Please, with sugar on top, Wear a Mask

     Since the beginning of the pandemic I wanted to write about the way people go about wearing their mask. I came across a post on mastodon where a hotelier put out an ad with the heading "You are free to wear the mask or not at our establishment". To start with majority of we humans, have lost the art of empathetic thought. We either are in our own theoretical world or are so practical that we forgot the fellow human beings are also humans. The other humans just dwindle out from our thought. We have forgotten to value the other people's ideals. We have become self-centric. Now, the problem with this selfish attitude is it is not boding well in the present pandemic. In fact this facet is exposed to the highest.

    We have nay-Sayers for each and every issue in the world. Thought the ISS is beaming pictures of the earth 24 hours a day, we have nay-Sayers saying that the earth is flat. This number is not negligible and this number is highest in the richer nations with better education and information availability. Let us start with the farmer. Everything starts from the energy source, so let us start from here. The farmer is doing things which is natural and suddenly decides he is going to harvest his crop, pluck the fruit. He will not wash his hands. why? why not? He is free to do it. He thinks that all the micro organisms are good for the living beings. For him harmful and beneficial germs are the same. He does not know of any damage to anybody eating his food. Come on, How many have died of this? He would say that he did not eat it the proper way(You are not holding the iphone properly). It next goes to the storage. Here again, few operators are very particular about cleaning, while others are not and consider that this level of cleanliness is not required. They dont clean the containers, they dont wash their hands at all. Why, why not, they are free to do so arent they? You cannot find out whether all the operators of the stores are germ free while handling. This boils down to the operators only. And definitely in that crowd there will be nay-Sayers. 

    Now, the product goes to the processing industry, they have not cleaned their machinery since they started the facility. Why? They are bribing the testing crew. So what, they can clean the facility based on logic. Yes, they can, but they have their own logic. They see that nobody has reported sick because of their facility. If at all some die, what does it matter, it is a very small count. Now, let us come to the restaurant. Here again, the cleaners decide that they will clean, when they think that the containers have to be cleaned. Not before every time a dish is prepared. Why, why not? Let us come to the last level in this journey. 

    The customer. He walks in. He has not cleaned his hands, his shoes are dirty. He comes in and digs in all the while assuming that the entire chain of people responsible for him to have that meal have maintained utmost cleanliness. Why did he come to this particular place. He thought they are clean. Later he may fall sick. But he will not be able to attribute it to the food he had in the restaurant. Why, because he is not thinking about cleanliness and he is thinking that others will take care of it. He is thinking that the human hands have got magical cells which kill all the bad agents. So, what he does is crosses his hands on his shirt and thinks that they are clean. He thinks that food is clean by default. He thinks he fell ill, because for him falling ill is like sun rising and setting. routine.

    This pandemic is different. It has taken this nay-saying to a new level. There are theories stating that the virus beating capability is embedded in humans. Yes sir. It may be. But the capability of this immune system is varying from person to person. So, by experience if you have decided that you are the one blessed with such an immune system, We the weaker ones request you to please allow us a chance to survive this pandemic. Please, with sugar on top, wear a mask. You are saving many lives including yours. 

    There are no studies which prove that wearing a mask will reduce the oxygen intake. The human body knows how to increase the oxygen intake. It will make you breathe harder and breathe in longer. It will make you yawn. Wear a mask. For any infection to occur, the payload of the attacking micro-organism is a very important factor. Wear a mask to ensure that the payload of viruses you are breathing out is muted by the mask. This will give the lesser mortals an opportunity to survive that contact. You are a nay-Sayer and dont want to take a vaccine. All right, as we have discussed you are free to do so, until you are free to to do that. 

    But, no, you have to wear a mask. No, not any mask, a proper one. It should mute the amount of virus emanating from your breath. You never know, it might also limit the amount of virus payload you breathe in and might keep it just below the threshold limit of your immune system. It is a win-win situation. Use re-usable masks. Our planet is already full of these masks. Let us reduce the burden on our planet. Let us live to clean this planet and bring it back to its good old days. Let us give our children what we cherished. Let us not just talk about the good old days. Let us survive and re-create the same for our children.

Let us all, live. Wear a Mask, A proper one.

Agrarian Business

    What a perfectly bad time to be alive? A time at which we cannot adjudge the probability of any living being be alive. A time at which we have the most powerful computers which try to churn out weather data, but are unable to do the same to for the last mile of the living beings on earth. We are in the midst of a pandemic. We exactly know where it started. We exactly know how it was spread. We exactly know how the people who had the initial information stay quite and plan for the future to make use of this scenario. We are seeing a different world structure. The "diplomacy" word has become so complicated. The world, is in shambles.

