SDRAM
AGP Video Card
These are from a pal - check out and let me know if you're interested.
Free Geek Giveaways!
400kms up!
Got past the 400km (of cycling on the Merida) mark last evening. here's the reading after this morning's ride to work:
Some other random pics of the bike:
Bharath makes cars go at 180kmpl!
http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/aug/07sl1.htm
Bharat - one of Shubha's cousins - was involved in the above project. He's been pretty passionate about it - and good to see the young team manage both the tech and the PR this well. I'm hoping they are able to impact the auto scene in India building upon ideas demonstrated here - all thats needed is some faith and a free hand given by the suits at the auto companies. Or maybe there's value in striking out on their own - creating a consulting and maybe a components startup that helps multiple automakers achieve better efficiencies.
Alien Alert - Holy Cow!
C`est La Vie: BREAKING NEWS indeed!!!
Holy Cow - and broken news :)
Now we know why milk's more expensive....
Commute Data for Bangalore
Am trying to gather commuting data for Bangalore. The idea is to see whats happening, and whats possible. Of course, will pass this on to those promoting cycling, and hope to see a lot more pedallers on the roads :)
Will keep this open till there's enough data and then publish it here.
Please take this survey and pass it on to colleagues/friends.
Survey : Commuting in Bangalore
Update:
- 66 responses so far.
- 51.5% ppl commute < 15kms to work
- 56% take the car(25.8%)/2 wheeler. And this survey first went out to a cyclists' (15.2%) list
- 71% people have divided roads - Bangalore sure has improved. A mere 10.6% have unpaved surfaces enroute.
- 30.3% folks go at 8-9am, another 30.3% at 9-10am
- 77% people leave bet 5-8pm. Shows on the roads
- Average Speeds: 37.9% <>
- 30.8% ppl encounter a jam once a day, 29.2% find multiple jams everyday
- 65%+ folks do groceries within a km! Thats nice. Walk ? Drive ?
- 39.4% exercise rarely, another 24.4% only "sometimes"
This is weird : SIMI ban lifted
SIMI is now an officially acceptable organization.
Given how many blast related articles this org's name has appeared in - this is extremely weird. Perhaps they were just following the law literally - as they should - or maybe the govt decided they'd be easier to track if they are official, and record whatever they do (they hardly fizzled out just because of the ban). But even so - almost sounds like an endorsement. While I'm loathe to tie community specific org's to specific activities, SIMI is highly suspect and this does not sound right.
Edit: On the other hand, there is a silver lining, however disconnected to the main story. It does show that the executive cannot influence the judiciary directly, and that can only be a confirmation for our democratic health. Not to imply that I agree with the judgment itself, but this aspect's certainly positive.
Given how many blast related articles this org's name has appeared in - this is extremely weird. Perhaps they were just following the law literally - as they should - or maybe the govt decided they'd be easier to track if they are official, and record whatever they do (they hardly fizzled out just because of the ban). But even so - almost sounds like an endorsement. While I'm loathe to tie community specific org's to specific activities, SIMI is highly suspect and this does not sound right.
Edit: On the other hand, there is a silver lining, however disconnected to the main story. It does show that the executive cannot influence the judiciary directly, and that can only be a confirmation for our democratic health. Not to imply that I agree with the judgment itself, but this aspect's certainly positive.
Akshat's first bike trail
This was organized by some really enthu bikers from bangalore-bikers@googlegroups.com. 12+kms x 4 laps was the full race - and I thought it would be both inspiring and fun for Akshat to see a bunch of riders and a real trail.
Perfect weather, and Akshat managed to get up in the nick of time. We filled up on fluids, chocolates and were off. Took him through the bigger roads rather nervously - he has not yet figured out directional control that well - and made it to the starting point ok - about 2.5 kms from home. Over the next half hour over 25 people joined, and Akshat was easily the youngest of the lot!
Ravi and gang had been working hard, recce'ing the trail and marking it in detail for the rest of us - and there were arrangements for a toolkit, snacks and I even got a spare helmet. We started off around 9 - and everyone pretty much dissapeared within minutes while I kept pace with Akshat to get him comfortable riding given the new bike and new terrain. we soon hit a major stretch of slush, which he found extremely tough to negotiate - and perseverance on his part and some motivational effort on mine saw him not only carry on, but with a firm resolve to just ride through any slush he encountered later!
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Akshat completed a full lap - a little over 12kms - and was not too tired at the end. I did another lap by myself - a lot quicker - and then headed home. Total ride for the day - 30kms for me and 17 for Akshat - not bad for a first attempt :)
A great way to spend a Sunday morning. Most importantly, Akshat proved to be a way better rider and showed much better stamina than I'd expected.
