World Laughter Day

Not too long ago a friend stunned me with existence of Hot Yoga, and today I learn about Laughter Yoga which is so difficult to imagine, considering some of the yoga positions are so hard to sustain that it actually brings tears to eyes. But, that is not the whole story, with that came the realization of World Laughter Day, which is on May 6--next Sunday. I take laughter or a genuine smile over a blank, expressionless or serious frown every second of every day. It's amazing what a difference it makes when you smile and laugh from your heart.

Paper or plastic?

Taking public transit to work could be such fun but at times irritating, I mean how many of you have had the pleasure of listening to someone else’s eating or ipod--these are the two I have experienced--while traveling to work and probably trying to catch up on your sleep or meditate about the day ahead.

Today the guy behind me was having his breakfast as if he is having it in front of a loud speaker. It reminded me of Lynn Truss’ book, Talk to the Hand, saying that many people have adopted the self-absorbed attitude of the worst role model in the world, Bart Simpson –My bubble, my rules and if you don’t like it, you know where to go!

On a different note, it was in the news that San Francisco is imposing a ban on plastic bags. The law passed 10-to-1. I wonder what the one person opposing the law had to say. Well, this wasn’t mentioned, very typical journalism style. Why waste the precious space to talk about the 1 opposing. It’s great that we are trying to conserve but let’s just not be too hasty. In the 80’s the paper bag was replaced by plastic bag. Ever asked why? Well maybe the following data from www.plasticbag.com can shed some light:

“When it comes to reducing solid waste, bigger definitely isn't better. The less material you use to make a package, the less waste you have to recycle or dispose of after you've used (and reused) it. Take a look at how the facts stack up for plastic bags.

• The smaller volume of plastic bags can help conserve landfill space. Nothing degrades fast enough to extend the useful lives of modern U.S. landfills...not paper, not plastics, nothing, according to Dr. William Rathje of the University of Arizona Garbage project.
• 30 percent less material is used to produce today's plastic bag than the bags made just five years ago
• Compared to paper grocery bags, plastic grocery bags:
• Consume 40 percent less energy than paper
• Generate 80 percent less solid waste
• Produce 70 percent fewer atmospheric emissions
• Release up to 94 percent fewer waterborne wastes “

Today is Eddie's Birthday..

Five people five lessons narrated beautifully in an engaging story.

As I flipped the pages I learned to anticipate—eagerly, patiently—who Eddie is going to meet next.

Eddie “Maintenance” is the stronger of the two sons who would have done anything to get his father’s attention; in return for a bit of a fatherly love. Eddie’s story unravels in three time eras, Eddie’s present on earth, his present in heaven and his past. You bond with Eddie and perhaps often find yourself identifying with his story –shaking your head—you’ve been there, done that, felt it! No life is wasted. There is meaning and purpose to each and every one of our lives. We might not know it at this time. Does heaven, after life, exist to help us make sense of it all?

Mitch Albom’s “The Five People you Meet in Heaven” is a great read!

Another free trip around the sun is complete!

Image converter

Recently, I needed an image converter to convert gif to eps format. 2 out of 3 applications I tried didn't work.

First I tried Doc-Print v3.3 provided on VeryPDF.com. The binary was relatively small and downloaded in few seconds--on a broadband connection. The set up was fast and within few clicks the software seemed to be good to go. The application needed a machine restart to complete installation --although a nuisance but shutting down all windows and open applications deemed to be a very small price to pay to achieve the goal. After restarting the computer, I tried it out anxiously. To my surprise the application didn't start. The window flashed and disappeared. So, I used the uninstall exe provided by the software to uninstal --I had to manually remove a config.ini from under the program directory and then remove the program directory.

I moved on to my ImageMagick, next link on the Google search result page. This one took a while to just load up the mirror sites. I quickly moved on.

The third link, however, was the winner, Advanced Batch Converter 3.9. The downloaded took a few seconds. Installation was quick. It didn't require a machine restart. The application was user friendly. Under 5 minutes, I had my gif image converted to eps! :)

.. what do you know?!

... especially if someone tries to knock you down a peg or two; as long as you are respectful of other people, defending your position is the right thing -- even a noble thing -- to do.

An Inconvenient Truth

It was so pleasant hearing the birds chirp on my way to work yesterday. But, it struck me that how odd it is to have this lovely experience early February in a city that is notorious for its long and rough winters.
What is portrayed in the eco-documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, made my hair stand on end. It is too much to take in 90 minutes but the irony is what Al Gore presents eloquently and with excellent visual effects in 90 minutes is the consequence of our doing in the past 90-100 years.
We have come to believe that terrorism is the 21st century's biggest threat. But what we will be facing as a result of global warming is far more serious. We notice the unusual changes in weather, the arrival of invasive insect species, the extinction of some of the species and the spread of disease all around us.
The good thing is we can reverse the effect of green house gases by controlling the emission of carbon dioxide.
As individuals we are contributors to the global warming hence we can be part of the solution. Become part of the solution today!

