Heres a post on a , hmm, shall we say, 'intriguing' subject by some passionate bloke on the above captioned subject
http://srivatsanmurali.blogspot.com/2005/12/reservation-and-brahmins-updated.html
while, i tend to agree that this quota system is preventing quite a few brahmin guys from getting seats, jobs and so on : some people (especially the commenting junta) were asking for abolishment of quota altogether or even worse - TAMBRAS was asking for some 15% (not sure of the number) reservation for canditates classified FC (thats all wrong dude)
One thing is undeniable here. In a place like India (say TamilNadu to be specific) the divide between the blogging cosmopolitan dudes and the poor aam aadhmi in a village is HUGE. I dunno if any of those guys who commented on that post are even thinking of this. A thing such as a quota can be literally life changing for any of these poor guys.
Trust me, i know this from experience : i went to a government college (having to fight it out on Open quota and having the extra pressure with a rural quota in place). But I strongly believe that a few guys were really worth the quota. I could see their lives change with my own eyes. Absence of reservation will seriously hamper their chances of coming up in life or even worse, be detrimental to long term improvement amongst the less previleged.
I can think of a bunch of things:
1. Change the method of classification. FC/OC/ST whatever is based on Birth. I know quite a few guys from well 0ff families, who went to convent schools who are classified MBC (most backward class) and Scheduled tribes. ( Backward, my foot ! ) Instead you could adopt a method which can classify by income streams / school classification / or something (I know it is almost impossible to implement though)
2. In the short term implement tough conditions on junta who use these quotas. Today, you hardly find a doctor who went to MMC on a ST quota, whos going back to his native village and helping to bring his community up or an Engineer who'll donate part of his earnings to uplift fellow members of his old circle (if at all he was from a genuinely backward group).
You could say: Hey if you use quota to claim a seat then, you'll have to sign a bond to serve for 3 years in a village of your choice or something.
So it can be say, 60% open and 40% quota (classified as suggested above, with conditions in place)
As for Brahmins trying to start political parties, i think i'll let that one go down as a joke.
Thursday, 29 December 2005
Wednesday, 28 December 2005
More...
The previous post will stand testimony to my ability to pack in so much of Bullshit in 10 minutes onto a screenful of blogger.
"Am I livin it righ (aaah aaah) ht ? Am I livin it righ (aaah aaah aaah ) ht ?
Why, Georgia Why ? "
"Am I livin it righ (aaah aaah) ht ? Am I livin it righ (aaah aaah aaah ) ht ?
Why, Georgia Why ? "
Blog traffic !??
Hmm
Interesting bunch of days at work. Ben pretty occupied lately. Have also made a decision which possibly will have major implications in my life's course for the next few years. Its all classified of course :)
Good News is I have started playing daily and have not missed/skipped a single day for the last 10 days.
Have got myself a few new books to read, hence the fewer number of posts here. Also, i have been looking at a few other blogs by chance.
Guess whos blogging:
King kong (not Peter jackson's Hero, this ones his closely related cousin who lives around here. Went thru a couple of his posts and puked. Yuck! hes one irritating idiot)
Tim Berners Lee (you know who). If you want to read his blog do a search for 'timbl's blog'. The last time I checked, his first post registered some 900 odd comments. :))
I believe that from my own experience in the last 1 year or so, the number of blog accounts mustav like tripled or something. Dunno what the big draw is -- maybe junta like a few people to know a bit about the real 'person' whos burning a lot of Bandwidth, time and effort.
Thats not the reason I blog, i have had like 5 comments in 1 year (3 of them were bots offering me links to some crappy website).
I really like looking back at what i wrote 6 months before, when i was in college or the last month when i was home going thru a boring patch in life. Heres what iam going to blog about in my next few posts:
1. A book review of "How we got here"
2. A review of Ken Follett's books
3. Maybe even discuss my own stock analysis method, which il first post at the usual forum n then invite slaps from the regulars on the forum - then write here
mm, was tempted to join "tanushree dutta" group on Orkut - may do so later on.
Thanks to my daily 'workouts' and 'excercise' (all euphemisms of course ;) ) I sleep at 10 and wake up at 6 daily (have done for about 10 days, so thats justified)
Boxing day football on Monday:
ManU 3 - West Brom 0 (Rio ferdinand got his first goal for Utd, Scholes and Ruud got the other two).
Chelsea 3 - Fulham 2 (Tightly contested. Crespo's stunning goal from Joe Cole's cross was the winner).
Arsenal 1 - Newcastle 0 (heh heh, fuck the gunners). That said, iam suddenly happy .
Before i go, heres a seriously gud quote (plagiarized from RD)
" Love is overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of Chocolate "
Interesting bunch of days at work. Ben pretty occupied lately. Have also made a decision which possibly will have major implications in my life's course for the next few years. Its all classified of course :)
Good News is I have started playing daily and have not missed/skipped a single day for the last 10 days.
Have got myself a few new books to read, hence the fewer number of posts here. Also, i have been looking at a few other blogs by chance.
Guess whos blogging:
King kong (not Peter jackson's Hero, this ones his closely related cousin who lives around here. Went thru a couple of his posts and puked. Yuck! hes one irritating idiot)
Tim Berners Lee (you know who). If you want to read his blog do a search for 'timbl's blog'. The last time I checked, his first post registered some 900 odd comments. :))
I believe that from my own experience in the last 1 year or so, the number of blog accounts mustav like tripled or something. Dunno what the big draw is -- maybe junta like a few people to know a bit about the real 'person' whos burning a lot of Bandwidth, time and effort.
Thats not the reason I blog, i have had like 5 comments in 1 year (3 of them were bots offering me links to some crappy website).
I really like looking back at what i wrote 6 months before, when i was in college or the last month when i was home going thru a boring patch in life. Heres what iam going to blog about in my next few posts:
1. A book review of "How we got here"
2. A review of Ken Follett's books
3. Maybe even discuss my own stock analysis method, which il first post at the usual forum n then invite slaps from the regulars on the forum - then write here
mm, was tempted to join "tanushree dutta" group on Orkut - may do so later on.
Thanks to my daily 'workouts' and 'excercise' (all euphemisms of course ;) ) I sleep at 10 and wake up at 6 daily (have done for about 10 days, so thats justified)
Boxing day football on Monday:
ManU 3 - West Brom 0 (Rio ferdinand got his first goal for Utd, Scholes and Ruud got the other two).
Chelsea 3 - Fulham 2 (Tightly contested. Crespo's stunning goal from Joe Cole's cross was the winner).
Arsenal 1 - Newcastle 0 (heh heh, fuck the gunners). That said, iam suddenly happy .
Before i go, heres a seriously gud quote (plagiarized from RD)
" Love is overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of Chocolate "
Monday, 19 December 2005
blah blah blah ;)
Of late, i have somehow been sleeping really well - effectively cutting back on my emailing, blogging and watching TV.
Rather too well, iam afraid - Like 10pm to 8am sometimes. Iam still very sure that I have some kind of, um, somnipathy (aka sleep disorder) which is possibly affecting my 'normal mental and emotional functions' - according to one of brother's textbooks.
Staying with him - heres what he does to pass his pathology practicals -
STEP 1 Bribe the attendant.
STEP 2 Sneak into the lab with the attendant's help on the day before the exams with a camera phone.
STEP 3 Snap pictures of the list of slides that will be kept tomorrow.
STEP 4 Get back home with the gang, stay up all night and make a pretence of studying for tomorrow's exam. Study for only those slides on the list
STEP 5 Go to exam sans bathing, sans shaving with crumpled clothes making a pretence of intense prep for fooling the girls in class
STEP 6 Of course, pass the exam.
Heres evidence of his handiwork:
Rather too well, iam afraid - Like 10pm to 8am sometimes. Iam still very sure that I have some kind of, um, somnipathy (aka sleep disorder) which is possibly affecting my 'normal mental and emotional functions' - according to one of brother's textbooks.
Staying with him - heres what he does to pass his pathology practicals -
STEP 1 Bribe the attendant.
STEP 2 Sneak into the lab with the attendant's help on the day before the exams with a camera phone.
STEP 3 Snap pictures of the list of slides that will be kept tomorrow.
STEP 4 Get back home with the gang, stay up all night and make a pretence of studying for tomorrow's exam. Study for only those slides on the list
STEP 5 Go to exam sans bathing, sans shaving with crumpled clothes making a pretence of intense prep for fooling the girls in class
STEP 6 Of course, pass the exam.
Heres evidence of his handiwork:
Pretty neat ! My heart swells with pride whenever i encounter such people who can make such brilliant use of technology. I still remember that we used mobiles for crap like cricket scores, giving gaali, playing pranks in class and worst of all (bah) to make phone calls :))
mmm, between the last post and this one i have travelled to chennai, delhi, agra and come back. i wud go mad if i even attempt to blog the trip.
also went to mathura near delhi-agra. The 'jhanmabhumi' of krishna as it is called. The temple for krishna was built by someone in 100BC. It was destroyed by Mohammed Ghaznavi in the 1600s, rebuilt again by some hindu king - destroyed again by sikandar lodhi in the late 1600s - rebuilt again by another hindu king - only to be destroyed again by Aurangazeb.
