The Vasco Blog

Brian reads at NIFT Delhi

2006-01-04T21:33:00.000-08:00

My one-time classmate (at Goa University, English dept) Brian Mark Mendonca <brianmendonca at rediffmail.com> has informed me that he has been invited to read his poems on January 18, 2006 at the N.I.F.T Campus from 5.30 to 7.30 pm. Brian is a Vascokar, and is planning to come out shortly with his new book of verse, titled after what must be his favourite poem, "The Last Bus To Vasco".

Fine print...

2006-01-04T03:25:00.003-08:00

Sometimes, the fine-print that shows up in the advertisements makes for interesting reading. For instance, some Vasco-related adverts in the Navhind Times of Dec 28, 2005:

* Goa Naval Area is advertising for some tens of thousands of uniforms and it specifies that those bidding need to be "competent contractors owning atleast 15 sewing machines and having expertise in fabrication of uniforms of naval personel serving at Vasco da Gama"...

These two conditions itself would probably exclude most from bidding from this contract! Does it matter if someone has 15 sewing machines, or is using some other model of completing the work, as long as the work gets done as required? And wouldn't the clause about having experience in sewing uniforms in the past restrict the bids only to those who have already won contracts in the past? Correct me if I'm wrong...

* Goa Urban Co-op Bank at Panjim has sent out notices to borrowers and guarantors who have not repaid loans. These include two parties at Vasco, a builder at Airport Road and someone else at Patrong, Baina.

* Meanwhile, the MPT has calledl for tenders for industrial acetylene and oxygen gases, and old reusable unformed super giant tyres.

I guess the tendering sector in Vasco, particularly from the Central government organisations, must be quite big business, even if little understood by the average citizen. FN

Thieves' new modus operandi... freak mishap (Herald)

2006-01-04T03:25:00.002-08:00

Looks like a serious concern for Vasco! FN

THIEVES STRIKE RICH WITH NEW MODUS OPERANDI

Herald Correspondent [Herald, Dec 28, 2005]

MORMUGAO, Dec 27 -- The next time someone informs you that your money has fallen down, be aware.

Cash and gold ornaments worth over Rs 1 lakh were stolen in three separate incidents in the port town within a span of an hour.

According to Vasco police, one NEtaji Rao along with his boss Mahendra Kumar Patwarai had gone to the Vasco post office, when a person approached Netaji and told him that some cash had fallen down.

When Netaji bent to pick the cash, the person ran away with a bag containing Rs 60,000 in cash.

In the second incident, one Vasant M Chauhan of Chicalim stated that he along with his brother went to a bank at about 10 am, when a person with a similar modus operandi took away a bag from the van containing Rs 40,000 in cash.

The bag was later found at Kharewada, with all the cash and some documents of the vehicle missing.

In the third case, Verma Dabholkar of SIolim stated that a gold bracelet and cash, all worth Rs 5000 were stolen from her car in the market in a similar fashion.

One person has been arrested in this connection and further investigations are in progress.

* * *

ONE DIES IN FREAK MISHAP

Herald Correspondent. Herald, Dec 28, 2005

MORMUGAO, DEC 27: A 34-year-old man from Odxel-Taleigao made a fatal mistake by choosing an unusual spot for his afternoon siesta -- behind a bus.

According to Vasco police, Hirappa Kotbagi had gone to the Dabolim airport, when he decided to sleep behind a bus (GA01 Z9399) at about 1.30 pm.

The bus driver failed to notice Hirappa and reversed the bus, crushing Hirappa to death. Further investigations are on.

WISL is ten

2006-01-04T03:25:00.001-08:00

Herald (Page 4, Dec 28, 2005) has this report reporting that the Western India Shipyard Ltd has completed ten years of successful operation on December 23.

Unfortunately, reporting on industry in Goa is largely restricted to reproducing official statements, specially on advertisement-friendly firms. But, if one recalls right, there was an issue of safety raised in a section of the press recently.

OTHER REPORTS relating to Vasco include:

* Poor lighting at Vasco KTC bus-stand: "The passenger shed at this stand has just three tube lights, which are lighting, and two halogen to illuminate the sorroundings at this stand. The stand, unlike the city stand, wears a deserted look and it is only during peak hours that one witnesses some crowd". (Gomtantak Times)

* Legal literacy camp held at Vasco: "... at Shri Mahadev Saunsthan, Alto Dabolim... Advocate SN Karmali spoke on Entitlement of Legal Aid... Adv S N Kerkar spoke on the Rent Control Act and highlighted as to what benefit is provided to the lesser and lessee under the law. Advocate Raju Dhavlikar spoke on the Consumer Protection Act...."

