My Menu

Welcome to my blog! My blog is now becoming full of unrelated categories, so I thought I will let you choose what you want to see. Please make your choice…

• About India & other thoughts
• “Manickam” my 12″ telescope project
• Astronomy & star watching
• Computers and programming

Local Sidereal Time 1.0 Released

Local sidereal time 1.0 (mobile application)  has been released! Refer to my previous post for details. Thanks to everybody who helped beta test it. A lot of changes were done after beta test reports were received.

The application can be downloaded from http://www.getjar.com/products/25475/LocalSiderealTime
Please feel free to send me bug reports and suggestions….

Downloads as on 5th July 2009 stands at 11,500

Thanks

Mobile software for celestial tracking and local sideral time

 

Local Sidereal Time 1.0 has been released!
It is no longer beta software.

It can be downloaded at http://www.getjar.com/products/25475/LocalSiderealTime
It’s touched 2,400 downloads till 14th March!! 

My renewed interest in astronomy mixed with my software programming hobby! I spent a few days writing a java (J2ME) mobile application for local sideral time calculation. It turned out to be a really good tool in the pocket. Having your mobile phone display the local sideral time is a good tool in the hands of star watcher. I could not just stop there and went ahead on making it into a full fledged graphical application which plots the sky in real time and in 2D or 3D modes.  See the screen shots above.

The software is still beta (10th Feb 2009)
If you are interested in checking out the beta , here’s the download link-
http://www.4shared.com/file/86885245/1db07081/LST.html

The app requires a java enable phone with MIDP 2.0 & CLDC 1.1. This beta version will expire on 15-Mar-2009. Please try it and let me know of your suggestions and inputs! If you want to contact me, my email address is there in the readme file in the download.

The app’s beta  readme file is here, it has some basic user guide stuff

*** Information here is also beta! It will change later! ****
9th February 2009
LST 1.0Beta
Local Sideral Time & Celestial Tracker
Arun Venkataswamy

LST is a software for amateur astronomers and sky watchers. It is a pocket map to the sky above. It primarily has a local sideral time calculator which allows the users to easily use printed sky maps. It also has real time sky views in 2D and 3D planetarium modes. The software displays 904 stars with magnitudes lower than 4.5, 85 constellations and the planets. The constellations and the planets can be tracked in Azimuth and Altitude values in text mode or in a 2D or 3D map of the sky.

::IMPORTANT:: For the software to work correctly the following points must be satisfied with atmost care. Failure to do so will give totally wrong results in the software-

• Time and Date should be set correctly on your mobile phone.
• Time zone should be set correctly on your mobile phone. 
• Latitude and Longitude of the place of observation (city) should be set correctly in the software. Please refer to the internet to get the latitude and longitude of your city. 

Using the software : The software options are provided with the menu button “more”. The first thing to do after installing the software is to setup the location information. Select the “setup” option and enter the information. After entering the information, select the “save” option. Saving has to be done explicitly, and it is not done automatically. There are two options to track objects – Text mode and Graphical mode. The text mode can be selected by selecting the “text mode” option. In this mode, the user can select the celestial item to be tracked. This option lists the LST, J2000.0 date and the position in azimuth and altitude values. The graphical mode can be selected by choosing the “star charts” option. There are 3 graphical modes – Ortho, Fisheye and First person. Ortho and Fisheye are dome top views and first person is sort of a 3D planetarium view. In the graphical modes, the following keys are used to control the display-

• * : Cycle through modes 
• Left,Right,4,6 : Turn left and right (First person view only) 
• Up,Down,2,8 : Lift head up and down (First person view only) 
• 5 : Field of view (First person view only) 
• 1 : Turn tracking display on and off 
• 7,9 : Select the object to track 
• 0 : Return to menu

Please give me feedback on the application…

Oh No! Television news did not grow up!

