Perl, Samuelson & APICS

So weekend over and today i was back to my desk in office.Nothing special about this weekend except that after lot of brain storming i decided what to do to generate some excitement in my predictable life?

I decided that i would continue studying beside my job and it would bring some excitement in my life.So far so good ..now i have to study but study what ??? i have three answers for this million dollar question.

I have seen computer geeks and i always wanted to be like one of them.Computer has always fascinated me since the days when in class 7th and i used to write programs in BASIC to calculate simple interest, the operating system was DOS4.5.So i decided i would learn some real computer stuff like Perl programming and would also learn HTML and some Internet technologies.

But then my other interest also staked its claim, i wanted to study Economics in school but we had to choose one paper either Computer Science or Economics so i took computer science though i had equal interest in Economics .In my MBA i took few papers of Finance and studied economics also but there was this book Economics by Samuelson which i always wanted to study.Many a times i borrowed this book from Library but never could start it.So i thought that i should study this book in my free time and may be work more on my specialization paper "Derivates & Risk Management"

Well the dilema was not to end so the professional in me also staked its claim putting the logic that since i would be squeezing the time out of my professional life to study then why shouldn't i study something which is relevant to my professional life.So i thought may be i should get membership of APICS the supply chain management certifying organization.Anyway i forefeited my 70 dollars last year which my firm pays me for getting professional membership and this year also the deadline is March 31st so i thought i should take the membership of APICS and write those certifying exams and it would help in adding value to my Resume and might be good for my appraisal also :-p)

The outcome of this was i took a big leap and landed exactly the same place from where i started (reminds me of the JUNGLE BOOK by Rudyard Kipling where Father Wolf on being ticked by Mother Wolf that something is coming uphill leapt and then when he saw it was a man's cub he checked in mid spring as a result he leapt to four or five feet in air and landed at the same place where he left ground whereas the man's cub.. yes MOGWLI was laughing at him)

So my dilemma is still there let's see whether i am able to resolve it by this week or not ????

I'll Fly Away --- Kanye West

Some glad morning when this life is over
I'll fly away
To a home on God's celestial shore
I'll fly away

I'll fly away, O glory,
I'll fly away in the morning
When I die Alleluhia bye and bye
I'll fly away

When the shadows of this life is gone
I'll fly away
Like a bird from prison bars has flown
I'll fly away

I'll fly away, O glory,
I'll fly away in the morning
When I die Alleluhia bye and bye
I'll fly away

Just a few more weary days and then
I'll fly away
To a home where joy will never end
I'll fly away

I'll fly away, O glory,
I'll fly away in the morning
When I die Alleluhia bye and bye
I'll fly away

Where am i going????

Well this is another weekend,another lazy start to the day after the customary movie watching till wee hours.How predictable life has become now? It has been slightly more than 18 months that i joined job and today i was thiking what am i doing? where my life is heading to?

It just as if i am doing things mechancially.Go to office on weekdays the day starts with cheking emails then phone calls then mails then meetings, discussions, deadlines and coffee.The week comes to end on friday with a little bit of hanging out on friday and getting up late on saturday and after spending one more sunday i am back to work.

So i have become just as anyone on the world and i am just living my days.Was this the life i wanted or studied for? What's different i am doing ? I am doing what billions of people in this world are doing?There is no fun no excitment and no satisfaction in this predictable life.I dont know how others are feeling but life was much more different in student days there atleast you had to study on weekends too and might be partying on weekdays to sum up life was not this predictable.

I am sort of getting bore and want to do something different like studying again or ..what? confused...

Well i would think and think and lets see if i can think of something different or not?

Clear Night & Cold

OMG today the temperature was MINUS 17 C (Yeah you got it right).This is second time i am experiencing this low temperatures and i think February would be worse than this.

Well the forecast for Friday was MINUS 14C but the temperature beat the forecast. Helsinki would have been 2 or 3 degrees warmer cause it is more south than Hameenlinna i could have checked the temperature but didnt want to envy the people living there.

