Sunday, April 26, 2009

From a forward at work.

I confess I didn't have the patience to spend much time on this, but in case
you do..

The picture contains a whole bunch of famous people, can you identify all of them. Click on the pic.
Maybe we can do this as a group task, start commenting with all those you identify.
Person who can identify the most gets a prize of a guest post on this blog.

From here and there

1.) I started tagging my older posts (scroll down and look for the "Labels" section on the right hand side of this page). Still a huge task if I want to tag all the posts from day 1. However, I'm quite happy to see on going through some of the older posts that I actually like them and find it worth looking at them again. Too often, when I go back to look at something I wrote, I feel nauseated, so this is a good surprise. If/when this exercise is completed it might show some interesting patterns about the kind of things that interest me and that I write about

2.) I went to the other end of town for a meeting today, and bought organic mangoes from the lady of the house who runs a small shop out of the house selling organics. This seems to be a cool idea. Organic food seems particularly amenable to having lots of small neighbourhood shops selling them. I want to set up one

3.) And a note on one of the bees in my bonnet (or should I say closet): clothes. Think about this: you could evaluate your clothes by dividing the cost of the item by the number of times you wore it. You'd look for a low number to come out of the ratio as that would indicate that it didn't cost you much and you used it a lot. It seems an interesting way to evaluate the worth or the value you get out of it. Couple of points: especially for women, I think the value would be concentrated on a low end and a high end, with a dip in the middle, rather than evenly distributed. This is because there would be some pretty expensive thing, and then precisely because it was so expensive, we would wear it very few times, so that its worth by the above calculation would be very high. For eg. all the suits I've bought I've used only a couple of times, and then they've gotten too tight for me :-(. And then you'd have stuff like jeans, whose worth would be very low.

4.) We were at the doctor's clinic over the weekend, when a couple rushed in. Shockingly the lower portion of the woman's sari was completely stained in blood and she was in great pain and moaning. The doctor was quite upset -- this was her consultation clinic with no facilities for taking care of patients and the lady had been sent there mistakenly by a hospital. They were sent off to another nearby nursing home.
It was painful to watch. Since the doctor was a ob/gyn, it was probably a pregnancy or an abortion related problem. The couple was from a lower economic background. A sad reminder of how the other half lives, which we are insulated from, most of the time.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Mayawati

BSP UTTAR PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER MAYAWATI.......


The Economist's recent article on the Indian elections:
http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=13492427
is centered around Mayawati. It triggered the following:
A necessary though not sufficient step to get past identity politics and caste hierarchies will be to have CMs and PMs from the dalit castes. Perhaps we should just have Mayawati as the first and most unsavoury of these and have done with it.


Photo from raman raina on flickr, click through for more

And our man in Vidyaranyapura



The sensitive zenrainman has started a series profiling the lives of ordinary working class people whom we come across all the time but never really know well because we don't care to. I heartily applaud the project. Here's one, of a 'green leafy vegetable' seller in Bangalore. Sopppppuuuuuu !!!!

More from zenrainman:

A beautiful ecological home in Bangalore:



and

beautiful owls !

Our man in Tokyo...




Arvind Narayanan's recent photos from Tokyo can be viewed here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/goestoinfinity/EbisuNearMuseumOfPhotography#slideshow

Above photo is from that set. When will we in India ever figure out the attention to detail that went into the pavement in the picture ?

Our man in Tokyo

Arvind Narayanan is very excited by this artists photography and recommends it. I was not overly impressed:

http://www.yanagimiwa.net/My/e/project/19.html

Tickettttt !!!!

BMTC Bus, Ashok Leyland

I feel bad for BMTC bus drivers (and the traffic policemen, but that's a post for another day). They have to deal with so much crap on the road; scooterists (like me) weaving in and out, stupid-ass pedestrians (like me) crossing right in front of them, arrogant car drivers who think they take priority over the proles in a BMTC bus (not like me) and so on.
Wouldn't it be interesting if bus drivers in India got paid very well. Like say 60,000/- a month. Reflect on the effect of such an action.

Driving quality would improve a lot, roads would be safer for everyone. The socio-economic hierarchy would get some nice churning. Society would be placing the right value on human life and safety. And not the last, several kids who excitedly say "bus driver" or "train driver" when asked what they'll be when they grow up, will end up fulfilling their childhood dreams.

Seems like a good idea, no?


