Resonance in thoughts - a medium to propagate inspiration.

I am just trying to put together a few thots I got about my work in general and role of a team in particular. I am just trying to put in words as I think. I think its important to have had a research group (under a supervisor, in this context) working on similar things. I mean a team is so important in research I realise. I started with my seniors code and tried to understand it for some time. During this time, I started believeing that whatever he must have done would have been validated. But as it turned out, some of his things (for eg. A particular value in one of the tables was labelled incorrectly) were not entirely right. By not right I mean not correctly presented. And in retrospect, I feel, I lost considerable time in reaching this conclusion. Time apart, it also means that I have naturally become suspicious about other things he has presented. As it turns out, the senior who wrote the code left before i joined. So we couldnt meet when i started and moreover i was the only pers...

As we count down the minutes to a remarkable event, I can hardly resist the emotions. Today, India will awake to a new reality. This event marks the entry of india among the deep-space faring nations. But this is just the beginning. We need to chart higher goals and higher missions. The red planet, the outer solar system with its fascinating moons, the solar-interstellar interface and beyond beckon us with their limitless queries and charming riddles. But this is no time to get carried away, it is rather time to reflect on more exigent beauties. The moon, our closest companion, is also a source of energy, and is perhaps going to rescue us from the looming energy crisis. With its helium reserves, it could be more important than we can imagine. So as the early morning sun makes a soft arrival on the east coast of India, preparations are on in full swing. The majestic PSLV C-11 is allset to soar high, with no only indian instruments and dreams on board, but an international suite of exper...

The county season 2008 was poised for a dramatic send off. Both the top and bottom places were at stake even as the final day of the season began. I decided to catch the action at Hove where the hosts Sussex (sharks) were facing Yorkshire ( snaps here ). As always the action starts early morning at Southampton under misty conditions. I miss the first service to Hove but before long I am on the Southern train bound for brighton. This journey is a new first for the direction taken from southampton. A few pages of sherlock holmes and a few kids on the seat ahead of me are enough to keep me entertained for the 1.5 hour sojourn. As we head south-east, the attraction swings from distant hills to the left to the ever closer coastline on the right. Hove is the last but one stop to brighton. And the first thing (line) that strikes you on reading the heritage board outside hove station - "Hove is separate from brighton !". That much for satiating the hovian pride. The Sussex county gro...

As i watch the olympic closing ceremony, a stream of thoughts starts to trickle through my mind. All the thrills and spills, the highs and lows of the last few days. But before I get on with that thread, heres a phd comic, an original one .. --------------------------------------------------- scene: discussion in lab about olympic success .. French guy (complaining as usual): 34 medals but only 5 golds, we are lot better than what the standings show .. Spanish guy : whatever the tally suggests is one thing, but Nadal is truly something .. German (ambitious as ever) : umm .. 14 gold is just about ok, but we can and should do lot better .. British guy (doesnt know a thing abt sport otherwise): our success is quantified - 1.5 All: ??? British: you see, Australia have 12 gold and we have 18, so 18/12 = 1.5. Indian (beaming and seemingly happiest of the lot): We did infinitely well this time. All: ?????????? Indian: you see, Pakistan has 0 medals and we have 3, so 3/0 = infinity. ----------...

The protagonist of our story, Mr. Wimby is a fan of Wimbledon. Its been ages (atleast his age) that he has followed Wimbledon. Be it watching Boris becker making delightful volleys, Be it Goran climbing up to his father upon making it finally to where he belonged, Be it staying up late hoping that the stupid television channel realises that paes is playing on court 10 - please switch to it, Be it hoping Nirupama vaidyanathan becomes first indian woman to make it to round 2. Wimby is no novice at the art of crashing in early at wimbledon to get ground entry on the day. But this time, there is more in store. Sunday, June 29 (6.30 pm): Wimby is languishing in his room at southampton. The distance to Wimbledon has gone up from last year (when he was based in london) but perhaps the urge is commensurate. An idea is seeded. A quick check with BBC weather and the idea takes root. A sunny Monday and Roger Federer on centre court. Sounds like an invitation to Wimby's ears. Just as a fail-sa...

What units do we think in terms of ? Theres this problem always of what units to remember disatnce and time in. when we were kids, we probably could get away with thinking in terms of metres and seconds. now the mind is exposed to lengths like AU (distance to sun) or light year. So also for time. I try hard to remember the age of the universe. It is some odd 13 billion years. And I am not the least upset that I forget this figure all the time. If only someone had told me abt wht 'billion' means as a child , and that too in context of time ! The point is that there is a multitude of range of space and time. The question I get is how do people remember times and distances. I assume each one has a 'default' unit that he/she thinks in. for example, we in India I think have been over-exposed to something called 'lakh'. In Europe you relaise that no-one would realise what you are referring to when you say lakh. lakh is this all-importatnt figure that people measure th...

Well for some time I was thinking of blogging but was procastinating it for a long time .. until today ... A clear september night sky .. a couple of books on Subramanyam Chandrashekhar still fresh in mind .. and here I am gazing out of my bedroom window. Its 2 am in the middle of a cool night. Could it get better .. A peep outside and I see the constellation 'Cygnus'. They call it the northern cross or swan flying southwards .. all I see is the cross - the 3 stars going across and then theres Deneb right above the middle one .. Vega is there to the north of cygnus 45 deg below the intersection of the cross. Albiero, the bottommost star of the cross quite faint .. and then Altair on the other side completing the summer triangle. I am at a loss of words - to see the summer triangle which I have been wishing to see all this time and now its there at a glance outside the window. kudos to Deneb-Vega-Altair ! Now I wish to make the most of this opportunity. so here goes ... To the n...