National Pi Day

Days are plenty… Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Women’s Day etc. are well-known…but did you know of a few unusual (and at times funny!) days?

Check these:

International Men’s Day (Yes! Men too get to celebrate – though only for a day), Buy Nothing Day, International Mother Language day, Singles Awareness Day (aka SAD – celebrated by singles on Valentine’s Day), World Thinking Day, Beer Day, Middle Name Pride Day, Fossil Fools Day, World Party Day, Beat Up a White Kid Day, Bike-to-Work Day, National Sorry Day (not saree day), World Turtle Day, Mixed Race Day, National Doughnut Day, Take Your Dog to Work Day (I would like to add a “…and Make Him Bite Your Boss” Day!), International Lefthanders Day, Melon Day, Ask A Stupid Question Day, International Talk Like A Pirate Day, Software Freedom Day (It’s about Free software, not freedom from software), Apple Day, Boss’ Day (does he not have it everyday?), Global Handwashing Day (what about the rest of the body??!!), Mischief Night, World Vegetarian Day (Jai Ho!), Sweetest Day, Monkey Day...

Anyways, the good news is – there is a welcome addition to this loooong list of days: A day devoted to promote Maths and Science

March 14th has been celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world as ‘Pi Day’. The day also has a dedicated website! (http://www.piday.org/ )

Why 14^th March? Well, in American date format it is 3/14 which is approximate value of Pi (3.14)

Till last year, this day was a low-key affair limited only to math enthusiasts (which aren’t many…!)

But this year was different – March 14 this year was officially declared as ‘National Pi Day’ by American Congress. The resolution for the same (available at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.res.00224 ) was passed by the American Congress on 9^th March 209…with a thumping majority (391-10...I wonder who those '10' were who opposed the bill).

Though most of the news agencies and websites failed to take a note, CNET news did cover it in detail (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10194354-38.html?tag=nl.e703 )

The interesting part of this article was mention about division between two major political parties in the US (which just shows that Indian political parties are not the only one smitten by this habit of fighting on each and every issue)

The article notes – Though the purpose of celebrating the day, which is to promote the idea of improving math and science education, is agreed upon by both, the Republicans and the Democrats; they differ on ‘How to achieve this goal’.

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Post Scriptum:

My personal dream is to celebrate, at least once in my lifetime, a ‘Zero Debt Day’ – a day when I will owe nothing to nobody!!!

I am trying hard to sell this novel idea to my Creditors...wish me luck (if you are not one of those...or buy my idea if you ARE one of those)

Happy Holi - the Festival of Colours...

Happy Holi!!! 

Holi, the Festival of Colours...may your life be as colourful as the ones you see in images below... (gathered from the Web, hopefully, without any Copyright violation!)

दिवस फार कठीण आहेत...

नुकतेच आमच्या एका प्रोजेक्ट मीटिंग मध्ये मी माझ्या manager ला सांगितले: ’माझ्या टीम मधला एक जण resign करणार आहे अशी कुणकुण मला लागली आहे’ (अर्थात हे मी इंग्लिश मध्ये सांगितले - आत इंग्लिशमध्ये मी ’कुणकुण लागली आहे’ हे कसे म्हटले असले प्रश्न विचारु नका. भावना लक्षात घ्या! तर कुठे होतो मी - हा,  कुणकुण लागली...)

तर माझा manager म्हणाला ’अरे खरंच जात असेल ना तर जाऊ दे त्याला’... म्हणजे एखादा मुलगा बागेत गेल्यावर ’मला झोपाळ्यावर जायचे’ असा हट्ट करु लागल्यावर जसे आपण म्हणतो ना - ’जा हो बाळा, नाही तुला कोणी अडवणार’ तसे मी त्याला रेसिग्न करणाऱ्याला म्हणणे अपेक्षित होते की काय... (आता खरं तर हे उदाहरण तितकेसे योग्य नाही. इतक्या समजूतदारपणे कोणीही आपल्या ’कार्ट्या’शी बोलत नाही. पण (परत एकदा) - भावना लक्षात घ्या!)

आता अगदी खरे सांगायचे तर असे कोणीही माझ्याजवळ बोलले नव्हते. मीच जरा चाचपणी करावी म्हणून एक खडा मारून पाहिला - म्हणजे उद्या मीच असे म्हणालो तर त्याचा कितपत फायदा होईल ह्याची चाचपणी करण्यासाठी. पण ’जातोय तर जाऊ दे’ हे ऐकून मला एकदम धक्काच बसला. (माझाच ’खडा’ मला बूमरॆंग सारखा येऊन लागला) असो. थोडक्यात काय सध्या आहे त्या जॊबशी ’एकनिष्ठ’ राहाणे चांगले!

पण सध्या काही काम पण नाहीये, आणि त्यामुळे दिवस कसा घालवावा ते कळत नाही. हल्ली तर ईमेल्स येणे ही बंद झाले आहे. म्हणून मग टाईम पास म्हणून मीच इतरांना पाठवलेले ईमेल्स ’सेन्ट आयटम्स’ फोल्डर मध्ये जाऊन वाचतो.

