Blog Post #71 - Triangles and Circle of Life – Math fascination

1. Triangles in movies

2. Math refresher on triangles

3.Triangles in religion

   - 3a .  How the hindus relate om to triangles

  -  3b.   What is the meaning of Srichakra (or sriyantra)

   - 3c.    Ancients and Triangles

  -  3d.   Start of David Jews and Triangles

  -  3e    Christianity and Triangles

  -  3f      Islam and Triangle

4 Bermuda Triangle

How do we communicate to a tiny satellite in space and get pictures back to us ?

Religions love triangles - have you seen them?

Can the words you speak create triangles?

What does your GPS have to do with triangles?

The other day my friends daughter showed me this picture and asked find ‘x’.

Anjali's Question

Before I answered I thought I will collect all my thoughts about triangle and post (for the sake of mankind womenkind and be kind!)

1. Triangles in movies

I was thinking about movies and triangle love stories. As a professional movie goer and watcher of magic on screen I am a self declared expert in triangle love stories - 

2 heros 1 heroine - kill one hero or make him a swamiji (no premananda                                    nithyananda style but a real one like Osho?)

2 heros 1 heroine - get an extra heroine in the middle of the story or  twin                                   sister

1 hero   2 heroines - let them marry (hi - Rajini movie veera and other 2                                          wife/lover movies)

1 hero   2 heroines - obvious kill 1 heroine at the hands of the villain

1 hero   2 heroines - ask her to die while delivering a baby which the hero and                               heroine will raise and name her the dead heroine name                                 making this a movie worth a sequel

1 hero   2 heroines - introduce a brother or twin brother 

Always remember triangle love can be solved not the math Trigonometry problem though!! (What is trigonometry? - answer below) 

2. Math refresher on triangles

My red marker showed the answer and she was disappointed as I was supposed to say 5!. If she had marked this on any shaped other than a triangle I would have tried to calculate. The problem is - i have already read this question and lot more useless stuff about triangles and how we over analyze triangles for what it may or may not be! Let the journey begin on these knowledge....  

Basics

(From  http://home.avvanta.com/~math/triangles.html) 

Right angled triangle: Has one 90 degree angle 

Equilateral triangle: All angles are the same (60 degrees)

Isosceles triangle: Has two angles the same and two sides the same

Scalene triangle: Has all three angles and all three sides different

Obtuse triangle: Has one obtuse angle, greater than 90 degrees

The sum of all angles in a triangle is ___________ degrees. 

Answer = 180

Right Isosceles Triangle

Has a right angle (90°), and also two equal angles

Can you guess what the equal angles are? (from http://www.mathsisfun.com/triangle.html) 

Another way to remember

Equilateral - all 3 sides equal

Isosceles - 2 sides equal

Scalene - nothing is equal

Triangles can also have names that tell you what type of angle is inside:

Acute Triangle - all 3 sides have angles less than 90

Right Triangle-Has a right angle (90°)

Obtuse Triangle- Has an angle more than 90°

Right angle triangle form the basis of much useful and much dreaded field of Trigonometry.

How will you send instructions to satellites taking pictures of saturn from earth - use trigonometry. Out in the space the tiny spacecraft can be located anytime from earth using the magic of triangles. You can run but can't hide - I meant from trigonometry. Here are some more info from Wikipedia

Trigonometry (from Greek trigōnon, "triangle" + metron, "measure") is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships involving lengths and angles of triangles.

The field emerged during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies.
The 3rd-century astronomers first noted that the lengths of the sides of a right-angle triangle and the angles between those sides have fixed relationships: that is, if at least the length of one side and the value of one angle is known, then all other angles and lengths can be determined algorithmically.
These calculations soon came to be defined as the trigonometric functions and today are pervasive in both pure and applied mathematics: fundamental methods of analysis such as the Fourier transform, for example, or the wave equation, use trigonometric functions to understand cyclical phenomena across many applications in fields as diverse as physics, mechanical and electrical engineering, music and acoustics, astronomy, ecology, and biology.

