Trivandrum Gastronomy

I belong to the common breed of food and drink connoisseurs and whenever I am in a new place, I hardly waste any time in the search for the popular and traditional food outlets in there. So here I am, in Trivandrum, the misplaced capital city of Kerala.

Hotel Buhari

Hotel Buhari is probably the most famous one among the nocturnal creatures in Trivandrum. I am told that this is open 24 hours a day. The famous item in here is 'Puttu' with 'Mutton Curry'. Both were really good. The gravy of the mutton curry was exceptional. You may have to wait to get a seat, especially if you are there at the time when the 2nd shows are over.

Mutton Curry : Rs. 80

Location : Attukulangara. Walkable distance from East Fort. 

PS : Must try the 'Milk Sarbath' served by the two small shops by the side of Hotel Buhari. 

Baalante Thattukada

I tasted the best porottas ever in my life from here. This street restaurant is famous for their chicken fry and porottas. The owner Baalan started his venture with a very small outlet by the side of the road and now it has expanded into a proper hotel with reasonably good seating arrangements, refrigerator and a proper family restaurant on 1st floor, 'Hotel Komalam' (not open during night times), named after his wife. This awesome Thattukada is open till midnight, but be very warned that chicken fry will finish as early as 9-10 PM. Excellent Parcel Service available.

Porotta : Rs. 6

Chicken Fry : Rs. 65

Location : In Kaithamukku, by the side of Kaithamukku-Petta Road.

Hotel Saurashtra - Gujarathi Hotel

A very famous vegetarian hotel in the centre of the city. Famous for their delicious Puri. Only problem is the lack of space. You will have to wait for a long time till you get a seat. Only 18-20 seats are available and extremely claustrophobic people out there will be having a hard time. The Puri was outstanding. Even more outstanding was the chutneys they served. The Masala Tea here is also very famous. 

One Puri plate : Rs. 32. (Contains 3 Puris + 3 Chutneys + Pickle + Onion Salad)

Location : On the way to Parthas Textiles in Trivandrum, just before its entrance. Pazhavanangadi, Power House Road. There are no parking spaces available. Four wheelers can be parked by the side of Power House Road, some 100m-200m west of the location. Like I said before, its an extremely congested area.

Time : 3.30 PM - 9.00 PM.

Zam Zam

Zam Zam is a place which even non-Trivandrites might be familiar with. Their Chicken Shavai is famous throughout Kerala. But if you want to have it, be there well before 8.30 PM. They also have a Zam Zam IceFruits outlet, where you will get excellent icecreams, juices, shakes and related stuffs. I tried Mango Ice Milk Slab, which was absolutely scrumptious. Their Falooda is quite famous too.

Special Falooda : Rs. 50

Mango Ice Milk Slab : Rs. 35

Location : Opposite to Legislators Hostel, Palayam

Parking spaces are available for four wheelers and two wheelers. 

The Truth Behind the Fallacy - Caduceus, The Symbol of Medicine

Many of you recognise this symbol whether or not you are a doctor. This is widely considered as the symbolic representation of Medicine, the insignia of Doctors.Two serpents entwined around a staff with two wings on its upper pole. How nice!

The name of the symbol is Caduceus and it is thought to be the staff carried by the Greek God Hermes. Hermes was a venal trickster and is the patron of traders, clever cunning thieves, liars, sheperds, etc. What has it got to do with Medicine and how did his staff become the symbol of Medicine? Exactly!

This is not a heresy, but Caduceus is actually the symbol of commerce and negotiation and not Medicine. Then how did Caduceus become the symbol of Medicine and if its not Caduceus, then what is the legit 'regalia' of Medicine? Some might argue that Caduceus is actually carried by the God Mercury. Even then, it has no connection with Medicine. Mercury is also a God to thieves, gamblers, liars, merchants, etc.

Stuart L Tyson of Columbia University says:- " His (Hermes') silver-tongued eloquence could always make the worse appear the better cause. From this latter point of view, would not his symbol be suitable for certain Congressmen, all medical quacks, book agents and purveyors of vacuum cleaners, rather than for the straight-thinking, straight-speaking therapist? As conductor of the dead to their subterranean abode, his emblem would seem more appropriate on a hearse than on a physician's car."

How did such a vile symbol, as it should be, become the symbol of something which the people call as the noblest profession of all?

Quote from Wikipedia :- "Caduceus was used as a symbol of medicine as far back as the 16th Century. However, as Friedlander noted, what Caius (President of Royal College of Physicians at that time) used was a non-specific herald's wand, rather than the caduceus of Hermes. In support of this assertion he quotes Caius's own words on why he chose a herald's wand as a symbol, making it clear that he chose it as a symbol of prudence.This same passage was also earlier referenced by Engle in refuting Garrison's claim. Engle and Friedlander are not the only ones to have noted that the use of the Caduceus by Caius had nothing to do with supposed medical symbolism; as indicated in a publication produced by the Royal College of Physicians itself:  By introducing the caduceus into the ceremony of the College of Physicians, Caius unintentionally added to the confusion between the two emblems for later times, when few people understand the visual signs with which he was so familiar."

