Unedited Jottings

Updated Visited States

2011-11-21T00:23:00.001-05:00

I am upto 40 states out of 50. The last 10 are going to be hard :). I am breaking my blog-silence. I come back and everything looks so different!

visited 40 states (80%)

The King goes on..

2010-02-02T21:51:00.003-05:00

So much to do but Roger's special deserves a mention. Thanks Sports Illustrated (last time I put this collage together myself !). He is a poet par excellence !

Sweet 16 !

I am glad

2009-11-04T21:40:00.004-05:00

Now, all my life, I have had fantasies of being the best at all things (during brief moments of relative realism, I have considered settling for the unthinkable bargain of being the best at one thing). And of course you look around and you see everyone pushing you to be the best at something. Today, I realized how glad I was that I am not the best (or even close) at anything . Why ? Well, imagine how limited that world will be in which, my ability at a particular thing, is as far we (as a whole) have ever managed to achieve. Sounds awful to me! I don't think this is out of false humility, I am awakened by my three month slumber from blogging, that I write this. It is of honest wonder how wonderfully well people manage to do in various fields and how I can get endless hours of pleasure watching, or listening to all of them. If you have time, do visit ted.com and a whole world will open up to you, I promise!

A new adventure

2009-09-11T21:18:00.002-04:00

Indeed, it has been a long time since my last post. Lot of big things did happen too (I got my PhD, for instance). Now I have started a job and my first few weeks of being an Asst. Prof have been eventful, to say the least. I have a fairly full teaching load. The classes come so fast at you and sometimes I feel am barely keeping my head above water. The good part is sometimes, I do feel in control.
Now the challenge is that three classes present different challenges and it seems like there is always one class (which one exactly, keeps changing) that is going less well as compared to others.

I think, for instance, that I should not present my students with a simplistic picture, no matter how "complex" the material is. Now, someday I hope I can pull this off as a teacher, right now am feeling my way. Now, on the positive side, I do love the students and they seem to like me alright. So more updates as I discover things. I even found a little time to work on research, seek out collaborators, and talk to other people in the school.

In short, so far, so good. Of course somedays, I am enthused and somedays I am deflated. Today is a balanced day !

Also, I did find time to go watch tennis at the US open and now that was awesome !!!

Harnessing randomness

2009-06-20T00:53:00.002-04:00

The title is a bit more impressive than the actual post. As you may be aware (if you have talked to me recently, this is the only thing I talk about), I am doing my dissertation. Well as the others who have undertaken a project of a similar magnitude can perhaps attest, such a project almost uncomfortably holds the centre stage in your mental life.

However, today I thought I would pen down a few things I have been thinking about (that is putting it strongly, really thoughts that occurred) and recent happenings.

First: Roger - The brilliance the man equals Sampras and wins a Career grand slam

Then India perform woefully at T20 world cup and thankfully so (it freed up a lot of my day for writing my dissertation !)

Somewhere during this Iran had what appears to be farcical elections and what has been hyped to be the next revolution. Let's see, I am conditioned to extol democracy.

This is quickly sounding like the highlights of the past few weeks. Reminds me of the "news" we read at our school assembly !

Recently I have been reading about the Dravidian movement and EV Ramaswamy (better known as Periyar). My source was jingoistic but you do see some points nevertheless (especially regarding social injustice and inequality)

Another thought that struck me is how relatively unstudied many of the Indian languages are. Somehow as a psycholinguist, I think phenomena of great interest lay buried in the sub continent. Perhaps soon, I will be on my way to excavate a tiny little finding somewhere.

Grad school, wonderful as it has been, is coming to an end. More on that after my defence ! Somewhere between I have been yearning for a trip to South America (perhaps Peru? Argentina ? any thoughts?)

Today I saw a demo about Google wave, what promises to be the near future of online communication. What I saw of it I loved and I cannot wait to get my paws on it ! OF course that prompted me to the bigger question - what will become of the world just 10 years from now? Will I be teaching all online courses. Personally I want computing without being tied to a computer (not a hand held device either). I want to be interacting in the world as I browse - some kind of synergy of the "real" and cyber worlds. Who knows ?

Finally, I was thinking the only argument for dying is the sheer curiosity of it. What better to know about (and whether there is) life after death than by trying !

So there are some random snippets of thought. Deliberately presented without organization or real substance what I hope is a change from the document I have been working !

Till soon,

Bye !

An unlikely meeting

2009-02-28T21:08:00.000-05:00

I looked around. The scene was strangely familiar. It was Nandanam, in Chennai but something seemed amiss. I could not quite tell what until I recognized a familiar face. I looked to make sure, my heart skipped a beat and I thought, “Great, I am dreaming”. Yet, try as I might, I could not rouse myself. I found myself drawn to him. He was munching a plate of bhel puri; the price was five rupees. He wore a curious t-shirt and knee length shorts that had every colour imaginable. “Bermudas” I thought to myself. In his hand, he clutched a white plastic bag and I could distinctly make out an outline of an audiocassette. He finished his plate, tossed it into the bin and I could tell he was wondering what to do with the last 25 paise he had. I stepped into his way and said hello almost in a tone of resignation. He looked up, a tad unsure, his twelve-year old eyes sizing me up. He greeted me cautiously.
I said, “Yeah this is like in the movies but I am you 17 years from now.” He shook his head. I said, “I know it is wondrous but..”
He quickly shot “I am not shaking my head at the implausibility, merely at how disappointing the future is”.
A fistful of rage shot through me, “I am not too excited about meeting you either. Presumably, we have something to learn so shut up and let’s talk”.
He nodded and said “ I wonder what would happen if you broke my leg, you know inflicted some kind of permanent damage. Would your leg automatically reflect that damage?”
I knew that this boy was indeed me, and said sternly, “ Ok shut up, let’s find a place to talk”.
He said, “let’s go to a hotel”. I knew that meant restaurant and minutes later we found ourselves in Mathura (a restaurant in the higher floors of Tarapore towers). The prices were a joke and the service was what is used to be (but, of course). He ordered sweets to start off and I was astounded at how much he ate – Basundhi, Cutlet, naan, paneer butter masala, noodles and ice cream.
He asked, “what is the coolest thing about the future ?” I told him about the internet and all the wondrous things.
“Are you married”, he interjected. I realized how impatient he seemed, full of energy, but not really too much fun to converse with. He proceeded to give me his opinion on marriage and how adults had no clue how to live life.
“So, do you still play cricket?” He asked eagerly. I lowered my eyes in shame, I knew I had not kept the promise. He stopped smiling. “Did I not play for India ?”
I laughed and said “but you have visited Basin Reserve (in Wellington, NZ)”. He immediately seemed happier. I thought to myself that atleast he is easy to please.
“If I did not play cricket, what did I end up doing with my life”. I explained and he looked at me. To my surprise, he nodded and smiled. He said “not bad”. The little punk does have a lot of opinions. He said plainly, “ I assume this is a trip thought up by god to learn from your childhood self”. It was my turn to be smug – I don’t believe in god. He looked shell shocked “Really?!”
This questioning went on for a while as he devoured his food, chewed with his mouth open and rocked back and forth. Despite his several irritating characteristics, I did not mind him too much. In this period of time either through questions or through me volunteering details, he pretty much learned of [his] life’s trajectory. He was thrilled about my travels, my career and my staying in touch with “his friends” as he put it. He was also happy, strangely, at the fact that I still had impossible dreams. He was displeased with how I had taken care of my body as well as not trying hard enough to make it to the Indian team. Kids those days! But, despite myself, I was enjoying the conversation. I told him of Roger Federer, about the turn of the millennia, and our dependence on computers. In a while, our conversation was really easy and I felt that he was mostly alright though he could still be super irritating at times. He wanted to know everything about everything and appeasing his curiosity was not easy. I realized how hard it must have been for my parents and people around me (perhaps, how hard it still must be…). As I prepared to take leave of him, I asked if I could see the cassette.
“ Ah Roja, nice.. You know this AR. Rahman?”, I enquired. He nodded and said he was his favorite I said. “He, in 2009, will win 2 Oscars.”
He broke into a grin and said “ I like the future”.

