Yelagiri - Chennai's Ooty

Yelagiri popularly known as "Chennai's Ooty" is an ideal drive-down hill station from both Chennai and Bengaluru rendering to the hi-tech people of both these metros looking to get a break from stress. Located is Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, 21 kms from Jolarpettai railway station. It is part of the Western Ghats range. Though the number of picnic spots to be seen are few, it  provides a calm, pollution-free environment.

Enroute to Yelagiri

The place is dotted with resorts providing in-house food and holiday activity facilities. I stayed at Sterling holidays which provides tasty food (comes at a price though :P) and the structure of the building is like a palace. Places you can visit are the usual lot of Lake view points, boat houses, gardens and such. One place that is sure to redefine the tourist pull to this place is the new 8-month old Perumal temple. This temple follows most of the traditions of Tirupati Venkateshwara temple.

Food:
Tasty, homely food at a much lower rate compared to the resorts is available at Hotel Yelagiri. Crisp non-oily 'Masala vada' is available en-route to Heritage village at Re.1 each . Pure honey can be bought from near the YMCA Camp House.

Baskets used for food storage in the village

Sterling Resort at night

Enroute to Yelagiri from Chennai you can drop by at Kanchipuram to visit some of the architectural marvels of the erstwhile kings showcased through the series of temples. Also Kanchi Math of Sankaracharya is close to the highway. Rathnagiri Murugun temple closer to Vellore is perhaps the only South Indian temple which provides a Ghat Road to reach the top to bypass the 100 odd steps (even Gods are providing easy accessibility unlike the politicians :P).

Ratnagiri Murugun temple

Da Vinci surgical system

The Da Vinci Surgical System is a robotic surgical system made by Intuitive Surgical and designed to facilitate complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach. The system is controlled by a surgeon from a console. It is commonly used for prostatectomies and increasingly for cardiac valve repair and gynecologic surgical procedures.

The da Vinci System consists of a surgeon’s console that is typically in the same room as the patient and a patient-side cart with four interactive robotic arms controlled from the console. Three of the arms are for tools that hold objects, act as a scalpel, scissors, bovie, or unipolar or dipolar electrocautery instruments. The fourth arm is for an endoscopic camera with two lenses that gives the surgeon full stereoscopic vision from the console. The surgeon sits at the console and looks through two eye holes at a 3-D image of the procedure, meanwhile maneuvering the arms with two foot pedals and two hand controllers. The da Vinci System scales, filters and translates the surgeon's hand movements into more precise micro-movements of the instruments,
which operate through small incisions in the body.

According to the manufacturer, the da Vinci System is called "da Vinci" in part "because Leonardo da Vinci invented the first robot", and also because he used anatomical accuracy and three-dimensional details to bring his works to life.

By providing surgeons with superior visualization, enhanced dexterity, greater precision and ergonomic comfort, the da Vinci Surgical System makes it possible for more surgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures involving complex dissection or reconstruction. For the patient, a da Vinci procedure can offer all the potential benefits of a minimally invasive procedure, including less pain, less blood loss and less need for blood transfusions. Moreover, the da Vinci System can enable a shorter hospital stay, a quicker recovery and faster return to normal daily activities.

Although the general term "robotic surgery" is often used to refer to the technology, this term can give the impression that the robot (the da Vinci System) is performing the surgery. In contrast, the current da Vinci Surgical System cannot—in any manner—run on its own. This is due to the fact it was not designed as an autonomous system and lacks a decision making software, instead it relies on a human operator for all input, however all the functionality—including vision and motor functions—are performed through remote human-computer interaction and thus with the appropriate weak AI software the system could in principle perform partially or completely autonomously. The difficulty with creating an autonomous system of this kind is not trivial, a major obstacle is that surgery per se is not readily formalizable—a requirement for weak AI. The current system is designed to merely seamlessly replicate the movement of the surgeon's hands with the tips of micro-instruments, not to make decisions or move without the surgeon’s direct input.

Suresh Raina = Sachin Tendulkar Says Google Translate

Now this is funny. When you try to translate ‘Suresh Raina is god’ to Serbian, and translate it

Image Credit: http://sachingallery.blogspot.com

back to English using Google Translate, name Suresh Raina gets replaced by Sachin Tendulkar.

This is strange as proper names are not changed by any translators, and to see this happening from Google’s translation engine is bad.

Mostly the intelligent engines like a Translator tries to imitate the human brain, and do the prediction of a new profile to the already existing profiles. Mostly it uses techniques like Support Vector Machines, Linear Machines or Neural Networks. The engine is trained in a certain data, and is used to predict the future goals.

The details on the Google Translation engine is not known, but from the face it looks to me like the engine is not well trained on the Indian names.

You might want to try it now. And I hope Google makes the relevant change to its algorithm.

