is EEFA exam only right?)”, to confirm that its actually EEFA.

All I expected was a simple “ya of course”, but the reply I got was, “Innakku CA (Computer Architecture 2) da, enna da joke adikkariya, bayam puduthada (Today is CA, what are you joking? don’t scare me)”!!!!.

Oh man shit! Was she joking or serious? Who was joking?. The fact is she really thought I was joking. Just then I started getting what it all meant, I looked around. She had the Computer Architecture text book Hennessey & Patterson by her side. Yes, the worst possible thing had happened!! I had studied for the wrong exam!!. I mean I had only heard stories of students coming prepared for the wrong exam, but I could n’t believe it happened to me.

Suddenly, everything went blank! I could hardly hear any sound, all the people who were discussing and yelling seemed mute to me. It was like in a dream, where everything is dark and kind of intangible, an out of body kind of experience. I was not actually panicking, but my hormones, esp adrenalin started to richochet in a frenzie. It took a minute to sink in. I waited for my dad to leave, he said good luck and left. I didnt want to sadden him by saying the news and making him worried, and get myself worried in the process etc.

After he left, I slowly turned to Kalpaka and said “Hey naa innakku EEFA kku padichittu vandirukken ( Hey I have come prepared for EEFA today)”, in a non-chalant tone with an expressionless face. I was still dumb struck!. I was still numb.

On hearing this, “She was actually more taken aback than me”. She could not believe it for a second and then gave a genuine terrified, surprised expression which told the whole story. I got the exact gravity of the situation only from her face, at that time. She was like “Hey! what are u saying? how come?” She could not believe it. Now it was 9:45 a.m.

Suddenly her mood changed. She left what she was reading, and asked me what units I know. I said I know the 1st and 2nd units well, having listened to the classes, and having studied for Unit Tests. 3rd unit also I knew to some extent. So then she started frantically teaching me topics I did n’t know from 3rd unit and 4th and 5th unit. Luckily some topics in 4th unit had been taught in 4th sem in CA 1. I tried to grasp whatever she was trying to teach, but I was n’t able to listen that much. Though I gathered some vital info on some topics. Thanks to her. But my mind was wandering..

I was telling myself, “Don’t panic, be cool, that’s the key. If u start to panic, then that’s it!, you will lose it, u cant control the degree of panic. So don’t even think abt getting tensed or the consequences!. Just go and write the exam in cool manner. Think this is just a Unit Test. You like the subject very well. You have topped Unit Tests etc. You know the subject well enough to pass, but your emotions, your composure is the key. Just look at the questions, don’t think about this exam etc”..

With this resolution, I relaxed myself and went into the exam hall, with nothing to lose and no expectations… The 2 marks were easy. The 11th question was from 1st Unit, which had performance measures, problems etc all mathematics, so my favourite, wrote that well. Some parts of 12th and 13th questions were about RISC processors. Having studied that in System Software, Microprocessors and CA 1, wrote those pats somewhat decently. 14th question was little unknown for me, but from what she taught me I could manage somewhat. Another small question, I remembered having learnt that in class. Somehow I finished the paper, with having written partial answers for few questions and having left out two 8 mark questions. I was banking on the 11th question to save me.

I came out of the exam hall confident that I will pass, my evaluations told me I will get around 50-55 % in external ( so, 40-44 out of 80 + 20 internal = 60 - 64 % total). 45% was the pass mark. But u never know, this could be one of those things. There was n’t much room for comfort. Many thoughts started perturbing me. My placements were in a month and should the unthinkable happen, I could even end up not placed. Having got a clean record and 84% aggregate, what an embarassment it would be. Everyday I was torn apart between the confidence that I have done well enough to pass, and the fear of failure. The night after the exam, I told my dad quietly, “Don’t get tensed but I had studied for the wrong exam, but don’t worry I have done it ok enough to be safe”. He too was flabbergasted, but he too was cool, and I assured him nothing wrong will happen.

