Wednesday, March 21, 2007
"Forgiving" Roadways
In the last two days, my Transportation Engineering professor has been dealing with various traffic characteristics in an urban setting and different traffic control processes. Today, he mentioned about "forgiving" roadways, and I found the philosophy behind it really interesting. The key aspect of this design is that it is similar to a fault-tolerant design. In fact, this is not a new design understanding. It is basically making some components of the product redundant so that, in case of a failure, there would be some redistribution, to continue the intended purpose. This particular whiteman's-burden-like pheomenon is also termed as "graceful degradation".
In the design of roads, this is carried out in a modified way. This design assumes that the users, vehicles and pedestrians, would misuse the facility and still the road should not be put through any significant distress. Essentially, a "forgiving" roadway: that is, it absorbs whatever impact the user creates, which otherwise would not be expected. A good example would be that since pedestrians do not want to cross the road by walking over a foot-over bridge, or use a subway, they use the road, obstructing traffic. This particular noncompliance could be tackled by some means such that the vehicular traffic is not disrupted and the pedestrians need not take additional "effort" to cross the road.
Such a flexible design has been increasingly adopted in the western countries. But I feel this should also be used in a country like ours, where non-compliant users are a real menace to the traffic scenario.
In the design of roads, this is carried out in a modified way. This design assumes that the users, vehicles and pedestrians, would misuse the facility and still the road should not be put through any significant distress. Essentially, a "forgiving" roadway: that is, it absorbs whatever impact the user creates, which otherwise would not be expected. A good example would be that since pedestrians do not want to cross the road by walking over a foot-over bridge, or use a subway, they use the road, obstructing traffic. This particular noncompliance could be tackled by some means such that the vehicular traffic is not disrupted and the pedestrians need not take additional "effort" to cross the road.
Such a flexible design has been increasingly adopted in the western countries. But I feel this should also be used in a country like ours, where non-compliant users are a real menace to the traffic scenario.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Jakkamma sollra!
A couple of days back I was having something of an argument with one of my wing mates. He was saying that he believed in astrologers and that most of what they say come true. That is when the argument started. My point was that the astrologer's predictions were of no consequence whatsoever. Lets say that the astrologer is right, say, when he says that I would die when I am 80. How would it matter to me if I am going to die when I am 80 or 85? What I would be doing tomorrow, next week or even over the next ten years is totally unrelated to when I would die. Or to rephrase it, whatever I am doing and will be doing will be totally unrelated to the knowledge that I would die when I am 80. If at all anything, it would only make me worry about something which is so certain.
But lets say he makes a statement like this: "You will be in a great position in ten years from now". Here, too, he has not made any statement which would alter my way of life. That is, if I know that I am going to be in a real good position in ten years, would it happen even if I don't work towards it? So is it independent of my efforts? And is it not possible that I can stop working and hence be a total loser in life? In which case, I would be at a diagonally opposite state of life in ten years from now!
In my opinion, these people are not good astrologers but good psychologists. They know how to read faces and make statements which make us happy, and therefore pay them. For example, if you go to an astrologer with a problem like this: I have an offer to go to Delhi for job. Do I have to go? It is quite evident here that you do not want to go. Any good "astrologer" can easily read this and would immediately give a reply with some three planets thrown into the scene and ask you to drop all plans of going. And you , since you were not interested, would happily stay here. It is quite easy to imagine what kind of a reply you would get if you approach him with the same problem but with a different projection.
I agree, I know nothing about the "science of astrology". But the very fact that you can predict a man's life, irrespective of all the choices he is going to make in the future, is a bit too puppet-like a life for me to accept.
But lets say he makes a statement like this: "You will be in a great position in ten years from now". Here, too, he has not made any statement which would alter my way of life. That is, if I know that I am going to be in a real good position in ten years, would it happen even if I don't work towards it? So is it independent of my efforts? And is it not possible that I can stop working and hence be a total loser in life? In which case, I would be at a diagonally opposite state of life in ten years from now!
In my opinion, these people are not good astrologers but good psychologists. They know how to read faces and make statements which make us happy, and therefore pay them. For example, if you go to an astrologer with a problem like this: I have an offer to go to Delhi for job. Do I have to go? It is quite evident here that you do not want to go. Any good "astrologer" can easily read this and would immediately give a reply with some three planets thrown into the scene and ask you to drop all plans of going. And you , since you were not interested, would happily stay here. It is quite easy to imagine what kind of a reply you would get if you approach him with the same problem but with a different projection.
I agree, I know nothing about the "science of astrology". But the very fact that you can predict a man's life, irrespective of all the choices he is going to make in the future, is a bit too puppet-like a life for me to accept.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
To cut it short
I started out to write why I had not been posting for a while, but got bored of writing my sad story, and therefore am going to put it in a very crisp way.
