Money Matters

It is ironic that here in India, the left hand is completely out of sync with its right hand and also the rest of its limbs!

The Indian sports ministry has apparently rejected the proposal of holding an F1 race here in India, which would have cost the exchequer around $36.5 million. It contended that the money can be used instead to promote other lesser known Indian sports. If the ministry really does what it believes, then it would be holding a candle for the rest of government machinery here in India to follow.

On the other hand, the UP Government has told the Supreme Court that installing various statues (including that of the Chief Minister’s) in the state at the cost of around $100 million was approved by the state Legislature. This was in response to a petition filed in the court alleging waste of taxpayer’s money.

The state machinery in UP is in dire straits. Encephalitis has been plaguing the state, causing the death toll (mostly children) to approach the 200 mark this year alone. According to a World Bank report, infant mortality rate in UP is the highest in India. Swine flu is slowly spreading its wings. The public sector has failed to create an investment friendly atmosphere. The biggest stumbling block here in UP is deep rooted caste and gender inequalities.

Is the $100 million for building statues justified? How did the State Legislature approve it? If it did, then what was the Central Government doing? The biggest question here would be is why the public of UP not raising its voice?

Blissful ignorance would be the perfect answer. Or would it?

Retour des Champions

What an amazing week it has been!

Seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong finished 3rd at this years Tour. Eight time Grand Prix winner “The Doctor” Valentino Rossi extended his lead in this years Moto GP Championship. Last but not the least; Michael Schumacher has announced his comeback to Formula 1 this year, albeit only as a replacement to the Felipe Massa.

However, there is the sad news of BMW confirming that this year would be its last in F1. But the good news is that 12 teams have signed a new Concorde Agreement that lasts until 2012.

I was really hoping that this year’s Tour de France would be dope free. But I guess I was hoping against hope. Mikel Astarloza, winner of the 16th stage, has tested positive for EPO and has been suspended by the ICU. Is he the only person to test positive for doping at this year’s Tour or will there be more? Only time will tell.

Festival of Cycling is back!

The Tour de France 2009 kicks of its 96th edition, covering roughly 3,500 kilometers over 21 days. But it not an ordinary tour as Lance Armstrong is back riding in his favorite event.

In terms of geographical boundaries, the tour will be passing through six countries this time around: Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy.

Another novelty is the communication between the riders and their team managers being banned in stages 10 and 13.

I am will be following this year’s event on the web, hoping against hope that it turns out dope free.

Formula One has averted the crisis - for now

The revolt has been put down, compromises has been made and the show goes on. The eight teams have agreed to participate in the 2010 Formula One World Championship until 2012 and eventually cut costs to the levels of the early 1990’s. In return, the FIA has agreed to impose no further regulations. The 2009 regulations as well as further regulations agreed prior to 29 April 2009 will be in force for 2010 and onwards.

The big cheer is that FIA President Max Mosley will not to stand for re-election in October this year.

Gentlemen, start your engines.

Formula One no more!

The news hasn’t sunk in yet. In fact, it refuses to sink in. A formula one race featuring Williams, Force India and a couple of entrants, is simply not acceptable. It is not the Formula 1 that I am so familiar with, having watched the likes of Benetton’s, Jordan’s, Minardi’s, McLaren’s, Renault’s, BMW’s, Ferrari’s jostling for positions at the first corner.

I am still hoping that the FIA and FOTA would put aside their differences and continue racing. But that would only satisfy my greed.

Watching cars trundling around in a procession is not exactly exhilarating. At one point in time, certain manufacturers with deep financial pockets had achieved so much of technological development on their cars; they were ahead of others at least by two years. This resulted in the same old teams racking up podium finishes while the rest were just also-rans, filling up the grid. This made Formula 1 boring. In order to bring parity, the FIA continued introducing fresh rule changes almost every year, thereby reducing the technological gap. It almost paid off this year where the Brawn’s have dominated along with the Red Bull and a couple of other manufacturers putting in competitive performances.

