Writer and Geek Show

The Race to the South Pole Expedition Number One: Leader: Roald Amundsen Expedition Name: Amundsen’s South Pole Expedition Reached on 14 December, 1911 Expedition Number Two: Leader: Robert Falcon Scott Expedition Name: Terra Nova Expedition Reached on 17 January, 1912 Amundsen’s South Pole expedition (1910-1912) ###Key people: (Total 19) Thorvald Nilsen, a navigator who would be second-in-command Hjalmar Fredrik Gjertsen, expedition doctor Kristian Prestrud, a naval officer Oscar Wisting, a naval gunner/amateur veterinarian* Olav Bjaaland, a champion skier who was a skilled carpenter and ski-maker* Helmer Hanssen, a skilled dog driver* Sverre Hassel, a skilled dog driver* Adolf Lindstrøm, the cook Timeline: Had planned for a North Pole expedition Obtained Fridtjof Nansen’s polar exploration ship, Fram Plan disrupted in 1909 when rival explorers, Frederick Cook and Robert E. Peary each claimed to have reached the North Pole He changed his focus to South Pole Uncertain whether he would get the support, he kept the plan to himself up to a month after leaving for the expedition June 1910 - Set out for the expedition with the crew thinking they are embarking on an Arctic drift Reveals the plan to go to Antarctica when Fram left the last port Madeira Telegrams Scott of his intentions to travel south Framheim, the Antarctic Base, at Bay of Whales on the Great Ice Barrier Near disaster false start in August - September (8 September) Proper start in 19 October, 1911 Use of sledge dogs for trouble free travel Discovery of Axel Heiberg Glacier, first exploration of King Edward VII Land Reached South Pole on 15 December, 1911 Reached back at Farheim on 25 January, 1912 Total 52 sledge dogs, 11 survived the expedition The expedition took 99 days and 3,440 km journey Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913) Key People (Total 65) Edgar Evans, second-in-command Harry Pennell, navigator George Murray Levick, skiing expert Edward L Atkinson, skiing expert Henry Robertson Bowers* Lawrence Oates, an army captain* Edgar Evans, Antarctic veteran* Edward Wilson, chief scientist* George Simpson, meteorologist Herbert Ponting, photographer Timeline: 15 June, 1910 - Terra Nova sailed from Cardiff, Wales Scott tied up with expedition business, joined Terra Nova in South Africa after catching a faster passenger liner Leaves the ship in Melbourne for further business, receives letter from Amundsen Rejoined the ship in New Zealand with additional supplies Met with heavy storms and loss of supplies in the Sea January 1911 - Built a base at Cape Evans (named after Scott’s second-in-command) Campbell’s Eastern party to explore King Edward VII Land, meets Amundsen’s party January 1911 - Start of Depot laying with the One Ton Depay laid 48 kilometers short of its intended location 1911 winter - Hut was separated using packing cases for “officers” and “men” 09 February, 1911 - Campbell’s party became the Northern party and set up camp at Robertson Bay (They could not carry out experiments as per the plan and returned to base came in September 1912) Wester Parties - Conducted two geological expeditions Journey to Cape Crozier in the winter to secure eggs of emperor penguin and to experiment with food rations and equipment before the polar journey 13 September, 1911 - South polar journey plans revealed 24 October, 1911 - The Motor Party left the base 01 November, 1911 - Scott and his party left the base 21 November, 1911 - Scott’s party caught up with the Motor party 03 January, 1912 - Scott chose his party of five (instead of four) - Scott, Wilson, Oates, Bowers and Edgar Evans 09 January, 1912 - Passed Shackleton’s furthest point 16 January, 1912 - Saw Amundsen’s black flag 17 January, 1912 - Reached South Pole (Scott’s entry - “The Pole. Yes, but under very different circumstances from those expected … Great God! This is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have laboured to it without the reward of priority. Well, it is something to have got here”) 18 January, 1912 - Finds Amundsen’s tent, supplies and letter stating they had reached on 16 December, 1911 Returning homewards - Edgar Evans suffering and Lawrence Oates severe frostbite 17 February, 1912 - Edgar Evans dies due to head injuries, frostbite and a hand injury which failed to heal Reached the meet point, but could not find the dog teams, temperature dropped sharply, and the fuel supplies were meagre Low temperature and radiation caused poor surface to pull the sledge, lack of wind made the temperatures even worse, and Oates frostbite reduced the daily average of distance covered to three to five miles down from fifteen 10 March, 1912 - It became evident that the dog teams where not coming Oates sacrifices himself by walking out of his tent towards his death. Last words, “I am just going outside and may be some time.” 20 March, 1912 - Reached 11 miles near to the One Ton Depot but a blizzard stopped them in their tracks 29 March, 1912 - Presumed date of their death and Scott’s last entry - “Every day we have been ready to start for our depot 11 miles away, but outside the door of the tent it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity but I do not think I can write more. R. Scott. Last entry. For God’s sake look after our people.” 29 October 1912 - Search party sent to find Scott 12 November 1912 - The tent containing Scott, Wilson, and Bowers found 11 miles south of One Ton Depot 10 February, 1913 - Edward Atkinson and Lieutenant Harry Pennell reached the ports of New Zealand and relayed a message about the fate of Scott’s party. Aftermath Scott hailed a tragic hero which overshadowed Amundsen’s achievements Critics questioned the leadership abilities of Scott The fate of the group said to be the result of many “ifs” with the weather playing the major part Notes Asterisk (*) next to names means those who reached the South Pole Amundsen received help at Argentina from Peter “Don Pedro” Christophersen, a Norwegian expatriate whose brother was Norway’s Minister in Buenos Aires The Musafir Stories Episode mentionedin the beginning: TMS Specials - Conquering Mt. Everest with Satyarup Siddhanta Pixabay

