Time Flies. You Can not. They fly too fast.
This is a puzzle which my father posed to me many, many year ago.
There were a few such puzzles.
There are 9 balls, out of which 8 are of the same weight while one is of a different weight. There is a balance which can be used thrice to isolate the ball with the different weight.
The above remained unsolved by me. I had to go back to my father for the first one and I got the second one solved by someone else in 2007 in London.
The third one, which is actually a class 9 physics question.
If there is a tunnel along a diameter of a planet and an object is dropped into it, what will happen to it.
This one I got in class 9 itself. It took a lot of work though.
The only reason I am reproducing this here is to record it lest I forget it. I do not think I will ever forget it because I did not solve the first two. My father had to solve it for me. I wrestled with it for many years off and on and eventually gave up. I am not sure if my father was disappointed with me - I have not thought about it until now.
I think that it is common for children to admire their father. Your father is probably the second person you start to recognise. He is not always there, adding to the allure. He is strong, dependable, full of love, always busy with work and taking care of the family and knows just about everything a child might ask. As a child grows up into a young person, he might start to see some chinks in this image. As time passes, the parent shows up more and more as a human with a set of strengths, weaknesses and limitations.
I live with my father now. I have always admired him.I am a few years away from the age he was from when I remember him. With this comparison at hand, I admire him even more.
He has always taken care of everything I have needed. More importantly, he has always heeded to all that I have had to say - keeping him awake when I was young and wanted to know everything about trains while traveling overnight to Patna till now, when he wants to listen to me talk about my business every week. He has been like this with my mother and my sister. He might have his physical limitations, but his mind has always been something different. He rarely loses his temper or control over what he says. He has always been fair - a good husband and son and parent.
As I become a man of my own right, I realise that on this planet, just being a decent human being is gradually inching towards the superhuman.
30 September, 2010
07 September, 2010
Post post
Regular writing has definitely been impacted since December. I am not sure why.
Theoretically, I do even less work at home than I ever did - if that was possible. But seriously, everything is taken care of. Every day, I am home by 8pm (at the latest) and then go to sleep after 11:30. I am reasonably busy during this time but have nothing to show for it.
This is an often repeated problem I have.
I have spent chunks of my life without earning a bullet point for my CV. In 2001, due to some kind of calculating or administrative error, I was invited to apply for the Aditya Birla Scholarships. This scholarship is given to 20 students every year from the country - 10 from IIMs and 10 from IITs. I remember the exact moment I realised that the scholarship was not even a very long shot. It happened like this - We had a session where the last years scholarship winners were to guide us with filling the form. There was a bio-data + achievements form to be filled along with a statement of purpose. I had no achievements to speak of (except for the admission and scholarship invitation I guess). I wanted to ask them how bad would it be if I did not have national or international level achievement to speak of (I did not have any state or district level achievements as well, but the form did not ask for those). Thankfully, the seniors did not let me ask this question. Instead, Magic Mittal asked the seniors if he could add additional sheets given if he ran out of space. They answered yes. A few heads nodded in that room. That was the moment.
IIMA did not give you a lot of time for introspection. Both years zoomed by - the first learning the tools of the trade and the second in using substances to forget the first. However, that moment stayed on with me. I always wonder about it - how did everyone else manage to have a few sheets of achievements while I had nothing to show for the 22 years spent in getting there.
I was a geek quite early on.
I used to tinker (and break) electronic toys. I built an audio amplifier (no innovation here - used a circuit board from a hobby kit which came with instructions). The amplifier's loudness depended upon the potential difference it was given - which was related to the number of batteries given. The reverse side of the carrom board at home had a wooden frame which could fit batteries in. I used to play video games with the audio routed through these speakers.
I built a paddle ship which did not work (I had not discovered torque) and tried to build an aeroplane which would use diwali rockets in multiple stages. Like some of ISRO's older rockets, the project never took off due to lack of funding and political (read parental) interference.
I had also built a small dam in the garden. I would flood the entire garden and then run all the water through a paddle linked to a small motor which would act as a dynamo and generate electricity at a low AC voltage. I never thought much about hydel power as I had to empty a drum of water to light a bulb.
There were rumours that a particular pond had a turtle and I wanted to build a periscope to investigate it. However, a periscope was too easy and I was too lazy.
