The Lena.tiff

Image of Lena (as shown above) is used as test image in Digital Image Computing (especially Image compression). People use the image for their computing tests and I was no exception for about a year until I graduated. Her beauty kept me always ‘in’ the work and drove me toward writing some of the most complex, original and superior algorithms that I ever worked out. Our main aim was to compress the image without affect on Lena’s beauty and we tried hard to show Lean how deserves to be shown i.e. beautiful. I wonder why, but I never googled her to acquire higher resolution image of the same.

Much after I abandoned the Digital Image Processing work, I came to know that she was a ‘playmate’ (model of “who don’t know” Playboy mag in issue of November 1972). The test image itself was published in playboy magazine and full version was actually more appealing than I thought.

For the full picture click here. WARNING this picture contains nudity.

Kodaikanal

It was some days before when I and four other friends headed toward Kodaikanal – a famous but not too crowded hill station situated in southern India. Forward journey became kind of adventurous and uncertain (by time) when we used only public transport to reach till to top. Hotel (J C Grand) was already booked and was near bus stand so locating was easy. The hotel was almost empty except our neighboring room with naughty kids having drums and some kind of instrument (sounded like feelings of a foot on sharp pieces of glass).

We went to the beautiful Kodaikanal lake same day where cycle riding was real fun. And why not when you have 4 old collage pals with you :) A tip for you about the timing: 3 O’clock in season time, otherwise roads will get crowded by 5. For non season time I guess 5 o’clock and after is ‘ok’. We visited almost all famous places which you may find on Wikipedia on next day. The ‘next’ and ‘last’ day in Kodaikanal was excellent but was about to be ruined by the cab driver that we hired who asked for more money and wasting time when we couldn’t afford to do so (and so was duly treated for doing so).

Return journey in the cab gave us the glimpse of the hills which we missed in crowded and noisy bus during forward journey. Kodaikanal was refreshing place but Gokarna, mentioned in one of my previous blog, was hippy loved place. Gokarna still tops my next destination where I can pass some days and give some time to myself.