An unconcerned git and my reply.

So I was browsing through Economist.com as I am wont to do, especially when I have other things that have upcoming deadlines. Usually I ignore the comments section of the articles but on this page - a survey about a response to climate change I stumbled upon a bunch of comments that got me mad and made me register and write a scathing reply. There were more than a few that annoyed me but I honestly did not have the time.

So here is the Economist.com survey and the comments that lead to my response belong to Nightscroft Squire Maldunne who probably annoyed me mostly because he sounds like an intelligent educated man.

And here is my reply.

Sir, it is ridiculous of you to denounce certain statistics and figures without proper reason while throwing a few more in without context.
Firstly a 300ppm to 310ppm rise is not an increase of .001%, it is an increase of 3.33%.
Now to quote some real C02 stats. From 1960 to 2010, there has been a rise in CO2 concentration from 310 ppm to over 380ppm. IPCC modelling shows that under different scenarios CO2 concentration would be anywhere between 540-970ppm in 2100. That is at the very least a 100% rise, and at most a 250% rise in CO2 levels since pre-Industrial Revolution times.
Secondly, of the 4.2 billion years of Earth history that you mention - complex life on land has existed only for a few hundred million years. When the Earth did have CO2 concentrations of 6000ppm, there were any complex organisms for it to kill.
More importantly it is not the effect on human health but on human society as a whole that is a cause for concern.It is true that the rising concentrations of CO2 would hardly be toxic to humans. However the issue here is that a change in climate patterns and rising sea levels will cause unprecedented extreme weather events, flood low-lying areas, devastate farm lands, cause unparalleled levels of migration and cause regional and international conflicts for basic resources. So yes, it will be a cause of misery and will have significant economic costs associated with it.
Events like volcanic explosions and asteroids have caused some of the largest mass extinctions in Earth's history wiping away up to 95% of all life. That hardly gives us an excuse to say that since something bad can happen that we have no control of, we should not try doing the little things we can do to mitigate the change we are bringing. As for our anthropocentric attitude to warming, the increase in CO2 emissions is directly related to our use of fossil fuel, there isn't another reason explaining CO2s increase to its current levels.
So please next time, do take a minute to think over this before you decide to give up and not do anything about anthropogenic climate change. And if that does not move you, think about the displaced millions, whose lands will be flooded in Bangladesh and Maldives when more polar ice melt and the sea levels rise. Human decency should motivate us all to try to soften the blow as much as possible.

Day 58

So the she-devil took upon herself to let me know that I had not updated this in a while. Two weeks so I guess she is right.

Had a bunch of exams so been a bit busy. Can't believe that both Maroon 5 and Jon Stewart were in town especially after I had left it. Read a very interesting article on the regional variations of the Ramayana across most of Asia. It was enlightening.

Probably should share it. Here, go take a look -  Many Ramayanas

There are numerous parallels to Roman and Greek mythos and some uncanny similarities to a couple of Disney fairy tales. And yes, I always qualify those fairy tales as Disney products. If you have ever read or heard(they were oral traditions) ye olde fairy tales, the term fairy tale ending would have a completely different meaning for you.

Day 44

So I opened this up for a new post. Then thought about it for 5 minutes. In the meantime my screen went dark. Still have nothing of note to share really. So this will have to do.

Oh wait I have something to get now. New episode!

Psych

Day 43

Got a nasty sore on my foot. One of those summer ones that I sometimes get. Guess I could gross people with out with a picture.
Also was quite disappointed that the Economist website has not moved onto a freemium pricing model. You would think getting all that money from those Apple and Android app subscriptions would have been enough.

Probably need some sleep - been a bit sleep deprived these past few days.

Day 41

Still unsure about what to do about what will henceforth be referred to as the Kindle quandary. There are new ones out. Mine broke. Fixing it would cost as much as a new one. But the Kindle Touch does not come out for another month. Or do I want the Kindle Fire tablet? It was so much easier when there was only one version and I didn't have to make a choice.

Remember the time back in school when you did not have to worry about exams and they were almost fun to take? If not, I kinda feel sorry for you.
So anyways its time for an anecdote. Sing along with me -

"Exemplum, exemplum,

An example from your own life,

But in this case its from my life

So its a Rizemplum."

Have a couple of exams coming up in the next few days. Honestly I have not been this relaxed about exams in 4 years. So I love having the old feeling back.

And we won. In cricket. Wiki that if you don't know what that is. I am looking at you white girl.

Day 37

Discovered a few new things really.
Colbert Report has a bunch of great writers. Honestly this was more of a reminder as I had fallen behind on the episodes this past few weeks.
All my favorite shows are back on the air(including one that I had completely forgotten about).
Also that there are few pretty good unknown new musicians out there and all I have to do is really look hard and try to find them.
And lastly that for some unknown reasons professors here are sick far more than anywhere else. Almost as if a sick day is a simple way to play truant. But of course they wouldn't.




Right?

Day 36

RIP Steve Jobs. I never liked Apple and that probably won't change in the next few years. But you were brilliant in every sense of the word.

Also a hint on why I don't end up updating this more often -  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=guanner

Day 32

Its been quite a while. Have fallen behind on this. Figured out that it is close to impossible for me to keep on updating it daily - or recalling and writing down the last 20 or so days which I haven't updated.
So the updates will now happen when I can. Probably about that day too.


So went to a 'carnival'. It really was more of a gala/fair. Without the ferris wheel of course. It wasn't too bad. Good life advice - never try something new with high expectations. You are far more likely to enjoy yourself then. There was a bunch of musical performances, some even pretty good - a bunch of skits and stand-up acts and some pyrotechnics and photonics. It was packed. And I got glitter all  over myself. Actually it wasn't self inflicted. Oh and I wrote down GUAN in large purple letters on one of the walls. Never forget your roots. Also listened to John Legend and Lupe's collaboration. Great song.

