Sweat

pic courtesy MamaMandolin

An alarming sign has popped up at the entrance of my local gym. At first read, I broke into cold sweat. People - from boxers, rowers to weight lifters - are refused entry if they don't carry a sweat towel. Heh. So it is no longer appropriate to leave sweat in a place where you go to, well, raise a sweat. I would've shared my piece of mind with the burly receptionist if I hadn't been mopping my sweaty face with a kerchief for the fear of being marched out of the gym. Be gone, you sweaty man! This isn't to say I am a gym junkie. I am not. This was my first visit in the last 3 weeks. I usually visit the gym to do a few laps in the swimming pool or if it's not very humid, maybe a few kms on the treadmill. I usually prefer to hit the pool. You can't dog paddle on the running machine, you see :)

Coming back to the towel issue, I feel slighted on behalf of my fellow blokes. We are fast becoming extinct, allowing the actions of over-zealous sanitary types to erode our natural environment. If we don't act soon, real men will be wiped off the planet by 2030, replaced by gormless, porcelain-like Robin Pattinson-types. Is that the kind of a 'man' the world wants? Some chicks may scream Yessss. But you see, less is not always more. I agree, sweat can be disgusting. No one would wants to see Miranda Kerr walking down the catwalk with a wet underarm patch. No one wants to have their bowl of soup dripped on or have their sandwich sogged up by a sweaty waiter. No one wants to be leaked on by a overheated commuter. On a hot humid day, our Kashkam can pose lots of kashtam for us.

But people and perspiration can live together. In harmony. In some case, it's a privilege. Try telling a ball kid that they are not to hold Rafeal Nadal's towel during a particularly tight 5-setter. I am sure they don't wanna be rushed off to be disinfected in a chemical bath. They wouldn't want to be washed for a week! I've always dreamed of being an Australian Open ball boy.

Take cinema. Sweat is an icon. Who else would pan slowly and purposefully on a worried actor's furrowed brow in a tense scene. Ask Ethan Hunt - sweat contributed to the suspense in that scene in Mission Impossible-1 where he dangled from the ceiling. Rocky, John McLain, why even our own Padayappa owes part of his good fortune to sweat. Thamizh makkal have paid him oru poun thanga kaasu for every thuli of his vervai. So why ban it from gyms? A wise man once said, If you cant handle the heat, you should get out of the kitchen. That may explain why there are many women-only gyms. Hm. Fair enough.

But now, the situation is dire. A species is at risk. Sweaty blokes belong to the gym. It's their jungle. If you don't like it, head to the swimming pool. One request: Make sure you take a leak before you take the plunge. Thank you :)

World Press Photo '10

I went to World Press Photo '10 - the annual exhibition of photojournalism presenting the best press photos of 2009. It is the leading international competition in press photography receiving over 100,000 photos from more than 5000 professional photographers around the world.

This is my first time attending World Press Photo. It's a unique exhibition solely dedicated to excellence in photo journalism. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Stunning photos! The images of certain photos are still etched in my mind. Almost all the photos struck a chord, some were emotionally engaging. Some photos touched me, some leapt out of the wall and grabbed me by the throat. It was intense!

On the whole, the essence of the photos was more than just a story or message. They made me think and I guess that is one of photojournalist's intentions.

While going through the exhibition gallery, I struck a conversation with a gentleman. Before I spoke to him I noticed he had a Canon 5D. Canon 5D *drool*. It is a beast of a camera. So when Robert introduced himself I wasn't surprised to hear he was a professional photographer based in UK. Robert is an experienced fashion photographer. His work has appeared in some of leading magazines/Ads. We looked at some photos together and he shared his thoughts on them. I was fascinated with the way he analysed and critiqued photos. Robert's opinion was different to mine. Any photo is open to variety of interpretation and perceptions but Robert saw aspects of photo which I never knew existed. I have no knowledge on press-photography or photojournalism, so I listened, taking in what I can and asked him questions. From his comments, I learnt and was able to appreciate the difference between conventional photography & press photography and what makes a photojournalist what he is.