Hope, hopelessness and dissenting opinions

2008-12-03T21:07:00.002-05:00

As you might have noticed, I have not blogged in a while. The events of the past week however have set me thinking not unlike millions world over - the attack on Mumbai on 26th Nov. Besides being flabbergasted a wave of hopelessness descended on me. Everywhere it seems there is rampant mindlessness, absolute self centrism. You look around and every one of our actions (yes our own actions) seem tainted. Do you know that we are polluting some parts of our world with our laptops and cell phones we discard ? Several such activivities unbeknownst to us form a part of our life ( products that are tested on animals or hapless poverty-stricken people, environmental impacts of our actions, chain stores, blood diamonds, etc etc). Do we just shrug our shoulder philosophically declare that nothing can be done (yes we have that luxury until one of these atrocities directly touches our life)?

Terrorism and extremism are often justified or rationalized in some form or the other. Poverty, revenge, sociopathic tendencies etc., etc. It is not enough to merely join the chorus in condemning the terrorists. For a second, why are those amongst us who are ready to die to kill. No answer truly convinces me. Further I am also shocked by the so called elite, the so called educated, who at a moment's notice readily offer some form of a simplistic solution . "All members of X are horrendous and must be killed/driven back to their own country/or some variant of absolute action". Persecution licensed by skin colour, race, religion, sexual orientation goes on unchecked. In fact even our very ideal is to 'tolerate' differences among us rather than celebrate them. The point of my disjointed rant is merely that I am losing my mind over absolute statements of "intellectuals" who are as sure of their own beliefs as the radicals dying and killing for theirs.
This brings to my final point. I blame our intolerance of dissenting opinions of any sort. It happens in Science and in Religion, in the East and the West - ubiquitously and (I assume) from times immemorial. We surrounds ourselves with people who agree with us, in groups where we do not have to justify our beliefs or offer the slightest glimmer of logic in our thinking. Why we despise rational thinking is anyone's guess. Oh and also we feel superior to every other group we don't belong to. It is remarkable to me how "scientists" are a powerful example of this tendency much to our own chagrin.
Our only hope as citizens of this world, I feel, is to encourage dissenting opinions to prevent the polarisation of the world into fanatic groups of various kinds. Perhaps you disagree with me and in the patient discussion of our differences such as on this particular point, lies the hope of our future.

Notes from NZ

2008-07-28T23:59:00.000-04:00

***** UPDATE : Days 1 ~ 8 posted!

In this series of blogs, I will attempt to write about what I am doing here in New Zealand, about the sights, sounds and really what strikes me. These posts will (I hope) go through few edits and I will upload accompanying pictures soon either during the course of the trip or just after Juy 15th.

Over the course of a few day I will regularly post an account of my trip, a day at a time with a few pictures!

Couple of things to note:

1: Rather than post the newest one first, I have it arranged such that this series of posts runs in a chronological order

2. If you would prefer to just look at the pictures

Please go here and check out the first two albums.

Thanks for reading my blog, I greatly appreciate your comments (so get your lazy ass to scribble a few comments (!) .

Cheers!

Randy Pausch passes away

2008-07-25T23:39:00.002-04:00

Randy Pausch, the professor who gave us the remarkable last lecture is no more. I sound like a news reporter but the truth is I realize someone brilliant among us has moved on. He epitomizes to me the promise academia holds. I do not wish to blog about how said it is though we all new it was coming. Let's look at the bright side - ironically through his illness he has enriched the world far beyond his wildest dreams. My heart goes out to his family and I am sure they know how lucky they are.

If you are wondering who he is : Please watch this, you will NOT regret the time you spent on this.

Pre Day 1 : The flight here

2008-07-18T23:00:00.000-04:00

Arrived here at 6:30 am local time, a transition of all sorts! West to East, North to South and Summer to Winter. The flight was unremarkable save the “tight” connection I had to make at Cincinnati (which I suspect caused my checked in baggage to not arrive with me). Traveling alone brings all kinds of new experiences, plenty of time to ruminate and have a few conversations.

People: I will mention two people I met and one I overheard to give you an idea. First person was on a business trip to San Francisco was talking to me about the challenges of developing a drug (she worked in a pharmaceutical company and makes ‘quite a bit’ by her own admission to this kid joining college in California). He was making his first trip out west and exuded an innocence and wide-eyed wonder at people stories betraying his inexperience. The next person I met when I had to take a bus between terminals. She was a daughter of missionaries of American nationality in Quito, Ecuador and she was joining school in Seattle. She exclaimed that I had an accent and proceeded to express jealousy at my trip to Auckland. Incidentally, I don’t know how to pronounce this city, it sounds closer to Oakland but if I try it people remind me that I did not need a flight from LA to get there (Oakland, CA is drive-able from LA). Finally the there was this lady who has teaching in Chinese public schools in Beijing (interestingly not English!) and was traveling to NZ and Australia. I could not say where she came from. As we landed in Auckland, I peeked into the drowsy rainy morning wondering what is in store!

Day 1: June 26th, Thursday - Auckland

2008-07-18T22:50:00.000-04:00

Well today was a long day. It started at about 4:00 am NZ time, with the plane shaken by turbulence. I had slept surprisingly well during my flight. I got into the city (airbus from the airport to the downtown costs NZD 15) and walked past this bar filed with people watching the Turkey-Germany Euro semi final. I could not check in till 1, so I thought I would make the most of the time getting my bearings right this city. My first impressions are that everything in this city is expensive! The city is vibrant and it seems to me that it has shades of Montreal mixed with Helsinki! It seems it is impossible to escape the view of the sky tower.

The majestic, almost cliched sky tower
Aimlessly wandering around the city, dodging sudden downpours, busy pedestrians and dealing with a heavy backpack gets me a bit crabby. A bit of self-doubt creeps in! My bag has not yet arrived, my accommodation is dank, crowded and unremarkable ☺ and top it all things seem expensive! I cannot wait to go to the less crowded parts. 1/3rd of NZ population lives in Auckland! On the positive side, the architecture around Queen street (the main street in downtown Auckland much like Rue Cartier in Montreal) is a delightful mix of old and new. The people are heterogeneous, with the minorities predominated by South-east Asians, quite ordinary until of course they open their mouth! The Kiwi accent is fascinating with notably strange vowel space. I will remark more on this, I am sure, throughout this trip.
The evening was quite interesting. Auckland seems to come alive at night, though not with the obscene fervour that you might imagine.

Auckland by night

The weather is quite cold, blustering winds and I was yearning for my jacket, which of course was safely packed in my bag that has not yet left the shores of America. The “free” dinner at Nomad’s fat camel backpacker is a freaking joke, remind me to write reviews in bold.

People: I met two people worth mentioning. The first guy was a Brazilian from Sao Paulo who spoke English haltingly named Ricardo who was leaving to Brisbane for a year to learn English. The second guy from NJ, who will be called the Harvard geologist for I forgot to ask his name, was here on a short trip before he went to Australia to take a practicum course on the outback. Incidentally, he was gushing how he was going to a conference to Iceland later.

Day 2: June 27th, Friday, Near Auckland : Rangitoto

2008-07-17T22:00:00.001-04:00

The day started out well, no jet lag, restful sleep and was awake at 7 am. I decided I would visit a nearby, uninhabited volcanic island named Rangitoto. I took a ferry from the harbour and as it receded the coastline, I saw spectacular views of downtown Auckland. The lovely blue skies changed to stormy rains in a matter of minutes! I must remark about the weather in Auckland region: it changes by the minute quite literally. Today, I saw an alternation between lovely blue and pouring rain at least 12 times. Hyperbole you might say and wave your hand away! Ask the locals they shrug their shoulders, grin and move on. Also, I had some fun with the Kiwi accent. First(ly), when I bought breakfast and the lady told me that will be seventeen I jumped out of my pants in surprise. I looked at the bill and realized it was 7.10! Second I was struggling to stifle my laughter when the “skipper” of the ferry was talking about the “dick” (deck in Kiwi).
As I disembarked in Rangitoto, it seemed like a stupid idea – pouring rain, shelter scarce, no water or food, but the idea was enticing and so I got off with a few other people who shared the same foolishness.

The quay at Rangitoto, the weather changed about 5 times over a course of 4 hours !

