More Intelligent people.

Let me be Candid. When intelligence is defined by score in IQ tests, kind of schools one attended, the respect you command for your worldy knowledge, I am in one of the higher strata.
What's my reaction when I meet more intelligents person/s than me? I just run away from that place and try to ensure that, I never meet them again.;)

Marriages and Train Travel.

As usually 2 terms in the title aren't related. I attened a marriage today. Marriages in India look boring/entertaining to me depending on my mood. Today's one appeared boring. People come because they are invited and don't want to offend the hosts. Guests keep watching the Tamasha that is a normal Hindu wedding. I am sure, weddings from other marriages with their own rituals must be equally boring.
And then follows lunch/ dinner. High and mighty jostle with poor for a seat in early rows. And the inevitable complains about quality/variety of food on offer. Then gifts to be provided to newly married couple. Flashy clothes, jewellery which don't help much for most of the people desperate to look great.
I often wonder about maing of jewellery, silk dresses. I can understand people aged between 20-35 trying all these stuff to sttract possible mates. ;) But 45, 50 yr olds ..Hmm I don't have any charitable opinion. Perhaps I should look at all such things this way. It is an escape for them. I mean being flashy, being different once in a while, a change from drab ,routine lives they lead.
Coming to second topic of the day, Train Journeys. After a long,long time, I was travelling in second class alone. (No family, no friends) For those who aren't aware, second class is a kind of compromise between ordinary and first class. AH.:) It's viable, preferred and planned mode of travel for many middle class people in India.
Train journeys have their peculiar charm in India. With an average speed of 50 km/her, stopping once every 100 kms or so (reasonable sized towns), food stalls at each station, social chatter with fellow passengers, beggers, (handicapped, old, pretending, various combinations of that),.. It's fun and must be experienced once in a while, if one lives in India.
The kind of people you meet is a matter of luck. Today I didn't find anyone interesting, so spent time reading business magazines and a booklet about rainwater harvesting.
More about rain water harvesting in next post. Till then, Have fun.

All Jobs are boring, bar none. (almost)

Innumerable times, I have felt that lot of humans are wasting their lives over pointless jobs. Probably they have very little other options. Look at waiter in the hotel. Imagine, how boring his life can be? Imagine a civil laborer,imagine a boiler operator, TV mechanic,....
Yes,Yes, I know one can make life interesting by learning something new all the time. How many people do that out of motivation, need or awareness? (learning someting new)
Rest continue with their mundane jobs, mundane lives. World is really in a pitiable state. :(

Next Generation Consoles and Third World countries.

Now that Microsoft and Sony unveiled (sort of) their next generation consoles (Somehow Nintendo seems to be slipping down when it comes to consoles. ) we shouldprobably ask what does this mean to people like us who live in third world nations.
The first XBOX was great. Let me explain. With modchip, softmods and all, one could play as many pirated games as time permitted. XBOX live (multiplayer stuff) wasn' available, but that doesn't make much difference. Size of console, aesthetics, power all these are non issues as long as we can buy the console and pirated games in obligatory-smuggled-goods-selling-street present in every decent sized town.
But when it comes to future console I believe modding will be very,very difficult. (To say the least) And online component will be a big thing. (Probably checking the authenticity of DVD, like Half -Life -2). So forget cheap games. Ok, how much each game is going to cost us, if we are genuinely interested? 60$ each. 2700 rs. Now I can see many stop dreaming about XBOX 360.
Replace XBOX with PS2 and XBOX 360 with PS3 in the above 2 paragraphs and the arguments hold valid.
That's bad news for all people like me, third world gaming enthusiasts. Chalo, go back to PC.
Or like poor cousins, wait for used games to appear on EBAY.
Ok, now let me talk aboutother side of fence. I mean Microsoft and Sony. What does this strategy mean to them? I believe , their hardware sales will be impancted. I don't have any reliable figures about piracy rates in US,UK, Japan and all. But shelling out 400$ for console, 60$ each for games, and 400$ for HDTV (for native experience of HDTV capable consoles) in't going to be easy. And games, apart from pretty visuals, advanced physics don't seem to be breaking any real ground. So my bold prediction is the next generation consoles will sell less than present generation consoles.
Another unignorable aspect of new consoles is their media centre capabilities. You can watch dvds, record stuff, transmit to other players, Web camera compatible,...(capabilities I suggested are only probable and need not be really there) Impressive, right? Wrong. There's this DRM (digital rights management) which restricts your freedom in copying, transmitting, watching anything anywhere.
I find very few people taking advantage of full capablitiesof any new gadget. Just no manufacturer is asking us if we need all these capabilities. Everybody wants to do everything. Cellphone wants to do an Ipod. Ipod aspires to be media player. Console aspires to be media centre. PC wants to be all-in-one. Where is all this leading to?
Let me sort of take diversion and talk about PSP.(Play Station Portable). PSP looks enticing. (To me atleast) It's present and possible future capabilities include wireless internet, media player, pda apart from it's main functionality of Gaming. My only problem is additional cost of memory sticks and constly games.
I believe and wish that hardware will be commoditiesed in future. Proprietary DRM and hardware will never be enough successful to take over the world. In short , we might be poor, but we cannot be left out of revolution. If you don't feel like selling me something, there will always be somebody else who makes things for rest of us. F*** Y** Microsoft & Sony.