Robert made several valid points on photojournalism. In conventional photography, when you strip away the tech side of things, it boils down to 2 things: subject and timing. Timing, he said, like most things in life, is paramount and probably the hardest to get right. It involves a bit of luck. In photojournalism, where "visual" reporting is the primary focus, timing is just one of the aspects. Here almost anything can be the subject as long it befits the story the journalist is covering. The aspect where a journalist differentiates from others is his ability to add a context, a nuance, which creates another voice, another layer to the story, another parallel the viewer can relate to, a visual justification providing testament to power of a moment. Creme da la creme photojournalists explore the depth of visual reporting by doing the above consistently. It's their photos we get to see in events like World Press Photo.

I am glad I took the initiative to talk to Rob. You can never go wrong talking to a Pro. Can you? An afternoon well spent :-)

Below are some of the winning photos for different categories.

From the rooftops of Tehran - World Press Photo of the year 2009

At first look, I didn't think much of this photo. This isn't the most stunning picture in the gallery. But it won. After reading the caption, I realised this was not just another photo of the Iranian post-election protest. It shows many things simultaneously - like, the kind of people protesting, they way they protest, even the time of the day. Women shouting from rooftops literally! All in one shot. Its a good picture but I wouldn't have voted it for the top prize.

Trott, run out. 5th Test. Ashes '09. Ahh!

Moments before Oath taking ceremony.

A jewish man throws wine at Palestine women, Hebron

Shelling at Gaza

Check out 2010 Winners gallery here.

Tiger is not out of the woods yet

So, he is back eh.

Tiger is out of the cage. He racked up a dozen porn stars and waitresses. But he will be received as a hero when he returns to the fairway next month. All is either have been, or will be, forgotten and forgiven. Tiger's personal life is none of my business. It should neither be yours or the media. The thought that irk me is: is it not unfair that celebrities especially sportstars are given a little bit more leeway than the common man? Just because they play professional sport should not mean they are not expected to uphold the same standards and abide by laws of general society. Tiger apologises and says something like "The only clubs I know from now on are the ones I used to hit the golf balls with. Even if I cheat, it'll only be in golf. Golf is after all only a game. Family life is not, like I found out in the last few months. Thank you very much.". We croon and cringe hearing the apology and forgive too easily. If a common man, Joe Bloggs, had done what Tiger did, would you expect his partner to take him back? Would you take back a partner who has had extra-marital affair with a dozen people?

Recently, Michael Clarke has been blasted from pillar to post for leaving the Australian cricket team during their New Zealand tour to support his girlfriend. He has been criticised by many for having his priorities out of order. But there is no doubt, if Clarkey comes out on Friday and blasts a century in the first test against the Kiwis, all will be forgotten & forgiven. Had Joe Nallathambi - our common man - abandoned his mates on a trip for a girlfriend who is clearly not dying or remotely sick, wouldn't he cop it big time?

I am all for forgiving. I believe in giving people a second chance. But I do not understand the disparity between treatment meted out to celebrities and the rest of us. Hell, they are not that special!

Bleeping Ban

This post is a result of this news item and all the brouhaha it caused.

For the benefit of the lazy souls who cant be bothered reading the news item, let me summarise it for you: A political party leader enforced a ban on swearing on the party (in cabinet, committee meetings, offices etc.) in an attempt to improve the party image and to better place it for the next election.

The swearing ban became the big juicy topic for the media this week. They analysed, supported, critiqued, mocked the ban...basically blew the topic to smithereens.

I initially supported the ban, later questioned the practicality of it. I mean, common on. It's Australia. It is, as a caller to the local FM put it "the land of free bleeping speech. For bleep sakes, where the bloody hell are we?". I lol in approval, however, the laughter was just a transience into re-realising that swearing is ingrained in the fabric of our society. From prime-time TV, chat shows (e.g. a clip of Australia's PM slipping a few words), cook shows (Gordon Ramsey being the hero)...the ripe and fruitful "language" has rubbed off everywhere. I am not complaining btw. Just stating...

