Sayan's BlogWorld » social http://sayanc.net/blog highlighting the future's bizzare as it transforms into the present's mundane Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:16:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 Change of guards and a return to the old http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/05/14/change-of-guards-and-a-return-to-the-old/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/05/14/change-of-guards-and-a-return-to-the-old/#comments Sun, 15 May 2011 01:32:45 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=1121 Lee Kwan Yew the architect of modern Singapore announced his retirement after holding top positions since 1959.

The longest lived democratically elected Communist government lost elections after 34 years of being in power in West Bengal, India.

The legacy of these long lived popularly elected governments could not be more different ! West Bengal went from one of the most progressive and economically strong states in India to one of the worst performing states in spite of being blessed with enormous natural & human resources. Singapore on the other hand went from being a tiny island nation with no resources and a difficult initial history to one of the most prosperous countries in the world.

One of the best music bands of all time (I spent countless hours listening) Pink Floyd reunites after ages !

Add in all the revolutions in mid-East and North Africa and 2011 is shaping up to be an interesting year :)

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/05/14/change-of-guards-and-a-return-to-the-old/feed/ 0 Steve Woz on our closed source education system http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/05/14/steve-woz-on-our-closed-source-education-system/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/05/14/steve-woz-on-our-closed-source-education-system/#comments Sat, 14 May 2011 17:33:12 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=1113 A very succinct message from Steve Woz on how our education system(s) kills creativity in its quest for a one size fits all approach to education…

This is so true all over the world… the waste of human potential is the greatest waste

Via EEtimes and DangerousPrototypes

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/05/14/steve-woz-on-our-closed-source-education-system/feed/ 0 How do some kids go to school? Remarkable and humbling story of human endurance and the will to get an education http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/04/30/how-do-some-kids-go-to-school-remarkable-and-humbling-story-of-human-endurance-and-the-will-to-get-an-education/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/04/30/how-do-some-kids-go-to-school-remarkable-and-humbling-story-of-human-endurance-and-the-will-to-get-an-education/#comments Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:28:39 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=1101

If you live in the Zanskar valley, India it is a 5 day walk along one of the highest rivers, through some of the highest mountains, some of the coldest places on Earth.

 

Just saw this heart-stopping trip in ‘Human Planet’ on TV.


Human Planet- Zanskar River by BBCfanable

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhzfi8_human-planet-zanskar-river_shortfilms

 

This is the first someone has successfully filmed the journey that families have to undertake every year.

More here:

http://www.humanplanetblog.com/?p=1080

This one is a must read !

http://timothyallen.blogs.bbcearth.com/2010/02/26/the-school-run/

Going to school in Ladakh, India

Going to school in Ladakh, India

On a side note I learned that ice sheets on frozen rivers / lakes is called ‘chaddar’ in Zanskari. In Hindi ‘chaddar’ means ‘sheet’ more like bedspread never knew that it also means ice sheet

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/04/30/how-do-some-kids-go-to-school-remarkable-and-humbling-story-of-human-endurance-and-the-will-to-get-an-education/feed/ 0 Participatory Budgeting Is Music To Medellin’s Poor http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/04/23/participatory-budgeting-is-music-to-medellins-poor/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/04/23/participatory-budgeting-is-music-to-medellins-poor/#comments Sat, 23 Apr 2011 13:49:01 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=1099 http://n.pr/eUdoaj

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2011/04/23/participatory-budgeting-is-music-to-medellins-poor/feed/ 0 The economic value of nature http://sayanc.net/blog/2010/10/20/the-economic-value-of-nature/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2010/10/20/the-economic-value-of-nature/#comments Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:52:15 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=984 Governments are finally waking up to the economic value of nature… but is it too late?
Check out this BBC article titled India and Brazil head move to ‘green’ economic future . Dr. David Suzuki has spoken about this extensively earlier

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2010/10/20/the-economic-value-of-nature/feed/ 0 Leave it as it is… http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/10/02/leave_it_as_it_i/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/10/02/leave_it_as_it_i/#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:19:13 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=974 Leave it as it is. You cannot improve it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it….

President Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt commenting on seeing the Grand Canyon

Read more about the US National Parks and President Teddy Roosevelt at http://www.nps.gov and  http://blogs.nashualibrary.org/reference/2009/09/leave_it_as_it_is_1.html

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/10/02/leave_it_as_it_i/feed/ 0 India vs. USA: A visual comparison http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/09/27/india-vs-usa-a-visual-comparison/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/09/27/india-vs-usa-a-visual-comparison/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:38:10 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=972 Mint.com (now owned by Intuit) has put an interesting set of easy to understand visual comparisons of India vs. USA. Here are the charts / graphs

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/09/27/india-vs-usa-a-visual-comparison/feed/ 0 TED goes to India http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/09/27/ted-goes-to-india/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/09/27/ted-goes-to-india/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:56:05 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=968 Just found out that TED is organizing a TED India conference (November 4-7, 2009) in Mysore at the Infosys campus. Check it out here

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/09/27/ted-goes-to-india/feed/ 0 TED | Michael Pritchard’s water filter turns filthy water drinkable http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/08/09/ted-michael-pritchards-water-filter-turns-filthy-water-drinkable/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/08/09/ted-michael-pritchards-water-filter-turns-filthy-water-drinkable/#comments Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:59:13 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=966 Turn any water into drinking water… $20 billion can provide safe drinking water for the entire world… this would an ideal stimulus plan…. healthier people can improve their own lives and contribute to their and society’s development

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/08/09/ted-michael-pritchards-water-filter-turns-filthy-water-drinkable/feed/ 0 Happy Birthday! The Gasoline-Electric Hybrid Car is 100 Years Old http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/03/04/happy-birthday-the-gasoline-electric-hybrid-car-is-100-years-old/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/03/04/happy-birthday-the-gasoline-electric-hybrid-car-is-100-years-old/#comments Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:16:03 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=957 Treehugger has a great article on the hybrid car technology turning 100. Actually about a 100 years ago there were more electric or hybrid cars than pure gasoline / petrol driven cars.

