An eating dilemna

Hmm. Since when has cutting the cake become such a problem? Quick Gun Murugan, Revolver Rita and Bogustatistix are wondering how to split the cheesecake sitting on the table. Each wants the maximum share possible. Since the three are alone at home, a neutral and certified third person (such as Agmark Mano (further clearance granted through ISO 9000 certification))cannot help in evenly splitting the cake. Each cannot be trusted to act in good faith (implicitly).

Question: Can you help by suggesting a mechanism to split the cake evenly?

My roles…. (Confusing roles of a woman)

This is a poem written by blogger "prof" .Since she has forgotten her l0gin id & passwd, I am taking the role of an assistant and pasting it from a file.

What role do I don?

The sacrificing mother,
Or the loving daughter?
Should I be the willing wife,
Offering myself,
Or just for a change,
An eager lover?
The woman with the shell,
Or simply the woman with a heart?
Should I protect myself,
From the jibes, or
Just let joy flow,
As HE willed it to be?
The bubbling laughter,
Bursting to spring forth,
Should I stifle it with a soft,
Muffle, deep into the soul?

The unknown love, reaching to
The world;
Is it to be sung, or swallowed,
In mute silence?
Am I all the roles I don,
Or am I just a sham?

Roll Baby Roll

Meera spent the better part of last week, researching joggers and umbrella strollers. One consistent theme I noticed was that joggers/strollers with bigger wheels got better reviews. People commented that bigger wheels absorbed the bumps better and I was left pondering the point. With a pen and paper and some diagrams, it became obvious why. So I thought I will share my thoughts  in this blog.

             Fig 1                                  Fig 3

          

Fig 1, shows a small wheel going over a bump in the pavement. Here the bump is approx. equal to the diameter of the wheel and so the wheel dips by an amount equal to its radius. Baby feels the bump obviously. Fig 2, shows the same gap in the pavement. But this time a wheel with a much bigger radius rolls over it. Here obviously only a small portion of the arc of the wheel dips. Its clear that bigger the wheel, lesser the dip. Ideally a wheel so big that its curvature is almost flat would have no dip at all.... but that would be a really really big wheel.

The other scenario is when going over the edge of curbs. If the height of the curb is approximately equal to the radius of the wheel, like in Fig 3.  Then it becomes clear that a horizontal force will not be enough to make the wheel roll over the curb. You need a bit of vertical force too. But the bigger the radius of the wheel w.r.t the height of the curb, the easier it is to apply a horizontal force and have the wheel roll over it.

Its now pretty obvious why the joggers have huge wheels- the ones we finally got has 20" rims (diameter) compared to 3" rims on the regular stroller. But everything cannot be peachy, there has to be disadvantages to big rims. One comes pretty fast- the bigger the radius then lesser the rate of curvature per unit length. And lesser the rate of curvature per unit length then lesser the strength of the wheel. In other words if you go fast over a huge bump, the wheel could bend. Of course this is also a function of the inherent strength of the material used to make the wheel.  But all things being equal- a smaller wheel holds its shape better than a larger wheel. The other negative I could think of- bigger the wheel, more the metal needed to make the wheel. Which increases the weight. So the need to go in for alloys to reduce the weight while retaining the same strength, which of course increases the cost. 

How much is your life worth?

I was reading the following news article http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14599305

It talks about a doctor “Dr.Horror” who has been tracked down in Canada. In a nutshell, this is what he did

“Kumar, dubbed as ''Dr Horror'' by media for allegedly supplying hundreds of kidneys bought or coerced from the country's poor was reportedly running the operation partly from an unknown location in Canada where his family is said to be living”.

Yes, he was selling kidneys to potential transplant recipients while getting them from the poor people in India. This guy is not the only one, there are numerous others like him. Poor people are usually lured into this with the promise of money and are left high and dry after the surgery ,once their kidney is removed. Pathetic, huh?. Legally, Indian government does not allow live donor transplants to take place unless the donor is related to the recipient. But, there are numerous hospitals which turn a blind eye and accept this since it involves saving a life.

