Posts on arun.zechariah

Kenya–India PEP Institutional Knowledge Exchange

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Via Amref International University (AMIU):

Strengthening health professions education requires more than strong institutions. It calls for meaningful partnerships, shared learning and a collective commitment to innovation.

Earlier this week AMIU hosted the Kenya–India PEP Institutional Knowledge Exchange Visit, under the theme “Strengthening Health Professions Education through Institutional Collaboration, Innovation and Knowledge Exchange.”

Partners included Amref International University, Kenyatta University, Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore, AIIMS New Delhi, the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), and the PEP Secretariat at Amref Health Africa.

VirtuCare Partnership Boosts Inclusive Healthcare in India

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Via Nathan Grills on LinkedIn, on the completion of the VirtuCare Project (2023–2026):

This has been a very productive partnership that has made a difference, at scale, to people living with disability in India. Thank you to all our partners on VirtuCare! There remains so many more opportunities to use tech and AI to promote inclusive healthcare for people with disability. We look forward to taking the next steps.

—Nathan Grills

The Nossal Institute for Global Health (University of Melbourne) shared that VirtuCare, supported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, worked with partners across India and Australia to make virtual healthcare more accessible for people with disability — including work alongside eSanjeevani, India’s national telemedicine platform.

Global Diabetes Foot Training Programme

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Shared from LinkedIn — work involving Felix Jebasingh and Prof. (Dr) Nihal Thomas at Christian Medical College Vellore:

For someone with diabetes, a small blister on their foot can turn into a serious infection – if it’s spotted too late. In many parts of India, specialist care can be far away, making early detection crucial. Through the Global Diabetes Foot Training Programme, nurses and other frontline health professionals gain practical tools to identify warning signs early, act sooner, and work across disciplines as one team. The programme also scales its impact by enabling participants to pass skills on locally through cascade trainings.

Sustainable data pipelines in radiation oncology

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Via Hannah Mary Thomas T (Scientist, Christian Medical College Vellore):

Our effort in creating sustainable data pipelines for capturing and curating good data in a clinical setting in radiation oncology is featured as a use case for the Global South. Grateful to all the stakeholders at Christian Medical College Vellore. I will be at this event at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 representing our team.

—Hannah Mary Thomas T

Team called out: Balu Krishna Sasidharan, Simon Pavamani, Thomas Samuel Ram, Joy Mammen, Arun Zechariah, Amal Joseph Varghese, Hasan, Sathya A, Christopher, Praveenraj C.

Patient-Centric Question Answering — NLP-AI4Health Shared Task Overview

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Our overview paper for the Shared Task on Patient-Centric Question Answering at the second NLP-AI4Health workshop (IJCNLP, Mumbai, December 2025) is now in the ACL Anthology.

The task targets inclusive NLP systems for two clinical domains — Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) and Cystic Fibrosis (CF) — and introduces the NLP4Health-2025 Dataset: more than 45,000 validated multi-turn patient–provider dialogues across 10 languages (Assamese, Bangla, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu).

Conclave on AI Governance — India AI Impact Summit 2026

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Via Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI, IIT Madras:

A day filled with exciting announcements and responsible conversations! Our Conclave on AI Governance, an official Pre-Summit Event to the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, marked a significant step in shaping India’s approach towards responsible and transparent AI.

Organized by WSAI and CeRAI, highlights included:

Launch of eight major initiatives and studies advancing AI governance and responsible innovation in India
Four keynote addresses and three panel discussions with voices from academia, industry, and policy

Source: LinkedIn.

PEP and cardiometabolic health professions education

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We are glad to be part of this significant initiative!

With Vinod Abraham, Rebekah Dass Zechariah, Nirmala Margaret, Felix Jebasingh, Prof. (Dr) Nihal Thomas, and Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

Tsundoku

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Japanese practice of tsundoku — the joy (and lasting value) of unread books on our shelves.

The joy of owning unread books — Big Think Books

CMC Vellore and C-DAC Pune collaboration

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Great news!

Via Hannah Mary Thomas T (Scientist, Christian Medical College Vellore):

Thrilled to announce the CMC Vellore and C-DAC Pune collaboration! The AI&QT Group at C-DAC Pune and the Quantitative Imaging Research and AI Lab (QIRAIL) in Radiation Oncology along with Biomedical Informatics Unit at CMC Vellore are joining forces to drive some impactful work. Backed by the Indian Council of Medical Research and leveraging PARAM Shavak supercomputing, this collaboration will focus on innovative cancer research and knowledge sharing.

