Friday, December 25, 2020

The mysterious death of Karima Baloch


Karima Mehrab, a Baloch activist, left Pakistani Balochistan in 2015 and applied for political asylum in Canada.  She had been living in Toronto. On Sunday, December 20, she left home for a walk, never to come back. Her body was found the next morning. She was 35.  It was not clear where was Karima's body found--most probably floating in the water as the report suggests the cause of death was drowning; the police believe she took her own life. But many Baloch activists and Karima's friends believe she was killed.  By who?  Some say she was killed by the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI--to silence her, and to teach a lesson to other Baloch activists living in western countries and feeling safe; others say she was killed by the Indian intelligence agency RAW--to eliminate evidence of Indian involvement behind terrorist activities in Pakistan.  Who to believe?  Till Karima's husband and other family members do their investigation and prove that the Canadian Police version of the story is incorrect, we have no choice but to believe the Canadian Police.  Also, if Canada was such an easy place for foreign governments to carry out their clandestine operations, Israel would have taken care of all Palestinian activists living in Canada. Karima Mehrab was fighting depression; some patients of clinical depression do take their own lives.  Karima's death being suicidal cannot be ruled out.  Still, it is the second Baloch activist death by drowning in the last seven months, and that raises a red flag.

Photo, courtesy of The Guardian.

Thursday, November 12, 2020

When the smoke from the forest fires covered San Francisco

 When the smoke from the forest fires covered San Francisco. That day it was very dark early in the morning, but slowly the growing sun made the day lighter.  Here are a few photos from Wednesday, September 9, 2020.




















Saturday, October 03, 2020

Mice Infestation?


Mice Infestation?

October 3, 2015

In response to my email message yesterday, I got this:


I’ll get some mouse traps today.

Thanks,

S came in the afternoon.  He put rat food on the two glue traps he bought with him and put the two traps in the attic at its very entrance from the garage.
He said the food smell was so strong, rats, if present in the attic, will be attracted to the trap.  He will come back on Tuesday to see if he got any mice in the trap.  If not, he will move the traps farther inside the attic, right above our bedroom.
Let's see how it works out.
BTW, I did not hear any mice activity our bedroom this morning.

Friday, October 02, 2020

A bright, sunny Saturday morning...ruled by a mild fear of rodents

A bright, sunny Saturday morning...ruled by a mild fear of rodents
October 3, 2015
The rodent saga continues.

This message went today:
Now that you have kindly trimmed the tree branches I can bet there are mice in the attic.  This morning I could hear them chewing on stuff in the attic, above the bedroom.
In hindsight, I think the dropping Hina discovered the first day, outside the garage toilet, could be from a rodent.
Please help.

Five year time capsule post

Five year time capsule post

October 2, 2015

Rodent Infestation Averted?

Wonder what it would be like one year from now.  Most probably we won't be living here.

I sent the following message to S:

A couple of days ago we were talking to Brenda, neighbor to the right, when we found out she is trying to solve her rodent infestation problem; she mentioned that her neighbor on the other side also has the same problem.  Subsequent to that conversation I started paying more attention to any noise coming from our attic.  Can't tell if I am being paranoid, but I do hear some rustling in attic late at night.  There is a tree in front that has its branches touching the roof surface.  Yesterday, when the gardeners came I talked to them about the possibility of trimming the tree branches; they said I'd have to talk to the owner (you). Thought I should bring all this to your attention, before this rodent problem really surfaces here.

S was here today.  He trimmed the tree branches.  He said in the last twenty-five years the rodent problem came up only twice and he was able to take care of it.  He said as a precaution he will put a few mouse traps, with peanut butter in them, in the attic.  He also thought what I heard late at night might be the neighbor's cats walking on our roof.

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

5-Year Time Capsule Post





9/30/15—Wednesday morning.  It is raining!  Before moving here rain or no rain was not such a big issue.  But now it is.  We are supposed to keep the lawns at this rental house green, and that means using water.  Water is expensive.  We want to cut down on our burn rate.  We have turned off the automatic sprinkler system.  We collect our used water in buckets and then use that water for the plants.  At the same time we are afraid that the owner will come unannounced—he has one garage opener—and will find out that we have the sprinkler system turned off; he won’t like it.  So, during the day I turn the system on, even when it is scheduled to water the landscaping around 3 am.  Also, since we are not that good in covering every corner of the front and backyard grass with the recycled water, we can see patches of brown grass.  Now that it is raining, hopefully those patches will turn green too.  Rain is great.  It has given me the best joy of this day.


Photo is from this summer.  Leaving Sydney for Auckland.

Monday, September 21, 2020

Chevy Bolt discharges when put on charger

Are other Chevy Bolt EV 2020 experiencing this problem of their car discharging instead of charging when put on a charger and the car is already charged for over 100 miles?


 

For example, The night of Friday, September 18, our Bolt showed a charge of 135 miles.  Next day we had to go to a place 75 miles away so we put the car back on charger, for overnight charging.  Next day i.e., Saturday, September 19, when we were ready to make the long trip, we found out the minimum mile range was 48.  Overnight, instead of charging up, the car had discharged from 135 miles range to 48 miles range.  What to do?  I am not finding anything online about such a problem.

