Let there be....energy.

I am sure we all have read the recent NYT story about generating more funds for alternative energy sources (link).

It's nice to see more efforts being made to promote further research about prospects of alternative energy sources. But bills like Proposition 87 reflect the narrow, unidirectional thinking that will do little to solve the energy issue. More than 60% of the oil used in the US is imported, a surefire scenario which places an almost complete control over the US economy directly in the hands of the middle east. While ONG companies explore the planet in search of new sources of hydrocarbons (link) to mitigate the situation, the most scintillating idea that venture capitalists can come up with is taxing gasoline to support the research for alternative energy sources.

Bottom line, it becoming harder to locate the traditional energy sources and tremendous technology will be needed in future to ensure ample supply of crude oil to meet the growing needs. Hence, we need efforts to develop both alternate sources of energy and continue exploring new reserves of oil and gas.

The Lion, the Tiger and the Bear(s)

So Federer has finally done it...won the Down Under Open without losing a set and started the 2007 season in flourish...

About 12 hrs later, Woods clinched his (another!!!) PGA victory on the 18th hole of Buick Open and marked the start of his 2007 season.

Now, all those who saw Tiger in the stands of the US open mens final last year know that we have a rivalry to keep track of: Feddu needs 4 more wins to equal Sampras' record of 14 career titles, while Woods needs 6 more to equal Nicklaus' record of 18 majors. Neither will achieve it in 2007.

But, Tiger has (reportedly) promised Federer that he, Tiger, will equal Nicklaus' record before Federer equals Sampras'. Federer is not laughing...you can tell he took Tiger's remark seriously when he won the Aussie Open without losing a set.

So who's gonna reach the summit first?

My money is on Tiger, unless Federer wins the French this year, in which case, you can be sure, Tiger will mount his famous Sunday morning charge.

One thing remains certain....while the Lion and the Tiger are locked in this fight, the Bears will be the first to celebrate with a victory dance this sunday.

Saturday morning post

Real early... ( Caterpillar will be happy to note that I'm sure ).

Winter finally decided to show up. Temps in the teens the last couple of days. I've had to leave the pseud overcoat on the hanger and break out the two layer Marmot. Anyway, it's Saturday morning, and being in a contemplative mood I think what this blog needs is some long posts with some actual thought put into them, to go with all the short posts & links to random stuff that's been the staple so far. So I'm setting out to write such a post, but I don't really have any specific thoughts about anything in particular right now.

So let me just expound on the long post theme a little bit. One thing that always bothered me about our group interaction was the shallowness of the conversation - not in the sense that we were talking only about shallow or silly things - but there was rarely the patience to speak at length about anything or the patience to hear someone out on most things. No "long form" conversation. A related thing that also bugged me is that most of the conversation revolved round a fairly small set of topics, we all know what those are.

Well, our group interaction is now history. We will keep in touch to varying degrees over the phone or email threads etc., which is fine. But I would like this blog to also be a medium where people can express themselves at length about things they feel strongly about, find interesting, want to rant about etc. It's not therapy or revealing everything about yourself. But writing a long post about something forces people to make partially formed thoughts & opinions coherent. To borrow a phrase from my advisor, it's good for the soul. And it's good from a reader's perspective as well to hear what your friends actually think about stuff. It adds depth to the group interaction.

Living in a time and place where most of our mental faculties are directed towards work related things and most social interaction is fairly superficial, I think it's a very healthy exercise.

So I encourage you all to ramble about stuff in posts, respond in comments, all of that.


ps - just want to make one thing more specific - I'm not advocating writing long posts about the minutia of our daily lives. It's a big world out there, so get your head out of your ass once in a while and think global. And write down what you think.

iCracked up

To all those crazed fans who cant get enough apple, check out this parody sight on the ubiquitous design aesthetic. iTs hilarious.

FYI..IMPE re-opened for the semester.
9" TV screens with extended basic cable on all cardio machines.
Running, watching TV...Only thing to complete the trifecta is eating a Jimmy John's sandwich.

Da Bears

Superfan

This the original skit on Saturday Night Live in 1991. It is sublime. (

Go Bears.

Finally the Colts made it, and we have an all mid-west Super Bowl ! The last time ( and perhaps the only other time) two geographically adjacent teams played in the Super Bowl was in 2001, when Baltimore defeated NY Giants...
Another interesting point: Bears' QB Grossman makes the plays outlined by his offensive coordinator, the former Illini coach, Ron Turner- the same Ron Turner who left Illinois with little glory and a lots of Benjamins...and now Bears are in the Super Bowl finals. ..go figure..
Never the less, Go Bears !

A recent episode of the Colbert report had Colbert going on about a spat between Amitabh and Shahrukh. As compared to the savvy "with it" stylistic of the show, it seemed clumsy and clunky: Colbert clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

Why the attempt to cover events that will not even register to most viewers of the show ? A marketing ploy to appeal to the desi/abcd demographic ?

Halftime

Halftime show mention of Buddy Guy's Legends Blues club in Chicago...familiar name for some of us.

Go Bears.

Weekend football

I have been on a self imposed espn fast this whole week, after the New England Patriots once again won a game in the playoffs they shouldn't have won, ruining what was a very satisfactory weekend of football watching. (ok, not a complete fast, I watched some on mute while listening to online radio and reading blogs at the same time.) But now, it's time for battle.

I'm talking about my team, Da Bears. The New Orleans Saints are America's team, because if they win the Superbowl it'll make up for Katrina happening or something. Anyway, they're the team of destiny. The magical carpet ride. Da Bears are simply second fiddle, the big bad team which needs to be beaten to complete (almost, there's still the Superbowl) the fairytale ending. The Spider to New Orleans' Frodo. Well, let me be the one to break the bad news, America. This isn't Neo vs. Agent Smith. This is Neo vs. Agent Smith minus Trinity's revitalizing smooch. The magic carpet can't get to Soldier Field, we don't have no fake turf here. After Lake Michigan sends forth her gentle breezes to acquaint every Saint with Bear Weather, and Drew Brees gets a taste of real dirt a few times in the first quarter, after we pound the ball inside, inside, and inside some more, followed by some play action & downfield bombs....pundits will be scrambling to rewrite their pre-written postgame columns.

Walking out of my apartment...

..today, see a strange intense light shining on a few tall building. It was the sun. Been a while.

The first day of the semester

I stopped by the local coffee shop in MEL this morning on my way to the office. The area was empty except for a strikingly good-looking grad student who was struggling with her strolly and a larger than usual handbag, trying to order a cuppa joe all at the same time. Clearly, she was returning from her holiday destination. I helped her with her strolly and was rewarded with a smile. "Thanks. I am such a mess this morning", she said.
"Are you traveling back from somewhere today?", I asked, returning the smile.
"Oh, no...I am just heading over to the library." That smile again and then she walked out the double doors.
The semester has begun...

End of holidays

When ZA's has a ten minute wait for lunch at half past one and all WIMPE ellipticals are occupied at seven in the evening you know the holidays are over. Good to see that the campus has sprung back to life

ze M*A*S*H* oont ze Orange

The character Col. Henry Blake in M*A*S*H* is supposed to be from University of lllinois...he wears this old orange "I" sweater in many episodes...apparently donated to the show by UofI ...can't think of any other show that features Illini apparel...

orange & blue 4evah

[after Joel's Princeton interview]
Lana: So, how're we doin'?
Joel: Looks like University of Illinois!

Risky Business, 1983.