"How much for a Head..."

Before I go any further, I would like to let you know that I bought my helmet due to my father's insistence and it was stowed away for almost a year (during this period many many long distance rides had been undertaken) before the Helmet rule came into effect and I started wearing it.

The astounding rates of fatalities in accidents involving two wheelers and a PIL forced the HC to take notice and implement the Helmet Rule. This is not a new rule but one that has been around for years (only no one usually bothers about its actual implementation though). People thought of it as just another trick of the Helmet manufacturer's lobby and the Traffic Police to rake in some extra moolah (and indeed they did earn handsomely in the process).

Its been almost two years now and still I see majority of the riders without a helmet and even the ones who have, dutifully leave it hanging on the handle bar. As if the handle bar needs the protection in case of an accident, not their head (on second thoughts people who do so probably won't be having anything inside worthwhile to protect). You can always go the shop and ask for a new handle bar to replace the busted one but what will you do for your head?

I have heard all sorts of crazy excuses for not wearing a helmet but I have just one to counter all those..."Its your LIFE at stake buddy!" Think about it and ride safe. 

"Child Labour..."

Everyday I see advertisements on the TV declaring a ban on Child Labour from October 14, 2006. Although I don't support exploitation via child labour I am forced to think from the other side of the fence too. Its true that children are being forced to work under inhumane conditions in numerous sweatshops across the world. This exploitation must definitely be stopped by all means possible. Their innocence and childhood must be protected.

But then is a total ban the right solution? People tend to mature faster when faced with emotional turmoils and harsh realities. So is the case of the homeless children. They need employment to earn and thus sustain themselves. There are plenty of cases where such children have worked hard and reached great heights. There are employers who make sure that these chidren attend nightschools. Plus earning a livelihood contributes to the building of character and self respect.

Whats gonna happen now is that those children who have been earning a livelihood till now will suddenly be jobless. Chances are very high that they'll take the easy way out and turn to crime. "Criminals are not born but forced by circumstances". Do we really need this to happen?

If the government wants to ban child labour go ahead but make sure they have alternate solutions in place. Proper foster homes and education facilities are the top priorities. Decrease the age limit covered by the ban and better still monitor the juveniles and their employers to make sure they are not exploited.

A knee jerk reaction decision is not the need of the hour but foresight, planning and effective implementation.

"Oops I did it again..."

I had made it a point to post atleast once a week but now its been 13 days since my last post. Its not if I was too busy with work and all but I simply had no work to do. The people at Vistaar are too busy with a scheduled release for the 19th of this month and hence they seem to have forgotten about us freshers. Its for the same reason that our tech training has been postponed indefinitely.

So you may ask "What the hell have you been doing all this while?". Well we have a 2Mbps connection over here with no domain or site restrictions of any kind. They trust us not to violate their confidence (movie downloads are definitely out of the question). So I have been checking my mails, orkutting and gobbling up article after article on wiki (some technical articles but mostly about cars, movies, sitcoms and other tech stuff). And yeah some tutorials on Java as mentioned in my previous post.

Finally after more than a month of fiddling around (and getting paid in the process) I was assigned to work on a project for our sister concern Row2 Technologies. I was excited (since this would be the first time I would be working with JSP and EJB) and all geared up to begin work only to be let down to know that I was not granted access permissions to the server. So yesterday I dashed off a mail to the concerned persons and am still waiting for the feedback.

Looks like I am not destined to begin actual work in Vistaar coz just day before yesterday I got that well awaited email from Infy asking me to join for training in Mysore on November 20, 2006. And its not just me, there is a whole bunch of DBITians coming down to Mysore with me... Bosco, Prajakta Jabade, Lyceca, Roshan, Sneha Abraham, just to name a few. Looks like I'll be back in college again.