hear malala

unbelievable maturity and clarity of thought.
no wonder she was a candidate for the nobel .
though she lost to an obscure organisation.
which probably means nobel prize committee
too  has its compulsions. watch her in the link
 below

http://www.good.is/posts/malala-yousafzai-s-amazing-answer-on-the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart?utm_source=email&utm_medium=digest&utm_campaign=readon&utm_content=learn&utm_term=3

speed control. some grounding thoughts

our transport deptt is at it. they are out to reduce
 road accidents . good  drive.
they have statistics to support it. kerala ranks first
in road accidents, say statistics. statistics has got an
advantage. it is  mostly unverifiable. and none ever
declares the source. so let us believe it.
or forget it. with or without statistics, road accidents
need to be controlled. but the big question is how.
before that probably we need to know why road
accidents take place. look at the reasons.
the tallest of them all, we believe, is speed. speed not
limited to 70 kph. where on our roads can we drive
at 70 or 60 or 50 is a mute question .
let us assume that there are a few stretches. are these
stretches responsible for the accidents ? do they contribute
their due share ? let us believe they do . without bothering
statistics.
now how to control speed ? detect it first. put cameras.
in strategic places. which means where the motorists
cant spot them. they will come in top speed. the camera
will catch them. and we can punish them. the latest being
suspension of driving licence. fine is out of fashion.
so far so good. but why not help them not to break the law?
not to exceed the limit ? by telling them in advance. thru a
banner across the road which says 'camera 500 meters ahead'.
and watch the result. use statistics. see if it helps.
the beauty is that we can try it even without installing
a camera.
may not be that easy. it is probably our mindset. we enjoy
pointing accusing fingers. as often as possible. it is probably
the  critic in our psyche. or our inflated ego. what a better
way to boost our ego than pulling some one down. at least
in our thoughts.
the purpose however of this long post is just to ask at least
to myslef the question. why should our transport authorities
declare. 'dont rejoice about the android app which warns u
of the camera. we still have special mobile squads which
cannot be detected '
tail piece. are the pot holes on the roads responsible for
road accidents in any way ? in the unlikey event that they
are, who should be booked ? on the sly or after advance
warning ?

random thoughts in malayalam

ആസന്ന മരണ ചിന്താ സംകട നിവാരിണി

      മരണത്തെ കുറിച്ചൊക്കെ ചിന്തിക്കാൻ സമയമായില്ലേ?
ഓർമിപ്പിച്ചത്‌ നന്നായി . നാളെ രാവിലെ എഴുന്നേറ്റാൽ
ഉടനെ തുടങ്ങിക്കളയാം .
     എട്ടു മണി എന്നാണോ അതോ എഴുന്നെൽക്കുന്നെങ്കിൽ
      എന്നാണോ വിവക്ഷ ?
എഴുന്നെൽക്കുന്നെങ്കിൽ എട്ടുമണിക്ക് . ഇല്ലെങ്കിൽ അതിനു മുൻപ് .
       എന്താണ് ജീവിതം ?
അങ്ങനെ ചെറിയ ചോദ്യങ്ങൾ ചോദിക്ക് .
       ചിന്താവിഷ്ടൻ ആകണമെങ്കിൽ ചായ കൊണ്ടുവരാം .
ഈ ചായ കുടിക്കുന്നതോ കുടിക്കാതിരിക്കുന്നതോ   അല്ല ജീവിതം . പക്ഷെ  മരിക്കാതിരിക്കുന്നതു   ജീവിതമാണ്.
       മരിച്ചാൽ എല്ലാം കഴിഞ്ഞു എന്നാണോ ?
ഇല്ലെങ്കിൽ ബുദ്ധിമുട്ടാണ് .
     ഉള്ള ബുദ്ധിയെ മുട്ടിച്ചു നോക്ക്.
ജനിച്ചു എന്നത് കൊണ്ടാണ് നമ്മൾ ജീവിക്കുന്നത് . മരിക്കുന്നത് വരെയും . രണ്ടിനും  ഇടക്കുള്ള  gap fill  ചെയ്യണമല്ലോ . അതാണ്‌ ജീവിതം .
     അല്പം കൂടി ബുദ്ധിമുട്ടി നോക്ക്.
ഈ ലോകം മുഴുവൻ അനുഭവങ്ങൾ ആണ് . നമ്മൾ അത് എടുക്കുന്നു . മാറ്റി മറിക്കുന്നു. തിരിച്ചു നല്കുന്നു . അതായത് അനുഭവങ്ങളെ രൂപാന്തരം ചെയ്യാനും നിലനിർത്താനും ഉള്ള ഒരു പ്രക്രിയ . അതാണ്‌ ജീവിതം .
     തീർന്നോ ?
a little girl was once asked in a tv Iinterview  what her aim in life was. she said  it was to lose all the innocence  she is born with.  അതായത് ജനിക്കുമ്പോൾ ഉള്ളതൊക്കെ  ത്യജിക്കുന്നതാണ് ജീവിതം  എന്ന് .


