ExpertDabbler

Before I lose half my readers, let me explain why I did what I did.

I for one, have long have been fascinated by Macromedia Flash as you would expect any designer to be. What is especially interesting about Flash of late is its unique ability to bring the programmming geeky types to have a look at the software. Flash is no more a dirty little animation tool. It is now a mini-platform in itself. I think Flash along with Dreamweaver has made Macromedia a house-hold name.

Having given all this “gyaan”, I humbly add I know as much about Actionscipt as Lalu knows about English. So i took my “Bible” from the loft, cleared the two tonnes of dust that had gathered and tried to learn some stuff today.

I checked out the date object and what you see is the direct result of that. I found it interesting that even though the swf file is loaded from a remote server, still the animation(yeah, idhu kooda animation dhaan, scripted one) takes the time from the user’s machine.

Also there was another intention, I know there are lot of guys and gals with BEs and Masters in Computers searching for that elusive break in the IT industry both here and abroad.

They spend a fortune learning J2EE, .NET , SAP, Mainframe courses too.

But unfortunately, they neglect the interactive multimedia tools like Flash and Director(thats another bull dozer of a software). They just assume that these are for arty/wildly dressed designers. Hardly. Actionscript in Flash is an object oriented scripting language like javascript (both are based on ECMA script).
Similarly Director comes with a language called Lingo - another OO programming language.

I am not saying there is are thousands of openings for these skills. But demand far outstrips supply. Very little talent is available actually. If you have a professional degree with some intermediate knowledge of Actionscript, Coldfusion (a tag based server side scripting language), some XML knowledge and some basic UI design principles, take my word you are as much in demand as those hot Idlis in Murugan Idly Shop.

What’s more Actionscript is a “lululaayi” stuff for people who have mastered strict OOP languages like c++, Java and c#.

So Folks, just check this out as one of the alternatives before zeroing on one core area in your IT career.

I wrote this stuff years back and I read it today again. To my surprise, it still it made sense. I am republishing it again since I do not want to deprive my audience of booker prize winning stuff (ahem ahem).

By the way, all these and much more are available online. It was published in my buddy’s website. Enge nu sariyaga kandupidipavargalukku oru packet ambika appalam anuppi vaikapadum…

Deepak, you are ruled out of this contest.

Adangi amaidiya iru, i will get you two packets when you come here next week.

Today i got another news that zine5 will publish one of my articles sometime in future. Will keep you posted…

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Life sans interests is lifeless

I assume most of the readers are responsible, matured adults capable of making independent, informed decisions. In that case what is our single most important responsibility towards the next generation? If we are to teach / advice our kids only one thing, what would be that? Plato said, “The most important task for a society is to teach the young to find pleasure in the right objects”. This article discusses about those objects and the pleasure associated with them.
How do we distinguish the right objects from the not so right? Right is a relative term but even after providing for that, it can be loosely defined as pursuits that are more likely to result in good for the physique and psyche of the person and the society in the long run.

Talking about finding pleasure, we all have a certain liking, interest, fascination for one or more domains. There are people who are so serious about their hobbies - be it writing, running web sites for a noble cause, photography, painting, sports activities and classical music etc that they are spending a substantial amount of their time, money and energy into it. What do they get out of it? What is it that attracts them and absorbs them into it?

It would be fascinating to know how we get attracted to our beloved art/hobby in the first place. The catalyst for an inclination to a certain domain usually is in physical proximity due to our upbringing, our environment etc. But we are as much introduced into academics like math, physics, chemistry or whatever but we don?t find ourselves reading physics/ chemistry books during our free time except for a few glorious exceptions.

The main quality required for one to get involved in a particular discipline is the bond that grows between the individual and the domain. It is more like a love affair. As in all cases of true love it requires time, patience, effort and concern for the love to grow. The most important factor absent is pressure. I am yet to see a guy who fell in love with a girl because of pressure. The same way I am yet to see a person who had mastered a particular craft under sustained external pressure. If he does he is sure to get a divorce!