The Blockchain Funda According to Hubspot research, one of the most confusing emerging technology. Blockchain is a digital method of economic transaction record-keeping – also known as a ledger. Security keeps it differentiated from other technologies. Records are kept open within a network but no one can edit or delete. It is like a database that can be updated only through solving a complex mathematical problem. The chain is linked through hash from the previous block and the chain continues to the hash from the genesis block which happens to be the first block in the entire chain. Designed to be resistant to modification especially backdating or other tampering with the timestamps and other details in a financial transaction. Latest fad in the tech industry. Described back in 1991 to timestamp digital documents. Used in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto to create cryptocurrency called Bitcoin. Each block contains data, hash of the block and the hash of the previous block. Bitcoin: On 9 Jan, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto announced the release of bitcoin as a peer to peer, completely de-centralised network with no server or central authority. The idea was to eliminate any middle-man agents like banks or other agencies in the digital transactions. In a centralised network, the server keeps a record of all the transactions and validates them. In a decentralised network, every entity on the network does the job of comparing and then validating the authenticity of the transaction. Every peer keeps a list of the transactions to ensure all the future transactions are valid. Basically cryptocurrency is an entry in a database which can be changed only under specific conditions. Which is true in case of a bank transaction as well. Cryptocurrency usually consists of a network of peers and every peer has a complete history of all transactions ever happened and hence the balance of every account. A transaction file is signed by individual private key and published in the network. The authenticity of the transaction is confirmed by miners. Bitcoin file size grew to 20GB in 2014 and is currently over 100GB in size. Miners: Miners confirm the legitimacy of the transactions and broadcast that to the network. Once a miner confirms, the transaction gets added to the blockchain in all the peers. Miners get paid back in the cryptocurrency for this. In case of Bitcoin, the miners earn a specific amount of Bitcoin for validating a transaction. To be a miner, some amount of computing power has to be invested into finding the hash to connect the block to the chain. Miners compete to solve a series of cryptographic puzzles and as a reward, they are allowed to add a transaction to the coinbase which is the valid way of creating bitcoins. Bitcoins are created only when miners solve a puzzle. The difficulty of puzzle increases the computing power required to solve the puzzle and this results in only a specific amount of currency being created in a given amount of time. Mining Bitcoin mining requires a computer and a special software. Miners use the computing power of their systems to compete with other miners to solve a series of complex puzzles. Every ten minutes, miners try to solve a block that has the latest transaction data in it using cryptographic hash functions. Computer warehouses have been set up to create a business out of bitcoin mining. There is a minimum difficulty level set for the hash for the miners to solve. If the incoming hash does not qualify for that level of difficulty, an arbitrary string called nonce is added to the hash and the new string is re-hashed to create a new hash and this new hash is compared to see if it conforms to the difficulty level expected. If not, the nonce is changed and the process is repeated until the required difficulty is attained. Once required difficulty is attained, block it added to the blockchain and the ledger is updated. The miners are then rewarded using Bitcoins. Why cryptocurrency: Irreversible: Once a transaction is made, it is irreversible by anyone. There is no way you can dispute a transaction and get the money back. Anonymous: Transactions and accounts are not usually connected to real-world entities. Transaction flow can be analysed by not necessarily the identity of the users. Speed: The transactions are almost instantaneous irrespective of the location of the users. Security: Since cryptography is extensively used in cryptocurrency, it is secure. Cryptocurrency can be sent only using the owners private key. No middle-man: No permission is required to use cryptocurrency. There is no middle-man. Anyone can send or receive. Hash Hash is a method of taking an input string and encoding it to and output of fixed length. A hashing algorithm is used for this conversion. In case of Bitcoin, SHA-256 is used for hashing. The fixed length of output helps in saving data that might otherwise be of considerable size. Hashes remain the same irrespective of the number of times the data is passed through the algorithm. Hashes cannot be converted back to its inputs but can be identified by comparing the data after hashing the possible values again. Brute forcing becomes virtually impossible due to the sheer number of tries that is required. For a 128 bit hash, it will take anywhere between 1 and 2128-1 tries. That means an average of 2127 tries which is a huge number. Any change in the input will reflect in the hash. Collision resistance determines the chances of two different inputs producing the same hash. MD5’s (128-bit hash) collision resistance was broken after 221 hashes and SHA 1 (160-bit hash) was broken after 261 hashes. SHA 256 is used by bitcoin and Keccak 256 is produced by Etherium. The blockchain is a linked list of data and it’s associated hash pointer which points to the hash of the previous block and hence forming a block. So if an intruder changes data, the resulting hash changes drastically and will no longer have its pointer point to the previous block. This way the blockchain remain immutable (unchangeable). Pixabay

