sixthsence

SIXTHSENCE

Well:) Just imagine if u r palm as mobile, U r eyes having capacity of taking pictures like we take in digi cam!! and can transfer to our computer or take its printout whenever we want, Reading news paper like the news paper showed in HARRY POTTER, Getting the details of person whomever we want by just seeing that person. Now stop imagining because the time has come to achieve all these with SIXTHSENCE:)

Pranav Mistry is the genius behind SixthSense, a wearable device that enables new interactions between the real world and the world of data.

'SixthSense' is a wearable gestural interface that augments the physical world around us with digital information and lets us use natural hand gestures to interact with that information.

We've evolved over millions of years to sense the world around us. When we encounter something, someone or some place, we use our five natural senses to perceive information about it; that information helps us make decisions and chose the right actions to take. But arguably the most useful information that can help us make the right decision is not naturally perceivable with our five senses, namely the data, information and knowledge that mankind has accumulated about everything and which is increasingly all available online. Although the miniaturization of computing devices allows us to carry computers in our pockets, keeping us continually connected to the digital world, there is no link between our digital devices and our interactions with the physical world. Information is confined traditionally on paper or digitally on a screen. SixthSense bridges this gap, bringing intangible, digital information out into the tangible world, and allowing us to interact with this information via natural hand gestures. ‘SixthSense’ frees information from its confines by seamlessly integrating it with reality, and thus making the entire world your computer.

The SixthSense prototype is comprised of a pocket projector, a mirror and a camera. The hardware components are coupled in a pendant like mobile wearable device. Both the projector and the camera are connected to the mobile computing device in the user’s pocket. The projector projects visual information enabling surfaces, walls and physical objects around us to be used as interfaces; while the camera recognizes and tracks user's hand gestures and physical objects using computer-vision based techniques. The software program processes the video stream data captured by the camera and tracks the locations of the colored markers (visual tracking fiducials) at the tip of the user’s fingers using simple computer-vision techniques. The movements and arrangements of these fiducials are interpreted into gestures that act as interaction instructions for the projected application interfaces. The maximum number of tracked fingers is only constrained by the number of unique fiducials, thus SixthSense also supports multi-touch and multi-user interaction.

The SixthSense prototype implements several applications that demonstrate the usefulness, viability and flexibility of the system. The map application lets the user navigate a map displayed on a nearby surface using hand gestures, similar to gestures supported by Multi-Touch based systems, letting the user zoom in, zoom out or pan using intuitive hand movements. The drawing application lets the user draw on any surface by tracking the fingertip movements of the user’s index finger. SixthSense also recognizes user’s freehand gestures (postures). For example, the SixthSense system implements a gestural camera that takes photos of the scene the user is looking at by detecting the ‘framing’ gesture. The user can stop by any surface or wall and flick through the photos he/she has taken. SixthSense also lets the user draw icons or symbols in the air using the movement of the index finger and recognizes those symbols as interaction instructions. For example, drawing a magnifying glass symbol takes the user to the map application or drawing an ‘@’ symbol lets the user check his mail. The SixthSense system also augments physical objects the user is interacting with by projecting more information about these objects projected on them. For example, a newspaper can show live video news or dynamic information can be provided on a regular piece of paper. The gesture of drawing a circle on the user’s wrist projects an analog watch.

The current prototype system costs approximate $350 to build.

REFRENCE:
http://www.ted.com/speakers/pranav_mistry.html

CHECKOUT THIS VIDEO HOW THIS SIXTHSENCE WORK:)
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

Nick Vujicic..........

Well!!.....
This one video, it has hit me at the core. Its an inspiration, a motivation to let you move forward in life inspite of all failures, no matter what happens. Yes, the human spirit can handle much more than we realize. Everytime I see the video I tell myself "Oh man, I'm so blessed, why the hell I complain?". Not to hide, I'll have my eyes filled. Everyone in the world should watch this video 'cos it could definitely change the lives of many.

The man Nick Vujicic is my new idol. He says

Nick is thankful for what he HAS.
He's not bitter for what he does NOT have.
I have never met a bitter person who was thankful.
I have never met a thankful person who was bitter.
In life you have a choice: Bitter or BETTER?

He has lot more to tell you and definitely you'll have lot more to learn from him, do visit his website - http://lifewithoutlimbs.org.

You can also read about him on Wikipedia.

Watch Video here.. click on this link.

source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ZuKF3dxCY&feature=related

There was some problem with my blog editor.. I was keep on trying to upload that video here but because of that prob i couldn't. Whatever it is u can view that video in YOUTUBE or on above link.. DON MISS IT......

VENKATRAMAN RAMAKRISHNAN

Well!! Once again its time to feel proud about our country and indian's contribution to this wolrd. ANAND AGARWALA has done marvelous work with his new software BUMPTOP. Now its VENKATRAMAN RAMAKRISHNAN who won the NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY 2009 "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome"




Venkataraman Ramakrishan Born in 1952 in Chidambaram, Ramakrishnan shares the Nobel prize with Thomas E Steitz (US) and Ada E Yonath (Israel) for their "studies of the structure and function of the ribosome".Ramakrishnan earned his B.Sc. in Physics (1971) from Baroda University and his Ph.D. in Physics (1976) from Ohio University.He moved into biology at the University of California, San Diego, where he took a year of classes, then conducted research with Dr Mauricio Montal, a membrane biochemist."This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry awards Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A Steitz and Ada E Yonath for having showed what the ribosome looks like and how it functions at the atomic level," the Nobel committee said in its citation.All three have used a method called X-ray crystallography to map the position for each and every one of the hundreds of thousands of atoms that make up the ribosome, it said.
"This year's three Laureates have all generated 3D models that show how different antibiotics bind to the ribosome. These models are now used by scientists in order to develop new antibiotics, directly assisting the saving of lives and decreasing humanity's suffering," the citation said.