2007!

It finally arrived ... with neither a warning nor a delay ... as always on time. So, we have to start getting used to starting our letters and signing our checks with 2007 dates ... that's a challenge. Other than that ... hmmm ... I don't know ... are we supposed to feel any different ... I mean other than the fact that we are now officially one year older ... which could be both good and bad :)

Last night I saw Casino Royale. The story lacked the light heartedness of previous bond movies. Granted, it's always about chasing the money until it is out of the hands of the bad guys. But, this one had just too many gory scenes, the action scenes were incredibly physical as opposed to clever--we actually watch him as he suffocates a couple of the bad guys.

On the pro side, I really liked watching the poker game embedded in the movie. Daniel Craig makes a real good bond. I really like his chiseled face and his smile. His arrogance is becoming him. Does he do his own stunts?! The opening chase is by far the most fantastic fight/chase choreography of the entire movie.

Overall a good candidate to watch on big screen!

Marketing Ads

Whoever comes up with these marketing slogans should receive the "foot in the mouth" prize of the year--I am not kidding there is such a prize. You don't believe me do a google on it.

My favorites are:

• Innovation. Available right off the shelf. Mix n match for your business!



• Unlocking the incredible potential of people through Internet connectivity.

Since when innovation has become so ubiquitous and easy to achieve that you can mix n match them? And how on earth can Internet connectivity unlock the incredible potential of people?

Granted these slogans are meant to be eye catchers but they shouldn't sound so shallow or should they?

The Marathon

The Toronto Marathon was this past Sunday. I cheered and clapped until my hands turned red and I started sounding like an old rooster. It was a rather cool day , but thankfully the sun was shinning. The first spot went to a guy from Vancouver who finished the Marathon in 2 hours 34 min and 11 sec. The first female runner finished 13. There were a couple of music bands playing and let me tell you their contribution was probably the most obvious. Every beat they played brought a smile to the tired face of the passing runners. Cheers!

Bioelectrics

The terms biomedicine, biomedical engineering and such are recent additions to my vocabulary as they are being more and more used in technical and non-technical context. Today I came across a brand new term, bioelectrics. As I am typing this up I realize it is being immediately underlined red—looks like the word has not made to the Word processor dictionary either. I am using Word 2002 – SP3. Just shows how fast we are moving forward and breaking new grounds in science and technology. Hold this thought.
Back to bioelectrics: the article appeared in IEEE Spectrum, August 2006 edition. Let me capture the thought by quoting directly from the article:
“40 Thousand volts, four thousand amperes, and over one hundred million watts squeezed into a cubic centimeter. You’d think that would be enough to vaporize just about anything, and it certainly doesn’t seem like the kind of electricity you’d want to apply to your body. But if our research continues to succeed as it has, years from now we’ll be asking some cancer patients to do just that. And it might just save their lives.”
Per the article the period this amount of energy is applied to the cell is in the matter of nanoseconds. The energy applied to the cell is enough to create a huge electric field at the membrane of the cell and break it down. As a result a hole will be created across the membrane of the cell. Ions will pour in and cause the cell to short circuit. We just destroyed a bad cell in matter of nanoseconds!
I admit it’s fascinating. Like any other R&D project millions of dollars is spent with a small hope that this: applying high voltage to the cell is going to someday be branded as the cure for cancer. That’s the goal. But, even if that is not achieved, the least something good comes out of it.
That concerns me most. You see each edition of Spectrum has many WOW stories like this. As mentioned before we are moving forward in the science and technology field with incredible speed—pairing disciplines that have almost nothing to do with each other. Despite this we still don’t have a cure for cancer and HIV. In the previous centuries, 18-20, I call these the golden centuries, so much good was done. Human life improved by Louis Pasteur’s extraordinary contribution to microbiology and medicine, getting an X-Ray would have been impossible had Marie Curie not discovered Radium and so much more.
Just what exactly do we, the generation of 21 century, have to be proud of? Oh, I know! ipod! (I know I am being too sarcastic) But, I think you get the point.

Fall

Time just flies. Have you noticed a change in your surroundings recently? Well, in my neck of the wood, it seems like people went from shorts and sandals to jackets and sweaters overnight. I am actually looking forward to the season of colorful leaves and crisp and cool weather. Happy Fall!