This got me thinking…What would I have done if my mother was not able to donate her kidney ? I was 23 and would have done almost anything for survival. There used to be an agent in the hospital where I was operated. He used to bring people who were interested in selling their kidneys for 100,000 Indian Rupees (~$2500 ). 10 years ago, this amount was quite a handful, especially for poor people. The donor needs to sign somewhere saying he is related to the recipient and knows him well etc etc..and the process was done. I am assuming the agent would get his commission at the end of the day. I would have definitely gone to the agent if all my other resources failed. But, at least he was not cheating them. “That is what I like to think”. Maybe, he was . It was almost a legal transaction where everyone understood what the other person was doing.If I had gone that way, I might have actually given more money and might even be in touch with the donor till today. But, there are numerous others who may not care. And the persons who donated did not think about saving a life. They were there just for the money. Once , during one of my follow-ups, I met a man in the waiting room , who wanted to sell his kidney. He was very paranoid about doing it and wanted to consult the doctor. He wanted to know how my mother was faring after the surgery. He was badly in need of money as his business has tanked and he thought this was the only way to get out of it. I tried to convince him saying that he was saving a life, rather almost giving life to a person .Yes, it was about the money but for an ultimately good cause. He did not understand it and I don’t know if he ever will. I wish I could put myself in his shoes and think like him. It all comes down to priorities, I guess. To me, saving a life is priceless.

The megaserial conundrum

Does cohabitation lead to preference effects in the choice of television program viewership? I read a paper which essentially answered this question and the verdict is that the wives' viewing behavior depends more strongly on the husbands' choices and not vice versa. Obviously the analysis was done based on viewers in the United States. Imagine translating to the Indian market. Does the husband in a typical Indian household, prompt his wife to watch the never ending mega serials? Judging from my interactions with friends back home, that does not seem to be the case. But can I be definitive in my conclusions? Of course not! So guys, what is the likelihood that you will end up watching "Kyon ki saans bhi kabhi bahu thi" or "Chitti" or whatever? (I dont watch TV here, so I dont know if there are comparable programs here).

Hilarious

The heights! :-)

Rain...

It was raining for a few days now. He vehemently hated the rain, even worse he hated driving in it. It was all splishy splashy, roads all muddy and the air muggy. Yes, he really hated the rain. He waited in the restaurant for the rain to subside and started driving back home. All the water had made his shoes squeak against the clutch and brake pedals,  adding to his annoyance. The damn rain started again just as he entered the freeway. Visibility was low and he turned on the fog lights and reduced his speed a bit. He kept his eyes peeled to get an ounce of extra visibility. Thats when he spotted the black BMW in his  rear view mirror. The car was following him too close and just when he though it was going to hit him, the driver weaved out of the lane and did some lane acrobatics totally unwarranted on a perfect day- leave alone on a rainy day. His anger rose faster than the mercury on a hot day. Just as the car pulled past him, he saw that the other driver was very young- probably a teenager, hair brushed stiff, probably with the support of a few dozen ounces of gel. His irritation increased, he thought to himself, probably the kid wears his trousers low as is the vogue among a lot of the kids these days. No, he himself was not really old, just middle aged. But the thought of the trousers sitting low below the hip and the bottom end of the trousers all bunched up over the shoes, annoyed him more. What's the whole point of wearing a trouser if you can't cover your butt, he said aloud to nobody in particular.

He saw the BMW start to weave again, this time to take an exit. Whoa! he was going way too fast and he knew that particular exit; it had a very steep turn. "Slow down you A$$!($%#" he shouted and startled himself with the loudness and bitterness of his own voice. Was that thunder? No, he didn't see any lightning. He rubbernecked and preened towards the exit. The car was flattened against the side rails and smoke was coming out. He deserves that, he thought to himself. That was just plain stupid, he clarified to himself; "A BMW doesn't defy the laws of physics". He told himself that if the kid was seriously injured, that would make him learn. "Yeah, can't teach them logic, gotta let evolution weed out the idiots". 