Image by kumar_08 on flickr; click through for more

Friday, April 17, 2009

I get many enthusiastic missives from Mohammed Abubaker and his friends of the sort:
==
Dear Friend, With due respect to your person and much sincerity of purpose I make this contact with you as I believe that you can be of great assistance to me.My name is Mr.Mohammed Abubakar,from the Republic of BURKINAFASO,West Africa. Presently i work in the ministry of 'Energy and Mines' as the secretary in charge of foreign contractors payment.I am contacting you to seek for your assistance and possibly, partnership for investment purposes in your country, if you sincerely make up your mind to assist and also cooperate with me fully to actualize my dream;I promise you will never regret knowing me.To enable us discuss further on how you can fully render assistance kindly get back to me soon with this my private box.Thank you very much for your anticipated cooperation. Sincerely, Mr.Mohammed Abubakar.
==
No doubt you have been presented with such business opportunities too. There is surely a hilarious story to report, that will result if one follows up on one of these mails with the same false sincerity that it was sent. But somehow I don't have the energy for it. Perhaps someone else can pick up the challenge...

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Nattering Nabobs ?

Met up with an ex-colleague Aparajith who went off the beaten track to do a Ph.D on the history of engineering at Imperial College UK.
Photo at a restaurant in Bangalore

Tell it like it is, Manmohan !

Manmohan Singh rips into L.K.Advani today:
 
"Mr. Advani has the unique ability to combine strength in speech with weakness in action. This is not the kind of strength we need"
 
"..But unline the NDA's prime ministerial candidate, I will not be found weeping in a corner while hoodlums tear down a centuries-old mosque. Nor will I be found wringing my hands in frustration while one of my Chief Ministers condones a pogrom targeted at minorities."
 
Not all good though: He offered a weak defence regarding the lack of justice for the killings of 1984.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

A little fun with Vibhat





Vibhat (good friend) sent me mail after a long time. Mail thread went like this:

===
From: Vibhat Nair
Subject: What is your phone

I seem to be missing it. How is ptiya with her pregnancy?


====
From: Vijay Krishna
Subject: Re: What is your phone
My phone is a Nokia low ender, don't remember the model (I want to start a website http://cheapestmobileinindia.com) . 'Ptiya' is doing fine !

More later,

Vijay Krishna

====
From: Vibhat Nair
Subject: Re:What is your phone

Dude: you are a true nerd. what is your phone no.?

====
From: Vibhat Nair
Subject: Re:What is your phone


And. Oh the sensitivity to typos. What will you do if you go an iPhone ?

====
From: Vijay Krishna
Subject: Re: What is your phone

What will I do if I go an iPhone ? Oh, I don't know, maybe I will teach it some english ?

Phone no is 98801 37097. Also Skype seems to work fine, I am x_vijay.
Good to hear from you, btw :-) and even better to rag you,
Cheers,

Vijay Krishna
===

I got the better of that exchange didn't I ?
Here's a contest, why don't you come up with *your* smartalecky response to Vibhat's mails, and we'll see who's wittier. If you insist (and yes, Arvind, we know you insist), you can take Vibhat's side instead and take potshots at me.

Ready steady go.

Friday, April 10, 2009

The Rise of the Shoe-ice Bomber

A brilliantly satirical piece by Sainath.I had no idea the man had this talent in him. Replete with puns:
 
The Rise Of The Shoe-cide Bomber
 
By P. Sainath
 
09 April, 2009
Counterpunch
 
When Muntader al-Zaidi hurled one shoe then another at George Bush in Baghdad last year, he couldn’t have foreseen the fallout. Doubtless inspired by the Iraqi journalist, Jarnail Singh, a veteran Delhi reporter, tossed his shoe -- a solid Reebok trainer -- at Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram. Jarnail works for the Hindi newspaper, dainik jagran (The Daily Awakening). For the Home Minister, it was a rude awakening. Jarnail Singh was miffed with the Congress Party for fielding two tainted candidates from parliamentary constituencies in Delhi in our ongoing national elections.
 

Thursday, April 09, 2009

As forwarded by Vishwanath:
My comment : My intaxication lasts for a long time, the fact that the money was mine in the first place (and went to the gourmint because of my incompetence) doesn't dampen it
 
 
 
 
 


==============


Here is the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding,subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the winners:

Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high
Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
Glibido: All talk and no action.
Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning
and cannot be cast out.
Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.


