A 9 kmph base speed runner !!

Nowadays it is more or less above 9 kmph running in the mornings. I do this running (not jogging, mind it !!) after I do dumbbells workout.
I do the following dumbbells exercises :-
Biceps curls, Shoulder Lifts, Triceps Back Lifts, Deadlifts, Bench press ; all these for 6 sets of 17, 13, 11, 7, 5, 3 reps. I also do squats with weights for 7, 5, 3 reps.
Protein drinks are happening, but many days I forget drinking them. I am continuing with utmost discipline in my regular food intake. Peanut slices for breakfast, chappati with vegetables for lunch and rice with vegetables at night. I do not take anything else in between.
My tummy is of a healthy Delhi guy of 45 years level. Flat and strong tummy muscles with a flab of 2 inches at the most.
I am mostly active and undergo calorie deficit. Also I am getting used to this. But that is how our body is. If you work you need rest. You may want to reduce fat, but then your metabolism may become low.  It is a battle of pros and cons and ultimately your interest in exercising matters.

My Dream IT Projects

I am an engineer working in IT. I am closely following the trends and growth in IT. The recent good idea I liked was tourist places based social sites. Another idea I read today in Economic Times is about the work done by Zoho. They are into building customer relationship. Probably they try to give a meaning of social sites to the system in an enterprise.
I have a few ideas on possible IT trends in future:-
1) Read object - This object should be highly polymorphed and should be able to read all languages, all types of files, namely video, audio etc. Also it should have AI and understand comma separated files.
2) More Peer to Peer - Though internet has promoted equality in the world and peer to peer technology, the range is restricted. Facebook promotes equality. But then there is a question of fairness too. The Measuring Behavior (http://measuringbehaviour-ravi.blogspot.com) can be an added dimension to the meaning of Internet.
3) Responsible Queues - Social sites can also help in queue management. E-governance will become easier with this. A person from one social group can recommend an advancement in queue to another person in another social group. Provided, no one in the beneficiary group has a clash of interest in the purpose for which the queue exists.
4) Equal Piracy Share - Today the audio and video industry is plagued by piracy. The entertainment industry works hard to keep the masses entertained. Digital technology can help a lot in controlling piracy. The artists and their fans should be and can be made to feel satisfied and entertained.
These are some of the areas where we must look forward to in IT world.

Rooftop View

I took this photograph from the roof top of our apartments. First of all the abbreviations. F - Flight; DC - Dussehra Celebrations; ML - Metro Line.
This photograph was taken on the evening of Dussehra. On this day the effigies of Ravana,, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad are burnt. You may also see the temporary giant wheel setup as part of Dussehra eve.
Hope you like it.

My Soleus Activity Tracker

 

Soleus Activity Tracker is a very useful device. The band has to be worn on the hand all the time except when charging which is once in 5 days.

Initially you need to feed the details about you. Your name, sex, weight, age, height. You must also set the right time and date.

After this you need to press buttons suitably 4 times only. First, exercising Start. Second, exercising End. Third, Sleep Start. Fourth Sleep End. I have not used the Alarm facility in the band till now. However I always keep it paired with my Android Phone and hence I come to know when a call or message arrives.

The Soleus App in my phone can be paired with Soleus Health Band any time. Pairing requires pressing of buttons in Health Band. And also in the Soleus App in phone.

You can see the data generated today. The state is as at 2 pm approximately. I did exercising today. Weights for about 30 minutes and cardio for about 30 minutes. I had walked 6686 steps totalling 5.71 km. I had spent 1797 calories till 2 pm. (These data includes exercising data). I had slept OK. For about 5 hours. 3 hours were deep sleep. 2 hours was light. I woke at 3 am.

I have to improve my sleep style. I normally sleep at 9 pm and wake up early. This I need to change. Also this device is made for aerobic (cardio) activities. The 66 % calorie targets achieved is based on my height and weight, I think.

Go ahead and buy this health band. It is very useful. But make sure you have an Android Phone before that.

