5 Toys To Jiggle Your Brain

I am obviously on a toy trip. Over the years I have purchased plenty of toys for my children. For some (obvious?) reason, I seem to play with these more than them. I prefer the puzzle toys more. I like to think of these as my brain aids. Guaranteed to keep Parkinson's away - I hope.

Here's my list of favorites from the ones I my sons have ...

1) Tangram - If you need to go for only one puzzle, then this is it. this is an ancient Chinese puzzle made of 7 blocks of regular size. The trick is to make a shape using all the 7 blocks. These are available in various material, such as cardboard cutouts, thick plastic sheet, etc. I prefer Tangram made of wooden blocks.


2) Rubik's Cube - Read my take on Rubik's cube in the previous post. But good quality one. Cheaper quality cubes come apart pretty soon. So unless you want to study the internal details of the Cube (which, by the way is quite interesting), go for the more expensive ones.

3) Kaleidoscope - This consists of small plastic cuboids - shaped like Tetris pieces, black or red on one side, various colours on the other. It comes with a booklet that has many patterns. Beware of cheese holes in the patterns you make.

4) Gordians Knot - Interlocked pieces of plastic blocks. They pieces slide in an out. I am still working on it. The solution is given in the box that came with it. I do not wish to check the solution yet. At times it is extremely frustrating ... feel like using Alexander's method of solving it - break / cut it open.

5) Bent Nail Puzzles - These consist of two sets of bent nails (in various shape) that are interlocked. At first glance you would think that the only way to take them apart is to force them open. But there is a way. This one is the easiest to solve.

Have you tried any of these?
What do you think? Fun aren't they?
Do you have a list of your own?

Note:
1) The picture of Tangram used belongs to Julia R. (visit the photographer's gallery)
2) The picture of Rubik's Cube used belongs to Maxime Perron Caissy (Visit the photographer's gallery)

Toys and Personality Types

This is a great new way of discovering your personality type. And if I had any brains I would take a patent on it, but then ...

The process

Take a Rubik's Cube.
Give it some random twists and make it a mess of colours.
Then try to solve it

a) If you could not be bothered, then you have lost your childlike quality. This is not so bad as it seems. But then you could do better. Playing with toys can be educational you know. You are RC Type #1.

b) If you try to solve the Cube, Try it for some time and then give up. You are RC Type #2. You give up too soon.

c) If you have managed to get one side to have one colour, you are obviously thrilled. You then try to solve the complete puzzle. It is becoming more and more frustrating. You give up, satisfied that you could manage at least one side. And if you had some more time you could definitely manage the full cube. You are RC Type #3. You start off well but lack the killer instinct to see a solution through. Also, you are satisfied with local solutions and do not global solutions.

d) If you have been trying to solve the cube for the last so many years. It has eluded all your attempts. Irrespective of that you keep trying (whenever you have time, that is), you are great tryer. You are RC Type #4. You have the patience and perseverance that is so important to attain success in real life too.

e) You have cracked the puzzle. You must be good. It took you some time and needed some help, but you did it in the end. Congratulations! You are a natural problem solver. Success comes to you naturally. Or you are a mathematician! In any case you are RC Type #5. Go on to Kaleidoscope now.

What?
You have never tried a Rubik's Cube?
Go running to the nearest toy shop or order it on the Amazon.
And if you have kids, remember to get one for yourself!

Use the above categorization at your risk :-)

The picture used here belongs to Sarah Williams. Please visit her gallery to see more such pictures.

Create a Web Page and Earn Money

I am not sure if I am fortunate or unfortunate to have discovered the Internet so late in life.

By discover I don't mean Google Search. I mean contributing, like blogging and modifying Wikipedia entries (I have contributed only once, but that alone kept me going for some days!).
Unfortunate because of those wasted years when I could have done a lot more.
Fortunate because it feels nice to be pleasantly surprised at this age.

In this series of pleasant surprises is what goes by the name Squidoo (clearly inspired by Scooby doo, no?).

