Rajkumar

It was during my 2nd year of college, I found a book in the central library which contained very meaningful and practical problems/puzzles in physics, which every higher secondary school student can easily understand from the practical point of view. I couldn't remember the name of that simple book even during that time itself. As I was not a member of that central library, I could just read it from the library and note some of the interesting problems in a piece of paper. When I went to that library on the following week, I could not trace out that book ever after that. Even now, I feel missing such a book.

I remember one puzzle from that book, which is related to a monkey and a shooter. The puzzle goes like this... There is a monkey sitting in a tree. A shooter aims with his gun exactly on the monkey and is ready to fire the bullet. At the moment, the bullet is fired and its sound is heard by the monkey, the monkey drops (or falls) down from the tree in order to escape from the bullet. Now the question is, whether the bullet would have hit the monkey or not?

For a person who has not learnt physics properly, the answer would be "the monkey will escape from the bullet". But for a person who learnt physics with understanding, the answer is "the monkey will be surely hit". Here, the velocity of sound in air and the projectile motion of the bullet are related and the answer is arrived at, using the principles learnt in physics. The velocity of sound in air is around 380 m/s. So, by the time the monkey heard the sound of the leaving bullet from the gun, the bullet should have reached 380 metres in a second. Also, due to the gravitational force from the earth, the bullet that has left the gun will not travel parallel to the ground, but will tend to go towards the earth, which means that the bullet will trace a projectile motion. Hence, the bullet will be tracing an arc like path towards the ground, rather than a straight line. Hence, with these two combinations, the bullet will hit the monkey even when it drops down from the tree. Gravitational force don't see partiality and it is the same for both the monkey and the bullet. Seems interesting to know the terminologies of physics when explained in an elementary way with knowledge applied to real life instances. Right?

There were numerous such simple problems on physics in that book, which I really missed it. We would have learnt so many terms in physics even till our high school level. But mostly, it was memorized or learnt just for the sake of reproducing it in the examination. With little more efforts and research during that stage of life, we could have learnt physics (or even any other subject) easily.

I still remember my 3rd year of my college, when I was roaming around the electronics shops to buy a diode. Diode is a very elementary or basic component of electronics. Even I learnt about diode in higher secondary physics and experienced in the laboratory experiments, I felt what a real diode is, only when I purchased it by myself from a electronics store. I didn't do anything with that diode. But I was proud that I had a diode with me. I can proudly talk to my parents and my non-technical friends telling that I bought a diode. I felt proud, because none of my family members or my non-technical friends know what a diode is, and hence I am their master then. Haha. I used to talk using that word 'diode' as if I am casually talking

(as if I am always living and sleeping with diode and as if diode is my bread and butter).

I even hated diode many times, because I really did not know what a diode can do (even though its uses are listed in text books). Only when some experiments were carried out in the rectification of AC to DC, its use was evidently shown via oscilloscope. Then, I started to love diode

Everytime I did an experiment in my college electronics laboratory, I was with the fear that something will burst somewhere. I don't look for the readings taken from the experiments. I wait for the moment for my diode or transistor to burst due to over current. And sometimes it happend too. But such fear went off when the studies progressed and the concept was understood. And to my surprise or ability, my first job was as an electronic engineer, which I did not continued due to some reasons. Now, I am on the other direction, being a mechanical engineer

Science is interesting, same like life

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Addiction

Monday, May 28, 2012 3:01:58 PM

Writing is an addiction. Writing blog is an addiction. Yes. I love to write, write and write. I am trying to make me addicted to writing, so that I don't miss any day without writing.

This means, I want to make writing as my habit. As far as I understand, when we are addicted to some process, that can be called as a habit. Everyday we are waking up in the morning, without any external stimulus we enter the wash room and do your 'habitual' activities like brushing and bathing. Such activities are said to be as habits. Even writing our daily activities in a diary at the end of the day is said to be 'diary-writing habit'. So, if daily writing can be made to be a habit, I wish that blog writing be my habit also. For that, I have to get addicted to it and then convert that addiction into habit. Let me try.