Marathon 2015

I shall participate in a marathon in the year 2015. That is a promise I have made to myself.
I shall call myself ready if I manage to run at 12 kmph speed for 10 kms every alternate days regularly for 15 days. This will be my benchmark for participation.
As a first step, I have made plans to reduce my weight by 8%. This I shall do in 45 days.  I shall be also doing weight training with a aim to strengthen my muscles and make them efficient.
I also plan to improve my lung power by breath control exercises. I plan to close my nose and mouth for 1 - 2 minutes.
At home I am planning to include squats with 10kg pair dumbbells. I shall also do squat jumps.
As a mental relaxation and rhythm building, I shall do dafli playing for more duration. I shall sing a bit more loudly. I shall allow myself to be in dafli beats and singing to build rhythm.
Currently, I do 1 hour of gym everyday. I spend about 350 cal of energy. I have 4 slices of peanut spread bread for breakfast. 3 chappatis with vegetables for lunch. Two cups of rice with vegetables and yogurt at dinner. I have two protein drinks sessions.  I went out of control a little last week with festivals around. Now I am back with discipline.
Exercises include pec fly or chest press, shoulder lifts, Lateral Pull down, Leg curls lying or leg curls sitting, Abs pull down or abs exercises on decline bench, dumbbell biceps or dumbbell forearms. I also do two cardios for 15 minutes each.
I had stopped dumbbells at home. But I shall start them again soon. I shall also do foam rolling if needed.
I am not worried about energy during marathon. Because Energy Gel bars are normally made available on the way.

Half Forgotten Rail Journey

With flights available for travelling from one place to another, many upper middle class Indians have forgotten rail journeys. If not fully forgotten, at the least half forgotten.
It is said that if you get into bodybuilding, you forget the food you ate earlier, prior to bodybuilding. Also the image of your body in your mind is no longer the same. It changes and in my case I have half forgotten my earlier days.
Another point that I want to write about is of soy protein. Is it good? It is great to a very large extent. Especially for vegetarians and vegans. And for people who are not likely to be affected by claims that soy protein has compounds similar to estrogen and may cause "man boobs". Soy Protein, to vegans and vegetarians is absorbed by body just like any other routine food. A vegan or a vegetarian bodybuilder feels normal when having soy protein in a larger quantity.
Is soy protein as effective like Whey Protein? In my case, where I experience a little pain in muscle joint at the back side of knee area (calf muscle joint); I found Whey protein to be better and more soothing. Also I get better sleep on days I have Whey protein only.
I must also mention the importance of dal (pulses). For yoga enthusiasts and dieting individuals, dal is likely to be good. The aim here is not to build or develop muscles. But maintain health of internal organs like stomach, intestines etc. Dieting may cause repair of these organs and it is necessary to build them up. Dal and a glass of low fat milk is likely to act like a boon for them.
My aim is to make 12 kilometers per hour speed as my base speed( about 8 miles per hour). I manage to run at 10 kmph speed for 5 minutes at the max at present. I am more comfortable in elliptical and cycling. But it is cardio activity that inspires me more and my body feels at ease with speed activities. I do not like flexing and flaunting muscles. Maybe it is due to shyness.
But weight training is better for reducing body fat than cardio, as written in bodybuilding.com. And maximizing strength to fat ratio is athleticism. But is there a role for strong arms and strong chest in running better ?

 

Navratri Steps - Golu Padi

I bought ready to assemble Golu Padi from a south Indian store in Delhi. Giri Trading Agency, Munirka. The set was in 3 boxes and is made of plastic materials. It is suitable for golu padi as the toys are lightweight.
I and my mother started to assemble and join the plastic sticks at about 8:30pm day before yesterday. We managed to get the golu padi ready by 11:45pm.
I am attaching the photo of the golu padi after decoration. The decoration has been done by my wife and daughters.

We have started our navratri celebrations. How about you?