It was finally rebuilt by a few rajput kings and some local hindu guy - while aurangazeb got busy building a mosque on the site (like ayodhya's babri masjit). It is today gleaming with pink and white marble in the inside and barbed wire, AK47s, barracks on the outside.
Aurangazeb's mosque is right on the site even today - its like this - the temple's main column (like a brass,um, pole) is exactly in alignment with the mosque's main citadel's um,column. It looks pretty striking.There is only one wall of bricks between the temple's main shrine and the mosque's main chamber (or whatever you call it). It is pretty amazing.
LK advani and his ilk still claim that the mosque is on holy ground and must be razen to the ground (like it was in ayodhya). he even proposed to take his air conditioned rath yatra to mathura to stir up trouble. The point here is that - such an issue can awake such HUGE sentiments and emotions that people like him and the likes use it as an issue to unite mass support.
I never realizd how big this is until i actually saw it, felt it in the cool december air that day.
Lest, i end on a,um,morbid note heres a recollection of yesterday's main events on TV.
1. saw 'sarkar' on sahara one. (movie for 7 mins, ad break for 10 minutes every single time) But not a bad movie. Katrina kaif looked yum.
2. chelsea vs arsenal. (the gunners went away with their scrawny guns wrapped around their runts) chelsea 2 - arsenl 0. although arsenal were unlucky - i still derived a lot of satisfaction watching the match.
3. Saw a trailer for Disney's new movie "chicken little". Cute character names like "Fish", "Runt of the litter - (a pig), "Abby, the ugly duckling" (little's love interest). i wish i cud see it someday.
Now, id better go before my somnipathy swings back to its old ways.
Monday, 5 December 2005
Oracle Speak
QUOTE---
If there's one thing that you leave here with today, it should be this: And I'll start with a question to get to my point. If you could pick 10% of one person in this room to own or 'go long' for the next 30 years, who would it be?
It wouldn't be the person with the highest IQ; it wouldn't be the star athlete; you would look for certain other qualities…
And if you had to pick one person to 'short' for the next 30 years, who would it be?
Now ask yourself why you have made those selections.
If you've considered these questions properly, the person you've gone long is probably someone who is honest, courageous, and dependable;
the person you've shorted is probably someone who is egotistical and likes to take the credit.
The point is that success is mostly dependent upon elective qualities, not anything with which you are born. You can choose to be dependable or not. And it's not easy to change, so choose correctly now.
Bertrand Russell once said, "The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they're too heavy to be broken." So ask yourself, "Who do I want to be?" At the end of this process you should determine that the person you want to buy is yourself. You all are holding winning tickets.
-- UNQUOTE
Now, who said this? :) Who else, Mr.Buffett himself.
@#$%, you simply cant stop adoring the guy
If there's one thing that you leave here with today, it should be this: And I'll start with a question to get to my point. If you could pick 10% of one person in this room to own or 'go long' for the next 30 years, who would it be?
It wouldn't be the person with the highest IQ; it wouldn't be the star athlete; you would look for certain other qualities…
And if you had to pick one person to 'short' for the next 30 years, who would it be?
Now ask yourself why you have made those selections.
If you've considered these questions properly, the person you've gone long is probably someone who is honest, courageous, and dependable;
the person you've shorted is probably someone who is egotistical and likes to take the credit.
The point is that success is mostly dependent upon elective qualities, not anything with which you are born. You can choose to be dependable or not. And it's not easy to change, so choose correctly now.
Bertrand Russell once said, "The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they're too heavy to be broken." So ask yourself, "Who do I want to be?" At the end of this process you should determine that the person you want to buy is yourself. You all are holding winning tickets.
-- UNQUOTE
Now, who said this? :) Who else, Mr.Buffett himself.
@#$%, you simply cant stop adoring the guy
Mon nom est Abhilash !
Mon nom est Abhilash. That in french is supposed to be saying 'My name is Abhilash'
Well, to get to the issue without beating around too much, i have always hated my name.
i still quarrel with my uncle who thought up this name (he and my mom(his sister) being half malloo and his wife being fully so must have heavily weighed on him when he made this sorry, spur of the moment blunder - which i'l live to regret, well, all my life :) )
he went on to redeem himself an year later when he named my brother "abhishek", and subsequently named his own son a few years later on as "harish" - cool names both.
back in school, by the watchmen, drivers and the shop keepers, i was always asked if i was musalmaan. i was told that my name is very muslim sounding. (not that i worry about what iam)
the more sophisticated of them used to ask me about which part of kerala i come from, to make matters worse in malayalam - my reply all the time was " gyaan malayalam ariyilla" - i dont know malayalam
adding to this identity crisis, i always been put down as Roll No:1 wherever i went.This is a BIG TIME pain in the a@#. i was 20012201 at college, 2001001 at the hostel, Roll No: 1 at school. Proxy attendance and coming late to college was extra hard for me, and wudav suffered a great deal more if not for the service rendered by some of my good friends there (ol pandi, chetan deserve special mention)
cant help but feel jealous when i hear names like raj, ravi, mahesh, ajay or amit. they do seem very nice.
maybe i'll follow gogol ganguli's footsteps and call myself "Nikhil" or something.
(Heh heh, personally i think Nikhil is one name which will sound as phoney as hell, especially on me)
p.s - i dont think any1s reading my blog at all, not that i shud be bothered. but complacency can lead to excessive spillage of beans, with obvious implications :)
Well, to get to the issue without beating around too much, i have always hated my name.
i still quarrel with my uncle who thought up this name (he and my mom(his sister) being half malloo and his wife being fully so must have heavily weighed on him when he made this sorry, spur of the moment blunder - which i'l live to regret, well, all my life :) )
he went on to redeem himself an year later when he named my brother "abhishek", and subsequently named his own son a few years later on as "harish" - cool names both.
back in school, by the watchmen, drivers and the shop keepers, i was always asked if i was musalmaan. i was told that my name is very muslim sounding. (not that i worry about what iam)
the more sophisticated of them used to ask me about which part of kerala i come from, to make matters worse in malayalam - my reply all the time was " gyaan malayalam ariyilla" - i dont know malayalam
adding to this identity crisis, i always been put down as Roll No:1 wherever i went.This is a BIG TIME pain in the a@#. i was 20012201 at college, 2001001 at the hostel, Roll No: 1 at school. Proxy attendance and coming late to college was extra hard for me, and wudav suffered a great deal more if not for the service rendered by some of my good friends there (ol pandi, chetan deserve special mention)
cant help but feel jealous when i hear names like raj, ravi, mahesh, ajay or amit. they do seem very nice.
maybe i'll follow gogol ganguli's footsteps and call myself "Nikhil" or something.
(Heh heh, personally i think Nikhil is one name which will sound as phoney as hell, especially on me)
p.s - i dont think any1s reading my blog at all, not that i shud be bothered. but complacency can lead to excessive spillage of beans, with obvious implications :)
Sunday, 4 December 2005
Simplifly !?
Day: 3 December 2005, Saturday - Hyderabad
There has been a lot of ink and print wasted on how India is growing and how infrastructure growth must keep up with things - i never had too much of a direct experience of how this is impacting things. (I travel 40ks on pot holed bullock cart tracks that barely pass as roads :) almost daily. But that somehow failed to capture my imagination until this incident)
While Captain Gopinath motto of taking flying to the masses is a noble ideal - so far he has been successful only to an extent - a lot of things need improvement.
On this particular day, we were scheduled on a 9 pm flight to chennai. Coincidentally, there were about 7 flights (3 deccans, 2 saharas, 1 jet and 1 IA) including our scheculed for the same boarding gate (incidentally Hyderabad has only 4 gates, of which 2 remained closed). Now, amongst the 7 schduled, there was one for Mumbai which was supposed to be at 6:40, which already had to be delayed by 2 hours because of some problem or the other.
At around 9:30, with 5 of the flights yet to leave we were asked to board the chennai flight, while the mumbai crowd were still kept waiting. Now, this triggered a major outburst from a bunch of old guys who cornered a deccan employee and made him weep.
Things got so hot that at one point the bakra's and subsequently captain Gopinath's parentage were questioned. The poor deccan guy got so worked up that he hit a passenger who called Capt. Gopinath a ha#$%i m#$@$#d. Security was called in to diffuse the situation and subsequently a bunch of passengers demanded that their money back, while we boarded the chennai flight thanking our stars.
Now, while Capt.Gopi and his gang have made air travel hugely more affordable for all of us, it is the Government who shud play along and provide these guys with the support in terms of sops and infrastructure support.
The next time i see some left spokesman crib when the airport privatization issue comes up, the nearest reporter must shove his mike up the guy's #$%.
There has been a lot of ink and print wasted on how India is growing and how infrastructure growth must keep up with things - i never had too much of a direct experience of how this is impacting things. (I travel 40ks on pot holed bullock cart tracks that barely pass as roads :) almost daily. But that somehow failed to capture my imagination until this incident)
While Captain Gopinath motto of taking flying to the masses is a noble ideal - so far he has been successful only to an extent - a lot of things need improvement.
