Krishnan's weblog – an assortment of things. A scribble pad. A hybrid microblog. Mostly bread crumbs of an internet journey.
I read this beautiful piece of writing today and it gave me enough clarity to think through the day.
“Peak Oil” has been eating my brains out for the last couple of days.
Except a few chemical engineers around me who atleast seem to understand the enormity of the problem, most people around me seem blissfully ignorant and completely unaware. I even heard about some one saying “Oil can’t ever run out, it gushes out from under the earth.”
History seems all set to reverse itself.
I’m reminded of Gauguin’s words: “In order to do something new we must go back to the source, to humanity in its infancy.”
The human kind surely does not need oil to survive.
Great empires were established without a single drop of oil. Even though Rome was not built in a day, it was built before refineries were built.
In lieu of oil, humans will need to work harder, but that can’t be very bad. For centuries, our forefathers have done that.
But of course, working harder was never an acceptable solution to the human race. What we want is a simple magical energy solution will present itself to the human race so that the laziness can prevail and all can watch TV sitting on fat couches eating chips and drinking cola. It could be a simple wave of Harry Potter’s wand or a wierd gravity defying perpetual motion machine installed and maintained by Mickey Mouse. The solution has to come from somewhere.
People, atleast some of them, need to take up the role of artists to create the ultimate energy solution…and the painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen.
Gauguin said : I shut my eyes in order to see
This means that if a painter limits himself to the mundane sight of the world, his ability to create things beyond the mundane sight is lost.
What I learn from this is that for one to arrive at a truly creative solution, one has to stop worrying about the norm. Creative solutions are obtained more easily if the norm is discarded and the mind is free to seek and try means that are new, different or innovated.
I’m going to close my eyes now, so that I can find a solution to the energy crisis. Check this space tomorrow 
Truly, I cannot imagine the day when there will be no more petrol in the world or LPG for our kitchens. I’ve always liked to believe that our planet had enough oil for us to last atleast our life time. But the information I find on the internet is increasingly disturbing.
I’ve read about the Hubbert peak before.
But I happened to to stumble upon these articles today :
1. http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
2. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/051219/19energy_2.htm
3. http://www.thebulletin.org/article.php?art_ofn=mj05cavallo
All these articles are very interesting and discuss what can possibly happen when oil reserves are depleted.
The primer http://www.energybulletin.net/primer.php provides a good starting point to understanding what happens to the world economy when oil reserves are depleted.
But what came as a surprise was the time scale predicted by some people. http://www.energybulletin.net/19701.html.
Chevron has a beautiful website http://www.willyoujoinus.com/ that discusses these issues. Cant help but wonder if the end really near?
I’m often stuck with a single CD in my car’s player for many days. Limited choice of music can really hurt sometimes.
If you were to carry just one CD for a long road trip and you had the choice to fill it with any music (say 150 songs in mp3) you that you want, what would you fill it with?
For me, there has got be some oldies :
May be I should really start with Peter Paul and Mary who created in addition to creating melodies, picked up songs with excellent lyrics. Music with sense.
Peter, Paul and Mary
Continuiung on melodies based on literature, there has got to be Simon and Garfunkel. I like Sony’s compilation of S&G the best. 20 Greatest hits. It has got to be there.
Simon and Garfunkel
There are other oldies, I remeber only in singles
I’m a big time fan of the King so:
Elvis Presley
Perhaps should also briefly re-live the Beatlemania
The Beatles
Any compilation of any kind is incomplete without Micheal
Micheal Jackson
My gate way to english music, Boney M
Boney M
Moving on, then there should be just the key songs from my main stream bands
Dire Straits
Bon Jovi
Eric Clapton
Guns ‘n Roses
U2
Greenday
Pink Floyd
Bryan Adams
Some thing of the other bands:
Air Supply
Kenny Rogers
Bill Haley
Aqua
Madonna
Deep Purple
Lou Bega
Wham
Jennifer Lopez
The Doors
A few songs which I consider to be classics
Pack some dance tracks, may be
Movie tracks
Then there are so many singles I just love:
I really got to stop after typing so much.
I’d really like some more song suggestions, if anyone can think of better choices of songs to listen on a long road trip.
But the conclusion now is that there is no real conclusion.
Like A.R.Rahman says in the World Space ad, “There is so much to hear”
Too bad there isn’t enough lifetime 
.
Look what I found on Google Video.
The whole movie on Bharathiyaar.
Part 1
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=360189286652195462&hl=en]
Part 2
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-3125701765360809882&hl=en]
Part 3
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-3682649096300555783&hl=en]
Hope it stays there.
This is a compilation of Linux links the average Linux learner will ever need.