The comedy is that on the day of the previous exam, on May 29th, my friend Prem Anand called me up to mark topics in the CA text book. Even then it didnt strike me that the next exam is CA. I thought he will study CA on 29th, and EEFA on 30th as it is very easy. And generally people will message me about something like some doubt in a topic, or how hard it is to study , how boring etc, This time however nothing like that happened. None messaged me and I didnt message anyone. And even worst, my friend Srikanth K had called me on landline to ask some doubt in CA 2, the day before the exam, but my dad had picked up the phone, because I had gone to bathe, so he cleared his doubt from another friend.. May be it was meant to happen.

But I owe much of what I could accomplish that day, to Kalpaka. She just had a calming influence on me, to know that someone is there who genuinely sees the difficulty you are in, and tries to help you out. I thought, “Atleast for the sake of such a friend, as a tribute to her friendship, atleast for the mental tension I gave her and atleast for the time she spent for me, I should do well in the exam”.. In fact she told me after the exam that, she herself got tensed about my situation, and she was thinking how I will be writing the exam.. Trully unforgettable.

The next important reason is that CA was one of my favourite papers, especially the numerical problems, and I found the subject very easy and interesting.. In fact the reason why I thought the exam was EEFA was because, somehow it got into my head that the exam order is in the reverse order of my liking them. So since I like CA more than EEFA, I thought EEFA is before CA. (My friends either ROFL or hit me when I say this crazy reason.. LOL)

The D-Day. The day of the results! By this time many of my friends came to know about my tragedy(?) and had consoled and encouraged me. The site did not open due to traffic. My friend Abitha called me up and told results have come, and that the site is opening for her but when she tried my number, the site didnt open again. So again tried at my computer, and it opened. Prepared for the worst and hoping for the best, I looked at the screen and searched for CS340 (CA 2), and Voila! I had passed!! , I had scores 20/20 in Internals plus 39/80 (36 being the pass mark) in external for a total of 59 ( ). phew! what a sigh of relief. The letter “P” on the extreme right made me happier than any 100’s and 90’s I got.

Fine! Now, nothing unthinkable happened, but wait a minute! 39/80? that would mean a mere 49% in external. I knew I didn’t do that bad. and I can’t digest have a mark in the 50’s, in a subject in which I should have scored 90% (Though it’s my fault that I prepared for the wrong exam).

I had n’t got the marks I expected in few other subjects as well. So as usual I applied for revaluation in 4 subjects to get back my peace of mind, and prestige. Reval results arrived, I was so happy, I got 29 marks extra in reval, including +3 in CA 2, which made it now 42/80. Hence 20 + 42 = 62%. Hmmm not bad for studying for an exam in 15 minutes I thought… This incident has turned out to be one of the most happy , sad, proud and embarassing moments for me, but one thing, it’s unforgettable..

All I can say is, necessity is the mother of invention, when u are faced with a crisis, one will automatically get the courage and strength and the solution to it, both from within and from external sources, where there is a will there is a way, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Sorry for being so pleonastic, but wanted to share this experience.. I dedicate this post to Kalpaka and all others who stood by me.. and Revs who urged me to write a post. Love you guys!

PS: After this exam , the next exam was in fact EEFA on June 2 , so Ragesh G R hardly had to study, in fact he was watching Morning Raga on STAR Movies and messaging everyone to watch it, at 8:00 pm on June 1. LoL

I was tagged by Srikanth L to answer a plethora of questions: Here goes

Favorite Color: 7.4×10^-10 m (Red :p)

Favorite Food: Mum’s chicken, Grandma’s Kerala style dishes, Pizza, Halwa

Favorite Month: August, my birth, Independence .. he he

Favorite Song:

Hindi: Tanhayee from Dil Chahta Hai, Yuhi Chala from Swades, Yehi Hota Pyaar from Namaste London(recently)

Tamil: Anbe Sivam, Nenjodu Kalandidu, Kannin kandame vendam

English: Lonely Day by System of a Down

Favorite Movie:

Malayalam : King, Iyer the Great, Manichithrathazhu

English : Movies of Jim Carey, A beautiful mind, What women want, Catch me if you can
Tamizh: Anbe Sivam, Kaadhal Kondein, Anniyan

Hindi : Golmal, Don, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, (I forgot the rest)

Favorite Sport:

Play - Cricket, Dais Tennis!!, Punakka kuru (I invented it, a cross between cricket, squash and hammer throw)..

