Fooling with the Sun, shadow, imagination and my cell-phone camera

Fooling with the Sun, shadow, imagination and my cell-phone camera at Trinity University.

Photography by: Digital Subway

Trinity University Photos from my Cheap Cellphone Camera

Trinity University Photos through my cheap cell-phone camera (which is surprisingly equipped with 5 Megapixel Camera.

The Pregnant Lady at Trinity University shines in the Sun after the recent renovation in Spring 2009.

 The Photos speak for Trinity University. I just took them casually as I was passing by from Coates Library to my dorm.

The Trinity Tower stands tall with pride while the Trinity's Capital Campaign slogan 'Dream, Inspire, Acheive continues to inspire Trinity students to dream big and then acheive big.

 

This Trinity Cat, thanks to Trinity University's Cat Alliance seems to be well fed and is deep asleep.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

New Clothes, Old Notes

Dashain is most arguably the prominent festival of Nepal celebrated with unparalleled pomp and joy. Even though different people in Nepal celebrate Dashain differently, it brings happiness and sense of unity among family members. Generally speaking, people in Terai perceive Dashain as more of a religious celebration, engaging in an intensive 10 day long worshipping and at often fasting for entire 10 days, surviving entirely on fruits and milk; while, people in Hills and elsewhere focus more on the cultural aspect of Dashain and celebrate it as a festival that unites family members and brings joy.

Dashain is marked with children playing around in open fields in bright and colorful new clothes. 'Pings' are a common sight. People tend to develop a strange affinity not only for new clothes, but new stuffs in general. Sale of new shoes goes up while the old sandals and flippers fill up the trash cans (which of course do not exist).

Nepalese have developed an affinity for new and crisp bills too during Dashain. The Nepal Rastra Bank caters to this aesthetic and rather luxurious demand by dispensing lots of new stacks of crisp bills (Nepalese currency notes). However, it seems Nepalese will get to wear new clothes, (in fact lots of them since China, beloved neighbor manufactures them so cheaply) but will have to do without new currency notes (bills) this year. Nepal Rastra Bank has admitted of a currency shortage during Dashain, the major festival of Nepal. Surely, this will be a big disappoinment to the Nepalese. Old habits die hard.

I fear Nepalese people might launch a revolution or call up a general strike demanding new and crisp Nepalese bills.

Invent, Baby Invent

Thomas Friedman talks about what will be the next big thing. He has made it clear that the world is flat. But the world is becoming 'hot, flat and crowded'.

The next big thing will be the Green Revolution. It's change or die. According to Friedman, the fuel that we were using we thought were 'cheap, non-exhaustive and benign' but in reality fuels were 'expensive, exhaustive and toxic-toxic to air we breathe and toxic to geo-politics'.

Friedman criticizes the stance of John McCain who was for 'Drill Baby, Drill.' He also counters the argument by China and India that since the US has been polluting the environment till now, it's now their turn.

Embedded below is an excellent video interview of Thomas Friedman with Fareed Zakaria.

Privacy Issue with Web Browsing

What would it feel like being stalked, everywhere you go and whatever you do, being watched by the eyes of the 'Big Brother' not unlike that in George Orwell's famous dystopian novel, '1984'? Horrible and scary, wouldn't it?

Do you realize that whatever you search for or browse on the internet is recorded? When you are running a Google Search, and if you are signed into Gmail, your browsing history is recorded. The claim of the Google founders, Sergey and Larry is that the search information is used to make the search better and that the information is not stored against their individual names but rather decoded with some random letters and numbers. But did you know that you could actually sign up for an option with Google Search that would let you see your browsing history since the date you signed up for. There would be a log of all websites you visited through the Search. How potential could that information be for corporations and agencies that are always looking for that kind of data to break into peoples' niche and sell their stuff.

