What is wrong with the Indian education system?
9th standard:PTA meetingPhysics Teacher: Your son is very smart. He is hardworking too. Dad: Thanks sir! He studies well. He is passionate about physics.Physics Teacher: Yes. He has what it takes to be an IAS Officer. Prepare him for Civil Services. He would be a great officer.Dad: That's good to hear sir. I am just a 9th standard guy. All I knew was that I loved applying physics to daily life activities. I knew I loved Maths too. But I did not know about my future. I did not know what I would be or what I wanted to be. I approached my teacher the next day.Class - the next day:Me: Sir. I like physics. What is its future.Physics Teacher: The future of physics is full of possibilities. There is infinite scope for exploring the field.Me: Then why did you want me to be an IAS Officer.Physics Teacher: Its a very stable job. You get security. You can get others to do your work for you. You will have many servants. You can earn very much. Even though the salary from government is less, you get lots of gifts (not so subtle). If you pursue physics, you can't earn much. Home:Mom: How did the meeting go. Dad: Great! His teacher told me that he has what it takes to even crack Civil Services.Mom: He's too young. Let us give him a few years before we push him towards his goals. (My mother is a professor. I am lucky. Not all are lucky to be afforded this freedom.)Conclusion:I tell my teacher I like his subject. He tells me it has good future. But money is the ultimate objective and it has less scope to earn money. He tells me to pursue another field. I feel there is something fundamentally wrong if we educate our younger generation that one field has more priority over another. All are equal. It just depends on one's passion towards a field and a drive to pursue it.As someone said: "Where would they be if Lata Mangeshkar picked up a cricket bat and Sachin Tendulkar became a singer."
Do cats know not to jump off high rise apartment balconies, or should they be kept inside at all times?
They may "know" not to jump off, but primitive instinct is faster than intellect. The cat that is sitting quietly on your deck rail, perfectly balanced, who sees a bird flit by, may respond without thinking…and so often does this result in tragedy that it even has a name, "Hi Rise Syndrome".No cat should be on a high balcony or in a window without a foolproof way of keeping them from going over the edge. I recommend deer netting; it is almost invisible, and is easily anchored to a frame or to poles. Cats don't like to climb anything that is loose so they generally stay off it, and if that's a problem you can put it on supports that curve back over the rail.Here are my cats on my netted deck. The frame has heavy netting (that corner gives access to the neighbor's deck) but there is also light weight stuff running around the whole perimeter; attached to spring steel shepher's hooks that I made out of 1/4" steel electrical snake cable. (ask for "electrical snakes"). You can just see them in the second picture. The spring steel is flexible so if the cat grabs the netting it dumps them. I used flower brackets to tie the spring steel hooks to, then just stapled down the bottom of the net. Cheap, easy, and totally effective. Also not an eyesore.My black cat has no depth perception due to a bad eye so the system had to be foolproof.First picture is the three of them transfixed by a squirrel in the tree. You can bet one of them would go for it in a heartbeat if the way was clear.Oh, there's screening in the slatted section, so they can't squeeze through that. And because I'm the one who had the deck built I had them put the bottom bar lower than usual, so the cats aren't tempted to try to squeeze under it.I have no idea why two pictures are loading sideways. sorry