Our Cities

Was discussing traffic, housing and suchlike in the context of what hope our cities have going ahead of being better places to live and work in. It should not strike the fear of God in your heart to have to go meet someone at the other end of town. Or to just dress up and get to work every single day.

Then there's stuff like this, and water. And air. And the fears we've trapped ourselves in about our kids walking/cycling/busing around the city by themselves.

All those carelessly written words and notions in essays one wrote as a kid about "Technology : boon or bane" seem to have acquired a real, dangerous edge to them. We seem to have acquired a lot of ability, and gotten most our goals wrong.

Of course capitalism and the free market are god. But why do we destroy cities by forcing schools, and public utilities, and parks, and commercial real estate, compete for the same land ? Obviously a few of these either move out, or become unsustainable or too expensive. It sounds very communist, but the need to ensure that each micro-city - and keep them small for god's sake - has space allocated for people, the things they do, their schools, parks, lakes. And that each of this does not have to compete with multinational corporations or real estate interests with deep pockets.

We need to ensure with interact with, and understand well the cycles of, the producers - of food, of sources of water, of energy. Not merely sweep these connects under massive carpets of retail and services interfaces. We'll drive lesser, eat healthier, and do more meaningful stuff in life. It'll be more about the people in them, rather than about the cities themselves, or about their modes of transport etc. Cities need to impress and dazzle lesser, and accommodate and nurture more.

Our cities are killing themselves, and dragging us down with them.

Arrogant Money

A lot of the old world money is humble. It has worked hard for it. It is generous, large hearted.

A lot of the new money is arrogant, with a massive sense of entitlement. Its got it a little easier than it ever imagined, and needs to put on a display of inflated self worth. Its also more money minded and usually not big hearted. Its more suspicious of motives, others and believes in exclusivity and existing in islands.

Chennai, By Bike!

Nopes, I did not go cycling all 350 kms! But have stumbled upon a wonderful way of getting around when visiting different places for meetings, family trips or just plan going seeing them.

I needed to travel to Chennai for a short meeting yesterday. The plan was to catch an overnight Volvo, find a place to shower/change, wrap up the meeting and take an afternoon bus back again. The meeting was someplace in Thoraipakkam, about 20kms or so from the centre of Chennai. The dreadful tales people recount when they speak of Chennai's infamous autokaarans were enough to make me, very obviously non-native, very very nervous. Cabs would be very expensive. And given the paucity of time, figuring out buses and shared-autos was not a viable solution.

An then, just a few hours before I left, it occurred to me that I could take a bike along! 20kms is hardly anything esp given Chennai's flatness. Yes, there was the weather to contend with - but I'd be getting there early in the morning, had access to a guest house for a few hours and was planning to shower anyhow. A little extra sweat is hardly a deterrent for a biker.

Next, what bike? My Merida would be the most familiar, but a little large - and the bus guys end up (unfairly) charging for it. I remembered Ravi's bike rental venture - and found theBTwin Hoptown at 200/- a day over weekdays. Perfect!

The BTwin Folder awaiting the Volvo

The bus dropped me off near Chennai Central - and it was actually quite pleasant in the morning! I'd been told autos would take 40-60 minutes to get to my destination depending on traffic. I got there in 50mins, despite many stops to ask for directions (btw, Google maps + GPS on Android helps a lot!) Without pushing at all since I was trying to sweat as little as possible. Saw a lot more of Chennai than I ever have, and got a good morning workout without no extra time spent. And its great to have endorphins and positive energy in your system before a meeting.

One curious thing : everyone I asked for directions - even 5-6 kms before the destination - first started with telling me "oh but thats faaar" (I do follow a little Tamil so could get this much even from the vernacular interactions) Its surprising how the notion of distances has changed in our cities, and how difficult people think cycling is.

Got in, showered, had a good meeting (or it seemed like that given my happy state) and got out of there. Fortunately, all morning had some cloud cover - but it got sunny on the ride out to Koyambedu, from where all the buses leave. I was advised to take an alternative, though slightly longer route by one of my biker friends in Chennai so encountered little traffic till I got into Guindy. Upto that point, the air itself never felt hot (unlike in the heat of the northern plains) though the sun was strong. Sunglasses helped, but I never got too uncomfortable.