    On one side we have the government of a country go and attack the agriculture industry which is the bread and butter of the majority of its residents. Instead of modernizing the agrarian sector, the government is hell bent on bringing corporate to the sector. Am I an economist, am I an agriculturist, am I a diplomat? No, None of these. I am a living being and I require food to be alive. So, yes, I should be interested what is happening in this sector. I should be interested in as much as the issues regarding the shortage of computer chips which has bought many of the industries to a stand still. Do the corporate have the agrarian experience which this big country which once was one of biggest economic power, which induced many emperors to come here and collect back the gold which they had paid for the artistic and the agrarian produce this country has produced. 

    Our agrarian industry is in shambles. Modernization has not reached this industry. Modernization tried to teach them shortcuts instead of the best practices. Modernization has destroyed the top soil in such a way that no crop can be grown without any chemicals/fertilizers. Modernization has failed to incorporate the experience of our hardworking farmers of yester years. There are only a handful of farmers who are striving by continuing with the practices laid out by their forefathers. There have been instances of educated people from cities going back to their agrarian roots and try to bring back the practices by our farmers from previous generations combining them with modern replacements ensuring that the chemicals used are minimal and every crop taken out is sustainable. 

    Vast tracts of land have lost the capability to grow anything. These vast expanse of land is waiting for the adjacent cities to grow so that it encapsulates this area. With this, agricultural land becomes residential land. But, until then the farmer can till the land, yes? No. The youngsters in the are are impressed by others going to the city to earn every day money or monthly money which is absent in the agrarian setup which they have been accustomed to. They go and do menial job which does not require any brain processing. If the youngster is at his agricultural land, he has to study the soil, he should study the weather, he should study the market, he should be smart. And then after all this, he wants that daily/monthly money which he knows cannot happen now. But, if he strives it might happen in an year or two. But by that time he would have earned that money now. Why wait for a couple of years. He dont know the disadvantage of working under others. It will be too late for him to recognize the freedom he had if he had continued with his agrarian plans. 

    The new crop of farmers want their crop to just grow. If there are issues put more fertilizers, more issues, more pesticides. If that dont work, the run towards the cities and do menial jobs. Ethics have been lost on the producer and the consumer. The consumer wants to alienate himself from the hardship of the producer. The producer dont care about the ill effects of his practises until his produce gets sold.

    On one side we have one country making the industry fertile for corporations, on the other side, there are countries which have already done this. Even these countries are not left alone. The bigger corporations are ready to take it to the next level. There have been examples of big corporations buying large tracts of agricultural land in the midst of a pandemic. This shows that these bigger ones know something which the present corporations dont know. In the midst of a pandemic a medical speech recognition company is bought for 20 billions USD. A person who dont know the first letter in the medical field, talks about the next pandemic. A philanthropist, through his non profit arm, ensures that the not for profit vaccine is smoothly transitioned to a money making machine. 

    Combine all this with the lack of interest shown by farmers. You have corporations which will then sell us doctored food. Food grown and altered as per the region and the class it is being sold. Time will come where food also will be assumed to be made like electronic gadgets. People dont know the issues associated with mining the minerals necessary for their gadgets until they have their shiny gadgets every spring. It will be the same for food. The time is not far away, where there will be presentations made about super food v1. We will all eat it. And then in the next presentation we will be told about the problems in the v1 food and we will be told that super food v2 will resolve all the issues v1 created in your body and then some improvements(In fact the issues to be resolved in v3) and so on.

    The pandemic on hand is awesome. It is affecting only the 99.99% of the population. The 0.01% is not bothered. They are going about their business while all the business of the 99.99% have tanked. Deaths have become mere numbers. Rules and regulations have been played with like it is childs play. The 99.99% dont know to believe the pandemic or not. The thing is if they believe, they have to stay indoors, which again, they cant. They will not be able to survive for long. If they dont believe, they will be be-littled by the believers and will be blamed for anything happening to the believers. No deaths are being questioned. No deaths have been subjected to further analysis. Even if it is subjected to further analysis by another doctor, what is the guarantee that the other doctor will be doing an ethical job of it. Hospitals are running out of beds. They are running out of oxygen. Let us not talk about ventillators. When the entire government machinery is busy chalking out the strategy to win an election, instead of the pandemic on hand, we know something is wrong the world is being run. Those who are near and dear to any human being only will be able to tell the damage, the pandemic has done. Those who have struggled to breathe will only tell the pain the pandemic has inflicted on an individual.

    So, the pandemic originates somewhere and spreads miraculously without anybody's knowledge. In the times of human wanting to go to the moon/Mars, without understanding the planet which they have inhabited for their entire lifetime, is a joke. The human kind is at crossroads. There is talk of universal basic income for every human being on the planet for workers and people who want to just while away their life. If it is all about printing money and sending it to every individual on the planet, it is very easy. However, all these people are to be fed. So, universal income depends on food available in plenty. We want to device methods of farming with minimum amount of water, so that potable water left on the planet can be used for human consumption. All these ideas boil down to one fact. 