That's the history. The present day use of Caduceus in medical profession owes a lot to US Army Medical Corps.

                                                    

Wikipedia quotes:- "Use of the caduceus in this sense was popularised largely as a result of the adoption of the Caduceus as its symbol by the US Army Medical Corps in 1902. Caduceus had appeared on the chevrons of Army hospital stewards as early as 1856 (William K. Emerson indicates the insignia was adopted earlier, in 1851). It has been asserted that this was a result of ignorance or misinterpretation regarding the pre-existing designation of the rod of Asclepius by the Surgeon General of the United States for this purpose The Caduceus was formally adopted by the Medical Department of the United States Army in 1902 and was added to the uniforms of Army medical officers. According to Friedlander, this was brought about by one Captain Frederick P. Reynolds, although Bernice Engle states "the use of the caduceus in our army I believe to be due chiefly to the late Colonel Hoff, who has emphasized the suitability of the caduceus as an emblem of neutrality. Reynolds had the idea rejected several times by the Surgeon General, but persuaded the new incumbent — Brig. Gen. William H. Forwood— to adopt it. This resulted in considerable controversy. " 

Continuing..

"The Army and Navy Register of 28 June 1902 discusses the argument, which reflects the fact that a number of medical officers were unhappy with the choice. The article editor claims that the symbol was not chosen for its medical connotations and proposes the following symbolic interpretation: "the rod represents power, the serpents stand for wisdom and the two wings imply diligence and activity, qualities which are undoubtedly possessed by our Medical officers." The editor also points out that the majority of Medical Corps personnel are not even doctors. According to this line of reasoning, the caduceus was never intended to be a symbol of medicine. The inconsistency was noticed several years later by the librarian to the Surgeon General, but for reasons which are not entirely clear, the symbol was not changed"

Luke Van Orden says :- "Well, so much for the Caduceus. Somebody obviously got the wrong symbol for modern medicine–or did they? The Caduceus seems to be an appropriate symbol for modern commercial medicine. Of particular relevance are the functions of escorting souls of the dead, wisdom, fertility, commerce, luck, eloquence, cheating and thieving. These have become symbolic of how medicine evolved in the late Twentieth Century." Ah, the art of sardonicism. Reminds me of my father. Anyway, if Caduceus should never have been adopted as the symbol of medicine, what should be? Its not too knotty and may of you actually know it. The legit symbol of Medicine is The Rod of Asclepius.

Yes, you have seen it many a times - a single serpent entwined around a staff. And yeah, it is the real insignia of Medicine. Whereas Hermes was a vicious swindler, Asclepius used to heal people and tried to bring the dead/terminally ill back to life. He was the son of Apollo, the latter himself being an elegant healer. Hippocrates himself was a worshipper of Asclepius. The latter was so skilled in medical arts that he was reputed to have brought patients back from the dead. This certainly didn't please his bosses for it was considered to be a sin and a sacrilege to bring people back from the dead. So the Big Boss (Zeus) killed him with a thunderbolt and placed his body in the heavens as the constellation Opiuchus (serpent-bearer). Anyway, he was widely revered by his patients and it is believed that the healed ones gave him a serpent as an attribute indicating that those who avail themselves of medical science undergo a process similar to the serpent in that they, as it were, grow young again after illnesses and slough off old age; also because the serpent is a sign of attention, much of which is required in medical treatments. 

Asclepius is truly the bona fide God of Medicine, healing, rejuvenation and physicians in Greek Religion.

Wikipedia quotes : "The rod of Asclepius is the dominant symbol for healthcare professionals and associations in the United States. One survey found that 62% of healthcare professionals used the rod of Asclepius, while 76% of commercial healthcare organizations used the caduceus.It is relatively common, especially in the United States, to find the Caduceus, with its two snakes and wings, used as a symbol of medicine instead of the correct rod of Asclepius, with only a single snake."   

Demystifying the Normal Distribution and Z-score for Medicos

You may have encountered questions on Biostatistics during your various PGME exams or while preparing for them. During the MBBS curriculum, not much importance is given to this field. But it is very important if you are going through a study or anything related to R&D that you understand it to the core and not just be smug by reading the abstract and conclusion. For this, understanding Biostatistics is very important. All the data in your reference text books, from Harrison's to Chaurasia's, are calculated using some simple mathematical tests. You only need a very basic knowledge to get the gist of it.

As far as Biostatisticians are concerned, Biostatistics questions asked in PGME exams are not knotty at all. For example, AIPGMEE 2010 contained this :

Que : Z-Score is used in?

          a) Chi-Square test

          b) Normal distribution

          c) Binomial distribution

          d) Student's t-test

The very first thing that will come to your mind (if you have learned and understood Biostatistics properly) is that the question is kind of murky and even then, pretty simple because of the options. The answer is (b), Normal distribution.

