just 4 u out there...who wanted to know more about me...

In short I am called ABI... but Abirami Bharathi is my name. I hail from d city of Coimbatore. My dad (Prabhakaran) , mom (Janaki) and brother (Aravindan) is always my inspiration. I am like every other kid, who says their family is their inspiration. And I appreciate everyone who have an inspiration in their life. 

"Schooling was with Alvernia (till 10th).  An average student till my Xth std.. was more interested in games & other activities.. I was quite a famous person in d school, but more on the negative side of it...a person who played a lot of pranks with teachers,was always caught in d midst of talkin in class / for always getting involved in fights with friends...Had a lot of gud friends.. but a real few intimate ones... that includes... Divya joseph(my first ever TRUE friend), Anu Paul, Harini, and lots more (though yr name is not in d top 3...u r surely there in d rest of d list my dear friend)...  But, those were d best days in my life... Never ever ll i forget those days... 

then the resolution came...to be recognized as a student who studies well ....but the main reason for changing school...wanted to explore the beauty of French Language(i still remember my French :) )... went on to complete my board exams successfully,by being the school topper in ALG MHSS...n ya...my friend list in this school was more or less a 100 people..coz that was d total strength of d whole batch of XIIth combined.. and again 1 of my intimate frnd was.. Bindhya..

with that.. my career shifted more into studies and an engineering degree henceforth @ Amrita University... got placed in L&T... neglected d job offer for a Masters degree... y not... my parents let me to pursue my dreams.... n m here in US.. :)

i miss all of my friends (boyz n galz..) who were a part of my life for 4 beautiful years in college... u gave me lots of happiness...thanks sweets... 

Though I love hanging around with people, I am a lil of an introvert! I feel happy to be lonely @ times, enjoyin the beauty of silence and the peace and happiness silence brings into me. During school, I was more known for leading small groups and had continued to do so in college....But even in those small chit-chats, there would always be a time where I was silent for a minute...thinking about NOTHING !!!

Silence is my virtue. And I never had the patience or practice of writing diaries. I feel "One needs to be very persistent to write a diary, and I realised I was not, but I must be hasten to add, that is only as far as the diary is concerned." 

The best part of my life is always .... MY brother. He's been a guiding light in my life... It kinda seems like I follow in his footsteps right from schooling to college....followed him @ ALG,Amrita n now GMU... but d best part of my life has been... I could choose my own stream of specialization... no one forced me to take engineering in EIE or no one told me to change from MS in EE...  N he also inspired me to write poems... he's a gr8 poet... n i love reading his poems.. ofcourse... i write a few... :) 

I have been trained in classical music for almost 8 years under my Guru Mrs. Meena Subramaniyam. But believe me.. I never really had a passion to perform on stage. Not that I hated music, but just didnt' click. May be, I was put into music classes at an age, where my passion for other stuffs was more than music. Never mind.. I love singing in my freetime, and there are a few souls to listen to it... I had always wanted to learn dance but I was not too much into Bharatanatyam. So western dance is always there to d rescue, and didnt leave out on those stage shows.. Performed for a few songs in schools and college...Vocabulary wise, I am fluent with English, Tamil ( just speaking) , Hindi (70%), French (ok level).

I love reading(any kind of book)...  And to name it...a few of my favourite authors are Paulo Coelho, Sidney Sheldon, Agatha Christie, Richard Bach, Michael Sparks, Brian Weiss, and my all time favourite books will be the Alchemist,Nothing lasts forever,  Message in a bottle, books on paranormal happenings - UFOs and stuff that are unexplained by the very extreme dimension of science. When I pick up a book I seldom keep it down until I have finished it. And yeah, I have read almost all of Harry Potter. I must say here that if anyone quiz me anytime on this and I will land with a 8/10 on novels, cause I still feel, I know nothing....tee hee.... N ofcourse...  Archie's and Tinkle shall remain in my all time favourites too ..  

You bet, I love watching movies!!! Like the person whose attitude changes every minute, my liking for a new movie changes every minute.. 

There are a full truck load of names I can pen down here....I watch a lot of movies for d songs in them... i like all d playback singers and listen to most of d songs, just for them and their soothing voice... 

This I should say...My favorite GAMES...

I love watching cricket... though I must admit that its a recently acquired craze... I never watched/allowed my family to watch any cricket till the 1996 world cup cricket semifinal b/w India n Srilanka...that day every1 @ home made me sit and watch d match. Though there was a lot of commotion in the match and eventually Srilanka won, thanks to them...Cricket's been my craze ever since. 

