An extract from the email I sent to Erumbugal Group on July
9, 2001, introducing myself to the group.
1. Motivated by the need to create web pages learnt to design HTML pages
(from HTML 4.0 in 24 hours, a
self teaching book).
2. Created http://asia.geocities.com/leatherinfo
using what I learnt. It is just the first draft of one of my large projects.
3. Wanted to learn further in computer programming, started reading Programming
with C++. Downloading and using a Borland compiler for Windows turned out
to be a pain. A frustraed look-around on the WWW made me stumble into the
word of open source software and Linux.
4. Since then installed Linux in my laptop(dual boot with Win98)and desktop
(Linux only), read through the C++ book, bought another book on C++ for Linux
and went through it.
As a result, now I am not able to read or create microsoft format documents
(MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint etc), sorry. I am not a programmer yet,
since I have not written any code of my own so far :-)
5. I took the responsibility of maintaining the first page of http://www.tamil.net. Even though, I did
not do anything revolutionary there, I kept updating it atleast once a week
except for a long delay of one and half months once. I am resolved to keep
it continuing.
6. Joined the KDE desktop tamil translation team and contributed my first
two files last week. I have my desk top user interface in tamil now, and welcome
any queries on how to acquire one for yours :-)
7. Keyed in and proof read Manonmaniyam by Sundaram Pillai for Project Madurai (from Nagercoil,
Tamil Nadu, India).
8. Earned my living as the Chief Representative of BLC Leather Technology
Centre (UK) in China (am a B Tech - Leather Technology graduate).
9. Became an expert on leather working, tamil, philosophy and India at
http://experts.yahoo.com
I frequent the following sites on the WWW.
1. http://www.slashdot.org - for
an interesting discussion forum
2. http://www.yahoo.com - for mail and
experts ID = ma_sivakumar@y...
3. http://www.hotmail.com - for mail
4. http://www.kuro5hin.org - for
discussiong forum
5. http://www.vikatan.com - for tamil
nadu related news, and stories
6. http://www.kumudam.com - for tamil
nadu related news and stories
7. http://www.tamil.net - for tamil
list and first page administration
8. http://www.onlinechess.com
- to play chess online
9. http://www.chesslab.com - to play
chess online
10. http://www.kde.org - to learn about
kde
11. http://www.thinnai.com - to read
tamil articles
12. httP://asia.geocities.com/leatherinfo
- to administer :-)
What/who interested me sofar?
1. Mahatma Gandhi
2. Thiruvalluvar
3. Osho
4. American history
5. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawkins
6. Lecture Notes on Physics by Richard Feynman
7. War and Peace by Tolstoy
8. David Copperfield by Dickens
9. Gone With the Wind
How do I summarize my self?
I am a slow learner who gets the root of issues. I make radical improvements
in systems and operations but am not suitable for the sustaining role.
I am lazy but with a lot of energy for things which I love to do. I speak
read and write, Tamil, English, Chinese and Hindi.
How am I useful?
I am living in Shanghai, China for four years conducting business for large
organisations. Gathered insights into the systems and learnt to conduct business
in Mandarin. You need something here, I am available with all the above back
ground.
How do I envisage my future?
I believe in the inevitability of online world. It is going to be the future.
I am positioning myself to earn my living by
a. providing content about leather to anyone making, selling and using
leather products
b. being part of the tamil computing world and making myself skilled in
what it requires.
c. being able to communicate in English, Chinese, Tamil and Hindi.
Siva,
Shanghai, China