What is this normal distribution? Almost everything in Biostatistics revolves around this continuous distribution. Wait, what is a continuous distribution? So lets begin with the two types of variables. A variable can be anything : height, weight, number of people with lung cancer, CRP level, etc. There are generally two types of variables.

a) Discrete - A variable which can take only some specific predefined values, such as integers. An example   would be :- "number of people who have undergone CABG in the age group of 50-70", "number of people with BMI more than 30.0", etc. Here the variable can take only integer values. It doesn't make sense that 15.33 patients have a BMI of more than 30.0. If it does, then its the end of the world.

b) Continuous - There are infinite amounts of possible values than this variable can take over an interval that can be finite or infinite. Examples :- "blood glucose level", "time taken to complete LSCS", etc.

Now lets focus into the term "distribution" or more specifically, "probability distribution". To put simply, probability is the chance of an event occuring. If we plot the probability of the values of a "random variable" in the y-axis and its values on the x-axis, we get a graph which is known as probability distribution. There are discrete and continuous probability distributions for discrete and continuous random variables respectively. But lets bother about continuous probability distribution alone for the moment.

First of all, normal distribution is the most studied and the most useful among all continuous probability distributions. "Normal Distribution" is the name given to all probability distributions that looks like the one in the figure below (thankfully, many things in life follow this distribution and in that respect, its "normal")  :-

I am sure that you all are familiar with this diagram above and many of you know what's written inside the shades as percentages depict. But for beginners, let me point out once more. The above one is the normal distribution curve. The y-axis is the probability of the values that are plotted correspondingly in the x-axis. "σ" is standard deviation and "μ" is the mean; but lets talk about them later. I told you that the x-axis contains the values of the continuous random variables. As an example, lets just say that the values denote height of the children in the age group of 10-15. As you may already know, mean is the average, mode is the value (here, height in cm) that occurs maximum number of times in the sample and median is the value in the middle of an order when you arrange the values in ascending or descending fashion. Intuitively, there will be more children with height closer to mean than are not. Number of children with extreme values of height will be considerably less. We are exactly talking about probability and that is exactly what is shown in the figure above! The centre of the curve is the mean and you can see that on both sides, the probability is relatively higher for values when they are closer to mean than when they are not.

"σ" is a measure of the dispersion of the values of the sample from the mean of the values. You can easily see that 68.1% of the values are within the range "μ-σ" to "μ+σ", 95.4 % in the range from "μ-2σ" to "μ+2σ"  and almost all (99.7%) will be found in the range from "μ-3σ" to "μ+3σ". Can we define a formula for the probability of a normal distribution given its mean and standard deviation?

where f (x) is the probability plotted on y-axis and 'x' is the value on x-axis. Don't worry about the f(x) and terms inside it. Its just a standard notation for describing normal distributions. You can see the probability f(x) is a function depending on the mean and the standard deviation of the values represented by 'x'. This function is termed as probability density function. Just remember the term as you may encounter it atleast once in your life. 

If you want to find the probability of a child having a height 160 cm from a given sample with mean= 155 and standard deviation equal to 10, simply substitute 160 for "x" , 155 for mean and 10 for  standard deviation in the above formula and voila - you will get the answer. Now what about the probability of a child from this sample to have a height of 155cm? 155 is actually the mean of the sample and I am asking you the probability corresponding to it. Here both "x" and mean is 155 and the equation becomes much more simpler. Try it out yourself.

Now that we have covered the basics about the normal distribution and that you are ready follow the curve, lets introduce a new term named as "standard normal distribution" (SND). Is it any different from normal distribution? First of all, I would say that all standard normal distributions are normal distributions, but all normal distributions are not standard distributions. That's right. A standard normal distribution is simply a normal distribution with mean equal to zero and standard deviation equal to 1. Okay, fine. But why do we need SND? Well, for almost all purposes in testing of hypotheses, we need SND and its applications. 

It is proven by the formidable Central Limit Theorem (CLT) that the mean of most of the important variables that you will be concerned with, for example like height, weight, CRP level, PEFR rate, etc. follows normal distribution, especially if your sample size is large. CLT has profound applications and without this much of the hypothesis testing would be meaningless. Since we know the mean and standard deviation of SND, it is possible to find out the values and their corresponding probabilities easily. These values are put in a table and is available for reference at the end of many text books such as your beloved Park. This is the Standard Normal Distribution Table. But wait! These values are NOT the probability values [f(x)] calculated using the above equation. These are actually "cumulative probabilities". This is an important concept to be understood clearly which will be described after going through the next paragraph. 

f(x) was the probability of getting a value "x" from the normal distribution or SND, in this case. Cumulative probability density function is denoted by "F(x)" and is defined as the probability that a value you select from the sample is less than or equal to "x". A mere "equal to x" probability is nothing but f(x). Simple, but it is very important that you should always keep this in mind that the probability values given in the Standard Normal Distribution Table is F(x) and not f(x). Clearly, F(x) can be calculated from f(x), but that's not very important in this context.