CMC inaugurates Param Shavak supercomputer in Ranipet

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Super 🎉

Via Balu Krishna Sasidharan — Christian Medical College Vellore has inaugurated the PARAM Shavak supercomputer at its Ranipet campus.

Health Data & AI Symposium at CMC Vellore

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Great sessions at the Health Data & AI Symposium at Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore!

With Joy Mammen, Hannah Mary Thomas T, Balu Krishna Sasidharan, and others.

More on the event: ai.cmcvellore.edu.in/2025-event/

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

NLP workshop at ICON 2024, Chennai

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Via Joy Mammen (Christian Medical College Vellore):

Recently, I read posts portraying technology coming between patients and clinicians. Especially with increasing computerization in hospitals as a mode to improve efficiency and facilitate data collection, clinicians feel pressured to divide their time and attention between patients and the keyboard (confession — I am still a 3 finger typist). The science of Natural Language Processing (NLP) has many opportunities in the healthcare domain. With developments in technology and serious investment (some of it publicly funded), NLP has many opportunities to assist in health and healthcare — data captured from conversations, conversion of narrative text to structured data, and translation to Indian languages. CMC Vellore is partnering with IIIT-Hyderabad to organize this workshop at ICON 2024, at Chennai. We welcome participation from academia, industry and healthcare domains.

Restoring .bak file from MS SQL on MacOS

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

https://gist.github.com/nanusdad/

Installing purchased SSL certificate on nginx (Ubuntu)

Sat, 16 Mar 2024 05:50:45 +0000

Wrote up installing a purchased SSL certificate on nginx (Ubuntu) for DEV Community.

Originally posted on X.

The Peace of Wild Things

Sun, 28 Jan 2024 02:16:01 +0000

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Republic Day Run for Voluntary Blood Donation Awareness

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 02:12:11 +0000

Come join the Republic Day Run for Voluntary Blood Donation Awareness!

@OffCMCVellore · @joy_mammen

Originally posted on X.

Docker configuration with HTTP / HTTPS proxy

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

https://gist.github.com/nanusdad/

ARTPARK AI team visit to CMC Vellore

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Joy Mammen · Hannah Mary Thomas T · Balu Krishna Sasidharan

Via ARTPARK:

Our AI team’s visit to CMC Vellore last week was a remarkable journey into the heart of an institution that seamlessly integrates long-term research, accessible education, and clinical services. We discovered their thoughtful approach to AI, specifically their operational use of chatbot technologies, and noted their anticipation mixed with caution about the implications for research, education, and clinical medicine. During his invited talk on Generative AI in Healthcare, Jigar Doshi unpacks how this technology diverges fundamentally from earlier machine learning models and the new possibilities it unlocks. He clarified the evolving realm of LLMs, demystifying the terms and taught generative modelling basics. The session concluded with a real-world example of our collaboration between ARTPARK and ARMMAN, focusing on developing LLM assistants to enhance the support system for frontline health workers. This project’s significance is underlined by its feature in the Gates Notes, reflecting its potential impact on healthcare.

Vellore!

Sat, 04 Nov 2023 09:21:07 +0000

Vellore!

—in reply to Joy Mammen

Early morning timelapse capturing the arrival of north-east monsoon. pic.twitter.com/jQNX8yDvvu
— Audrin (@Audrinlenin) November 4, 2023

Originally posted on X.

Miss you, Dad.

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 11:25:22 +0000

Miss you, Dad.

Originally posted on X.

UDHAVI Community Support During India's Second COVID-19 Wave

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Via Global Health: Science and Practice:

The authors describe how a tertiary care institution in India initiated a helpline during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that leveraged institutional medical expertise and community health networks to better coordinate pandemic response efforts.

Article: UDHAVI Community Support During India’s Second COVID-19 Wave: A Descriptive Study on a Tertiary Care Center’s Pandemic Response Helpline (GHSP, 2023).

DOI: 10.9745/GHSP-D-22-00315

Every dog must have his day

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 10:25:01 +0000

Every dog must have his day.

—Jonathan Swift

Originally posted on X.

Workshop on Health Data Standards & Security at CMC Vellore

Sat, 16 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Via Balu Krishna Sasidharan:

a short notice, in-person only.
useful for people working with EMR; health data informatics and AI in health.