[This older photo shows Chevy Bolt charging at a fast charging station at the Sacramento airport.]

Monday, June 29, 2020

When charging your electric car, PG&E's EV Plan is your best bet


When charging your electric car, PG&E's EV Plan is your best bet


PG&E's EV Plan gives you electricity at $0.17/kW-hr during off-peak times (12 midnight to 3 pm).  Over the weekend I used an EV Go charging station.  I was charged $13.50 for a 45-minute session.  In that session my Chevy Bolt was charged 29.210 kW-hr.  This comes out to $0.46/kW-hr which is almost four times the energy rate PG&E gives me.  As calculated before, the Chevy Bolt claims to give 3.8 miles/kW-hr.  For the 29.210 kW-hr charge, Bolt will run for 111 miles.  A gas car running for 111 miles will consume 3.7 gallons of gasoline (assuming 30 miles/gallon); gas being $3/gallon in northern California, the total cost of 111 miles will be $11.10.  In short, charging your EV at commercial charging stations is a bad idea.

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Electrify America is a big disappointment



Las time around, it took quite an effort to get our Chevy Bolt 2020 charged using an Electrify America EV charging station near Target in Sacramento (3601 N Freeway Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95834).  The charging station kept giving an error message (a 'network' error).  After talking to an Electrify America rep on the phone we moved the car to a different station and were able to get the charge.
Yesterday, none of their three charging stations at that location worked--even after calling Electrify American and the representative giving tips and resetting the station.
We gave up on Electrify America and headed to an EV Go charging station in the Walmart parking lot (755 Riverpoint Ct, West Sacramento, CA 95605), but ran into another Electrify America charging station before we reached the EV Go charger.  We decided to give Electrify America one more chance.  Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.  Very true!  That Electrify America charging station did not work either.  More time wasted.  Altogether we wasted over an hour at these Electrify America EV charging stations.
Finally reached the EV Go charging station and it worked.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Chevy Bolt EV mileage--EV mileage vs gas mileage



Two days ago the screen in my 2020 Chevy Bolt told me I had driven 1080 miles and had used 282 kW-hr of electric charge.  I quickly did the math:

1080 miles / 282 kW-hr means
3.8 miles / kW-hr

But I wanted to know how many kW-hr were needed for a run of 30 miles.  I needed that number because most cars running on gas give you 30 miles per gallon.

The answer is 7.83 kW-hr.  Chevy Bolt will consume 7.83 kW-hr in running a distance of 30 miles.

At my home I am using the special PG&E EV tariff.  During off peak hours (i.e., from 12 midnight to 3 pm) my electricity rate is $0.17/kW-hr.

To charge my car 7.83 kW-hr, I pay PG&E 7.83 X 0.17= $1.33 [Of course, there are other charges and taxes besides the actual energy usage, but let's not make things too complicated at this time.]

Currently, gasoline is selling for $3/gallon, in northern California.  If Chevy Bolt numbers are correct, I am saving $1.67 in every 30 miles the car runs.


Sunday, May 17, 2020

Water boils at 100° C and other ridiculous statements found in science books

A long time ago human beings lived with belief systems—some still do.  And we were not allowed to question those beliefs.  Whatever was told, had to be believed in. Then came science.  Science was about asking questions, boldly, bravely, unscrupulously; the new way of thinking was about chronic disbelief of anything being told.  So, questions were asked and belief systems got upended. But the cavalier attitude, the boldness, the valor did not live for too long.  Gradually, science became the new belief system.  Today, there is a morbid gullibility among the scientists. If one team of scientists says one thing, all others blindly follow.  Asking questions is uncomfortable, it rocks the boat.  Just carry on. 

Science is the new religion now.  Back in the days of strong beliefs, when questions were asked, the clergy used to say, ‘You are questioning God?’  No, they were not questioning God; they were questioning you, Mr. Priest.
It is now the same way with science.  You ask questions and they say, ‘You are questioning science?’  No, Dear, we are questioning you; you are not ‘Science.’  You are a scientist, just like us.

The COVID-19 saga makes it very clear how science has become a belief system.  Say anything what the 'scientists' have discovered, and people will believe it without asking any questions.

Science should NOT be taught from the books. Beliefs are learned from the books.

When science is taught from the books you find such nonsense in the science textbooks: Water boils at 100° C.

The statement above could very well be cited as Genesis 1:20. 

Water boils at 100° C is a belief. The temperature AT WHICH water boils has been conveniently but completely arbitrarily marked as 100° C, is a scientific statement.

