Bharath's personal blog

Seminar on Handoff

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:57:00 +0000

Download the PPT here,
Handoff in Mobile networks

Myanmar's 90 kyat note

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:05:00 +0000

How astrology ruined Myanmar's economy

(kyat is the official currency of Myanmar)

In 1987, General Ne Win was told by his astrologer and numerologist that his lucky number was 9 and that he would live to be 90 if he "surrounded himself" with such auspicious digits.
So, the general invalidated all 50 and 100 kyat notes,and issued 45kyat and 90kyat notes. All the money that was saved in 50 and 100 notes by the people were rendered waste, and it led to the economic collapse of Myanmar (Burma).
Myanmar became the least developed nation of the world in 1987.

Sources: 1,2

Right to food

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:30:00 +0000

Why cant the government provide food to everyone?
Like right to free speech, right to information why cant the government ensure right to food?

Do we really need to goto the moon or build cruise missiles while the majority of our population suffers from malnutrition and hunger?
As per tamil literature, there are three basic necessities for man,
1.Food, 2.Clothes,3,Shelter.
Clothes and shelter comes next to food.

First of all, consider this, why is a government existing?, because people cant manage all their needs,people appoint a government.That government gets its pay in the form of tax and takes care of the necessities of the people.
Food is the #1 necessity for majority of Indian population.

Our society is not an equal one in terms of wealth.But, everyone contributes to it.
Slum dwellers and daily wagers also contribute to the society.
There are several problems in implementation of the "right to food".
But, we have to find ways to implement it.

It seems our current government is moving towards implementing this.

From a Hindu article,

In a nation where mammoth wealth and intense destitution have co-existed for millennia, a law that would bind governments to guarantee that no man, woman or child sleeps hungry could be momentous.

They are forced to cut back on their food intakes, sometimes reduced to eating one meal a day; or to beg for food; or to eat tubers, grasses and mango kernels that fill their stomachs but provide no nutrition; or sometimes just to drink the starch water left over after cooking rice, which their neighbours give them in tight-fisted charity. They suffer to see their children painfully sleep on empty stomachs, and often succumb to ordinary illnesses which better nourished people would easily survive.

Half the children born in this land continue to be malnourished, and two out of three women are anaemic, because even within families, women eat the least and only after all others have been fed.

the Chairperson of the UPA, Sonia Gandhi, seized the initiative by writing her first letter to the Prime Minister since the installation of this government, proposing a bill that much more comprehensively guarantees adequate food to people who live with hunger. Many people who are chronically denied food have been specifically detailed in the draft she recommended: such as single women, disabled and aged people, street children, bonded workers, people in casual, low paid employment including agricultural labour and rag-picking, the urban homeless, and others.

The President of the Republic of Brazil, when his country launched a similar food guarantee, called "Hunger Zero". He had pledged,
"We will make it possible for people in our country to eat three square meals a day, every day, with no need for handouts from anyone. Brazil cannot go on living with so much inequity. We must overcome hunger, extreme poverty and social exclusion. Our war is not to kill anyone. It is to save lives".

A bonded worker, a child searching in rubbish heaps, and a disabled or aged man who stretches out his limbs for alms, possibly may have a full stomach, but without the dignity that every single human being is entitled to.

Some possible ways to implement "right to food" are mentioned here.

First ever Earth-rise photo

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:48:00 +0000

The first ever photo of "Earthrise" was taken by the Apollo 8 crew in December 1968, showing Earth for the first time as it appears from deep space.

Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders had become the first humans to leave Earth orbit, entering lunar orbit .. In a historic live broadcast that night, the crew took turns reading from the Book of Genesis, closing with a holiday wish from Commander Borman: "We close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you -- all of you on the good Earth."

Image from NASA

"The Earth is man’s cradle, but one cannot live in the cradle forever"
-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

I found this image on one wallpaper website, good for desktop background.

The Tantra Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:45:00 +0000

India TV, one of India’s major Hindi channels, invited Sanal Edamaruku for a discussion on “Tantrik power versus Science”. Pandit Surinder Sharma, who claims to be the tantrik of top politicians and is well known from his TV shows, represented the other side. During the discussion, the tantrik showed a small human shape of wheat flour dough, laid a thread around it like a noose and tightened it. He claimed that he was able to kill any person he wanted within three minutes by using black magic. Sanal challenged him to try and kill him.