Linux, Pronunciation
Linux, as named and pronounced by Linus Torvalds:
http://www.paul.sladen.org/pronunciation/torvalds-says-linux.wav
http://www.paul.sladen.org/pronunciation/torvalds-says-linux.mp3
http://www.paul.sladen.org/pronunciation/torvalds-says-linux.au
Linux, People
Linus Torvalds
http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/torvalds/
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/linus/
Richard Stallman
www.stallman.org
Larry Ewing
www.isc.tamu.edu/~lewing
Lars Wirzenius
http://liw.iki.fi/liw/
Linux General
www.linux.org
www.kernel.org
www.linuxlinks.com
www.linux.com
www.linuxhq.com
www.linuxiso.org
www.distrowatch.com
http://counter.li.org/
www.linux.org.uk
www.linuxhq.com
www.li.org/
Linux, Learning
http://learn.clemsonlinux.org/wiki/Getting_Started
www.tldp.org
www.linuxhotbox.com
http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/linux/cmd/
Linux, GUI
http://www.gnome.org/
http://www.kde.org/
Linux Distros
http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/
www.debian.org
www.slackware.com
www.mandrakesoft.com
www.redhat.com
http://fedora.redhat.com
www.ubuntu.com
www.kubuntu.org
www.gentoo.org
www.novell.com/linux/
http://en.opensuse.org
www.mandriva.com
www.linspire.com
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html
www.damnsmalllinux.org
Programs for linux
http://www.linuxsoft.cz/en/
www.gimp.org
www.openoffice.org
www.koffice.org
www.sourceforge.net
www.skype.com/download/skype/linux/
www.mplayerhq.hu
www.real.com/linux
www.scribus.net
https://helixcommunity.org
http://xinehq.de
http://www.linuxprinting.org/
http://www.linuxgames.com/
http://www.konqueror.org/
http://directory.fsf.org/
Linux, News
www.linuxmagazine.com
www.linuxtoday.com
www.linuxworld.com
www.linuxjournal.com
http://lwn.net
Linux Search
www.google.com/linux
Linux, Others
www.linuxsecurity.com
www.linuxdevices.com
www.linux-usb.org
www.linux-on-laptops.com
I’ve lost count of how many hours I’ve listened to Simon and Garfunkel.
The “Simon and Garfunkel” experience has had an irreversible influence on my life.
To me their life and work represents a high point in the history of music.
Many hours after listening to Simon and Garfunkel, most other music does not reach my soul. I still crave to have more and more of their music, decades after it was made.
Now it is your turn to live (or re-live) the magic.
Sound of silence
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg5xLi8lSrw]
Bridge over troubled water
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftnlCsgGCn0&mode=related&search=]
Scarborough fair
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JgaZ73M-Ms]
Homeward bound
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpcR1AsTU0g&NR]
America
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQhfCNLruGc]
The Boxer
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ibQJH_BFRk&mode=related&search=]
Mrs. Robinson
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GtjD-LLlUg&mode=related&search=]
I am a rock
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okwrplQh9Lk&mode=related&search=]
Cecilia
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lceXGcB52M&mode=related&search=]
At the Zoo
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvEf_xLHfI8&mode=related&search=]
El Condor Pasa
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swYMIB0c2VI]
Feeling groovy
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoWF2YalYvI]
First I was afraid
I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never live
without you by my side
But then I spent so many nights
thinking how you did me wrong
I grew strong
I learned how to carry on
and so you’re back
from outer space
I just walked in to find you here
with that sad look upon your face
I should have changed my stupid lock
I should have made you leave your key
If I had known for just one second
you’d be back to bother me
Go on now go walk out the door
just turn around now
’cause you’re not welcome anymore
weren’t you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye
you think I’d crumble
you think I’d lay down and die
Oh no, not I
I will survive
as long as i know how to love
I know I will stay alive
I’ve got all my life to live
I’ve got all my love to give
and I’ll survive
I will survive
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc0z78FqkMc&NR#]
It took all the strength I had
not to fall apart
kept trying hard to mend
the pieces of my broken heart
and I spent oh so many nights
just feeling sorry for myself
I used to cry
Now I hold my head up high
and you see me
somebody new
I’m not that chained up little person
still in love with you
and so you felt like dropping in
and just expect me to be free
now I’m saving all my loving
for someone who’s loving me
Go on now go walk out the door
just turn around now
’cause you’re not welcome anymore
weren’t you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye
you think I’d crumble
you think I’d lay down and die
Oh no, not I
I will survive
as long as i know how to love
I know I will stay alive
I’ve got all my life to live
I’ve got all my love to give
and I’ll survive
I will survive
Look at what I found on YouTube. I just love this song.
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=oVf8JKt4ybM#]
There is an interesting provision in the Indian voting system, as per a 1969 act, in section “49-O” of code of conduct of elections.
As per this, a person can go to the polling booth, confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey the presiding election officer that he doesn’t want to vote for anyone!
Now, why should anybody go to the polling booth and say “I DO NOT WANT TO VOTE FOR ANYBODY”?
Simply because it can make a difference.
“Not voting” and deciding to “not vote for anybody” are two different things as per the constitution.
The decision to “not vote for anybody” prevents your vote from being misused. Also, it can alter the course of an election result even after a candidate has won a majority of votes.
If the number of people using the “49 O” option is greater than the winning candidates vote margin, then the election results would be null and void. Not only that, the candidature of the contestant would be removed and they cannot recontest, since people had already expressed their decision on them.
This way, if >50% people decide to use this option, then this means people do not have faith in any candidate who is contesting the election. The political parties would have to then either propose new candidates for the next elections who are acceptable to public or it may pave a way for new independent candidates.
This would instill some fear inthe political parties who would look for genuine candidates for their parties for election. This could change the way of our whole political system.
Showing your power expressing your desire not to vote for anybody is more powerful than voting , so don’t miss your chance.
So either vote, or vote not to vote (vote 49-O) and you can do your share to improve India’s political system.
For those who know Tamil, there is an article about this at http://www.keetru.com/ohpodu/Oh_Podu.pdf.
Please pass the word on to everybody you know.
Learning Daily is a personal blog that is just as random as my thoughts. The navigation bar at the top and the search box may be the only things that will help you find something.
My present interests lie in sustainability, peak oil, debian, Web after 2.0, creativity and epistemology. I learn daily. I learn about everything under the sun and even those beyond it. I am a perpetual student whose believes that wisdom is the real reward for learning.