Thursday, September 07, 2017

Quick notes: Deglobalization, Indian Hercules...

  • Vernacular remains resilient: English-based Internet helped globalize the world economy in the last two decades; now, with the reverse trend of deglobalization, regional languages are replacing English as means of digital communication. 


  • Putin: Leader in artificial intelligence will rule the world. Future wars will be fought by drones, and when one party’s drones are destroyed by drones of another, it will have no other choice but to surrender.”


  • Gripen vs F-16: Saab links up with Adani to bid to build fighter jets in India 


  • Country's first Hyperloop in AP: Amaravati to Vijayawada in 5 minutes. AP govt signs MoU; feasibility study to start in October


  • No white elephants here: London is now awash with bike-sharing schemes


  • Kodi Rammoorthy Naidu: The Indian Hercules Was A Vegetarian Body Builder.

    Rammoorthy often performed a stunt where he would hold back a motorcar from driving away, with his own strength. One of their performances was attended by Lord Minto – the then Viceroy and Governor-general of India. Minto, amazed by what he saw, is reported to have asked Rammoorthy to perform a stunt with him in the driver’s seat. Minto got into his car, while Rammoorthy attached himself by a pair of chains to the back. True to his name, even with Minto flooring the throttle, Rammoorthy held the car back.


  • Welcoming Rohingyas:


  • Karnataka is reviving Indira Gandhi era socialism: The Indira Canteens will do nothing for the poor, will hurt legitimate businesses, and will be a waste of resources... Not sparing children's playgrounds even.


  • Bacteria getting resistant to antibiotics in poultry farms : A bacterium is said to have developed multi-drug resistance if it fails to respond to three or more antibiotic drugs. About 40 per cent of E.coli and 30 per cent of K. pneumoniae isolates were resistant to at least 10 out of 13 antibiotics against which these bacteria were tested for.



1 comment:

san said...

I'm wondering if these Hyperloop transport tunnels could also be used for water-pumping during an emergency, such as for drainage purposes following a hurricane. They could then serve a dual purpose -- during normal times they'd serve as a transport network, and during emergency flooding conditions, they could be used to drain water from the region. Maybe it's a silly idea, but it would mainly need the ability to switch between air pumps and water pumps.