Rbk- I Am What I Am

The era of late 18th and early 19th century assumes tremendous importance in history. And there are no prizes for guessing why. For it was during this period that the great Industrial Revolution kicked off in North America and Europe, especially Britain. It all started with James Watt inventing the famous Steam Engine in 1781. The manual-labor-driven economy gradually started making way to a machinery-automation-driven one. The change was not very fast but was effectual nevertheless. A few prominent inventions in this era include the Electric generator by Michael Faraday, Steel Plough by John Deere, Lead Acid Battery by Gaston Plante, Cathode Ray Tube by William Crookes, Wireless Telecommunication by Nicolas Tesla and many more. What makes it interesting to observe that these inventions were the results of improvisation of scientists and engineers on various new discoveries of effects and properties. Engineers then designed methods for large-scale manufacture of products and the upshot of this was the emerging of new factories and industries and thus, business companies.

And to introduce you all into this, this is something about the advent of a shoe industry. The first known shoes date back to 7000 to 8000 years before this. But it was not before the year 1895, a new industry called Mercury Sports was found by Joseph William Foster. 63 years thereafter, it was renamed as Reebok by siblings Joe and Jesse Foster, derived from the word (which Joe found in a dictionary won in a race), 'rhebok', an African word for an antelope. Later, it took special efforts from Paul Fireman to procure distribution rights in North America.

It was in the year 1982, when people started taking interests in fitness and aerobics. As a popular American actress and political activist, Jane Fonda, in her set of well known fitness videos, of the Workout Series and in the much-famed Workout Book, released in 1982, acknowledges that fitness craze was in the air and it was the same force which resulted in a record sale of more than 17 million copies of her book. Jobs became more sedentary and there was an increasing awareness to catch up with the missing fitness. Games like Baseball and Basketball started garnering enthusiasm among the stay-fit-folk and their rapid accretion appeared imminent. Throngs of people crowded gymnasiums and fitness centers to keep themselves in good shape. Who doesn't want to have a supple and flexible body, after all?

Reebok grew famous in this generation, especially with its Free-Style Athletic series, designed for women. Being a prominent player in the industry of its kind, Reebok dishes out several sport accessories, apparel and athletic footwear. Another particular series of footwear was The Reebok 'Pump' Series which was designed for comfort of ankle. It was incorporated with a special air bladder, capable of being inflated using an internal mechanism. And the tag line was more interesting, "Pump Up, Air Out". Initially used by basketball players, this brand grew more in demand and it wasn't long before 'Pump' hit the tennis and soccer arena. Some zealots used it to flaunt and at the same time, improve their gait. And few others displayed a penchant to wear wrist-bands with the famous vector logo on them.

In as many as 14 countries, we can find Reebok's factories. It's China which tops the list with 51% of the Reebok products being manufactured, followed by US, Indonesia and Vietnam. The workforce employed is close to 76000. The assessment of production, marketing and operating costs have been carefully carried out and set-up accordingly. Customers and users from Asia and Europe have welcomed Reebok products well, looking at the consumers statistics displayed on a geographical basis.

One can see that Reebok covers many international sportsmen from a host of games when it came to endorsements. Talking of cricket, Indian skipper MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Gautham Gambhir and many other players like Shoaib Malik and Chris Gayle have been roped in. Come to soccer, French striker Thierry Henry and Ukraine champ Andriy Shevchenko have been great ambassadors. As many as 5 teams in the Australian Football League have been sponsored of late. This apart, Reebok has sponsored many singers, Rapper Jay-Z and 50 Cent to name a few. Not to forget the "Lost in Translation" beauty and Golden Globe Award winning American actress Scarlett Johannson.

Reebok is what Reebok is. Much in reflection with its special unique selling proposition "I Am What I Am"....

The Wonder Metal

Spanish- TITANIO.
Croatian- TITANIJ.
French- TITANE.
German- TITAN-R.



Wondering what all these are? These are the different ways how folks name the 'Wonder Metal'-TITANIUM.

