Kaleidoscope

Zen

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:08:12 -0500

I came across a thoughtful poem in http://www.gardendigest.com/zen/quotes.htm . You may enjoy it.

Fathomed at last!
Ocean's dried. Void burst.
Without an obstacle in sight,
It's everywhere!

           -    Joho, 12th Century
                  Zen Poems of China and Japan, 1973, p. 15
                  Translated by Lucien Stryk, Takashi Ikemoto and Taigan Takayama

Today's Quote is on Mind - John Milton

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 03:33:19 -0500

“A mind not to be changed by place or time, the mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.”

Rebuilding of Japan

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:17:10 -0500

I was preparing for an exam, where I came across a Japanese theory on Quality. The author, an american, appreciated how the Japanese looked at quality as incremental, doable ( realistic ) improvements.

Intrigued by that theory, I googled for 'Rebuilding of Japan'. How could they have re-build the country?

I came across http://www.lib.umd.edu/prange/html/exhibit/censorship.jsp

Interesting site with concise information on the post war Japan. You may want to read.

The world as I see it - Albert Einstein

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 04:03:04 -0500

I was surprised to learn about Einstein's insights into life. Having memorized procedures in my school's science lab and executed them, no wonder I thought scientists to be machine minded, when I was young :-)

I came across a beautiful, insightful essay by Einstein, thanks to one of my friends. The title of the essay is 'The world as I see it'. Here below is an excerpt of that essay.

Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me.

The complete essay can be read at http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay.htm.

Trade

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:34:14 -0500

Watching an episode in Star Trek - Voyager named 'Fair Trade', I started thinking about the origins of Trade.

Trade seem to have originated with the start of communication, 150,000 years ago.

An interesting account with rest details can be read at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade

Thanks to Wikipedia.

Inventor of the electronic digital computer

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 07:16:59 -0500

Inventor, Mathematical Physicist and a Businessman - what a combination he is! He is John Vincent Atanasoff who was born on 4 October 1903 in Hamilton, New York.

He started studying college algebra book that belonged to his father at age 10, with the help of his mother. He was a straight A's student in his graduation.

He was always interested in finding new ways to perform mathematical computations faster. Dr. Atanasoff examined many devices that existed at his time and concluded that a 'digital' device would be much faster than the available 'analog' devices.

In December 1939, the first prototype of the Atanasoff Berry Computer ( ABC ) was ready.

But only in 1972, Dr. Atanasoff was given the recognition he deserved, as patenting was such a slow process and another fellow Dr. patented his invention which was based on the ideas of Dr. Atanasoff. This recognition seemed to have been hard fought, through a trial.

Tribute to him for what he has paved way for! Thanks to http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/do_Atanasoff.html for the information and image. A further informative presentation on his life can be read from the mentioned web page.

Aviation - Stalls

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 10:10:57 -0500

My friend who works with me is an aviation expert. Thanks to him, I learnt a new term "Stall". The term stimulated my interest that I looked up the meaning and description in Wikipedia.

"a stall in an aircraft is an event that causes the aircraft to lose altitude suddenly".

While it can happen for many reasons, this terminology is used in reference to a phenomenon where the wings stall, when the angle that the wings form when they open up against the air flow passes a critical angle ( this is also called angle of attack - AOA ).

It may seem very complicated to maintain an angle lesser than AOA during several manaeuvering actions; but in reality it is made easy, thanks to the technological advancements that help a closely accurate measurement of the aircraft behavior.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the information and the image.

Bruce Lee

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:06:21 -0500

Ever since I was a kid, I was fascinated by Bruce Lee, who I knew by the movie 'Enter the Dragon'. His dynamic actions enthralled my heart. I found a quote by or paraphrased/used by Bruce Lee in Wikipedia.

Truth has no path. Truth is living and, therefore, changing. Awareness is without choice, without demand, without anxiety; in that state of mind, there is perception. To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. Awareness has no frontier; it is giving of your whole being, without exclusion.

I learnt that this quote could have been from J.Krishnamurty paraphrased by Lee. Yet, I started to wonder what would have been the thought foundation of Bruce Lee who has mastered his body and mind in such a way that they operate in so much unison ( those dynamic fight scenes!...how can one forget? )

Tracing Bruce Lee on Wikipedia, I found some more quotes by him or which inspired him. I have mentioned the ones that I liked below. Tribute to Bruce Lee and thanks to Wikipedia for the online collection of such good information.

To spend time is to pass it in a specified manner. To waste time is to expend it thoughtlessly or carelessly. We all have time to spend or waste, and it is our decision what to do with it. But once passed, it is gone forever.

Time means a lot to me because, you see, I, too, am also a learner and am often lost in the joy of forever developing and simplifying. If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of.

Life is better lived than conceptualized.

Cease negative mental chattering. — If you think a thing is impossible, you'll make it impossible. Pessimism blunts the tools you need to succeed.

A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.

Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

The man who is really serious, with the urge to find out what truth is, has no style at all. He lives only in what is.

You can read the rest and more at http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee

ACTION

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:08:54 -0500

We cannot think first and act afterward. From the moment of birth we are immersed in action, and can only fitfully guide it by taking thought.

- Alfred North Whitehead

Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.

- Anais Nin

Just as a flower, which seems beautiful has color but no perfume, so are the fruitless words of a man who speaks them but does them not.

- Dhammapada

We are all inclined to judge ourselves by our ideals; others, by their acts.

- Harrold Nicolson

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

- Helen Keller

Tribute to all the authors for their timeless quotes of wisdom.

Thanks to www.wisdomquotes.com for the online version.

Henry Ford

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 10:40:20 -0500

I was looking for some sample questions for an examination that I am preparing for. I found a website and there mentioned was a quote from Henry Ford.

If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.

Very impressed by this, I googled for more of his quotes and found the below. Tribute to Ford. Thanks to brainyquotes.com for the online version of these quotes and wikipedia for the image.

Capital punishment is as fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime as charity is wrong as a cure for poverty.

Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas.

Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.

One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do.

The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed.

Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving.

We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's dam is the history we make today.

You don't build a reputation on what you're going to do.

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.