Trigonometry is also the foundation of the practical art of surveying.
Trigonometry is most simply associated with planar right-angle triangles (each of which is a two-dimensional triangle with one angle equal to 90 degrees). The applicability to non-right-angle triangles exists, but, since any non-right-angle triangle (on a flat plane) can be bisected to create two right-angle triangles, most problems can be reduced to calculations on right-angle triangles. Thus the majority of applications relate to right-angle triangles. 

Triangles in religion

3a - How the hindus relate om to triangles

My obsession with triangles started a long time ago and specifically with Srichakra.

My house always had this - srichakra and that and that is = Kubera kolam 

Magic square - all squares add to 72 .

7+2 =9 to start with sounds good for a number associated with money but let us turn to science for fun (what else will be turn science for? we use powerful iphones and samsungs which are more powerful than computers that sent man to moon to play angry birds!)

According to wikipedia

In degrees Fahrenheit considered to be room temperature.
The average number of heartbeats per minute for a resting adult.
Percentage of water of which the human body is composed.
The life duration of the ovule is 72 hours.

The axis of the earth moves of one degree every 72 years compared to stars and to the vault of heaven.

Me being a hindu (Whatever it means – the religion was supposed to be Sanatana Dharma now they made this word sound like the hardcode militant hindus instead of the religion- another post later) one of the first places I observe this is in srichakram.

Dr Jenny invented a machine called a Tonoscope which allowed a human voice to vibrate the plate directly.  He had a voice sing 'OM' into a microphone and the result can be seen in mandala image . (according to http://www.unitedearth.com.au/sound.html)

Om Sound creates this image!!!!

 This mean when you say 'Om' you create triangles in sound waves whose final vibrations produce the image above!!!

3b - What is the meaning of Srichakra (or sriyantra)

Inside Homes

Outside Temple 

Cool 3D 

Four isosceles triangles with the apices upwards, representing Shiva or the Masculine.
Five isosceles triangles with the apices downward, symbolizing female embodiment Shakti.

Total 9 triangles

4 up 5 down but looking symmetrical forming 43 triangles

If number of triangles pointing up and down are equal then there is no fun (4 and 4 or 5 and 5) - Balanced means static.

It has 4 for male and 5 for female Imbalance makes this yantra dynamic.
Bindu is the center which is Jive(self),Soul,Spirit or atma (which reminds me of this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcCzEuNqD6g )


Great Ramana Maharishi pointed to srichakra as a symbol of how mind must be brought back using boundaries.  Adi Shankara wrote Soundarya lahari in which he describes how to create and workshop goddess in this shape. According to Shankara goddess is Srichakra and Sri Chakra is the goddess.

The five downward pointing triangles are Shakti triangles representing senses

SoundSightSmell
TasteTouch

Five sense organs

EarSkinEyesTongueNose

Five Organs of action

HandFeetMouthGenitalsAnus

Five Elements of body

SkinNerveFatBonesFlesh

Upward triangles are Shiva triangles or male energy

Being – ChittaBuddi  IntellectEgo  - AhamkarManas – Mind

Now it makes sense to have people brought back to earth – I told you women are always down to earth!!!

3c- Ancients and Triangles


According to ancient beliefs, an upright equilateral triangle, with one point at the top and two at the base, is a male and solar symbol representing spirit, divinity, fire, life, prosperity and harmony. In contrast, the reversed triangle is female and lunar, representing mother earth, water, rain and grace. 
(Sound familiar male and female theory - Ancients were everywhere the babylonians, mesopotamians, indus folks,greek ,romans and native tribes)
In magic it was seen as representing the element fire (with a downward meaning water)

3d - Star of David Jews and Triangles

When upright and downward triangles are put together, they form the Star of David and symbolize balance and knowledge. 

