The book excerpt begins

Starting today, I begin with the excerpts from Yash's book. Copyright for this blog is still mine since the book has not yet been written and the words are not Yash's (the fact that the book may never get written does not take the exclusivity that this blog enjoys away, does it?)

"The reason I initiated work on this book leads back to that dull, cloudy day in March of 2009, when after a drab day at work, I arrived home to a ticket of $124 for toll violations that I did not know I had committed in Illinois and a bill of ${read the book} from a healthcare provider which had gotten the number wrong for the 6th time.

"Now maybe the toll violation was in line, after all they did have a picture of my car on the ticket. But what I do not get is how a country that can take pictures of people missing tolls, find them and send them tickets cannot send a (formerly) sick person a bill for the right amount. This, after calling them after every wrong bill. I have bills for 6 different amounts, none of them anywhere close to the amount I am supposed to be paying. I guess this is one of the reasons I prefer India, you still get a bill for the wrong amount but atleast you can safely violate a few traffic rules (as can be seend here) and get over your frustration."

Earth day rant

Yesterday, as most of you know, was Earth day when cities across the world switched off their lights from 8:30 to 9:30 pm. Now, I find this a great way to raise awareness on the topic of global warming, a very genuine cause. However, I think that it is time to take action rather than raise awareness.

Let us not kid ourselves here. The problem on hand is huge. We need to put all our collective efforts and thoughts on trying to solve it that raising awareness. Now, do not try to tell me that we did something by switching off the lights for an hour. Switching off the lights for an hour reduced the energy you used but it did not reduce the energy produced by the electric company which was wasted anyways since the electricity cannot be stored. Therefore, the amount of carbon that was released was not any less than what would have been released otherwise. What we need to do is reduce our overall energy expenditure (the part that is wasteful) so that companies reduce the electricity they burn. We need to work towards renewable energy sources. And we need to do it now.

I do realize that there is nothing new in what I am saying, but I do seriously believe that we need to get beyond the farce that is awareness and spend more time in coming up with an innovative solution. Maybe, if we do want to raise awareness, we need to decide that people switch off lights for one hour on the day corresponding to their first name (A=1, B=2.....) in every month. This way, we will reduce the cumulative energy used and maybe call on electric companies to reduce the energy they produce.

Ofcourse, this is not necessarily in the best interest of the economy because less electricity means less jobs. ;)

PS: The reason I am frustrated with awareness is that in our generation, we have been spending more time raising awareness on topics than solving them................look around you there are people walking to raise cancer awareness, switching off lights to raise awareness on global warming and wearing bands to raise AIDS awareness. The previous generation would build a hospital to treat cancer patients because a relative died.............did that help? Maybe not.................but atleast they did something.

Exclusive book excerpts

My room-mate has gotten more and more frustrated with America over the past few days and we are prompting him to write a book based on his experiences and frustrations. To promote this yet unwritten book, I will be carrying exclusive excerpts (or atleast my interpretation of what some paras would be) from the book in this blog over the next few days.

Keep watching!

The question is ............what did YOU do

I read a research paper today that had 7 authors. The authors had reported chemical analysis of juice extracted after different treatments. At the end of the paper, the authors thanked 4 people for, and I quote, "their valuable work in carrying out juice manufacture and chemical analysis". The question I would like to ask the authors is, "What did YOU do?"

My monkey moment

This may be a bit out of context but I was just thinking yesterday about a few childhood memories and remembered my own monkey moment ala the Bhajji-Symonds saga (for non cricket fans more info here).

I forget what standard I was in then but it involves a friend of mine (let us call him Symonds for now). Well, Symonds was the pet student of a teacher with whom I was not on the best of terms. She called him a monkey (bandar was her exact word) in class out of great affection. I made the mistake of calling him the same out of school and discovered that he was not actually a monkey but a rat coz he ratted me out to the Proctor aka the teacher (could not leave out the pun wrt the match refree could I). Next thing I knew, I was getting a long lecture on good behavior and how not to abuse your colleagues which I treasure to this day.