On this particular day, we were scheduled on a 9 pm flight to chennai. Coincidentally, there were about 7 flights (3 deccans, 2 saharas, 1 jet and 1 IA) including our scheculed for the same boarding gate (incidentally Hyderabad has only 4 gates, of which 2 remained closed). Now, amongst the 7 schduled, there was one for Mumbai which was supposed to be at 6:40, which already had to be delayed by 2 hours because of some problem or the other.
At around 9:30, with 5 of the flights yet to leave we were asked to board the chennai flight, while the mumbai crowd were still kept waiting. Now, this triggered a major outburst from a bunch of old guys who cornered a deccan employee and made him weep.
Things got so hot that at one point the bakra's and subsequently captain Gopinath's parentage were questioned. The poor deccan guy got so worked up that he hit a passenger who called Capt. Gopinath a ha#$%i m#$@$#d. Security was called in to diffuse the situation and subsequently a bunch of passengers demanded that their money back, while we boarded the chennai flight thanking our stars.
Now, while Capt.Gopi and his gang have made air travel hugely more affordable for all of us, it is the Government who shud play along and provide these guys with the support in terms of sops and infrastructure support.
The next time i see some left spokesman crib when the airport privatization issue comes up, the nearest reporter must shove his mike up the guy's #$%.
Wednesday, 30 November 2005
a longish leanish patch
Has been a leanish patch, especially for my blog.
1. was outta town for quite a bit
2. and i bought a bunch of new books
a) "A hundred years of solitude" - Sucked BIG TIME. nother one of those overhyped but totally f&$#ed up books. the book had about 100 guys called jose arcadio and 200 females called remedios (spanning generations).You lose track of whos who, people from atleast 5 generations lived together. There were so many cases of incest that i lost count. PATHETIC. It even won a Nobel for literature iam told.
b) "Interpretation of financial statements" by Benjamin graham. concise and very educative. shud start putting some stuff to actual use after this.
c) "motorcycle diaries" yet to read
d) "how we got here" by Andy Kessler- i had the ebook, i bought the paperback just for kicks. possibly the best book ever written. a more detailed review soon.
3. Also met a few of the gang in chennai, all rooming and porning together just like old times. was shown the "aashiq bannaya aapne" video for the first time. the rest is, as they say, history ;)
4. Also bought a new Disney comic featuring Mickey, goofy, the ducks and my all time favorites - the beagle bros :)). This special issue featured funny lines at the bottom of every page including stuff like:
Q) What is the difference between an elephant and a biscuit ?
A) You cant dip an elephant in a cup of tea
i guess my present "sense of humor" is existent mainly due to exposure to such gems during my,erm, "formative years"
1. was outta town for quite a bit
2. and i bought a bunch of new books
a) "A hundred years of solitude" - Sucked BIG TIME. nother one of those overhyped but totally f&$#ed up books. the book had about 100 guys called jose arcadio and 200 females called remedios (spanning generations).You lose track of whos who, people from atleast 5 generations lived together. There were so many cases of incest that i lost count. PATHETIC. It even won a Nobel for literature iam told.
b) "Interpretation of financial statements" by Benjamin graham. concise and very educative. shud start putting some stuff to actual use after this.
c) "motorcycle diaries" yet to read
d) "how we got here" by Andy Kessler- i had the ebook, i bought the paperback just for kicks. possibly the best book ever written. a more detailed review soon.
3. Also met a few of the gang in chennai, all rooming and porning together just like old times. was shown the "aashiq bannaya aapne" video for the first time. the rest is, as they say, history ;)
4. Also bought a new Disney comic featuring Mickey, goofy, the ducks and my all time favorites - the beagle bros :)). This special issue featured funny lines at the bottom of every page including stuff like:
Q) What is the difference between an elephant and a biscuit ?
A) You cant dip an elephant in a cup of tea
i guess my present "sense of humor" is existent mainly due to exposure to such gems during my,erm, "formative years"
Thursday, 24 November 2005
Long time no see
Ben quite a while since my last post
1. was stuck without Broadband for 10 days.
2. The rains here are shocking, possibly the worst ive seen in my lifetime
3. well, ben busy lately too
um, more later on
1. was stuck without Broadband for 10 days.
2. The rains here are shocking, possibly the worst ive seen in my lifetime
3. well, ben busy lately too
um, more later on
Saturday, 12 November 2005
What dreams may cometh !
What a day !
Spoke to a guy in Bangladesh about improving shipment transit time.
Spoke to nother guy in Syria about selling chemicals in Syria.
Spoke to yet another guy from Morocco on more or less the same subject. Nother one from Kolkatta as well.
Spoke to suraj about IT, MBAs, switching jobs, switching sectors, CAT, GMAT, Infosys, TCS, Services, C++, Mainframes, Girlfriends (his & cheta's, not mine)....
Hari called from Lexington, Kentucky and spoke for about 10 minutes (thats only about $1.5 on a Reliance India mobile from the US he says) about biotech, nanotech, Quantum dots, Evident tech, Moon suits, TA, RA, h1 visas, Taxes on stipends, Omelettes for breakfast and yes, girlfriends
Spoke to dad about contract manufacturing, US FDA, Diet Supplements, Restructuring and how to become a crore pathi in a year.
My hear is whirring and yet, i feel very fresh.
(Its 10:16 at night, the time on blogger is American :) )
Spoke to a guy in Bangladesh about improving shipment transit time.
Spoke to nother guy in Syria about selling chemicals in Syria.
Spoke to yet another guy from Morocco on more or less the same subject. Nother one from Kolkatta as well.
Spoke to suraj about IT, MBAs, switching jobs, switching sectors, CAT, GMAT, Infosys, TCS, Services, C++, Mainframes, Girlfriends (his & cheta's, not mine)....
Hari called from Lexington, Kentucky and spoke for about 10 minutes (thats only about $1.5 on a Reliance India mobile from the US he says) about biotech, nanotech, Quantum dots, Evident tech, Moon suits, TA, RA, h1 visas, Taxes on stipends, Omelettes for breakfast and yes, girlfriends
Spoke to dad about contract manufacturing, US FDA, Diet Supplements, Restructuring and how to become a crore pathi in a year.
My hear is whirring and yet, i feel very fresh.
(Its 10:16 at night, the time on blogger is American :) )
Thursday, 10 November 2005
Diogenes (The coolest dude in ancient greece)
Was reading the second part of the Alexander trilogy by manfredi (for the 4th time in as many months, purely due to lack of new books), there is a scene where alexander meets 'diogenes the cynic' somewhere along the road during one of his conquests.
Diogenes, lived inside a tub and was THE original cynic (we'll put him down next to Jughead Jones & Johnny bravo in the list of my heroes). He was called "the dog" by his fellow greeks, because he lived on scraps and looked shabby, mangy like, well, a dog :) He did not beleive in the worldly ways of life and behaved mostly like a nutcase.
( Some of the stuff he has said are probably wittier than the wittiest of one liners like the ones you get on sitcoms on tv)
Here are some gems:
Diogenes once visited plato's home. During the course of their scientific discussion of what a man was, plato gave the definition of a man as an animal, bipedal and featherless, Diogenes promptly plucked a chicken and declared, "Here is Plato's man."
When asked what wine he found most pleasant to drink, Diogenes replied, "That for which other people pay." (Heh heh, funny guy) And, when he saw the child of a courtesan, (he separately referred to her as a "deadly honeyed potion") throwing stones at a crowd, he cried out: "Take care you don't hit your father."
Other Lines:
"When I die , I want to be buried face-down. The world will soon be turned topsy-turvy and I don't want to present my backside to the gods"
Being asked why people give to beggars, but not to philosophers, he said, "Because they think they may one day be lame or blind, but never expect that they will turn to philosophy." (Heh heh, makes a lotsa sense)
He once asked alms of a surly man, who said, "OK - if you can persuade me." "If I could have persuaded you," said Diogenes, "I would have told you to hang yourself."
And here is the pick of the lot:
When someone asked him about the difference between a wiseman and a madman, he replied
" There is but a finger's difference between a wise man and a fool. If a man raises his first finger and speaks, people think him wise. If he lifts his middle finger, they think him mad"
--- Most of what this guy said is blunt and pretty offensive sounding. But the general logic in his line of thought is worth pondering over. He, in fact was the founding father of the Cynical school of thought. (Heh heh, we all owe him one)
p.s - Diogenes the dog & Alexander the great died on the same day one aged 90 and the other 33
Diogenes, lived inside a tub and was THE original cynic (we'll put him down next to Jughead Jones & Johnny bravo in the list of my heroes). He was called "the dog" by his fellow greeks, because he lived on scraps and looked shabby, mangy like, well, a dog :) He did not beleive in the worldly ways of life and behaved mostly like a nutcase.
( Some of the stuff he has said are probably wittier than the wittiest of one liners like the ones you get on sitcoms on tv)
Here are some gems:
Diogenes once visited plato's home. During the course of their scientific discussion of what a man was, plato gave the definition of a man as an animal, bipedal and featherless, Diogenes promptly plucked a chicken and declared, "Here is Plato's man."