Hilarity ensues as the tanrik tries to kill Mr.Sanal by using magic.All magic words recited,he's still alive.Then the tantrik backed out saying that he has a better magic spell and it will work only during night.So,another tv show was shot during night.As expected, the tantrik fails this time too.

View full article.

Finally,one of the wide spread superstitions in India has been debunked.

Youtube link for video of the program: (click on the images to view the video)

* tantrik means magician of some sort

Diabetes awareness

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:42:00 +0000

India ranks #1 on people with diabetes, followed by China.
Some disturbing facts about diabetes.

(above images screenshots from WHO's information leaflet on diabetes)

Google's logo today

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:02:00 +0000

I happened to see this google logo and posted it at reddit, with the title,
"Google India's logo today".

Someone on the site immediately posted back,
Enjoy it while you can, because once that piece falls...
"Google India's logo tomorrow"

Funny indeed.

India's telecom infrastructure - a report

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:56:00 +0000

India's development in the wireless,wired phone network and internet,broadband penetration.
These graphs are excerpts from the 2008 report of TRAI.

As the above graph shows, wired telephone connections are falling.

And, wireless connections are rocketing.

Interesting to note that Airtel has larger base than BSNL.

In GSM operations, #1 Airtel, #2 Vodafone, #3 BSNL...

In CDMA operations, #1 Reliance, #2 Tata Indicom, #3 BSNL.

The internet subscribers stand at 110lakhs.

Broadband subscribers stand at 38.7 lakhs.

Of all the leading ISPs, #1 BSNL, #2 MTNL ,#3 Airtel...

Map of World peace

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:59:00 +0000

The results of the Global Peace Index for 2009 suggest that the world has become slightly less peaceful in the past year, which appears to reflect the intensification of violent conflict in some countries and the effects of both the rapidly rising food and fuel prices early in 2008 and the dramatic global economic downturn in the final quarter of the year. Rapidly rising unemployment, pay freezes and falls in the value of house prices, savings and pensions is causing popular resentment in many countries, with political repercussions that have been registered by the GPI through various indicators measuring safety and security in society.

Complete list of countries
How global peace is defined and calculated

Nehru's Independence day speech , Aug 15,1947

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:25:00 +0000

MP3 of the audio can be downloaded here.

Excerpt from the audio,

At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.

Entire speech text can be viewed here.

Nehru along with Mountbatten on the first Independence Day in Delhi on August 15, 1947.

Mountbatten swears Jawaharlal Nehru in as Prime Minister of India on August 15, 1947.

An open challenge to those claiming supernatural powers

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:02:00 +0000

JREF, James Randi Education foundation is offering a 1 million USD price to anyone who can prove their supernatural power.
"Supernatural" power is defined as something that defies scientific explanation.
All those astrologers who claim, they can predict the future, and those spiritualists who can heal other people by touch fall into this "supernatural" category.

The process is simple. Those who claim supernatural powers can contact JREF, they can specify a test to demonstrate their ability, JREF will make sure the test conditions are "Scientific",by thorough monitoring thus ensuring that there is no possibility of cheating.
Anyone who can prove their supernatural ability will get to win the 1million dollars and can tell the world that supernatural powers exist.

But, the fact is that this price has been offered since 1964,and there were many applicants,none of them have cleared even the preliminary tests under scientific conditions.
The test conditions are nothing extraordinary, they just need to prove what they claim, under controlled conditions.

Here are some excerpts from JREF website:

Has anyone ever gotten past the preliminary test?
No. Some people use this fact as a reason not to apply – and yet the protocol is never altered once the applicant agrees to it. In fact, we ask the applicant to design the test.

Protocols must be “mutually agreed upon,” what does that mean?
Neither the Foundation nor the claimant can force a testing procedure without the approval of the other side. The testing procedure is a negotiation, and no one can put their foot down. If at any time it a deadlock is reached, the application process will be terminated, and neither side will be blamed or considered at fault.