Well, there it is, my very own monkey moment. Though in my defence, Symonds did not consider it a racial offense. On the other hand, I wonder if I would have gotten off lightly by claiming to say "maa ki" instead of monkey.

Is our memory and subconscious color blind

I was watching 'The Practice', a TV show about criminal lawyers today and they showed a witness telling his story as he remembered it and through his eyes, they conveyed what happened. The whole flashback he had was in black and white. Which is when I realized that unless the flashbacks are a major part of the story, most often in movies or on TV, they are shown in black and white and so are dreams. Which brings the question to mind, why? I have no opinions but do have this doubt.

Post script

After posting my blog, I felt guilty about not knowing whom I was quoting so I did what most scientists do when they are unaware of something, I googled his name. There is some information on him but nothing amazing. He taught personal and correspondence courses on self help (ironical isn't it). The most interesting aspect of his life was that he had the energy to write books in his 80s! Interesting character.......and now I know whom I am quoting.

Am I a plagiarist?

I just realized today that I have been plagiarizing for a long time now and most of us are on the same path. My gmail signature has a quote by Frank Tibolt (for the heck of me , I do not know who he is) - "We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action". I have been using this quote for about 2-3 years and have always gave Frank credit for it at the end - ie it was a reference in every mail.

However, the ethics of referencing demand that you put the idea or statement in quotes if you are not paraphrasing it. I had not been doing that. Apologies Mr. Tibolt. After a lot of thought, I have corrected the error (nah, I did not paraphrase it, just put quotes around it).

I write this post to enlighten all other scintists who are making this mistake. Let us all change our signatures.......................lets take a giant step to end plagiarism.

Cricket - the referral system

I think the referral system in cricket needs a slight modification. In the few matches that it has been tried out, there have been a few batsmen who have gotten off the hook because the video evidence was inconclusive. I would suggest to cricket officials that they try out the NFL's referral system. According to the NFL referral system, if the video evidence is inconclusive, then the decision made by the referees (the umpires in our case) on the field (the ground in our case) stays. What say guys? Does that sound reasonable?

In the age of the donkey...

In the age of the donkey, the horse trainer is ahead of his time - Shriram Paranjpe

A warm blooded squirrel

You don't expect a squirrel wandering around in the park in the middle of winter when it is -35C outsite. Which is why I was surprised when I saw this sight last Friday while going for lunch.




I guess the recession is hitting squirrels hard too.

Earth shattering event foreboded

There is something going on deep down in our mother Earth. There have been numerous earthquakes in varied places from Indonesia, Afghanistan, Costa Rica, California, Yellowstone national park (USA) and New Zealand. Many of these have been close to 6 or more on the Richter scale (except Yellowstone which had many small quakes). This is a sign of a major event coming up. Geologists need to look at the signs and try and find out what, where and when the event is. Lets not be caught napping and say we never saw this coming.

The weather is confused

I think the weather has lost its marbles.........or atleast its GPS. I was looking at the temperature in Anchorage, Alaska and it is 1 C out there!!!!!!!! And for the whole week, Alaska is going to be warmer than Indiana!

God save the world coz man does not seem to care.

One man's poison......

Schools in Delhi will be closed till Tuesday to protect kids from the severe cold weather. The temperature in Delhi - 8 degrees celcius. Brrrrr? Thats heaven for me in the winters. Give me that temperature (in West Lafayette) all winter and I will give you the moon.

PS: Well I do agree that in the absence well enclosed buildings and a heating system similar to Western nations, the cold is a big pain in India...........still my statement stands.................their poison is my nectar

Gingeritis

I was at our local grocer recently. I do not generally typecast people, but the Oriental lady in front of me had in her basket one cabbage, one onion, two bulbs of garlic and a 4x6 piece of ginger. Her total came out to be about $3.50 but she did not have cash and our grocer does not take credit/debit cards below $5 so the cashier asked her to get something else. She searched around and finally settled on another 4x6 piece of ginger! Her total was still a few dimes short of $5 and so she brought it up with, hold your breath, another 2x6 piece of ginger!!! It was at this time that my eyeballs, which were bulging out, fell to the ground. Is this what ginger kids grow up to be?

