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Thursday, October 3, 2013

My Better Half

This is a story about a psychologist. This will for sure change the way you perceive.




Prologue:

                                3 Hrs from now, I will Know how good I am at practically handling the stuffs which I learned for 2 full years. Just one Personal Contact Programme (PCP) away from gaining my Masters in Psychology. The PCP had been arranged at a hospital half hour away from where I live. We; 8 students are to report at that hospital which houses 53 patients with Psychological disorders. There our hero, Professor Arivazhagan, true to the name has done remarkable counseling and solved psychology mysteries for a career spanning nearly 30 years; would assist us. All we had to do was to interact with these patients and do a case study. Yeah! We had to squeeze our brain and put all the theory into practice.

                                I was there at the Hospital with all the other students. Our professor arrived and he gave few guidelines. He cautioned us not to disturb any of the inmates and try to be as nice as possible. He also said he has assigned a patient for each of us and that he would be there with us and warned us against any unnecessary act of valor. He promised everyone will have their degree and this was the time each of us tested our own potential before going out there in the Psycho world. So for all those degree wanters; it’s just a cake walk, just spend some time and leave. But there were few others who are not those degree wanters. I was one among them I wanted to test my merit here. I was very curious and nervous. We dispersed and I went ahead and moved into the building and towards the veranda waiting to see that special person who may change the way I am. May be or May be not.

                                As I walked the veranda, I saw a man sitting on a couch in a posture you don’t normally see. His right foot was on the couch the other grounded, his right arm extended and rested on the back of the couch. He was having a mobile connected with an earphone holding with his left arm. Couch was placed just in front of a balcony and all I could see was a silhouette of him. That deserves a photograph; I was composing the whole scene on my mind as I was also a photography enthusiast. All of this convinced me to have a chat with that man. He could be a patient or a visitor or a guest. But the sole purpose of our visit was for a case study. Why not test my potential against a normal guy before I could meet the patient. Just like sharpening the axe. I thought this was a good idea and approached this man on the couch.

                                I told myself, ”Ok, now our goal is to start a conversation and extract as many information as possible. “As I walked, his face slowly started to gain focus as I could get the whole picture. He was a well built man with short well trimmed hair, long legs and broad shoulder. This is a perfect body description of a Lover boy. He wore a Tee and a faded blue slim fit jean. I noticed he wore a Brown Buckaroo leather sneaker which was shining. So he must have clean habits and organized. He had a thick hairy eyebrow, dimple and his eyes were closed. He was enjoying his music. He had a huge Walkman branded Sony Smartphone attached with the Beats audio earphone. So he should be a music freak. As I approached him I could smell the perfume of Rose. This guy must be a Casanova, I thought. So I concluded this guy should be a visitor. May be or May be not. I thought a conversation will conclude if I was right. I was next to him, but this guy never seemed to have spotted me. I cleared my throat but to no effect. Then I dropped a pen that I had in my hand. Yeah that got him. I bent to take my pen and he adjusted himself by grounding his right foot but didn't help me. As I took my pen I could see this man still extending his right arm on the couch. If a man is ready to share his place he would have given me space by moving away but he didn't. In simple words through his body language he said “Dude this is my territory, you don’t have a place here. Go away.” Now that’s a challenge for me.

                                Now this act is normal but may be or May be not. So to confirm I asked him what was the time? I was just waiting to see what he would reply and what actually he felt through his body language. And time management is another crucial factor in psycho analysis. Advancement in time is directly proportional to psychological disorders. As he removed his earphone, his eyebrow just shrunk towards his nose, He immediately gave me the time. He said “10:10”. Then his lip corner tightened and raised on one side of his face, a clear sign of contempt. Contempt is the mixture of angry and disgust; he clearly doesn't want me to be there disturbing him.  The time he said was the exact time on the wall clock above his head and in my watch.  What do I Do next? 


                              I stood there, took a piece of paper and I started writing, just some random words in the form. When he saw that he removed his right arm, crossed his legs and turned to the opposite side without uttering a word. Well now he let me sit there but didn't want me to disturb him. Then I was wondering how I would start a conversation. The phone rang, he removed the earphone. He just uttered three words “Yes… hummm… evening… ok” and then hung the phone. Now this is the gap which I thought I should use before he goes back to his listening mode. After hanging the call he was adjusting his playlist I could somehow manage to see his phone. I could see half the word there “man” followed by Track01,Track 02 and so on. That could be an artist name or just a folder name but in a jiffy I asked him “Do you know what is common in AR Rahman and Michael Jackson?” His eyebrows went up when he looked at me but still his body was facing the opposite side but there was one good news for me. For a third of a second there was a short smile on his face and then it disappeared. He asked “Why does that bother you?” as his face frowned. Well this surprise and anger may be because I am a stranger, out of nowhere asking him a question like this. But there is also a possibility that he may be surprised because he likes those artists and that he is glad to know I asked about them. And that short smile on his face before he answered confirmed me that either he wants a chat or he likes those artists and the question that I asked. So to re confirm I responded like this:

                                “There are so many musicians but there is something in these two artists that holds the fans together. I couldn't understand how they do it. I thought a music buff like you may know it.”