I also managed to get a video game at home on which I played Mario and Contra. I played Mario quite well. A few people used to sit and watch me play whenever they could. My cousins used to hate me for it as they did not get to play if I started a game. Anyway, that was quite a waste of time I guess.
All this happened between 1988 and 1991.
I joined DPS Mathura Road in 1991 and lost the means to do much of this - no garden to flood, no carpenter to command etc.
From 1991 onwards I avoided any and all competitions. I tried to get into the students council in school but was not good enough. I did not attend or win any quizzes or make my presence felt at a city/district/state/national/international level with any dance, drama, debate, elocution, poetry, piano or even sports (I did run quite fast at school level but that was that). I was asked to apply for the post of a house captain by a housemistress - had I been asked by the correct housemistress, I would not have avoided her for the rest of my time in school .
Energy counts more than talent when it comes to achieving something in life (There is little of either this side of the post)
Hats off to the ones with the energy - they shall inherit the earth (along with the meek).
Theoretically, I do even less work at home than I ever did - if that was possible. But seriously, everything is taken care of. Every day, I am home by 8pm (at the latest) and then go to sleep after 11:30. I am reasonably busy during this time but have nothing to show for it.
This is an often repeated problem I have.
I have spent chunks of my life without earning a bullet point for my CV. In 2001, due to some kind of calculating or administrative error, I was invited to apply for the Aditya Birla Scholarships. This scholarship is given to 20 students every year from the country - 10 from IIMs and 10 from IITs. I remember the exact moment I realised that the scholarship was not even a very long shot. It happened like this - We had a session where the last years scholarship winners were to guide us with filling the form. There was a bio-data + achievements form to be filled along with a statement of purpose. I had no achievements to speak of (except for the admission and scholarship invitation I guess). I wanted to ask them how bad would it be if I did not have national or international level achievement to speak of (I did not have any state or district level achievements as well, but the form did not ask for those). Thankfully, the seniors did not let me ask this question. Instead, Magic Mittal asked the seniors if he could add additional sheets given if he ran out of space. They answered yes. A few heads nodded in that room. That was the moment.
IIMA did not give you a lot of time for introspection. Both years zoomed by - the first learning the tools of the trade and the second in using substances to forget the first. However, that moment stayed on with me. I always wonder about it - how did everyone else manage to have a few sheets of achievements while I had nothing to show for the 22 years spent in getting there.
I was a geek quite early on.
I used to tinker (and break) electronic toys. I built an audio amplifier (no innovation here - used a circuit board from a hobby kit which came with instructions). The amplifier's loudness depended upon the potential difference it was given - which was related to the number of batteries given. The reverse side of the carrom board at home had a wooden frame which could fit batteries in. I used to play video games with the audio routed through these speakers.
I built a paddle ship which did not work (I had not discovered torque) and tried to build an aeroplane which would use diwali rockets in multiple stages. Like some of ISRO's older rockets, the project never took off due to lack of funding and political (read parental) interference.
I had also built a small dam in the garden. I would flood the entire garden and then run all the water through a paddle linked to a small motor which would act as a dynamo and generate electricity at a low AC voltage. I never thought much about hydel power as I had to empty a drum of water to light a bulb.
There were rumours that a particular pond had a turtle and I wanted to build a periscope to investigate it. However, a periscope was too easy and I was too lazy.
I also managed to get a video game at home on which I played Mario and Contra. I played Mario quite well. A few people used to sit and watch me play whenever they could. My cousins used to hate me for it as they did not get to play if I started a game. Anyway, that was quite a waste of time I guess.
All this happened between 1988 and 1991.
I joined DPS Mathura Road in 1991 and lost the means to do much of this - no garden to flood, no carpenter to command etc.
From 1991 onwards I avoided any and all competitions. I tried to get into the students council in school but was not good enough. I did not attend or win any quizzes or make my presence felt at a city/district/state/national/international level with any dance, drama, debate, elocution, poetry, piano or even sports (I did run quite fast at school level but that was that). I was asked to apply for the post of a house captain by a housemistress - had I been asked by the correct housemistress, I would not have avoided her for the rest of my time in school .
Energy counts more than talent when it comes to achieving something in life (There is little of either this side of the post)
Hats off to the ones with the energy - they shall inherit the earth (along with the meek).
