If you've been reading the news http://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi/indoor-air-pollution-kills-a-million-people-every-year-in-india/story-c5PMwIjBiTLeqSnkxIoysJ.html, you would know that indoor air pollution is a big killer in India. You would assume that most of these 15+ lakh annual victims of indoor air pollution would be rural women who cook on traditional wood or dung-cake stoves.
Well, think again. If you cook parathas at home on a modern gas stove, with a state of the art chimney exhausting air, you can still achieve PM2.5 levels in excess of 600, and PM10 levels in excess of 1100. Those figures are seriously off the charts - more than 10 times the maximum permissible limits, even by Indian standards.
So what can you do? Well, keep exhausting till long after you're done cooking. This will throw your particulate matter outside, and pull the hazardous Delhi air in. Or you could run your air purifiers at full blast, and choke them to death in a single day.
Anyway, if you live outside polluted cities, do exhaust for a long time after shallow or deep frying. The fried food you eat can kill you in more than one way.
Indoor PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels in Gurgaon tonight are at 360 and 425 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively. See how these translate to AQI figures (the pollution figures that newspapers report) here: http://aqicn.org/calculator
The attached graphs shows how an off-the-shelf purified can clean up this air in a matter of one hour. Detailed information on this (still running) experiment is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FkrLQ_Ma8v3T39tOmTS96ub7AGFbzFDhggde0hEpilo/pubhtml
Any way you look at it, this data is scary!
Ya ha ha ha. 2015, you did not disappoint. Thank you for all the travel and learning. I wonder what 2016 holds for me?
Bird brains
Losing, not loosing. How many times must I tell people?
Gaurav Arora, आपसे inspire होकर आज कुछ original लिखा है।
इतना न LOLइये कि RoFLइया जाएँ
एक और
आज ROFL जाएँ तो हमें न उठइयो
Now bring on the brickbats and hate mail.
Lessons in humility, building awesome things, and understanding user behaviour. A good read for anyone interested in technology, or the future.
What an honour for the entire AID India family.
Finally a sensible response to the social media lynch mob.
Travel. It brings you closer to the people and stories that matter. Away from the useless banter of mass media live the real people. With stunning lives.
Burn
Facebook, allow people to unsign the Free Basics petition! https://t.co/RXyZ2VGWkK
As @[100009027316392:2048:Dwiji] says, you can also directly go to the TRAI website and express your dislike for Free Basics. While Facebook is trying to automate the flooding of TRAI with hasty support messages from unsuspecting users, we can reverse the trend.
So, my first online petition since college I think, and it already has supporters. Nice. Please do share. We need to force Facebook into allowing people to unlike their stupid Free Basics scam.
Folks, if you have signed the Free Basics petition without actually understanding it, then that is precisely the reason we should not have Free Basics. While Free Basics comes "free of cost", it takes away the "freedom" of information. If one billion Indians only understood Facebook and its sister sites to be the Internet, if that was their only source of information, then they would all make mistakes similar to yours. Let information and media not be controlled by large corporations. Keep the Internet free. Sign this petition, which demands that Facebook allow you to unsign their petition.
https://www.change.org/p/facebook-india-free-basics-facebook-allow-people-to-unsign-the-free-basics-petition?recruiter=402637636&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink
Free Basics only deepens the digital divide, by giving Facebook thought control over a billion Indians.
Sheeple, stop signing the Facebook Internet.org appeal without understanding it. Net neutrality is too important and complex for you to be casual about it. You're not hitting the like button - you are writing to the government of India saying you support Facebook's idea of a crippled Internet for the masses.
Alright everyone, we've got to stop making fun of the Canadians. They clearly have hearts of gold...
"All 10 of Canada’s provincial premiers support taking in the refugees and members of the opposition, including the Conservative party, attended the welcoming late Thursday. Trudeau was also joined by the ministers of immigration, health and defense, as well as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Toronto Mayor John Tory."
"The headline on the front page Thursday’s Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper, read: “Welcome to Canada,” with the Arabic translation below: Ahlan wa sahlan. “Welcome.” "
“They step off the plane as refugees, but they walk out of this terminal as permanent residents of Canada with social insurance numbers, with health cards and with an opportunity to become full Canadians,” Trudeau said. “This is something that we are able to do in this country because we define a Canadian not by a skin color or a language or a religion or a background, but by a shared set of values, aspirations, hopes and dreams that not just Canadians but people around the world share.”