A simplified view into the mysterious blockchain technology that powers cryptocurrency

The Blockchain Funda According to Hubspot research, one of the most confusing emerging technology. Blockchain is a digital method of economic transaction record-keeping – also known as a ledger. Security keeps it differentiated from other technologies. Records are kept open within a network but no one can edit or delete. It is like a database that can be updated only through solving a complex mathematical problem. The chain is linked through hash from the previous block and the chain continues to the hash from the genesis block which happens to be the first block in the entire chain. Designed to be resistant to modification especially backdating or other tampering with the timestamps and other details in a financial transaction. Latest fad in the tech industry. Described back in 1991 to timestamp digital documents. Used in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto to create cryptocurrency called Bitcoin. Each block contains data, hash of the block and the hash of the previous block. Bitcoin: On 9 Jan, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto announced the release of bitcoin as a peer to peer, completely de-centralised network with no server or central authority. The idea was to eliminate any middle-man agents like banks or other agencies in the digital transactions. In a centralised network, the server keeps a record of all the transactions and validates them. In a decentralised network, every entity on the network does the job of comparing and then validating the authenticity of the transaction. Every peer keeps a list of the transactions to ensure all the future transactions are valid. Basically cryptocurrency is an entry in a database which can be changed only under specific conditions. Which is true in case of a bank transaction as well. Cryptocurrency usually consists of a network of peers and every peer has a complete history of all transactions ever happened and hence the balance of every account. A transaction file is signed by individual private key and published in the network. The authenticity of the transaction is confirmed by miners. Bitcoin file size grew to 20GB in 2014 and is currently over 100GB in size. Miners: Miners confirm the legitimacy of the transactions and broadcast that to the network. Once a miner confirms, the transaction gets added to the blockchain in all the peers. Miners get paid back in the cryptocurrency for this. In case of Bitcoin, the miners earn a specific amount of Bitcoin for validating a transaction. To be a miner, some amount of computing power has to be invested into finding the hash to connect the block to the chain. Miners compete to solve a series of cryptographic puzzles and as a reward, they are allowed to add a transaction to the coinbase which is the valid way of creating bitcoins. Bitcoins are created only when miners solve a puzzle. The difficulty of puzzle increases the computing power required to solve the puzzle and this results in only a specific amount of currency being created in a given amount of time. Mining Bitcoin mining requires a computer and a special software. Miners use the computing power of their systems to compete with other miners to solve a series of complex puzzles. Every ten minutes, miners try to solve a block that has the latest transaction data in it using cryptographic hash functions. Computer warehouses have been set up to create a business out of bitcoin mining. There is a minimum difficulty level set for the hash for the miners to solve. If the incoming hash does not qualify for that level of difficulty, an arbitrary string called nonce is added to the hash and the new string is re-hashed to create a new hash and this new hash is compared to see if it conforms to the difficulty level expected. If not, the nonce is changed and the process is repeated until the required difficulty is attained. Once required difficulty is attained, block it added to the blockchain and the ledger is updated. The miners are then rewarded using Bitcoins. Why cryptocurrency: Irreversible: Once a transaction is made, it is irreversible by anyone. There is no way you can dispute a transaction and get the money back. Anonymous: Transactions and accounts are not usually connected to real-world entities. Transaction flow can be analysed by not necessarily the identity of the users. Speed: The transactions are almost instantaneous irrespective of the location of the users. Security: Since cryptography is extensively used in cryptocurrency, it is secure. Cryptocurrency can be sent only using the owners private key. No middle-man: No permission is required to use cryptocurrency. There is no middle-man. Anyone can send or receive. Hash Hash is a method of taking an input string and encoding it to and output of fixed length. A hashing algorithm is used for this conversion. In case of Bitcoin, SHA-256 is used for hashing. The fixed length of output helps in saving data that might otherwise be of considerable size. Hashes remain the same irrespective of the number of times the data is passed through the algorithm. Hashes cannot be converted back to its inputs but can be identified by comparing the data after hashing the possible values again. Brute forcing becomes virtually impossible due to the sheer number of tries that is required. For a 128 bit hash, it will take anywhere between 1 and 2128-1 tries. That means an average of 2127 tries which is a huge number. Any change in the input will reflect in the hash. Collision resistance determines the chances of two different inputs producing the same hash. MD5’s (128-bit hash) collision resistance was broken after 221 hashes and SHA 1 (160-bit hash) was broken after 261 hashes. SHA 256 is used by bitcoin and Keccak 256 is produced by Etherium. The blockchain is a linked list of data and it’s associated hash pointer which points to the hash of the previous block and hence forming a block. So if an intruder changes data, the resulting hash changes drastically and will no longer have its pointer point to the previous block. This way the blockchain remain immutable (unchangeable). Pixabay