Also, whenever you browse with the Internet Explorer, your browsing history is automatic stored and sent to the main server. It does not provide you an option to not store your browsing history unless you browse in another browser with 'InPrivate Browsing'. And if you open a new browser, the default setting is to store your browsing history meaning you would have to browse in another browser with 'InPrivate Browsing' everytime you wanted privacy. Internet Explorer does not provide any tool to permanently set your preference not to record your browsing history. Is it intentional on part of the Microsoft? Hell, yeah.

Google, on the other hand does provide you with an option to set your preference permanently if you want safe browsing without sending any browsing data. These browsers thrive on the fact that most ordinary people who use the internet do not realize this fact. And some, who do are too indifferent to care about this stuff. But this is an infringement of privacy. The ramifications of storing one's browsing data is immense. What one searches on the internet can tell a hell lot about the person's interests and personality. Potentially a very valuable source of information for their sponsors and advertisment agencies. There have been cases where browsing history has been used to pinpoint individuals, which in some cases can be very humiliating if the content of the searches are not very pleasant. Is there any public agency that is concerned about loss of peoples' privacy in this digital matrix?

Quantum Search seems to be coming up with a solution. Scientific American ran an article on the future of being able to browse without being followed and watched under the watchful eyes of Big Brothers like Microsoft, Google and Yahoo.

Alleviating Poverty Through Microcredit

Microcredit is a concept first experimented with in Brazil by Accion International. Contrary to popular belief and expectations, it turned out that poor people with little or no financial security paid back all of their loans at a rate better than the conventional rate of most commercial banks.

It was then given a new dimension after a young professor at Chittagong University, Muhammad Yunus started Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his extra-ordinary success with microcredit in poverty alleviation in Bangladesh and many other countries. Grameen Bank today is a part of the great Grameen Foundation which serves various sectors in Bangladeshi society. Grameen has also partnered with other multinational companies(such as Danone, the French Yogurt Company) to serve poor people better.

Microcredit has turned to be a miracle compared to the inefficacy of hundreds of billions of aid and charities poured out to poor nations in the past centuries.

The following video featuring Muhammad Yunus will help you understand the concept of Microcredit better.

Frequent Mozilla Firefox Crashes on University Computers

          I don't know if you have noticed or not, but the university computers take painfully longer time, feels like almost ever to load when you log in. I asked some of my techie friends and they said it is because of Vista. But, come on, Trinity had Vista before we went for summer too. The load time has lengthened after we came back from summer. One of my techie friends suggested it is because all of the Vista programs are being loaded at once. This was not the case before we left for summer. And, think of the Java window that pops up everytime asking for your permission to continue. Try logging in with your username to permit it so that it stops coming and the error message is returned, asking for an administrator password.

          As if this were not enough, Mozilla Firefox crashes almost every time I use it. And, more so when I try to close the browser. At first, I thought this was just happening with me and was purely a coincidence. But it started happening everytime and that is when I started smelling a rat. So, I checked online and this seems to be a problem with other users too. This is actually a problem of the new version of Mozilla 3 that they have launched without adequate testing. Certainly, everyone likes newer versions of free software but when it is full of bugs then, it gets very irritating. It seems I will have to live with this problem before Mozilla can actually correct this bug.

Trinity Student Wins $5000 Study Abroad Scholarship

Trinity University's, student Amy Taffet was awarded a $5000 Study Abroad Scholarship by The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS). NSCS, is a Washington based organization that awards one scholarship each year to a student who can show how he/she will make the best use of it. Amy won the scholarship amid a tough pool of applicants.

"We read hundreds of applications throughout the year, and Amy's truly stood out in the group," said Stephen E. Loflin, NSCS' executive director. "Her answers were focused, specific and explained how this program would help her, both in her undergraduate years and beyond. We are proud to help her represent the Trinity community, NSCS and the United States, overseas."

Above excerpt is from the National Society of Collegiate Scholars Social Media Press Relsease, published on this website.

It is a matter of pride for Trinity University that she was chosen among an applicant pool consisting of the best and the brighest brains from all over the United States.