पण असे तरी किती दिवस करणार? म्हणून मग मी आणखी एक युक्ती शोधली. आमच्या इथे वेब ईमेल्स (याहू, जी मेल, हॊटमेल इत्यादी) ब्लॊक केले आहेत. फक्त लायब्ररी मध्ये ओपन होते. म्हणून मग मी स्वतःलाच माझ्या याहू, होटमेल, जी मेल वर ईमेल करतो. आणी मग लायब्ररी मध्ये जाऊन त्या वाचतो..आणि मग त्याला माझा ऒफीसच्या ईमेल वर रीप्लाय करतो...आणि मग माझ्या डेस्क वर येऊन ते रीप्लाय वाचतो. हे सगळे करता करता वेळ कसा जातो ते कळतच नाही!

आता तुमच्या लक्षात आले असेल कि मी किती पडीक आहे. पण हा असा टाईम पास तरी किती दिवस करणार? लवकरच काही तरी नवीन विरंगुळा शोधला पाहिजे.

जी गोष्ट ईमेल्स ची तीच फोन ची. हल्ली कुणाचे फोनच येत नाहीत. अगदी क्रेडिट कार्ड किंवा इन्व्हेस्टमेंट स्कीम विकणारे फोन ही नाहीत. पण चुकून असा फोन आलाच तर मग मात्र मग मी ती संधी सोडत नाही. अगदी अर्धा पाऊण तास तरी बोलून सगळी माहिती मिळवतो. तेवढाच वेळ जातो, आणि इतरांना मी बिझी असल्यासारखे वाटते.

असो...आता मी जातो, परत एक ’महत्वाचा’ फोन आला आहे. क्रुषी महाविद्यालयाच्या एका प्रदर्शनात एका स्टॊल मध्ये मी जाऊन एका आधुनिक कीटकनाशक फवारणी यंत्राबद्दल मी उत्सुकता दाखवली होती...आणि अधिक माहिती साठी माझा फोन नंबर दिला होता...त्याच बाबाचा फोन आहे!  आता चांगला तासभर तरी मी त्याला सोडत नाही  -:)

New Year Resolutions...updates

I had set a few New Year Resolutions at the beginning of 2009 e.g.

1. To learn a musical instrument - Synthesizer

2. To learn a foreign language etc. etc.

And I had also decided that as per the situation (opportunities) I would change these, if need be.

So here is an update on them - some complete surprises (even for myself!) and some as planned (which also is a surprise...haha)!

Firstly, I had thought that MBA would be the end of my 'formal' education (not 'learning' though)...but that was not to be. I am pursuing PMP (Project Management Practitioner) Certification offered by www.pmi.org

This is considered to be a very prestigious certification and is a good value add to my Resume.

Then, very unexpectedly, I joined a Gymnasium - for the first ever time in my life! I have always been active in some sport or the other - but had thought body building/gymnasium is not my cup of tea...but again a sea change there...I have not just joined it; but during the last month or so have been regular at it - and started enjoying it.

The last and the latest is - pursuing a foreign language (which is among the only 'planned' activity for 2009).

Since yesterday, I have  joined "Let's Talk institute for foreign language" (www.letstalkindia.com) to pursue Chinese (Beginner's) course. Actually I had searched for 5-6 institutes in my city that teach Chinese language - had shortlisted one that was offering a course from 17th of April 2009.

But suddenly, on Friday I got to know about "Let's Talk" institute, talked to the girl on phone who said that they would begin a new class from Saturday, 7th March. I immediately made up my mind to join - rather than wait till 17th April.

The teacher seemed to be very good...she has obtained her degree in Chinese language from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi - the only university in India to offer Masters and Doctorate degrees in Chinese. They also have a Centre for Chinese and South East Asian Studies.

She is teaching Chinese Simplified and she began with Pinyin, but mentioned that she would not teach Chinese characters during Level 1 course. "...That would be covered during Level 2 classes...if at all some of you manage to keep patience till then and actually join Level 2 class!" she said...

I had 2 classes (yesterday and today) and found that learning Chinese is going to be a daunting task - but I am enthusiastic about it...at least for now :)

Let's see if I can keep up the enthusiasm as things become complex...

Then (hopefully) one day, I would be able to say to my Chinese and Taiwanese friends - "Let's talk"!!! (Rather, "let's argue in Chinese"...haha)

So, in a nutshell, my resolutions have changed...but at least I have started with some...and that has kept me busy... Gymnasium on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays; PMP studies on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (morning); Chinese classes on Saturdays (evening) and Sundays (morning)

What did you ask? When do I have leisure time to unwind and relax??? ...Well, during office hours - 9 AM to 6 PM!!! Haha...

Use Blackle (Black Google) search to save energy !!??

