Saturday, October 28, 2006

MoonBeam - the DIY 100 MPG Car

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6omtd/jorysquibb/index.html


All you ever wanted to know about building a 100 mpg car but were too afraid to ask!


Jory Squibb lays it all out here - a 1000 hours DIY project - $2500 in parts from used Honda scooters. Looking at how simple this is, I wonder why the automobile companies are not picking up on this trend.


"If we were to keep track of how we use our cars on a weekly basis, it might become clear that we are often using a large car when we could be using a very small car. Getting groceries, picking up kids, going to the doctor's--these are often errands which don't take us far from home, or require more than 40MPH. Perhaps we could substitute a tiny car, a sort of enclosed motorscooter for these situations--a microcar."


Specially in USA, there seems to be a craze for useless horsepower. Look at the median family sedans - the horsepower has gone up from about 125 in early 90s to 240 now. Yet, if you look at traffic patterns in major urban areas, the average speed on highways and city roads has been reducing every year due to congestion. Where do you get to use this horsepower - the speed limits have not changed - and fast acceleration is a sure way of attracting cops' attention.


Same thing has happened to motorcycles. While anywhere else in the world you will see the average street bikes in the 100 - 250 cc range, in USA they talk about 600 cc bikes as a starter bike - the desirable one being more in the 1000 cc plus range.


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Wednesday, October 18, 2006

India doesn't need SEZs: Bhagwati- The Times of India

India doesn't need SEZs: Bhagwati- The Times of India:

Here's a great quote from the Columbia University economist - Jagdish Bhagwati on the potential economic growth of India and China in the near future:

"There are three things around which there needs to be consensus.

Development is a powerful cocktail made of three liqueurs. One is openness. Greater integration with the world can bring you benefits in trade and investment.

Two, economic freedom, which I don't like because it sounds ideological, like judicious use of markets—not a knee-jerk reaction against them but being pragmatic about it. Use markets more freely whatever your objectives.

The third is political democracy, what we call political freedom, which is a great value in itself,'he said.

'India had democracy, not the other two (openness and free markets). Now we have all three. Now we are poised for dramatic growth. China, unfortunately, has the first two but not democracy. And there it's leading to a lot of problems. It can go on to create massive social destruction. We have the ideal brew,'he adds. "

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Monday, October 16, 2006

Musical escapades of my brother - Ajay Kalra


My brother just completed Appalachian Music Fellowship Program - 2006 at the historic Berea College. Founded in 1855 as the first interracial and co-educational college in the South, Berea College promotes understanding and kinship among all people, service to communities in Appalachia and beyond, and sustainable living practices which set an example of new ways to conserve our limited natural resources.

Look up this page for his interpretative analysis of the repertoires and playing styles of the seventeen African American performers who have appeared at Berea’s Celebration of Traditional Music since its beginning in 1974.

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Saturday, October 07, 2006

Microsoft - are you feeling lucky today?

Try this - it will blow your mind:

2. Type in "search"
3. Click "I'm Feeling Lucky"

Thanks to my friend Manoj for sharing this wonderful nugget - you c an see his original post at http://agarwalmk.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!780CD8FB86EF8F7C!448.trak