Let's jump back to the year 1791. In the nether regions of Ural Mountains in Russia, is situated Ilmen lake, encompassed by Ilmen Mountain Range. Concentrated into layers by "Magmatic Segregation", Ilmenite forms a primary mineral in mafic igneous rocks. Ilmenite also occurs in pegmatites, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks. William Gregor, a British mineralogist, came across Ilmenite deposits at the Manaccan Valley. After several studies and processes, scientists came upon a greyish metal which was found to be light, strong, lustrous and corrosion-resistant. Later, it was Martin Kaproth who isolated the same metal from a mineral called Rutile. Paying respect to the great Titans of the Greek Mythology, Kaproth christened the new metal as Titanium.

Titanium occurs in many ores namely anatase, brookite, ilmenite, perovskite, sphene and many iron ores. Of these, rutile and ilmenite are considered as two primary ores. Rich ilmenite deposits are found in India, Norway, New Zealand, Ukraine, Canada and Australia. In the American continents, North and South, a very good quantity of Rutile is found, and traces in South Africa together add up to 90000 tonnes of Titanium extracted every year. The estimated amount of Titanium is about 600 million tonnes, thereby making it the seventh most abundant metal accounting for 0.63% of earth's crust by mass. It has been observed that Titanium was found in the rocks obtained from moon and in trace quantites from meteorites. Reports suggest the presence of traces of the metal in the sun's crust too. Now that is something which throws light on the universal existence of transition metals.

Kroll's Process and FFC Cambridge Process are the most important processes involved in the production of Titanium, though there are several other by-processes. The reason why it cannot be obtained by reduction of its dioxides is that the metal reacts with oxygen at higher temperatures.

A striking speciality observed in this new metal is that it possessed an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. The density of Titanium when compared with that of other metals of similar strength was found to be much low. When it was seen that pure titanium metal gave a strength of 434 MPa, which is equal to some of the other steel alloys, the weight was seen to be 45% less. Now that is a marked advantage waiting to get improvised upon. Add to that the high melting point of 1900K, we have a metal here which can also be used as a refractory material. Another interesting feature of Titanium is that it has a good resistance to corrosion. One would find it difficult to believe that Titanium has got similar resistance properties as that of Platinum. Acids, moist chlorine and salt water solutions have negligible effect on Titanium. This said, it is found to dissolve in concentrated acid solutions. However, Titanium is thermodynamically, a very reactive metal. It forms a passive oxide coating when exposed to elevated temperatures in air. Found to be paramagnetic, it possesses good electrical and thermal conductivity.

What crowns Titanium over its transition counterparts is the variety of application involved. Titanium dioxide is used as a permanent white pigment in paper, toothpaste, paints, enamel, laquer and plastic. However, the metal is seen to be used almost anywhere and everywhere. It is used in propeller shafts in jet engines, aircrafts, armour plating, naval ships, spacecrafts, missiles, helicopter exhaust ducts, hydraulic systems, shafts and rigging of heat exchangers of desalination plants, heat chillers for salt water aquariums, fishing lines, diver knives, human implants, bone supports, matrix composites, thin wall condenser tubing, topside water management systems, flue gas desulphurization for pollution control, PTA plants for polyester production, pressure vessels, hydrometallurgical autoclaves, substrate for hard-disk drives, lacrosse stick shafts, spectacles frames, anodes, cell-covers, surgical instruments, bicycles, clocks, tennis racquet and many more.

Interestingly, it is seen that Titanium is also used in modern designer jewellery. Titanium rings- including engagement rings and wedding bands are the fastest growing segments in titanium jewellery segment, because of its ability to withstand strength even after grooving and carving. Some jewellery also include diamonds with titanium, especially of the bezel type.

The golf industry has found that the lightweight titanium club heads can be bigger than those made of steel, enlarging the "sweet spot" of the club and thus increasing distance and accuracy. That would be a golfer's delight.

It's not surprising to know that Titanium is famously known as the 'Wonder Metal'। A marvel of a metal indeed.

A celestial ladle....!!!