Somebody answer the phone

I always wonder what the Indian Consulate does. It is supposed to have two purposes. One, it is supposed to be of service to Indians settled in that country. And two, it is supposed to interact with the country where it is set up with regards to giving visas or creating a positive impression about India.

I do not see the Indian consulate doing either in the USA. Well, the process of getting visas has been outsourced, which should reduce their workload and give them enough time to, amongst other things, pick up the phone. I have tried to call the Indian consulate in Chicago and the ofice of the Consulate General of India in New York many times today. I tried to reach different divisions in the hope that atleast one of them would pick up the phone and respond to my query. My hopes were in vain. How can the Consulate serve the Indian community if it does not even pick up the phone or reply to emails. I guess the reason the visa process was outsourced was not to reduce cost, but to ensure that work got done. What sort of an impression does that give to the rest of the world..................well wait, maybe it does get across the Government message........thats India.............Incredible India!

indian visas outsourced

I just found out that the process of giving an Indian visa has been outsourced to some private company. What is the job of the Indian consulate in that case. Is this the security promised to our countrymen? A private company whose sole purpose is profit will decide who gets an Indian visa?

No confidence motion

I raise a motion of no confidence against the Congress Government. I have my reservations about the way it has handled the current crisis, especially its refusal to show any spine. It has refused to pass strong anti terrorism laws (yes we need POTA back - it is not anti minorities, it is anti terrorism) and is using strong language (and language only) against Pakistan to please the common civilians.

Their recent bickering with the Tatas (telling them that it was insufficient security by the Taj that caused this) has shown how responsible they are. How can you expect a hotel to protect itself when the government could not protect it or the rest of the city. How could 10, 20 or a 1000 more CCTVs in the Taj have helped anyone other than the news media covering it. CCTVs can be shot at. For all you know, the terrorists would have taken control of the monitoring room and run amok.

But all of this is not the reason I call the motion of no confidence in the Congress government (both at the state level and at the Center). My grouse is against the statement by AR Antulay and the reaction of the Congress party to it. A dozen terrorists come into the country, carry out the most ghastly terrorist attacks ever and target and kill some our top police officials. At this time, a minister in the Government (without checking out the facts or talking to the Home minister or prime minister) makes a statement in the press questioning if Hindus fundamentalists were behind the murder of Hemant Karkare?

Dear Mr. Antulay, lets check some facts. You seem not to be concerned with them but here is what was reported in the Indian express well before you made your statements.


http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Witness-account-of-Karkare-Kamte-and-Salaskars-death/392181/

According to the constable with them that night, Saluskar, Kamte and Karkare were going to Cama hospita because they heard that a fellow policeman was hurt there. Now, you being a politician would probably have run away form the spot where a fellow politician was injured and, therefore, find it surprising that our brave policemen went in that direction.

You have questioned, Mr. Antulay, who sent Mr. Karkare to Cama hospital and whether he was sent there by the RSS/BJP/any of their organizations. Well, it may be news to you dear sir, but it is your own party which is ruling, both in Maharashtra AND at the center. Who else could have commanded him to go there. Do you think our police officers are stupid, as you want us to believe, to go somewhere based on random phone calls.

At a time when we expect our politicians to bring the nation together, this statement is not just divisive but a betrayal to the nation that has given you so much. The reaction of the Congress party to this treason was not a vehement rebuttal but support ("what is wrong with his statement" - Digvijay Singh and "to err is human" - Manmohan Singh). Why is the Congress doing this? The same old reason........catering to vote bank politics. Trying to seem pro-Muslim. Well, dear Grand Old party of the Indian polity, its time you woke up. Apart from the few fundamentalist Islamic leaders that have sided with you, I am sure that all our Muslim brethren see through this divisive plot.