When asked what wine he found most pleasant to drink, Diogenes replied, "That for which other people pay." (Heh heh, funny guy) And, when he saw the child of a courtesan, (he separately referred to her as a "deadly honeyed potion") throwing stones at a crowd, he cried out: "Take care you don't hit your father."
Other Lines:
"When I die , I want to be buried face-down. The world will soon be turned topsy-turvy and I don't want to present my backside to the gods"
Being asked why people give to beggars, but not to philosophers, he said, "Because they think they may one day be lame or blind, but never expect that they will turn to philosophy." (Heh heh, makes a lotsa sense)
He once asked alms of a surly man, who said, "OK - if you can persuade me." "If I could have persuaded you," said Diogenes, "I would have told you to hang yourself."
And here is the pick of the lot:
When someone asked him about the difference between a wiseman and a madman, he replied
" There is but a finger's difference between a wise man and a fool. If a man raises his first finger and speaks, people think him wise. If he lifts his middle finger, they think him mad"
--- Most of what this guy said is blunt and pretty offensive sounding. But the general logic in his line of thought is worth pondering over. He, in fact was the founding father of the Cynical school of thought. (Heh heh, we all owe him one)
p.s - Diogenes the dog & Alexander the great died on the same day one aged 90 and the other 33
Tuesday, 8 November 2005
My Sunday outing :)
Went to the temple with my parents ( after, um, 3 months ? ) on the Sunday.
Was less-crowded than ive ever seen it.
(Remember we are talking about the Meenakshi temple, the 23rd (?) Wonder of the world (heh heh) when it is crowded, we're talking like a 100,000 people all at once. )
Can't help feel that the Rajahs of Yesteryears were pretty jobless blokes - the 1000 pillar hall, about a 100 shrines and what else, about, i dunno 200 acres of prime realty wasted. Not to mention an indoor Pond with a "Golden lotus".
I guess iam getting carried away here, all this must av been for some reason or the other. Defense (like the wall garrisions) ? Commerce (streets around the temple have loads of shops selling al kindsa stuff). The temple mustav attracted a huge number of people even then.
The temple's Elephants - I saw atleast two of them (i gave the small one, a coin for his blessings). All seemed ok until i found that the big elephant had a wound on his hindleg as wide as, well, a bus tyre. I have a good mind to report the temple authorities to the SPCA and put those mahouts behind bars. The b&#@&#s !!
The evening's highlight came at the "Mukuruni Vinayagar" shrine. The pundit there wud av been about 80 years old (almost totally toothless) and was mumbling some mantras. One of his equally aged chums (almost equally toothless, he sounded like Popeye the sailor's dad) was walking past carrying some smoking pot, mumbling something to himself.
Our pundit called out "Enna Oi, Score ennaachu ?" (hey, whats the score?)
His friend (pappy :) ) stopped turned around and said, "erunoothi enbathi nalu , dravid noothi moonu not out oi, neeru paakaliya ?" (284, dravid 103 not out, did you not see?) and went his away, resuming his chanting.
Our pundit: Resumes chanting with renewed vigour
{ i may have gotten the score wrong here, i dont remember }
Iam reminded of the cliched expression "In India, cricket is a religion". How true :) That made my evening.
The icing on the cake came when i came home to watch Man U win 1-0 against Chelsea. Darren flectcher accidentally headed one in :). Man U need to play better than this !! The match was very exciting though.
It is 12:48 AM, and iam afraid i have to find a way to kill this insomnia or iam going to find myself sleeping on files tomorrow :)
Was less-crowded than ive ever seen it.
(Remember we are talking about the Meenakshi temple, the 23rd (?) Wonder of the world (heh heh) when it is crowded, we're talking like a 100,000 people all at once. )
Can't help feel that the Rajahs of Yesteryears were pretty jobless blokes - the 1000 pillar hall, about a 100 shrines and what else, about, i dunno 200 acres of prime realty wasted. Not to mention an indoor Pond with a "Golden lotus".
I guess iam getting carried away here, all this must av been for some reason or the other. Defense (like the wall garrisions) ? Commerce (streets around the temple have loads of shops selling al kindsa stuff). The temple mustav attracted a huge number of people even then.
The temple's Elephants - I saw atleast two of them (i gave the small one, a coin for his blessings). All seemed ok until i found that the big elephant had a wound on his hindleg as wide as, well, a bus tyre. I have a good mind to report the temple authorities to the SPCA and put those mahouts behind bars. The b&#@&#s !!
The evening's highlight came at the "Mukuruni Vinayagar" shrine. The pundit there wud av been about 80 years old (almost totally toothless) and was mumbling some mantras. One of his equally aged chums (almost equally toothless, he sounded like Popeye the sailor's dad) was walking past carrying some smoking pot, mumbling something to himself.
Our pundit called out "Enna Oi, Score ennaachu ?" (hey, whats the score?)
His friend (pappy :) ) stopped turned around and said, "erunoothi enbathi nalu , dravid noothi moonu not out oi, neeru paakaliya ?" (284, dravid 103 not out, did you not see?) and went his away, resuming his chanting.
Our pundit: Resumes chanting with renewed vigour
{ i may have gotten the score wrong here, i dont remember }
Iam reminded of the cliched expression "In India, cricket is a religion". How true :) That made my evening.
The icing on the cake came when i came home to watch Man U win 1-0 against Chelsea. Darren flectcher accidentally headed one in :). Man U need to play better than this !! The match was very exciting though.
It is 12:48 AM, and iam afraid i have to find a way to kill this insomnia or iam going to find myself sleeping on files tomorrow :)
Tuesday, 1 November 2005
Umm, Misc (for the lack of a better word :) )
Okay
Was on a vacation for 3 days. Top 10 things that stand out:
1. A beat-up vintage lorry carrying sand which had "Bill Gates" painted on top of it in big blue letters :)
2. Nother equally weathered lorry which had " ABHILASH " written in Red. Heh heh.
3. Hill Resorts are best visited during vacations. The concept of living in one forever is totally impractical. The weather (rains every morning and afternoon and the evening) is just too restrictive.
4. Do not pay for Luxury Suites (with bath tubs and free trips to a jacuzzi) because you'll never use them anyways (the bath tub had a notice which said " Please conserve water, each bath in the tub will need a minimum of 110 Liters" and the Jacuzzi remains perennially overbooked). Stick to the bed, breakfast (and hot water) double rooms.
5. Do not cycle (bicycle that is) for too long when you are riding on one after a long time (like a few months). Your Butt will hurt. Big time !! :)
6. Songs of the year - "Laal dupatta" - Mujse Shaadi Karogi, "Oru Maalai" - Ghajini and "Daughters" - John Mayer
7. Cricketer of the Year - "Mahendra Dhoni" (I happned to see his innings of 183* against SL )
8. I saw atleast 10 people (Aged about 16 to upto about 40) who were as good looking or probably better looking than Aishwarya Rai (or even Jessica Biel :)) ). I guess they are not beauty queens because they choose not to be beauty queens.
9. Do not pass judgements like in statement <8> when sleepy or even the evidence presented is totally biased against someone (Watched Bride&Prejce, Kyun Ho gaya Naa on TV back to back)
10. Do not go on vacations where you end up having to spend one day resting after vacation to build up enough energy to get back to work.
:)
Was on a vacation for 3 days. Top 10 things that stand out:
1. A beat-up vintage lorry carrying sand which had "Bill Gates" painted on top of it in big blue letters :)
2. Nother equally weathered lorry which had " ABHILASH " written in Red. Heh heh.
3. Hill Resorts are best visited during vacations. The concept of living in one forever is totally impractical. The weather (rains every morning and afternoon and the evening) is just too restrictive.
4. Do not pay for Luxury Suites (with bath tubs and free trips to a jacuzzi) because you'll never use them anyways (the bath tub had a notice which said " Please conserve water, each bath in the tub will need a minimum of 110 Liters" and the Jacuzzi remains perennially overbooked). Stick to the bed, breakfast (and hot water) double rooms.
5. Do not cycle (bicycle that is) for too long when you are riding on one after a long time (like a few months). Your Butt will hurt. Big time !! :)
6. Songs of the year - "Laal dupatta" - Mujse Shaadi Karogi, "Oru Maalai" - Ghajini and "Daughters" - John Mayer
7. Cricketer of the Year - "Mahendra Dhoni" (I happned to see his innings of 183* against SL )
8. I saw atleast 10 people (Aged about 16 to upto about 40) who were as good looking or probably better looking than Aishwarya Rai (or even Jessica Biel :)) ). I guess they are not beauty queens because they choose not to be beauty queens.
9. Do not pass judgements like in statement <8> when sleepy or even the evidence presented is totally biased against someone (Watched Bride&Prejce, Kyun Ho gaya Naa on TV back to back)
10. Do not go on vacations where you end up having to spend one day resting after vacation to build up enough energy to get back to work.
:)
Sunday, 30 October 2005
Pinstorm !!
Insomnia strikes again.
