I guess when one starts blogging he or she is obliged to post on a regular basis. It has been a while since my last post and having some time I thought it better to write something.
What can I write about? Let me start with checking with all that's happened in the last few days. India's tour of Australia, my irregularity with running, my irregularity with academics and my irregularity with research. Can I actually say that all of the above are independent? I can't! India's above-expectation performance has kept me out of all my responsibilities. Yes! I love cricket. But that's clear from other posts too. So what is that I can write about now? SAG awards or the coming Oscars, maybe? But there is plenty of time left for that. Moreover, I really don't have much time to write a long post. So I think I want to keep it short. I can't really promise it will be sweet as I may not have the time to edit it when I have to leave.
It is funny that when we actually sit down to do something it is very difficult to do it. Many a time I have thought that I actually work well on something when it is a 'disturbance'. For example, when I solving problems in dynamics I seem to, all of a sudden, think of a new way to cook 'baigan-bharta'. BUT when I am actually cooking I run out of ideas. NAH! That was not a good example. Allow me to make one other attempt to put my idea through. When I am in laboratory trying to understand how to operate 'Simulink' I am thinking of a running program for my first marathon. BUT while running I find it difficult to run the eleventh mile! I am not sure if that was a better illustration of my thoughts but I will leave it at that.
What else can I write about? Mexican food? Burgers? Fries? These were the topics of discussion in while I was trying to understand how to work 'Simulink'. BINGO! That's my example! Not only have I given a better example to my thoughts when I was working on the software I have also just demonstrated that I can think of a better example only if I put my mind to something else.
Does anyone ever feel the same?
Monday, January 28, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
What does it take?
Tracy Caldwell. Know her? I am sure the first name is right but can't be 100% sure with the last name. Let me tell you who she is. She is an astronaut. Why am I writing about her? I had an opportunity to attend a lecture she was giving at UC, Davis today. In this post I'll try to put my thoughts on her talk.
Before commenting on the talk in general I have to explain what I expect from such lectures. Firstly, I look for words that will motivate me. It does not have to motivate me to become an astronaut but has to reinstate my belief that only sincereity, hard work and determination can lead to success. Yes, you read it right, I used the word "reinstate" because I know these things already. Secondly, I wish to hear how the speaker made his or her way to the set goal. Finally, I am curious to hear how she it felt when the goal is attained.
There is something about being an astronaut. It is fascinating. It is a little more fascinating then being a pilot or even an F-1 driver. There have been several 'cool' things to do on earth but the coolest of all is still when you are out there, in space. To simply be associated with any space related work is so satisfying but to actually go out there is so 'glamorous'.
Reaching the hall early had me waiting for fifteen minutes. I was starting to yawn every every three seconds but once the speaker was introduced I was wide awake. She had a bachelor's in chemistry and was damn good at track and field. The first sentence of her SOP to grad school read "I have always wanted to be an astronaut". She was an exceptional researcher with eight publications from her PhD. She learnt Russian (mandatory to become an astronaut), practised hard on the track and sang the national anthem in the hallway to hear her eco. That's how she made her way. One of the expectations I had was met as her journey to becoming an astronaut was covered in this introduction.
Tracy is a very good public speaker. She opened with introducing her team and moved on to pictures of astronaut training. Her descriptions and narrations were so vivid and in such plain language that everyone, the children too, was hooked. Once she moved from the training to speaking of the launch, docking on the ISS, stay in the ISS, separation from the ISS and landing there were moments of awe, shock and laughter. It was a fantastic piece of 'popular' lecture.
The fact that she enjoyed what she had done was for me expected. After all, it is an enviable profession. Another expectation was met.
If I were asked to pick one aspect of her that I liked most I'd it was the 'check-list'. Her advisor said that she had a list of tasks to accomplish through her PhD to get her into position to apply for the job of an astronaut. The lesson I have learnt today, which I have known all along, is that planning is the key to 'getting there'. But before that we have to set where we have to get. Many often say they want to be successful but those same people have not already defined what the word 'success' means to them. Tracy knew what 'success' meant to her. I was motivated.
