Farewell to Bird-Watching over Tea: Every Morning I drink Tea, but Saturday mornings I drink more tea, as I have more time. After a grulleing session of badminton, sipping a cup of tea in balcony, watching the birds ( both that fly & the ones that walk to college! ) has become a ritual on saturday morning. In one such early sessions I found someone doing a loose-rope-walking in front of me, without any safety gear. Since then I no longer watch the birds & now tea time is only spent on the live demo of no-fear factor! ;-)

Now Watch the video! - carefully, the small moving thing is the squirrel, later joined by another, at the end its closer to me & hence clearly visible.

p.s: Please forgive MS/Dekhona for the low video quality, my cam print is much better, its lost clarity most likely due to poor flv conversion by Dekhona after uploading!

Khatronka ka Khiladi: Almost every morning while having tea I witness this stunt by local squirrels. There is this cable around 80ft long, hanging at an height of abt 30 feet. The squirrels walk from one end to the other, back & forth - without any fear-factor cameras, without any Akshay Kumar to encourage them, Without any safety gear, Without any dramtizing music in the background, Without any fear, without any viewers (except me!). Arent they the original Khatronka ka khiladi ? :P

Life & Death game: I have never seen a squirrel fall off from the cable - even when once an hovering eagle whizzed past trying to pick up the rope-walking squirrel. The squirrel was shaken, but not stirred, he had managed to move just in time, cling hard to the vibrating cable & then make his escape good before the eagle took a U-turn!

After-effects: As I watch this spectacle I begin to wonder how is it that a squirrel does so easily wat many aam aadmis would be scared trying. I begin to get into his shoes ( now dont ask when did squirrel wear a shoe! ) & think how he does it, i get many answers like, he doesn it because:
1)he doesnt know newtons law of gravitation
2)He doesnt calculate in what force he hits the ground if he falls
3)before reason 2, he doesnt think 'I might fall'
4)He doesnt recall about others who have fallen from height before ( in short he doesnt read paper or watch TV!)
5)his mind doesnt foretell him the consequences of a fall ( even before i climb, i think of the frature i get, if i fall)
6)he doesnt have a mind, that has fear in it ( he doesnt have a mind actually.. i have a mind, that only makes me doubt!)
7) he is ignorant of everything ( ignorance is bliss) [ I know newtons laws, have seen ppl falling from circus, WTC towers etc.. & my 'knowledge brings suffering' ]
8)he perhaps trusts his maker ( does he belive in one?).. while I dont in matters of risk..??

I didnt run out of thoughts, I realise i ran out of tea ..and i go to fetch another cup... ;-)

New here? this is the Prize distribution ceremony of the Aam Aadmi's great minds contest-4 : Contest DP

Vote of Thanks: Before announcing the winners let me thank every MSian who made this contest a success by their participation. Special applause to Fenil, Vinit, Lalit, Bhupesh, Sajith, Paul, Angel, Sangeetha, Ketan, Nishant, Suraaj & Deepak.

On the Podium: Today's declaration of correct answers & prizes will be done by the CM of MS! wondering which Indian state has the abbreivation MS..wake up, its not Chief-Minister of any state..its Common Man of MS ;-) This way, we can avoid many a security rings & spare lives of people being rushed to hospital !!

The wait is over, here are correct answer: 1) The calf's name is MUNNI ( see pic)
Jury Comments: its true her name is munni, ask her, she will say the same!

2) Just see the Pic ;-) Its a plastic bottle which had an ayurvedic chavanprash (lehyam in malayalam, as its mallu ayurvedic)
Jury Comments: seems most MSians were averse to bitter chavanprash like this! That these people are sweet persons reflected in their answers - many of them saw chocolate, ice cream, wafer bar & even Rabri ( devi??) ;-)

Do We Have a Great Mind amongst us? : At the end of it no one got both answers right, so we dont have a "Great mind" out of this contest. But the good news is we have 4 "Almost Great minds" -who all got one answer correct, name of calf = Munni !