In this backdrop consider what we do to our children in schools and colleges, we bombard them with all kinds of data, relevant and irrelevant without sparing a thought to the special likes and dislikes of that individual and without giving any time for that affair to develop. What we coerce them to do is not love but rape!

Without this bonding, every minute spent with the subject is sheer drudgery and the only way he/she can motivate himself to continue studying is by thinking about positive and negative reinforcements, thinking about all the pleasures if he makes the grades and all the disastrous consequences if he doesn’t. So consequently he feels he does done enough if he just makes the grade rather than pursue it with a full heart. Gradually the attention of his mind gradually shifts to aspects in which he is genetically programmed to receive pleasure- his basic instincts as a biological creature.

Contrast this to the greatest achievements and discoveries mankind has made and it is clear that those outstanding individuals were pursuing their love under the most trying circumstances for incredible periods of time and this is possible only if those scientists and artists found a pleasure element in the very thing they do rather than its outcome. It is no accident that all those greatest achievements and discoveries were made by people who never believed in making the grades. They had their own yardsticks to measure themselves and that is what had set them apart.

So what can be done to stem the rot? It is clear that the interests we inculcate in our child will have a lasting impact on him/her than all the assets we leave behind. This interest will grow gradually in our child/ward until the knowledge and expertise becomes his identity and an extension of his inner self. We can as well make our kids learn a new art/craft or start teaching them subjects in an informal way. This goes a long way in shielding our child from depression and suicidal tendencies when worldly success eludes him/her. In short the interests we embed in them when they are young contribute tremendously in making them stay human for the rest of their lives, at the very least.

Three Names I Go By :

Nalla payyan
samarthu payyan
Harichandran (now you know what is meant by “big fat lies”)

Three screen names:

“Agni Nakshathiram”
One RV Udayakumar movie (per marandhuduchu, namma Ram kitte kettu Solren)
Latest a “kusthi”
(btw neenga prabhu & karthik nadicha padathai pathi dhaane kaeteenga?)

Three “physic”al things i like about myself

My length,My breadth and My height

Three “physic”al things i don’t like about myself

My high gravitational pull bcos of my l,b and h above (”sema weight” party naanu)
My very high horse power ( 0 - 1 kmph in exactly 60 minutes during fast running)
My sharp, piercing tongue.

Three things that scare me :

Ram. Narayanan movies
S A Chandrashekar movies
When someone in Ilayaraja’s family tries to sing

Three Things I Want To Do Badly Right Now :

Brushing Teeth(Ada karumame)
Strong tea (Amma, strong tea please, I’m doing something very important)
Thinking about some important things in life (Today being saturday, should i really take bath?)

Three Places I Want To Go On A Vacation

Yengeyum vendaam, kaasu selavu
if someone else is sponsoring,Even Andhra during summer is fine.

Three Kiddy Names I Like :

Kandaswamy
Madaswamy
Naagamma

Three Things To Do Before I Die :

Credit cardla neraya theikanum
(someone said we need to have focus in life, so i will stop with this one ambition)

Total Number Of Films I Own :

I own nothing. All owned by Sun TV. Naan vera edhukku vanganum?

Folks, you are herby warned that it might make for dull reading.
Actually i am not in a great mood to write funny stuff. Three many things happening in my head. IBH , idhu ungalukkaaga. For your spirit of tagging.

Three Names I Go By:

pk(bloggers & mahim - my colleague)
dei prabhu (my boss,ramesh srinivasan)
karthi (the rest of the world)

Three screen names:

prabukarthik (in my acad records. oh did i say acad? sorry for that four-letter word.)
expertdabbler
prabu_karthik

Three Physical Things You Like About Yourself:

Lakshanamana mugam - in those good old days…when Bharathiraja was a director, when Viv ‘King’ Richards played cricket. Neengale parthukongo
My body frame
My mush

Three Physical Things You Don’t Like About Yourself:
My face when i grow a beard - i look like a “wanted” person in Velachery Police Station records
My Eyes now - looks like Vijaykanth eyes blame it on lack of sleep, pollution in the city
My small(my friends say not so small) thoppai.
Enna panninaalum kuraya maatengudhu.