I swear too. I have a rich sweacabulary in Tamil and English. The usage is limited only when in company with good friends. At work, I wear the garb of a consulting engineer. My work involves dealing with people at both ends of the organisational ladder on a regular basis. Whether it is the posh office of Edward The Echecootive or the cluttered bench in a dingy little workshop of Doug i-climb-power-poles Faultman, the "language" is there at both ends. It's the style and frequency of the "language" that varies. It comes as no surprise. No one is a saint.

Coming back to the swearing ban enforced by political party leader, the issue has polarised people. The PC group has congratulated the leader for her hard-act while others feel it is bull excreta and it's a bleeping cheap shot at restricting the freedom of expression. In short, they say "bleep that".

Two different opinions. Many questions.

The PC (Politically Correct) group says:

These are politicians. They represent us. It is - though you may not agree - an honourable job. They have a prefix which reads "Honourable". The use of swear words maligns and denigrates their position and title. Weren't our predecessors able to persuade/make a point with their admirable imagination and correct selection of words? Or wade through tricky/tough situations with dexterous use of the language? If they can, why cant us?

Swearing has no place here. Swearing is the fungus of speech. We want to clean up the foul. So, please, cut the crap and get back to work.

No offence was intended!


The Bleepers say:

As representative of people, what's the big deal in using swear words? It is the language of the common man? We repeat, the language of the common man. Even if the language does offend a few jokers, who bleeping cares? Does it really matter? After all, aren't the bloody politicians, the part of the society? You freaks pass this ban in party offices...soon we'll have a group of redheads and greenies lobbying for the swear ban in Govt. offices, workplaces, theatres, bars...everywhere. A Department of Scowl on Foul (DoSF) will be formed, slapping an instant fine on every syllable of the guilty swear word. If we allow this, there'll come a stage where we wouldn't even be able to yawn or fart without offending somebody. Bleep this!

Yea, full offence intended!


So, what do I think about this?

Well, we are what we speak. Swear words portrays an awful impression of oneself. It is great when conveying quick emotion and can be powerful when we are trying to express oneself. Nothing can replace the power of a correct word, even if it happens to be a foul one. Most comedians use it support or source their humour. They use it tactfully so not offend anybody. Swear words have their own place in speech. They are the yuckiness of speech. As long it isn't overused, used in the appropriate context, and people reflect on the real intent of the before saying it, it should be OK. I swear.


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Related post:
Nirmal's Dash Phenomenon

Home delivery. Yeah right.

I have many things to get done this weekend. One of them is to buy a bookshelf. I decided to drive down to IKEA. My friend tagged along as well.

It's the weekend, so we weren't surprised to see heaps of people milling around in the store. From previous experience I knew that in IKEA if you are looking for something specific there's a good chance you are not going to find it straight away. They have the knack of making you walk through aisles of retail forest with stuff that scream out 'I am on sale! Buy me!'. You are forced to drift around with the tide of people turning left and right until the sense of direction is lost and you feel like you are in a maze. People around me (mostly ladies and ara-tickets (kids)) were just ambling along, scanning displays/stuff - they didn't appear to be looking for anything particular. Just checking out stuff, anything and everything which was labelled 'On Sale' or 'Buy me!'.

However, we were men on a mission. We are here to buy a bookshelf and we are not looking for other stuff. We reached the aisle of bookshelves. We found a display of the model that I wanted. I had a huge decision to make on the choice of colour - woody brown, charcoal, blue or white. That's a lot of colour options for a bookshelf. I was pondering a bit. My mate was shocked that I am *actually* spending a few seconds to decide on the colour. "Sriramaa, its just a freakin bookshelf!". "Alright, Alright". I took a pick. This achieved, we had to find our way to the warehouse end of the maze to find the pre-packed bookshelf. The warehouse had racks that almost touched the clouds. We somehow managed to track down the rack which had the pre-packed bookshelf. I also realised the package was big enough to carry home if we are driving a Ute or a trailer. Our Mazda6 wont do it. So, home delivery it is!