Now "all almost great minds are equal, but some almost great minds are more equal than others" . so here are our 'almost great minds' - in the order they got the answers right

1)Sangeetha: the first to get Munni with least clues
2)Nishant: he too got with least clues, but his answer & M2M reached 1/100th of a second late, just as PT Usha did in 1984 olympics.
3) Paul & Bhupesh: Later clues helped them hit the bulls eye

Prizes: The above 4 AGMs will get prizes worth 1000MSP each & another 1000MSP prizes to the rest of the participants. Prizes will be reaching their home(pages) in 24 hrs! ;-)

Thanks you, one and all ;-)

Rumour has been making the MS rounds & status messages for last few days about a aam contest on MS. I was flooded with calls (telemarketing ones ! :P ), so here is an FAQ that answers all your queries.

1) What was the Rumour?
Return of the Great Mind (Contest I mean!) here is the next round of Aam Aadmi's Great Minds contest.

2)What is given in Aam Aadmis Great Minds Contest 4?
You are given 2 pictures - one of a calf & the other a 2 photo combination of an abstract image

3)What Must I do to win?
1) for the Calf pic - identify her name with the help of given clues
2) For the abstract pic, you have to tell what is captured in the pic. Its a close-up, so u have tell the larger pic(item) of which this is a close-up or partial view.

4)What Do I get for my efforts?
Total prizes worth 5000MS points up for grabs, with break-up as follows
1) Get both answers correct - Bumper prize of 2500MSP + be declared as a "Great Mind"
2) Get one answer correct - Prizes worth 1500MSP + be declared 'Almost Great Mind'
3)Other Prizes - worth 1000MSP will be distributed for participation, most creative answer, most humorous answer, most wrong answer(!?) etc
In case of more than one person getting the answers right, prizes will be distributed equally.

5)I cant wait to start, give me the clues..
a) for the abstract pic, its a close-up. Rest, its for you to spell out if you see closeup of a table laminate, design on plastic or lunar surface !! ( p.s. - example used just now are not answers!! ) :P Please note - the pic is combination of 2 pics, as indicated by filenames on topleft or image number at bottom left. Similar views given only to makes confuse! ;-) Look at every color, color variation in the pic including edges.. u will get it !!

last clue: The yellow strips visible in both pic are from diff areas of the item captured! The yellow of the first pic is paper!

b)For the calf's name the clues are as follows:
1) The name is 5letters say like 12345 where each number is an alphabet
2) There are 2 distinct vowels & 3 consonants ( thats obvious!!)
3)The 2 vowels can also be used as words on their own ..example c = see! (sms lingo!!)
4)One letter occurs twice, means effectively you have to get 4 letters ( in proper order of course)
5)Letters 1 & 3 are neighbours ie Adjacent, so are letters 4 & 1
6)The calf is female, so is the name!
7)The name is an typical Indian pet name! Also the male equivalent of the name has same relationship/pronounciation as Ladki - ladka!!

Last clues: its a hindi name, the male equivalent of the calf name is part of a hit bollywood movie!

6)Today I am having monday blues, cant think fast, do I have more time?
Yes, you have time till 10am on Thursday to submit your answers.

7)I am afraid Vineet will 'Copy' my answers & be eligible for prizes..
Dont worry, You can either give your answers in comment or send it safe & secure thru M2M

8) Can I submit more than one entry as I have multiple personality disorder ? ;-)
Sure, you can submit any number of entries & you will be evaluated for all categories of prizes ;-)

Good Luck!

1)Aam bachcha meets Rakhi: I was in 5th grade & joined 2 Marwari brothers to our class - Amar & Prem. I did wonder how come both brothers in same class? I reasoned their Marwari father must have struck a 'Admit one, get the second free' deal!

One day I saw a glittery circular spongy item around their wrists. Thanks to the curious cat we had at home, I enquired. They said its a Rakhi! The marwaris were stingy in letting me see it close & also telling me wat it was, why it was ? But Prem told me his sister tied it & showed me a shop where it was. I buy a simple one (i was simple even then!) & tied it around my wrist - I became my own sister & decided to protect myself ! ;-)

2)Return of Rakhi: soon I moved to a residential school. We had student-exchange with a school from Madhya Pradesh, so in came 12 Hindi-speaking classmates. They intoduced the concept of Rakhi, its background story & decided to make it a celebration. The girls made their own Rakhis with many colorful threads. The MP boys trained us on what to do - just extend ur hand, they will tie rakhi, then touch their feet!