—Balu Krishna Sasidharan

The Biomedical Informatics Unit at CMC Vellore organized a workshop on Health Data Standards & Security (3–4 October 2023) at the New Exam Hall, CMC Bagayam Campus, Vellore — especially for those working with EMR, LIS design, and clinical and research databases.

Knowledge partners: CDAC NReS Centre (Pune) and DSIC, Bangalore.

Homemade chicken fajitas

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 17:47:36 +0000

Homemade chicken fajitas.

Originally posted on X.

How can industry and healthcare engage better?

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Panelists:

Dr Anand Philip, Medibuddy
Dr Lakshmi Panat, C-DAC Pune
Dr Shefali Karve, Sigtuple
Mr Arun Agrawal, Janithri
Mr Narayana Rao, Salcit Technologies
Mr Raghu Dharmaraju, ARTPARK

Moderator: Mr Arun Zechariah, CMC Vellore

Panel discussion from the first National Symposium on Health Data & AI organised by the Biomedical Informatics Unit (BMIU) at the Christian Medical College Vellore from 17th – 18th March, 2023. More details at the Symposium website: ai.cmcvellore.edu.in

1st National Symposium on Health Data & AI at CMC Vellore

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Super symposium!

Via Hannah Mary Thomas T:

National Symposium on Health Data and Artificial Intelligence was received well. May this just be a beginning. Thank you to all our speakers and delegates.

—Hannah Mary Thomas T

The 1st National Symposium on Health Data & AI was held at Christian Medical College Vellore on 17–18 March 2023.

More on the event: ai.cmcvellore.edu.in/2023-event/

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

Moon & station

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 00:25:58 +0000

Moon and station.

Originally posted on X.

Light & shade

Sun, 12 Mar 2023 08:29:10 +0000

Light and shade.

Originally posted on X.

Train & tea

Sat, 11 Mar 2023 03:06:22 +0000

Train and tea.

Originally posted on X.

Take professions that have purpose

Sun, 19 Feb 2023 19:03:39 +0000

If the only reason one is doing MBBS is for money — it’s a pity. What about serving the sick and poor? Money has value but it’s not everything. Young people — please take professions that have purpose and build this nation!

—in reply to karthik2k2

Originally posted on X.

Are we there yet

Sat, 19 Nov 2022 11:20:09 +0000

Are we there yet?

Originally posted on X.

Patience

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 16:31:58 +0000

Patience.

Originally posted on X.

The moon tonight

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 14:39:56 +0000

The moon tonight!

Originally posted on X.

Getting started with Meteor on Alpine Linux

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

https://gist.github.com/nanusdad/

Chapel — Rehab Institute, CMC Vellore

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 15:40:17 +0000

Chapel — Rehab Institute, CMC Vellore.

Originally posted on X.

Setting up LetsEncrypt SSL certificate for Moodle on Ubuntu

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Please consider donating through Vellore CMC Foundation

Sat, 15 May 2021 04:41:18 +0000

Dear friends in the US, please consider donating through Vellore CMC Foundation and sharing this appeal.

Originally posted on X.

Our minds are hurt more often by overeating than by hunger

Sun, 11 Apr 2021 06:30:26 +0000

Like our stomachs, our minds are hurt more often by overeating than by hunger.
(Ut stomachis sic ingeniis nausea sepius nocuit quam fames.)

—Petrarch

Originally posted on X.

Sunrise

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 01:46:00 +0000

Sunrise!

Originally posted on X.

₹93.99 per litre

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 08:26:45 +0000

₹93.99 per litre !!

Originally posted on X.

Stay warm

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 07:05:46 +0000

Stay warm.

Originally posted on X.

Last night, the moon looked beautiful

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 07:17:23 +0000

Last night, the moon looked beautiful!

Originally posted on X.

Super breakfast

Sun, 06 Sep 2020 15:39:33 +0000

Super breakfast.

Originally posted on X.

FFMPEG Extract audio from video

Sat, 05 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Extract MP3 from video file Link to heading

ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -q:a 0 -map a audio.mp3

Convert MP3 to Lossless format (Flac) Link to heading

ffmpeg -i audio.mp3 -c:a flac audio.flac

Goofy spaniel

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 06:02:44 +0000

Goofy spaniel.

Originally posted on X.

Newly qualified doctors quit after Covid-19 wage cuts

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 04:31:43 +0000

More than 80 percent of newly qualified doctors in an Indian state quit after Covid-19 wage cuts.

The Telegraph.

