Hey I love the Internet and the wonders of the IT revolution but I am also a bit cynical about the whole damn thing. OK there is promise of 'a global village' and 'the information superhighway' but for whom? Is there a free , countryside spirit as in the actual village? Or are we talking about an info island paradise for the haves only. How many people in the poor countries get access to a coputer,let alone the internet? So many poor children get hardly any access to a decent meal, heal...

Hello all fellow canine bloggers! This is my blog. I am a german sheperd-age 3 years. It's so difficult to use the keyboard. My 'boss' is out and I got the comp for some time luckily. Oof, these selfish humans, they make the keyboard without realizing how a dog will type there, can't there be some ergonomic designs fit for us canines! Oof, I did not deliberately leave the above lines blank, I am typing with my right paw and the key got depressed many times,...

Hello all fellow canine bloggers! This is my blog. I am a german sheperd-age 3 years. It's so difficult to use the keyboard. My 'boss' is out and I got the comp for some time luckily. Oof, these selfish humans, they make the keyboard without realizing how a dog will type there, can't there be some ergonomic designs fit for us canines! Oof, I did not deliberately leave the above lines blank, I am typing with my right paw and the key got depressed many times,...

I am new to this city. It's 11-30 pm. Back in my small town, ppl sleep by 9-30/10 at the most. But this city is still wide awake. As they say, hte night is still young! The full moon comes up, fully decked, like a new bride on the horizon of the night sky. She smiles at the neon bulbs? And, did I see the neon lamps grimacing at the moon. Oh God, am I going senile or is my mind playing games with me? A poor girl comes with a very natural artificial rose, "Sir, take one please,...

Nanotech, biotech, infotech.....lifetech......naturetech......and so on....goes the 21st century information revolution! The other night I was watching the full moon night under the city's neon lights eating a pizza and drinking synthetic milk,hmmm. Was the moon smiling at the neon bulbs or did I see the neon lamps grimacing at the anachronistic moon? After all, she has lost her dangerous charms long ago since the great Americans conquered her. A homeless child comes abegging to me wit...

Bill Clinton has now written 'my story'. From the extracts that i read, he has mentioned lewinski bieflt in passing and has said it was awful that he did what he did just 'coz he could do it. And also his tension with hillary, thier visits to the shrink and final reunion. Clinton ,after his many a strange and at times 'secret' missions of the body(and soul!), finally finding himself. Coelho in ALCHEMIST tells about his protagonist seeking the'treasure', fulfillment,his 'soul', going to man...

I teach in a university located in a remote corner of the third world. I often wonder if the universities in such unreached locations are serving any 'purpose' at all. If yes, what must be the mission of such universities? The world's first universities were established at Bologna, Salerno and Oxford etc during 11th/12th centuries as a "community of scholars",right? Even India had ancient universities such as Nalanda and Taxila, and Egypt, Alexandria. But what hapeened to sholarship and t...

Last night, I could not sleep. So, I opened "The Alchemist" by Paul Coelho. It's a great book, about a sheperd's search for the ultimate treasure and fulfillment in life and search for his "soul". He goes to many lands, meets many beautiful girls on the way, earns money and then loses, yet he never gets fulfillment. After searching all over the world, he ,at last, realizes that what he was searching was always there inside him and where he started-he didn't have to travel the world to ...

Often I wonder if there is an afterlife. Or if the present life is all theres to it-no other chances? If we cannot make perfection or achieve what we intend to in this life, must we not be given another chance.Life is too short and we have many missions to accomplish. Sometimes I wish I forget all and go on a wild highway driving journey as Robert Pirsig describes in "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance".In it he also talks about meaning of human life and the elusive thing called 'quali...

I teach biochem and do research on soil actinomycetes and bacilli. We work in a tiny lab,smaller than a phone booth> And most of the time we face shortages of costly media,chemicals, and protocols and they are often difficult to get locally.The worst problem is acdemic isolation and lack of institutional feedback.Can one do creative science in such a setting or must we not try at all. Is science meant for only rich contries. Then do we leave all our resources to be exploited and patented by r...

I am having some blogs at the joeuser site. But am not sure if any web traveler are reading the blogs as i hardly get any comments or interactivity. I believe blogging is for exchanging and sharing and baring ideas.Then whats the fun if there is no interaction.Is any fellow web traveler listening ,please?

Hmmm, Thats it friends. Either we long for some cherishes past moments or look forward to a perfect future. Most of the time,we just cannot enjoy the HERE and NOW. Either we are in a lousy job, or our associates are too dull or uncreative or our circumstances are too constrained. Or somehow things just dont add up. But is there some divine way to be and enjoy the here and now and take some gifts from the PRESENT. As the zen budhists say: "Sitting quietly, doing nothing, The g...

We are born, study some years, take a job, get married ,make kids, do the routine for some years, then grow old and die. Do we leave any lasting impression? Does our brief stay on this planet make any siginficant difference. In other words, except for geniuses,business tycoons,scientists,inventors and leaders, for most of us ordinary mortals: Does human life have a purpose?

I mean there are great teachers. And there are excellent researchers/scholars/scientists. But combining great teaching and excellent research in one individual-isn't it a rare phenomenon. Except ,of course,persons like Richard Feynman who was a great teacher and excellent physicist. One hears of hawking as a great physicist but never heard of him as a great teacher. So also Einstein. Or Watson of the double helix fame, to cite an example in another domain. I mean why teaching and resear...

is creativity only for superbrains or geniuses. Can not ordinary mortals like us be creative? What is it and how to find this elusive thing!