Light in the Dark

No recent posts here.. Thought I'd bump up one frm ma blog :
Saw a firefly on the way to lab. I cant remember the last time I saw one. Memories of my native place in Malabar are flooding back into my mind.

The house is halfway up a mountain called Kappimala. All around, you can see the Western Ghats spreading away like ripples of green water. The nights are as beautiful as the day. This place might be one of the very few areas where there is no electricity connection in Kerala. So once it is night, it's pure darkness.. Nothing like the night lights filling up the sky in Bangalore. The only light sources are the Moon and fireflies. I remember the joy of sitting out on the couch after dinner during such nights. The calmness just engulfs you, feeling one with nature and the sounds of nature rings in beat with the soft music from my iPod. Ah..

The Tachometer story

**Pals, here I am going to tell you a story,which actually happened in our electrical machines lab.It happened during our university exam.I am going to describe it in first person because it will make it more funny.I will not tell you the name of the real hero due to his persuasion(threats). **

(This doesn't deny the possibility of that brave soul being me.. ok??)

Well.. guys, as always it is, I rarely had any interest in attending classes during s6 also.Let it be theory classes, or labs, those ain't bothering me. But still, I had to get into machines lab several times for attendance. Since their department was notorious for giving lowest internal marks, friends persuaded me to get in. sometimes, I yielded, sometimes I didn't.

But of course, I never allowed anything to affect my reputation. I was deeply engaged in my own businesses when all those dirty machines worked and others took readings...

But, as usual, when the exam was coming near, I found myself at sea.(that has become so regular!!) Just one day before the exam, I started to study so hard. I didn't feel as if I've ever seen any of those machines.Dc series,shunt, and all that crap. I tried to make out how each machine looked like, how to make all those connections and all that.

Next day, I entered into the exam hall with full confidence.I got an experiment and somehow I managed to write down all the stuff.(I don't even remember which one.. Why should I? Human brain doesn't have unlimited storage like gmail inbox).

I went to fetch components. I wasn't very sure if all those were the right components since I was seeing them for the first time.(Or atleast, i felt so..) The component list consisted of one thing called tachometer.I had a clear idea of how it was used. My friend had explained everything with hand gestures since it was impossible to have a real instrument. Right then, a question came towards me.

"You want a digital tachometer or an analog one?"

Well... that was a situation which I had never thought of.I didn't even know that two types existed.I was so confused as if a child was asked to choose between his mom and dad.

Now lemme tell you guys, when such a crisis occurs in your life, try to be purely logical, listen to your brain..

And that was exactly what I did..

Analog and digital.. Both of them revolved around my head.. digital.. means what? only ones and zeros.. thats much better.. isn't it?

I thought of the two subjects that we studied in 4th semester.. Analog and digital.. I thought of the way in which I miserably failed in one of them and managed to secure passmark in the other.. wow!! That was the most logical thing that I had ever thought of..

I said in a firm voice "digital..."

Somhow, I managed to make all the connections. I turned the machine on. I had to measure the number of rotations of the machine. So, that was where tachometer came into play. I tried to memorise what my friends explained to me. Tachometer had to be inserted at one end of the rotating part. I looked at the end of the tachometer and the hole in the machine.

"Naa... this isn't gonna make it"

I was pretty sure about that. The hole was too small. I walked to the other side of the machine. The hole on that side was slightly bigger. But still, I was confused like a baby in a topless bar. I was very sure that this was the way in which a tachometer was used. May be, I'll have to insert it forcefully, I thought.

I took two steps backwards. With all my strength, I tried to insert the tachometer.

"No... Not like that !!!!"

There came a roar from behind. When turned back, I saw the lab attender running towards me. He grabbed the tachometer.

"Is this your first time here?"

He said in a grim voice. I shrugged as if I was being accused of something which I never knew about. He gave me an angry look and showed me how to use the digital tachometer. For the rest of the experiment, it was him who took the readings. May be he shuddered that I would damage anything.

When I told this to all my friends later, they were all laughing just like they were watching a Jim carry movie or something. What is there to laugh so much... huh?? I handled it very well eventhough I didn't know a thing about all those machines and instruments.didn't I??

What do you guys say??