Inspiration for Workouts

The first question is whether workouts? It is Yes for me as I have already sacrificed luxury and tasty food. I will not be eating tikkis, burgers etc. It shall be more or less simple food for me in present and in future. So the food issue has been quarantined. Hence the workout becomes a personal choice.
"Rest when you want to ; Workout when you don't" is my favorite workout quote from bodybuilding.com. If I have to give a nickname to myself as some bodybuilders do, I will choose "PythaShastri". Ha !! Ha !! Ha!!. Because I hope to build strength on Pythagoras beliefs. And I am a vegan.
Habit once formed helps in staying inspired. Even a day lost could become difficult to manage and a person would get back into the habit.
But remember bodybuilding is a costly affair. You have to spend thousands on protein. I find Soy protein to be more suitable to my body. I have got for myself Amway Protein and shall have this instead of Nusobee soy drink.
So have will power and strive to make exercising a habit. Then you need not worry about inspiration.
 

Digital Additions

I have mentioned the status of my Nokia 720 http://www.kirtivasan-powerofyourcompany.blogspot.in/2014/05/bright-future.html . The current status is exactly similar to the snapshot that I posted on 30th June 2014.

But Nokia 1520? I am putting the snapshot of my Nokia 1520 screen here.

 

 

Nokia 1520 is also upgraded to Windows 8.1, now.

I also bought Microsoft Office. It was difficult to make notes and accounting daily expenses etc in mobile. I have Windows 8.1 and Office compatible to it was needed. So I got MS Office. I use Word to jot down notes, Excel for accounting etc. It is more convenient to use than mobiles.

I managed to complete 5th flight game of Level 3 in Flight game by Unity. This is in my Android Google Nexus tab. I have fulfilled one condition to move on to Level 4. However total medals earned is 34 out of possible 45.  The Level 4 can be unlocked only if I improve my medals tally to 40 (the second condition). I have to improve my medals in many games of Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 to get 6 more medals.


 

Who is more hypocrite ? - A short story

Anand yells at Balan. "You have not helped me out. Did you? You could not have spared Rs.200 for me, when I needed it?"
Balan responds defensively and says, "I know you have an urgent need for this money. I do not have much to spare. Also, I may need money at the end of month. I thought my need was more and I decided not to lend you. Am I being a hypocrite?"
Anand decides not to talk on this further. He switches on Samba music and murmurs, "Let me change mood with this favorite music of mine."
Balan says angrily, " Your favorite? When did Samba music become your favorite? I thought you liked pop more. Are you not a hypocrite?"
Anand yells back, " No I am not. Just that Samba is my favorite at this instant."
Caushik who was eating potato chips, was hearing the conversations all the while. He did not stop eating his chips and went to the table to get another packet.
Balan was aghast with the behaviour of Caushik. He shouted at him. He said," Caushik are you not a hypocrite? Most of the poor die due to hunger. And here you are. Chips after chips. Shameful !!"
Caushik resorted. He said, " My eating is not going to harm world hunger. Anyway development work needs a man with full stomach to work effectively."
Balan was aghast with the behaviour of Anand and Caushik. He was also not too happy with Dhanush who preferred to be silent most of the time. Balan thought Dhanush knew only a few words because he would hardly speak 10 words in a day.
Balan says to Dhanush, "Have you seen the behaviour of Anand and Caushik? Disgraceful isn't it? Already the population in our country is high. And we have hypocrites like Anand and Caushik who cause harm to others. What is the use in their being alive?"
Dhanush did not speak. He moved. He picks up machine gun hidden in his back and brings it to the front and fires at Anand, Balan and Caushik, killing them instantly.
Dhanush then says, " I have killed three men. Population has been reduced. Am I a hypocrite?"

More Suitable Body

The workouts at gym are continuing. I find working out a pleasant event. Serious !!

The best formula that I discovered (from www.bodybuilding.com) has to be this. Athleticism is maximising strength by fat ratio. It is as simple as that.