A Stare free with a Rakhi?: The event was planned thus. From one side of the stage came boys in queue, From the other side came girls. Then rakhi tieing, feet touching & dispersal. My turn, I walked to the centre of stage, so did Nirmala - my counterpart from the girls queue. I extend my hand, she dutifully ties the rakhi, I bend down touch her feet & I thought all was done! But Nirmala had something to say & called me aside.
She: paulose, I want bangle sets
me: I dont think bangles are available here (nearest town being 5kms away)
she: There is no hurry, you can get it from town
me: I am not going to town, but some or the other guys will be going. I can have them bring it for you. Just give me the money!

Nirmala didnt reply me. But looked at me from toe to the head as if to say "what kind of a man you are" - & walked away. I returned to friends & narrated the above. All the guys from MP gave me the same stare that Nirmala gave & said "Abey, aaj ka din voh log jo bhi pooche hume dena padtha hain, rakhi ka gift"! I asked "pehle kyun nahin bataya"! anyway, I had got my Rakhi gift – the Stare of my life! ;-)

3, 4, 5, 6) The unconditional Rakhis: Having realised the 'cost of giving hand' thru Rakhi2 I kept my hand to myself! ;-) But there was classmate of mine who tied rakhi to me regularly, religiously - all i gave back to her was my blessings! ;-)

7) Jabardasti Rakhi - Rakhi by force! : I was in engineering & my cousin sister Gracy was in her 10th. One day I was at my aunt’s place watching a cricket match with my cousin brother. The bell rings & I went to answer. I see a white, plump girl. Soon she asks for my Gracy who isn’t at home. I ask her any message to convey, she says nothing & leaves. When gracy returned I told her abt the visitor. She asked me who the visitor was & how she looked like. I told her I didn’t ask her name or details as I was watching cricket. To avoid her pestering me I shrug her off saying “OK, the girl was white & fat, like a white fat pig”. My cousin-sister went silent, but I didn’t know she would stab me in back! ;-)

What is the brother of a pig?: Few days after the incident I was near the school where my cousin-sister studied, when I heard a “excuse me”. I turn back. I see a good looking plump girl. Smilingly she asks “Did you recognize me?”. I press ‘Memory recall’ button near my ear saying “I have seen you somewhere, but cant recall” She says “You are brother of Gracy, no?” I recall “Oh yes, Now I get you, you had come looking for Gracy other day” She goes on “now tell me, how do I look” I am confused why this question to me, still answer “you look OK, why u have any doubts?” She said “But someone compared me to a white pig”

My tubelight burns bright & I can feel the choke inside me – I realized Gracy had reported my exact words. She continues “If I am a pig, then who will my brother be?” before I answer, she has taken my right hand & tying a rakhi! I don’t resist but gain composure enough to say “you can tie a rakhi, I never knew you, I never said you are pig, I only said like pig. Gracy will pay for this. Also tying a rakhi u wont get any gift” She smiled, tied the rakhi & we dispersed.

After giving Gracy ‘her due’ I also gave 20Rs to her, so she along with my ‘Sister-by-force’ can have masala dosa! ;-) They studied together for another 2years, this masala dosa became an annual event, though I myself never joined! ;-) before eating it, they both must have said “this dosa is sponsored by santhosh-anna” ;-)

Thats how the Saventh err I mean 7th of the Rakhis came on my hand!

They say a DP comes in 3 types - some DPs come for a REASON, Some for a SEASON ( remember fathers day, mother day DPs !! ) & some DPs come for a lifetime (as in they just keep coming !!) ;-) This DP is bcos of a REASON.

Reason: Yesterday after a a heavy lunch my creative juices went dry ( actually they went to stomach to aid digestion!!). So I could only think of a status message like "Online - Busy growing moustache !! .. MouthShut com Book Fair: Last Date September 24, 2009 ! Do u have this on dashboard too ? !!!! - Very soon I saw the status message 'copied' by another 'respectable' ( is he still?) MSian. He had copied the status message exactly as it is , including the dots, exclaimation marks etc. That reminded me of the following real life incident where I witnessed such dedication in copying & thought of sharing.

By the way, this post is dedicated to that 'Respectable' ( come on, if Brutus is honourable, why cant this guy be respectable? ;-) ] MSian, Vinit (Nirva
na.).