CEA Fest. Contour magazine editor. Comp hard disk cupped. Now all back in order.
CEA Fest. Contour magazine editor. Comp hard disk cupped. Now all back in order.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Point of no return
I was asked to dig a well. I did, and found no sign of water. Went 40 feet, no water. 80, still no water. 200, and I stopped.
How could I bring the water up, even if I did find it?
How could I bring the water up, even if I did find it?
Why was I asked to dig the well?
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Linux on USB pen drive!
Ya! That's right! Check this out!
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Installing_to_a_USB_Flash_Drive
After seeing this, Baradwaj and I were very enthusiastic about installing it to a USB drive that we had ( just to clarify, Baradwaj installed, and i was enthusiastic).
The OS occupied 110 MB of 128 MB of the USB and worked great! I was amazed! It booted perfectly fine, and then we found that every essential software was pre-installed. All this for free!
And we were thinking a $100 OS was the best!!!
Linux rocks!
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Installing_to_a_USB_Flash_Drive
After seeing this, Baradwaj and I were very enthusiastic about installing it to a USB drive that we had ( just to clarify, Baradwaj installed, and i was enthusiastic).
The OS occupied 110 MB of 128 MB of the USB and worked great! I was amazed! It booted perfectly fine, and then we found that every essential software was pre-installed. All this for free!
And we were thinking a $100 OS was the best!!!
Linux rocks!
Virumaandi
Possibly one of the most delayed reviews ever. Maybe, but this movie is worth a review every single time you watch it. Though heavily inspired by Kurosowa's Rashomon, Kamal Haasan has done a great job adapting the concept for a regional audience and one that can satisfy the B and C audience at that. The direction and the camera work tops the list. Perspective views have really been captured well by the cinematographer. Nothing special to tell about Kamal Haasan. If someone can do Anbe Sivam, Kuruthippunal and Hey Ram, Virumaandi is just expected.
Be it Peikaman, or Kothala Thevar or Nallama Naicker, acting is simply above the class of contemporary Tamil cinema. Abhirami is totally at ease acting in such a role which demands a clear knowledge of the accent used.
The one thing that still stays in my mind is the way the camera made both Kothala Thevar's and Virumaandi's story look true. Just that Kothala Thevar's story was not complete. But that again, is something to be debated, much along the lines of Rashomon.
Uberall, a great movie to watch, and definitely more than once. Hats off to Kamal!
Be it Peikaman, or Kothala Thevar or Nallama Naicker, acting is simply above the class of contemporary Tamil cinema. Abhirami is totally at ease acting in such a role which demands a clear knowledge of the accent used.
The one thing that still stays in my mind is the way the camera made both Kothala Thevar's and Virumaandi's story look true. Just that Kothala Thevar's story was not complete. But that again, is something to be debated, much along the lines of Rashomon.
Uberall, a great movie to watch, and definitely more than once. Hats off to Kamal!
The
Don't have to check it again. The title is right. It clearly describes what this is about. If you have any doubts about that, continue reading.
The word. "The" word. This word has such a great meaning behind it. For most of the people who are reading this, the is just a word. To me, to us, it is more than that. It is a language. It changes the way we speak. By including a word, we make the communication faster and more enjoyable. For example,
The the word the. "The" the word the. This the word the great the meaning. Most the you, the the just the word. The me the language. The way the speak the change. One the word, the fast the enjoy. The example.
You see the difference, don't you? That is the beauty of the. One word. Great power. Siddharth a.k.a Kiyer a.k.a Rope, the guy who made me more familiar with the language. Great work man!
Just analyse it for a bit. Look how good it looks. Use it. Polish your language. And I promise, this language, "the fun ".
The word. "The" word. This word has such a great meaning behind it. For most of the people who are reading this, the is just a word. To me, to us, it is more than that. It is a language. It changes the way we speak. By including a word, we make the communication faster and more enjoyable. For example,
The the word the. "The" the word the. This the word the great the meaning. Most the you, the the just the word. The me the language. The way the speak the change. One the word, the fast the enjoy. The example.
You see the difference, don't you? That is the beauty of the. One word. Great power. Siddharth a.k.a Kiyer a.k.a Rope, the guy who made me more familiar with the language. Great work man!
Just analyse it for a bit. Look how good it looks. Use it. Polish your language. And I promise, this language, "the fun ".
Potri Padadi Ponne from Devar Magan
I have been searching for the lyrics for this song for quite some time, but could not get it. So I decided to write it myself.
Potri padadi ponne
Devar kaaladi manne
Thekku thesa aanda
mannar inam thaan hoi
Mukkulatha chernda
thevar magan thaan hoi
(Potri...)
Enna solla mannu valam......
mathavanga kannu padum... (2)
Andha kadha ippo ulla
santhathinga kekka venum
Nammuyirkku mela manam mariyadha
manam izhanthale, vazha theriyadhe
perusellam sonnanga, sonnapadi ninnanga
gunaththaal manaththaal kalai maan aananga..