You always wanted to blog but did not have enough time or material.
You have the material and time for blogging but do not like the appearance of a blog.
"I don't want to write a diary, I want a web page", is this what you have been telling yourself all this while?
You have a blog but you are not getting enough traffic yet. Not even when you tried my techniques of generating traffic?

Well here's your answer.

Squidoo lets you create a web page. They call it a lens, it still is a page.
You are passionate about a subject and you want to tell the world about it. Go ahead and create a page, er.. lens.
You are passionate about many subjects - totally different from each other, go ahead and create as many lens as you wish to.
The whole process is menu driven and you just fill in the forms and get a fantastic page.
You can even drive traffic to your lens, if you wish to.
The only limit is you and your creativity
And the best part it is FREE.

It is fairly easy and I took about 15 minutes to understand enough to be able to create a lens for myself. Have a look at my lens on Just Books Just For You.
Let me know if you like it.
I am so excited about it that I think I will create a few more.
Or lots more.
Just to increase my web-footprint.

And what about earning money?

They put up advertisements on the lens and you get a paid (royalty). A part of the revenue goes to charity.
If you are squeemish about earning money from the Internet, then you can donate the entire amount to an organization of your choice.

Cool! Try it!


Note: The picture used here belongs to Ilker. To see more such images see gallery.

When We Die

Just coming from my friend's house. His mother died last evening. She was old, but then mothers never become old.

Just before she died, my friend told, that she cried a little.

Do we know moments before that we are dying? I think we do. It is not like we are a machine that is just switched off. The brain must be getting enough signals to know that the end is near. It is just that we have not trained our mind enough to pick up the signals long before the actual event.

But why did my friend's mother cry? Is it because she did not want to leave her loved ones behind? Or was it just physical pain? We will never know.

I will know when I die. I will definitely miss earth. It is such a beautiful place. Unfortunately I will not be able to blog my experience.

I wish we were given one last chance, just after the physical death. The mystery of death would then be solved for ever.

I don't think my mind is here. This blog is so incoherent.

Note: This picture belongs to Mateusz Stachowski. See gallery for more such pictures.

Cycling, Education and Tender Coconut

Please do me a favour. Pass this post to some you know who needs education ...

While in Bangalore, if you happen to see a person with a laptop on his back and a maroon helmet, on a Trek3700 pedaling furiously on the Old Airport Road, please

• do not show off your driving skills by brushing past him - there is enough space on the road for all of us
• do not honk as you approach him - he is not deaf and definitely not suicidal
• do not stare at him - haven't you see cyclists with helmet before? Besides, it is impolite to stare
• do not drive on the wrong side of the road, even if it is early morning and the traffic police is not around - that causes accidents and just goes to show that you are a moron
• do not look out only for bigger vehicles while crossing the road - cycles have mass too and can travel at high speeds
• and definitely do not knock him down - that will be the end of this blog.

This rant is not aimed at anyone specific. Rather a sort of open letter to some characters I have the misfortune of encountering on Bangalore roads as I commute to office (unfortunately, the commuting is not as frequent as I wish to).

And to my regular readers and occasional visitors - the more decent human beings on this planet (any one reading my blog has to be one :-)) - please find out means of reducing your carbon footprint. I am not sure about the global warming bit, but am surely concerned about the impact of pollution on health.

Here are some ways ...

• Walk to your nearest grocery store: it will only take you a few extra minutes.
• If you have to use your vehicle, plan so that the path taken is optimum (the shortest path may not always be the fastest).
• Declare at least one day per month, if not one day every weekend, a car/motorbike-free day.
• Teach your children, if you have one or whenever you have one, to enjoy cycling. Buy them good, smart looking bikes.

And, of yes, patronize your local tender coconut seller. He is a life saver for us cyclists.

Note: The picture used here belongs to Svetlana Maksimovic. To see more of her photographs visit her gallery.

The picture of the tender coconut belongs to Manu M. Go to his gallery to see more pictures.