The television news media circus has started again. Just when i thought the media was jolted out and became a little more responsible after the Mumbai 26/11 terrorist attack, they are on to it again with the Mangalore pub outrage. I really thought they were true when some channels carried lines like “lest we forget” running in the backgrounds to make sure that Indians don’t forget what happened in Mumbai. A good decision knowing very well about the super short Indian public memory. But where are they now? They are all covering the Mangalore pub incident as if it was a new reason why India and Pakistan would go to a nuclear war!

I am no way taking the seriousness out of the Mangalore incident and personally believe that the “talibanisation” of our culture / society/ religion is a bigger threat than any country or militant groups. This problem needs to nipped in the bud if India wants to go anywhere in progress. This can be nipped in the bud if the people of this country are shown the truth and not sensational videos of unfortunate girls getting beaten up by rowdies.  Seriously, the way the videos were being played again and again made me feel sorry for victims – more for their humiliation and dignity being trampled upon by voyeuristic television viewers than the crime which was committed on them. C’mon news guys, you could have at least fogged out these girls, for all you know, they might be more in trouble with their family than with these rowdys now! Let’s accept the fact that a handful of girls and boys go to pubs without the knowledge of their parents.

A small request to the media : Please do not make these bunch of lunatics (and their supporters) who raided the pub into heros. You might be thinking that you are exposing these people to the public, but the amount of prime time these guys are getting – remember, the people (read couples) who go to bars and pubs form an infinitely small percentage of the electorate (or do they vote at all?!). On the other hand a huge percentage of the electorate are either locked out of the pub culture because of economics or to a lower extend ideology / philosophy / religion. Both can be reasons to overwhelming political support to these self styled moral police.

The glass blanks for the telescope

The glass blanks for the telescope have arrived. They are 300 mm diameter and 19 mm thick plate glass. The thickness is a little low for the size of the reflector, but I don’t have a choice – could not get anything more thicker than this in Chennai. It’s manufactured by Saint Gobain. Spent Rs.450 each (approx $10).

“Manickam” Telescope specification finalized

The specifications for my 300 mm 12″ telescope has started to become more clearer. Watch this post for any modifications and additions. the initial specifications as of Jan’09 are for mirror only, as the project progresses, the specs for the mount and others will be updated. The specs are as follows…

 

Telescope architecture

Optics		        : Newtonian reflector

 

Mirror Specs

Mirror Dia		: 300 mm. (Approx 12 inches)
Focal Ratio		: F/5
Focal length		: 1500 mm.
Radius of curvature 	: 3000 mm.
Sagitta			: 3.75 mm.
Thickness		: 19 mm.
 

Telescope Performance Parameters (Theoretical)

Improvement over eye	: 1837 X
Angular resolution	: 0.382 arcsec.
Linear resolution	: 360 lp/mm.
Maximum magnification	: 591 X
Limiting magnitude	: 16.3 mag.
 

Ellora : Greatest Management Exercise?

Just got back from Aurangabad after a long work related travel. I managed to squeeze in a visit to Ellora during a previous visit which is just about 30 Kms from the city. Ellora is known for its man made carved caves and monolithic structures inside them. Ellora is a word heritage site and its grandeur is simply unimaginable. Ellora caves are a group of monuments dating from 5th century to 11th century AD. The best cave of them all is called the ‘Kailasa’ (cave no.16) which is a temple dedicated to lord Shiva. My article below is based on this cave. This cave built in the 8th century AD, ‘Kailasa’ is the world’s biggest monolithic structure.

More information can be read from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellora
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kailash_Temple

Ellora is renowned for its architecture and the superb sculpture. Yes indeed they are magnificent. What I consider as an even more bigger achievement is the management of this mammoth project. It is probably the greatest management exercise done by humans for a building. Of-course I am not asking you to look at it in its face value but as a wholistic picture. Sure, the constructions of petronas towers or the empire state building might have involved more resources, but consider the time, technology and tools of 8th century AD. Even the great pyramids or the other wonders of the world are big management achievements – But what sets ellora apart is that they are monolithic (carved out of one solid rock) and there is was no chance of a second attempt.