 Standard Normal Distribution Table :  Positive Z Scores        Negative Z Scores
                                                                         
How to read the Standard Normal Distribution table?

The topmost row and the leftmost column are the values of "x" of SND. There are negative values in the table because the mean of SND is zero and values to either side of the mean has to be there and that too symmetrically. Otherwise it won't be "normal" at all! All the other values in this table are the cumulative probability values and they are all positive (probabilities can't be negative!) and less than one (Probability range [0,1] ). 

The topmost row add precision to the main values in the leftmost column. For example, if you want to find the probability of getting a value less than 1.96, first look into the leftmost column and find out 1.9. Now look for 0.06 in the topmost row. It contains values such as 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, etc. 1.96 = 1.9 + 0.06. The probability value under "0.06" in the row of "1.9" contains the probability that we wanted. It comes to 0.9750. 

Like that : 

F (-1.96) = 0.024998.

F (+3.90) = 0.999952

Do these values make any sense to you? As you can infer from the SND graph, 3.9 is kind of far away from the mean 0. F (3.9) means probability of getting a value less than or equal to 3.9. You already know that 99.7% of the values in SND will lie between -3 and 3 (since the standard deviation here is 1 and mean is 0 ). Here we are considering something even farther than 3, ie 3.9. Obviously the F (3.9) would be very close it 1. It is exactly what we got from the table, 0.999952. Similarly F(-1.96) is comparitively lesser (0.024998) 

Why SND?   

In most cases of real life, whether its the height of children or the blood glucose level of men aged between 35 and 60, they all can be approximated to an SND by a process known as standardisation. This is by subtracting the sample mean from the population mean and dividing by the standard deviation. Population is the whole data. A sample is taken from a population. Hence population mean is the "real" mean and sample mean is an estimate of the population mean. If you take the mean of all sample means from a population, it will be equal to the population mean. Sample mean is represented by :-

Standardisation of sample mean is given by the formula :

By this, we get another variable 'Z'. 'n' is the sample size (eg:-number of children whose heights are measured to get the sample mean). Since 'Z' is obtained by standardising the sample mean, it follows Standard Normal Distribution! This is the catch in it and many of the advanced standardisation procedures in medical hypotheses testing involves a procedure built entirely upon the basis of above formula and concept. Lets not dwell too much into that and curb your awe. The purpose here is to understand 'Z'. Since 'Z' follows SND, we know everything about 'Z' (from the table). Indirectly, we know everything about the sample too. Z-score is nothing but a specific value of 'Z' that you get when you standardise your sample mean and it is used for creating confidence intervals, testing of hypotheses and various other cases.
Let me stop here for the time being. Like I mentioned earlier, the AIPGMEE 2010 question was kind of a vague one. Now you may understand why. A quick glance on the basics of probabilities and a read on discrete random variable distribution will be highly interesting for those who are curious. I believe that the basics of normal distribution and the relation between Z-score and normal distribution would be clear by now to the readers. Last but not least, normal distribution is also known as Gaussian distribution.

Bus and Taxi fares hiked in Kolkata

It had to wait for over a month since the Diesel price was hiked by Rs. 5.70 per litre on September 13th that a similar hike in fares of buses and taxis in Kolkata had to occur. It was inevitable, though. I was really surprised when I booked a taxi back on October 30th that the fare was still the same as it was 15 months ago when gasoline was cheaper than beer. But no more surprises, the fares are officially hiked and it is effective as of now from November 1, 2012 onwards.

Previous Fare =  ( Meter Reading  × 2 ) + 2

The revised hiked rate can be calculated using the equation :

Current Actual  Fare =  ( Meter Reading  × 2.4 ) + 1

Thats's right, a 20% increase and some of you may want to use a calculator while travelling in Kolkata. The fare is Rs. 25 for the first two kilometers and thereafter, it will be Rs. 2.40 per 200 meters. The taxi waiting charge is Rs. 1.20 for every 2 minutes and 12 seconds. For AC taxi fare, use Rs. 3 instead of 2.4. The base fare for AC taxis is now Rs. 32.50.

Despite this hike, taxi association is not at all complacent and you may have to end up arguing with them.
If you feel necessary that a complaint needs to be lodged, you can fill the "Complaint Form" in the website of Kolkata Traffic Police.







  

An insane thought

From Stone Age to Android Age the mankind has come a long way up. As a matter of fact, you might probably be owning something which is based on Android right now. I have become a huge fan since my relatively late entry into using Android OS about 1 year ago. 

Before that, I used to be very obstinate regarding my view on phones that why should I buy a high end one when the whole purpose of having a phone is to make voice calls and send short messages. Why should I use internet, play games and watch videos in a lilliputian screen when I have this awesome 22" LCD monitor with AMD Quad Core Processor bolstered by 4 GB RAM. But everything changed since I bought my new Android phone so much that now its totally integrated into my life. I am not gonna give a lecture on the awesomeness of Android and how it transfers its awesomeness into you. Come on, the whole world knows about it. But there is one thing that pisses me off.

