A question of standards

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them inEngland, and English expatriates built the US Railroads. Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroadtramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did "they" use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.Okay! Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts. So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (and England) for their legions. The roads have been used ever since. And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagonwheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. And bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a spec and told we have always done it that way and wonder what horse's ass came up with that, you may be exactly right, because the Imperial Roman war chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.
Now the twist to the story... When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to beshipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds. So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass.

And you thought being a horse's ass wasn't important!

Did you know this?

I have been unable to wake up on time these days and have been terribly late for work. Blaming it on the weather I did a random search on Google on why one feels like sleeping more in winter. The following article is informative and interesting -

Throughout the centuries, poets have described a sense of sadness, loss and lethargy which can accompany the shortening days of fall and winter. Many cultures and religions have winter festivals associated with candles or fire. Many of us notice tiredness, a bit of weight gain, difficulty getting out of bed and bouts of "the blues" as fall turns to winter.However some people experience an exaggerated form of these symptoms. Their depression and lack of energy become debilitating. Work and relationships suffer. This condition, known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) may affect over 10 million Americans while the milder, "Winter Blues" may affect a larger number of individuals. The typical symptoms of SAD include depression, lack of energy, increased need for sleep, a craving for sweets and weight gain. Symptoms begin in the fall, peak in the winter and usually resolve in the spring. Some individuals experience great bursts of energy and creativity in the spring or early summer. Susceptible individuals who work in buildings without windows may experience SAD-type symptoms at any time of year. Some people with SAD have mild or occasionally severe periods of mania during the spring or summer. If the symptoms are mild, no treatment may be necessary. If they are problematic, then a mood stabilizer such as Lithium might be considered. There is a smaller group of individuals who suffer from summer depression.

Oddly enough, people with seasonal affective disorder often say that they sleep MORE than usual, although it may be more a matter of feeling fatigued and spending extra time in bed rather than actually being asleep. Another peculiarity of SAD is that people with this problem often have particular problems in getting up in the morning. In more severe cases, they may have a clearly delayed sleep phase, that is, they both have trouble falling asleep until late (e.g., long after midnight) and they also wake up late. Like other forms of depression, there is a milder form of SAD called "subsyndromal SAD" which is simply less severe, but it is more common. People with the milder seasonal disorder suffer mild lethargy, gloom, and weight gain in the winter, sometimes oversleeping in the mornings, but not a really disabling depression.
It seems quite clear that many people with SAD have the winter pattern of recurrence at one time in their lives and the more common non seasonal pattern on other occasions.

The Parijat Academy, Pamohi, Assam

Thanks to a friend I found out about the Parijat Academy, Pamohi last week. Pamohi is a tribal hamlet in Assam and most of the people living here are poor farmers and daily wage workers working in nearby stone quarries. Before the Parijat Academy was opened, the children of these stone quarry workers were seen spending most of their time during the day in and around the quarries, because of no access to schooling. In 2003 Uttam Theron, started the Parijat Academy – a school for children of families with low income, living in Pamohi and three adjoining tribal hamlets on the outskirts of Assam's capital Guwahati.

As Uttam watched kids wander about aimlessly, it set him thinking about ways to keep them occupied. A school was the only answer. It began at his home. Since then there has been no looking back for Uttam. He has been successful in starting a small scale school to imbibe the value of education among the children. The school does not receive any government funds and is run completely on funds contributed by people in the local area as well as from outside.Uttam sees educating the underprivileged children in the neighborhood as a first step in helping the community. As part of that effort, along with the Institute of Child and Women Health Care, the Academy organises Health clinics every second and fourth Sunday of the month for the children of the school and the local people. Into the future, the school would like to start vocational training like handloom classes, repairing TV and radios etc. Uttam believes that education is the birth right of every child and no child - rich or poor should be left behind. The goal of Parijat Academy, is not only to provide education for the children, but also to work closely with the local community in their development.

I wrote to Uttam last week and received a prompt and warm response. I also realized the value of what he is doing when my courier service said they could not deliver my envelope since they do not have service beyond Assam. They had not even heard of Pamohi (neither had I prior to this). I am not sure if I have the selflessness and courage that Uttam has, but I do know that a contribution from me will help realize Uttam’s dream of education for these children. For those interested in helping in Uttam’s cause details of the Parijat Academy are listed below -

You can courier or speed post your cheque in favour of "PARIJAT ACADEMY". The address is -
Parijat Academy
A school for underprivileged children
Pamohi, P.O. Garchuk, Guwahati-781035, Assam
mobile: 09864041711
Email: parijatacademy03@yahoo.com
www.parijatacademy.org

The photographs on the website of Parijat Academy are endearing and I hope to go there soon.

The Simplest Way to be Happy - Helen Keller (1933)

A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.
Happiness is the final and perfect fruit of obedience to the laws of life.
A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.
It all comes to this: the simplest way to be happy is to do good.
If we spend the time we waste in sighing for the perfect golden fruit in fulfilling the conditions of its growth, happiness will come, must come. It is guaranteed in the very laws of the universe. If it involves some chastening and renunciation, well, the fruit will be all the sweeter for this touch of holiness.
Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.