The MadB Adventures

An entire blogpost dedicated to Mr.Gautam Akiwate aka Aktiwate. For being the genius that he is, as also for giving us this -

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Ever repented not studying a lesson in school?


Background: The MadB Adventures
The story this time starts with MadB. She is person whose fame has travelled far and wide. Like her name suggests MadB is a person who has a taste for weird adventures. However (and what her name does not suggest) she is also an accomplished analyst.
According to “MadB Adventures” - her much acclaimed book, MadB, in one of her many adventures had been to Universe3177 (which apparently is a parallel universe in which the laws of physics are quite different from those in our universe). There she observed that the nucleus irrespective of its size emitted gamma radiation continuously.
Now, inquisitive as she is, MadB decided to analyse this further. Closer analysis revealed that the atomic structure in Universe3177 was as put forth in “The Atomic Model” by Ernst Rutherford in 1911. Basically the atom consisted of a discrete electron and a nucleus with the electron orbiting the nucleus.









Further she isolated a hydrogen atom (i.e. an atom with 1 electron and 1 proton as the nucleus). In this study she analysed and noted the intensity of the radiation with respect to time as the electron goes about in the orbit. This was the graph she observed. Consider that she saw the hydrogen atom in front view. (Please refer earlier picture)





The Question

Using this data MadB came to a conclusion and found a very peculiar thing about the atomic structure in Universe3177. Can you also find the peculiar thing about the atomic structure in Universe3177? How did you come about the conclusion?
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The most beautiful picture I've clicked so far!

Would you believe me if I told you that this picture was clicked inside Pune city, in the crowded Shivajinagar area?

You probably wouldn't. But yes, it was. At 6.30 am on 9th October 2009, I witnessed a most beautiful sunrise along the riverbank at the Boat Club, College of Engineering, Pune. What makes it even more special is the fact that we'd been up all night, working for MindSpark and we were totally exhausted and this view, oh, this view - completely rejuvenated us and actually drove away any thoughts of going home and curling up in bed.

So what if it was just a 2 megapixel Samsung phone camera? The pic still turned out well.

I'm going to cherish this picture all my life. And I hope there are more to follow. The memories, that is.

Ach-chooo!

Yeah yeah, its that time of the year again. No no,Diwali is done. Happily so. But its that time of the year again when I have extreme cough n cold due to fluctuating weather and the hopeless firecracker pollution. And since I always conveniently choose to fall sick on a Saturday or on days just before public holidays, almost always there is a bleak possibility of doctors being available. And I don't really like to spoil their festivities with my mucus filled complaints.

So after three days of Crocin Cold n' Flu and Benadryl [Bless its creators!], one of which involved me keeping my mouth shut for more than 2 full hours [Seriously! I'm amazed at myself] because I'd go into a fit of loud and hurtful coughing immediately after opening my mouth, I finally visited a doctor today. I say "a" doctor because our family doctor isn't available till Thursday, nor is her usual replacement. So I went to this lady doctor who turns out to be an acquaintance of my mom's from Nashik. Funny, every third person these days has some connection with Nashik :-)
So I see this lady. Not really. Her face was covered behind one of those forgotten green swine flu masks. There! I knew how this consultation was going to turn out. I thought we were all over the Whine flu? Considering my cousin had used one of the supposed N95 masks to make a tent in her model of a children's play area, I assumed everyone had come out of the fear. Evidently, not. So this lady examines me. Rattles off all the Whine flu symptoms,each of which I reply in the negative. I know this is what happens to me every year! Big deal! I'm not going to infect you,duh. And she had to squeeze some blue soap/solution onto her hands every time she touched me[even with the stethoscope!]. I dunno, I might be over-reacting, but aren't doctors supposed to set examples to their patients? Tell them to relax and not worry. This one, on the contrary, told me to take the usual precautions. That is, wear a mask. Lady, I haven't touched a Whine flu mask yet. Bless our family doctor, last time I went to her for my cold, she was like - Big Deal. We've had Influenza for years. Go home, take some steam and sleep.

