Category: News

bajaj.com is 15 this day. From its humble beginnings in 1997 as an information portal about the family, it developed into a blog in April 2008. The site has built equity over the years in terms of listings on portal sites, search engine popularity and links from other sites, that has attracted advertising since 2009.

It is my understanding that the Winter Solstice of 21 December 2012 marks the beginning of Dwapara Yuga or the Bronze Age of civilization, and all that it entails.

Yes, I expect natural calamities to cause mass destruction of population in a way that it benefits the planet and the remainder of human civilization – like Spring Cleanup as we leave Kali Yuga or the Iron Age, which is akin to the cold dreary Winter in terms of human spiritual development.

Survivors in the aftermath would, as per my strong belief, be more spiritually evolved and more aware of their oneness with creation.

Personally, I have undergone tremendous lifestyle changes over the past nine months, almost exactly since the Summer Solstice of June 2009. Over the past four months, since sometime prior to the Winter Solstice of December 2009 (at which time we were about three years away from 21 December 2012), the transformative energies have intensified and I believe I have emerged a more spiritually evolved person. As such I am looking forward to what I believe would be the beginning of a wonderful new life, as I have always felt that I was born in the wrong Yuga.

21 December 2012 is when the Earth’s equatorial plane would align exactly with the galactic centre; the midpoint between the Age of Pisces (just over 1,986 years ending on 21 December 2012) and the Age of Aquarius (2,130 years until 4142). We are entering the Age of Aquarius, during which time the solar system is going to be inside the photon belt, and photonic energy is considered divine energy.

My son was born at the midpoint of Aquarius and Pisces and his astrological chart indicates that he is an Aquarian. His Indian name means, “The Reign of Truth”. When he was born, his doctor commented that he looked like the Dalai Lama. He has always been an extraordinary person and wise beyond most people. He too feels he does not belong in this era. I cannot then help but hypothesize that the purpose of my life is to raise my son, who is destined to be a significant contributor in the new world.

I say “Yes” to nuclear power plants in the absence of the possibility of hydroelectric power plants and/or regulation of industrial and commercial energy usage.

Nuclear fission provides reliable base-load energy and dependable capacity like coal combustion, but in contrast has very low CO₂ emissions (including transportation-generated emissions), and no other emissions.

The natural radioactivity in coal is ten times higher than that from living next to a nuclear power plant for the same period of time. I do not believe in “standards” of any kind, and acceptable levels of radiation from nuclear power plants might be too liberal, however it is no worse than coal unless the affected radius is greater or containment is inadequate. Nonetheless I would not even want to live next to overhead power lines, let alone any kind of power plant.

The province should consider proposals on a case-by-case basis, considering the track record of the investor. Nuclear plants are a whole different ball game, so diligence of the investor and its commitment beyond regulatory requirements to plant safety, containment of radiation and safe on-site waste storage are paramount.

The Alberta Nuclear Consultation workbook and survey [PDF] has been my source of information and the basis of my decision.

My first painting sold on 26 October 2008, at the very first art exhibit at which my work was ever displayed.
Five of my paintings were displayed from 24 to 26 October 2008 at the Fall Show and Sale of the St. Albert Painters Guild in Alberta, Canada.

So how much does it cost to own an iPhone in Canada? $861 plus tax ($904 including GST) per annum including upfront costs and one-time charges annualized over a three-year contract period, since you can’t buy an iPhone without a three-year contract and the phone is locked to the carrier.

Fido costs $27.45 per month with the minimum 200 minutes voice plan with per second billing and additional fees for inadvertently using your phone on the Rogers extended network. Rogers costs $32.45 per month and is a better and less worry-some plan that gets you 100 to 200 minutes with no per second billing, but no additional charges for access to the extended network and a choice of either (a) free incoming calls, (b) unlimited calls, texts and picture messaging to either (i) 5 designated local numbers or (ii) any Rogers subscriber.

A data plan is optional, but it is also what makes the iPhone a life-changing device. Moreover, with data charged at 5¢ per KB without a data plan, a data plan of any size is an essential insurance against automatic or accidental use, unless you call the data department of your carrier to ensure that they put in a data block. Just turning the phone on could cost 20¢ each time as the phone automatically connects to the data network. A day’s usage could be $1.00 for 20 KB of trickle data, which is $30.00 per month. The no-brainer data plan costs $30.00 for 6 GB per month, but is being offered as a promotion only until 31 August 2008 on a similar 3-year contract. Cynics might argue that the data is not unlimited, but even unlimited data in the U.S. I believe is capped at 5 GB. Plus, how much can one eat unless one is abusing the service by running one’s home or office Internet off the cellular data? I believe that might be a reason for the cap. The regular rates are $30.00 for 300 MB or $100 for 6 GB per month, but we don’t have to worry about that for 3 years, as in 3 years data rates would inevitably be much lower with the 2008 spectrum auction bringing in competition.

None of the voice plans at those rates including visual voicemail ($8.00), text messaging (except to your choice of 5 local numbers or Rogers subscribers) or free unlimited access to Rogers and Fido hotspots. The minimum plan that includes these comes with 150 minutes, 75 text messages and 400 MB data for $67.45. Call display ($7.00) is never included, but can be purchased in a bundle that includes 2,500 sent text messages, missed call text notification, caller ring tunes and 2,500 call forwarding minutes for $15.00.

I make no mention of evening/weekend minutes on any plan, which could vary from 1,000 minutes to unlimited, since 9 PM to 7 AM weekends are of no consequence unless one works nights. The voice plans include the mandatory $6.95 system access fee (or whatever name the rip-off goes by) and 50¢ 911 service fee.

I am writing this post on my iPhone twelve days after I got it. I am “one of those” who got it on day one, but only after eight hours of waiting to get the white and only the white one.

For me it is probably the single most life-changing gizmo ever. The experience has been so dramatic that I immediately realized an improvement in the quality of my life. To say it is a liberating experience is to say the least.

It is not a great phone compared to my Nokia N73. The bluetooth is for headset-like devices only. It can’t sync or transfer files over bluetooth or WiFi, nor can it beam data over bluetooth with another phone. I can’t upload my MP3s or AACs for use as ring tones without some effort. It can’t do a lot of things a phone circa 2005 can.

It is more useful as a PDA except for the lower resolution as compared to my Dell Axim X50v’s VGA (640×480) resolution. The Dell Axim with the PocketPC 2003 OS has a lot more Windows desktop equivalent applications, but I find that for the two critical things I need – opening WAV and PDF attachments in e-mail – the iPhone can do it whereas the PocketPC can’t. The iPhone shines in its data features with the 3G data connection as the cellular data connection is omnipresent compared to WiFi.

The iPhone is locked to operate with a certain carrier or country as sold in most countries, so it is generally (without hacking) not usable with a cellular network when traveling overseas, which paradoxically is when a cellular data network would be most needed. Prepaid cards that combine voice and data usage would be excellent when travelling with an unlocked iPhone.