Ad from Vasco

2006-01-04T03:25:00.000-08:00

Are you a English writer and ready to work in residence at Mangor Hill, Vasco. Call 9422 438320 or 9822 162644 or 2514381. [Navhind Times, Dec 28, 2005]

NAVHIND TIMES: Steep rise in suicidal cases reported in Vasco

2006-01-04T03:23:00.001-08:00

NAVHIND TIMES: Steep rise in suicidal cases reported in Vasco

NT, December 29, 2005

NT NEWS SERVICE, VASCO

Dec 28: Under the Vasco sub-divisional police jurisdiction, there has been a steep rise in suicide cases reported in 2005.

The Vasco sub-divisional police jurisdiction, which comprises of Vasco police station, Mormugao police station, Verna police station and Vasco railway police station, registered 41 suicidal cases.

The highest suicidal cases were reported in Vasco itself, wherein 21 persons have committed suicide whereas Verna and Vasco railway police stations recorded 15 and 4 cases respectively, and Mormugao police station had only one suicidal case.

Focussing on the rise of suicidal cases, the sub-divisional magistrate and deputy collector of Mormugao Levinson Martins stated that Vasco, being a cosmopolitan town, the mobility of the people was of the labour class.

"Majority of the labourers reside in thickly populated areas and the disparity in the sex ratio is alarming. Under such circumstances, due to frustration, man and women are forced to take drastic step," he said.

Mr Martins further informed that a majority of those who committed suicides were migrants. He further stated that there was an urgent need to create awareness among the general public as to why the suicide cases were increasing at an alarming rate.

Mr Martins opined that as suicide was a social and sensitive issue, the volunteers from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), social workers with the help of general public should try to come out with a solution.

Besides suicide cases, the Vasco sub-divisional police jurisdiction has also registered 59 natural deaths and 63 fatal accidents. The highest number of fatal deaths registered till date include Verna (20), Vasco (18), Mormugao (13) and Vasco railway (12).

There were eight murder and homicide cases registered under the Vasco sub-divisional police jurisdiction. The Vasco police registered four cases of murder and all were detected.

Two cases of attempt to murder, one culpable homicide, one dacoity, four rape and 43 theft cases were registered in the Vasco sub-divisional police jurisdiction. All the above cases were detected, expect the theft cases wherein the police succeeded in deteching only 21 out of 43 cases.

NAVHIND TIMES: One held for molesting minor girl in Vasco

2006-01-04T03:23:00.000-08:00

One held for molesting minor girl in Vasco

NT, December 30, 2005

NT NEWS SERVICE, VASCO

Dec 29: The Vasco police arrested on 33-year-old man, a resident of Ashok Nagar, Belgaum, under Section 8 of the Goa Children's Act, for allegedly sexually abusing his four-year-old daughter at the KTC bus stand, Vasco, this evening.

In a complaint registered with the police, the wife of the accused stated that her husband came to her house at Mangor Hill today and took away their four-year-old daughter on the pretext of showing her the circus, at Margao.

The accused then took the girl to the KTC bus stand, Vasco, and sexually abused her.

He was, however, caught by the people in the act, who saved the girl from further assault and beat the man. He was later handed over to the Vasco police by the public.

According to the police, the incident took place between 3 and 5.30 pm. The victim and the accused have been referred to the Goa Medical College GMC Hospital, Bambolim, for medical examination, and the report is awaited.

According to deputy superintendent of police (DySP) Vasco Dinraj Govekar, the accused was separated from his wife and was staying in Belgaum.

ANOTHER Vasco story on Page 7, NT:

One dies of heart attack aboard vessel. Suhas Rama Phadte (58), a resident of vasco, died after a massive heart attack. He was working as a crane operator for M/s Agencia Ultra Pvt Ltd Vasco and had joined duty on the Orissa Transshipper, anchored off the shore in the Arabian Sea. He is a native of Marcaim.

GSL launch

2006-01-04T03:22:00.001-08:00

Goa Shipyard Limited has announced the launch of the fast patrol vessel Yard 1190, built for the Indian Coast Guard. Launch on Friday, Dec 30, at 9 am.

