Of Audiobooks and Auditory Weaknesses..

Audiobooks aren't a brand new concept by a long shot, but I've never owned one till this week. And I'm in a fix. How does you work an audio book work exactly? I mean you can't listen to it like you listen to music right? I mean when I listen to music I dissolve into it. I let my mind wander and I don't really do much directional thinking. But when I read a book a have to look at the lines, absorb the words, the meaning, i have to be correlating each line with previous occurrences to follow the story. So logically, Audio books fall in between. I have to pay attention to my headphones. Who does that? It's just like a lesson you may say, like how teachers teach you. You're listening and learning, and that's what you're supposed to do with Audio books too I guess. But I wasn't sure.. I mean what if I get so involved in the narration that I forget the traffic and the peeing men? What if i forget to look at the pavement floor and step on one of the little poo piles little children leave behind on the Dr. Nair Bridge? But because I'm me, I decided I shouldn't have any trouble. I've always been a very visual rather than auditory (is that the word?) person. I prefer to use my ears for means other that those involving mental activity.. like music. That's why I've always fallen asleep in classes. However interesting something is, however much enjoy reading abt the very same topic, when it is narrated/taught to me, when it involves listening to something, my brain shuts; i fall instantly asleep. This has lead to innumerable embarrassing scenarios. I was always the unintentional guilt-trip/scape-goat of lecturers. Some used to stop classes looking at me, supposing that the class has reached its saturation point. Others used to continue. The rest used to wake me up amidst sniggers and ask me to wash my face. I eventually realized that the only way to stop this habit was to break the monotony. Hence I started to ask doubts. That kept me awake at least the time I was talking to the lecturer.
My point is that the prospects aren't looking too bright. Looks like my David Sedaris Audio-book might just rust away in my Ipod..

Theory of a Mad woman...

So I have this theory.
Lately I've begun to notice that a large proportion of parents with girls waiting to get arranged married off have been having a hard time finding a suitable boy. It's not as easy as it used to be and that could be because the educated girl has higher standards & expectations. But I think there's another reason. A trend.
The number of youngsters willing to and successfully falling in love have experienced a steep incline. As a result of the still existent tradition of sons being given more freedom than daughters, this trend is manifested at a somewhat higher level in the boys. Therefore the nice guys are all getting hooked in a frenzy.. and we all know how rare they are already. That leaves among the eligible bachelors, a few really good catches, many substandard ones and more than a handful of losers.
And among the women its the same but there's a higher number of good catches since girls are generally more protected in the Indian household.
So lets say there's 500 boys and 500 girls in the world.
200 boys are good, 300 bad
300 girls are good, 200 bad
Out of these 150 good boys and 150 good girls hook up. So in the market is:-
50 good boys, 300 bad boys
150 good girls, 200 bad girls



Since we're not interested in the bad people, bottom-line is that 150 good girls have to fight over 50 good boys or settle for the remaining mediocre 300 bad boys.
Ofcourse there are plenty of loopholes here, but hopefully you get the essence of what I'm saying.
It's a tough world out there for parents... Happy Hunting!

Master of None...

[Image: www.smemarketing.com]

With respect to vocation, there are two types of happy people in this world. Those of you who actually read my blog (ie. Archana..i hope) will at this juncture heave an internal (or external, based on how emotive you are) groan of irritation.Does this woman's imagination not run beyond classifying people into 2 categories?? - you might be thinking. If you are, then worry not, i promise you this time its a whole lot simpler and shorter.
The first type of happy people are those who are inclined to one area, they pursue that area doggedly, make a name of themselves. They're happy.
The second type of happy people are those who are never happy doing one thing for long. They have a wide variety of interests, take life maybe a little less seriously. They do many things, as, when and how they please. They're happy too.
The unhappy people fall under these categories too but they are those who, not recognizing which type they fall under, keep striving to become the opposite type.
The secret is simple - type yourself and make the most of it.

Every girl's a princess

"Whatever comes," she said, "cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it."

