Mental Excursions

Smart computer, stupid human It was Friday yesterday. I sat down to regulate my random thoughts for the blog, within the margins of the scale on the computer screen. I switched on the computer. Nothing happened. I clicked on the longish power button on the right panel. (What is it called?) There was some blinking and there appeared a flickering dash on the top left of the screen. I waited. Nothing further happened to that dash. I tried a couple more times with the same result. I went to the boss of the house and told him. Switch it off and then on, he suggested. I did as was told. Next time the blue screen lit up and the coloured dots of Microsoft started dancing on the screen. Their dance continued for a couple of minutes and it dawned on me that there was something seriously wrong. The message when the machine asks to find the error or start normally after a sudden power shutdown, also did not appear. I pressed all the ‘F’ keys on the keyboard. No reaction! It had gone black ...

  Think before you talc The memory of the silky feel and the fragrance brought forth an intense feeling of nostalgia and seemed like I was bidding farewell. But I had to know the reason. I stuck my nose-for-news into it and soon enough things became clear. In no time all emotions had turned to a sense of betrayal and disillusionment. The issue in question is Johnson and Johnson pulling out its baby powder globally. For those of you who overlooked the news, let me share. Johnson & Johnson, the company which makes baby products, has announced ending the sale of baby powder containing mineral talc the world over next year, i.e., 2023. No, it is not going out of market. Instead, it will switch over to the cornstarch-based formula. The J&J statement issued to the media on August 11, 2022 (available at jnj.com ) said it was As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment…commercial decision to transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio. As a result of this tr...

Did you get mail? Somewhere into a netbanking session, the black mouse sliding under my right hand perhaps came to life, deciding to upgrade my information on current affairs and I found myself staring at several videos and photos of postal staff strike on the screen.   They make a total of five lakh i.e. half a million employees in our country and I did not know they had gone on strike. Half a million men and women going off work! Their protest was against corporatisation of India Post or Bharatiya Dak , I read.   Photo: The Hindu Every government brings in new policies which it believes would pick up the nation from where it is lying in a slumber and put it on the top of the world in terms of development so they can soak in the accolades and take the bow for this performance. Anyway, talks were held, as is usual in such cases, between the officials and the leaders of the postal workers’ union. As a result, one section of employees deferred the strike but the other went on ...

Mysterious life of a sapling Every season is associated with some activities which are taken up not only at personal level but by official and non-government entities too. So, come the first drops of rain, government agencies and environmentalists sound the bugle and  start tree-planting activities in our country. Wise enough because monsoon rains are a blessing for plants. It would be stupid of me to list out for you the benefits of planting trees so I would jump to the point. A very dear doctor friend before going to work this Monday, participated in a tree plantation drive in their residential complex. She planted the kachnaar sapling given to her and went for work. You would think that was one good deed done and over, but she says that a sense of uneasiness has rooted in her mind since. Her question is - who takes care of the saplings planted in these drives ? With so much money, effort, time and energy spent on similar countrywide efforts every year, how many of these...