Before commenting on the talk in general I have to explain what I expect from such lectures. Firstly, I look for words that will motivate me. It does not have to motivate me to become an astronaut but has to reinstate my belief that only sincereity, hard work and determination can lead to success. Yes, you read it right, I used the word "reinstate" because I know these things already. Secondly, I wish to hear how the speaker made his or her way to the set goal. Finally, I am curious to hear how she it felt when the goal is attained.
There is something about being an astronaut. It is fascinating. It is a little more fascinating then being a pilot or even an F-1 driver. There have been several 'cool' things to do on earth but the coolest of all is still when you are out there, in space. To simply be associated with any space related work is so satisfying but to actually go out there is so 'glamorous'.
Reaching the hall early had me waiting for fifteen minutes. I was starting to yawn every every three seconds but once the speaker was introduced I was wide awake. She had a bachelor's in chemistry and was damn good at track and field. The first sentence of her SOP to grad school read "I have always wanted to be an astronaut". She was an exceptional researcher with eight publications from her PhD. She learnt Russian (mandatory to become an astronaut), practised hard on the track and sang the national anthem in the hallway to hear her eco. That's how she made her way. One of the expectations I had was met as her journey to becoming an astronaut was covered in this introduction.
Tracy is a very good public speaker. She opened with introducing her team and moved on to pictures of astronaut training. Her descriptions and narrations were so vivid and in such plain language that everyone, the children too, was hooked. Once she moved from the training to speaking of the launch, docking on the ISS, stay in the ISS, separation from the ISS and landing there were moments of awe, shock and laughter. It was a fantastic piece of 'popular' lecture.
The fact that she enjoyed what she had done was for me expected. After all, it is an enviable profession. Another expectation was met.
If I were asked to pick one aspect of her that I liked most I'd it was the 'check-list'. Her advisor said that she had a list of tasks to accomplish through her PhD to get her into position to apply for the job of an astronaut. The lesson I have learnt today, which I have known all along, is that planning is the key to 'getting there'. But before that we have to set where we have to get. Many often say they want to be successful but those same people have not already defined what the word 'success' means to them. Tracy knew what 'success' meant to her. I was motivated.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Sweet Success
This is it. A moment every fan of who loves cricket in its purest form has hoped for; Australia brought down to their knees. And what an occassion!
The hype of a tour like this unmatched. People look forward to it for years. Players know that success on tours to Australia will put them in the big league. That's where teams often lose the plot. Once a side loses a test they give up. The rest of the series is all about individual battles which rarely have any bearing on the war. Sri-Lanka discovered through the class of Sangakkara, England too had to bow down after Pietersen's heroics, Smith's words could not be matched in actual play and it's been the same story always. However, India have not lost sight of the bigger picture, a series win. Even though the grace of Laxman has often been the talking point one has not forgotten there is the Border-Gavaskar tropy for the taking. India has always played with the series in sight. Although there have been several defeats every session of every match has been hard-fought.
The series, in all probability, should stand at 2-1 today. Australia, in all probability, will lose a test at home for the first time in four years. It should hurt more as their quest to break their record for consecutive wins, in all probability, will halt here. It will halt at a venue where they have hardly lost matches. The cricket world will cheer. But India knows that there is a prize for the taking.
The hype of a tour like this unmatched. People look forward to it for years. Players know that success on tours to Australia will put them in the big league. That's where teams often lose the plot. Once a side loses a test they give up. The rest of the series is all about individual battles which rarely have any bearing on the war. Sri-Lanka discovered through the class of Sangakkara, England too had to bow down after Pietersen's heroics, Smith's words could not be matched in actual play and it's been the same story always. However, India have not lost sight of the bigger picture, a series win. Even though the grace of Laxman has often been the talking point one has not forgotten there is the Border-Gavaskar tropy for the taking. India has always played with the series in sight. Although there have been several defeats every session of every match has been hard-fought.