01 August, 2010
The Common-Wealth games 2010, New Delhi
The common-wealth games has helped make a lot of people rich and might help India make a gigantic fool of itself. Depending upon which paper or newschannel you pickup and time of day and day of week, the amount of money used for the commonwealth has been anywhere between 5000 to 40000 crores and initial estimates have been from 400 to 1600 crores and the number of times the spend has gone up is between 8 and 17.
There are all kinds of deadlines, none of which are met usually. The deadline for project to go into testing, the deadline for the project to be handed over from the MCD to the IOC to the CWG are all there for us to shake our heads about. The TOI reports that none of the quality checks (not even one) for a series of stadiums seem to have been done properly. They further report that the external agency retained to do the checks seem to have managed doing them without ever visiting the facilities being developed.
For some reason today, I want t register my cribs about the TOI also.
On any given day, the morning paper (Times of India) has most of the below topics -
1. Stories on commonwealth games related delays and corruption
2. Stories about rain related problems and the obvious corruption and apathy of the MCD
3. Stories about Pakistan and the US and India. If they have nothing on terrorism, then they try to write about 'Aman ki Asha' . To my mind, this is a P2P publicity initiative designed for socialites who are bored of appearing on page 3 in the Delhi times and now want to get some footage in Lahore.
4. The TOI has a new paper called the 'Crest' - I might be wrong but for the life of me, I can not be sure about the name even though there is a light green shaded section every few days on the goodies which are going to be published in the 'Crest'. It is a paper which is supposed to get us to the bottom of the news and give us real analysis - I wonder if I am naive in believing that any daily newspaper aspires to provide that for its readers.
(I checked on Google - somewhat hard to find, but the name is Crest)
So they say that the Crest is not a paper, it is "a journal that allows us the luxury of the 2,000-word piece that’s as rich in style as in substance. One that is serious and stimulating, but quirky and enjoyable too. A paper where good writing heightens the joy of reading."
5. Apart from the types of news stories, there is a section embedded in some stories called 'Times View' (Again, I don't vouch for the name). The section is usually a set of issues or questions which the user should be asking which are relevant. It reminds me of a 'Tool tip' in Microsoft Excel. The auto help feature has long held its position in the list of the first few things I turn off when on a new PC. The tool tip inside a news article makes me feel as if I am reading the News for Dummies.
6. There is another section inbuilt into a lot of news stories in the TOI. It is that part of a story which reminds users how they read it first in the TOI three weeks ago. Or how the government has responded to the TOI story and then taken steps. Or how the TOI's coverage led to a simultaneous public demonstration and is now leading to a windfall of justice. I think that the paper tries to remind its users that through its pages, they are part of something bigger - an unstoppable juggernaut of a central vigilance commission. News maybe not, but emotive marketing - right on!!!
7. I have always read dated stories in the TOI. Let me clarify. Not all stories are dated, but there have always been stories (Especially from foreign lands) which can be read on Google news today and will appear in the TOI day after tomorrow.
Well even I read the TOI every day, but only because the HT and the Hindu though more serious as newspapers manage to get boring. I guess it is a sign of the times. Boring is not cool. Not cool is out.
There are all kinds of deadlines, none of which are met usually. The deadline for project to go into testing, the deadline for the project to be handed over from the MCD to the IOC to the CWG are all there for us to shake our heads about. The TOI reports that none of the quality checks (not even one) for a series of stadiums seem to have been done properly. They further report that the external agency retained to do the checks seem to have managed doing them without ever visiting the facilities being developed.
For some reason today, I want t register my cribs about the TOI also.
On any given day, the morning paper (Times of India) has most of the below topics -
1. Stories on commonwealth games related delays and corruption
2. Stories about rain related problems and the obvious corruption and apathy of the MCD
3. Stories about Pakistan and the US and India. If they have nothing on terrorism, then they try to write about 'Aman ki Asha' . To my mind, this is a P2P publicity initiative designed for socialites who are bored of appearing on page 3 in the Delhi times and now want to get some footage in Lahore.
4. The TOI has a new paper called the 'Crest' - I might be wrong but for the life of me, I can not be sure about the name even though there is a light green shaded section every few days on the goodies which are going to be published in the 'Crest'. It is a paper which is supposed to get us to the bottom of the news and give us real analysis - I wonder if I am naive in believing that any daily newspaper aspires to provide that for its readers.