New links on VU including alumni of Goa

2006-01-04T03:22:00.000-08:00

Hi Jen, Nice job. But if you want to make your links it really shareable, then it's worth trying out http://del.icio.us. Please see the URL below my signature. FN

Jen Lewis wrote on the VascokarsUnited list:

> Hiya all, Been busy scouring through all the yahoogroups to look for > Goan groups of interest. I found some alumni groups of schools and > colleges that I have added to the links. There are also other links > that you may find of > interest.

NAVHIND TIMES: Programme to screen children for anemia to be launched

2006-01-04T03:21:00.002-08:00

Programme to screen children for anemia to be launched

NT News Service [NT, Dec 31, 2005]

VASCO, Dec 30: The Panaji Obstetrics and Gynecology Society has decided to launch a programme to screen school children of the state of Goa for anemia.

This is to be done by checking the hemoglobin (Hb) and blood group of school children. The society has asked help from the Goa government to implement this programme.

Anemia prevention movement call has come from the safe motherhood committee of theFederation of Gynecologists of India.

President of the Panaji Obstetrics and Gynecology Society, Dr Nimish Pillai and secretary Dr Eugene De Silva have submitted a memorandum to the Governor, Mr S C Jamir and a copy to the chief minister, the health minister and the education minister asking help of government resources to implement this programme in all schools of Goa.

GOMANTAK TIMES: Govt, city fathers neglect port town

2006-01-04T03:21:00.001-08:00

Do you feel this article tackles the issue aptly? Eitherway, send your feedback to editor@gomantaktimes.com --FN

GOMANTAK TIMES: Govt, city fathers neglect port town

Dec 31, 2005

Goa's towns were planned by the Portuguese regime for smaller populations and their needs. And since then, they have grown haphazardly. From today, GT will focus on the ills plaguing Margao, Mapusa, POnda, Vasco and Panjim in a series 'Let's make our cities better'.

BY JOAQUIM GRACIAS reporters@gomantaktimes.com

VASCO: As one enters Vasco through Vaddem or New Vaddem, negligence seems to be written all over the face of this port city. Tragically, successive governments and city fathers have done little to plan for the future.

Vaddem and New Vaddem have a cosmopolitan population of over 13,000 and form four wards of the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC).

The major problem in these wards is lack of planning and infrastructure. Dr Pedro Bravo da Costa, a prominent physician and citizen from the locality, lamented that there was no planning with majority of constructuctions violating the FAR (floor-area ratio).

"It is sad that laws are made but are not implemented by the authorities. The authorities turn a Nelson's eye to the misdoings which affect those who follow the rules and the law," stated Dr Da Costa.

Former MMC chairperson and present councillor Carlos Almeida also emphasized that there was need to re-plan as the condition at present was chaotic.

"I also believe that poor planning has been the cause of the chaotic situation, but if there is a will then there is a way. The government can always help by re-planning," Almeida opined.

Flooding of low-lying areas still haunts villagers in the monsoons.

Dr Da Costa who stays close to the famous Vaddem Lak had the experience of his house being flooded. "I built my house with a plinth heighth of one and half feet above the road 30 years ago. But doay, the height of theroad has also grown like human beings," he said sarcastically.

He cited the failure on part of the authorities to clean up the three major nullas as the cause of major floods.

Eric Fernandes, yet another resident from the area, also expressed that there has been total neglect by both government and municipality. "The council is corrupt and what can one expect from them," he expressed, and added that it was only during Dr Mesquita's tenure that development had taken place.

The nullas in questions are the Goa Shipyard nulla, Vaddem lake nulla and the nulla by the side of the Pai Hospital.

The Goa Shipyard nulla serves as a water way not only to rain storm waters from Vaddem and New Vaddem but also Mangor, Baina and Butaybhat. Today, there is sewage gushing through it and residents of the MES Quarter also pour out their contents here.

Vaddem Lake, which was once famous for fish breeding is heavily contaminated as people dump garbage in it. Further, a builder has covered the mouth of this lake by putting an RCC slab over the drain, making it difficult to clean the silt. Teh nulla near the Pai Hospital too is flooded with silt.

Traffic jams near the road entering the city opposite Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) that has been greatly affecting the general public and the condition is acute during the afternoon.

The residents from New Vaddem face great hardships as widening of the junction opposite the GSL of New Vaddem road failed to materialise and the lethargic attitude of the PWD is the cause for the delay.

