God Particle

Ever wondered what mass of a particle is, or rather how that mass is rendered to it? Key to this problem may lie with a hypothecated particle called the Higgs boson, also known as the God Particle. It is the fundamental particle associated with the Higgs field, similar to a photon to Electromagnetic field. Higgs field is supposed to permeate though whole of Universe. As particles move through this Higgs field, they interact with the Higgs boson and 'acquire' mass. Or so it is said. Read more about this here.

Construction of a Large Hadron Collider by CERN may help establish the validity of this hypothesis. If it is complete, then the Grand Unified theory may not be a mere dream for physicists.

Belated Wishes...

..to the most important person I know, That's ME!! Yesterday (12th OCT) was my 23rd birthday! And I have grown yet another year wiser and intelligent! He he! The phone call spree started just minutes before midnight the day before (smelt an oxymoron??) when I was dead sleep. Talking to all good old buddies really made my day. And had a surprise party thrown up at office by my colleagues.

I was conspired by Kala into the Cafetaria for having a cup of fanta (4:30 in the evening was an odd time to be in the cafetaria, having had you coffee just an hour before). When I just entered in, I saw so many familiar faces standing around a table. I didn't first understand. Then it struck me, I was really unprepared for that. How else would it be, when you are sober with the day's work and suddenly shoved in to the party room to cut your cake? It WAS a surprise!! I cut the cake amid a chorus "Happy B'day to you". Eash stuffed a large piece of cake into my mouth and gracefully smeared the cream all over my face. I was a Birthday Boy! And a wonderful gift for me - guess what? Dan Brown's.. (you would have guess it by now!!) The Da Vinci Code.

And a great prank was deviced for the occation, masterminded by Kala and Magesh. Being the sort of innocent that I am, I readily fell in the trap. But sensed the trick and staged a counter-prank. Pulled them inside the pit and climbed over their heads!! I am naif, but a cunning little naif!! He He!

Hey people, thanks for the wishes and calls! You had made the day truly wonderful!

One year now!

Wish you many more happy returns of the day Senthil! Good thing to celebrate your b'day with your parents. But don't forget, you got to treat us well once you are back!

Today completes one year of corporate life.. Took up my job on 6 Oct 2003, and life has been very different from then. Away from home for the first time, staying with friends, responsibilities, work pressure, failures, appreciations, self-cooking, late night chats - many such things have come to be part of this phase of life. At the same time missing many good things too. It seems like a very short period and I think I am happy at how things had been in this period. My batch of colleagues are planning to go out for dinner tonight and its party time again!

World is Small

Yesterday, I had a surprise encounter with one of my school days senior - Balu. An inspiring personality even during those days at school, he had recently quit his job at a reputed MNC and has taken up something he was interested in - He has joined Chinmaya Yuva Kendra, a movement with the mission of spreading knowledge and values among youth, through spiritual, cultural and educational activities. His decision can be contended against his family and educational backgrounds: Both his parents are doctors and he had finished his engineering from one of those distinguished colleges in India.

But when I had heard this news about a month ago, surprisingly, I wasn't surprised at all! I had always known him as a bold and righteous person and it wasn't hard to imagine that he would take such a course. Whatever it is, very few people have the guts to take up a life that gives them real satisfaction, breaking away from the material and social necessities and expectations that makes us cling to the jobs that areotherwise ungratifying. I always had a great admiration for him and that has increase manifold now.

We had a nice conversation on our way to Chennai. We talked about our days at school and also about our other friends. He did not recognize me at the first glance. But he got it when I told him my name. He couldn't believe that I had gone so wide since my school days.(I am not so stout now, but it is that I was very lean during my school years!) He said I was like a small kid when he saw me last during the farewell day. That's well over six years now. Such 'out of the blue' meeting with people makes me believe that world is really small!

And to some home news.. From the day we started cooking our food, we have exposed ourselves to ill-products of various culinary experiments we carry out.Today, Senthil, being an amateur to this art of cooking, forgot to add salt to the Idlies he made.Eating them made me realize, in a hard way though, how important salt is for Idlies!