I Read 14 Books in 2012
14th Book: Lee Kuan Yew: HARD TRUTHS to
Keep Singapore Going. A series of Interviews.
13th Book: Looking for Alaska- a novel by
John Green.
12th Book: Steve Jobs thinking
Differently: A Biography by Patricia Lakin.
11th Book: Rice Research and Development Policy: A First Encounter: Edited by R.S. Zeigler
10th
Book: Scientists in Conference, the Congress organizer's handbook, the Congress
visitor's Companion- By Volker Neuhoff.
Scientists in
Conference is a one sitting book
(220 pages) for reading and a prewritten DIARY for people organizing
conferences. I takes away the time necessary to plan events.
Some GEMS from the
book:
He who offers an inch
may lose a yard.
If our organizer is
himself a well organized human being, the sort of fellow who plans erverything
well in advance, then the entire planning can be so conveniently spread
over months that his everyday work need not suffer at all.
He who treats each
small part with respect will be respected as the master of the whole.
The organizer should
not be the one of those who find it hard to utter "thanks" even in
cases where the help received is only slight.
To have confidence is
good to check up is better.
Keep a notebook to
serve as "idea bank".
Humor is a gift from
god, but god doesnot distribute his gifts lightly.
If something has to be
applied or asked for; it is better not to write right away but to seek a
personal interview, preferably with the very man on whom the decission depends.
He who comes last to
the mill is the last to get his corn ground- German saying.
There is always
overlapping or cross pollination between program planning bodiies.
9th
BOOK: THE MAN WHO FED THE WORLD
Norman Borlaug was born on March 25, 1914 to
Norwegian immigrant family resettled in the United States. From age
seven to nineteen, he worked on the 106-acre (43 ha) family farm west
of Protivin, Iowa, fishing, hunting, and raising corn,
oats, timothy-grass, cattle, pigs and chickens. He attended the
one-teacher, one-room New Oregon #8 rural school in Howard
County, through eighth grade. On advice of his grand dad who
said "You're wiser to fill your head now if you want to fill your
belly later on" He pursued his studied in the university of
Minnesota. To finance his studies, Borlaug periodically took jobs. One of
these jobs, in 1935, was as a leader in the Civilian Conservation Corps,
working with the unemployed on U.S. federal projects. From 1935
to 1938, before and after receiving his Bachelor of Science in
forestry in 1937, Borlaug worked for the United States Forest
Service at stations in Massachusetts and Idaho. From
1935 to 1938, he worked for the United States Forest Service at
stations in Massachusetts and Idaho. He enrolled at the
University to study plant pathology , received a Master of Science degree
in 1940 and Ph.D. in plant pathology and genetics in 1942.
From 1942 to 1944, he worked as
a microbiologist at DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware. In
July 1944, after rejecting DuPont's offer to double his salary, and
temporarily leaving behind his pregnant wife and 14-month-old
daughter, he flew to Mexico City to head the new program as
a geneticist and plant pathologist.
In maxico he crossed one strain of wheat with
another, trying thousands of variations to find those that would flourish in
Mexican soil and resist rust and other parasites. In time, he hit on an
unprecedented idea. The wheat-growing season in the central highlands, where
Borlaug was working, took place slightly earlier than the season in the Yaqui
Valley of Sonora, farther north. If he planted the same seeds at the highland research
station during the summer and in the Yaqui Valley station immediately
afterward, he could see his crops through two growing seasons in a single
year. Planting the same seeds at different altitudes, where they were
exposed to different temperatures, sunlight and rainfall, yielded a wealth of
information and enabled Borlaug to create wheat varieties that flourished under
very different conditions.
In the early '50s, Borlaug acquired a variety of
dwarf wheat from Japan and cross-bred it with North American strains to produce
a semi-dwarf strain with a thicker, stronger stalk, capable of supporting a
heavier load of grain. Crossing these with his rust-resistant strains produced
ideal wheat for Mexico's needs.
By 1963, more than 95 percent of the wheat harvested in
Mexico was grown from seed developed by Borlaug. The country was now producing
more than enough wheat for its needs and was exporting wheat to the rest of the
world, while Borlaug's techniques were being applied to other grains.
In the 1960s, Pakistan and India were on the brink of
war, and the entire subcontinent of South Asia was beset with famine and
starvation. He began supplying seeds to India and Pakistan. Pakistan
became self-sufficient in wheat production by 1968; India was self-sufficient
in all cereal crops by 1974. Since then, grain production in both countries has
consistently outpaced population growth. Borlaug's achievements in Mexico,
India and Pakistan were hailed as a Green Revolution.
While crop failure and hunger persist in many parts of
the world, the mass starvation predicted by many experts in the '60s and '70s
were avoided by the efforts of Borlaug and his followers.