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/canadian-pm-justin-trudeau-welcomes-first-govt-plane-carrying-syrian-refugees/
Ah, the good old 90s. I would bike down to the British Library in Bhopal to ogle at advertisements in imported PC magazines.
http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads-1990s/3
This is beautiful. It exemplifies the purpose of human life - to make others happy. To spread joy. When others give you the opportunity to make you happy, they give you the opportunity to be happy ourselves. We must thank those who we can amuse.
You know you want to volunteer for AID India right now. You know you need to do this for yourself, not for the victims.
Volunteer for AID and get a free version upgrade to New and Improved You 2.0
अब तक नहीं किया तो अभी करो। AID को चंदा दो और पुण्य कमाओ। अगली बाढ़ का इंतज़ार किया तो बहुत वक्त निकल जाएगा।
aidindia.in/donate. Or just call me.
The author has so accurately captured both the dilemmas that I face as a parent bringing up children in the Delhi/NCR area. First, exposing my children to constant and life threatening pollution. Second, taking away from my children the most basic human right - freedom. The freedom to wander fearlessly in their own neighbourhood.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/opinion/sunday/holding-your-breath-in-india.html
One of my boys has struggled with his adenoids since early childhood. Today, while visiting a pediatrician, I casually enquired if adenoid enlargement and pollution are linked. "Of course", said the doctor. Then, almost secretively, he told me this - every single "doctor family" he knew, was looking to move out of Delhi/NCR as soon as they could. Many had already invested in homes in safer places.
Delhi's pollution levels are so mind bogglingly high... and so persistent is the pollution... that no study comes close to predicting its consequences. My children, the child I was accompanying, and all the other children in that doctor's clinic, were suffering from either pulmonary infections, adenoid enlargement, or cough and cold. Including myself. As soon as the winter set in, everyone around me seems to be going down with a cough.
It's a game of skittles, and we all must fall down.
I don't know why everyone keeps harping about the Chennai airport being closed or reopened, when it is the Railways that is actually hauling hundreds or maybe thousands of times more passengers. Look at all their hard work.
None of the railway stations are built on an actual flood plain, like the Chennai airport. Maybe that's because the railways employs actual engineers, who can do real engineering. That one of the Chennai airport landing strips crosses over the Adyar river is an inexcusable blunder. However, railway tracks must necessarily cross over water bodies. There is actual mechanical, electrical and electronic equipment along these tracks, unlike a landing strip which is, well, mostly just a flat strip of tarmac. Even so, all railways facilities were restored well before that godforsaken airport came back to life. Equipment submerged for days was made to work before the airport guys could dry a patch of road.
Why shouldn't we just hand over the Airports Authority of India to the Indian Railways? Shortly after independence, the railways achieved almost 100% indigenisation of every technology and input that goes into their operation. On the aeronautical front, forget commercial jets, we can't even seem to make strategic fighter jets ourselves. Or radars. Or even airport terminals. Rail technology is under 200 years old. Human flight has been around for over 100 years. We have been independent for close to 70 years. So it's not like rail technology is old and solved, and aircraft technology is new fangled and complex.
I should like to know, what kind of morons run the aviation business in this country? We have sarkari spaceports that operate with a greater success rate than the developed countries, and our airports are worse than intercity bus stands. And privatisation does not help - anyone who has suffered the torture of picking up a passenger from Delhi's fancy shmancy Terminal 3 will vouch for that.
Wonder if this research also explains why some people read self help books - rather than just getting off their asses and helping themselves and others.
If you reside in Delhi or care about good governance in India, please do watch this video. It also explains the odd-even days for cars. Delhi is definitely improving for the better.
Ignore all the political talk in this post. If you see someone in Delhi who needs to be in a shelter, do help them and educate them about this facility. Transport them yourself if you can, especially the old and infirm.
There is no greater joy than to be friends with your own children. For them to share with you and for you to share with them, the ups and downs of life.
Mandatory reading for all those working on AI, robotics and autonomous cars. Also, if you live in the Bay Area right now, you should just read this. Never know when you'll encounter a Google Car, do you?
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/the_three_laws_of_robotics.png
http://xkcd.com/1612/
I'm still on day 2. Call me and say nice things to me.
Please consider volunteering for AID India. Your life will change forever, for the better.
Chennai people, and those outside Chennai who can travel. Please go volunteer for AID India. I guarantee that it will be the best experience of your life. And you'll make friends for life.
