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The Story of Stuff

Friday, November 20th, 2009 | Author: Vivek

You cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely!

I had registered for a course on “Sustainable Manufacturing” the coming semester and surprisingly this video suggested to me by Gowtham today, coincidentally provided me with an introduction for the course. “The Story of Stuff” is a 20-minute take on the perils of consumer culture. Though it is exaggerated, the video gives us a sense of the life cycle of material goods!

Activist Annie Leonard wrote and narrated this film. It was first launched online on December 4, 2007. The film exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Why Do I Sleep So Much?! :O

Wednesday, February 04th, 2009 | Author: Vivek

I just now woke up after dozing off in the David and Ilene Flaum Grand Hall(Big Name! I’m sure i’ll forget it after moving out of the hall. So, typing it directly into the Blog!) which is in the Whitman’s Building at our University. I wonder why i feel so sleepy?! As we all know, the Answer Lies Within. So, lemme look for an answer Inside Me!

Thinking about my sleeping habit… I’m a Heavy Sleeper. Can you imagine, I have spent nearly 10years of my life… sleeping!!! I have never cared about noise, lighting and stuffs like that. If i feel sleepy, i just go to sleep! My mom is exactly the opposite of me. She cant sleep even if there is a tiny bit of light inside the room and there should be complete silence. But me, i would sleep through tornadoes, earth quakes, and even a fire alarm! Veedae pathikitu erinchalum na nimmathiya thoonkitu irupen!!! My parents struggle to wake me up. There has been instances when i have locked the house from inside and slept, and they had to sleep in our neighbor’s house.

Alarm’s have been of no use. I’ve tried using more than 3-4 alarm’s at the same time-for Maximum Effect. But, usually it has Zero Effect. Enna, i wake up and turn off all the alarms and sleep again. Then, I used to keep alarm in our mp3 player-for maximum volume! It used to be of use sometimes. It will play a CD or FM Station as Alarm Tone. But still, i would wake up and go to switch the mp3 system off and sleep in the sofa. Once, the song “Pothikitu Paduthukalaam… Kathadikuthu Kaathadikuthu Kaasimetu…” (roughly translated as… get into your blanket and sleep) was the alarm for me. Timing Song! lolz. And then finally i’ll wake up exactly on time and i had to run to my college bus stop. Read this post for more – Chasing the College Bus. And during the exam days, as soon as i take my book in my hand, i start feeling sleepy and go to bed earlier than usual. I’ve even slept once during the exam… No… Not the Mid Term or Model Exams(We used to sleep during those exams usually. Thats Normal! We either sleep or make funny noises during the exam!) This was during our Second Year Semester Exam. Subject-Kinematics, which was one of the easiest but still i kept an arrear in it! Even those guys who usually have arrears in all subjects cleared this subject! :(

So, then how do i wake up?! I wake up sometimes really early. Thats when i am really determined, or have some work to do. I jus sleep thinking that i have to wake up at such and such time and believe me, i’ve woken up exactly at that time. But, that doesnt happen often! :)

The reasons for me sleeping so much… According to my mom, i’m still a young boy, i don’t have any responsibilities and so i sleep without worrying about anything in this world. When i become responsible and have things to do, it’ll change. According to my Doctor, my haemoglobin content in my blood is low. To recharge and rejuvnate my Body, i sleep so much. I am supposed to eat a lot of iron(thats iron rich food, like beetroot.) Both of them might be Right! But, according to me, i am just plain lazy. ;)