HOTC Ch 4: The Ragam Story

S4 was a short semester, but didn't lack any of the unpredictability that makes college life so much fun. Every semester we start off bunking class (don’t blame us, teachers wouldn't have got the timetable ready by then) to watch a movie and this sem wasn't any different. Thus began another memorable chapter in HOTC.

Let me begin with a correction to HOTC Ch 3. Bhavah actually happened in S4. It was one of the first events in that sem. Shortly after that we'd the accreditation fiasco. Dressed up as terrorists to kill the dust, we cleaned the whole department for the first time in years. The pond in the middle of dept garden (yes we have a dept garden!) could be used by the archaeological dept to study prehistoric organisms. The toil didn't go unrewarded as we were promised the forbidden fruit - sessionals. Accreditation gave birth to many clubs unheard of till then. One of them was the robotics club of which we became the unregistered members. On display were the finest of our creations - Innak and Aruk.

February breezed through and accreditors awarded us an A. That year tech fests by individual depts were discouraged. So ISTE put up their hand to organise Aavishkar '07, a technical fest conducted by the CETians, for the rest of the world (supposedly). On the day of choosing event managers, a band of Applied turned up (thanks to KK again). Our class ended up having half of the main event managers. I was in charge of Physics Paper Presentation of which I remember not. The interesting events for us were AdZap and Industrial Village. Industrial village is the story about AS coming to the rescue of a hapless 'lady' event manager. We had a flawless design but the team with a multiplex in the middle of a huge lake in an industrial village won the event. Another memory worth remembering is the romantic Bach falling in love with R's eyes during the best manager event. Iceman and AS won prize in problem solving event that day.

Even while Aavishkar was going on, preparations had begun for Ragam '07. This year, we were determined to make CET presence felt at Ragam. As 2nd years, our batch took the initiative and intensive preparations for all events started at least a week before the mega event. Our band, which already had its share of break-ups, patched up and prepared for Western Orchestra.

The journey to NITC was so much fun with all of us together in the train enjoying our off-season class tour. I can still remember Appu and me chasing the runaway train in a station we had got down at 2 am to have to have a cup of coffee. The first day was slightly disappointing personally as our band didn't qualify for the finals. That was soon overshadowed by the amazing result in dance. It was only the beginning. By the final day we'd won most prizes by any college other than NIT. The prizes were for Street Play, Mime, Eastern Orchestra and many others. I'm happy to say that again Applied played a hand in most of those events; CET spirit scored above all that. The celebrations in NIT didn't last long because tradition predicted a fight. So we made a hurried escape back to railway station. The Ragam story is a truly remarkable one - one that should be taught to future batches as inspiration for following a dream, striving to achieve it and finding pure ecstasy on reaching the summit.

Even semesters has it's share of other events too like College day, LH day, Nuit 'd Emmaus, and MH day. I remember the College day particularly 'coz I'd one more rock performance. We must not have gained much fan following that day judging by the crowd response :-). But for me every performance has been a great experience and will always be.

Lastly, a few words about the club houses that sprang up in town those days. The first one is the famed PancharaKaadu. For years, the Acacia forest in CET between LH and main entrance had been the abode of lovers seeking privacy amongst the beautiful shades of those trees. We made it our club house #1. Boring teachers didn't worry us anymore, neither did the unfortunate souls who'd cut through PK. Club house #2: Madhavan Sir's tuition class. The previous semester taught us that electronic circuits can be interesting. What made it more fun were the innumerable days when we ended up either chatting away or went our club house #3 after trying our luck at the first circuit. #3: who said Trivandrum lacks a hang out place for youth. You have it right in the middle of town, under the shade of large, sticky-red-fruit bearing tree (dunno its name). Museum sessions on that lawn were the most enjoyable for me. These club houses brought the best brains in town together to discuss world issues, college life and PDs (ParaDooshanam).

Towards the end of semester, it was time for our dear final years to bid goodbye to our campus. The demo week was really funny. When it was over, we were so gloomy that it felt like losing someone close to us forever. We still miss you..

- JFx

Coming up: Ch 5 - Step Back to Ponder

PS: Everyone is encouraged to add all else that you remember in all HOTC (can be done as separate paragraphs in the end), plz add your name tag at the end of wht u add.