The highlight of this island is that it was created by a volcanic eruption a mere 600 years ago! The local Maori witnessed the spectacle (as evidenced by footprints on the lava ash) and named it so. As the ferry left us, the clouds cleared miraculously to reveal deep blue skies. The crater of the eruption was an hour away and I decided to climb it. Hiking or tramping as it is known here is quite popular here. My walk to the top was filled with periodic realization that I was seeing something so different, so young geographically. Black rock formed out of lava, little fauna, save for a few birds and puzzling distribution of flora marked the path to the peak. While on top I decided I was going to hang out here for a while, while the rest of the group departed. I was the only person on the island (remember, I was cribbing yesterday about the crowded streets of Auckland!!). The feeling was great, fantasies of being an explorer floated through and then I realized I was taking the wrong path down! It is hard to ask for directions if you are the only person in the Island! The catch was I had to get back to the wharf in about 3 hours or I risked missing the last ferry out! To cut a long story short, I made it with plenty of time, I basked and huddled alternatively and continually marveled at the lovely sights of the Island. I was very tired and I got back to Auckland, had sushi and to my joy was reunited with my bag! I now had a towel, jacket and what not!

People: Today was remarkable in terms of the people I met and their stories. Do you remember the lady I overheard in the airport? I saw her again today and walked up to her and started talking. Turns out, she is from CA, getting married to a South African, living in China and is named ‘Brit’ – globalization indeed! We chatted for about 45 minutes, basic themes being how travel dissolves national fanaticism and how one can be a global citizen. On the island, an Italian couple (David- eh as he was introduced and Paula [pronounced Paola like my dear Brazilian friend) accompanied me to the peak. They were students of journalism visiting NZ for 10 days. She was a national tennis champion and both of them were wonderful company. She was adamant to leave the island as soon as possible too! As I waited, after rest of my “tramping mates” left the island I realized I was not alone. I met a Japanese gentleman named Matsimoto who reminded me of Chang’s father from Tintin. He was retired from a job in publishing and was determined to roam the world in his retirement – Annie’s kinda person. Then I met Nick and Bees (Bess pronounced like a Kiwi) and they were from near Christchurch doing a tour of NZ before moving to Ireland. Then there is Allie, an Englishwoman from Coventry (I asked her CT? both incredulously and foolishly) who volunteered in Sri Lanka for a month, stayed in Thailand and was leaving to San Francisco tomorrow! Dennis a german bloke was funny, talking to me about his bungee (bungy here) jumping experience and also the fact that he was here on a 11 month work and subsist plan! The wanderlust is powerful and most of the people are in their late teens, early twenties, working to fund their travel, skimping and spending lavishly, eating sparingly etc. How colourful a way to spend your carefree years!

Day 3: June 28th, Saturday, Auckland to Rotorua

2008-07-17T21:30:00.000-04:00

Rainbows followed me everywhere

I woke up nice and early and got ready to make my first trip within NZ. Rotorua was the destination. First, I had to make my way to the bus stand in a cold-rainy-windy Auckland dawn! I waited at a coffee shop, reading a newspaper and there was cricket everywhere! What a lovely feeling, morning cricket news, a cup of cappuccino and waiting to go to some place exotic ! The bus arrived, the driver was a chirpy little chap and we mad our way across the Kiwi countryside. One word: Splendid! The countryside was basically rolling hills spotted with sheep and cows and little hut-like house. Apparently, sheep here outnumber people 6 to 1 (or something) and I
saw plenty of evidence for that. We reached Rotorua around 12:20, having left Auckland around 8:15 and I was freezing my skull off. I was desperate and I found a middle-eastern place serving Lentil soup. After some hot soup and a long conversation later with the guy at the counter, I left. It turned out that he was from Kanyakumari (southern tip of India and my state Tamil Nadu). Wandered into backpackers, greeted by a South African bloke (that I later came to know, stayed in the same dorm,) and found that people just stayed here on and on and worked there! There was this guy from Malaysia, Kumar who was here, a bit embarrassed by the fact that he worked at a restaurant (!) and who was convinced that “westernization” was bad for his children!

Rotorua the town was alright but the lakefront was spectacular, reminded me a lot of Lake Yellowstone. The sunset was lovely though rainy, extremely windy and cold ☺

Sunset at Rotorua Lake

Day 4: June 29th, Sunday, Rotorua to Wellington

2008-07-17T21:00:00.000-04:00

Sunrise - Rotorua Lake

The next day sunrise was a sight to behold and walk across the public park with a lot of geysers and the government garden was tranquil. It is not difficult to catch the sunrise around 7:30 in the morning and sunset around 5:30 pm in the evening – so extremely short days. There are these birds, funny looking, semi-flying birds that seem so common around here.

Comon birds called Pukeko (often confused with Takahe which is flightless and endangered,

Also the lake was full of ducks, geese and majestic black swans! The government gardens were pretty, so green and I eventually went to the city park that was built around the volcanic basin. On the whole, was a relaxed morning, walking around, having cappuccino and you know wait to leave to Wellington. At around 1:15 we set off to Taupo from where we would switch buses to Wellington. The bus ride to Taupo was pretty, though unremarkable until Lake Taupo came into view! Majestic snow-covered mountains adorned the background and the lake was huge (turns out it is the largest lake in the country), The bus ride from Taupo was punctuated with some uncertainty, as it was unclear if the roads were open because of snow. I was puzzled because Taupo was as sunny as it had ever been! Once we undertook the journey, (pardon me for indulging in the excesses of superlatives) was the most beautiful bus journey I have taken. One thing is that I have seen a rainbow (mostly full ones!) every single day of my stay here. Today, I saw 4 rainbows! and I have a sneaky suspicion that the Kiwis don’t even bother to look up unless it is especially spectacular! As went over the region called National Park, I realized that the terrain was extremely hilly and we saw enough snow around. We stopped for dinner and I got a big honking veggie burger (incidentally the Kiwis spell it Vege). Once it was sunset there was nothing much to see. I got into Wellington late Sunday; the city was already asleep.

Days 5,6,7 June 30th – July 2nd (Mon ~ Wed) Wellington

2008-07-17T20:01:00.000-04:00

Victoria university, Wellington

In case it is not clear so far, the “primary” purpose of my trip is to attend and present at Labaratory Phonology, 11 held at Victoria University, Wellington. I walked from my hostel to the conference centre, a brisk 25-minute walk. May I also remark, that for the next 4 days, I would be rich in that I would have my own room, internet and have good food (because it is provided by the conference!). The conference is very nice, about a 100 people and you get to talk to quite a few of them. Being Phonology, a bulk of my time was either spent in awe or feeling stupid or outside in the lobby (some talks are just not up my alley). Having said that, however, it was nice to see the approach of the study of language from a different perspective and the empirical results of course astound me irrespective of the approach!
The conference aside (I am happy to talk about it all night long but really who wants to listen to that; however I have proof that I did attend as well as presented at the conference for you doubting my true purposes!), Wellington is an astounding city. I like it way better than Auckland. It is cute, has character, relatively cheaper and full of coffee shops. When I say full, I mean if I walked about a km in Wellington, stopping at every coffee shop to just have a sip, at the end of it I would be dead!!

One of the many lovely coffee shops

Is insane but lovely ☺. In fact I just took a break had a “flat white” (coffee with milk really!) and a grape focasia bread (also called awesomeness as my dear friend Anue would put it). Is remarkable the options of the eats at these places and they are out of the world! The coffee options are funny – long black is just coffee, short black is an expresso, flat white- is coffee with milk, and there are many others that I have no clue what they are. Is a lovely lovely city.
Ok, there are two things I did taking breaks from the conference. First, I visited the NZ Parliament. Being ruled by her majesty the Queen of England (really, it is time to move on ;) ) the place is replete with customs and tradition. The system of governace is remarkable. NZ Parliament does not have a higher house (they voted themselves off !!) and laws are made with committees. Now the cool part is that you can submit a position, be invited to be attend this session (incidentally, during the tour I was seated in the very place you would sit if you were invited for this meeting). Here is the crazier part, you don’t have to be from NZ ! They practise absolute free speech and the whole thing looked very promising. Our tour guide was funnily enough from California but intensely proud of the Kiwi system and was funny old guy. I also met a German girl(lady) named Nadine and she was on her way to Auckland, having stayed in Wellington for 6 months before flying back to Germany.