    The "agrarian" industry is the most crucial one for the continued existence of man kind. It has to be kept out of multinationals and be kept as a family run enterprise and should be free for any individual to take up. It should be one industry which does not need any approvals. Water and air also were supposed to be kept out of reach of multinationals. However, we have lost it. The strategy used by multinationals to reach this situation is dangerous. Spoil all the pristine and natural sources of water and air. Now sell the same polluted water and air by commercializing the process of cleaning the damage which they themselves are responsible. The "agrarian" industry is taking the same path. Pollute the soil, pollute the minds of the farmer. The consumer's mind is already spoilt, We can ignore him here. Now, buy off all the land(water and air already owned) and then you have the complete planet under your control. First remove all the ingredients from the food and then add what is required based on the geographical location/caste/creed/class. We are nearly there.

    Coming back, the covid tests are a joke. There have been no improvements in the testing procedure. There have been no advancements in the treatments. Everybody is behind the vaccine. Mars missions and moon missions have been planned and executed. I dont feel the world wants to know the problem on hand. It just wants to go about its regular duties as though there is no pandemic. We surely can do away with the Mars/Moon missions. They can wait. They can perfect their mathematics.

    What has all this got to do with agriculture? Well, every living being has to eat. Food has to be grown. All the packed food needs the output from a farmer. The time is closer wherein, the super store racks will not have any packaged foods. The raw material for any edible item has to come mother earth. All governments, please leave the agrarian economy as is. Compile the experiences of yester year farmers. Combine it with just enough tech to ensure that the procedure is 100% sustainable. Not any lesser percentage. It can be done. There have been instances wherein individuals incorporating these older procedures have succeeded. Identify them and empower them. Now.

    When governments huddle together and discuss how to efficiently increase the capacity of mortuaries so that people who are dead will have a speedy ritual, there is something wrong. In all this where does a farmer stand? Is he important? In fact, is food important? Should we eat to survive?  It is high time the government supports innovation in this field. It is high time, the individual farmers start planning. It is high time the young farmers who have understood this concept educate the others than to get highlighted and stay so at the expense of other failures.

My rants on the sars-cov-2 pandemic

Disclaimer: The words below are "my" rants. I am not a Doctor, chemist or a  Biologist. I am an Engineer. So, there may be mistakes. Do your homework like I have done mine. I dont vouch for authenticity of the matter in the links provided.

     Plenty has been written about the birth and spread of Covid 19. Plenty more than any other pandemic the earth has ever seen. There are already books on the origins and the spread of the virus. They also speak of the spineless governments of the world. The pandemic has had its share of false news and conspiracy theories ranging from 

1. The virus was already existing 

2. It is the same as the normal cold virus 

3. Pharma companies along with the governments have blown it out of proportion

4. Pharma companies wanted to move the people away from usual way of administering medicines to RNA/DNA medicines 

5. Some other businessmen wanted to reduce the population of the world 

6. Pharma industry was not getting enough grants from the governments of the world to shift medicines to RNA/DNA based and ....... 

https://www.livescience.com/common-cold-coronaviruses-t-cells-covid-19-immunity.html 

    The above link tries to explain why the sars-cov-2 virus does not impact certain people. It also talks about our immune system and how it gets trained by one variant of a similar virus and can produce the necessary actions required to nullify the effects of the virus. So, what about a human who has not contacted any related virus. Well, as per the link, that particular person is at risk. If that is so, Americans normally had a vaccine every year for the influenza virus and yet they are one of the most affected countries in terms of percentage of death and infections. First thing is the influenza and the covid virus are of a different class. The antibodies developed for the influenza virus will not(may not) help in fighting the covid 19 variant. 

https://www.britannica.com/story/what-is-the-difference-between-influenza-and-covid-19u 

There, lets us stop the discussion regarding the similarities between them. What about the class of corona virus, were they already existing? Yes. As per the link below 

https://www.healthline.com/health/coronavirus-types

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2021/01/covid-19-will-likely-be-with-us-forever-heres-how-well-live-with-it/

     There have been two well known and documented class of "corona" virus. When we talk about corona virus, we are talking about a class of virus, with a spiked protein cover around the viral payload. These two instances have been contained by isolation and quarantine. These were not spread by asymptomatic humans. If we already know about the corona virus and we contained the previous two, how did we end up in a global pandemic. 

    This can be attributed to the carelessness of the governments of the world. The governments governed by the corporations decided that the aviation industry cannot be stopped. They decided that, the best way to cover this up is to remain silent. May be in many other cases, it might have worked. However, it did not work out in this case. When all the nationalist/jingoist mindsets have been satisfied, the news was allowed into the open. 