I typed up a really long email. still not sleepy, i was looking up some site or the other and came up with this cropper:
Was going through the profile of a guy called "Mahesh Murthy" on Orkut. He is in his 40s and from the looks of it, he was like some kind of a silicon valley techpreneur who ran startups, funded startups and stuff like that. He is one founder of "passionfund", ive heard that before.
Now one of his companies is called "Pinstorm" (www.pinstorm.com). It is a "search engine based marketing company". wonder what that means. The site really rocks. The company is apparently Red Herring's Hot 100 companies in Asia.
Seems like a great company to track. Will keep in mind.
IT is possibly the ONLY field where one guy or maybe one bunch of guys can make a great company and generate enough money to keep them running.
Lets see ....
I typed up a really long email. still not sleepy, i was looking up some site or the other and came up with this cropper:
Was going through the profile of a guy called "Mahesh Murthy" on Orkut. He is in his 40s and from the looks of it, he was like some kind of a silicon valley techpreneur who ran startups, funded startups and stuff like that. He is one founder of "passionfund", ive heard that before.
Now one of his companies is called "Pinstorm" (www.pinstorm.com). It is a "search engine based marketing company". wonder what that means. The site really rocks. The company is apparently Red Herring's Hot 100 companies in Asia.
Seems like a great company to track. Will keep in mind.
IT is possibly the ONLY field where one guy or maybe one bunch of guys can make a great company and generate enough money to keep them running.
Lets see ....
Saturday, 29 October 2005
A couple more of my Idols !!
Here are William Henry Gates III (Pic1 left) and Yo Mamma ! Johnny Bravo (pic2 Right).
Jughead Jones, One of my idols :)
Was going through a bunch of my old comics, Archies mostly. The Jokes in those comics are simply, well, too funny. Wonder whether they print Archie even today. I'l remember to check next time i visit a store.
Heres an amazing one from the "Jughead Jones double digest of 1996".
REGGIE (In a tuxedo in one of Veronica's parties) to the gang :
"Just because Iam Handsome, sophisticated and charming, people tend to think that Iam shallow"
JUGHEAD (Munching burger nonchalantly):
"If someone thinks that youre Handsome, sophisticated and Charming, then theyre shallow"
reggie chokes on his food while the others are in splits. :)
Dunno if it sounds funny enough on screen, its a helluva lot funnier on the comic.
Heres an amazing one from the "Jughead Jones double digest of 1996".
REGGIE (In a tuxedo in one of Veronica's parties) to the gang :
"Just because Iam Handsome, sophisticated and charming, people tend to think that Iam shallow"
JUGHEAD (Munching burger nonchalantly):
"If someone thinks that youre Handsome, sophisticated and Charming, then theyre shallow"
reggie chokes on his food while the others are in splits. :)
Dunno if it sounds funny enough on screen, its a helluva lot funnier on the comic.
Sunday, 23 October 2005
Heres Some seriously interesting Stuff !!
After all that baloney with Scorpios and Zodiacs, i decided to try my luck with the all famous Okcupid online test (Highly recommended by a jerk whose neck il wring the next time i see him).
Heh heh, they are pretty accurate with their analysis i have to admit.
The Results are as follows:
>>>>> Quote
You are The Mixed Messenger { Deliberate, Brutal, Love Dreamer (DBLDm) }
ALWAYS AVOID: The Playstation, The Peach
CONSIDER: The Priss
Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating.
My profile name: casanovasucks
Your exact opposite:The Playboy, Random Gentle Sex Master
>>>>>>>>Unquote
How much more pathetic can it get ? :) (Iam suddenly feeling VERY guilty about wasting time and sleep on such trash)
Heh heh, they are pretty accurate with their analysis i have to admit.
The Results are as follows:
>>>>> Quote
You are The Mixed Messenger { Deliberate, Brutal, Love Dreamer (DBLDm) }
Just...take...the...fucking...flower...darling.
The Mixed Messenger apologizes again.You're looking for love, but you'll always maintain your independence. You're prepared for a real commitment, but it's also likely that you're ambitious, which creates a certain romantic tension and ambivalence within you. So although you can be very affectionate to someone, you are also capable of pulling some dubious shit. In a relationship, you're usually the emotional leader. With your friends, you're a little bit more part of the pack. You're well-liked but you're not the uninhibited type, so the spotlight's often on someone else. In both social and romantic situations, however, you almost always get what you want. Influencing people is something you do very well.
ALWAYS AVOID: The Playstation, The Peach
CONSIDER: The Priss
Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating.
My profile name: casanovasucks
Your exact opposite:The Playboy, Random Gentle Sex Master
>>>>>>>>Unquote
How much more pathetic can it get ? :) (Iam suddenly feeling VERY guilty about wasting time and sleep on such trash)
Astrology Part III ( THE END ! )
Part III - The End of Astrology for me. Iam so pissed that i almost scream.
I decided to find out more about Scorpios. I already knew some stuff (Courtesy: Anuj, from the hostel who says that linda goodman (the famous sun sign writer) thinks scorpios are stubborn, arrogant and total pricks all around)
heres what i found:
Words associated with the scorpio -- "I desire," intense, controlling, sexual, compulsive, deep, secretive, mysterious, obsessive, genitals (What tha?)
Energies associated with Scorpio : passion, sensitivity, anxiety. (this i understand)
What f*$#ed me up so bad was this picture of the "Zodiac Man", where each body part is signifies each zodiac sign b
ased on general characteristics.
See where the Scorpion's arrow mark points ? Man ! This is f&^$en Cheap !
Thats the last time il ever do searching for sun signs. Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish !
Iam bloody embarrased too !!
I decided to find out more about Scorpios. I already knew some stuff (Courtesy: Anuj, from the hostel who says that linda goodman (the famous sun sign writer) thinks scorpios are stubborn, arrogant and total pricks all around)
heres what i found:
Words associated with the scorpio -- "I desire," intense, controlling, sexual, compulsive, deep, secretive, mysterious, obsessive, genitals (What tha?)
Energies associated with Scorpio : passion, sensitivity, anxiety. (this i understand)
What f*$#ed me up so bad was this picture of the "Zodiac Man", where each body part is signifies each zodiac sign b
ased on general characteristics.See where the Scorpion's arrow mark points ? Man ! This is f&^$en Cheap !
Thats the last time il ever do searching for sun signs. Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish !
Iam bloody embarrased too !!
Astrology Part II
Part II.
I was riding high on my,er, "success" with the delectable Jessica and decided to try a different something.
Chinese Astrology - I decided to scram as soon as my browser called me a "Rat". Always felt that the chinese were a funny lot !
People who were born on the 20th of November. Three names that stood up - Bo Derek (Never liked her too much) , Alistair Cooke (from the BBC's 'Letters from America') and Robert Kennedy (aka RFK).
Now, RFK was JFK's Younger brother. He too was assasinated by some palestian immigrant while on his own presidential campaign trail. He even has Parliament wings named after him and 1 dollar coins stamped in his honor. Heres something i found thats bloody strange -- Alistair Cooke , who also shares my birth date was standing next to RFK when he was shot and was the primary witness in the investigation (source: wikipedia, some site on RFK's biography). I find this MAJORLY amazing.
Ok, now i looked for people who were born in 1984. This was easy. Heres what i found:
Prince Harry, Avril Lavigne(yay), Ashlee Simpson(she cant sing for all the nuts in the world), Mandy Moore, Scarlett Johansson (Born on Nov 22, Chee we're close). Not bad !
I was beginning to think -- maybe Astrology on the internet can be fun after all.
Wait till you read Part III
I was riding high on my,er, "success" with the delectable Jessica and decided to try a different something.
Chinese Astrology - I decided to scram as soon as my browser called me a "Rat". Always felt that the chinese were a funny lot !
People who were born on the 20th of November. Three names that stood up - Bo Derek (Never liked her too much) , Alistair Cooke (from the BBC's 'Letters from America') and Robert Kennedy (aka RFK).
Now, RFK was JFK's Younger brother. He too was assasinated by some palestian immigrant while on his own presidential campaign trail. He even has Parliament wings named after him and 1 dollar coins stamped in his honor. Heres something i found thats bloody strange -- Alistair Cooke , who also shares my birth date was standing next to RFK when he was shot and was the primary witness in the investigation (source: wikipedia, some site on RFK's biography). I find this MAJORLY amazing.
Ok, now i looked for people who were born in 1984. This was easy. Heres what i found:
Prince Harry, Avril Lavigne(yay), Ashlee Simpson(she cant sing for all the nuts in the world), Mandy Moore, Scarlett Johansson (Born on Nov 22, Chee we're close). Not bad !
I was beginning to think -- maybe Astrology on the internet can be fun after all.