Better known as Venky among friends, Ramakrishnan started out as a theoretical physicist. After graduate school, he designed his own 2-year transition from physics to biology.As a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, he worked on a neutron-scattering map of the small ribosomal subunit of E Coli. He has been studying ribosome structure ever since.
Ramakrishnan has authored several important papers in academic journals.In the August 26, 2000 issue of Nature, Ramakrishnan and his coworkers published the structure of the small ribosomal subunit of Thermus thermophilus, a heat-stable bacterium related to one found in the Yellowstone hot springs. With this 5.5 Angstrom-resolution structure, Ramakrishnan's group identified key portions of the RNA and, using previously determined structures, positioned seven of the subunit's proteins.In the September 21, 2000 issue of Nature, Ramakrishnan published two papers. In the first of these, he presents the 3 Angstrom structure of the 30S ribosomal subunit.His second paper reveals the structures of the 30S subunit in complex with three antibiotics that target different regions of the subunit. In this paper, Ramakrishnan discusses the structural basis for the action of each of these drugs.After his postdoctoral fellowship, Ramakrishnan joined the staff of Brookhaven National Laboratory in ther US. There, he began his collaboration with Stephen White to clone the genes for several ribosomal proteins and determine their three-dimensional structures.

He was also awarded a Guggenheim fellowship during his tenure there, and he used it to make the transition to X-ray crystallography.Ramakrishnan moved to the University of Utah in 1995 to become a professor in the Department of Biochemistry. There, he initiated his studies on protein-RNA complexes and the entire 30S subunit.He since moved to the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, where he is a Senior Scientist and Group Leader in the Structural Studies Division. He joins the list of several Nobel laureates who worked at the laboratory.

source:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/29207/indian-born-ramakrishnan-wins-nobel.html
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2009/

BUMPTOP

Well!!! i was watching TED talks... while watching i just felt like to see who are all speakers in this TED..And i start immediately browsing that and i found several speakers. In that i found one name called "Anand Agarwala" i was surprised to see a chap of around my age in TED.And jus gone through his talk.... And stunned once his talk was over... It was not actually a talk But it was a presentation of his BUMTOP software Which is an irresistible new desktop interface with a satisfyingly three-dimensional physicality and a fresh approach to interactivity.His BumpTop software applies a 3D metaphor and rough-and-tumble interactivity that delights anyone who sees it in action.

In addition to its raw play-with-me fun , BumpTop is also an inspiring example of unconventional thinking. The BumpTop world is a physical space, where traditional point-and-click movement is replaced with a more literal "push and pull" approach, and the icons each possess a weight that reflects their relative importance. Meanwhile, commands are executed via a novel set of pen/stylus shortcuts that go well beyond the limited click-and-drag way of doing things.

I hav dowloaded its free version.. Its jus superb to use. Go through it once i hope u all gonna like it:)

JAI HO ANAND AGARWALA:)


Web site: BUMPTOP

TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design)

For those of you who dont know what TED is?

TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) is an academic organization owned by the Sapling Foundation, a non-profit foundation. TED is well-known for its annual, invitation-only conference devoted to "ideas worth spreading". TED is famous for its lectures, known as TED Talks, which originally focused on technology, entertainment and design, but have now expanded in scope to a broad set of topics including science, arts, politics, education, culture, business, global issues, technology and development.

TED speakers have included such people as former U.S. President Bill Clinton, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Nobel laureates James D. Watson, Jane Goodall, Al Gore, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Billy Graham and a lot more.

Career After Graduation-Current trends in INdia

Well!!! What next after graduation? Is a Million dollar question which is hammering to my head from the first day of final year. Stil yet i haven't got the answer.
Bloody Recession which Freezes the most of jobs, Which mainly put me to take this question a bit seriously:) Realy I dont hav any interest in higher studies but everyone guiding and sujjesting for Higher studies only. So just gave same question which is million dollar question for me in Google search engine..and come up with this information... after going through this article now to choose which area is become a Billion dollar question for me:)

in reference to: Career After Graduation – Current Trends in India (view on Google Sidewiki)

INDIAN LEGEND HOCKEY PLAYER....

Well!!! I had been to my aunts place yesterday for lunch, after our lunch...

Me, my sister deepakka, and DR.bahvaji ,We were just passing time by watching NO ENTRY movie(A bollywood comedy movie). I was deeply busy in scanning Bipasha basu:)(hot chick in that movie) and They were enjoying the PJ (poor jokes)conversations beatween Anil kapoor and Fardeenkhan in that movie..
I don know what happened suddenly to my sister and brother in law.. May be KBC(kaun banega carodpathi) question maker Siddarth basu came and sat on their head.
They were just started firing with few general knowledge questions on me...for which as usual i failed miserably to answer:(

And I was not bother to think about it, since i was busy with enjoying scanned part of Biapsha basu's great assets.After several questions even knowing my GK level,She asked me a question "WHO IS THE ONLY INDIAN HOCKEY PLAYER WHO GOT OFFER FROM HITLER FOR GERMAN CITIZENSHIP AND A HIGHER ARMY POST, AFTER SEEING HIM PLAY AT THE BERLIN OLYMPICS?"