    By now SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes covid 19 was taken everywhere across the globe. The main attribute for this wide spread is that the asymptomatic people were the major spreaders. This aspect of this variant, is what makes it stand apart in the corona series. The damage by the viral load are very similar and attack the respiratory system, the most, with other aspects being discovered as we move ahead in time. If the virus spread was isolated at origin, like the previous two cases, we could have stopped the spread and this blog post wouldn't have existed. 

    Time is a *^%^h. This would be one more instance of a corona virus isolated in a particular geographic place and affect a few 100 people. It is very difficult to gauge the importance of an individual in this business minded planet. It is like this planet has been outsourced and business has to run at any cost, even if the last human is erased. It is like the next batch of humans are toiling somewhere else in a similar manner and all the business will shift to the next planet after the end of the last human on this planet. 

    The lockdowns, or worldwide isolation and quarantine appeared like an eye wash and half hearted, last resort plan. People were moving and the virus was already taken to all the countries across the globe. This isolation and quarantine works only if applied on a scale taken up on the previous known variants of the corona virus. Lockdowns are "face savers" for the politicians and the businessmen. There is no scientific/economical backing for a global lockdown except a political/business perspective. 

    Now, let us come to the treatment. I dont know why the medical companies gave up on treatment and focused only on a vaccine. I dont know the logic/economical aspect of this decision and we dont have a treatment as of date. But, vaccines have been cleared and have been administered to lakhs based on studies on thousands in a very short time. Majority of the vaccines are like proof of concept and highly advanced science of gene editing and precise chemistry of RNA. Reading about the RNA/DNA vaccines, is like reading a fantasy book. It reads like science fiction. If we can do this much for producing a vaccine, how difficult is to use the same technology to do something bad. Dont get me started by denying this. We are not far away, wherein, DNA/RNA jabs with blueprints of all the known viruses will be injected into the human body. It is like an attack dictionary on Missile warning systems. The approach for these vaccines is to generate antibodies for the spike protein. Now, this approach can fail once there is a change in this, in a drastic way. Yes the virus can mutate in many ways. What if, the spike mutates?

    The medical industry took this route by telling that the traditional way of making a vaccine by killing the virus and then injecting this into the human body is time consuming. This is totally %#^*^t. We already have vaccines made from this method and also cleared for use. The major advantage with this approach is we are giving a hint to our immune system about nearly all the properties of this virus. So, this would generate antibodies for many of the chemical combinations present in the virus. 

    The RNA/DNA methodology of making medicines is a great method for big pharma for getting a tight grip on the medicines. This will nearly kill the generics industry. Two recently cleared DNA/RNA vaccines make a statement that the DNA/RNA in the human cells are not touched. Can a normal human, know whether this is true? If DNA/RNA is the methodology of administering medicines, then, governments need to wakeup and ensure that enough competition is fostered and all the developments are available in public domain. It is not wrong, even if the governments start investing in state owned research facilities and upgrade them to the same capabilities as big pharma. In this way we can ensure that there is a lot of testing and availability of these advances are available to the common man. 

    The most interesting take from this pandemic is the polarization of people across the world. The main reason is that big pharma is not good at explaining the cause and the effect. It is like explaining light to the last animal in evolution which had not felt light around it. Our belief systems, our blind beliefs, our limited education, our limited brain usage, our limitation as a human being, has showcased beautifully. It is very interesting to listen to all the conclusions and the reason for these conclusions regarding the pandemic. No two individuals in the same home share the same idea about the pandemic. Many people are convinced that Europeans and Americans are dying of Covid 19 because their immune system is not as strong as their Asian counterpart. This class is forgetting that it originated in Asia and the highest number of deaths happened in Asia. This would have made Russel peters so angry that he would have to change the portion of his standup comedy where he talks about an instance of him landing at Mumbai Airport for the first time and welcomed with smell of shit. 

    We have politicians feeling for the dead, at the least. No corporation has stopped working or repented for any death of their workers. The politicians feel for the dead but are not ready to consider universal healthcare as an option. What is the use of feeling for the dead, when you did not feel for the living? This is the same in all businesses. The plentiful Human resource at its disposal make the business not at all concerned about the people dead with a known reason. People die every minute for a plenty of reasons, but when they die for a reason which the whole world knows may happen is what makes the death more sick. In fact majority of the work available in the world is broken to such an extent that you just have to plugin a new human to do that job. This is what is making the corporations not to take any serious thought towards the pandemic. 

    The medical profession is also at its most liberal best. Any complication can be labelled a "covid 19" case. Stop, dont draw your daggers, this statement was for medical practitioners who have done it or on planning to do it. How am I making this statement so confidently. Well, nobody is allowed to see or touch the patient. He is packed completely and burnt without any second opinion. So, what I am telling is it is very much possible, has been done and can be done. 

