Books in Kilograms 2

I had earlier written on this and was dismayed to have read an advertisement that sold books in kgs by weight. I was appalled and thought ‘what’s happening to this world’? Now, today I read an advertisement in a newspaper (from a famous group) that has made a distinction between Mills and Boon (Rs 50/ a kilogram), Dictionaries (Rs 100 a kg), Children’s books and LITERATURE ( Rs 200/ a kg) and Premium Authors -Jeffrey Archer, Sidney Sheldon, Paulo Coelho to name a few- (Rs 300/kg).
‘The Times they are a changing’ is my favourite song sung by Bob Dylan. The song was more about relationships. But times have to change for every little thing. However every generation thinks they wouldn’t change to this extent.
Let us have a small comparison of the differences three generations has seen. Say between my grandfather and me. He heard a radio late in his life. So how was life without a radio? Sparse books, late edition newspapers, horse driven cart, no fan, cow dung floors (a big part of India still has this flooring). It must be a lot of solitude under banyan trees and cool thick walled temples. Far from the din of today’s chattering wheels and internet shops we need to think who is living fuller! But let us leave that to some other day.

The Vagaries of Life

The Latitude and hemisphere effect
My parents in their younger days knew bleakly the far off countries like the black Africa and the white America and the definitive Gora British since they still ruled. My grandfather only knew the British and a foreign country called England and the way they travelled in Ships and their royal welcomes at the gateway of India. My generation knows UK, Australia, America, Africa, Europe and the illusory Switzerland. My offspring know to fly in every nook and corner of all the latitudes and both the hemispheres of this globe and can narrate at length about the tallest building in Dubai and Mount Titlis and East and West coasts of America not to forget the bliss of Maldives and the harbour bridge of Sydney.
The colour of the skin or the stature of your body are discussed at will and never mind the racist splurge or the caste overtone. What was once spoken in hushes and whispers is spoken loud. All the colours, the tall and short have mingled and the entire world with all its communication skills is trying to set up a universal mindset. It is not very long when there would be a united cosmic mind able to rise to the skies and reach far galaxies.

Speed In Space

Thinking about travel time in space I cannot hide the image of swirling flying saucers at breakneck speeds trekking the skies. From saucers they become vanishing points in no time.
50000 kmph is the rate at which our present day rockets reach thrust. However there have been technologies which are being studied over several years that are of note and kindle hope of travelling to cover some distance in space beyond our solar system and into the world of colourful and explosive galaxies.
One of the technologies being studied is a plasma rocket. The technology uses radio waves to heat gases such as hydrogen and argon to create hot plasma. Magnetic field force the charged plasma out of the back of the engine producing thrust in opposite direction. Another technology that can be used to travel within the solar system is the electric solar sail. This uses long charged tethers to convert natural solar wind momentum flux into spacecraft thrust. This will require water mined from the asteroids