Originally posted on X.

Render.com Allow CORS

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

If you add another domain to a Render.com static site, you will likely see errors for CSS files, this is because CORS is not allowed Link to heading

Steps to fix this - Link to heading

Click on the `Headers1 tab for the static site
Click the Add Header

Set Request Path to /css/* or other path
Set Header Name to Access-Control-Allow-Origin
Set Header Value to https://<additional-domain-name>

Click the Save Changes button
Done !

Certbot on LightSail

Sat, 29 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Learning Locker Error

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Need some coffee

Wed, 30 Oct 2013 17:06:30 +0000

Need some coffee.

Originally posted on X.

Ricochet vs ricochets

Wed, 11 Sep 2013 23:22:38 +0000

Enjoying Letterpress! Why is “ricochets” not considered close enough to “ricochet”?

Originally posted on X.

Little Feet

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Great Wall of Chocolate

Sat, 11 May 2013 03:49:22 +0000

Great Wall of Chocolate — after a long time !!

At P.F. Chang’s. Photo on Instagram.

Originally posted on X.

Yummy brunch

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 21:36:37 +0000

Yummy brunch !

Originally posted on X.

Enjoying some sunshine

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 17:36:44 +0000

Enjoying some sunshine :)

Originally posted on X.

He "needs" the laptop by 4:45

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 22:49:57 +0000

My 4 year old just told me he “needs” the laptop by 4:45 :)

Originally posted on X.

Capture Madison (2)

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 17:58:21 +0000

Capture Madison.

Originally posted on X.

Capture Madison

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 17:56:33 +0000

Capture Madison.

Originally posted on X.

Capitol — Capture Madison

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 17:55:49 +0000

Capitol.

Originally posted on X.

Dr. Seuss

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 18:04:44 +0000

Dr. Seuss.

Originally posted on X.

If you’re not prepared to be wrong

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:35:29 +0000

If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.

—Ken Robinson

Originally posted on X.

Talk about cold

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:43:59 +0000

Talk about cold !!

Originally posted on X.

Nothing like a cup of good South Indian coffee

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 20:00:27 +0000

Nothing like a cup of good South Indian coffee …

Originally posted on X.

Rose Cookies

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Want yours? A graphical bio on Vizify

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 22:14:34 +0000

Want yours? Click to get an invite to build your graphical bio on Vizify.

Originally posted on X.

Triple digits

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 19:54:33 +0000

Triple digits !!

Originally posted on X.

Ready for salad

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 01:09:20 +0000

Ready for salad :)

Originally posted on X.

Capitol

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Taken at Madison, WI

Grownups

Tue, 08 May 2012 23:59:51 +0000

Grownups.

Originally posted on X.

There are only 10 types of people in this world

Thu, 03 May 2012 04:04:21 +0000

There are only 10 types of people in this world: those who understand binary and those who don't.

Originally posted on X.

Bibimbap

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:17:41 +0000

In the rain …

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sanbitter

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:48:36 +0000

Taken at Cafe Porta Alba, Madison

Impepata Di Cozze

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:38:09 +0000

Taken at Cafe Porta Alba, Madison

Smart choice :)

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 18:40:39 +0000

Today’s sunset

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:07:39 +0000

Flowers

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:02:51 +0000

Spring :)

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 23:45:17 +0000

I’ll take it :)

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:46:05 +0000

Flan – yum !

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:29:02 +0000

Still winter …

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 19:29:52 +0000

Happy New Year

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:13:43 +0000

Happy New Year.

Originally posted on X.

Playing with trains

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:20:56 +0000

Doxies :)

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:54:11 +0000

Doxies :)

Originally posted on X.

Doxies :)

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:46:50 +0000

Another brilliant sunset

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:40:24 +0000

Sunset !

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:39:47 +0000

Sunset today

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:36:04 +0000

Sunset today!

Originally posted on X.

Interesting :)

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:58:36 +0000

Fall !

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:18:52 +0000

Starbucks’ 40th anniversary drink

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:59:45 +0000

For it's 40th anniversary, Starbucks has a new drink coming out. It's sugar-free, fat-free and has no whipped cream. It's called coffee!

Originally posted on X.

Air Canada and the missing transit visa

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 05:13:27 +0000

Booked on the @AirCanada site — no mention of a transit visa. Had to pay a 100 euro cancellation. And a 35 min wait for customer service.

Originally posted on X.

