driving skills .......... on a slope !!

 

என்ன குமாரு ! பயமா !! - How good is your driving skill ? can you do this !!!

 How fearless are you ? – the descent takes couple of seconds only

art of dosa making ! .... ... saarukku sooda oru ... !!!

 

Life is simple !! - the art of dosa making – 70mm Dosa, Ragi dosa and round, roundaa dosa

 

Dedicated to all those who struggle to put a round on dosaikal and struggle more to take it out in one piece !!

 

[படையப்பா வசனம் மாதிரி]  :

ஏனுங்க ! அந்த தோசைக்கல்லுல கை பட்டா சுடாதுங்களா !!

- அந்த பையபுள்ள என்ன அசால்ட்டா !!!

: https://youtube.com/shorts/xcbfJf_CZUk

கம்பெடுத்தா சொல்லி அடிப்பேன் ... .. Silambam

 

சாந்து பொட்டு…  ஒரு சந்தன பொட்டு…

 

கம்பெடுத்தா சொல்லி அடிப்பேன்… ஹொய்…

ஜல்லி காளையைப் போல் துள்ளிக் குதிப்பேன்… ஹோய்…

ஒரு பம்பரமாய் சுத்தி அடிப்பேன்… ஹொய்…

 

சூராதி சூரரும் தீரரும் யாரு…

கோதாவில் ஒத்தையா நிக்கிறாரு…

வந்தாக்கா நெத்தியின் மத்தியில் ஜோரா…

சுண்ணாம்பு பொட்டதான் வக்கிறாரு…

How good a driver - are you ???

 

Driving skills !! 

 

Triplicane and many parts of Chennai have small lanes; may be same story in many Indian cities  - driving a two-wheeler [no to speak of a car] requires some special skills, one thought so

 

.. what do you tell about this truck driver  ~ that too reversing the lorry in a lane in Sowcarpet, Chennai  !!!!!  mind-blowing !! [file pic]

SYMA Childfest 2026 - Drawing by kids

 

ஒரு ஓவியமே ஓவியத்தை வரைகிறதோ !!  அடடா !!  ஆச்சர்யக்குறி !!!

SYMA Childfest 2026  Drawing Competition snapshot

Deep Dive

 

skillful driving in a small lane !!

 

Driving is a great skill .. see the lorry in a small lane in Sowcarpet area – literally no place on left or right even for a pedestrian and the driver could still maneuver the big vehicle on that lane.  I would faint doing this even  on a two-wheeler  !!

kolangal ~ GenNext !!

 

Kainkaryam at Thirukkovil …. Thiruvallikkeni GenNext !

vegetables dress !!

 

 

Beautiful vegetables !!  SYMA Childfest 2025 – fancy dress competition

My love for Typewriting !!

Do not read the Caption wrong ! (it is for and not at !!) 

Very happy in meeting this gentleman who shaped the lives of many in Triplicane – met him couple of days back near Sri Parthasarathi Swami temple – Mr Narayanaswami.  Have you ever felt bad in being ahead of time ?

 

For many of us 27 Car Street was a landmark !! ~ and this ever smiling man along with a group of good people transformed lives of hundreds. Mr MA Srinivasan  [fondly Gopu] was its Principal.  For those passing out in First class were awarded a travel bag – receiving them from the Chief Guest on Saraswati pooja day was a proud occasion. 

a couple of decades back, life was different -  Godrej, Facit, Remington and Underwood were household names;  Tripicane streets were dotted with Srinivasa, Padmavathi, Sarathy, Shivish Halda, Ganesh, Halashyam ………… and more.  Be it Mylapore, T Nagar, Purasawakkam or Mayavaram – situation was no different. One could see young boys and girls walking with rolled sheets of paper on hand  .. ..the learning courses were usually of an hour duration… the last 10 minutes, if you are to enter the hall, you might be frightened with the silence that precedes typical sound – keyboards pressed, cylinders moving, carriages returned,  occasional paper change… people with total concentration seeing printed matter placed on their side and deftly moving their fingers. 

