Random Notes

Pure and Stunning Talent

2009-10-19T07:21:00.003+05:30

Again, it was a long break for me from blogging.

This time I come back with something stunning that I ran into on Facebook and finally dug out the actual thing from YouTube. When Britain's Got Talent and America's Got Talent topped charts and shot people like Susan Boyle to fame, Kseniya Simonova, the winner of Ukraine's Got Talent was probably unnoticed for a while till she came up with this performance. Her fingers work magic. I can't do stuff with pencil, paint and brush on paper, using sand and creating stories live on a back lit table with sand on it is beyond me.

Watch this video and if you are not moved, let me know.

If you are not able to see the video above, you can go to this here to watch her performance.

When I go back and think about people like Sanjaya Malakar making it big, it all looks like a joke that is not even funny.

Long Time

2009-08-30T11:21:00.004+05:30

Its been a long break from blogging and I have been very infrequent on Facebook and Twitter as well. Thanks to the disaster recovery exercise I am doing on an underestimated project which was terribly understaffed.

I like the idea of them trusting me with the recovery exercise, but then, felt very depressed not being able to enjoy the small glimpse of monsoon that Hyderabad got. Added to this, going home just for sleeping was not making me feel any better. But few people working with me truned out to be good and that helped me make things better.

Situation is slowly improving ...

I think I said this before, but I say this again. Incompetence rules the world and the whole world actually is running because of few heroes and "free electrons".

Whatever be the field, "team work" is just theory if you don't have the right people.

Think Of The Chances

2009-07-13T10:47:00.002+05:30

Just read a bizarre news:

... bullet from a gun that was accidentally dropped injured a Tampa woman sitting in a bathroom stall. Police said the bullet hit 53-year-old Janifer Bliss in the lower left leg. She was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Just think of the chances.

In India, people do "potty" in public places giving a feast to the eyes (especially the passengers of Indian Railways). No casualties reported till date even in the case of communal riots or gang wars.

India - "order amongst the chaos ..."

Solution To Our Energy Problems

2009-07-09T12:32:00.001+05:30

A solution to our energy problems are found and I see a huge potential for this in India.

Recent study from Ohio University shows that urine is a clean energy source.

One molecule of urea, a major component of urine, contains four atoms of hydrogen bonded to two atoms of nitrogen. Stick a special nickel electrode into a pool of urine, apply an electrical current, and hydrogen gas is released

Now, this is some useful research being done and some serious output. The article says that we could end up having Hydrogen (read: Urine) powered cars and electronic devices in as soon as six months.

VOILA! We are turning into walking energy sources and at any point, if your car runs out of fuel, the solution is right INSIDE you. Probably people can pee into their fuel tank instead of trying to find a bush to go behind or trying to find a urinal (which seldom happens).

Now I think India can become a superpower!

But, I am just wondering how to manage the stinking smell from your car's fuel tank or errr ... from the iPod in your pocket which is going to be powered by urine!

On a serious note, do read the benefits of hydrogen-powered vehicles. With a huge livestock supply in India, I see a tremendous potential in generating energy by processing the animal waste and hopefully most people ( ... usually filthy in nature by urinating anywhere) will stop passing urine at public places and consider urine as a precious asset and put it to good use.

The Great American Airplance Toilet Experiment

2009-07-08T22:05:00.005+05:30

(if you are not able to view it here, please use this link)

So what did we learn?

(via bitsandpieces)

If You Don't Like My Driving ...

2009-07-07T07:51:00.003+05:30

If in Hyderabad, there is a high chance that you will get this response verbally and you may just go deaf ... In extreme cases, you will end up with a swollen eye, broken hip bone or bleeding nose.

So, all the best if you are planning to tell someone that you don't like their driving ...

(via funmeme)

Thought On Budget 2009-2010

2009-07-06T14:35:00.002+05:30

It is great to see more funds for welfare and infrastructure in the Budget for 2009-2010. I-T exemption limit has been increased by Rs. 10,000.