Other games I love include Tennis,Basketball, volleyball, throwball, kho-kho, all mobile phone games as well (:P)

Food........ I love Indian, Chinese and Thai, usually anything spicy and tangy. But I must and will only eat vegetarian !! I pig out on ice creams and chocolates, though no one can believe it looking at me. I only hope and pray that all the fat I have consumed to this date, don't decide to show up when least expected [:P]. I know then, that I would have to sweat each damn gram out. Of course, this prediction that my mother has for me now and then, doesn't deter me. "

I hope there's nothin much about me to add to this... M a book, which only has the abstract free of cost... It pays to read every book, and everyone's life is a closed book. As a friend, you are allowed only to access the free abstract !!!

I don't mean to say..pay $$ and I will tell you more about me, but let me have my own secrets... :) 

That's it for tihs blog... 

Signing off....

Abi.....

Oscar glory for 'Slumdog', Ledger and Rahman

81st ACADEMY AWARDS...

 Picture -  'Slumdog Millionaire'

 Best Director - Danny Boyle for 'Slumdog Millionaire'

 Best Actor -  Sean Penn for 'Milk'

 Best Actress -  Kate Winslet for 'The Reader'

 Best Supporting Actor -  Heath Ledger for 'The Dark Knight'

 Best Supporting Actress -  Penelope Cruz for 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'

 Best Original Screenplay -  Dustin Lance Black for 'Milk'

 Best Adapted Screenplay -  Simon Beaufoy for 'Slumdog Millionaire'

 Best Animated Feature -  'WALL-E'

 Best Animated Short -  'La Maison en Petits Cubes'

 Best Foreign Language Film -  'Departures'

 Best Art Direction -  Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo for'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

 Best Cinematography - Anthony Dod Mantle for 'Slumdog Millionaire' 

 Best Costume Design - Michael O'Connor for 'The Duchess'

 Best Documentary Feature -  'Man on Wire'

 Best Documentary Short - 'Smile Pinki'

 Best Editing -  Chris Dickens for 'Slumdog Millionaire'

 Best Live Action Short -  'Spielzeugland' (Toyland)

 Best Makeup -  Greg Cannom for 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

 Best Original Score -  A.R. Rahman for 'Slumdog Millionaire'

 Best Original Song -  "Jai Ho" by A R Rahman

 Best Sound Editing -  Richard King for 'The Dark Knight'

 Best Sound Mixing - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty for 'Slumdog Millionaire'

 Best Visual Effects -  'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Chinmayi....m impressed.... :) all d best for yr future endeavors...

Chinmayi's interview with Sudhish Kamath...

Miss Multimedia

Chinmayi Sripada loves doing it all…singing, dancing, anchoring, blogging, RJing, running a business, discovers Sudhish Kamath

Photos : S. S. Kumar 
 
Tuned in Chinmayi

What do you call a girl who’s made herself heard on every platform there is, except maybe the ones at the railway station?

In this part of the world, you call her Chinmayi Sripada.

The super singer has trodden film, TV, radio, web and print, across multiple-languages (she runs a translation services company) and is one of the few eligible single girls in the city with multiple interests.

She says she was surprised to see her name credited in the soundtrack of “Delhi 6”. “I had no clue I had sung for the film until I heard the track. I was like how could I not recognise a song I had sung? And then it fell into place... I had sung some three lines when I had gone to Rahman’s studio to record something else.”

Mamma’s girl

Chinmayi has come a long way since her TV debut as a singer in “Saptaswarangal,” and considers her mother to be the single biggest influence in her life. “Born in Mumbai, my father left us when I was one and a half. That was so long ago that I don’t care anymore. My mom tells me it was karanakalyanam… it happened so that I could be born. She didn’t have to answer to anybody and had the complete freedom to do whatever she wanted to do with me. She’s my guru.”

She pulled out of regular school after Class 10, learnt German, attempted learning French, began a long love affair with dance that continues till date, switched to Hindustani music after starting out with Carnatic music, learnt web designing as her singing career took off and graduated in psychology.

She got her first break as a singer with “Kannathil Muthammital”. Singer Srinivas had noticed her in the singing contest “Saptaswarangal” and had put her on to A.R. Rahman. She has been singing for him since.

Her German classes too paid off when her cousin gave her a 120-page German document to translate. Soon, she got a few more assignments.

“Blue Elephant, my language translation services company was formed as a via-media between the corporate and the linguistic worlds. I have never had to advertise it and word-of-mouth alone has helped me sustain it for four years,” she reveals.

At any point of time, Blue Elephant has 25 to 40 linguists working on different assignments. “We make sure that the linguists who are translating are doing it in their mother tongue and have some knowledge of the material they are translating.”

As aggressive as she sounds, Chinmayi says that all that she’s got herself into is only a result of someone convincing her to try something new. “It was Manimaran, a friend of my mom, who wanted me to participate in ‘Saptaswarangal.’ It was blogger Kiruba who suggested that I should start blogging to connect with people who like my music and it worked. Super Singer was something I took up because I found the offer from Vijay TV interesting and after that, Aahaa FM called me to give RJing a shot. So if you are asking me what’s my approach, I don’t have one. If I’m good at it, good. If I suck, never mind, at least I tried.”