You may already have guessed it right what I am mentioning about. Battery Life. It sucks and it freaks the bejesus out of me. Whatever it is, your Android phone's battery is most likely to be drained off within 24 hours. For me, its 12 now. I have used (probably many among you too) many battery saving apps from Google Play. Juice Defender was perhaps the best among them. But what these apps do can be done manually by you too. They automatically switch off your Wi-Fi or 3G when it is not in use and they can underclock your CPU. But these are things which can be done by you without using these apps. Its not rocket science. Infact, sometimes these apps can be a pain in the ass - you may have to multiply switch on your Wi-Fi or Mobile Data Networks for internet access. A reasonably 'appd' phone with an underclocked CPU works like a sloth. Why don't these proprietors provide customers batteries with awesome capacity. 

A couple of months ago, I was going through the technical aspects of 'Curiosity Rover'. I got baffled by its battery section. Now, in the previous two generations of Mars Rovers, NASA used solar panels for powering them. But solar panels don't work during night and they don't work during Martian winter either. That is, these previous two generations of rovers were not able to work half of the times.

The black tail holds the MMRTG of Curiosity.

So what kind of battery provides the energy for the Curiosity rover? NASA names it Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator or MMRTG. As baffling as its name sounds is the fact of using radioactive plutonium as a component in it. The principle is somewhat simple. Plutonium generates heat and thanks to Thomas Seebeck, this heat will generate a voltage with the help of thermocouples. MMRTG will be able to power Curiosity rover for almost 14 years! #flabbergasted

Can we get something like this in our phones? I know its totally insane and preposterous at this moment and the very idea of having a phone powered by a radioactive material nearby anywhere you let alone carrying it in your pockets beside your precious little/massive organs (our gonads are too friendly with radiation) may not seem sweet to many. But hey, back in the Stone Age, our forefathers didn't know Planet Earth existed. But right now, we are 'texting' an inaminate object in Mars and transferring photos with it.

 

 

xplorer² - A small handy software for all Windows users

If someone asks me which software do I use the most, there wouldn't be a pinch of doubt that its xplorer².  Whenever I boot Windows, I open xplorer² at first and for the last 5 years, this practice has become a daily routine for me that opening this absolutely beautiful software happens spontaneously.

Ever annoyed at being having to open multiple folders and  for the purpose of transferring files? xplorer² is the answer to your problem. So what does this software do? It's built by Zabkat and they say : 

"xplorer² is a desktop file manager combining the simplicity of windows explorer with the speed and efficiency of traditional dual pane orthodox file managers, helping you be productive with your documents, pictures, music, source code and other files."

That's right. Its a variant of windows explorer, but with better flexibility and more features. You can view your files and subfolders from different locations in a single window (with three different panes serving for the purpose) and you can transfer files to anywhere you want within this single window. Drag and drop feature is also available. Plus, you can do a lot of customisations of your own. This is a laconic outlook on xplorer²  There are many other features available. For that I suggest you start exploring the xplorer². 

There are three versions of xplorer² - lite, professional and ultimate. The latter two are not free. I use the lite version which does virtually everything. The professional and lite versions have a dedicated in-built search system. Ultimate version offers more features to customers than the other two, but don't worry; like I said before, lite version has everything that you look for.

Screenshot of my  xplorer² lite version. I can view my folders and drives in three different panes, all in a single window

Official Link :- Zabkat xplorer²

Download xplorer² lite (1.45 MB)

Designed for:
Windows All (32 & 64 bit) 9x/NT/2000/XP/Vista/7

Latest Release:
v2.1.0.2 (31 May 2012)

Buon Compleanno, Alessandro Del Piero

Today is the birthday of the greatest Juventus player ever, Il Capitano Alessandro Del Piero. And I have never wished him a birthday with this much bleakness. Yes, the Bianconeri have just completed a record 49 games unbeaten run, most of them without their immaculate Captain's presence; but I always feel this legend's absence on and off the pitch this season. I despise Juventus for their decision to not extend his contract and the way they did it makes it even more disgusting. Perhaps there is a reason why Juventus are now lacking that cutting edge state of the art winning mentality in important matches despite having the best squad in Italy.

To even make an attempt to describe how indispensible Alessandro was to Juventus for almost two decades will be an insult to his stature, charisma and talent. It is widely speculated that the Agnellis wanted a whole new revolution in Juventus under the leadership of Antonio Conte from whom Del Piero took the Captain's armband in 1998 and that they wanted to finally put an end to the ineffable influence that Del Piero had in Turin. I personally do not buy it. Apart from Gianluigi Buffon, there are virtually no world class champions in the current Juventus squad (Andrea Pirlo is an outsider, someone who just landed from Milan). 