One thing my little brother and me bond over is movies. Today I watched for the first time a big screen adaptation of my ever favorite classic 'A Little Princess' written by Frances Hodgeson Burnett.
I must've read the novel atleast 6-7 times and each time I did it made me a little more hopeful, gave me a little more faith in faith and the belief that all would be well in the end. If it isn't well, then it's not the end yet. Corny, but I'd like to think it was books like these that make me such an optimistic person in general. I get upset but I've never got bogged down. While I know Sarah's story isn't true and is very unlikely to ever happen to anybody, the reason for that is simple; it can only happen to someone like Sarah. And Sarah was unlike anyone, possibly a utopic character. We can try to be like her but Sarah's mind was so gloriously innocent, her spirit so indomitably resilient, her mind so pristine, so unpolluted from the real world of pessimism, that nobody but someone who has faced all odds can truly be her.
All that said and done, I read about the first acclaimed movie version of the story, the one with Shirley Temple in it. Then I came across a remake by Alphonso Cuaron which was also critically reknowned so I chose to download this one, thinking a color one would probably appeal to my brother more.
What did I think of the movie? It wasn't terrible, some of the performances were exemplary, like Miss Minchin, Ermengarde, Lavinia and Lottie. Sarah's character was heart wrenching but subtle things like the intelligence in her eyes, were missing. I still did sob like a shameless moron everytime she said 'Papa' though. They were quite liberal with the story. Sarah's papa doesn't even really die in the movie. And there were a few laughable stunt scenes in the climax. The progression of events was abrupt and the magic of the book couldn't be felt, even though you'd have thought the ending would have felt happier, seeing as Captain Crewe comes back to life and all.
But I guess its just one of those books that nobody can do full justice to.
Like 'Catcher in the Rye'. I was super psyched to see that there's a movie. till i read that the movie is simply a 75min and 6sec of blank screen. That is pure brilliance. In its rawest simplest form.
Nothing more, nothing less (sic.)

Reminders of Then..

Though it looks like I have separated myself from all things Bioinformatics, life still hands out periodical reminders that I can't bring myself to discard. Science did form a big part of my life so far and I guess I haven't learnt to completely let go yet.
Like my Nature journal updates that I'v subscribed to. I don't read em anymore but I don't have the heart to unsubscribe..
So every couple of days I get a mail from The British Journal of Cancer or a Nature Biotechnology Alert or Nature Neurology Reviews among others. Somehow it keeps me connected to a past that in reality isn't that very far away, but seems to be fading away quickly.

The Ones that got away

[Image from http://worldcricketwatch.com]
Its difficult to feel sorry for the Tainted Trio. Every photo of them walking in and out of court has them smiling, joking, well dressed and almost as if they're enjoying the attention. They get banned for 7yrs and then tell the press that they are innocent. Who do they think they're kidding? Obviously something must be making them feel invincible, or else they'd atleast fake a little remorse right? or distress or rage if they really are being framed.
All I can say is I feel sorry for the honest Pakistani players. Not only have these morons irreversibly damaged their own reputations they've also invariably cast this shadow of doubt on their entire nation. And they have idiots like Ijaz Butt to encourage them. What a sad state of affairs.
I want to see some happy news on TV for a change. I guess for that happy things need to happen. But it really is a mood killer to see the unscrupulous principle-less disgraces of the universe get away..

Tri Valley Phoniversity

Are students this desperate to study/settle abroad? Its pathetic and disheartening, how these kids compromise themselves to below standard institutions, which don't even look good on paper.

I decided to check if the University website is still up to see if it looked bogus. I wanted to laugh, i wanted to cry, i wanted to scream. The grammar is the least of the problems.
Excerpts...

Student Profiles
Hugh Nugen Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering Department, Major: Analog IC
Education: B.S. Electrical Engineering 2000, U.C.Berkeley; M.S. Northwestern Polytechnic University, Electrical Engineering, 2004;
Profile: Senior Staff Engineer and Supervisor at Vashay-Siliconix. Hugh Nugen actually contributes to the inception of TVU. As Dr.Su's former graduate student, Hugh one day posed her a question :"I want to study for Doctorate Degree in Electrical Engineering. Which university shall I go to?" To which, she first answers him " Go to this university", He said:" This university does not have that.". She then told him "Go to that university.". He said :" That university does not have this.". Couple of months later, she finally was able to provide him a satisfactory answer "Come to Tri-Valley University then!". Tri-Valley University is built according to our students need and request. Most of the features are actually suggested to build by our students.

Ashwin Reddy
...
Profile: Ashwin is currently work for a company.

Alice Wilcox, BSBA
Education: Associated Degree, Diablo College
Profile: "After attend the college for a AA degree, I went straightly to work. I then own my own business at Livermore CA and it has been very successful. Now I am retired and pass the business to my son, I want to complete my Degree for personal fulfillment. Also I can set up an real example for my grandson to earn the degree, every time I told him to. "
Don't believe me? See for yourself.

Source: http://www.trivalleyuniversity.org/