I am also planning to study abroad next semester through Trinity University. Oh, no, I am not suggesting that I will also apply for this scholarship and probably keep this trend going on.

Excitement builds for Pervez Musharraf Lecture at Trinity University

With its successful accomplishment of the massive 200 million dollar capital campaign, Trinity University is on a roll. Amid all popularity, raised eyebrows and focus it has received from its peers and competitors, it has created more buzz again by inviting Pervez Musharraf, the former President of Pakistan. He is ubiquitously described as the person who once held 'the most dangerous job in the world'- a title given by the TIME Magazine. Musharraf will certainly take away a chunk of Trinity's endowment but will give Trinity students more exposure and probably an unparalled experience and a unique perspective to look at issues in South East Asia.

The [speaking] fee for Musharraf would be in the 150,000-200,000 range for a day," says Embark President David B. Wheeler

Musharraf will  be lecturing at Trinity University on Sept 17, 2009, Thursday in Laurie Auditorium at 7:30 pm "as part of Distinguished Lecture Series, made possible by generous endowments from from Mr. and Mrs. Walter F. Brown of San Antonio. The Flora Cameron Lecture on Politics and Public Affairs is made possible by an endowment gift by Mrs. Flora C. Crichton of San Antonio" as reported in the Press Release by Trinity University. The former Pakistani president will be lecturing on "The World As I See It" at Trinity University. He has also lectured at Stanford University in the recent past (in January 2009) as part of the 'Big Speaker 2009' on the topic, "Terrorism and Extremism- The Need for a Holistic Approach."

Two tickets per Trinity Student ID can be accessed from September 8 to 11 at Laurie Auditorium's Box Office located on the third floor whose hours of operation begin from 10 am. Out of excitement, if you show up at 8 am (just like I did today), you might be disappointed and later angry for letting your sleep forgo. (The Official email sent out by Trinity University did not mention the hours of operation of the Box Office. And also, the Box Office is located in a very inconvenient location, finding it is much of a treasure hunt.) It is a matter to rejoice to students that Trinity students are getting first preference for these tickets to see his lecture. The tickets are absolutely free and assuming his fees are closer to $100,000(which is still lesser than predicted by David Wheeler), every ticket is still worth $40. I know you have started doing the Maths now, the official number of maximum occupants in Laurie is 2500 for this lecture (Yes, I asked them today). According to Indian Express, 

"Musharraf intends to raise funds for his future political activities from the lucrative lectures." 

Also, he is eagerly waiting to step into politics. Under current law, he has to wait for at least 2 years beginning his end of presidency before he can enter into politics.
 

There is no reason why Trinity students would not want to see it. Moreover, you could always make some extra cash if you are running low on cash by selling them later. Remember how few students made extra bucks by selling their tickets during the lecture by former US President Bill Clinton. The tickets were reserved (sold out) within few hours after it were distributed. Majority of Trinity students complained that they didn't even know.  It was primarily because former President Clinton had forbidden publicity in any form. But this time, Musharraf gave green signal to disseminating news to media or publicizing to students. 

Also, his lecture will be broadcast live on Trinity's website which should give a chance to others too to see his lecture.

Rising Against the Tide: Trinity University

As recession hit the economy, colleges and universities had started worrying about the reduction in their endowments which would mean less scholarships and grants for students, less capital to invest in order to improve education and less money to attract top notch professors and students. Several educational institutions admitted that their endowment had been reduced by a huge margin, ranging up to 25 percent which was still less than 40 percent reduction of stocks in the stock market. And even elite universities like Harvard and Yale were not spared.

Brandeis University had to sell its more than century old museum in order to meet its costs. Other universities followed suit by either decreasing student scholarships, reducing its faculty workforce size or by increasing tuition fees. Amid all this chaos, there was one educational institution that stood tall against the tides. It announced that it had achieved its mission of raising a massive 200 million dollars as part of its capital campaign for University Endowment. It also gave away more scholarships than previous years, hired several professors and welcomed the largest international student body in its history. With a capital campaign of ‘Dream. Inspire. Achieve.' Trinity University rose against the tide and surprised the educational world.