My typical workout routine currently is

1. Chest Press or Pec fly alternated every other day
2. Bicep Curls or Forearm lifts alternated every other day
3. Lateral Pull down or Shoulder lifts alternated every other day
4. Leg curls sitting or leg curls lying down alternated every other day

1. Ellipticals or cycling for 15 minutes

1. Abs on decline bench or leg raises or leg cycling for 5 minutes

In weight machines I try to do 5 sets of 11 reps in each. I manage to do 50lb for larger muscles and about 33lb for smaller muscles.

I take whey drink in the mornings. And Soy + Complan mix in the evenings. I take creatine. Other food eaten are normal home food for office goers.

I am about to complete 6 months. I am planning to extend by another 3 months. The schedule that I plan to follow will be as above.

Your comments.

Bose Headset with Nokia Mix Radio

During travel from home to office and back from office to home, I spend about 75 minutes listening to songs on Bose headset. The songs are offline downloads from Nokia Mix Radio. I usually switch on Nokia 1520 in the mornings and Nokia 720 in the evenings while going back home.
My current Nokia 1520 Nokia Mix Radio offline collection is

And my current Nokia 720 Nokia Mix Radio offline collection is

 

 



The best part of Nokia Mix Radio is one does not know what will be the next song. At least, I have not explored into finding out the next song. Also on Sundays one can switch on WiFi and download upto 4 sets of collection in one device.

But this does not mean that one cannot listen to one's own collection or switch on the radio(with earphones).

The current international trend seems to be Samba style. Especially with FIFA a few days back, this style is popular. I also like Michael Jackson's peppy dance style of Pop. I like Reggae style (Boney M) too.

I earlier had downloaded Priyanka Chopra favorites. She has an excellent taste for music and most of the tracks were quite good. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan collections seemed a bit superficial and he was probably not serious enough to make his favorite bollywood songs. He had selected a few RDBurman numbers and Dard-e-dil song.

I shall continue to listen for a few more weeks before this habit dies.

Today is Kishore Kumar's 85th birthday. And I am waiting for his "coming alive" in Radio City as was advertised.

My Nokia 1520 offline collection as on 19th August is :-

 



 



Adding it all up

Addition is one of the toughest to understand operation. It is easy to say "She made me angry" once. "She made me angry" twice. Does it mean taking back 10,000 dollars once. 10,000 dollars the second time. Maybe. But alas, we have no precise instrument to say anger was same on both the occassions. Our health improves. Or falls down. And even precise apps cannot be sure of anger measurement.
Music is a fine way of addition. The double. The four times. But music is a Hindu invention and many countries may  not agree with it. Powerful countries will say we have digital technology and music invention claim will be only detrimental to Hindus. Such type of discussions do come up in people's lives and one is expected to answer. You are considered unsmart if you say there are higher authorities handling such discussions.
ASCII pattern matching for addition is an accepted UN strategy for addition. Alas, UNICODE characters are tough to deal with by most softwares. ASCII pattern matching cannot be called addition of emotions. No way. It is an addition based on education.
Even the greatest mathematician Fourier needed food for energy. He cooked grains suitably in fire and ate only after that. He made this a circular habit and invented another method of addition. Circle repetitions.
These are my thoughts on addition. But hey, what is zero ?

One work plan, many workers

Hierarchy is tough to understand and explain. It is relatively much easy to explain hierarchy in industries. Because one machine and numerous output. So, logically the person synchronous with working of machine can be considered at a higher hierarchy. The person who carry machine output products to trucks may be considered at a lower hierarchy. Why not one of the persons who carry output be at higher hierarchy? Because, many workers are needed and in a hierarchy tree more numbers are below and only a few are at top.
But it is the responsibility of everyone to see that machine is well lubricated and coolant are put at right time. But should the persons lifting output be concerned ? Yes, it is their concern too. Even though they may get a rest when machine is down, but they should understand that the truck also becomes idle. And the truck chain will get disturbed and food supplies coming in may be affected.

