Maxwell's Equations

God Said Let ..

And There Was Light!

"To anyone who is motivated by anything beyond the most narrowly practical, it is worthwhile to understand Maxwells equations simply for the good of his soul." - J R Pierce

Inspiring statements that helped me in understanding the Maxwell's Equations better while studying Electromagnetics .

Life Membership Expires On..

From New Scientist

"David Lake was given a life membership card for the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia. On it were the words: "Life Member. Expires 30/06/2006". "Should I be worried?" Lake asks."

Shamelessly Biased News Coverage

I can tolerate the endless serials that get aired on TV but not the NEWS on the SUN TV and JAYA TV. Tamil Nadu has been severely affected by the rains and the coverage is shamelessly biased against the parties to which they are loyal. On SUN one just gets to hear the plight of the people and the central ministers visiting the affected places. Not a single mention of the TN state ministers relief efforts; On Jaya it is just the opposite. One hears people hailing the CM for her help, no scenes of despair. The coverage tries to impose on the viewers the feelings of the political parties rather than the affected people.

Brain Lara , The Enigma

Brain Lara does it again. He holds another awesome record. He holds the world record for most test runs, 11,187. He as well holds the record for the highest score in one innings, 400 runs. He broke this record twice!. In his twilight of his career, he remains an enigma to me. Just as I think his magic is over, he bounces back with a spectacular innings time and again.

Illayaraja's BGM Score

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Listen to the BGM score of the movie 'Kadhalakku Mariyadhai', the climax scene. It is compositions of this kind which establishes the fact- There is none on par with Illayaraja when it comes to scoring BGM.

Jal Jal

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Listen to this song sung by S. Janaki. The film is 'Paasam'. This song is one of my favourites of old Tamil film music collection.

Thoo...

Image from 'The Hindu'

Last Sunday, I read this musing in The Hindu. The author writes about the spitting habit that has become the integral habit for most of the people in India. Others doing that can be intolerable if you are travelling in a bus and the person sitting in front of you goes on a spitting spree..Thoo...

Though a frequent traveller in a bus , I hadn't endured the experience which the author of the article had. But yesterday was the day. I was in the bus going home from office. The window besides which I was seated had a glass pane for cover but it was common for two windows. I had my window wide open with the night breeze blowing gently. It was pleasant. Then he started. Gentleman sitting in front chewing his paan spit the first time. Nothing happened, the bus was going bit slow. I thought he wouldn't do that again when the bus catches speed but I was wrong.He did it again , this time I was not spared , his bit of thoo falling on my cheek. My friend seated next to me laughed . I kept silent. There was the third thoo. I could n't bear it . I stood and said something murmering, leaned forward and pulled the glass plane covering his window towards mine. He did not stop though, but I was safe.

Why do some people be so unconcerned about others ?

History of AT & T

Read here a very well written article on AT & T , company which led the revolution in communication . AT&T's history of research and innovation is unparalleled. But now its not into the research and development which was its lifeline .The company is still a telecom giant but more focused on the corporate market.

Movies , Movies and only Movies

Its festival time and various Tamil channels have 'variety' of special programmes lined up tomorrow. But why is that all programmes on all channels are always centered on movies ? Can entertainment be not provided by other means? Least thought is given to other forms of art. Even on Tamil new year it is cinema which rules. Why not give some space for Tamil Literature?I don't think it is movies alone which is in the psyche of people. I wish things change..

Let Our Life Lighten Up

Wish you all a happy Deepavali.

Palacode

This shot was taken in Palacode, Tamil Nadu.

Humour

Read in the FeedBack column of NewScientist:

“Heard by Claire Schoeefler on TV news in rural Victoria, Australia: "Police are concerned that the weapons stolen in the robbery may fall into the wrong hands"”

Cricket and its Coverage

The cricket played between the world XI and the Aussies was not as it was expected. The dismal performance of the world XI spelled the end of the World XI concept. No player in the world XI gave a good performance. Muralitharan did show his brilliance in the second innings of the six day test match( ironically the test was wrapped within four days). Rohit Brijnath has written very good coverage of the test match in the The Hindu. I liked the way he put Muralitharan's efforts in words:

Few moments in sport are as precious as when an athlete embraces perfection even for a fleeting instant, and Murali to Katich for four balls defined it. It was not an over bowled, but composed.