The NZ Parliament or the Beehive

The second thing I did was go to Basin Reserve (!). Wellington’s lovely lovely cricket ground, that I have nurtured a dream of visiting ever since the 1992 world cup. You have probably heard this before, but you know, I recall that World cup fondly even though India crashed out early. It was held in Aus and NZ and matches in NZ started around 3:30 am IST. I did not have an alarm, was 12 years old but I could wake up on time for all the matches. Remarkable how your “body clock”, whatever that is functions so well if you really want to wake up. Anyway, I had seen that view of the Basin Reserve so many times in my life (with Mt. Victoria in the background) and it was an emotional high to be there!

The Springboks in flight
One my way to Basin reserve, I watched the Springboks (South African Rugby team) practise out in the open, undisturbed by the general public who stood and watched politely. For a rugby crazy country like NZ (it is their national sport too!) it was quite amazing that they were not hounded!

There is also a Cricket museum there that I visited (they opened it for me, cause it was a Winter Weekday). I spent an hour and half chatting with these two blokes David and Michael. David appeared to be in his late 50’s early 60’s and Michael in his 70’s. We talked like old buddies being reunited, about cricket of the 80’s 90’ and today. Michael was effusive in his praise for the new Indian team and he said he was feverishly supporting the Indian team that toured Australia. In his words, “My wife and I watched every single ball of every single match in that tour and we were cheering on!”. The exhibit itself was lovely tracing the history of cricket, particularly NZ greats like Howarth, Turner, Hadlee and I got to see some old buddies in action (though not Gavin Larsen ☹). I could not take pictures inside but I left with a black caps (NZ cricket team) cap ( and a T shirt! I love NZ and the people are sooo nice. I am heading to the south Island in a few days and I have heard people gush about how pretty it is. But for now, I think it has been wonderful, plenty of time to see, think and hopefully I am rejuvenated for a year of hard work!

Oh the Basin reserve...

What also tickled me is that we had a reception by the deputy mayor in the city hall which was very impressive. Our walk to the city hall was very nice and then we (four random conference attendees had dinner at an Indian restaurant. I learnt a lot about Australian Aborigines and the problem of integration into the mainstream culture. The food was disappointing but what was interesting was that we tipped them 5% (I think) and the consensus on the table was that we were over-tipping! Looking back, I have to admit that I loved Wellington much more than Auckland really.

Day 8 July 3rd (Thurs) Wellington – Picton – Nelson

2008-07-17T19:47:00.000-04:00

I did manage to get up early despite my concerns and I took the shuttle to the ferry terminal. I boarded what looked like a moving mall.

Ferry not a mall

It was stupendous! I expected a smallish ferry with a deck and place to take shelter in case of bad weather. Instead, I step into this moving vessel of luxury (for the purposes of crossing Cook’s strait!). I walked about pleasantly surprised and I ran into a well-known professor in my field. We chatted a bit about theory (geeks eh?) but taking care not to miss the lovely sights. The weather half co-operated. I also got to see Nadal demolish Murray on board. In case you ever visit NZ (which I sincerely hope you do!) please take the Inter-Islander; it is quite the experience!

Me in the ferry
I got off at Picton as did everybody, grabbed my luggage and was happy to note that the bus was waiting for the passengers of the ferry. Picton looked fine draped in rainbows, a sight that I have chanced upon every single day atleast once during my NZ trip!

Rainbows galore!

The journey to Nelson from Picton was pretty but unremarkable. Picton seemed to be the gateway into Southland but nothing more. I got into Nelson early evening checked into the hostel. Intermittent showers prevented me from getting to the centre of the nation that day! I was unsure about Nelson, it seemed fine, the views very pretty. Fine and pretty are two words you will no doubt hear quite often in the description of the South Island in particular, the reason being that am trying to balanced. The truth is each of these sights was absolutely marvelous the pictures I have posted will buttress this fact I hope. I am in fact quite confident that the scenery is resilient to amateur photography! Anyway, my first day in Nelson was pleasant.

Lovely scenery despite my camerawork

More NZ pics

2008-07-17T09:37:00.003-04:00

Please see more NZ pics here : http://picasaweb.google.com/mailnavin Your comments are most welcome!

Pictures - NZ

2008-07-03T07:36:00.003-04:00

Pictures from the first half of my trip to NZ - Please see and comment!

CLICK HERE

Dasavatharam - surprisingly impressive

2008-06-14T12:19:00.004-04:00

The Prelude

Yesterday was the first Tamil movie we saw at a theatre here in the USA and you could excuse us for thinking we were at Devi theatre in Madras! Sometime in the evening I read the review of the movie and I wonder - I wonder where the closest theatre to watch it in Tamil was. To my surprise it is about 30 miles away and they had it in Tamil and Telegu and the particular show was in Tamil.

So after Dinner we carelessly leaving an hour ahead of time, reasoning we would reach about 10 mins prior to the start. We get there and surging crowds, police cars (I assume just in case, people get irate) and huge flocks of fellow Tamil speakers! We sauntered in, losing any hope of getting tickets, see that many people with online bookings being turned down! I see the lady at the counter saying all i have are 2 extra tickets! I walk in and say I would like it :D ! She says that it will be 32 dollars in all and Annie exclaims 32! , to which the lady took offense. After pacifying her that is suprise more than complaints we got our tickets. As we walk in, I notice we have one correct ticket and one wrong one ( Turns out she did not have 2 extra tickets but 1 !) I go back back and whine, to which she says go in - I did not charge you for the tickets!- I had extra tickets that is all :).

We go in an find just one seat and Annie sat on my lap for the whole movie :) - The whole place is screaming ,people cheering the ad's, loud shrill whistles, loud comments in Tamil . The whole thing is crazy!!! Annie was the only "foreigner" !!!!

The movie itself

Without giving away, too much of the plot, I thought there wasa semblence of a story line though loosely connected with many unnecesary elements. Technically, the movie was impressive, though my dislike for the special effects for the sake of it took over my thoughts a bit. Kamal was obviously impressive playing 10 roles : 1- a medieval Vaishnavite 2- a US-Indian Bi0-scientist 3- An American paid assasin 4- "George Bush" 5- A Telegu officer for RAW 6- A Punjabi pop singer 7- A close to 100 Brahmin old lady 8- A Dalit environmentalist 9- A Japanese martial art expert & 10 - A 220 cm tall muslim guy.

You could see he essays some roles more effortlessly than the others but I greatly admired (as I always have) his tenacity as well his penchant for true acting ! The old lady, the assasin and Bush were particularly impressive. The winner in my eyes was the Telegu interrogator- was brilliantly essayed! The frill elements ( Mallika was not bad actually) but the Japanese guy, some action sequences, Asin - who plays this irritating, moray hugging, helpless as crap Brahmin girl, KS Ravikumars pathetic appearance and list goes on are the reasons why the movie is just impressive and not outstanding. Some slick editing, losing the songs would have greatly improved the movie.

Music by Himesh Reshmaiyya was terrible and the BGM by Devi-Sri Prasad was ordinary.

But my complaints aside, well worth a watch (or even two!). Great job, Kamal!

Kid Kick Ass

2008-06-13T14:23:00.002-04:00

The darndest things kids say! Spare a minute and get tickled :)

My sports allegiances

2008-06-10T03:31:00.002-04:00

I was thinking long and hard about who or which team I like in the various sports that I follow. I wonder why I support who I support.

Tennis - Roger Federer , Justine (now open)
Cricket- India, Chennai
Football(soccer)- Argentina, Used to be AC Milan ( now open)
American Football (football) - NE Patriots
Baseball - Red Sox
Basketball - Don't really care..

F1 - Used to be McLaren - now dont care very much
Ice Hockey - dont care but like to watch
Field Hockey - India but nothing recently

Other than that used to watch - Badminton , Squash, Olympic events - Gymnastics, Track and Field, , Rugby, Colllege sports.

How many of the choices do you agree with ? Is there anyone who shares all of these tastes!!

Inspired- Carol Fowler

2008-05-31T14:47:00.002-04:00

The second part of the evening was a cocktail party to honour Carol Fowler - the president of Haskins Labs (1992 - 2008) and also my advisor (honoured to say). It was great hearing from her mentors as to what kind of a graduate student she way. It was also great to hear from the people she mentored what a wonderful source of guidance she truly is. Academia lacks glamour, big bucks for the most part but in its own way has a lovely charm. How luck that I get to work with Carol!

