Watch out!!!

You're sure to hear the title screamed into your ears by the passengers in your car when you're trying to multi-task while driving. I came across this article in yahoo which really shows how careless people have become not just about their own lives but also that of others.

I would like to quote a few lines of this article that really shows that it's not exactly the attitude of the driver but the pressures of modern-day living.

....."Clearly Americans have much to do and little time to do it, so to cope with that we've become multi-taskers,".....

...."Imagine if you're going 55 miles an hour down the road and you spill something on your suit and you have a meeting that day -- you're going to be more worried about grabbing a napkin than watching the road," said Guile. "But it just takes a split second to look away and there's an accident.".....

....."I have put on lipstick in the car," Braboy, 55, said with a laugh. "And I might try to look for something in my purse, which I know is dangerous.".....

I just hope this situation improves and people start driving with a sense of responsibility. However, the root cause of this problem is the fast paced lifestyle, which needs to be addressed, if we need a permanent solution.

However, a much better solution of the future would be to completely take the human being out of the driver's seat and transfer control to a computer. A more apt way to say that would be, "Never send a human to do a machine's job!!!"

Quo Vadis Winter?

It's past mid Jan this year and I still don't see any signs of snow. The local temperatures are hovering around 10°C (50°F), that's way too warm for winter. I really wonder what is happening. Maybe the threats of global warming are beginning to act up. Whatever it is, I miss the snow this winter. I hope that we atleast have a good summer this year. Guess it would be apt to sing ... Winds of Change ... right now!

New Year Resolution???

I'm not the kind who makes New Year resolutions, but this time I thought why not? The basic need for a resolution is to bring about a change. This change for me in 2007 will be in the OS that I use. Yes, I'm planning to give the Linux world a try from the next year.

I got to know about a latest flavor of Linux for the desktop called Ubuntu. I went through the site and found out some info about it and was pretty much impressed. I even burnt a Live-CD which can be used to try out all the features without actually installing anything on your harddisk. I'm planning to install a dual-boot scheme with WinXP and Ubuntu on my laptop.

I'm pretty new to the Linux world but I must say that Ubuntu is pretty impressive. I think this flavor will remove the fear of Linux from people like me. What I always wanted was the interactive GUI based interface of Windows along with the stability of Linux. I'm not very comfortable with CLIs and find them to be a little boring (read difficult to handle).

Anyway, I hope you would also try out Ubuntu to get a feel of the Linux world. There are a lot of things to discover in that new universe. However, there is a big risk in it. Guess what??? ....... You may never wanna get back to Windows ever!!!

Wish you a Spectacular New Year 2007!!!

Merry Christmas & Wonderful New Year 2007!!!

Back now after a long time. And what better occasion than Christmas to get back online. Here is wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Splendid New Year 2007.

I visited the local Christmas market ('Weihnachts markt') last week at Neumarkt in Cologne. That's where I took the pic.

I'll get back with more articles in the New Year. I've also seen that the blogger site itself has been updated. So many good things happening in this festive season. Anyway, party away and .... Enjoy folks!!!

Back after the IZB Show

I have been away for quite some time now and I do apologize for that. Was caught up with the IZB supplier show in Wolfsburg. It's an international automotive supplier show arranged by VW. My company participated in it as an exhibitor so we had lots of stuff to do. Anyway, it all went well so we were all happy about it.

Fujikura acquired a spanish company called ACE in September so the Spanish people also visited our stall during the show. It was truly an international atmosphere. Working together with the Germans, Japanese and Spanish is definitely a lot of fun.

Did enjoy my weekend as well. Met friends on Saturday, cooked and enjoyed a nice dinner together. Sunday was pretty quiet. Had to go to another friend's place to clear some doubts about money transfer to India. I guess it was a well deserved break after the hectic work at the show.

Home is where my......Files....are!!!

I haven't come across something simpler than this to access the files on my computer at home or office from any place on the earth. Absolutely simple to setup, access and sync between home & office computers. Especially useful for a person like me who keeps travelling across countries all the time. Wonder why I didn't check it out before.