3e - Christianity and Triangles



Christianity's basic philosophy involves trinity . The God The Son and The Hold Spirit. To represent this concept the following symbol is used thus giving rise to an equilateral triangle. 

3f Islam and Triangle
(According to http://www.salaam.co.uk/themeofthemonth/march02_index.php?l=3) 

In islam - the circle, and its centre, are the point at which all Islamic patterns begin and is an apt symbol of a religion that emphasizes one God, symbolising also, the role of Mecca, the center of Islam, toward which all Muslims face in prayer.
The circle has always been regarded as a symbol of eternity, without being and without end, and is not only the perfect expression of justice-equality in all directions in a finite domain--but also the most beautiful parent of all polygons, both containing and underlying them.

From the circle comes three fundamental figures in Islamic art-
the triangle, square and hexagon.

The triangle by tradition is symbolic of human consciousness and the principle of harmony. The square, the symbol of physical experience and the physical world-or materiality-and the hexagon, of Heaven. Another symbol prevalent in Islamic art is the star and has been the chosen motif for many Islamic decorations. In Islamic iconography the star is a regular geometric shape that symbolizes equal radiation in all directions from a central point. All regular stars -- whether they have 6, 8, 10, 12, or 16 points -- are created by a division of a circle into equal parts. The center of the star is center of the circle from which it came, and its points touch the circumference of the circle. The rays of a star reach out in all directions, making the star a fitting symbol for the spread of Islam.

  



4. Bermuda Triangle

I am not planning to use this post and say I have cracked the mystery of bermuda triangle even though there is a program in netflix which claims to have done it and is in my instant queue to watch. This dreaded triangle has fascinated humans and the lots of people and property have been lost. While the scientist will uncover what Newton and Einstein didn't let's not forget all triangles are not friendly to humans!

Time to stop this post and start using triangles in visio and other microsoft tools.

Triangles are everywhere .. keep looking upward,sideward and onward.

Keep Learning

Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #69 - The Ancient Hindus,Buddhist and Jains were thinking about nothing!

Do you exist?  - Most of us do. Some of us live.

When I asked a colleague what he did last weekend he said ‘nothing’. Nothing?

Do you do nothing?

What is nothing?

The interesting fact is you cannot experience nothing but you can recollect ‘nothing’.

What you did last Tuesday evening 2-3 may be nothing unless there is something interesting that happened. 

 Really , your outlook said you had a meeting or you picked your kid from school, how about 11:40 to 12:15?

You take nothing. You leave something. You exist. Then you don’t exist.

Here are a few different versions from Hindu, Buddhist and Jain philosophy .

Nothing or something:

Abhava means Nothing.  Before Abhava there has to be something or else what is the nothingness pointing to. Bhava means becoming,existing or appearing.

There or not there?

According to Hegarty, the paradox of nihilism is "that the absence of meaning seems to be some sort of meaning

Real or not?

Bhava can be classified as real. Abhava as Unreal.

Contains  or not

For anything to exist it must have

1.      Substance – Dravya – does it have something = mass?

2.      Quality – Guna - does it have any feature ?

3.      Action – Karma- does it do something? Does it move? Does it fly?

4.      Community or Generality – Samanya  - does it belong to a community or can it be feneralized?

5.      Vinesa – Particularity – does it have anything particular to mention?

6.      Inheritance – Samavaya – does it inherit anything from any other thing?

What kind of nothing

1.      Pragabhava i.e. Prior non-existence – house built from brick. Before the bricks were layered out there was no house. After laying the brick voila there is house that means house didn’t exist earlier. Cloth before the cotton is woven.

2.      Pradhvamsabhava i.e. Posterior non-existence  - break a jar you will never get the same jar with the same property.

3.      Atyantabhava i.e. Absolute non-existence  - Never existed – Child of a barren women

4.      Anyonyabhava i.e. Mutual non-existence – this and that cannot exist – Water and ice from the same water/ice body

To exist means

An imaginary idea to explain what it will be like without the existence of a thing.

