out-of-my-mind

Typing in Tamil

2007-06-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Just use this site -> http://quillpad.in/tamil/
Type in English and Copy the output in Tamil font. Paste it wherever you want. அம்புட்-தேன். சோக்கா இருக்கா?

Off it goes

2007-06-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

Its touching that the monkey sits on my shoulder
He is waiting for the day when he gets me.

Atlast I have got rid of the monkey. More monkeys to come.

தமிழ்ப் பதிவுகள்

2007-06-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

தமிழ்ப் பதிவுகள்: "வடிவேலு : தம்பி தம்பி! இங்க வாவேன். இந்த தெருவுல பஞ்சர் எங்க ஒட்டுவாங்க தெரியுமா?
பார்த்திபன் : ட்யூப்ல எங்க ஓட்டை இருக்கோ அங்கதான் ஒட்டுவாங்க!!
வடிவேலு : ?!?!

Recent Addiction to English Songs

2007-06-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

My recent addiction has been to English Songs. Thanks to James Blunt for his fantastic album named Back to Bedlam. The first song which made me join the millions of rocking heads was "You're beautiful". The song had wonderful lyrics sure to kindle the memory of the listeners and the wonderful video did the right honours to the song. James Blunt - sings a song about 'one odd moment, in which he sees a girl (claimed to be his ex-girl friend) with another man', wonderfully crafted words which did make this song a chart-buster. But You're Beautiful is a song which lost all its sheen when I heard High, Good bye my lover, Cry n Out of my mind. His metallic voice is something which will either deport you to a Utopian state or shatter you. Its a unique voice which is difficult to simulate. My best pick is out of my mind.... This song has mysterious lyrics, which gives different meanings to different people depending on their state of mind. This song did help me add 3 words to my vocabulary... alibi, pantomime and concubine. This is one song which I would like to sing when things turn tipsy turvy and on which I would not have control. Though some googling did say that this song has a romantic meaning to it, to me it sounds philosophical. My rating for of the songs in his Back to Bedlam Album are here

1. Out of my mind
2. High
3. Good bye my lover
4. You're Beautiful
5. Cry
6. Oh Billy!
7. Tears n Rain
8. No Bravery

Well each one would come up with their own ratings, and it would be painful to see their song not making to the top of MY list, but the fact is you are reading MY blog, and I am out of my mind. :-)

Brush with the Dalal Street

2007-02-06T06:36:00.000-08:00

Sensex is up 100 points, Nifty is up 30 points and India is shining. I heard this 2 years back, which tempted me to have a brush with the Dalal Street. The Stock ticker once which used to be a nuisance while watching the News channels, turned into thrilling figures shortly. I first adventure with the stock market was with SAIL. Bored of asking people "what was sensex and nifty", I took the do-it-yourself approach and guess what I made so quick money and created awareness of stock n shares among my peers. I exactly started to venture into the stock markets when the heavens opened out to the dismay of Mumbaikars. I think it was July 26,2005 and I was at home. My first pick was SAIL because it was the only affordable share at Rs.50 a piece. In 12 days it climbed t0 Rs.62.50 and I was happy to bid a farewell to it. But, I was left with a paltry amout of just Rs.125, out which ICICI direct (my online broking house) charged me 5% commision on buying and selling. Later, I learned that any purchase should be above Rs.3500 (atleast, though I am clear of the figure still) then the brokerage will be just 2%.
After few more brushes with GujAmb, HCL Tech, Wipro, I learnt that to make a sizeable profit I should go big and I bought M&M (a stock which I still hold). I have learnt a lot with my mistakes and understood the terms like support, resistance, liquidity,rights issue,dividend,bonus issue,stock split etc.

1. M&M taught me the meaning of bonus share. The company increases the market cap & no. of shares and the stock price goes half the price ex-dividend. I got stumped, when I thought it would double.
2. TCS taught the meaning of dividend. When the company announced 1300%, I thought I will grow rich overnight, but later I learnt 1300% on the face value of Rs.1. Means Rs.13 per share and dividend necessarily doesnot come on the market price.
3. Bharat Forge taught me what is resistance, when it continuously hits Rs.380 mark and retraces back to 360 levels.
4. TVS Motors taught me what support means and never mess with it and try to go fishing in deep waters. It pierced its support at Rs.127, I bought more. It pierced Rs.110, I bought more. It pierced Rs.90, I bought more. At last the stock is taking a breather at Rs.74, while I am sitting with my fingers crossed with a 30% notional loss.
5. Orchid taught me the purpose of averaging cost. I have bought this stock on regular dips and it breaking away unlike TVS.
6. My darlings have been M&M, CUMMINS, INFOTEC ENTPRESIS. They have given my very high returns..... shhhhhhhhhh....profits should not be disclosed. Hey! Do not bother, I have paid my capital gains tax. I not mess with the I.T. big brother.

My current holdings are as follows
1. ASHLEY @ Rs. 44
2. M&M @ Rs.547
3. MARUTI @ Rs.920
4. TELCO @ Rs.780
5. BHAFOR @ Rs.360
6. NTPC @ Rs.135
7. SATCOM @ Rs.414
8. ORCCHE @ Rs.235
9. TVSSUZ @ Rs.109

Well, there is a quite much of my money out there. I hope, I will walk away with decent profits and some knowledge of economics. I am sure that some lessons will come at a cost and I am preparing contingency plan when the Dalal street goes on a long holiday.