HOTC Ch 3: A Cultural Awakening

A new semester and a new classroom. We finally had a place in the electronics department. Though our class had a feeling of being out of place in the silent electronics dept, the new classroom's strategic position allayed our fears. The classroom had windows opening to the archi dept and the paths to Civil and Electrical depts. As you can imagine, there was continuous entertainment around ;-). Above all that, we found a new goddess - 'Sou' as we called her. No other senior have got so many dedicated fans in a single class she does. Her legend lives on in our mobile phone themes.

S3 was a semester of cultural and other events. The first in line was the sophomores' day, codenamed Miraglo. Though many connotations grew out of the name, the event was a success. Gokul, being the convener propelled our class into active participation in Miraglo. Mime, dance, rock show, Pulikali, Compering- you name it- we had applied colour in every event and organising committee. That was also proof that we were indeed a cultural force in college. The other major cultural event in the semester was Dhwani. It still remains the best Dhwani I've seen and the only one. Rivers of colourful birds didn't deter us from the job at hand. Once again we played our hand in organising the mega event.

One of the most memorable event that sem was our class tour. It's undoubtedly the best tour I went on. For once, we set apart the groupisms and celebrated it. Campfires and the bus turned into disco floors were not a single soul dared to sit. Wild adventures into mountain terrain, mischievous antics and interesting controversies - the tour had it all.

It was also the semester when we chartered unknown territories in the field of tech - Robotics. Thanks to Baachi, we were inspired into a field that both interested us all and gave us an 'academic cover'. Our first attempt, the soccer bots Innak and Aruk gave us third place in the competition held at TKM - Bhavah.

One of other things that comes to my mind is the Chicken pox epidemic, that engulfed our class. There were many more events I've missed mentioning. S3 was one of the longest semesters we had with University exams split up before an after Christmas (damn KU). With lots of fun and still lots of free time, it surely is among the top in my semester rating.

Coming up: Ch 4 - The Ragam Story

I won!

[photo to be uploaded]

relationship status: single
birthday: March 2
age: 1 day
languages I speak: hex

about me: There's no harm in taking the left turn to make a right one.
children: maybe
fashion: cellotype
hometown: trivandrum

passions: electronics
activities: sensing, running, blowing
books: Electronics circuits for the evil genius
cusines: Anything that can power me

education: mosqui's school of pics and technology
career interest: fire fighter

ideal match: someone hot enough needing some cooling down
first thing you'll notice about me: my triangular head
height: 35 cms
build: aluminium reinforced cellotape
looks: beauty contest winner
turn ons: candlelight
in my bedroom you'll find: iceman, Bach, Aj, AS, inquisitivo, JFx

JFx's Top Ten (5-2)

5. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy



The God of Small Things (1997) is a semi-autobiographical, politically charged novel by Indian author Arundhati Roy. It is a story about the childhood experiences of a pair of fraternal twins who become victims of circumstance. The book is a description of how the small things in life build up, translate into people's behavior and affect their lives. The book won the Booker Prize in 1997. - wiki (Read more)

This was one of the most touching novels I ever read. The initial chapters made me wonder whether it deserved the Booker prize, but towards the end the story really tugged at my heart overflowing wit emotions. It is set in my native place. So the nostalgia added that extra emotional edge to it.


4. A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking



A Brief History of Time is a popular science book written by Professor Stephen Hawking and first published in 1988. It rapidly became a best-seller, and had sold 9 million copies by 2002. It was also on the London Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. - wiki (Read more)

A Brief History of Time is the only non-fiction book in my top ten. Physics have always been my favourite subject, and astronomy my passion. This books describes in layman language how the huge universe ticks. From exploring the quantum mechanics of elementary particles to the theory of relativity of massive bodies, the book leads us to the ultimate aim of scientific research - the theory of everything.


3. The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand



The Fountainhead is a 1943 novel by Ayn Rand. It was Rand's first major literary success. The book's title is a reference to Rand's statement that "man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress". The Fountainhead examines the life of an individualistic young architect, Howard Roark, who chooses to struggle in obscurity rather than compromise his artistic and personal vision by pandering to the prevailing taste in building design. - wiki (Read more)

This must be one of the most controversial books ever written. It not only questions the world of second handers but inspire people to choose invidualism over collectivism. In this world run by collectivists, people often see this as a threat to their existence. What I've said may seem rubbish.. Honestly I hadn't understood much of the philosophy on finishing the book, but the book has a quality to make us think. The book's a must read - not 'coz I agree with everything said in the book, but 'coz it urges you to frame a philosophy in life.