Satellite Internet

I live in a kind of remote place. Yeah, I have mobile, cablet TV, DTH and all but no real means for Broadband Internet. :(:(:(
What are the options before me? I am not rich enough to convince companies to lay cable to my house. But I have enough money to go for satellite internet. The net logical question is "who's providing the service I want?". Search begins, google once again tries to help.
I go through this routine (searching for broadband internet) every 2 months. I am yet to find right answers to my question. Let me start searching again and waste more time.
Later.

Why yawning is contagious? Skoda Superb.

I had this doubt since very long time. But it wasn't as important as "what's the meaning of life?" Anyway, I suddenly remembered Internet and it's frontend, Google to clam my restless mind.
I realise, just linking up individuals and their petty information databases will not lead to answers for all questions. Oxygen deprivation, evolutionary habit,...enough silly theories which cannot be proved either way.
For instance, the theory that, oxyge deprivation makes everybody in the room yawn at almost same time. How does that explain yawning when you watch somebody yawning on TV?
Ok, this entry will induce yawning if this isn't stopped here.
My 5 yr old son other day wanted to buy a 2.7 million rs Skoda Superb. ( A car priced at par with C class Benz but with features of S class) Ok, I never went enough near a C|S class Benz to know the difference.
The features of Skoda Superb included Rain sensors (must be useful when you are using mobile while watching movie on dashboard DVD player while driving while..) ,rear parking assiting sensors, a small refrigerator, double AC vents and 100 little things which any owner may use for 1 time max.
Anyway, let me cut the chase. I had no money to spare for or I was cruel to crush desires of my adorable son. Sales pitch of dealer's representative. (repeated 4 times) "You live only once, Sir". Yeah, I know, you need not remind me and depress me. And I don't want to be a joker & pauper moving in such an expensive car.

Eureka Moment.

I was tormented about my inability to come up with a good idea for story. Ok, Tormented is too strong a word. I had an eureka moment yesterday night and now I have my bright?? idea. Hopefully it will get translated into a txt file soon.:)

My Stupid Country.

I used to like my country when I was kid, due to indoctrination and lack of awareness. But these days, I find no reason for such "liking". But I find plenty of reasons to get dismayed. Let me outline some reasons as they come into my mind.

1) We have too many useless citizens.
2)Any thug can become anything (Even prime minister) if he has strong sense of purpose.
3)Caste, religion are hardwired into us.
4)We never try to learn from better societies.
5)We defend status quo.
6)Corruption is a way of life.
7)True liberty is absent.
8)Educated, privileged sections are most dangerous to this country.
I can go on and on, but there's no point. It's like life in this country. Pointless. :(

Midtown Madness & Lost Respect

My 5 yr old son unlocked a vehicle in xbox game by beating a track which I failed to in my past 10 attempts. And he lost respect for my video game playing abilities. Probably the first in series of such events in future.
:(