                                He turned his face and said “They do it for a cause”. I immediately asked “What cause?” Now he turned his whole body towards me, removed both his earphones and said “They write songs for a cause, poverty, child abuse, save the world and so on. They are not just dumping music. They have a purpose. They are divine”. Whoa! That’s a big achievement for me. I made a stranger who completely ignored me to actually speak this much. But my aim was to extract more information. So I immediately said. “Oh! So what artist’s song are you listening right now”. His face lit up, he had a smile. A genuine smile. Those wrinkles at the edge of the eyes distinguish from the fake ones that we do just to please someone. But what he replied baffled me. He smiled and said “You are smart”. I was surprised. He continued “So your PCP programme seems to be going good.” Now I was little worried as my face shrunk. He said “Weren't you told not to show your act of valor?” Now I was terrified. I was about to swallow a lump when he pointed his finger to my throat and said “Now try not to swallow that.” I couldn't, I swallowed. That happens when you feel guilty and terrified. This guy is some serious body language expert. Now I have ended up in trouble. May be or May be not.

                                He said “I am listening to Endrendrum punnagai from Alaipayuthey by AR Rahman.” I said “I am sorry”. He smiled again. His whole body was facing me. His eye was observing my eye movements. I struggled to find words. I knew he will know what I feel and he did. Just to ease me out of the embarrassment feeling I had he said “I am Zakheer,a  Clinical Psychologist  by profession.” Then I said “Sir, I am Alam, doing MSc Psychology. I have come here for the  PCP. I thought…” before I could finish he said “You are good but always have a watch on who watches you!”


                                Then I asked about his career and then we had chitchat. Well this meet wasn't a pleasing one but still I was successful. I started a conversation and I extracted information. Before we could wind up I asked him what his favorite song was. He smiled and said “the one I just said I was listening to”. I chuckled and then put this one “Can you explain, psychologically why you liked it”. He smiled and said there is a story behind that. I was very keen to know that. I asked him to share with me the story. Without any hesitation he was glad to share his small interesting story. He said “Behold! You are hearing a story from a psychologist.” I said “You said I am good but sure I will watch” and I smiled. He laughed and he started his story.

The story in the words of Zakheer.
                                                                                                                                                to be continued...

Friday, June 14, 2013

Quad Cores\Dual Cores\Single Cores in Phones. Which one to buy?

  When you buy a Desktop/Laptop its easy to choose as you first look at what is the processor? Then the OS and so on... Naturally majority will go with Intel and others AMD but you know for sure which is better. And almost all are aware of the recent processors from Intel and AMD.

  But when it comes to mobile devices all you see is the processor speed. Many claim to have higher frequency but yet they fail to deliver it when it comes to loading an application or your beloved high graphics game. For example, certain Smart Phone Manufacturers claims to have 1.2 GHz freq with Quad Core processor and they
challenge(in Marketing) the likes of HTC, Samsung, Nokia to have come with a solution half the price. Is this possible? Read on to know more...

  An important aspect of the processors in mobile device is it does more than just processing.
Processing is a broad word. In fact they have one or all of these following things

  1. 2G/3G/4G Radio.
  2. Support for higher screen resolutions
  3. Graphics
  4. Single/dual SIM Support
  5. Multimedia capabilities like capturing images/videos at high resolutions and higher frames per second


So how do you choose your phone by looking at the processors?

For that, you will have to understand the ARM Cortex series architectures and which of those architectures are powerful enough to deliver your requirement.

Check out the different arm cortex series and their processing power here: Cortex A Series

So now the processor that is running on most of the affordable Smart phones with Quad Core/Dual Core processors are of MediaTek or STEricson.

Check out the solutions from MediaTek (which powers most of low end phones with Quad & dual cores) here: MediaTek Processors

Did you notice the architectures used? That explains why it doesn't deliver on your favourite high graphics game and that it is affordable.

Check out the processors from Qualcomm used in high end Smart phones here: Qualcomm Processors

Here is a list showing the architectures used on these QUALCOMM processors: ARM architectures used in Qualcomm Processors

Did you notice the architectures used? That explains it all. QUALCOMM Snapdragons are one amongst the fastest and powerful processors around. Others include Samsung’s Exynos series processors and NVIDIA Tegra series. Intel is also jumping into mobile devices with their Atom Bay Trail processors.

I hope this explains you how to choose smart phones based on their processing ability.
And now on you will not be fooled by the Quad Cores of certain device manufacturers claiming to give Quad cores on very low prices compared to the established players.

And one final input on buying the smart phones; the most powerful processors come at a cost: Low battery backup. Some of the SOC processors use a combination of architectures to come up with a better solution for a good battery back up as well as processing power.
Choose your smart phone Wisely. Happy shopping.