The kailasa temple looks like a multi storey temple complex, but in reality it is a monolithic structure carved out of one big rock. The carvers worked from top to down, chiseling their way through the stone. An estimated 200000 tons of rock was excavated over a period of 100 years to achieve this magnificent structure. The temple covers an area of 60000 square feet and the tower rises 90 feet from the bottom of the carved cave.

I wonder about the brains that managed the project of this scale. From site location, planning to building… what an effort. The entire structure is carved from top to bottom. I wonder about the individual achievements in management-

Plan:
The designers with no 3D drafting and visualizing tools should have worked entirely from within their head. The visualized temple was inside solid rock. The rock had to be excavated and carved to materialize the proposed temple. The plan had to be perfect. There could have been no plan B. These architects and engineers probably were the best in engineering management.

Finance:
Of-course only a king could have financed this project. But the tricky part is the ‘kings’ who should have financed it. The project took 100 years to complete and hence there would have been a minimum of 3 kings who should have been responsible. All of them should have had the same will and determination to get the project continuing over a century.

Leadership,Dedication:
The kings and king’s managers should have been great leaders. What kind of motivators should they have been?! Consider the case of the second generation king and his managers – They were not initiators of the project and they would have known very well that they most probably would not see it complete. Yet they should have put in their best in their area of expertise. Is this possible in today’s corporations?

Human resource skills:
Imagine the skill of the artisans who were working on the project. There could have been hundreds of them working in the project. Not a single one can make a mistake. If a major mistake was done say in the 80th year of the project, 80 years of work could have turned waste as it was a monolithic structure. No place for mediocrity! Of-course I may be exaggerating a bit – They could have changed the plan a little bit, but would such a passionate king or manager accept the change? Working without any flaw was a great achievement of the artisans but getting that work done that way was a wonder in management skills.

Probably only a king can be a leader of such an endavour. But is it teaching us a lesson that to have successful projects of this scale, we need a king? A CEO or a Director who will be a king and the people working under him gives him that unconditional respect and devotion? and the CEO or the Director who would lead the people like a King? Noble, Just and Passionate. It just reminds me that all the historical or period movies i have seen shows the king in the front of the army fighting a battle…

I think all management students should make a visit to Ellora to sink in the feeling of what management actualy is at its best.

Power of the Indian rupee…

I would like to know which is more powerful – The Indian rupee or the American dollar. The obvious answer seems to be the US dollar. But just consider the following proposition:

Consider a couple living in an Indian metro. For the sake of argument, consider that the man earns rupees 12,00,000 annually (USD 27000) and the woman of the house is a home maker. Then-

1. The couple is upper middle class.
2. They can live in their own house (bought by loan).
3. They can have one mid sized car and a two wheeler.
4. They can have a decent social club membership.
5. They can have a cook/maid.
6. They can dine out weekly once or dine in an exclusive restaurant once a month.
7. They can send their children to a top-10 private school in the city. In the future, they can even fund their children’s graduate level education.
8. They can have one of their in-laws permanently in their house.
9. Can make donations for charity once a year.

Is it possible for the same couple (earning the same 27000 USD per year) to have the same lifestyle in the US?

OR, consider this proposition:

Let’s say the couple mentioned above (resident Indian, earning in rupees) invite you to India and foot all the bills for a one week holiday with 4 star hotels and the works. Is it possible for a couple in the US (earning the same 27000 USD per year) to do the same for them?

Unbalanced Pay scales

Is India heading for a new social crisis? The pay scales in our country seems to be so much out of balance that I fear the caste system giving away to a new problem! Just compare the IT graduate’s pay to the pay of a mechanical or civil engineering graduate. If the reader of this post is not Indian, let me give you figures . An average IT person starts earning Rs. 10,000/- (USD 220) a month and an average mechanical engineer starts earning Rs. 3,000/- (USD 65) a month. I am not against IT – I am an IT man myself. But the society has to take a proactive viewpoint on the situation. The new urban middle class is economically powerful mainly thanks to the IT industry. We have got ourself into a strange and serious problem and any solution to this is going to be very difficult. Let’s see why we have ended up here-