In the last three years, her blog (http://chinmayisripada.blogspot.com) has had over five lakh page views.

“Blogging has been cathartic,” she says, talking about the experience of interacting with fans, strangers and anonymous trolls too. “Sometimes, I have been immature and have fought back. My mom watches what I do and there are times when she has had to pull me back from a raging war. Ten years later, I don’t want someone to pick out a comment and say how could you be so stupid? So there’s accountability and responsibility of watching what you say on record.”

To deal with trouble-makers, Chinmayi has made her blog a moderated forum. “Especially during ‘Super Singer’, everybody had an opinion but I couldn’t allow it to go on my blog. No matter what the criticism is, reality shows do open up doors for singers. It’s another thing that I would never allow my children to get into a reality show type of a contest. As a host, I had to be detached. It was just a job.”

When she took up the said job, she was an introvert. “It brought out a dimension that I didn’t know existed. People who knew me from the days of ‘Saptaswarangal’ could not believe how much I was talking.”

With so much on her plate, does she get to eat out on a date? Or is she uploading photographs onto an obscure matrimonial site for Iyengars?

She giggles explaining how she’s been fighting that off. “Well, see, I’m sure it will happen when it has to. I don’t have a plan. My mom is on the verge of giving up, saying ‘This girl is of no use. She’s not finding someone for herself.’ I don’t know what it is not to have a single life. I don’t know what it is like to be seeing someone. We’ll see how things work when someone comes into my life.”

Five things

you didn’t know about me

Mathematics is the demon in my life.

I’m glad I got rid of it.

am a classical dancer. I do Odissi.

have always wanted to skydive but my mom comes in the way.

I once jumped off a terrace to prove that girls can do pretty much what boys can.

People think I belong to the 12th century because I still write letters.

Y r sardaar's always tracked down like this....

D best mail...

Letter is from our great friend SARDARJI of Punjab to Mr. Bill Gates of Microsoft

Subject: Problems with my new computer

Dear Mr. Bill Gates,

We have bought a computer for our home and we have found some
problems, which I want to bring to your notice.

1. There is a button ’start’ but there is no ’stop’ button. We request
you to check this.

2. We find there is ‘Run’ in the menu. One of my friends clicked ‘run’
he ran up to Amritsar ! So, we request you to change that to ’sit’,
so that we can click that by sitting.

3. One doubt is whether any ‘re-scooter’ is available in system? I
find only ‘re-cycle’, but I own a scooter at my home.

4. There is ‘Find’ button but it is not working properly. My wife lost
the door key and we tried a lot trace the key with this ‘ find’
button, but was unable to trace. Please rectify this problem.

5. My child learnt ‘Microsoft word’ now he wants to learn ‘Microsoft
sentence’, so when you will provide that?

6. I brought computer, CPU, mouse and keyboard, but there is only one
icon which shows ‘MY Computer’: when you will provide the remaining
items?

7. It is surprising that windows says ‘MY Pictures’ but there is
not even a single photo of mine. So when will you keep my photo in
that.

8. There is ‘MICROSOFT OFFICE’ what about ‘MICROSOFT HOME’ since I use
the PC at home only.

9. You provided ‘My Recent Documents’. When you will provide ‘My Past
Documents’?

10. You provide ‘My Network Places’. For God shake please do not
provide ‘My Secret Places’. I do not want to let my wife know where I
go after my office hours.

Regards,
Banta.

One final doubt Mr. Bill Gates :
how is it that your name is Gates but u are selling WINDOWS?

M not interested in love... but i loved these quotes.... anyone can borrow these lines from me... :P

Special for you!!!!!!!!!

---

Lives are for living... I live for you
Dreams are for dreaming... I dream of you
Hearts are for beating... mine beats for you
Angels are for keeping... Can I keep you?


You are like the sunshine so warm,
you are like sugar, so sweet...
you are like you... and that's the reason why I love you!


You must be a good runner because you are always running in my mind, you must be a good thief because you have stolen my heart,
and I am always a bad shooter because I Miss You Always...


I'd still miss you... even if I had a penny for every second I thought of you, but at least I would be rich enough by now to come and see you..!!


If I die and go to heaven, I'll put your name on a golden star. So that all the angels can see, how much you mean to me.


I miss you here around me, so many people, but yet I am so alone. I miss your lips, your lovely smile, I miss you each day more and more!


Love is hard and will always be, but remember somebody loves you and that somebody is ME !

I wanted to send you all my love but the postman said it I was too big !


If you live to be a hundred , I want to be a hundred minus one , so I don't have to live a day without you.

There are a lot of birds whispering only about you, you should once listen to them, then you would know how much I love you.


