Jabberwocky (?)....

Excellent reads..

2007-01-29T20:50:00.001-08:00

These are some books that I have read about a chapter or two, as e-books. Will try to issue them and read these sometime in full...truly excellent reads. Hope to try and update this list..

In descending order of books read, starting with the latest:

5. The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb

Summary: Three great runners across the globe. All vying to break the psychological 4-minute mile barrier in early 1950s. The book showcases the great sportsmanship and dedication of athletes of those times, and how they looked at sports as a source of pure joy and fulfillment rather than a hardcore professional job. Nice read.

4. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and Oliver Relin

Summary: In 1993 Greg Mortenson was the exhausted survivor of a failed attempt to ascend K2, an American climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan’s Karakoram Himalaya. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of an impoverished Pakistani village, Mortenson promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time—Greg Mortenson’s one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban. (source: booksamillion.com)

3. Pandora's Baby by Robin Marantz

Summary: In Pandora's Baby, the award-winning journalist Robin Marantz Henig tells the story of that confrontation, which ushered in a new era in reproductive technology. She takes us back to the early days of IVF, when the procedure was viewed as crackpot science and its pioneers as outsiders in the medical world. Henig lays out the ethical and political battlefield of the 1970s -- a battlefield that is recreated with each new technology -- and traces the sea change that has occurred in the public perception of "test tube babies." It is a human story, of men and women grappling with the moral implications of a scientific discovery: researchers, couples yearning for babies, hospital administrators, and bioethicists. (source: booksamillion.com)

2. The Radioactive Boy Scout by Ken Silverstein

Summary: In this page-turning biography, Silverstein explores one Boy Scout's out-of-control love affair with science and his astonishing attempt to build a nuclear reactor in his backyard. High school older. (source: booksamillion.com)

1. Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky

Summary: Drawing on newly available papers of Jonas Salk, Albert Sabin, and other key players, Oshinsky paints a remarkable portrait of America in the early 1950s, using the widespread panic over polio to shed light on national obsessions and fears. (source: booksamillion.com)

Nashville needs sustainment..

2007-01-28T09:01:00.001-08:00

Here's a recent sustainability ranking/study of 50 major US cities across the country and Nashville comes in at #42 - still a long way to go, but here's hoping we can do it..

A Nashville Start-up

2007-01-26T19:29:00.000-08:00

Well, the plunge has been taken, in the form of a decision on a whim.

Let's see how it goes..

Here's to a better and peaceful world..

Green Awards

2006-09-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

The Tour de Sol is, according to the website, "America’s Green Car Show and Competition "Driving Toward Zero Carbon Emissions". Thus 2006 Tour de Sol held in May '06, had some interesting entries. It is particularly interesting to see the "speciality" of each entry.. http://www.nesea.org/transportation/tour/2006Results.php

The Millenium Technology Prize instituted by Finland encourages those that use technology to help develop quality of human life and help spreading sustainability. This year's Prize has been awarded to Prof. Shuji Nakamura for inventing environmentally friendly sources of light. http://www.millenniumprize.fi/index.php?m=1&news=1&news_id=35
This includes inventions of blue, green and white LEDs and the blue laser diode. I have always wondered where the new, blue light on my DVD recorder came from - now I know!

We won't forget you..

2006-09-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

I guess you just cannot have enough examples of how extremely spontaneous life is - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5311298.stm
For all of Steve's adventures, giving joy as well as educating people aound the world, I am unable to overcome the shock of his way of departure..
We'll miss you Steve. I'm sure your legend would inspire many others to continue what you have been doing all along.

A (sad but) Necessary Reality Check..

2006-08-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

This program aired on PBS today, but unfortunately, didn't get to see it.
http://www.pbs.org/previews/closerwalk/

This was a recently released list by Greenpeace - should I be happy that I have a Dell??
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/green-electronics-guide-ewaste250806
Probably some solutions - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/5305344.stm

California Summer

2006-07-23T22:34:00.000-07:00

Mark Twain once said, "Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well". I kinda think I believe that, at least on blogosphere, not that being a big fan of his helps any ;)!!
Its been forever since I arrived here. I have been in California for the past month and a half now and its ever so slowly growing up on me . For the most part, I really like it here. I say most, since for the past 10 days, the heat has been scorching, literally. People have died, power has been out and annoyance is in. The dream weather of the Bay Area has gone out for a temporary dip in the Bay I guess....And speaking of annoyance, couldn't get to watch one freaking second live of any of the games of the soccer World Cup '06 :( Apart from thanks to Vindy, who recorded some of the finer games on DVD for me, this tournament was but a blur...:(
So far, I have seen been to Berekely, Modesto, Salinas and Monterey apart from the local Bay Area towns here. Monterey is beautiful, with great history and nice beaches with cold water. Berkeley has its own charm and I hope to visit it again sometime..Modesto is a trip into the countryside with big wine and coffee plantations.
I visited Jacksonville, FL, for a conference last week and had a lot of fun. Met up with college friends and other people whom I had not seen for a long time. Can't believe 4 days went off so fast..
Work's keeping me real busy, and is not allowing me to devote too much time to outdoors, which sucks. Am not keeping up with my running as I would have liked and that sucks even more. Right now, the heat's just too much to bear...
Have met up with some interesting people here. A couple of amazing blind ladies who go about doing their daily chores as if they were fully sighted. Their chirpy nature and amazing attitude towards life is truly an inspiration to me. Then there's Jennifer who has been working with incarcerated individuals for the past 25 yrs!! In the place where I work, there are apparently amateur bands that play in bars on Fridays and weekends..Went to one of them a couple of weeks ago and it was fun to see engineering geeks do something refreshing apart from designing circuits and devices...
Have to get my bike fixed...can't do it myself since there's a problem with the gear shaft, which means more money spent on gas and pollution...Surprisingly, shops here close by 6 or 7 latest, in the evening, which means I can't get it done on weekdays...
Somehow, I feel like I end up doing something that I hate - "run" after time. Also, wish I had two more hands and feet for multitasking.
Can't think of anything else to write right now. Life is just too busy. I like it that way, since it takes off your mind off so much clutter..
Have fun, in the sun, this summer...

-v

Last Summer Days in Nashville....

2006-05-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well, as expected, I failed in updating my own blogs on a daily basis.
It turns out that I am gonna be interning in California for 3 months starting from the second week of June - looking forward to it since have never been to the west coast before and also, a good opportunity to further my intellectual pursuits...
Went to Kentucky Six Flags with my li'l brother and had a blast! Thoroughly enjoyed my first experience though it is kinda embarassing when you figure out that you are actually more of a kid than your li'l brother...!!
Work just keeps on growing...but..who's complaining???
Today's Memorial Day, so a relaxing holiday, plus The Champ won. So a good start to the week, which seems to be quite a busy one..

First Times....

2006-05-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

Alright - so I have been bitten by the blog bug - have never done this before, so here goes..It's close to midnight on May 24, 2006 and I am writing my first blog..
Honestly, I don't know what I'll put in here - life's not that fascinating to report stuff on a daily basis..but hey, no one forced me at gunpoint to do this, so I'll give it a shot I guess.
Been busy with grad school work, hoping to wrap some things soon so that, well, I'll have more stuff to do after that!
Haven't been in touch with my li'l brother often enough, so have to work on that.
Have got a new e-buddy, since school-time's over for the former one...am looking forward to it.

That's it for now. Let's see how soon I update this.