Similar story with the bus guys on the way back. This time, a bunch of fellow passengers got excited about the bike as well - a couple even test rode it around there as we waited for the bus. Had a bus change owing to an issue with a brand new Isuzu and got a comfortable, but slow sleeper. Got to Silk Board at 11ish, and unfolded - with excited auto guys helping out - and rode back home.

The folding bicycle is a terrific tool. Benefits :

• Its easy to put into a bus, and takes up as much space as a large suitcase, and is lighter too! Obviously the bus guys charged me nothing for it when I just said "my luggage" and handed it over :)
• Its a major conversation starter! The bus guys were only to happy help load it. Everyone wanted to know more. Even the auto guys at Silk Board (on the way back), instead of being disappointed about the loss of business, atually tried helping out unfolding it! (Not that you need help - it takes just a couple of minutes and is a breeze).
• Its pretty fast for city traffic - despite smaller wheels. The gear ratios are different from your regular MTB, and changes are quick and easy.

If you need to make outstation trips, this is a good way to carry your own transport along! Mumbai might be a little too large if you have to travel a lot for meetings, but for most cities, this is a great option.

Otoh, if you're travelling into Bangalore - give Ravi a buzz and get a bike delivered at your doorstep for the duration of your visit. Freedom from autowallahs, the ability to go-anywhere, and getting to know the city much better are huge payoffs. And you're getting your dose of exercise even when you travel.

As you might have noticed, am totally smitten with the idea. Both, of the folder itself, as well as the idea of carrying it around when travelling!

Hot or Not or Whatever Happened to Joy ?

There was a time we caught two movies a week, sometimes. We did not always need to know from the reviews beforehand if the movie was "worth watching" - it was more about deriving pleasure and a good time out of whatever we watched. Sometimes we suspended disbelief, sometimes we needed to carry empathy as we went in, sometimes we gave in to feeling spooked, and sometimes it was intensely and deeply intellectual.

It was not about 0 or 10 - all movies were certainly not reduced to a binary choice.

"We value our time more" - often heard argument in this context. Really? You'd just catch a movie in the time you spend reading the multitude of reviews and analyses of one. And if you value your time, you'll construct it in different entertaining surprising ways - not just in the mould of one dreary totally expected and conformist superlative.

The movie reviews (and of course those darned multiplex prices) have killed it. Bigtime.

The Tour Of Nilgiris Edition 3 : Riding again

3 out of 3 on an MTB :)

Am riding the now-very-huge Tour of Nilgiris this year as well, and on the same old bike thats seen 2 TFNs already. The routes a lot different, and the Tour will have a 100 riders on it! Have not trained too hard, but a recent weekend of back-to-back centuries with 250kms covered over 2 days in ok shape give a lot of hope.

The first day is a 185km one, though! Traffic free roads, but a real long day nevertheless.

Looking forward to spending more time riding in the Nilgiris themselves this year. And more, and longer sections through the wildlife parks. The 2010 edition is a more backroads Tour than ever before - and there are hardly any major highways.

As usual, hoping to meet a lot of enthu souls on the ride. The camaraderie on the mailing list has been amazing. Itching for the ride to start...

Motorola Quench XT3 Review

I got a Motorola Quench XT3 recently and have reviewed it here.
Overall, pretty happy with the phone - its reduced my need to go-check-mail on the laptop considerably.

Posted via email from bangalorekaapi

The Motorola Quench XT3 XT502 Review

A couple of days ago I jumped onto the Android train and got the Motorola Quench XT3 XT502. The budget was "as close to 10k as possible" given the benchmark set by the Spice MI-300, and I really started to need email and calendar on my phone for Linger related work.

Why this over the Samsung Galaxy3, or the Spice, or others ? Honestly, what clinched it was the build quality/looks. The specs are very very close amongst these 3 - and heard a couple of thumbs downs from the twitterverse about the Samsung. The HTC Wildfire was never in because of being the priciest with the lowest resolution screen.

