First Day: It was a saturday (I think) and Sis had won some competition in school (extempore?), Mom had a half day, I was at home as well, Dad comes in, says : Lets go for a drive..! And we were like - in whose car? And he says he just bought a new car!! Hellooo??!!! :D
And tomorrow that car is gonna move on to its new owner, a car dealership.
I don't know what to say, feeling really melancholic about it.
When we bought the Omni, we were the only people I knew who had a Van. Mom was always asking WHY are we buying an EIGHT seater vehicle which is most commonly seen as a taxi? She still doesn't know the answer, but am sure she stopped caring long back.
There have been so many events where that car was central to the outcome.
I still remember the day when Dad had beat the shit outta me when I had refused to wash the car. And the time when he drove it like Schumi from Ruia to Colony because I had forgotten my documents before admission.
The trip to Goa - dad drove all the way alone, no other car could have been more comfortable with the space we had. The trip to Nagaon with JD, Kamlesh. And to Lonavala with JD, Kamlesh and Vidhi.
It was the car in which I learnt to drive. Dad taught me. I had none of the Balaji Motor Driving School bullshit. First Lesson, lasted for 15 min. I learnt - start the car, put it in first gear, move ahead, stop, put it in reverse gear, go back, stop. That's it. Definitely come a long way since. Guess I passed my driving the test when I drove the family back from Nagaon on a learners license.
Ferrying all the relatives from Dadar and Churchgate Stn to colony. Driving to Kharghar to see our new home under construction. Picking up Sis and her friends from the Stn everytime it was raining. I remember a crazy drive in a flooded Belapur when the water was so high all brakes failed and the floor carpet had gotten wet. The drive from Kharghar to Colony when the engine overheated near Nerul. The one time it punctured the tyre near Sion Circle.
It may have been a grossly under powered car, with bad suspension and huge body roll and no AC and whatever. For all its worth it was a car which always delivered what was asked of it. It was an awesome car. And apart from all this it gave our family 12 years worth of great memories.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Water
We know it is important, we know it is crucial, we know it is indispensable and yet we remain irresponsible while using it.
I can harp on and on about how it is important to conserve water, make sure that potable water is available to all etc. etc. except that I fail to identify with anything that has to do with people anymore. I mean at least in India do what you want but people are just not gonna improve. Fine the government never really made dams or divert water to areas which are perennially under drought, but what did the people do? They are just as content making the women do the walking and getting the water.
What interests me though is the chemical itself. The molecule, their collection, its properties. For example I was left amazed that the IR spectra of pure liquid water is not yet explained. For a molecule which is so simple, this is mind boggling. And what about the very weird physical properties? Expands on cooling, expands on heating as well!!! Weird melting and boiling points and so on. And that too so neat 0 as freezing, 100 as boiling (is this coz of the scale itself?? I dunno!!)
But something of even more interest is the structure that liquid water has. The molecules are always in association with on another via hydrogen bonds and thus liquid water isn't just loosely packed water molecules but instead a proper dynamic lattice of water molecules. This has huge implications in protein folding. No one quite knows exactly how a protein folds and attains its native structure. I have a few ideas of my own on this, one of which involves lots of water molecules..!!
I guess like last year, my this years Blog Action Day post is also defeating its own purpose, but then if this has gotten me back to my old blog then the purpose is served, at least for me!
I can harp on and on about how it is important to conserve water, make sure that potable water is available to all etc. etc. except that I fail to identify with anything that has to do with people anymore. I mean at least in India do what you want but people are just not gonna improve. Fine the government never really made dams or divert water to areas which are perennially under drought, but what did the people do? They are just as content making the women do the walking and getting the water.
What interests me though is the chemical itself. The molecule, their collection, its properties. For example I was left amazed that the IR spectra of pure liquid water is not yet explained. For a molecule which is so simple, this is mind boggling. And what about the very weird physical properties? Expands on cooling, expands on heating as well!!! Weird melting and boiling points and so on. And that too so neat 0 as freezing, 100 as boiling (is this coz of the scale itself?? I dunno!!)
But something of even more interest is the structure that liquid water has. The molecules are always in association with on another via hydrogen bonds and thus liquid water isn't just loosely packed water molecules but instead a proper dynamic lattice of water molecules. This has huge implications in protein folding. No one quite knows exactly how a protein folds and attains its native structure. I have a few ideas of my own on this, one of which involves lots of water molecules..!!
I guess like last year, my this years Blog Action Day post is also defeating its own purpose, but then if this has gotten me back to my old blog then the purpose is served, at least for me!
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