Getting Virtual

Nope, not talking about our online avtaars or social networking sites. I am talking about virtual desktops. Our PC’s will soon go virtual.
We’ve been hearing about remote solutions for quite some time. But what makes me happy is that this news has trickled down from the techie sites to our own ET. Check this link out

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Hardware/Virtual_PCs_free_workers_from_hardware/articleshow/msid-3353628,curpg-1.cms

Be ready to see more of this.

Mood – Virtually elated :-)

Must Know

About a week old article ...But still -
http://computing.in.msn.com/articles/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1596051

Food for Thought

Came across an interesting piece of political news today in the paper. And no I am not talking about the UPA confidence vote debate. Neither am I talking about how Laloo was the start entertainer or Omar Abdullah displayed his oratory skills.
I am talking about a small piece of news from our neighbor country Nepal. The news reports that Nepal has seen 3 days of continued protests against the newly elected Vice President. Reason – The Vice President took his oath of office in Hindi and not Nepali or his mother tongue Maithili. There were also reports of criticism of his style of dressing which is seen as non-Nepali, because he prefers to wear Dhoti Kurta.

Firstly it makes me sad that perhaps the 2 neighbors have not been able to build that cultural respect for each other. It surprises me that while my building’s watchman [from Nepal] conveniently talks Hindi, works in India and doesn’t see himself different from us, back in his home country there is agitation over the choice to speak Hindi. [Interestingly, the word Nepal itself has Sanskrit origins.]
And secondly, I wonder yet again about the cultural tolerance that Indians have. Something that we have always heard – whether it was giving shelter to Jews or absorbing the Parsi community or embracing and respecting other cultures. I know we are good at it . But do we over do it? Should we change with time? What do you think Nepal would do if Sonia Gandhi takes on the central role in their country’s political ruling?

<------ Interruption -->

I just received some news. More disturbing than agitation in Nepal. Brings me back to India and its cultural tolerance.

Alarming

http://www.bhopal.net/bhopalinthenews/archives/2008/04/air_water_earth.html

Baby Tax to curb Global Warming – GSBC Revisited

And we thought we learn from our mistakes!
Or did we say history repeats itself?

Whichever way it is, while we could juggle our way in this play of words, I still find it hard to comprehend how one can slash upon a Baby Tax.
This bizarre stunt, which was earlier tried by the Chinese Government (to address different issues and via varied means), is now being contemplated by the doctors in Australia.

Writing in the Medical Journal of Australia, Associate Professor Barry Walters stated that every couple with more than 2 children should be taxed to pay for enough trees to offset the carbon emissions generated over each child's lifetime. And he believes that families should pay a $5000-plus “baby levy” at birth and an annual carbon tax of up to $800 per child.
Excuse Me!

While I am sure this is just the beginning of a debate (and I will keep away from the ethical issues here), this story in a way completed the circle by linking baby tax to carbon emissions and global warming, especially when this news was published alongside the reports of announcements of Nobel Peace Prize - Where Al Gore and Pachauri shared the honor for warning the world against the severe consequences of global warming!!

The focus of discussion in Oslo was clearly that technological progresses alone cannot stop global warming, and instead we also need to adjust our lifestyles. However seems like this suggestion was taken way too literally and way too far. While I am not sure if I would have really bothered about the Australian scientists silly propositions, I could not ignore it any more given what happened in China. Thanks to our core terms @ ISB and some shocking videos courtesy youtube, this seemingly stupid suggestion did a flashback for me – Term 4 Gov, Society & Biz Class

Coming back to current events, the Nobel Peace prize ceremony, as anticipated, did underscore the work being done on hammering out a post-Kyoto Protocol framework to address global warming. And that makes me wonder again – How fair is it to set national targets and set up an emission trading system? What’s the logical basis for deciding emission quotas? And what are the implications of such legislation measures?

Some relevant links:
News Australia
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22896334-2,00.html
Shocking China Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0u7_afmT-8&feature=related
Innovative Suggestions
http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

5 Pointer or 9 ?

Every day when I pass the Gandhinagar to Hiranandani stretch along IIT-B....I curse. I simply curse, the traffic which only seems to increase every day, the authorities for the mismanagement and lack of planning, illegal shops that keep expanding their footprint, the Mood-I crowd that adds to congestion and all the junta who decides to take out their vehicle during peak hours. At times I have taken 40 minutes to cover a stretch that should ordinarily take only 5 minutes.

