Reviving the tossup of the day tradition

I just thought it would be cool to restart the occasional “Tossup of the Day” column to look at some of the questions I have written over the past couple of years.

Here’s one for today:

This tossup is from the Minnesota 1 packet used at the 2009 incarnation of the Minnesota Undergraduate Tournament. I have modified it slightly to make it better grammatically.

It can be decoupled by compounds such as 2,4-di-nitro-phenol and FCCP or the protein thermogenin, whereas Rotenon and Antimycin inhibit it. Diseases such as Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy and MERRF occur due to mutations in genes which control this process. The Krebs cycle uses a same enzyme as one used in it, (*) succinate dehydrogenase, and it sees coenzyme Q and cytochrome C mediate its namesake particle transfer. Resulting in the formation of a proton gradient, for 10 points, name this respiratory process which uses a chemical gradient to power the addition of a phosphate group to ADP by ATP synthase and also sees the formation of water.
ANSWER: oxidative phosphorylation [or electron transport chain; or ETC]

Feel free to comment or whatever.

GK

India Has Its Own Kind of Power Struggle – WSJ.com

India Has Its Own Kind of Power Struggle – WSJ.com.

NEW DELHI — Seven years ago, more than 50% of the power distributed by North Delhi Power Ltd. wasn’t paid for by customers. Today, the company has cut that to 15%, signaling that one of India’s biggest infrastructure problems can be solved, if tackled aggressively.

Power theft by rich and poor customers as well as businesses has plagued India for decades, hindering foreign and domestic investment that could spark the increase in generating capacity the nation desperately needs.

The experience of North Delhi Power, a joint venture between the Delhi government and Mumbai-based Tata Power Co. Ltd., shows that a broad and sustained effort can make a difference.

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Good stuff. I always wondered about what kind of hits power companies here were taking. I knew it was high, but I’d also read about how good measures were being taken thru PPPs to eliminate power theft. It’s good to hear such heartening news.

Dear Nokia

Please add a button to your phones which allows people to make missed calls.

Love,
Gautam

Eating Poli with Waran, Pala chi Bhaji, and Vanga Batata Bhaji

I am eating said items right now. Raghu’s sister, Sangeeta Akka, was here, talking with Ajji and having some Chai. Don’t know what else to say.

I also went to Shopper’s Stop, and I feel like I should buy a nice watch and wear it regularly.

Gautam

First “written” post.

I am using Microsoft One Note to write this blog. So far, I have been fairly happy with how this tablet PC is working. No real complaints and the touch-screen interface has been superb. I hope that over the next few days, master the appropriate gestures and start using this thing like a pro.

 

Gautam

First “written” post.

I am using Microsoft One Note to write this blog. So far, I have been fairly happy with how this tablet PC is working. No real complaints and the touch-screen interface has been superb. I hope that over the next few days, master the appropriate gestures and start using this thing like a pro.

 

Gautam

Test

This is a test to see if this publish to blog feature on google docs works or not. Actually, it is to verify that such a feature exists.

Ha Ha Ha.

The Atlantic Online | December 2008 | Pop Psychology | Virginia Postrel

The Atlantic Online | December 2008 | Pop Psychology | Virginia Postrel

These lab results should give pause not only to people who believe in efficient markets, but also to those who think we can banish bubbles simply by curbing corruption and imposing more regulation. Asset markets, it seems, suffer from irrepressible effervescence. Bubbles happen, even in the most controlled conditions.

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Click on the article title to read more. I think it’s an interesting article; I haven’t read it completely, but I will try to after the Quantum exam is done.

It’s 12:00 AM

I originally intended this post to be titled “What I intend to do tomorrow what once seemed foreign to me” but I guess it will be more appropriate calling it “What I will do today, NOW.”

For some reason, I feel like I have constrained myself into a narrow corner of life, and forgotten a vast world out there that once existed, still does, and, hopefully, forever will. I used to tell people that my favorite season so far has been autumn, and what I enjoy most about it is watching the leaves fall down. Guess what, I don’t think I have enjoyed it for a moment yet this year. You know how beautiful those trees in front of Wilson library looked the day I sat in front of it, enjoying my lunch? It is only an imprint in my memory now, but damn it was beautiful. who have I been honest to? No one, not even myself. How much have I tried to change that? I can say I have thought about it, but beyond that I haven’t done much more.

I once thought, and still believe, that I am capable of doing a lot. I have done a lot so far in 2008, but I don’t think it is what I intended to do, ever. Looking back, I think those 2.5 hours I spent at Whizard Academy and the 10 hrs/week I spent working on PHYS 1101 were probably the best I feel about the past 10.5 months. I feel like I made a bunch of students happy about their classes, helped them succeed, not only in getting As on their tests but also making sure they actually understood what the importance of the glycolytic pathway is, or what the significance of the work energy theorem is. I definitely should do more of that. It surely makes me happy.

You know what I used to love? I could watch cricket for hours on, discussing the finer aspects of that late cut by Azharuddin or the terrible attempt at a hook by Ganguly… alas, I haven’t seen a minute of cricket this year. not a minute. I am currently looking at the live scorecard on the Cricinfo, and man what a fabulous job the Indian team is doing right now!

Another thing I feel like quoting because I am too tired to write it out:

(12:34:37 AM) Gautam: I thought I understood poverty and stuff, and have always wanted to work towards income equality
(12:34:50 AM) Gautam: guess what, I haven’t seen a dirt poor person since 2005
(12:35:05 AM) Gautam: and even then, I’m not sure I recognized what he was going thru

Similarly, I haven’t spent an ounce of my time towards climate change related things, and back in the day (re: just 5-6 months ago) I felt like I was in the forefront of the movement fighting it.

So here are some things I haven’t done this year so far that I will do TODAY come 8 am:

1. Give that lady who plays the violin on the bridge a dollar.

2. Strike up a conversation with the dude behind the counter at Jamba Juice, and actually buy one.

3. Make friends with some Indian guy I haven’t spoken to before and talk to him about this ODI that is happening currently.

4. Tell Ceyhun how cool he is.

All in all, understanding why the Schiff base intermediate formed in the aldolase enzyme of glycolysis is making me a better biochem student, and understanding the concepts behind the Hartree Fock method is helping me out in Physical Chem, but I think just writing this note to myself has helped me out a lot today. There’s just so much I’ve missed in all this time. I guess it’s a good thing that it’s not been years of my life that have been laid to waste, but I really am optimistic that I will be much happy about 2008 than I was about 2009.

Best to you out there figuring out your lives. It’s not easy; it comes in small steps at a time.

GK

GOP Sues to End ‘Soft Money’ Ban – WSJ.com

GOP Sues to End ‘Soft Money’ Ban – WSJ.com

Hahaha this is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay funnier than I expected.

waaaaaaaaaaaaah look at them they have more money waaaaaaaaaah

GK