Murali let the ball go, Katich twitched; the ball landed, Katich prodded uncertainly; the ball turned and leapt, Katich looked distraught. Solace of a kind for the Australian was found in a shared embarrassment, for twice Mark Boucher was conned, too, once on a stumping chance, batsman and 'keeper hitting and clutching air respectively. Cricketing death was inevitable, only its method was in question; a ball later that, too, was settled when Katich edged a catch back to the bowler.

Being a ardent fan of the Lankan spinner, the writeup made my day.

Outlook turns 10

The weekly news magazine Outlook completes 10 years of publishing. I have been a susbscriber to the magazine for the past three years. Outlook was launched as a weekly magazine to compete against India Today which was fortnightly then. Outlook became a strong contender and forced India Today into a weekly magazine. I feel Outlook is slightly better than India Today.And if one needs a unbiased news analysis then Hindu's Frontline would be the right choice.

I regret having subscribed to it many times. It's cover stories some times is nothing but nonsense.And there is one reporter, S.Anand who has written many articles which are controversial. I disagree with his opininions always. He was the one who covered the Sankararaman Murder Trial. Though I don't take any sides on this issue Outlook did a bad coverage on that , it was totally biased.Outlook rarely looks beyond Bollywood when it does coverage on Cinema. Even if it does it is always in a negative sense. It has reviewed only three 'regional' movies Baba , Anbe Sivam and Virumandi . All three got bad reviews.But I feel elated when Outlook brings some special editions.For example it carried a feature on Partition for this years Independence Day celebrations. The other aspect of Outlook which has me being faithful to it is its Letter section. The readers opinions are published unedited and criticisms are giving due respect.

On turning 10 it has published a special edition which is very enlightning.Carries some interesting articles and interviews. Also features many lists of 10 :10 Stories We're Proud We Did, 10 Famous Spats On Our Pages, 10 Lines We Like , 10 of their Worst Selling Covers , 10 people who sued us etc.Above all it had me engaged over the whole week after a long time

Stories of Steve

I read the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios.It is very inspirational and thought-provoking speech.A little long but worth reading.Get inspired here.

Science and Aesthetics

Does explaining the nature in terms of science spoil the beauty of it. Consider the rainbow. English poet John Keats once bemoaned that Isaac Newton had "Destroyed the poetry of the rainbow by reducing it to a prism". Michael Shermer thinks the opposite. In his regular column Skeptic in Scientific American he writes that science and aesthetics are complementary, not conflicting.Scientific explanation for any given phenomenon would not diminish its beauty or its ability to inspire poetry and emotional experiences.I concur with him.Even after knowing science behind it, nature would be as awe inspiring as ever. Science enables us to appreciate nature better.

Bridge and the Traffic

This image from Google Earth shows the painstakingly constructed suspended bridge.It took three years to complete the construction. The people using the highway during that period experienced hell. And the agony has not ended. New problems have crept in , the traffic near the bridge during peak hours would make one wish that the bride wasn't there.

Richard Feynman

"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" , a book which would give the reader a delightful insight into one of the most exciting character who shaped physics.His zest for life amazes me. A extraordinary physcist who also devoted time to art, safecracking,music and above all enjoyed his life.Hans Bethe had said "A magician does things that nobody else could ever do and that seem completely unexpected...and that's Feynman".I couldn't agree more.

Unnecessary Controversy

The controversy that has struck Indian cricket is unfortunate. The issue should have been discussed confidentially and sorted out. Now that the differences between Chappel and Ganguly have become public, the news channel are having good time. I hate seeing every bit of news being flashed as Breaking News.

After this episode I don't think there can be any patch up between the coach and the captain.Even if there is a fix it won't last long. One should quit.I am not sure who should go but I think Ganguly should do himself a favour by stepping down, make himself available to domestic cricket and prove his worth.

Partial Zero !

The folowing humour I read in the FeedBack column of the NewScientist.

“Patrick de Freitas tells us that in Salt Lake City, Utah, water department trucks go around proclaiming they are "partial zero emission" vehicles”