Conspiracy of Fools

I finished reading book by that name. It's about Enron. Or fall of Enron. The book is huge, 680 pages atleast. I was kind of daunted by the size. But then the whole book reads like a novel. It was very interesting. Ok, the story goes like this. Enron was into gas trading and pipelines. Some bright minds wanted to change the way the gas is traded. Along the way, they changed the method by which they account for things.
They wanted to show better results every quarter. So they resorted to "creative" accouting. Top management wasn't aware of the manipulation and they never tried to be aware. One not so competent , but very manipulative guy took advantage of prevailing circumstances. He gained favour of right people and started implementing his not-legal-but-money-making ideas. His superiors and board just wanted results and didn't bother about details.
And dissent voices if any were not heard or enough cared for. Salaries were high, accountability low, procedures stupid. Everybody practically did what they wanted. Build unviable power projects around the world (Including one in my country, India), try to implement same business models in water trading, try to trade bandwidth, manipulate electrcity transimission&trading in california, ....
Everybody was busy in his/her pet project, fame building, and the chief villain was making atleast few million dollars along with his homosexual lover. The accounting companies which should have objected to some stupid practices didn't do so, because they were consulting as well and didn't want to lose all that fees.
Ok, the bubble had to burst sometime. And when, the first signs of trouble came, the top management thought it was a minor irritation and business will continue to be fine. They never tried to sit down and take account of what's happening and what needs to be fixed. They were in denial.
By the time, some sincere fellows tried to save company from collapse, it was too late. If there was something called destiny for companies, it was bad for Enron. There were couple of occasions (sale of international operations and last minute planned merger with Dynergy, another similar company) failed in the last moment while looking certain all through.
There is no single person that can be blamed for the whole fiasco. Too many people were lazy and few people were greedy and almost everybody was stupid. The main villain (CFO) was made to return his money and sentenced to 10 yrs in prison. The chairman and CEO still await their fate.
How can few yrs of imprisonment be just response to the events that happened. Justice system is something, I still fail to understand. I guess, justice works by example. Reformation of individual and all is hogwash. If a 60 yr old is sentenced to life, what bloody difference does that guy's reformation will make, even if that happens.
Ok, coming back to topic on hand, things I learnt about running a business are (not necessarily from this book) are
1) Be aware of assets, liabilities and their dynamic value.
2) Cash Flow.
3) Never allow any employee to be lazy.
4) Squash first signs of greed by any employee.
5) If borrowing costs are more than Rate of returns on the capital employed, take a serious look at business.
6) Don't do business to look good to others. Just do what's good for business and if it appears good for public, it's a bonus.
7) Don't feel self important and don't get carried away by your image.(If you are CFO,CEO and such stuff)
Ok, I don't plan to be management Guru. So I will stop here. :)

Media In India

I have major problems with Media. Let me elaborate.

Telugu Media.
The standards if any, are fallin every moment. With the explosion of Television News channels, the trend towards negative sensationalism is growing without bounds. News papers, just to show that, they can compete are following the same trend. They don't care about sensitivities involved. Even rumours appear on the front page. The news is never comprehensive. They ask what they want to ask and not what public wants to know. Commercial interests and content are no longer separate. News follows money follows news. Blackmailing is a common trend. I hate everybody bar none. For personal reasons and higher reasons.

Hindi Media.
I don' know much about Hindi media. I just know about few channels. They appear crude, but they are much better than telugu media. But when it comes to comprehension, they can do better. I guess, the attempt is towards matching the requirements of Indian situation. And probably they are doing well on that front.

English Media.
Polished. And dangerous if believed. I don't know why English news papers, channels take sides. Some go againest Right Wing, i.e.. BJP and gang, some go againest Congress, commies and other gang. Why can't they simply go according to situation? Why shold they be prejudiced? I believe some media houses are controlled by vested business interests.
I am pained at the state of Indian Media. They don't tell us what we need to know. They tell us which is in their interest. Politicians, industrialisits, businessmen, bureaucrats , media all these fellows are in bed together and they know how to protect each other's interests well. One may wonder who else is left. I believe atleast 80% of population is left out. :(

Story,Cinema & Sex

Ok, Sex was for attention. I want to write some story. I am not clear about content, size or anything. I want to make a film. Again I lack clarity. I know what I don't want. I don't want artificial drama. I feel all literature, movies are works of fantasy. OH. One fundamental question is why do we need literature and cinema or for that matter any other art?
I am not confident that, I will be able to find an answer for that.
Coming back to my story, I have lot of material, just don't know the correct recipe. I have such fundamental questions like "does story need to have a structure, a purpose, a theme..?"
I should not allow all these questions from attepting something. So I will start writing something today and hopefully be done with that in few days. Most probably I will hate what I have written very soon. But then, I want to take snapshots of my stupidity. Without a reason, as usually, ofcourse.:)

Crying

What happens when you cry before somebody?If the other person is intelligent, he/she will console you, will pull you into discussion, make you feel good..
What after that? Somehow you have become a lesser individual before that person. You cannot afford to offend that person. You feel inferior to that person.
Advice: Don't cry, don't become dependent.

