Its been so long since I took a break... and here it comes... Christmas and New year break... planning to give my brain a good work out during this time as well as practice for the Jan 20th marathon in mumbai... then celebrate new year with my friends at wayanad (hill station).
Planning to read a lot of books and stay hooked to orkut and facebook [:)]
and then my japanese classes... participating in japanese essay and speech competition..
hope to go to my native place... thats it for this year i guess...
December 21, 2007
September 15, 2007
Nippon
The land of the rising Sun, Nihon/Nippon...
A small island nation, yet powerful and plays an important role internationally.
Japanese are a industrious lot. They are bound by strong ethics. I admire the respect they shower to the smallest of things. They believe in discipline, trust, valor... The list goes on! Of course there are exceptions but to a large extent we can say so about the people of Japan. Japanese continue to be traditional and are very proud of their tradition and language. However the new generation are a mix of both modern/western ideas with a mix of tradition, something not very surprising as technology has influenced this change in almost all younger generations in all progressive countries.
Even after the propulsive effect of World War II, Japan has grown positively in all directions. The main reason being the rise in literacy levels ( currently it boasts 99% literacy). Not every nation is able to do so even though it is a well known fact that literacy directly contributes to a nation's well-being. Japan's education system has played a central part in enabling the country to meet the challenges presented by the need to quickly absorb Western ideas, science and technology, and it was also a key part in Japan's recovery and rapid economic growth in the decades following the end of World War II.
Somethings that I have liked about the Japanese culture is "bowing" for greeting people and the style of bowing depends from person to person. They use both the hands to present/give any thing. While presenting a document to a person, it is turned in such a way that the receiver can see the contents of the document. I recently found out about "Respect for the Elders Day" where they show their respect to elders. Their culture teaches them to be humble, a Buddhist teaching. Japanese believe in utilizing their resources efficiently. This aspect is easily observable to anyone. Recently I came across "Capsule Hotel" where the Hotel utilizes space very efficiently and is very popular in Japan. Japanese are a resilient lot. Even with frequent earthquakes they are able to live prosperously till today, I guess they are the only nation who enjoy the occurrence of earth-quakes. They have adapted very well to their natural surrounding!
I admire the way the people of Japan are ready to accept change and move on. Though Japan was a traditional nation, they realized the need to learn new things due to which they were able to improve upon in the fields of science and technology to become one of the advanced nations.
Asia’s race to the Moon began today (15th sept 2007) when Japan launched an unmanned lunar probe, the most ambitious mission of its kind since the United States’ Apollo missions of the 1970s. The lunar orbiter Kaguya, named after a Moon princess in a Japanese fairytale, was launched from Japan’s space centre on the small southern island of Tanegashima.
It is amazing just how such a small nation can grow so progressively and beat the odds. Japan's industrialized, free-market economy is the world's second-largest purchasing power parity (PPP) after the United States. The most striking feature of Japanese agriculture is the shortage of farmland. Around 60% of its total food supply is imported. Its economy is highly efficient and competitive in areas linked to international trade although productivity is lower in areas such as agriculture, distribution, and services. Japan has few natural resources, and trade helps it earn the foreign exchange needed to purchase raw materials for its economy. Japan has a comparatively small defense allocation especially after World War II which has helped them focus on more important issues and has helped them to become a more stronger nation.
In the book "Art of War" by Sun Zu, a Chinese philosopher quotes that one shouldn't make use of one's might and should use it only for defense. The art of war is in avoiding war, being smart and efficiently using one's resources. In my opinion Japan truly symbolizes this philosophy following their World War II debacle.
Coming to Japanese language, its very special. They have adopted the western language through Katakana. The influence of Chinese brought Kanji script which is the pictorial representation of words, While maintaining Hiragana which is their own script. With the rich confluence of these 3 scripts and also writing vertically and horizontally has given the Japanese books more style. Though at first it might look difficult to learn Japanese it isn't. Moreover learning Kanji is an added advantage as such pictorial representations help improve your memory and thought-creation as well as creativity. Yet to be frank it is tougher compared to other European or Indian languages.