It was the backbone of every office; you could have seen  them sitting in front of Courts; Registrar offices ~ and all important places where documents were the key…. From marriage certificates – to divorces; property registration and every other service were documented neatly…. Mostly without mistakes by lowly paid people.  In case you are wondering what this is all about… it is typewriters, typists and typewriting institutes… 

Even before Arts colleges mushroomed – there were Typewriting institutes and people rushed there.  A stenographer was premium – in great demand, though the typist to steno ratio in an office could often be 5 : 1 or even higher.  Stenotypists took dictation, hearing English, took notes in Pitman’s phonetic code and converted them back to written (typed) English on typewriter – making communication flow. 

I learnt Typewriting at ‘Srinivas College of Commerce’, ~ 27 Car Street, Triplicane, Chennai 600005  and later honed my ‘Shorthand skills’ also there.  This Institution shaped the career of many Triplicaniites and ensured livelihood to many more… really great service by Mr MA Srinivasan [Principal of Srinivasa Institute] and the batch of vivacious tutors who raised the confidence level of the youngsters that they sure would get a good job. One could happily recall – Sri – Raghu, Sundaramurthi, Santhanam; Sampath Sir, J Srinivasan, Narayanaswami … instructors who changed the lives of many.  Learning Typewriting (& Shorthand) easily provided job opportunities - more importantly, the confidence in a workplace. 

           In early 1980s it bustled with activity ~ institutes would open at 6 am and would close by 9 pm with break from 12 noon to 4 pm….. at Srinivas there were  70 odd typewriters (100+ at its peak)  and in every batch there would be so many girls and boys……….. at street corners some groups would stand waiting to watch those going to typewriting institutes with couple of sheets rolled in their hands… and inside the institutes also developed the love-stories of some… an odd smile, a glance, an exchange from a heartthrob would make you soar ! 

There were many good typists who could churn out error-free documents – neatly made  on a typewriter ; remember typewriter has no correcting mechanism and a mistake made would remain to be seen by all….. yet there were quality typists who could type big statements- multi-pages, which would then be pasted together … quite an achievement indeed.

 

Mr Narayanaswami who was one of the TW instructors, moved out of Triplicane at some point of time and has retired from service too.  Now he is back in Triplicane and it was such a joyous moment reconnecting ! 

If you remember the Q at the start, I joined Typewriting when I was in my X standard and those days most prominent, beautiful people were older to me !!  With love for Srinivasa Institute and regards to all those  who taught ~ in a tinge of sadness, the building is no more now. 

 
Regards – S. Sampathkumar
A proud good Stenographer
20.3.2024

  

Speed - Cutting Onions !!

 

Onions make people cry !!  When you cut onions – tears would come .. .. one good tip is : Cut them underwater

A person asked immediately ! :  then how would we breathe !!:  https://youtu.be/0lXfRd5octk

57 storey sky-scraper in Nineteen days ! @ '3 floors - a day'

The oft heard statement from people visiting any place after a long time, say 10 years is – ‘lot has changed – so many new buildings have come up !’. 

All of us know that houses do not come up in a week or a few days ! and buying an existing home is some compromise.  For middle class people, house has always been a dream ~ [in recent decades independent house has vanished with apartments themselves becoming costlier].   Chokkalinga Bagavathar did a commendable performance in Balu Mahendra’s ‘Veedu’ depicting the travails of a middle class family man bent upon building own house. 

When you plan to build a house on a vacant plot of land, there are so many variables.  The plan / blueprint is just the start – there will be so many plans and procedures.  Again, one can leave everything to a Contractor or get involved in everything.  If it is an old house, demolition too can be cumbersome.  Experts estimate that building a new house can take anywhere from five months to over a year depending on  the many  factors.  One can get overawed at the pre-construction period itself,  thinking of various permissions and the cost escalation.   Laying of foundation heralds the beginning of the project – clearing out, levelling, foundation laying all can take some time.  Then framing,  construction of walls, pillars, roofs and the like can take more months.  Once the physical structure gets ready [there will be some overlapping] – wiring, plumbing, interiors and finishing – all will take more months towards completion. 

At the construction stage, curing plays an important role on strength development and durability of concrete. Curing takes place immediately after concrete placing and finishing, and involves maintenance of desired moisture and temperature conditions, both at depth and near the surface, for extended periods of time. Properly cured concrete has an adequate amount of moisture for continued hydration and development of strength, volume stability, resistance to freezing and thawing, and abrasion and scaling resistance.