I don't know what happened to me suddenly!

Bipasha basu was replaced by TWO LEGENDS. One is Hitler and other is Statue of a person with hockey bat in hand and big name CHANDH below it... only CHANDH.. immdidetly i started yelling..
Hmmm..i know ... i know..its something CHANDH... Is it GOPI CHANDH!! SRICHANDH..!! is it? is it???
Even I knw those all names were wrong and his name is something else which ends with CHANDH...

She gave a smile and said its DHYAN CHANDH...

Am not a hockey craze person, Just twodays back i had seen an article in Kannadaprabha( a kannada daily news paper) with Hitler photo and legend dhyanchandh's statue with a hockey bat in his hand with big names of them below. So I was able to guess the name as CHANDH only..because I hadn't read that article completely on that day.After this Bipasha din't come to my mind at all:(
My mind is jus thinking about Hitler and dyanchandh. What made Hitler to offer that much of prestigious post to DHAYNCHAND. etc etc...
When i reach my room in the evening, The first thing which i did is googling about dhyanchandh..
The things which i came across were pretty interesting....
He was the God of Indian hockey,Like how Sachin is for cricket. Out of our total 8 gold medal in Olympics his contribution was more in his days of playing time..
The articles inspired me a lot and at the same time,I just thought, It will be a more informative topic to my blog if i post an article on our Legened hockey player.So for this i hav collected few informations about our great legend hockey player from here and there and gave a final touch up. so
that it will be a good piece of information in my INFOBOWL............

THE INDIAN WHO CAPTIVATED EVEN ADOLF HITLER

While Indian hockey desperately tries to shed its underdog image, one man still remains the guru of the game in the subcontinent. He is the mercurial Dhyan Chand, whose 96th birth anniversary falls on Wednesday.

The hockey wizard not only mesmerised millions within pre-partition India but became a household name in all hockey-playing nations. His deft stick-work and amazing ball control left fellow players and spectators awestruck.

For two decades, until he bid goodbye to international hockey in 1948, Dhyan Chand became virtually synonymous with hockey, playing numerous matches and scoring hundreds of goals.

He was admired and feared by his opponents, who felt that the ball got stuck to his stick when he played. But his fame notwithstanding, Dhyan Chand, a centre-forward, was an innately selfless person. If he felt either of the two flanks was in a better position to score, he would flick the ball to the well-placed player instantly.

Legend has it that after seeing him play at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Hitler offered Dhyan Chand, a Major in the British Indian Army, German citizenship and a higher army post. The prolific striker politely turned it down.
Dhyan Chand was part of three gold medal-winning Indian teams at the Olympics -- in Amsterdam (1928), Los Angeles (1932) and Berlin, where he was the captain.

Born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, on August 29, 1905, he was named Dhyan Singh. One of his two brothers was Roop Singh, who too went on to become a prolific hockey forward.
As Dhyan Chand displayed his abundant hockey skills, Pankaj Gupta, his first coach, predicted he would one day shine like a "chand" [moon]."That is how father got his surname 'Chand'," said Ashok Kumar, his son, himself a hockey Olympian who starred in India's 1975 World Cup triumph.

Dhyan Chand took to hockey in his teens, and quickly came to acquire excellent dribbling skills and an uncanny knack for scoring goals.During a 1935 tour of New Zealand and Australia, his second trip Down Under, he scored 201 goals out of the team's 584 in 43 matches.Before the 1928 Olympics, he exhibited his skills in England, netting 36 of India's 72 goals in 10 matches at the London Folkstone Festival. Then, at the Amsterdam Olympics, he netted twice in India's 3-0 win over The Netherlands in the final.

In the 1932 Olympics, when India famously drubbed the United States 24-1 -- still a world record for the biggest margin of victory -- Dhyan Chand's contribution was eight goals. The same year, he netted a whopping 133 goals out of India's 338.His hunger for goals was seemingly unending, and in 1936 he continued his prolific form. On the Indian team's world tour, he pumped in 59 goals out of the team's tally of 175.But Dhyan Chand was probably at his zenith during the Berlin Olympics. The Germans were so scared of him that they resorted to rough play in the final, leading to Dhyan Chand losing a tooth. But the valiant Rajput returned to the field after first aid, and when the match ended, his contribution in India's 8-1 win was six goals.

Even after crossing age 42, Dhyan Chand continued to score virtually at will, as he banged in 61 goals to help India win all its 22 matches in East Africa in 1947-48. It was then that he stopped playing international hockey.

After his playing days, Dhyan Chand earned a diploma in coaching from the National Institute of Sports at Patiala, in Punjab. But he was not as successful as he found it difficult to explain things that came to him so natrually as a player.

Dhyan Chand won a number of awards and accolades during his illustrious career. One of the most touching gestures came from the residents of Vienna, who built a statue of the Indian with four hands and four sticks, signifying his unparallel control over the ball.

