Rocket SCience !

 ராக்கெட் எப்படி பறக்கும் !!  ப்ரஹ்மானந்தம் கேள்வி ?

 

You might have heard the phrase “It is not rocket science” tossed around!. When someone says “It’s not rocket science,” what they really mean is that something is not so difficult. Rocket scientists are brilliant people, but rocket science is based on concepts that we understand.

 

Rocket propulsion is defined as ‘the  force that is used by the rocket to take off from the ground and into the atmosphere’.

 

Thrust is the force which moves any aircraft through the air. Thrust is generated by the propulsion system of the aircraft. Different propulsion systems develop thrust in different ways, but all thrust is generated through some application of Newton's third law of motion. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In any propulsion system, a working fluid is accelerated by the system and the reaction to this acceleration produces a force on the system. A general derivation of the thrust equation shows that the amount of thrust generated depends on the mass flow through the engine and the exit velocity of the gas.

 

During and following World War II, there were a number of rocket- powered aircraft built to explore high speed flight.

 

One need not know rocket Science, just see and enjoy life with little things that gives us happiness.  Happy morning

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
27.5.2023

 

Best wishes to Bobby S Giridharan on his birthday

Today, May 26 – he turns 67 – a man of wisdom beyond age. One day, he threw a challenge to friends – ‘ask me anything about any actor / actresses including the name(s) of their dogs’ – I can answer.  Such is his power of remembering even trivial things.  He is  fondly called Bobby (after Bobby Simpson revealing his one sided support for Australian Cricket team) 

It is his  humane approach more than his knowledge that makes him stand apart.  Fortunate to know him since 1985, first saw him at a Cricket ground in Oriental inter-office tournament which turned fiery ! 

In 1989, following amended Motor Vehicles Act 1988 – Motor Tariff underwent a sea change – from NCB – Malus too was introduced.  Oriental Insurance conducted a seminar for its officers and Underwriters at Hotel Pandiyan, handled entirely by the genius who lucidly explained all the concepts, took the Qs and ensured that everyone were able to understand the changes in Tariff clear. 

His vocabulary and command over English language is commendable. His knowledge in insurance is exceptional; his teaching skills exemplary as would be vouched by 100s of +2 Insurance students who benefitted.  In Office, he shone in Motor and TP claims where he took settlements to a newer level with humanity writ large in compensations.  He was equally well versed in Property insurances as well. 

He should have reached much higher posts - Sad that his career had some difficult torrid times brought about by some vested interests – today he lives in His Empire, loved and respected by thousands in Insurance field.  He has helped many people reaching out to people requiring any support. 

He was so much for Sports that during his tenure Oriental Madras RO  had some good Sports recruits in Cricket and became a power in PSU Cricket.  In 1999 OIC conducted National Athletics Meet in Chennai and his planning was immaculate.  The games were conducted at Nehru stadium with International Ms Shiny Wilson inaugurating, overseen by International referees.  Every aspect of the meet including stay of the participants in a Star hotel was meticulously arranged and conducted by a small team handpicked by him (yours truly was his spokesperson !!) 

For sure, there is much more to say !  -  fortunate to have been associated with him for a brief tenure at OIC – long live Sri Srinivasan Giridharan Sir !  He showed that knowledge is not to be feared but to the spread to everyone in the manner that they can understand !! 

May our Emperuman bless you with a long healthy life, bereft of any problem to ensure that you live happily with your family.

 

A picture of him speaking on a podium would have been apt – yet these two taken during the Athletic meet are posted here.  May 26^th is Giri’s birthday.

 
One of your many fans – S. Sampathkumar
26.5.2023 

the cruel ways of Colonists & Churches - National Sorry Day

On field fracas are not new !  .. .. players do let off the steam .. .. a fake Naveen-ul-Haq account on twitter posted apology to Virat Kohli. Fans fell for the series of tweets and retweeted them thinking it was indeed the LSG pacer who was saying sorry to RCB batter… ..  in pic Ben Stokes apologizing after that incident in World Cup

There's something very powerful about receiving or giving a heartfelt, genuine apology. Bad apologies, on the other hand, can be disastrous and lead to more hurt. Apologising is hard because people  don’t want to feel bad about themselves.  We try to have a positive image of ourselves, and our need to protect that can make sincerely apologising quite hard. Showing, not just saying, that you regret what you have done is an important part of apologising.