Burke Brise Soleil

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 02:49:28 +0000

[][1]

Taken at Milwaukee

Empty !

Sun, 08 May 2011 14:12:03 +0000

Three Years !

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:45:00 +0000

First flowers of the season

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:06:34 +0000

Thirty Five Months !!

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 03:51:00 +0000

Frozen rain !

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 16:37:08 +0000

Fishy

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 05:24:27 +0000

Taken at Shedd Aquarium

Parekh twins :)

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 05:16:48 +0000

Icy today

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:11:44 +0000

Torte :)

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:41:48 +0000

Couple of days ago

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 22:20:06 +0000

Twenty Six Months

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:30:00 +0000

Meeting old friends after 20 years — priceless

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 22:01:56 +0000

Parking $ rental car $$ airplane ticket $$$ — meeting old friends after 20 years — priceless !!!

Originally posted on X.

Twenty One Months

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:16:00 +0000

From Twenty One Months

Seventeen Months !

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:27:00 +0000

In memory of Tatha – 30 years

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:48:00 +0000

Ajji – 20 years

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:39:00 +0000

Fifteen Months

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:41:00 +0000

Thirteen Months

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:24:00 +0000

From Thirteen months

One year !

Tue, 05 May 2009 07:23:00 +0000

From Twelve Months

Eleven Months

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:24:00 +0000

From Eleven Months

Ten Months

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:24:00 +0000

From Ten Months

Nine Months

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:00:00 +0000

From Nine Months

Eight months

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:40:00 +0000

Great Minds

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 04:31:00 +0000

“Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.”

—Eleanor Roosevelt

Quote of the day

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:09:00 +0000

“He cannot be a gentleman which loveth not a dog.”

—John Northbrooke

Seven Months

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 04:20:00 +0000

From Seven Months

Six Months

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:57:00 +0000

From Six Months

Five Months Old

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0000

From Arpith – Five Months Old

Remembering Tatha

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:26:00 +0000

29 years ..

Four Months

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:30:00 +0000

From Arpith – Four months

In Memory of Ajji

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:07:00 +0000

Our grandma left us 19 years ago, today. She left us with lots of wonderful memories. Miss you Ajji.

Simplify, simplify.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:58:00 +0000

“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.”

—Henry David Thoreau, via zenhabits

Three months old

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:06:00 +0000

Two months old !!

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:54:00 +0000

One more !

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:39:18 +0000

Chiku

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:27:07 +0000

Chiku is so cute !

Phone in Toilet

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:04:00 +0000

Read this …

One month old !

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:22:00 +0000

Happy Birthday, Chiku !

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:31:00 +0000

Our very spoiled dachshund celebrated her second birthday ! [ or 14 in dog years 🙂 ]

Childhood

Mon, 19 May 2008 07:25:00 +0000

“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.”

—Tom Stoppard

Sleep Deprivation

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:03:00 +0000

“Six hours sleep for a man, seven for a woman and eight for a fool.”

—Napoleon Bonaparte

False bravado .. as any new father can attest to 🙂

Eater’s Manifesto

Mon, 12 May 2008 03:25:00 +0000

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

– Michael Pollan

Watch the video.

Arpith Joseph Zechariah

Sun, 11 May 2008 05:46:00 +0000

Baby boy

Mon, 05 May 2008 04:18:00 +0000

born at 2:37 pm 5 lbs 13 oz

Comfort

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:23:00 +0000

“Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.”

– Emily Kimbrough via Zen Habits

Graceful Simplicity

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:50:00 +0000

“The point of an economy, even a dynamic economy, is not to have more and more; it is to liberate us from the economic—to provide a material platform from which we may go on to build the good life. That’s the alternative American dream.”

—Jerome M. Segal, Graceful Simplicity, via No Impact Man

Orchid Show at the MOBOT

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:46:00 +0000

Its cold !!

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 00:41:00 +0000

Simplicity

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:22:00 +0000

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

—Leonardo da Vinci

Square Watermelons !!

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:14:00 +0000

From BBC

Possibilities

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:42:00 +0000

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,
in the expert’s mind there are few.”

—Shunryu Suzuki

Talking dogs :)

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 08:15:00 +0000

Grumbling Doxie

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 07:35:00 +0000

Gratitude

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:31:00 +0000

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

~Epictetus via Zen Habits

Simplicity

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:59:00 +0000

“There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”

– G. K. Chesterton

One to think about :)

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 07:41:00 +0000

“Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day.”