This will be an ongoing review written over the next few days as I get comfortable with the phone. So far, from day-1 usage:

• Fast enough with no serious freeze-ups. Hanged once when I was playing with multiple apps.
• "Dialer One" is way better than the default one
• Speakerphone's ok, not great. Voice quality is good otherwise.
• VCardIO helps read vcfs so my E65 contacts got imported ok.
• Took me a few hours to get used to the ultra sensitive touch keyboard. Fewer typos already :)
• Battery lasted a little under 24hrs with lots of wifi usage, some bluetooth copying, many calls + smses and a decent amount of first-day-playing-around with the phone.
• I haven't been able to get Airtel Live to work on the phone yet :(
• No FM on this phone.

More as I do more with the phone. Email, and calendar sync - my 2 primary needs for this - are already proving handy. A good side-effect is that I'm switching my laptop on lesser for "just checking mail" and getting sucked into the social whirlpool. This might actually end up creating more time in the day in a funny way :)

Day 2 update:

Another rounf of bluetooth transfers, some use of the camera, an hour or so of wifi usage and the usual calls + smses today - and the battery's done much better. No GPRS yet, so still awaiting Airtel "help" on that.

Have gotten much better with the typing. The shortcuts to to toggle WiFi, Bluetooth, brightness etc are v useful. The screen does smudge, but not too bad looking despite that.

More than once person has asked "Is that a Droid?" :)

Days 3-6 :

Carried the Quench on a bike ride and used the preloaded Tracker app to get the distance right (forgot to hit save, and it was lost with the app :() The phone battery was at over 50% that evening, including the morning's 6+ hours ride - with the GPS on for 2.5 hrs or so, lots of email/some tweets over GPRS which was switched on intermittently, and some over wifi at home.

The next days ride was longer. No GPS but GPRS was on, and used for over 13 hours. I had a minor fall but luckily no impact on the phone. The battery was at over 50% again at the end of the ride. The GPRS-Wifi switchover works very very nicely.

Other observations:

• Have gotten more used to the keyboard(s) - yes - you have 3 options to choose from! Can even type with one hand.
• Still looking for a good GCalendar app to sync my personal as well as domains calendars in one place.
• The camera is average (daylight conditions only) and the video grab below average.
• Music audio is ok thru the speakers but nothing great - have not tried it with headphones.
• The smudges have not gotten better, or worse. Now keep a soft cloth to wipe it once in a while.
• Call quality has been good across usage scenarios - including from inside noisy BMTC buses.
• My SMS costs are going to go through the roof with this phone :)
• And finally - Android can cure backaches! :) My time on the laptop has reduced considerably, lessening my upper back stiffness right away.

Almost-a-month-Update

Its been nearly a month, and there's the bigger cousing of the XT3 - the Zeppelin XT5 - available for not much more money. Its essentially got a better camera (the XT3's is strictly great-light-conditions only) and comes with a 2G memory card.

The Quench has been in my pocket through buses, the TFN, light rain, long drives, and taken it all quite alright.

Bug : Some Android phones apparently have this issue where the phone fails to acquire an EDGE/GPRS connection - you switch it off/on and it works and continues to work. Its not too frequent but a pain nevertheless.

Am very impressed with the battery. Charged it just twice on the 8 day TFN! And this with some calls, mails, SMSes though with overall much lesser than normal usage. And I switched it off one night. Even with my typical usage - a fair bit of email, calendar and todo syncing, 12-15 calls and a few SMSes through the day, I see the battery last nearly 2 days.

The phone does not lag at all anymore - as long as I make good use of the task killer. Internet is pretty fast with EDGE.

Just installed Swype on the phone today - its totally mindblowing!

Oh, and rooted the phone using Z4Root. Was looking at a custom ROM install - but got cold feet when I read about Cyanogenmod draining battery on this platform. Will wait a while before I try that.

FxCamera works better than the original camera. Its still not a substitute for a real camera when you need one. And yes, installed Hangman - my first game ever on any phone :)

Overall, quite happy so far with the phone - its doing its primary intended jobs really well.