Had Del Piero been still in Juventus, he could definitely have positively influenced the new breed of Bianconeri players. Most importantly, he could have made them understand what it really means to be a Juventus player. They may still be on top this season, but even a kid will know that this is not the same Juventus that ran the show as immaculate juggernauts last season. Conte fanboys argue that this lack of hunger among many of the current players is due to his absence on the pitch. They may have a point; Antonio's ability to motivate players is unprecedented. But I see, in this Juventus, an excess of complacency, something which is absolutely lethal in competitive football, especially when you are playing for one of the biggest clubs on Earth. Juventus used to have tenacious warriors like Birindelli, Pessotto, Di Livio, Tacchinaardi, etc. on the pitch when they ruled world football. They weren't your state of the art world class footballers, but their determination and the hunger to win week in week out, year after year, were absolutely conducive in winning trophies 'continuously'. The key word here is 'continuously'. Many of the current 'superstar' players seem to be complacent with the record unbeaten run and the two major trophies they won this year. Its not difficult to understand that this could very well be due to the absence of a talismanic one club man like Alessandro Del Piero. And this will haunt Juve, regardless of the much awaited return of Antonio Conte. 

Juventus should retire no.10 forever. That's the least they could for the legend, who, in my opinion, has grown bigger than his former club. His final game in Juventus Stadium against Atalanta is indelible and leaves a poignant reminder to all those who watched it. The play stopped whilst he was being substituted and both the teams formed a guard of honour. I don't think you will ever see such an incident in top footballing leagues where the play will be virtually stopped for a considerable long time as this (See the last video in the end). Del Piero himself later stated that the experience was extremely touching for him. Fans pleading him to do a lap of honour when the match was still being played and him doing so (probably the only one of its kind in football farewells) will always be remembered by Juventus fans.  

Fast forward 3 months. Del Piero is now a Sydney FC player. He has got an incredible fan following in Sydney as is evident by this video. 

I am happy to see him playing still, though I will always regret that he didn't retire in Juventus. He has already settled well in Sydney and has scored 3 goals in 4 games so far for them. I hope to see the same for the many years to follow. But Juventus will continue to miss the greatest champion played for them ever.

PS:- During the final game against Atalanta in Juventus stadium, Del Piero, while being substituted, was hugged by Gigi Buffon who was sitting by the side of the pitch. Standing nearby was Antonio Conte. Though Conte was applauding Alex, the latter didn't come nowhere near Conte. Neither did Alex take a look at Conte. To view this specific incident alone, you may start from 2:20 onwards of the video below. 

Alzheimer's Disease - Can its threat be quelled before it becomes evident?

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the bane of old age. Approximately 10% of all persons over the age of 70 have significant memory loss, and in more than half the cause is AD. Dementia in AD is slowly progressive. The typical duration of AD is 8-10 years, but the course can range from 1 to 25 years. 

Memory loss is the most striking feature of AD. Language and visuospatial deficits occur later. Once the memory loss falls below 1.5 standard deviations from normal on standardised memory tasks, the disease is defined as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Approximately 50% of MCI individuals will progress to AD within 5 years. Morbidity associated with AD affects not only the patients, but also the family. Caregiver "burnout" is common and it itself worsens the prognosis of the affected. 

The characterestic pathologic findings in AD are neuritic plaques containing a central Aβ amyloid and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) which represent abnormally phosphorylated tau protein. There is diffuse atrophy of cortex with secondary enlargement of the ventricular system. In particular, hippocampus, temporal cortex and nucleus basalis of Meynert is affected.

Alzheimer's Disease starts long way back before it becomes evident. Before it becomes noticeable, about 20% of the brain cells would have been dead. 

Shrunken brain of an Alzheimer's patient compared with a healthy one (Courtesy- BBC)

Research on genetic considerations of AD has been one of the major areas of almost all Neuroscientists. A study published in the Lancet Neurology  found out significant differences in the brains of a group of Columbians whose had mutations which are shown to predispose them to AD in the later decades. The cases and controls were both aged 18-26 years and were subjected to a wide variety of investigations, such as structural MRI and fMRI brain imaging, CSF and plasma Aβ1-42  concentrations, etc. Professionals can get the full details from the hyperlink given in the beginning of the paragraph. The study discovered some of the earliest changes to occur in AD, those which occur many years before the plaque deposition. 

Dr. Simon Ridley, head of research at  Alzheimer's Research UK, said :- 

"Although early-onset inherited Alzheimer's is rare and may not entirely represent the more common late-onset form, the findings highlight changes can take place in the brain decades before symptoms show. Mapping what changes happen early in the brain will help scientists to improve detection of the disease and allow potential new treatments to be tested at the right time. New drugs are being developed and tested to stop amyloid from taking hold, but studies like these show that timing could be crucial for whether these drugs are successful."

The study may not entirely put the current diagnostic and management lines of AD into a sudden change, but it is definitely a big step forward along the right direction before finally contemplating the quantum leap.

Cochin to Goa - A Konkan Road Trip Report

We three friends decided to spend our short vacation with the road trip of a lifetime; as far as we are concerned. And it was such an awesome experience that I am still gloomy after returning.