Considering that only close to 1% of Indian population pays taxes, the benefits for the salaried class who pays tax looks to be considerably less than what was anticipated. Interesting part is that this 1% population usually don't have much impact on the election results.

Does it not sound like 1% is funding the entire machinery?

Dream Gadget For New Moms

2009-07-02T17:33:00.004+05:30

Managing a crying new born is inevitably the biggest challenge that new moms face. And to their rescue comes "Why Cry Baby Analyzer".

Its advanced frequency analysis technology only needs 20 seconds to let you know why your child is screaming to the heavens. Whether your baby is Stressed, Sleepy, Annoyed, Bored or Hungry, this device will identify it on its LCD screen.

Now, that is one hell of a relief for just $99.99. I am getting one for my wife with our baby due in December.

With so much advancement in technology, a much useful gadget for "man"kind would be one which detects why a woman is crying. One preferred feature added to the basic functionality is to find what it means when a woman says:

1. Fine

2. Nothing

But I guess the armageddon will happen by the time we find a gadget like that!

Thanks God! We Have Electronic Voting Machines

2009-07-02T16:26:00.002+05:30

Atleast Election Commission don't have to put in their FAQ if you are allowed to eat the ballot or not!

What Will Change After Delhi HC Ruling On Sec 377?

2009-07-02T12:39:00.002+05:30

Today, Delhi HC legalized gay sex between consenting adults.

In a breakthrough judgment, the Delhi High Court on Thursday legalised gay sex among consenting adults holding that the law making it a criminal offence violates fundamental rights

Note that, law that worked against gay sex has been "changed" to decriminalize such acts. #repeal377 was trending on Twitter, but the fact is that It has not been repealed and the law still hold non-consensual and non-vaginal sex as illegal.

How does the ruling change things?

My point of writing this post is different. Hundreds of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders took part in the Queer Pride 2009. The intention was to protest against discrimination and violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders and also to repeal Section 377 of IPC. While Delhi HC ruling is going to come as a relief from a legal perspective, I am not sure if things will change in the society.

There are millions of homosexuals who have suppressed themselves and gone into a shell fearing the society. With the way things work in Indian society, HC rule will hardly have any effect on people's mindset. Yes, people who participated in the Queer Pride march were forthcoming and will feel certain level of relief, but the people who have suppressed themselves, I am afraid, will remain in the shell.

A woman wearing some "bold" clothes anywhere in India or a woman stepping out of the house alone after 8.00 pm in Kerala stand a huge chance of inviting some harsh comments from own relatives or neighbors and even worse, get attention of the horny Indian men and resulting in eve-teasing or sexual harassment. Some of these reactions are unlawful and some are not. Much to the disliking of the "subject", typical reaction is - "don't wear "bold" clothes" or "don't step out of the house late in the evenings". Now that's society for you. Things are not going to be any different for homosexuals.

Changes to the law is great, but the mindset of the society needs to change. Till then, their fight against discrimination and violence will continue ...

Dogs Are Taking Over

2009-07-01T14:30:00.002+05:30

In a recent story, a dog ate a teenager's passport:

A Wisconsin teenager using a classic excuse for evading schoolwork missed a class trip to Peru despite his tale being true: The dog ate his passport.

And in another one, a dog ate a 50 yr old ladies personal checks:

"Her dog got into her purse and ate all her personal checks." The 50-year-old woman reportedly told police she had no choice but to take money from her former husband's account.

In the UK, Dangerous Dog Act is getting updated with law to protect postmen from dog attacks.

The bill aims to extend the law to offer protection to workers such as postmen and women from being attacked by dogs on private property.

It does not stop here. After the beauty pageants for dogs (Barking Beauty Pageant), the baddies of the "Dog World" had a competition for themselves, where Pabst, a 4 year old boxer mix was crowned World's Ugliest Dog.

They are demanding attention!

Things are getting even worse and this time in the search engine land. If I search for "search engine" on Google, "Dogpile Web Search"* gets listed above even Google on the first page!

Is this an indication that dogs are taking over the world?

This post does not intend to harm the sentiments of dogs or dog lovers. No hate mails please.