When we were discussing the temperature with Rittaa she said the clear sky at Thursday night was indication that next day would be cold.Well these are the things that i have learnt here like when it is Sunlight it means that it would be more cold outside.The first few days when i landed in Finland i was staying in hotel and one day i saw it was bright sunny day so i ventured out wearing a light jacket and came back frozen as ice-cream and so i learnt it hard way.The second thing which i had read it geography book but never experienced it that cloudy nights are warmer than clear nights abd its true.

I look back and find how much i have changed and adapted to the conditions here.In bangalore the temperature whole year remained between 18C to 30C and here if it is anything less than MINUS 5C then it is warm for me.

The second thing when it is too cold then try eating Ice cream it is kept at 0C or may be -1C so it is actually warm and soothing when you walk on the street eating ice-cream on days like this.

And i guess we all know this perfect marketing question " How to sell refrigerator to Eskimo?" The answer is Refrigerator is actually warm as outside temparature is -30C.

But i really love this place, lot of snow everywhere which glitters at night under light,the crunching sound when you walk on snow and thrilling experience when it is snowing big flakes.

Be Still My Heart

My heart is not lonely or broken
It's not of ice or of gold
Nor has my heart ever spoken
To me when a love has grown cold
I felt not the faintest flatter
When you brushed my cheek as you passed
Nor will I willingly clutter
My life with these thing that don't last

If our eyes should meet then so be it
No need to trouble the heart
That is hidden where no one can free it
Only to tear it apart

Be still my heart (my heart be still)

(Silje Nergaard)

Republic Day

First of all "Happy Republic Day" to all Indians(whereever they are)on 56th Republic day.This is the first time i am not in India on Republic day and pity on me that i didnt see a single Indian Flag today.There would have been a ceremony at Indian embassy but it was working day for us :(.

Hmm these days i am contemplating a lot(might be that i dont have much work these days... he he ) i was thinking about that saying that you should behave with others in the same way as you expect them to behave with you and i found one corollary to it.It is like this if you meet a person and know how that person behaved with others then be sure that the person would behave in the same manner with you.Now let me put some reasoning also into this.For example if someone comes and shares someone's secret then be sure that if you are telling that person some secret of yours it would definitely be revealed.The same goes for trust also if that person has broken someone else's trust and if you trust on that person then be sure that your trust would be broken as well.

I think this gives one pointer to judge a person.No one should think that ok this person behaved with others and may be i am more important or different to him/her so it wont happen with me but trust me the same thing is going to happen with you.We should always remember that History repeats itself and those who dont learn by history are doomed to repeat it.The bottom line is that dont trust a person who has broken someone else's trust.

So thats it ..i have tried to derive a new theorem out of existing theorem and this is my one day's effort to piece them together(he he..).

Time Zone & Useless Documents

Due to Techonology it is so nice to be always connected whereever you are in world.But it has its own problem.It happened so that at sunday night i was not getting sleep,i tried a lot to sleep, watched several episodes of 'Tom & Jerry 'and finally was able to hit the sack at 2.30 am.It was 5.45 in the morning and i was hearing pinging sound and it broke my sleep.Someone was pinging me and since i keep my laptop beside my pillow the sound was too much to let me sleep.I saw one of my friend in India was just saying 'Hi' to me and asking how i am ? Grrrrhhhh !@#$% Just three hours of sleep and nagging headache for the whole day.It just happened that the guy reached his office in India and the first thing he thought to do was to say Hi to me.He didnt consider a moment to think what time it would be here for me in Finland.
What a wonderful way to start the week ??

I have this useless habit of keeping all the old documents whether soft copy or hard copy and as a result my whole desktop would be occupied by docs so much that i wont be able to see the wall paper and the disk would be full and i would be at my wits end to decide what to keep and what to throw?
The same with the apartment - it surprises me how quickly my apartment changes from a neat and tidy place to a tornado zone.Bits of paper,receipts, credit card bills,promotional brochures i have the habit of keeping everything and messing up my apartment and in the end it would take me lot of effort to decide finally what to keep and what to throw.I just tend to keep everything with me.

Ok i should stop now. Enough of ranting for the day.

Truth & Lie , Honesty & Betrayal

Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all. -- Anonymous

Today morning while having my breakfast and browsing through the newspapers i came across this quote and was thinking on it.How appropriate this quote is Sin indeed has many tools but Lie is the handle.