Me - A Cook?

2007-02-06T06:32:00.000-08:00

Me - A Cook?

If my memory serves me right, the first time I 'tried" to cook something was when my parents had been away to my native place. They had adviced me to go to the hotel and have food. But, I thought cooking was easy job and went into the kitchen.

I did not even know that rice has to be washed before leaving it to boil in the pressure cooker. Straight it went from the rice sack to the cooker. Then, I decided to make sambar. I took some dhal and left it to boil in a bowl of water. Then added chilly powder,turmeric. I had no idea of the porpotion and added nearly 3 times turmeric powder compared to chilly powder. I also chopped some ladies finger vegetable. I kept a bowl on the stove and added oil and mustard. ( I have seen my mom do this religously every time and I am fascinated to hear the sound of the mustard when it hits the hot oil). Then I added the chopped ladies finger (btw, why is it called ladies finger...strange..) and the turmeric and chilly powder. Left it to boil and covered it with a lid.
After 10 mins, I tasted it.... obviously it was horrible. They it flashed. Salt, the saviour. The so called sambar went from worse to worst as the real taste came out. (Oh! What a taste). Then I opened the cooker and I was shocked to see lot of yellowish residue on the rice. It was to horrible to eat. This was in 11th standard. (Age 15)

But, now I am a matured cook who write his own recipes and offer it to others and walk away with kudos. My speciality..... rasam,brinjal curry,cauliflower curry. I can make wonderful sambar, provided my mother gives me the magic home prepared sambhar powder.

Learning German

2006-12-15T11:03:00.000-08:00

How many words do you think you know in English. I probably guess some 10,000.
How many words would I know in Tamil. Min same nearly 10,000
How many words do I know in Hindi may be 1000
How many words do I know in Kanada may be 50
How many words would I know in Malayalam may be 10
How many words would I know in German ---- a Ooophing 700.

Yes, I am learning German and I am sure, I will be able to exceed 2000 in may be 3 months. Is that a OK target. Well, time will say.

Has anyone done a research on How words a Human brain can remember. May be I should go googling.

Haircuts in Germany

2006-12-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

Ha... Ha... name it pain or pleasure.. getting a haircut done is a unique experience in Germany.

People search for the billiger shop (cheap shop in German). Average is 12 Euro. Other prices could be 10,8 Euro... If you are patient enough to comb through the German streets you may find a Turkish shop which may cut for 6 Euros.

We can easily say guess the duration of onsite with the hair cut a person has got (even if he bluffs).

No haircut - business visit (he will surely return in 20 days)
Usual Haircut as in India before a onsite trip - 2 months - 3 months
Machine cut - definitely its more than 6 months.

(After reading my research....So, next time a guy walks up and says I am going onsite, do not be too quick to see his haircut and ask him... Oh!Good for 6 months! all the best)

Well the reason behind this expensive hair cut is that there is no job in Germany which is paid low. Every person gets paid more or less the same... be it engineer or a hair stylist. (Hold, a minute. Did she really give a style to my hair. Nope. The Indian haircut is too strange for her and unusal)

And if you could notice the change of gender in the couple of lines before... Yes... now you know #Why I said hair cut in germany is a pain or pleasure take it either way'

oh... oh... It will be injustice not to mention the a small research work which my Indian friends did. One of my friends said he got a hair cut for FREE. (What.... unbelievable). He said we found a place where the hair stylists took training and he literally 'offered' his head for a practice session. (Hmmm... should add this point in the travel tips for colleagues)

Well, for all those who think we are stingy. Think again. There are Germans who ask their wife to give a hair cut and they return it for her. Ha... Ha... It is one of the last things one would think doing in Indian family system.

And today when I asked the hair stylist to make a proper straight cut at the rear side... (oouch, its difficult in english to type this....) she said.... Wann eine a Frau sagt es it besser, 'kook mal',(showed the mirror again and said) schoen? I said. 'Ja.Ja.Danke'. (drooling)

Finding Ourselves

2006-12-12T10:34:00.000-08:00

I was reading my friends blog and he has a sown seed of thought in me. Where did we loose ourselves? Are we searching ourselves? Will we ever find ourselves?

Honestly speaking these are some questions which I have asked myselves many times and I am sure each person would have asked himself/herself. Each time, I attempt to answer these questions and feel that I have found the answer, its hard to stay the course. It seems so near, but still far apart. I think we lost ourselves, when we started TO THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE IN THE PRESENT. In the process, WE FORGOT TO LIVE THE PRESENT. We (sorry let me not generalise) I have lost the present. Does having a goal or vision harm us to this extent. No, not really. The point is whether the accomplishment of the goal or vision is going to benefit you or the others. Real pleasure lies in giving and not taking. The pleasure that comes by taking is short lived. Sounds philosphical..... well when If the question sounds philosphical so will be the answer.
I think I have found myself. I am going to switch gears to the Art of Giving. Now, I will write my experience again after a month about ART OF GIVING. Whether it was easy,fruitful and whether the search for ourselves ends or its a road to nowhere.

First Post

2006-12-12T10:26:00.000-08:00

Another drop in the ocean of blogs.