Edit: Some trail pix courtesy Pradeep.
A great way to spend a Sunday morning. Most importantly, Akshat proved to be a way better rider and showed much better stamina than I'd expected.
Edit: Some trail pix courtesy Pradeep.
Free Stuff ?
Started yet another blog - to connect people who want to get rid of stuff, to people who want to help them get rid of it.
http://givefree.blogspot.com/
This is part social experiment, part curiosity, part a need waiting for a solution. Also, want to see whether the spirit of giving has any virality built into it.
The Li'lfox Demon
Got Akshat one of those over the weekend. He's totally thrilled, and its a proper bike. hope to go on rides with him now that his knees won't bend all the time. Gotta teach him how to use brakes, first...
Oh yeah, the blasts
Bangalore got away relatively unharmed, and not too perturbed. Its the Ahmedabad folks who had it really bad. Sad. Confounding.
We're a very weird species.
We're a very weird species.
Paper, Plastic, Cups
A lot of offices use paper cups. Lots of paper cups. For water, tea, etc. Sometimes even plastic ones. A discussion on one of the yahoo groups I'm a part of brought out this. Apparently, one floor uses 4000+ paper cups in month!
A simple and effective way out - gift each employee a basic ceramic mug or even a pseud looking stell one when they join - and a hip looking bottle they can refill for water. Saves infinite plastic/paper. [Increases the amount of water a person drinks too and thats usually healthy.]
Styrofoam is even worse - its got similar problems as plastics, and more so from a health pov.
Finally, nothing quite beats "wash and reuse". Especially so for personal mugs/cups which don't really need as much water or detergent as shared ones, especially for mere swigs of water.
Reuse. Not Recycle. Wherever possible.
A simple and effective way out - gift each employee a basic ceramic mug or even a pseud looking stell one when they join - and a hip looking bottle they can refill for water. Saves infinite plastic/paper. [Increases the amount of water a person drinks too and thats usually healthy.]
Styrofoam is even worse - its got similar problems as plastics, and more so from a health pov.
Finally, nothing quite beats "wash and reuse". Especially so for personal mugs/cups which don't really need as much water or detergent as shared ones, especially for mere swigs of water.
Reuse. Not Recycle. Wherever possible.
Bike and save - a lot of things
Pledge some miles:
You'll save:
- Your health
- fuel
- money
- pollution
- traffic stress/chaos
- and, in the inner cities, time!
Hat tip: BOTS
Kungfu Panda - wonderful movie
Watched this with Akshat on Sat - a delightful, well made movie. A trifle complex for younger kids, but they sort it out towards the end and love the action anyways.
Best part - Innovative was nearly empty - got tickets 10 mins before the show. And even better - they had kept an extra cushion on EVERY seat - keeping in mind the audience. Very very impressive!
Best part - Innovative was nearly empty - got tickets 10 mins before the show. And even better - they had kept an extra cushion on EVERY seat - keeping in mind the audience. Very very impressive!
No Parking!
No Parking for cycles!
On the one hand there's a certain population trying to make cycling "acceptable" again, thus presenting a very viable alternative to the traffic and pollution issues we've come to expect as de facto, and otoh there's short sighted "rules" preventing usage of this amazing means of transport.
C'mon business owners - if each of you dedicates a lot of 3-5 bikes each you'll help kick-start a revolution. The malls can surely do this much, and more. In fact the city should too - GWiz's get free parking and zero congestion tax in London, surely bikers here deserve that much.
On the one hand there's a certain population trying to make cycling "acceptable" again, thus presenting a very viable alternative to the traffic and pollution issues we've come to expect as de facto, and otoh there's short sighted "rules" preventing usage of this amazing means of transport.
C'mon business owners - if each of you dedicates a lot of 3-5 bikes each you'll help kick-start a revolution. The malls can surely do this much, and more. In fact the city should too - GWiz's get free parking and zero congestion tax in London, surely bikers here deserve that much.
Another Brick in The Wall
A little overdone, but gets a very useful message across.
Change to CFLs, put that brick in the cistern, and remember to switch off.
BIAS Routes Info
The Vayu Vajra/BIAS route info can now be found on the phone browser on http://zook.in or by sending an SMS query to 57575665. Queries could be "late night jayanagar bias" or "koramangala afternoon bus to bial", etc. The SMS interface is still being tweaked, but I hope its helpful in more people finding out more about the BIAS service, and taking them more often.
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