—Harry S. Truman

Engineers according to Dilbert :)

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 03:31:00 +0000

Dividing Line ..

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:08:00 +0000

“The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.”

—Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago

Resolve to ..

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:51:00 +0000

“Whatever the tasks, do them slowly
with ease,
in mindfulness,
so not do any tasks with the goal
of getting them over with.
Resolve to each job in a relaxed way,
with all your attention.”

—Thich Nhat Hanh, via Zen Habits

Kick in the pants :)

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:21:00 +0000

“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”

—Theodore Roosevelt

Niagara Falls

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 08:17:00 +0000

Video from the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls. Just an amazing and spectacular experience. The sun came out right when we neared the Canadian side of the falls. Really beautiful and certainly a must see.

How will the water taste?

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

… a story about an old Chinese man at a water-well. He lowers a bucket tied to a rope, and slowly pulls the water up, hand over hand. A young man comes by holding a pulley and proceeds to explain how it would make the old man’s work easier.

The old man says, “If I use a device like this, my mind will think itself clever. With a cunning mind, I will no longer put my heart into what I am doing. If my heart is not in my work, my work will be joyless. When the work is joyless, how do you think the water will taste?”

Chiku & Buster go swimming :)

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 06:48:00 +0000

Our little dachshund, Chiku and her friend Buster went swimming for the first time at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:16:00 +0000

Captured on our visit to the amazing fish market in Tokyo. Woke up really early to go visit this place, strange sea creatures, tuna (maguro); sushi was awesome ! Certainly worth a trip.

Accent Quiz

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:33:00 +0000

Tom posted an accent quiz result on his site. And I decided to take it too, the results were surprising ! For those who know me, what do you think 🙂

<td style="background:white;padding:3px;">
 <p />
</td>

<td style="background:white;padding:3px;">
 <p />
</td>

<td style="background:white;padding:3px;">
 <p />
</td>

<td style="background:white;padding:3px;">
 <p />
</td>

<td style="background:white;padding:3px;">
 <p />
</td>

<td style="background:white;padding:3px;">
 <p />
</td>

<td style="background:white;padding:3px;">
 <p />
</td>

What American accent do you have? `<div style="font-size:16px;margin-bottom:4px;"> Your Result: <b>The Northeast</b> </div> <p /> <p style="margin:10px;border:none;background:white;color:black;"> Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak. </p> </td>`
The Inland North
Philadelphia
Boston
The Midland
North Central
The South
The West
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Japanese Hospitality :)

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:27:00 +0000

My call sign !!

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:39:00 +0000

KD0BBY

Amateur radio or HAM radio is my new hobby 🙂

The use of living

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:35:00 +0000

“What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone? How else can we put ourselves in harmonious relation with the great verities and consolations of the infinite and the eternal? And I avow my faith that we are marching towards better days. Humanity will not be cast down. We are going on swinging bravely forward along the grand high road and already behind the distant mountains is the promise of the sun.”

Wonders of a Japanese Toilet

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:53:00 +0000

On our recent trip to Japan, we were flabbergasted at the complex and wonderful toilets. Here’s our take, enjoy 🙂

Milwaukee Art Museum

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:53:00 +0000

From Milwaukee Art…

Latin 101

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:12:00 +0000

In rivo fimi sine rivo sum

Translation –

I’m up the creek without a paddle

Eyefetch contest: 2nd place winner

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 12:48:00 +0000

My first entry in an Eyefetch contest won 2nd place !!

Urban Farming: St. Louis

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 02:51:00 +0000

Here’s a nice writeup on TreeHugger about New Roots Urban Farm.

The group is using six city lots in not the best part of town; to practice some really innovative farming and providing much needed assistance to the needy.

HAM exam: passed

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:36:00 +0000

I passed my HAM Radio exam (Technician Level) !!

Now to wait for my call sign ..

High-Speed Camera

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 02:50:00 +0000

High-Speed Camera Captures Milk Droplet Splashing on Coffee (Pictures)

St. Charles, MO

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 23:39:00 +0000

Whole Earth Catalog – Last Issue

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 02:10:00 +0000

—Whole Earth Catalog, last issue

Stay Foolish. Stay Hungry.

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 01:57:00 +0000

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

—Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement Address

End result

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 01:02:00 +0000

“Don’t confuse activity for progress.”

—Jonathan Schwartz, via GigaOM

Let the “necessary” speak.