In 1956, the Indian government conferred on him the Padma Bhushan - he was never presented the Arjuna award though -- and released a postage stamp on December 3, 1980, exactly a year after he died in hospital, apparently uncared for.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:
http://www.bharatiyahockey.org/olympics/2004/india.htm
source:
http://www.rediff.com/sports/2003/aug/29dhyan1.htm

Captivating Chikmagalur-Part II

As soon as we entered the small-calm town of chikmagalur, we were bit stunned by the flat topography of the town. I began wondering whether we came to the right place after such a long journey on bike. To our relief, at the far end of the city we could see some lofty mountains, with a serious view. We decided to move on. Now was the time for some mountain climbing (mountain biking rather). Mullayanagiri was the first must-see in our map. We packed pulav from the near-by hotel as we knew that its almost impossible to find decent hotels during transit to such places. Later, we realized it was only right thing we did that day!

Mullayanagiri:
This peak (6317ft above MSL) is supposed to be the highest in Karnataka and also between the majestic Himalayas and scintillating Nilgiris. The road condition from Chikmagalur to Mullayanagiri was bad.
The starting stretch from Chikmagalur to a junction where we have to take a diversion to Mullayanagiri is good but right after the diversion the bad road starts. The route is full of greenery and there are number of coffee estates on the way. Then after 10 kms there is again a junction with two routes, one towards Mullayanagiri and other towards Bababudan giri/ Datta peeta. Of course we took the left towards the peak. After few kilometers, we began to feel some ominous coolness. We stopped for some break and to enjoy the viewpoint. The view was a treat to watch. It was intermittently drizzling so whole atmosphere was enjoyable. After taking a small break we again started. Within few minutes we were at the top.


From this place one can see the beautiful green valleys through the clouds. There was also some fog that too at the afternoon, which made it more enjoyable. Till this point only vehicles can reach, there are some small hilltop points, which you have to climb yourself to relish the splendor of the valley.

Through the fog we could see a hilltop to which there is step way. We could see people climbing up and down. Thanks to my optimistic friend Vinod who motivated me to climb to the top. I thoroughly enjoyed the climb since we were laughing and at the same time climbing the hill.It took us approximately 15 minutes from down to the top. From wherever we see it looked like a viewpoint to us.

On the hilltop there is a small temple and there are some water taps. While browsing some sites I found the meaning of the name Mullayanagiri. The word "Mullaya" means Shiva. So it is Shiva giri. I could not see the Shiva temple but I saw a small Nandi on the hilltop. We took opportunity to click some snaps at this place.

People said there were some caves on the route in front of Nandi. But we were not in much of enthu to see the caves considering the route. Especially Varun and Raagu were ready and Pranesh who was sweating even in such ambience was neither Ok nor Nok!! Once we finished our photo session we climbed down and reached to our parking place in 10 minutes.

We had our lunch there, relishing the beauty of the nature thinking that we did the wise thing to pack the lunch from chikmagalur only, since one could find only grass there and cows grazing it . We spent some more time at the parking place and then headed towards Bababudangiri

Bababudangiri:
The route to Bababudangiri from Mullayanagiri is absolutely spectacular. While riding we kept on appreciating the majestic view of Western Ghats. We could smell no carbon-dioxide or anything which pollutes our lungs. It was just pure oxygen! Breathing pure oxygen we arrived to Bababudangiri. There is a most contentious shrine at this place, which is worshipped by both Hindus (Dattatreya) and Muslims (Baba Budan). There are some stories about this Sufi saint who came here to spread the message of peace without discrimination of religion. Unfortunately the shrine was closed due to some renovation. It was already 3:30 PM.


After talking to local people we came to know that there was a waterfall at a 4 kms distance from there.
So we decided to check that out. This place is called Manikyadhara. Again after reaching this point we got into a coffee stall first! We ate good number of Mirchi bajjis. These were very spicy as that guy used normal green chilli. There were steps towards the fall. This fall was okay as there was not much of water. We took some snaps and headed back towards chikmagalur. It was already 5 PM by the time we started from there. Without wasting any time further we headed to Kemmanugundi. I must say its really adventure to ride through such roads with very little clue about whats coming next. We find roads with very little or no tar. Path holes are filled with mud water which makes the 25 km journey longer than expected. It could puncture not the tyres but biggest of the butts !So ride carefully...(to be continued)

The Mayonnaise Jar

The Mayonnaise Jar,

When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle,
When 24 Hours in a day is not enough,....Remember the mayonnaise jar
and 2 cups of coffee. A story which inspired me a lot.......................

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in
front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty
mayonnaise jar And proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, If the jar was full... They agreed that it was...

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the
jar. He shook the jar lightly.The pebbles rolled into the open Areas
between the golf balls.
He then asked The students again if the jar was full... They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an
unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table
and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the
empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children,
health, Friends, and Favorite passions –
Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your
life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else --The small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued,’ there is no
room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will
never have room for the things that are
important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

'Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented?

The professor smiled....'I'm glad you asked'.
It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Please share this with other "Golf Balls"

Captivating Chikmagalur- Over the cloud nine

It was May 18 when i was badly caught-up in my BE project work.Something in me was telling that i was really mentally tired-I needed a break.In my dictionary break and travel mean one and the same.I started googling at the late hours about the places nearby mysore worth experiencing and which gets me out of the project hangover.After a couple of hours, i succeeded in my quest.I called up my friend Vijeth at 1 am and told my idea.He was excited and told- "Whoa!!!...Yes dude!!!You plan...".

