In many countries police patrol cars have sirens and lights on the top of the car. When these are switched on, it typically means there is a chase or is an indication that the vehicle in front of the patrol car is signaled to halt.

Those following developments in CCTP here might remember the police were donated with 100 Hyundai Accent patrol cars. While these cars spend most of their lifetime parked at some shadow in road sides, they do engage the lights ( if not siren ). However, in that “chase” / emergency , they drive at a maximum speed of 20kmph.
I could never understand the theory behind it, and have been waiting for a chance to findout

Yesterday, I happened to meet a traffic police officer. Conversation below ( of course, translated to english )

Me: Sir, I need a clarification, would you mind if I ask?

Officer: Sure. go ahead.

Me: this is regarding the new patrol vehicles…

Officer: ( interrupting ): yeah.. the hyundai cars

Me: yes. in many countries abroad, they switch on the lights and siren in emergency. most people either leave way, or stop as required by law. However, I see that our officers have the lights on, and go at the slowest possible speed. once they did that behind my car, and I was thinking if I should stop. May I know what’s the logic behind these?

Officer: ?#!???#???. You see in this country, nobody respects rules.. blah blah blah….

Haiyo Haiyo

While we didn’t have adequate supply and very less demand of CFL few years back, things seem to be much better now. Most supermarkets and all electrical shops have them for sale, at reasonable cost(Rs. 90 to 130 for branded 11W). Shops and other commercial organizations are leading the way. It would only be few more years before their price becomes on par with tube lights.

I’m seeing many shops shifting to CFL ( probably 1 28 to 36W CFL replacing 3 to 4 60W incandescent bulbs). It is quite beneficial for the shops, as they could recover the cost of buying a branded CFL within few months from saved electricity bills.

While I can understand this trend in Chennai, I was pleased to see this at Tirunelveli during my last visit. More interestingly Bombay Theatre there had most of its lighting from CFL. It was nice.

By using CFL fixtures, we get the following benefits

• power consumption reduced by as much as 70 to 80%.
• they generate less heat than incandescent bulbs, requiring less cooling.
• They last 3 to 5 times longer than a incandescent bulb
• They’re much more environment friendly, considering their energy efficiency.

I use energy efficient lighting fixtures at my home. Do you?

I recently came across an article in Wikipedia about Dappan Kuthu. It was so good, I couldn’t resist sharing it.

if you were wondering what the term Dappan Kuthu meant, don’t worry, the article will “educate” you ( For those without any patience it’s a form of dance practiced in Tamil Nadu, India )

Whatever mood you are in, I’m sure you would be having a hearty laugh at the end of reading the article.

Here it comes for your reading pleasure. Article on Dappan Kuthu from Wikipedia

Do read the last line