With the bookshelf model number in hand, we gouged our way to the counter with the big sign saying 'Home Delivery'. There was a Middle-Eastern looking, middle-aged guy at the counter.

"Hi. I'd like buy this bookshelf and I want it home-delivered. This is the model #". I handed out the model # chit.

He looked behind us as if searching for something. "Where is it?"

"What?"

"Whatever you want to buy"

"Um..its in the back. At the warehouse."

He gave a muted laugh, waving his hand and nodding his head "No no no. It doesn't work like that. You have to bring to us"

"Err. It's here...in your warehouse. It's in your store"

"That is right. You have to bring it from the warehouse to there". He pointed in the direction of checkout counter.

"...and what do you do?"

"We home deliver". He said with a beaming smile.

I paused. My friend chuckled.

"you see, all you gotta do is to transfer the bookshelf from the warehouse and put it on a truck. After all, that's what home delivery is for. Right?"

In a stern, matter-of-fact tone, "For delivery, you have to bring your item to the front counter. That's the company policy" he said, pointing at a poster on the wall.

I am glad my Uncle or my colleague wasn't there with me. They would've lashed out the "you can shove it..." phrase and stormed out of the door. This convo tested my usually-calm temperament as well. This is like going to a restaurant and the chef says if you bring all the raw materials, I'll cook a meal for you. It doesn't make sense to me.

I took the pragmatic approach and decided, for now, to accept the harsh truth. There's no point throwing a tantrum. Like I said before, I am on a mission. I want to get things done.

So, we re-enter the maze with a trolley making our way past hordes of people. We located the towering rack again and loaded the ~80kg package on the rickety trolley. The pack was kinda big. The wheels of the trolley made a 'queeek queeek' noise as we careered along the aisles. My friend was in the front waving people to make way. Thank God he came along. I crashed into the steel storage rack once (no damage to anything) and narrowly missed piles of merchandise.

We reached the loooooong queue. It was almost the peak-hour of the day. The line we were standing in had women in varying stages of pregnancy. With the glacial rate at which the queue was moving, at least few of them would've delivered before they had a chance to pay for their purchases.

I also observed the idea of making people walk through almost always works. Most people in the queue had trolleys loaded big, bulky, brassy stuff - most of them were 'on sale' items. Some of things in their trolley were useful, most things they probably would not need or never use. At one stage, it almost looked like a competition of who arrives at the checkout with the biggest pile of stuff.

I paid for the bookshelf. The bookshelf was delivered in the evening. Armed with a screw driver and a craft knife, I rip opened the packaging. It's the wrong colour bookshelf. I chose charcoal, they've given me the woody colour. Hmph :)

No. I don't wanna go back. It's just not worth it. I am happy at least they delivered the correct-model-wrong-colour bookshelf instead of a sparkling white wash basin or something.

Kashtam! No wonder we are called Kashtamers. IKEA - Indha Kadaiya Ezhuthu Ada ! :D

Integrity

I watched the 3rd State of Origin rugby league match few days back between the Maroons (QLD) and Blues (NSW). It was a great match, played with real fervour and intensity. The game ended in a sour note with a fight between players from the Blues and Maroon team. Fights are common in Rugby league games. It is a brute of a game, sometimes, few blows needs to be exchanged to balance things out. I have no problems with that. The incident which shocked many was the behaviour and actions of a Blues player after he had knocked out his opponent. The player kept punching, shouting obscenities at the unconscious player lying on the ground. The Blues player is guilty of a conduct charge and will face the consequences soon.

People have reacted to this incident saying things like -

"His actions were not in the spirit of the game" (!!)

"It was passion that went a bit too far"

"Sport is being treated like a war"...

