//todo

I have been making todo lists in many formats so you'd have guessed that they work only partially. I have used google calendar, outlook calendar, add-on on thunderbird, post-its on vista sidebar, post-its on paperboard in the room and whiteboard till now. So this is the latest mode of making a todo list and sticking to it - blog. Below are few things I wish to do during next 3-4 months, and YOU are going to remind me :D

TODO in next 3 months (or losely speaking, keep doing it for some time):

1. Find a guitar/drums tutor to come to IIMB to teach interested junta.
2. Listen to more types of music, particularly explore more in rock.
3. Continue mp3-tagging by collection of songs.
4. Start composing, write it down. Explore song structures.
   
5. Try sculptoring soap.
6. Read the books lying in the room (esp. End of Poverty, remaining volumes of H2G2 series)
7. Blog more frequently. Start a series on social entrepreneurs.
8. Translate books into Marathi for GTS.
9. Continue working with Weflap.
   

Now you know why I end up not completing the do part in these lists, they are so long!

No but seriously, many of the above don't even need reminders - I will do them as I find time. At times I will squeeze time to do it. You just need to remind me that I will keep on finding such times. Tell me, call, chat or mail me in a while, and just say that you read this post. I will do the rest.

Quota for professors

According to the latest whim from HRD, IITs now need to reserve professorship for categories. Someone who is shaping the future of the country can't be trusted anymore.

I hope some director resigns, standing against this tyrrany. I will feel ashamed to be an alumnus of an institute calling itself elite and not practicing meritocracy.

This is not ending here.

birthday wish

I hope dada gets to choose what he wants by doing well in his remaining UPSC exams a week later.

smoking kills

It has been proved again and again that smoking kills. I wondered whether smokers consider their addiction above their (and others') lives. Then I realized that most of the urban people smoke at least two times a day - once leaving home and once returning. This form of smoking is found to be more injurious passively than actively.














Two immediate solutions thought are electric vehicles and hydrogen. Elecric vehicles on 2, 3 and 4 wheels are already available (in indian market itself). Albeit, I rarely see these on road premierly due to shortcomings such as low acceleration, high charging time and limited life of batteries. Hyddrogen as fuel (directly or as fuel cell) is yet to come up with viable economic designs.

The real question unanswered here is does it stop pollution? Unfortunately right now, most of our electricity production relies on non-renewable fossil fuels. Even if we turn to nuclear fuels to solve our energy crisis, safety and disposal of wastes become a major issue. Any more dam construction will only invite more propaganda and politics. Other renewable sources such as solar energy, tidal energy and wind energy are yet to make it big.
So that leaves us back to energy sources which cause pollution of some sort.

When electric vehicles were introduced in US, they didn't succeed. See about documentary "who killed the electric car?". Apparently there are more political interests in sustaining fossil fuel business than to think about well being of the globe (What else should I have expected from politicians). Here is a trailer.


I started with "smoking kills". Now the subject also touches energy crisis, politics and imperialism. Is all in despair?

We will have to wait for another technology revolution to answer that.

update:
call me a hypocrite, but I have decided to buy a (petrol-based) bike to survive the long distances in Bangalore. And if you see a blank space instead of a video, wait till youtube finishes trying out new formulae.... Somebody has a good sense of humour describing youtube's architecture in layman's terms

personality test

Inspired from a blogger, I took a personality test. As it turned out to be, I don't like revealing myself, which is true but contradicts this blog, mainly because of my curiosity to take this test.

Here are the reults.

Advanced Global Personality Test Results Extraversion |||||||||| 40% Stability |||||||||||||| 53% Orderliness |||||||||||| 46% Accommodation |||||||||||||||| 63% Interdependence |||||||||||||||| 70% Intellectual |||||||||||||||| 70% Mystical |||||||||||||| 56% Artistic |||||||||||||||||| 76% Religious |||||||||||| 50% Hedonism |||||||||||| 50% Materialism |||||| 30% Narcissism |||||||||| 36% Adventurousness |||||||||||||||| 70% Work ethic |||||| 23% Self absorbed |||||| 30% Conflict seeking |||||||||| 36% Need to dominate |||||||||| 36% Romantic |||||||||||| 43% Avoidant |||||||||||| 43% Anti-authority |||||||||||| 43% Wealth |||||||||||| 43% Dependency |||||| 30% Change averse |||||||||||| 43% Cautiousness |||||||||||| 43% Individuality |||||||||||||| 56% Sexuality |||||||||||||| 56% Peter pan complex |||||||||||||| 56% Physical security |||||||||||||| 56% Physical Fitness |||||||||||||||||| 77% Histrionic |||| 16% Paranoia |||||||||||| 50% Vanity |||||| 30% Hypersensitivity |||||| 30% Female cliche |||||| 30%

Interesting thing is that it finds my nature pretty much right here, but the trail snapshot contradicts this analysis on some traits (such as adventurousness). Physical fitness, where thin is supposed to be healthy (!!) was definitely not expected :

trait snapshot:
does not make friends easily, secretive, introverted, reclusive, observer, dislikes leadership, somewhat socially awkward, does not like to stand out, dislikes large parties, values solitude, solitary, avoidant, ambivalent about fitting in, not dominant, unassertive, suspicious, prudent, unadventurous, worrying, weird, intellectual, frequently second guesses self

otherwise the result is quite soothing - the way I want myself to be :)

You can take the test for yourself here.

a day of music and a night of minesweeper

My wingies have always complained about me being busy in music practices throughout the year. Today they had another chance. After waking up at 12.30, having lunch, practicing from 1-3 for the show at 5, I still managed to practice more music till late in the night. In total I spent 6-9 hours today on music, depending upon some jhandao-time being counted or not.

Nights have been very late for me, owing to my nocturnal nature. So, as usual even after coming back to my room post 1'o clock in the night, I found myself fresh enough to play wordgames on dc++. After a while, I lost tempo, and came back to something much familiar.... minesweeper.

If you have successfully wasted fair amount of time on this wonderful game, you might appreciate the serendipity of completing amateur level in 2 seconds. But there was more elation to come... after having completed intermediate in 25 some time back, today I only managed 30. And Expert - yes, again a new record - 111. I guess the day was productive enough to be written about in my first blog ;) .