When the night comes, look at the sky. If you see a falling star, don't wonder why, just make a wish. Trust me, it will come true, 'cause I did it and I found you!


Kiss me and you will see stars ....Love me and I will give them to you.


My love & words however special ... could never even start, to tell you all the love I have for you within my heart!


The day that I'll die, when death replaces birth, I'll recognize angels' faces, 'cus I live with one on earth.


Loving you could take my life, but when I look into your eyes, I know you're worth that sacrafice!


If you were a tear I would never dare to cry. I might lose you!


If your heart was a prison, I would like to be sentenced for life.


If a big fat man creeps into your bedroom one night and stuffs you into a bag, Then do not worry 'cause I told Santa I wanted you for christmas!


If you are mad at me, you might just as well give me all my kisses back!


One day you will ask me: What is more important to you, me or your life? I will say: my life… You will walk away from me without knowing that YOU ARE MY LIFE!


I have seen angels in the sky, I have seen snowfall in July, I have seen things u only imagine to see, But I haven't seen anything sweeter than you.


True love is hard to find. Special 1-1 of a kind. But the love inside of me is true. It appeared the day I met you!


I believe that God above created you for me to love. He picked you out from all the rest cause He knew I'd love only the best!


If I died or went somewhere far, I'd write your name on every star so everyone could look up and see you mean the world to me.


I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.


Who cares whether this is a poem or rhyme, I will love you until the end of time.


Last night I looked up at the stars and matched each one with a reason why I love you I was doing great, but then I ran out of stars.


They say you only fall in love once, it can't be true. Every time I look at you, I fall in love all over again.


I get the best feeling in the world when you say hi or even smile at me because I know, even if its just for a second, that I've crossed your mind.


Loved you yesterday, love you still, always have, always will.


If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, just know that you are in my heart. You'll be in there forever!


Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk by again?


You can fall from the sky, you can fall from a tree, but the best way to fall is in love with me.


If I had a rose for every time I thought about you Id be walking in a garden forever.


I wrote your name in the sand but the waves washed it away.
I wrote your name on my hand but I washed it the next day.
I wrote your name on a paper but I accidentally threw it away.
I wrote your name in my heart and forever it will stay.


If I can only be with you in my dreams then I'll sleep for ever.


Sometimes the best things in life are worth waiting for. So wait for me, I'll be right back.


Why is it that I have to climb 1000 mountains to get to you and all you have to do is smile to get to me?


If you stood in front of a mirror and held up a dozen roses you would see the 13 most beautiful things in the world.


A day without you is like a day without light because you light up my life.


Is it true? Can it be? Are you the only one for me?


Tonight I ask the stars above. How I'll ever win your love. What do I do. What do I say. To turn your angel eyes my way?


The shortest word for me is "I"
The sweetest word for me is "love"
The only word for me is "you!"


The way you look into my eyes, It scares me
The way you say "I love you", It scares me
The way you know just what to say, It scares me
The ways you scare me, I love it


Good days come often, Bad days do too, But the best days only come when I'm with you.


You tripped me, so I fell for you.


I will love you until my heart stops beating.


If nothing lasts forever, will you be my nothing?


I wish I was your blanket, I wish I was your bed, I wish I was your pillow underneath your head, I want to be around you, I want to hold you tight, and be the lucky person who kisses you goodnight.


Each time I miss you a star falls from the sky, So if you look up at the night sky and find it dark with no stars, its all your fault, you made me miss you too much.


Words alone will never be able to express the depth of my love for you.
In case you didn't know, I'll be loving you always and forever!


Let these words not only touch your eyes, let them travel through your soul, and let them rest in your heart as you rest in mine…I love you.


Hand in hand and heart to heart my love for you shall never part.


Rain fall, winds blow, the sun shines... it all comes naturally, just like loving you.


Being with you is like having every single one of my wishes come true.


Loving you has been the best thing to ever happen to me!


Just had to let you know... you're the best! I love you!


You are the sun in my day, the wind in my sky, the waves in my ocean, and the beat in my heart.


I wish I was there to hold you tight instead of just send this loving, "Good Night."


Thank you for being the one who calms all my inner fears.


Just when I thought it couldn't get better, you prove me wrong! I love you!


I LOVE YOU 2-DAY
I LOVE YOU 2-MORROW
PUT IT TOGETHER
I LOVE YOU 4-EVER


How lucky I am to have known someone who was so hard to say goodbye to.Love you dear.


I'm not the same since i met u, the days turned longer the nights turned colder and u will always have a special place in my heart just for you. I LOVE YOU


Without your LOVE, my days are just "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday". With your LOVE, they become HAPPYdays...


I feel something in my heart, it's like a little flame, every time I see you, this flame lights up, this flame is special for you, because I LOVE YOU!....


It must have been a rainy day when you were born, but it wasn't really rain, the sky was crying because it lost its most beautiful angel...!