    There is one more issue regarding non believers. They are so pissed off by the care taken by the people who believe that there is a virus. Like the non believers who throw the caution to the wind, there is a population who believe that yes, we have a pandemic at hand. Of course there is another population which is exactly in between. They wear their mask below the chin. Never was their hands. These people will wear the mask when they hear some bad news regarding people whom they knew. It will be momentary, maybe for a few days. These people are not bothered about the complete believers or complete non-believers. The problem is with the non-believers. They will make fun of the middlemen and the complete believers alike. The believers will not make fun of the non-believers but are worried that this group will get them affected. They believers are angry on the other two groups. 

    The reason for the hue and cry created by the spread of sars-cov-2 is that, the human body might not detect it as a virus and fight it with enough fervor similar to a virus database it maintains. As time passed we got to know that a major portion of humanity had this virus in their immune database. However, one more issue which caused such widespread attention and lockdown is the fact that asymptomatic people were spreading it. And the virus once in the air, lived a very long time. All this information led to the situation we are today. 

    The good news is that, contrary to initial belief, the human body did fight the virus and many people did develop immunity. Now, the vaccines are here to help people with lesser immunity by adding the info of this virus into their database. This is the reason, I am of the opinion that recipients of the vaccine should be checked for antibodies and the situation of the immune system for this virus before vaccinating them. If they have already developed sufficient amount of immunity, it is of no use to vaccinate them. And we dont know what would be the result of such an action. But, nowhere this is being tested. In fact, every person to be vaccinated should be checked thoroughly for his medical history and compare it with the side effects of the vaccine. Based on satisfactory study and heuristics, the person should be suggested for vaccination. 

 

    Proteins are made of amino acids. And the "some" amino acids on the spike of sars-cov-2 virus are similar to the ones found on the placenta. In fact "some" of these amino acids can be found in other proteins in the human body. A vaccine based on this protein might induce antibodies against the protein with "some" similar amino acids. There is no proof for this. Hence there is no proof to stat that a similarly designed vaccine will induce antibodies attacking the placenta and in turn render woman infertile. There is no proof for this. 

    The human genome is made of DNA. The mRNA vaccine is not supposed to enter the nucleous of the cell. The DNA based vaccines which put the DNA of the spike protein into the cell are not supposed to interfere with the Human DNA. The chances of the vaccine altering the DNA is nearly nil. We dont know what will be the result of that small chance and we dont have any proof if it might happen at all. 

     Whatever be the truth, The wearing of re-usable masks have man advantages. During your commute you are going to filter out at least some of the dust. It will protect your face from the cold breeze. And of course, you are going to be protected from other viruses floating in the air. The other aspect we are practicing is what is difficult to maintain and that is physical distancing. But it is also has many advantages. This will avoid crowded meetings and only the required personnel will be called. This will require plenty of advance planning and to the point discussions. And please kindly use re-usable masks. The planet is already strained to the max with the plastic piling up. 

15K Kms on my Royal Enfield classic Chrome 500

     It has been a long time since I wrote about my motorcycle drive, The Royal Enfield Classic 500. The last thing I wrote was about the feeling after riding 500Kms. The thing is it took very little time to reach that mile stone. However, the present mile stone of 15K Kms has taken a very, very long time considering the amount of distances and places bikers cover in their journey. But, the drive still feels fresh and every day the drive is new. The adrenaline rush is still the same. The grunt on the bike is still the same. 

     The lockdown gave me the opportunity to drive the bike like I would have dreamt of driving in the Himalayas. Working for a company which cannot afford a lockdown, gave me the opportunity of taking the beast to the sea, and boy, did I take him to the sea, I took him to the ocean. It was like I wasted 20 odd years by waiting on the bike. Waiting on the reason that the bike is so bulky, so heavy. What a journey it has been. I never felt so comfortable on any bike I have driven to date. Even on bikes which are supposed to be comfortable, I have been the opposite. There is a joy when I drive the bike which cannot be expressed, explained. 

     In my (very) younger days, I always thought that going "fast" is what is biking about. Oh, boy, was I wrong. Cruising at a constant speed is what is biking about. It is more about the journey than the destination. Yes, I can hear you, the bottom line is all it matters. But, whenever anybody wants to reason out the causes for the bottom line, then you always try to remember the journey, However, alas, you dont remember much, because all your efforts were on the destination. 

     Newton's laws of motions have been now constrained to the things visible to the naked eye and comprehensible to the naked eye. And when that man told that "Eveybody moves(likes to move) in a straight line and in uniform motion", he knew what he was talking about. There is a certain joy in cruising, There is a certain joy in constant velocity. There is a certain joy in not creating an opposing force, there is a joy in blending. The joy of driving.... 