Dr Da Costa blamed the citizens for the garbage problem. There is no civic sense even among th eeducated. He also felt that there was a need to have more garbage bins.

----------

Photographs: Dr Pedro da Costa Eric Fernandes Carlos Almeida Pics by Ramchandra Kamat

Traffic jam opposite the Goa Shipyard Limited

GOMANTAK TIMES: Mormugao Port receives first import of raw cashew nuts...

2006-01-04T03:21:00.000-08:00

Should Goa be *importing* cashew nuts? It's happening... What about the official claims that agriculture and horticulture is doing well in the state? FN

GOMANTAK TIMES: Mormugao Port receives first import of raw cashew nuts...

GTNEWSROOM [Dec 31, 2005 GT]

The Mormugao Port has received the first ever import cargo of raw cashew nuts from Indonesia for Ajanta Industries, Ponda and Sunrise Cashew Industries, Valpoi.

Import of raw cashew nuts into Mormugao was hitherto not possible. The GCMA has taken the initiatives for the direct import of raw cashews into Goa, for the benefit of the processors, so that we don't have to shut down for want of raw material.

There is a lot of support given by the Development Commissioner of Goa, J K Dadoo, Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industries, and the Chief Commissioner of Customs Sunil Kumar Sawhney.

The cashew crop in Goa has not increased much in the last 15-20 years. The yield per tree has not improved. No serious attempts are made by the government to increase the production in the state.

Unlike any other agricultural produce, the cashew producers in India, and more particularly, in Goa, always got premium prices.

The Goa Cashew Manufacturers Association has taken the initiatives for the direct import of raw cashew into Mormugao for the benefit of the processors, so that we don't have to shut down for want of raw material.

The Government of Goa has recently come up with the Horticulture Plan 2005-06, wherein various supportive measures and incentives are offered to raw cashew farming community, to increase the production per acre and to go in for organic farming.

The producers are offered Rs 10,000 per hectare, for conversion of their farm into organic and get certified by the international certifying agencies. (ENDS)

GOMANTAK TIMES: SMD's strictures on PIs of Vasco, Mormugao, Canacona

2005-12-27T01:25:00.002-08:00

[While officials debate the issue, what is the situation on the ground? Any comments from Vascokars? -FN]

SMD's strictures on PIs of Vasco, Mormugao, Canacona

[GOMANTAK TIMES, Dec 27, 2005 Page A4]

By A Staff Reporter reporters@gomantaktimes.com

MARGAO: The countdown to the New Year is generally known for its fun and festivity and dances galore being organised throughout the state. But the Deputy Collector and Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), South, Suresh Pilankar, who is the authority for implementation of sound pollution regulations, has condemned the "action on th epart of the police inspectors (PIs) for their indirect way of refusal of his instructions and the modalities they have employed in doing so" and flayed the PIs of the Vasco, Mormugao and Canacona police station for their ignorance of the law.

SDM Pilankar in his three-page report dated December 26, has referred to the copy of the order of the Bombay High Court in writ petition 366/1999 pertaining to noise pollution and has passed strictures on the police department, urging them to initiate immediate action against the violators of the sound pollution regulations.

In his report, Pilarnkar has regretted that "the in-charge of the police stations are unaware of the magisterial arrangements made by the government under the provisions of the CrPC in the state to handle the law and order situations.

He stated that "it is not understood under what provision of law, the in-charge of a police station can ask the SDM to deputy an executive magistrate at the police station during night hours".

The SDM claims that "as per the directions of the Supreme Court, no magistrate can be permitted to visit a police station, especially at nights and that the Supreme Court has also directed that the magistrate should not be asked by the police to be a member of the raiding party."

He stated, "inspite of the above directions of the Supreme Court, the PIs asking the SDM to deputy an exective magistrate during night hours at the police station is not only the height of ignorance of the police in-charges in the Margao sub-division but also it is contempt of the directions of the Supreme Court."

By such reply, the PI of the police stations in the South Goa district have shown their incapability of honouring the directions contained in the order of the High Court, instructions of which in fact has also been issued to the Director General of Police (DGP), Panjim by the Under Secretary (Home-II)."

"The wireless messages of the Vasco, Mormugao and Canacona PIs are more concerned as the in-charges of these police stations are ignorant as to whom they should approach for the orders for maintaining of law and order in their jurisdiction. He feared that such indirect refusal of directions would even put the chief secretary to problem due to such contempt.

