Going Viral

5 things I figured the hard way after a recent bout of viral flu:

• If the person besides you at a social event demonstrates signs of throat irritation, cold, or cough, be very concerned. If the said person talks about a viral infection that’s going around the workplace, its probably too late. Don’t just stand there and nod. Get away. Grimacing and running away may not be entirely inappropriate.
• If you are still standing there trying to engage in polite conversation, welcome to a week or more of realizing how an invisible virus can bring you to a state of complete and miserable helplessness. It is, strangely enough, a very humbling experience.
• The thing with the flu is that it comes in stages. Stage 1 is that of confusion: are these really symptoms? Stage 2 is brutal self-realization. Stage 3 is confusion, again – where you begin to feel you are recovering, but you are just less worse off than the day before. Stage 4 is when the virus demonstrate some more tricks to mess with you – unexpected headaches, on-and-off chills. Stage 5 is when you are well enough to write about your misery.
• If you have the flu, you are a threat to society. Avoid anyone that’s not wearing a white coat. Lock yourself up, watch TV, count sheep if you like. But keep away from meeting others, and under no circumstance oblige another with the prospect of face-to-face conversation.
• If an illness does one thing well, it is to make you feel very homesick.

Reading

• Vir Sanghvi’s column on the Mumbai renaming relapse (via India Uncut). For a city that has over 12 lakh people below the poverty line, the name is one swell priority. Kudos!
• “If males waste all their sperm on orchids,” Ms. Gaskett asked, “what have they got to offer a real female?”. The males and females in question are wasps. And the excerpt is from here.
• Definition of googleganger.

Case for Creativity

A talk worth heeding on an interesting topic interspersed with well-delivered doses of humor – Sir Ken Robinson on Do schools kill creativity at the 2006 TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference.

Link via e-mail from Kaviyesh.

Reporting Bad Drivers

After having seen a car make a dangerous lane switch on the freeway, a few days ago, I pondered if it were possible to report bad drivers, as a form of social policing. While the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) provides no such service, there are websites that allow for such reporting, albeit with interfaces that leave a lot to be desired. The objective of most of these sites is to provide an observer of rash driving, a medium to vent her frustration and relieve stress. The rash driver, though, may remain blissfully ignorant of the agony resulting from his driving. And with no penalty or censure, there is nothing to stop rash drivers from posing a future risk to other innocent lives, in addition to their own. Further, the reporting is web-based, which means that one cannot report a rash driver immediately after the incident. By the time the observer reaches her destination, the incident may be forgotten and go unreported.

Two factors – a quick and convenient means of reporting, and proactive action in terms of a warning from the DMV – may serve the purposes of educating rash drivers, preempting possible accidents, and leaving the reporter with the satisfaction that comes from being socially responsible. The omnipresent cellphone can be used to call up or SMS a number to report the misbehaving vehicle promptly, while the DMV can provide the means for such reporting, as well as notify rash drivers of the complaints against them. There are drawbacks to this system – false reports and inaccurate observations of license plate numbers being two of them. In my opinion, the upside benefit of saving lives far overshadows the drawback of mistakenly informing someone that he has been driving rashly.