Inspired - Sign Language (ASL)

2008-05-31T10:59:00.003-04:00

Hi folks!

The beginning of this week was a bit, let's say drab. Sometimes I feel uninspired by the rigmarole. However, Thursday was a wonderful shot in the arm. Iam going to divide my post into two parts.

Sign Language

First, as part of my research, I am trying to understand sign language use. I got to see couple of wonderful folks in a conversation with researchers at Haskins. They were so kind that they tried to include me in conversation, got interested in my last (sur)name. And to me it was fascinating to see how signers exploit the visual media for communication! In a four person signed conversation, interrupting is an art ( a quick tap or exaggerated movement gets the others' attention! In understanding language, we often forget that our solutions should work across languages, across media! I did feel sheepish when both of them asked if I knew any signing and if I were going to learn at some point. One of them even sternly (not really) told one of the researchers to interpret more often to me because she did not want to be like the hearing people who yap away without regard to the deaf people around!

It made an indelible impression on me. The stupendous ease of their communication, seamless movement of hands and facial expressions - It is socially - relevant language, grounded in the world that I desperately want to study!

For those who are wondering what I am talking about! I am sorry, I am not being careful enough to explain this clearly but take my word - IT was awesome :)

Ma vie en Rose

2008-05-03T10:20:00.004-04:00

If you looked at my blog and gasped yikes that is soooo girly or any of the typical unthought through stereotypes, this post is for you! I love pink and no, one need not be gay to like pink. I know a lot of my friends who love pink but wont admit to it. I am not so impressed by the parents and well meaning people who gift to colour code little children. Blue for boys, pink for girls.

I feel like these things eventually become stereotypes and stigmas and what not. After all pink is a colour, in fact some shades are quite pleasing. Let me know what you think

Psst: The title means "my life in pink", I forget in which language. It was a movie I watched a while ago about a boy who wants to be a girl.

A book this weekend

2008-04-27T19:02:00.004-04:00

Hi all,

I have decided to cut down on the many pointless hours I spend browsing the internet. I decided to read a book - Too soon to say goodbye by Art Buchwald- and I found it be charming and intriguing in its own sweet way. While I had heard a lot about about Art Buchwald and even seen his columns, but I never read them. The past two days I have been struck by how he found humour in everything, even his own dying. What's more, his NY times video obituary starts with " Hi! I am Art Buchwald, I just died!) with him grinning from ear to ear.

What a man!

Alright, I will keep y'all posted on how I am faring with respect to becoming more purposeful (purposeful enjoyment is the best kind of time spent!) in spending my time and if it helped or hindered how things went this week.

Till later!

Randy Pausch Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

2008-04-27T00:18:00.001-04:00

Here is the embedded video

Inspired, touched and saddened

2008-04-27T00:08:00.003-04:00

Hi all,

Thanks for reading (after all you could be doing your work ;) ). It has been a while since I cried ( not since the Patriots / Federer lost earlier this year! - just kidding ). But seriously, if you have not yet heard of Randy Pausch, I implore you to click this link to hear his last lecture ( I will also embed it in this blog if that will save time). You will see a man who inspires, who touches you, not to mention making you question the cruel ironies of life.

Thanks Prem (Gopalakrishnan), I chanced upon this video on your orkut profile (who says orkut is a waste of time!?)

New music, a generation gap and my efforts to bridge it!

2008-04-15T14:32:00.002-04:00

Hi folks,

I have been getting the feeling lately that the music I listen to (when I do) is atleast 5 years old. I had nightmares of being a bitter old man in another year chastising the young generation for their musical tastes!

So I thought I would ask around to determine what people are listening to now and what . I am talking non-Indian music for now. Also it looks like them music I seem to stumble upon are quite "uncool" by the standards I used to hold when I was in college ( I still am but I mean undergraduate!).

Suggest atleast one nice song if you find the time!

Back!

2008-04-03T21:11:00.006-04:00

Hi all, It has been almost a year since I blogged. Apologies! Quite a few things have happened in the interim. Our trip to India with a layover in Helsinki being the most noteworthy. However today I am compelled to write about a couple of things.

1. Roger lost yet again: This time has been terrible for the champion. He looks tired, a bit sluggish and found wanting in energy. This is the first year since 2000 that he hasn't won a single title in Jan,Feb ad Mar. Maybe this is the year he will win the french! Perhaps Djokovic will...

I miss him on full song but I do recognize that it is part of being a champion.

2. I don't understand why chauvinism is perpetuated by the victims themselves! You look around and you notice cases where the people being discriminated against perpetuate the institutionalized chauvinism that rages on... (e.g. women believing that they ought to act differently because they are women! or maybe the whole quota system in India or affirmative action here.) Would love to hear comments...

Well the bottom line is that I am back to blogging and am immensely glad I will (and importantly take the time to) rave about a few things periodically!

My own Webpage!

2007-08-26T20:34:00.000-04:00

Hi all,

Finally I have my professional webpage. Please give me your feedback. The url is

http://magnuson.psy.uconn.edu/people/navin/index.html

Thanks for taking the time to visit!!

South Park gems 2

2007-08-18T16:57:00.001-04:00

Ingenious!!

South Park Gems 1

2007-08-18T16:50:00.001-04:00

Hmm not for prudes :)

अरे! देखो इसको भाई लोग!

2007-06-29T17:36:00.000-04:00

मेने सोचा आज हिंदी में ब्लोग करूंगा । मस्त है ना यह। अच्छा ठीक है परीक्षा होने के बाद ब्लोग करता हूँ। पता नहीं कैसे बनाये ये लोग इसको। काफी कठीन है मेरे ख्याल से ।

Fiwikwik ad india

2007-06-12T19:57:00.001-04:00

Wow I have been looking for this ad for a while :)

Greenply Funny Ad Sawithri!

2007-06-10T17:03:00.001-04:00

Too funny, I have never seen this but really take a look!!!

Indian ads from the yore! ( Goldspot - The "zing" thing!)

2007-06-09T11:34:00.001-04:00

Brings back memories.

Mmmmm super!!

2007-06-02T21:52:00.000-04:00

I miss traditional south Indian cooking ( a misnomer because of the variety) but anyway.. Here is what was cooked for my Brazilian friends and they loved it !!

Peerkanga thogayil ( Ridge gourd ), Rasam and Potato podimas ( look these up for easy recipes!)

Yummm

Reading old emails!

2007-05-26T19:51:00.000-04:00

What better time to blog than when you are neck deep in work! Another activity to kill time is to read old emails! It is awesome, it is like a time machine. I was reading emails from 3 years ago, just 3 years ago and so much has changed. My outlook, my beliefs, what mattered was so different it seems like :). Most of the same people still figure in my life but the nature of the interaction seems to have changed. I request you guys to try this. Pick a random date from 2 or 3 or 4 years ago and start reading a few mails in serial order. It is extremely interesting as well as a weird feeling of nostalgia. Not literally nostalgia I guess because I don't miss those days but for a moment you feel transported back. If none of that happened try a bit of LSD :D

The right place

2007-04-07T09:17:00.000-04:00

Yesterday a thought occurred to me. I think I really love the academic profession. I mean as a student you meet all these wonderful people who are the cream of humankind. You find them constantly acknowledging the fact that we are still learning, who are excited about what they are doing and who are brilliant at whatever they decide to do! All I am thinking is, if I can be 25% of what they are, I would consider that my life was well spent. And yeah not to mention the vacations, sabbaticals and conferences!!

APRIL FOOL

2007-04-01T01:15:00.001-04:00

Hahaha! Google is introducing "paper mail". It seems they will print out your mail if you want and deliver it to your doorstep. Even Photos :) Sounds like Google gulp and Pigeon rank technology. Watch gmail today and tomorrow!

Hostel (Holi)

2007-03-10T21:19:00.001-05:00

Watch this video, wonderfully conceived!

Been a while!

2007-03-09T22:06:00.001-05:00

Sorry folks, the same story! Plenty of things have happened and I have not updated my blog. Have you watched the oscar movies ? I liked Departed and I thought Babel was a show offy movie that went nowhere... Little Miss Sunshine was refreshingly nice and I don't understand what they hype about Water is. Pathetic inspite of music by our man. Characterization was too flimsy and fragile. I did not even feel too sad even though the circumstances depicted are supposed to tug at your heart's strings.