Watch - Cricket, Formula -1

Favorite Season: Monsoon, esp the Kerala monsoon, so green, so romantic, so pulchritudinous

Favorite Day Of the week: Saturday, when I wake up late after a nice long sleep and still feel relieved that the next day too is holiday, so I can loiter around, hang out with buddies

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: ex: Butterscotch, now: Chocolate

Favorite Time of Day: 12:00 am to 6 :00 am , thats when I am most active, romantic, pensive, creative. Just love the tranquility..

8 CURRENTS

Current Mood: Romantic..

Current Taste: Spicy!

Current Clothes: Black Peter England pants and a Globus tea shirt with the message “DO NOT ENTER”

Current Desktop: Lamborghini Gallardo on GNOME in Fedora Core 5 (Linux :p)

Current Toenail Color: The usual natural light rose- off-white

Current Time: 18:49 IST

Current Surroundings: All my favourite electronic gizmos like my P.C & its accessories, my mobile phone, my MP3 player, A/C, my books, posters of Cars n Sachin Tendulkar, Lays chips & Cadbury’s chocolates, my impeccably arranged table, my bed with some clothes flung on it..

Current Thoughts: Thinking what to blog next..!

6 FIRSTS

First Best Friend : Reshmi (Now Samson)

First Screen Name: ragesh_g_r

First Pet: A calf named “Manikandan”

First Piercing: The one time I stappled a pin on to my thumb lol

First Movie: Maammattikuttiamma (Malayalam - 1989)

6 LASTS

Last Cigarette: Not yet, I don’t smoke

Last Drink: Tea..

Last Car Ride: About 1 month ago , on a Tata Indica while travelling from my home town to Bus Station, when the driver (my uncle) dislocated his shoulder , when the car was travelling at 120 km/hr in Ernakulam city. Thankfully he smoothly pulled over, put his arm back and continued the journey !

Last Movie Seen: Babel (superb! very realistic)
Last Phone Call: Sugumar (my best college buddy)

Last Book Read: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (A Virgo!)

Have You Ever Broken the Law: well yes, small harmless ones, but most often, I follow even the tiniest of laws

Have You Ever Been Arrested: No!!

Have You Ever Been on TV: I think for a group song in 7th std

Have You Ever Lied: Yes, very rare but yes, else I wud be lieing now lol
Have You Ever Kissed Someone You Didn’t Know: he he he , No!

4 THINGS

Thing You’ve Done Today: Chat with friends, now bloggin after my friend Revs threatened me in all possible ways that I should blog now

Thing You Can Hear Right Now: The subtle rumble of the A/C compressor and the swish of the fan and my own heartbeats

Thing You Can’t Live Without: Parents & Friends, Love, Success, tasty food, my car, my bike and favourite electronic gadgets like computer ( and Internet), mobile phone, TV, my MP3 player, A/C etc..

Thing You Do When You’re Bored: Browse, chat, download, read, play games, watch TV, go out and hang with friends, think, brood, envisage contemplate he he,

4 PLACES YOU’VE BEEN TODAY: On my chair on the internet since I woke up :p

3 PEOPLE YOU CAN TELL ANYTHING TO: Samson, Kalpaka, Charanya (random order :P)

2 CHOICES

1. Black or White: Black (Sexy! enigmatic and classy)

2. Hot or Cold: Cold

1 THING YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE

To drive (preferably own) a Ferrari, even if I die the next second..