Note: This article is not meant to be interpreted as supporting in favor of any manufacturer or tarnishing others. It purely explains the hidden aspects. In addition the user is also advised to check bench marking scores such as An tutu to get a clear idea.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Its All About Me

This is a story about me. Through the difficult times to the current stature where I am. I do not want to bore you all with how I was shaped from my childhood; instead I’ll take you right into my professional life where things were totally different than I expected. I will call my boss as my master throughout; there is a reason behind that. 

                        It all started during the month of November. My master keeps telling me that I am one of the best of the bunch and that he had known about me from a lot of sources. I was glad. But there were many other hardships waiting for me. First off, the quality that my master referred me to was challenged. I was totally made numb. My master backed me all time through but there was a time where I failed to deliver. Who in this universe is a perfect thing? Nothing! Unfortunately chains of failure lead to a state of disbelief for my master. I never cared for anybody’s comment but for my master. He was the one who backed me all time through. But he too was slowly dragged to others perspective of my abilities.  

                         And at an extreme stage my master lost confidence in me. I couldn’t exhibit my talents to him and he never cared to extract the stuff I had. Success comes not only by one’s hard work but also by the well wishers who show you the path, teach you the right lessons, show you your unknown & underestimated talents, take you through your rough part and patch you up. And none of this was happening with me. My master was reluctant until that dream project came by. 


                         It was a pleasant morning, I was asked to come to a museum near by. People come there to relax; Kids, Lovers, Friends , couples and you can see all kinds of people. I was wondering why I was asked to come to this place. But I thought to myself; why not open up with my master? Why not tell him that I am capable and that I was sorry for my failures? He arrived. I was about to open up when he said ”We have a very interesting project coming up. This will change the way we currently work…” and he went into the details of the project. As he was summing up the project there was some kind of energy flowing through my veins. I was eager to get into the project. The project was looking like it was aimed at me. I continued to listen to the technical details. He ended like this “Past is past. Time to prove. Let the game begin.” And he left. I was happy not only because I am into a new project that exactly matches my abilities but for my master. He showed me today that he still has confidence in me. That changed the way I worked. I said to myself “Yes! Let the game begin”. 


                           It was the first review of the project, people were really shocked with the result but it didn’t end there. Lots of criticism also came by. Whenever I heard those criticisms I used to watch how my master reacted. He graciously accepted all the criticisms with a smile. I was really frightened with these criticism as I didn’t want to loose my masters faith in me. And my heartbeat increased as the review came to an end as I had the fear of facing my master. All he said to me after the meeting was “Come on lets move on! We can do it.” And then a week later another review came by. This wasn’t anything new as criticism went on a high. My master never lost faith in me we continued. And then came this review at the end of the month. The criticism went to an all time high where people pointed hands at my boss for wasting so much time and money on a resource like me. My master’s face swung to gloominess. I have never seen him like that before. The meeting ended. My master didn’t utter a word. He left.

                             My master asked me to meet him in the same place we met before. We met. There was moment of silence between each other. He asked me if I can work in xyz technology which I never knew. This was so important because this can really help us start winning. I blindly said yes. He asked me “Tell me your areas of interest…” and he continued. He started to dig into my technically strong areas. We spent nearly an hour talking technology and this was my right time and I utilized it. I gave him lots of ideas and how we can do things different. I was so happy because my master was taking time to know what I am capable of. 


                            Couple of months passed by and I was sure that I had performed well than what I used to do. The rapport between me and my master was getting better and better. Two reviews had to be postponed due to technical reasons and meanwhile we had a chance to exhibit our project ideas in a conference. The idea again was from my master. We went ahead, presented the paper and the response was warm. The people at the conference chose top 3 papers and confer them with awards. We were happy with the response and we never bothered about the top 3 papers. 

                           Time for review, and this time the review was very positive. Our technical strategy had worked well. Reviewers were happy with the results but yet again, you know they are reviewers so they gave us with some suggestions. I had a big sigh of relief, happiness was written all over my face. Things are getting better. As we came out of the review meeting, the news came. Our project has been conferred as one of the top 3 best projects. I fainted. 

                             From that point on there was no looking back as the reviewers started having faith on us and things started to become so smooth. 

Want to know what’s my profession? Want to know which project won me an award? And what’s that dream project?

                             Here it is: 

                                            My profession is photography. “The bliss of heaven” which is part of project Love check won me an award in streets photography challenge. 



                                           The dream project is CC Wallpapers and that lead to more successful projects. Few worth mentioning are Love Check, Braces, Adorned Places, HDR Photography… and then a dedicated Facebook page to exhibit my talents :) 

Remolon is my master.I am a digital camera. I am Samsung WB650 :) 

Never Give Up!  

You can have a look at some of my best pics on flickr here.
And a daily photo sharing FaceBook Page here.