IT’s early years suffered from lack of skilled IT workforce and hence naturally the industry paid well to the sparsely available talent. In the case of core industry, there was no problem because of an abundant pool of skilled workforce  available in plenty and hence pay scales were at moderate or even low levels. Now the situation is totally different – The IT companies mainly cater to the export market and hence make money in USD. The power of the USD to the Indian rupee makes it so easy for them to pay high salaries to their employees (Strangely USD 220 is a decent salary in India!). In the case of the core industry, we have another shift of viewpoint. Auto majors who have set shop here want to provide lower and lower priced automobiles to India and to the world and hence are cutting cost left right and center. This includes salaries. Investments to setup  IT companies are comparatively much less than investments to set up a core industry and hence IT companies have an overall lower financial overhead.

There are plenty of other problems too. Consider this- an IT company gets paid in man hours. This means more men and longer projects means more turnover. The power of the USD over the Indian rupee is so high and hence efficiency of an IT company is not a serious problem for the foreign clients. In fact, it is always a win-win-win situation for the client, employer and employee!. In case of core industries, the profits are directly  proportional to efficiency. Ironically the pay scales of the employees are reversed in the two cases.

I started to think about this problem after quite a few observations. I would like to share two incidents/situations- (1) My friend’s father casually commented that his son’s first drawn salary was more than his last drawn salary when he retired. (2) We  pay six software engineers working in my company more than the combined salaries of 22 other employees ranging from junior engineers to senior electronics technicians. Ironically, they (others) contribute at least ten times more to the company’s turnover! When running a small business, it is very difficult to provide different facilities to different departments. We need to discriminate against our non-IT workforce if we have to keep our business running! I just have to tell myself – “that’s the way it works”

Where are we heading? When an IT project manager who can be aged as low as 26 earn more than a senior general manager (has to be aged over 40, of course exceptions are not to be considered) of an engineering company I feel good and bad at the same time.

In a country like ours where career dreams are significantly based on income rather than from the heart – what do 1 billion people do? All move to IT field? Any comments? I believe the other fields should start paying more to their workforce. But this solution creates a vicious cycle : India would become less attractive to foreign clients… and will create the same problem western countries created for themselves – Human resource becomes too expensive and will have to depend on a less developed country to survive. But I guess we should look into the future where India’s IT  will be serving to it’s own core industry.

The above post is purely my personal reasoning. I do not know anything about economics or have an inside viewpoint of how IT companies value their human resource.

IT Expressway or Service Corridor?

The government of Tamil Nadu is building a six lane road called the IT Expressway in Chennai. It is a world class construction and when completed it will form the arterial road connecting a lot of IT tech parks (read Call centers, BPOs and Software development centers). No doubt that the road is going to be useful but I wonder about our government’s priorities. Let me get to the point directly – We have a world class six lane road being built to carry the IT workforce travelling primarily in private company owned buses and we have a big industrial estate with practically no roads in certain places to carry heavy industrial raw materials and finished products along with it’s primary workforce travelling in public transport. Something is wrong here. I can understand the middle class public falling for the glamour of the IT industry, but how can an elected government get its priorities wrong? The industrial estate I am talking about was once a pride of our city. I do not understand why the government have to go out of the way to provide often zero priority facilities to the IT industry. One higher level point which most people do not seem to understand is the fact that the IT industry and the service sector is ‘there’ to provide services for the manufacturing and core sector! OK, right now, the Indian IT industry might be servicing the manufacturing sector of American and European countries, but slowly and eventually they have to serve the Indian core sector as most manufacturing activities are being shifted from the west to the east. I don’t want to be very critical of the government as they have really done their part for the core industries also – Both the political parties in Tamil Nadu have done quite a bit for the automotive industry, but I would like them to continue equal support for both core and IT sector as they have to co exist to make a balanced city. Chennai has overall been good to both the economically strong and weak sections of the society and would hope successive goverments would engage both the core and IT sector on equal priorities.