The Match Fixing Scandal of 2000 Summary 1996 - Mohd. Azharuddin introduced Hansie Cronje to Mukesh Gupta - a bookie. 1996 Kanpur test - final day fixing - $30,000 - Mukesh Gupta Scorecard $50,000 for team information, weather forecats and pitch report Fixed matches: 1999-2000 Ind vs SA ODI Series - Results Hansie Cronje, Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje, Henry Williams, and Pieter Strydom said to be involved in fixing the matches 5th ODI - Gibbs asked to score less than 50 and Williams asked to give more than 50 runs - $15,000 (Cronje - $140,000) Scorecard Gibbs scored 74 and Williams gets injured in his second over How did it begin? As per The New York Times, “The scandal began in India in 1997 when (Manoj) Prabhakar wrote, in a signed article in a Delhi-based magazine, that he was offered 2.5 million rupees ($53,000/Rs.25,00,000) by a teammate to underperform in a match against Pakistan in 1994.” Further Reading Timeline April 7, 2000 - Delhi police charge Cronje with fixing after transcripts of his conversation with a bookie, Sanjay Chawla. April 9 - Cronje denies the allegations April 11 - SA board sacks Cronje for giving forecast information for $10,000 to $15,000 April 12 - Centurion test (Eng vs SA) investigated Scorecard Further Reading April 20 - Umpires Cyril Mitchley and Rudi Koertzen approached and they say they were approached to influence games for money at different points in their career April 28 - Indian government submits the case to the CBI The King Commission set up by South Africa to investigate into the matter. June 7 - The King Commission gets a lead on a match against Pakistan in 1994-95, where Cronje was paid $250,000 to throw away an ODI. June 8 - Gibbs confesses, breaking the foundation of Cronje’s claims. June 9 - Nicky Boje shocked and rubbishes the claim - Henry Williams confesses - Peter Strydom confesses to being approached to play badly in a Test in February June 10 - Cronje offered immunity for full disclosure June 13 - Kallis corroborates with Boucher and Klusener about Cronje offering three players money for fixing the second test in Mumbai June 15 - Cronje confesses to taking around $100,000 from bookers since 1996 and that he was introduced to them by Azharuddin. Azar rubbishes the allegation. June 23 - Cronje breaks down and confesses everything during the three-day cross-examination held by the King Commission. He said, “My great passion for the game and for my team-mates’ was matched by an unfortunate love of money”. June 26 - Cronje begs for forgiveness July 20 - Income tax raid on Indian coach and former players Kapil Dev, former players Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia and Nikhil Chopra. August 28 - Gibbs and Williams banned for 6 months. Strydom acquitted of conspiring in the Centurion match. September 12 - Kapil Dev resigns as Indian coach October 11 - Life ban for Cronje October 31 - Mukesh Gupta names Brian Lara, Dean Jones, Alec Stewart, Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Martin Crowe and Saleem Malik to be involved in match-fixing. But investigation leads to no solid evidence. November 27 - Nayan Mongia found not guilty. Azhar found guilty of match-fixing. Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Sharma and former Indian team physio Ali Irani are found guilty of having links with the bookies. December 5 - Azhar, Sharma banned for life. Jadeja banned for 5 years (overturned in 2003). Prabhakar and Irani banned from having official positions with the cricket team. October 12, 2006 - Gibbs questioned by Delhi police. He says Derek Crookes is involved in the scandal as well. Crookes denies the allegations as he is already cleared by The King Commission. July 22, 2013 - Delhi police finally files the FIR for the case. Allegedly fixed matches: 4th Match, Wills World Series at Kanpur, Oct 30, 1994 - Scorecard Video 3rd Final, Silver Jubilee Independence Cup at Dhaka, Jan 18, 1998 - Scorecard Video Further Reading How the match-fixing drama unfolded Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Pixabay