In thine eyes saw I, the sparkle of love,
For you are the one I never want to leave,

Thou art the fairest maiden I ever have ken,
Thou art truly heaven given.

Loving you, the one thing I did really true,
Rest of my life, I have no clue,

God is unfair, he made you so beautiful,
My eyes need more than a life time to feel full

I want you by my side,
To sit beside you with pride,

I want to caress your soft cheeks,
I want to kiss your tender lips

I want to savour your beautiful smile,
I want to regain all that I lost all this while

I will live for you, I will die for you,
The only one I think about day and night, is you!

Then why?, my love! u left my heart in desolation!
Then Why? my love! u failed to see my passion..

All I wanted was your compassion
Now all I have is consternation

Tell me now, tell me true.
Was n’t my love towards you really true?

- Ragesh

No!, this is NOT a simple clock that has the numbers written on it in binary. This is different! When I was in my hometown, hearing the usual clock that strikes x times when the time is x hours, I got really annoyed. The reason is that at say 12 o clock The clock struck 12 times! That was both annoying to hear and hard to count.

This left me thinking. You see, the usual clock strikes in Unary system (just like a Turing machine!). It has only one symbol(sound), so it strikes “x” times to represent “x”. Just like we would mark 4 vertical lines on the board to represent say 4 points in a quiz.

So, if we use a binary system for the clock, the number of strikes could be limited to just 4 (2^4 = 16 >12). Here is how it will work. There will be two sounds, one to represent 0, and another, to represent 1. So with only 4 strikes, it can represent all the numbers in a 12 hour clock (and only 5 strikes even in a 24 hour clock). For instance, let’s assign the sound “Ting” to 0, and “Tong” to 1. So at 5 0′clock, the clock will strike “Ting Tong Ting Tong” (0101), and at 12 o’clock, it will strike “Tong Tong Ting Ting” (1100).

In a 12 hour period, the usual unary clock strikes 78 times (1+2+..+12) . But our Binary clock strikes only 48 times (12*4). Hence from 5 o’clock onwards, the binary clock strikes less than the usual unary clock.

The advantage of the Binary clock over other bases like, say 3, 4 etc is that, since only 2 sounds (not more) are used, its easy to remember them, and calculating the time is also easier. For example, if we use a decimal system, we need to remember 10 different sounds. If we use Base-3 for example, not only one needs to remember 3 sounds, the calculation of time, too are not straight forward ( ex: 201 (Base-3) = 2*9+1 = 19). So I think, Binary is compact and elegant.

But, many people (I mean people who do not know about Base systems), may find it difficult to compute the time. I just think its a novel idea! :).. I ll try implementing it soon.

She is My McLaren

She is very haughty
yet soft inside
the more challenging, the more interesting
but very hard to handle
You have to be on the toes
Like a McLaren F1
But once you get acqainted its fun
A wonderful experience
But if u lose control at 375 km/hr
You are dead
Cannot rev the engine up initially
she will cause wheel spin
But she gets into the groove
then she is really smooth
But as a driver u have got to be very skilled
Demanding indeed but worth it and full filling
But very expensive
Really a driver’s car
She is my McLaren..
And, I will not lose her for anything else..

- Ragesh

I have been tagged by Revathi with this interesting question, To tell 5 things about me, that the world does not know.. Hmmm. let me see..

1. I always tap my fingers producing various rhythms on whatever I find, literally all the time(except while I am sleeping) and my fingers dont get tired at all. I just can’t stop it.

2. All the pens in my pen-case should be aligned in the same direction, that too particularly the nib pointing to my left. I can’t stand if it is otherwise, though I can justify this by saying it is convenient, and when I am riding my scooterette to or from college, my bag should hang on the vehicle, in front of me in such a way that its brand name should face me, else I will pull over, re arrange, and re-start my journey.