What is the definition of “paranormal” in regards to the Challenge?
Webster’s Online Dictionary defines “paranormal” as “not scientifically explainable; supernatural.”
Within the Challenge, this means that at the time your application is submitted and approved, your claim will be considered paranormal for the duration. If, after testing, it is decided that your ability is either scientifically explainable or will be someday, you needn’t worry. If the JREF has agreed to test you, then your claim is paranormal.

Why do you reject claims that might cause injury?
Because the JREF doesn’t want anyone to get hurt or die, for both legal and humanitarian reasons. The JREF will not condone or support any claim where injury may occur. We don’t even want you to try it at home first.
For example, if you claim you can jump off a ten story building and survive, the JREF is not going to test you at it because people jumping off buildings doesn’t normally end well.

How do I apply?
First, make sure you qualify by reading the rules and guidelines. If you do, print out and sign the application, and have it notarized. Send it with your affidavits, proof of media presence, a self-addressed, stamped envelope, and a summary in three paragraphs or less of the nature of your claim, the conditions required to perform it, and the accuracy rates with which you can perform it, to the JREF’s address which is:

James Randi Educational Foundation
201 S.E. 12th Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316-1815 U.S.A.

What happens between the preliminary test and the official test?
The protocol itself will not be changed, and neither will any of the documents you and the JREF have agreed upon. The final test may be longer, or require more conclusive results through more sets of the test to ensure that the preliminary test was not a fluke.
All tests are videotaped and stored. You will be asked to state, on camera, that the protocol is fair prior to the test. You will be asked to state it again afterward. If you do not feel that the protocol is fair beforehand, you are not obligated to continue the test. However, if you do not agree with the protocol, you must let the JREF know before the actual testing stage.

Some applicants and the aftermath,
PATRICIA PUTT, Psychic
DR. SATYAPRAKASHAM, Homeopathy
ROBERT TOBOLSON, Energy Healer
RAYMOND EDWARD POWELL, JR.; Mental Image Transmission
MIKE MAGGIO, Spirit Reader
WILLIAM PERRON - Computerized Horoscope
CHRIS GREENE, Canadian Telepathist
JOE FAY, Mental Telepathizer

There are a thousand more stories of people who cant prove their abilities, just go here to view them all, http://forums.randi.org/forumdisplay.php?f=43

The challenge home page is found here,
http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html

More excerpts from Guardian,

To those who continue to maintain that the JREF challenge is rigged against honest and genuine psychic claimants, I say this: Go for the challenge anyway. You will be fully involved in drawing up and approving the final protocol and can insist that the conditions are to your liking, provided that the agreed protocol is well controlled from a scientific perspective. If you pass the test under those conditions and Randi refuses to acknowledge your success and award you the prize money, expose him to the world as the dishonest charlatan that you would then have proved him to be. I issue that challenge with confidence because I am convinced that the allegation that Randi rigs these tests in any way is without foundation.

Despite the fact that the world is full of people claiming to possess abilities that defy conventional scientific understanding, only a minuscule proportion of them ever put themselves forward for the challenge.

Every session was recorded on video, as was the judging phase and the final phase of tallying up the number of hits. There are many sceptics who, quite wrongly in my opinion, believe that all psychic claimants are deliberate frauds. As far as I can tell, the vast majority of people claiming to be psychic genuinely believe that they are. However, it is also true that the history of psychical research is peppered with fraudulent claimants. For this reason, even if one has no reason to doubt the honesty and sincerity of a claimant, conditions must still be such that the possibility of fraud are kept to an absolute minimum. Sceptics would, quite rightly, go over the details of any test that appeared to produce positive results with a fine toothcomb looking for methodological loopholes. It works the other way too. The video record can be used to assure unsuccessful claimants that the protocol was properly followed.

The Guardian article on JREF can be found here,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/may/12/psychic-claims-james-randi-paranormal

Accidents in India

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Composed from the Accidents report 2007 ,prepared by the NCRB (Police).

(Note: click on each chart to enlarge)

# Statewise pie chart of accidents

# Various causes of accidents that lead to death

# Accidents leading to death, City-wise

# Accidental deaths, vehicle-wise

Two wheeler is the #2 cause of road accident deaths.