CWG ke side effects

Of course you know about the massive scale of corruption thats supposed to have happened during the buildup to the CWG. Of course you've been drowned in the bad news and images that the 24x7 media bombarded you with unrelentingly as one shocking expose after was presented to us.

The CWG surely has lots of smoke. There are likely to be massive raging blazes of horrendous management, nepotism, corruption, and most glaringly, a lack of any pride associated with trying to organize it well. The IPL had shady behind-the-scenes going-ons as well, but the show was pulled off really really well.

But in the runup to the event, the media (as usual, one might add) went nuts. Whatever happened to balance ?

There were nicely done venues as well.

Delhi's infrastructure overall did improve.

The new terminal was completed ahead of time.

There were surely other positive stories as well. Sure, the bridge (under construction) that collapsed was a horrific sight. But thats hardly licence to make it a one sided, cynical story and provide fodder to the whole world to go-right-ahead-and-bash-us.

Events have failed elsewhere (and this one hasn't really, not yet). Freeways have aged and collapsed. Scams have killed economies for various durations. Yet one does not see the kind of we're-a-laughing-stock approach to news that the media, and yes, also the middle class - represented through the twitterati - have descended into. The over-the-top (or if you will, under-the-bottom) resigned-ness and self deprecation is pathetic, and mostly just a facade to (a) do nothing towards solving anything oneself and (b) distancing oneself from any possible failure and any sense of responsibility at all. The media and this section of the population have become echo chambers for each other. The 'can-do-will-do' reaction to problems is so missing that its almost criminal on their part to be making a noise about this.

In all the noise, I heard just one lady from Chandigarh wonder why a Sukhna-lake-revival type of shramdaan was not something the Delhi folks cribbing about this were thinking of.

Then there were other aspects of reporting that went missing.

The north's been reeling under some of the worst floods and rain the area's seen for decades. In many countries, this would have been cause enough for a national emergency and all other activities would have been postponed till the crises was over. We're either resilient/apathetic depending on how you want to look at it.

The labourers who worked on the CWG village, the guys who were called in to clean it - they inhabit completely different worlds and the disconnect between "water in the basement" and their likely-flooded homes and villages right now could not have been starker. No story there ?

Sure the OC and a bunch of jokers are responsible for the mess. Yet, a lot many contractors from both amongst Indian private players, and abroad, were responsible for construction, material etc. Not even questions about these were interesting ?

These are just things I could think of sitting a couple of thousand kilometres away. I'm sure, on the ground, many more threads would've been worth pursuing. Definitely more interesting/insightful than shots of Mike Fennel landing and getting out of the airport.

What about a report on what other events India's done in the past - successfully and those with hiccups ? What about a comparo of cities that have/could have pulled off the CWG ?

It seems that the media's gone really lazy, and just feeds off, and into the heightened state of cynical limbo the middle class exists in. There's very little genuine effort, or imagination.

And definitely no notion of balanced reporting. Make-the-most-noise is the only approach to television journalism.

To Own A Car

I've always loved driving (at least outside town, certainly not inside it). And stretched myself to pick the OHC in 2001 on a tiny salary.

9 years and 73k kms later, the car still serves me well. But purely from a financial pov, does it make sense to own a car, esp when you start with a new one ? The alternatives of using public transport/autos/taxis etc needs a little more planning-ahead, but thats not too bad a thing, and there's tons of options now.

Lets see - I paid 8.2L for the car in 2001. Today, I might get 1.8 at most. Thats an erosion of 6.4L - almost Rs.8.80 - per km! Of course fuel, on an average, at 11-12kmpl, has been at Rs.4.60. Insurance, maintenance, tyres, minor repairs etc would be another 2/- per km or so. That adds up to a cool Rs.15.40 per km!

In town : bus fares are 85/- for a Volvo day pass, autos are 8.50/- per km, even Meru cabs etc are 15/- Outstation Indicas cost 6.50 and even Innovas are under 12/-

Of course, it'll be different for diesels, and for higher usage. But most don't even keep a car for 9 years, and a Honda's wayy more reliable, and I've not included voluntary upgrade and other costs.

