Purpose of blog

I've seen this as part of the user profile on a few blogs. The best comment I've come across till now is - Huh !!!

Less is truly more in this case.

Anyway, I think I have come up with a whole new use for my blog. I'm going to use my blog to measure something intangible.

Vetti, in tamil, is jobless. I call the act of being vetti as vettiness. My measure to quantify the extent of vettiness is called vettiness quotient.

How does this vettiness quotient work ? The relationship I have devised is - Vettiness quotient is directly proportional to the number of posts in a month. Since I am fixing my sampling period to a month's time, this measure will vary month on month. Every month there will be a vettiness quotient value which will be comparable over time.

If I remember right, December 2007 has the most number of posts by me. Thus proving that my vettiness quotient is at an all time high right now.

Damn, today is 30th dec. I still have a day to go. Maybe tomorrow I'll post something and beat my own record.

That will be fun. A record that lasted one day. That should be a record by itself. I'm getting rather good at this.

No guts, No glory

She knew they were out to get her. This is what she had to say.

"I did not come this far in life to be intimidated by suicide bombers"

Read the full article here

Interesting, how courage can be so easily interpreted as stupidity.

Food habits

I have heard that fear will make you do stupid things. Stupidity will obviously make you do stupid things. Guilt will also make you do things. Things I find amusing.

I heard this from so many of my friends. I thought it was hilarious then. One day, I saw it with my own eyes.

My friend and I go to this eat out. We order our food. I get myself a stroganoff and my friend opts for pasta. We sit there, waiting for our food, discussing world views, in vain of course. Words seldom translate to action. I have no qualms in admitting that I'm a lazy bum.

This couple come sit at the table next to ours. The guy was actually a rather large man. What I meant was, he was fat. But that would be politically incorrect. So, the guy was a rather large man. His companion was a not-so-large girl.

Our tables were close enough for us to hear what they were ordering. The girl went first. She asks for Caeser salad and mixed fruit juice. The guy orders meat lasagna and a large order of fries. The waiter leaves and then the fun begins.

We can hear the girl hissing at the guy. She's like, "What the hell was that ?". The guy knows he's in deep shit. Just doesn't know why. He's got this puzzled look on his face. She says, "I thought we were on a diet". Realisation dawns. My friend and I can now read the guy's mind. He's thinking, "Damn it. What was I thinking ? I'm not out with the guys". He doesn't say anything. Immediately calls for the waiter and says this.

"I'll have a diet coke to go with that please."

So, its official now.

If you can get a girl to admit that she's on a diet, it really means she's on a diet. If a guy says he's on a diet, it means he'll settle for a diet coke.

** This post is dedicated to a good friend of mine. If she hadn't asked, I probably wouldn't have written this.

Whats wrong with people's sentiment ?

Today is Christmas. I'm actually pretty good at stating the obvious. So, I'll say it again. Today is Christmas. I can do it again, but then I would be repeating myself.

So what do I do ? Nothing special. Watch American Gangsters. Listen to some Arabic lounge/chill-out music. Drop into office for a couple of hours. Make a mental note to get some roasted turkey in the evening. Of course, I wish all my Christian friends.

I am sure that there are secular people out there like most of our national political parties, committees backed by various religions which would be pissed off at me for making that statement.

You are wondering what statement. "I wish all my Christian friends" - that statement. Let me take a wild guess at what they are likely to say.

"Sowji has hurt the sentiments of all the non-Christians in this great country of ours by not wishing them for Christmas. He should be stripped, beaten up and his soul condemned to the deepest bowels of hell. If he renders a public apology, then all is forgiven, his place in heaven is restored and all is forgotten in less than a day as nobody really cares about what he said."

I'm trying to understand this new trend in making public objections. The only constants are, firstly, somehow the sentiments of a lot of people are hurt. Secondly, all this fuss seldom lasts more than a day. Lastly, nothing ever comes off it.