I always believe many things in life comes unexpectedly! One such was a trip to Chickmagalur which is about 178KM from Mysore.May 21 morning when sun still was sleeping, i woke up at 3.30.After finishing the daily routine, i messaged Raagu(Raghavendra),Vinod,Prani(Pranesh),Viji(Vijeth) and Varya(Varun).Everybody replied back "Ready maga!" enthusiastically.

We all met near Aishwarya Petrol bunk to fill our vehicles with 7 Ltrs of petrol(thanks to its proximity to Hunsur road) at 4.30 am.Our Voyagers viz., Apache RTR,Unicorn and Pulsar were rearing to unleash.It was quite chilly but since we were all dressed-up in warm clothes it was not a problem.We stuck the earphone of our music devices to our ears and off we went!

View Larger Map


We can reach Chikmagalur through various routes.But we decided to take the route via Hassan which is at a distance of 119 KM,since it was the nearest and smoothest. Karnataka government must be really praised for their development of SH 57.It is a super track and one can reach Hassan in 2.5 hrs(approx) if he is a sane driver.But we were more than sane.We reached there in 2 hrs that too after taking lots of break in-between for you know what :-D.


We all were as hungry as a dog after a throttling biking.Prani was all more despo for some traces of food.."Hassan is not like Mysore"- we should have known.The activities here starts from 7.30.Its a small town yet most important one w.r.t both politics and its geographical location.Politically,its a semblance of strength of a popular political family in Karnataka(Children of mud).Geographically speaking it connects important cities like mangalore, shimoga and others.We searched for some quality hotels for half an hour and finally our search ended at Hotel SukhSagar which was just about to open.We were their first customers but sadly we were made to wait.We went through the long menu and after lots of "howz this-n-thats" we deicided to have paper dosa.Prani, jus wanted to eat and he didn't enter the discussions to waste his left energy.In the meanwhile,Vinod was cracking some dirty sms jokes and others were hardly listening.The waiter served us the paper dosa and as anticipated, Prani was the first person among us to touch them. But it was worth the wait. The dosa was just awesome. But that didn't fill our 4Ltr stomach(In Prani's case might be more).We ordered some idlis and coffee.In the meantime, i confirmed the route to Chikmagalur with the hotel cashier.

We left Hassan at 8.30 am and after a small breathing our bikes' engine were roaring again.Chikmagalur is around 60 km from hassan.If everything goes fine we should reach there before 9.30am i thought. But as i mentioned earlier,we always need to expect the unexpected! I was racing at 105Km/hr overtaking my friend Vinod who was riding pulsar,jauntily.Suddenly, i heard continuous stream of horn behind us.When we stopped and looked at the hind side of our bike, It was a punture!!!!Tyre was punctured but the desire was not. We were stranded in some town before Belur. Some localites helped us to spot the tyre maintainenance shop and it took nearly 1hr to get it all done.

We prayed to God for no more such surprises and headed-off to our destination.We reached the outskirts of chikmagalur first.Raagu was having a little photo-session near the milestones when his mobile phone rang.It was from Vinod this time.He nagged that his vehicle stopped suddenly and he asked us to get a mechanic from the town.He suspected something wrong with the spark-plug.We went to the town of chikmagalur, requested the mechanic and got him onsite.He checked everything."Everythings OK sir..." he claimed. But there was a catch!The 7 Ltr fuel of pulsar was dried up!(thanks to reckless ride yet safe biking of vinod)Then we emptied one of our water bottle and transferred some of our vehicle's fuel to his.

Now everything was fine.Thanking heavens, we entered the small town of chikmagalur at 12 pm...(to be continued)

Lectures for Engineers

Are you a student of Engineering or pursuing your continuing education or an engineer seeking to gain more knowledge in your evolving field. With new technologies evolving everyday, you must educate yourself on the most current events. Universities and colleges are now offering video lectures and podcast of their engineering related course. MIT, UC Berkley etc. The Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institute of Science (NPTEL) have also created a channel of You Tube with a number of video lectures on a variety of engineering topics. Here are some of the lectures categorized by specific engineering fields like Civil, Electrical, Software & Computer, Mechanical, Environmental, Biomedical and miscellaneous lectures that might be of interest to you.

Follow the Link below for 75 Cutting Edge Lectures for Engineers:
http://sn.im/lecturevideo_engineers

National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) Videos on You Tube:
http://sn.im/nptel_videos

A journey to my Place.....

( A journey to my place)

Well!!! :) I am posting today an article on my place… Where I born n brought up... and The place which is so close to my heart….

THIRTHAHALLI…. THIRTHA means HOLYWATER and HALLI means VILLAGE….. It lies on the bank of the river Tunga.. There is a historic story behind the name HOLLYWATER and also about the place. Before I tel more about my place I like to share that story which I heard from my parents and teachers.. And this story is not a friction or something, There are rich archaelogical evidencesses still there which we can consider as a proof for the story.

The story is like this..

According to a Hindu legend, the sage Parashurama using an axe, chopped off his mother Renuka's head on the orders of his father, the great sage Jamadagni. Later, Parashurama tried to wash the blood stains off the axe by dipping it in various rivers. Despite of his best efforts, a sesame-sized blood stain remained on his axe. and It was washed away only when he dipped his axe in the Tunga river which flows in Thirthahalli. This place is now called as Parashurama Thirtha(or RamaThirtha) and is the origin of the name Thirthahalli (halli means village in the native Kannada language). Near RamaThirtha, there is a stone monument ( mantapa in the native Kannada language )called Rama Mantapa. This legend has made Thirthahalli a holy place for Hindus with a belief that a dip in the river Tunga here will cure one of all sins....

