Not sure if everyone noticed the number of laptops that were going to be recalled by Dell due to an overheating battery (manufactured by Sony)
Now, I use a vaio and guess what ? When I run on battery - it almost scorches my lap !
Why would Sony use a different technology for Dell ? If it does use the same technology, why did it not recall the batteries on it's own machines ?
What am I missing ?
Thought for the day ...
I'm going to be designing a portable flash player when I have time. I think it would be good to carry presentations just as we would in a memory dangle...
Showing posts with label Archived. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Archived. Show all posts
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
Pune - Off road experience
I thought that Bangalore was the only place in India where people talked about driving on "what is left of the road". Today, I got a mail from a friend in Pune, who've said that he has been having a very good "off road experience".
He says that for the first time he is using his SUV effectively.
However, that is just I thought his way of consoling me in my distress. We cannot look at another city and take solace in the thought that we are not "worse off".
How about reviewing the technology in road building - do we need to provide for the following
- Some mode to retain camber and get water off the tarmac
- Maybe some ruling to channel water out ?
- How about a layer that absorbs water from the top and squirts in the side (some kind of sponge)
- Binder with old PVC bottle, recycled plastic etc ?
Hmmm... I need to think some more.
What did I learn today ?
Indra Nooyi has been made CEO of Pepsi.... way to go !
He says that for the first time he is using his SUV effectively.
However, that is just I thought his way of consoling me in my distress. We cannot look at another city and take solace in the thought that we are not "worse off".
How about reviewing the technology in road building - do we need to provide for the following
- Some mode to retain camber and get water off the tarmac
- Maybe some ruling to channel water out ?
- How about a layer that absorbs water from the top and squirts in the side (some kind of sponge)
- Binder with old PVC bottle, recycled plastic etc ?
Hmmm... I need to think some more.
What did I learn today ?
Indra Nooyi has been made CEO of Pepsi.... way to go !
Friday, August 11, 2006
Making our roads last
Today, I'm going to reflect on how do we ensure that the roads built last a lifetime....however, before I start off on this - I'd like to narrate a story.
I spent some time in Zurich during the implementation of a project. It was fairly early in the project and therefore I had time that I could spend early / late evenings. My routine would be to walk around Zurich lake all the way from the Elektrowatt station (there used to be one near the Japanese garden) to the station (Hauptbahnhoff) and back....
During that time, I'd spent a few facinating hours just looking at road laying (either repair or re-pavement) along the path and even took long deviations to watch this.
All road works used to happen post 10 PM so that it did not impact the regular traffic. What was really striking was the attention to detail. I'd want the person driving the road-roller get off the machine - go on his / her knees and pat the tarmac to ensure it was layed properly !!!
How I wished our own people had the dignity of labour to do the same
Coming to the topic of making our roads last - I'm told that the biggest issue is that of water percolation.
Thought for the day :
Can we ensure that the camber is done right ? That would mean the water would get off the tarmac into the sides as step 1 ?
I spent some time in Zurich during the implementation of a project. It was fairly early in the project and therefore I had time that I could spend early / late evenings. My routine would be to walk around Zurich lake all the way from the Elektrowatt station (there used to be one near the Japanese garden) to the station (Hauptbahnhoff) and back....
During that time, I'd spent a few facinating hours just looking at road laying (either repair or re-pavement) along the path and even took long deviations to watch this.
All road works used to happen post 10 PM so that it did not impact the regular traffic. What was really striking was the attention to detail. I'd want the person driving the road-roller get off the machine - go on his / her knees and pat the tarmac to ensure it was layed properly !!!
How I wished our own people had the dignity of labour to do the same
Coming to the topic of making our roads last - I'm told that the biggest issue is that of water percolation.
Thought for the day :
Can we ensure that the camber is done right ? That would mean the water would get off the tarmac into the sides as step 1 ?
Thursday, August 10, 2006
What ails Bangalore ? Is it only Infrastructure ?
Not sure how many spent the time to read this morning's TOI posting on Bangalore 2020... I, for one, am certainly going to spend more time on the details.
Few graphs caught my eye - one was - as obvious, to do with Infrastructure. What really got me started to think was that it seemed that 2 feelings were almost unanimous were that
a) Infrastructure almost being equivalent to roads
b) Transport seemed a subset of the road network problem
Is this an holistic approach ?
Let us try and analyse this - there are 2 / 3 basic issues.
1. Bangalore has zero public transport outside of road transport
2. Bangalore has NEVER been able to develop satellite cities with good connections (for those who want some history - the first I heard of the word was with Yelahanka)
3. Hub and spoke has never taken off
4. There is no concept of HOV (High occupancy vehicle) either with a special lane or privileges
Maybe it is as simple a solution as a hub and spoke with shared links ?
What options do we have ....
Few graphs caught my eye - one was - as obvious, to do with Infrastructure. What really got me started to think was that it seemed that 2 feelings were almost unanimous were that
a) Infrastructure almost being equivalent to roads
b) Transport seemed a subset of the road network problem
Is this an holistic approach ?
Let us try and analyse this - there are 2 / 3 basic issues.
1. Bangalore has zero public transport outside of road transport
2. Bangalore has NEVER been able to develop satellite cities with good connections (for those who want some history - the first I heard of the word was with Yelahanka)
3. Hub and spoke has never taken off
4. There is no concept of HOV (High occupancy vehicle) either with a special lane or privileges
Maybe it is as simple a solution as a hub and spoke with shared links ?
What options do we have ....
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Inflatable concrete structures ? Cool...
Two chaps out in the UK have invented a new process for building. I think the concept is cool. You have pre-packaged kits (like tents) that has pockets of cement / compound / mixture.
One is supposed to choose the right spot, put in water and inflate the structure when wet. You allow it to dry / set and hey presto ! you have a concrete / cement set structure ...
Sounds cool.
I wonder if one can embed hooks for door / window etc ?
I guess the above post also covers what I learnt yesterday ?
One is supposed to choose the right spot, put in water and inflate the structure when wet. You allow it to dry / set and hey presto ! you have a concrete / cement set structure ...
Sounds cool.
I wonder if one can embed hooks for door / window etc ?
I guess the above post also covers what I learnt yesterday ?
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