My New Workstation

Hey Friends, I have got moved to a new block or an office last week. I am happy about that and thought I can share the same with you all. We all know that there is a famous proverb that says “Changes are inevitable”.
Changes are required in most of the things in life especially when it comes to work because it helps us to tune ourselves and get a fresh feeling about our workplace. The environment in which you sit and work plays an important role in everyone’s success. The same environment can take you to the failure if that is not good, user friendly and healthy. When I speak about good and user friendly they are nothing but the surroundings and the people with whom we sit and interact besides.
Healthy: If you find that your work place is not clean and tidy there is a lot possibility for you and friends to end up with a lot of health related problems. If you are not well and concentrate towards your work due to health issues then there is no doubt that the productivity is going to be reduced and dull. But nowadays, it is a very good thing that the employer s around the world has started thinking about the environment before setting up or choosing a workplace. They knew the importance of giving a better work place to their employers.
Okay, let me start to describe about my new workstation from now. The workplace had been partitioned into several cubicles and each cubicle has been further partitioned into four work stations. A single cubicle can accommodate four professionals with good spacing and way in between them for the bystander. Each professional has been provided with an ergonomically designed seat or the chair which helps to avoid the backache problems. This step taken by the employer was very much appreciated since all the professionals sit and work almost 60 percentage of the day which in turn there is no physical activity. But even then I would advice that each and every professional even if they are working from home needs to have a small physical activity to tune up their muscles and bones as we cannot completely rely on the ergonomically designed chairs.
Apart from that we have been provided with a high end Cisco telephones which helps us a lot while interacting with our counter parts especially while discussing about a deliverable. We do have a facility to make conference calls and to attend a live meeting. The provision to connect the headphones and the hands free options are the other advancements by which we can avoid the pains which occurs in the hands and ears after listening to a lengthy conversation or a discussion.
The only remaining things which are left are the two storage cupboards attached to the workstation. The pedestal keys have been provided for both the storage boxes where we can place our valuables and confidential documents. The electrical junction box which can accommodate three plugs at a time meets our requirement while we try to charge our laptops and the cell phones.
I have also attached the screen-shots of my new workstation. Hope you all will like it.

Duro - My Scooterette

Being a single child, I use to get everything which I like. My mom will ensure that she gets me everything I like from childhood. But again, I would say that we do have some of the disadvantages being a single child. I got my own vehicle very recently after I had got relocated to a new place. When I was in my home town, I have tried many times to purchase a two wheeler but I have never succeeded. The reason behind that was nothing but “My Mom was scared”.
As days goes by we could realize that most of the roads are heavily crowded and busy all the day. Also we come across lot of accidents while on our way to work. Due to these issues, my mom was unable to convince herself and get me a vehicle when I was in my college. After I had started going to work, I had lost its interest. But now, I have a taken a step and purchased a new scooterette which helps me to reach my office daily on time.
Though my mom hesitated at first, she convinced herself now saying that I require it badly to meet most of my day to day needs and activities. My companion and I stepped into the nearby Honda showroom recently to book a vehicle named “Honda Activa”. But we were surprised to hear that after booking they have asked us to wait for the minimum of four months.
As we were not interested to wait for such a long duration, we have decided to go to the nearby Mahindra showroom to have a glance. Mahindra two wheelers are very new in the market because, Mahindra is the brand which concentrated much on the four wheeler segments. But the scenario now with Mahindra had got changed and they have now started to focus even on the two-wheeler market. They have commenced two new power scooters named Rodeo and Duro.
Both the vehicles are good enough in their looks and strength so that they can compete with the vehicles like Honda Activa, Honda Aviator, TVS Scooty Streak, Suzuki Access and Hero Honda Pleasure. Mahindra Duro with its fashionable superior looks and commanding 125 cc engine not only meets to the transportation needs of the entire family but also the cost of it was affordable by a middle class families. After seeing the vehicle, I had decided to go ahead and purchase Duro and the color was Cappuccino Brown. I liked it and if that was not the one among the shades, I would have taken the Pearl White color – a lot of them can be seen in the Indian roads nowadays.
The stunning vehicle gives me a mileage of 42 to 45 km per ltr with the top speed of 80kph. In the traffic signals, I am sure that my Duro would be the first vehicle to fly away by the time that the other vehicles would have reached its second or third Gear. I have even faced some of the difficulties with the vehicle but they are very minor and well fixed now after the second service. Happy to wear a smile nowadays when I think of my Duro.