Lets see now. On mothers day I only wish my mom and not my dad. Is someone going to accuse me of gender bias now ? Or maybe its daddy bias ?

If I'm not mistaken, there is something called Aids day, right. Why don't we hear anyone screaming that the "sentiments" of all the people without aids has been hurt ?

If anyone is planning to use the words "hurt", "people" and "sentiment" in the same breath or in the same sentence, I have something to tell you. I'm going to type it in caps so you dimwits will know that I'm yelling.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP"

Sandhaikku poogadheydee ....

Scene Sindhamani and Rouse Rangamani are priends. They decide to go shopping.

Scene Sindhamani wants to get herself a towser. She's looking at the latest that Versace has to offer. Rouse Rangamani is looking for colour glass. She's thinking, "I feel like Oakley today".

Off they go.

Aaru mani neratherku peragu .....

Scene Sindhamani is seen going home with oru kilo maidha maavu and rendu packet instant kaapi.

Rouse Rangamani is spotted entering her house with oru litre nallennai, oru kaali plastic cover and a paper cap.

Ooru makkal are bewildered. They are still trying to understand how Scene Sindhamani's and Rouse Rangamani's attempt at shopping can end in such fashion.

If you choose to extrapolate this incident to apply for all women, I am not going to stop you.

Namakku Puriyala.

I'm starting to like this guy

December 27th 2007, Narendra Modi will be sworn in as the Cheif minister of Gujarat for the third consecutive time. The prominent BJP party member single handedly crushed the Congress and the rebels to propel his party to a convincing win, silencing his critics both inside his party and outside. BJP won 117 out of the 182 seats with the Congress and it's allies only managing a paltry 62 seats. BJP finishing only 10 seats less than in 2002 when they won 127 seats. Clearly, Moditva announcing it's arrival loud and clear for everybody to hear.

The "Merchant of Death" per Sonia Gandhi is truly the undisputed "King of Gujarat".

Actually I don't know Modi well enough to start liking him. He's a close second though.

I was talking about Hugh Laurie.

Watched him the first time as Dr. Gregory House in the American television drama - House. Clearly this guy's brand of humour is sarcasm. House is a beautifully written character, full of witty one liners and a unique take on life - everybody lies.

If you are not obsessed with boring sob stories, which have more of background music than actual dialogue per episode, that pass off as television drama on Sun TV, I'd recommend that you watch House.

Be warned, if you don't understand sarcasm you will miss the true essence of the entertainment.


Happy Housing !!!

Bad combination

Have you ever tried listening to psychedelic music when you have a really bad sinus headache ?

I have. It's so weird. So much so that I'm typing this at the exact same moment.

Right this very moment I have a bad sinus headache and I'm listening to this really trippy song called "Star Shpongled Banner".

The only lyrics in the song are:

I am a secret magician
The sun is purple
3D dimensions
I am for mental expansions

I don't have the faintest clue as to what that is supposed to mean. But the song is kinda cool.

I think I'm high. 500 mg of antibiotics, two times a day.

Wow, I can see the music.

I think I'll lie down for awhile.

Mazhai, Kodai and Romantic peelings

What do these three things have in common ?

Time of occurrence.

No pun intended here okay. No gilma ideas pliss.

Chennai vaasi's will agree with me when I say that the weather has been pleasant for the past week or so. Temperature in mid 20's. Humidity somewhere around 70% accompanied with rains or heavy cloud cover. That is Chennai makkal's idea of heaven.

Sadly I couldn't enjoy to the fullest as I was down with a terrible cold. It's an awkward kind of illness, the common cold. My head felt like it was filled with molten lead. The otherwise subconscious act of walking became a conscious act of balancing. My eyelids were like power lifters, trying to keep my eyes open. You are not bed ridden, as in you can move around the house. You are not fit enough to be your normal self. Pretty much caught in no man's land. So two days I spent getting very familiar with the insides of all the walls in my house. Another day and I would have named them and started ranking them amongst my friends list.