And the thing that irked me the most was the exorbitant consultation fees! I hate it when doctors these days look at you/what you are wearing/where you live and charge you. I've actually been the victim of exorbitant fees when the person just before me walked away with less than half of what was charged to me. Just not fair.

I guess sneezes and coughs for a long time,firecrackers and being cooped up at home does make for an irritable blog post. I just hope that once college starts tomorrow I'll be able to enjoy a bit more and take my mind off the bogies. Although, college also means catching up on 4 weeks of missed lectures and practicals; and vengeance of the teachers for the Diwali holidays in the form of tests and submissions! Shya. An awesome dinner at some cool place is what I crave for. Mainland, anyone?

MindSpark '09 - Memories

Note:
These are just a few things which I especially remember. Of course the entire experience is locked away in that part of my memory which will always open at will, but special experiences demand special mentions. These are just a few of them. I apologise to those readers who weren't a part of Team MindSPark '09 - you may not be able to get a few references, as also the nicknames may not mean anything to you. But then again, a blog being the kind of peculiar public-personal thing, this is bound to happen once a while,I guess.So, here goes. I hope I can do justice to this simply awesome experience by trapping it in only a few words.I'll probably keep updating this post as and when memories get refreshed. Thank you for your patience.

It started one day on the college lawns. We were a bunch [maybe the only then] of enthu people [led by The Enthu] who wanted to make MS this year bigger and better. I think if I remember right, it was me, Moe, Mr.Mealo, Aktiwate n Mr.Aadha. [yes yes I've fallen victim to the pseudonyms-in-blogs-theory for once]
So we began with a list of events that could be scrapped and new ones to be included. My little blue diary and Mr.Mealo's big yellow diary made their entry then, to become indispensable for at least the initial days.The problem about the new core committee was ever persistent and the previous year's Core Team were really showing no inclination toward doing the necessary. Still, we do not work for posts. We work for the Event.

Finally, after many BC meets and incessant efforts from Mr.Aadha, the Core Team for MS09 was decided. I must say, we were a little apprehensive about the creation of new posts and 2 potentially controversial appointments. And yes, now we can all say, the risks paid off. Hats off to you Mr.Aadha!

And then began the journey of 3 and a half months - months which will be forever etched in our memories.
So there was allotment of portfolios and distribution of responsibilities. Extreme micro-detailing and organisation. The most professional and organised event ever put up, I'd like to think of it. Until the last 2 weeks, when every other sentence uttered would be "WTH?/WTF?/Howww?/Not again/Dammit!/Shit!!"
Ego clashes, random jokes, Rao, tempers and temperaments, late lunches...

The theme - Awesome.The Brochure - Awesome.The Designs - Awesome.The Events - Awesome. The Event head selection - Awesome.The Website - Oh Dear.The sheer amount of thought given to every conceivable detail - Awesome. The Execution - Beyond Awesome!

Recession? Swine Flu? Elections? Terror!

Spons meets. Appointments. Negotiations. Hardball.MOUs.
Life savers in the form of CGT, Eaton, Tata Motors, UoP and of course, Piaggio!! God, I'm so glad we could pull it off!

However, the best part for me, was the new friendships forged. Maakdu, Ra, Ro, Divya, Aktiwate, Mr.Mealo, Junior, Aktiwate, Abira, K1N1..And strengthening of old ones - PG, Chinimini,Mr.Aadha..Sorry if I forgot anyone..


I'll also never forget the 3 reckless nights which I spent away from home.

One - when we stayed in college and Maakdu earned his name and then breakfast at 6.30on our way home :) That was one crazy crazy night! It was also when I clicked the most beautiful picture from the Boat Club. Made up for all the effort we'd put in all night - just to watch the sunrise along the riverbank!

Two - Ro's place! Oh God that was an out-of-this-world experience! Imagine not knowing where onions and peanuts are, in your own house! But then, us being who we are, we 'managed' to get hold of supplies and had a most enjoyable dinner of Maggi and Khichadi :) All thanks to Chef PG and Chef Maakdu [with more than a little help from me and Chinimini, and none from Ra and Ro :-P] Aktiwate was[ poor soul, bless him] struggling with the C'ship presentation anyway and Ro actually went to sleep!! All this after we "forgot" to have dinner and realised that we were hungry only at 11.45pm! And then, squeezing into the available space to catch up on a couple of hours' sleep..Ra's crazy alarm tone..Maakdu - "Ae arre kiti ujed ahe yaar! I dont wanna get up!" Man, those were awesome days.