Sachin was creator of Helicopter shot - Not Dhoni

I know this is just a silly post, but thought would be of interesting viewing. Sachin had indeed played the Helicopter shot 4 years before Dhoni had made his debut.

You have proof here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCqVaN3kaLI&feature=share 

Sachin's Various Avatars

All Sachin Fans would love to read the below lines:

"I want my son to become Sachin Tendulkar." -Brian Lara(WI)

''V did not lose 2 a team called India, v lost 2 a man called Sachin'' - Mark Taylor(aus)

'Nothing bad can happen 2 us if v were on a plane in India wit Sachin Tendulkar on it.'' -Hashim Amla(SA)

''He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also” -Waqar Younis(Pak)

''There r 2 kind of batsman in the world. 1 Sachin Tendulkar and 2. all the others” -Andy Flower(ZIM)

"I have seen God. He bats at no.4 for India in tests” -Matthew Hayden(AUS.)

"I c myself when! i c Sachin batting” -Don Bradman(AUS)

"Do your crime when Sachin is batting, bcos even God is busy watching his batting”  -Australian Fan

Barack Obama - "I don't know about cricket but still I watch cricket to see Sachin play..Not b'coz I love his play its b'coz I want to know the reason why my country's production goes down by 5 percent when he's in batting"...



1.Bala Swami



2.Musician 



3.Bungee Jumping



4.Dance Floor- It's the time to Disco!



5.Party Time- Hangover??




6. @ tennis



7. Holding the smaller Bat!



8. Never Seen- Sachin-MamaMia!



9.Armed Men


10.Captain Sachin



11. Motoracer


12.Down to earth person.

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& finally a fan's homage to the god.!

April FOOL prank in IITB

675 IITians wrote essays to win non-existent WC final tickets - Hindustan Times

Anna Hazare's letter to PM

Dear Dr. Singh,

I have started my indefinite fast at Jantar mantar. I had invited you also to fast and pray for a corruption free India on 5th April. Though I did not receive any reply from you, I am hopeful that you must have done that.

I am pained to read and hear about government's reaction to my fast. I consider it my duty to clarify the points raised on behalf of Congress party and the government by their spokespersons, as they appear in media:

1. It is being alleged that I am being instigated by some people to sit on this fast. Dear Manmohan Singh ji, this is an insult to my sense of wisdom and intelligence. I am not a kid that I could be "instigated" into going on an indefinite fast. I am a fiercely independent person. I take advice from many friends and critics, but do what my conscience directs me to do. It is my experience that when cornered, governments resort to such malicious slandering. I am pained that the government, rather than addressing the issue of corruption, is trying to allege conspiracies, when there are none.

2. It is being said that I have shown impatience. Dear Prime Minister, so far, every government has shown complete insensitivity and lack of political commitment to tackling corruption. 62 years after independence, we still do not have independent and effective anti‐corruption systems. Very weak versions of Lokpal Bill were presented in Parliament eight times in last 42 years. Even these weak versions were not passed by Parliament. This means, left to themselves, the politicians and bureaucrats will never pass any law which subjects them to any kind of objective scrutiny. At a time, when the country has witnessed scams of unprecedented scale, the impatience of the entire country is justified. And we call upon you, not to look for precedents, but show courage to take unprecedented steps.

3. It is being said that I have shown impatience when the government has "initiated" the process. I would urge you to tell me - exactly what processes are underway?

a. You say that your Group of Ministers are drafting the anti‐corruption law. Many of the members of this Group of Ministers have such a shady past that if effective anticorruption systems had been in place, some of them would have been behind bars. Do you want us to have faith in a process in which some of the most corrupt people of this country should draft the anti‐corruption law?

b. NAC sub‐committee has discussed Jan Lokpal Bill. But what does that actually mean? Will the government accept the recommendations of NAC sub‐committee? So far, UPA II has shown complete contempt for even the most innocuous issues raised by NAC. 

c. I and many other friends from India Against Corruption movement wrote several letters to you after 1st December. I also sent you a copy of Jan Lokpal Bill on 1st December. We did not get any response. It is only when I wrote to you that I will sit on an indefinite fast, we were promptly invited for discussions on 7th March. I wonder whether the government responds only to threats of indefinite fast. Before that, representatives of India Against Corruption had been meeting various Ministers seeking their support for the Jan Lokpal Bill. They met Mr Moily also and personally handed over copy of Jan Lokpal to him. A few hours before our meeting with you, we received a phone call from Mr Moily's office that the copy of Jan Lokpal Bill had been misplaced by his office and they wanted another copy. This is the seriousness with which the government has dealt with Jan Lokpal Bill.

d. Dear Dr Manmohan Singh ji, if you were in my place, would you have any faith in the aforesaid processes? Kindly let me know if there are any other processes underway. If you still feel that I am impatient, I am happy that I am because the whole nation is feeling impatient at the lack of credible efforts from your government against corruption.