About 50-60billion died in planet earth most left nothing (the number is according to Sir. Ken Robinson and he said in a tedtalk people who calculated these numbers might have low social life).

Are you ready to do something now.

The next time when you say I did nothing think what 'nothing' from this list of nothingness.

Go do it.

Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #68 - 1=2 How did that happen?

My elder son Arnav has taught my younger one Arush to answer 1 and 2 as the answer to any question .

I am still not sure how Arush knows when he is asked question it is a math question and as I mentioned earlier I have smart kid (this time I am referring to my  2 year old). 

Arnav would ask what is 1+1 Arush will say 2.Arnav will ask 1-1 Arush will say 2. 
I used to ask Arnav what is 0+0 and why is it not 2 zeros which means 2=0 .

Can these be proved mathemtically to show that Iam intelligent and so are my kids.

By the way QED at the end of any proof or theorem means quod erat demonstrandum which means  "which had to be demonstrated". I took pains to prove it - Hence proved is what it means. 

Sometime ago I was asked if I remember how 1=2 worked? Interesting. I thought I might have forgotten but apparently not.

Let                                                            a = b

Multiply by a on both sides                           a ² = ab

Subtract b2  from both sides                         a ²- b ² = ab- b ²

Rewrite a ²- b ² in i  in terms of (a-b)             (a-b)(a+b) = b(a-b)

Cancel out a-b from both sides                      a+b = b

Remember a=b so make a as b                      b+b = b

Now  do the simple addition                          2b = b

Divide by b                                                  2 = 1

QED

Now that we know we can make 2=1 why not also make 2=0 ?


Let                                                   a=b (why not ...let them be the same)
Square                                                          a ² = b ²
Take b ² from both sides                                  a ² - b ²=0 
Rewrite                                                         (a+b)(a-b) = 0
Divide by (a-b)                                               (a+b) = 0
So                                                                  2b = 0 
Divide by b on both sides                                  2 = 0

QED


What went wrong on both these proves?

Keep wondering
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #67 -Remembering self and Experiencing Self Cognitive traps and Happiness - Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman

Ever Since I read the book 'Thinking Fast and Slow' and watched Daniel Kahneman speak about the Remembering and Experiencing self  - I am trying to understand more on this subject.

 I am not going to call him Danny and make it sound like I am friends with him..although most of my friends explain all theories from relativity to radioactivity with ease except the subject of psychology which is  a tricky one.


Experiencing self is all about now. It tries to answer the question "Are you happy in your life?"

Remembering self is all about reflection/summary. It tries to answer the question "Are you happy with your life?

When the doctor touches a part and asks "Does it hurt now?" - the experiencing self answers the question.
When the doctor asks "Does it hurt in this part for the last few days?" - the remembering self jumps in to answer.

When you take a vacation of 2 weeks if both weeks are similar, the experiencing self doesn't care. It likes the extended vacation.

The remembering self wants something different to store and unless they are different it will treat it as a 1 week vacation. Also when someone asks "How was your vacation?" the remembering self will check against all your previous vacation,stack rank and explain how it was.

It is also critical how an event ends. In a vacation the lost luggage ruins the whole thing.

In a Opera - forget that example -for most readers this one quoted by Kahneman doesn't hold good but let's substitute opera with Basket Ball game.

If the last few minutes were not as enjoyable as the rest of the game - your kid was cranky,your spouse was cranky or you were cranky because your spouse and kid were cranky - it does't matter to the remembering self  . 
It will store the whole experience as unpleasant. 

Well begun may be half done for experiencing self,
Well finished is critical to storing a pleasurable experience for remembering self.

If you live in a cold weather the experiencing self doesn't care. The remembering self will store this information.

Remembering self loves to store more negative information than positive as our brain is wired to place more importance to negative stuff for survival.