December 15th, 1997. It was a calm, quiet evening. The sun had made his way well beyond the horizon and the birds were returning to their nests, after a long day in search of food.
Not far away, at my home, the mood was frenzy, as it was my birthday and me and my brother were into preparations. My friends Satish, Subramaniam, Avinash and Vijay (my cousin brother, best pal and alter ego) were to come to my place and I was mentally occupied with the things to do to make the evening more colourful. Cake, Candles and Coke were ready and waiting to get in action. The stage was set and the ambience was refreshing. My parents gifted with a brand new Hercules MTB that day, which made me all the more cheerful.

From my verandah, I could descry some bicycles heading towards my path. And within minutes, I was surrounded by my pals, with each of them dressed up sprucely and eager to flaunt. I took them up to the first floor to my home. You can imagine how incessantly we were chatting with each other and having fun. We just had finished with our mid-term exams and were in a lighter mood. The mood to enjoy was not light though, it was filled with lots of enthusiasm and charm.

I lit off the lights and cut the cakes, followed by them singing the birthday wish and soon enough, we were munching cakes and sweets, with lots of chocolates and spicy mixture. "Fizzzzz........!!!" sounded the coke jar when I opened it and poured it out to glasses. We finished having them and now it was time for us to go to the terrace. It was a sky which was clear and surprisingly enough, there wasn't even a bit of haze, so usual to find on a December evening. The light breeze only made the visit more inviting and lively.

We cast our sight in to the illimitable sky and kept watching. The view was magnificent and made us more longing towards a stroll in the space. We had just learnt about different constellations and stars-clusters at the school and here we were with the sky showing up all its splendor and pulchritude. Satish and Vijay came along to spot Andromeda and we managed to catch "The Hunter" or more specifically, "The Orion". Rigel, a prominent star in this bunch, was shining in its full glitter and the other seven tried to overcome her flair, but in vain.

As we looked on, we reminded ourselves about the much-famed "Big Dipper" or "The Plough" as they call it in UK, "Sapta Rishi" (seven stars) in India or "The Casserole" (saucepan) in France. We were eager beavers when it came to explore and find things rather than rote-learning. Having said that, we continued to gaze but found it difficult to find the "Big" Dipper. One of us pointed out to the tiny kite-resembling cluster and mistook it to be the one. Our efforts notwithstanding, we never were able to spot it. Perhaps the fact that we never had any realistic clue of its size made it more difficult to find it. Riding on our bent to find it, we stood there thinking when one of us spotted two stars, far from each other though, joined by a thin trail which seemingly resembled a line. And when we were able to find another one and ultimately the entire bunch of them. How lovely it was to find one such beautiful constellation. It wasn't a small cluster, which is what made it all the more tough to spot. But once found, it was easily to be noticed again. Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar and Alkaid really combine well to form one of the most resplendent of the myriad clusters dazzling out there.

"The Big Dipper" is an asterism formed within a constellation called Ursa Major, one of the 88 officially recognized constellations. Being circumpolar, that is to mean never setting below the horizon, it is always visible in the northern skies. There are lots of different mythological stories and beliefs related to this constellation. And Greeks are the first people who come to mind when we think of myths. They have a strange story of Zeus swirling and throwing two bears, one big and one small into the sky to make them immortal and safe. The bigger and the smaller bears today are the parts of the constellations, Big and Small Dipper respectively. Some native Americans associated the colors of autumn leaves, poured out by the fall with the bowl upside down.

Keeping myths apart, Sapta Rishi has also been of tremendous help when it came to the concerns of sailors and navigators. Some of them were exact enough to predict the time of the night by watching the positions of Sapta Rishi. The charming constellation has also made things much simpler to those who search the star Polaris, or more commonly known as The Pole Star. It has been observed that the two stars of the constellation, the ones situated far away from the tail end of the dipper point towards the Polaris. Polaris being a fainter star is situated much farther (at about approximately five times the distance between the pointers themselves). And more surprisingly, North is more accurately marked by Polaris than the usual magnetic compass....

Alaska's provincial flag is more diaphanous to the above fact। And in Ireland, this constellation is known to be the political symbol. Hmm, the choosers of the symbol were pretty innovative and novel in that aspect. Of the seven stars, Mizar is the most closest to earth, at 78 light years and Dubhe is the most farthest at 124 light years. "The Big Dipper" has lent a cherubic presence to the night sky, it has been beautiful, helpful and charismatic. I had a splendid time on my birthday, and we all had the actual look at the stars and groups about which we learnt in the text-books. It was as if as we had been taken on a space ride. The experience was simply, fascinating...!!!!