The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

And the winners are:

Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.
Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.
Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.
Negligent,adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.
Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline...
Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.


===

Vote for your favorite. I liked the Dopeler effect, abdicate, negligent, lymph. Tough call for the single favorite, I'll select lymph

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Hindu Muslim

WHAT A SIGHT...in a place where beliefs/religions live harmoniously together...here is a Hindu woman and Muslim woman...laughing and chatting together


We're never going to resolve the Hindu Muslim conflicts in India without understanding more about each other and where are these avenues for understanding? I don't know of any.

=======
Photo by audi_jo, clickthrough

Elections

Praja Rajyam Party Billboard


There are far too many political parties in India now and far too large egos that prevent parties from merging when they outlive their usefulness. I look forward to a period of consolidation when things shake themselves out and become more reasonable. But this election looks like it might end up inconclusive with a period of prolonged instability.

I have also the seeds of a theory that needs building out, that party-based 'competitive' democracy is stupid. It encourages competetiveness instead of co-operation. It encourages negativity -- the opposition party has to keep on opposing whether there is validity or not in the actions of the government. We need to find a better form of democracy. We could start with villages (though I have hardly any 'locus standi' to talk about what should be done in villages) and say that panchayat elections should be by consensus not by competition.

Jagdish Tytler over whose name a permanent pall resides due to broad public opinion that he was involved in the killing of Sikhs in the 1984 riots is standing from a New Delhi constituency as the Congress candidate. Disgraceful behaviour by the Congress party. Even if he wasn't convicted in a court, this is simply not on.


===
Photo of Chiranjeevi in a Praja Rajyam election poster by kalyan3 on Flickr. Clickthrough for more.

Comments:

菊水五郎八(RICE WINE)
Responses to comments:

Arvind left this comment in response to my Hindu newspaper posting, which I regretfully had to delete:
===
Dsyw, I liov toi hxifn nsoespape. Wheif elosp cso I tais to wposivis I wais to sao a bosiu os intellocisllly imspten fokxj wovit an uziantsox rveigistoaone of tss fecis uoefo tsi gixis os "baoxidke vici." Wheoc eisi in Iciks cao I tice to to sxi sdibids on tsi Cislens paydrll? Wsoer esol cib I tnor ta ffi asoi Tsiit pdidifigis? Wso eisk wsidirl esifitiris on ssoript 3 dsou a wsood asi on uncofitrollale tsivin lsik UG fsifine piolich tofiels Tinbokakoo ? Linf lins thi Hondi nispapr.

Dear Arvind: I am seriously concerned. I hope the isolation in Tokyo is not affecting you. Or was the above written under the effect of the local rice sake? Naughty, naughty! Nandita -- I would start tracking Arvind more closely if I were you!
====
Sidharth: Apologies for the self-indulgent post (self indulgent blog?). I was referring to the fact that the Hindu has a blind spot as far as Tibet is concerned; it vociferously defends every action of the undemocratic chinese government in Tibet. So when you see an article with a title like "Tibetans enjoy comforts of progress" it is not even worth reading the article to see if it has anything reasonable in it.
====

Sajini, sorry for the broken link, the right link is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sidwork/
Enjoy!

=====
Photo of sake by rossorosso on Flickr, click through for more

Friday, April 03, 2009

Stupid-ass Hindu newspaper

Tibet-5637

"Tibetans enjoy comforts of progress" is an article today.
Atleast they also had an article by Sainath.

No one else is allowed to criticise the Hindu here! (least of all you Arvind!). Only I do: as a passionate supporter of the Hindu, I am allowed to point out its faults.


PS: In reference to a recent previous post, now to expect the Shiv Sena goons to beat me up for being critical of hindus.

Photo from Dennis Archer on Flickr, click thru for more. Search for 'Tibet' on Flickr for some gorgeous images.

Hot news

Rather quietly without many people knowing it (well, at any rate without me knowing it, and without announcing it on our class mailing list), C.V.Shankar, physics genius and good man, and May, math cat and good friend, had a baby recently.



Clickthrough should take you to the album let me know if it doesn't (Sajini, haven't yet checked the problem you reported earlier).

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Terminal City

mumbai under attack....
Shiv Sena goons in Mumbai attack the house of the court-appointed advocate who is to defend Ajmal Kasab

(Photo from Dharmesh on Flickr, click through for more)