*Dogpile Web Search has nothing to do with dogs and is just a mashup of search engines.

Traffic And Premature Birth

2009-06-30T22:31:00.003+05:30

Very smart scientists, after research, have found that traffic is causing premature births.

As famous for its traffic jams as it is for Hollywood star power, the Los Angeles, Calif. area has another dirty little secret: Air pollution is sickening pregnant women who live near roadways, more than doubling their risk of a premature birth, according to a new study.

I just wonder that if this is the case, then 90% of the births in India would be premature. Forget about the air pollution levels - Unborn babies will push themselves out of the womb, flip the bird and walk away because of the abnormal noise levels from all the honking, gutters and foul smell from the overflowing drainage.

There Are Teachers, Then There Are Educators

2009-06-30T13:41:00.001+05:30

According to a news report, a certain private school in Washington was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lip stick, they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.

Every night the maintenance man would remove them, and the next day the girls would put them back. Finally the principal decided that something had to be done….She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night (you can just imagine the yawns from the little princesses).

To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

There are teachers.... and then there are educators

(via)

Mayawati Case: Show Us The Power Of Judiciary ...

2009-06-29T20:04:00.004+05:30

After a PIL was filed against Mayawati asking for a probe on crores of public money spent on statues of herself and Kanshi Ram, Ms. Mayawati came out with a statement that:

Memorials, parks and statues dedicated to eminent persons served as “lighthouse,” which provided inspiration to society for centuries

My eyes are still stuck at the word "eminent". This is way beyond narcissism. After reading this quote, my wife said - "Yeah! Inspiration to throw chappals".

I followed the story a bit and then I ran into a statement that she made in April:

"In his will, Kanshiramji stated that as 'Mayawati is my true follower, her statues shall also be installed', ...

Following Kanshiramji's will, my statues have been installed next to those of him at Bahujan Prerna Kendra in Lucknow and New Delhi, where his ashes are kept," ...

Quoting Kanshiram, Mayawati said memorials and statues of a person should be installed while he or she is alive. "That's why my statues have been installed in Lucknow and New Delhi,"

The concept of setting up a memorial for a person who is alive beats me ... that too by a person who was a teacher by profession before getting into active politics.

Now that SC has asked for explanation on the use of public money for statues, I really want to know what judiciary is going to do about this.

If it is about taking the statues down, just don't bother because the money is gone.
If it is about recovering the money that was spent on "inspirational" activities, then show us how.

New York Review: Thankfully Does Not Define "Mohabbat"

2009-06-28T23:30:00.002+05:30

New York is a very watchable movie with decent performances from John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Ifran Khan and Katrina Kaif.

For a change (that too a huge one ...), Yash Raj films does not define love, commitment, parenting or any of those things. Usually, there is an overdose of "mohabbat", "pyaar", "shaadi ka pavithr bandhan", "dosti" and stuff, but New York was so much better with none of those cliched concepts being put to use. Moreover, it exposed the audience to a different side on 9/11 which is very less known.

With Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai being greatest tortures of all times (... and then being termed as *larger than life*), New York is the most watchable movie from Yash Raj banner after DDLJ.

Transformers 2 Review: Bloody Long

2009-06-28T12:53:00.010+05:30

The plus point of first movie in Transformer series was that it was short, funny and had amazing special effects.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the fallen, was "OK" with the special effects and more autobots and decepticons introduced in this movie. Watching it on IMAX screen was special with some scenes specially designed for IMAX screen.

That's about the good part. For the flip side is that the movie is bloody long. I felt that probably because I was forced to be glued to the chair for whole 2.5 hours without any breaks. Prasadz IMAX screen does not give you any breaks. I had to buy 2 popcorns before I got in.

Megan Fox was hot in the first movie, but it took me few scenes to recognize Megan Fox in Transformers 2. Thanks to her new lip job which I found bad. I think, with all the lip job, she was finding it very difficult to hold her lips sealed!!!