Three - The day MS09 ended. We had a total blast after dinner. First it was jokes in the gymkhana [on Ra and Ro of course] where Sharmaji made most of the opportunity. And then dragging ourselves out of the premise and going to PG's place. The shock on Maakdu's face when we asked him if we should accompany him to his place just to see that he reached safely :-P

Oh the satisfaction of a brilliantly put up show! The satisfaction that despite the Fac-In we had,we pulled off a very successful event. Getting kudos from Nero and Teddy Bear.

And now its all over. Perhaps such an experience may never come our way again. I'm thankful that I could be a part of this college, this wonderful team, this Event. Seriously.

All thanks to Mr.Aadha, Shakkar, Sharmaji, Shailesh, Moe, Mr.Mealo, Rao, Divya, Ro.
And a teensy weensy bit on my part.

Advancing Dedications

One day:
To the SAEINDIA CoEP Collegiate Club
I dedicate thee
Pen,Paper and Ink.






A few days later:

To the SAEINDIA CoEP Collegiate Club
I dedicate thee
Black,Blue and Photoshop..



A few more days later:

To the SAEINDIA CoEP Collegiate Club
I dedicate thee
Black,Acrylic and 3D Laser printing and cutting...



Now ain't that Fab? Fab from FabLab :P

[By the way, the logo is made of the letters C,O,E,P and S,A,E - making it just that - COEP SAE :) :) :)
We also have a website - www.coep-sae.org]

To be continued...

त्या तिथे, पलिकडे

त्या तिथे, पलिकडे - एक टेकडी होती!

खरंच होती! अहो असं काय करता? होती तिथे टेकडी. ते पहा, त्या मोठ्या मोठ्या इमारती दिसत आहेत ना तुम्हाला? हो हो त्याच, उंच इमारती, नविनच झालेल्या दिसतात. आणि त्यांच्या जवळच ते मोठाले खड्डे दिसत आहेत ना, नव्या इमारातिन्साठी. त्या जिथे उभ्या आहेत न, अगदी तिथेच. किती छान टेकडी होती हो आमची.हिरवीगार, सुंदर अशी.

होती. टेकडी होती तिथे....

Combiatore

No no,I've spelt it right. This is how I always write Coimbatore since I was a kid.I have no idea why I do that.One of the many unsolved mysteries in my life,I guess.

So,coming to the actual subject of my post.We'd gone to Combia..sorry,Coimbatore for a workshop which was meant to guide us in the design process of our BAJA vehicle.This actually happened in June, but the post has been in the offing for quite some time now, as we can see. Nevertheless,workshop was good, not bad. But there were many other incidences worthy of mention. Coming one by one..

1. I was put in the Boys' Hostel for accommodation!! Mhanje,kaa? theeke it might be a little difficult to discern gender from the first name, especially if you're from a different part of the country. But,cmon, I was the one who'd filled up the form and mentioned specifically that I'm a female! Also,there's hardly a chance that they may have heard that I'm a li'l tomboy-ish [90% tomboy, so I've been told in the same trip. Damn!] But then we did get that sorted finally, after several frantic minutes involving a dead cell phone battery, zero network for almost everyone and 26 hours of train behind us.

2.So then we had lunch in the canteen. I dint eat their food, majhi chaturthi hoti. So I had a nice mango milkshake.Dunno why I'm mentioning this though. As we say, chalaychach...

3.Then we took a tour of the campus [Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham] Campus is awesome! Its huge, and is nestled in a bunch of hills whose tops were almost always submerged in clouds. Looks heavenly, I tell you. But sadly I dint take my camera with me and others havent yet given me the pics/videos,so there. There was also a MiG there! and imagine the backdrop of lovely green hills for a huge college ground. Sort of reminded me of The Wanderers. So when I saw all this my reaction was "Send me to this college! I'll work at 100% efficiency!" [Remember this line.]
[And don' give me that 100% efficiency is impossible shit. Its possible in my case.My definition of 100% efficiency is different.]