The timing at which it announced its massive capital campaign couldn’t have been worse. Soon after Trinity announced its ambitious plan under the presidency of Dr. John Brazil, 9/11 struck and spread of terror temporarily stagnated US economy. The campaign was stalled for a year following that dreadful incident said Vice President Marc Raney as quoted in My San Antonio.com. As things were starting to get a little better, US economy took a slump and things stopped getting rosy again. But, president Brazil still pushed for the campaign and used his skills and charm to achieve what he earnestly aspired. Students at Trinity may not realize how much hard work and perseverance was put into achieving this ambitious goal and what this accomplishment means for their education at Trinity. But this will manifest in various ways that will probably not go unnoticed.

While students, both national and international were worried about how this economic recession will translate in their financial aid package, Trinity students got to see unexpected results. Trinity University increased every student’s financial aid this year, meaning there was not a single student who saw a decrease in his/her financial aid. On top of that, Trinity admitted a record high number of international students. It’s a huge commitment since needs of international students are several times higher than those that of national ones. To commit to this means substantial aid has to pour in every year for their entire 4 years at Trinity. This huge burden would have been impossible without the accomplishment of this highly ambitious 200 million dollar capital campaign. San Antonio.com acknowledged it as “the largest private capital campaign in the city's history.”

Also, the renovations of various residence halls will not go unnoticed. It would not have been possible, viable or reasonable in these economic times had it not been for this accomplishment. Miller Residence Hall went a complete renovation and is now equipped with better facilities, in stark contrast to its till-now-but-no-longer-brother Calvert Hall. Plans to renovate Calvert Residence Halls have also been already announced. While Trinity already boasts of having ‘Dorms Like Palaces’ in Princeton review’s rankings, these moves will make Trinity’s residence halls even superior and provide an incentive to prospective students along with making Trinity students happier with Residential Life and the university administration as a whole.

Another major change will be the renovation of Science Buildings. Chapman Auditorium will also be renovated, parts of which have already been completed. Storch Building has also already seen some changes that have been appreciated by students and faculty. Pictures  related to these can be seen on Trinity Dean's Blog (Yes, above one is from his blog).  Moody Engineering Science building will be completely reconstructed and there will be new buildings for Engineering and Chemistry Department. While these might cause temporary uneasiness, it will be greatly appreciated and beneficial in the long run.

Dream. Inspire. Achieved. It also gave Trinity students to be proud of their own institution. According to a recent endowment analysis by National Association of College and University Business Officers, half of all colleges and universities have an endowment of 88 million or less. Trinity University has closer to 1 billion (I believe); 200 million dollar was what it achieved only in these few years under President Brazil. Trinity University has moved steadily and shone under the presidency of Dr. Brazil. It became much more diverse since it opened its doors to lot many international students. It has proven that it is a superior institution to attend, receive high quality education where students get to understand that”Life is what you make of it” (in President Brazil’s words).

See a complete description of how Trinity’s 200 million dollar Endowment will be spent.

(Please note that clicking on the above images will take you to its original location. Therefore, infringement of copyright has not been intended, the images are merely linked and the source is still its original location.)

Google Scholarships

Google Scholarships

It feels great to see that Google actually gives away several annual scholarships to students to encourage them to do better. I was excited and had a look at the scholarships awarded to students and checked to see if I had a chance.

Unfortunately, I realized I did not qualify for any of those. It seemed that in order to be eligible for any of them, I had to be a minority of some sort, either a female pursuing computer related degree or belong to a less common ethnic group such as Native American. I am an Asian and a male. Sorry, no scholarships for you. How ridiculous! I am not against positive discrimination but at least others too should have a chance.