Did Credit Crunch Claim Satyam?

Satyam is imploding as I type out this blog.
The chairman of Satyam Computers has resigned. In his letter to the board of directors he has confessed that the balance sheet was inflated.
Consider this ...
In the September (Q2) 2008, the balance sheet showed an operating margin of 24% as against merely 3% of the revenues. The balance sheet shows an accrued interest of Rs 376 crores, which is non-existent.
In his letter, the chairman says "it was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten."
Breaking news on all channels indicate that all major clients are washing their hands off Satyam. They are terminating their services.
So, why was this disclosure made now? Is it just because "tremendous burden I am carrying on my conscience" as stated in the letter? Or do you think this is a domino effect of the aborted Maytas deal?
Actually it is nothing of that sort. And this is my understanding ... though I cannot prove it.
Scams operate well when there is plenty of cash around; when banks are more than willing to part with cash where ever they see profit coming in. But when cash is tight and the banks are less than willing to provide loans, the bottom falls off and scams are exposed. Case in point: Madoff and his Ponzi scheme.
And I bet that if every thing was fine and there was no cash crisis this would have gone for a very long time.
Watch out for this space. If the credit crisis prolongs you will see more such skeletons tumbling out.
So in a way such crisis is good. It has a purgatory effect on a system. Rotten apples are exposed and that actually helps the system overall in long run.
And if you see an expert telling you that credit crisis was the reason behind the Satyam implosion, remember you read it here first!

Question: Who are their accountants?

Note: The picture used here belongs to Tory Byrne. To see more pictures, visit her gallery.

Let's Learn German Together - Lesson 12

German stations are like shopping malls. The platform itself does not have much life - unlike Indian platforms, which at any given time of the day is bristling with vivacity. But once you come down to the main concourse, you can see all sorts of establishments and shops - selling insurance, books, magazines, food, meat (meat?), and in some cases fur-covered handcuffs (hmm...)

***

You get down at the Bremen station. It is now evening. You drag your luggage to the help desk.

You: "Entschuldigen Sie!" (Excuse me! Ent-shool-dig-en zee!)

The person at the help desk has buried her head deep into a novel. She raises her head ... where was she all your life? ... Such angelic beauty ...

She: "Wie kann ich für Sie tun?" (What can I do for you? V cann ish fuer zee toon?)

Wake up!

You: "Wie komme ich zum Hotel Atlanta?" (How can I go to hotel Atlanta? V commay ish tsum Ho-tail Aatlaanta?)

She: (with a smile - oh! what a smile) "Dort drüben sind die S-bahn. Die nummer elf geht zum Hotel Atlanta. Oder, Sie kann das Taxi nehmen. Gehen Sie links, dann geradeaus und dann rechts. Die Taxis steht dort.  Das Hotel ist gegenüber der Flughafen."

(Over there are the trams. The number 11 goes to the hotal Atlanta. Or, you can take the taxi. Go to your left, then straight on and then right. The taxis are there. The hotel is opposite the Airport. Dort drue-ben zint dee s-baan. Dee nummer elf gay-t tsum Ho-tail Aatlaanta. Oder, zee cann dass taaxi nay-men. Gay-hen zee links, dann geraadaa-aus oont dann rekhts. Dee taaxis stay-t dort. Dass ho-tail ist gaygen-uber dair fluk-haafen.)

You: "Danke sehr." (Thank you very much. Daankay zay-r)

She: "Bitte sehr." (You are welcome. Bittay zay-r)

And she dives right back into whatever she was reading. You wish you had something else to ask.

You do not feel like taking the tram after a long, tiring journey. You go to the taxi rank and go to the hotel.

Interesting Points

1) To ask where to go somewhere, the Germans always ask how do I come there. Wie komme ich ...

2) Links = left; Rechts = right. Easy to remember (l, r).

Exercise

Instead of attempting something new, why don't you revisit all the previous classes? It is always good to revise. 

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To see all the german lessons on one page click here =>