Sometimes words are hard to find, to form that perfect line to let you know you're always on my mind!


If i could give u 1 thing in life, I would give u the ability 2 c yourself through my eyes, only then would u realise how special u r 2 me!


Listed below are the things that I don't like about you:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
What can I say? I LOVE everything about U!


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W X Y Z
oops! i miss "U"


U have been called b4 cupids court 4 stealing my heart, trespassing in my dreams and robin me of my senses, uv been sentenced 2 a lifetime with me, how do u plead?


Last night I sent an angel 2 watch over u while u were sleeping but it came back early! So I asked it why? It said that angels don't watch over other angels!


By following my heart I came to you, I only forgot to take something back with me. For my thoughts are still with you.


Roses of red grow in my heart and they will never wither... 'Cause they bloom every time I see your smile, hear your voice or just think of you!


You know what, in the whole world there is no such darling whom I love and I want the whole world to know that I will never forget you!


You are always in my heart, here and everywhere, There is no one in the whole world that makes me feel this way.


They taught me that one hours equals 60 minutes and that one minute equals 60 seconds, but they never told me that one second without you can last for ever!


I do not think much, i do not think often, but when I think, I think of you!


Tears in my eyes ......... Tears for you ...... Tears that realize how much I love you.


If a raindrop would mean ... I love you
and you would ask me how much I love you,
i bet you that it would …. rain all day !


I love you even more than when I started this sentence.


I'll love you till the end! And then some more.


A day without your love is a day without life.


U may be out of my sight, but not out of my heart. U may be out of my reach, but not out of my mind. I may mean nothing to u, but you'll always be special to me.


Someday you'll 4get about me, ...my name, ...my voice, who I am...
Well then, ask GOD for yr love, he'll place me infront of you...
GOD will never lie & I'll never die...


So many questions, but the answers are so few, all I really know, is, I MISS YOU !


I may seldom tell u how special u are, I may not be able to reach u coz we're both busy, but inspite of it all, u know u are someone I really miss and care about.


I don't have the measles, i am not confined to bed, asperin wont help coz it aint my head, I don't have back ache or the flu, its more serious...I am missing u!


You'll always be mine 4 now & 4ever.
You'll always be mine 4 u r my treasure.
You'll always be mine please tell me its true.
Please be mine 4ever ill always love u.


Sweet as a rose bud
bright as a star
cute as a kitten
that's what u are.
bundles of joy sunshine and fun
you are everything i luv all rolled into 1.


I have liked many but loved very few. yet no-one has been as sweet as u. I'd stand and wait in the worlds longest queue. just for the pleasure of a moment with u.


A special smile a special face. a special someone I cant replace.i luv u i always will.uve filled a space no one can fill!


I love ur eyes I love your smile. I cherish your ways I adore your style. Would't I say? ur 1of a kind & 24/7 on my mind!


As I lie awake in my bed. All sorts of thought run through my head, Like why do I love you as much as I do. Then I realize its because you are you!


I love so much my heart is sure. As time goes on I love you more. Your happy smile, Your loving face, No one will ever take your place.


Is that love i see in your eyes, or merely a reflection of mine?


Curved high on a mountain covered in dew... I saw these 3 words... I LOVE YOU!


Fate has brought us together, to meet, to know and to part is the saddest thing in life... I £ove You...


It is not being in love that makes me happy... but is being in love with YOU that makes me happy.


Being near is not the meaning of being dear,
I may be far from u but msgs are bridges
make u feel that I always REMEMBER YOU!


When all seems lost and lonely for you
And you don't really know what to do
Look inside your heart and see
There in a special place, I will be...


& finally... my own composition....
I hide my tears when I say your name,
but the pain in my heart is still the same.
Though I smile and seem happy,
there's no one who misses you more than me!!

Do you work during weekends... ???

Purely based on what I have heard...Sorry if I am wrong... !!!

"I called one of my friends earlier this week and asked her if we could have lunch on Sunday. I was surprised that she said she couldn't make it, since she had to work. "What kind of evil forces are making you do this?" I asked her." ... my friend was whining to me...  Then again, who was I kidding? I am also planning to write a couple of blog posts on Sunday evening. Like her friend, I am also going to work during the weekend.

As I reviewed my own work habits, as well as those of other web workers, it became evident that working during the weekends is becoming more common.

The weekend is dynamic

These days, the definition of "weekend" isn't as firm as it used to be. Many corporate employees I know say that, as part of cost-cutting measures, their employers give them a four-day work week. This leaves them three days of the week for rest and recreation. These three days aren't fixed either, as they find themselves taking Wednesdays, Sundays and Saturdays off during one fiscal quarter, and a different combination of days the following quarter.