Last but not the least, Japanese have utmost importance to quality. Be it any industry they maintain high quality standards. It tells upon their maturity in understanding the simple process of work/labor and productivity. With this I would end my blog with "Soreja mata" meaning "Then see you again", with one more blog, one more thought! Sayonara!
A small island nation, yet powerful and plays an important role internationally.
Japanese are a industrious lot. They are bound by strong ethics. I admire the respect they shower to the smallest of things. They believe in discipline, trust, valor... The list goes on! Of course there are exceptions but to a large extent we can say so about the people of Japan. Japanese continue to be traditional and are very proud of their tradition and language. However the new generation are a mix of both modern/western ideas with a mix of tradition, something not very surprising as technology has influenced this change in almost all younger generations in all progressive countries.
Even after the propulsive effect of World War II, Japan has grown positively in all directions. The main reason being the rise in literacy levels ( currently it boasts 99% literacy). Not every nation is able to do so even though it is a well known fact that literacy directly contributes to a nation's well-being. Japan's education system has played a central part in enabling the country to meet the challenges presented by the need to quickly absorb Western ideas, science and technology, and it was also a key part in Japan's recovery and rapid economic growth in the decades following the end of World War II.
Somethings that I have liked about the Japanese culture is "bowing" for greeting people and the style of bowing depends from person to person. They use both the hands to present/give any thing. While presenting a document to a person, it is turned in such a way that the receiver can see the contents of the document. I recently found out about "Respect for the Elders Day" where they show their respect to elders. Their culture teaches them to be humble, a Buddhist teaching. Japanese believe in utilizing their resources efficiently. This aspect is easily observable to anyone. Recently I came across "Capsule Hotel" where the Hotel utilizes space very efficiently and is very popular in Japan. Japanese are a resilient lot. Even with frequent earthquakes they are able to live prosperously till today, I guess they are the only nation who enjoy the occurrence of earth-quakes. They have adapted very well to their natural surrounding!
I admire the way the people of Japan are ready to accept change and move on. Though Japan was a traditional nation, they realized the need to learn new things due to which they were able to improve upon in the fields of science and technology to become one of the advanced nations.
Asia’s race to the Moon began today (15th sept 2007) when Japan launched an unmanned lunar probe, the most ambitious mission of its kind since the United States’ Apollo missions of the 1970s. The lunar orbiter Kaguya, named after a Moon princess in a Japanese fairytale, was launched from Japan’s space centre on the small southern island of Tanegashima.
It is amazing just how such a small nation can grow so progressively and beat the odds. Japan's industrialized, free-market economy is the world's second-largest purchasing power parity (PPP) after the United States. The most striking feature of Japanese agriculture is the shortage of farmland. Around 60% of its total food supply is imported. Its economy is highly efficient and competitive in areas linked to international trade although productivity is lower in areas such as agriculture, distribution, and services. Japan has few natural resources, and trade helps it earn the foreign exchange needed to purchase raw materials for its economy. Japan has a comparatively small defense allocation especially after World War II which has helped them focus on more important issues and has helped them to become a more stronger nation.
In the book "Art of War" by Sun Zu, a Chinese philosopher quotes that one shouldn't make use of one's might and should use it only for defense. The art of war is in avoiding war, being smart and efficiently using one's resources. In my opinion Japan truly symbolizes this philosophy following their World War II debacle.
Coming to Japanese language, its very special. They have adopted the western language through Katakana. The influence of Chinese brought Kanji script which is the pictorial representation of words, While maintaining Hiragana which is their own script. With the rich confluence of these 3 scripts and also writing vertically and horizontally has given the Japanese books more style. Though at first it might look difficult to learn Japanese it isn't. Moreover learning Kanji is an added advantage as such pictorial representations help improve your memory and thought-creation as well as creativity. Yet to be frank it is tougher compared to other European or Indian languages.