Although it appears to be absolutely simple to setup and start accessing files, I'm not sure how far it's reliable in terms of security. It seems to be pretty fast for the kind of security that they promise. If it really is supposed to be good then it is nothing short of a miracle. I guess if this tool seems to be as reliable as they claim it to be then data-loss could be a thing of the past. I know there are many back-up solutions out there, but this one surely does the job for a person like me.

Truly....HOME would definitely be where my files are. FolderShare is like a \\HOME away from C:\HOME!!!

P.S.: I'm off to Darmstadt this weekend. Gonna attend my convocation at my university. After that I'm gonna visit a friend at Karlsruhe. Will post more about my weekend trip soon.

Wiki for Dappaankuthu???

I got a mail from my friend this morning (just another good morning mail) and was shocked to see a wiki entry for 'Dappankuthu'. For all those who have no idea what this is, you've got to check it out here. The best part about it is, the friend who sent me this link is working as a System Engineer for AUTOSAR, the other part about him is that he is probably the best Dappankuthukaaran in Germany ;-)!!!

The Key Problem

Just 100m to get home and I start fumbling for my keys. I reach inside my pockets and pull out some keys to notice that they are my office keys. I keep fumbling again and finally manage to pull out my room keys. Once I've got the right set of keys, I almost always insert the wrong key to open the door. After getting things right again, I get inside and climb up 4 floors and again insert the wrong key to get into my apartment. By this time I'm a done deal.

Think it's over? I bet its not. Next morning I need to get to the office and the same thing repeats again. Except this time its the entry to the office. I don't know why but I don't seem to have any luck with keys. It's almost like the keys are allergic to me or probably they want to take some revenge for treating them badly.

Why can't we have a world without keys? How I would love to just push a door to open it. A door that can recognize me and grant me access without the need for keys. No keys to remember and no keys to forget. No more jingling noises from my trousers when walking around that gives the people an idea that I'm wearing steel briefs. No more access cards that need to be swiped everytime. No more passwords to remember. Why can't things be simple? I think no two people in this world have the same characteristics, not even twins, not even clones. So why don't we come up with some system that recognizes us as humans. Just like mom sees me coming home and opens the door. When I was a kid I could recognize that my dad was back just from the sound of his scooter and his shoes.

I think security needs to be made as simple as possible. Instead of increasing the complexity of keys, I think we need to eliminate them totally. We need to sit back and go back to nature and learn to implement what we learn using technology in our daily lives. The future is towards making things simpler.

I wish there comes a day soon when I never need to carry any keys with me. That way I can get rid of the "Oh no..I've forgotten the keys to my room in my friend's place" syndrome. The key to solving the key-problem is - NO KEY!!!

Is it Friday today???

Just one of those usual mornings today. Got up at 7 and went around with the morning chores. All the while I was thinking, "Gosh its Thursday, I can't wait for Friday". Had this gloomy look on my face.

Before I could leave I happened to check out the weather on my desktop (I do that all the time before I step out) and to my disbelief realized that "Today is Friday!!!" I was like Yippeeeeeeee. I wanted to confirm again so I checked the date on my watch, on my computer, my cellphone and the international time and date website. I was assured that today is indeed Friday. Phew what a great relief. I really got to experience the bliss of the term, "Thank God its Friday". Weekend is just round the corner.

Weekend Update (02.-03.Sep)

Heard the story 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin'? I literally lived that story during the weekend. It was a wonderful trip to meet my friend there. I went there with another friend who lives here in Cologne. Had to get up early to take the train at 6:21 in the morning. Reached Hamelin on time at 10:10. My friend was waiting at the station. Took the bus from the station to his place. It's a small place so it just took about 5 minutes.

After taking a small break in his room, we immediately left to go to the city-centre. It was filled with people, eating and drinking and shopping around. We noticed a line of imprints of rats (in white) on the road. I heard that it represents the path taken by the Pied Piper to drive the rats out of the city. Also saw a statue of the piper. Everywhere you look, you will find something with a connection to the story of the piper.

My friend treated us at a Mexican Restaurant for lunch. I tried something called 'Chicken Enchiladas'. Mmmmmh it tasted yummy, but a lot of cheese. We didn't wanna get drunk so just settled down with just a glass of beer (type was called 'Ratskeller', typical of Hamelin). After lunch we were just walking around the shopping center and then got home to take a break.