Chicken 'Cull'ture

"Mmmmmmm........!!!!! Tasty.......Just delicious...........", exclaimed Sid. He was quite evidently relishing every bit of it. Understandably so. After all, it had been many days since he last bit into a juicy piece of meat. The very sight of him savoring chicken lolly-pop made everyone long for one of that kind. The golden brown fry, spices and the lime spread over it only helped to intensify the onlooker's desire. And someone who had thought of giving up chicken and turn to a new vegetarian leaf had to reassess his thoughts and allow himself to let free. It isn't an edifying thought, it's nasty actually. But one can understand the rationale and the drama behind such circumstances, barring a few hard-nosed-right-from-birth-vegetarians.

Chicken are always associated with humans, from a considerable eon of age-line. The very first pictures of chicken is Europe are found on the Corinthian pottery dating as back as 7th century BC. A famous bard named Cratinus,in 5th century BC, christened chicken as "The Persian Alarm". Chickens, along with dogs and pigs were the most common domestic animals to have served the people living during the Lapita culture, the very first of the Neolithic kind, in Oceania. More of chicken, on a mythological and religious note, they are considered as the the channels of evil spirits during Hindu cremations at Indonesia. The hens and cocks are very deeply respected in Greek mythology and traditions too, because of their valor, exotic nature and charm. One might feel surprised that, in many European folk tales, the unlucky and evil spirits just flee at the first crowing of a cock.

The early man dwelled on chicken on a considerable extent for his living. These were the most commonly found meat in the Middle Ages. It was observed that chicken tasted good, was neutral and quite healthy, more so as it was digestible easily, without any fuss. Muscle tissues like breast, legs and thigh are the most favored pieces when one chooses chicken, with eggs being his/her more occasional diet. Coming with a very good nutrient value, these foods supplement us with a host of proteins and vitamins, so vital for our food consumption for stronger bones and cell synthesis.

Cornish, White Rock, Cochien, Silkie may be easily mistook for some fairy-tale names appearing in poetry or literature. But interestingly, these are some of the hybrid versions and breeds of chicken, as in U.S, Europe and Australasia. They have been in such good demand, that man probably found it too very long to wait for a hen to lay an egg and then eat it. Instead, he came up with an ingenious idea of artificial incubation. The process is accelerated, and luckily, a good breed of new chicken has been obtained. That really must have doused his hunger fires. Seemingly though. And with this came a new practice called Poultry and chicken were fed and artificially incubated and a novel business emerged. Perhaps that was some sort of a reward for the germinal ideas of the innovators.

Fried Chicken, Chicken Soup, Tandoori Chicken and Chicken Rice have been the most savored foods across the world. And where on earth can someone ever find the likes of KFC, McDonalds and Burger King making big cash without selling chicken? There have been many such eat-outs like Subway etc. but the one who first came up with such a novel idea of catering to the taste buds of many, deserves behemoth amounts of praise. A good way of making money indeed. A policy drafted straight from the book "Few Fast Earning Strategies", assuming there was one such book.......!!!! Chicken have been fairly successful in driving lucre to a businessman's pocket.

While the tiny birds have been helpful in ways aplenty, to the mankind, the latter is not exactly the same to them. Agreed, he does look after them carefully, but not without any solid reason. After all, he's not so obtuse in his approach, is he? That perhaps, is what sets off being the most distinguishing feature between a four-legged creature and someone with two legs and a gifted little brain.