How to survive a disaster:
1. Own an SUV with high ground clearance.
2. Keep hand-crank mobile chargers and portable water purifiers handy.
3. Live in Chennai.
Hello everyone, if you've been looking for a way to help those affected by the calamity in TN, especially the poorest of the poor, then please please donate in cash and kind to AID India. Right now the focus is on immediate relief, but very soon work on medium and long term rehabilitation will begin.
If your friends or colleagues would like to donate in a group, or your organisation would like to donate as part of their CSR activities, I can help facilitate receipts etc. I have been personally involved with AID India's relief efforts after the 2004 Tsunami, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, etc. I can vouch for the efficacy, honesty and long term involvement of AID in all the relief work it does.
If you have any questions at all, please do reach out to me and I will be happy to answer them. I am not posting my phone number here, because the Internet never forgets; if you are friends with me on Facebook then you can visit my profile page and pick it up from there.
So proud to be a Madrasi. This is for all those people who visit Chennai and say "the people are not welcoming" or "the city isn't fun". We are like this only!
And yet the developed world often finds it in itself to mock refugees and the poor.
This is a wonderful event. If in Bangalore while the festival is on, please do visit. Everything I bought from there last year turned out to be of the highest quality. Not to mention the joy of meeting the craftspeople and artists in person. The snacks don't disappoint either.
Since people didn't get my stupid joke the first time round, I am reposting.
DJs visiting Delhi are advised not to encourage audiences to lift their hands up. The resulting stench from exposed underarms is so bad, even in the winters, that people literally faint. Delhites are too macho to use deos, you see.
Barry I have failed. My eight year old asks me who Rahman is. The same eight year old who knows Bruno Mars and Eagles lyrics by heart.
Mark Ronson be like "everybody put your hands up".
Five people fainted.
#dontsweatdelhiswinters
nh7, we've finally caught up with you!
Tell me this wasn't about opposing women's right to self determination. Because fighting abortion by killing grown people would be so ironic, yet so American.
Retweeted عُمر (@OmarImranTweets):
Blaming all Muslims for the terrorists is like blaming all musicians for Justin Bieber.
@OmarImranTweets
"Y dnt u Muslims tell ISIS to stop"
Ok hold up *pulls out iphone*
"Yo ISIS habibi,its me plz stop"
ISIS:"ok habibi sorry,shisha tonight?"
https://twitter.com/OmarImranTweets/status/668458855366422529
Wonders of the ancient world. Surely more complex than anything I hope to achieve in life :|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism
This never gets old!
Wow! Someone actually explained to me why time dilation occurs... in under five minutes. Must watch for everyone!
This is very sad. It will probably make you cry. Nevertheless, we deserve to see this short video. This is the world we have made for our children. We are all responsible. Our apathy will go down in history.
Remember to stand up before pressing play. Even if you are on mute.
This is for you.
You know who you are, bevade.
More good news: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34744858
I hope we can follow through by first removing homeopathy from government hospitals, then stopping its "teaching", and eventually penalising the likes of Dr. Batra's for false advertising.
RIP Gene Amdahl. One of the few theoreticians who made any sense to me.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/13/technology/gene-amdahl-pioneer-of-mainframe-computing-dies-at-92.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amdahl%27s_law
For those of you who don't know, I have a Master's degree. I did a ridiculous amount of work for it, wrote quite a fat thesis, and saw Amdahl's law in practice.
बधाई हो बधाई! पहले बिहार अब बर्मा।
http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/nov/09/myanmar-elections-aung-san-suu-kyi-hints-at-victory
बधाई हो!
I was here less than an year ago. What a beautiful place. Wish I could take awesome snaps to capture the beauty of the Himalayas.
Indian startup scene! @[536163308:2048:Srinivas] on his way to being filthy rich, or famous, or notorious, or wherever his journey takes him :p
People, "lose" and "loose" are two completely different words. Know the difference when using them. For example, you do not "loose your phone"... you "lose your phone".
There be a zombie tonight in Gurgaon.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Who-changed-the-face-of-47-war/pmredirectshow/1200682.cms
My mother @[100001467904279:2048:Sadhna Jain] has a painting exhibition coming up in Delhi starting tomorrow. Do attend if you're in the Delhi/NCR region. It is a group exhibition with a number of eminent artists participating.
Buzz me if you're coming and I'll make sure I'm there when you drop by. Haven't met with a number of Delhi friends in a long time. This should be a good way to catch up.