Most of the bureaucratic setups, offices, factories, industries necessarily need to follow hierarchy. i.e. one work plan and many workers. I must also mention here that maximising work can be an objective of this setup. This implies that complete and wholehearted belief in fairness is essential. Refer to http://www.measuringbehaviour-ravi.blogspot.com for further clarity.
So here are good wishes and hope for complete faithful adherence to above suggested system.
 

The daily essentials

The other day, I thought  that though I lead a routine life; there are certain things which are essential to help lead a meaningful life. I am not talking about roti, kapada aur makan. I am talking about things like gadgets, television, sketchbook type of items.
I must mention here that I have given most of my books to kabaddiwala. The history books, short stories collection, bollywood music and all. I read somewhere that old books become baggage on life and it is essential to get rid of these to feel free. Also, I no longer enjoy books the way I used to earlier. My mental state at present does not allow to keep pace with the author. I sometimes do re-reading. Complete Works of Conan Doyle can be read anytime. I have kept this book.
Newspapers are essential to me. I had a tendency of making notes from newspaper. I installed brain mapping software Personal Brain 6 to take notes effectively. But this habit too I am not presently interested in. I am presently comfortable with RSS feeds from Google news.
Gadgets are important in my life. I have Nokia 1520 and Nokia 720. Nokia 720 is mainly for artificial intelligence. The SIM got locked in Nokia 720. I have got the SIM unlocked with PUK code. But it works only for calls. Nokia 1520 is my all round Airtel phone. Nokia 720 is calls through MTNL and artificial intelligence. Artificial Intelligence can be interesting with questions like "Do you think I think wisely?". But I used it to fetch me an important section "Opening Bell" of Mint newspaper. But it did not work effectively for "Current price of potato in Delhi".
Television is good to watch movies like "Men in Black", "Mission Impossible", "Jab We Met" etc. again and again.They are great for NDTV news too.
Commenting too much on Bollywood Music has made the composer in me die. I have also stopped playing dafli. Only rarely do I play. The imagined fear of Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Lata Mangeshkar and Pyarelal is preventing me to experiment too much.
FM radio is great when travelling. Install Shazam app in your device to know the name of the song you hear. Many times you may like the song, but do not know the name. Shazam is useful here. A 5 minute sample listening by Shazam at any stage of the song is usually enough to tell the song name accurately.
What are your essentials?

Bodybuilding saga

Everyday I hit the gym in the mornings. It is a pleasant looking forward to event.
Relaxing and massaging are important in bodybuilding. I discovered the importance of relaxing and massaging during my jogging period. A 10 minute massage of muscles will do no harm. It relaxes the muscles and they are ready for the next day.
Routine is important. Patience is the key here. I think it takes time for muscles to become strong and big.
Power is another important thing in your exercise activities. One must be able to generate more than 200 W of power for a considerably long period of time in cardio sessions.
Form and intensity are important in weights. One must be able to judge oneself pretty well.One must be able to do right number of repetitions in first set itself and ensure that three sets are done. Doing 15 repetitions in first set and 7 in second and 1 in third is no good. Better will be 8, 8, 8 in first, second and third repetitions.
I have not got good form in many weight machines. I am slowly building up form. Once the form improves, I shall do more intensely.
I have lost more than 2 kgs of fat. And the muscles have become big. I feel good because I am beginning to look good.

A Sensible Vote

Elections are around the corner. Next week onwards, voting for the next parliament will be held all over the country on different dates.
First of all, one must vote. There should not be any excuses. NOTA option is there. NOTA which stands for None Of The Above, can be chosen when one is unhappy with election process or some other reason. Even if you do not have faith in democracy, still you must go for vote and select NOTA.
If you are a good citizen of India, then you must be having this question in mind. Whom to vote? A good candidate or a good party? Normally a good candidate is selected over a good party by people who have rebellious tendencies. They believe in strong philosophy of change and are willing to fight for making our nation better.
Personally, if you ask me I shall vote for social changes. Not development as being followed over the years. If we are able to improve in social values, then development will come. Improving in social thoughts is the need of the hour for India.
One should not have full square meal when there are so many hungry men in India. The least one can do is eat less. Also one must try to propogate appropriate thoughts and try to practise leadership.
Do not worry about development. Today, the world is very well connected. And there are many countries from whom we can purchase essentials. But we must have dignity and coherence. We must promise to lead a life of values.
Let us change India. Let us use our finger. Let us vote. For a meaningful life for our children and ourselves. Jai Hind !!!