Three Things That Scare Me

I, Me and Myself…The most unconventional, unpredictable, indisciplined guy.
Dangerous combo Anyday.

Three Things I Want To Do Badly Right Now

Fall in love
Get married.
Thooganum

Three Places I Want To Go On A Vacation

Trekking to Himalayas (My friend suman went and returned just now)
Alapuzha back waters
Vivekananda Rock in Kanyakumari

Three Kiddy Names I Like :

Ram
Anu
Smitha

Three Things To Do Before I Die :

i have 43 things to do. IBH, if you find it boring. I might make it lively tomorrow. bear with me…

Microsoft is coming up with Acrylic. Acrylic is the codename for an innovative illustration, painting and graphics tool that provides exciting creative capabilities for designers working in print, web, video, and interactive media.
The product is in its beta avatar and is available as a free download
Click here to know more.

Actually, Microsoft acquired the Creature House technology and development team in 2003. As a service to the many loyal users of Expression, a free download version is available to existing users of the product for either Microsoft Windows or Mac OS.

While Expression version 3 was available as a free download and even had a Mac version.
“Acrylic” as it stands now does not come in the Mac platform.

Please check “previous versions” in the given link to know more.

Folks,

Those of you who have not been to sudasudacoffee by Deepak Ra, check out.
Deepak blogs as Baejaar but is famous( world famous I would say) for coming up with awesome captions for photographs.

Yay! on reading my post on Upakriti, my best buddy Dr. Suman Kollipara of Bangalore has volunteered to take up activities for SOCARE . Suman is one rocking personality. I am personally relieved that there is someone very close to me, taking up from me something very close to my heart but something I did not do full justice to.
This work is in safe and a million times better hand.

I was an agitated man when I read this. Enna sollaradhu? Yaarai kelvi ketkaradhu?
Somehow I cannot thank God for keep me healthy and happy. Ennai madhiri dhaane indha payyan? This “Poorva Jenma Vinai” is the most devious, evil concept ever conceived by man.

I really really want to do something for this Suresh. It is moments like these when we feel impotent.

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Hi All,

We are a team of alumni from Sri Venkateswara college of Engineering working in different software companies. This team consists of

* Muthukrishnan Manoharan(Cognizant, Digital Security at Elnet City Chennai)
* Yegappan Ramaiah(Govt. Services, Scandent-Chennai),
* Balaji.K.S.(ATG, Scandent-Chennai),
* Ratish Kumar(Mphasis, Bangalore),
* Aalaap Raju(HCL, Chennai), Sridhar(Covansys,Chennai), and two good friends of ours Sunitha Sarathy and Rahul Nambiar. We have joined hands for our friend/classmate Suresh Kumar S, who is suffering from acute kidney failure and requires a kidney transplant immediately. Suresh has already undergone a kidney transplant in 2002,which was rejected by his body and
has also blinded him in one eye. Now his second kidney has also failed. He is currently on dialysis, which is keeping him alive as he waits for a suitable donor. In this regard he is unable to raise funds for his operation and dialysis, which is done once every two weeks. His condition is critical and he requires a transplant immediately within the next six months failing which his dialysis will not be useful and his body will deteriorate extensively. The most depressing
factor here is they have sold almost all of their assets just to meet the medical expenses. Letter given by the Kaliappa hospital on the estimate of the expenses for this second transplant would be made available on request.

With regard to the above we are planning a charity show to raise funds for his medical expenses and are organizing an entertainment evening with the help of a few singer friends and dancer friends who have come forward to help us to do an evening of music and dance that would last for an approximate 3 hours. The show is planned on 2-July-2005 at the Don Bosco Auditorium,
Egmore, Chennai (6:00 PM to 9:00 PM). We plan to collect funds generated from this event through the ticket sales, under the banner of EBENEZER HOME and give it to Suresh for his transplant and other medical expenses.

About the artistes:

Suresh Peters:
A very prominent drummer in the beginning of his career, then a voice that pioneered in making the new generation go crazy with hip hop sounds. Most memorable being the hits form the 90s which have become classics like Pettai Rap, Urvasi (take it easy)-Kaadhalan, Chikku Bukku Railey- Gentleman. Today he is a very successful music director and also finds time to add his unique flavor to the singing world esp. with the recent hit in the film Khaadal.