The SDM has appealed to the South Goa Collector to draw this to the attention of the SP (South) and to convene a meeting of the senior police officials along with all the magistrates in the district, so that the concerned officers can be educated on the provision of law so far as maintaining law and order and complance of the direction issued by the court.

The SDM has also sought the intervention of the Home Secretary, if the district magistrate deems it essential.

Earlier, the SDM had on December 24, instructed the in-charges of the police stations in the Margao sub-division to be alert to the violations of the sound pollution regulations and received wireless messages from them requesting him to depute an executive magistrate at their respective police stations for the implementation of the court directives.

HERALD: Christmas spirit hits Vasco policemen

2005-12-27T01:25:00.001-08:00

[Should policemen be celebrating religious festivals in their stations in a secular state, which ought to have no link with religion? Or do you see this as a good means of building inter-community understanding and tolerance? Your views? FN]

Christmas spirit hits Vasco policemen

HERALD, Dec 27, 2005

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MORMUGAO, Dec 26 -- They may be men and women in uniform and most of them may be Hindus, but that did not stop the Vasco police from celebrating the spirit of Christmas by making a crib in the police station.

The cops attiributed this unusual project to their Police Inspector Sammy Tavares. The staff involved in the crib said that PI Tavares gave his full co-operation and support to the project and also praised him for his support and co-operation during the Ganesh Chaturthi.

"Even though we had no experience in making cribs, all of us got together and completed this crib," says Constable Santosh Bhatkar. "Earlier, there was no one to guide us and few had an interest in celebrating other festivals."

Photo: The crib at the Vasco police station. Photo by Elvino Araujo

HERALD: Electricity Dept has few men to power up Vasco

2005-12-27T01:25:00.000-08:00

[An interesting issue for Vascokars. Would you buy the usual official argument that short-staff is to blame? In a state which has the highest bureaucracy-per-capita, we keep hearing this version. Any opinions? FN]

ELECTRICITY DEPT HAS FEW MEN TO POWER UP VASCO

Herald, Monday, Dec 26, 2006

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MORMUGAO, Dec 25 -- Given the high density of industrial and domestic buildings in the port town, one would have imagined that the Electricity Department would be present in full strength.

On the contrary, the acute shortage of staff at the Electricity Department has posed a number of problems in the maintenance of power supply at Vasco.

Residents have complained that officials are rarely at the department to attend to electricity-related complaints.

The general grouse is that officials either don't lift the phone or simply state that linesmen are attending to a complaint.

At times, angry locals have literally forced the linesmen to come out of the office and restore a faulty line.

Speaking to Herald, Executive Engineer Lakshmanan S explained that the deparmtnt is faced with acute shortage of manpower.

"Many have retired and their posts are yet to be filled up," said Lakshmanan.

According to the Executive Engineer, the Mormugao Sub-Div IV presently has 21 linesmen and three JEs, though the actual requirement is 35 linesmen. The Vasco Sub-Div, he added, has 53 linesmen as opposed to the actual requirement is 75 linesmen.

"Due to shortage of linesmen, when any power is disrupted simultaneously at two places, the linesmen cannot attend to both calls at the same time. Peopledon't always understand the difficulty the department faces due to lack of staff," said Lakshmanan. "Sometimes, the department cannot even dispatch the required number of linesmen to solve the problem."

Commenting on the erratic behaviour of linesmen at the complaint's section, he pointed out that linesmen are already burdened with other complaints and tend to snap at people who insist on immediate restoration of a faulty line. Lakshmanan, however, promised to look into the matter.

The Executive Engineer informed that one once the new line starts from the Kadamba bus stand, the problem in the city would be solved and added, the workload on the city linesman would be reduced.

He also mentioned that the department will install a new transformer at the Kadamba bus stand power station, which will also benefit parts of Mangor area. (ENDS)

From: Goanet News Bytes * Dec 15, 2005 * Vasco houses razed to make way for highway

2005-12-27T01:03:00.000-08:00

Vasco houses razed for highway. 28 houses demolished. (Herald)

o Defence ministry has 1678 acres of land in Dabolim airport, since April 1962, Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik was told in a parliamentary reply. Naik sought to know whether the Government had title documents of the Dabolim airport, its date of acquisition of title, area, etc.