But at what cost? The regulations have made the F1 races less thrilling to watch. Technically speaking, the engine size has been constantly whittled down. The cars are no longer as fast as they used to be in the 70’s and the 80’s. Simply putting it, it is no longer the driver stomping on the gas pedal and going as fast as possible, harking back to the old adage: better the driver faster the car. Just look what technology has done these days. There is no point having a supremely gifted driver driving the car because the car is the limiting factor. There is so much of electronics aiding the driver these days; one does not need to be a Senna or Schumacher.

Formula One is supposed to represent the ultimate, to be the most advanced and most competitive racing formula. However, with budget caps and regulations it is no longer Formula One. High end sports cars these days almost match the performances of a Formula One. That should say it all. Formula One is supposed to be “the next level” that is very difficult to reach. Sadly they have it all screwed up.

I have never seen the yellow helmet race, having tuned in to F1 when the red one was making its mark. We will never see them again. I will probably stop watching Formula One as it has come to embody rules, regulations, budgets and restrictions. It is not about racing anymore.

Children of God

I had written earlier about Congo being the most unsafe place in the world for women. Let me add children to the list too. Children are being looked upon as unnecessary burden. Families accuse their children of being witches and throw them out onto the streets. It is even worse if it is a girl child because once they are thrown out onto the streets; they are raped and forced into prostitution.

Earlier, families used to accuse older members of being witches and throw them out, when they no longer were useful. With non-existent economy and the civil war still ravaging, children are being viewed as un-necessary burden. Hence, witchcraft is used as an excuse to get rid of them.

Congo being one of the poorest nations in the world, has spawned corrupt Christian pastors who are making a quick buck by performing brutal and mentally scarring exorcisms. Please refer to this ABC News article that chronicles in details the horrific rituals, both in print and video.

According to UNICEF, 70 percent of the 20,000 street children in Kinshasa have been accused of being witches. Most of the families living in Congo have experienced, at one point of time either death, divorce, rape and sometimes all of them. Out of desperation and belief, when they turn to God for deliverance the corrupt pastors mislead them by accusing the children in their family as the root cause for their evils and that they are witches.

It is a costly deliverance too as the pastors’ charge anywhere between $50. It gets worse when families cannot afford the costly exorcism and they resort to beating, burning, starving and in the extreme cases – murder their children. The ordeal does not enc there for families who can afford such barbaric rituals. The children, who are exorcised, are often thrown out of the house as they appear to be tainted in the eyes of their family members.

The Congolese government is of the view that it is legal to accuse children as long as there is proof. All it takes for a child in Congo to be labeled as a witch is to have big eyes, black eyes or a bulging tummy.

I was wondering how much worse it could get. In the near future, will I be writing a blog post on cannibalism in Congo? If parents are desperate enough to throw their own children out on to streets, then the time wouldn’t be far away when we might hear about parents devouring their own children! Maybe I have watched too many horror movies.

Please visit the following links for more details on the horrific witchery that is ravaging Congo:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1130/p12s01-woaf.html
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=7613395
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-01-30-congo-children_N.htm

A quick Google search would throw up many more horror stories.

TIA – This Is Africa, the cradle of our civilization. What went wrong?

Crazy Gamers on Dope

Winners don't do drugs... they take supplements!

Can you believe it? This was one of the slogans that turned up for FpsBrain on Google.

With the nation glued to the telly for the election results and reports of first swine flu case in India, I came across this piece of news – Performance enhancing supplements for gamers.

This company claims to have a magic formula for computer gamers that increases their concentration and reaction times. The company dissociates itself from any forms of doping, according to its website. However, they maintain that performance enhancement matters in every form of professional sport.

The company does not reveal the ingredients of its products.

Being a hardcore gamer myself a long time ago, I did not realize gaming has become such a professional sport that the players need supplements to keep up their concentration levels and improve their reaction times.

What next? Provide urine samples to the WADA before and after a tournament!

