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Showing posts from 2009

Nobel Lectures 2009

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I was fortunate to be present at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today, 8th December 2009, to attend lectures by this year's Physics and Chemistry Nobel laureates. According to the Nobel Foundation statutes, the Nobel Laureates are required to 'give a public lecture on a subject connected with the work for which the prize has been awarded'. Nobel Physics prize winners: Charles K Kao, Willard S Boyle and George E Smith Kao, a Chinese, won the award for his contribution in the field of optical fibers. His lecture, titled ' Sand from centuries past, send future voices fast ', (an innovative title, which highlights the importance of Silica in optical fibers) was delivered by his wife, who did a wonderful job in explaining even technical aspects of Mr.Kao's work. Boyle and Smith shared the prize for their work in the area of CCD (charge coupled devices), which form the very basis of digital imaging techniques and play an important role from a tiny 2 megapixel

Unstoppable Force and Immovable Object

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"What happens when The Unstoppable Force meets The Immovable Object" is a classical paradox question, where one disproves the presence of the other. But ask the Sri Lankan cricket team, and they will promise that both of them exist. They have faced and suffered from the hands of an unstoppable force, Virender Sehwag and an immovable object, Rahul Dravid at the CCI ground in Mumbai. And when they realise tonight that they will again be encountering the duo tomorrow morning, hmm, they have absolutely nothing to motivate themselves and well, one can only pity them. Earlier M.Vijay, fresh from some beautiful knocks in domestic cricket, showed he truly belongs to the big stage. His stance, bat speed and flow (esp. the fluent cover drives) are amazing. Add to this his superiour fielding abilities, oh boy, he sure is a player to watch out for ! Coming back to Sehwag's innings, its his uncomplicated approach to batting which makes him a big threat to bowlers. Try asking him abou

Back to the blogsphere after a long long gap......

Its five months since I blogged. Whoa, its exactly five months, my last blog date is 14th March and today its 14th August. Some connection I have with the number 14 ! So folks, I am leaving to Sweden for MS in 2 days. I hope to share my travel experiences here. Hope I get the time and importantly, internet facility to blog.

Shriya in "Thoranai"

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"Thoranai", starring Vishal and Shriya is being shot near my place. Here are some pics of Shriya I was able to click before I was shooed away and asked not to take photos. Anyway, no harm in uploading a couple of pics I guess.

Raining bullets hinder cricket

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Just last week I was telling a friend how all the major eight test playing teams were involved in good cricket now, and what more can a cricket fan ask for. I didn't touch wood I guess, here we have a cancelled tour. Thank God all the players are safe, but its very sad that eight lives were lost in the Lahore attack. The cricket world is already in a mayhem with number of views and suggestions from number of quarters. The most irritating fact is that when the Lankan players themselves have been very considerate and diplomatic with the whole episode, cricketers elsewhere have began to raise their unwanted concerns about the future. Duncan Fletcher has cautioned England's players against playing the IPL, saying some types of terrorist attacks can be carried out more easily in India than Pakistan. This is his explanation, " The traffic is often so bad in the big Indian cities where a lot of the cricket is played that the bus can move along only slowly at times, which turns it

Hotdog Billionaire !!

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Arun, a 21 year old from the suburbs of Chennai was under the misconception that hot-dogs were made of hot dog meat, until one day he accidentally tasted one at a party in the heart of the city. It was love at first bite for him and the start of many visits he was to make to the place. However, world turned upside down to this young man when the hot-dog shop owner decided to close down, owing to recession and economic crisis. What will Arun do? Will his desperation for hotdog motivate him to open a shop? Will he make profit or crumble under the crashing stock market? What is his secret ingredient to success? Watch it all, in ‘ Hotdog Billionaire ’ !! Special feature: For the first time in the history of world cinema, this movie has no original sound track. All tracks are adapted from other albums !! Applications open for screen test for supporting actors. Apply with 2 photographs by 30th February 2009. (You never know, even this movie may win a few Oscars!!) Contact: B

A wonderful thought

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?" The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." What he had written was: "Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it." Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. Bu

A new perspective this new year

Belated new year greetings folks. I was a bit busy with my project, and couldn't be regular with the blog. Hope this year gives me more time to blog (and more time for you to read it !!). Though we don't know what surprise the next instant has in store for us, we can always hope for the best and be prepared for the worst. I was surfing through some old forwards and found an interesting poem. (Courtesy: Anusha Iyer, Baroda) It is for all those people who are enduring a rough phase. Hope this new year is the beginning of the end of your turmoils. This Too Shall Pass If I can endure for this minute Whatever is happening to me, No matter how heavy my heart is Or how dark the moment may be If I can remain calm and quiet With all the world crashing about me, Secure in the knowledge God loves me When everyone else seems to doubt me If I can but keep on believing What I know in my heart to be true, That darkness will fade with the morning And that this will pass away, too Then nothing