Last but not the least, Japanese have utmost importance to quality. Be it any industry they maintain high quality standards. It tells upon their maturity in understanding the simple process of work/labor and productivity. With this I would end my blog with "Soreja mata" meaning "Then see you again", with one more blog, one more thought! Sayonara!
August 26, 2007
Marathoner's Archives
It was end of 2004 when I saw the Mumbai Marathon which sparked in me a desire to become a marathoner. This inspiration was partly to evaluate my stamina, to see if I really could run those 42 kms!
It was a year after I had finished my Engineering and had joined a software company. I consider Software Engineers physically the most weak among professionals which partly can be blamed on the software work culture and also due to todays life style. I believe Marathon is not just physical but a mental challenge too.
You lose and yet you win! This is what I have to say about marathons!
I have till now participated in 3 full marathons and a half marathon and its still a dream to finish one...
I had started running some distance before the D-Day. My longest run which I feel was one great practice session was a run to my Office in Basavanagudi. I started at 5 am in the morning and was back home at around 7:30. Distance covered was 16 kms.
My first marathon was the first international marathon in Bangalore. I was very over confident. That tells it all... 5 hours of running and i gave up with another 9 kms remaining. at the 32nd km milestone ie..
My second run was a half marathon - 21 kms. This one i am glad to say I finished to perfectly. This accomplishment was very satisfying :) I didn't stop from start to finish. It was a great feeling.
This run now boosted my confidence to try once more and be a true marathoner!
To people who are new to marathon: Marathon is not just about physical strength but also a test to your mind. Can you withstand the pain, can you be in peace with your mind.
Now it was time for the Mumbai Marathon, it was the end of 2005. This time I wasn't alone. I had my dear uncle with me :) and truly he was the man who showed what the true spirit of marathon was... This run an episode for me, I will elaborate about my marathon experiences in a different blog whenever I find some more time... For the time being, all I can say is if it wasn't for my uncle I would have stopped at 26 kms... But I went on for another 12 kms, after which I lost my way... I didn't know the way back as I was not familiar with the Mumbai traffic and moreover it was 7 hours of running... So the organizers had left and I didn't have any idea which way to go... so had to abandon my run :( It was so near and yet so far... At 38 kms it was end of the greatest runs of my life :)
Later in the year 2006 I participated in the Bangalore full marathon event without enough practice... This time too I failed to complete, doing just 32 kms similar to my first full marathon attempt.
All in all I still enjoy running and I hope to fulfill my dream to do the full marathon some day.
A word of precaution: Please don't attempt the full marathon without proper practice. Prior to the actual event you should have atleast done a 30 kms "comfortably" to be sure of completing a full marathon.
End of it all I have to praise the way the Mumbai Marthon was conducted. In Bangalore the run isn't really appreciated by the public nor do the organizers hold on for the slow runners who can't make it within 4 hours.
Running is good and I believe it is a simple indicator to our city's health and its sportive spirit.
Next time I run, I will be running on veg power :) It is end of August now... Starting Oct, for the next 2 months I will be working out in the gym and then I hit the roads :) another 3 months of running before I attempt my final run. That will be end of one of the many quest's I have chosen to quench! One quest ends and the other starts :)
It was a year after I had finished my Engineering and had joined a software company. I consider Software Engineers physically the most weak among professionals which partly can be blamed on the software work culture and also due to todays life style. I believe Marathon is not just physical but a mental challenge too.
You lose and yet you win! This is what I have to say about marathons!
I have till now participated in 3 full marathons and a half marathon and its still a dream to finish one...
I had started running some distance before the D-Day. My longest run which I feel was one great practice session was a run to my Office in Basavanagudi. I started at 5 am in the morning and was back home at around 7:30. Distance covered was 16 kms.