Wait till you read Part III
Astrology Part I
Heres the first of my 3 part account on my experiences with Astrology. It all started when i heard someone discussing "Joshiyam" and "Jadagam" and the likes (My Cousin in on the market, you see ;) )
I was born on the 20th of November 1984. Thats makes me a scorpio.(I only just made it coz scorpio dates end on the 22nd). To begin with i googled for other famous scorpios-too many results. so i yahooed instead. Some famous scorpios i found include - Kevin Kline, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bill Gates (hmm!!), Joaquin Phoenix, Julia Roberts, Richard Dreyfuss, Winona Ryder, Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Maria Shriver (Arnie's wife), Sally Field
Brittany Murphy, Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore, Leonardo DiCaprio, David Schwimmer, Whoopi Goldberg, Prince Charles (Yuck!) , Danny DeVito, Martin Scorsese, Owen Wilson, Calvin Klein, Jodie Foster, Larry King, Bo Derek, Goldie Hawn and lots more.
Now, the blokes at yahoo also have something called a "celebrity love calculator" (somethin like that). You key in your DOB and the name of a celeb you want to be with (whatever that means) and presto ! you have the details. Guess what I did, I chose, well, Jessica Biel ;)
Turns out that shes Aries and that "When Aries and Scorpio come together in a love affair, it can be the kind of relationship where they both wonder how they ever managed apart".
What a load of HorseShit !!!
Read on theres more..
I was born on the 20th of November 1984. Thats makes me a scorpio.(I only just made it coz scorpio dates end on the 22nd). To begin with i googled for other famous scorpios-too many results. so i yahooed instead. Some famous scorpios i found include - Kevin Kline, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bill Gates (hmm!!), Joaquin Phoenix, Julia Roberts, Richard Dreyfuss, Winona Ryder, Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Maria Shriver (Arnie's wife), Sally Field
Brittany Murphy, Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore, Leonardo DiCaprio, David Schwimmer, Whoopi Goldberg, Prince Charles (Yuck!) , Danny DeVito, Martin Scorsese, Owen Wilson, Calvin Klein, Jodie Foster, Larry King, Bo Derek, Goldie Hawn and lots more.
Now, the blokes at yahoo also have something called a "celebrity love calculator" (somethin like that). You key in your DOB and the name of a celeb you want to be with (whatever that means) and presto ! you have the details. Guess what I did, I chose, well, Jessica Biel ;)
Turns out that shes Aries and that "When Aries and Scorpio come together in a love affair, it can be the kind of relationship where they both wonder how they ever managed apart".
What a load of HorseShit !!!
Read on theres more..
Thursday, 20 October 2005
The Beauty and the Beast !!
The Beauty and the Beast
Heh, that sums it up quite a bit.
Jessica Biel. As some sicilian would have shouted, "mamma mia ! whath a beeauty". Voted the sexiest person on earth by the esquire. Man ! She is surely one babe. I get randy even thinking of her. If she plays her cards right, she cud make it big.
This other pic, is more of a mug shot really. This creep is the next bond.( He goes by the name of Daniel Craig, i hear ). I can bet a thousand bucks that he and his 'casino royale' will suck rotten donkey's eggs. What the hell, all bonds looked kinda creepy anyways. the only exception being brosnan, who i think is as classy as they come.
( Psst, i also happen to have a copy of Biel's notorious Gear Mag cover. :). And whew, iam in love.
Friday, 7 October 2005
The Big Mac Index
Heres some really tasty stuff on the Big Mac Index
http://www.economist.com/markets/bigmac/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2708584
(Although the crummy table does not tell me how much a big mac costs in India. I suspect that the BIG MAC index will fail with India because a big mac at spencers would cost about a 150 Rupees (heh heh, about 3.4$ at current exchang rates) ,whereas in the US it apparently costs only 2.90$ leading us to the outrageous conclusion that the Rupee is overvalued.
The answer is simple, 'supply-demand'. While the big mac is like vada pav in the US, its more like gourmet in India. maybe we'll look for some other method to measure PPP
Maybe we can compare the cost of services,say, a haircut. A very decent indian haircut (Like for instance in 'salon' topaz, in adyar costs about 40 rupees. with air conditioning, Stuff labelled 'Nivea for men' and an unlimited collection of stardust, filmfare and even the economic times, its pretty cool. That makes about 1 Dollar.
Now, a haircut in the US, to quote peter lynch (from his book "Beating the Street" written in 1994) from his "friendly neighbourhood barber vinnie dilorenzo" costs 10$. Forget 10 years of inflation to be on the safe side. This makes services in the US 10 times as expensive as in India.
Logic tells me that for high flying techie jobs, this unbalance will be MUCH higher, also aggravated because of the sheer numbers of techies that India is churning out.
(( I beleive that this is probably going to continue being the theme in the coming years(as if its not now). So if we (Me, Indians as such) can improve on skillsets / capabilites to match the sophistication levels of the west there is going to be HUGE opportunities. In services, in manufacturing(Whee), heck, everywhere.
Whew, Ive got lotsa stuff to do
http://www.economist.com/markets/bigmac/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2708584
(Although the crummy table does not tell me how much a big mac costs in India. I suspect that the BIG MAC index will fail with India because a big mac at spencers would cost about a 150 Rupees (heh heh, about 3.4$ at current exchang rates) ,whereas in the US it apparently costs only 2.90$ leading us to the outrageous conclusion that the Rupee is overvalued.
The answer is simple, 'supply-demand'. While the big mac is like vada pav in the US, its more like gourmet in India. maybe we'll look for some other method to measure PPP
Maybe we can compare the cost of services,say, a haircut. A very decent indian haircut (Like for instance in 'salon' topaz, in adyar costs about 40 rupees. with air conditioning, Stuff labelled 'Nivea for men' and an unlimited collection of stardust, filmfare and even the economic times, its pretty cool. That makes about 1 Dollar.
Now, a haircut in the US, to quote peter lynch (from his book "Beating the Street" written in 1994) from his "friendly neighbourhood barber vinnie dilorenzo" costs 10$. Forget 10 years of inflation to be on the safe side. This makes services in the US 10 times as expensive as in India.
Logic tells me that for high flying techie jobs, this unbalance will be MUCH higher, also aggravated because of the sheer numbers of techies that India is churning out.
(( I beleive that this is probably going to continue being the theme in the coming years(as if its not now). So if we (Me, Indians as such) can improve on skillsets / capabilites to match the sophistication levels of the west there is going to be HUGE opportunities. In services, in manufacturing(Whee), heck, everywhere.
Whew, Ive got lotsa stuff to do
PPP !!??
Hmm
Heres some stuff i looked up when the topic came up with someone.
In actual dollar terms of total GDP (rupees converted to dollars at current exchange rates) India ranks 33.( GDP is the the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year in case youre confused )
But hear this, India ranks 4th in terms of GDP (total) after USa, china, Japan. calculated after correcting for Purchasing power parity.
This kinda implies that the actual value(not based on going currency exchange rates) of Services, Goods churned out by India is the 4th in the world.
India ranks 125 in Per capita GDP (a measly 3080 USD per head against the USA's 39496 USd or equivatorial guinea's 39444, Below countries like turkmenistan and hey guess who's rank 124, Bhutan. (BAH!)
I know i ud av seen this earlier too. but seeing it now on wikipedia first hand, iam shell shocked.
see for yourself
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita
Heres some stuff i looked up when the topic came up with someone.
In actual dollar terms of total GDP (rupees converted to dollars at current exchange rates) India ranks 33.( GDP is the the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year in case youre confused )
But hear this, India ranks 4th in terms of GDP (total) after USa, china, Japan. calculated after correcting for Purchasing power parity.
This kinda implies that the actual value(not based on going currency exchange rates) of Services, Goods churned out by India is the 4th in the world.
India ranks 125 in Per capita GDP (a measly 3080 USD per head against the USA's 39496 USd or equivatorial guinea's 39444, Below countries like turkmenistan and hey guess who's rank 124, Bhutan. (BAH!)
I know i ud av seen this earlier too. but seeing it now on wikipedia first hand, iam shell shocked.
see for yourself
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita
Thursday, 6 October 2005
Angst !?
I had a longish discussion with appa today. Kinda made me think of 'information overload' making me 'aimless', 'distracted' and 'unproductive'. Dad 'suggested' these terms in his usual way and walked way smiling. Hmm, this is got me thinking
Alvin Toffler first coined this term 'information overload' in 'Future shock'.
But i thought my problem might be something else, well maybe 'angst' !?
The following meaning is attributed to Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855). ( And wikipedia, heh heh ).
quote - " Kierkegaard used the word angst (Danish, meaning "dread") to describe a profound and deep-seated spiritual condition of insecurity and despair in the free human being. Where the animal is a slave to its God-given instincts but always confident in its own actions, Kierkegaard believed that the freedom given to mankind leaves the human in a constant fear of failing its responsibilities Kierkegaard's concept of angst is considered to be an important stepping stone for 20th-century existentialism" - unquote wikipedia
So the key agenda is to keep focussed. While the unconventional nature of my job has given me a lot of freedom, lotsa resources it has also put a lot of responsibility on my head. To quote another guy (whose name i cant quite remember)
"whenever there is great potential there is even greater pressure to live up to it"
Makes lotsa sense, doesnt it ?
Gotta go to work instead of wasting,um, 'resources' !!
Alvin Toffler first coined this term 'information overload' in 'Future shock'.
But i thought my problem might be something else, well maybe 'angst' !?