Sahi Dahi (The Right Curd)

Gujaratis are great organisers. Through internet, by pamphlets or organising events. They excel in these sort of things and canvas very well.
The elections in 2014 created the nickname NaMo for Narender Modi. Then the lion from Gir, Amit Shah organised UP constituencies campaigning. The assembly elections were organised so professionally by BJP that one could not help thinking that it is indeed a khakra. Then NaMo branded items were sold. Of course one should not forget the 3D hologram campaigning of NaMo. Then Modiji came up with the idea of Chai Pe Charcha.
The Congress too is trying to take away the momentum from BJP by its proposed Rahul Milk campaign. Milk is a very basic necessity for us and it is considered as the most correct thing in this world. The dairy industry is huge and will generate votes for Congress because of the efforts of Congress party in diary industry. The efforts were really big and would have milked even a bull.
It will not be incorrect if I say that Samajwadi Party comes up with the idea of Sahi Dahi . They are well known for rustic comments and demeaning sense of humour. The south indians may not like this idea. They are critical and fault finding humour types. Full marks to Destination Infinity site.
Sahi Dahi is what is suggested to Samajwadi Party to counter this threat. It is not me alone who speaks this. I am confident of the support of Mayawatiji !!

National Padma Awards

On Republic Day eve, the Padma awards were given. This write-up is my knowledge on some of the Padma Awardees:-

1) Dr.Mashelkar - I have read about his projects in Wikipedia. He was also in CSIR. Frankly, I have great respect for Maharashtrian thought. I learnt a lot from Yashwant Kanetkar tutorials in CD. If I make a statement that wet grinding machine reduced poverty in India by 15%, I am sure Maharashtrians will appreciate it.
2) B K S Iyengar - The renowned yoga guru is greatly respected by me for his caste and of course for his asanas. The problem today is the stress and fast life and unfortunately yoga develops health slowly.
3) Gulam Mohammed Shaikh - I do not know the painter. But I have admiration for M F Hussain. Art is tough and expressing it in canvass and then getting admiration and laurels is tougher. The toughest part is being brave.
4) Kamalahaasan - He is a great showman and is deeply admired for his knowledge and abilities.
5) Leander Paes - Leander is a great fighter and can get it right when it matters most.
6) Paresh Rawal - One of the most talented actors of all-time and a brand by himself.
7) Vidya Balan - Tremendous actress who has made many men mad. Great looks and excellent presence make her one of the topmost heroines of bollywood.

Tablet Games

I enjoy playing games in tablet. It relieves mental tension.
Games are like real life. If the man starts running in Temple Run, then he does not stop. Much like real Indian life. A normal Indian in Delhi does not apply brakes in road. He expects others to apply brakes while he feels he needs to keep going. Life is too short to win points. Respect others. Apply brakes for others. Allow the cat or dog to cross the road.
As far as I am concerned the only strategy for Temple Run game I can manage to think is collect gold wisely. Not necessary to collect all the coins. 2 coins from a line of 10 is good enough.
Flights are great. I like flight simulator very much. I have downloaded 3 free games in my tab. Flight Simulator extreme is fantastic for beginners. One needs patience here. This game is by Thetis Software. There is another Flight Simulator game by Unity. I have managed to collect 25 out of 30 medals in 2 Levels and have unlocked Level 3. I consider this as a great achievement.
I am good in playing Pipes game in my Windows phone. I am confident that I can be a world ranker in this particular game. I loose time due to my touch accuracy. Otherwise I am blazing fast in finishing.
Dhoom 3 is good. I have to improve my strategy to reach beyond 42,000 score.