(Potri...)
Munnorukku munnorellam
innaarunnu kandu kolla (2)
Ezhezhuthu ezhuthi cholla
onnu rendu moonu alla
Mukkulathor kalyanam thaan
muthu muthu kambalam thaan
Ekkulamum vazhthu chollum
engalukkum ekkaalam thaan
azhagana sari sodi
aana mela ambari
kanakka vazhakka , kadal pol eraalam
(Potri...)
Monday, October 30, 2006
Myopic living
What exactly do we mean by a "fast paced life"? How do we determine how fast it is? Why in the first place did some one come up with an idea of about time being fast?
The age old Murphy's law of work fitting to expanding time has been made redundant, due to the excessive speeds now possible with latest technologies. Constraints are ruthlessly set, and effortlessly met. Everything which was not in the field of vision a hundred years back has gone behind us now. Impossibilities are conquered atleast by imagination in art forms. As a result, there is an increasing demand for a perfunctory meeting-demands-by-deadline life, which has totally stolen the beauty of the romantic life.
Since the demands have become so stringent, humans have evolved to bear the stress, and as always have managed to beat the system. And now we have around us, people who seem to think that doing stuff in a week matters more than anything else! There are no rebels, and rebels, if any, are immediately converted to failures. I believe that people have stopped dreaming (unless, of course, it is the "American Dream") of a romantic life. Everything has been forcibly converted into high speed. People have become so short sighted, that they lose sight of life beyond Fridays.
The saddest part is that school kids have been forced to adhere to such a routine. By the time they reach higher educational institutions of learning, the whole point of "learning" is lost. In the most inhuman manner, peer students are referred to as "numbers". (My point here is not about the grading system, but its interpretation.) Global knowledge and common sense is not inculcated, and not even acknowledged. Parameters like tenacity to work for hours and ability to reproduce books have become evaluating, and in many cases deciding.
The time when people realise that they are "sleepwalking" , and make a conscious effort to stop it, would be the dawn of new humanity. A more caring and more emotion driven humanity, the definition of humanity, itself.
The age old Murphy's law of work fitting to expanding time has been made redundant, due to the excessive speeds now possible with latest technologies. Constraints are ruthlessly set, and effortlessly met. Everything which was not in the field of vision a hundred years back has gone behind us now. Impossibilities are conquered atleast by imagination in art forms. As a result, there is an increasing demand for a perfunctory meeting-demands-by-deadline life, which has totally stolen the beauty of the romantic life.
Since the demands have become so stringent, humans have evolved to bear the stress, and as always have managed to beat the system. And now we have around us, people who seem to think that doing stuff in a week matters more than anything else! There are no rebels, and rebels, if any, are immediately converted to failures. I believe that people have stopped dreaming (unless, of course, it is the "American Dream") of a romantic life. Everything has been forcibly converted into high speed. People have become so short sighted, that they lose sight of life beyond Fridays.
The saddest part is that school kids have been forced to adhere to such a routine. By the time they reach higher educational institutions of learning, the whole point of "learning" is lost. In the most inhuman manner, peer students are referred to as "numbers". (My point here is not about the grading system, but its interpretation.) Global knowledge and common sense is not inculcated, and not even acknowledged. Parameters like tenacity to work for hours and ability to reproduce books have become evaluating, and in many cases deciding.
The time when people realise that they are "sleepwalking" , and make a conscious effort to stop it, would be the dawn of new humanity. A more caring and more emotion driven humanity, the definition of humanity, itself.
Life is beautiful, only if we care to look around and beyond.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Thathuvam
It's been a long time since I posted anything here... So here is 'something' :)
And ditto to my tamil fans.
Sorry, my non-tamil fans(?!), will come up with a good one next time.
Enna thaan Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijay, Surya-va, irunthaalum,
kalyanathukku apparam first deepavali, "thala" deepavali thaan.
And ditto to my tamil fans.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Learning Process
When I was recently talking to one of my friends, the topic of learning stuff from mistakes came up. And when my friend told me that mistakes are a way to learn and not to be brooded over, I had to differ.
For a person who has poked his eyes, darkness is a way of life.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
A different favour!
There is this friend of mine, Vimal, participating in Shaastra. His blog is coecelanth shaastra equivocate zeppelin durbatuluk.
:)
ps: For more info, see shaastra.org
:)
ps: For more info, see shaastra.org
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Purpose of Life
When I was talking with my friends the other day, one of them started to ask me what the purpose of life was. Initially I thought it was really a question to be thought over and was pondering over it. But just then I realised that there actually needs to be no purpose for this life.
To ask what is the purpose of a mound of clay is meaningless. But that does not mean that you should not make a pot of out it. Nor should you expect a pot from the mound.
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