All of the above statements may be right. However, I feel the Blues player lost something a bit more fundamental in that incident. He lost his integrity as a player. People may admire these players. Kids may or may not look up to them as role models. But, when you are playing at the highest level, you owe the game a sense of respect and integrity in your actions. Adherence to moral principles and ethical values should not be forced nor should it be a noble aspiration. It should come from within. Sportsmanship and the soundness of moral character form the fabric of the game. Without it, the term 'spirit of the game' is just a joke.

Integrity is an essential component of a respectable sportsman. When it is lost, the 'sportsman' in the player ceases to exist. Tom Peters, a management guru, once said "There is no such thing as minor lapse of integrity." So goddamn right!

State of Origin is a celebration of the game of Rubgy League. The game may be alive and kicking. With incidents like this, it loses its soul.

Pets

I like pets.

I prefer dogs. I am okay with cats. I can accept rabbits, parrots, budgies, goldfish etc. I'll reserve #sneeze# my comments on #cough#sneeze#... pigs. Having worms, mouse, snakes, other members of the cat family as pets always draw a blank look from me. I guess it all boils down to (weird) personal liking/preference.

My friend has two dogs - a German shepherd (Bruno) and a Fox terrier (Pinto). Of the two, Bruno is my fav. He is, to put in typical Aussie way, a "naughty bastard". My friend tells me having pet(s) is not cheap. From vaccinations, flea powders, tick preventatives, supplements, electrolytes(!), leashes, collars, brushes, combs, and yeah pet food...it makes a dent in the purse. Some people would consider pet related expenses a waste of money, whereas some wouldn't mind. I believe with pets, it's horses for courses (echoos me for the pun!). It boils down to a matter of priority.

One fine day, my friend woke up to find Pinto limping. The vet pronounced Pinto needs surgery on two of his legs, followed by few weeks (if not months) of physiotherapy. Even though Pinto is not my fav pet, it's still a dog. A pet. It's not mine, but no one is/will be happy to see him suffer and limp for rest of his life. The medical costs rack up to a gruesome four figure amount. My mate was in a real predicament.

Medical costs could easily spiral if Pinto doesn't respond well to surgery or after care. But, it was an easy decision to make. The constant wailing and sheer tear power from his little daughters made him put his hand up and say "DO IT". The kids absolutely love Pinto. There is no choice but to see Pinto right. If not for Pinto, atleast for his daughters. In the end, all went well. Pinto is back. Pinto still hobbles a bit. We are told he'll be normal in time. It's funny the way he runs. He runs like chappaani from the Tamil movie 'at the age of 16'. The daughters are happy. So my friend is happy.

The Pinto episode was an eye-opener into how big a business the Pet industry was. Pinto had a MRI scan, a specialist vet examined Pinto, an extensive physiotherapy...the saying "naai paadu patten (like a dog, I struggled)" sounded ironic. My friend exclaimed even he hadnt had a MRI scan yet. Ofcourse, he touched wood straightaway! It's a world of dog whispereres and horse whisperers. As Bill Lawry often says, "its all happening out there". By the end of it, he and Pinto had had enough!

Prior to Pinto episode, my perception of a vet was not entirely correct. To me, a Vet was a random-hard-to-find doctor who usually attends to cows, horses...basically all farm animals. For a change, he treats cats, dogs of rich people. The more accomplished vet is in the zoo treating an injured Gibbon, or monitoring the birth of a Giraffe or shooting at a sleeping lion from a distance with an anaesthetising gun. By listing out my prior perception of vets, I obviously don't mean any disrespect. I admire these people for their career choice. Not everyone can do their job or can have the undying passion for animals. They are doctors for animals.

The Pinto saga reminded me of the good old days. My grandparents had a dog - Johnny. I cant recall what breed it was. She was black scrawny little thing. Please don't ask me why she was given a male name - I don't know! :) Johnny had a proud history being the most harmless dog in our colony. Johnny never bite anyone. She never really showed much aggression. The sight of a stranger scared her. You can see it in her eyes. The tail would between her rear legs. She'd run to the corner and bark. And bark she did. She compensated the lack of aggression by barking her lungs out. This managed to keep burglers' at bay. Johhny's world was circumscribed by the boundaries of our house. She wasn't really brave to venture out. She slept in the veranda, milled around in the big backyard, ate from the black plate near the small corner beside the well. As simple as that.