My first marathon was the first international marathon in Bangalore. I was very over confident. That tells it all... 5 hours of running and i gave up with another 9 kms remaining. at the 32nd km milestone ie..
My second run was a half marathon - 21 kms. This one i am glad to say I finished to perfectly. This accomplishment was very satisfying :) I didn't stop from start to finish. It was a great feeling.
This run now boosted my confidence to try once more and be a true marathoner!
To people who are new to marathon: Marathon is not just about physical strength but also a test to your mind. Can you withstand the pain, can you be in peace with your mind.
Now it was time for the Mumbai Marathon, it was the end of 2005. This time I wasn't alone. I had my dear uncle with me :) and truly he was the man who showed what the true spirit of marathon was... This run an episode for me, I will elaborate about my marathon experiences in a different blog whenever I find some more time... For the time being, all I can say is if it wasn't for my uncle I would have stopped at 26 kms... But I went on for another 12 kms, after which I lost my way... I didn't know the way back as I was not familiar with the Mumbai traffic and moreover it was 7 hours of running... So the organizers had left and I didn't have any idea which way to go... so had to abandon my run :( It was so near and yet so far... At 38 kms it was end of the greatest runs of my life :)
Later in the year 2006 I participated in the Bangalore full marathon event without enough practice... This time too I failed to complete, doing just 32 kms similar to my first full marathon attempt.
All in all I still enjoy running and I hope to fulfill my dream to do the full marathon some day.
A word of precaution: Please don't attempt the full marathon without proper practice. Prior to the actual event you should have atleast done a 30 kms "comfortably" to be sure of completing a full marathon.
End of it all I have to praise the way the Mumbai Marthon was conducted. In Bangalore the run isn't really appreciated by the public nor do the organizers hold on for the slow runners who can't make it within 4 hours.
Running is good and I believe it is a simple indicator to our city's health and its sportive spirit.
Next time I run, I will be running on veg power :) It is end of August now... Starting Oct, for the next 2 months I will be working out in the gym and then I hit the roads :) another 3 months of running before I attempt my final run. That will be end of one of the many quest's I have chosen to quench! One quest ends and the other starts :)
July 29, 2007
I love Adobe!
Pronounced "Ado-bee", well in India we pronounce it as "Adob" where the "e" is silent. But I would have loved to continue to call it the Indian way, but now that I am part of it I will have to adhere to the formalities!
Google is famous for their great ideas, Apple for its cool looks and what does Adobe have in store for us... A traditional company that has packed its products with quality and have loyal customers who love Adobe Products! It grows on you... I love Photoshop, I love Flash and there are many more cool products that I love and would want to learn and use, and the list is endless and time so limited!
I love google for what they give me for free! But I love Adobe even though I have to pay upfront for its products!!
Adobe today stands at cross-roads... I am not sure where it is going, but the vision is there and I hope that we succeed... Adobe is betting high on Flash and PDF which according to me is a weakness. Never let your competitors no what you are betting on, thats what i feel. But like other companies we too have seed projects that are coming up which might turn-around the company too... But the worry is about being traditional. Shying away from the server-side and not so appealing enterprise solutions, we have a tough task ahead.
It was a tough move, acquiring Macromedia, yet it was made possible and thanks to it many Macromedia products that might have perished saw light at the end of the tunnel. Coldfusion is one product that is gonna shine in the days to come...
Its really interesting the way Adobe has turned around. The print solutions, fonts, post-scripts, acrobat, photoshop and now slowly entering the enterprise market where collaboration is not just to do with the technology but with human addictions! Will Adobe understand what this market demands, the way Adobe got it right with Acrobat and Photoshop... To grow fast, we will need to look for new markets where we can be market leaders.