Today I received an email about Energy conservation tips - "A green initiative" as they called it. It advised us switching off PCs, monitors, lights daily while leaving the workstation - that would save about $500 per week per PC or about 400 KWH of electrical units per week per PC.

(Speech by former President of India and ace scientist was cited as supporting evidence for this calculation and justification) "...take time out to shut down the PC, and do some favor to the country and the organization" the email said in the end!

Well, I noticed and laughed at the small-but-significant trick in that last sentence.putting 'the country' before 'the organization' :)

People responsible for such cost-cutting initiatives do all such tricky and inexplicable things - hoping that putting 'national interest' ahead of 'company interest' will do any good to change people's habbit.

This reminded me of a recent funny incident. I was attending some internal training at my organization. The trainer was used to having tea/ coffee between breaks. 

Currently a 'LEAN' initiative is going in my organization. So the Facilities team has reduced amount and frequency of Tea or Coffee served. Even worse - they have stopped keeping cups/ mugs to drink coffee. Now everybody is expected to buy their own cups.

The trainer was furious at this 'cost-cutting'. 

"...I don't understand why do they do this? Can't they think of any better way of saving cost? Whenever the Facilities or Administration team is told to cut costs - the first thing they do is to remove cups/ mugs, reduce quantity of tea/ coffee served.or even worse: reduce/ remove toilet papers/ napkins. How much would they save like this? It would be peanuts.I mean think of something substantial.saving in thousands or millions of dollars." Everybody in the training started laughing. 

The trainer continued, as if it was a monologue: "...but No! These Facilities people cannot think beyond tea cups and toilet papers.that is THE MOST IMPORTANT COST for them" Again a faint wave of laughter was heard. 

"Really, I mean it.why remove TOILET PAPERS??? WHY?" Everybody burst into raucous laughter.he must have been sorely hit by absence of toilet papers - at wrong time and wrong place! It must have (literally?J) caused a blot on his otherwise clean image.  

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Anyways - back to the topic of discussion.what was it? Yes! Email about Energy conservation tips. And at the end of this email, there was a link to a search engine called Blackle (www.blackle.com ), touted as Energy conserving search engine powered by Google.  

I visited the website and found that it was nothing else - except the Google search engine with BLACK background.and the screen mentioned - over 1 trillion Watt hours saved. So out of curiosity I clicked on 'About Blackle' link (
pan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">http://www.blackle.com/about/ ) and found that the source of this idea was a blog post: 

http://ecoiron.blogspot.com/2007/01/black-google-would-save-3000-megawatts.html  

This post has some interesting comments.for and against such a move.check them out.  

Here is the latest link from Google about the Earth Hour initiative: http://www.google.com/intl/en/earthhour/  

...and Google's support to it: http://www.google.com/corporate/green/

Fighting tobacco...with cartoons, poems

Today's Indian Express, a leading English Daily, carried an article  about 'Anti-smoking' campaign...

Fighting tobacco - with cartoons, poems etc. Here's a spoof on Jack and Jill poem...

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Jack and Jill

used to smoke on a hill

to get a stupid pleasure.

Jack got cancer

and lost his life;

Jill too died soon after...

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The article reminded me of a few posters about anti-smoking ads I had

 gathered from web. I had forwarded those to my friend - who is a pukka smoker (with pride!) - some say, he was born with a cigarrette in one hand and a match box in another :)

He used to smoke 30 cigarettes a day! That too, was way back in 1998, when he had no income (still in 2nd year of Engineering) and had  to make 'jugaad' for buying those cigarettes...

Now he is well settled and earning a fat salary (enough to pay the most expensive brand of cigarretes), so imagine what he would be smoking like...

Anyways, I lost the track of the main point...

The point was I forwarded those ad poster (attached below), to him and he brushed it off with some 'none-of-your-business' type reply...and then we broke into a HUGE debate that lasted

 many days/ weeks/ months...

Interestingly enough my views about 

I would write about both views on that debate sometime later...till then check these ads on anti-smoking campaign.

Why Planning is important?

Why Planning is important?
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One night 4 college students were playing till late night and could not study for the test which was scheduled for the next day. 

In the morning they thought of a plan. They made themselves look as dirty with grease and dirt. They then went up to the Dean and said that they had gone out to a wedding last night and on their return the tire of their car burst and they had to push the car all the way back and that they were in no condition to appear for the test.

So the Dean said they could have the re-test after 3 days. They thanked him and said they would be ready by that time. On the third day they appeared before the Dean. The Dean said that as this was a Special Condition Test, all four were required to sit in separate classrooms for the test. They all agreed as they had prepared well in the last 3 days.

The Test consisted of 2 questions with a total of 100 Marks.

Q.1. Your Name.......................... (2 MARKS)

Q.2. which tire burst? (98 MARKS)
a) Front Left
b) Front Right
c) Back Left
d) Back Right.....!!!

Sent to me as: True story from IIT Bombay ...Class of 1992