Shaunak's Dimension

A seven-year old boy was at the center of a courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him.

The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulation requiring that family unity be maintained to the highest degree possible.

The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried and said that they also beat him.

After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.

After two recesses to check legal references and confer with the child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Indian Cricket Team, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

Fall Of WicketsDay 1:
Australia:
1/135 (Phil Jaques, 33.4 ov.), 2/162 (Ricky Ponting, 38.5 ov.), 3/165 (Mike Hussey, 39.3 ov.), 4/225 (Michael Clarke, 59.1 ov.), 5/241 (Matthew Hayden, 62.2 ov.), 6/281 (Andrew Symonds, 71.4 ov.), 7/288 (Adam Gilchrist, 75.3 ov.), 8/294 (Brett Lee, 79.2 ov.), 9/312 (Brad Hogg, 86.1 ov.), 10/343 (Stuart Clark, 92.4 ov.)

Fall Of WicketsDay 2:
India:
1/4 (Wasim Jaffer, 8.3 ov.), 2/31 (Rahul Dravid, 21.4 ov.), 3/55 (VVS Laxman, 30.1 ov.), 4/120 (Sachin Tendulkar, 45.1 ov.), 5/122 (Yuvraj Singh, 47.4 ov.), 6/122 (Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 47.6 ov.), 7/166 (Saurav Ganguly, 60.1 ov.), 8/173 (Harbhajan Singh, 66.6 ov.), 9/192 (Anil Kumble, 69.6 ov.), 10/196 (Zaheer Khan, 71.5 ov.)

Fall Of WicketsDay 3:
Australia:
1/83 (Matthew Hayden, 18.5 ov.), 2/89 (Ricky Ponting, 20.2 ov.), 3/139 (Phil Jaques, 38.2 ov.), 4/161 (Mike Hussey, 45.1 ov.), 5/243 (Andrew Symonds, 61.5 ov.), 6/288 (Michael Clarke, 73.1 ov.), 7/316 (Adam Gilchrist, 80.4 ov.)
India:
Rahul Dravidbatting 3
Wasim Jafferbatting 2

Thats stumps on day 3.

Given that the wicket is pretty bad for batsmen and the Australian bowlers are at their top form coupled with the fact that the Indian first innings was packed up for a measly 196, looks like India are headed for another magnificient defeat.

The two things that bug me about copper circuit board etching are A> the amount of time each board takes B> the stubborn stains Ferric Chloride leaves.
I found this brilliant new method which does away with both problems.
Seven words: Cupric Chloride in Aq. Hydro Chloric Acid.
The method is very cheap, easy,fast and clean, both "stainlessly" and environmentaly.

Describing the method in brief here:

:: Ingredients ::
> Hydrochloric Acid [12 Molar] (commercial concentration)
This is also sold as "pool acid" and drain "cleaning acid". Its trade name is "Muratic Acid". You can find this at any hardware store. Be VERY carefull with this.
> Water
Keep a bucket-full handy, incase you spill the acid on yourself or on the fruniture, wash with plenty of water.
> Hydrogen peroxide [6%] (reagent concentration)
This is sold at most medical stores. You may find this in 3% concentration only, in that case do not add any water (as described in the next stage)

:: Perpatation ::
Do this in a well lit ventilated place, and keep water handy. Please use rubber gloves and safety glasses.
Pour out 25ml of peroxide in a PLASTICcontainer (Do not use metal)followed by 25 ml of acid, and step away, because the acid will fume a bit. DO NOT inhale the fumes, they cause damage to your respiratory system.
Note: if you are doing this indoors, do not handle more than 25 ml of the acid at a time, if you are donig this outdoors AND have plenty of lab/hemistry experience, you can scale the quantities as required.
After the mixture stops fuming add:
-> 50ml of water, to make a lightning fast etchant. [If you are using 3% peroxide, dont add water here]
-> 75ml to make a soft etchant [3% peroxide users, 25ml water here.]

:: The Main Part ::
Pour out the etchant in a clear plastic tray, preferably kept on a white background [to observe the color of the liquid]
Right now the etchant should be clear. After a little copper dissolves, it will turn emerald green.
The green stuff is a bouns etchant! Its Copper ii Chloride! After the acid-peroxide etchant exhausts itself, the Copper ii Chloride will take over!
Over time the solution will turn muddy brown, here you can either dispose it, and start over or regenerate the copper ii chloride.

:: Regeneration ::
Bubble air throught the solution to regenerate the etchant. This way, the etchant is virtually infinitely reusable.

For reaction rates and more info read this wonderfull post: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~eseychell/PCB/etching_CuCl/index.html by Adam Seychell.






Thats all folks!
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Quit worrying about your health. It'll go away.

I ethched a 5 Volt power supply board today, I made a few mistakes and learnt a few valuable lessons. (the hard way of unfortunately)

Incident 1: Iron (III) Chloride {hyd} powder dehydrates on standing. It cant be hydrated by simply pouring water onto it. Although it is still able to etch, its reaction rate falls, making etching a painfully slow process. And congested areas of the board tend to under etch.
Result: I had a badly etched board, which took hours to etch in the first place. Had to cut off tracks with a blade in the end.
Lesson: All ways store hydrated Ferric Chloride in a vacuum sealed jar, use it within a month or so.

Incident 2: Once submerged, the "permanent marker" started coming off, forming a neat colloidal layer over the entire board.
Result: A whole lot of tracks blew off!
Lesson: Use a good quality marker to draw you tracks.

Incident 3: In a hurry I forgot to wear protective gloves while handling the etchant.
Result: My skin's flaking! :O
Lesson: Boards, solutions, components are replacable... hands and feet are NOT. Safety first.

In summation, I had a terrible day. My hands are flaking, my board looks terrible, and I still dont have my power supply.

The only positive, I have gained something called "Experience".



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"Everybody wants to go to Heaven, but no one wants to die to get there!"

Hello World.

The universal 'begining' statement in programing, shamelessly lifted to kick off this blog!

A little intro:
Im'm an eternal dreamer, who probably exists in a different universe. Blind to criticism, ovlivious to the hard facts that constitute life.
Apart from that I am a bad speller, an avid foodie, a passionate photographer and a premium nutcase.
I love listning to jazz and instumentals (which have been so affectionately marketed as "new age" and "trance" music). For hobbies, I like drawing, and I am into Numismatics (currency collection).
I dont dance much (ok, AT ALL).
I like good, honest people, no matter how geeky and nerdy they are, and abolutely hate fakers,liars and the scumy lot ;(

That all folks, for today atleast.

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Thought for the day: Silence is a true friend who never betrays.