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 23:37:00 +0000

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”

—Hans Hofmann

Measure and manage

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 03:26:00 +0000

“What gets measured gets managed.”

—Peter Drucker

Plastic, uggh !!

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 01:06:00 +0000

Another really good reason to reduce use of plastic. Plastic Ocean.

Simplify, Simplify

Tue, 01 May 2007 22:44:00 +0000

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”

—Henry David Thoreau

Earth Day 2007

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 03:45:00 +0000

Visit the STL Earth Day site for more information on the day’s events.

Snowbird shumai

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 05:43:00 +0000

Blue Elephant, Clayton MO

Photos from trip to Japan

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 19:08:00 +0000

Japan Trip

Even I think its overloaded with photos of fish, flowers and food 🙂

Tulips

Sun, 01 Apr 2007 02:51:00 +0000

Tulips – Spring 2007

Spring is here !

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 05:41:00 +0000

Sunset

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:30:00 +0000

Sunset in St. Louis

War of words – quag?

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 04:33:00 +0000

quag |kwag| noun archaic a marshy or boggy place.

Idea of Infinite Regression

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 20:29:00 +0000

A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the Earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the centre of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: “What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise.” The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, “What is the tortoise standing on?” “You’re very clever, young man, very clever,” said the old lady. “But it’s turtles all the way down!”

The Art of Orchids

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 23:51:00 +0000

Art of Orchids

We enjoyed viewing wonderful orchids at the MOBOT this weekend. Here are some pictures.

Curieux

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 05:47:00 +0000

curious |ˈkyoŏrēəs|
adj. – eager to know or learn something_
_

Français (French)
adj. – curieux, curieux (péj), étrange

LibriVox

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 12:04:00 +0000

LibriVox aims to provide audio of books in the public domain. Not many entries yet but I was able to find one of my favorite poems – The Tiger by William Blake (click on the link to hear)

They do have the disclaimer below –

LibriVox recordings are Public Domain in the USA. If you are not in the USA, please verify the copyright status of these works in your own country before downloading, otherwise you may be violating copyright laws.

And interestingly audio is provide not in only in mp3 format but also in the Open Source ogg vorbis format.

Using SMS instead of PCs

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 05:14:00 +0000

This is certainly good use of technology – providing farmers with information via SMS instead of PC kiosks.

Sean Blagsvedt and Rajesh Veeraraghavan of Microsoft Research India (blog) explain –

We replaced the client PCs with SMS enabled phones. On the server, we attached a smart phone through USB to their PC server. So, we effectively have an SMS gateway that receives incoming SMS messages and converts into database calls and the response was also converted to an SMS message and the result sent back to the phone that sent it. The authentication was through the SIM card (essentially the phone number).

With widespread mobile phone usage in the developing world, smart solutions like these might effectively replace PCs as we know them and open up a market for “smart” phones and other “sub-PC” devices.

Unix commands translate into business models

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 00:46:00 +0000

Unix is a large part of my work life and it was interesting to read Marc Hedlund’s blog on O’Reilly Radar where he notes –

One of my favorite business model suggestions for entrepreneurs is, find an old UNIX command that hasn’t yet been implemented on the web, and fix that. talk and finger became ICQ, LISTSERV became Yahoo! Groups, find and grep became Google, rn became Bloglines, pine became Gmail, and bash is in the process of becoming Yahoo! Pipes. I didn’t get until tonight that Twitter is wall for the web. I love that.

Snow ! Snow !!

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:13:00 +0000

Our little dachshund, Chiku enjoying the snow !

What is your footprint?

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 02:23:00 +0000

Find out by taking the Ecological Footprint Quiz – http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp

Hello !

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 09:43:00 +0000

Magic

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 02:01:00 +0000

“… any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

—Arthur C. Clarke’s third law

No snow :(

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 08:14:00 +0000

Had to search thru old photos for this 🙂 Cannot believe that I miss snow …

Certainly cannot call this winter. Not very nice for farmers and animals.

To strive for ..

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 00:44:00 +0000

… sincerity, serenity, integrity and the absence of glibness …

—Henry Kissinger (eulogy to Gerald Ford)

Shumai

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 11:11:00 +0000

End of the wandering star

Sat, 23 Dec 2006 00:30:00 +0000

A child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home:
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost—how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky’s dome.

To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.

Macaroon Time :)

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 14:52:00 +0000

Merry Christmas !!