I do wish I could go back to the good old days when I stayed up all those nights playing games just for the fun of it. Pure passion was what drove me to spend all those sleepless nights playing computer games.

Image source: www.dailyclipart.net

The Silent Death of the Olive Ridley’s

The beaches of Orissa (Devi, Gahirmatha and Rushikulya) are one of the last nesting grounds for these turtles. Even though they are considered abundant, their numbers have been dwindling due to increased activities of trawling and mining. They are now listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List; and Endangered under US Endangered Species Act, Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992. [Source: Wikipedia]

National Marine Fisheries Service, USA quotes Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG) of the IUCN that there has been a 50% reduction in population size since the 1960s. Gahirmatha, Orissa, India used to be one of the largest nesting sites in the world. Over the past five years at Gahirmatha, there has been a nesting event in only two of those five years. A survey of 27 West African nations indicated that nesting females were killed in 14 of those countries for their eggs meat and skin.

Off the coast of the Indian Ocean, the major cause for the decline of these turtles is the coming of age of the shrimp trawling. As the fishermen started to employ modern technology to increase the size of their catch, more than 76, 980 turtles have been killed; says a study on “Olive ridley mortality in gillnets in Orissa” by Wright and Mohanty, 2002.

Lepidochelys olivacea as they are known scientifically, in the wild they are known to survive upto 50 years. It is believed that Olive Ridley turtles return to nest on the same beach they are hatched. That shows how much they trust in the beaches that they were born on and that is why they return to the same beach, hoping that their babies too would survive if they are born on the same beaches.

What are we HUMANS doing? We betray their trust in Mother Nature by slaughtering the females for their meat and skin and harvest the eggs that they have laid. If that is not enough, fueled by our greed to become the most developed nation if the world; a sea port is coming up right in the vicinity of the nesting area of these turtles. The Tata’s claim that the Port limits of the upcoming Dhamra port is outside the turtle nesting area as well as the National Marine Sanctuary and the Bhitarkanika National Park. Greenpeace disagrees saying that the Tata’s should suspend the dredging work at the port for an independent and comprehensive threat assessment, which the Tata’s had agreed to earlier “in principle.” Despite the concern expressed by the authorities [you can read about it here], the Tata’s have been adamant.

I had a lot of respect for the TATA’s. I have none now. I was proud and overwhelmed when Tata’s chairman had outlined his vision for the common man. I am ashamed now. I am ashamed of myself, my helplessness. Hypocrisy should not go unpunished. If I had the money, because it is the money that talks here in India; I could have made a difference. Working 9 hours a day, I am helpless. All I can do is to write about it and clear my GUILT.

Image sources: Free Clipart Now and National Geographic.

Ahoy, me hearties! Hear me out.

Back those days, I mean really old days; being a Pirate was an exiting way of life. The adventure, the thrill of venturing into the unknown seas, looting, killing, women and most importantly Gold; beckoned many into this profession. But only a few were successful. Some of them are still remembered and have become legends.

It is said that the oldest recorded piracy dates back to1350 BC. Port Royal (Jamaica),
Ile de la Tortue or Tortuga (modern Haiti) and the Isle of Madagascar are quite famous as the popular hangouts of pirates. Tortuga more so; because of the movie: “The pirates of the Caribbean.” The success of the movie shows how we all love to be a pirate and lead that enchanted life, away from our boring jobs that are right now being threatened by recession.

However, the Somalian pirates have become the scourge of the nations. We like our pirates only in the movies. In reality, we would love to strap every one of them to torpedoes and send them back to Davy Jones Locker!

These modern pirates attack cargo ships in small boats, launched from a mother vessel nearby. These cargo ships are generally sparsely crewed and most of them do not carry arms, making them sitting ducks. These Somalian pirates, armed with guns, rocket launchers hijack such cargo vessels and dock them at Somalian ports. Hence rescue operations cannot enter the Somalian waters; the pirates rig the cargo vessel with crude bombs and threaten to blow it and kill the crew and the Somalian Government [if there is one] is toothless. The nations and sometimes the companies, to which the cargo vessel and the crew belong, pay a hefty ransom to free their crew and cargo.