I recalled a story while I was walking. It is about 3 similar dolls, which everyone should have been familiar. It is a sort of folk story said to kids or it is a sort of story with a moral. The story talks about 3 same-looking dolls, but with minute differences among it. The difference is not in their appearances but to their internal. When a twine or string is passed on to one ear of the first doll, the string comes on the other ear. When the same string is passed on to one ear of the second doll, the string comes through the mouth. In the third doll, the string neither comes in the other ear nor it comes from the mouth too. It keeps the string within itself.

The moral that is preached from this story is that we should be like the third doll (I am not sure whether this is correct moral or not). This means, when we hear something from someone, we should not leave it in our other ear (which is like don't care condition). Also we should not tell to others, what we have heard (which is like gossiping or loose-talking). We should be like the third doll, absorbing what is said and that should be kept within ourselves and we should use it to elevate ourselves.

I interpret this story differently. May be I have heard the other version of this story or this is my own thought, I am not sure. Everyone of us should be like each of the three dolls, at various times of our lives. When someone talks ill of us or talk irrelevantly that disturbs our own will, then we should become the first doll - just to hear in one ear and leave it in the other. At times, when something is said and if it is worth to share, then we should be like the second doll - listen to what is said and share the knowledge to others. And the third case is about keeping the secrets. When someone tells us some secret or personal matters, we should neither be like dont-care nor be like loose-talking.

Out of these three characters of the about three dolls, blog writing is like that of the second doll. Reading from somewhere and sharing it here. It increases the interest to read and write also. It thrives the zeal to search for new knowledge and keep updating, which can also be called as continuous improvement (termed as 'kaizen', a Japanese word in the quality control/quality assurance terminology).

As this habit of blogging continuously improves my own self, I wish that I blog everyday. Let me learn a new habit.

PS: The three exactly-similar Barbie dolls shown above are exactly similar because one doll is copied and pasted near each other. Thanks to copy-paste function in Windows!

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Handwriting

Sunday, January 15, 2012 7:01:12 PM

(This post may be boring. Read at your own risk) I have a bad handwriting. Sometimes I could not even read something that was written by me earlier. It is a worst case indeed. But that's the truth too.

Handwriting should be practiced right from the childhood. I don't know how I missed to write a good handwriting. I could not recall also. All I recall is during my high school classes, when I get shouts and scolds from my teachers for the bad handwriting, which they could not 'decipher'. Even though I had the ability to learn and understand lessons, but my handwriting did not helped me to express the things. I was thought that the written words can be slanting towards the writing side (means towards right), but never should it 'lean' the left side. My handwriting always leaned to the side opposite to the direction of writing and hence I was the one to get as much shouts as possible from the teachers. Another drawback of my handwriting that was mentioned by my teachers is that I write letters separately (same like these typed letters) but not as a cursive/joined letters. The reason told by my teachers about the advantages of continuously joined handwriting was that the speed of writing can be improved and exams can be finished in time. But I am not sure how far this is true, because even now I do not have the habit of continuous handwriting. It is very hard to teach a habit in the matured ages than at tender ages. If I had been taught to write cute and nice handwriting in my earlier ages itself, I could have had a beautiful handwriting now. But (so many but's?) it was left then and how if my writing is blamed, it can be just heard in one ear and left in the other.

For everything that is happening, some people blame the 'fate'. They they say is that, 'what should happen is already pre-written'. According to me, nothing is pre-written except the protocols of life. There is nothing pre-written for each and every individual of this world or even this universe. This is not practical or logical also. What they might have meant is that the protocols or rules for living is pre-written, but not the exact definitions of each and everyone's life. This is a separate topic of discussion, which will be discussed through an another entry. What I wanted to tell here about the written fate. Our skull is made of complex bones with various interconnections. So, if a skull is seen, we can see a mess of curves and lines same like that of the prints in our fingers. Some people refer to these curves and lines in our skull as some writings that can be read only by God

. Based on this, they tell, "what is written in our head, things will happen accordingly". Sometimes, teachers refer to these 'skull writings' and tell the students that even they can read what is written in their heads, but not their handwritings

Handwriting will be in such a critical level for those students (including me).