Day 12

Monday was the day I was supposed to revisit the administrator.He was sick. Even rumors of him being hospitalized though. Had to suppress a sudden rush of vindictive pleasure upon hearing that. I wasn't being nice. Selfish reasons actually - he was the only one who could get what I wanted done. They hadn't even prepared a substitute for such an eventuality. Still another day of guan.

And the traffic was horrendous. It took over an hour, I could probably have walked the distance in that time.

Day 10

Beginning. Again. All the gala of events they have to mark of a new start. Met a very very old friend. Elementary school to be specific. Its been a while. We reminisced. Had kept in touch these past few years though. Social Networking. It does have its benefits sometimes.

I told him about what I was up to. Blamed him of course. He had made the same life changing decisions I had made. A few years earlier. Had a good laugh about it.

Bloody administrators though. In this day and age how can someone, who is supposed to work the administration role on a computer, not know how to use one?  As in he needed someone else to do it for him. Idiot even got annoyed by how dealing with me was taking too long. As if me explaining myself and then him trying to relay the information to a third person to figure out was efficient to begin with. Asked me to return in a couple of days. Last I heard he was quite sick. I deny any responsibilities.

Which reminds me, Day and Age was quite a good album. They are amazing in concert too.

Day 9

Writing about Friday again. Will be skipping a few days to catch up. Pretty sure nothing happened in the days I don't mention. But Friday was special. It was raining. Haven't done Friday prayers outside in the rain in a long while. Brought back old memories. Ahhh.

The architect was back. The wheedling and dealing needed to make the changes to the plans took a while. A couple of hours actually. People don't like other people trying to meddle with their creations do they. Of course, I insisted.

Day 6

Two in a row. Go check the old post too. But I needed to catch up. And since there was as much guanning as the day before it even seems appropriate. There was one useful task of note though. I rearranged the furniture in my room. Haven't had to properly work in my room for a few years now. Will have to start soon. So got my desk out from the corner in the room. Also found an old swivel chair to go with the desk.The new arrangement makes my room look spacious. I like it. Won't have to worry about my computer overheating on the bed now.

Day 5

'Twas an even more unproductive day. Nothing done the whole day. I feel like I should apologize. To me myself of course. Only thing worth mentioning was that the architect showed up late at night. With the new floor plans. For the new block of apartments we are planning to replace our current abode with. Its logical and economically beneficial. Yet nostalgia often gets in the way. Its hard seeing the home that you have lived in for your whole life get taken down. I guess thats what memories are for.

Day 4

I finally got the administrative part done. I don't know what I was expecting but it was quite anti-climactic. Just got asked to show up again on the 17th. Especially since I had to stand in a queue for over an hour to hand in something that took me less than a minute to do. Didn't help that I also hadn't eating anything the whole day. On the whole it was a hot, tiring and completely unproductive day.

Day 3

Hadn't been to a picnic to this part of the world in a while. But this was hardly a picnic. Really - we cooked everything, reheated it there and sat down to eat in a room with a roof and walls. That should disqualify this from being called a picnic but they insisted. Still we did drive for over an hour, there are no concrete structures nearby and it was all quite picturesque. So I humored them. I spent most of the time there talking to two octogenarians - remarkable people. Was audience to some amazing tidbits of history about the development of the City from where it was 40 years ago to now.

It rained while I was walking outside. It felt good to feel proper rain again. Not the slight overcast drizzle I was subject to the last few years. Real rain that soaks you to your skin in less than a minute.

Watched a few games of football that were on the TV. The difference in quality between the rich teams and the others seems to have only widened. I wasn't complaining as my team won. It was also quite an entertaining display of good footy. But sometimes I feel that the neutrals might get tired of this in a while. After all don't we always root for the underdogs?

Day 2

Its Friday. And on that topic, I am pretty sure I haven't met anyone who knew who Rebbecca Black was. Good omen. Also had a very shrink-like conversation with an intriguing person. Probably have never had a chat with someone like him. It was quite unique.

Was walking back home late afternoon. Came a cross a few street urchins. Probably the homeless variety. The youngest one, around 7, had one of the foulest mouths I have ever come across. The two minutes I was within hearing range on the other side of the street involved me being exposed me to some of the most imaginative, descriptive and colorful lexicon of expletives and curses. Sort of like some of the dialogue from Four Lions. But far more explicit. Also if you like dark comedies and haven't already, go watch Four Lions. Or look it up on youtube.

I went to one of those new cafes that seem to be sprouting up all over my neighborhood. This was one was nice though. It was comfortable. Had an art gallery too. And a movie room. Food was meh. Maybe I'll try the waffles next time. Met up with a few old friends there. Regaled them with stories from our past. Reminiscing about the foolish things we did when we were younger was quite enjoyable. Should do that more often.

Day 1

It rained today. A lot. So it was pretty cool all day. The roads were a mess though. Nothing 'cept heavens floodgates opening to emphasize the dilapidated nature of our urban infrastructure. Got some work done. Took a few hours. Ah bureaucracy. How would the stalwarts of administration survive if not for the enthralling entanglements of procedures and queues. Sibling left for college. It will be interesting being home alone. Sleep schedule seems to be coming back to a more regular beat now. Hard to imagine Joey Barton of all people would be an inspiration. Isambard Kingdom Brunel. That made me smile. And then accusations of a modern Orwellian society. The reaction to the riots seem to emphasize it more so. But I will cover that elsewhere. Signing off for the night.