It was my roommate Maya who introduced me to Eragon. We were both unabashed fans of fantasy literature and that common interest led us to a great many interesting conversations and 'trivia'l exchanges. Harry Potter was of course a huge favorite and we spent hours discussing and critiquing the stories, the characters and trying to remember spell names and the like. (As well as re-watching the movies)
She has often asked me if I'd heard about Christopher Paolini, but somehow I always seemed to brush it aside. Then one day, I took Maya to the library. After fidgeting through the Adult Section and not finding anything much to our liking, we turned to the Teen fiction section. Here, she found Eragon and recommended that I read it. And so I entered the world of Alagaesia, where the story takes place... about Eragon the Dragon Rider... The first book of the Inheritence cycle, it was an engaging book.. and lead me on to Eldest..the continuing story in which Eragon and his dragon Saphira train in the elven forests of Du Weldenvarden to fight against the evil king Galbatorix... I made many false starts ... but now after nearly nine months after I first began it, Eldest is 'READ'. I felt a sense of accomplishment when I finished the book... and a feeling as if I'd awoken from a dreamland... indescribable. The third book is Brisingr.... I do not have it yet... It will take me a while to get to it... Ah! Fantasy!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Early Edition
Surfing through the channels on TV today, I came across this familiar looking face on AXN… I took me a minute to realize it was the main protagonist of ‘Early Edition’.
My brother and I were regular watchers of the show when it used to be aired on Hallmark a few years back.
Gary Hobson, the central character, owns a pub, McGinty’s or something, in downtown Chicago. He’s a regular guy next door, except that he has a gift. Literally delivered to him every morning right at his doorstep: An ‘Early Edition’ of the ‘Chicago Sun Times’… the next day’s newspaper. This ‘gift’ makes Gary a little different as he sets out to avert local crimes and accidents that are reported in the paper. But while Mr. Do Good goes about saving the day, he is often lonely by the end of it, with only a few friends to turn to (and who are in on the secret) - Marissa Clark (who is also blind) and a guy named Chuck Fishman.
Early Edition was what brought Chicago to my notice and not long after when I was deputed to Schaumburg, a suburb of the ‘Windy City’, my brother was the first to remind me that I’d be visiting the ‘Early Edition’ city. It was a nostalgic experience when I actually saw the building that housed the ‘Chicago Sun Times’.
My brother and I were regular watchers of the show when it used to be aired on Hallmark a few years back.
Gary Hobson, the central character, owns a pub, McGinty’s or something, in downtown Chicago. He’s a regular guy next door, except that he has a gift. Literally delivered to him every morning right at his doorstep: An ‘Early Edition’ of the ‘Chicago Sun Times’… the next day’s newspaper. This ‘gift’ makes Gary a little different as he sets out to avert local crimes and accidents that are reported in the paper. But while Mr. Do Good goes about saving the day, he is often lonely by the end of it, with only a few friends to turn to (and who are in on the secret) - Marissa Clark (who is also blind) and a guy named Chuck Fishman.
Early Edition was what brought Chicago to my notice and not long after when I was deputed to Schaumburg, a suburb of the ‘Windy City’, my brother was the first to remind me that I’d be visiting the ‘Early Edition’ city. It was a nostalgic experience when I actually saw the building that housed the ‘Chicago Sun Times’.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Solar Cells...
The other day my cousin from IIT had come home for dinner. He had just finished his internship at Tata BP Solar, Bangalore. His job was to study the vital factors in solar cell effectiveness and efficiency. A solar cell was then fabricated keeping optimum levels for these vital factors
He also had some interesting facts to share:
The source of silicon wafers for the manufacture of solar cells comes from the US and is not manufacture in India. There are a few reasons for this:
1. The fabrication itself is a highly automated process. Going by the labour intensive nature of Indian industries and the costs associated with setting up such a facility, neither the socio-political nor the economic environment would sustain such a plant.
2. The fabrication process requires a steady supply of clean water and uninterrupted, non-fluctuating power supply. With these resources being scarce even for the masses, it would do little sense to have these facilities for an automated plant. Also, assuming that these are made available, the power supply in India is still prone to too large a fluctuation to suit these micro-electronic fabrication instruments. IIT Mumbai alone has pegged its estimated losses at Rs 250,000 due to voltage fluctuations damaging their micro electronic equipment beyond repair.
3. Another factor is that the wastes generated out of the fabrication process is environmentally hazardous and requires special means of treatment. Both technology and infrastructure are required for this, which at the moment India lacks.