How was your experience reading this post? 
What do you remember from this post?

Keep learning
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #66 -Energy sources - what powers you

My son Arnav asked me why we eat "Iron" . 

I was curious why he was asking this question.

I can't imagine myself eating Iron .. and he showed the chex mix pack nutrition contents( So you know my style of writing always saying my son asked this and asked that- there is only one special kid and that is always your kid and if you have more than one it is the one you are talking about that  time that is most special!)

So this post about is about how we landed up eating Iron?


You are a furnace with limited capacity to store and an ever burning fire inside the belly.

A Famous tamil poet Pattinathar talks about how in Hindu Mythology Hanuman placed fire in Sri lanka and other famous fire and concludes the fire your mom placed is in your tummy.

What does your tummy need? 

For your body to function you need energy. 

You eat food in large quantities called Macronutrients = Carbohydrate,Protein and Fats .
All stuff is broken to sugar which is burnt using oxygen to give energy. 

What is energy? Anything that lets you do anything you want ( So boring but profound).

Your body needs ATP and ADP which is chemically energy.

ATP is the energy molecule that gives energy to the cells, while ADP has one less phosphate group and contains more potential energy because more bonds could be broken. 

ATP is the energy that powers your body ADP is what is left after the energy is released -- and AMP (adenosine mono-phosphate) is the result after ADP releases its energy.

There you go. ADP,AMP and ATP - Do you really care? You should as what gets left is what is in your body (around the belly)

CARBOHYDRATES 

• Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of fuel.
• Carbohydrates are easily used by the body for energy.
• All of the tissues and cells in our body can use glucose for energy.
• Carbohydrates are needed for the central nervous system, the kidneys, the brain, the muscles (including the heart) to function properly.
• Carbohydrates can be stored in the muscles and liver and later used for energy.
• Carbohydrates are important in intestinal health and waste elimination.
• Carbohydrates are mainly found in starchy foods (like grain and potatoes), fruits, milk, and yogurt. Other foods like vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and cottage cheese contain carbohydrates, but in lesser amounts.

Fiber refers to certain types of carbohydrates that our body cannot digest. These carbohydrates pass through the intestinal tract intact and help to move waste out of the body. Diets that are low in fiber have been shown to cause problems such as constipation and hemorrhoids and to increase the risk for certain types of cancers such as colon cancer. Diets high in fiber; however, have been shown to decrease risks for heart disease, obesity, and they help lower cholesterol. Foods high in fiber include fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products.

 PROTEIN 

We need protein for:

• Growth (especially important for children, teens, and pregnant women)
• Tissue repair
• Immune function
• Making essential hormones and enzymes
• Energy when carbohydrate is not available
• Preserving lean muscle mass

Protein is found in meats, poultry, fish, meat substitutes, cheese, milk, nuts, legumes, and in smaller quantities in starchy foods and vegetables.
When we eat these types of foods, our body breaks down the protein that they contain into amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). Some amino acids are essential which means that we need to get them from our diet, and others are nonessential which means that our body can make them. Protein that comes from animal sources contains all of the essential amino acids that we need. Plant sources of protein, on the other hand, do not contain all of the essential amino acids.

(according to Mckinley Health Care http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/macronutrients.htm)


FAT 
Although fats have received a bad reputation for causing weight gain, some fat is essential for survival. According to the Dietary Reference Intakes published by the USDA 20% - 35% of calories should come from fat. We need this amount of fat for:

• Normal growth and development
• Energy (fat is the most concentrated source of energy)
• Absorbing certain vitamins ( like vitamins A, D, E, K, and carotenoids)
• Providing cushioning for the organs
• Maintaining cell membranes
• Providing taste, consistency, and stability to foods

Fat is found in meat, poultry, nuts, milk products, butters and margarines, oils, lard, fish, grain products and salad dressings. There are three main types of fat, saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and trans fat. Saturated fat (found in foods like meat, butter, lard, and cream) and trans fat (found in baked goods, snack foods, fried foods, and margarines) have been shown to increase your risk for heart disease. Replacing saturated and trans fat in your diet with unsaturated fat (found in foods like olive oil, avocados, nuts, and canola oil) has been shown decrease the risk of developing heart disease.