4. Then came evening. Oh by the way, we'd reached a day early so we had so much time to explore the campus. But they dint allow us to leave campus, so we couldn't go sightseeing or shopping. :-( And there was work to be done. Work is important.
Haan, so evening. Our hostel warden was very nice. Told us all the rules n all. Well, the girls there aren't allowed to wear jeans. And hostel gates close at 8pm.And we wash our own plates. and there are no spoons or bowls.only plates.
Initially I was horrified. But then I thought, I'm being too harsh. here was a time when these things were normal,or rather that is the way things should ideally be.Only now we're too used to luxuries.
But all this changed one thing. "Dont send me to this college. I'll probably run away!" Such drastic changes of opinion are very common with me. In fact 6 hours is quite long compared to my usual 15 seconds.

5.We'd heard of this particular person's lecture which goes late into the night. So we [the 2 girls in 290 boys that is] were a li'l apprehensive about the hostel timings,as we dint wanna miss the lecture for anything. So we requested the organisers for a special permission. They very kindly obliged. But what happened was, they spoke to the chief warden who said we could return till 11.30 pm. And we'd spoken to the only warden we knew [who wasn't the chief warden] and she said come whenever you want. Even 1 o'clock if you want.just ring the bell and the attendant will open the door. She was such a sweetheart I tell you! So when the organisers came to remind us to leave around 1045, we conveniently forgot to tell them that it wasn't the chief warden who'd allowed us out late. I still don't know who the chief warden was! And so we returned to our room at 2.30 am :) I should say bhootbangla. Ours was the only occupied room on the entire floor!!

6.The 2nd day of the workshop - heaven! They took us to the racetrack. We actually saw almost all tiers of Indian racing - Superbikes, Formula Swift, Formula Rolon Chevrolet, and the others. There was one with all Maruti cars - esteem and Zen, which were obviously overhauled. We actually saw the races! Thats one thing off my wishlist.Oh,if not F1, yehi sahi. We saw the race from three feet! Went deaf by the sheer amount of noise the cars generated. Needless to say, I was on cloud 9! And the landscape was enchanting. I've never seen so much of sky in my entire life. Its always been punctuated by hills in Pune. But here it was miles and miles of pure, heavenly blue interspersed with white fluffy clouds and lovely coconut trees at the base.The memory is etched onto my memory forever.

7.Speaking of cloud 9, well, I went absolutely head over heels for the host of this racetrack trip. He's a former national racing champion or so. Rayomand Banajee. And he had an almost royal way of talking which bowled me over. So,of course I begged him for a picture and he obliged! :-) :-) And in the process, according to my friends, I achieved an "international level of batting" :-| Sad way of putting things in perspective. I was just this crazy female fan na!

8.The organisers were a really nice lot. Kept asking us if we were comfortable. And they even let us use their CAD lab! We actually trespassed on their hospitality.But we're still in touch.Really nice guys.

9.The return journey. An event in itself. Here we were, taking turns to stand in the doorway holding the laptop-charger-plus in its socket while another guy completed the design report we were supposed to submit on that day in Pune before 6 pm! The guys hadn't slept for 24 hours and yet were working so hard. I just tried helping in any way I could. And the final kissa - the train halted at B'lore for 20 min. We alighted, handed over the completed design report [finally] to an associate of one of our team meber's father. He emailed the report to the same guy. He got the report printed and the report was finnally submitted at around 6.30 pm! Phew! What a day.

10.Met a few nice guys fromBITS Pilani on the return journey. All in all, our compartment was almost totally youthful, with the exception of the nice nun. And then this bizarre thing happened. One of the BITS guys lost his cell-phone.We thought it must have been stolen while he was still asleep, but then to our surprise, we found it again in the morning, wedged between 2 suitcases.We were sure we'd checked that in the night. Weird,eh?

All in all, I had a marvelous time in that week. Those of us who were there, developed a close bond of friendship :-) And I hope it stays lifelong! And I hope we get to attend many more such enjoyable workshops in the future and have nice times :-)