When we objectively look at this issue from one side, we see the struggling people of Somali trying all possible means to earn themselves a livelihood. In the absence of a viable economy and the success that others have found in piracy, more people are opting to become a pirate. Working out a ground solution resulting in peace and stability in Somalia can turn out to be an effective solution against not only piracy, but also the civil war that has been ravaging the region.

In the meantime a lot of nations have joined hands to patrol the troubled region with warships, providing a semblance of security to the vessels plying there. Unfortunately, that has been woefully adequate as more warships are needed to patrol millions of square kilometers. There has been little success and the piracy rate has dropped, but that is not enough. The recent attack on a U.S. vessel proved just that.

While digging information, I came across an interesting piece of information regarding the U.S. USA had turned to pirates to help thwart Britain when the country had declared its independence. The vicious circle has come full as the U.S. is now bristling with anger at the brazenness of the attack by pirates against its vessel. I couldn’t help notice another issue that currently involves the U.S. The CIA and ISI had provided arms to Afghans in the 80’s helping them resist the Soviet invasion. Now the Americans are leading the fight against the very same people that it had supported decades ago.

As usual we wait for the U.S. to decide that enough is enough and take stringent measures against these pirates. In the meantime, piracy as a profession is quite tempting, at least to the Somalians.

Google Search Conked Out Again!

It is surprising that these “We’re sorry…” error messages have become frequent in nature. The systems and networks (at the place where I work) have been scanned and reported clean.

At least the bookmarked Google searches are working fine. This seems to be happening only for fresh web searches.

Over to Google…

Conflict Minerals and Rape

Over the past week, I came across several articles on the urgent need to ban “conflict minerals” from the Democratic Republic of Congo. I had heard about “conflict diamonds,” but “conflict minerals” was something new. As usual I started digging for more information.

I went over to Wikipedia for a short, quick history lesson on Congo. Then I read the Associated Press article [http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articleALeqM5ibdwjaASDp9VscE0IRkvTkmWpungD979TTQO1] that was responsible for the buzz on conflict minerals. The fodder for the cannon was provided by a report titled "Can You Hear Congo Now?" by John Prendergast, founder of the Enough Project.[http://www.enoughproject.org]

The civilian war in D R Congo is the deadliest war since the World War II. Armed rebel groups, bandits, the Congolese army and the government are after the minerals that are found abundantly in the region. Unfortunately all the above mentioned groups have been using one horrible tool/weapon of war to gain control – Rape!

Rape has become a common weapon to gain and control territories, to break family and social structures, to induce shame and fear, to humiliate and establish hierarchy of power. The raping of the women of Congo is different. It is brutal.

The women are often gang raped. They get abducted and are used as sex slaves or “military wives” for a varied period of time. The women are so brutally raped that the flesh separating the bladder and rectum from the vagina is torn apart. This is because the gang rape is often followed by mutilation of their genitals. The mutilation is usually caused by inserting rusty guns, sticks, torches or bayonets. There have been instances where the perpetrators have inserted guns inside the vagina and fired bullets.

The women are so brutally raped and mutilated to the extent that they will not be able to have children again or become incontinent. The first person accounts of the survivors who managed to escape captivity are truly horrifying. Some of the women have been gang raped in front of their family members and have helplessly watched as their family members are killed in front of their eyes.

A surgeon in Panzi, who reconstructs tissue damaged by such mutilation, recalls one horrifying spectacle of a 12-year-old girl who had been savagely raped by five soldiers. They had stuffed a maize cob inside her.

However, for the survivors the ordeal does not end there. Their husbands do not accept them as they have been raped, which means that they have become impure. Their families tend to ostracize them. Most of they them do not have a family to turn too as they have been murdered. Too add to their problems, most of these survivors are either pregnant or have a new born to look after [and in dire need of medical help too].