If you're self-employed, you even have the option of changing your work week in such a way that a weekday can be your "weekend". For example, if there's an event I have to go to in the middle of the week, I "pretend" that it's a Saturday and move my schedule around to turn one of my weekend days into a working day. I also do this when I find myself sick for a couple of days. Just make sure that when you change your work days around it doesn't conflict with anything that a client or supervisor expects from you.

Weekend warriors

In the economic downturn, it's common for traditionally employed workers to take on a second job during the weekends. Because of the flexibility it offers, self-employment is one of the more popular options. This is also one of the reasons why the number of small businesses tend to rise during a recession.

There are other reasons why employees might opt to work during the weekend. If they want to secure their position in the company, they'll be more willing to go the extra mile and work during the weekends if it means getting on the good side of their supervisors.

Even freelancers might find themselves working during the weekend. Apart from the economic factors, the low work-life separation makes it easier for leisure and work time to intersect or overlap. For example, I sometimes get the urge to work on non-billable tasks during the weekends. I find myself writing invoices, doing a bit of self-promotion, or trying to prepare my work for the following week. Fellow WWD blogger Dawn Foster even gets things done during the holidays.

Many freelancers might also use the weekend to pursue side projects. Often, these are non-profit or low-profit projects. We work on these things because they allow us to give back to the community, as well as explore ideas and tasks that we don't get to do on a normal work day.

Whether it's the economic crisis or a force of habit, there are a variety of reasons why some people work during the weekends. I just hope that no matter how productive we get during the week, we won't forget to make enough time for rest. And as a professional a walk in the park during weekends with lots of people around increases concentration and reduces burdens... 

So....Do you find yourself working during the weekend?

56-year-old becomes 1st woman to swim Atlantic

Jennifer Figge pressed her toes into the Caribbean sand, exhilarated and exhausted as she touched land this week for the first time in almost a month.

Reaching a beach in Trinidad, she became the first woman on record to swim across the Atlantic Ocean — a dream she'd had since the early 1960s, when a stormy trans-Atlantic flight got her thinking she could don a life vest and swim the rest of the way if needed.

The 56-year-old left the Cape Verde Islands off Africa's western coast on Jan. 12, battling waves of up to 30 feet (9 meters) and strong winds.

David Higdon, a friend of Figge who kept in touch with her via satellite phone, said she had originally planned to swim the Bahamas, but inclement weather forced her to veer 1,000 miles (1,610 kms) off course to Trinidad, where she arrived on Feb. 5.

Figge plans to continue her odyssey, swimming from Trinidad to the British Virgin Islands, where she expects to arrive in late February. The crew won't compute the total distance Figge swam until after she completes the journey, Higdon said.

Then it's home to Aspen, Colorado — where she trained for months in an outdoor pool amid snowy blizzards — to reunite with her Alaskan Malamute.

"My dog doesn't know where I am," she told The Associated Press on Saturday by phone. "It's time for me to get back home to Hank."

The dog swirled in her thoughts, as did family and friends, as Figge stroked through the chilly Atlantic waters escorted by a sailboat. She saw a pod of pilot whales, several turtles, dozens of dolphins, plenty of Portuguese man-of-war — but no sharks.

"I was never scared," Figge said. "Looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way. I can always swim in a pool."

Her journey comes a decade after French swimmer Benoit Lecomte made the first known solo trans-Atlantic swim, covering nearly 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) from Massachusetts to France in 73 days. No woman on record has made the crossing.

Figge woke most days around 7 a.m., eating pasta and baked potatoes while she and the crew assessed the weather. Her longest stint in the water was about eight hours, and her shortest was 21 minutes. Crew members would throw bottles of energy drinks as she swam; if the seas were too rough, divers would deliver them in person. At night she ate meat, fish and peanut butter, replenishing the estimated 8,000 calories she burned a day.

Figge wore a red cap and wet suit, with her only good-luck charm underneath: an old, red shirt to guard against chafing, signed by friends, relatives and her father, who recently died.

The other cherished possession she kept onboard was a picture of Gertrude Ederle, an American who became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

"We have a few things in common," Figge said. "She wore a red hat and she was of German descent. We both talk to the sea, and neither one of us wanted to get out."

Figge arrived on Trinidad's Chacachacare Island, an abandoned leper colony, at 5:20 p.m. She plans to leave Trinidad on Monday night. During this brief respite, she has avoided the hotel pool and nearby ocean, opting instead for the treadmill.

when expectations rose, they failed to deliver...

India drop to third in ODI rankings...

India's 68-run defeat to Sri Lanka on Sunday cost them their second place in the latest ICC ODI rankings as they were overtaken by Australia after the World champions pulled off a thrilling win over New Zealand.

India lost two rating points to reduce to 120 while Australia (122) gained one point to their tally to overtake India, who are now back to third place after their brief stay at second spot behind top-ranker South Africa.

If Australia, who are on decline in the last few months, win their next two matches they will be tied at top spot with South Africa, although they will be still second if the rankings are calculated beyond decimal points.