I don't think Johnny cost my grandparents anything. She wasn't fed anything special. Johhny ate the food that was cooked in the house. There was one difference though. In a big household like ours, there's always leftovers (pazham pathu) from the previous day. Johhny always had pazham pathu. Johhny may have Dosa with Rasam today; the next day it'll be Adai or Idli with sambhar; on a good day, rice with hot milk. Johhny had good dining habits too. She'll lick the plate clean till she sees her reflection on the black plate. Being a TamBram family, we were - still are - strict vegetarians. Johhny, I believe, was one too.

Comparing Johnny and Pinto, I don't think back in the days a dog could survive or have hope for a free feed without making itself useful - let alone a surgery on its legs. Pets had a utility value. If it's no use, it'll be gotten rid off. There was no secret or shame in it because it was the common approach. Does this mean people didn't love pets? Probably not. They did love their pets. But, there seemed to a weird detachment in love which made this approach a fact of life.

Pinto can thank his lucky stars now!

Can I put you on hold thank you

Around 8PM yesterday, I got a call from my mobile company's customer services centre (a call centre in Manila) regarding a new add-on I signed up in my cell phone account. A lady with a friendly voice opened the phone call by asking me to confirm my name, current address, mother's maiden name, secret question 1, secret question 2, previous residential address, blood group...the only personal details remaining was my nakshthram, gothram and undraayer size.

Thanks to her heavy accent and the poor reception of international phone line, we both had to repeat ourselves a few times. For every answer I gave, she'd go "Can I put you on hold thank you". It was really funny the way she said it. It was more of a statement than a question/request. Ofcourse, it didn't matter if I wanted to say yes or no. Ms CustomerFriendly put me on me hold anyway.

Initially I was happy that she was committed to the concept of person verification and customer privacy. 5 minutes into the call and we were still in the identity-check stage - I felt she took the concept a little too seriously. Thinking about it now, I am sure most customers would lose their cool in her sloooow and lengthy identity check.

Having established my bona fides, Ms CustomerFriendly finally came to the purpose of the call. It seems the 'system' had validated the add-on without checking the service charge payment. The service fee was overdue and I had to pay it immediately. I assured her I'll transfer the money ASAP and we ended the call. Half hour later (I made the payment straightaway), when I tried to make a call, I hear an automated message saying that I don't have enough credit. I checked my cell-phone account online, sure enough my credit was gone it displayed nil balance.

Clearly annoyed, I tried to call Ms CustomerFriendly through the customer service hotline.

The great part about customers calling call centres is that if you are a new customer looking to sign up for something, you get straight through. You dial the number, press 1, one ring...tadaaa the operator picks up. It's as if they've been waiting for this particular call all day and the operator has your account information on the screen before you finish saying "2-year contract". No verification is asked(!!). As long you pay the monthly fee, agree to T&C, no one cares whether you live or die.

Try lodging a complaint, however.

"Thank you. Please select from the following 23 options. Press 2 if you are this customer. Press 3 if you are that customer. Press 4 if you are this and that customer. Press 5 if you are totally screwed...".

Out of desperation, you press a wretched number. No matter what number you press, "Thank you. Your call has been placed on queue. We apologise for the long delay, please consider making a hot cuppa coffee, catch a snooze or learn Swahili or bang your head on the wall before you get the hint we just don't want to know!"

I am not trying to be critical on call centres. I have never worked in a call centre and I don't have anything against them. From outside, their job appears to be mundane and most-boring. But they play a key role. They are the front line staff and the link between the public and the company. The outsourcing movement in the last decade has made all major telcos, banks etc to invest in overseas call centres. Rather than improving/maintaining high standards of customer service, companies seem to have cost cutting as their number one priority.