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 22:58:00 +0000

Bo Luc Lac

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 09:54:00 +0000

Where is the life ..

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:49:00 +0000

Where is the life we have lost in the living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The cycles of heaven in twenty centuries
bring us farther from God and nearer to dust.

—T. S. Eliot

Mardi Gras Christmas ?

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 01:56:00 +0000

From Singapore …

Ice Cream Time :))

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 12:54:00 +0000

From Chiku

Brilliant colors of fall

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 02:48:00 +0000

Glass Marbles

Sat, 28 Oct 2006 01:15:00 +0000

120,000 miles … and going strong

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 07:32:00 +0000

Been driving my Corolla for almost five years now. Its still going strong and shows no signs of aging yet 🙂

Labadie, MO

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 03:00:00 +0000

We went out to the Shaw Nature Reserve this past weekend. It started off sunny but it did get cloudy and we had a little rain. But the fall colors looked really beautiful, certainly worth the half hour drive. The lady at the reserve suggested we drive to Labadie for lunch. We ended up going to Hawthorne Inn for a great burger, smothered with mushrooms, yum 🙂

Anticipation …

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 08:29:00 +0000

Godiva Cheesecake

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 04:10:00 +0000

Late lunch …

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 03:11:00 +0000

Mocha Flan

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 09:45:00 +0000

Barcelona Tapas

Waiting …

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 01:40:00 +0000

In memory of Tatha

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 02:17:00 +0000

<td>
 <br />This week was Tatha&#8217;s 27th death anniversary.&nbsp; My grandpa was a simple man who worked hard.&nbsp; I wish he had lived longer, so I could have spent more time with him.&nbsp; We only have few pictures of him, I&#8217;ve been able to scan them and put them <a href="http://www.zechariah.net/gallery/OldFamilyPics/">online</a>.
</td>

T-Mobile Wireless Data Configurator Page

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 08:04:00 +0000

Visit this page – http://tmobileus.wdsglobal.com/phonefirst to install T-Mobile settings (t-zones etc.) on your unlocked phone.

The Motorola SLVR is not one of phones available in their list but I found that settings for RAZR V3 worked just fine with my SLVR. You will recieve an SMS message that will download the settings to your phone.

Video: The Great Forest Park Ballon Race

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 03:38:00 +0000

Here’s some video I shot of the Great Forest Park Balloon Race. This was created using iMovie HD; its really easy to use and best for basic videos.

The Great Forest Park Balloon Race, St. Louis MO

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 07:47:00 +0000

It was a beautiful day in the park for the 34th Great Balloon Race. The race was supposed to be 70 “hound” balloons in chase of the Energizer Bunny Balloon. Apparently there were some problems because the event was delayed and I did not see the Bunny Balloon. Other balloons did take off ..

For more pictures visit my album on Picasa Web – Great Ballon Race

Tea Time

Sat, 16 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Tea – its good for you. Read about the many benefits of tea at BBC News.

Waiting for the train

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:41:00 +0000

The new Metrolink line in St. Louis now connects Downtown to Shrewsbury. Its my preferred mode of transport now. This picture was taken at the Convention Center station. Visit metrostlouis.org for more info.

Lotus

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:57:00 +0000

From Nature

Tejano Music

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:12:00 +0000

This afternoon I was listening to Studio 360 on NPR. They had this interesting piece which was in a way about Lydia Mendoza. She’s a legendary Tejano singer from the 1930s. For more about her music visit this link on iTunes. Wish I could understand the language 🙂

Untitled

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 09:04:00 +0000

Capybaras – largest rodents

Untitled

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 23:51:00 +0000

Untitled

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 10:28:00 +0000

Chihuly nights

Chiku and friend

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 07:44:00 +0000

Chiku & friend

Untitled

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 00:48:00 +0000

Patterns

Untitled

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:46:00 +0000

At the doctor’s office.

Congo’s street manicurists

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 23:07:00 +0000

And that too for men !! (BBC Article).

US States visited

Sat, 12 Aug 2006 05:14:00 +0000

[create your own personalized map of the USA](http://www.world66.com/myworld66)

wheresgeorge.com

Sat, 12 Aug 2006 04:25:00 +0000

I got a $1 bill at the cafe yesterday and it had a small red marking which said track this bill at wheresgeorge.com.

I’ve entered the bill details, it will be interesting to see where this bill goes next.

Here’s the tracking URL.

Flan

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 10:10:00 +0000

Flan. Yum 🙂