My handwriting was bad. Now it has become worse and it will reach the worst and then will achieve the superlative of worst. Let's see. My boss also has a bad handwriting. Even he cannot read his handwriting on a later occasion. On a day, he was proud that his handwriting is better than mine. But I don't think so. Mine and his handwriting are bad and worse than anyothers. Once, my boss was telling about his boss, who also had a bad handwriting. (Haha. May be all the bosses has a bad hand writing except me? Because I am not a boss still). As engineers, we may need to review the engineering drawings either a mechanical component drawing or a civil engineering drawing (related to mechanical and electrical services) as part of our works. If there are any mistakes in those drawings, then comments will be written on it. The drawings will be either approved with comments or rejected with comments. Anyway, there will be comments. As I prefer not to write comments in the drawings because of my un-understandable handwriting, I use to type the comments and attach it to the drawings. However, there are some cases, where the comments should be written in the drawings itself. In such a case, it is the fate of the contractor or the junior engineer to read those comments and rectify it.

It happened to the boss of my boss, when a group of contractors approached him telling that none of his comments are clear and most of them are not understandable because of the hand writing. The answer given by my boss's boss was..."If you submit a perfect drawing, I will approve it without any comments. Then it will not be a problem of interpreting my comments also. Why you have to submit a incomplete drawing and get my comments? I cannot change my handwriting. It is born and lived with me. But you can change the quality of drawing as each and every drawing is prepared now and then. Anyway, for whatever drawings I have commented, go to my secretary and decipher my handwriting. Because she has been working on my handwritten documents for the past 5 years". Here, the contractors/junior engineers has no way except to improve their quality of work for getting least number of comments or to go to the secretary every time they get a bunch of comments. Either way, the handwriting is not going to change. Haha. Thank God that these blogs are type-written. If it had been a hand-written blog....??

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Life's Little Instructions

Sunday, January 15, 2012 2:56:21 PM

We may not know exactly where will learn something from. Education or knowledge need not come only from schools or books or from computers. It can be from any source. Our universe itself is a lesson. In my place, it is a practice in the grocery shops to wrap the purchased items in a old newspaper and then giving it to the buyer. This applies not only to the grocery stores, but in most of the occasions where we buy consumables in a minor quantity. Even pop-corns can be wrapped in such newspapers. After using the wrapped items, those covers are thrown away. Sometimes, if there is something interesting in that wrapped newspaper, the people tend to read it and it might be a piece of great knowledge. Similar to that, even a dining place could be a source of knowledge and this post is a sharing of one such experience.

Recently, when I was waiting for the food to be wrapped and to be taken away to my office for eating there, I was asked to wait in the restaurant lobby where I had a chance to see a poster with the title "Life's little instructions". Just to pass the time, I started to read and found that every point mentioned in it is as simple as that and as practical as known to everyone. Even though there were lots of points mentioned therein, I tried to read the entire content before I get my food. (Now, I recall a couplet from the famous "Thirukural" written around 2,000 years back. In one of the chapters about the listening, it is said "Some food for the stomach is brought, when the ear gets no food for the thought". This means that if we have something to listen that enhances our thought, then we will be interested in it, such that we will not even need food for our stomach). Same like what is said in that couplet, I wished to read the entire content of the poster, no matter how much hungry I am. It was so nice and informative that brought me smiles at some instances when reading some of the instructions in it.

Some of the notable and favorite quotes in it that attracted me are :

Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
Strive for excellence, not perfection.
Buy whatever kids are selling on card tables in their front yards.
Show respect for all the living things.
Take good care of those you love.

When I reached the office after buying the lunch, the first thing that I did was to find a similar poster from internet. I usually carry a camera with me to take pictures of attractions. But as I was going to a restaurant that day and I did not expected that I will be reading something there, I did not take the camera with me. (Here I understand that opportunity to learn can knock from anywhere and at any place). So, when I searched for similar posters in internet, I found the one that is presented here below. This is exactly the same which I read there.