However today, I decided to go in the afternoon shift. On a warm winter afternoon as I passed that stretch, in the midst of moderate traffic, what caught my attention was the huge IIT campus.
Nestled in the lap of Powai hills and flanked by the scenic lake this campus is the cradle of the Indian brain...a place where the best brains in India are nourished, a campus where even an ordinary looking shabbily dressed guy is a stud in his own ways :)

On this winter afternoon the sun rays were being filtered through the trees, as I looked nonchalantly at the campus..... The sight was usual, pink buildings, the main gate ...the security guards, the SBI branch , and then the breathtaking view of the lake, the strikingly chic looking hostel courtesy Hafeez Contracter and the Renaissance in the back drop

Amidst all this what did strike me was the news that hit headlines last month. Yet again, another IITian ended his life. Reason stated: Stress. Low GPA. Inability to get a campus job.
This aint sumthing new, we have grown up reading such pieces of news. Such incidents happen, hit the headlines and fade away from peoples memory.

What I cannot apprehend is the mindset of such students. What happens? How can they feel so low that they decide to take such drastic steps? What is it that is lacking? Why are such brainy brains unable to rationalize the situation to identify their strengths and see the light at the end of the tunnel however dark things might seem? How do they succumb to pressures such as GPA or job? Are we manufacturing graduates who can analyze Quantum mechanics and its fundas but not the jeene ka funda?
I am sure nobody needs to tell them that even if they are the worst performers on campus, they are still better than the average students outside. If a mediocre guy from an arbit collg can make it big in the world, what stops a JEE stud from giving his best shot and come out strong?? Are the pressures on campus so strong...I fail to understand.

OR is it the other way round??? They know that they r the best...and with the best ...but still they don’t find any motivation to move ahead in life...don’t find any heroes whom they can look up to, don’t know why they are distressed.
And they realize that if this is how the best is then they don’t really want to see anymore? I am not really sure if this is the case....but just a remotely possible explanation that I am trying to use to justify to myself what these guys might be thinking.

Perhaps I don’t have a solid insight into what really happens on campus and mab my friends can help me understand better….Ending this post on an inconclusive note .....

Another RDB

" A MiG-21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force broke up in midair on Thursday near Kurseong in West Bengal's Darjeeling district and the pilot is feared to have been killed. Air Commodore Chandramouli in Bagdogra airbase told PTI on phone that the aircraft took off for a practice flight from the airbase at around 1.00 pm with Squadron Leader S Pandey piloting it. The pilot is feared to have been killed after it broke into pieces inflight between Norbong tea estate and Shibkhola in Kurseong sub-division minutes after the take-off, he said. The aircraft's wreckage was spread over the slopes of hills in the area, he said.

An IAF team has rushed to the spot but was yet to locate the body of Pandey, Chandramouli said.This was the first MiG-21 lost by the IAF in nearly a year.The last accident involving one of the ageing Russian jets had occurred on March 21 last year. "

In this year when the Indian Air force is celebrating its Platinum Jubliee, is another RDB staring us in face? Is this just a spurious incident or a start of something more?
When I read the above news article last week, i thought ...there we go again. However I didnt see any news updates after this. Is the pilot alive? What went wrong? Are we attributing it to human error yet another time? But I found no follow ups. The article just came and went away. And as civilians we never bothered to find out.

Today I decided to dig a lille and I was surprised to find the numerous MiG crashes that made way to headlines in all these years and then just vanished.
In the process I also found out a some not so known facts about MiG. The first Mig used by IAF was way back in 1963. MiGs comprise of about 60% of the IAF fleet and that is also a reason why it contributes to 70% of all crashes. IAF's annual loss due to MiG's has seen a steady decline over the last few decades from 40 to 30 and now down to 20. Fair enough. I also happened to come across an interesting read by Retd Air Cheif Marshall AY Tipnis who in his 'An ode to MiG21' sums up as:

"My parting lines on the demonising of the MiG-21 are thus: Heed not the barbed taunt of "widow-maker" my lovely filly, for you are in fact a man-maker of boys. Were I to go down with you, my soul would have been tortured to have anyone call you my "flying-coffin"; but my soul would have been mercifully becalmed would that our joint epitaph proudly proclaimed: "In life you offered this pilot a seat more coveted than that of a king’s; in death you took an air-warrior to his glorious Valhalla." But I live, so I hope that I am there 10 years from now, along with your many disciples and admirers and our progeny and theirs too, to sing your praises for your half-a-century of relentless, superlative service to the nation and the Indian Air Force. Others may continue to call you vulgar names when there is a choice of prettier ones, as some that I have used, but there be many more, more appropriate, but inadequately so. One day surely you must rest your hard driven limbs, but to each one of us whom you took to your bosom, whether in service or in retirement, you will ever remain "My Fair Lady"! "

Agreed, MiGs have contributed more than they have taken away. But even after being aware of various possible pitfalls with MiGs, errors occur and occur again. Question still remainsCan we afford MiGs at the cost of our pilots?