Moving up the escalator

Monday morning bright and sharp, I got off the train. I run ahead of everyone, wanting to be the first one getting on the escalator. After all, the goal is to beat the rush hour traffic and get to work early. Strangely, no one else feels as eager as I, to get on. How is that? But, I don't get a chance to think about an answer for my brain quickly switches to solving a much bigger problem. I can't move up this escalator! I try to take one step--up that is--but I lose my balance. I let go of my purse and lunch box and hold on to the rails tightly. I take one more step. Okay, I am going to make it, I think to myself. You wish. I lose my balance and fall on all four. Ouch that hurts. My knee is bleeding and I feel a sharp pain on my side. I can't let that get me down. Oh no! I am now further away from the top. A scary thought crosses my mind; I might die on this stupid escalator. I can't let that happen. I pull myself together. Get up. Grab the rails so tightly that my knuckles turn white and I climb. I finally make it. I pinch myself to see if I am awake or if this has all been a bad dream. The blood is dripping down my leg. It can't be a dream. I am all confused. I take this escalator every morning. In fact this escalator is the only reason I trek the platform all the way to get on the first car. I look down. Who on earth could have foolishly changed the direction of the escalator. It clearly has the sign "Going up"?!!!

I see a few gathered down the escalator. One is holding my bags. I can't hear what they are saying. But, I bet they are asking one another, who on earth these bags belongs to.

I better go get my bags...I have to move on. I have no time to stand here feel sorry for myself and angry at the person who did this to me!

Couple hours later, after I have vented my anger to one of the station superintendents, placed a band aid on my knee, which I had almost forgotten I had in my wallet, told my story to half a dozen people; I feel much better. In fact, a smile lits my face every time I think about the incident; definitely something to remember for years to come.

Finch Station is different ...

She plays keyboard and he plays violin. Together they create the most delighful music that ranges from "Waves of the Danube" to "La Cumparsita". As I proceed with my morning commute through Finch Station I listen to the art Indulis and Ilga Suna create. Each and everyday when I listen to them I feel the surge of excitement then comes the goose bumps as I hum the familiar tune, eventually I launch into this very happy go lucky mood that lasts even after the music fades away and through the hectic morning commute.

A great quote

"Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character."
— Albert Einstein, Swiss-American mathematician, physicist, and public philosopher (1879-1955)

3-days tour of Canada East

Quebec City is a beautiful jewel. It has 380 years of history and has been recognized by UNESCO as the World Heritage site. The most amazing feature of this city is its frontier--built over the span of many years to protect the city from the frequent attacks of British or the French. Today about 580,000 people live in this city.


This picture shows old Montreal, Place Jacques-Cartier, close to the port. For many years this area has been the center for celebration and joy for fishermen, residents and all. Today this area has the most amazing array of restaurants and live entertainment.

The Fab Four!

With four teams left and only 4 more matches to go it’s hard to believe that the Fifa World Cup 2006 is coming to a close. During the past 4 weeks about billion or more people watched the games as their favorite teams rose or fell out of the games. It was such a pleasure to watch so many different soccer styles. South Americans yet again became my all time favorite—and I am utterly disappointed of their early elimination. They play passionately, run feverishly, see each other in the field, play as a team and win as a team. Mexico versus Argentine was a classic, wonderful showcase of South American football.

Many of these players are on European teams and quite familiar with strategies and tactics of European football. Yet when confronted, their performance against European teams are fairly dismal—where was Rolandinho, Ronaldo and Robinho in the Brazil game against France. I have to admit Argentine played a fantastic game against Germany and if it wasn’t for their keeper having to leave the game due to injury they had high chances to advance to the semis.

In any case the Fab Four have been selected and I think this is how they will rank in the end: Portugal, Germany, Italy and France.

Cheap Chips

There is enough bandwidth above and around 60GHz to join a DVD and HD TV wirelessly and expect 2 gig-per-second transmission of data.
The problem is not that these frequencies are not utilized yet, in fact Mercedez-Benz uses 77-GHz bandwidth in its adaptive cruise control. The suggested manufacturer price for the 2007 Merecedez, S550 is only 85400 USD!

To take advantage of this frequency bandwidth in wireless consumer electronics cheap transceivers are needed.
Silicon!
IBM engineers revealed the first experimental 60-GHz transmitter and receiver this month. They have utilized an alloy of germanium and silicon. The working model is able to transmit and receive 630 megabits per second over a distance of 10 meters.
Concurrently, a group of researchers at University of California, L.A. are taking a different approach. They are taking advantage of the widespread CMOS technology.
CMOS technology is so common that there is no doubt that the chips that result will be cheap. Integration of many devices with CMOS technology is very easy. The drawback is inability to predict how transistors and everything else will behave at that frequency.
With the advent of R&D in this area there is hope that we can rid our lives from clutter and displeasure of looking at the farm of wires around the house. However, we shall await for when this technology is “mature and inexpensive”.

Greatest things come to those who wait!

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