RAMA MANTAPA and RAMA THEERTHA

(The stone monument is RAMAMANTAPA and the small place where a small rope is hanging is RAMATHEERTHA)

Like this there are many placesses like BHIMANAKATTE, MRAGAVADHE in Thirthahalli which hav there own stories with archeological evidencesses and proofs.

( A view of thrithahalli town)

Tirthahalli, a small town which comes in Shimoga District, Karnataka State of India.Beautiful landscapes of Tirthahalli is typicaly called "Malenadu" - an area with ever-green-forests of the (Sahyadri) Mountain range (Western Ghats).and (Agumbe) - a village in Tirthahalli, is on the western edge of Deccan Plateau and receives highest rain-fall in South-India. River (Tunga - life source of Shimoga district - flows in her full majesty in the midst of thick forest known for sandal wood.River (Sharavati springs up at (Ambutirtha) in Tirthahalli taluk, and walks gently towards west and before joining the Arabian Sea, she forms the famous Jog Falls which also houses a major hydro-electric plant of Karnataka.

The Nearby route marks to reach Thirthahalli..

Thirthahalli is at a distance of about 62 km from the district headquarters, Shimoga. From Shimoga, one has to take the National Highway NH-13 (Thirthahalli road) to reach Thirthahalli. From Bangalore, one has to take the National Highway NH-206 to reach Shimoga and then take the above mentioned route. The total distance from Bangalore to Thirthahalli is 332 km. From Mangalore, one can take NH-13 to reach Thirthahalli. The distance from Mangalore to Thirthahalli is around 146 km.. From Udupi railway station 86 km to Thirthahalli. There are numerous Privet-buses and govt-busses from Udupi to Thirthahalli and from shimoga to thirthahalli Nearest railway station is in shimoga. And the nearest airport in Manglore..which is Mangalore International Airport.

Well!!! this is not the end of this article This is jus the intruduction:).. still i hav to share about the beautifull placesses in and around of thirthahalli.. I ll post that in my next article ...:)

Reasons for Global Recession

I got a mail from my freind regarding RECESSION...

i usualy not going to read these kind of boring things ...but expecialy this one made mess with most of all ppl in this world by somehow manner. from pink slip to hike in price of needy things ,and i am not the exception..As a final year civil engineering student am dreaming abt my placements n prying dialy tht for positive growth of economy so tht b4 completing

my degree few companies may visit our colg n give us few jobs:)..so this made me to go trough this mail..and thought to post in my blog so tht my infobowl filled with few good informations:)

Reasons for Global Recession:

These days the most talked about news is the current financial crisis that has engulfed the world economy.

Every day the main headline of all newspapers is about our falling share markets, decreasing industrial growth and the overall negative mood

of the economy.

For many people an economic depression has already arrived whereas for some it is just round the corner. In my opinion the depression has already arrived and it has started showing its effect on India.

So what has caused this major economic upheaval in the world? What is the cause of falling share markets the world over and bankruptcy of major banks?

In this article, I shall try to explain the reasons for recent economic depression for all those wh

o find it difficult to understand the complex economics lingo and are looking for a simple explanation.

It all started in US…

In order to understand what is now happening in the world economy, we need to go a little back in past and understand what was happening in the housing sector of America for past many years. In US, a boom in the housing sector was driving the economy to a new level. A combination of low interest rates and large inflows of foreign funds helped to create easy credit conditions where it became quite easy for people to take home loans. As more and more people took home loans, the demands for property increased and fueled the home prices further. As there was enough money to lend to potential borrowers, the loan agencies started to wid

en their loan disbursement reach and relaxed the loan conditions.

The loan agents were asked to find more potential home buyers in lieu of huge bonus and incentives. Since it was a good time and property prices were soaring, the only aim of most lending institutions and mortgage firms was to give loans to as many potential customers as possible. Since almost everybody was driving by the greed factor during that housing boom period, the common sense practice of checking the customer’s repaying capacity was also ignored in many cases. As a result, many people with low income & bad credit history or those who come under the NINJA (No Income, No Job, No Assets) category were given housing loans in disregard to all principles of financial prudence. These types of loans were known as sub-prime loans as those were are no

t part of prime loan market (as the repaying capacity of the borrowers was doubtful).

Since the demands for homes were at an all time high, many homeowners used the increased property value to refinance their homes with lower interest rates and take out second mortgag

es against the added value (of home) to use the funds for consumer spending. The lending companies also lured the borrowers with attractive loan conditions where for an initial period the interest rates were low (known as adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). However, despite knowing that the interest rates would increase after an initial period, many sub-prime borrowers opted for them in the hope that as a result of soaring housing prices they would be able to quickly refinance at more favorable terms.

Bubble that burst…

However, as the saying goes, “No boom lasts forever”, the housing bubble was to burst eventually. Overbuilding of houses during the boom period finally led to a surplus inventory of homes, causing home prices to decline beginning from the summer of 2006. Once housing prices started depreciating in many parts of the U.S., refinancing became more difficult. Home owners, who were expecting to get a refinance on the basis of increased home prices, found themselves unable to re-finance and began to default on loans as their loans reset to higher interest rates and payment amounts.