In October 1970 Nobel Peace prize was announced and
Borlaug got it. The world for once survived from the famine and starvation, and
proved Malthus wrong. Borlaug died of lymphoma at the age of 95,
on September 12, 2009, in his Dallas home.
8th
BOOK:THE LOST SYMBOL BY DAN BROWN
Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned
to give a lecture at the United States Capitol, with the invitation
apparently from his mentor, a 33rd degree Mason named Peter
Solomon, who is the head of the Smithsonian Institution. Solomon has also
asked him to bring a small, sealed package which he had entrusted to Langdon
years earlier. When Langdon arrives at the Capitol, however, he learns that the
invitation he received was not from Solomon, but from Solomon's
kidnapper, Mal'akh, who has left Solomon's severed right hand in the
middle of the Capitol Rotunda in a recreation of the Hand of
Mysteries. Mal'akh then contacts Langdon, charging him with finding both the
Mason's Pyramid, which Masons believe is hidden somewhere underground in
Washington D.C., and the Lost Word, lest Solomon be executed.
Langdon is then met by Trent Anderson, head of the
Capitol police, and Inoue Sato, the head of the CIA's Office of Security.
Examining Solomon's hand, they discover a clue leading them to a Solomon's
Masonic altar in a room in the Capitol's sub-basement, where they find a small
pyramid lacking a capstone, with an inscription carved into it.
Sato then confronts Langdon with the security x-ray taken
of his bag when he entered the Capitol, which reveals a smaller pyramid in the
package Langdon brought in response to the request by the kidnapper posing as
Solomon. Because the package had been sealed for years, Langdon was unaware of
its contents, but Sato, dissatisfied with this, attempts to take Langdon into
custody. Before she can arrest him, however, she and Anderson are assaulted by
Warren Bellamy, the Architect of the Capitol and a Freemason, who then flees
with Langdon during the melee.
Mal'akh is a Freemason with tattoos covering almost his
entire body. He infiltrated the organization in order to obtain an ancient
source of power,[8] which he believes Langdon can unlock for him in return
for Peter's life. As Langdon deals with the events into which he has been
thrust, Mal'akh destroys the Smithonsonian-sponsored laboratory of Dr.
Katherine Solomon, Peter's younger sister, where she has conducted experiments
in Noetic Science. Mal'akh is also being pursued by Sato in the interests
of National Security.
Mal'akh captures Langdon and seriously injures Katherine
Solomon. He places Langdon in a tank of breathable oxygenated liquid, from
where Langdon unlocks the code at the Pyramid's base for Mal'akh, who then
flees with Peter Solomon to the Temple Room of the Scottish Rite's House
of the Temple. Langdon and Katherine are eventually rescued by Sato and her
staff who race to the House of the Temple where Mal'akh threatens to release a
heavily edited video showing government officials performing secret Masonic
rituals. Mal'akh, who turns out to be Peter's long-believed dead son, Zachary
Solomon, forces the Word—the circumpunct—out of his father and tattoos it
on his head on the last portion of unmarked skin on his body. Mal'akh then
orders Peter to sacrifice him, as he believes that it is his destiny to become
a demonic spirit and lead the forces of evil. Director Sato, however, arrives
at the Temple in a helicopter, which smashes the Temple's overhead glass panel,
the shards of which fatally impale Mal'akh. The CIA then thwart Mal'akh's plan
to transmit the video to several leading media channels using
an EMP blast, disabling a cell tower in the network path leading from
Mal'akh's laptop computer.
Peter informs Langdon that the circumpunct Zachary
tattooed on his head is not the Word. Deciding to take Langdon to the true
secret behind the Word, Peter leads him to the room atop the Washington Monument and
tells him that the Word—a common Christian Bible, the "Word of
God"—lies in the Monument's cornerstone, buried in the ground beneath the
Monument's staircase. Langdon realizes that the symbols on the pyramid's base
spelled out the words Laus Deo which translate to Praise
God. These words are inscribed upon the small aluminum capstone atop the
Monument, which is the true Masonic Pyramid.
Peter tells Langdon that the Masons believe that the
Bible is an esoteric allegory written by mankind, and that, like most religious
texts around the globe, it contains veiled instructions for harnessing man's
natural God-like qualities—similar to Katherine's Noetic research—and is not
meant to be interpreted as the commands of an all-powerful deity. This interpretation
has been lost amid centuries of scientific skepticism and fundamentalist
zealotry. The Masons have (metaphorically) buried it, believing that, when the
time is right, its rediscovering will usher in a new era of human
enlightenment.
7th BOOK: When All you have Ever Wanted is not
Enough: HAROLD KUSHNER (repeated reading in 2012)
6th BOOK: It’s ALL ONE CURRICULUM: Guidelines
and Activities for a unified approaches to sexuality, Gender, HIV, and Human
Rights Education
5th BOOK: I Know This much is True: Wally Lab
4th
BOOK: HOW TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE-
VERNON HOWARD
3rd
Book: THE DO'S AND
TABOOS OF HOSTING INTERNATIONAL VISITORS - Roger E. Axtell.