With the dawn of a new era, there emerged Google, a company that has made a niche out of the enterprise segment capturing the search market. Now the social networking sites are in the news. With their hands on huge human traffic capturing their minute actions they are the most talked about. With networking companies finding superior technology providing huge unlimited network access across the globe, the world has truly become a web! There is a lot of hype around the social networking sites but personally I feel they are limited in growth and with stiff competition many will phase out. Many new technologies are emerging which are far more complex than social networking sites would soon change the way we look at software.
Yet for the time being the challenge would be to learn to be safe from the traps we have hatched for ourselves in this "web world". Security would be the buzz word in the days ahead. Adobe is no more a company that deals with "only Art"! How Adobe paints the needs of this new world will provide us answers to where it is heading to...
Google is famous for their great ideas, Apple for its cool looks and what does Adobe have in store for us... A traditional company that has packed its products with quality and have loyal customers who love Adobe Products! It grows on you... I love Photoshop, I love Flash and there are many more cool products that I love and would want to learn and use, and the list is endless and time so limited!
I love google for what they give me for free! But I love Adobe even though I have to pay upfront for its products!!
Adobe today stands at cross-roads... I am not sure where it is going, but the vision is there and I hope that we succeed... Adobe is betting high on Flash and PDF which according to me is a weakness. Never let your competitors no what you are betting on, thats what i feel. But like other companies we too have seed projects that are coming up which might turn-around the company too... But the worry is about being traditional. Shying away from the server-side and not so appealing enterprise solutions, we have a tough task ahead.
It was a tough move, acquiring Macromedia, yet it was made possible and thanks to it many Macromedia products that might have perished saw light at the end of the tunnel. Coldfusion is one product that is gonna shine in the days to come...
Its really interesting the way Adobe has turned around. The print solutions, fonts, post-scripts, acrobat, photoshop and now slowly entering the enterprise market where collaboration is not just to do with the technology but with human addictions! Will Adobe understand what this market demands, the way Adobe got it right with Acrobat and Photoshop... To grow fast, we will need to look for new markets where we can be market leaders.
With the dawn of a new era, there emerged Google, a company that has made a niche out of the enterprise segment capturing the search market. Now the social networking sites are in the news. With their hands on huge human traffic capturing their minute actions they are the most talked about. With networking companies finding superior technology providing huge unlimited network access across the globe, the world has truly become a web! There is a lot of hype around the social networking sites but personally I feel they are limited in growth and with stiff competition many will phase out. Many new technologies are emerging which are far more complex than social networking sites would soon change the way we look at software.
Yet for the time being the challenge would be to learn to be safe from the traps we have hatched for ourselves in this "web world". Security would be the buzz word in the days ahead. Adobe is no more a company that deals with "only Art"! How Adobe paints the needs of this new world will provide us answers to where it is heading to...
Inside the Hospital
Life and Death hangs in the balance. You get a lot of questions. Your mind is overwhelmed with sadness, cause no matter what, you realize that we are mortals and the people we love and care for will not remain with us forever.
For a certain period of time I never got such thoughts as my life was drowned in all the comforts of life. What happens here at the hospital is just amazing and I felt what we do everyday is nothing compared to what happens here. I wondered if I was spending time, precious time in the best way possible...
I still have doubts about God, but for an instance I felt the Doctor who had carried out an operation was God. This perception may not seem real but the emotions that were running high with in the family members of the patient made it look that way. I then felt, really felt, what it means to be a doctor and what it is to save a life. The Doctor was so humble, and totally composed though only he knew the grievous situation. Its incredible how they are able to work so hard with a smile.
We humans are blessed with intelligence and it is special cause our intelligence comes with emotions. I wonder what the world would have been if we didn't have emotions. I guess we wouldn't have lasted long on this planet!
To me it was one special day, to be looking at all those people at work in the hospital. Many of the doctors, nurse and attenders who work here face difficult situations everyday and their work is daunting. Yet, they treat the patients with care, affection no matter what!
I had a chance to be a doctor, but those days when I was in my teens I was always looking at those easy go lucky software engineers, which is what I am today. Though I am doing fine, I would really say, I would have been better off as a Doctor... but now its just one of those things that I wanted to be, I can't be... Life goes on...