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According to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, in 1973 it took, on average, six months to build a single-family home.   In 1980, that number was up to 6.9 months, and in 2009 it was up to 7.9. In 2013, the latest data available, it was back down to six months.  Another source of UK -  (2012) of Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau shows that on average it takes about 7 months from obtaining a building permit to completing a new single-family home.

There are areas of Chennai which bursts with construction activity with tall buildings coming up so regularly ~ can you ever imagine building a skyscraper of 57 storeys coming up mere ’19 days’ at an astonishing ‘3 floors – a day’. 

How to build a skyscraper in NINETEEN DAYS: Time-lapse shows how Chinese firm builds 57-storey block at a rate of three floors a day.

MailOnline has this interesting report of a developer in China building  an entire 57-storey building in just 19 days.  The  time-lapse video shows, the Mini Sky City building was put up brick by brick at a rate of three full storeys a day in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province in south-central China. The building has 800 apartments and enough office space for 4,000 people. It was originally planned to be built up to a height of 220 storeys, but it was cut down because of concern it was too close to a nearby airport.

The prefab construction, which has 19 atriums which are each 10 metres tall, is also environmentally friendly, claims the developer, as large sections were put together at another location and taken to the building site to be stacked on top of each other.  That significantly reduced the number of trips needed to transport the raw materials, they said.  In all, 15,000 fewer truck journeys were made, greatly reducing dust and fuel pollution.    The company behind the construction, Broad Sustainable Building, previously accomplished constructing a 30-story building in Changsha in just 15 days. 

The building was also constructed with China's pollution problem in mind, using quadruple-thick glass and tight '99.9 per cent sealed' construction. Broad claims that its technology is 'the most profound innovation in human history'.  While the rapid construction is eco-conscious, some online users have raised concern over safety.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

12^th Mar 2015.

young Sumo wrestler dies of Corona

It is a Sport very closely associated with its religious origins, and Shinto principles continue to govern the everyday life of its practitioners. The entering of the ring itself is a Shinto purification ritual. The match doesn’t start until both the participants  have placed both hands on the ground at the same time. Sometimes one  tries to psyche the other out, pretending to put his hand down and then getting back up again.   There are divisions – the entry is at the lowest level and one has to work their way to the higher division.  Based on the  ranks, they  receive different levels of compensation, privileges, and status including marriage.

It is ‘Sumo wrestling’.  Sumo (lit. "striking one another") is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (dohyō) or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by throwing, shoving or pushing him down). The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally. It is considered a gendai budō, which refers to modern Japanese martial art, but the sport has a history spanning many centuries. Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from Shinto.

Life as a wrestler is highly regimented, with rules regulated by the Japan Sumo Association. Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal sumo training stables, known in Japanese as heya, where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dictated by strict tradition.

From 2008 to 2016, a number of high-profile controversies and scandals rocked the sumo world, with an associated effect on its reputation and ticket sales. Despite this setback, sumo's popularity and general attendance has rebounded due to having multiple yokozuna (or grand champions).  Arising out of scandals,   Japan’s sumo wrestlers were to  face questioning by outside investigators after a series of incidents tipped the sport into crisis. The move followed  the most high-profile case of sumo grand champion Harumafuji, 33, who was forced into retirement and later fined for attacking a junior-ranked wrestler during a drinking session while on tour of regional Japan late last year. Another wrestler hit the headlines for allegedly crashing a car while driving unlicensed, while a senior referee became embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal. The scandal involving Harumafuji, who carried the highest rank of “yokozuna”, received wall-to-wall coverage in Japan in November. It attracted the attention of the sports minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, who called for the eradication of violence among athletes.

Aware of the sport’s worsening image problems, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko did not attend the flagship new year sumo tournament in Tokyo for the first time in four years. Also in January, a former sumo apprentice reportedly launched legal action against a retired wrestler and stablemaster seeking damages over a previously unreported assault.

Now comes a sad incident of death arising out of Corona.  A 28-year-old Japanese sumo wrestler infected with the virus has died, the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) has announced, the first in the sport to fall victim to the virus. Shobushi, whose real name is Kiyotaka Suetake, died from multiple organ failure caused by the virus.

He had been the first sumo wrestler to test positive for the virus on 10 April, said Kyodo News. His condition quickly worsened and he entered intensive care nine days later. According to a report by Yomiuri News, around 1,000 members of the JSA will have to undergo a virus antibody test - the first large-scale testing event to be held in the Japanese sporting world. Last month, the JSA announced that a stablemaster and five other sumo wrestlers had tested positive for the virus.

Shobushi first suffered from a 38C fever on 4 April. His stablemasters - highly respected sumo coaches - have said they initially struggled to get through to the public health office on the phone, or to get a hospital to treat him. He was eventually admitted to hospital in Tokyo on 8 April, after his fever would not subside and he started coughing blood. A virus test came back negative. The next day, his condition worsened and he was transferred to another hospital. On 10 April, he finally tested positive for the virus. Nine days after this, his condition deteriorated and he was brought into intensive care.

On Wednesday, the 28-year-old died in hospital at midnight. It is not known if he suffered from any underlying health conditions. According to Yomiuri quoting the health ministry, Shobushi is likely the first person in their 20s to have died from the virus in Japan. A large majority of virus victims in Japan are above age of 50. Shobushi, who made his professional debut in 2007, ranked 11th in the sport's fourth-tier division, known as Sandanme. Tributes have now poured in for the young wrestler.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

13.5.2020.

well prepared is half-battle won - importance of Horn

1.      Battle of Hastings took place in 1066 where the Normans decisively defeated English army of King Harold II.  Legend that the battle was won because Normans had prepared well before the war and ‘well prepared is half won’.

2.       This man stopped when it was almost nearer -  K2 base camp,  reached an altitude of 8,200m. At around 1 am, when strong winds, snow drifts, and the lack of oxygen made breathing difficult,  he decided to make a U turn and return back down the mountain for  safety.  One should know when to give up too !  There is no such thing as failure, there are only lessons to be learned.

Horns are important for animals – they defend with them.  It has been theorized by researchers that taller species living in the open are more visible from longer distances and more likely to benefit from horns to defend themselves against predators.  In Western countries, they remove horns of their farm animals. Dehorning is the removal of a cow or calf’s horn in order to reduce the incidence of bruising and potential injury to animals or people.  Disbudding and dehorning are usually performed by farmers or contractors without the use of anaesthetic or pain relief and result in significant acute pain.

சமீப சில வருஷங்களில் திருவல்லிக்கேணிவாசிகள் அதிகம் புலம்பி வந்தது - தெருவில் அலையும் மாடுகள்.  முன்னொரு காலத்தில் எதையும் கவலைப்படாத கரிய எருமை மாடுகள் படுத்து இருக்கும்.  பிறகு பெரிய கொம்புகள் உடைய பசு மாடுகள் பல வீதிதனில் அலைய ஆரம்பித்தன.  சாப்பிட ஏதும் கிடைக்காமல் பையுடன் செல்பவர்களை துரத்தி, சில சமயங்களில் முட்டி, சில சமயங்களில் பயந்து ஓடுபவர்கள் பரிதாபமாய் விழுந்து - கடின காலம்.  இப்போது கொரோனாவில் தெருக்கள் எப்படி உள்ளனவோ ?  திருவல்லிக்கேணிவாசிகள்  அப்படி ஒன்றும் கட்டுப்பாட்டுடன் வீட்டியிலேயே இருக்கவில்லை !

மாட்டை மிக மிக அருகே பார்த்துள்ளீர்களா ? - கட்டு இல்லாமல் திரியும் மாடு தலையை ஆட்டி ஆக்ரோஷமாய் வரும்போது தைரியமாய் நின்றுள்ளீர்களா ?  நீதி நூல் சொல்கிறது  :  ஆடு மாடு போன்று தலையில் கொம்புள்ள பிராணிகளிடம்,  அருகில் நிற்காமல் ஐந்து முழ தூரம் தள்ளி நிற்க வேண்டும்.

கொம்பு உளதற்கு ஐந்து ; குதிரைக்குப் பத்து முழம் ;

வெம்புகரிக்கு ஆயிரம்தான் வேண்டுமே ; வம்புசெறி

தீங்கினர்தம் கண்ணில் தெரியாத தூரத்து

நீங்குவதே நல்ல நெறி

ஆனால்  வம்பு, தும்பு செய்வதையே தொழிலாகக் கொண்டுள்ள வீண் மனிதர்களிடமிருந்து (தீயவர்களிடம் இருந்து) அவர்களின் கண்ணில் படாத தூரத்தில் ஒதுங்கி நிற்பதே நன்மை பயக்கும்! அதுதான் நாம் கடை பிடிக்க வேண்டிய நல்ல நெறியாகும்!

He has walked across Siberia for one and a half years — alone! And when he teamed up with Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland, they became the first men to travel without dogs or motor to the North Pole during the permanent darkness of Arctic winter.  When he was eight years old, Horn made a determined effort to ride his bike 300km to visit his cousin – but was stopped by his father before he got too far. “I was curious to how many days it would take,” he said.  Horn did two years of military service among Angola’s guerrilla warfare with South Africa’s special forces. “It made me understand life is not a game,” he told Sidetracked. “I knew I had to go with the aim of surviving.”

Team India under MS Dhoni proudly lifted WC 2011 – preparing for the finals, the  team had  heard some motivational talkers and spiritual performers earlier – this time it was much different.  It was Mike Horn who gave them the pep talk ahead of the high octane semi final clash.  Not a single word on cricket but on adventure and the challenges of life in general.  Gary Kirsten ensured Paddy Uppington at mental conditioning coach and it perhaps was  the turn of Paddy to have another South African talking to the team  !!

It was said that the  concept was to keep the minds stress-free.   For us who follow only Cricket closely, Mike Horn (1966 born) is a South African explorer.  He studied Human movement Science [!] at the University of Stellenbosch and   worked in Europe as as a ski instructor, river and canyoning guide.  In 1995, Mike Horn opened the "No Limits" Outdoor Activity Sports Centre in Switzerland. It was during this time that he broke the world record for the highest descent of a waterfall with a hydrospeed, on the Pacuare River in Costa Rica.  After Amazon expedition, he was fascinated by the sport of sailing.  Mike Horn was elected a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy in January 2007 in recognition of his ground-breaking achievements which reflect great triumph of the human spirit against daunting odds.  He has authored books about his expeditions which are best sellers in France.  He is considered a motivational conference speaker and gives both public and private appearances.  

Through his travels, Mike says he has realized  the detrimental impacts of human activity on the biosphere, and in an effort to 'give back' he created the Pangaea Expedition. The word Pangaea means “hypothetical super-continent that included all the landmasses of the earth before the Triassic Period”.

Shortly after celebrations broke out following Germany’s World Cup victory in Rio de Janeiro, the extraordinary record of one member of the team dawned on people. Mike Horn had worked with the victorious German football team, he had been part of the Indian national side that won the cricket World Cup in 2011 and he was also a member of our Kolkata Knight Riders team that won the Indian Premier League. 

Horn once accompanied Kirsten and the South African cricket team, whom Kirsten then coached, on an expedition to the Alps in 2012, as a team bonding exercise and part of their preparation for their Test series against the then No. 1 ranked team England. They dominated England in the first test (of a 3 test series), a feat which England and world cricket had not seen in a decade. Eventually, South Africa went on and won the series 2–0 with one test drawn.

K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level, is the second highest mountain in the world, after Mount Everest at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft). It is located on the China–Pakistan border between Baltistan in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan, and Dafdar Township[3] in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang, China. K2 is the highest point of the Karakoram range and the highest point in both Pakistan and Xinjiang.  K2 is known as the Savage Mountain after George Bell, a climber on the 1953 American Expedition, told reporters "It's a savage mountain that tries to kill you."   Mike Horn was at 8200m altitude, the weather turned bad – it was almost 400m closer but he also realized that if he succeeds in reaching the summit, he may not come back – he took a decision to abandon achieving and came back !

In animal, horn is a permanent pointed projection on the head that consists of a covering of keratin and other proteins surrounding a core of live bone. Horns are distinct from antlers, which are not permanent. In many species, only males have horns. Horns start to grow soon after birth and continue to grow throughout the life of the animal  - here otherwise docile horn is pushing its horn on another !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

1.5.2020

AI helping predicting horse race and ... AI race - Aintree !

Less than a decade after breaking the Nazi encryption machine Enigma and helping the Allied Forces win World War II, mathematician Alan Turing changed history a second time with a simple question: "Can machines think?"

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread across the world, governments and hospitals are being overwhelmed with an influx of patients. Under such circumstances, one of the key challenges they must address is managing their resources and developing care and hospitalization strategies that can prioritize the riskiest patients. This is one area where artificial intelligence can help, experts at Jvion believe. The company, which specializes in clinical AI, is undertaking a data analysis project that will inform COVID-19 readiness strategies and help hospitals take a proactive approach to manage patient populations in the inpatient and outpatient settings.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. But even in a recent oratorical competition on AI, most students related AI to Chitti, the robot in Enthiran and how things could go wrong, if machines were to think and act on their own !!

The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over an official distance of about 4 miles and 2½ furlongs, with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps. It is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million in 2017. An event that is prominent in British culture, the race is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at other times of the year. The most recent running of the race, in 2019, was won by Tiger Roll ridden by jockey Davy Russell for trainer Gordon Elliott.

The next Grand National meeting will take place in 2021 following its cancellation in 2020 due to the coronavirus epidemic making it the first such cancellation since the end of the Second World War... .. will it be run in 2020 is the Q ! confused !! 

Have you ever ventured into a Race course – it is not simply madhouse, it is scientific dissection of predicting results.  Gamblers know that odds are heavily stacked.  It is not the best horse that wins always nor the best jockey – then how to spot the dark horse ?   There are too many variables and too many possible outcomes. Front-runners break a leg. Jockeys fall. Champion thoroughbreds decide, for no apparent reason, that they’re simply not in the mood. It could boil down to  “animated roulette.” Play for long enough, and failure isn’t just likely but inevitable—so the wisdom goes.  Yet it thrills !!

The US election result came as a surprise to many – the President-elect included – but not MogIA. The predictive artificial intelligence system out-figured most professional pollsters, calling Donald Trump’s electoral success. A rival system called UNU picked Hillary Clinton to win the popular vote, which she duly did, and it correctly predicted another notoriously difficult to call American race, the Kentucky Derby. Both systems  were scientific, systematic and analysed its results by listening to people. MogIA scans public social networks, while UNU surveys respondents, taking that human opinion and “amplifying” it into a system called “swarm intelligence”.  There similarly is AI Race Predictor which can give the probability of winning for every single horse in a race.  Which horse you choose to bet is your choice and could be influenced by odds offered by bookies.

So on a given day at the Indian Derby – it could % of probability of winning for Chaitanya Chakram @ 47%; Squanderer 37%; Vibrant Approach 13, Elusive Pimpernel 22%; Golden Glade 27% Budha Smile 41% - one need not place bet on Chaitanya Chakram which could have a decimal odd but Golden Glade offered 8-1 – one could be inclined to bet on the latter.

Horse racing is something like a religion in Hong Kong, whose citizens bet more than anyone else on Earth. Their cathedral is Happy Valley Racecourse, whose grassy oval track and floodlit stands are ringed at night by one of the sport’s grandest views: neon skyscrapers and neat stacks of high-rises, a constellation of illuminated windows, and beyond them, lush hills silhouetted in darkness. On the evening of Nov. 6, 2001, all of Hong Kong was talking about the biggest jackpot the city had ever seen: at least HK$100 million (then about $13 million) for the winner of a single bet called the Triple Trio. The wager is a little like a trifecta of trifectas; it requires players to predict the top three horses, in any order, in three different heats. More than 10 million combinations are possible. When no one picks correctly, the prize money rolls over to the next set of races. That balmy November night, the pot had gone unclaimed six times over. About a million people placed a bet—equivalent to 1 in 7 city residents.

Now read this interesting article in MailOnline – with the 2020 Grand National at Aintree understandably cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Virtual Grand National takes its place. Usually an appetiser before the main event, the virtual version of the world-famous steeplechase takes centre stage on Saturday.

Running for three years now the Virtual Grand National uses special technology to create a virtual form of the Aintree showpiece. As Aintree lies deserted, millions are set to tune in for the Virtual Grand National on Saturday.  The Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) revealed on Wednesday that betting companies will donate their profits from the Virtual Grand National to the NHS Charities Group to help in the fight against Covid-19.

Like other virtual racing, which happens all the time, the Virtual Grand National, deploys computer generated imagery (CGI) technology and algorithms to create a simulated version of the race. The technology takes on board form of the runners as well as their going preferences to produce a result.  The Virtual Grand National features 40 runners and the 30 fences, including The Chair and Becher's Brook, that make Aintree's race so special. Cause of Causes won the Virtual Grand National before finishing second in the real thing in 2017, Tiger Roll was victorious in both a year later and Rathvinden was first past the post in the Virtual Grand National and finished third at Aintree in 2019. 

The Virtual Grand National is pre-recorded and will be shown on ITV on Saturday at 5pm.  The TV special will feature the 40 horses and riders who were most likely to run in the Aintree spectacular on Saturday evening and will try to answer the key question in racing. The Gordon-Elliott trained Tiger Roll heads the field with other runners we witnessed at the Cheltenham Festival just a few weeks ago also in the line-up. Alongside Tiger Roll is Bristol De Mai, Elegant Escape, Top Ville Ben, Beware the bear, Peregrine Run, Total Recall, Story teller, Magic of light, Any second Now among others.

For this virtual race, bookies are taking placements but all profits made by major betting outlets will be given to NHS Charities Together, which covers more than 140 NHS charities. Bets on the Virtual Grand National could raise £1million to support the battle against coronavirus, according to research by GrandNational.org.uk.

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

2^nd Apr 2020.

Addiction, Obsession ~ Freecell Card game

In a Cricket crazy Nation, the word obsession may not need any lengthy elaboration. I do not have an answer for the Q – whether  the obsession for Cinema is more ?

Beyond the hype, this contest can perhaps be best viewed through the prism of the two captains. Shahid Afridi is the passionate, exhibitionist leader who doesn't mind showing his emotions on the field.  MS Dhoni is the uber-cool captain and, while he can be vocal while dealing with the press, he is almost invisible on the field. Silent nods of appreciation, a quiet word in the ear, calm instructions, a shrug of the shoulder is all you will get from him. And again, it's what this star-heavy team needs. Someone who can be calm and remind them of the basics of the game… so a great India Vs Pakistan match ? -  wondering what ?  - on this day 30.3.2011 occurred the 2^nd Semi Finals of WC 2011 between India and Pakistan at Mohali ~ and Espn Cricinfo is brining it ‘retrolive’ .. ..

For those who cannot live without reading on Cricket -  BCCI along with its affiliated state associations will contribute INR 51 crore (USD 6.8 million approx.) towards the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) fund to help India fight the coronavirus pandemic,  a BCCI release said on Saturday.

Leave aside Cricket or Cinema – how does your day start ?  - for most South Indians, it starts with a steaming hot tumbler of ‘filter coffee’  -  coffee is a comforting ritual that signifies the start of a new day and gives them energy to start that new day.  About 75 to 80 percent of people in the world drink caffeinated beverages regularly. In the United States, the amount of caffeine intake increases by age, peaking in the 50 to 64 age group. Coffee is the main source of caffeine, followed by carbonated soft drinks and teas.

Our neighbouring State is a different mix.  The alcohol ban in Kerala seems to be killing more people than the virus itself in the state, which has one of India’s highest per capita liquor consumption. The state, like the rest of India, was forced to go dry in the wake of the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown. In the past week, seven people committed suicide out of depression over not being able to buy alcohol in Kerala, while the virus has resulted in one casualty so far ! Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government was mulling the possibility of supplying liquor to alcohol addicts as the closure of bars and state-run beverage outlets during the lockdown period was creating social problems.

Before you ridicule it as addiction – think of your addiction or obsession.  When the average person thinks about addiction, most think about drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and maybe shopping or gambling. When a person is addicted to drugs or alcohol, they are chemically dependent on the drug. People who suffer from addiction many times also have other co-occurring disorders, such as obsessive/compulsive disorder. There is a strong correlation between addiction and obsessions.  An obsession is a ritualistic routine that becomes part of your normal life. Medically speaking it is a persistent preoccupation of a feeling or idea, which can be accompanied by anxiety. Obsessions can include excessive hand washing or repetitive counting.