     The bike is as good as it was bought. It has the same sheen in its chrome finish. In fact the company has now brought the same chrome finish for its 350cc lines of bikes, which was exclusive to the 500cc for all these years. A fresh wash and the bike starts gleaming. It is like it is grinning with its mouth wide open, ear to ear. It is like an invitation to start a new journey. It is like there is no end. It is like you can make the same journey, provided you decide that what matters is the journey and not the destination. It is like.....

Covid 19 Non immune have the same rights of a human life

 All this herd immunity thing cannot be digested. So the world has decided that there will be casualties. So, a person dies in the present pandemic, it is because of weak immunity. That will become a count the next day. Now, why should a person die because of a lack of immunity to a mistake done by a state/company/individual. The person who is dead is in no way connected to the mistake done by the source. We have totally forgotten to question the source. Why because the source seems to be more powerful. 

Is a common man powerful enough to change this thought. No. Not in democracy, not in any other setup of modern governance. Let us take the example of sweden. One of the doctor in sweden's biggest hospital put out his thoughts on the way the country handled the pandemic. There were no lockdowns. All in all around 6K people have passed away in the past four months due to the pandemic. That is a very measly figure considering the yearly deaths of the country in question. Just because it is measly does it mean that those 6K people were so easily expendable. How was it decided that some people were expendable. 

The doctor is very happy with how it has turned out and he believes that all this occurred because of herd immunity. But what about the people who died and will continue to do so for lack of immunity. Who is responsible for their lives. Everybody who passed is a father, brother, sister, friend and most of all a human being. How any other human being is expendable is a big question. This is real war. It is fought silently by all the governments on its own people. 

Even in the times of the pandemic, while the doctors and scientists are struggling for funds, majority of the countries are on an arms race. Defense equipment still takes the major chunk of all the countries expenses. When will the health of the citizens take priority over borders. We are in a demo of the dooms day setup. When there is a real dooms day and all the 1% escape to safety, and all the 99% are washed away or zombied. The only difference is we are allowing a human activated virus, resulting from a human mistake, which could have been culled at the source, to simulate a dooms day. Even at the expense of the people's death, hospitals are making money, extravagant money, again enriching the 1%. Destroying the environment. 

All the items banned are on the main page of all the stores. Alcohol based sanitizers, banned at one time, now share the same space in bags as drinking water. Just before the pandemic there was a huge drive against plastic use. We are now choking the Planet with masks, PPE, and related things which will be a much bigger problem and would result in a bigger issue which the mask and PPE cant stop.

Why cant the economy of the worlds stop for a moment. It cant stop because we are in an economy of Just in time. The supply chain is just in time. It is not relaxed. Stop the arms race, stop all the cross border issues. Join hands with the doctors and the scientists. Just pause the economy for a few months. Dont tell me it cant be done. We have seen it done in all the countries, albeit for a varied amount of time. This calls for a collective effort from all the countries/individuals. All the laboratories/scientific establishments working in tandem sharing data in an open way to reduce re-invention of the wheel. 

All the laboratories/scientists/doctors belonging to the 1% should be allowed to work in a global way, without the intervention from the owners and under a universal governing body, again, made of doctors/scientists/engineers and all the professional people required in assisting and testing the output. Can the consumerist world pause itself so that all the 1% companies have nothing to sell. Buy local groceries. Support the local producers. So that the world when it gets back has an alternate setup for consumption. Well, dont the 1% know this can happen. They know it can happen. If the lockdown had extended for another 06 months throughout the world, humans would have setup an alternate setup for meeting the consumerist attitude of the individual & it would definitely be local. 

Humans are basically restless. This 06 months all the funds available for defense from all the countries should be diverted to identify test and release the requisite medicines. Well, medicines are required for that portion of people who dont have immunity. So, now the medicine is out and the non-immune portion of humanity also will survive. Husbands, wives, sons, daughters, friends, humans live. No human life is expendable. If a tea sellers life was long ago deemed as not important and expendable a country wouldn't have had one of the longest serving state head.

All of a sudden deaths of people around the world has become a mere count. A tech company head comments on medicines. A traditional dancer assures that vaccines if available will be provided to one and all. The thing is doctors and scientists are the only people talking sense. This is their job. They know their job. Let them be. Let them talk. For once, I request all the 1% to be quiet and allow the podium to the doctors and scientists. Let us give them the stage and the mic. This is their time to be in the spotlight. Turn the spotlights on them.

Let us save the Non-immune humanity not by treating them and torturing them on ventilators but by prevention. And, No, the logic of death of a few for the survival of the largesse is totally flawed. Since the largesse surviving might be the worst of the lot.