Back to the robots. There are too many Autobots introduced in the movie who have nothing to do except pass on some wacky comments or stunts and then die. This time they have a lady decepticon in human form (reminds me of Terminator) sent to seduce Sam. The movie got a little boring where Sam Whitwicky gets emotional with his parents, Bumblebee and Mikaela.

Micheal Bay tried to pull off larger than life stunts at heritage sites like the Pyramids of Egypt and Petra in Jordan which looked great on IMAX screen. Getting the robots to do stunts in a heritage site was a great idea instead of having everything done in a crowded city which usually is the trend. However, the cameras were kept too close to where the action was, which made the whole thing look shaky and started giving me a headache.

The movie, for me, was too long, over emotional, not so funny and was definitely not as good as the first part. But watching on an IMAX screen probably makes it an "OK to watch" movie.

Answers That Blow Your Mind

2009-06-27T00:07:00.001+05:30

My brain just exploded ... Well, after seeing the Miss. South Carolina episode and the geography knowledge video, browser is too technical after all!

My Introduction To English Music

2009-06-26T23:10:00.003+05:30

It started with my visit to my cousins place in 1992 when he was playing some songs with catchy beats. I had never heard those kind of beats ever before. The vocals started and I found it ok, mostly because I could not understand crap of what was being sung. Considering that I was used to Balarama (Malayam version) and Poombatta, it was hard for me to understand anything that was non-indian accent.

I pumped the volume up a bit and my parents came running. My father said, "What kind of music is this? This guy is singing with boiling water in his mouth ...". I lowered the volume and continued listening to the album and it kept me glued to my seat with the peppy beats.

I checked the cassette cover, it said "Thriller" by Micheal Jackson. I still can't believe that I heard the album 10 years after it was released. Thriller was the first English song I listened and my introduction to English music.

Today, the world woke up the news that MJ passed away. May his soul rest in peace ...

Are Indian Men Just Too Horny?

2009-06-21T08:19:00.004+05:30

Rape of a 18 year old British girl in Himachal Pradesh by two cabbies (source). Gang rape of a college girl by two brothers (source) and friends. Another gang rape of a minor, but the 3 accused were lynched in Surat (source). As I write this post, Kashmir is burning over alleged rape and murder of two Muslim women.

All these in just last 2 weeks. I wrote about the shameful side of India in one of my previous posts also. This boils down to one question.

Before we even get to rape cases, I think there are some men who can strip women down just by the intensity at which they stare at women.

Are Indian men just too horny?

While speedy trial is being considered on a case by case basis, this does not assure justice to all the victims. Again, the slow paced judicial system is never going to instill any kind of fear in the minds of these horny men.

It gives out a feeling that the moral police think that all of this form part of Indian culture, else, being custodians of much treasured Indian culture, they would be taking care of this issue. Right?

I still think corporal punishment is the way to go.

God save us!

Doing What You Want?

2009-06-20T11:38:00.003+05:30

Robert Scoble asks, "Who has the coolest job?". The answers ranged from Barack Obama to Jim Long, NBC's camera guy in the Whitehouse. One of the answers was a guy who is a massage therapist for fashion models.

If you ask me if I have the coolest job, my answer would be NO. Am I doing what I want to do? NO.

For me, coolest job is any job that you love doing. It could be a writer, cartoonist, teacher, actor, stunt director, programmer, entrepreneur, etc.

Amit Varma takes me to this venn diagram through his post:

(image courtesy whatconsumesme.com, indiauncut.com)

I have been thinking about this for a long while and struggling because I have been paid to do something that I do well, but this is not I want to do. I have not learned to say "NO" much either. The fact is that I have not been doing much in the "what we want to do" area.

I continue to think about it and I confess that my job is the coolest.

So are you doing what you want to do?

It Happens Not Only In India!

2009-06-18T10:25:00.001+05:30

Many women taking the crowded train in Tokyo opt for women-only carriages during the rush hour to avoid gropers.

Now, for fear of being accused of groping, some are asking for carriages reserved for men as well.