In the US, an estimated 8.8 million homeowners - nearly 10.8% of total homeowners - had zero or negative equity as of March 2008, meaning their homes are worth less than their mortgage. This provided an incentive to “walk away” from the home than to pay the mortgage.

Foreclosures ( i.e. the legal proceedings initiated by a creditor to repossess the property for loan that is in default ) accelerated in the United States in late 2006. During 2007, nearly 1.3 million

U.S. housing properties were subject to foreclosure activity. Increasing foreclosure rates and unwillingness of many homeowners to sell their homes at reduced market prices significantly increased the supply of housing inventory available. Sales volume (units) of new homes dropped by 26.4% in 2007 as compare to 2006. Further, a record nearly four million unsold existing homes were for sale including nearly 2.9 million that were vacant. This excess supply of home inventory placed significant downward pressure on prices. As prices declined,

more homeowners were at risk of default and foreclosure.

Now you must be wondering how this housing boom and its subsequent decline is related to current economic depression? After all it appears to be a local problem of America.

What complicated the matter?…

Unfortunately, this problem was not as straightforward as it appears.

Had it remained a mat

ter between the lenders (who disbursed risky loans) and unreliable borrowers (who took loans

and then got defaulted) then probably it would remain a local problem of America. However, this was not the case. Let us understand what complicated the problem.

For original lenders these subprime loans were very lucrative part of their investment portfolio as they were expected to yield a very high return in view of the increasing home prices. Since, the interest rate charged on subprime loans was about 2% higher than the interest on prime

loans (owing to their risky nature); lenders were confidant that they would get a handsome return on their investment. In case a sub-prime borrower continued to pay his loans installment, the lender would get higher interest on the loans. And in case a sub-prime borrower could not pay his loan and defaulted, the lender would have the option to sell his home (on a high market price) and recovered his loan amount. In both the situations the Sub-prime loans were excellent investment options as long as the housing market was booming. Just at this point, the things started complicating.

With stock markets booming and the system flush with liquidity, many big fund investors like hedge funds and mutual funds saw subprime loan portfolios as attractive investment opportunities. Hence, they bought such portfolios from the original lenders. This in turn meant the lenders had fresh funds to lend. The subprime loan market thus became a fast growing

segment. Major (American and European) investment banks and institutions heavily bought these loans (known as Mortgage Backed Securities, MBS) to diversify their investment portfolios. Most of these loans were brought as parts of CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligations). CDOs are just like mutual funds with two significant differences. First unlike mutual funds, in CDOs all investors do not assume the risk equally and

each participatory group has different risk profiles. Secondly, in contrast to mutual funds which normally buy shares and bonds, CDOs usually buy securities that are backed by loans (just like the MBS of subprime loans.)

Owing to heavy buying of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) of subprime loans by major American and European Banks, the problem, which was to remain within the confines of US propagated into the word’s financial markets. Ideally, the MBS were a very attractive option as long as home prices were soaring in US. However, when the home prices started declining, the attractive investments in Subprime loans become risky and unprofitable.

As the home prices started declining in the US, sub-prime borrowers found themselves in a

messy situation. Their house prices were decreasing and the loan interest on these houses was soaring. As they could not manage a second mortgage on their home, it became very difficult for them to pay the higher interest rate. As a result many of them opted to default on their home

loans and vacated the house. However, as the home prices were falling rapidly, the lending companies, which were hoping to sell them and recover the loan amount, found them in a situation where loan amount exceeded the total cost of the house. Eventually, there remained no option but to write off losses on these loans.

The problem got worsened as the Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which by that time had become parts of CDOs of giant investments banks of US & Europe, lost their value. Falling prices of CDOs dented banks’ investment portfolios and these losses destroyed banks’ capital. The complexity of these instruments and their wide spread to major International banks created a situation where no one was too sure either about how big these losses were or which banks had been hit the hardest.

Mayhem in the banks….

The effects of these losses were huge. Global banks and brokerages have had to write off an estimated $512 billion in subprime losses so far, with the largest hits taken by Citigroup ($55.1 billion) and Merrill Lynch ($52.2 billion). A little over half of these losses, or $260 billion, have been suffered by US-based firms, $227 billion by European firms and a relatively modest $24 billion by Asian ones.

Despite efforts by the US Federal Reserve to offer some financial assistance to the beleaguered financial sector, it has led to the collapse of Bear Sterns, one of the world’s largest investment banks and securities trading firm. Bear Sterns was bought out by JP Morgan Chase with some help from the US Federal Bank (The central Bank of America just like RBI in India)

The crisis has also seen Lehman Brothers - the fourth largest investment bank in the US and the one which had survived every major upheaval for the past 158 years - file for bankruptcy. Merrill Lynch has been bought out by Bank of America. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, two giant mortgage companies of US, have effectively been nationalized to prevent them from going under. Reports suggest that insurance major AIG (American Insurance Group) is also under severe pressure and has so far taken over $82.9 billion so far to tide over the crisis.

From this point, a chain reaction of panic started. Since banks and other financial institutes are

like backbone for other major industries and provide them with investment capital and loans, a loss in the net capital of banks meant a serious detriment in their capacity to disburse loans for various businesses and industries. This presented a serious cash crunch situation for companies who needed cash for performing their business activities. Now it became extremely difficult for them to raise money from banks.

What is worse is the fact that the losses suffered by banks in the subprime mess have directly affected their money market the world over.

Now what is a money market?