Federer marches on in tennis land erasing record after record. I hope he beats the record for the longest unbeaten streak. Cricket world cup is days away and I am still torn between paying 200 bucks to watch it or resigning myself to the fate. I feel like if I pay India will play pathetically, if not they might do well!

Before I sign off I have to share this news that I was awarded the "Alvin Liberman award" yesterday for my research. I still have a long way to go but it feels really nice to be recognized by a group of eminent scientists... More later!

Why he is God

2007-01-25T16:37:00.001-05:00

Check this is out, the best ever!!

ROGER FEDERER'S BEST SHOT EVER - video powered by Metacafe

Getting ready for the year ahead

2007-01-06T20:36:00.000-05:00

Hi folks,
So I finally I am not just posting a video from You tube! Every year at the start, I wonder how I would change as a person at the end of the year. A couple of things always happen. I get a year older and I get a bit fatter! Anyway, the year starts off excitingly. I am teaching my first full class! Hopefully it will be one of many many years of teaching.The course is called Cognitive Psychology.

Apart from that research looks exciting but I won't bore you with all that. The Cricket World cup will be wonderful, though India don't look like they will accomplish anything! Will it be another glorious year for Roger the King Federer ?

I think I will be going to India this summer after finishing my prelims. I have to renew my visa and all that hmmm. I do realize this is just a conversation I am having under the guise of having a blog written but it is refreshing not having to go back and fuss over every single word in the document!

Well lets see what the 26th-27th year of my life has in store for me. Let mek now guys if there is anything in particular y'all ( ;) ) are looking forward to!

Laughing Baby

2007-01-03T14:22:00.001-05:00


Who said babies always cry!!! Reconsider your opinion folks!

Indian Santa

2006-12-21T12:41:00.001-05:00

See I knew it folks Santa is Indian! Hehehe

India wins in South Africa!

2006-12-18T14:42:00.001-05:00

Today I woke up to the fact that India have won their first ever test in south Africa. Just looking at the Indian bowling you could see why. The batsmen performed as usual, perhaps slightly better than usual but the bowling department takes all the credit! Sreesanth and Zaheer bowled straight and fast and a lovely line. I don't know if India can win another one but we can bask in the glory of India winning a test on foregin soil ( outside the sub continent!).

Exam time

2006-12-10T14:33:00.000-05:00

Hi guys, sorry you have hard to watch lame videos on my blog instead of reading my lame writing! The end of the semester for an academic is a bit more work than usual. However I wrote this blog just to make sure I dont lose all my audience ( mostly people forced by me to read my blog and visit it regularly to increase my site count :D).

Murali's crazy run out vs NZ 2006

2006-12-09T11:19:00.001-05:00

Murali should have stayed at his crease, really!

Just ZIP it!!

2006-12-07T00:14:00.001-05:00

Man I love Austin Powers!

Jonty Rhodes run out

2006-12-04T23:35:00.001-05:00

A bit of nostalgia . Inzamam is run out by Jonty Rhodes 1992 World cup!

Guru - The music

2006-12-01T16:20:00.000-05:00

I have been listening to Guru on a fairly regular basis since the album released. My first impressions were already favourable ( not every Rahman album starts of that way! ). Here I present an extremely short review of the songs in a count down form.All this review is independent of the picturisation where the order might change quite a bit!

7. Baazi Laga : The most pedestrian song, if I did not know I would guessed the songs music director was Anu Malik and that is really saying something!!

6: Now things get difficult but it has to be Mayya Mayaa Make no mistake this song is an interesting experiment ( aTurkish Gujarati mix as Rahman himself described this song). This song is much better than Baazi lagaa and it is in 5th because other songs are very good. : Rain

5: Barso re: Rain songs have something infectious about them and this is no exception. Lovely light and nice, reminds me of boondon se baatein from thakshak because of the common theme. This one is awesome, sit back and imagine the tropical indian rain uplifting your mood!

4. Ay Haiyrathein: Many people's jaws would have dropped. This song is undoubtedly sweet and many people's no 1. Starts off like Poo Kodiyin with Hariharan's lilting voice carrying it through effortlessly. But in some ways it has a lot of things going its way so it should have done much better : )

3. Jaage Hain : Breathtaking. The Madras chorale group, I had not heard of them ( though logically one should exist for every city) but trust Rahman to bring them to the fore. In the begining I felt someone else should have sung Rahman's part but now I have had to change my opinion. Wonderful wonderful orchestration with Rahman's voice effortlessly dictating the mood. Man!

2. Ok Tough one but I will say Tere bina: This ballad is created for Rahman and he more than does justice to it. This is the song I liked immediately and it only gets better from there!

1. I know few will agree with me here but Ek lo Ek Muft is a wonder! This is a case of experimentation going right. The drunken elan is conveyed wonderfully by Bappi Lahiri. Thanks to Gulzar for suggesting him! What a song. It is easy to stick to a formula and churn out hits but to experiment boldly deserves a pat on the back!!

I am not too hopeful about the movie. I have lost faith in Mani Ratnam but Rahman rocks !!!!

Visited States!

2006-11-27T23:32:00.000-05:00

I have visited 32 out of 50 states. Still 18 more to go whew! All this in four years so I am proud off myself! But well this winter I am hoping to accumulate atleast two more!

2006-11-12T23:45:00.000-05:00

Moses Supposes

Check out the tap dancing!!

2006-11-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

Express yourself - The new ad

Another wonderful ad from Airtel

2006-11-07T20:02:00.000-05:00

Airtel - Express yourself Ad

A wonderful ad, listen to ARR shine through!

2006-11-07T18:46:00.000-05:00

Bank of India - 'Piggy Bank'

Folks, such a wonderful ad
( thanks Kavitha for sending me the link )

Sorry folks

2006-10-28T13:24:00.001-04:00

Am sorry I havent been able to update my blog. Please keep checking and I promise I will have a lot of new updates!!

The Connecticut fall

2006-10-15T11:07:00.000-04:00

Sorry folks, I have not been able to blog the past month or so. However the Fall( Autumn) forced me to atleast post a couple of pictures. I could not go to the cool places to take pictures but just everyday places look so awesome during Fall!

Lage Raho rocks!

2006-10-03T17:06:00.000-04:00

Old news am sure for most of you but I have to say, It was a wonderful movie. Of course not everything about is great but who cares!
Points that I loved

a) Not Preachy at all

b) Gandhism introduced very very creatively

c) It is funny

d) Usually difficult to make a series ( a sequel would have been harderand maybe unwarranted) based on a hit movie and they have almost bettered it. Whether it is better is a matter of debate

The points that were not so cool

a) The songs though good seemed artificially pasted

On the whole it is an awesome movie that delighted me ! Kudos Rajkumar Hirani! Lage Raho!

How to find a plug-point ( electric outlet) in Pittsburgh airport

2006-09-21T13:39:00.000-04:00

Hi I am in this wonderful Pittsburgh airport that boasts of free wi-fi network. The catch is you have to find an electric outlet to plug your laptop in. Now if you have an awesome battery or your not staying too long that is fine. But if you are like me who got here early and who has a crappy battery then well the search begins.
Here are the results of the search.

Best places are passenger terminals which have abou't 2 outlets per gate! One would think they would have more but sorry. If it is crowded your best bet is by the water fountains and the restrooms. If they are taken for cleaning equipment your final resort is the restrooms themselves!
I think this comfortably generalizes to many airports, the only problem is most don't have free internet!

Federer - the story

2006-09-11T21:09:00.000-04:00

From Wimbledon 2003 to today, the saga continues.... Roger Federer the best there is, the best there was and perhaps the best there ever will be!!

2006-08-31T01:41:00.000-04:00

Fond memories of Everglades national park, Florida, Yes that is an alligator eating a python!

Watch out Bear!

2006-08-29T23:29:00.000-04:00

It is not everyday a black bear approaches you!

2006-08-26T11:11:00.000-04:00

Look at the artwork!

2006-08-26T11:10:00.000-04:00

Old faithful geyser

2006-08-26T11:08:00.000-04:00

Splendours of the geyser basins in yellowstone. Truly a sight to behold!