People, what is wrong with you and your masks

There is something really wrong with majority of the people in the world. Yes, it is a matter of discussion whether the social distancing rules and wearing a mask is going to help in a pandemic. Yes, there will be arguments on both sides. But, the mask wearing side has always won. Now, there are many classifications on the attitudes of people wearing masks. Let us for a moment forget about the age old classifications based on caste/creed/color and what not and concentrate on masks. Oh...I heard you. What a waste of time. We could have continued our discussion on traditional classifications. You are interested more in it. You feel that is more colorful. You feel that is more relevant. You feel ..... OK, I understand. Shall we now get back to the masks...

Lot many people are still considering the present pandemic a conspiracy theory. I have always maintained neural ground and will not take any particular sides until it is so clear that there really are no sides. I have seen educated people talk non-sense. Let us leave the mask for a moment and come to the next item important, Oximeter. There are very clear instructions as to when you require an oximeter. Let us assume you have decided to home quarantine after testing positive or the doctor has advised home quarantine based on your past health. Now, two instruments needed will be a thermometer and the oximeter. In a six person home an oximeter might be a good buy. But the requirement is very clear. You should have an oximeter with you if you are showing any symptoms of the pandemic at hand. Will the oximeter save your life? No. It will tell you if your health in home quarantine is deteriorating and you should consult the hospital immediately. So, one person decides not to buy the oximeter not because he understood why it is required. He doesnt want to buy, because it is a conspiracy theory by the capitalist companies. By the way he is wearing a mask. Thank the force for that.

Let us come back to the masks. What is wrong with people. The mask is not a handkerchief. It is not be touched every milli-second. Let me see the different ways the masks are touched and handled by the public
1. Majority wear it because the government is levying fines for people not doing so.
2. Many are wearing substandard thin cotton masks, while we are talking about N95.
3. Many are wearing it at their chin.
4. Many are wearing it so loose that all the air going in and coming out might be full of the virus.
5. If they want to pull the mask down, they do so by holding it exactly in the middle an pulling it below their chin.
6. They again hold exactly the middle portion to pull it back.
7. They dont cover the nose and it is at the mouth level.
8. They are not washing it every day(if washable).

Am I an expert in recommending masks? No. I am only logical at it. So, what is the best mask?

1. An N95 mask wore properly covering the nose and the mouth down to the chin such that majority of the air going in and coming out is through the mask.

What other choices?

Though not medically recommended, masks made of multiple layers of cloth with criss-cross strands could be made at home. Preferably more than 3 layers. If possible a filtering medium in between the layers is recommended.

How to really wear it?

1. Hold the masks only at the strands which are for fixing it. Fix it such that it covers your nose and the mouth and you feel that majority of the air entering is through your mask only. You are not feeling the air entering through the sides of the mask. If this is not so then there is no point of wearing your mask.
2. Once you wear it, do not touch any portion of the mask. Move around as though you are not wearing them. Do not touch your face at any point of time.
3. If you want to remove it, again, hold them at the strands and make an arrangement for hanging the mask from the strands. Ensure that you or any others or any other thing does not touch the surface or the insides of the mask. To wear it again, follow step 2.
4. It is better you have a mask for the office work separately and keep it at the office.
5. If you are using masks made of layers of cloth, it is recommended to wash them everyday.

For better results with the mask, another important aspect is maintaining distancing. At any point of time maintain at least a minimum of 1 metre distance between everybody. And everybody in the vicinity also to maintain the same. It is not enough that you are wearing the mask properly and maintaining the distance. Everybody else should do so. This will minimize the payload, if it exists in any of the person in the group.

With all the above we are ensuring that the payload when delivered to our body, will be minimal and our immune system is capable of fighting that smaller payload.




Survive.

Why are we here

Yes, Why are we here. Why are we born on this planet and why on this planet and only on this planet. Why is this question being asked now. Is this the right time to ask this question and is it the right time. In fact, are we allowed to ask this question. The whole world has been swallowed and united by a pandemic. United is a very big word and that too encompassing the entire world with that is a bit..... We are united only in discussing about it and the devouring news regarding the pandemic. But when it comes to resolving the problem at hand, there has been no unity.

Let us see, what does a restaurateur do in this time of a pandemic. He can serve free food until his capability to do so runs off. Which happens very quickly in this modern world. We dont stock anything except our electronics, which is totally useless and a headache for cleaning. Our forefathers always planned for a bad day, bad year, if possible, out of experience. Dried food which can be store for a long time. Food grains which have long storage life etc were always maintained. Now, it is all, JIT. The concept of cost cutting, the concept of saving time so that the time saved can be spent on our electronic devices. So, did we get our answer for the first question. Are we here to consume and consume only. We are not creating a new earth. We are trying to move to more dirtier and dangerous planet instead of cleaning up and maintain the most inhabitable planet in the known cosmos.