Money Market is actually an inter-bank market where banks borrow and lend money among themselves to meet short-term need for funds. Banks usually never hold the exact amount of cash that they need to disburse as credit. The ‘inter-bank’ market performs this critical role of bringing cash-surplus and cash-deficit banks together and lubricates the process of credit delivery to companies (for working capital and capacity creation) and consumers (for buying

cars, white goods etc). As the housing loan crisis intensified, banks grew increasingly suspicious about each other’s solvency and ability to honour commitments. The inter-bank market shrank as a result and this began to hurt the flow of funds to the ‘real’ economy. Panic begets panic and as the loan market went into a tailspin, it sucked other markets into its centrifuge.

The liquidity crunch in the banks has resulted in a tight situation where it has become extremely difficult even for top companies to take loans for their needs. A sense of disbelief and extreme precaution is prevailing in the banking sectors. The global investment community has become extremely risk-averse. They are pulling out of assets that are even remotely considered risky and buying things traditionally considered safe-gold, government bonds and bank deposits (in banks that are still considered solvent).

As such this financial crisis is the culmination of the above mentioned problems in the global banking system. Inter-bank markets across the world have frozen over. The meltdown in stock markets across the world is a victim of this contagion.

Governments and central banks (like Fed in US) are trying every trick in the book to stabilize the markets. They have pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into their money markets to try and unfreeze their inter-bank and credit markets. Large financial entities have been nationalized. The US government has set aside $700 billion to buy the ‘toxic’ assets like CDOs that sparked off the crisis. Central banks have got together to co-ordinate cuts in interest rates. None of this has stabilized the global markets so far. However, it is hoped that proper monitoring and controlling of the money market will eventually control the situation.

How it has affected India?

In the age of globalization, no country can remains isolated from the fluctuations of world economy. Heavy losses suffered by major International Banks is going to affect all countries of the world as these financial institutes have their investment interest in almost all countries.

As of now India is facing heat on three grounds: (1) Our Share Markets are falling everyday, (2) Rupee is weakening against dollars and (3) Our banks are facing severe crash crunch resulting in shortage of liquidity in the market.

Actually all the above three problems are interconnected and have their roots in the above-mentioned global crisis.

For the last two years, our stock market was touching new heights thanks to heavy investments by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs). However, when the parent companies of these investors (based mainly in US and Europe) found themselves in a severe credit crunch as a result of sub-prime mess, the only option left with these investors was to withdraw their money

from Indian Stock Markets to meet liabilities at home. FIIs were the main buyers of Indian Stocks and their exit from the market is certain to wreak havoc in the market. FIIs who were on a buying spree last year, are now in the mood of selling their stocks in India. As a result our Share Markets are touching new lows everyday.

Since, the money, which FIIs get after selling their stocks, needs to be converted into dollars before they can sent it home, the demands for dollars has suddenly increased. As more and more FIIs are buying dollars, the rupee is loosing its strength against dollar. As long as demands for dollars remain high, the rupee will keep loosing its strength against dollar.

The current financial crisis has also started directly affecting Indian Industries. For the past few years, the two most preferred method of raising money by the companies were Stock Markets and external borrowings on low interest rates. Stock Markets are bleeding everyday and it is not possible to raise money there. Regarding external borrowing from world markets, this option has also become difficult.

In the last fiscal year alone, India borrowed $29 billion from foreign lenders and got $34 billion of foreign direct investment. A global recession has hurt external demand. International lenders who have become extremely risk aversive can limit access to international capital. If that happens, both India’s financial markets and the real economy will be hurt in the process. Suddenly, the 9% growth target does not seem that ‘doable’ any more; we should be happy to clock 7% this fiscal year and the next.

However, one positive point in favor of India is the fact that Indian Banks are more or less secured from the ill-effects of sub-prime mess. A glance at Indian banks’ balance sheets would show that their exposure to complex instruments like CDOs is almost nil. In India, still the major banking operations are in the hands of Public Sector Banks who exercise extreme cautions in disbursing loans to needy people/companies. As a result, we are not likely to see a repeat of sub-prime crisis in India. Though there have been a presence of big US/European Banks in India and even some Indian banks (like ICICI) have some foreign subsidiary with stake in the sub-prime losses, there presence is miniscule as compare to the overall size of Indian banking industry. So at least on this major front we need not worry much.

However, a global depression is likely to result in a fall in demand of all types of consumer goods. In 2007-08, India sold 13.5% of its goods to foreign buyers. A fall in demand is likely to affect the growth rate this year. Our export may get affected badly.

A negative atmosphere, shortage of cash, fall in demands, reducing growth rate and uncertainties in the market are some of the most visible aspects of an economic depression. What started as a small matter of sub-prime loan defaulters has now become a subject of global discussion and has engulfed the global economy scenario.

Greed of some…woes of billions

If you think about this with a cool mind, you will find that the underlying cause of this depression is the greed of those who failed to anticipate the consequence of their actions. On a more ideological front, it is high time to have a rethink on the very idea of free markets and capitalism. I think the time has come to evolve a capitalism where everything works under a broad

regulatory framework and we do not see a repeat of this condition where greed of some people can affect the lives of billions.

So here concludes my attempt to explain the current economic crisis which has started to affect the lives of all of us. The above explanation is very simple and by no means it presents an accurate picture (i.e the one that includes all the micro/macro factors) of the crisis. However, I hope that it must have given you a broad idea of the reasons behind current economic depression. Feel free to post your comments on this issue.