A Glimpse of heaven

2006-08-22T12:09:00.000-04:00

Possibly the best picture I have ever taken.
Yellowstone lake as seen from West thumb. The reflection is so clear and the dazzling beauty looks like it is an artist's painting. It was so beautiful that it was just point and shoot! And no it has not been modified by photoshop. If you guys want the original picture for your wallpaper do let me know. I am working on making a set of good pics and I will be happy to send it to you if you so wish. Just lovely!

2006-08-17T23:14:00.000-04:00

Jewel cave, WY

2006-08-16T17:52:00.000-04:00

A coyote at yellowstone

2006-08-15T20:19:00.000-04:00

Lake Butte in Yellowstone national park

2006-08-14T21:04:00.000-04:00

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

Pic6 - Beartooth pass

2006-08-13T19:22:00.000-04:00

Beartooth pass in Montana

Pic-5 - Badlands

2006-08-12T16:33:00.000-04:00

Sunset as viewed from the badlands in North Dakota

Click here to see other pictures

Pic4- The Bison

2006-08-11T17:42:00.000-04:00

Herd of Bison, Theodore Roosevelt National park

Once the symbol of the American west 75 million bisons were hunted down to less than a ew hundred within about 10 years in the late 19th century. They are massive,powerful and present an awe inspiring sight. Click here for other pictures

Pic3 - Rocky mountain national park

2006-08-10T20:32:00.000-04:00

Rocky mountain national park, Colorado

The alpine vegetation at 14000+ feet is another world fragile and extremely sensitive to human abuse. Of course breathtaking in its sight and feel. Click here for other pictures.

Picture 2 - Mount Rushmore

2006-08-09T19:07:00.000-04:00

Mount Rushmore , South Dakota

Undoubtedly, the symbol of America world over, here you see one man's effort to immortalize the American civillization for thousands of years to come. These painstaking efforts were conceptualized and overseen by a man named Gutzon Borglum.

To see other pictures please click here

Pictures from the road trip

2006-08-08T21:20:00.000-04:00

Theodore Roosevelt national park, North Dakota (click on the picture and zoom in to see full size)

For about a month from today, I will post one ( hopefully nice) picture from our road trip this summer everyday. Please do check back everyday for updates. If you want to see these pictures( without captions and details) they are uploaded
here .

What you see today is a picture of the badlands in North Dakota. An extremely rich ecosytem, is a wonderful sight to behold and the play of the light is awesome!

Homage

2006-08-07T00:41:00.000-04:00

On the morning of August 1^st 2006 I lost a dear friend. A day later I came to know as I listened in sheer disbelief. Keshav Bahety had passed away in his sleep at a tender age of 26. He was an epitome of calm and maturity and it is hard to believe that I cannot go to him and poke gentle fun at his overtly calm prosody anymore. With choked voices and teary eyes we bid him goodbye. He touched our hearts and our lives and now has left us weeping. We clearly don’t know what happens after death but I hope he has a happy afterlife if there indeed is one. Right now it feels like nothing can fill this vacuum.

Road tripping!

2006-07-13T15:51:00.000-04:00

Hi all,

After slogging it out this month I finally get to go on this trip I have been dying to go on. I have attached the map. Please do continue emails , comments and Scraps. I will get back and reply.
Yoo hoo!!!!!!! Await many lovely pictures! Click on the picture to see detail. I will be on the road for about 2 weeks, See you !

Azzuris are champions!

2006-07-09T17:26:00.000-04:00

Italy won in its characteristic defensive style.
Can anyone tell me what made stupid Zidane do that and head butt!!!!!!!

Two major questions!

2006-07-09T02:39:00.000-04:00

Q1: Federer or Nadal ?

Q2: Italy or France?

2006-07-06T10:16:00.000-04:00

Rooney's red card

Well excited to share videos now with you folks! But watch this, England press make a lot of hue and cry about Rooney getting sent off but alas! what they are blind to is the fact that Rooney has a lousy temper and temperament. That stamp on the groin did not look accidental and is ridiculous to think that a player can influence the ref to give a red card!

Cheaters sometimes don't prosper!

2006-07-05T17:25:00.000-04:00

Well it is a repeat of Euro 2000 this years finals, will the result be a repeat too? ( France won 2-1 with one goal scored by france in a late equalizer in 90 th minute!

Portugal = eternal freaking divers. Scolari irritates me, he is too animated to inspire any confidence. Figo, Pauleta they dive like there is no tomorrow! The wonderful Uruguayian referee decided that he would try to clean up his act but it is a miracle FIFA entrusted a match so important to him!

France did not dazzle but they did play reasonably. Their main cause for worry is Barthez, who almost gifted a goal to Portugal.

Italy won, playing brilliantly. They looked resolute and played good defensive football ( the kind that I am not fond of ) before attacking in the overtime. Totti again showed why the world hates him with his stupendous dives. After their careeer ( Figo and Totti) are to take up assignments coaching their countries diving teams for the olympics. Those scoundrels!

Germany Sweet revenge, Frings was asked to sit out after gesturing to Argentina to shhh after getting his penalty in. That meant of course for me that Germany had to suffer. and they did ,Podolski and Klose looked good. Ballack again is too much of prima donna for my liking. Again a eternal whiner and a bit of diver though not quite in the league of Totti!

Depressed!

2006-06-30T13:54:00.000-04:00

Penalty kicks and the Argentinian coach teamed up to oust Argentina from the World Cup 2006.
I have nothing more to add..

The big day!

2006-06-30T00:58:00.000-04:00

Germany vs Argentina

I am pretty nervous about this one. Can Argentina pull it through? Can the brilliance overcome German stubborness and Klose and Podorski.

I hope Argentina start with Tevez and Messi. Lets see.

Poor Spain

2006-06-27T16:49:00.000-04:00

Spain yet again are eliminated in the world cup. As usual a lot of potential but they never get far.

adio Raul no more kissing rings and Zidane gets to play another game.

Crying shame

2006-06-26T13:01:00.000-04:00

Pathetic refereeing ousted australia from the tournament. He gave a penalty in the 93rd minute to a clear dive. Shame on the Azzuris, there is no way they will win the world cup. Brazil/Argentina/ Germany will thump the shit out of them.

I hate it when referreing decides matches. Poor socceroos.

Ghana shock Czech!

2006-06-17T14:12:00.000-04:00

What a match! Brilliant stuff from Ghana right from the start. The refereeing was horrible where he awarded the penalty and the red card. Also Peter Cech was out of the world today! they should have been 5-0 down!

anyway Italy US next. The American commentators are pathetic..

AND Pathetic refereing ruins the game. What a spirited display from the Americans.
Daniele De Rossi showed why many people including me hate the azzuris. They are not only boring and useless but they are also unpleasant and sore losers. to remind you Totti spits on opponents..

My ideal scenarios for Group E

Scenario 1

czech def Italy
ghana def u.s

Result Italy can go home to their betting scandals.

Scenario 2

Czech def italy
and U.S def Ghana and U.S go through on goals difference

Well scenario 2 is rather impossible cos it requires a big loss from italy and a big win from U.S.

But I hate the Azzuris

Lets see what all this means!

World cup update

2006-06-16T19:38:00.000-04:00

Today was an awesome day at the football world cup. Brilliant stuff from Argentina, decimating Serbia-Montenegro 6-0. Crespo, Riquelme, Saviola, Messi all displaying brilliance. Well if you watched today's game you can understand why am crazy about the Argentinians deft touches, creativity galore and some fine skills on display! I have always loved the South American brand of football much better than the European variety.

the reason why am not supporting Brazil is because they have won it too many times now but otherwise they fit the exact lovely game am talking about. But right now Argentina looks the best. Holland on the other hand struggled to a 2-1 win over Ivory coast. I felt that the second goal from Ruud van Nistelrooy was an offside but I am not sure. I had only spanish commentary available and as a result could not confirm. What do you guys think? Mexico held to a fine draw by Angola.

Well tomorrow, Italy and US play and nobody is giving the US a chance, I hope they prove them wrong. The Azzuris are cocky and boring to watch.

Alternate viewpoints are welcome!

World cup update

2006-06-15T18:38:00.000-04:00

Ok the day was exciting!