In the evening we climbed a small hill that was about 800m tall. Got a good view of the place from there, also tried a panaromic shot of the town (the stitch wasn't so good though, you can see it under the title of this blog). After that we went back to the city-center and had some ice-cream. Later on saw some live band playing at a Summer-Fest and finished the day with dinner at a Greek Restaurant. I tried some Giros. It got me filled to the nose with meat. It was a tiring day. Got back to my friend's room around midnight. It was surprizing to see that the town went dead around midnight, unlike Cologne where the party just starts at that time.

Got up pretty late the next day. We just had time to cook lunch. I wanted to make some cauliflower manchurian, but finally got to know that none of the required ingredients were available. Had to settle down with something close to it. Took about an hour to finish frying the two cauliflowers that my friend bought. My friend made some nice carrot and peas kurma. Once that was done, we had lunch and left for Cologne.

Hamelin was a different place compared to Cologne. You get to experience serenity in its truest form there. Pretty refreshing for someone living amidst the hustle and bustle of a big city like Cologne. Moreover, visiting this place reminded me of the school days when I read about the piper's story or saw it on TV. A truly refreshing weekend indeed!

'Dream Gadget' - Tag Pickup

- Tagged by Anu.

I've probably dreamed of many, but would like to list a few here:

1. Auto-Drive Car: Hop in. Enter your destination. Reach in comfort.

2. Automatic-Cooking System: Fill up the different containers with sambar podi, masala podi, chilli powder, turmeric powder and all spices. Separate sections for vegetables, chicken etc. Select your menu. Relax. The system checks if everything needed for the menu is available and does all the cooking. (Pretty realistic na?). An add-on could be an inventory system that automatically orders stuff from the store.

3. 3D Projection Goggles: Can be used as a monitor to display anything in the 3D space available within our angle of vision. Can be integrated along with the car navi-system to show maps/directions/instructions as we drive. (Reduces risk of accidents as we don't need to take our eyes off the road). Virtually replaces any display device.

4. Automatic Bathing Suite: Step-in. Refresh. Step-out.

.....and....probably the most significant to me......

5. RFID2 System (Rapidly Found If Displaced RFID System): This system consists of absolutely small tags that can literally be stuck to anything and a satellite based scanner that is connected to the net with an online-interface. Purpose - To find anything that 'I' don't, from.....anywhere!

ADAC Training Update (30.Aug)

It was a glorious finish today at the training and what better than to see the thumbs up sign from the trainer. I must say I've had a really great day today, complete with fine weather and all.

The start wasn't that good though. Was caught up in traffic on the autobahn between Troisdorf and Bonn. Ended up being late by about 30 minutes for the training. However, I was lucky enough because the candidates were just leaving the training room and heading towards the test tracks. We were a group of 10.

At first we had to wiggle our way through markers spaced at about 10m. It was a good exercise for sharp steering. The lesson learnt at the end of the exercise was 'Steer earlier, steer less'.

The next few exercises were on handling the car on different surfaces. Rough, smooth, dry and wet. The worst condition was ofcourse the smooth and wet. I've only read about ABS and ESP in technical docs and the internet, but today I experienced both live. The worst part of the surface runs was a circular track that was used to experience the forces when driving along bends. The radius of curvature of that track was about 10m and I guess the fastest I drove around was about 35kmph. I could literally feel the ESP system blocking my wheels individually as I was handling the curve. I must say that the VW Golf is a truly wonderful machine when it comes to stability.

It was a long day, but truly exciting and fun-filled. I learnt a lot of things that I could probably not learn anywhere else (except if I actually face an accident situation)!

Training Tomorrow

I'm gonna make use of my birthday gift tomorrow. Going for the car safety and security training tomorrow. It's conducted by ADAC, a popular automobile institute here. Will have to handle rough situations, sudden brakes, sharp curves, fast deceleration, obstacle course, etc. Guess its gonna be a roller coaster ride on a car tomorrow. Anyways, will update everything after I'm back (hopefully....in one piece)!