Instead of making underpaid staff work long hours on a regimented customer service protocol in south of Yengiyonesia* or east of Kalavaramistan**, they could invest in quality customer service staff both local and offshore. Perhaps the CEO and other officials, who rake up huge six figure or even seven-figure salaries (plus bonuses) could shed a few thousands from their pay packets for customer service benefit. Hell no. They would rather use it for their next cruise holiday in a tropical island or the impending round of redundancy pay outs.

Another feature in call centre calls nowadays is the voice recognition system. Voice apps works well for me. You say the key words or phrases to the system. It picks it up and provides relevant info or directs the call to the correct operator. Some people, especially old people, have tough time with it. They go on a long narrative about their problem ("Hello. I don't get Internet in my computer. Nothing is working. Bla bla bla...") and end up getting frustrated that the 'machine' doesn't understand them. One elderly person got offended when the Voice app played a message saying that it didn't understand him and asked him to repeat more than a few times. When voice app gave up and transferred him to an operator, he flared up "Why are you people you doing this? Bloody computers in everything. Everywhere. Am I fool to talk to a machine? What telecoms are you running? You idiots are trying to replace everything with technology. Your customer service is pathetic and your system is absolutely useless!". I had a good laugh and I also felt sorry for the operator.

To all of us who have suffered interminably frustrating waits with banks/insurance co/telcos trying to rectify faults, billing mistakes etc don't call the complaints or fault line number. Just call the number or select the option for new accounts and pour your grief to the soul who may be in the other side of the world and/or in the other hemisphere. Do it politely. He/she may have some pity on you and help out. This method worked for me, this time.

I doubt this method will work next time. Ms DontComplaint2Me may pick up and say with a friendly but stern tone "Can I transfer you to Faults thank you".

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* yengiyo means somewhere
** kalavaram means a state of agitation, confusion, distress.

The moment of blankness

The moment of blankness? Let me explain.

This is the state your brain momentarily goes in when:

a. you are asked a question or an opinion. You give a monosyllable answer. "xyz is like that. Don't you think so?" "ya". Silence. The other person waits for you to elaborate but quite simply you don't have anything else to add. Sometimes, you know what to say. You have lot more to add. But, suddenly, in that particular instant of time, you blank out. If I can put a picture to this moment of 'thinking', it'll be a bright white image. 2-minutes after that, all the ideas/thoughts come flooding in. Arghh!

b. you've been chatting with a complete stranger. All common conversational topics are dealt with. The conversation is now interspersed with long awkward pauses and it finally comes to grinding halt. You both experience a loud silence. You try to conjure up a question/topic but nothing comes in mind. Not a zilch! A quick blank look and an artificial smile are exchanged...both parties desperate to bail out of tete a tete. (I don't experience this anymore. My friend does! If need be, I tactfully wriggle myself out.)

Social butterflies don't seem to experience this at all. They seamlessly move from person to person. One conversation to next. Being masters of small talk, they can keep going on and on without communicating anything significant. Certain traits are in-born I guess.

It is interesting this 'blankness' rarely happen when in company with a close friend or family. Is it because there is an inclination to communicate? A willingness to open up? We tend to listen more and we actually care?

c. you are hard-pressed to make a nothing-to-say-but-u-better-say-something-to prove-u-mentally-exist-in-this-room statement in a group discussion.

d. learning a new subject (you read the theory and go um-humm...then? and go back reading)

e. writing - a blog post or a letter - esp. writing philosophical, arts topics. God!

Have you experienced this?

Speech seems to be idiosyncratic to the level of person's thinking 'processes' at a given time.

I see, but you 'no' see

We see strangers everyday. Some strangers are not absolute strangers because we tend to see them everyday e.g. in the bus/train while going to work, in the street, random person at work etc. There is no conversation apart from the odd 'Hello' when the eyes accidentally meet. You acknowledge that the other person exists. No one says a word. Not because they are bad or horrible, they may actually be genuinely nice people, but they are strangers.

When you happen to meet the same person again in a different place, what do you do?