A more detailed scientific explanation should go like this:


For a long time people observed how things were warmer or colder but there was no way to describe how much was something warmer than the other thing.  Then came other observations about liquids boiling, metals becoming softer, and gases expanding when they were made ‘hotter.’  Swedish scientist Anders Celsius observed expansion of mercury when heat was added to a pot of water.  Celsius observed that mercury contained in a glass tube immersed in the pot of water being heated always reached a specific point when the water started boiling--the amount of water in the pot, the time of the day, the material of the pot, the weather conditions did not matter at all.  He further observed how the mercury level dropped as the water was cooled down, and that it reached a certain point when the water was frozen into ice.  The experiments made over several days showed the same levels of mercury in the glass tube, for water freezing and water boiling.  Celsius proposed to call this movement of mercury between the two levels as the ‘temperature scale’, a way to describe how warm was the water.  He proposed calling the mercury level corresponding to the ‘boiling point’ of water as zero, and calling the lower mercury level, when the water froze as one-hundred, and then dividing the distance between the two levels into one-hundred ‘degrees’ of temperature.  The temperature scale thus described was called the Celsius scale, but mathematically it did not make sense to associate ‘hotter’ things to be at a lower temperature scale reading than colder things, and especially when things were heated up beyond the ‘boiling point’ of water.  After Celsius died, the temperature scale devised by him was reversed: the freezing point of water became zero degrees Celsius, and the boiling point of water became one-hundred degrees Celsius.


Like other sciences, Medical science too is full of CTRL-V, CTRL-C crowd.  Very few people are into original research.  Rest of them quietly believe in the original researchers. 

So, the next time a health professional tries to explain to you everything about COVID-19, ask them if it is from their personal research; or if they have read it, have they verified the information; or if they have at least seen the Corona virus under a microscope.  If the answer is no, which is the case 99% of the time, tell them, “Thanks, Bozo.  I know how to read.”

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

A COVID-19 Game

A COVID-19 Game


Here is a super-simplified infectious disease game for your amusement.

The map
There are three towns: Town Alpha, Town Beta, and Town Gamma. Each town has three households and each household has three residents. There is an infectious disease out there and the three towns are trying to protect their citizens i.e., each town is trying to save the lives of its 9 denizens.

The disease
The disease has high infectivity and everybody outside the three homes in each town is already infected. Any citizen who will go out of their house and come in contact with an infected person will in turn get infected. The disease is slightly more lethal than regular flu and there is no drug to cure it. Initial data has suggested that people with a robust immune system can easily fight the disease; older people and sick people are at a higher risk--the risk increases with increasing age and increasing frailness or comorbidity. With good medical care, the acutely sick infected person can be cured in one day.

The demographics
Town Alpha and Town Beta have similar demographics. Each household has two elderly persons and one young person. Town Gamma has two young people and one elderly person in each household.

The healthcare system
Town Alpha and Town Beta both have one hospital each where only one acutely sick person can be looked after. Town Gamma has no hospitals.

The strategies
Town Alpha strategists come up with the idea of a lockdown to save their healthcare system from being overwhelmed. They calculate the probability of people leaving their homes and getting infected to be 33% each day, if a lockdown is enforced. The town announces a 3-day lockdown, with the calculation that each day three people will get infected, one young person and two vulnerable people; out of the two vulnerable persons one will get seriously sick and will need to be hospitalized. Since the hospital has one bed, it can easily take care of the acutely sick person. By the start of the second day, the person hospitalized the day earlier will be cured and will be sent home; the second day, three more people will go out and get infected, with one taken to the hospital, and so on. By the end of the third day--the last day of the lockdown--all nine citizens will have completed their exposure to the disease. Everybody will be saved! Hooray!

But the above was just one probable outcome--Scenario One, the best-case. There are other likely scenarios too. Here are a few:

Scenario Two: NO ONE listens to the lockdown instructions. Everybody goes out and everybody gets infected the first day, with three people being acutely sick. Since the hospital has only one bed, only one seriously ill patient is saved, the other two die.

Scenario Three: EVERYBODY takes the lockdown instructions very seriously and NOBODY goes out of their home for the three lockdown days. The hospital is empty for three days. Then the fourth day, at the end of the lockdown, everybody goes out at the same time; three people get acutely sick. Since the hospital has only one bed, only one seriously ill patient is saved, the other two die.

Scenario Four: The probability calculation of 33% per day exposure during a lockdown proves to be wrong. Instead, six people go out the first day (or the second day, or the third day). Two get seriously sick. Since the hospital has only one bed, only one seriously ill patient is saved, the other one dies.

There are other probable scenarios too, but for the sake of simplicity let’s ignore them. Let’s further assume that the social trends are strongly in favor of Scenario One--the other three scenarios weighing much less. And, in the end the weighted probability indicates that 1.6 lives can be saved with a lockdown (vs only ONE, with no lockdown).

So, Town Alpha opts for a 3-day general lockdown.

Town Beta strategists decide to not have a lockdown; they can see the harmful effects of that strategy. They believe the citizens can be quickly informed about the disease, and the probability of something going wrong per day (with no lockdown) is 33% i.e., three people will get infected through random human error, per day; only one person will get seriously ill and the one-bed hospital in town can take care of the acutely sick person. So, no lockdown for Town Beta.

By this time you know that Town Alpha is the US, Town Beta is Sweden, and Town Gamma is a developing country.

What is Town Gamma’s strategy? It does not have its own strategy. It believes in copying others. Since it has strong ties with Town A, it copies Town A’s strategy of a general lockdown, even when Town Gamma’s demographics are completely different than Town Alpha’s.

AND, which healthcare system is Town Gamma trying to save from being overwhelmed? It does not have one.