VascokarsUnited... the inspiration

2005-12-27T00:55:00.000-08:00

There's this mailing list called VascokarsUnited which has a lot of potential... but is moving slowly. Wonder if this blog could be of any help to help with their goal...

HERALD: Mangor garage cause of mishaps

2005-12-26T14:19:00.000-08:00

[Any views on this issue? Is this a concern in other parts of Vasco too? FN]

Mangor garage cause of mishaps

HERALD, DEC 26, 2005

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

Vasco, Dec 25 -- Rash and negligent driving is normally the cause of mishaps in the port town.

But at Mangor-Vasco, the mishaps have been attributed to another cause -- a roadside garage at Mangor-Vasco.

Residents of Mangor have complained that a number of mishaps have taken place at a spot in front of a garage near the Ambabai temple. They stated that two vehicles find it difficult to negotiate as the footpath is allegedly occupied by the garage.

The residents allege that one Salim Mohammed, who runs the garage, utilises both sides of the road to repair vehicles or to dump damaged chassis of vehicles.

They claim that fights have regularly taken place between the garage owner and parents, who fear that their children could fall victims to mishaps in the area.

When asked to pint out their area of activity, Salim Mohammed's son insisted that there was no such thing as an area of repair. He went to state that they could repair the vehicles anywhere on the road.

To a query on the garage licence, he could not show the licence and stated that it had been left at home.

Vasco links...

2005-12-17T00:07:00.000-08:00

If you want to check out useful links to Vasco in Google's groups (including Usenet and groups such as soc.culture.indian.goa) then please visit:

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Vasco+Goa&start=0&scoring=d&

Met Jen

2005-12-16T00:57:00.000-08:00

Finally, I met up with Jen Lewis in real life. She needs no introduction here, being moderator of Vascokars United. We were yesterday at the Xavier Centre of Historical Research's continued discussions on Konkani and the script issue.

Couldn't help wondering who was that young lady who kept nodding in agreement with some of the points being made, and clicking photographs of some debating the issue. She did look NRIish.

Jen is doing a great job, IMHO. If we had a hundred Jen Lewises, then Goa would surely not be an information-poor state, and informal communications (via cyberspace, specially) would have been very rich.

Of course, Jen was a bit dispondent that so few people post to Vascokars United [1]. Maybe I can contribute one post here. But, beyond that, I'd like to say that every mailing-list goes through a kind of initial enthusiasm-plateauing-stagnation phase. If you can outlast that, then success is assured.

Please see this excellent article posted below, which I've read a large number of times, whenever I've felt despondent. http://oii.org/lists/lifecycle.html [2]

On Goanet, we reached a point where we would get two new members and lose three old ones! It was at that point that we started Goanet-News (earlier called Goanews). We found that some subscribers can't cope with high volumes of mail, but would nevertheless like to be kept in touch.

On Goajourno, a restricted-to-journos list, I was the only fool posting for maybe a couple of years or more, till a controversy (related to a journalists' union election) helped to build interest in the list. Many started posting, and also insisted that they be added to the list!

Of course, you need to keep making regular posts to the lists. You also need at least 2-3 committed persons posting regularly. It helps if lists are moderated once they cross a certain size (maybe a 100 or so, it depends on the nature of the membership). Try to rope in some journalist who would commit to post regularly whatever he writes, specially if it's on-topic.

Okay Jen, here's wishing you all the best for what you do for Vasco, from distant Birmingham! FN

--------- [1] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VascokarsUnited/

[2] Originally Posted to Gleason Sackman's Net-Happenings

Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 07:07:16 -0600 From: Mike Gurstein <mikeg@nywork2.undp.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <futurework@csf.colorado.edu> Subject: Fwd: Life cycle of Lists (fwd) --------------------- Forwarded message: From: mforster@findhorn.org (Michael Forster) To: communitarians@civic.net Date: 95-03-31 07:57:23 EST

This seemed like a good time to post this item from the Humor List. Michael Forster

THE NATURAL LIFE CYCLE OF MAILING LISTS

Every list seems to go through the same cycle:

1. Initial enthusiasm (people introduce themselves, and gush a lot about how wonderful it is to find kindred souls).

2. Evangelism (people moan about how few folks are posting to the list, and brainstorm recruitment strategies).

3. Growth (more and more people join, more and more lengthy threads develop, occasional off-topic threads pop up)

4. Community (lots of threads, some more relevant than others; lots of information and advice is exchanged; experts help other experts as well as less experienced colleagues; friendships develop; people tease each other; newcomers are welcomed with generosity and patience; everyone---newbie and expert alike---feels comfortable asking questions, suggesting answers, and sharing opinions)