The following meaning is attributed to Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855). ( And wikipedia, heh heh ).
quote - " Kierkegaard used the word angst (Danish, meaning "dread") to describe a profound and deep-seated spiritual condition of insecurity and despair in the free human being. Where the animal is a slave to its God-given instincts but always confident in its own actions, Kierkegaard believed that the freedom given to mankind leaves the human in a constant fear of failing its responsibilities Kierkegaard's concept of angst is considered to be an important stepping stone for 20th-century existentialism" - unquote wikipedia
So the key agenda is to keep focussed. While the unconventional nature of my job has given me a lot of freedom, lotsa resources it has also put a lot of responsibility on my head. To quote another guy (whose name i cant quite remember)
"whenever there is great potential there is even greater pressure to live up to it"
Makes lotsa sense, doesnt it ?
Gotta go to work instead of wasting,um, 'resources' !!
Tuesday, 4 October 2005
More on the 'Catcher' and Holden Caulfield
When asked once in the 1960s how he expected to die, Lennon's offhand answer was "I'll probably be popped off by some loony." In retrospect, the comment turned out to be chillingly accurate.
In the late afternoon of December 8, 1980, in New York City, fan Mark David Chapman met Lennon as he left for the recording studio and got his copy of Double Fantasy autographed; the event of Lennon signing one of his last autographs was caught by a photographer who witnessed this goodwill gesture. Chapman remained in the vicinity of The Dakota for most of the day as a fireworks demonstration in nearby Central Park distracted the doorman and passers-by.
Later that evening, Lennon and Ono returned to their apartment from recording Ono's single "Walking on Thin Ice" for their next album. At 10.50pm, their limousine pulled up to the entrance of the Dakota. Ono got out of the car first, followed by Lennon. Beyond the main entrance was a door which would be opened and a small set of stairs leading into the apartment complex. As Ono went in, Lennon got out of the car and glanced at Chapman, proceeding on through the entrance to the Dakota.
As Lennon walked past him, Chapman called out "Mr. Lennon." As Lennon turned, Chapman crouched into what witnesses called a "combat" stance and fired five hollowpoint bullets into John's back and shoulder. One of the bullets fatally pierced his aorta. Still, Lennon managed to stagger up six steps into the concierge booth where he collapsed, gasping "I'm shot, I'm shot."
Chapman stood there, holding his .38 Charter Arms revolver, which was pulled out of his hands and kicked away by Jose Perdomo who then asked "Do you know what you have done?", to which Chapman replied "I just shot John Lennon." Chapman then calmly took his coat off placed it at his feet, took out a book and started reading.
Police arrived within minutes, to find Chapman still waiting quietly outside, reading a copy of J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye.
Very interesting !
In the late afternoon of December 8, 1980, in New York City, fan Mark David Chapman met Lennon as he left for the recording studio and got his copy of Double Fantasy autographed; the event of Lennon signing one of his last autographs was caught by a photographer who witnessed this goodwill gesture. Chapman remained in the vicinity of The Dakota for most of the day as a fireworks demonstration in nearby Central Park distracted the doorman and passers-by.
Later that evening, Lennon and Ono returned to their apartment from recording Ono's single "Walking on Thin Ice" for their next album. At 10.50pm, their limousine pulled up to the entrance of the Dakota. Ono got out of the car first, followed by Lennon. Beyond the main entrance was a door which would be opened and a small set of stairs leading into the apartment complex. As Ono went in, Lennon got out of the car and glanced at Chapman, proceeding on through the entrance to the Dakota.
As Lennon walked past him, Chapman called out "Mr. Lennon." As Lennon turned, Chapman crouched into what witnesses called a "combat" stance and fired five hollowpoint bullets into John's back and shoulder. One of the bullets fatally pierced his aorta. Still, Lennon managed to stagger up six steps into the concierge booth where he collapsed, gasping "I'm shot, I'm shot."
Chapman stood there, holding his .38 Charter Arms revolver, which was pulled out of his hands and kicked away by Jose Perdomo who then asked "Do you know what you have done?", to which Chapman replied "I just shot John Lennon." Chapman then calmly took his coat off placed it at his feet, took out a book and started reading.
Police arrived within minutes, to find Chapman still waiting quietly outside, reading a copy of J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye.
Very interesting !
What The Tortoise Said To Achilles
"So you've got to the end of our race-course?" said the Tortoise. "Even though it does consist
of an infinite series of distances? I thought some wiseacre or other had proved that the thing
couldn't be done?"
"It can be done," said Achilles. "It has been done! Solvitur ambulando. You see the distances
were constatntly diminishing: and so -"
See ? My original reference for Solvitur. :) Now lets see what happend in the story
The tortoise goes on and bashes achilles up and renames him 'A Kill Ease'. Heh Heh. The gist
goes like this:
The tortoise and achilles write down three lines
(A) Things that are equal to the same are equal to each other.
(B) The two sides of the Triangle are things that are equal to the same.
(Z) The two sides of this Triangle are equal to each other.
Now when achilles asks the tortoise to accept that Z is true based on A and B ( Much like the
crap we got in CAT :) ), the tortoise refuses to do so saying that he has every right to say
that he wont accept Z is true.
Achilles goes on and brings in another statement to trap the tortoise
(C) If A and B are true, Z must be true.
Now he says, ' Now that you accept C follows A & B and is true then Z is true'. The tortoise
stubbornly sticks to his stand, and refuses to accept Z to be true.
Poor achilles keeps adding thousands of Cs, Ds, Es and God knows what else and finally gives
up.
The whole, objective of Caroll's witty essay i beleive is to say that all accepted ground
rules of things like logic / science are all based stuff which, um, are not based on Logic at
all.
Its like this:
"hey all, il be coming to work stark naked from tomorrow and will walk with my hands for the
next 10 days" If someone complains that its against convention ( the 'logic' ) il go ahead and say that it is no more illogical than coming to work in business suits and walking on two feet.
Heh heh. Now Iam bloody sure that neither the tortoise not Caroll would av cracked the CAT. Now I beleive that Achilles himself made a mistake. He shud have shoved the notebook up the tortoise's ass as soon it began acting up. :)
Here's a link to the original story in Caroll's own words
http://www.lewiscarroll.org/achilles.html
ciao
of an infinite series of distances? I thought some wiseacre or other had proved that the thing
couldn't be done?"
"It can be done," said Achilles. "It has been done! Solvitur ambulando. You see the distances
were constatntly diminishing: and so -"
See ? My original reference for Solvitur. :) Now lets see what happend in the story
The tortoise goes on and bashes achilles up and renames him 'A Kill Ease'. Heh Heh. The gist
goes like this:
The tortoise and achilles write down three lines
(A) Things that are equal to the same are equal to each other.
(B) The two sides of the Triangle are things that are equal to the same.
(Z) The two sides of this Triangle are equal to each other.
Now when achilles asks the tortoise to accept that Z is true based on A and B ( Much like the
crap we got in CAT :) ), the tortoise refuses to do so saying that he has every right to say
that he wont accept Z is true.
Achilles goes on and brings in another statement to trap the tortoise
(C) If A and B are true, Z must be true.
Now he says, ' Now that you accept C follows A & B and is true then Z is true'. The tortoise
stubbornly sticks to his stand, and refuses to accept Z to be true.
Poor achilles keeps adding thousands of Cs, Ds, Es and God knows what else and finally gives
up.
The whole, objective of Caroll's witty essay i beleive is to say that all accepted ground
rules of things like logic / science are all based stuff which, um, are not based on Logic at
all.
Its like this:
"hey all, il be coming to work stark naked from tomorrow and will walk with my hands for the
next 10 days" If someone complains that its against convention ( the 'logic' ) il go ahead and say that it is no more illogical than coming to work in business suits and walking on two feet.
Heh heh. Now Iam bloody sure that neither the tortoise not Caroll would av cracked the CAT. Now I beleive that Achilles himself made a mistake. He shud have shoved the notebook up the tortoise's ass as soon it began acting up. :)
Here's a link to the original story in Caroll's own words
http://www.lewiscarroll.org/achilles.html
ciao
Monday, 3 October 2005
My blog finally has a name !!
I'l be calling it 'Solvitur ambulando'
In English ( This is in Latin ) it means "To solve by walking". This is supposed to have been used by the famous greek cynic Diogenes to explain one of his theories of on motion.
It is also an appeal to arrive at a solution by practical experience.
I read this first from "What the tortoise said to Achilles" by Lewis Caroll. More on that in the next post.
1. i kinda like 'solvitur ambulando' all my issues :)
2. It sounds really fancy ( heh heh )
3. Ive become a BIG fan of Lewis caroll these days.
I considered really sorry sounding nicknames / blognames such as:
"Buzz Lightyear"- The spaceman from Toy story
"The horned king" - ahem, the less said the better
"Morpheus" - the greek god of dreams. ( i hate lawrence fishbourne, Grrr )
I was never any good at naming things. besides that i used to ( used to ??? ) suffer from the belief that fancy names are as Phoney as the junta hiding behind em.
In English ( This is in Latin ) it means "To solve by walking". This is supposed to have been used by the famous greek cynic Diogenes to explain one of his theories of on motion.