The time has come for India to uproot the Congress. Rise my countrymen, brothers and sisters; Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, let us show the Congress the door to reform. They have sold our country. Lets kick them out and regain it.

Galli cricket

We played cricket this week in the 3 foot wide corridor in our house. That too well past midnight! Playing cricket is always fun but it has been a long while since I played the box/galli version. Hitting any of the walls directly was out, as was a one bounce catch. Two consecutive body hits was out. We had a fielder in the restroom, one right behind the batsman and one in a khopcha near a room. Our bat was the box of a laptop keyboard. As you can imagine, scoring runs was very difficult, especially with the searing spinner that the track was. Therefore, a bat hit was a run. Crossing half pitch gave two runs while crossing the bowler gave a boundary. 5 runs made a half century. But it was fun and therefore, with it, we started the Sheetz Premier League cricket championship.

I welcome you all to join us in continuing the Sheetz premier league. You can enter your team by submitting the entry to any of us.

Mumbai congestion charge

I visited Mumbai a couple of months ago and feel it is getting too crowded for its own good. There will be a time, not too far away, when the benefits of living in MUMBAI will be outweighed by the horrific traffic.

Now before all you pounce on me, let me tell you, I love Mumbai and will do so till my last breath (hopefully). However, like every city in the world, it needs to keep evolving and getting better and I do not see that happening. There is too much pollution and traffic in Mumbai. This increases the time to get to work for everyone and thus their total exposure to pollution. Add to this the fact that Mumbai is the biggest market for cars and the booming real estate market (more people = more cars) and we have a catastrophe waiting to happen (without even thinking of the Nano).

Therefore, I propose a simple solution. Charge every private vehicle entering Mumbai (say beyond Matunga) Rs250 per day. Taxis, buses and all public vehicles will be exempt from this fee. Vehicle owners living within this zone will get a discounted rate. This charge will only be applied during weekdays from 7 am to 9pm. This will reduce the traffic, pollution and congestion in Mumbai and make it a healthier city to live in.

What I propose is not a novel solution. It has been implemented successfully in London and residents are happy with it (for more information go to http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/6722.aspx or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge). How do we enforce the congestion charge. Well, in London, they have people register their cars and pay in advance or on the day they drive into London. All cars are tracked as they enter the city by cameras. Drivers are warned that they are entering the charging zone by big white boards with a red C on them. Think this is 'impossible' in India. Well, guess who is running the system for the Brits - its Mastek, an infotech company based in Mumbai, India. This proposal will take a huge initial capital input but isn't Mumbai worth it all? And if we do not want a huge initial investment, we could just have old fashioned toll nakas (booths) at the entry points. This will slow down traffic but traffic should get thinner and therefore, it will still be faster than now.

The next part of the argument against this charge is 'but our public transport system is stretched as well'. I agree and before we move to this system, we would need to upgrade our public transport a bit. Moreover, the money we get from the congestion charge can be used to make major improvements to our public transport.

Think about it. Since the Government limited the transfer of profits from the electricity distribution side of the BEST to cover the losses on its transportation side, the BEST has been making a valiant effort to change from a public service to a profitable organization. However, this has been at the cost of us, the consumers. Some routes have been cancelled, others have seen their frequency reduced. The end result. Horribly packed buses. Once the BEST gets money from the congestion charge, it can become a service again. The reduced traffic will also mean a faster commute (the average speed of a BEST bus is presently 13kmph) and cheaper transportation (better speed = better mileage/average). The money from the charge can also be used to invest in the suburban railways, the subway or even the skybus. The possibilities are endless.

I have been thinking about this for a while now and have mentioned it to quite a few friends and family. They think, with certain reservations, that this is a good idea and its time has come. What do you guys think?

After all, isn't this what we have always been longing for - a Clean Mumbai, Green Mumbai.