Financially, taking a cab makes a lot more sense anyday! In fact, you can pretty much do it off the capital needed upfront alone! Of course, the "fun-to-drive" sinks dramatically, and a little bit of the convenience - or at least the notion of it - reduces. But throw in a few go-karting trips, and you're still way better off :)

LingerLeisure is live

What started as a one-off experiment last year is a bigger now.

Linger Leisure is live, with 2 locations, and the hope of many more to come. And Vijay is part of the Linger team now.

Its not just about adding places and rooms and accommodation, but experiences - as local and authentic as we find them. Its about exploring these ourselves. Its about learning, being surprised, the unfamiliar and unknown - these are what make travelling worth it.

We're looking out for more pretty places, different experiences, and even folks who're keen to do this sort of a thing.

Total Mall's Drop (Bus) Service

Pretty good move! Total Mall on Sarjapura Road has started a bus service to drop people who shop there to their doorstep. The map attached shows the apartment complexes the service is available for. No more need to take your car, and no autowallah headaches. All they need to add is a pickup service at a fee thats redeemable at the Mall.

Happiness

What is Happiness ?

That you're loved and treasured ?

Superiority ? Status, as measured ?

Security, comfort ? Riches, glory, or fame ?

A respected, recognizable name ?

The joy of giving something your all ?

Being able to get up after you fall ?

Freedom, or even an irresponsible path !?

The courage, means and will to follow your heart ?

That you're as curious as you ever were ?

Contentment ? Or a forever hunger ?

Is it in you, or around ?

Is it lost, or is it found ?

Is it merely a lack of reasons to be not ?

Only in its absence sought ?

Is it a state ? Or in one, a pause ?

Just an effect, or as much a cause ?

Does it makes all these feel true -

The things that add up to ?

Encounters

The few times I've come across death.

Or the idea of it.

Its been about numbness.

Futility.

Randomness.

And sometimes a feeling of being totally helpless.

All the control, cause and effect, effort-reward,

Seems fake. False.

Everything is not as it seems.

Priorities get seriously relooked at.

The celebrated seems puerile.

Goals, dreams, fears all in the realm of the inane.

Unreasonable.

Life becomes about moments.

Lived, loved, smiled.

Lost, fought, regretted.

But each important.

What am I chasing ? And why ?

The journey is not important. It is all.

For it can end. Cruelly. Randomly.

Econsciousness : Updates from Around Here

The grocery store next door - SMART - has started charging folks extra for plastic bags. Just a buck each, but you do see some folks getting their own bags or refusing bags for just a couple of things they could carry home.

Also, started keeping aside plastic packaging (milk, bread, cereal, and pretty much everything else!), tetrapaks, etc in a separate container for pick-up by our cleaning crew who said they can make some extra change by selling it at the local kabaadi-wala. A lot of the organic waste already goes to the composting bin. The fill rate for the dustbin has fallen dramatically again!

A couple of more residents in our apartment complex have picked up cycling.

And a lot many are interested in the bottle-in-the-flushtank idea.

The Conscience of Things We Do(n't)

We, collectively, have a very funny conscience. We've trained it to keep it clean with the much practiced technique of not-digging-deep.

So trash put "neatly" in trash bags and picked up by staff on the premises is "well taken care of"

And an emission check actually makes us believe our vehicles are environment friendly

Water from the deep (borewells) is used just like water from easily renewable sources

And because they said its bio-degradable plastic, we can use as much of it as possible

The "re-cycle" mark on so many products makes it perfectly legitimate to chuck things in dustbins

And the colour green or the label "herbal" actually passes for the real deal

Notions of convenience, comfort, even extreme ideas about safety trump responsibility all the time, and the latter is anyhow outsourced - to service providers, manufacturers, the government. In short, "them".

So we can continue with our lives as we have gotten used to. And do as little as we can.

Experiment. Help Me Choose A Phone

I usually think of the next phone when the current one breaks, is lost, stops working, etc. But recent Android devices have caught my attention and I have been thinking. Also want to run an experiment on how the community might be able to help me decide.