Luckily, before I became like Tom Hanks in Castaway, the medicine I was taking started to show some result. Once I had the use of my upper airways, that is my nose, and didn't have to use my mouth to breathe, I just absolutely had to venture out.

So I took my car out, thinking I'll drive past the beach. Just as soon as I start out, the rain starts pouring down. Doesn't bother me as I am dry and snug inside my car and I like to drive in the rain. I've got Buddha Bar on my stereo, seat pushed right back, cruising to the beach.

Those of you familiar with Chennai and particularly Elliots beach will know there is a Spencer's store close to the beach. I'm bang opposite the store, about to turn on the street leading to the beach and that is when I see it.

This couple in the rain. The guys got his left hand over the girl's shoulder and he's holding an umbrella in his right hand. The girl is very comfortable leaning into him and they are smiling about something. Nice, almost cute even.

The girl is probably happy because the guy is acting like he's all sensitive and caring. The guy is probably happy because he gets to satisfy his male ego as the security provider or whatever. Or, the umbrella was meant for one and squeezing underneath that kutti kodai gave them the illusion of sharing. But hey, that's just me. It could've been anything. Feel free to fill in the blanks with any psycho babble that best suits your imagination.

There it is - Mazhai, Kodai and Romantic peelings.

I know you people have a mental image in your head right now. Zoom out on the image and know what you will see - Cupid's darlings are walking right smack in the middle of the road.

There are a lot of places for love struck couples to get comfortable. I'm sure, middle of the road, on a rainy day, in a city like chennai ranks pretty low on that list.

Purinjikoongappa. Thollai Thaangamudiyala.

Is INDIA really SHINING ?

Recently, BJP's L.K.Advani, in his speech at Shimla, Haryana stated that the campaign slogan used by his party in the previous election, namely "INDIA SHINING", was a mistake. He said it should have been "INDIA RISING".

I agree with him, but only partially. I think "INDIA SHINING" falls miserably short of the truth. India is not yet rising. It is still trying.

What exactly do we mean by India's growth story ? What does 8%-9% growth actually mean ? The PM, Manmohan Singh, says over the next five years India can achieve 10% growth. 10% of what ? GDP obviously.

Gross Domestic Product - defined as the market value of all final goods and services produced within a region in a given period of time.

Is GDP the most accurate measure for quantifying an economy's performance ? I'm not sure if the answer to this question is a yes. How can I possibly be convinced that GDP growth of 10% or whatever is a measure of India growing ?

The way I see it, growth should happen in more than just one sphere. At least two, namely economic and social. Of course there may be more, but these two I think are a must.

GDP increase shows economic growth. What do we use to measure social growth ? Actually I don't think it's social growth, it should be social development.

Lets take a simple example. The Sensex is an indicator of India's growth story. How many people actually know what sensex stands for ? If I were to say, sensex stands for sensitivity index, how many people would be surprised ? I'd say a lot. It's easy to get carried away by the hysteria and get brain washed into believing that all of us are in the middle of enormous growth opportunity.

The Sensex is based on 30 companies. It represents 13 sectors and the sum of free market capitalization of these 30 companies adds up to approximately 50% of total market capitalization. The Nifty is based on 50 companies. It represents 24 sectors and the sum of free market capitalization of these 50 companies adds up to approximately 60% of total market capitalization.

Both these indices are built on the fairly simple concept of sampling. We draw on a sample from a population and hope that the population is best represented by the sample. Anyone who has any exposure to basic statistics will tell you, that sampling techniques, however advanced they may be, are always accompanied with what we call "sampling error".

What is this error ? No matter how carefully we choose a sample, it never completely represents the population in it's entirety. There is always a chance that the indicators are wrong.

By using the sensex as an indicator, we are looking at only 50% of total market cap. The other 50% is neglected, on the assumption that this 50% will follow the movement of the other 50% which is being tracked.