We had to work on a very tight schedule and there were reports telling me that the monsoon is very heavy in coastal Karnataka, it's a very bad time to visit Goa, etc. Anyway, we took a risk and drove 850 km through the western coastal line of India and it turned out to be more than worth taking it.

To Goa

We started from Cochin at around 6pm on 5.7.2012, Thursday. Odd time maybe, but I love driving at night and we had to see coastal Karnataka in the morning.

Kerala

Cochin ---> Thrissur ---> Calicut ---> Mahe ---> Kannur ---> Kasargod ---> Manjeshwar

Length of this segment :- Around 400 km

Road conditions :- Exceptionally good for almost 90% of the segment. Mahe area is horrible. Calicut - Kannur segment has got many unpredictable dividers with no warning signs which may turn deadly at night.

The journey was through NH 66, previously known as NH 17. There were boards with both the old and the new names and may create unnecessary confusions for many.

The bottom line is NH 66 = NH 17.

Almost 90% of the road in this segment was excellent. Except for a few kilometers of bumpy rides in Mahe, it was a very comfortable journey. We had dinner from Hotel City Light Restaurant, Calicut (Reached Calicut by 10.30pm). I knew of this place before. It's open till 12.30 AM and the food is very cheap and scrumptious. It's in Meenchantha, Calicut.

Calicut to Kannur segment is 96km. NH 66 here was not that excellent as compared to the areas in the South, but still it was very good. Only problem I found was the unpredictable dividers with no flourescent lights. It was quite dangerous,especially whilst overtaking.

After Payyannur in Kannur, we reached Kasargod. Kasargod is the northernmost district of Kerala, lying 50 km south of Mangalore. Kasargod City is virtually on top of a small hill and we had to traverse up hill for about 3-5 km to reach there. This sector had numerous potholes and a few hairpins. Kasargod district is the district in India with the maximum number of languages spoken. There is Malayalam, Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Hindi, Byari, etc. The Malayalam spoken here is absolutely different to that of anywhere else in Kerala and is hugely influenced by Kannada and Tulu.

Kasargod to Mangalore is just 50km The Kerala border is Manjeshwar.

 

Karnataka

Talapady ---> Mangalore ---> Suratkal ---> Udupi ---> Kundapura ---> Bhatkal  ---> Honavar ---> Karwar. 

Length of the segment :- Around 300 km.

Road conditions:- Reasonably good, except for short stretches of bumpy rides. Currently construction works are going on from Surathkal to Kundapura, but it won't be a problem by any means.

We were surprised that there was no real border checkpost here. I don't know if it's because of the time , but it felt funny that we didn't any single policeman on the border. :D

The initial Karnataka segment started giving second thoughts to us. The road (NH 66) was awful till Mangalore City (about 25 km).

We reached Mangalore by about 3 AM after crossing the Netravati River. One IndiaMike member had before told me that Mangalore to Kundapura route (about 100km) is under construction. But it won't cause much trouble at all. But you ought to drive slow and safe, especially during night. Mangalore to Panaji is about 390 km.

By 4.30 AM we reached nearby NIT Suratkal and about 1 hour later, Udupi.

NH 66, near Surathkal

We finished the journey through the road construction areas by early morning when we reached Kundapura.

The real coastal Karnataka begins after Kundapura and it's simply mindblowing. Most of the landscape strikes extreme similarity to parts of Kerala. But I don't think there is any NH in Kerala that runs inches closer to the sea like this one pictured below :-

NH 66, just after Kundapura.

Kundapura to Bhatkal is around 60km. These are state of the art coastal areas with Konkan railways running sideways. The condition of the road was very good, even during this Monsoon season.

NH 66, Kundapura<-->Bhatkal Segment.

In Bhatkal, there is the famous Murudeswar temple and the Shiva statue. The temple can be seen while travelling if you look carefully to the west. After about 30-40 min, we reached Honavar by 7.30 AM after crossing Sharavathi River. I am not zen percent sure that it was Sharavathi, but my intuition tells me so.

Honavar is the biggest city in between Udupi and Karnataka-Goa border. We had breakfast from there and there were many restaurants open at that time. The diversion to Jog Falls is from Honavar.

Karwar is about 90-100 km from Honavar.

NH 66, Honavar<-->Karwar segment.

Karwar is on the Karnataka-Goa border and is famous for it's fishing industries and an Indian Naval Base. There were a few beaches and small islands on the sea, almost like an archipelago. We reached there (Karwar) by around 10 AM on 6.7.2012 (16 hours from Cochin).

After a few minutes, we reached the Karnataka-Goa border. There was no checking. A Karnataka policeman stopped us and asked to give him Rs. 100 as an entry fee into Karnataka :D. He had no receipts whatsoever [whoa]

Goa

Karnataka-Goa Border near Karwar ---> Madgaon ---> Panaji ---> Calangute

Length of the segment :- 110 km

Road conditions - One of the best in the whole of India. The only drawback is that roads are not that wide enough to contain the busy traffic.