"As deep you dig the sand, spring flows
As deep you read, the knowledge grows"

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Exceptions

Sunday, January 15, 2012 2:11:29 PM

Just now I saw a post in Facebook. It reads aside the portrait of Bill Gates, "I failed in some subjects in exam, but my friend passed in all. Now he is an engineer in Microsoft and I am its owner". Nice phrase to read and enjoy, but not applicable to practical life. Not everyone who fails in exam becomes Bill Gates. Hard work, accompanied by smartness, monopolized out-of-box thinking, determination, business mindedness and most importantly LUCK should go hand-in-hand with each other to succeed. Why I mentioned here about the monopoly is because of the creation of the Windows operating system. Up-to-date, it is the only operating system that is WIDELY used in the world (if there is any correction in what I have said here, let me know). May be these days, Apple has its OS spreading into the computer users. Atleast for the past 25 to 30 years, the king of OS is Windows. Only such products win the market and will have an eternal existence, say atleast for a considerable number of decades.

Automobile engines were invented, electricity was discovered, cars were designed and planes are flying. There are atleast one competitor in each of these discoveries. Starting from Ford to BMW to Hyundai to Boeing to Airbus, every other component has competitors. Even the biotechnological inventions to cure dreadful diseases has competitors. But why not this Windows? There may be a thousand and one operating systems. But I am here talking about the giant, but not the un-noticable midgets. I have been thinking about this a lot, what catered to the success and popularity of the Windows and being it as a market leader. Let it be Photoshop or Autocad or any design software, it is designed to be compatible with Windows only. (May be now, it is compatible with Apple's OS). But why not any other new OS that matches Windows? It's all due to the uniqueness and extra-out-of-box thinking. This is the reason for its monopoly too. To my knowledge, I cannot figure out any such product that is as unique and popular in this world as Windows.

Now, going back to Bill Gates and his luck and determined effort towards his success, such things happens under exceptional cases only. Bill Gates is an exception and so is his product also. It does not happen to every software programmer to create a OS that can be this much popular and usable. Hence, my point is that Bill Gates and his life is an exception. Exceptions shall not be taken as examples. They can be taken as idols and models to gain success, but not in the same way in what they did. Everyone has their own way for success, similar to a saying, "Don't keep your face frowned. Because, you may not know who will fall in love with you, when you smile". (this phrase may not be apt to this situation, but it matches as little in that, success will come in any way same as someone falling in love at anytime).

Before I end, I wish to tell about one more icons / idols same like Bill Gates. He is Sachin Tendulkar, the Indian cricketer and the role model for almost all of the Indian youths. He did not even passed the high school. But he is a star in cricket. So, this does not mean that everyone who don't pass the high school, will become as famous as himself. There are some students, who talk to their parents like, "See Bill Gates. He failed in exam. But he is the owner of Microsoft. See Sachin. He did not even passed the high school. But he is the famous cricketer. See Thomas Alva Edison. He did not even attended the school. He was thrown out of school. But he is a greatest inventor. Same like all these people, I may not study well now. But I am be like one such personality in the future". Haha. Don't know what to comment on such students.

Remember, Diamond is a carbon compound and coal is also a carbon compound. Not every coal becomes the diamond. Same like determination and hard work and luck, when the coal is subjected to severe temperatures and pressures for certain duration of time, it becomes a diamond. Not every coal becomes a diamond and not every drop-out becomes a Bill Gates! (a Bill Gates? 'a' is used for singular. Bill Gates is a single man. So, "a Bill Gates" should be correct. But at the same time, how to use singular 'a' for plural Gate's'?? Don't understand? Leave it.)

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We humans

Thursday, December 29, 2011 8:09:25 PM

I wanted to write something in my blog for many days. But due to laziness and unwillingness / impatience to spend that 20-30 minutes to write, I was not able to write. But the photo posted below (which I took during my works in a site) made me to write this post compulsorily.