# Road accidents in India, State-wise

An analysis of the Indian prison system

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:08:00 +0000

Happened to see this "NATIONAL CRIME RECORDS BUREAU" website, and the Indian govt had provided some interesting statistics there. Even though the statistics were from 2006, the pattern wont be changing much.Govt has yet to provide the latest statistics on the site.
Anyway, i have listed some statistics (graphs) from the 2006 report below.

# Types of Inmates

Convicts- People found guilty and sentenced by court
Undertrials- People under court trial

# Available prison capacity vs number of inmates

A jail with 100% inmate attendance is said to be crowded,and more than that is termed "overcrowded". This graph means that all Indian prisons are overcrowded.

#Educational qualification of Inmates

This is a clear proof that literacy reduces crime.

#Percentage Distribution of Convicts undergoing various period of Sentences

#Total capacity of Central Jails

# Total number of Jails

#Distribution of crimes

# Expenditure per Inmate

#Jail staff

More correctional staff could help in correction and rehabiliation.

# Computerised prisons

Kiva.org - Loans that change lives

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:09:00 +0000

Kiva.org - Loans that change lives

What Is Kiva?

We Let You Loan to the Working Poor

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.

The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material.

When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need.

Kiva partners with existing expert microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified entrepreneurs. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva, our partners upload their entrepreneur profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them. When you do, not only do you get a unique experience connecting to a specific entrepreneur on the other side of the planet, but our microfinance partners can do more of what they do, more efficiently.

Kiva provides a data-rich, transparent lending platform. We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle, and what effect it has on the people and institutions lending it, borrowing it, and managing it along the way. To do this, we are using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive. Child sponsorship has always been a high overhead business. Kiva creates a similar interpersonal connection at much lower costs due to the instant, inexpensive nature of internet delivery. The individuals featured on our website are real people who need a loan and are waiting for socially-minded individuals like you to lend them money.

How Kiva Works

Choose an Entrepreneur, Lend, Get Repaid

The below diagram shows briefly how money gets from you to a developing-world entrepreneur, and back.

1) Lenders like you browse profiles of entrepreneurs in need, and choose someone to lend to. When they lend, using PayPal or their credit cards, Kiva collects the funds and then passes them along to one of our microfinance partners worldwide.

2) Kiva's microfinance partners distribute the loan funds to the selected entrepreneur. Often, our partners also provide training and other assistance to maximize the entrepreneur's chances of success.

3) Over time, the entrepreneur repays their loan. Repayment and other updates are posted on Kiva and emailed to lenders who wish to receive them.

4) When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to someone else in need, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds.

Kiva Stats

Total value of all loans made through Kiva:	$67,959,635
Number of Kiva Lenders:	477,379
Number of loans that have been funded through Kiva:	97,358
Percentage of Kiva loans which have been made to women entrepreneurs:	77.82%
Number of Kiva Field Partners (microfinance institutions Kiva partners with):	94
Number of countries Kiva Field Partners are located in:	44
Current repayment rate (all partners):	98.16%
Current default rate (all partners):	1.84%
Average loan size (This is the average amount loaned to an individual Kiva Entrepreneur. Some loans - group loans - are divided between a group of borrowers.):	$422.26
Average total amount loaned per Kiva Lender (includes reloaned funds):	$143.13
Average number of loans per Kiva Lender:	3.97

Cumulative Volume of Loans Made Through Kiva as of 3/31/09.

Fact Sheet

Kiva is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, incorporated in November 2005.
"Kiva" is a Swahili word which means "unity" or "agreement".
Kiva is the world's first online micro-lending platform.
Kiva was co-founded by Matt and Jessica Flannery, when they were 28 and 27 respectively.
Previously, Kiva CEO and Co-Founder Matt Flannery was an engineer at Tivo. Premal Shah, Kiva President, was a product manager at PayPal.
PayPal provides Kiva with free payment processing. Kiva's is the first account at PayPal with a free payment processing agreement.
The minimum amount that can be loaned to an entrepreneur on Kiva is $25.
Kiva partners with microfinance institutions around the world, referred to on the Kiva website as Field Partners.
Recipients of a Kiva Loan are referred to as "entrepreneurs", contributors to a Kiva Loan are referred to as "Kiva Lenders".
Anyone with an email address can create a Kiva Account. Anyone who can make payments using a credit card or PayPal account can be a Kiva Lender.
Currently, Kiva Lenders can only receive 0% interest on their loan. Kiva hopes to allow Field Partners to offer non-zero interest rates to Kiva Lenders.
Kiva is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.
Kiva currently employs 34 full-time staff members.