It is also an appeal to arrive at a solution by practical experience.
I read this first from "What the tortoise said to Achilles" by Lewis Caroll. More on that in the next post.
1. i kinda like 'solvitur ambulando' all my issues :)
2. It sounds really fancy ( heh heh )
3. Ive become a BIG fan of Lewis caroll these days.
I considered really sorry sounding nicknames / blognames such as:
"Buzz Lightyear"- The spaceman from Toy story
"The horned king" - ahem, the less said the better
"Morpheus" - the greek god of dreams. ( i hate lawrence fishbourne, Grrr )
I was never any good at naming things. besides that i used to ( used to ??? ) suffer from the belief that fancy names are as Phoney as the junta hiding behind em.
Sunday, 2 October 2005
The Catcher in the Rye
Staying on with Holden, the Catcher has been one of the books that ive come to think of quite often in the last year or so.
One critic said: " I enjoyed the book immensely, despite being asleep for half of it. I would go ahead and call it a masterpiece of modern times "
I definitely did not fall asleep anywhere in the middle. But this book can rightly be called a masterpiece. Felt kinda funny reading it though, as though there was no substance in it and yet i cud not put it down.
I remember reading it earlier ( when i was in 8th class or thereabouts ), i read about 2 and a half pages and threw it in with the old copies of my dad's tax journals.
One sample line from the book:
"I think, even, if I ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and I have a tombstone and all,
it'll say 'Holden Caulfield' on it, and then what year I was born and what year I died, and
then right under that it'll say 'Fuck you.'"
Another book i read was "vernon god little". Was like a watered down version of the catcher. Although, i have to admit the narrative was very good.
Another parallel that can be shown is the similarity between "to kill a mockingbird" and a recent book of John grisham's called "a painted house". the painted house is a refreshing change from grisham's lawyers and murder trials, it narrates a sequence of events through a boy's frame of view ( like scout finch from mockingbird )
One critic said: " I enjoyed the book immensely, despite being asleep for half of it. I would go ahead and call it a masterpiece of modern times "
I definitely did not fall asleep anywhere in the middle. But this book can rightly be called a masterpiece. Felt kinda funny reading it though, as though there was no substance in it and yet i cud not put it down.
I remember reading it earlier ( when i was in 8th class or thereabouts ), i read about 2 and a half pages and threw it in with the old copies of my dad's tax journals.
One sample line from the book:
"I think, even, if I ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and I have a tombstone and all,
it'll say 'Holden Caulfield' on it, and then what year I was born and what year I died, and
then right under that it'll say 'Fuck you.'"
Another book i read was "vernon god little". Was like a watered down version of the catcher. Although, i have to admit the narrative was very good.
Another parallel that can be shown is the similarity between "to kill a mockingbird" and a recent book of John grisham's called "a painted house". the painted house is a refreshing change from grisham's lawyers and murder trials, it narrates a sequence of events through a boy's frame of view ( like scout finch from mockingbird )
My Blog's IPO
Okay
My blog is finally going public (Links will go out on orkut possibly :) So much for making it public ). And hey, the first person to comment on my blog gets something special from me.
( Ahem, and bots please excuse )
OK. Now why have i done this ?
Lotsa things have prompted me to do this.
Blogs are simply brilliant. They really are.
They are clumsy to use without a 24/7 online connection, as i found when i was in college (Even with a weekend broadband at mama's place.) Now with a 24/7 512 k broadband ( and a laptop thrown in as perks ) , blogging opens up a whole new experience. ( the laptop clinched it though :). I get mad if i even think of someone else looking at my posts. so the privacy helps. )
With me stuck at home in a town most Indians will have trouble pointing out on a map, blogs connect me to people, ( albeit it being one way ) lets me know what other junta are upto, and help get insights on lots of things.
I used to beleive that most people who blog are 'phonies' as holden caulfield or vern little would describe them. I have since then changed this view, to something less radical - Blogging is like some stock market discussion forum. There are about a 100 new posts daily, analysis explaining how the nifty will breakout and reach 3000 in 3 weeks. Hell, some of it even makes sense. But its like- you kinda hope that one or two other guys will endorse you views and youve finally ben heard.
This, i think is part of some basic psychology.
But Recently, i went through blogs of a few people i used to know in college. I wont mention names, but to use another caulfield expression "It killed me". So maybe junta are not so phoney after all !!
Hmm, lets see where all this leads.
p.s. - I have deleted potentially strong or embarrasing posts off this blog or moved em elsewhere. Some of these include stuff like 'My Life so far', 'A list of the best porno sites ive ever visited' and userid, password information for all my accounts. :) So much for applying blogs to improve things
Lets see if my IPO is oversubscribed or undersubscribed
My blog is finally going public (Links will go out on orkut possibly :) So much for making it public ). And hey, the first person to comment on my blog gets something special from me.
( Ahem, and bots please excuse )
OK. Now why have i done this ?
Lotsa things have prompted me to do this.
Blogs are simply brilliant. They really are.
They are clumsy to use without a 24/7 online connection, as i found when i was in college (Even with a weekend broadband at mama's place.) Now with a 24/7 512 k broadband ( and a laptop thrown in as perks ) , blogging opens up a whole new experience. ( the laptop clinched it though :). I get mad if i even think of someone else looking at my posts. so the privacy helps. )
With me stuck at home in a town most Indians will have trouble pointing out on a map, blogs connect me to people, ( albeit it being one way ) lets me know what other junta are upto, and help get insights on lots of things.
I used to beleive that most people who blog are 'phonies' as holden caulfield or vern little would describe them. I have since then changed this view, to something less radical - Blogging is like some stock market discussion forum. There are about a 100 new posts daily, analysis explaining how the nifty will breakout and reach 3000 in 3 weeks. Hell, some of it even makes sense. But its like- you kinda hope that one or two other guys will endorse you views and youve finally ben heard.
This, i think is part of some basic psychology.
But Recently, i went through blogs of a few people i used to know in college. I wont mention names, but to use another caulfield expression "It killed me". So maybe junta are not so phoney after all !!
Hmm, lets see where all this leads.
p.s. - I have deleted potentially strong or embarrasing posts off this blog or moved em elsewhere. Some of these include stuff like 'My Life so far', 'A list of the best porno sites ive ever visited' and userid, password information for all my accounts. :) So much for applying blogs to improve things
Lets see if my IPO is oversubscribed or undersubscribed
Tuesday, 20 September 2005
Hey I am trying out this new blogger tool from Google. These guys are real great, with stuff like google desktop, google talk ( not seen much of that ) and the ever ubiquitous search.
Man ! I wish my company were as clear spoken and great as these guys.
Google’s IPO offer document wanted to raise an amount of money equal to 3.14 something ( the value of pi )
Another company that I am reminded of is Berkshire Hathaway and that of course leads me on to the out spoken oracle of omaha, warren Edward buffett ( Chee ! I wish I cud be like them someday
Man ! I wish my company were as clear spoken and great as these guys.
Google’s IPO offer document wanted to raise an amount of money equal to 3.14 something ( the value of pi )
Another company that I am reminded of is Berkshire Hathaway and that of course leads me on to the out spoken oracle of omaha, warren Edward buffett ( Chee ! I wish I cud be like them someday
Friday, 27 May 2005
Food for thought !
I recently came across this .
" When I lately stood with a friend before [the cathedral of] Amiens, . . . he asked me how it happens that we can no longer build such piles? I replied: "Dear Alphonse, men in those days had convictions , we moderns have opinions and it requires something more than an opinion to build a Gothic cathedral" - Heinrich Heine
How true !!
" When I lately stood with a friend before [the cathedral of] Amiens, . . . he asked me how it happens that we can no longer build such piles? I replied: "Dear Alphonse, men in those days had convictions , we moderns have opinions and it requires something more than an opinion to build a Gothic cathedral" - Heinrich Heine
How true !!
Long time no see !
Its been about a month since I left college. Ive been working off the office and the factory almost all the time. Couple of things
1. Iam feeling no pressure to work. I work now because I want to do something , NOT because I want to make money / stay alive / feed a family. I guess that lack of intesity is hurting. Id better get a powerful incentive really soon or I dont see myself making too much progress.
2. Now the gud news. Looks I can actually put all my acquired skill sets ( excuse that pathetic expression ) to gud use working for my company, or for that matter, any company. It kinda works out that you end up getting into a niche and find yourself working on stuff you actually like, instead of boring stuff being crammed down your throat.
Lets see what comes of me after maybe a year or so.
p.s - im even getting a laptop shortly.
1. Iam feeling no pressure to work. I work now because I want to do something , NOT because I want to make money / stay alive / feed a family. I guess that lack of intesity is hurting. Id better get a powerful incentive really soon or I dont see myself making too much progress.
2. Now the gud news. Looks I can actually put all my acquired skill sets ( excuse that pathetic expression ) to gud use working for my company, or for that matter, any company. It kinda works out that you end up getting into a niche and find yourself working on stuff you actually like, instead of boring stuff being crammed down your throat.
Lets see what comes of me after maybe a year or so.
p.s - im even getting a laptop shortly.
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