Rape in D R Congo has become so common with the conflict that more civilians are committing rapes too, and the victims are often children [sometimes as young as 11-months]. The civilians, most of them have grown up watching someone from the family being raped and perpetrators have not yet been caught and brought to justice. This has emboldened them. These people think that they too can rape and be never caught. Hence, there has been an alarming increase in rapes committed by civilians. If at all a perpetrator is caught, he can walk away scot free by bribing; sometimes as little as $10.”

I came across an article that quoted a United Nations report:

“Congolese soldiers are frequently implicated in rapes, and the Congolese government, both feeble and uninterested, has done nothing to address the problem.”

There have been instances where the soldiers steal food given to the people by aid workers.

Now here is the connection between Rape and “conflict minerals.” Many feel that Rape is a part of a destabilization covering the theft of valuable minerals.

How do we stop it? Say “NO” to conflict minerals. These are Tin, Tungsten, and Tantalum—the “3 Ts”—and Gold. According to the report by the Enough Project, conflict minerals from Central Africa are moved around the world to countries in East Asia, where they are processed into valuable metals, and then onward into a wide range of electronics products. Consumers in the United States, Europe, and Asia are the ultimate end-users of these conflict minerals, inadvertently fueling the war through the purchases of these electronics products. This trail has been well documented by the United Nations and others, according to the report.

These minerals are commonly used in cell phones, laptops, mp3 players, video games, and digital cameras.

• Tin is used in cell phones and all electronic products as a solder on circuit boards.
• Tantalum used to store electricity in capacitors in iPods, digital cameras and cell phones.
• Tungsten is used to make one’s cell phone vibrate.
• Gold is used in jewelry and as a component in electronics.

The Enough Project has written to 21 major electronic companies including Apple, Nokia, HP, and Nintendo; asking them to ensure that their products do not contain conflict minerals.

Let us make a pledge today. Say NO to Conflict Minerals. Stop RAPE.

Update: Here's a video from CBS News on the conflict in Congo and its effect on women. Thanks Shilz for sharing it with us.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Life’s back in the fast lane!

The 2009 Formula one couldn’t have started any better! For the first time (according to the official website) complete newbies have taken over the front row. Team Brawn (Brawn GP) which at one time was not even sure that it would start this season is one-two in the season opening qualifier! Check out the official website for more information on the qualifying.

Below you will find the official calendars’ for both Moto GP and Formula One 2009 season.

2009 Moto GP Season

COMMERCIALBANK GRAND PRIX OF QATAR (Losail Circuit) - 12 April

POLINI GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN (Motegi) - 26 April

GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA (Jerez) - 03 May

GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE (Le Mans) - 17 May

GRAN PREMIO D'ITALIA ALICE (Mugello) - 31 May

GRAN PREMI CINZANO DE CATALUNYA (Circuit de Catalunya) - 14 June

ALICE TT ASSEN (Assen) - 27 June

RED BULL U.S. GRAND PRIX (Laguna Seca) - 05 July

ALICE MOTORRAD GRAND PRIX DEUTSCHLAND (Sachsenring) - 19 July

BRITISH GRAND PRIX (Donington Park) - 26 July

CARDION AB GRAND PRIX CESKE REPUBLIKY (Automotodrom Brno) - 16 August

RED BULL INDIANAPOLIS GRAND PRIX (Indianapolis) - 30 August

G.P. CINZANO DI SAN MARINO E DELLA RIVIERA DI RIMINI (Misano) - 06 September

GRANDE PREMIO DE PORTUGAL (Estoril) - 04 October

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Phillip Island) - 18 October

MALAYSIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX (Sepang Circuit) - 25 October

GRAN PREMIO DE LA COMUNITAT VALENCIANA (Comunitat Valenciana) - 08 November

For further information on the circuits and the official calendar, visit: http://www.motogp.com/en/calendar+circuits

2009 FIA Formula One World Championship Race Calendar

2009 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Melbourne) 27 - 29 Mar

2009 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX (Kuala Lumpur) 03 - 05 Apr

