Where are we!??

I am a big fan of the movie Iron Man and Paycheck for different reasons. Iron man for the super hero plot and Paycheck for the way they would have imagined technology in 2003.

You would not have forgotten how Tony Stark designs his super powered suit in Iron Man.  That’s not for movie alone.  That’s for real and it’s called Augmented Reality (AR).  It’s a technology which merges our physical world with the virtual world.  Eg: if you are walking down in an unknown place, you will be guided step by step to the location you want to go.  Hold On! Don’t think that this is GPS.  GPS is just a positioning or identifying service.  AR is beyond it.  Check out Wikipedia, on AR, especially the columns on current applications and future applications.

Accidentally while writing this, my thoughts are different.  They move away from the technology and question how is it relevant or to ask in particular, when will they be relevant for us?  I feel we are living in an outdated world.  The idea of AR was conceptualized somewhere in 1990’s and has come into practice now (Check out here) and we still keep fascinating on the ideas like this.  Uh!  Where are we!??

Today and Global Warming

 Gearing up with full protection to face the rain and facing just the clear sky, seems to become a daily habit for the next couple of months which is so called the monsoon season. I read a news about Al Gore (remember An Inconvenient Truth!). When I say his name I feel like yawning. The documentary he produced was like that. But today there was something which I thought about what he spoke and what I have witnessed.

His documentary was on Global Warming. I am a lazy fellow and a hesitant fellow to update myself by reading (the reason behind is I sleep after reading 2-3 pages). So, I haven’t made any research on how the events connect to Global Warming.

 In Mumbai, usually the monsoon starts by June 1st week and gets over by August end or September 1st week. Few Mumbaikars tell approximate dates as well. This year it was worse that till August 1st week there were no rains and there were few spells during October. It is like the entire Monsoon getting shifted. “So what! What’s the big deal! As far as rain comes its okay right!” ask many. These are the people who actually destroy the environment. Lack of rains or patterns shifting is a result of Global Warming.

 The same is not only in Mumbai but in Chennai too. Chennai receives its part of rain during September – November. Today the first week of November gets over and we have received only few hours of rain. Our people with no knowledge of what it is spoil the environment. Mostly I see the “Chalta hai re…” attitude. It all starts from small habits like “Do not split on the road”, “Litter only in dust bins” and all the first grade lessons. We have missed to follow and lack self discipline. The same guy who makes the entire nuisance polluting the environment here immediately changes his attitude while in a foreign country. Can he do all those in places like Dubai? He will not. He will be s*** scared even to think about doing it.

 We got to wake up to this. Some time back there was another new article reading “India might lose its south – west monsoon soon”. The change should happen within. We as individuals have to do something. Reduce usage of plastic bags; plant more trees or whatever could help the environment. I with an advice from a friend have reduced the usage of plastic bags. I say no plastic bags wherever I already have a bag to accommodate the stuff I buy and I carry existing carry bags to the store. I hope you would follow it too.

 We are losing out Green. Do check out what the world does to protect it and what you can do as an individual. Visit Hopenhagen. Let me know too. We have a responsibility to give a better world to our children like how we recieved it from our fathers.

5/11

அடாது மழை விடாது பெய்தாலும்
விடாது தன் கடமையை செய்ய
அடாது புறப்பட்ட என்னை படாது
படுத்தி விட்டது இம்மழை! படாது
படுத்தி விட்டது இம்மழை!

–புலம்பல் சித்தர் இராசாராம்

I work in Mumbai. Mumbai receives rains between June – September every year. Those months would be pathetic to travel between places. I recount my experience earlier (28/7 blog is good for nostalgia). Mumbaikars are still haunted by 26/7. To escape from the 2009 rains, I made a plan to shift myself to Chennai temporarily during that period. Once that period was over I would get back to Mumbai where the rains would be over and also an escape from Chennai rains. (I make good plans…Ya! only plans…)

The initial plan got executed and I got back to Mumbai escaping from the rains, but there was something added to it. Im back in Chennai and the rains have started. Yesterday, the first official day of monsoon 2009, I woke up late in the morning and it was pouring heavily. I had nothing to cover and fearing of the long distance ride in the bike I opted to stay in home. In the evening, rushed to nearby shops and got rain covers for myself. It was full proof. Back in mind I was planning of all ways of covering myself completely so that not a drop of water will go in and was eagerly waiting to rain the next morning with the new coats on. Put in my shoes in my shoulder bag and carried it along with a plan to change it in office (This is the first time Im using shoulder bags for office. Felt something awkward in the back..Uh!)

As planned it started drizzling. That was the perfect time. I was covered completely from head to toe. Only the face was open that too closed with the helmet. I started out of home. There were fellow people on the road going empty handed in that drizzle. I appeared like an alien to them. I never minded as I had to travel long and had a faith on the rain pouring down. (Boss! I was prepared to face it…and wanna face it… oh rain, c’mon man…lets see if it is you are me…)

The drizzle increased and was constant… I was moving on the road and alas…! They stopped and the sun was shining… Holy cows…! With full protection, I was expecting to pour heavily and there were no clouds. Couldn’t react or think much on it as I kept driving. The covers started giving sweats inside. But, as I wanted it to be, there were black clouds soon and it started pouring. People driving along took cover on the road side. I, with the new rain coats on, did not stop or slow my speed. Guess I was the only one on the road. It started pouring heavy and I was in a singing mood as I won’t get wet.