Corporate partners of Kiva

Go help someone with Kiva

Note: Kiva cannot donate to India since they have no field patners that match their criteria, if anyone knows any such institution, recommend them to contact kiva.

Slideshare prank very insulting

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:15:00 +0000

Slideshare, the ppt sharing website decided to play a cruel prank on its users and had insulted its users badly.
On Apr 1, slideshare sent out an email to all its users,that reads,
-------

Hi ___,

We’ve noticed that your slideshow on SlideShare has been getting a LOT of views in the last 24 hours. Great job … you must be doing something right.

Why don’t you tweet or blog this? Use the hashtag #bestofslideshare so we can track the conversation.

Congratulations,
-SlideShare Team

-------
And, many users believed that their presentations had become popular and went blog,tweet etc.
After all that had happened,it happens that slideshare had simply added 2 zeroes on the view count of every presentation and sent an email to all their users that they have become "rockstars" on slideshare.
Their sick sense of humor made people look really stupid in front of their peers and friends.
This is not to be expected from a professional presentation sharing website.

Even Google provides a link to "April fool" wikipedia page on their yearly april 1st debut.
But, slideshare went too far on this.
Now, thousands of insults(to their users) later, they put up a blog page.
Many more people have blogged against their prank.

Patriotism : In the words of some great men

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:18:00 +0000

The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border? ~Pablo Casals

My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its office-holders. ~Mark Twain

Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons. ~Bertrand Russell

Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it. ~George Bernard Shaw

I have no sense of nationalism, only a cosmic consciousness of belonging to the human family. ~Rosika Schwimmer

You'll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race. ~George Bernard Shaw

If I knew something that would serve my country but would harm mankind, I would never reveal it; for I am a citizen of humanity first and by necessity, and a citizen of France second, and only by accident. ~Montesquieu

I am not an Athenian or a Greek, I am a citizen of the world. ~Socrates

I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth, and I am a citizen of the world. ~Eugene V. Debs

The world is our country, all mankind are our countrymen. We love the land of our nativity, only as we love all other lands. The interests, rights, and liberties of American citizens are no more dear to us than are those of the whole human race. Hence we can allow no appeal to patriotism, to revenge any national insult or injury. ~William Lloyd Garrison, Declaration of Sentiments, Boston Peace Conference, 1838
(modified to use simpler grammar)

It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind. ~Voltaire

Belief systems of the world

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:12:00 +0000

The Epicurean paradox

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:21:00 +0000

Epicurus was a greek philosopher who lived during 341BC - 270BC.

Epicurus is generally credited with first expounding the problem of evil, and it is sometimes called "the Epicurean paradox" or "the riddle of Epicurus."

Is god willing to prevent evil,but not able, then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing , then he is malevolent ("evil").
Is god both able and willing, then whence("from where") cometh ("comes") evil?
If he is neither able nor willing, then why call him god?

--Epicurus

That sounds fair.

New design updated

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:56:00 +0000

Updated the new design for this website.Been using the vanilla blogger template since now.

Water found on Mars!

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 08:27:00 +0000

Good news today. Water ice is found on martian soil just below the surface.
NASA had confirmed the finding on this page (on July 31st 08) , the discovery was made by Phoenix lander that was digging up the martian soil.

NASA's website says,

"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. "We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted."

Phoenix Lander

The Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) is a combination of a high-temperature furnace with a mass spectrometer on board Phoenux lander. It will be used to bake samples of Martian dust, and determine the content of this dust. It has eight ovens, each about the size of a large ball-point pen, which will be able to analyze one sample each, for a total of eight separate samples. TEGA is the instrument that found water ice.

The fact is that ice had been found on mars for some time, but scientists believed it is co2 ice (dry ice, not water ice since 1966). That belief was first challenged in 2002 by Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey probes. New infrared measurements from the newly arrived Mars Odyssey show that the lower material heats up, as water ice is expected to do in the Martian summer, and that the polar cap is too warm to be dry ice. [proof]

On July 16th, it was reported that Mars contained sediment minerals that are proof of earlier flow of water.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) used Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), to investigate clay like minerals and came up with this.