The Match Fixing Scandal of 2000 Summary 1996 - Mohd. Azharuddin introduced Hansie Cronje to Mukesh Gupta - a bookie. 1996 Kanpur test - final day fixing - $30,000 - Mukesh Gupta Scorecard $50,000 for team information, weather forecats and pitch report Fixed matches: 1999-2000 Ind vs SA ODI Series - Results Hansie Cronje, Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje, Henry Williams, and Pieter Strydom said to be involved in fixing the matches 5th ODI - Gibbs asked to score less than 50 and Williams asked to give more than 50 runs - $15,000 (Cronje - $140,000) Scorecard Gibbs scored 74 and Williams gets injured in his second over How did it begin? As per The New York Times, “The scandal began in India in 1997 when (Manoj) Prabhakar wrote, in a signed article in a Delhi-based magazine, that he was offered 2.5 million rupees ($53,000/Rs.25,00,000) by a teammate to underperform in a match against Pakistan in 1994.” Further Reading Timeline April 7, 2000 - Delhi police charge Cronje with fixing after transcripts of his conversation with a bookie, Sanjay Chawla. April 9 - Cronje denies the allegations April 11 - SA board sacks Cronje for giving forecast information for $10,000 to $15,000 April 12 - Centurion test (Eng vs SA) investigated Scorecard Further Reading April 20 - Umpires Cyril Mitchley and Rudi Koertzen approached and they say they were approached to influence games for money at different points in their career April 28 - Indian government submits the case to the CBI The King Commission set up by South Africa to investigate into the matter. June 7 - The King Commission gets a lead on a match against Pakistan in 1994-95, where Cronje was paid $250,000 to throw away an ODI. June 8 - Gibbs confesses, breaking the foundation of Cronje’s claims. June 9 - Nicky Boje shocked and rubbishes the claim - Henry Williams confesses - Peter Strydom confesses to being approached to play badly in a Test in February June 10 - Cronje offered immunity for full disclosure June 13 - Kallis corroborates with Boucher and Klusener about Cronje offering three players money for fixing the second test in Mumbai June 15 - Cronje confesses to taking around $100,000 from bookers since 1996 and that he was introduced to them by Azharuddin. Azar rubbishes the allegation. June 23 - Cronje breaks down and confesses everything during the three-day cross-examination held by the King Commission. He said, “My great passion for the game and for my team-mates’ was matched by an unfortunate love of money”. June 26 - Cronje begs for forgiveness July 20 - Income tax raid on Indian coach and former players Kapil Dev, former players Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia and Nikhil Chopra. August 28 - Gibbs and Williams banned for 6 months. Strydom acquitted of conspiring in the Centurion match. September 12 - Kapil Dev resigns as Indian coach October 11 - Life ban for Cronje October 31 - Mukesh Gupta names Brian Lara, Dean Jones, Alec Stewart, Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Martin Crowe and Saleem Malik to be involved in match-fixing. But investigation leads to no solid evidence. November 27 - Nayan Mongia found not guilty. Azhar found guilty of match-fixing. Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Sharma and former Indian team physio Ali Irani are found guilty of having links with the bookies. December 5 - Azhar, Sharma banned for life. Jadeja banned for 5 years (overturned in 2003). Prabhakar and Irani banned from having official positions with the cricket team. October 12, 2006 - Gibbs questioned by Delhi police. He says Derek Crookes is involved in the scandal as well. Crookes denies the allegations as he is already cleared by The King Commission. July 22, 2013 - Delhi police finally files the FIR for the case. Allegedly fixed matches: 4th Match, Wills World Series at Kanpur, Oct 30, 1994 - Scorecard Video 3rd Final, Silver Jubilee Independence Cup at Dhaka, Jan 18, 1998 - Scorecard Video Further Reading How the match-fixing drama unfolded Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Pixabay

A deeper look into the involvement of Indian and South African players in the match-fixing scandal of 2000

Interview with a comic: Rupen Paul Note from Shankar Music was the reason why I acquainted with Rupen back in 2010 at Christ University. We were part of two college bands namely Zilch and Raaga. The acquaintance grew into friendship over the course of our college life, though our musical dreams died. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: He is an aspiring stand up comedian who is sure to have his own Netflix special in the near future. So, tune in and get to know about the journey of one of the funniest comic Bangalore has ever seen. Mentions Click on the timestamps below to jump straight to the section being discussed. 00:33: Introduction 06:25: Working 9-5 10:30: Why music is harder than stand up 11:11: Rupen’s journey from a computer grad to a standup comedian. The moment of revelation in Goa. 16:44: Christite who inspired Rupen 18:44: Getting into standup and the initial struggles 27:34: The thought process of coming up with a joke 33:17: Getting paid through stand up. How the negotiation works. Why does the freelance community needs a union? How can one person can screw things for the others? Why do people need to be assertive? 41:00: Why should you learn to work under someone and as a team? 44:13: People underestimating the concept of time and its effects. The importance of embracing the struggle (sufferings). 49:03: Rupen’s bad standup experiences 52:12: The joy in standup comedy and the responsibility it brings to the table. 53:23: Difference between a good show and a bad show. Difference between standup and music. And another bad experience. 58:21: Convincing parents, future plans 59:56: Rupen’s standup influences 01:01:32: Next gig on March 24th, Rangoli Arts Centre. Tickets up on BookMyShow 01:03:14: A little bit about Rupen’s upcoming podcast - Right Room Podcast Facebook