Cool 3D Tool

I was assigned the task of visualizing a 3D model of our stall at the VW supplier show in Wolfsburg in October. I was hunting around for some free tool and didn't have to look further than Google. They have this cool tool called SketchUp.

I was able to bring up a model within minutes. You see a rough 'SketchUp' in the picture. Of course the free version doesn't let you do everything, but it was enough for what I needed to do. I think you can use a bit of your artistic skills and your engineering drawing skills to realize your dreams in 3D space. Check it out and have fun.

Weekend Update (18. - 20.Aug)

Wo Wo Wo Wo, now that was one great weekend I really enjoyed. My friend came down from Hameln on Friday around 8:30 in the evening. We all went to another friend's place at Junkersdorf (I had packed some stuff to stay at his place the whole weekend). From then on it was a roller coaster ride into the weekend.

Friday night was spent at Rudolfplatz. We were walking along the brightly lit streets filled with pubs and discotheques. Finally we settled down at a roadside bar. I must've had a couple of beers. Also tried a 2 c.l. shot of Tequila (white variety). First time I'm trying it. Felt like a ball of fire travelling down my throat into my tummy. Didn't really get quite drunk, but wasn't very stable. I felt like I was walking on a raised platform. We were hanging around until 3am.

Saturday morning got up around 10 and headed straight to the swimming pool. Met an 80 year old man in the pool who gave us some tips on swimming. We struck a good deal with him, so we would be getting some instructions on swimming every saturday between 12:30 to 1 in the afternoon. It was really amazing to see an 80 year old swimming around like a pro. I guess I'll be swimming in my grave at that age.

Sunday was the best. We went to Phantasialand and had a blast of a time. Got a discount ticket with the help of a friend working for Ford. Went on almost all the rides. The deadliest was the 'Mystery Castle'. Experiencing a 65m freefall scared the daylights out of me. I don't think I can last a second ride. I also avoided all the rides that splashed down into the water. Am not comfortable getting wet (moreover it was also raining off and on the whole day). We were a gang of four so it was always easy to go for rides together. Apart from the rides, the shows were also nice. The best was the ice dancing show called Unforgettable. This was my first trip to an amusement park in Germany and I'm happy to say that it was a good one.


Overall had a really great weekend. I don't have any specific plans for my next weekend, but if there is something exciting, I'll keep that posted.

Weekend Update (13.Aug)

The weekend didn't go as planned (was supposed to go for a cruise). Bad weather played spoil-sport. It was raining a little in the morning and the temperature was around 16 deg C. Not a good day for a cruise. But I must say that I did enjoy the weekend. I went to a friend's place for lunch. He is married and has two sweet little kids. They really like me a lot and are always pretty excited when they get to know that I'm coming over.

The sun was playing hide and seek the whole Sunday. Anyway, it didn't really rain much. We managed to go cycling around huge fields (you can see that in the picture). Got to see a huge pit that was dug up for coal and later abandoned. The kids really enjoyed the fun time at home. Got to play all sorts of games. Also did bits of singing and dancing. It was total fun.

And yes, we are planning to go for that cruise sometime next month. Hope we do it before winter. Keeping all fingers crossed.

Kinder?

I had to go to a computer store last evening to collect the 1GB RAM module that I had ordered the previous week for my laptop. The store was pretty empty but there were two guys at the counter talking to the assistant. I had to wait for my turn so I just stood behind them. I shifted my ears to 'overhear' mode (as I do most of the time) and realized that the guys were providing information to the assistant to fill out a purchase order. Apart from the normal items like name, address, etc.. I happened to hear an amusing question.

(In German)..........

Assistant : "Familienstand?"
Guy1 : "Ledig."
Assistant : "Kinder?"
Guy1 : "Nein."
Guy2 : "???!!!!???!!! Haahaahahaaaha"
Guy1 : "Hahahahahaha"

(In English)...........

Assistant : "Marital Status?"
Guy1 : "Single."
Assistant : "Children?"
Guy1 : "None."
Guy2 : "???!!!!???!!! Haahaahahaaaha"
Guy1 : "Hahahahahaha"

That was very entertaining. I laughed all the way home thinking about it. Anyway, I've got to return to that shop today because the RAM that I got doesn't fit in my memory slot. This is inspite the fact that the assistant suggested it to me after taking a look at my laptop!!! Guess Moore's law applies in Germany as well.