He's shown the height of cruelty when it actually required him to be mature, realistic and kind in his approach. The poor hens, like we humans, are prone to a variety of diseases with Red Mite, Thrush, Mushy Chick Disease, Bird Flu, Salmonella, BlackHead disease and Gumboro to name a few. Recently, Bird Flu has been on a rampage in India, with West Bengal being the most hapless of the regions to suffer, already crippled by the vehement protests and strikes. The symptoms have been discouraging and panic-causing. More than 90% of the hen collapsed to death and a few more casualties occurring later. The government found itself aghast at the very first reports and ordered culling straightaway, making every attempt to keep the rest of them unaffected and disallowing it to grow rapid-fire and run haywire. But by then, the infected number had swollen to a whopping 378000. Birbhum district was the worst-hit, alone accounting for 350000. Meat-vendors ran frustrated as they tried their best, pulling out all stops and leaving no stones unturned in their bid to sell off the meat at prices less than half the earlier ones and found it increasingly difficult to have a word with the buyers. Egg sales reached a nadir at the market. The H5N1 strain of bird flu had telling effects on the state affairs and economy, leaving a dark trail on the ministers of affairs and those at helm. They were instead bothered about deciding the compensation figure. After severe round of discussions and formal ratification, they came up with a number 1 million, for Birbhum district. The culling operations and itinerary was decided soon after.

It was strikingly disappointing of the big league to come up with an ordinary thought. They never bothered to check whether the hens due for culling were affected or not. Some ignorant farmers arrived at the culling stage with few plump, hale and hearty hens and completely unaffected. Veterinary doctors were busy in their supporting operations and were worried of reaching the planned target and off took the culling. It was disheartening to see those little birds die, some of them, for no reason at all. The operations picked up good speed and the farmers were asked to stay far from their poultries. Similar operations were put in effect in Bihar too, as there were some cases reported in that region too.

There is a need for technology and wise men to come up with something better than culling operations. Agreed, that was the first measure everyone tends to take when in crisis but what of all those measures required to prevent the cause of such a pandemic disease. There are various factors based upon the cleanliness and safety standards which have an effect in helping prevent such diseases and those measures have to be legally implemented. Conditions at the affected districts like Birbhum were verified and it was found that the hen were allowed to grow in sub-standard poultry conditions and treated in an unhygienic way. Necessary steps had to be taken before-hand and poultries which lack the required facilities and cleanliness must have been not sanctioned. Had the authorities come up with a strict code of regulations, the results would have been much different altogether. It's not only for the people of PETA to care for animals but it's our collective, implicit and foremost duty to care for animals and protect them. We need them and they need us. Perhaps Man has forgot that he lives in a world where the nature supports symbiosis.

Chicken have served us from the long past. And they have done so in a very fruitful way, catering to his needs and serving our appetite and taste.

Was this the sort of 'Cull'mination the little birds deserved??

Church bids adieu at "The City of Churches"

January 28, 2008.

“Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness. And they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy... or they become legend.”

It was a warm summer morning at this picturesque city in South Australian Province. Few people remember it as the fifth largest populated city down under. And few others name it as "The City of Churches". This was the city which has enjoyed great religious freedom from its past. The coast-line is not too far away with the Gulf St.Vincent at its east and covered by the Mount Lofty Ranges, on the west, which rise somewhere about 700 metre.

Some 1.1 million denizens of this city had been busy since 6 in the morning, with many of them getting ready to start off a new fresh week on a positive note at their offices, colleges, banks and shops.

And there were a very few lucky people, quite exiguous of them, who chose to do something different than sticking to their routine, atleast on this final day. They never knew that this moment would arrive so soon, but they had grudgingly accepted that precise bit of sheer truth. And they knew that this day won't be arriving later than that momentous Monday.

The seats at the Oval were filling fast, and there was an air blend of excitement, sorrow and disappointment among the 33597 strong audience who had given their everything to be present at the venue. They were a very lucky bunch of people I tell you. Very lucky.

The spectators had not come here wishing to see the fifth day of a dull test match, nor had they come here to see their nation win. Instead, they had shelled out their extra bit of hard-earned penny to see something which none of the other 3 tests before this had witnessed. Some of them even took pains of waking up at the wee hours of 3 A.M and queue up to take their best places at this historic venue which was to witness a historical event. The Adelaide Oval has been home to all the budding South Australian cricketers and sportsmen since the year the time-line read a number 1871. A scoreboard set up on November 3, 1911, is still intact and is considered a treat for those who have a penchant for antique things, though many consider is antiquated. The first ever One Day International, the BodyLine peak war and Rahul Dravid's single-handed test victory are some of the most important eye-catchers of the Adelaide dossier.