Sunitha Sarathy:
After the success of Thoodu Varuma-Kakka Kakka, she has hits in Ayutha Ezhuthu with Goodbye Nanba & Yakkai Thiri that were also hits in Hindi- Khuda Hafiz & Fanaa from Yuva. Having worked on international projects with Mr.Rahman in Warriors of heaven & Earth
and other short films. She has sung in recent films like Kisna, Tehzeeb, Boom, Khaadal, Sachien, Kana Kandein, and Anniyan to name a few.

Karthik:
One of the most prominent playback singers today he has to his credit songs like Oleeilaey - Azhagi, Girlfriend - Boys, Tippu Tippu and Sakthi Kodu - Baba. He has sung in several south Indian languages and has toured extensively as well. Someone who needs no
introduction and very easily can be called the Sonu Nigam of the south.

Shalini:
Popularly called Pop Shalini because of her successful Tamil pop album In the 90s, she’s a bubbly singer with songs like Vai raja vai-Panjathanthiram, Ennai konjam
mattri- Kakka Kakka, and gundu gundu-dhool. Her recent hits include songs from M Kumaran s/o Mahalakshmi, Sullan, 7 G rainbow colony, Giri and Khaadal. She is currently working on a trilingual album.

Tipu:
Another very prominent male vocalist in the south he has had hits with several music directors. His hits include Soora Thaenga - Ghilli (a major block bluster), Ennai Konjam Mattri -Kakka Kakka, Venmathi and Mama Mamamia -Minnale, Indhadi kapakezhangae-Dhool
, Dimsu kattai.He has also worked in several prestigious projects like Anbe Sivam, Arul, Aanjeneya and the recent hit Chandramukhi.

Suchitra:
A voice that Chennai wakes up to and moves to. A vibrant personality who can hold an audience with her charm, she has sung the hit May Madam-JJ and the incredibly popular humming in Uyirin Uyirae- Kakka Kakka. Her recent hit from Manmadhan-En aasai Mythili
is a chart topper. An actress, singer, MC and radio jockey-Mirchi Suchi.

Rahul:
A very spirited performer Rahul Nambiar is a singer to watch out for. At ease with different styles and one of the very few singers to sing regional as well as Hindi he is also well versed in singing Western music-both chorale and pop. Much sought after by event
managers to do corporate events Rahul is also a budding songwriter.

Bosskey:
A bank employee having a flair to make others happy, Bosskey is know for his extra-ordinary sense of humor. The above artists will be joined on stage by glittering dance performance by John Brittos and Tejashri.

John Britto:
A name extremely popular with events, John Brittos team have graced several high profile events and are also Chennai s answer to Dance schools around the globe with students from the age of 6-60.

Tejas’ri Dance Academy:
The man behind Tejas’ri is Muthu popularly called “Michael Muthu” for obvious reasons. A fast growing center for dance Tejas’ri also perform live around the city giving not just hope to budding dancers but that a successful career can be clubbed with another dancing.
In this regard we request you to kindly assist us in raising funds for this noble cause. The denominations of the tickets are Rs. 150/-, Rs. 250/-, Rs. 350 and Rs. 1000/-. Apart from the tickets, we are also looking forward for people who can donate in this regard and all the donations would be exempted under 80G.

Cognizant folks can contact:
* Muthukrishnan Manoharan (Elnet) - 98402
11012.
* Alagiri Selvaraj (TCO) - 98415 28800.
* Contributions above Rs.1000/- would be
exempted under Section. 80. G. There would be a
receipt that would be given from “Ebenezer Home of Social Outreaches” for the same.
* Cheques for the same can be addressed to “Ebenezer Home of Social Outreaches - Suresh Fund”

Some more points of contact: Aalaap 98407-28842,
Sridhar 98406-27369.

Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,

Muthukrishnan Manoharan.
121994
Cognizant (Elnet City , Chennai)

My blog buddy Subha had requested me to listen to her programme in All India Radio’s FM called Rainbow FM where she is an RJ and plays some cool english songs. She even made an irresistible offer, a song dedicated to bloggers like Kiruba, chakra and me.

Dear Subha, I managed to reach home a little after 8 and got the shock of my day when I stumbled on my uncle (Maama) who had come all the way from Virudhunagar. After some important discussions like whether Vaigai Express stops in Ariyalur and what could possibly be the reason, I suddenly remember your program and tune into that. All amidst the familiar background score of my Amma “Dei, Sun News ketkanum da”.

At the very outset, Subha your voice is so incredibly delicious, please tell me how many ice-creams you eat everyday?

Here, I think its important to let you know why I got stuck till 8. All because of that wonderful souls called HR consultants. Invariably, the conversation goes like this.

“Hi Prabu, we got your resume from the dustbin nearby and we have a job opening, would you be interested?

The bait is thrown.

The sucker that I am (”what if it’s a US offer for a skill-set which includes slow typing in Notepad, MS-Word?“), “Well, it depends…”

“Well Prabu, i am Smitha calling from Dubakoor consultants, you see this is regarding an opening in “Muniyaandi Vilas Infotech”, a US conglomerate having diversified interests from military hotel, lodges to software development. They are in urgent requirement of a developer of 4 years experience with certifications in Microsoft, Java, Interwoven, Plumtree, Macromedia and every other chachi 420 product vendors technologies who gives certificates.”

“Hey, the only certificate I have is my birth certifcate.”

Bang. The phone goes dead.

Phew. So much for job offers.

Throw in calls like this, the sudden awareness among my managers that I am actually getting paid every month and so should be made to work (how unfair! sob.sob). Add to it the Cow corridor with its innumerable unmanned level crossings and its 8′0 clock just like that.

I tune into your program around 8:20-ish and you are busy dedicating the song to your swim buddies ranging from that first-standard girl to the big paatimas of swimming.
I knew the status then and there. I had missed the most important part of the program.
Btw what song did you dedicate to kiruba, chakra and me?

Also, Subha let me make one important confession.

The only english lyrics I am thoroughly familiar with is “Baba Black sheep” which I read a few decades back. They don’t set tunes to those, do they? I also remember some from that “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall” thingie..

OK seriously, I know a guy called Bryan Adams. “Summer of 69″ was Bryan’s song, and I really liked that.(”Folks, Claps please!”).

But by and large, me and english songs jell as good as American Chopsuey and Muniyaandi Vilas.

Being the nice boy that I am, I listened to the whole of your programme inspite of the fact that the only thing that made complete sense was the repeated “Deccan Chronicle” commecial coz it was in tamil.

I also enjoyed some bits and pieces in “Thanking you” and “Show me the meaning”(Was that “Back Street Boys?”)which you played towards the end before that indipop song.

By the way, who was the gentleman who came in between for sports updates at 8:30?.
He sounded like he was threatened to give sports updates with a gun pointed at point-blank range. Hey just kidding, take it easy (just in case if it’s someone very close to you).

Regarding my kinda music, try playing Vanessa Mae, Kenny G’s “Breathless” and Yanni’s “Santorini”,”One Man’s Dream” & “Keys to Imagination” and I am sure you would be out of your RJ job soon. An instrumental buff instrumental in making you jobless. Unfortunately, these are the pieces i listen to.
(”Yes, yes, exactly the stuff you hear when you are in elevators and when the call gets transferred in Cutomer Care Centers”)

I know I disappointed you in no small measure by not listening to your program from the beginning. I know I lost the opprtunity of my life-time to impress one sweet girl, but that’s destiny.

As I said in the beginning, your voice is fantastic and I don’t mind listening to your voice every week. IMHO, you should actually try singing.

And folks, this blog post is dedicated to our one and only RJ Subha.

Oops, I should be reading User-Centered design principles and look what I am doing…
Take care makkale, catch you later…

Folks,

looks like even prabukarthik might get something to work on at last. So I will be out of blogdom for 2/3 days.