There are many vices in this world but i think LIE is the worst of them all.When you combine lie with any of these it becomes the most lethal and deadly vice.When you cheat someone when you betray someone and on the top of it if you lie about them then the blow that it gives to someone is like killing blow.A person might handle if someone cheats but if combined with lie then there is no scope for someone to recover.

The opposite of this is Truth.We all are Humans and so by nature we all are flawed creature and everyone understands this.At times we do some wrong and thats why those vices are there.We might cheat or betray someone but if we can accept them and say truth about them then it might be justified(to some extent) or its effect might be lessened to some extent if the vice is combined with truthfullness.But this will be taken as idealism and humans are not idealism.

The worst thing in this world is Lie and when a person finds that he/she has been lied, trust me the feeling is the most excruciating one.It breaks one's trust not only in that person who spoke lie but in general on mankind.One does not realises how much the potential of a lie is to fundamentally change someone.Once a person looses trust then he or she ceases to be the same person as before.Such a person would never be normal in dealing with someone else and this skeptical nature might reflect in his work and relationships either professional or personal.The pain of being lied is the most enduring one and whatever happens or whatever justification is given the damage can never be undone.But there is one important take on this, one should not expect everyone to be honest or true but when someone expects honesty and truthfulness he or she should not be let down.If one is not able to be honest to someone when it is expected one should withdraw from the situation rather than using these deceitful means.

We all should remember " what goes around, comes around "

Europe & India

So now it has been more than a quarter of Year that i have been in Europe in this beautiful country of Finland.During this period i have seen many places met many different peoples and observed a lot.

It was one of the weekend parties in our office and we all were enjoying it.It was wee hours of morning and drinks were doing rounds when one of the gentleman who was in his forties came to me and we started talking.He was asking how i am finding Finland to be and in particular the cold weather.I said that i have got used to the cold weather and i am liking Finland much.He was pleased as anyone would be on hearing good things about his country.Finland definitely is one of best places in live in Europe.Then suddenly he asked me "tell me honestly did you get culture shock when you came to Europe" ,frankly speaking i was shocked with the question.He said that he has heard about the Indian culture and Indian society and how they despise the society of west more of US and then of Europe in terms of openness and it being so free.I said to him that i landed to Finland from Bangalore which is kind of having a global culture and i had heard and read a lot about European culture so i didnt get any shock.The man was not convinced rather he said that Indians dont like this free culture of ours and they despise it.

I gave it a afterthought and i found it that yes people in India does despise this open culture.If we take a closer look at our society particularly in the cities you can find all the instants there as well but the only difference is that Indians keep these in wraps and they dont have the courage to accept it whereas Europeans do it openly.The only difference is that of Hypocrisy.There is nothing right or wrong but one thing is wrong not to accept the same thing that others do and label as wrong what other do be a hyporcrite and potray yourself as Puritan.This is what indians do.I know many people back in India would not subscribe to my views but those who have the courge of their own conviction will agree.

Since You Walked Away -- Steve Wariner

Every night when the shadows come
When the world slows down
When the day is done
The clock don't move and the phone don't ring
I'm alone again
It's the same old thing
I close my eyes and try to sleep so I can be
In your arms 'til the morning sun releases me

Every night I go dream walking
About the time the walls start talking
Everything around me calls your name
I go dream walking since you walked away

You come to me like a gentle wind
And I feel your touch
On my soul again
Like a sip of sweet champagne
I can feel your warmth when you call my name
I say all the perfect words in the candle glow
This time I'm not the fool who lets you go

Every night I go dream walking
About the time the walls start talking
Everything around me calls your name
I go dream walking since you walked away

Every night I make believe you're here with me
But every day the sunrise finds me
Down on my knees still wanting you
Why tell me why can't this dream come true

Every night I go dream walking
About the time the walls start talking
Everything around me calls your name
I go dream walking
I go dream walking
I go dream walking since you walked away

Gone Out Of My Mind -- Steve Wariner

Your love just came to visit,
Your memory came to stay
It's a shame that being gone
Don't mean you went away
For me it won't be over till the day I find
That one of us has gone out of my mind

I'll give up on loving you
Or else I'll go insane
It really makes no difference
As long as there's no pain
I know it's just a matter of misery and time
Till one of us has gone out of my mind

Either I'll forget or I'll go crazy
One way or another I'm gonna leave you behind

I know that I'll be tortured by your memory
Till one of us has gone out of my mind

Till one of us has gone out of my mind...