A color-enhanced image of the delta in Jezero crater, a past lake on Mars. Researchers led by Brown graduate student Bethany Ehlmann report that ancient rivers ferried clay-like minerals (shown in green) into the lake, forming the delta. The clays then were trapped, meaning they could store past life.
Credit: NASA/JPL/JHUAPL/MSSS/Brown University

Last month, Phoenix lander took these photos of what seemed to be ice.But, it was confirmed as ice few days back, after TEGA results came. (Day 20 and Day 24 on mars)

Now that we have water on mars, future missions to mars could rely on that water for oxygen extraction by electolysis, which could also provide hydrogen to be used as a fuel.
Update : More updates about the Phoenix mission can be tracked here

Seminar at St.Joseph College on Web Security

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:06:00 +0000

Took a seminar at St.Joseph's college at 5:30pm , 11th July 2008 IST.
The topic was web security and IT dept was present, and there were some students from CS dept too.

The presentation i prepared can be downloaded here,
Web Security.ppt

My favourite potrait

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:26:00 +0000

Bought this potrait at Velankanni, 01 June '08.

Inflation of food prices

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:51:00 +0000

Food prices are on the rise worldwide.
India is no excemption, there was a multi page article on India Today on this topic last week.
Those who live on their daily labour for food may soon find themselves unable to afford the food they are able to afford now.Such a situation may cause worldwide restlessness and can lead to lawlessness as the case with some African countires.
To help better visualise the spiralling food prices, see this graph,

Grain prices are on the rise, crop yields are on the down side.
The current inflation of food prices has many reasons.
Petrol price increase is one of the reason, since fertilizers used in crop cultivation are manufactured from petroleum,petrol products are needed to transport the food materials across cities as well as across continents.
Indian government acknowledges the fact that increase in food production is necessary to slow the inflation of food prices. Efficient agriculture is necessary to increase productivity.
But, as far as i can see, farm lands in India are fast converting into apartments and industries.

Update:
Haitians gather food or anything else of use in a massive dumping ground in Port-au-Prince.
(via nytimes.com)

More info abt Haiti here

Today is a good day for science !

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:06:00 +0000

Yes, Today is a good day for science since i found two really important developments in medical science that will transform people's lives in the very near future.

News 1: Medicine's Cutting Edge: Re-Growing Organs

Imagine re-growing a severed fingertip, or creating an organ in the lab that can be transplanted into a patient without risk of rejection. It sounds like science fiction, but it's not. It's the burgeoning field of regenerative medicine, in which scientists are learning to harness the body's own power to regenerate itself, with astonishing results.

A powder sprayed on an amputated finger regenerated the finger in four weeks.
That powder is a substance made from pig bladders called extracellular matrix. It is a mix of protein and connective tissue surgeons often use to repair tendons and it holds some of the secrets behind the emerging new science of regenerative medicine.

"It tells the body, start that process of tissue regrowth,Somehow the matrix summons the cells and tell them what to do".

Regeneration will soon revolutionize transplant medicine. Transplant patients, instead of waiting years for a donated organ, will ship cells off to a
lab and wait a few weeks to have their own re-grown.

Tengion is a company that regrows any organs you want !, see more details here, tengion.com

CBS News article here

News 2: World's First Full Face Transplant

Advancing from heart transplant surgery, now doctors have performed a face transplant surgery.

For 24 years Pascal Coler's face drew so many taunts in the street that he retreated to his home to live the painful life of a recluse.
All of that changed in January when he got the call: They'd found a face donor.
After 16 hours in the operating room, Coler emerged with a new face.
Coler's bone structure has not been altered, so he looks as he might have looked if his face had never been ravaged by disease.
And he's happy.
"The operation revolutionized my life," Coler said.
"People no longer stop and stare at me in the street. They don't make fun of me anymore."
"I'd love to find a wife," Coler said. "Settle down and have children."

ABC News article on this topic here.

Pulsar mania ad

noreply@blogger.com (bharath) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:45:00 +0000

Saw this awesome Pulsar ad on TV.
Found it on Youtube.

Click here to view a higher clarity version (HD).