 Micro Nutrients 


Water, Minerals and Vitamins.


From WHO website - Micro nutrients are called micro nutrients because they are needed only in minuscule amounts, these substances are the “magic wands” that enable the body to produce enzymes, hormones and other substances essential for proper growth and development. 

As tiny as the amounts are, however, the consequences of their absence are severe. Iodine, vitamin A and iron are most important in global public health terms; their lack represents a major threat to the health and development of populations the world over

Anti-Oxidants 

When you leave an apple exposed to the air, it turns brown. The damage to the apple is caused by oxygen in the air, and is called oxidation. A substance that can reduce oxidation is called an antioxidant. Antioxidants are said to help your body repair cells and may even reduce the effect of aging. Common antioxidants are nutrients like B vitamins including Beta Carotene, Vitamins C and E and selenium. Foods like grape seed extract and pomegranate juice are high in antioxidants. Antioxidants may be taken as supplements or ingested as food. Most experts believe that getting antioxidants from food is the most healthful way to obtain them.

If wealth is lost nothing is lost, Health is lost something is lost and if character is lost everything is lost 

So what do you plan to do with a healthy body?

Keep eating
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #65 - Money - Wealth and Rich

I came across this topic again today so I thought I should write about it.

My friend Suresh Mentioned Chris Rock and his talk show where Chris says 

'Shaq is rich. The white man who signs his check … is wealthy. "Ah, here you go, Shaq. Go buy yourself a bouncing car. Bling, bling!"

Shaq is a millionaire getting his millions from Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss who is wealthy.

Last 2 spring breaks we were touring US Bureau of Engraving where they make real paper money(real and paper?)

Paper money is made in Fort Worth and in Washington D.C. 

Mint in Pennsylvania makes the change/coins.

The joke that was mentioned in the Forth worth facility during our tour was 'People sometimes make 54 million dollars in 1 hour with high school education'. .. I guess even Ivy league students and Hedge fund owners don't..

It's a printer's job..

My friend Anup gave me this book - Hackers and Painters . I will be quoting from this book for sometime now.. (atleast next couple of posts)

The first revelation the book had on me - everything around you is a computer. Programmers rule this world. Your newspaper is gone.

Your car is now a computer.

Your books are now in e-readers.

I was watching a ted talk - Bill gates has hired hackers who are good in hacking ssl and other complex systems to hack mosquito life cycle. Watch Paul Pablos Holman here 

The geek employing nerds to kill mosquito .. The world is now seen as feedback lifecycles,systems and feedback mechanisms. What does this have to do with Rich and wealthy?

Paul Graham author of Hackers and Painters explains the difference.. very clearly. People think making money is their primary objective.We study for it - from 6 years to 21/30 years about 15 to 24 years. We are supposed to use this knowledge and every other knowledge we acquire on the way to acquire money. Making money is not wealth.

Money is supposed to provide you with 'Time' and 'Comfort'. 

If you are in Antarctica or middle of ocean or in s desert or in outer space (or in parts of texas lie Lubbock where I lived for 3 months!) money wont get you anything. You need wealth. You want to be not Rich with money but wealthy with what you 'need'. 

Money is anything that is commonly accepted by a group of people for the exchange of goods, services, or resources. - according to about.com

Imagine a world without money - you won't. Imagine a world with lots of money and lots of  money only with you. Remember you being rich means others need to be poor. It is a zero sum game. If not what is the point of being rich. Think. Do you want everyone to be rich?

If everyone is rich then everyone gets to enjoy the same comforts.