Some people, like me, smile and say 'Hello'. They know the other person. According to them, their relationship with the person has changed from a stranger to 'this guy/girl from...' i.e. an acquaintance.

Other people just plainly ignore. They struggle, but still succeed, in avoiding eye-contact. Some people are adept in avoiding eye-contact. From their body language and facial expressions, you know that they 'know' but they still pretend that they don't 'know'. They recognise you and immediately pretend that they haven't.

Why? I do not understand this.

Is it:

a. fear
b. reluctance to talk until introduced
c. they just don't give a sh*t

Or am I missing a point altogether?

Hmm...another nerd!

I heard this conversation recently:

Non-Engineer A: You attending the function tomorrow?
Non-Engineer B: (in an unenthusiastic tone) Yea...
Non-Engineer A: What's wrong?
Non-Engineer B: It's all engineers...would be pretty boring. They don't talk, can't communicate properly.

OK...that was, to put it gently, a lame comment by NEB (Non Engineer B). Normally my brain treats lame comments as junk mail (not junk e-mail…Gmail does a good job in trashing that). We see them in the post box, sometimes we open it because it stands out (like funny lame comments), but it quickly ends up in the rubbish bin. But this comment, for reasons I am going to discuss, got me. Being an engineer, I was mildly offended by it. After having a chat with NEB, I see a glaring lack of knowledge or understanding of what engineers, particularly the ones in my field (Power Systems, SCADA) do. Is it plain old ignorance on their part? Or is it a fault on us - failing to educate the public of what we are doing; why we are doing; why we are doing the way we are doing.

We, engineers, I think, don’t emerge much in people’s mind these days. We don’t really feature in the news and people become aware of our existence only when there is the odd blackout or a bridge collapse. However, back in the early-mid 20th century, engineers were revered and sometimes placed even in a higher pedestal than doctors and scientists. Famous engineers like Edison, Nikola Tesla, and Charles Babbage made ground-breaking inventions, so grand in the scheme, that it changed the world forever. Their successes made headlines. Engineers were acknowledged then, not that they are not acclaimed today – but their contributions were strikingly visible to people. I believe people these days take most of the things for granted. Everyone is comfortable and things appear to be obviously simple. So the appreciation has worn off.

In the last few decades, engineers are still making the inventions, pushing the boundaries - but it is on the stuff that has already been done before. The inventions are incremental; they enhance/develop already existing inventions. Let me explain. Skyscrapers: The soon-to-be tallest building in the world, Burj Dubai, will hit newspapers as the one of greatest things ever done by man. Well, it is great. But it is not something people have not seen before. It is, as my Chinese friend puts it (sorry Tim...LOL), just another erection. Jumbo Jets: Airbus put in considerable amount of work get the new A380 built. But it is just another big plane to the public. There is far more interest in the features available in A380's business class than in the engineering used to get the plane's weight down. Long bridges: done. Space missions: oh yes. High speed computers, Whiz-bang weapons: OK, these may have come up in the latter part of 20th century, but engineers and the public saw it coming. The society is inured to these developments as they occur slowly over a period of time.

My point is: we engineers in the last few decades (I feel bad saying this) have not invented/built anything (with a few exceptions) of grand/remarkable scale that challenges all established ideas of scale, size and beliefs. We have not proposed preposterous ideas and make what everyone would consider an impending failure into a genius invention. Have we lost the spark? Or is it because, we have invented everything there is to be invented? Understood the whole universe armed with Newton's law and a fx82TL Casio calculator? Hmm…

Perhaps we engineers are victims of our own success. The role of modern engineer is more of maintenance- it is true to a certain extent - while adding some new developments (enhancements) here and there. I hope, with the exciting R&D done around (e.g. nanotechnology - I don’t know much about it…I’ve read about it and its sounds very interesting) the world, that we are in the threshold of another era of spectacular inventions.

Until then, when an engineering success in a typically obscure field like substation design, SCADA or power system protection gets into papers with a photo of an engineer with a big grin, people like NEB will read it and say/think [Refer to the blog post title].