Comments.

I see that visits to my blog increased. I hope they are not some bots. :) But I see no comments. Probably my posts aren't comment worthy. :) On this occasion I rededicate myself to the cause of blogging. ;) Whatever Crap.

A kidnap, A stealing gone wrong.

Scene:
A car with a driver and executive. Traffic light turns red. Car halts. A stranger pushes himself into car and threatens the executive at knife point. The executive is frightened and doubts if he is the right target. The stranger clarifies his intent and the choice of victim. Takes the car to a distant location. Asks the executive to part with specs so that, he cannot recognize the people. He asks the driver and the executive about contents of bag. They say "files". But the stranger opens the bag and verfies it himself to find 1.7 million Ind Rs. He says "thanks" (not exactly) and parts before saying " I need 3.3 million more or your life will not be spared".

Suspects:
Some ex friends/ non friends of management, professional rivals (HaHaHa)

Day 2: Investigation and none found out. thinking about assigning to a private detective.

Day 3:
Job assigned to private detective. But by night, police crack the case. Driver is the villain. Driver who was so loyal for so many yrs. :( :( :( Time to talk about "un-believ-ability, un-reli-ability, our luck,...blah,blah,blah"

The Death of a Government Clerk

That's title of a short story by Anton Chekhov. That person is one capable guy of dishing out all sorts of sad stories. Coming to this particular weird sad story, A clerk dies out of paranoia. Paranoia that, he had caused trouble to his superior.
Why that story now? Attimes, you get some doubts with no means to clear them. IF you continue to concentrate only on them, paranoia sets in. A sort of obsession waiting for answers even when you know they are not forthcoming.
Absurd post, right?

Fever

Fever slows down your brain.
Fever gives you a reason to abstain from work.
Fever allows you to catch up with latest video games.
Fever helps in reduction of weight.
And many more things which my mind is not able to conjure up now due to reduced agility.

Self Pity, Self Indulgence

A friend once told me that self pity is bad, very bad. I add self indulgence to the same category. But then for any south asian fed on movies and regional myths, it's difficult not to be melodramatic in thinking and action.
We feel bad about "accidents". We just don't do anything about them. We keep remembering the lost loves. We don't want to look at our mistakes. We keep thinking about "What might have been?". .....
What happens when you stop being a typical South Asian. No self pity, no self indulgence, no unnecessary emotion (necessary emotion might as well be oxymoron),..
Life will be as bland as it can be. But then it's your choice. Do you want an interesting bumpy ride in life or you want to sleep walk through life?

Observation

The very act of observation changes the observed. Some great physics theory. Why now? I want to be observer. But do not dare to be.:(

NotProud.com

This is one site I like a lot. What's that about? In their own words.

"All confessions are anonymous.
There are those that may contain ideas
or words offensive to some. Confessions
are as we see ourselves. It is not always
pretty but it is often illuminating."

One feature I would like in that site will be zipped file of all confessions till date.:) That will be great story material. Don't you think so?

Lost

I don't remember what my thinking was like when I was small. I am not hopeful that, I will remember what I am like today, when I grow old. I do not want to live life to record it. And do I want to remember what a trash I was?
Some questions are answered only long after they become irrelevant.

An idea

We keep reading about threat of portable nuclear weapons and terrorists. What if state tries the same thing? I believe it wouldn't be very difficult to smuggle a suitcase, whatever be it's contents. Say country X smuggles 10 such things and places them in 10 strategic locations of country Y. Does X ever need to fight a conventional war with Y?
Still better, Y also does the same thing.:)

Boring

Lot of people in this world are boring. Rather, interesting people are too few in number.