Fun Weekends Ahead!!!

Yippeeee I'm so excited. The following 3 weekends are going to be fun weekends for me. Coming weekend I will be going on a cruise down the river Rhine from Cologne to Dusseldorf. Will also be going to Bonn, just to hang around for sometime. I may also be taking a ride on the Cable Car at Cologne. I know a SriLankan family here and they are planning to come to Cologne next weekend, moreover another friend may also be joining us, so will be having lots of fun.

The weekend after that I will be going to Fantasia Land. Looking forward to that eagerly coz I heard that they have plenty of rides and lots of shows and stuff. Hmmm sounds like fun.

The following weekend I'm planning to take my car safety training. This would cover the ways to handle a car during emergency situations. It would last a whole day. I received a coupon for this training as a gift for my birthday from my company. Guess it would be all action and fun.

I hope I have a blast during the following 3 weekends. If I'm successful I'll fill up more space on my blog. I do hope the Rain-Gods are on their vacation for this month!!!

Clean your pipe

I was on my way to work this morning when I noticed something amusing. There was this person who hurriedly got into the train at a station and sat on the opposite seat. Hardly a few seconds passed by when he took out a leather pouch and placed it on his lap. It looked something like these trendy pouches that school kids have, to store their pencils, pens, etc. However, this pouch had a different purpose. I tried to imagine as to what could be inside it. "Anyway, I will get to know once he opens it", I thought to myself.

He finally unzipped the pouch and opened it like a clam opening its shells. And what lay inside? His 'Tobacco pipe' along with all accessories. The pipe was actually in two pieces, one end which held the tobacco, like a pot and the other was the tube which attached to this pot like an extension. The first thing that he did was to clean the whole pipe. I saw him take a straw made of cloth. I guess there must have been some metal wire within coz it was so firm. Then he drew this straw through the pipe and started brushing it from within. Within a very short period, I saw that the cloth was covered with a mixture of dark-brown unburnt tobacco dust and black soot. He cleaned it so thoroughly that I guess the inside must have become shiny. He did the same for the extension which held the tobacco.

After all the cleaning was over he opened a small compartment inside his pouch which contained the bits of tobacco. He took small pinches of it and started filling his pipe with it. Unfortunately, I couldn't witness the whole event coz my station had arrived.

This was the first time that I ever witnessed someone handling a tobacco pipe (I've only seen people smoking it before). As I was on my way to the office, I thought to myself, "If just a single use of the pipe made the inside so dirty, I shudder to think how the inside of his lungs would be?" I guess he probably would require an acid wash to clear the stuff out. Anyway, it was an interesting event that I saw this morning. And by the way, I don't smoke, and I don't intend to in the future. The world is already getting all choked up and I don't want to be another contributor towards it!

Mercury Rising

The merciless scorching from the sun seems no different from Chennai. I thought my days of heat and sweat are over, but I was proved wrong the moment I landed in Frankfurt before getting to Cologne. The pilot announced that ground temperature was 30 deg C. It was 28 in Chennai. I thought I'm doomed. Atleast when it comes to heat, I think Germany is no different from Chennai.

Today was an especially hot day, probably the hottest this summer. The mercury rose to 34 deg C, but I guess tomorrow may be the hottest, coz the forecast says 35. We don't have AC in our current office, so we just need to sweat it out with floor ventilators. Germany hasn't really witnessed such hot summers, so the buildings are normally designed to keep the heat inside. A bad idea when it gets really hot. I guess global warming is taking its toll after all. The maximum temperature keeps rising every year. I wouldn't be surprized if it touches 40 next year.

It surprizes me to a certain extent that a country which is so strict in its emission policies has to suffer the consequences due to the actions of other countries who do not implement it. What we need is a global policy. It's not enough if just a few maintain standards. I hope that all nations realize the dangers involved due to global warming and chart out a plan to reduce if not eliminate it. I guess if nothing is done soon, it would be equal to just digging our own graves!