Tsunami - Facts & Figures

THE TOLL
---------------------------
INDIA
9,682 (Official figure)
Andaman and Nicobar: Dead: 900 Missing: 6,010 (Dead: Car Nicobar: 336, Great Nicobar: 102)
Andhra Pradesh: Dead: 105 Missing: 11 (Dead: Nellore: 20, Guntur: 12)
Kerala: Dead: 170 Missing: - (Dead: Kollam: 130, Allappuzha: 35)
Tamil Nadu: Dead: 7,921 Missing: - (Dead: Nagapattinam: 6,023, Cuddalore: 606)
Pondicherry: Dead: 579 Missing: 86

OTHER COUNTRIES

Indonesia 94,081 Many coastal villages wiped out
Sri Lanka 30,500 Thousands missing
Thailand 5,200 Half the dead are foreigners
Maldives 82 About 12,500 displaced
Malaysia 68 Scores of people swept from Penang
Burma 64 WFP estimates a much higher toll
Somalia 300 About 50,000 displaced
Tanzania 10 About 50,000 displaced


THE FINANCIAL LOSS (INDIA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Centre puts the preliminary estimate of the total loss for Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Pondicherry at: Rs 5,322.05 crore
Final death toll as on Jan 6: 9,682

STATEWISE LOSSES
Tamil Nadu: Rs 2,730.70 crore,
Andhra: Rs 720.73 crore,
Kerala: Rs 1,358.62 crore
Pondicherry: Rs 512 crore
Andaman and Nicobar: Rs 2,500 crore

RELIEF MATERIAL MOVEMENT FROM THE CENTRE
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Food items 1,189.82 MT
Water 368.48 MT
Emergency medicines 83.78 MT
Tentage 281.45 MT
Clothing 201.34 MT
Lighting material 30.45 MT
Equipment & Machinery 827.18 MT
Household items 61.40 MT

MEDICAL TEAMS DEPLOYED
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Specialised medical intervention teams: 148
Disaster response teams: 2,126
Disaster volunteer teams: 100

ASSISTANCE FROM STATES
Relief material
Karnataka 133.59 MT
Maharashtra 79.2 MT
Orissa 55.7 MT
West Bengal 111.20 MT
Delhi 112.50 MT
Madhya Pradesh 7.0 MT

AIRCRAFTS IN USE
IL-76, AN-32, Blue Dart Aircraft, Alliance Aircraft, AVRO, M-I8, MI-17


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDIA ASSISTANCE TO OTHER COUNTRIES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MALDIVES

Funding: An estimated Rs 5 crore for rehabilitation assistance
Tanker and hydrographic survey vessels with water purification facility sent to Male
One Avro and one Dornier sent for search operations
1,000 PVC water canisters sent
Four aircrafts delivered six tonnes of food material to Male. Two naval vessels also reached Male with a supply tanker of 3,000 MT.

SRI LANKA

Four naval vessels with seven helicopters have reached Trincomalee and Galle with relief and rescue material and medical teams

Six Mi-17s and one IL-76 reached Colombo with 20MT of food, medicine and clothing
Several medical teams sent to remote areas; relief camps set up
800 doctors, relief workers working in the country
Navy and army medical teams set up field hospitals at Trincomalee, Galle and Hambantota
35 tonnes of dry provisions and relief supplies sent
Helping clear harbours. Indian naval ships and offshore patrol vessels have reached Sri Lanka.

INDONESIA

Indian navy hospital ship sent to Aceh
Another naval ship, INS Khukri, sent from Chennai with relief material such as tents, blankets, emergency rations and emergency medical supplies
THAILAND

Composite relief package of half-a-million dollars decided
Relief material such as tents, blankets, emergency rations and emergency medicines sent


source : Outlook India (www.outlookindia.com)