Incident : Many years ago the whole class had submitted our maths homework books to the teacher. She distributed all books but of 2 students, of which yours truly was one. As she left the class, she told us "come to the staff room & collect". I didnt smell anything wrong, as I reasoned she might have left those 2 books accidently.

At the Staff room: we both went together thinking we could just collect our books & leave. We were in for a surprise. The teacher was looking probingly at both of us & i realised leaving our books wasnt accidental.

Teacher: paulose, tell me who copied the homework?
paulose: what? Who would copy mathematics home work?
Teacher: Nobody would, but one of you has!
paulose: As far as i know, i did it on my own ( i look at my friend (RV) at this point, who has a saintly face!
Teacher: What do you have to say RV?
RV: I promise madam, i have not copied!
Teacher: Are you sure? I know for sure who has copied, but want you to accept on your own.
Paulose: I have not copied & I have not given my book to anyone.
RV: Me too, madam, I have not copied or given my book to anyone.
Teacher: seems you guys wont tell the truth on your own. RV you go out, let me speak to paulose first.

RV moved out. I am still curious what evidence she got. I am also thinking how can copying in maths be found out, considering we are to get only one answer, following same steps. Teacher calls me closer & shows me a page in the book, then shows me another page in RV's book. she points out something 'common' & i realised this can only happen due to copying. Teacher smiles like having cracked a murder mystery..

Teacher: I know you havent copied, but u sure gave your book to him.
paulose: No madam, he never asked me for the book, but he might have taken without asking, i really dont know.
Teacher: Ok you go out now & send him inside. dont come unless i call.

I went out & asked him to go in. I told with my eyes "no escape, just accept , tell the truth". I stood outside & imagined teacher giving proof to RV & he accepting it. Soon enough I heard a "paulose, come in". I enter the room to see RV standing sheepishly & teacher smiling victoriously. Teacher signalled to us to take the books & leave from the patli gali & said "next time, read & understand wat you are copying. copy such that i dont have to catch you" !

Mystery cracked: As we walked together RV said "when teacher showed me that page, i accepted. sorry I had taken ur book & copied. I shud have told you" I said "even if you had asked me, i wud have given & u wud do the same thing"

How it happened: We had this habit of writing down page numbers at the right top corner of empty pages, as soon as we took a new notebook ( hey, not the laptop, the writing book!) This was to dissuade ourselves from tearing any pages.

Now, RV in a hurry to copy the maths homework, had copied 'my page numbers' that he saw at the right corner of my notebook pages! ( unruled book, so no top margins!!!) Teacher was surprised to see sudden numbers like "22" "23" making a guest appearance in the middle of the pages. otherwise all his solving steps & answers were right. She set out find the reason behind these 'guest entries" & how did she find it was copied from my book. The books were closer just as RV & me were!!

Moral of the story: When you copy, dont show dedication to the dot !! ;-) change somethings like our film industry does ;-)

Hi MSians,

The wait is over ( who waited? lol ). Here are the correct answer & winners of the quiz posted at :

http://www.mou
thshut.com/diary/fgejtnmro/Grea
t-Minds-ContestRound-3Aam-Aadmi
s-Quick-Quiz2-questions-1000poi
nts-to-be-won

Correct Answers are as follows:

Question 1: Four friends happened to go on a trekking venture in Lonavala. While in deep jungle they suddenly find themselves by 10 hungry lions. Soon the lions attacked 2 of them & only their bones remained after 10 seconds. The other 2 friends stood frozen, expecting its their turn next. But the lions smiled at them & left the scene! Why did the lions not eat these 2 of the four friends?

Answer: The 2 who were let off by the hungry lions were Lion's Club members, back in their cities !! ( bole toh partiality !! ;-)

Question 2: Following is four words arranged in random order. Can you think of something that you are reminded by them, when they are together!!

Products, India, Vegetable, Western

Answer : If arranged properly they would read Western India Vegetable PROducts - the earlier company from which came the IT company WIPRO.

Winners : There was no outright winner ( both answers correct). Most people got WIPRO right. So prizes worth 1000MSP will be distributed equally to all who participated - Sydbarett, Sudhir, Paul, Deepak, Sridhar Sir, Vinit, Fenil, Rahul & Meghana

congrats to all & thanks again for participation

Hi dear MSians,

since my camera is borrowed you will have to wait little more time for the next rounds of 'great minds contest' using photos.