All the on-lookers' eyes were set on a tiny man wearing thick gloves and entering the field with a bunch of fellow Australians and team-mates. This was the man who was the cynosure of all those who recognized and appreciated the spirit of a player who plays with his heads high, commitment true and a passion for his job. His team-mates affectionately called him 'Church' for he had the name of Lord Jesus in him. I guess that's the most obvious reason, but reasons apart, this man is clearly, in no way, less than the Lord Himself, for he's been blessed with something very few in the universe have been.

It was for this reason that Cricket Australia allowed him to play 96 tests for their country, wearing the proud Baggy Green. But then, he made his debut at the age of 24, much late than what he should have actually done. And after that, he made amends for all the lost time and came up with a defining character which left everyone dazed.

The man under our observation is a gem of a person called Adam Craig Gilchrist. To say that he is the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world is just stating the well known fact, but just in case for any unlucky ignorants and un-informatives out there.

Starting with, he made a meek first class debut for New South Wales in 1992 and a silent debut ODI appearance in 1996. The world then was at the feet of Sanath Jayasuriya, a dashing (to say the least) batsman. But here was a man of less words and a more dangerous bat. The stage was set and the arrival was yet to be announced.

He was his nation's 129th ODI cap and made his debut against South Africa at Faridabad, 25th October 1996. And many blokes never knew what this man had been all about but it wasn't that something burst out all of a sudden. The approach here was to see-learn-try up-falter-stand up-learn-understand-believe-defend-drive-pull-punch-thrash-cut-loft-dominate-demoralize of a kind. Noble bowlers found it difficult as the man grew and started fulminating in full throttle. Their Road To Perdition was growing more clear and the cut of the wrists gradually wore an intimidating stare. And off came the bowlers, off their spells, coming out crying and turning agnostic in their hopes to keep this man silent, let alone getting his coveted wicket.

Shaun Pollock, Shoaib Akhtar, Chaminda Vaas, Heath Streak, Merve Dillon, Azhar Mahmood, Venkatesh Prasad, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daryll Tuffey and many more.. All got whacked all over the park, with Gilchrist having a strange penchant to drive Shoaib Akhtar in particular, out of the attack and his minds and clean up his antics.

This was just the ODI scene. But there was lot to follow on the white-attire-circuit. Having made his debut at the Wooloon Gabba, Brisbane, in November 1999, against Pakistan, he belied a general Australian spectator's thought that Ian Healy was the better wicket-keeper for the longer version of the game. Pat came the reply, Church had scored a quick-fire 81 to lead Australia to a comfortable win. In his next test, the very second, he piled on the agony of the hapless Pakistani bowlers and scored an unbeaten 149 to guide his team to yet another victory, this time, a series winning one. And if at all, there was any thought of Healy being the better of the two, it was effaced at will. Here was the batsman who had an intention to stay and stay long. He was not here to be compared with someone and being judged on that.

And what happened after that is a big, eventful odyssey, filled with pleasure, excitement and drive. Any Australian would dream to bat like him, if possible.

But today was a different day altogether. Church had just surpassed the world record of 414 Test dismissals and knew that he would call it a day soon. But that was not something that the cricketing world anticipated, not so soon atleast. The decision came as a rude shock to his team-mates and colleagues and peers apart. He had the privilege of captaining his country for the last time of his international career, on the final day. That sounds so ironical. He took his 379th and the last catch of his exceptional test career, off Virender Sehwag. India batted out the entire day of the match, leaving Gilchrist unable to lead Australia in the second innings of the match. John Buchanan, the former Australian coach, states that Gilchrist's retirement had more impact than the retirements of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Justin Langer.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd asked Gilchrist to reconsider his decision but the Legend of West Australia revealed that he choose to retire after dropping VVS Laxman during the test matches against India, and realizing that he had lost his "competitive edge".

The visitors had made a long, crying walk back to their homes। Cricket can sometimes get very cruel, callous and heartless. We miss you Gilly. A great test match had come to an end but more importantly, a great test career had come to an end. It was hard to accept the harsh fact that the "Church" had closed it doors at "The City of Churchs".