Physical comforts - nice house,car/transportation,technology,medical facility access

Mental comfort - time to use whatever you want to use it for and the peace of mind to do the same (not to worry about any physical comfort)

We are know the richest men never carried wealth with them when they died. 

I don't know many rich women who died so I won't quote them here.

Wealthy people are not the people we see in nice cars if they are still running behind making money.

If you can choose to do what you want to do and have the means to do the same then you are wealthy. If money stops you at anytime from pursuing this task then you are not wealthy.

Are you wealthy? 

Do you want to be rich?

What is money according to you? - Is it a means or it is an end. If it is a means what does it mean to you?

Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #64 - Winning ,Losing - Lying and Cheating

It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” 
― George Washington


When we were  in the chess tournament last Saturday,Jan 25th 2014 a parent stopped by Arnav and said it is not Winning or Losing that matters. What does matter is you enjoy the game.

I was thinking - really?
My Philosophy has been win the damn thing. Whether you like it or not. Once a slacker always a slacker. There are no points worth showing for not winning. You get valuable lessons but they are useless unless you use those to win. The point is to Win.

The takeaway I have from life and books is all about winners. Winners get Medals,Trophy,bigger paycheck,higher degrees,peaceful life,trophy spouse(not to be confused with trophies) and a Flat tummy.

What?

Yes.  A Flat Tummy. Majority of People high in hierarchy in society have healthy life and a flat tummy. Lower income people and people with stress at the bottom of the food chain eat poorly work mundane stuff and get bigger tummy. (Don't guess my tummy size!..just read the blog)

Three researches - one from UK from department of labor, a Stanford university professor's research in Savannah - the wild wild african sub sahara and lab experiments in research facility (google for or watch 'stress the silent killer' in netflix) have confirmed this theory. Alpha characters get more dopamine more endorphin  more testosterone (needed for both male and female primates and humans) and keeps them healthy and stress free.

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” 
― Friedrich Nietzsche


When I was on an assignment to Mumbai in 2003 I met a VP in GTL Navi Mumbai and asked him how come he was slim trim and smiling while we had tight deadlines and his company was bound by contract to deliver. He said oh. That is because I take the work and delegate tension to lower level employees . So true. You don't need UK labor dept,primates and Stanford to confirm the theory about healthy life in top and bottom of food chain.

Bottom line - next time when you are in an all hands in an office meeting, when you see a presidential candidate (forget vice presidential candidates) in US, National figures in any country,International leaders in UN - most have a healthy chemical mix in their body to regulate . Exceptions are not the rules.

Check the picture below

Life is not fair - a friends daughter once said "It's not fair".

My friend and myself said - who said life has to be fair?
Most of us like to win. Kids cry when they lose. Adults do too.

As a race(human race) we like to win.
The secret is to redefine success. Lost an interview. Add score to persistence.
Didn't get a good performance review - attend a Dale Carnegie course.

The fear for most of us should be not to die with a song in the heart.

Henry David Thoreau quote — 'Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

Hey The quotes are always for men not for women don't ask me and go get planchet or ouija board and talk to his ghost. Here is how one of those boards look





I observed a child cheat in chess today. I asked him to correct it (as my son would have lost if I didn't). We like to win at all cost. Not just that child but all of us.

Is it acceptable to cheat?
It is acceptable to Lie?

If I opened your linked in profile and look - did you do all the stuff that you said you did? Save the company money,get your country out of recession and save the lady,dog and her cat while fixing her issue (Brand loyalty stuff).

Think twice? We all have a limit of what is acceptable lie and not acceptable lie?

Did you have affair with that lady? The answer still resonates even after Clinton left office around the globe. People don't like when other people lie. But do they like when they lie?

What did you tell your manager when you were late? What did you tell you spouse when you didn't get the stuff that you promise you will do? What did you tell your child why she can't have that toy?