Meanwhile here is a quick quiz in between.

Karna Kya hain: Just answer the 2 questions below - Before 12PM tomoro (25/09/09)

Milega Ka : prizes worth 1000MS points

What type of questions : First question is to test your reasoning skills. Second question is to test your memory or ability to corelate the given words.

Expected Answers: For the first question you can write in sentence, give your reason - even if the central keyword in my answer is found in the answer, thats accepted as correct answer. - no restrictions on number or kind of answers. Even wrong, funny, illogical answers stand a chance to win!!

For the second the final answer is one word ( one entity), still any answer that comes close to identifying the entity will be accepted. - no restriction on number of attempts, though there is only one correct answer, we encourage wrong, creative answers too!!

Get Set Go: So loosen your seat belts ( or waist belts), sit relaxed, think and answer the following questions

Question 1: Four friends happened to go on a trekking venture in Lonavala. While in deep jungle they suddenly find themselves by 10 hungry lions. Soon the lions attacked 2 of them & only their bones remained after 10 seconds. The other 2 friends stood frozen, expecting its their turn next. But the lions smiled at them & left the scene! Why did the lions not eat these 2 of the four friends?

Question 2: Following is four words arranged in random order. Can you think of something that you are reminded by them, when they are together!!

Products, India, Vegetable, Western

Happy Thinking, Happy blinking ;-)

Ladies & Gentlemans(?) please welcome yourselves to this prize distribution ceremony.
If you were not watching aam news channels here is a quick refresher. You are at the results & winner, prizes announcement page of this contest - http://www.mouthshut.com/diary
/iaahlospo/Aam-Aadmis-Great-Min
ds-Contest-Round-IIDo-You-See-T
he-Bigger-Picture

note of Thanks : to RSD, Rohit, Ketan Bhai, Bhupesh, Sudhir, Sridhar Sir, Deepak, Vinit, Sajit, Sydbarett, Megna, Anuj, Umesh, Nithin for their participation in the contest despite chances of them being publiclly wrong ( I mean answer wise!)

Correct Answers: Please check attached pictures. The shadow pic was the shadow of bunch of keys! & the blurred close up was that of nozzle of shower !!

Prizes: Earlier it was announced to have prizes worth 2500 MS points, but now prizes worth 2800 MS points will be distributed. This increase of prize bounty is due to recovery of economy & also due to Sensex reaching certain levels!! ;-)

Meet the winners: In Aam contests all are winners! ( but some are more winners than others!!).

3rd Prize - 6 people have won prizes worth 100MSP for one of the following - participation/creative answers/deliberate wrong answers!
We had answers like child abuse, gay-hug, operation theatre which all showed deep thinking abilities of these great minds. Some even saw imaginary things like aam aadmi ka brain!
They are RSD, Rohit, Ketan Bhai, Sridhar Sir, Megna & Umesh

2nd prize - 6 people have won prizes worth 200MSP for getting one answer correct.
These people were able to identify KEY. Now I know some of you might raise an issue saying they had it easy, as they were KEY members of MS! But we appreciate the fact that their answer somehow had the word KEY in it. In future if an MS cabinet is formed, these people stand to get KEY portfolios too ;-)
The KEY people of MS are: Bhupesh, Vinit, Sajit, Sydbarret, Sudhir, Nithin

1st Prize - 2 great minds win prizes worth 500MSP for getting both answers right.
Deepak & Anuj were able to get the bigger picture to the closest levels. They are hereby declared as 'great minds' ;-)

congratulation to all winners & thanks for making this a success

Prizes will be couriered to the winners home(pages) soon ;-)

Recap: For the uninitiated this is Round 2 of a contest I am running here. The contest is about identifying 2 pics. A detailed intro & logic ( if any!!) behind the contest is available at http://www.mouthshut.com/diary
/cdhbpttoo/Aam-Aadmis-Great-Min
ds-ContestRound-1 .

also the results for the same are available here - http://www.mouthshut.com/diary
/dfdbltmpo/Are-you-a-Great-Mind
-Correct-AnswersWinners-of-Aam-
Aadmis-Great-Minds-Contest1


About Round II : this round also has 2 photos attached. You have to identify the Bigger picture of which these two are part of !! Previously some felt there were no clues & shyed from taking guesses. There is good news for them all - there is no answer right or wrong until results are declared. Considering that Mr. Sibal wants to do away with marks oriented board exams, i am also not going after right answers, but for creativity in answers.

