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Thursday, May 28, 2015

What happened to my morning tea?

Why does coffee heated up in the microwave foam up when sugar is added

What is an Experiment?

It makes the effect
of the invisible atoms
visible

Invisible here is
to the human eye

California two-spot octopus
sees with its skin

Whats inaudible to us
is not to dogs

Animal dictionary
does not match ours

Is life's purpose a
unified dictionary?

In the dark
does it matter
what color the octopus is?

It all depends on the prey's
eyes

Can a blind person
now see with his skin
or a deaf person
through some other
mechanism than ears?

Biomimicry
until all living things
sense in the same way.





What stone lends

Today inspiration - sculpture

Stone lets human body
defy gravity

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Enabling Acts: The Hidden Story of How the Americans with Disabilities Act Gave the Largest US Minority Its Rights




I had read about the demonstration on the subway stairs in Newyork prior to ADA in 'Million Years with you': A Memoir of Life Observed' by elizabeth Marshall (great author), in which her daughter contributed towards ADAPT (Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transport). At Tovrea Castle, one of the floors was closed because it couldnt be made accessible. Thats when I realised the ADA provisions. So its history hooked me right from the cover.
As a foreign national, this book is a great way to learn how things come about in law in America. For example, the relay service adding to the phone surcharge bill, number of employees of a small business being changed to 50, so really small businesses dont go out of business trying to retrofit to ADA requirements.
I have lots of notes from the reading to refer to various acts example Decoder Circuitry Act.
The book's main premise is that its not just the activists with the demonstration that got about the ADA to happen, but the politicians and the staffers too had a great role. The book goes into great detail about people, their characteristics, background, their views towards disability, change of mind of those who were not ready for ADA, organizations that melded together for the final act.

Dissent and the Supreme Court: Its Role in the Court's History and the Nation's Constitutional Dialogue


I came across 'Brandeis Briefs' in 'Enabling Acts: The Hidden Story of How the Americans with Disabilities Act Gave the Largest US Minority Its Rights' by Lennard J. Davis. Before I found the time to refer to it, I opened 'Dissent and the Supreme Court: Its Role in the Court's History and the Nation's Constitutional Dialogue' by Melvin I. Urofsky who happens to have written a book on the very Louis D Brandeis who led to 'Brandeis Briefs' with his 'compilation of scientific information and social science than on legal citations'.
If you are into legal history, you will have a ball reading how the tug of war settled in many cases. The how could involve interesting Concurrences and or Dissent. Concurrence is when the end is same but the reasoning to get to the outcome is different. Dissent is being at odds with the outcome. The expectation of the Supreme Court is to be the final word on law but for democratic purposes and future thinking, dissents are encouraged.
The book goes into detail about many cases. I enjoyed not just the specifics of the cases but also the thought processes. How prevailing legal opinions change overtime, how nature got its legal rights, what charter means for property rights.

Performance Breakthrough: The FOUR Secrets of Passionate Organizations


'Performance Breakthrough: The FOUR Secrets of Passionate Organizations' by Mike Goldman is narrated as fiction but speaks to a company with disengaged employees trying to get back on its feet. The first time I read a book fictionalized in business is 'Revenue and the CMO: How Marketing Will Impact Revenue through Big Data and Social Selling' by Glenn Gow.
In the recent times, I have read the concepts of knowing your 'employee culture' in 'Under the Hood' by Stan Slap and playing ignorance in 'The Ignorant Maestro'. Knowing your employees and building trust among them is covered in detail in the former, empowering your employees and trusting them to do a good job, giving them the needed freedom is covered in the latter.
So the concepts have all been there. But this book acts as a quick reminder to get the train onto the track. The format has two layers of fiction. One is the personal life of the narrator which feeds directions into his office life.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Sunday, May 24, 2015

First time

you heard a phrase
When you hear it again
you recall that first time
you heard the phrase

Perspective

Yesterday, one of the apartment building looked as a bigger, whole pattern. Like the white with red roof buildings of Europe. Since then its a beautiful walk toward that side.

Ekphrasis

Rattle ekphrasis
"You don't just have to open the door; you have to rebuild the door" - Justin Dart

The door was never there
like you were never there
until the woods grew
and sustained life
that flew
that gnawed
that sawed
and built a door
to the woods
that vanished life
of the last feather
jaw
man.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Socrates insisted that we define our terms before using them - Michael R Burch

The rhymes and rhythms are my wet paint - John Whitworth


1. Define a term.

2. "Where the house is cold.." - The Examiners, John Whitworth. Reminded me of Tagore's poem Where the mind is without fear. What is your imaginary 'Where'?

3. Was Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle after Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?