He drove carefully into his garage, got out and as he tenderly carried his infant son out of the rear facing car seat, he couldn't help but think that in a couple of decades his  baby would be that other kid's age. He would probably drive his car way too fast too.  "I hope nothing serious happend to that boy", he abruptly told himself.

PS: This is a work of fiction. No such accident happened and 'He' is not the author or anybody that the author knows.

PPS: Yes, the style is a blatant ripoff from jikku.blogspot.com

There was a group called 'Pessimism'
They used a term: 'deadlines'.

There was another group called 'Optimism'
They used these terms: achieve-lines or goal-lines.

Guess the happier group (there is something in a name don't you think?!)

Deadlines sound so ominous for something you are trying to achieve in a regular work-day.

Krishnaa....Guruvayoorappaaaaa

Little Bobby came into the kitchen where his mother was making dinner.
His birthday was coming up and he thought this was a good time to tell
his mother what he wanted.

Mom, I want a bike for my birthday.

Little Bobby was a bit of a troublemaker. He had gotten into trouble at school and at home. Bobby's mother asked him if he thought he deserved to get a bike for his birthday.

Little Bobby, of course, thought he did.

Bobby's mother wanted Bobby to reflect on his behavior over the last
year. Go to your room, Bobby, and think about how you have behaved this
year. Then write a letter to Krishna and tell him why you deserve a bike for your birthday.

Little Bobby stomped up the steps to his room and sat down to write
Krishna a letter.

**************

Letter 1

Dear Krishna,

I have been a very good boy this year and I would like a bike for my
birthday.

I want a red one.

Your friend,

Bobby

**************

Bobby knew that this wasn't true. He had not been a very good boy this
year. So he tore up the letter and started over.

**************

Letter 2

Dear Krishna,

This is your friend Bobby. I have been a good boy this year and I
would like a red bike for my birthday. Thank you.

Your friend,

Bobby

**************

Bobby knew that this wasn't true either. So, he tore up the letter and
started again.

**************

Letter 3

Dear Krishna,

I have been an OK boy this year. I still would really like a bike for
my birthday.

Bobby

**************

Bobby knew he could not send this letter to krishna either. So, Bobby
wrote a fourth letter.

**************

Letter 4

Krishna,

I know I haven't been a good boy this year. I am very sorry. I will be a good boy if you just send me a bike for my birthday. Please! Thank you,

Bobby

**************

Bobby knew, even if it was true, this letter was not going to get him
a bike.

Now, Bobby was very upset. He went downstairs and told his mom that he
wanted to go to temple.

Bobby's mother thought her plan had worked, as Bobby looked very sad.
Just be home in time for dinner, Bobby's mother told him. Bobby walked down the street to the temple on the corner. Little Bobby went into the temple and up to the altar. He looked around to see if anyone was there. Bobby bent down and picked up a statue of the Radha.He slipped the statue under his shirt and ran out of the temple, down the street, into the house, and up to his room. He shut the door to his room and sat down with a piece of paper and a pen.

Bobby began to write his letter to Krishna.

**************

Letter 5

Krishna,

I'VE KIDNAPPED YOUR GIRLFRIEND. IF YOU WANT TO SEE HER AGAIN, SEND THE BIKE!!!!!!

Haile Gebrselassie, inspiration and a movie

Considered one of the greatest long distance runners and the current marathon world record holder at Berlin 2007, with a finish time of 2:04:26

Here is the last few minutes of the finish.



A CNN clip of him



And while we are talking about running- An inspirational video of the New York City Marathon



And for those of you who have been sufficiently inspired, there is an Indie movie releasing tomorrow (hopefully in a theatre near you)- The spirit of the marathon.
http://www.marathonmovie.com/home.html