Interview with a comic: Rupen Paul Note from Shankar Music was the reason why I acquainted with Rupen back in 2010 at Christ University. We were part of two college bands namely Zilch and Raaga. The acquaintance grew into friendship over the course of our college life, though our musical dreams died. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: He is an aspiring stand up comedian who is sure to have his own Netflix special in the near future. So, tune in and get to know about the journey of one of the funniest comic Bangalore has ever seen. Mentions Click on the timestamps below to jump straight to the section being discussed. 00:33: Introduction 06:25: Working 9-5 10:30: Why music is harder than stand up 11:11: Rupen’s journey from a computer grad to a standup comedian. The moment of revelation in Goa. 16:44: Christite who inspired Rupen 18:44: Getting into standup and the initial struggles 27:34: The thought process of coming up with a joke 33:17: Getting paid through stand up. How the negotiation works. Why does the freelance community needs a union? How can one person can screw things for the others? Why do people need to be assertive? 41:00: Why should you learn to work under someone and as a team? 44:13: People underestimating the concept of time and its effects. The importance of embracing the struggle (sufferings). 49:03: Rupen’s bad standup experiences 52:12: The joy in standup comedy and the responsibility it brings to the table. 53:23: Difference between a good show and a bad show. Difference between standup and music. And another bad experience. 58:21: Convincing parents, future plans 59:56: Rupen’s standup influences 01:01:32: Next gig on March 24th, Rangoli Arts Centre. Tickets up on BookMyShow 01:03:14: A little bit about Rupen’s upcoming podcast - Right Room Podcast Facebook

An interview with a good friend and Bangalore's up and coming standup comedian Rupen Paul