3. This is my favourite actually, before commencing any examination, I toss my pen in the air, with the cap open (nib vulnerable), with my eyes CLOSED!, such that it completes a full 360 deg rotation, and catch it, 2 times. And, for the record, throughout the past 6 years, I have never dropped my pen while doing that..

4. Whenever I face a numerical problem, I only consider significant digits and not the actual size of the numbers, and then arrive at the final answer by using the real world knowledge, that is telling whether it is say 125 or 125000 or 1.25, thereby beating the calculator almost all the time. Also, I can give the quotient on diving pretty much any 2 numbers, to any no of decimal places, more accurately and faster than the calculator that’s available.

5. I re-live/re-enact past events which angered or excited me or was cherishable, and future(probable) events, in my head with modifications as to how I must have reacted, rather than how I actually reacted, so vividly that I stop only when I start smiling, talking to myself, grinding my teeth, or clicnching my fist..

I tag anyone who reads this, particularly those who comment. It’s fun! Ok anyway I tag Ravi Kumar, Kalpaka and Priyadarshini.

Now, I have seen lots of things that have irritated and infuriated me. But, topping the list are some comedy questions that I have encountered during exams, throughout the 16 years that I have been a student, questions which as I see, have no point. Mostly, they give me a laugh.

Some of my favourites(??!!) are:

1. In Std 10th C.B.S.E Board Examination, the very 1st question in Science was something like “How many hours does a radio have to run to consume 1KWh of energy?”. Oh, for crying out loud! what does that mean?, I mean without specifying the power rating, how can I answer that? There are radios of different power ratings. The comedy here is that there was a line in the text that said, “A radio will take about 8 hours to consume 1KWh of energy.” Now, that was a casual statement assuming the radio to have a power rating of 125W. It is like asking, “What is 4+ ?” Oh, it was eneasy to receive that question first up, kind of like a bad omen, but I scored 97% in Science, and so no more omens.

2. Questions that ask us to draw the “architecture” of something. Now, what does that mean? I am an avid artist(painter) but come on, drawing boxes and drawing lines between them. What do we learn from those diagrams? Now, as I have seen, most of them are too complicated to comprehend or too clumsy to give you any idea. More often than not, they don’t make us understand how a system works. It is just a way of mockery of both artists and logical thinking ablility of the students.

3. This is the best! “Frame/Header Formats”. Come on, give me a break!. What do I learn by learning the frame formats by heart and reproducing in the exams. They may be just read through, but expecting us to memorise it. draw boxes that look like trains, split them into boogies, etc .lol. Because it is a specification, and it will be available in any hand book. Everytime I see one of these “frame format” thingies, I go like, “Oh no, not again!”, another 10 min wasted..

4. Questions that are supoosed to be “programmatic” and I look at them with a glow in my eyes, only to find more comedy like “Write the methods of “so and so” class”. Draw the “architecture” of “so and so programming language”. Ah! what a mockery of the intelligence, analytical skills and ablility of a programmer. It is like asking Michael Schumacher to draw the layout of his car using “boxes” rather than drive it as his best to win a race.

Well, I am not undermining the importance of raw theory, but the application part should be given enough emphasis. Thankfully, today in Web Technology exam, there were some application oriented (programmatic) questions.

After all, the purpose of education is to make us think, not to recall, to innovate and not to reproduce. Only then, we will be doing what we call Learning.

You watch a Grand Prix on a Sunday evening, and your mother exclaims, “What pleasure could you possibly derive from watching the same cars go round and round the same track for 2 hours?”.

But there are plenty of things to learn as we watch the cars go by. In fact even without watching it, just a little contemplation on your side is enough to understand the nuances of the dynamics of a vehicle as it goes through sweeping corners at break-neck speeds.

What you see in Grand Prix can be applied in real-life situations. Contrary to popular belief, Grand Prix races do not encourage perilous driving styles. In fact they encourage you to drive safer, better and more efficiently, being cogniscent of what your vehicle is doing.