 

Inglis will return to Perth after the first Ashes Test starting on June 16 and his place will be taken up before the second Test at Lord's by 30-year-old Queensland gloveman Peirson, who has 65 first-class games to his credit.  Alex Carey is Australia’s first-choice keeper for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India and the five Ashes Tests and Inglis has been selected as his back-up.

No Cricket post but something on apology and Australia !!

Following the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the First Fleet, under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales. A camp was set up and the Union Flag raised at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, on 26 January 1788,  a date which later became Australia's national day.   The British claim extended to the whole Australian continent in 1827 when Major Edmund Lockyer established a settlement.  On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved  - After the 1907 Imperial Conference, Australia and several other self-governing British settler colonies were given the status of self-governing "dominions" within the British Empire. 

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands.  The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world.  Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia.  

.. .. ..and the colonisers were not exactly merciful, they were merchants who fleeced every Nation of their riches and also engaged in promotion Christianity by every possible means .. .. cruelly,  they removed children from original settlers and the  removed children were, in most cases, placed into institutional facilities operated by religious or charitable organisations. A significant number, particularly females, were "fostered" out. Children taken to such institutions were trained to be assimilated to Anglo-Australian culture. Policies included punishment for speaking their local Indigenous languages. The intention was to educate them for a different future and to prevent their being socialised in Aboriginal cultures. The boys were generally trained as agricultural labourers and the girls as domestic servants; these were the chief occupations of many Europeans at the time in the largely rural areas outside cities.  A common aspect of the removals was the failure by these institutions to keep records of the actual parentage of the child, or such details as the date or place of birth.  

The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments. The removals of those referred to as "half-caste" children were conducted in the period between approximately 1905 and 1967,  although in some places mixed-race children were still being taken into the 1970s. Official government estimates are that in certain regions between one in ten and one in three Indigenous Australian children were forcibly taken from their families and communities between 1910 and 1970.

The Aboriginal Protection Act 1869  included the earliest legislation to authorise child removal from Aboriginal parents. The Central Board for the Protection of Aborigines had been advocating such powers since 1860. Passage of the Act gave the colony of Victoria a wide suite of powers over Aboriginal and "half-caste" persons, including the forcible removal of children, especially "at-risk" girls.  As a result of such legislation, states arranged widespread removal of (primarily) mixed-race children from their Aboriginal mothers.  Policemen or other agents of the state (some designated as "Aboriginal Protection Officers") were given the power to locate and transfer babies and children of mixed descent from their mothers, families, and communities into institutions for care. In these Australian states and territories, institutions (both government and missionary) for half-caste children were established in the early decades of the 20th century to care for and to educate the mixed-race children taken from their families – can there by more cruelty to people !!

National Sorry Day or the National Day of Healing is an annual event held   in Australia on 26 May, commemorating the Stolen Generations. It is part of the ongoing efforts towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The first National Sorry Day was held on the one-year anniversary of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report. It examined the government practices and policies which led to the Stolen Generations and recommended support and reparations to the Indigenous population. While Prime Minister John Howard refused to apologise, his successor Kevin Rudd issued a formal apology in 2008 on behalf of the federal government. National Sorry Day has also inspired many public acts of solidarity and in support of reconciliation.

In 2005, the National Sorry Day Committee renamed the day the National Day of Healing, with the motion tabled in Parliament by Senator Aden Ridgeway. In his words: "the day will focus on the healing needed throughout Australian society if we are to achieve reconciliation".  

Sad, sad state of affairs – of the cruel, inhuman treatment meted to humanity by so called kind educated dignified people – the Europeans.