NH 66 in Goa is sheer world class! There are some few areas where it is narrow, but it is quite easily manageable and there are no pot holes whatsoever throughout Goa. Madgaon is 70 km from the Karnataka-Goa border. The environment is absolutely marvelous and is almost like a carbon copy of Kerala.

NH 66, Karwar<-->Madgaon segment.

The Police was very strict in Goa. Always have the up to date documents with you. That includes the pollution certificate. Google Navigation was extremely helpful for us and it works like a charm in Goa, even in the most remote places.

Madgaon is in South Goa and is a very congested place and there is busy traffic. Many locals don't understand 'Panaji'; they only know 'Panjim'. Panaji is 35km from Madgaon. Again, the NH 66 here is of world class quality. But remember, it's almost always busy, even outside Madgaon and Panaji, and that too in an off-season like during Monsoon. The traffic and the premises are remniscent of Kerala.

From online, I read about Calangute and Baga beaches and we headed for Calangute in North Goa. Panaji to Calangute is 14 km. We reached there by 1 PM on 6.7.2012 (19 hours from Cochin).

Goa 

We had absolutely no clue about the stay in Goa. This was my first time in Goa. Though it was off-season, the Calangute area was very busy with myriads of tourists in every nook and corner of the streets. The roads there were very narrow and driving a car will not be like a daily routine. Almost all are riding two-wheelers/bicycles. It took some time to find an affordable room and I think we got the best deal ever.

Our stay

It was more like a home stay. The place is in Calangute, on the road to Baga beach. The house owner's name is also Martins, a very congenial well-to-do person of about 60 years of age. What impressed me is that he wasn't gloating about the quality of the rooms. Nor did he force/plead us to take the rooms. He has got about 10 rooms to my knowledge. He and his family lives in the building too. We didn't have any brokers and it was like a divine intervention. There is one reasonably big bed room with TV , a separate kitchen equipped with fridge,microwave oven and a clean bathroom with heater. There is space for parking one car. Surprisingly, it was just Rs. 300 per head for non-AC and Rs. 400 per head for AC.  He also offers beer, cool drinks, mineral water, morning coffee/tea, two-wheelers for rents, etc. It was so strange that the rates for these were very less. Infact, it's the cheapest if you compare it with the rates of restaurants nearby.

The tariffs may go higher during season, though.

The location of our stay was in a very strategic spot. Both Baga and Calangute beaches are only a few minutes walk away. :)

Restaurants in Calangute were mostly very costly, even though it was an off-season.

The next morning (7.7.2012) we went to Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa where the body of St. Francis Xavier is kept. Google Navigation is a must if you're planning to reach there without much fuss. It's about 25 km from Calangute and 9 km from Panaji.

Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa

Later, we went to Vasco. Vasco (or Mormugao) is where the Airport is. There is also a massive harbour there. Vasco is in South Goa and is about 30 km south-west of Panaji.

View of the Harbour,Vasco (Mormugao).

A ship in the harbour, Vasco

From Vasco we went to Colva beach in South Goa; the distance was about 30km. On the way is the industrial areas of Goa and a beautiful BITS Pilani Goa Campus. Again, the Google Navigation proved to be extremely handy.

Colva Beach

The weather in Goa was extremely pleasant, except for some occassional rainfalls.

Back to Cochin

We departed from Calangute on 8.7.2012 at 7 AM through the same route. The traffic was not at all busy in Goa during early morning as opposed to the hectic congestion we experienced afternoon on the previous day.

Just after Goa-Karnataka border

We reached Honavar from Calangute(200 km) by 12 noon.  Jog Falls was just 60 km east of Honavar and it felt like we will be ruing the decision to opt for not seeing India's 2nd tallest water falls if we did so. So, we took this diversion to see Jog Falls. We were a bit worried about the condition of the road, but were totally wrong.

Honavar to Jog Falls is 60 km. It was a joy to drive through the Sharavathi Forest areas of Western Ghats. The first half of this route was via very good wide roads. The last half was through dense forests and the road was very narrow, but the condition was alright. Not a steep up hill journey by any means.

Honavar<-->Jog route

It took 100 minutes to reach Jog Falls from Honavar (60 km). But the return journey was much shorter.

Jog Falls is the 2nd tallest water falls in India. I have seen pictures of Jog Falls with a lot of thick marauding streams. But except during Monsoon, it will reduce to only a handful of thin streams. The expectations were, since, high. But we saw only a few thin streams. Monsoon is not at all strong in 2012.

Jog Falls on 8.7.2012.

The trip was virtually over by this time. We went back to Honavar and from there we took the same route down South via NH 66 to Cochin. We reached Cochin at 6 AM on 9.7.2012. Return journey took 23 hours (because we diverted from NH 66 to see Jog).

We got to see almost the entire western Indian coastal areas, enrapturing every moment of the journey. The Western Ghats and the Jog Falls proved to be an icing on the cake. :)