Submarines What a submarine is: It is an underwater vehicle used mostly for military purpose in the current day and age. Civilian uses mostly for science (marine biology) Cylindrical in shape with conical edges. Bridge structure called Fin in Europe and Sail in America. Houses periscope and stuff. Powered by a propeller or pump jet and has fins on the rear to control the level of the submarine. Along with this also uses ballast tanks which are filled with compressed air to ‘surface’ the craft or filled with water to sink it. Nuclear and Diesel powered: Diesel powered subs require air for the combustion of Diesel engines while nuclear submarines used nuclear energy. This enabled them to remain submerged for a much longer duration under water. Modern-day submarines can stay submerged for over 6 months. History Development started before WWI but accelerated during the war. Leonardo da Vinci had drawings of a submarine but never materialised into a real craft. It was called a ship to sink another ship. He never revealed it public to prevent wars from turning more deadly than they already are. Seems like Greeks had mastered the craft back in the 1500s during the reign of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. A couple of guys emerged dry from underwater in river Tagus near the city of Toledo in Spain. William Bourne, an English mathematician, mentioned in his book about an underwater navigation device. John Napier, Scottish mathematician also mentioned an invention which stayed underwater with divers and could also be used in warfare. The first real submarine that was built was done in 1620 by Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutchman who worked for King James I of England. It used oars for propulsion. Interest in submarines went up during the 18th century and there were patents coming up for submarines. Ballast tank idea was patented in 1747 by Nathaniel Symons using leather bags filled with water. There was a mechanism to remove water from the bags and re-surface the craft. Giovanni Borelli had proposed a similar design earlier. The first use of a submarine in combat was built in 1775 by David Bushnell and was called Turtle. This was used during the American Revolutionary War for attaching explosives to British Navy vessels anchored in the New York harbour. Although the various attempts at attaching explosives failed, it sparked an interest in using submarines for warfare. Propulsion of the Turtle was done using hand crank and this meant that the pilot needed to have a great stamina to keep the craft steady. The direction was controlled by a lever that controlled the rudder in the rear of the craft. The first non-human powered submarine was Plongeur launched in 1963 invented by the French and used compressed air. Narcis Monturiol launched the first combustion-powered submarine Incitnio II in Barcelona in 1864. Submarines became effective with the invention of the torpedo by Robert Whitehead in 1866. English inventor George Garrett and Swedish industrialist Thorsten Nordenfelt built the first steam submarine capable of firing torpedoes called the Nordenfelt I and had a range of 240 km. Irish inventor John Philip Holland built the Holland Type IV submarine in 1896 which was hybrid using internal combustion engine while on the surface and electric engine while submerged. This class submarine was purchased by US Navy and was used in the Russo-Japanese war in 1905 as well. World war and the progress made The development of submarine was accelerated during the world war times where naval warfare was as important as land or air warfare. U-boats of Germany proved to be deadly in the war. During the beginning of the war, both England and Germany had submarines though British had significantly more submarines than Germany. Diesel engined U-boats could have a range of 5000 miles and speed of 15 km/h During WWI U boats sank over 5000 ships. During WW2, U boats wrecked British shipping routes. The US wrecked havoc over capable Japanese Navy. Pakistani submarine sank INS Khukri, in turn, India sank Ghazi (loaned from the US) submarine of Pakistan. Workings A submarine has a cigar-shaped hull. This shape helps in drastically reducing the water resistance around the body of the sub. The sail or the fin might also have a bridge on top which is used for observational purposes. Propulsion was carried out by humans in the early type of submarines. Before nuclear power was invented, submarines were powered by combustion engines on the surface and electric engines while being submerged. Earlier crafts used petrol and the later ones started using diesel-electric engines for reduced flammability and increased efficiency. This also meant the batteries could be charged by running the submarine on diesel engines for some time. Germans tried using a snorkel that could supply oxygen to the engines while being at periscope depth but not without problems of visible exhaust and speed constraints to prevent snorkel from breaking off. During WWII, submarines designed to carry hydrogen peroxide as oxidisers were built by Germany. Due to limited success, these later carried large batteries instead. Nuclear energy powers larger submarines in the present day. Nuclear power is used to drive turbines that power the propeller. A disadvantage is the noise generated by coolant pumps whereas a diesel-electric can run on batteries almost quietly. Ships float over water due to a buoyant force that acts on it. For a submarine to sink below the surface. For this, modern-day submarines use ballast tanks which hold varying amount of water and air. Apart from using compressed air, submarine also uses tailplanes to move it up and down. There are such planes connected to the Fin (Sail) and body as well. Forward and Main Ballast Tanks are filled with water to submerge or is filled with air to surface the craft. Depth Control Tanks were used for precise adjustments to the depth. In case of emergency surfacing or submerging, these tanks are used along with these tailplanes simultaneously. But this quick move can make the submarine partially jump from the water as well. Navigation and communication Submarines use SONAR sensors that rely on reflected sounds to detect objects. They are located within the hull and sometimes also towed behind the submarine. Modern submarines use internal guidance systems and depend on global positioning system (GPS) to tackle error in the internal systems. Periscope is used sparingly for short-range observations. Communication is carried out using low-frequency radio and in short bursts ost of the time to avoid detection. Life support Since a modern submarine stays submerged for months at a time, oxygen for the crew cannot always be pulled in from the atmosphere. In normal cases, electrolysis of water is used to generate oxygen necessary for the crew to breath. Carbon Dioxide scrubber is used for removing CO2 from the submarine atmosphere. Freshwater is produced by using reverse osmosis method which is a method of removing ions, molecules and larger particles by using a semi-permeable material. Crew About 80 members in a typical craft. Difficult conditions & maintain radio silence. Women were allowed only as late as 1985 (Starting with Royal Norwegian Army) Indian Submarines Chakra Class: This is an attack submarine which is under a 10-year lease from Russia since 12 years. Arihant Class: Ballistic missile submarine which was commissioned in 2016. Apart from these, there are 14 diesel-electric submarines in use currently. Kalvari Class (diesel-electric): Attack submarine currently undergoing sea trials. Submarines are awesome! Pixabay

