Abracadabra ...

Theres a curious experiment I'm considering ...

I came across an article in the Reder's Digest on how to improve your IQ to make it to mensa. Some of you may rightly wonder .. so what IS 'mensa'? Simply put, its a highly selective association of high IQ-d individuals and the society admits only those whose IQ is at or above the 98th percentile (132+ per the Stanford-Binet scale or 148+ for the Cattell). I read this article about a year or more ago and among the various suggestions and recommendations, I found a curious mention of a particular drug starting with the letter "M". Online 'research' told me that this compound promotes wakefullness and brain activity and keeps the people extremely alert for extended periods of time. Surprisingly, it is NOT addictive and doesn't make you oversleep for all the sleep-time you lost .. I mean, what more can you ask for?! I've read personal experiences of people using this compound and the claims they've made seems decent, worthwhile and fair. So could it be the wonder-drug that can transform Clark Kents into Superman? .. I'm not really sure. May be. I dont know .. I really dont know and so I decide to try. Trying something personally is the ONLY WAY you can be ABSOLUTELY sure if something is TRUE OR NOT. Here is some worthwhile background info ... This compound was discovered somewhere around the elate 70s, but only over the last 2 -3 years militaries around the world have been extensively testing it - esp. US and UK who studied its effect on bomber pilots who need to be awake, alert and astir sometimes for upto 40 hours straight! (Life in the defence forces isnt all that easy for tall the "Ray-Ban" glamour that it carries, huh?!) This compound is not available over-the-counter (OTC) in most countries, but in the place where I live .. this is an over-the-counter medicine (its not even a Schedule 'H' drug). But, sorry I wont reveal the compound name or its manufacturer(s). I'll give you a tough clue though .. it is priced in the range of 65 to 85 rupees for a strip of 10 tabs (100 mg strength) and is freely available almost all the worthwhile pharmacies around the city.

So I've made my 'confession' formal .. I'll be taking this compound on particular days (double blindfolded / placebo mix test) on some days over the next month. One Mr. Cat-in-a-hat (name changed for security reasons) will be assisting me with regard to 'randomising' samples / selecting and administering placebos.

Come back if you care to know more about this. I'll be posting my experiences regardless of its efficacy or its appropriateness! I dont belong to any pharma company (although I have been indirectly involved in fundamental drug discovery research at one point in my career) and this blog-post is no marketing gimmick to boost sales .. and I really dont care if the sales of that compound goes up or down, as I dont own a single share of the company .. and there are better ways alert people can chaperone firms into profitability, during times of economic mediocrity and turmoil.

Some of the what-if "thinkers" among you might rightly wonder: What if this compound makes my descendants die of brain and drain cancer after 43.67 generations? :-)!

.. Buddy you'll never know if you'll leave a legacy 43 generations down the line! Medical trials havent proved much to counter the claims made .. so why bother about whats gonna happen 43-and-three-quarter generations down the line?? .. You have just one life. Make it, dont lose it!

"Test everything, hold on to what is true"

Tic tac .. and toe

Here are some pics I shot last week ..

Kaka on a hot tin roof! (a-la cat on a hot tin roof)

Note: Same kaka stars in both the pics above.

The simplest way to understand 'exponential growth curve'
(BEACON Chargers all three!)

"Mirror mirror on the wall whoz the darkest of them all?"

No elaboration. The quote has no correlation of any kind to the pic (except for the 'mirror' overlap) and it is not easy to grasp either. However, those who've experienced it will understand the deep seated significance of the above-mentioned quote. What say Fred?

What is 10 times rarer than a UFO Sighting?!

As much as I loathe blogging about my friends, here is something that I couldn't but blog about.

The picture below is strange. Strange cause it contains 2 extremes. One part of the picture is such a common sight, and the other part is sooo so rare that this pic was clicked by a member of my class (no worries there, I wont reveal the name, and that's a promise!) during the lec, lest its idiosyncratic-effect disintegrates during break-time.

Time for some explanation .. First the uncommon sighting. The gentleman you see on the extreme right is my compatriot Sayuj, the blue-shirt is Rhys and the lady is Sam. This pic was, is and will be the first and the last time that either of these three superstars will have ever set seat on the first row in any class!

Now for the second part which is soooo so common, infact so common that its not quite talked about. The respected scholar standing at the door is our very own 'Pratik-turned-Patrick'. So what's so common about him standing at the door .. you may legitimately wonder. Well if you were keen enough, you'd notice that he's actually walking into class a good 15 minutes late (observe that Sayuj is already in). Aw-right, okay .. you werent observant coz that's so common too :) ... and they used to teach us in kindergarten that walls have ears and potatoes have eyes. If that can be true, then why not mobile phone cam lenses. Say what?

How to treat ~100 friends @ MBA School @ 82 paisa ..

.. not just get away with it, but also get appreciated for it!
Well here is the mother of all 'How to' guides ever! The very elixir of modern management. The million dollar answer to the question on how to treat ALL of your known and unknown friends for dirt cheap (less than 2 dollars in total) .. Not in a meek rural hamlet but at the heart of South-Asia's 4th largest metropolis - Chennai ... make an impact and get appreciated for it. Not once or twice, but 14 times for it - incl. faculty members :) Ahh .. Now you wanna know, right? Then read on ..
I'm sure 5.99 sigma (the shaky ol' half-brother of six sigma) taught some of you folks why creativity doesnt help. Why creativity is such a drain on your precious "resources". Why you should succeed the very first time you try anything at all and *never* ever fail .. with an accuracy rate of 99.999% .. Phew! (Read more on the tiff between 6 sigma and creativity/innovation by clicking here, here and here). Here is a short personal incident which explains how creativity can come in handy, even in the short run .. help scale-down your expenses (atleast 6.6 times better than classic six sigma style), and get you some worthwhile publicity!
I celebrated my silver jubilee (25 years of age, not the 'silver hair' connotation of the word 'silver') and had this interesting decision to make. Pocket spending on was on a shoestring (as usual) since it was the second half of the month. I hadn't celebrated my birthday for the last 730 days and so had to either scale down Bday celeb OR 'think creatively'. How easily said, than done!
Results:
No. of people who were offered the 'treat': 98 (approx)
No. of people who took it: One less than the above; 1 person refused (due to health reasons!)
Variable cost incurred: Rs. 80/=
Fixed cost: None.
Cost per person: Rs. 0.82 (82 paisa)
No. of commendations received: 13, excluding 1 from a professor.
So .. what exactly did I give?
S*** P****i
Its a "soft - fine" secret. And I will not be posting the answer for some time :( .. If you are *really* as curious as me, then ask one of my classmates at LIBA or heck, give me a call!.
I originally titled it "Sweet Nothings" .. but then changed it to a more racy, more salesy "How to .." guide. For you-know-why ..