(I checked on Google - somewhat hard to find, but the name is Crest)
So they say that the Crest is not a paper, it is "a journal that allows us the luxury of the 2,000-word piece that’s as rich in style as in substance. One that is serious and stimulating, but quirky and enjoyable too. A paper where good writing heightens the joy of reading."
5. Apart from the types of news stories, there is a section embedded in some stories called 'Times View' (Again, I don't vouch for the name). The section is usually a set of issues or questions which the user should be asking which are relevant. It reminds me of a 'Tool tip' in Microsoft Excel. The auto help feature has long held its position in the list of the first few things I turn off when on a new PC. The tool tip inside a news article makes me feel as if I am reading the News for Dummies.
6. There is another section inbuilt into a lot of news stories in the TOI. It is that part of a story which reminds users how they read it first in the TOI three weeks ago. Or how the government has responded to the TOI story and then taken steps. Or how the TOI's coverage led to a simultaneous public demonstration and is now leading to a windfall of justice. I think that the paper tries to remind its users that through its pages, they are part of something bigger - an unstoppable juggernaut of a central vigilance commission. News maybe not, but emotive marketing - right on!!!
7. I have always read dated stories in the TOI. Let me clarify. Not all stories are dated, but there have always been stories (Especially from foreign lands) which can be read on Google news today and will appear in the TOI day after tomorrow.
Well even I read the TOI every day, but only because the HT and the Hindu though more serious as newspapers manage to get boring. I guess it is a sign of the times. Boring is not cool. Not cool is out.
03 July, 2010
Pins and needles
So there are times when I listen to music and the lyrics that give me a funny sensation on the back of head. Sometimes, a song can makes its presence felt all the way down my spine. Sometimes the song is just very apt.
To explore this a bit more, I wanted to document it. It happened a few times today.
I was happy. I think that this is a prerequisite. I am going for a wedding. We are family friends with uncle and aunty for over 20 years now. That is how old the girl who is getting married is. I remember the day the first time Aunty had gotten her out of the house. That was the day my family would have met her. That was 1987 I think and this girl was 3 months old. Should I be feeling old? I was 8 then. I am 31 in three weeks. I was thinking about the four of us sitting together in a room in Assam watching TV - my sister, this girl and her elder brother. We were such kids. The eldest (me) is married. And tomorrow the youngest will get married.
I was also thinking about our parents. I remember quite a few things from the time I was in Assam. He was running a factory which had over 600 men. There were excise inspectors and forrest officers to contend with. The ULFA insurgency started around then.
My father was 36 when we went there. I am 31 (almost) now. Compared to what I remember of my father, I am still growing up. I guess the remaining 5 years will do the trick. You never know.
Back to the topic. The mood has to be good. The lyrics have to be apt. If the music system is nice. The eight speakers in my car do the trick.
There is an expression - music that touches the heart. I think that when music touches my heart, I get pins and needles.
bkid = A070305397
To explore this a bit more, I wanted to document it. It happened a few times today.
I was happy. I think that this is a prerequisite. I am going for a wedding. We are family friends with uncle and aunty for over 20 years now. That is how old the girl who is getting married is. I remember the day the first time Aunty had gotten her out of the house. That was the day my family would have met her. That was 1987 I think and this girl was 3 months old. Should I be feeling old? I was 8 then. I am 31 in three weeks. I was thinking about the four of us sitting together in a room in Assam watching TV - my sister, this girl and her elder brother. We were such kids. The eldest (me) is married. And tomorrow the youngest will get married.
I was also thinking about our parents. I remember quite a few things from the time I was in Assam. He was running a factory which had over 600 men. There were excise inspectors and forrest officers to contend with. The ULFA insurgency started around then.
My father was 36 when we went there. I am 31 (almost) now. Compared to what I remember of my father, I am still growing up. I guess the remaining 5 years will do the trick. You never know.
Back to the topic. The mood has to be good. The lyrics have to be apt. If the music system is nice. The eight speakers in my car do the trick.
There is an expression - music that touches the heart. I think that when music touches my heart, I get pins and needles.
bkid = A070305397
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