The series, in all probability, should stand at 2-1 today. Australia, in all probability, will lose a test at home for the first time in four years. It should hurt more as their quest to break their record for consecutive wins, in all probability, will halt here. It will halt at a venue where they have hardly lost matches. The cricket world will cheer. But India knows that there is a prize for the taking.
Energetic Morning
Typing new posts till now has become only about "killing" time. This time I have twenty minutes before a meeting with my project mates for the controls course. Forget that! I am not even prepared for it anyway.
I am making this post just to put the happiness I felt this morning into words. I could have done it in my 'dear diary' but, I guess , gone are those days. Everyone talks about blogging these days and power to express oneself over the internet where hundreds can hear (read???) you. So I went ahead and created a blog for myself yesterday when I was "killing" time waiting for a bus. Let's go back to my happiness. It was great waking up this morning to India being in the "driver's seat" in the third test at Perth. Australia has many won test matches. What the hell! They win just about every test match. BUT this test is different. Hold on, I am not saying that they will lose it. All I am saying is that this time they will have to win by doing something they have not done before. Chase a record total in the fourth innings. Will be they do it? Remains to be seen.
Come to think of it, I have named the blog "Akshay Nanjangud Goes to Grad School" but I think I will probably be writing a lot on Indian cricket or international cricket in general. Why? It is true that I love the sport. In fact, I love sport. It is so easy for me to respect a sportsperson. I have always felt that being in grad school anywhere in the world is easy. All you have to do to get here is study. And studying is something that can be done at any time of the day. Even if a student misses out on a day he need not worry. There will be a tomorrow. On the other hand, an athlete or a sportsman can't do that. He has to work regularly. Practice is not something he can leave to the next day. He or she knows that if they are to remain fit and reach their potential then they have to train on a daily basis. What am I driving at? I am just trying to say that being regular in anything in life ain't easy. In fact, it is the biggest challenge. We, as students, have the luxury of tomorrow and overnight preparation for an exam. Sportspersons don't. Period.
I still have another eight minutes to "kill". Can I think of something random to fill in here? I think I can think of something. Because we all know that it does not have to something philosophical anyway. People fill their blogs with all kinds of crap. I can do too.
Maybe I can write something about running. Running half-marathons has been a way of life for me for the past year. I am looking forward to my fourth race the first week of February. It gives me satisfaction in running long distances with international athletes. At least, my first half-marathon had semi-big names. "Mumbai Marathon", that was my first race. Come to think it was also the best of the ones I ran. It was not that I clocked my best timing there but that the entire city was out on the roads cheering the runners for the entire 21.1 kilometers. That was something! People calling you by your chest number (wish I had printed my name on that!) and handing out fruits, water and biscuits. That really pushes you to the finish line. And once I turned into the last 100m, the loud cheers and the blaring hindi-film song were all music to my ears. I had clocked 2h 24 m. Not a good time by any standards but I finished my first half-marathon. Very satisfying when you finish it the first time.
I am making this post just to put the happiness I felt this morning into words. I could have done it in my 'dear diary' but, I guess , gone are those days. Everyone talks about blogging these days and power to express oneself over the internet where hundreds can hear (read???) you. So I went ahead and created a blog for myself yesterday when I was "killing" time waiting for a bus. Let's go back to my happiness. It was great waking up this morning to India being in the "driver's seat" in the third test at Perth. Australia has many won test matches. What the hell! They win just about every test match. BUT this test is different. Hold on, I am not saying that they will lose it. All I am saying is that this time they will have to win by doing something they have not done before. Chase a record total in the fourth innings. Will be they do it? Remains to be seen.
Come to think of it, I have named the blog "Akshay Nanjangud Goes to Grad School" but I think I will probably be writing a lot on Indian cricket or international cricket in general. Why? It is true that I love the sport. In fact, I love sport. It is so easy for me to respect a sportsperson. I have always felt that being in grad school anywhere in the world is easy. All you have to do to get here is study. And studying is something that can be done at any time of the day. Even if a student misses out on a day he need not worry. There will be a tomorrow. On the other hand, an athlete or a sportsman can't do that. He has to work regularly. Practice is not something he can leave to the next day. He or she knows that if they are to remain fit and reach their potential then they have to train on a daily basis. What am I driving at? I am just trying to say that being regular in anything in life ain't easy. In fact, it is the biggest challenge. We, as students, have the luxury of tomorrow and overnight preparation for an exam. Sportspersons don't. Period.