    സങ്കടനിവാരിണി എന്ന് കണ്ടു . എന്താണ് സങ്കടം ?
ആദ്യത്തെ വാക്ക് ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് ആണ് . some . അടുത്തത് കടം .
കുറച്ചു  കടങ്ങൾ എന്നർത്ഥം.
     മനസ്സിലായില്ല  
മനസ്സില് ആയാൽ ബുദ്ധിമുട്ടാണ് . പുറത്തു കളയാൻ പറ്റില്ല.
    സഹിച്ചോളാം. ഇത്ര കാലം സഹിച്ചില്ലേ ?
അതായത് ചെയ്യണം എന്ന് കരുതി പക്ഷെ കഴിഞ്ഞില്ല . ആഗ്രഹിച്ചു  പക്ഷെ നടന്നില്ല .
    അപ്പോൾ സന്തോഷം ?
ആഗ്രഹിച്ചില്ല . അത്ര തന്നെ .
    അപ്പോൾ ഈ നിവാരിണി എന്താണ് ?
വെറുതെ  എഴുതിയതാണ് .  സങ്കടം അങ്ങനെ മാറ്റാനൊന്നും ഒക്കില്ല. മാറ്റിയാൽ കൂടെ സന്തോഷവും പോകും . ഒന്നുന്റെണ്കിലെ മറ്റേതു ഉള്ളു . രണ്ടും ഇല്ലാത്ത അവസ്ഥ പറ്റും. പക്ഷെ worth അല്ല


കൂടെ പോരുന്നോ ?
     മരിക്കാനോ ?  മൂഡ്‌ ഇല്ല.

cell phone intrusion- a reply

u r right on the right hand side. phones are intruding into our personal space. u r not that right on the left hand side. these always on cell phones changed the way we look at staying connected. just like what automobiles did to moving around. and it cant be reversed. in fact nothing can be reversed ever as time is a one way flow. now there is a path in the centre. right in front of u. keep the phones and all thse intruders away for a specified period. exactly what u did. this new pilgrimage will revive u and reconnect u to all that u missed. then u can come back and hug the phone closer and longer. just like what u do after a period of abstinence. yes. obsession with the phones is the new normal.

learn free absolutely free

ever wondered why no free courses on the internet ?
which u can use for learning engg or for improving yr
professional skill or just for the fun of learning.
which u can learn in yr free time. without spending money.
which is designed by profssional teachers of the best
universities in the world. on almost all subjects like
digital signal processing , advanced calculus ,
introduction to logic , basics of financial accounting,
how to bring up social change or or how to write a graphic novel.

i am surprised to find all these in the site
       https://www.coursera.org/

why not distribute population to alleviate poverty

this comment is not exactly about the monitoring techniques but about the basic issues involved in poverty alleviation.
we probably need a little more insight into where poverty begins and how it spreads. poverty of course is the shortage of cash and kind required to meet the daily requirements of life. if u have no food u r in poverty. if u have no cloth u r poor. if u have no house to spend the night u r in poverty. if u cant afford a minimum of entertainment u r deprived and poor.
similarly if a country fails to provide minimum facilities as above to all of its citizens the country is in poverty.a country is poor if it fails to offer its citizen sanitation , transport, education , jobs and security. and opportunities to grow .
now coming back to the basic reasons for pverty, faulty distribution of wealth  stands out. this is linked firmly to many important factors like the political situation ,  traditional beliefs, historical influences  etc. which are very difficult to tackle thru outside intervention. crux of the matter is that nothing wortwhile can be done in this except soft campaign to change the thinking of the people .
the next main reason of poverty is the lack of resources . this is where donors are coming in. they make up for  the shortage of cash to some extent. but the issue is how do tackle the problem of distribution . monitoring by the donor agencies is an option. surveys and analysis are useful here. but the real test is to ensure that the money that the donors give away reaches the right target which is basically controlled by the government of that country.

the point i am trying to make is that  we have to look for more effective means to fight poverty. which brings us to the third and probably most important reason of poverty. it is the population . this is the one factor which defeats any attempt to alleviate poverty. there is simply no way in which the scarce resources of a poor country can be distributed among its millions. becoz it doesnt add up to anything when we consider the share of the individual. the denominator is such a large number pushing the ratio to zero or therabouts.
now the purpose of writing this piece. why cant we think of redistributing the world population in a more  equitable manner . on this earth we have places and countries where we need people to live.  in other parts there is no place even to stand erect. why cant we think of evening out world population ? just as an idea. an intellectual exercise. an early morning dream.

these mysterious prime numbers

i chanced upon a few prime numbers  while checking for
 prime in the link on the top right of this blog. astonishingly
the first no. i tried was prime. i got 6 more prime numbers in as
many minutes. strange isnt it ? have a look at the numbers
which are all prime. see the build up . astonishing !

173573
1735733
17357339
173573333
17357333377
1735733333377
17357333377337