Tom - The New Born Pigeon

The Tom story had come into my life just before five months after I had relocated to a new location as a part of my line of business. At the beginning, I was the only person who had got shifted and later my companion. I was waiting for my companion to get a suitable job in our new place and in the mean time I was staying at the guest house provided by my employer.
It was a Saturday morning; I had stepped down from the guest house in search of a new house which I can take up for rent. It was a good thing that I had started that day after having a good quality breakfast because it cost me that whole day to find a good house for payment. Around three pm in the evening, I had found a house with the help of a person who deals with real estate business. It was an apartment with five floors in it. The house which I had got was in the second floor of the building. The house was partitioned in such a way that it has two bedrooms, a hall, a kitchen and two rest rooms. The house was neat and clean and even the environment around that. I liked the way the house looked like and I have decided to go-ahead and take that house. I have made a call to the owner using the cell phone number provided by the security of the apartment.
Yes Friends, what you are thinking is correct. I called up to the owner to have a discussion over the rent (honestly to negotiate). The owner is a doctor and so he had asked me to accommodate myself to have a direct interaction in the evening that day before he gets into his evening clinic. I met the owner and negotiated the rent and paid the advance payment as well the same day. From here starts the tom’s fairy-tale. The next day, I had visited the house again to have a good look at all the rooms in there. For my surprise, I had found that the ventilation glass was a partially broken where I could find a grown up pigeon sitting quietly.
When I gazed at it a bit deeper, I could realize that the pigeon had created a nest and laid two eggs. I was in a dilemma whether I need to scare the pigeon so that it moves away or I need to give the restroom for lease to the pigeon without any charge. I made a call to my companion and we both came to a conclusion that we are going to take up the second option. Both of us are happy to experience this situation. My companion has become more curious as days goes by because of the reason that she was in my hometown and not yet got shifted to our new location. I have placed the screen-shot below which shows the place where the pigeon’s nest was.

In few weeks, I have started to hear strange sounds from the rest room where the pigeon had laid her eggs. Hurray! I could view the beak of the new born baby pigeons. Grayish black in color since the color of their mom is black. The babies always sat and slept quiet except the time when their mom comes into the nest to feed them. The only thing which I was unable to catch it through my eyes is the time when their mom feeds them food through her mouth. I still tried many times to catch this momentous scene but failed since the mother pigeon gets scared of me and gets out of the nest instantaneously.
As the kids started growing, the rest room had got started smelling dirty and nasty since the baby pigeons have started to stool. I have got one bigger job from then that is nothing but cleaning the rest room daily with the bathroom cleaning solution. I would say that was a hard job.
During the second month, the baby pigeons have started walking. It was an amazing scene which I came across in my lifetime. Later, I have decided to relocate the nest from the ventilation area to the balcony of my house because one or the other baby pigeon have started falling down in to the bucket full of water kept in the rest room. One among the two kids had died after staying into the bucket the whole day. The saddest part is that it doesn’t know how to fly at that time.
The only one remained and started growing healthy in the new place that too in front of her mother. I felt happy about the new place where I have moved the nest because the balcony was more visible for the mom pigeon and lot of pigeons have started to come to the balcony of my house to accompany the kid all the time. After that week, I have started to feed the mom pigeons by placing the rice, wheat and nuts which in turn made the balcony more colorful by the arrival of more pigeons.
My wife has come to the new place and felt relieved and happy after seeing the kid which has almost got the shape and well grown. We have even christened the baby pigeon as “Tom”. Attached the screen-shot below where tom was highlighted in yellow. Hope you would also like to have a look at the video captured when the mom pigeon was eating where Tom was disturbing his or her mom asking her to feed him.

Macho Matty : The Earliest Signal - Every Sunup

Matty, is the senior pet amongst all my other pets. At first, Matty was the pet of my uncle and aunt and later it became mine after my relatives had relocated to Germany. Matty is with our family for the past four years and it’s also one of the pet at my house which attracts the visitors.
The earliest signal for us every break of day I can say. The golden yellow colored feathers of Matty is one of its best features and the tone of Matty is almost equal to its size. My uncle created a big cage for Matty as soon as he entered into our family. Wow, I need to really appreciate my uncles forecasting. Every day morning either my mom or I use to release him from the cage.
You would not believe that if I say that Matty will follow each of my family members by making sounds  till the end of our street while we start to work. When it was little, Matty use to wear a small jingle bell around his neck portion but we had removed it in the later part as the neck ring of Matty had started growing huge day by day. As I said above, Matty is not only the alarm for our family but for the whole street.
During weekends, small children from our neighbors’ house use to come and play with Matty. They like him very much since he would never scare them. The other main reason behind their liking is that Matty use to stay very calm and composed especially when the kids are around which is not the case with other cocks in our street. At times, he (Matty) even use to wrestle with dogs and other cocks triggering all the dust particles in the ground to float in the air which will even create wheezing troubles for those who have got breathing problems.
The black and white back feathers or the tail adds more beauty to Matty. I would say Matty is very punctual while visiting back our house during the day after the morning release from the cage. Yes Friends, whatever the weather conditions might be we can expect Matty back home exactly at six pm in the sundown on a daily basis. The nick name of Matty is Macho Matty christened recently by my brother’s daughter aged five years.

A Memorable Get Together

Mr. Ghosh and I had planned a family get together early this year. As per the plan, we had a great time together with both our family members by sharing our memorable moments and unexpected moments with our family members. To speak about my friend Mr. Ghosh, he is software professional who is totally packed with work just like me. He described about his recent visit to the South Africa. The section which touched my heart and made to stay involved towards him was when he narrated about the day he had spent in the Kalahari Desert. I thought that I can share about that with you all.

Kalahari is an enormous land consisting of red sand dunes, sparse vegetation and dry riverbeds. It’s located on the shoulders of South Africa scattering across Namibia and Botswana. Commercially named Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is one of the best National Parks in Africa.

The Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (South Africa) and Gemsbok National Park (Botswana) have been formed into one Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, wrapping more than 3.6 million hectors of land with three rest camps to lie back in and enjoy the wild game around, in the rugged sanctuary.

On Christmas 2010, four passionate people including Mr. Ghosh commenced their journey to explore this magnificent, breathtaking beauty of nature. A twelve hour drive to the target initially seemed a bit tiring but no one had an iota of regret once we reached our destination.

Lion, Cheetah, Giraffe, Gemsbok, Impala, Agama emerged in a truly wild atmosphere like never before. A couple of dangerous encounters made their trip memorable forever. On one hand, they experienced the beauty of finding ourselves in the idle of roaring lions, cheetahs and on the other hand the complete silence of wild night.
Who knows what all is hidden behind this wild silence? To make these experiences memorable forever, they captured each and every moment with our lenses.

Yes Friends, after hearing about this everyone in our family was totally excited to view the photographs which have been captured in desert. It was awesome and it made us feel as though each and every one of us in the family had experienced the beauty of Kalahari Desert.

Instants

Buying something or giving the first salary to your parents.
Thinking of your love with tears.
Looking at the aged photographs and smiling.
A lovable and an emotional converse with friends.
Holding the hands of your loved ones for a walk.
Getting a hug from someone who cares you.
First kiss to your new born child.
The moments when your eyes are filled with tears after a big laugh.

No Man’s Ground

Have you ever felt that intelligent machines can make the human race an in danger of extinction species in the near future? My Visit to a 'No Man’s Ground - one of the most contemporary and automated container terminals in the world- the Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) in Hamburg, Germany, gave me a telescopic outlook into the future, bringing my imaginative fears into practical reality. I got this wonderful chance, to envision the exuberant effects of technology on the future of Shipping Port Operation and Logistics.

CTA is HHLA’s most recent facility and the most modern container terminal in the world. It is indeed recognized worldwide as a state-of the-art facility, with its compact layout and high degree of automation. The terminal’s most superior technology and innovative Electronic Data Processing system ensures efficient discharging and loading of giant container ships of the latest generation, and sets the scene for the future of container handling. Located at the south of Hamburg on the river Elbe, the CTA Terminal is owned by HHLA (74.9%) and Hapag-LLoyd AG shipping lines (25.1%). Three giant vessels often lie along the CTA dock wall simultaneously. The container gantry cranes zoom overhead with a regular rhythm, while the transporters and rail-mounted gantry cranes move about the terminal with perfect synchronization. The dance routine resembles a ballet.

The enormous speed of handling at CTA is hardly recognizable from the outside. Since the inauguration in June 2002, specialist visitors from across the globe have been marveling at how the various system elements interlock. The interaction of the semiautomatic container gantry cranes, driverless guided vehicles Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and computer-controlled, rail-mounted gantry cranes was based on elaborate planning and a sophisticated software control system, achieving both high efficiency and quality. These are also used for the discharging and loading of trucks and trains. All in all, CTA provides its customers with a fast, efficient and comprehensive service. The terminal was originally planned for a handling capacity of 1.9 million TEU/year (1 Twenty Feet Equivalent Unit = 1 Twenty feet Container i.e. it can handle 1.9 million 20 feet containers/year). Currently it stands at about 2.4 million TEU/year (i.e. it can handle 2.4 million 20 feet containers/year), and the people managing the same say that the capacity may be increased to 3 million TEU/year (i.e. it can handle 3 million 20 feet containers/year). The CTA moreover has been already equipped for the next ship generation. The container gantry cranes for example can already reach across 22 rows of containers; although today’s largest ships usually accommodate no more than seventeen. Astonishing productivity rates are being achieved even in handling giant vessels.

With an average of 3600 container movements, all handling of such ships is completed in around 36 hours. This additional capacity at CTA has been made ready by HHLA to facilitate its customers’ future growth. At the CTA, the container management starts from the waterside, where the double-trolley gantry cranes load and discharge containers to and from the vessel. The gantry cranes main trolley is operated by a driver, using manual controls to unload a box from the ship. Thereafter the work process is completely automated. The second gantry trolley takes over the container automatically, lowering it on to the unmanned vehicle-the AGV that itself selects the fastest route from the gantry crane to the storage block. Here, the containers are temporarily stored, before either being transferred on demand to a truck, or removed using internal interim transport for loading at the rail terminal. Landside release is carried out by staff in the control centre, using a joystick and camera to lower the container on to the truck or chassis. If the container is to be carried on by truck, it remains on the chassis. In case of rail transport, it is led to the station. The terminal’s own chassis is used for moves between the storage block and the rail terminal. It is loaded there by one of the manual rail cranes on the train. Six tracks are available on the CTA site for assembling complete trains. The drivers of the trucks receive their driving orders from radio data transmission terminals within the CTA. Before leaving the port, the railway or the road, another tariff control takes place.

Thus, with its unique high degree of automation and innovative IT systems, the CTA is being recognized worldwide as a ‘state-of the- art’ container handling system for new generation giant container ships.