Answering Guidelines: There are 2 pics, one like a shadow & other closeup of a silver colored object. Answers can include ur guess about what the objects are, how it is taken or anything else that comes to ur mind on seeing them. Dont worry, there are prizes for the most right, right, wrong, most wrong & wackiest of answers - bcos i reckon even to answer wrong one needs creativity ;-)

For shadow pic: you can write ur guess about how the pic is taken, or what is creating such a shadow etc. you can take/makes as many attempts as u want.

For closeup pic: you can write your guesses about what it is. Remember what you are seeing is only part of the pic ( tip of the iceberg!!) so, write ur guess about the bigger picture, of which this pic constitues a part !!

Where to Answer: you can leave your answers in comments, for those who want to write long, please ask for additional sheets ;-)

Deadline: The contest ends 10AM on monday 14th sept 2009

Results & Prizes: Results will be announced by 1pm on monday & prizes worth 2500MS points will be delivered

so here you go, put your thinking caps on & post your answers.

What is This? For those who arrived just on this post - please note that this post is pursuant to http://www.mou
thshut.com/diary/cdhbpttoo/Aam-
Aadmis-Great-Minds-ContestRound
-1

a contest where looking at the pics one had to guess what was captured? how was it captured etc.

A Note of Thanks: To all who took up the challenge to make it a success. I personally thank - Vinit, Tannadi, Sydbarett, Sajit, Umesh sir, Harry, Anuj, Rahul, Sridhar sir, Nitin, Deepak, confused, Atul, Ajeet, Nagraj sir, Barnali, Nishana, RSD - for attempting the contest. Kudos to them for taking to answer it even while knowing they could be wrong, considering the dark nature of pictures ( they were taken in dark!)

Sponsors: This contest was possible only bcos I took those pics. I took those pics because at that time I couldnt do anything else. I couldnt do anything else, because there was no light. This 'No Light' or in aam lingo 'Darkness' was sponsored by BESCOM ( Govt authority for making power cuts in Bangalore! ) - So indirectly they are the sponsors of this event ;-)

Correct Answers: Please see pic where I have attached respective pics taken with lighting. The contest pics were taken in complete darkness, in close up mode, without flash ( that explains why the object being clicked needed to have some light of its own, else the digicam display wont show anything for a preview! )

1) I switched on my mobile torch & place my thumb to cover the light - this results in making the finger look like a red hot metal piece !!

2) The picture is of the lower side of an optical mouse!

Thus Spake Great Minds: There were many who thought the Red Hot portion in the pic was a flame - from a match stick, stove, flame, etc. There was even suggestion that it was a sun spot, drinks, candle, condom etc. lighting/ autombile lamp was also another guess. Another popular guess was to do with seeing a light in rear-view mirror!! imaginations went really wild & often at impossible angles!! Since many people thought alike, i declare them all great minds ( remember great minds think alike - even if what they think is wrong! ) ;-)

And The winner is: We have one clear - Sridhar Sir with his "I think it is Thumb in front of torch" - Sir, you did think right ! An answer couldnt have been nearer than this!

Coming closest were Sydbarret with his "An obstruction placed in front of the headlight of a vehicle, captured so as to give the impression of a solar eclipse" - he thought big, hence went after vehicle headlight while the light source was mobile torch!

Only a part of second picture was identified in pieces. Nishana guessed "Laser on a barcode" for the optical mouse pic. There was a barcode & laser LED light nearby - if only she remembered it was a mouse...

Harry gets special award for the weirdest answers

All others get prizes for participation - a prize that will help them 'dhimag ki bathi jalao' for next time - no mentos on MS shop, so they bathi jalao with cutting chai !! ;-)

Prizes: Sridhar Sir - Prizes worth 1000 MS points, Sydbarret - 700MS points, Nishana - 500 MS points, Harry - 250MS points, Rest - Cutting Chai worth 10Rs !! ;-)

Prizes will be delivered to the winner's profiles within 24Hrs.

thanks for your support, encouragement & participation. I hope to make the subsequent rounds of this contest more 'easy' & interesting ;-)