Wedding Season's Over; Hangovers Remain

Photo: blog.com.np

What? Wedding, now? I know I'm a bit slow; now that the season for couples saying 'I do' or just the plain old Nepali style of waking up the whole neighborhood with the band playing off tune Indian chum chum is, for now, gone. But some sneaky folks do manage to somehow squeeze in a few here and there. Word of advice, stick to the season.

Weddings are big headache for the people living in cities like Kathmandu, not the wedding planner, no no, but the poor neighbor who gets left out (me) and has to bear the worst combo of Jazz and Cheer-leading 'instruments', not music, all night long, at full volume; no ear plug can stop it. Or even the pedestrian walking on the road or any Honda XR rider; I mean, ramps and barrels are easy-peasy but getting through hoards of wedding goers, band clad in "Bright Red" clothing playing 'don't know what music' and vehicles decorated with 50 different types of flowers, is a tough business.

But, wait, if you do plan to attend one, forget all the things I've said above. Opportunity lies ahead, girls and boys alike. Because you might just get lucky, i.e if you are single and need that special one or even if you already have that special one, you can just play around, can't you? Up to you, totally. Single or not, I'll tell you how.

Weddings have that engrossing vibe to it; of people coming together, getting paired up, and something else I rather not discuss. If you need an expert's advice and happen to ask me the best place to meet women...? I would say weddings. No question.

So why this aroma? Well, imagine this, you are attending a function where two people are getting together, your mind immediately takes in that information, your eyes sees the couple - sends in more information, your body produces chemicals that rush to your brain, Potential Energy (P.E) changes to Kinetic Energy (K.E) and the next thing you want to say is "I love you". Its like Physics class; the moment you step in, you begin to yawn. Err...maybe not so perfect example. But you get the point.

More, weddings are not just about "Jack and Jill sitting on a tree/ KISSING/ First comes love/then come Marriage/..." its also about families getting together, new relationships. <- This is what we are talking about folks. Meeting new people, girls to meet boys and boys to meet girls. This combined with the vibe talked about earlier, makes it perfect for hunting.

So, next time you are out there, all by your own, pick up your rifle, aim and shoot. Or if you are ambitious, just blow away a few with a shotgun. How does that sound?

Sea of Garbage II: The Return of the Garbage Monster

Garbage is back. The streets of Kathmandu are again clogging up with solid waste to form reservoirs and lakes.

Disputed between the Locals residents and the authorities over the garbage disposal at Okharpauwa Landfill site, Nuawakot district has 're-erupted' due to which garbage disposal hasn't been possible.

It has been 13 days since the Metropolitan garbage disposal team hasn't been able to ferry the 350 tonne or so garbage that gets dumped in the streets of Kathmandu every day.

The only respite we can take in this chaos is that the chances of a disease outbreak is lower than in
June-July 2008 (click here) due to the cold weather.

For now, try and reduce your garbage production. Avoid plastics, re-use polythene bags, and eat less junk food.

Photos: Left- Jamal,
Right - Bir Hospital

Load-shedding Solution 1:- Filament vs. CFL Bulbs

A quick comparison between traditional Incandescent (Filament) Bulbs and the energy efficient Compact Florescent Lamp (CFL) Bulbs.

Incandescent (Filament) Bulbs
Average Life Span: - 1,200 Hours
Average Cost:- Rs. 50
Energy Used:- 60 Watt
Brightness:- Decent (Depends on Watts)

CFL Bulbs
Average Life Span:- 8,000 Hours
Average Cost:- Rs. 250
Energy Used:- 13-15 Watt
Brightness:- 5 times more Brighter than Filament Bulbs

Result:-
Incandescent:- 1
CFL: - 3

We can clearly see the benefits of using energy saving CFL bulbs instead of filament lamps or even tube lights (average energy consumption of tube lights is 40 Watts).

If the government is to distribute 5 million CFL bulbs by providing discounts or exchange offers, we can reduce the energy demand of Nepal by 200MW.

Currently the electricity demand stands at 804MW while the production is only 324MW and with 16hours/day power cuts, I think its high time 'we' start doing something rather than waiting for the government and putting all the blame on people other than ourselves.

CFL FTW!