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
26^th May 2023. 

Harsha kept pecking on MSD's retirement !!

I have been a great fan of MS Dhoni – not only  for his game, his helicopter shots, quickfire stumpings, leadership qualities, Cricketing acumen, success at DRS, handling team, mentoring youngsters … .. and his measured talking at post-match shows – praising the team when winning, speaking about process and taking the blame when losing – a great Management guru.  It was irritating and more than a bit painful to hear Harsha Bhogle again and again broach on the same subject ! – when he would call it a day !!

It is the famous cliché situation – all other teams fighting for the right to play the wise and old CSK in the finals !

Retirements are  normal; We have seen so many in our lives with the passage of time…… it is a process where a person stops employment / work completely.  We are not speaking about anything forced but the natural retirement upon person reaching the prescribed age limit of 58 or 60….  In some ways, it is a happy event that somebody can take rest peacefully and perhaps devote his time and attention to religious or social activity ~ not required to work any longer……not all are fortunate..  retirement is  an emotional event for everyone and it is more emotional for the retiree.    

The first price of popularity is that one is hounded quite often of ‘retirement’……… the great genius writer Sujatha in his heydays was confronted in a student’s forum with the Q  : Sir, when will you stop writing ? Pat came the reply – ‘in the night ~ when I feel too sleepy’………… ~ one need not be guided by the Q and can have one’s own way !! The Genius Little Master  SAchin Tendulkar was haunted with the Q of his retirement .. .. and so many critics have been speaking in many tones about  the retirement of the mercurial Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The mercurial MSD surprised everyone on 30.12.2014 – the boxing test had just been drawn and Dhoni was 24* - 4 overs left with 4 wickets in hand – MSD made no mention during the customary Captain’s press conference at the end of the match.  Then a BCCI release stated that MSD had resigned citing the strain of playing all formats. We thought that 2020 will see MSD striking it rich in IPL and turn for India in T20 WC 2020 – but Covid-19  changed lives.

No.  ‘199’ gained so much of attraction – it was a test match at Eden Gardens – Rohit Sharma fresh from the euphoria of a double ton in ODI got his Test cap from Sachin, after having played 108 ODIs – getting the nod over Ajinkya Rahana.  Alongside also debuted Mohammed Shami preferred over Ishant.  The badshah of Cricket – Sachin Tendulkar decided to retire – the swansong was to be  at Wankhede  on his 200^th test and there were talks that the Series itself was arranged  to allow him select his retirement at his home ground.

ஓய்வு உடலுக்கும் மனதுக்கும் தேவையானது. ஒருகட்டத்தில் உடலின் உருக்கமான வேண்டுகோளை ஒவ்வொருவரும் உணர்வர். ஒய்வு எடுக்கும் சமயம் அதி முக்கியம் - இது அதீதமாக தூங்குவதல்ல.    ஒருவனை அழிக்கும் அவனுக்கும் அவனது குடும்பத்திற்கும் நாட்டிற்கும்,  அலுவகத்திற்கும் தீங்கு விளைவிக்கும் நான்கு குணங்களை திருவள்ளுவர் கூறுகிறார்:

நெடுநீர் மறவி மடி துயில் நான்கும்

கெடுநீரார் காமக் கலன்.