India, who won the series 4-1 against Sri Lanka, will have the chance to regain their best-ever rankings of second spot during their tour of New Zealand, beginning later this month.

What did India achieve on 7th Feb,2009....

Good news keeps pouring in for Team India. After their record-setting 9th consecutive ODI win in their 4th match versus Sri Lanka, India have climbed up to the second spot in the official ICC ODI rankings; thanks also to New Zealand's win over Australia.
This is the highest ever ranking held by India in the ODI rankings, ever since the official international cricketing body introduced them. Needless to say, captain fantastic MS Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten are thrilled.
Next in their sights is obviously the top spot. But it'll be tough to snatch it from a brilliant South African team. But the way the Indian juggernaut has been rolling, nothing seems impossible.
Patience however is the key, as Dhoni has often pointed out in his press conferences. "Take one game at a time, don't think about records, and never be complacent." That's been their mantra for success.
A team which was always praised for producing plethora of young talent, but criticized heavily for lacking in professionalism and consistency, has changed its image in the past couple of years.
After the era of memorable heroics drenched in disappointments under Ganguly, and a forgettable Dravid stint, MS Dhoni finally has moulded them into a fierce, professional and dominating cricketing unit.
Team coach Gary Kirsten, bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad, fielding coach Robin Singh, along with the team physio and the team management have all done their bit.
But the biggest unsung heroes will have to be the selectors. Many a time they have faced sharp criticism, but that hasn't deterred them from taking strong decisions, and taking brave risks. In a nation where cricketers are revered as gods, these selectors have had the guts to challenge their positions.
In an absolute cricketing sense, these rankings are as important as your mother-in-law's opinion about you. The job is far from over. With a busy schedule ahead, anything can happen.
For now, MS Dhoni and Team India can enjoy the tag of "the team to beat".
The big question is; Can they overtake South Africa in the near future and become the top team in the ODIs?

what is d point of doing a Masters degree....

well.... this blog is not to tell u...how to do Masters degree or what you gain on doing a Masters... 

but its all about me.. what all courses i took or taking...or will be taking to get MS in Electrical/Computer Engineering... which i haven't decided yet... :)  funny world... 

First up, I am planning to specialize in the area of digital electronics... In simple words... digital electronics is... working on systems which are based on digital signals... for more info click on the link above... with that in mind, I started my MS & ever since... life's not that easy...especially when it comes to studies... n i have realized that...  sad stories apart... :P  .... coz MS is always a blessing in disguise... we learn a lot as individuals...n m no exception... new country, lots of new ppl, totally different customs...all this only gives me 100% pleasure... n m living my life... :) 

here are d courses i have taken... don't faint/laugh after reading d description, feeling that it is very hard/damn easy... u should understand... appearances are often deceptive... whichever u feel...i can guarantee d course was xtremely opposite in nature... 

ECE 511... Microprocessors

ECE 545... VHDL (was my nightmare... )

ECE 587... AIC (was my life saver...)

with all that said n done... second sem started...n was in a lot of dilemma to choose my courses...to choose the right path which leads me to my dreams... n finally i choose to give it a shot @ ..... oops...this made me doze off 4 a lil while... 

anyways... m back !!!

ECE 611... Advanced Microprocessors

ECE699... Hardware Implementations

ECE 586... Digital Integrated ckts  (lazy prof...didn't provide a link for the course... )

ll keep this updated till i become Abirami, MSEE :)

Take that, quarks....

Physicists usually get the props/scorn for crazy names, but astro-ph today reminded me that astronomers can frequently pull out names that shame even the kookiest bits of physics nomenclature.

So today I present to you “Gomez’s Hamburger”.

Gomez’s Hamburger is (as you may have guessed), not actually a gigantic threat to vegetarianism across the Galaxy, but instead is a “protoplanetary disk” seen edge-on. Stars usually form in molecular clouds from dense cores of gas and dust. Some of the higher angular momentum gas and dust, however, winds up not on the star itself, but in a rotating disk around the star. Some fraction of the material in the disk eventually winds up building a planetary system.

The picture at left shows some of the these disks seen in silhouette against the glow of the Orion nebula. Gomez’s Hamburger is what you get when one of these disks is seen perfectly edge-on. The dust in the disk blocks the light from the newly formed star in its center, making the burger, while light reflected from the upper layers of the disk is less shielded, and manifests as the bun.

Stroop effect....

You may have heard of the Stroop effect, and you may have even seen it demonstrated. But can the Stroop effect itself be manipulated? This short demo may show that it can.

In case you're not familiar with the effect, it occurs when you try to say the color a word is printed in, while the word itself names a color (so if you see "RED" you should say "green.") Try it with these short lists. Remember, say the color the word is PRINTED in, not the color named by the word.

Which column was most difficult? 