I still have another eight minutes to "kill". Can I think of something random to fill in here? I think I can think of something. Because we all know that it does not have to something philosophical anyway. People fill their blogs with all kinds of crap. I can do too.
Maybe I can write something about running. Running half-marathons has been a way of life for me for the past year. I am looking forward to my fourth race the first week of February. It gives me satisfaction in running long distances with international athletes. At least, my first half-marathon had semi-big names. "Mumbai Marathon", that was my first race. Come to think it was also the best of the ones I ran. It was not that I clocked my best timing there but that the entire city was out on the roads cheering the runners for the entire 21.1 kilometers. That was something! People calling you by your chest number (wish I had printed my name on that!) and handing out fruits, water and biscuits. That really pushes you to the finish line. And once I turned into the last 100m, the loud cheers and the blaring hindi-film song were all music to my ears. I had clocked 2h 24 m. Not a good time by any standards but I finished my first half-marathon. Very satisfying when you finish it the first time.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
"Killing" Time
India is almost done with their batting and I'm "killing" time till they are bowled out. What can I write about? American football or basket-ball perhaps? A friend in grad school taught me the rules and goals of football. I've it all in my head. Except why it is called 'football' when all the players seem to be kicking everything but the ball. It's a question that has not produced any satisfactory answers till date.
I also happened to watch a basket-ball match between UCD and UCI today. I only saw the first half but it looked like an easy win for UCD. Although the game wasn't really high quality the cheerleaders had most of my attention. Moreover, the tradition of turning around when the opposition team members are introduced, booing when they have possession and distracting them seemed so childish to me. Would such an audience ever acknowledge the opposition's skill? Will there ever be a Gilchrist calling Kumble to congratulate him on reaching a milestone? It was an amusing experience.
I also happened to watch a basket-ball match between UCD and UCI today. I only saw the first half but it looked like an easy win for UCD. Although the game wasn't really high quality the cheerleaders had most of my attention. Moreover, the tradition of turning around when the opposition team members are introduced, booing when they have possession and distracting them seemed so childish to me. Would such an audience ever acknowledge the opposition's skill? Will there ever be a Gilchrist calling Kumble to congratulate him on reaching a milestone? It was an amusing experience.
First Entry
I've an hour to go before my bus gets here and how do I "kill" time? How does anyone "kill" time? Do you take it out with a dagger or just break the ding-dong in campus? Anyway, I had to "kill" time and this evening I didn't really mind as there was India playing the third test in Perth. Nothing could go wrong with this match. How can it? India has a 118 runs lead after bowling Australia out for just 212. Moreover, we've always been branded as a "batting team". That's what went wrong. The famed batting collapsed just like they have always done when the bowling put us in the "driver's seat". That brings us to why they call it "driver's seat", I mean why do they. In the last 24 years of my existence I've never seen driver who decides where the car goes. He always takes orders from the one in the "backseat", which I'm 100% isn't where the driver sits. Forget that! Indian batting didn't have the spine to stretch the lead to a target which the Australians would never reach. Of course, there will be those who will argue that VVS and Pathan are still in the crease. But my argument questions those who've always credited the batting for our victories.
UC, Davis. This is the university I've come to for my PhD. It is okayish in ranking, agreed. BUT there is a wonderful variety that I see here and in no other university. I realise that it won't affect me as I know what I want to work on here, but I do feel good about it in some way.
My bus is here. "Killing" time ain't so difficult.
UC, Davis. This is the university I've come to for my PhD. It is okayish in ranking, agreed. BUT there is a wonderful variety that I see here and in no other university. I realise that it won't affect me as I know what I want to work on here, but I do feel good about it in some way.
My bus is here. "Killing" time ain't so difficult.
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