[silk] How China is making sure universities are prepared for the worst
Hi folks! Long time lurker, first-time poster here. Udhay asked me to give the silklist a rundown of how Chinese universities are future (and coronavirus) proofing themselves. For context, I'm a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University, Beijing and I've been locked out of the country since January 18th. 1) they gave students time to prepare, a lot of the people i know (including me) are getting hardship stipends, you can log onto the Tsinghua network remotely to access library resources and intrauniversity resources (including an opera livestream for when you want o listen to Chinese opera...I guess?), and they have a proprietary service called Rain Classroom that can be accessed on wechat () 2) they have everything on an independent server to ensure that public systems aren't overwhelmed, and it is guaranteed free for everyone who needs it. this wasn't something they came up with yesterday. Rain Classroom has been in the works for years now because of contingency prep. Rain Classroom is fully equipped and all professors get annual training. 3) tsinghua has allowed other universities to use their system till they have their own. that's pretty incredible. it's a short term solution, yes, but they kept students first. 4) they didn't wait for students to come back from chinese new year break to tell them 'go back'. my college is a part of tsinghua but a little different because of my course structure, but everyone was getting weekly, then daily updates on the situation and instructions on how to manage travel. students who don't have access to regular updates are called by their admins to make sure they're updated. 5) the chinese railways have a pretty hefty student discount for students going back and forth from home on cny, and they allowed them to refund it all. students who were stranded in universities have been given access to weekly 'student special' trains that are free for them. it's pretty incredible and it should be a blueprint for american universities trying to go remote. feel free to AMA on the china experience! -- Warm regards Harnidh Kaur +91-7718951383
Re: [silk] Mumbai meetup?
Yep! Keep us looped. Would love to. On Thu, Aug 9, 2018 at 9:17 AM, Amit Varma wrote: > Same as Naren and Gabin. Definitely interested, will make it if I can. > > On Thu, 9 Aug 2018 09:12 gabin kattukaran, wrote: > > > My situation is similar to Naren's. Please plan to meet. If I am in town, > > I'll join. > > > > -gabin > > > > On Thu, 9 Aug 2018 at 08:04, Shenoy N wrote: > > > > > I'm in and out of town, so I'll take a last minute call. But I'd love > to > > > catch up! 13th (tentatively) works? > > > > > > On Tue 7 Aug, 2018, 7:52 PM Simmi Sareen, > > wrote: > > > > > > > I'm in. Can do any day except Friday. > > > > > > > > On Tue, Aug 7, 2018 at 5:02 PM, Devdas Bhagat < > > dev...@dvb.homelinux.org> > > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > I am in town for a week starting the 12th of August, and free to > meet > > > up. > > > > > > > > > > Devdas Bhagat > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Don't confuse me with facts. My mind is made up. > > > -- Regards Harnidh Kaur Lady Shri Ram College for Women '15 St. Xavier's College, Mumbai '17 Dasra +91-7718951383
[silk] ‘Kind’ technology?
Hi SilkList! I don’t think most of you know this, but I work in the development space and we’re always trying to find cool ways to make tech make the world better. I’ve been trying to read up more about the same. So, here. Is ‘kind technology’ a thing? Where people are trying to change gears of existing/incumbent technology to specifically serve vulnerable populations? Any existing ideas/something you’re working on/things you think SHOULD find a kind tech iteration. Gimme! -- Regards Harnidh Kaur Lady Shri Ram College for Women '15 St. Xavier's College, Mumbai '17 Foreverawkwardandlearning.wordpress.com <http://foreverawkwardandlearning.wordpress.com/> +91-7718951383
Re: [silk] Reintroducing myself
Hi N, I’ve always known you are that person whose presence warms me up when I see your name on Twitter. I didn’t know you were on Silk! Good to see you here. On Thu, 16 Nov 2017 at 5:05 PM, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan < chandrachoo...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello. > > Let me see, it's been 10 years on the list. After initial enthusiasm in > responding to all messages, I lurked, first actively and then passively. > And now occasionally read a thread or two till the first point of drift. > > Things outside were happening. > > Today I got added to a Whatsapp group which reminded me of Silk again. It > helped that about 95% of the group members are silklisters. > > And then I saw Udhay's thread about changing one's opinion and the other > one about optimising priorities. > > So. > > Re introductions. > Some of you may have known me as Chandrachoodan. Or as Ravages. > > I've since changed. A lot. > After years of trying to figure it out, and worrying about family, friends, > etc., I began to transition. Socially, medically, and internet-ly. > > I am still afraid of family's reaction. I am still worried about what > friends will say. But since 2014 I have learnt that the number of people > who don't give a fuck who I am, one way or other, far outnumber the number > of people who do give a fuck. Which is cool. > > > Some of you have known me after transition. > > For the others, > I am Nadika. > -- Regards Harnidh Kaur Lady Shri Ram College for Women '15 St. Xavier's College, Mumbai '17 Foreverawkwardandlearning.wordpress.com <http://foreverawkwardandlearning.wordpress.com/> +91-7718951383
Re: [silk] Novels about Jews in India?
The Last Jews of Kerala: The Two Thousand Year History of India's Forgotten Jewish Community, Ruby of Cochin, Dropped from Heaven are all great! There's a great piece on CD that might be of help: https://cafedissensus.com/2014/12/31/the-indian-jewish-fiction/ On Tue, Sep 12, 2017 at 4:37 PM, John Sundman <j...@wetmachine.com> wrote: > This is a query from Nicole Galland, a friend of mine: > > "Can anyone name a novel about Jews in the Arab-World-not-including-Israel? > Also interested in hearing about novels concerning Jews in India. “ > > Those of you who read books by Neal Stephenson may recognize Nikki’s name; > she’s the co-author of Stephenson’s latest, “The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.” > > Regards, > > jrs > > -- Regards Harnidh Kaur Lady Shri Ram College for Women '15 St. Xavier's College, Mumbai '17 Foreverawkwardandlearning.wordpress.com <http://foreverawkwardandlearning.wordpress.com/> +91-7718951383
Re: [silk] What's your primary computing device?
My phone. I write on it, make invoices on it (tiny invoice is a great app for Android, btw!), and watch movies on it. I own a laptop solely because my dad gave me his secondhand MacBook. Regards Harnidh Kaur Lady Shri Ram College for Women '15 St. Xavier's College, Mumbai '17 Foreverawkwardandlearning.wordpress.com +91-7718951383 On 12-Sep-2017 2:02 PM, "Udhay Shankar N" <ud...@pobox.com> wrote: > As in, what do you spend the most time doing serious work/play on? For any > definition of 'work' or 'play' that appeals to you? > > For me, it is still an assembled desktop computer running Windows. > Notwithstanding the existence in the house of 3 laptops, sundry tablets, > and many, MANY phones. > > Udhay > > -- > > ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com)) >
[silk] An introduction
I've been lurking around, reading and learning from all of you for a while now. Apparently I can't get away with doing just that, so hello! I'm Harnidh. I'm some sort of a poet and policy wonk, but I'm just 22. That mostly means I'm not much, as of yet. Some people know me as Peglet on Twitter. I used to be Patiala Peg, but then I stopped drinking as much, so I became a baby peg...let. Peglet. I've been called 'obnoxiously enthusiastic', 'disgustingly excited', and 'alarmingly energetic.' It's lovely to meet all of you. Regards Harnidh Kaur Lady Shri Ram College for Women '15 St. Xavier's College, Mumbai '17 Foreverawkwardandlearning.wordpress.com +91-7718951383