This photo was taken in the mid of the day when the workers in a construction site were taking rest in between their works. Some were sleeping under the sun and some were sitting and talking. The climate was chill as it was winter and sleeping under the sun in such a cool climate will be a nice one. So, nothing here to tell about their suffering under the sun. In fact, everyone enjoy such a moment when the skin feels the mix of chill air and the sun's warmth. It is a nice sensation indeed.

It is normal to a 'normal' human to think / feel that he is being watched by someone. I have received a message in my mobile some days back, which reads that atleast 3 persons in this world will be thinking of us at all the times. I guessed that those 3 people (in most cases) will be the father, the mother and the wife. However, it may vary from people to people. Beyond this general thinking by our own family members, most of us will be expecting / feeling that someone else is watching us. I am not telling about the God, who is also called as the 3rd eye. But I mean the 4th eye here, who is another normal human in our proximity.

When we walk in the road, surely most of us will be feeling that someone or the other in the road are watching us or noting what we are doing. This is applicable to offices and schools also. Most of us cannot deny this thinking. In one of the poems about love by a modern day poet, he writes the state of mind of a man who is love as "Even the crow or the dog that is beside you will not notice you. But you will feel that the entire world is looking on your every actions. This happens only when you are in love and that is the power of love". Nice words know!

But these guys in the above photo may also wish to have a 4th eye on them. Because they are also 'normal' humans. But the reality is that, only their own eyes will be seeing them but none else. They are away from their family by over 4,000 km. They live with fellow room mates in cots placed one above the other. It is a normal saying that when a man dies, he will require nothing else other than just a 6 feet long earth for burying him. Even after dying, a man has that 6 feet long ground. But these workers are sleeping in cots one above the other and hence it can be said that 3 persons are put over 6 feet long ground. This is the life of my fellow Asians in the GCC countries. Those who don't even have a single piece of land in their homeland will be part of the construction team here building the world's sophisticated and high-rise buildings.

I read in one of the novels by Paulo Coelho, in which a famous writer's wife is kidnapped / missing. With a heart full of worries in losing his wife, the author walks in the roads and into the restaurants on his way to his house. He sees that all the people around him are happy. Children are playing. Men and women are smiling. Even the nature seems to be happy. But his heart is filled with grief. He thinks by himself, "Why the world is like this? No one is caring me. No one is asking me what happened. No one is thinking that I am filled with grief. They don't care me at all, that they are enjoying only their works. Why not someone talk to me and feel my sadness too?". This is not the case for him only. This is common for everyone in this world. The world is big and everyone cannot cry for everyone. But at the same time, the humane character of the human should be respected and maintained.

This night when I was coming back from dinner, I saw a man with lots of washed clothes in the rear of his bicycle. He was trying to push his bicycle from the road into a stepped pavement. But he could not push it by himself as it should be weighing much. People are walking around him. Everyone who passes him, watches his actions. But no one dare to help him. No one likes to help him. When I was about to reach near that man, by his 'own' efforts, the bicycle was pushed into the basement. Thanks for 'his' efforts. This reminds me of a simple story. A old aged farmer loads his bicycle with tomatoes grown in his farm for taking it to the city for selling. He enters the city and tries to cross a road. There was some vehicle which came fast and strikes a heavy horn on seeing this old man. The old man gets frightened and the bicycle falls in the ground. All the tomatoes are spilled away to all the corners of the road. Neither the vehicle nor the walking people stop to help this old man. Everyone are in their hurry to care their own works. The old man on seeing his one or two weeks' hard work being shattered like this in the road, crys in his heart by himself. A scholar who sees this scene writes "What is shattered and crushed are not just the tomatoes, but the humanity". Very true!

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Pre-Travel!!!

Monday, July 25, 2011 6:45:08 PM

Whenever we are planning to travel, most of us will be filled with joy and happiness. The reason may be either meeting the family after a long time or meeting the loved ones after years of being away due to several reasons. But, if that travel itself is to a new place or even to a new country, then definitely the cheerfulness will not have any limits. That’s what is my state now!