Submarines What a submarine is: It is an underwater vehicle used mostly for military purpose in the current day and age. Civilian uses mostly for science (marine biology) Cylindrical in shape with conical edges. Bridge structure called Fin in Europe and Sail in America. Houses periscope and stuff. Powered by a propeller or pump jet and has fins on the rear to control the level of the submarine. Along with this also uses ballast tanks which are filled with compressed air to ‘surface’ the craft or filled with water to sink it. Nuclear and Diesel powered: Diesel powered subs require air for the combustion of Diesel engines while nuclear submarines used nuclear energy. This enabled them to remain submerged for a much longer duration under water. Modern-day submarines can stay submerged for over 6 months. History Development started before WWI but accelerated during the war. Leonardo da Vinci had drawings of a submarine but never materialised into a real craft. It was called a ship to sink another ship. He never revealed it public to prevent wars from turning more deadly than they already are. Seems like Greeks had mastered the craft back in the 1500s during the reign of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. A couple of guys emerged dry from underwater in river Tagus near the city of Toledo in Spain. William Bourne, an English mathematician, mentioned in his book about an underwater navigation device. John Napier, Scottish mathematician also mentioned an invention which stayed underwater with divers and could also be used in warfare. The first real submarine that was built was done in 1620 by Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutchman who worked for King James I of England. It used oars for propulsion. Interest in submarines went up during the 18th century and there were patents coming up for submarines. Ballast tank idea was patented in 1747 by Nathaniel Symons using leather bags filled with water. There was a mechanism to remove water from the bags and re-surface the craft. Giovanni Borelli had proposed a similar design earlier. The first use of a submarine in combat was built in 1775 by David Bushnell and was called Turtle. This was used during the American Revolutionary War for attaching explosives to British Navy vessels anchored in the New York harbour. Although the various attempts at attaching explosives failed, it sparked an interest in using submarines for warfare. Propulsion of the Turtle was done using hand crank and this meant that the pilot needed to have a great stamina to keep the craft steady. The direction was controlled by a lever that controlled the rudder in the rear of the craft. The first non-human powered submarine was Plongeur launched in 1963 invented by the French and used compressed air. Narcis Monturiol launched the first combustion-powered submarine Incitnio II in Barcelona in 1864. Submarines became effective with the invention of the torpedo by Robert Whitehead in 1866. English inventor George Garrett and Swedish industrialist Thorsten Nordenfelt built the first steam submarine capable of firing torpedoes called the Nordenfelt I and had a range of 240 km. Irish inventor John Philip Holland built the Holland Type IV submarine in 1896 which was hybrid using internal combustion engine while on the surface and electric engine while submerged. This class submarine was purchased by US Navy and was used in the Russo-Japanese war in 1905 as well. World war and the progress made The development of submarine was accelerated during the world war times where naval warfare was as important as land or air warfare. U-boats of Germany proved to be deadly in the war. During the beginning of the war, both England and Germany had submarines though British had significantly more submarines than Germany. Diesel engined U-boats could have a range of 5000 miles and speed of 15 km/h During WWI U boats sank over 5000 ships. During WW2, U boats wrecked British shipping routes. The US wrecked havoc over capable Japanese Navy. Pakistani submarine sank INS Khukri, in turn, India sank Ghazi (loaned from the US) submarine of Pakistan. Workings A submarine has a cigar-shaped hull. This shape helps in drastically reducing the water resistance around the body of the sub. The sail or the fin might also have a bridge on top which is used for observational purposes. Propulsion was carried out by humans in the early type of submarines. Before nuclear power was invented, submarines were powered by combustion engines on the surface and electric engines while being submerged. Earlier crafts used petrol and the later ones started using diesel-electric engines for reduced flammability and increased efficiency. This also meant the batteries could be charged by running the submarine on diesel engines for some time. Germans tried using a snorkel that could supply oxygen to the engines while being at periscope depth but not without problems of visible exhaust and speed constraints to prevent snorkel from breaking off. During WWII, submarines designed to carry hydrogen peroxide as oxidisers were built by Germany. Due to limited success, these later carried large batteries instead. Nuclear energy powers larger submarines in the present day. Nuclear power is used to drive turbines that power the propeller. A disadvantage is the noise generated by coolant pumps whereas a diesel-electric can run on batteries almost quietly. Ships float over water due to a buoyant force that acts on it. For a submarine to sink below the surface. For this, modern-day submarines use ballast tanks which hold varying amount of water and air. Apart from using compressed air, submarine also uses tailplanes to move it up and down. There are such planes connected to the Fin (Sail) and body as well. Forward and Main Ballast Tanks are filled with water to submerge or is filled with air to surface the craft. Depth Control Tanks were used for precise adjustments to the depth. In case of emergency surfacing or submerging, these tanks are used along with these tailplanes simultaneously. But this quick move can make the submarine partially jump from the water as well. Navigation and communication Submarines use SONAR sensors that rely on reflected sounds to detect objects. They are located within the hull and sometimes also towed behind the submarine. Modern submarines use internal guidance systems and depend on global positioning system (GPS) to tackle error in the internal systems. Periscope is used sparingly for short-range observations. Communication is carried out using low-frequency radio and in short bursts ost of the time to avoid detection. Life support Since a modern submarine stays submerged for months at a time, oxygen for the crew cannot always be pulled in from the atmosphere. In normal cases, electrolysis of water is used to generate oxygen necessary for the crew to breath. Carbon Dioxide scrubber is used for removing CO2 from the submarine atmosphere. Freshwater is produced by using reverse osmosis method which is a method of removing ions, molecules and larger particles by using a semi-permeable material. Crew About 80 members in a typical craft. Difficult conditions & maintain radio silence. Women were allowed only as late as 1985 (Starting with Royal Norwegian Army) Indian Submarines Chakra Class: This is an attack submarine which is under a 10-year lease from Russia since 12 years. Arihant Class: Ballistic missile submarine which was commissioned in 2016. Apart from these, there are 14 diesel-electric submarines in use currently. Kalvari Class (diesel-electric): Attack submarine currently undergoing sea trials. Submarines are awesome! Pixabay

Submarines are awesome. We discuss the history and workings.

For the love of food! We love food! Bangalore has some really good restaurants some of which we have had the pleasure of checking out. Here are few of our favourite places. Do check them out, for love of food yo

For the love of food! We love food! Bangalore has some really good restaurants some of which we have had the pleasure of checking out. Here are few of our favourite places. Do check them out, for love of food yo