4. What are we asking for? We are not saying that you should accept the Bill drafted by us. But kindly create a credible platform for discussions - a joint committee with at least half members from civil society suggested by us. Your spokespersons are misleading the nation when they say that there is no precedent for setting up a joint committee. At least seven laws in Maharashtra were drafted by similar joint committees and presented in Maharashtra Assembly. Maharashtra RTI Act, one of the best laws of those times, was drafted by a joint committee. Even at the centre, when 25,000 tribals came to Delhi two years ago, your government set up a joint committee on land issues within 48 hours. You yourself are the Chairperson of that committee.

This means that the government is willing to set up joint committees on all other issues, but not on corruption. Why?

5. It is being said that the government wants to talk to us and we are not talking to them. This is utterly false. Tell me a single meeting when you called us and we did not come. We strongly believe in dialogue and engagement. Kindly do not mislead the country by saying that we are shunning dialogue.

We request you to take some credible steps at stemming corruption. Kindly stop finding faults and suspecting conspiracies in our movement. There are none. Even if there were, it does not absolve you of your responsibilities to stop corruption.

With warm regards,
K B Hazare

Egyptian kids named "FACEBOOK"

While American parents worry about their kids being on Facebook, Egyptian parents are naming their kids “Facebook,” to commemorate the events surrounding the #Jan25 revolution.

According to Al-Ahram (“ The New York Times of Egypt”) a man in his twenties has christened his first born daughter Facebook in tribute to the role the social media service played in organizing the protests in Tahrir Square and beyond.

GALA OPENING TO THE WORLD CUP

The world cup of cricket was off to Gala opening ceremony yesterday. The event held at the Banghabandhu stadium in the heart of the Dhaka city. Event has all the elements of a true sub-continental ceremony.

The event kicked off with the Captains of each of the respective countries entering into the stadium in a cycle rickshaw the tradition mode of transport in Bangladesh. The biggest cheers went for the sub-continental captains Dhoni, Sangakkara, Afridi and home captain Shakib-ul-Hasan. This was followed by the “GO FOR GLORY” song by Indian music sensation, Sonu Nigam. The social perspective of the games was clearly visible too, with the AIDS campaign promo release. Sangakkara and Sehwag are the ambassadors for the same.

This was followed up by a whole host of cultural activities showcasing the true colors of all hosting nations. India showcased a repeat spectacle of the Commonwealth games wherein all the danceforms from North-South-East-West. Bryan Adams, Rock start added a lot of spark and dazzle to the opening ceremony. Bangladeshi singers - Runa Laila, Sabina Yasmin and Mumtaz added a lot a local flavour. The official song of the World cup – “DE GHUMA KE” penned down by a Indian lyricist was performed by the famed trio - Shankar-Ehsan-Loy. The event was declared open by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Shiekh Hasina.

Iruttukadai Tirunelveli Halwa

Hard core tamilians and sweet tongues would never have missed out on tasting this delicacy. Considered to be traditionally followed from a group of Punjabis, this Halwa has become the brand ambassador of Tirunelveli today. Today a number of different varieties of this are in the market, but the true taste of Iruttukadai is just mind-blowing.

                 A small shop in front of the Nellaiyappar Temple with a single wooden rack might amaze the people wrt infrastructure considering the popularity the sweet has received. It is very different from the normal cake-like halwa. There are restrictions on the amount of Halwa that you get during each buy and mostly the Halwa is provided on a banana leaf. The very sight of the halwa on the banana leaf- hot and dipping in ghee would awaken your senses.

Aralvaimozhi

Aralvaimozhi (Tamil: ஆரல்வாய்மொழி) is a panchayat town in Kaniyakumari District in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.It is well-known for being the greatest source of wind energy in Asia.

Aralvaimozhi aerial view from Thovalai Chekkar Giri Malai

For road travelers from Trivandrum to Tirunelveli and Madurai, it is an ideal place to eat in natural "ac" :P. The natural scenery to boot up the soothing wind makes it a ideal picnic spot enroute.This place doubles up as a commercial hub for industries for power generation from Wind power. 

Aralvaimozhi railway station, with the wind-power mills in the background

Chetad Chetapu

I am absolutely sure that 99.99% of the readers would have heard of this place. Even I hadn't till few days back until the IEEE LINK HTC project came around. Its a extremely rural area around 15 kms from Anchal town in Kollam district. Nearest area till which bus service is available is only till Aanakulam which is 3km away. From then on its either "Nada"raja service or by jeep. The terrain is really challenging one. 

This place is home to close to 40 people who have been living in darkness all through these years. Thanks to this project, we are hoping to provide light to their lives. The place is filled with Rubber trees which is their only source of income as of now.