Need: Replacement for my old, but perfectly alright E65

Want: Android

Budget: As low as possible, max around the 15k mark

Used/new - either's fine.

Need upgradability (why buy an Android otherwise)

Not likely to be a very heavy web user, camera doesn't matter much. Don't hear music much either.

Would like to use apps. Not that I've managed to use any so far despite a few downloads.

So. Do I need an upgrade at all ? Wait ? Buy now ? What ? Will I ever pay for pricey 3G plans ?

Have taken a peek at the Samsung Spica, HTC Tattoo, and Sony Xperia X10 Mini.

Comments, suggestions, advice, etc, please.

Posted via email from bangalorekaapi

Riding the TFN Again

I had done the TFN08 and TFN09, and the TFNTen has been announced.

I was wondering if I should, and if I financially could, but once the recce team got back with their pictures and description of the route, the lure of the big ride got too much to resist, and I signed up. 

Its a tougher, longer ride this year, with the first day itself being around 170km long. I think day 3 will be the most challenging - since there's a lot to do before the Gudalur-Ooty stretch starts, and then some more en-route to Kotagiri. Gotta start training seriously! 

But for this, my cycling this year was down to a few in-city rides for meeting people etc. So hopefully, the TFN will get me pedalling again.

Posted via email from bangalorekaapi

The government, the government

Everything is wrong because the government does nothing. 

Thats our reaction to, and way and extent of dealing with issues that we come face to face with, and having done this, continuing whatever it is we were doing earlier. 

The environment is not the government's responsibility. Its ours. We wither encourage, or let the government do certain things and so they happen. We clamour for better roads because we collectively have faster, better, more driving as a goal we've acquired from our trips to the western world, and want to see that here.

The GoI has implemented a whole lot of laws for controlling pollution, protecting forests, etc.

We - citizens - homeowners, industrial stakeholders, consumers, car drivers, etc - try our damndest to maintain status quo and not disturb things unless it has a direct positive material impact on our lives.

The BMTC has improved bus services manifold, both in terms of quantity and quality. Yet we continue forwarding one excuse or the other to avoid giving up on our perception of "convenience" in our own cars. Inertia is dearer to us than the condition of the species and the planet going forward.

We ape bad retail habits we have seen in the west merely because they seemed cool there, and we are too shy/lazy to stand out refusing plastic to put each individual vegetable purchase into before getting it weighed at our malls. Blame the government for that too ?

Sure these are small steps, but there's little hope of evolving the right collective goals, pushing the government towards real positive change, etc, from a population thats by and large content living off unsustainable behaviour for short term gains, and considering finger pointing as adequate contributiuon.

Somewhere, I fear the future will treat us with irritated scorn and incredulous disbelief for our shortsightedness.

Posted via email from bangalorekaapi

Fears

They play on our fears

Only because we have them

And choose let them rule us

We pray, pay and prepare

We cross the line, oftentimes

The "truths" continue to fool us

The spirit dies

Our existence is just that

Freedom is when fear's no more

The lips move, conforming

Speak of goodness and shoulds

What cost, to make us so secure ?

Posted via email from bangalorekaapi

Legacy

The kids need a better world.

Better broadband ?

Better digital interfaces ?

More connected online communities ?

Cooler handhelds ?

Quicker cars ?

Or cleaner air ?

Water ? (Man, this one is getting close.)

Livable cities ?

What do we leave behind ?

Plastic hills ?

Fenced, protected, expensive fresh water sources ?

Bubbles of glass inside which breathing is possible ?

Anger, despair, anxiety as the collective consciousness ?

Will they mock us ?

Curse ?

Deride our shortlived choices ?

Our escapist mechanisms to cope with threats ?

The generations that did not stand and fight and solve.

But escaped into the nether.

Created money, and used it to hide the sins.

Our lifespans are a curse, I read somewhere.

Looks like the curse is on our kids. And we're responsible.

I'm just wondering if there's a breaking point someplace and if we're all Neros.

Posted via email from bangalorekaapi