When the sensex goes up, what does that mean ? It only means that the market cap of the companies in the list of 30 has increased or the market cap of some of the companies has increased to an extent that is more than the fall in market cap of the remaining, which has a net effect of increased market cap on the index.

So, the price of a few equity shares goes up and suddenly India is growing ?

Mukesh Ambani recently bought a plane for close to 350 million dollars. How many people do you think have bought anything for 350 rupees let alone millions or dollars ?

As an internationally accepted benchmark index, the Sensex is useful. It is an indicator of possible trends in the financial markets. Thats all it is. Nothing less and most definitely nothing more.

A 1000 point gain on the sensex over 4-5 trading sessions does not mean that in those 4-5 days India has suddenly become a better place to live in.

How has day to day life for the common man changed between the time the sensex was at 19,000 and the time it crossed 20,000 ? This has only affected those few smart people who put their money in the right place at the right time, those gutless people who just followed the crowd and got lucky and those really dumb fools who didn't follow the crowd but still got lucky.

You know why there has been no change in day to day life ? Because there have only been indications of economic growth and no signs of social development.

You can ask me what does social development mean ? How do we measure this development ?

With my limited knowledge on the subject, I will attempt an answer.

When a majority of people can write their own names I consider it as social development. When a majority of people have a job or are employed in some capacity I consider that as social development. When a majority of people can sustain their own livelihood I consider that as social development.

In other words, the measures are:

=> Literacy level
=> Employment level
=> Per capita income level

When was the last time you heard our Finance minister, P.Chidambaram, speak of anything that is not connected to the stock market ?

There are enough people to worry about the stock market. There are enough "analysts" to monitor, advise and comment on the equity markets.

Exactly who is going to worry about social development ?

If anyone can answer this question, I'll accept Advani's statement.

A Frenchman talking about love - fascinating or plain scary

Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile featuring Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot.

Just watched this movie. The best line of dialogue being the last line.

"The great ambition of women is to inspire love".

The original quote is by Moliere, a French playwright and actor from mid 1600's. Interestingly, the character Hercule Poirot, though he is from Brussels, Belgium, speaks good French.

It is precisely such thoughts, which on closer scrutiny turn out to be rather shallow, that fuel the already misled Casanova's of our times.

Would I be wrong in saying that the French are genetically flawed ?

The $ problem

This is not one of my pointless rants. This is where I show people that my interest in Economics and Finance is well founded.

Everybody who knows how to read will probably know about the US dollar depreciating. But I'm guessing that all you people would have had a very one dimensional view of the situation. You know, like how you have been working onsite with some I.T company and suddenly all the dollars you managed to save over the years are not worth that much rupees. Like how your bonus or salary revisions are suddenly going down hill.

I dont blame you people if thats all you have read or thought about. It's your money. You've worked for it. If it's being flushed down the toilet, hell yes you ought to be concerned. Please note, I use the word "concerned" and NOT "worried".

Thats exactly what I dont want to talk about.

Think beyond the amount that hits your salaried account every month.

Think Big.

Think international.

Think GLOBAL.

If you have any interest in international macro economics, read here. If you are genuinely interested in global economics, trust me this read will not disappoint you.

Opulent charm of fully blossomed purple

I have this weakness for purple. I mean the colour. During the course of this post you will understand why I disclosed that.

There I was driving down Nungambakam main road. Pleasant evening, about 8 on the clock, not too hot, not too humid, relaxed lazy weekend. I have a red at the traffic signal, you know the one just before Landmark. I pull up. I am listening to azhagiya tamizh magan songs. I increase the volume.

Right next to that signal there is this restaurant called Bella Cio (I think thats how its spelt). A red Maruti Swift pulls up. Out steps this girl.

I am going to pause for effect.

--Pause

--Pause some more

--Just a little longer now

She was, for lack of a better word, absolutely gorgeous.

Beautifully fitted deep blue low rider jeans. White tank top, just the right size. Light purple scarf, just hugging her neck. Perfect shade of glossy purple on her lips, as only liquid lipstick can deliver. Yeah, I know about liquid lipstick. I have friends who are very vocal about their choice in cosmetics.