England showed why they have not entered a tournaments finals since 1966! Pathetic display, lacklustre ( this time i get the spelling correct!). I cant understand the English fans and what they see in their stupid team. This for me is the worst team in the world cup. I mean I hate them the most.

And I have to say who I like. Now in order

a) Argentina
b) Spain
c) Czech
d)Holland
e)Brazil
f)Ecuador
g) France
h) Germany

The teams I hate
a) England
b) Italy

other teams I don't mind Ghana,Ivory coast 9 I hope the under dogs go far...
why Riquelme's picture , cos he is awesome!

But Viva Argentina !

The worst french team I have seen

2006-06-13T14:04:00.000-04:00

France struggled to a draw with a lackluste performance today. Big names like Zidane,Henry, Viera, Wiltord struggled to play as a team. I normally associate such insipid performances from their neighbours across the English channel but the current team belies logic!

absolutely no finesse, the final 15 minutes rife with frustration and the card a minute routine. Pathetic performance.. South Korea and Swiss may qualify it looks like ( if I got the groups right)

As an aside WI might escape with a draw as todays play was rained out. Hopefully we will have play there.

What a Weekend!

2006-06-12T20:37:00.000-04:00

This weekend was the best in terms of sports.

Cricket,Tennis, Football and F1.

Most things worked out...

Cricket: Sehwag was awesome

Alas! Federer could not !

Argentina defeat Ivory Coast

Alonso kicked Schumi's ass

Federer.....

2006-06-11T11:56:00.000-04:00

As I am watching , I am sad that Roger is losing to the awesome Nadal... Nadal serves for the championship. My commiserations to my fellow Federer fans...
sigh..

Germany off to a start...

2006-06-09T14:14:00.000-04:00

Wow the wait is finally over! It is electric football time. (American friends do you see why it is called football ;) )

Anyway I watched most of the opening game. Germany hardly looked convincing. Miroslav Klose scored twice but Wanchope twice faulted them on their strategy to play offside! Please tell me who you are rooting for. Mine sounds like not Brazil but then if it is England -Brazil, it is Brazil anytime!

So Teams I kind of like to varying degrees, France, Argentina, Holland, Spain, among others!!!

Will keep you folks posted

My first conference presentation

2006-06-06T16:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I presented my first contribution to human thought at a conference in Providence, Rhode Island. A lofty notion indeed but not inaccurate! I will not go into gory details of what I presented (Well I did give you guys a smattering of it in my previous blog anyway).

It was a poster presentation, not as unnerving as giving a talk or well atleast I thought that! The thing with posters is that you discover how to put your explanation in terms of your audience. It is a one on chat, sometime one to many chat and several wonderful people in your field give you feedback.

The slightly tricky part is if you run into people who don't exactly love your theory! I happen to run into two people who spend their life arguing for an opposite view.

Ya i know , I can see my tummy too and yes years have passed my friends!

Fireworks did fly but I was pleased in the end as to how I had parried the blows! As a lowly, measly graduate student I did not hope to do anymore! Well apart from the drama, I realized how we get attached to our way of thinking. I had entered the Compensation for Coarticulation (the topic I work on) wars and there was no stepping back! However thankfully, science is less about outwitting the other scientist than unveiling what Mother Nature holds in her. But sometime vehement opposition to your thought convinces more than ever :). Needless to say am excited, about the discoveries am making and sometimes even about the thing I am proved wrong, for there, it seems, lies the crucial clues to the treasure hunt of knowledge.

And of course all this seems profound, show-offish, and all that. At the end of the day all that counts is if all this is fun or not. At times I have to admit that it feels like the bane of my existence, but most often it feels like this game where we uncover clues and there are other players who are playing the same game competing to discover faster than you!

I promise you the next blog will not be anything to do with research!

Stream of consciousness

2006-06-01T22:39:00.000-04:00

It's been days since I sat down to blog. Finally I am here and the events of the past month recede into the horizon. The horizon that separates the today from the anticipation of my future. It feels sometimes that you know I keep waiting for the future, the future where I will be more efficient, better equipped to handle what is expected of me and well be fitter. Speaking of fitter, man my static lifestyle, my food habits are pushing me towards the realm of obesity, inflexibility and other states that I don't want to be.

Anyway now I am watching this Spanish movie " All about my mother". It is a sad yet powerful movie. I am contrasting this with this bullshit movie called 15 Park avenue. It is an Aparna Sen movie. Of course she cannot do justice like Pedro Almodovar but she let me down badly. A movie I loved however was Iqbal, especially the innocence of the little girl who played sister to the protagonist.

This kind of a disjointed blog is a reflection of the million thoughts that run through my head. It is indeed what is called disparagingly as the "stream of consciousness " writing. Stream of consciousness? So be it. Anyway I promise more interesting blogs soon . I have a lot to think about and maybe it will help to think aloud here :) !

Mcgurk effect

2006-05-12T21:53:00.000-04:00

Hi folks,

Many of you might have seen this please follow this link to see one of the most wonderful things :).
Speech the eternal mystery !

Please comment!

1. Play this movie looking at the speakers face, wht did you hear
2. Play this movie with your eyes closed or looking away from the screen, what did you hear.

Mcgurk movie

My due thanks to the website as well as to Harry McGurk and John MacDonald who first discovered this phenomenon!

Why astrology cannot work – an explanation from chaotic systems

2006-05-01T21:46:00.000-04:00

Ok folks, I know there are some of you that believe that your fate is pre-written. I will agree to agree to that point! So let us assume, for argument sake, that everything is written . To uncover this mapping from person to his fate all you need is the exact birth time and the place of birth. So you draw the horoscope and do some calculations and voila, you understand what will become of you.

For a second let us turn our attention to chaotic systems in general. One very important feature of chaotic systems is that it is extremely sensitive to initial conditions. That is if you consider a very simple non chaotic system like f(x) = 2x. Then if you start at x = 2.1 you end up at f(x) = 4.2 . If you start x = 2 then you end up at 4. So this system is not very sensitive to initial conditions. On the contrary, a chaotic system would yield something like 45 for 2.1, -300 for 2.2 and 0 for 2. That is a slight error in assessing the initial condition, can prove very costly when you are trying to predict the outcome of the system. Weather is an example of chaotic system and hence any long term prediction of the weather is inaccurate, if not impossible. Popularly called butterfly effect, it refers to the fact that a multitude of events affect the weather. That is a butterfly flapping its wings in New York affects the weather in Chennai! So how do you predict such a system? You don't! If at all you predict for a very very short period of time. That's why you see the weather channels constantly updating their forecast.

Ok life is a chaotic system. There are few arguments there, who you meet today, what you do tomorrow, what you did not do yesterday all of these can have a huge effect on your life. How many of us have spent time recounting how our life has changed due to something very simple that we did ages ago. So now how will you predict life. The uncertainty in initial condition is phenomenal. The time is not very accurate, the latitude and longitude of your birth is not very accurate either. Does it follow that every body who is born at a certain time say 8.33 am in say Chennai, will have the same life or even a similar life? No! Small errors in the chaotic system of life can lead us astray if we try to predict and hence the proof.

So why does astrology appear to work? Well like to propose mystical explanation to the unknown and this tendency is noticeable from the days of yore. We like a sense of false logic rather than acknowledging ignorance. Also astrological predictions are usually sufficiently general. Some of them take the form of self-fulfilling prophecies. Some of them happen by chance. Show me an astrologer who predicts correctly. Let's have him predict the winning lottery ticket number and I will be glad to share the spoils. With all due respects, folks think critically before paying those charlatans money. I am sorry if I have offended any of you, but these remain my beliefs. However if any of you feel that I have erroneously concluded so please do let me know, after all that is why we share our opinions.

Gestation period : The mystery solved

2006-04-29T22:08:00.000-04:00

Hi folks,

Apparently the human gestation period is 40 weeks from the last menstrual period recorded before pregnancy. You use something called Naegele's rule supposedly. The rule works by subtracting three months from the first day of the woman's last menstrual period and adding seven days to that date( Thanks wikipedia...)

So it was not my brilliant hypothesis.However 40 weeks works out to 10 lunar months. Maybe there is an ounce of truth to it! Thanks to Vidhya for her comment clarifying that it was 40 weeks and Laura for making the distinction of how the conception date is determined.