Science fair

I am planning a science fair again this year at the village school I volunteer at. I was very happy with last year's effort. The Youtube and Arvind Gupta's toys from trash are a god send for me, and I am planning to make full use of it this year.
I am getting a little over ambitious perhaps, but I am hoping one of the boys will be able to make a tiny wind turbine.
Unfortunately, I do very little Chemistry since the logistics are more difficult for Chem experiments and they need to be done repeatedly for each of the many visitors.
Today I went to buy some LED lights for the projects. The shop owner asked what it was for, and when I explained, he gave the LEDs free. Nice to meet good people.

Tamilisai

My mother learnt Carnatic music for a very short period when she was a girl, and was very good. She could have been a musician of renown, but due to various reasons, had to give up learning and did not achieve what she could have. However, in the later part of her life, she did sing on AIR programs and a few concerts in Madras. She also learnt Devaram and Prabandham.
In the past few years, my phone conversations with my mother would sometimes turn to music and she would tell me about Tamil music and how she thinks it is a neglected genre. She was quite knowledgeable about Devaram and Divyaprabandham. So I had suggested she write a blog, and had started one for her. She writes regularly and it has grown quite a lot in the last two years. For those who are interested in music and read Tamil, it is
http://lv-tamilisai.blogspot.in/search?updated-min=2014-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2015-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=49  

After the furious floods in Uttarakhand last year and J & K now, is there a possibilty that deforestation, encroachment into water bodies will be seriously prevented or controlled?

The HRD ministry/UGC has flexed its muscles and DU obeyed.
The original idea was that the first year of the UG program should be broad based. I agree that students need a broad based education. Students studying for a BCom degree do not know what diabetes is (the details of this story are rather hilarious, but perhaps left for another day).
Yes, some general education in the first year UG program is welcome. But they were taught quite a bit of biology, history, geography, civics in their schools. When asked "did you not learn this in school?" they just shrug it off........"who remembers?"
So when what was learnt in school is forgotten by the time they reach college, what is the guarantee that what is learnt in the first year will be remembered?

Most BSc students do not know anything about history, geography, or anything that's happening around them. Most BA students know no science. A broad based education is not given, and students are not experts in the subjects they study as their majors. So what do they know? Net result is that they are neither Jacks of all trades nor masters of any.
So perhaps three years or four years, just give them a general education such that they can at least read well and write well.
What used to be the goal of the middle school education should now be the goal of "higher education"

Any exam will have serious limitations. It may at best select people with a particular skill set. But universities need something to base selections on. What if a university could change the focus of its entrance exam every year? The 2014 batch would be people with good math skills, 2015 batch with logical minds......so on. They should all have classes together....courses open to all years at any time.......
Would such  an university be an interesting place or would it be  chaos?

jobs

I have just finished today's quota of language-editing work and mailed it. This is for a prestigious international journal where the editors doing this work are expected to have earned an MSc or a PhD in Chemistry. After reading a research paper that described a strategy to target cancer cells, going over and over unfamiliar molecule names, unfamiliar techniques, and long-winded sentences for over 5 hours, I have earned maybe 800-850 rupees.

Yesterday, I got the airconditioners in 2 rooms serviced in anticipation of the coming summer. Here the word "serviced" means the following-- 2 fellows came, asked me for duster cloth and Colin. One made me get him a stool, on which he climbed and  dusted the 2 indoor units, wiped them after spraying my Colin. He then washed the 2 outdoor units by pouring 3 buckets of water each on them as if he was performing some abhishekam. The other fetched water from the tap in my garden. This went on for all of 45 minutes and I had to pay them 1000 rupees-- 500 per AC.

Three months ago, my first floor bathroom drain developed a leak. I got this plumber to come. He brought his assistant, I gave him all the material and he patched something up. It took him about 2-2½   hours. He charged me 2500 rupees. And the drain resumed leaking two days later when I started using the bathroom again after the cement dried.  

Of the three jobs above, AC cleaning is the most efficient way of making money. Zero skill, very little time consumed and no drains. I am considering taking that up instead of freelance editing.

My air and My water

http://www.cprindia.org/publications/papers/4979-groundwater-law-india-%E2%80%93-towards-framework-ensuring-equitable-access-and-aqu

It is very difficult for people to understand  common good. Most of us have difficulty in accepting that some sacrifices must be made by us for common good.
In the case of ground water, I cannot even make people understand that ones borewell is not really ones own.
Our colony with more than 1000 dwelling units, has a couple of deep borewells from which we get our water supply. Of course we have shortages often. So some people have dug their own borewells and run that to supplement the colony water. This excessive availability of water makes them profligate. They wash the yard everyday, wash cars everyday............. they argue that it is their water, from their bore well.
It is not possible to convince them that like the air, groundwater does not belong to anyone. It a common good.
I tried asking one person that if I emit some acid fumes in the air above my house- ie "my" air -would they be fine with it?