2nd
Book: The Vertical
Farm: Feeding the world in the 21st century- Dr. Dickson Despommier
The dedication reads as below: “For the more than one
billion people who, through no fault of their own, go to sleep hungry each
night; and for the three billion more who will most likely arrive on this
planet over the next forty years to join them in their suffering, if nothing
changes.”
Fifteen thousand years ago there was not a single farm on
the planet. Now we farm a landmass the size of South America. By 2050, we need
added cropland of size of Brazil. This is the message from the early chapters
of the book – Vertical farming.
Vertical farm is a solution to the waste in cities, the
migration from villages to cities, long distance transportation of foods, and
for making cities food sufficient. The cities of near future- with
vertical farming system, shall meet the standard of self reliance. Using sun
and other energy sources, the crops are grown in sky crapper tall multi storied
structures with each farm as an eco system in itself.
Nothing endures but change
If we the humans were to suddenly disappear from the
plant how plants and animal will continue their life (The world without us – Alan Weisman). The assemblage of
plants and animals organize into mutually dependent network called ecosystems.
In techno-sphere- (Cradle to cradle- William
McDonough and Michael Braungart), the urban centers have no apparent cutoffs
regarding constraints of growth. Urban farming opportunities that arise
directly from the creation of vertical farms provide jobs to migrants from
farming background in villages. It is a better outcome for the displaced
agricultural personnel to discover that they can still plant and harvest- that too
in a controlled environment. No more praying for rain or sunshine or moderate
temperatures: they could save their prayers for things like winning the
lottery.
If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end
up where we are headed
By 2050- the world population is projected to be
8.6 billion. The hunting was an advanced technique over gathering and
scavenging strategies ( 2001:
A Space Odyssey). Omiverous nature of the human made them survive over the
generations.
Great Minds Think Alike
Don’t Worry Be Happy (page 68-69)
Author goes to Bhutan to explain the agriculture system.
It begins “Stewardship is an integral part of our moral contract with the
natural world that surrounds us. One place that still exemplifies this concept
is the country of Bhutan, a land of gentle, friendly people.”
…
“Again, I could not help thinking that I had
time-travelled back to the very origin of agriculture. These are the images I will
take to my grave”. It ends.
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains
unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered
The origins of 21st century agriculture can be traced
back to the convergence of four things: The American Civil War, The discovery
of Oil, The development of internal combustion engine and the invention of
dynamite.
In early colonial days, the New Englanders tried and
failed in farming. The native Americans helped the colonizers in farming
corn. A six inch deep hole in the ground, a small fish and a kernel of
corn was all it took , but Europeans unfamiliar with the need to fertilize in
their new homeland- often left out the fish part, and many got the whole thing
wrong from the beginning.
Basic nutrition, 1500 calories of disease free food, is
already considered luxury in some parts of the world. If people are starving,
and indeed they are, then its due to issues related to mal-distribution and
mean spirited politics, not actual crop shortage.
For long I was looking for an answer to the question, why
are the people in the agriculturally most advantageous tropics poorer than
their counterparts in climate betrayed colder regions. I got the hint. I hope I
can write that answer in my book.
There is nothing wrong with the change, as long as it is
in the right direction
The definition of how much is enough is largely
determined by the haves and not by the have-nots. The future wars in Middle
East will be on water not religion or oil. Hydroponics, aeroponics and drip
irrigation methods have improved vastly over the last ten years, to the point
of revolutionizing the ways in which we can produce indoor crops at will.
Despite all our cleverness, the connection between us and the rest of the world
remain strong and immutable.
Advantages of vertical farm include:
Year round crop production; No weather related crop
failure; No agricultural runoff; Allowance for ecosystem restoration; No use of
pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers; Use of 70-95 percent less water; greatly
reduced food miles; more control of food safety and security; New employment
opportunities; purification of grey water to drinking water; and Animal
feed from post harvest plant materials.
Be willing to surrender what you are for what you want to
become
The choice is ours as to whether or not we will carry out
our lives in an ecologically responsible fashion. The time has arrived for
humans to reassess their place in the natural world, embrace and celebrate the
differences between us and the rest of the creatures that comprise it, and
incorporate a reverence for our origins that reflect itself in a new respect
for the DNA molecule, no matter what forms it takes. In doing so, we will have
achieved a major milestones in our evolutions: sustainability into the
millennium level.
The First BOOK Read in 2012:From Third
world to First- Lee Kuan Yeu- i started reading it in 2011.
One
of the best autobiographies ever writen "From Third World to First"-
Lee Kuan Yew.
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