an instrument of change

hello on 18th Dec, 2012! i hope u r happy :)

somewhere was an old draft lying in my posts... i'm used to being attached with old things, and just wanted to post this really old one

loads of things done in 2009 end... including last NASA. been gr8 to escape from the freezing cold here. .... and most everywhere els// whats best about new year is that i'm a lil happy. fine, scored only 2nd highest this time and health has been poor [partly due to that extra wisdom tooth growing]. was gr8 to spend time wid family.

coming to movies... they hav served us well, some of them... like 3 idiots... borrowed concept, but the leh scientist idea was cool! its overwhelming how they project youth as happy go lucky, yet headstrong for the right things... has been modified well for the audience, giving it a filmy touch wid oft-repeated dialogues of 'filminess' in the movie itself! at the same time, its good to see the casual students taking friendship seriously and how they help each other in critical times. and i must remark here, aamir khan has really come of age now, as a quality movie maker, acting as an instrument of change. be it lagaan, TZP or 3idiots... he has really proved his mettle... its rightly said that good art (social art like movies) can channeliz the crowd mentality to newer ideas... give us reasons to laugh at and causes to cry for... or die for! witty inputs and pithy remarks woven well into the fabric of serious

importance of sports?

"As a student, I liked to play soccer and basketball, and I also enjoyed trying out the various disciplines within track and field. My focus became long distance running, but I competed occasionally in pole-vaulting. There was a year when I ran five times a week, but my talent was limited; I was occasionally well placed at town-wide events, but never in regional competitions. Still, I have maintained a passion for endurance sports until the present day. When I was around thirty, I met my own personal challenge and finished a few marathons under three hours, and I have completed many long bicycle tours."
We're not talking about Lance Armstrong here... of course, not a pole-vault champion either.
Surprising burst of sports talent from the Nobel Laureate in Physics, Dr. Wolfgang Ketterle, an alumnus of TU-Munich.
i'm totally smitten by the ability of people in Germany to be so gifted in the sciences, yet maintaining passion for living a balanced healthy life through sports and weekend activities!

Enlightening excerpts from an article on Germany

Source: http://www.germancross.com/PolArt/German%20Contributions.htm

DISCLAIMER: this article has been referred only for information on German inventions. Other opinions expressed are solely those of the original author.
1) In the USA we have incessant TV commercials portraying the ubiquitous Italian 'Mama Mia', ever present with her pasta and her 'secret' sauce, not to forget her wonderful family, smiling and incessantly singing 'O sole mio'. There are innumerable Italian restaurants (with illegal Mexican cooks), all serving the same tired version of the same dish, but with their 'own'secret sauce!' The truth is, the 'secret' sauce is scooped right out of a can of Mexican tomato paste which has been improved with ketchup, an invention by German immigrant Heinz, of 'Heinz 57 Varieties' fame. Can you imagine American cooking without Heinz ketchup? Did you know that your "Hot Dog" comes from Germany? Did you know that your "Hamburger" comes from Germany? Did you know that your all-American "Apple Pie" comes from Germany? Did you know that your beer brewing industry was founded exclusively by Germans? Miller, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Strohs, Hamms, Budweiser, Henry Weinhardt's, Coors, Michelob, Lowenbrau, you name it - all German in origin. The beer brewing industry in Nicaragua is purely German, as is the one in Chile. The best Mexican beer, 'Bohemia' is German lager and the best beer in New Zealand 'Steinlager' is as German as a Porsche. interesting indeed! of course, many of us are aware of these, but it was pretty exciting to find all the information at one place. http://www.eupedia.com/forum/showthread.php?16867-Greatest-German-contributions-to-the-world Another link which includes a poll on what people consider the greatest contributions from Germany... Cars and Music lead indisputably, followed closely by philosophy, engines and beer! and for a long time, i took it for granted that one of the greatest fashion designers of all time, Karl Lagerfeld, was French... but no, he was born in Germany, and is a German national till date! Did you know that Ocar Meyer of meat-packing fame, was German? The finest meat-packing companies in South America are those from the South of Chile, purely of German origin, going back 150 years! Did you know that the greatest American car ever built, the mighty Duesenberg was designed & built by a German? Did you know that the popular sport of bowling has its origins in Germany? Did you know that the most famous piano industries worldwide are of German origin? : Steinweg, Steinway (the German Steinweg in English speaking countries), Knabe, Sohmer, Wurlitzer, Bluethner, Boesendorfer (Austrian), Bechstein, Schimmel, Schiedmeyer, Forster and the list is literally endless. Did you know that the accordeon is a German invention of 1821. It was invented by a German instrument maker as a piano-replacement which could be taken along on long voyages aboard sail-powered ships. Can anyone imagine French, Italian or Mexican folk music without an accordeon? Did you know that the automobile was invented by what later became Mercedes Benz, a German company? Did you know that we Germans are the nation who fathered Professor Ferdinand Porsche? Did you know that the X-Ray, without which modern medicine would be but a dream, was invented by Herr W. K. Roentgen, a German physicist who was a university drop-out? Did you know that the finest optical industries were (are) German? That the entire Japanese optical industry, cameras and all, are based on German patents, some of which go back 100 years? That to this day, Zeiss Ikon are the standard by which all cameras and lenses are judged? Did you know that the motorcycle is a German invention of 1885?
a lot of times we overlook the origin of many modern-day inventions. once in a blue moon, when we do a background check, its quite a delight to find so many discoveries associated with people of one country!