The basic Stroop effect predicts that Columns 2 and 3 will be much harder than Column 1, since reading the name of a different color makes it more difficult for us to say the color of the letters. But if we've replicated a nuance of the effect here, Column 3 should be more difficult than Column 2. Why? It's a process called "negative priming." In Column 3, the color of the letters in a word is named in the word above it ("Black" is printed in purple, "Red"is printed in black, and so on).

Normally when we're "primed" with a word or an image, it's easier to produce that word or related words later on (so "detective" might help us remember "police" in a list like "cat, airplane, telephone, police, museum"). But in theexample above, priming actually acts the opposite way, and makes the task more difficult.

watch this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWTd0BMdtvg

Carroty indeed... :) 

Biggest Snake Discovered....

The world's biggest snake was a massive anaconda-like beast that slithered through steamy tropical rain forests about 60 million years ago, says a new study that describes the ancient giant.

Fossils found in northeastern Colombia's Cerrejon coal mine indicate the reptile, dubbedTitanoboa cerrejonesis, was at least 42 feet (13 meters) long and weighed 2,500 pounds (1,135 kilograms).

"That's longer than a city bus and … heavier than a car," said lead study author Jason Head, a fossil-snake expert at the University of Toronto Mississauga in Canada and a research associate with the Smithsonian Institution. Previously the biggest snake known wasGigantophis garstini, which was 36 to 38 feet (11 to 11.6 meters) long. That snake lived in North Africa about 40 million years ago. 

Kathleen, a 14-foot (4.3-meter), 90-pound (40-kilogram) anaconda, is examined at the New England Aquarium in Boston in 2007. Giant, or green, anacondas are the largest snakes in the world today. At about 300 pounds (136 kilograms), though, a modern anaconda would have been no rival for a 2,500-pound (1,135-kilogram) Titanoboa cerrejones, the newfound prehistoric snake announced in February 2009. Like an anaconda, Titanoboa was a constrictor, and considering its size, the snake's crushing grip "would be probably like one of those devices they use to crush old cars in a junkyard," said Hans-Dieter Sues of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. 

Hans-Dieter Sues, associate director for research and collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, was not involved with the study but has seen the snake fossils. Sues noted that humans would stand no chance against one of these giants, which killed their prey by slow suffocation.

"Given the sheer size—the sheer cross-section of that snake—it would be probably like one of those devices they use to crush old cars in a junkyard," Sues said. In addition, the snake's heft indicates that it lived when the tropics were much warmer than they are today, a find that holds potential implications for theories of once and future climate change.

Pittsburg Steelers win SUPERBOWL thriller...

Ben Roethlisberger celebrates on the field. Photo: REUTERS

--

Santonio Holmes caught a seven-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds remaining to give Pittsburgh a 27-23 victory over Arizona in Super Bowl 43 for a record sixth NFL title.

Holmes's dramatic catch, tapping down his toes in the back right corner of the end zone as he hauled in a Ben Roethlisberger pass, allowed the favoured Steelers to escape a stunning Arizona rally after squandering a 20-7 lead. Pittsburgh's unprecedented crown came after previous Super Bowl titles in 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980 as well as 2006 and moved the Steelers past five-time champions San Francisco and Dallas.

The Cardinals, who won their only National Football League crown in 1947, failed to end a 61-year title drought that remains the second-longest in American sport, trailing only the 100-year wait of baseball's Chicago Cubs.

Holmes, who finished with nine catches for 131 yards and hauled in four on the final game-winning drive, was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the second quarter to give the Steelers a 17-7 half-time lead on what was the longest play in Super Bowl history.

But after Jeff Reed's 21-yard field goal boosted Pittsburgh's lead, Arizona attempted the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history by scoring the next 16 points to seize the lead. Larry Fitzgerald made two impressive touchdown catches off Kurt Warner passes to lift the Cardinals back from the brink, baffling the NFL's top-ranked defence. Fitzgerald leaped over Pittsburgh defender Ike Taylor for a one-yard touchdown grab with 7:33 remaining to pull the Cardinals within 20-14.

Arizona trimmed the deficit again on a two-point safety when Pittsburgh centre Justin Hartwig was whistled for a holding penalty in the Steeler end zone, also forcing them to punt the ball to Arizona. Moments later, Fitzgerald cut to his left, pulled in a pass from Warner at midfield and outraced the Steeler defence to the end zone for a 64-yard touchdown that gave Arizona a 23-20 edge with 2:37 remaining.

That set the stage for Holmes's heroics on the last Pittsburgh march, but Warner was not done trying to rescue the Cardinals, driving them to the Steelers' 44-yard line with 15 seconds remaining.

Warner was pressured by the NFL's top-ranked defence and LaMarr Woodley knocked the ball from Warner's grasp. Pittsburgh's Brett Keisel fell on the fumble to give the Steelers the ball and the victory.