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| Wednesday, July 18, 2007
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| The City and its Trains
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I have been Gyaning a few friends about this, but never found the occasion to write it here. I just got reminded of this after I read a friend's blog.
Mumbai's local trains. They are such a reflection of Mumbai and its lifestyle. The City & the trains have much in common.
Mumbai is too small for all its people. So is the local.
There are too many people rushing into the train not caring for their life or limb - like warriors. Same with Mumbai. We had bomb blasts in the city and in the trains. Everyday, people on the platforms put in great efforts to get into a starting train so they can be comfortably seated. Then, they save up seats for their near and the not so dear. You get the point.
Mumbai and its locals share everything from claustrophobia to the mad rush. And from bomb blasts to helpful neighbours. But most importantly, they share something else.
Choices.
In the local, as in Mumbai, you need to make choices. The fast lane or the slow lane? Most of us will reach the destination if we take the right direction. We decide whether we want a fast paced life that will bypass other smaller destinations or a slowpaced, chilled out lifestyle with all the little joys of life.
The fast lane, well, is fast. You, quite literally, push yourself but it is a relief once you reach the destination. You might be too tired to savour it though.
The fast lane is obviously much crowded. And one needs infinite amounts of elbow power to get in. The most difficult part is to get in. But the most important part, sometimes, is to keep the others out. That way, you'll have an easy ride.
The slow lane, if you are moderately lucky, is much lighter on the elbows. If you are tactful or lucky enough, you can find a place at the door. Then all that's left to be is done is to relish the wind in your face.
In life, as in the local, you are not in complete control. You can always stop when it is enough. But sometimes, it stops even if you don't want it to.
P.S. Gyaning is delivering an interesting and mostly useless discourse of knowledge |
posted by VinChi @
6:29 AM
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| Tuesday, July 10, 2007
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| Of Global Warming & Its Merits
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Let's ask some questions today. I would blame Dr. Sharon Moalem (author of the book "Survival of the Sickest") for this post.
1. Is Global Warming real?
2. Is Global Warming really bad?  
Global Warming in the everyday sense is the drastic increase in temperatures caused mainly by human activity (release of harmful gases by burning various carbon compounds).
Haven't drastic temperature changes happened before? Didn't we evolve even in those changes? Dr. Moalem says yes.
He argues that diabetes (Type I) was an evolutionary reaction to sudden changes in temperature that happened 11000 years ago. It is called the Young Dryas period. During this period, evidence shows that temperatures fell by about 7 degrees in just a couple of decades (that's like a geo-wink). And high levels of blood sugar help preventing freezing of body tissue!!
To summarise, during the Young Dryas period, many died. Some moved south. Some got diabetes. The sad part is that the diabetics suffered in their 40s. The happy part is that the diabetics lived to be 40 and reproduced. By the way, diabetes' full name is diabetes mellitus which literally means "passing sweet urine". I don't want to know how they figured it out!
Now, we all agree that:
1. Drastic changes in temperature happen even without human activity.
2. Humans have gone through sudden changes of climate and survived.
3. Ahem.. (I still don't want to know.)
Now, even if we consider that this time around the change in climate is happening because humans are screwing it, is that necessarily bad? I say, we better be in control rather than depend on randomness or an angry god. It is like inflation or exchange rates now. If you know it is going to be ex-why-zee by 2010, you'll be prepared. Ready and hedged. If they change like Nehra's fitness levels you have a problem. Same here.
This debate on global warming may be futile or we may all be making huge irreversible blunders that will kill all of us someday. We may never know.
Go figure that out!Labels: global warming |
| posted by VinChi @
6:51 AM
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