5. Discomfort with diversity (the number of messages increases dramatically; not every thread is fascinating to every reader; people start complaining about the signal-to-noise ratio; person 1 threatens to quit if *other* people don't limit discussion to person 1's pet topic; person 2 agrees with person 1; person 3 tells 1 & 2 to lighten up; more bandwidth is wasted complaining about off-topic threads than is used for the threads themselves; everyone gets annoyed)

6a. Smug complacency and stagnation (the purists flame everyone who asks an 'old' question or responds with humor to a serious post; newbies are rebuffed; traffic drops to a doze-producing level of a few minor issues; all interesting discussions happen by private email and are limited to a few participants; the purists spend lots of time self-righteously congratulating each other on keeping off-topic threads off the list)

6b. Maturity (a few people quit in a huff; the rest of the participants stay near stage 4, with stage 5 popping up briefly every few weeks; many people wear out their second or third 'delete' key, but the list lives contentedly ever after)

From Goanet News Bytes * Aug 10, 2005 * Vasco fire kills four ...

2005-08-10T02:02:00.000-07:00

o Four burnt alive in Vasco. Prime accused nabbed in Karnataka. Two women and a minor girl belonging to a family were allegedly burnt alive by the paramour of one of the dead women. Roopsing Naik (35), his wife Ratna (30) and nine-year-old daughter Neela and an unidentified woman -- all natives of Bagalkot -- were burnt in their sleep. (NT) GT says, Jilted paramour burns 4 of a family in Vasco. (GT)

Can anyone help a friend in Vasco? Re: what linux? which linux?

2005-07-14T02:01:00.000-07:00

This query comes from Vasco. Any help would be appreciated. Stanley, are you on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ilug-goa ? FN

On Wed, 2005-07-13 at 23:38 +0530, Stanley Thomas wrote:

> damn i keep dreamin tht some day i'll be able to use linx as > efficiently as i use windows. i kno nuts so far. i dont even kno how > to go about to choose a linux distro (thats a term i learnt recently. > hope i'm usin it right) they say u need to kno commands, there r > different desktops, and all that jazz. > > so far what i have been able to do is to collect all possible distros > of linux i cud. that includes xandros linux, ubuntu linux 5.04, ark > linux 2005, vector linux 4.3, gentoo linux 4.2, fedora core 2 and > fedora core 4. all these r on DVDs and i dont have a dvd drive. > > all i cud find on cd was a redhat 9. sure i did install it. it does > not detect my ntfs partitions. they say i cant mount (thats another > term i learnt) it. i'm a huge music freak with around 24 gb of mp3 and > around 20 gb of divx music videos and i havent heard or seen a single. > i cant even connect to the net. finally one day i saw my cd rom > drives. i put a cd in to it and waited for 20 mins to only see the > contents. damn right i never saw it. > > all the information i find on the net seems alien to me. > > i approached a friend who showed me a PCQlinux distro that detected > all the ntfs partitions. but thats an easy way out and i dont wanna > take it. i want to learnt how to fix these probs on redhat 9. I WANT > TO LEARN. and learn right from scratch. > > yeah sad story i kno. all that im askin from u guys is to forward this > mail to all those people who u think cud help me. i'm from vasco. sure > wud be glad to find someone nearby. cuz travellin in these rains is > quite a job. > > thanx a lot guys. hope u will help me. hope i dont get frustrated till then. > > stanley

Calling Vascokars...

2005-07-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

Kiran Mesta of Vasco has been long keen to set up a user-group in Goa's port town. He has been phoning at regular intervals, to check out this possibility.

Most recently, he mentioned that a friend -- Microchip Computers, Opposite the Tourist Hostel/Sanman -- was willing to offer a setting for the meetings.

Vascokars, if you are keen to have a LUG in your own town, please talk to Kiran on 9822 181579. We'd surely like to follow-up on this activity. Looking forward to meeting Kiran in Vasco this week, and making something happen.

As Kiran said, "We'd like to learn about (GNU)Linux." I agree. Having a local LUG (GNU/Linux User Group) and sharing information is the best way of making that happen. We learn, we share, and everyone learns! FN