It is all the same everywhere. All Indians dream of going towards the west and the west are always in awe at the philosophical and metaphysical knowledge available for ready digestion if anybody wants to have some. Since we are in the times of a pandemic can the funds for the rocket scientist be transferred to the scientists/doctors working towards the pandemic. Can the same be done for other areas of research. Can we press the pause button for two quarters for all other scientific spending. Will there be an alien attack within this time. Can we stop the petty quarrels related to our fake borders, ethnicity, colors, beliefs, gods, ........, nationalism, jingoism, religion, economic models, rich, poor.... OMG,I cant further go on. I am tired. What a waste of knowledge. What a waste of brains capability, listening to all these things and arguments about all sides. The thing is some people are expendable. Now, who are expendable is situational and many other variables which is beyond the capability of my brain. Is any living being expendable. Really, a living being is expendable. The statements and statistics that this many will die. I have to agree that the statisticians are definitely doing their job. Who gave the right and power to allow the people making such statements by arranging press meets and spending money for such events.

All human feelings have become situational. Everybody is made to believe that the pandemic will not affect him. Whoever is affected is brought to the side and told that your are affected. Now, who is responsible for this. Human apathy towards fellow humans is the reason. Everybody is fighting the pandemic in their own way. There has never been a unified approach. There has never been all hands on the deck approach. If that approach had been there, we would be out of this scenario by now. Fake sanitizers, Fake masks....... Where is humanity going towards. Is/was there anything called humanity. Does humanity mean every human has equal rights for everything in this world. Humanity also means that we should be considerate to all other human beings. But, if the meaning of that word does not apply to fellow humans, then I think the word is just a catchphrase for a company. Whoever is affected by the pandemic is fighting a lone battle and who has not come into the contact of the virus is feeling that he will not be affected. This is being maintained by all the governments and corporations across the world.

This pandemic is not something which humanity can defeat. It requires all hands on the deck approach regarding human efforts and all the resources required for resolving this issue. Can Human race unite and join together in bringing health to the entire world. Was the world before the pandemic a better one. Will the world after the virus is defeated be a better one. We can make the world better by imbibing the real meaning of humanity into minds/hearts of all the humans on this planet. Isnt that why we are here. To survive and strive. Let us.............

Work from home is the need of the hour

The present pandemic in the world has bought to the fore a prime mistake in the industry. The mentality of the present industry is a carry over from the industrial revolution. The entire work force has to be brought into a walled fortress and hold them for a minimum number of hours under a different setup and set of laws different from the societal setup. The precursor to the industrial revolution was the cottage industry. Every society had its equilibrium by specialists doing what they do best and continue to do so for centuries. Majority of the cottage industry were highly skilled and carefully guarded secrets. Very rarely did finished goods cross the local society. Every society had its dress code based on the raw material and the ability of the tailor in the locality. Majority of the procedures were available in the house of the creator.

Now it is all about nationwide/global markets. Highly skilled jobs have been broken down to easily assimilated steps which can be done by anybody. There are not much crafts which can be called a secret in the present scenario. All the goods created so were physical in nature. It made sense to create the most economical process flow to minimize the costs. This industry also gave birth to the service industry which are truly global. But still there are mom and dad service centers who cater to the last mile.

The one industry which blindly followed the strategies of the physical industry is the software industry. The work content are poles apart. The software industry does not need to collect all the contributors under one concrete building. The industry works on collaboration and there have been many tools available for collaboration through the public network. The industry also employs a considerable number of people and the earnings are also supposed to be good. This industry contributes most to the usage of roads/vehicles since this industry works three shifts. There are not many physical industries which can run all the three shifts with the same efficiency. Code written at home or at desk are no different. In fact, the disturbances of the open office or the cramping of the closed ones dont augur well for the motivation of the contributors.

It is now high time the industry and the government wakes up and stops this movement of the work force. The software and the call center/remote service industry have to start working from home. This will reduce the load on the roads and the infrastructure can be utilized for other purposes. This would also result in stabilizing the real estate prices. This would also stop investment in projects like we-work. This can be utilized in improving the public network backbone. This sort of work culture can employ well deserving remote employees who cant come down to the cities for a job. This would in turn provide opportunity for remote workers in villages to do an evening/night job combined with agriculture and other familial activities. This is perfect for the female staff to take care of their kids and their education. There are many occasions where high earning couples are not having time to contribute for their kids. Just a mere presence of the parents in the house can mean a lot for the kids. This gives an opportunity for real flexi hours based on the commitment of the parents like sending the kid for school and then collecting him back.

Motivational theories are to be re-written, Managerial roles are to be re-configured and definitely will create jobs for people to maintain the public network infrastructure. Improvements should always be welcome and learning should be continuous and inclusive. I request all the software companies to completely shift to remote working and give opportunities to the most remote locations and identify and support capable people wherever they are. The pandemic demands minimum amount of people available in the out. Make the world a better place.