4. A small but valid concern is that Indians also do not have the skill set to support a fabrication industry.
Not everything however is done outside of the country. The solar cell creation requires creation of Pn junction diodes. The critical basic doping (wafer creation) is what is highly specialized. The layer doping for creation of a negative junction is done locally.
Today, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) is the leading producer of these wafers. The USA and Israel are two other leading states with these technologies.
He also had some interesting facts to share:
The source of silicon wafers for the manufacture of solar cells comes from the US and is not manufacture in India. There are a few reasons for this:
1. The fabrication itself is a highly automated process. Going by the labour intensive nature of Indian industries and the costs associated with setting up such a facility, neither the socio-political nor the economic environment would sustain such a plant.
2. The fabrication process requires a steady supply of clean water and uninterrupted, non-fluctuating power supply. With these resources being scarce even for the masses, it would do little sense to have these facilities for an automated plant. Also, assuming that these are made available, the power supply in India is still prone to too large a fluctuation to suit these micro-electronic fabrication instruments. IIT Mumbai alone has pegged its estimated losses at Rs 250,000 due to voltage fluctuations damaging their micro electronic equipment beyond repair.
3. Another factor is that the wastes generated out of the fabrication process is environmentally hazardous and requires special means of treatment. Both technology and infrastructure are required for this, which at the moment India lacks.
4. A small but valid concern is that Indians also do not have the skill set to support a fabrication industry.
Not everything however is done outside of the country. The solar cell creation requires creation of Pn junction diodes. The critical basic doping (wafer creation) is what is highly specialized. The layer doping for creation of a negative junction is done locally.
Today, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) is the leading producer of these wafers. The USA and Israel are two other leading states with these technologies.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
A peculiar encounter...
Today I went out with my mother to buy some jewelry for the wedding day. We first went to a smallish shop but didn’t like the items on display. We then went next door to a ‘Venzer Shoppe’ which had a host of all kinds of accessories from jewelry to bindis to bangles to hair clips. The rear end of the room jutted out on the right side where there was a desk with a phone and a laptop. Behind the desk sat a burqa clad woman talking on the phone, with her burqa clad daughter playing at her knee. Save the niqab, the woman was covered from top to toe. The man at the counter was a tall, fair and soft spoken young man who spoke politely in unadulterated Hindustani. The lady at the back was chatting over the phone when we entered… I was trying to catch her tongue but the only sound that fell on my ears was a steady soothing pitch whose words I could not decipher. I do not know why this encounter created such an impression on me and aroused such feelings as I describe here… but the moments in the shop stood out… As mummy and I looked through their wares, my eyes kept wandering over to the woman and the child… obviously educated but also weighed down by religious obligations. Or may be not. They may have never felt the weight, having seen no other way of life. As the young man was marketing his goods, I noticed the several signs of ‘Sale’ and ‘Discount’ from place to place, indicating that business would not have been good… Mummy finally liked a set and proceeded to try it on…. I was now looking at the earnest young man … wondering … feeling a strange sense of pity mixed with fear… pity at the sorry state of his shop and his having to sell practically all his goods at half their price…. And also a sense of resentment that this is the same community responsible for such strong and intense beliefs that subjects its woman to such things as the confines of hijab… Though he was quite clearly Indian, a feeling of some foreign presence clutched me and wrung the heart… Just then the little girl spoke up… “Chachu”, she said, “Yeh lo”, handing him an article to show us… the same language the same name to relationships I thought… “Madam”, he called out to his hired help, “ Aap yeh wapas rakh dijiye”. Mummy decided she liked the set enough to buy it. As the man busied himself packing up the items, the woman got up to prepare the bill and hand us the complete package. The man stamped the bill and assured us that if we ever felt anything went defective, he would repair it for us at no extra cost. He also packed in some extra clasps lest we lose one and gave us a silver blocker complimentary. Mummy was enquiring about their factory, which he replied was based nearby… the lady gave us a visiting card and respectfully asked us to look at a few more items.. But we had to leave… so we went out with the assurance that we could come some other time…
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Random Childhood Memories
My brother.. .chocolate.. .grandma....tomato... train... snake park.. thorn.. school... plane... Olympics...Gypsy ...Cat Burglar...Reader..Parachute...Gallery... Hopscotch....Make Believe....Bobby, William, Tina....Sesame Street....School.. School Bus..Bongo...Halloween..Christmas.. Elastic...Gitte...Plays...Hide n Seek...Camp...Cycling... Skating...Swimming.. Studying.. Running.. Nilgiri....Activities.. Music....Origami...Jetty.... Museum... Painting.... writing.... reading....
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