2. Prelude to Foundation - Isaac Asimov



Prelude to Foundation is a 1988 novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is one of two prequels to the Foundation Series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psychohistory and the intellectual hero of the series. - wiki (Read more)

This is the first book in Foundation series. I'm a die-hard fan of the series. There are many reasons why I like this particular book the most. Asimov had written the original trilogy much before this book. Prelude is a much more mature Asimov. He excels not only in his Sci-Fi and unexpected twists, but also gives us a study of human psychology. Beautifully written, excellent ending.. one that you'd never forget.

IFFK '07

Thought I'd post a small write up about the International Film Festival of Kerala. It is hosted by by the Chalachirtra Academy, usually in the month of December.Many a times I'd wished view it, but December's always exam time. But thanks to UoK, the exams have been postponed to Jan this time around. (They haven't given the reason, maybe someone complained they couldn't see iffk)

Year in year out, they put up a collection of films that are both critically acclaimed and emotionally challenging. We (g3Mo, iceman and me) had the opportunity to see two films yesterday. First one was Paris, je t'aime, a collection of short movies which made us fall in love in/with Paris. Second was Blind, a beautiful and very touching movie. It's brilliantly shot too. Today I could go for only one movie - After the wedding. Excellent acting and good storyline.

awaiting more films.. JFx
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Now playing on Winamp: Maroon 5 - Kiwi
via FoxyTunes

The Prelude

Oye...Superb...The prelude to the foundation by Issac Asimov had already had a chunk of my heart and a corner of my brain(the portion i use for imaginations).

SPOILER WARNING:NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK.

From the beginning itself the gravity shafts and the magnetically levitated express ways had left me hallucinating about the hyper-complex society of Trantor and I wondered what it would be like to have the whole of the galaxy discovered,settled,unified and had a history of a million years.The concept of psychohistory is absolutely wonderful a concept all credits to the ingenuity of the author to have thought of such a powerful theory.All the arguments lead through a powerful and gorgeous thread of neatly knit plots that leaves us spell-bound.
I'm most attracted to Hari Seldon,partly because we both share our first names and the love for mathematics,and obviously because he is the man with the innovation.Chetter Hummin aka Demerzel aka Deneel simply is a fantastic creation of a remarkable writer and its even more impressive when he finally uses the idea of an immortal humanoid to perfection.The guise of Demerzel was i feel the heart of the whole story and shrewd statesman he is just adds to the tally of remarks you can make of this man.Not to mention i was also captivated by the natural grace of Dors Venabili another of the clever and charismatic creations of a decorated author.
Trantor,the head quarters of the Empire ,a complex of worlds like Mycogen,Wye,Dahl,The University is a splendor in itself thanks to the foresight and vivid imagination of the author.
The concept of a domed,certainly not doomed,city or planet rather is very convincing an idea for the writer makes its necessity obvious citing the ecological situation of the planet.
All other characters stand by their duties in fulfilling the needs of the plot and each are impressive in their own attitudes and complexities.Be it the bald Sunmaster of Mycogen, or the moustached Dahlite Jirad Tisalver or Mother Rittah or the delightful Raych or the Madam Mayor of Wye.
A part of the story that captivated my attention was the hand-on-thigh theory of Dors. The expertise the author has shown in making such a trivial thing into a cornerstone that was to lead our hero into the beginning.
And finally the whole plot from the beginning to the beginning is so cleverly conjured up that it the level of fascination and wonder which urges you to believe something like this can be a possibility however far it may seem.The climax of the story is amazingly a shock,rather a delightful one, for you dispense with the idea of a robot in due course of the story(atleast that was the case with me. I took the whole idea of an immortal robot indistinguishable from a normal human and with mental powers for granted ).

I'm more than sure i have done little justice to the book and the author through the preview (or rather something like that),so keep flooding in the comments,baby.