2009 FORMULA 1 CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai) 17 - 19 Apr

2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX (Sakhir) 24 - 26 Apr

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA TELEFONICA 2009 (Catalunya) 08 - 10 May

FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2009 (Monte Carlo) 21 - 24 May

2009 FORMULA 1 ING TURKISH GRAND PRIX (Istanbul) 05 - 07 Jun

2009 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX (Silverstone) 19 - 21 Jun

FORMULA 1 GROSSER PREIS SANTANDER VON DEUTSCHLAND 2009 (Nürburgring) 10 - 12 Jul

FORMULA 1 ING MAGYAR NAGYDIJ 2009 (Budapest) 24 - 26 Jul

2009 FORMULA 1 TELEFONICA GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE (Valencia) 21 - 23 Aug

2009 FORMULA 1 ING BELGIAN GRAND PRIX (Spa-Francorchamps) 28 - 30 Aug

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 (Monza) 11 - 13 Sep

2009 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (Singapore) 25 - 27 Sep

2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX (Suzuka) 02 - 04 Oct

FORMULA 1 GRANDE PREMIO DO BRASIL 2009 (Sao Paulo) 16 - 18 Oct

2009 FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX (Yas Marina Circuit) 30 Oct - 01 Nov

Source: http://www.formula1.com/races/calendar.html

Remote controlled McLaren Formula One car!

Have you ever dreamed about driving a formula one car?

Yes you can (if you manage to get your hands on the phone and the car!). What's wicked is that you can remote control a formula one car using you phone! The video shows a scale model of an McLaren Formula One car being driven across a track in the beginning. This impresses the guys at McLaren and they build a full scale model car that can be controlled by a phone via Bluetooth.

Apparently this seems to be a ad campaign by Vodafone featuring its flagship model – Blackberry Storm.

Enjoy the video!

Nano Slated To Launch In March. Bookings From April!

I have read somewhere that if you wish for something with all your heart, then the entire universe conspires to get your wish fulfilled. This was also a dialogue in one of the Bollywood films.

After being booted out of Bengal, courtesy of Mamata Banerjee on behalf of the poor farmers (you can read all about that here), Nano had found a foster home in Gujarat. I guess Ratan Tata’s vision [or should I call it a dream] was stronger than those with mis-placed [vested!] interests.

Tata Motors has announced that its flagship product Nano will be launched at a function in Mumbai on March 23, 2009.

Nano has fired up the imagination of Indians like never before. Tata Motors has said that its Nano website has received 30 million plus hits in a year. People displaying such an interest in a brand that is yet to be launched, would be every marketing team’s dream come true! However, it cannot be ignored that this was helped partly by the Singur issue.

I hope the Nano doesn’t face anymore hiccups.

Thanks to Google, I have found out that it was Paulo Coelho who said: “When you want something, the entire universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

Insanity Rules!

“My dear Leopard, for you, a thousand times over.”

A ghastly incident has taken place in village called Dhar, in Madhya Pradesh. A leopard was brutally beaten to death with sticks, stones and swords.

After pouring scorn on policemen in Chicago for shooting dead a cougar, I truly hang my head in shame for what these villagers’ of Dhar have done.

An eyewitness account by one of the villager shows how ignorant these people are. It seems that the villagers had gathered around the fields and were moving in a group towards the leopard. The leopard then attacked a child, following which the animal was beaten to death.

What were they thinking? Crazy villagers! It is not a village fair or a circus show. It is a wild animal, for crying out loud. Did they expect the big cat to shake hands and let them pat its head? What was a child doing there in the first place?

In a video clip that was being aired on a news channel, the villagers were still beating the dead leopard. Senseless brutalism coupled with ignorance and pseudo aggressiveness? Bloody villagers!

