A few things to unlearn

Since the beginning of time, that I have been able to understand things and people, and perhaps the world, I have started to think that all the good things that we were taught in school, really have no meaning.

1. Wash your hands before your meals?
Almost everyone uses spoons, forks and knives. That small tip might need to be removed from our coursebooks. And even if we used our hands, the food, themselves have so much filth in them these days, that they would need more cleaning and disinfecting than our hands.

2. Honesty is the best policy?
Haha. That one surely needs some immediate attention. Well, maybe, not such a drastic change. "Find and replace" all occurrences of "Honesty" with "Dis-Honesty".

3. Justice is same for all?
Really!! Ahem... Do you even need examples?

4. Look left, then right, and then left again before crossing the road.
In today's world, you can't follow that. Vehicles have taken to the footpaths. You should pray to God before stepping out of your houses.

5. Sources of water?
No. Not wells, freshwater lakes, ponds or rivers. You get water from the tankers that visit your building premises every morning.

6. Constitution. It clearly specifies the limits on the powers of a Government.
I almost had forgotten that one. But, that too, needs to be amended now. Umm. Maybe, it's not needed anyway. The Government is all-powerful, and it can and will override the constitution as and when it feels it needs to.

Thank God, that the laws of physics haven't changed. And the maths that we learnt still works. 

Extracts from my Old Diary

The extracts are unedited/uncensored. Really.

31/01/2004

The month of January seems to have stagnated. The biting cold and intermittent rains have lowered down the temperatures. There's no better place than my warm bed and the common room. Right now, I am in a dilemma. I don't know what to do after my B.Tech degree. Of course, the first preference will be the campus selection. But I have a very strong desire to crack the CAT or the XAT.

01/02/2004

A great day as far as the quality of food. The day started off with "Chole Bhature" which was the best of all the breakfast items in the mess. The lunch was also pretty good. And for the dinner, dosa and a treat in GE were on the cards. Ritesh Parida and Rakesh Mallick were present to finance for the dinner. But, I couldn't digest all these things. You know what I am talking about. Pretty uncomfortable.

 03/02/2005

The results of Computer branch is out. Soon, our results will also be out. Sidharth's got quite a good percentage of 71.2%, the highest being that of Rachit Aggarwal's with 85.8%. These marks are elusive for our branch. The papers this time were very tough. So, I would be happy if I score some 70% or above. Most probably the results would be out tomorrow. A very long wait. I am waiting...

14/02/2004

The results are out. And I have got a mere 61%. That was well below my expectations. I was expecting around 65%. Terribly frustrated, I don't know what to do now. I have to get at-least 75% in this semester.

The next semester I got 63%. 

Technology Overdose - Overdoes

It's just 21st century and we are being surrounded by more and more gadgets. Makes life easy for sure. But, seems that, we have lost the knack of talking to real people and somehow have started believing on these gadgets/technologies more than on People.

1. Lost in the streets? Open the Google Navigation and ask for directions.
2. No more Newspaper bills. I read it online.
3. Send/Receive mails from the postman? Nah, Email is fast and FREE!!!
4. Cricket match anyone? Big LCD screens at home with 3D analysis of each ball bowled and hit.
5. Meetups/Get-togethers? Video and voice conferences are cheaper than traveling even a mile.
6. Read books? Of course, I buy e-books and read them on my laptop to save paper.
7. Get tickets for a move? Do it online or by phone.
8. Cassettes/CD-Players still alive? Everyone has a portable music player these days.
9. 3+4 = ?? Google tells you now. I don't need a calculator.
10. Buying a car? Dig the forums for reviews/comments.

Orkut, Facebook, Twitter etc are the fastest ways to communicate with people. No doubt about that. But, this really suits our generation where our friends from school stay far away from us now. And it seems that all these things are actually making our lives easier. True to a certain extent. But, for I guess, the story and the experience will not be the same for the next generation.

A decade later, more and more children will be either on Orkut or Facebook. By children, I mean, 6 year olds and up. Most of their time will be spent on updating their status messages or profile, or uploading photos, sharing videos, making new friends, etc. People will have more virtual friends or contacts than the real ones. All this, no doubt, in a way makes you more social, or do they really? Instead of discussing problems/issues with parents/friends, people now-a-days tend to be more open and comfortable in discussing their problems amongst their virtual counterparts. A sense of anonymity gives you the power as well as the freedom of expressing your views, which is good, but it becomes dangerous when people take advantage of this freedom. For example, a Google account of a user, in essence, is his biography. Everything he has done in the past is begin recorded. All his mails, contacts, appointments, location information, searches, videos he has watched is recorded. If it falls into the wrong hands, doomed is perhaps the only word I can think of. I mean, grown-ups would probably learn and manage all this, but isn't it a overdose for the children?

A few days back, I met someone, who I know, is a child, and I was shocked to see his fake Facebook account with hundreds of friends. This guy used a fake name and photo for this account. He has, in short, created a fake person who is completely different from himself. He has a different age, has a job and has also listed his likes and dislikes which is again so different from him. Is this Anonymity? And he is just 13 years old. I tried convincing him to create a real profile, but he didn't budge and said, nobody would want to become a friend that way!!!

Anonymity == FAKE ??

From Wikipedia:  A social network is a social structure made up of individuals (or organizations) called "nodes," which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.

A social network is made up of "nodes" and not "people".

NICE DEFINITION

Olympic News

The Torch:

The torch is lighted using the rays of the Sun by a parabolic reflector at the site of the Ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. The torch is then taken out of Greece to the main stadium where the cauldron is lighted on the final day/opening ceremony. This torch is left to burn till the games have been officially closed.

There are interesting stories about so many Olympic Relays.
In 1976 Summer Olympics(Montreal), the flame was transmitted "electronically" via satelite from Athens to Ottawa, by means id an electronic pulse derived from the actual burning flame. After a rainstorm doused the Olympic flame, an official relit the flame using his cigarette lighter. Organizers quickly doused it again and relit it using a backup of the original flame.

A lot of money goes into designing of the Olympic Torch. They have to withstand wind speeds up-to 65 km/hr, rain upto 50mm an hour. Other requirements are that the design should be such that it can be identified and photographed in sunshine and areas of extreme brightness. The fuel is propane which is in accordance with environmental guidelines. The material of its form is recyclable. For Sydney 2000, there was a special requirement since it had to be kept submerged in water.
WOW: I never thought that Science and Technology would help us in such ways.The final carrier of the torch is often kept secret until the last moment, and is usually a sports celebrity of the host country.

Some more facts:
The torch has been carried by an airplane in 1952, when the fire traveled to Helsinki.
The Torch Relay symbolizes the passing of Olympic traditions from one generation to the next.

Facts from : Wikipedia