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/03/04/happy-birthday-the-gasoline-electric-hybrid-car-is-100-years-old/feed/ 2 Forward Osmosis- revoluntionary water treatment? http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/02/05/forward-osmosis-revoluntionary-water-treatment/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/02/05/forward-osmosis-revoluntionary-water-treatment/#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:23:07 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=952 Cleantechnica has a post on Forward Osmosis. It is better explained here. The authors description in a gist:

…conventional desalination and reuse technologies use substantial energy. “forward osmosis,” exploits the natural diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane. Their process “draws” pure water from its contaminants to a solution of concentrated salts, which can easily be removed with low heat treatment — effectively desalinating or removing contaminants from water with little energy input.

The concentrated salt solution is probably a mixture of ammonia and/or carbon dioxide dissolved in water. The ammonia and CO2 are later easily boiled off and reused. The energy required for this quite less even low-cost solar heaters may be sufficient.

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/02/05/forward-osmosis-revoluntionary-water-treatment/feed/ 1 Fighting hunger with flood-tolerant rice http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/31/fighting-hunger-with-flood-tolerant-rice/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/31/fighting-hunger-with-flood-tolerant-rice/#comments Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:35:05 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=948 CNN reports that scientists after over 10 years of research have successfully developed a new strain of flood-tolerant rice through precision breeding. Read the article to know more about the inspiring work being done to positively impact the lives of hundreds of millions.

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/31/fighting-hunger-with-flood-tolerant-rice/feed/ 0 How bad is the ‘bad’? The Economy According To Mint http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/30/how-bad-is-the-bad-the-economy-according-to-mint/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/30/how-bad-is-the-bad-the-economy-according-to-mint/#comments Sat, 31 Jan 2009 03:52:08 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=941 Aaron Patzer (CEO and founder of Mint.com) has posted an article titled The Economy According To Mint on Techcrunch. This is probably one of the best real looks at the real economy. Mint.com is a personal finance site used by close to 1 million US consumers to keep track of their spending. Mint’s data is a snapshot of the consumer economy.
From the article:

Consumers are hurting, but if Mint’s data is indicative of the economy as a whole, it is not as bad as you might think….(mint.com customers) are spending $400 less each month than they were a year ago, have burned through half of their savings, and on average have taken on an additional $5k in debt.

Fortunately credit card debt has not gone up substantially yet but we may still need to watch out for a credit card crisis as job losses continue. On the other hand, a robust spending by the government could replace consumer demand by government demand and in turn put people into work and money into their pockets. Theoretically, this sounds good, but only time can tell if it is possible practically.

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/30/how-bad-is-the-bad-the-economy-according-to-mint/feed/ 0 Durable $5000 Home Made from Recycled Paper http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/23/durable-5000-home-made-from-recycled-paper/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/23/durable-5000-home-made-from-recycled-paper/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:21:26 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=932 Local communities can probably leverage ideas like these to implement open-source design democratized green urban housing. BTW, how can you make a paper house fireproof? I understand that by using resin / coatings you make it waterproof but how it be made fireproof like bricks and not just fire-resistant?

Your thoughts / comments are welcome. Here is the link to the recycled paper house.

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/23/durable-5000-home-made-from-recycled-paper/feed/ 0 Help Gaurav http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/22/help-gaurav/ http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/22/help-gaurav/#comments Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:12:47 +0000 Sayan http://sayanc.net/blog/?p=930 Vaibhav sent me this today, please donate any amount however small

Thanks,

Sayan

www.helpgaurav.com/

Gaurav Tandon is a 34 year old professional working with Datacraft Asia (a private IT firm) in Mumbai, India. His small family comprises wife, a 6 year old son. He has two elder sisters both are happily married and a brother who is serving as Captain in the Indian Army.

Gaurav was detected with AML (a type of Blood Cancer) in November 2008. He has responded well to chemotherapy, but must get a Bone Marrow Transplant as the only possibility for a cure. Unfortunately the HLA typing test of his siblings is negative. Doctors have therefore strongly recommemded a Non-Related Allogenic transplant. Since such transplantations are rarely performed in India, there is a high chance that we have to take him to places like Singapore, UK or the USA.

The estimated cost of the treatment in Singapore and UK is around 1.5 Crore Indian Rupees (around US$ 333,000), whereas in the US is around of 2 Crore Indian Rupees (around US$ 444,000).

In order to meet the steep cost of the said operation, Gaurav and his family have decided to sell their solitary flat at Thakur Village Complex, Kandivili, Mumbai. However, this is not going to be enough, since the amount required for the treatment is huge and time is less.

Let us all come together to help Gaurav. Together we can reach out to our communities and remind them that we – members of Gaurav’s family, community and country have a responsibility to help. Let us all remember that Gaurav is also a son, a brother, a father and a husband. We should all see ourselves in Gaurav and realize that he deserves the same support we would wish for member of our own family or even ourselves.

www.helpgaurav.com/

]]> http://sayanc.net/blog/2009/01/22/help-gaurav/feed/ 1