This weekend I will be travelling to the historical city of Isfahan in Iran on behalf of my company for a project. Project is on one side and my exploration dream of new places is on the other side. This is the first time I am going to step into Iran – also called as Persia in the ancient days, was a land to some of the muslim emperors of India starting from Akbar to Shah Jehan. The world famous Taj Mahal, the symbol of love is also built in Persian architecture style and still it stands to speak the name of the builders and the love which Shah Jehan had for his wife Mumtaz. Even, Alexander the Great is also related to the Persia.

On studying the borders of Iran, I found that is the next door neighbour of Pakistan. It is not far away from North India. If there is a common road connecting India, Pakistan and Iran, then we can even travel by a car to reach Iran. I have heard about the two great cities of Iran, namely Tehran and Isfahan – Tehran being the capital and Isfahan being the historical and ethnic Iranian city. There should be nice buildings reflecting the muslim architecture. But I am not sure whether I will have a chance to look at all these treasures. Anyway, this is just a starting point and let me cover the unseen things during my later trips. This is just a first step know!

Some of the friends who went to work in Isfahan said that it is too cold during the winters and ice will be formed on the roads and the mountains, that will allow snow skating or snow games. Wow. It is nice to hear that. But now it is summer and there will be no way to see icy roads except to see ice cubes in the freezer. I have also heard that the Iranian people are friendly in nature and the country itself is a safe place to live in. The dishes of Iran should be much different than the south Indian style of dishes, which has a curry as part of the meal. Iran is also known for saffrons, the prices of which are even costlier than the price of gold.

Tehran has an international airport which has much frequent flights than that of Isfahan. Even I prefer and pray that we should arrive and depart from Tehran only, but not to and from Isfahan. So, that I can enjoy the Iran roads and the road-side fields / houses while travelling from Tehran to Isfahan atleast for 2 or 3 hours. Let us see.

Even if it is a near-by city or a far away country, I feel energetic and much enthusiastic, if that trip is a first trip. It paves way to explore things. And as I am very much interested in travelling, this Isfahan trip will add one more country in my list of countries visited. Wish that I visit all the countries and go around the world soon! Expecting a wonderful new experience in the forth-coming trip to Iran and wishing that the "post-travel" entry will be much lively with some photographs![/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/ALIGN]

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Seeds

Sunday, July 24, 2011 3:33:19 PM

I was eating water melon, that I thought to write about this. When I separated the seeds of the fruit from its fleshy reddish portion, lots of thoughts and stories about “seeds” crossed my mind and this entry is all about that.

Seeds are taken as an example for patience. The great banyan tree or any other great tree sprouts out from a small seed only. The seed may be small, but the content and energy contained in that seed determines what it will be. The seed has to wait till it is grown to a big tree. Rome is not built in a day and similarly, a seed is not becoming a tree in a night. Even it takes 10 months for a mother to give birth to a human child! Same like these, wait till the hidden seed within you develops to a huge tree. Patience pays!

There was a folklore or story in our country side, generally said by almost all the children in their student life. It is said that when we swallow some seed accidentally or knowingly, that seed will go into our stomach and will grow into a tree

And the story can be developed by anyone based on this single start. May be it can be said that the tree will grow and come out of the mouth or the roots of the tree may penetrate deep into the stomach and may come out of the ass! Anyway, the swallowed seed should come out one day as a tree and this keeps the children in their childhood to think a lot about it. But, when we recall all these after maturity, the childhood thoughts may seem to be stupid, but funny.

This story of seed goes on to further development during our matured stage and creates another story as well. For a seed to germinate, it needs water, air and sunlight. But leaving all these, it needs (not necessarily) soil from which it takes the nutrients. Our matured persons take this soil as an instrumental element for a plant growth and they argue like this: “Soil is needed for a plant’s growth. The seed you have swallowed will not grow into a tree because your stomach doesn’t have soil. So, don’t worry. But, there are chances for the seed to grow if that seed has gone to your head. Why? Because you head is filled with mud know?”

This is just a way to tease a person to tell that all his head is filled with mud and hence no brain to think! Just for fun only!

And one more thought about seeds is the famous proverb – “What you sow, that you reap”. If you sow a paddy, you will get rice. If you sow an oleander, you will toxic parts. If good is to be obtained, do good. Sins will bring death only.