I sometimes hear parents says we don't have money so we wont buy the toy. Really?
I tell my kid we are rich and have lots of money and I choose not to give you money to buy this silly toy. He learned the lesson.

While we were in the chess tournament another chess coach approached Arnav and asked him to stop bragging about his 3 consecutive wins  and asked if he wants to be coached for a fee.

Since the coach who asked this was a desi software background guy you can assume he was as rich as most of us and he was just kidding. My son turned around and said 'Play with me. I have lots of money more than 200,000 and I won't give you any of that to teach me". I was impressed. That's how rich people are - have a lot and don't want to give any.

Sometimes kids learn stuff quick and practice while I think thrice to give $1 to the homeless fearing and arguing why how he might use this money and letting him know that I don't have 'change'. I am not sure if I can change but I hope to raise my kids (both of them) more honest than me.

Research points out that some lying to ourselves is necessary. Top sportsmen ,lawyers and other professional keep motivating themselves by claiming they are the best (to themselves). What was observed in brain scans was they have more gray matter .

Here is a fact - for a kid(or a kid in you) to lie - you need to know the truth and the lie. Now you need to cover up the lie with more lies. So in effect you need 2 tracks to be maintained in the brain. Top swimmers even if they are of same or equal fitness lie to themselves they are better than the other swimmer even while observing the other swimmer swim better than them. It helps the swimmer to cheat/lie to themselves that they are good and really better than the other player and it lets them wins.

With superbowl around the corner watch the offense and defense from both the teams and in Super Bowl XLVIII if you see Peyton Manning throw duck - observe his response. He might blame the wind.
Gone with the wind!!!

“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” 
― Mark Twain

What do you think about winning ?Do share your thoughts.

Go win
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #63 - Passwords - cyber security accounts locked, Open and compromised

I was in a website yesterday and was appalled by rules for Password.
What do they want for a password - The password you entered is not valid

• It must contain between 8 and 32 characters. Use only characters from the following set: ! # $ % & ( ) * + , - . / 0123456789 : ; < = > ? @ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ [ \ ] _ ` abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz { | } ~

• It must contain at least 1 lowercase letter(s) (abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz).

• It must contain at least 1 capital letter(s) (ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ).

• It must contain at least 1 numeric character(s) (0123456789).

• It must contain at least 1 character(s) from the following set: ! # $ % & ( ) * + , - . / : ; < = > ? @ [ \ ] _ ` { | } ~

• It must not contain more than 2 identical consecutive characters (AAA, iiii, $$$$$ ...).

• It must not contain your user name.

• It must not contain your first name.

• It must not contain your last name

In the name of cyber security we need to understand every website and theiri rules for password. 

You use them every day from the computer to your mobile(if you don't have a password/pattern to protect your mobile or tablet please do it soon) 

Google has some rules for all of us at https://www.google.com/goodtoknow/online-safety/passwords/

Retrieval
Once you set up a password there should be a mechanism to retrieve it - 
accounts will try to send an email or text to your mobile phone.


Some tips from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/technology/personaltech/how-to-devise-passwords-that-drive-hackers-away.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

talks about how retrieval challenge questions needs to be handled. If the challenge question is where are you born - your answer can be "I eat rice" (which I do). Unrelated answers avoids you getting hacked. Hotmail and Dropbox accounts were hacked using Mitt Romney's pet's name. Answering your challenging questions at set up causes you more pain. For challenging questions have challenging answers.

Where to store? - Google docs,drop box,sky drive,desktop,laptop - the answer is encrypted USB. Store passwords and challenge answers in a removable media (remove it ...don't leave it connected)

Some useful tips
Never use dictionary words
Never use a password which is People you know,like and message in facebook
Never add year of birth to your password(2 or 4 digits)
Always log out
Never store the password in chrome or IE or safari or any browser.


When you lose your laptop,phone or tablet don't lose your bank accounts and emails along with it.

What tips do you have for cyber security?

Keep Learning and be safe out there
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran