Algorithms Series – Post 1

Algorithms – It’s a very beautiful detailed topic with loads of depth. Knowingly or unknowingly, we use algorithms in our day-to-day activities.  I’m going to write a series of posts about algorithms to explain it in much simpler terms for wider audience.

That said, how can we define algorithm? Its basically a procedure to solve a particular problem. Set of protocols to be solved while solving a particular problem. It comes with constraints. Given this this, how could you achieve this within this much time or space..

To make it even simple, if you’ve prepared tea in your life, you’ll know that you require the following inputs:

• Tea powder
• Milk
• sugar

And then you’ll have to do the following:

• Get a kettle
• Turn on your gas stove
• Boil milk
• put some tea powder
• Let the essence spread over milk
• Wait for some time
• Now, turn off gas stove. get some sugar and serve hot.

So, pretty much, that’s a simple algorithm to prepare tea (which is nothing but the problem in question).

Well, there are many many sophisticated algorithms solving real time problems. And the biggest concern with your algo is time and space complexity.

So, if you go back to the tea preparation algo, can you see if there is an option for you to optimize it better? if you have a tea bag, then your job becomes much simple. All that you’ve to do is to get some hot water or milk, add sugar, dip this bag to take your sip.

At any point in time, when you devise an algo, please consider time and space complexity. All that you solve for, would span out to be a much bigger problem, eventually consuming hell lot of time is strictly not acceptable. This is why, people always prefer a constant solution (something that runs quickly with exponentially growing inputs).

Let me cover some important algorithmic paradigms and famous problems in future posts.

Stay tuned!

Thanks!

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Alcohol – Slow Poison!

Well.. This evening while I was riding on to home, I saw  a long queue and was beginning to wonder why that place was so crowded and what was the queue for, only in the end to know that the queue lead people to TASMAC (wine shop!).

Well, what is alcohol?

Is it a cure for some disease? No

Does it make you feel relieved? You think so but its actually NO!

What is it then? Its just a chemical called ethanol produced by fermentation and is mixed in certain proportions and sold out as liquor.

Does your body need ethanol? No.. Then why do you supplement it with ethanol? Do you think how difficult it will be for your body and how many organs are involved and what all happens while converting this complex chemical to a simple substance?

Alcohol via oesophagus enters into your stomach and from there to intestine, then it mixes with the bloodstream, that way, it goes to heart and to brain as well. So, stomach assumes its a food and tries to break it down.. Its so complex, so it pushes it to liver which in turn breaks this complex ethanol to acetaldehyde and CO2. So, you literally get nothing out of it.

It just enters your brain and interrupts synapses between brain cells which is why lose control and you begin to blabber. its plainly because your brain activity is interrupted and when liver can only break at a certain rate and when you cross the limit, alcohol concentration in the bloodstream increases and you begin to lose conscience. You do wierd things and its because of interrupted brain activity.

All that you do is hurt your liver, brain and kidney because kidney had to excrete this additional water content. So, you really dont get low or high. You just hurt your system and begin to lose control.

Just sit quietly. Be calm and think through once 🙂 Big deal, huh?

You can slowly begin to reduce alcohol intake and then replace it with fresh juices yaar!

Too big of an ask! Try na 🙂 You’ll begin to feel the difference. Why would you want to disturb your god given system? Drink water instead na!

I’m writing this as a well wisher. Nothing more, nothing less!

Whether or not, you take it up, its up to you!

 

Cheers!

Yamini L

Love – Emotion or existence?

LOVE – Can anyone define love? No way! One can only experience LOVE. One can only feel love. Can we see god? No… We still believe in god, we’ve tremendous faith in god, so is love. It doesn’t mean that only a boy and a gal can be in love. As a matter of fact, anyone on this planet can love anyone else or anything. It’s just not a boy-gal thing. It’s more than that!! The very reason behind my inspiration to write this post is that I’ve seen and heard various interpretations of love. Love is innate! It is just flowing in you, is there in your every cell, and is what is holding you and this entire universe! Every single creature loves! You’re being loved by everyone and everything!

If you’d ask me, there is a big list of people who I love. At the same time, there is a big list of things that I love, list of mysteries that I love, list of problems as well that I love!

I love my family, my friends, children, elders, god, myself (my immune system, digestive system, respiratory system, sensory organs, hands, legs and most important of all, my very tender heart 🙂 and my very lovable, curious idiot, my brain :)..  Well, I rise (or fall?, let’s rise in love 🙂  with almost any and every kid I come across in life. And of course, I love my car, love my two wheeler, love my home, my city, certain foreign lands, love my laptop, love stars, sky, that mysterious lady- moon, the bright guy – sun, our solar system, those 9 planets, galaxies, oceans, insects, animals, dogs, cats! And it doesn’t stop there!

I love dark nights, dawn, dusk and brisk early mornings! I love birds, their chirping, their activities, their wanting to share their food with their friends and family! love my terrace, love my trees, my garden, my plants, flowers, fruits, I even love those rats that come out from a tunnel to eat those last dropped food particles! I love my squirrels, how cute, the way it beautifully grabs food with 2 hands!! Awww ❤ 🙂 🙂 ! Love my mom’s patience to feed these creatures every single day! And the way she gets amazed on looking those kids drinking water, enjoying her food and all that!

Most importantly, I love nature! I love boomi madha (mother earth). Imagine nature is one of the most beautiful creations or creator ever! Nature creates resources and replenishes as time fades through! Nature gives us everything! There are lot of things or mysteries around us and if we begin to wonder, we’d simply fall(or rise :)) in love with every single thing we come across! Nature is a marvel beauty!

I love snakes, their tunnels, their scales.. Wow! See how nature gave scales to snakes, see how we’ve our skull protected with hair and all that! See, how every single creature on this planet has some mechanism to protect themselves from their enemies and to adapt to the environment? See this beauty. If you look inside, there are innumerous things that you’ll wonder about! Though you may satisfy your quench with certain scientific explanations, yet you’d be left in that state of amazement! Isn’t it?

Do we know how our brain works? Do we know how many electrical impulses are generated inside? Do we know how WBC fights against pathogens? Shouldn’t we love and thank our WBCs for actively waking up and for fighting against pathogens or foreign bodies and protecting us from any disease? Huh? Think!

Have you seen platelets immediately responding to your wounds? Have you observed your tissues regrouping? Have you observed your nails? Have you observed those sounds on digestion? Baby inside mom’s womb? Isn’t amazing? Baby, the way it positions itself inside womb, the way placenta carries food? Which math logic would we apply here? It just takes care of itself. Does someone instruct these systems to behave this way? Is it brain? Then who is instructing brain to give instructions to other systems? Huh????? Well, these are beautiful mysteries that will leave us in a deep state of wonder! One side we can keep wondering! Other side we can keep finding out and learn about and thank these systems?

Those lungs, diaphragm, rib cage, marvel beauty – spinal cord – the way its gets attached to brain stem – bone marrow, longest bone – femur, do you know how our knees work? How many joints are there in our body? How beautifully various bones are architected inside to come together in such a way that we can walk, run, kick, hit and do all that we can do with our legs without any friction?

That tender lovely heart – those 4 chambers – the way it pumps out blood to brain and to other parts of body – rate at which it pumps – arteries, veins – Huh? Beyond science, do we see how beautiful these organs are? I’ll make a request here… Just keep your heart very pure and clean. Please!! Knowingly or unknowingly, please don’t do a thing or two that’ll affect your heart or others heart! All that we’ve to do is to simply care for everyone we come across in life without any intent and we’ll naturally have a pure heart! And if we know very well in advance, that we are affecting someone else’s heart, let us give them a chance and hear their thoughts before we do anything! Do we know everything? Nah, so, nothing wrong in letting others speak!

Just think! There are lot of things inside us that if we think through will help us rise in love with ourselves and with fellow human beings.

Anything and everything that we get attached to or in other words, we care, we love it! We even feel for a non-living object and sometimes it feels good, sometimes, it simply takes a big toll on us! It just depends!

I do not know if we should call it as attachment and just ignore saying that attachment is the root cause of all pain! I think it’s more than attachment. I think its seeing beyond what is said. Most of the times, between what is said and what is understood, certain beautiful things are lost! And you don’t have to say things! Words doesn’t count! It’s only your actions that proves! Just walk the talk! Sometimes, if things are beyond control, we should at least clarify and most importantly see things from other side! What we think is not at all possible can be a peanut of an effort for others. We really don’t know. So, we should always hear what people has to say! At no point in life, should we be responsible for destroying someone or something! As much as we can, we can give our best and try to construct someone or something!  Let us be optimistic and give our best without any expectations to everyone who we come across in our lives. We should or can lead someone or something on, but in the end, let us be there to catch when that thing or person has issues… If not, the whole idea of leading on is gone! It’s okay to give people whom you trust, the power to destroy yourself! Because, we trust them not to 🙂

Don’t we love our memories? Don’t we love our school days? Don’t we love our college days? Don’t we love our first time fancy dress competition? Don’t we love our blunders? Don’t we love our teachers? Don’t we love all those who took care of us and who fought with us over time?

So, one cannot express their love for their family or objects by continuously saying it loud, one has to live their life in such a way that everyone or everything around feels loved. Anger is love, fear is love, hatred is love, fighting is love, talking is love, working is love, sleeping is love, your thoughts are love, your actions are love, every single thing or human beings represent love, for my parents loved each other, which is why now I’m  even writing this article. Isn’t it? Anyone while talking to us, should feel energized and should always leave on a positive note. If anyone is suffering, we should see through it and help them get out of it!

Distance, Time, money, looks – All these doesn’t count! All that matters is how we connect with people! Just that!We like and we love your dog but remember our dog unconditionally loves us.  That is important! Our dogs loves us beyond our imperfections! We win or lose, our dog will still love us! We feed or don’t feed, dog still loves us, we’re physically or mentally handicapped, our dog still loves us, short or tall, white or black, skinny or chunky, have job, no job, rich or poor, cruel or kind, our dog still loves us! That is seeing beyond ! That moment, we step in, our dog comes running all the way and gets our attention… Isn’t it? That’s love!  Our dogs love our souls, just loves us for who we are, not for what we are or how we look! Like mother child! Our mom loves us beyond our mistakes! God loves us beyond anything! Even if you show your face to mom, she comes back and talks to you in 2 minutes and you do the same. That’s love! Even if you fight with your brother, he still gets to know if you’re safe. That’s love! Even if you fight with your father, end of the day, he doesn’t sleep until you reach home. That’s love! Your sister loving you dearly is again love! A lady, who walks on road, could be an absolute stranger to you, but she smiles at you for no reason! That’s also love!

All this is natural because you’ve been with your people for so many years, you know them, and they know you! But those of you, who rise(or fall :)) in love, with a so-called stranger, that’s different! I can’t comment on this though but still I think that connect as well is a beautiful thing! It’s like 2 parallel lines always going together without any issues unlike 2 intersecting lines. I’ve seen few people who rose in love, being there for each other through the end… I’ve also seen few others, who had to listen to their parents or change according to the situations!

Step hard on your ego and kill it! Just be yourself! Be natural. If your nature is to not hurt others, to see things from others perspectives, care less for yourself and more for others, if those are your trademark traits, so be it! Do not change! I tell you, people like you are hard to find. All that’s required in you is sincerity, honesty, transparency and loyalty in all that you do! And rest  – that’s a given!

Always get into other shoes and see things from their perspective as well. They may have problems that we’re not aware of! Always, let others speak(give a chance) and do active listening. Let’s not get into “I know everything” mode, ever! This life is very short! You do not if there is hell or heaven or what will happen to your soul once you’re dead. So, be kind and love everyone beyond their imperfections!

Everyone is good enough! And let’s not judge! We’re not here for judging others. Just be kind! When we give someone a position or a critical place in our life, be sure to give it to someone who’ll live up to it and trust them and you can make them live up to it! Come what may, even its hardships all through, we should smile and face it through (given you get wonderful support)! It doesn’t take a lot of effort to do anything, however hard or tough it is, when we know its for our good or if its for the good of others (at least to me :))! We simply take it as a challenge and live through! Yes, at the same time, we cannot demand others but whether or not, we demand or request, we do not know! It just depends on how others perceive it! Whatever it is, let us not ignore someone or something for their imperfections or mistakes. End of the day, it’s just the heart and soul that matters. Rest is immaterial.

I’d like to leave you all with the best “thirukural”  about love and affection.

அன்பிற்கும் உண்டோ அடைக்குந்தாழ் ஆர்வலர்
புன்கணீர் பூசல் தரும்

Meaning – Is there any fastening that can shut in love? Tears of the affectionate will publish the love that is within.

I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy and a prosperous Tamizh new year!!

Cheers! Rise in love!

PS: Title of this post  –  Copied from SS 🙂 That’s how SS explains love!

Ma, Maa, Amma, Momma :) :)!!

Ma – Mommy – Mother – Well, a post to write about my mom!

Can god be everywhere?? Yes, No, May be?? Which is why god created mother!

This bond between a mom and child, in my opinion, lasts for 7 lives (or may be more than that). Right from day one, a women conceives a baby until she delivers it, that connect, I think every woman would have to go through to know what it is. For me, I’ve heard my mom describing that phase, when she was carrying me in her womb and all that I did inside, OMG!! This is one of the best connects ! Very very pure, extremely sacred, unconditional love! It started from the umbilical cord, though it was severed after delivery, yet there is an unseen cord shared between this duo, that keeps this relationship going! Come what may, no matter what, how many ever hardships she had to face, has any of us ever seen a mom giving up on her child?

Never, ever will she do that.. If we as a child commit any mistake, of course, she has to be authoritative and correct us but she is not going to DITCH us, right!! She is not going throw her kid onto a dustbin! She’ll not leave her kid and run away!! And anything in life, I don’t think can equal the sacrifice that a mom does for her child!

She has fed us with what? Her blood! Her blood converted to milk is what nourishes a baby for the first couple of years! We do not know or have any idea about the nutritional value of mom’s milk. Its a separate topic altogether but for now, its very important to know it’s mom milk that plays a pivotal role in determining the intelligence and immune level of the baby!

What else? Does it stop right there? Nah! From delivery to feeding to caring to holding our hands, see her baby walk, fall, cry, day in and day out, she lives for her baby!

It doesn’t stop there! At least in my case! Of course, all that I’m, I have to attribute it to my mom, for she was someone I always looked up to! The kind of motivation she gives, none can replace that! The way she talks, the way she presents, what all seemed to be tough would look like nothing for me! And yes, trust me, she kept winning every time!

She has that much FAITH on her baby gal.

Coming back, I feel everyone should celebrate womanhood and motherhood, for god, purposefully had given women the ability to carry a baby! A mother is a symbol of love, an epitome of patience, sacrifice, unconditional love, tolerance, compassion, empathy and what not!

I tell you, this is one life! If your mom wishes that you be with her, please be with her! If you have skills, you can always earn money! You can travel this whole world if you’ve the age!Timing matters! Everything is connected to time! if a moment is lost, its lost, there is no point in doing it late! Especially for people who live in foreign lands or people who stay away from your parents, please make it a point to reach out to them and often check how they’re doing! Give them due respect and do not tolerate anyone disrespecting them for any reason, whatsoever!

And do not do anything that will bring disgrace to your mother or to your father!

And I’m sure, they will not hinder your professional or personal growth! All that she wants is her children’s HAPPINESS. She will be ready to anything to make her child HAPPY! I tell you, raising children or parenting in itself is an art! You should know where to tightly hold , when to let loose and how to subtly present nuances to your children!

Many people have looked up to my mom for learning this art 🙂 Well, I’m humbled to share it with you all!

Other incident I’d like to share here. Recently, I visited an old age home just to interact with them and see if they’ve anything to share or had any requirements. I was really moved! Honestly, I was searching for my very own grandma and grandpa in each of them and I saw them! To me, it was like, my very own grandma and grandpa blessing me in their form! That being said, most of them were staying in home for this very reason that their children got settled in foreign lands and so, they did not have people to look after them. I take this opportunity to sincerely request people who live in foreign lands to take their parents as well with them. They may not be willing to come but persuade them and keep them in your vision! I don’t think its a fair game to leave them in a home and let third party folks take care! Not at all fair!

All that said, mother is a mother, nothing in this creation can come near this mom-child relationship! Its like souls connecting with each other! That electrifying soul connection is what people would look for in their life partner as well!

So, please think! Its never too late! I’ll leave you all on that note 🙂

Accommodate and love people and see how they get transformed! Love and Love can change anyone and everyone! There is nothing or no one who will not bend for love! So, keep loving your parents, keep loving your life partner, keep loving your siblings, keep loving your friends, show compassion to strangers, keep loving your pets and most important keep loving yourself!!

 

 

 

Brain – Masterpiece

Your brain, I tell you, is a masterpiece. All that it does, amount of processing, chemical reactions, neurons, synapses, when you get to know about all these, you kind of get amazed and you’ll begin to wonder about its creator!

Wow!! Your brain does lots of processing. Neurons (nerve cells) are the basic unit of communication.  Information transfer occurs via electrical impulses and is called as neurotransmission!  Neurons connect with each other forming a synapse and these synapses are responsible for creating memories!

And there is a small section in the limbic system called “hippocampus” and this section or part is closely associated with emotions and memories. It is this “hippocampus” that’s responsible for transforming short term memories to long term ones.

And in general, hippocampus tend to shrink for people who are severely depressed and for people who get treated for dementia or alzheimer’s disease. So, its very important to not stress your brain and to load it with happy chemicals just by being happy (We all know, its easier said than done)!

Overthinking or analyzing or constant searching for answers to questions,  tremendous shock, all these are factors that will definitely impact our hippocampus region. And remember, when hippocampus shrinks, your ability to interact with people, your ability to emote, your ability to focus/concentrate, your ability to give your best, your ability to remember things or form new memories will certainly diminish over a period of time. It will lead to severe mental disorder and you, as a person, could become mentally disoriented.  there will be extreme mood swings! I’ve come across people who’ve experienced such things and that kind of completely initiated a new drift in their overall personality. Those people preferred isolation,  preferred crying alone, preferred not to look into even their own people, preferred to stay away from anyone, disturbed sleep patterns, fear, preferred talking to psychiatrists to see what they’re going through! And I’ve also seen others disliking such people for their personality change. We can’t blame them but we can just attribute it to their super sharp brains and probably tender hearts 🙂 But remember, those super sharp solid brains would turn blunt if they continue this pattern, over and over!

So, its very important for you to educate your brain. Talk to your brain. Tell your brain that its a masterpiece. Tell your brain to be happy always (again, i know its easier said than done)! Tell your brain to not be too curious all the times! Train your brain and of course, your heart to be in sync with each other. If there is a conflict, you’ll definitely follow your heart but take your brain with you 🙂 That being said, sometimes, its good to follow your brain than your heart, for your heart doesn’t know things that your brain is aware of 🙂 And in the end, while following your heart, do ensure to not lose your brain!

Cheers!

My YES!+ – Now, brought to you!

Hey people,

I’d like to throw some light on  Youth Empowerment Seminar(YES!+) cum workshop that was organized by AOL Chennai. I’d like to share my thoughts and would definitely recommend it for my fellow audience! Trust me, I’m not someone who recommend things so easily! If I do it,  it means that I personally, authentically  felt it, experienced it and enjoyed it and so, I trust it! So, yeah! And for those of you who don’t know me in person, you may be still hesitant, so please do check my linkedin profile to see if you can trust my words 🙂

When someone recommended it for me, this was my response .. “I’m all good! I’ve a good heart and I do things methodically. I’ve given the best in all that I did and have been sincere as well. I respect my parents, I respect elders, I respect people for who they are not for what they are, I’m disciplined and cultured, so, what is that you want me to gain from this workshop?”.. The response was just do it and you’ll enjoy it! And I did that.. Simple! But with an open mind! And please don’t mistake here that I have that ‘I’ which made me ask those questions. Its not my ego but its my curious mind trying to put forward logical questions to convince itself. And well, yes, my mind and heart should be aligned in all that I do in my life, be it a course, be it a job or anything for that matter! If there is a conflict, it doesn’t work! If it doesn’t work, you go mad 🙂

So, what is it?

it’s basically an interactive, fun activities filled workshop designed for Youth – for we’re the ones who play a pivotal role in shaping our country’s future!! Just go with an open mind and you derive a learning from everything that you do! Best of it is you get to see people and when you get to hear their concerns, yours will be like nothing! You’ll feel like “Arey yaar, mine is a drop in an ocean”..Attend it, you’ll enjoy it! You get to interact with your fellow participants, you get to do activities, you get to learn new processes, you get exposed to techniques that can cleanse your mind and body! Just attend with an open mind and you’ll go with the flow! You can identify what’s blocking you, you get to know what’s bothering you and you equip yourselves with lot of techniques that can bring out the best in YOU!!

If you’re already the best, that’s okay, you may be giving your 100% but if you’re capable of giving 200%, you get to enable yourselves to become the best of the best!  In my case, my side of interacting with people, offering help to strangers – I thought it wasn’t my cup of tea! I do help people who come and ask for it! Though I had the quest to offer help and service to needy folks yet there were constraints /labels that pulled me back but I now know what those labels were and I learnt the art of convincing parents:) For parents, we are their everything! They want us to be safe and get the best!

How ?

Time, Effort and Money – is  all that is required. I’m sure if you invest your time, efforts and money, your return on investment is got to be huge! Best of all, you make memories worth carrying this whole life!

You can register yourselves using the below URL. This covers when and where as well.

http://tinyurl.com/YESPlusChennai

So, just register yourselves and enjoy your time and life! Enable and embrace yourself!

Be the change you wish to see! Accommodate people and see that you can transform anyone and everyone!

Best & Cheers!

Money, money, money!!

Well, we all run behind Money! Yes, of course, we need money for survival! When I say survival, its inclusive of all our basic needs.

So, what do we do? First, we drain our parents money! We get all that we want, we keep getting things, whether or not, we need it, is a question but we still get if we want it. Then comes a point when we begin to earn money! Now comes the time when we don’t know to differentiate between what we want and what others need!

Oh yes, we’ve been taking it from our parents or from others for such a long time, isn’t time to give back? Pinch yourself every time you take from someone! Whether or not, you’re positioned to give, if you’ve the heart to give, it naturally comes to you! Nature knows your intentions! Keep your heart pure and clean!

For a chance, give your hard earned money to someone who is in real need! And that contentment you derive from this just beyond any description, you experience and post it as comments here! Just give a try and see if it works for you! Just go out and see how many kids or elders are really requiring your attention in terms of affection or financial assistance! Just spend an hour or two with them, come back and post here! That definitely enriches your life! TRUST ME!

How many times will you treat yourself and your friends? Aren’t you feeling bored? Just begin to treat the ones who are in real need of it! You’ll be engulfed in their affection and nothing can equal that feeling!

So, keep earning and give due respect to your hard earned money and the good means through which you earn it! There is a saying in tamizh!

“Lakshmi matha kuduka kuduka dhan neraya kuduppa – Meaning, Lakshmi matha keeps pouring her blessings over to people who really have the heart to give!”