My Experience with COVID Vaccination

This first of July, I got my second shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. Over the past months, I have seen people opposing vaccination (which surprised me), some being suspicious of one of the vaccines (which included me), people expressing concerns, and people that I care about getting affected with Covid after choosing not to vaccinate, despite getting the chance to get vaccinated—more than once.

On Petrol Prices

As soon as someone complains about the fuel prices, we see some coming out in support of the hike, calling it an economy booster. I am no exception; I saw those forwards as well, for as long as I was on WhatsApp over the last year. In this post, we look at the good and the bad of such fuel price hikes, look at whether the government does indeed control the prices, what its implications are, and what we can do about it.

Sexual Abuse in Schools

Yesterday, I woke up to the news that students of a top school in Chennai—Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan (or PSBB)—had alleged that a teacher had sexually abused them. The piece of news shook me because my cousin studied in the school, and I could personally relate to it. The teacher also taught at the same branch that she studied in. But as usual, the issue received a polarised public response.

How to Pick Privacy-friendly Services

The topic of privacy came up today in a conversation about picking a cloud storage for documents like journals and other writing. Given the fact that services can recognise handwriting, where is a good place to store your notes?

The larger question was, how do you pick privacy-friendly services?

Let us start simple: Google owns Google Drive, Microsoft owns Microsoft OneDrive. They are both into advertising, though Microsoft is not as aggressive as Google is. Dropbox is solely a cloud storage company, with no known ties with the advertising world. Dropbox scores better here. Despite Dropbox’s security issues, Dropbox Security Bug Made Passwords Optional For Four Hours (TechCrunch) I have found it reliable. The drawback is that you start with a meagre 2 GB of storage. Sure, if you plan to store text documents and not much more, 2 GB is not bad; if you plan to store scanned documents, pictures, etc., you must look elsewhere.

Is EdTech a Scam

About half a year ago, an EdTech (Education Technology) start-up came into the limelight. The company had found its way into serious controversy, including claims that the company had misled parents and children, ripped them off of millions of rupees and were home to some questionable conversations.

The subject came up tonight and I did not know how to conclude one way or another. I thought I could try to untangle it using a post.

Is COVID-19 Winning

Today is Sunday, and time for me to share what I have learnt about the disease. Disclaimer: I am an engineer, not a medical professional. What I am sharing here is for informational purposes, not health or medical advice. If you have specific queries, please talk to your (or a) doctor. And do not trust WhatsApp University.

Enjoy Your Life With Covid 19

There was a time when I was a favourite student of WhatsApp University. When I realised the ultimate quality of education there, I was so envious of it that I quit. After all, those of us who have had the privilege to attend the mainstream universities would be jealous of the free-and-open system. This is why I dropped out of the university (and I made a video about it as well):

COVID Vaccines

India is among the world leaders in vaccination. Also called the Pharmacy of the World, India is the largest manufacturer of vaccines. The public has been no different; you will find most of us wanting to get vaccinated. Polio vaccines are an example, where all children born in India get vaccinated through the extensive vaccination programmes that the government runs.

The console Google does not want you to use

Facebook was a target at the beginning of this year, when they decided to tweak their privacy policy. It turned out to be a disastrous PR move. Although they reversed it, we are already seeing a better-worded version of the update. I wrote a couple of posts: one about how the change affects your privacy, and another, about whether WhatsApp chats are at all private.

Powdered oxygen cylinder for COVID

WhatsApp is on fire these days. Another forward popped up a couple of days ago, which was a Tamil message. I have added a translation along with the message:

- BST HEALTH

உடலில் ஆக்சிஜன் அளவு 98 - 100 க்குள் இருக்க வேண்டும் என்று சொல்லுகிறார்கள்; 43 க்கு கீழ் ஆக்சிஜன் சென்றுவிட்டால், ஆக்சிஜன் சிலிண்டர் தேவை;