Apparently, the wild cat was lynched right in front of the forest officers, who in turn watched helplessly, being out numbered at 20:1. Priorities are highly screwed up here in India and it is a sad fact. Holding on to one’s job, licking politicians arses; sadly ranks very high up there, priority-wise. Nobody gives a rat’s ass to wildlife and other earthly matters. What a fucking joke! (This has become my favorite punch-line after reading The White Tiger).

Raghuvendra Shrivastava, District Forest Officer of Dhar, was more worried about the compensation that would be given to the injured people and was least bothered about apprehending the villagers who were responsible for this ghastly act.

When I googled for leopards, the first 10 results were all about leopards being killed at various parts of India. I tried to dig up a statistic on how many leopards were being killed everyday and how many were left. Unfortunately, no official figures turned up. Blame the Indian bureaucracy.

An outdated piece of information from the Wildlife Protection Society, whose website is not functioning, said that so far 141 leopards have been killed in 2008. Saving grace?

I did not want this to be my first post, this year. But I have no choice. “My dear Leopard, for you, a thousand times over.”

A font for the Eco-conscious!

Here’s a website offering a font that helps save ink. Please follow this link: http://www.ecofont.eu/ecofont_en.html

SPRANQ has come up with this unique, innovative product. This font was developed based on a hunch of Colin Willems of SPRANQ.

The font is known as Ecofont and uses up to 20% less ink when compared to other fonts.

In the picture you can see how the Ecofont is created by omitting parts of the letter. At the shown size, this obviously is not very nice, but at a regular font size it is actually very usable. Naturally, the results vary depending on your software and the quality of your screen. The Ecofonts works best for OpenOffice, AppleWorks and MS Office 2007. Printing with a laser printer will give the best printing results.

The Ecofont is based on the Vera Sans, an Open Source letter, and is available for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. The Ecofont works best when using font size 9 or 10. The results vary depending on your software. If you work on a Windows platform you could use ClearType.

This font is available for free download. Saving the toner used in ink cartridges is another small way in which we can give something back to the environment. I have marked the editorial team on this.

You can download this font for free at the Ecofont website: http://www.ecofont.eu/ecofont_en.html

Source: Ecofont

Scarlet Dreams Come True!

A mention of the word “Ferrari” would conjure up unimaginable fantasies in my mind as a 13 year old, sitting glued to the television set, home work lying unfinished. I was an ardent fan of Michael Schumacher and would listen in awe as my seniors at school would describe the legendary scraps Michael had with Aryton Senna. I guess, that was the time when I lost interest in comic superheroes and adopted my first real life superhero as an Idol.

Riding a bicycle to school was no longer a routine. It was a race, and I learnt a lot from watching Formula One. Looking back now, it would seem kiddish. Creeping up on a Bajaj scooter, on my bicycle; imitating the slipstream overtaking maneuver. Locking up my bicycle tires at the street corner’s, inviting angry stares from others around as there was no need for me to brake so hard. Did I forget to mention drag racing?

Being an ardent fan of motorsport, I was elated when I found out that Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo had announced that the Tata brand would appear on the Formula 1 cars in 2009.

If Vijay Mallya’s foray into Formula 1 was historic, then this is truly groundbreaking. However I did come across certain articles that lamented the state of Formula 1 (especially that of the Ferrari’s) to have a cheap car manufacturer sponsor one of the leading teams. That did really leave a sad aftertaste.

I guess the Indian stereotype is gradually being broken down. There is nothing that we can’t do, just like everyone else. People just need to accept the reality. The reality that is staring right in your face is that we are about to overtake China in terms of population and it will be inevitable that we would eventually be a part of every sphere. You just cant ask a country (with a population of billion plus) to sit tight and do nothing. It is impossible.

Its about time our dreams come true!

Sayonara Honda

Honda’s has pulled the plug on its Formula One racing program. The company said that the global recession and its impact on the automotive industry had left the company with no choice but to withdraw from Formula One.

Takeo Fukui, President and CEO, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. made the announcement on December 5, 2008. He also indicated that the Honda team is for sale.

Honda’s ‘Earth Dreams’ has come to an end (hopefully for now).