For a certain period of time I never got such thoughts as my life was drowned in all the comforts of life. What happens here at the hospital is just amazing and I felt what we do everyday is nothing compared to what happens here. I wondered if I was spending time, precious time in the best way possible...
I still have doubts about God, but for an instance I felt the Doctor who had carried out an operation was God. This perception may not seem real but the emotions that were running high with in the family members of the patient made it look that way. I then felt, really felt, what it means to be a doctor and what it is to save a life. The Doctor was so humble, and totally composed though only he knew the grievous situation. Its incredible how they are able to work so hard with a smile.
We humans are blessed with intelligence and it is special cause our intelligence comes with emotions. I wonder what the world would have been if we didn't have emotions. I guess we wouldn't have lasted long on this planet!
To me it was one special day, to be looking at all those people at work in the hospital. Many of the doctors, nurse and attenders who work here face difficult situations everyday and their work is daunting. Yet, they treat the patients with care, affection no matter what!
I had a chance to be a doctor, but those days when I was in my teens I was always looking at those easy go lucky software engineers, which is what I am today. Though I am doing fine, I would really say, I would have been better off as a Doctor... but now its just one of those things that I wanted to be, I can't be... Life goes on...
July 8, 2007
Matsyaa
Here is how I came up with the name for my blogspot (matsyaa). In Sanskrit/Kannada Matsya means Fish. (Didn't find matsya and hence matsyaa). Hope the extra "a" gives my blog a better future ;)
When I was about 15 years old I came across a book on Sun Signs by Linda Goodman. Since then I truly believed that my characteristics were true to a Piscean and have liked the idea of having characteristics of a fish :) But now I don't follow any of it like before. Today while I was googling for a name to christen my blog with, reading so many things on the web really made my mind run away from the actual thing I had set forth with. I came across Kuvempu's website and then Sanskrit and then I thought I should become like Kuvempu and after going through some of Kuvempu's work I felt its extremely stupid of me to even think that I could become as great as Kuvempu. He's one of the greatest writers of all time. Meanwhile I was thinking I should learn Sanskrit the Mother of all Indian languages :), but then I realized how much a Piscean I am, dreaming all the time... My actual learning started when I entered my Engineering. Since then I am a semi-atheist, non-aligned to any single thought. Believer in "Nothing is Impossible" and so and so. I came across Steve Jobs Autobiography a year back. With the IPod and now the IPhone, he has refined and translated technology into art. He's my inspiration these days. This blog is a total concoction of Life as I see. As you can see from the above writing my thoughts are very varied and you can expect the same in the coming days. Hope I keep up with my writing and make this a meaningful Blog.
When I was about 15 years old I came across a book on Sun Signs by Linda Goodman. Since then I truly believed that my characteristics were true to a Piscean and have liked the idea of having characteristics of a fish :) But now I don't follow any of it like before. Today while I was googling for a name to christen my blog with, reading so many things on the web really made my mind run away from the actual thing I had set forth with. I came across Kuvempu's website and then Sanskrit and then I thought I should become like Kuvempu and after going through some of Kuvempu's work I felt its extremely stupid of me to even think that I could become as great as Kuvempu. He's one of the greatest writers of all time. Meanwhile I was thinking I should learn Sanskrit the Mother of all Indian languages :), but then I realized how much a Piscean I am, dreaming all the time... My actual learning started when I entered my Engineering. Since then I am a semi-atheist, non-aligned to any single thought. Believer in "Nothing is Impossible" and so and so. I came across Steve Jobs Autobiography a year back. With the IPod and now the IPhone, he has refined and translated technology into art. He's my inspiration these days. This blog is a total concoction of Life as I see. As you can see from the above writing my thoughts are very varied and you can expect the same in the coming days. Hope I keep up with my writing and make this a meaningful Blog.
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