I must admit that I was quite shocked when read that this can happen in a very forward city like Tokyo. If I have to think about the whole thing with India in perspective, the incidents in recent past (here, here and here) suggest that having men's or women's only train is going to solve the problem.

How about 3 feet law? (Women and men to keep a distance of 3ft in public places)

Of course, married people should carry marriage certificate if the couple want to stand closer.

How many souls did I just instigate????

Convenient Way To Get Free Lunch

2009-06-17T07:44:00.003+05:30

(Source)

A jobless Taiwan man released from prison stole a box of cotton swabs just to get arrested again because he "could not forget the police department boxed lunches," officers and local media said Tuesday.

This guy was smart.

But if jobless people in India were to resort to this method, we will need to have a central prison of the size of two states to accommodate all of them.

Ajmal Kasab's Tears

2009-06-16T11:21:00.002+05:30

The weeping incident took place after the prosecution produced the 'first' images of Kasab and his slain accomplice, Abu Ismail, in action at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), shot by the photo editor of a city tabloid, Sebastian D'Souza.

The news reported that Ajmal broke down in court after seeing the 26/11 photos.

Wasn't he bound to break down considering his friends were all killed in the attack? Or did he cry because he could have given posed better for the photos that are going to live on in the minds of all Indians?

Please let him meet John Abraham so that he gets some relief.

Reservation Or No Reservation

2009-06-12T23:46:00.004+05:30

In 1997, my Engineering and Medical entrance results were announced and I got 825th rank for engineering in the state. With this rank, getting Electronics and Communications Engg. (ECE) or Computer Science (CS) at Govt. College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET), the Engg. college that was rated best in the state at that time, was very difficult. But I know people who were ranked in 1000s and 2000s and got admission at CET for ECE/CS. Thanks to reservations for Socially & Economically Backward Castes (SEBC) and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/SCT).

One of my friends who got 2000+ rank, but belonged to "economically" and "socially" forward caste, was literally in tears cursing himself for not having prepared well enough to score better and end up in a good college. He had to work hard to earn his rank and probably much more than few others who scored lower and ended up in better colleges.

Now that I have delivered my case, the question that I have is why do we need reservations/quota system in India?

Reservations/quotas are in effect giving oppurtunities to unqualified candidates as opposed to qualified candidates. Moreover, most of these candidates who enter the system through reservation, in most cases, eventually end up not being able to benefit from the opportunity as much a qualified candidate would have. If they were qualified enough, they wouldn't need reservation in the first place.

In no way I am trying to say that people who get in through reservations are inferior or less capable. But, because of the quota system, most of these people are not ready to compete.

Creating quota system for SEBC/SC/ST for admissions to IIMs or even worse in private sector, is going to increasingly hamper the system.

Admission to educational institutions and Govt. jobs should be purely based on merit so that the end product is of good quality. There are people who belong economically backward class and inevitably need financial support for completing education. For this, financial subsidies in tuition fees and miscellaneous other charges can be implemented (in fact these subsidies are already in place).

Here is the distribution of castes/class (source):

Backward Caste - 36%
SC/ST - 28%
Forward Caste - 36%

Almost 64% of the population is eligible for quota system where as poor people from "forward caste" hardly get any social or economical benefit over people from economically forward backward caste.

By implementing quota system, we may just be slowing down the productivity and efficiency. Having the system purely on merit with financial subsidies for economically backward (any caste) is the way to go.

Any reservations?

Find Out Why You Are Putting On Weight

2009-06-12T14:16:00.002+05:30

If you are puzzled as to why you are putting on weight, then you may want to cross check if you are married.

Yet another weird research just reveals that getting married or moving in with a partner will make you fat.

They were more likely to watch television together instead of going to the gym or playing a sport. Her research found that couples who lived together for more than two years – especially those who were married – were most likely to display similar obesity patterns and physical behaviours

Now, you probably know the reason. I am going to get a weighing machine and start monitoring my weight.

And all husbands beware!!! Your wife may just hold the marriage responsible!!!

As for "live-in" guys, if you are looking for a reason for break-up, here it is!!!

(via telegraph)