The secret of the tyres

The silken smooth tyres of the Grand Prix cars and bikes might give an impression that they are very slippery but it’s not so. The friction produced between the tyre and the road is directly proportional to the area of contact, hence the smoother and flatter the tyre, the better the grip. This is because when two very smooth surfaces come into contact, the distance between them is so small that it is comparable to atomic distances and hence nuclear strong forces take over (The same reason you feel grip when you run your finger on a marble floor).

This theory has an exception though, during rains. Then if you use a slick (smooth) tyre, the water that is trapped between the tyre and the tarmac does not have any place to go and formes a layer of accumulated water between the tyre and the road, causing a phenomenon called “Aquaplaning” or “Hydroplaning”, in which the grip reduces drastically and you feel as if your car is skating on ice. Hence during rainy days, it is advisable to change to a tyre that has deep treads that have channels to push away the accumulated water through sides.

Going around corners

Ever thought why the Grand Prix cars seem to be weaving around the track, changing lanes, sticking to a specific line every time? There is a beautiful science behind it. In fact it is very useful in day today life. I use it often. But you must stay within your lane. Every corner has a specific line which will provide you the fastest way around it, called the “Groove” or the “Racing line”.

The simple theory behind it is the less steering input you give, the faster your vehicle can travel, and the more stable it will be. That is because when you turn the wheels, especially the back wheels are not exactly pointing in the direction the car actually goes. Hence every moment the back wheels point along the line of the tangent to the curve that you are describing. Hence there is a constant force or acceleration applied to the vehicle. A component of the force produced by the wheels is expended in over coming the frictional force. Hence the lesser force you have along the direction of the motion of the car.

So the best way to approach a corner is : Enter from the outside, cut through the inside (apex) of the corner and exit through the outside of the corner, as shown in the picture. Our aim is to describe an arc that has the least curvature or most radius of curvature and the least circumference as possible. Also this method puts less stress on your tyres, and less g - force on you, hence, longer life for the tyres and smoother ride for you.

If you follow the inside line through out, then you have to brake and reduce the speed, hence you use more time.

If you follow the outside line, still the curvature is high and the circumference too is high, hence reduced speed, longer distance, hence more time wasted.

The secret is not to perceive the road as a whole and blindly trying to go parallel to the edges of the road. The secret lies in being able to see the straightest path between two points. The curves in the road need not bother you. Why go in a zig-zag way around a series of corners if you can find the straightest path between them.

As the followig diagram depicts, though the road seems to be winding in a zig-zag way, there is a fairly straight path through the series of curves.

The slip-stream

Now, why do Grand Prix cars pull up behind the car in front and sling shot their way past to over take? It is not any ambushing strategy. But it the exploitation of a beautiful phenomenon in fluid dynamics.

When a vehicle moves at speed, it creates turbulence in the air. And the turbulent air tends to stick to the vehicle more. The less aerodynamic the vehicle, the more the turbulence. Now due to this air behind a vehicle is moving and hence when you drive behind it, the relative velocity of the air in front of you w.r.t to you is less. Also since the vehicle in front drags some air with it, there is a low pressure created in its wake. Hence, for you the effect is low drag, and low drag means lesser energy to cut through the air. Hence with the same amount of energy, you can travel faster, travel at the same speed with less amount of energy. Hence you drive more economically. Now this a strategy I use in the high ways. But again be careful, do not go too close to the vehicle in front.

Thus with the help of physics, we can exploit the most out of our cars’ performance. Nature hides many secrets for us to exploit. It is up to science to find it out and explain it and it is up to us to use them to our benefit. I have tried to be as simple and basic as possible. Happy Driving!!

Note: I should clear some things out. When I say cut the corner, I mean in a one way highway with medians (like Old Mahabalipuram road), when u apply the same technique to a two way road like the E.C.R, read road as “lane”. Anyway the techniques are going to be the same, only that you are going to stick to your lane.

So the 2 figures will now look like this :

and this:

Just a little bit of adaptation :).