Further to all the above recollections on seeds, there is an organization here called SEED. A very nice name for a company. The expansion of this company’s name is – Sustainable and Energy Efficient Design. Also, the company MAY project themselves as similar to a seed – “even we are small, but we are the seed of a banyan tree. Wait and see how we perform and how long we will perform!”

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Adversity

Sunday, July 24, 2011 3:28:12 PM

It is the adverse heat of the sun and the moisture in the atmosphere today in this part of the world that made me to write this blog entry.

It seemed that my head is being split into two radial halves using a heavy axe put on the centre of my head when I was standing in the roof of the Le-Meridien hotel here, inspecting the installations of the air conditioning equipments. I could not even open my eyes to see neither the equipments nor the persons around me. The sun light was hitting the flooring of the roof and reflected from the bottom, in addition to the radiant light directly from the sun. Not only the sun took part in this drama of unpleasantness, but also the water vapour from the sea that is “inserted” into the atmosphere, raising the relative humidity levels to a higher extent. Just standing under the sun, surrounded by the extra-humid air just made me uncomfortable to an extent that I could not bear. When measured the temperature of such an unfavourable weather, it was found to be at 45 degree Celcius which is in the little higher side. And all these happened just ten minutes past eleven o’ clock in the morning.

I wanted to write this entry by sitting directly in that humid air surrounding me, so that the real effect can be poured into this, in addition to the sweat that will be pouring out from my body parts. But, if I have chosen that way to write this entry, all my blood would have converted to sweat, flooding my laptop and showering my body in the balcony. Just a 5-minute walk from the car parking area to the room made my clothes to be as if I have taken a steam bath with my dresses!

The hot weather can be classified as either hot and dry or hot and humid. I think I can bear the hot and dry climate, rather than to face the hot and humid one. Humidity is the culprit in making us feel uneasy and it is also the saviour to keep our skin damp. If there is no humidity, then the skin in our lips (for example) may start to crack allowing the blood inside it, to wet the surface

It is really breath-taking to think, how people would have lived in such an adverse climate before the invention of air conditioners. But the fact is, that they lived. Only because we know air conditioners now, we are expecting it to keep us in comfort. When these machines were not invented, the people were content on what they were having and surely they might have been adjusting to this weather.

Thanks to the air conditioning principles and the inventors who have shown us the way for a comfortable life! Being an air-conditioning engineer, I am happy that the people in comfort will thank me too for keeping them in a cool “climate” in spite of non-conducive environmental effects that they might face before entering their dwellings. It’s for sure that I have thanked the air conditioners and the designers of a mall, when I enter the mall and face a chilled air hitting on my face that keeps me very cool from the already experienced hotness in the outside.

To end up, I remember a saying / quote about marketing a product. It is this – “A good marketing personnel is one who can sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo!”. But is that possible for a marketing person by his marketing abilities, to sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo who is already living in the coolest climate of the earth? The answer is YES. But how? I know the answer. What about the readers? Let us give some time for thinking on the weekend!

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Flower clock

Friday, July 1, 2011 7:03:22 PM

This is NOT about the clock that is surrounded by flowers or made of flowers. It is all about the flowers that can be used as clock / finding the timing of a day/night.

Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy and modern ecology, planned to devise a garden that will consist of various flowers which opens and closes at regular and specific time of a day. Such a garden is called Flower clock.

Linnaeus found the flowers that open / bloom right from 3 in the early morning till 11 in the forenoon. He also listed the flowers that close from 8 am till 8 pm. Hence, if all these flowering plants are planted in a garden, then we will not require a clock to see the time. Just by knowing for one time, which flower will bloom on which time, the time of a day can be easily predicted.

But these timings vary from place to place and is affected due to the seasonal changes. But, at a particular place, the floral clock will work properly if the time is set proper. As simple as that.

There are some flowers that are native to the southern parts of India, that start to bloom only after the sun is set. These flowers are called as "andhi malli" in the local language, meaning "jasmine of the night". And I have read somewhere, that Jasmines also bloom in the nights.