Reached office in the rains with a planning executed well. There was something which was bothering inside the covers while I was driving. Eagerly, when I took out the covers to look out what they were, I was crying shocked. I was completely wet! I would have come in the rain only for around 20 mins! Huh!!! All these covers…! Coudln’t do anything except a sigh….

All the way from June, from Mumbai these rains have spoilt my purpose. They never spare me every year. Today I’m planning to buy another anti rain accessory. Let’s see how that works.

Late post (written a month back)

A decade and a half back in Madras, a bus ticket in Pallavan transport from Perungalathur to Tambaram (2.5 kms approx) costed 45 paise. The bus would be green in color running in an inclined 45 degree position on the left hand side. The bus isn’t designed like that. The crowd in the bus would make the bus slanted. The conductor inside will feel hell everyday to cruise through the crowd to issue tickets. For 45 paise that travel would be an “uh!” for me.

Now, times have changed. The fare is around 5 rupees. The distance is more than 2.5 kms. Pallavan transport is now MTC. The buses have GPS devices fitted. I am able to see which bus is coming next, when and where exactly my bus route is running. I heard Chennai is the first city in India to implement mass PIS in public transport buses. It’s good to see those. The buses have automatic doors with nil scope to hang in the foot board. One feature which I see curiously is the electronic ticketing in the bus. The device which they have is super cool. With a press of 2 buttons the ticket comes out and the entire MIS is taken care in a minute. Earlier, the conductor has to fill up ticket sales stage by stage in a long sheet of paper and submit it at the end of the day. I was conversing with a conductor who was still filling that info although he had the device. He was saying his superior still wants the info in paper only.

This city has not only changed in its transport alone. The once so called and still being called as a conservative city is the safest city in India now and it competes with other major cities in everything. Be it jobs, infrastructure, governance, public amenities, culture and so on, this city competes and its legacy continues as well. I was actually a bit surprised to see a gay parade happened in this city and most of it was it had happened peacefully. People are open to change here and accept the change. This is a city which every individual will surely like to live if given a choice.

Exactly been around 2 months I am posting to my blog. I have got good time now to spend with my friends and that has made my writing take a rest. Many of friends ask (actually they amuseJ) why I write for and who reads it. I really don’t know how many read it and I have no answer to them because this is something which I will cherish in the future. When I have nothing to do, I can open my writings and enjoy the nostalgia.

People

Very few people seed the urge in me to write. We learn different things from different people. This is a continuation to my post People who have made me to re-think over.

I saw this man first while I was travelling in bus to Andheri station in the morning hours. The bus is crowded usually. This man asked for the bus route and got into the bus from the driver side which he is not supposed to. He then rushed to the other side of the bus through the crowd, pushing people around, but with a huge smile, asking excuses and then he returned back to the same place. On seeing this for the first time, although he was asking excuses and sporting a big smile, I was furious that he was doing it for some notorious fun and the conductor also seemed not to bother.

The next day, it was the same bus stop and this man got into the bus and was rushing through the crowd the same way. But I felt ashamed for not noticing something. He was having a stick in hand which the blind men use to guide them. Yes, this man is blind. It was a shock to me. I asked sorry to myself. I did not know that he was blind and was making wrong assumptions. I was wondering why he had to rush through the crowd to the other side. By the stop where he boards the bus, the conductor is on the other side giving tickets and this man goes all the way to get his ticket. And he does it with a smile and asking excuses all the way to the people.

I have re-learnt to be gracious to people from him. He can demand a seat to sit and ask the conductor to come to him for a ticket. He doesn’t do that and goes all his way not bothering about the difficulty in between to get the ticket. He greets the difficulties in between with a smile. This man displays the confidence and humane nature in him. I have stamped few shoes in the crowded places by mistake and have never asked excuses. I take it for granted that it’s a crowded place and it happens for me too.

We tend to forget the small things in life. We devalue people before us. We don’t bother, don’t ask excuses and missing to communicate also happens. We take them for granted and don’t realize how much it would have concerned them and we keep doing it the same way. We are humans and do mistakes. It does not matter as far as we don’t repeat it time and again. Let’s re-think what we had learnt about kindness and love. I am now returning a call to a friend who was concerned about my health and I had not answered properly while asked.

Need of the hour

Need of the hour – Formula for the nation’s progress.

A fresh start…

A clean politics is what every average citizen wants in the country. Elections 09 seem to have indicated it. With congress getting a clear mandate, Mr. Singh and Rahul wanting to have a clean and young cabinet at least from their party, it gives a fresh perspective of the government. This election has also made the BJP and third parties to revise and redo their policies which were outdated. My interest in politics have pepped up again after a gap of over 5 years.