Freiburg. not just a city.

i went to Rolf Disch's house in Freiburg a few days ago... a famous Solar Architect. responsible for Vauban, and also the Heliotrope, where he lives. the building which rotates with the sun. the weather was awful so cudnt see all the external features. and its the world's first positive-energy building!! also met this educationist-researcher in Vauban who's been to India 73 times n was writing a book on "Status of Elementary Education in India". apart from not being able to defend this topic at large, i was grilled with questions like why there are no places like Vauban in India. why, when India is emerging as a leader in technology, Solar energy can't be made cheaper. Why there is so much lack of awareness in Indian villages, when on the contrary, most of them can be turned into sustainable communities. and Auroville is majorly "European", so Indians, according to most people in other countries shudnt claim pride over its mere existence! there are a lot of things i saw there. quite a revolutionary place, majorly, its pure common sense i felt. its funny how an "organic" breakfast of local delicacies could just make me wonder what i have been doing all my life, and what i must be doing for the world. i have not been able to collect even 4 hours of proper sleep per day after getting back. so many questions churning inside my head. very few answers. but its just the beginning and a lot can still be done.

don't think like me.

"please don't think like me". i believe my thoughts are unique, and that i almost own a copyright over them. i know eccentric is not cool. but may be i can't help being that. and i'm not trying to think like you do, for i respect the uniqueness of your thoughts. so please do not try to think like me, like i try not to think like anyone else.
so do think like me, or anyone else you want to think like? because at the end, not doing so is very much thinking like me, as i dont think like anyone else, and so won't you!?!?

2:40 am Thoughts...

why am i never really a part of the action? well, it could be the same reason as to why i am an Architect. giving one's dedication to design and create the best of the spaces, for others (users) to experience and enjoy! only a small sacrifice is not being part of the action. a greater contentment is in setting the perfect stage for the action to take place!

In-different Observation # 5

things like sugar, salt, oil, etc... all that you need for long term use are mostly cheaper. they last long anyway, in packets of 500g to 20 kgs! but good stuff that gets consumed so fast, usually costs more, and you gotta buy 'em more often coz it finishes so fast... quite ironical, no? :)

In-different Observation # 4

watching most people around me trying so much to be very "different" that somehow all of them have become "same" in trying so much to be very different.

In-different Observation # 3

witnessing the times when it is most easy to be well-informed, yet, be most vulnerable to widespread incorrect information.

In-different Observation # 2

need to check the facts as to why... but without any background knowledge or "research" into the field... i'd like to know WHY eatables marked "Bio", which are supposedly grown organically, without fertilizers, et al, are MORE Expensive than regular food in the market? i mean, if everything required to produce is freely available in nature (come on, there are many efficient ways to irrigate plants!), why do we need to pay more for the same damn thing?! ah, staying "healthy" is a costly affair...

In-different Observation # 1

its great to have things automated and mechanized so i can spend less time on "machines", in order to enjoy more time without them :)