What is more intriguing is the statement made by the FIA president Max Mosley who quoted saying that the Formula One teams are run by technicians who are better off playing video games. He made all the right noises about reducing the spiraling costs and also predicted the end of Formula One racing if his advice was not taken seriously.

Formula One and cost cutting do not gel together. They make F1 look pedestrian. Apart from the Big Two teams who have bottomless pockets to dip into, other teams are on a knife edge. Cost cutting measures would widen the gap between the have’s and the have not’s. The past two years have been close only because the Big Two have managed to continue development in spite of all the restrictions. If one takes them out of the equation, there would be no difference between a vintage car rally and Formula One.

Formula One is and should always be the pinnacle of motoring sport where cutting edge technology and speed are on proud display. It is the ultimate bragging right for the car manufacturers. But with all these cost cutting measures and restrictions, who would want to race in it?

Recession is hurting many teams and with this in mind, the F1 boss should put Formula One on hold until the teams tide it out. How noble would that be? But who would want to kill the golden goose? They would rather see F1 cars puttering round a track at 60mph (that would where all these cost cutting measures and restrictions would lead to).

However, I have a question. What will happen when the goose stops laying golden eggs?

The Phoenix Rises Again!

I was pleasantly surprised when Lance Armstrong announced his return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden. The intensity and passion with which Lance approaches cycling used to give me goose bumps. I am looking forward to experience the same next year when he competes in the Holy Grail of cycling, The Tour De France – 2009.

 Vive le tour. Vive le Armstrong.

DNA: The New Culprit In Doping

The competitive spirit has been taken so seriously in the world of sport, it really amazes me to see the extent to which any team or an individual would go to gain that precious little advantage which would ultimately result in a win. It’s about winning at all costs.

With the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games 2008 being conducted with all the glamour and jazz in China, I am writing this post trying to lull myself into false sense of security and hope that this edition of the Summer Olympics will turn out to be a clean one.

However, the lead up to the Olympic Games has been anything but rosy. Accusations flying thick and fast about incidents of doping being encouraged by none other than the host nation itself, possibly points to vested interests trying to sully Beijing’s image. I am not a big fan of Beijing’s approach of branding the Olympics as green. (See my earlier article on: Red Dragon Breathes Fire At The Summit Of Mount Everest)

WADA has already set alarm bells ringing by raising concern regarding the use of gene therapy to increase an athlete’s performance. This method of doping is popularly known as Gene Doping.

Gene Doping is defined by the World Anti-Doping Agency as "the non-therapeutic use of cells, genes, genetic elements, or of the modulation of gene expression, having the capacity to improve athletic performance."

Tinkering around with the genes, opens up an un-explored vista which might become an haven for cheats. There is an enormous potential here, wherein genes for increasing muscle mass, increasing oxygen carrying capacity of the red blood cells, energy production, reduction in muscle fatigue; can be taken out from an athlete’s body, duplicated and re-introduced into the athlete making him/her an super-athlete. Since the resulting effects are still natural, it becomes very difficult to distinguish cheats from honest athletes.

There are a lot of skeptics who say that Gene Doping will not work out as it is very risky and simply because no one has yet to set a precedent. But who knows? There might be athletes out there already who are using it.

WADA has established vigorous research programmes to develop new detection methods for Gene Doping.

When I was discussing this issue with one of my colleagues, I was left speechless when he pointed out that the latest molecular biological techniques such as DNA fingerprinting (or DNA Profiling) can be used to identify athletes with favorable genes which might give them an edge in a particular sports. The use of such techniques to screen out athletes might be in place already. “How are you going to stop them? Is it not unfair that an athlete participates in a sport, not because he is passionate about it, but he has a genetic profile which gives him a competitive edge in that particular sport?” I had no answer to these questions.

Funny, that this reminds me of one of the Harry Potter movies, where a hat is placed on the heads of new pupils, and the hat decides which house the pupil will belong to.

Image source: The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games