The UPA camp on deciding the cabinet looks refreshing with a bold and professional look. Mr. Singh once criticized as weak PM and lags in decision making, looks bold and energetic now. The portfolios to be given influence the performance of the upcoming government. MPs like Rahul, Scindia, Milind Deora, Maran, Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor and more with good expertise are definitely refreshing. Mr. Singh himself being one of the best economists in the world being a PM is a pride to our country. The first 100 days is to be watched out for few economic reforms. The noted economists’ magic is the need of the hour to tackle the job loss and the slowdown.

Altogether somewhere I read few years back that India will be able to show its superpower to the world by 2010. I feel this as the beginning.

Squares & Cubes

The title of the post draws inspiration from the title “Angels & Demons” just for its rhyming sounds.

My name has 3 R’s in it and people call be triple R or sometimes “R cube” also. That’s how Im related to the cubic entity. But from no where, the square entity follows me at times when I haven’t given a thought about it.

Google had announced “Project10tothe100″ program. I wanted to contribute to it and the title of my idea in a jiffy narrowed to E2. It denotes Education & Empowerment. Yeah…The antenna in my brain pops up wherever there is something to be conceptualized. And when Google calls for ideas, I got pepped up. Unfortunately I was not able to complete the idea I started to visualize. To more about the Project from Google visit project10tothe100.com

Back to square, my earlier naming patterns for an event of CII were I2 and P2. I2 means Inventions & Innovations and very straight and a bit silly too, P2 is Paper Presentation. These again were conceptualized but could not get executed.

Guess the squares made by cube were not fit enough to get executed and showcased but I am glad for the attempt.

Ooh la la law!! X(

Democracy is our nation’s strength and sometimes I feel it as a weakness as well. 10 terrorists came into the city and killed several people which the world knows. One terrorist is caught alive and he is interrogated. I guess he should only be interrogated. Why does the court need to give him a lawyer? Is the court trying to give him a chance of fleeing free which is not going to happen!! What is the motive behind booking some 300+ cases against one single terrorist and appointing a lawyer for him? There is a cost attached to all these court proceedings. He should be interrogated and his back links should be found on intelligence basis but I feel its waste of time and huge money in bringing him to court when the whole world knows he is a terrorist.

The above is an external affair problem and below is an internal affair.

Elections are in pace. I know for sure there is going to be no change after the election whichever party holds the cabinet. As a voter I see all the candidates as invalid and I decide not to vote. But there are a lot of chances that my vote will be misused. Thank god, I found out the section 49-O in the Conduct of Election rules. I have a right not to cast my vote which means I don’t need to vote for any candidate. It’s like me boycotting the election. It’s not going to affect the winning chances of the candidate but by this my vote can’t be misused. I felt happy about the law in place until I read about a loop hole in it.

The section says – “If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.” which means the anonymity of the voter is lost which is against the procedure of voting behind the ballot box and hence the rule cannot be used by any voter wishing to live peacefully.

Moreover, the EVMs don’t have the option of “None” or “Not applicable” which again forces the voter to vote on some candidates of no caliber. Its like wherever there is a provision of law there is provision of a loop hole as well. Our law sings to the every citizen’s tune.

Elections 2009

A fine morning, after reading the headlines, I asked a friend “Do you know Sarath Babu”. He replied “Ya ya, the one who acted with Rajinikanth. Ya I know him.”

I did not expect that reply or else I would have got prepared to face it. Then I told him about Sarath Babu. Sarath is from a very humble and poor family in Chennai. His mother sold idli’s door by door for his schooling. Sarath made it to BITS Pilani for his engineering degree and got placed in a software firm. Later he got into IIM-A for his management degree. He topped in the exams and offers poured in. But, he did not take them. He said “I want to be an entrepreneur and adding more he wanted to start a food chain inspired by his mother”. Touching story!

Now, Sarath is taking another step in his life. He is contesting for the Lok Sabha elections. Now wants to give it back to the society. He is an independent candidate from the South Chennai constituency contesting against the biggies.

I wonder in which film has the actor Sarath Babu played a role like this.

 

Btw, 2009 elections have transformed to be a national event with a day holiday for most of the citizens. Campaigns are at full swing in all means and forms of media. Why is this all for? Where is the change? are my questions. I could hear few voicing out “You be the change!”. It makes sense while hearing and while reading the below statistics I feel “God save this place”

• Total no. of Candidates with Criminal Records = 222 (i.e. 16% of 1425 candidates)
• Most of the major political parties have fielded candidates with criminal records, with top four parties being INC (24), BJP(23), BSP(17) and SP(10)
• Most states have candidates with criminal background contesting elections- Bihar is at the top with 51 candidates (or 26%)
• There are 306 charges of heinous nature on the candidates which includes, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, extortion, etc.
• Percentage of contesting crorepatis has increased from 9% in 2004 to 14% in 2009
• 68% candidates have not furnished their PAN card details.
• Number of women candidates is just 122(7%) as compared to 1593 of men(93%)

 

Source: ADR Press Release in New Delhi. Thanks to Anil for the mail.

I have no comments to explain the above!!!!!