An obsession and an addiction can look the same but the root is different.  For instance, if one is in the habit of playing cards for stakes every week spending approx. Rs. 2000 – is this addictive or obsessive could be the Q ?  - if he cannot remain without playing even for a week and if on a holiday he has the itch of playing and starts quarrelling with everyone when not allowed to – it is addiction.  A gambler would keep playing irrespective of whether he is winning, whether the partners are changing, whether there is change in venue or whatsoever.  If he wants to play every day at the same place and cannot remain without going to that place, perhaps that is obsession.  Addicts will slowly start dreaming on  how the money will be spent, what will be bought, and who will benefit from the winnings.  The dreaming is active, enticing, exciting, and consuming an entire day of thinking about the possibilities.

The adjective ‘obsessed’  would mean :  unable to stop thinking about something; too interested in or worried about something.  One of the common definitions of an obsession is “a idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind.” A person can be obsessed with an activity, a thought, a story, another person; the list is almost endless. This can become problematic in some instances when a person only wants to think or talk about one thing.

A diamond solitaire refers to any piece of jewelry with a single diamond. Diamond solitaires can be a ring, necklace, earring or even men's jewelry. This is not on diamond solitaire, but my obsession on a Card game Solitaire –‘freecell’.

Be it a marriage, function, cinema hall, cricket match, office, lecture room, class room or what .. .. people are obsessively involved in touching their mobile screens – checking for social media and playing games ! ~ I claim that I can live without mobile for a day or two – though me too have great obsession for social media.  We also see, people madly playing various computer games, especially on their smart phones -   their impulse control isn’t as strong.   It’s rather humiliating, since I’ve always been someone who adapted well to a disciplined schedule.  Me too am addicted to one particular game ‘Freecell’ – I played almost all the time I open my Computer at home and when I close it ! ~ for sure, have never played it on office machine or on office laptop.   The card games are no doubt interesting and challenging too !

While Cards offer various probabilities – here it is 52! (i.e., 52 factorial), or approximately 8×1067, distinct deals. However, some games are effectively identical to others because suits assigned to cards are arbitrary or columns can be swapped. After taking these factors into account, there are approximately 1.75×1064 distinct games, is how the challenge is described.

For those uninitiated - Freecell game - one standard 52 card deck – there are 4 open cells and 4 open foundations – there are some alternates too.  Cards are dealt face-up into eight cascades, four of which comprise seven cards each and four of which comprise six cards each.

The lure of FreeCell, a highly strategic solitaire game that can be summoned with just a click or two on the desktop is very seductive challenging you to win the deck.  It is winnable but could be challenging.  To me, the challenge is one last single click that arranges all the remaining cards – so of the 52 at what stage do you get that single click possibility is the fantasizing Q.  Today I got it at 46 i.e., only 6 cards stacked  – 46 cards remaining and putting 5 Spades (attached 4 dice)  into 6 possible places, (4 empty top space or below 6 hearts or first empty stack ends the game on a victory note !. 

            FreeCell can be traced back to the mid-1970's, when a version was written by Paul Alfille in Tutor, a programming language designed for the University of Illinois's computer system. Until it was included with Windows 95 as a game accessory within the operating system, it remained relatively obscure. Now it is an integral part of Microsoft operating system. Microsoft has included a FreeCell computer game with every release of the Windows operating system since 1995, greatly contributing to the game's popularity. Nearly every FreeCell game can be won. Only one of the 32,000 deals in the Microsoft Windows version has been deemed impossible: No.11,982 is one bad trip.  Using the basic deal numbering system that virtually all FreeCell games use, game #11982 is the first unwinnable game of FreeCell. ... After that only the games #146692, #186216, #455889, #495505, #512118, #517776, and #781948 are unsolvable out of the first million games. Therefore, unsolvable games of FreeCell are literally eight out of a million.

So how obsessed are you ? after my  #metoo confession !  .. .. Obsession is a 1976 psychological thriller film directed by Brian De Palma, starring Cliff Robertson, Geneviève Bujold.   The story is about a New Orleans businessman who is haunted by guilt following the death of his wife and daughter during a kidnapping-rescue attempt. Years after the tragedy, he meets and falls in love with a young woman who is the exact look-alike of his long dead wife.

Obsession ~ Freecell and .. .. ..

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

30.3.2020.