நீண்டஅழுகை, மறந்துவிடுவது, சோம்பல், அதிகபட்ச உறக்கம் இவை நான்கும் அழிவை விரும்புபவர்களின் ஆயதங்கள் என்கிறார் செந்நாப்போதார்.  நாம் கூறும் ஒய்வு இதல்ல.  ஓய்வு என்பது தொடர்ச்சியான செயலில் இருந்து  விடுபடுவது.  மாற்றுச்செயலில் ஈடுபடுவதும் கூட ஓய்வுதான். மனதுக்கும், உடலுக்கும்  ஓய்வு தேவை, புத்துணர்ச்சிஅளிக்கிறது.  ஒய்விற்குப் பின் செய்யும் செயல்கள் அதிகபலனை அளிக்கிறது. உலகில் ஓய்விற்காக தொடங்கப்பட்ட பலதுறைகள் இப்பொழுது பெரும்வளர்ச்சி பெற்றுள்ளன -  சுற்றுலா, கேளிக்கை அரங்கம், சினிமா, நாடகம், தொலைக்காட்சி, இசை, நடனம், உடற்பயிற்சி, உணவுவிடுதிகள் மற்றும் பல  மக்களுக்குப் பலவிதமான ஓய்வெடுக்கும் வாய்ப்புகளை உருவாக்கித் தர வல்லன. எனினும்,   மனதிற்கான ஓய்வு தேவை  வெளிப்படையாக தெரிவதில்லை. இதனால் பலர் மனதிற்கான ஓய்வுத் தேவையை சரியாக நெறிப்படுத்துவது இல்லை.அனுதினமும் புதியபுதிய நிகழ்வுகளால், மனம் ஓய்வின்றி செயல்படுகிறது.  

The daddy’s army Chennai Super Kings reached their tenth Indian Premier League final on Tuesday night, defeating defending champions Gujarat Titans in the first qualifier in Chennai. The Hardik Pandya-led side, that had finished at the top of the table, has chance to have another  shot at reaching the final,  will meet the winners of the eliminator game between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants – winners of which will challenge CSK.

In the post match show, Harsha Bhogle even before appreciating the spectacular performance, tried to gloat over the fact that this is MSD’s final appearance in Chennai – yes 2023 season is drawing to a close and there are only 2 matches left !  Speculations have been rife on whether Dhoni will return to the great brand again in 2024 edition.  

Though Harsha kept repeating Dhoni had his way, he  didn't confirm on his return, but insisted that he has ample time to take a decision on his CSK career.  "Frankly, it takes a heavy toll. I have been out of home for literally four months," Dhoni said  - "I will always come to CSK. I have been out of home from January, been practicing since March, so we will see," he added. "January 31 was when I got out of the house, finished my work, and started practicing from 2nd or 3rd of March. It takes a lot, but I have ample time to decide. I have 8-9 months to decide. Why take that headache now. I have ample time to decide. The auction is in December," the 41-year-old said.

Simply – will cross the bridge when it comes, when worry now !   CSK's bowling coach Dwayne Bravo, however,  seemingly confirmed that Dhoni would return as player in the next edition. In the post-match interview with broadcasters Star Sports, when anchor Mayanti Langer asked Bravo on whether Dhoni will be seen in the coveted yellow jersey, Bravo said, “100 percent.”  Especially, with the Impact Player rule. It will keep prolonging his career,” Bravo said, much to the delight of Matthew Hayden and Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who were standing next to Bravo during the interview.

“He bats really deep. I think the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, (Shivam) Dube... these guys make a huge difference. You don't require much from MS. But he has the ability to keep his calm when the team is under pressure,” Bravo further said.

Kapil, the greatest all-rounder for India played  131 Test matches,  scored 5248 runs in 184 innings at an average of 31.05 with 8 hundreds and 27 half-centuries. In 131 tests, he took 434 wickets at 29.64 with 23 five-wicket hauls and best bowling figures of 9 for 83 against the West Indies.  In One dayers (always remember WC 1983) he scored 3783 runs (175* highest) and took 253 wickets in 221 innings.

On that day at Faridabad  Oct 17, 1994 to be pecise – Kapil Dev was not given the new ball – Manoj Prabhakar, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble and Rajesh Chauhan bowled 10 overs each – while Sachin bowled 5.  It was sad and sickening and even made me cry when Kapil walked from deep square leg to bowl another over but  was unceremoniously sent back by the Captain Azharuddin.  Kapil in his normal self having completed 5 overs walked towards the Umpire, but the ball was sort of snatched by the Captain. For me in someways, Cricket was never the same thereafter ! – exceptional wrong treatment of a Senior on his retirement.

Yet, retirements are but common and do happen – me too have started counting the months !!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
25.5.2023