I just sit there looking at her. Suddenly, I hear my steroe scream, "Saturday night, partyku pogalam variya".

I know it's a coincidence. But there I am sitting and hoping as hell, it's providence.

For those of you who didn't understand the metaphor, fully blossomed purple = purple rose.
For those of you who still don't understand, purple rose = enchanted, love at first sight.

25 years and filter coffee

The second an individual goes past this milestone, they are special. Between the time an individual crosses over from 24 years & 364 days of age to 25 years of age, somehow they magically become eligible for marraige. Overnight people become mature enough to handle a relationship and family, who until very recently are apparently not capable of taking care of themselves.

Enna nakkala !!!!!

Everyone from mom to dad, pakkathathu mama to therumunai mami, from edhirvettu uncle to pakkathu theru aunty, from paalkaare to veetu velaikaare, from every relative who's name you know to those whose names you don't know are asking you the same annoying question. Eppo ponnu paaka aarambikkalam ?? What kind of a girl do you want ? What is this ? They talk like girls eligible for marraige are picked off a shelf and delivered on demand. Reality is quite the opposite.

It's a herculean effort not to start reeling off this barrage of abuse and say, "poi coffee kudinga, aareda podhu."

Someone asks me this question once, thats fine. I very politely tell them that work is just settling down, maybe in a years time I am willing to reconsider my position. Problem starts when the same people come back and ask me the same annoying question in less than a years time - much much much less than a year, like a week or two days. Not just twice or thrice, but again and again and again and again and freakin again. Please note, I say people and NOT person.

Can someone please tell me why I shouldn't be pissed off ?

1 year = 12 months = 52 weeks = 365 days. Does that equation change for someone who's turned 25 years old ? Time suddenly flies by a lot faster, is it ? A year apparenly shrinks to less than 7 days.

All of a sudden, people are suffering from selective hearing. A "no" to marraige is just not audible. Neither is "paakalam" nor "eppo vendam" or anything to that effect.

Marraiges are made in heaven. What a load of crap.

Marraiges are made when a bunch of bored aunties are having filter coffee on an idle Tuesday afternoon. Let me attempt an explanation.

Vanaja* aunty says, "Yeindee amma, endha vishayam theriyuma unakku. Last week ennoda womans club secretary oda peranukku kalyanam aachi. Anga namma X avaloda paiyan Y oda vanderundha. Y nalla valandhutaan theriyuma. M.S mudichittu, eppo XX company la work panraanam. Adutha maasam green card apply panna pooraanam. Smart boy."

Suddenly, the home made sugar free mysore paaku and oil starved murukku are no longer the centre of attention. Girija* aunty next to her is quick to react, pounce on the opportunity.

"Appadiya mami, neythu dhaan madya kailas kovilukku namma A vanderundha. Kooda avaloda ponnu B vanderundha. Avalum M.S mudichittu eppo YY company la work panra. Periya manushi aaita theriyuma. Beautiful girl."

Hmm. There is this deathly silence for about 10 seconds as everyone tries to work out the politics between themselves, X and A. After another 10 seconds of second guessing and self doubt, consensus is reached - the group approves of X and A as in-laws.

"Appo Y ku namma B ya paaka sollalaamey." A month later, Y and B are engaged. Six months later, Y and B become Mr & Mrs Y.

Stop being naive. This is reality. If you don't believe it, you need to wake up and smell the filter coffee.

* All names used in the above narration are fictional and bear no intentional resemblance to any person living or dead.

Testosterone vs. Estrogen

Long flowing hair. Well shaped body. Tight fitting clothes. Carefully trimmed eyebrows. Facials. A conscious effort to pick the right clothes - the fit, the colour and most important of all, check for conformity. No one wants to buy outdated fashion.

Is that a good looking city girl or a metrosexual guy ?? I cant tell anymore. Uugghh.

I dont know which is more scary - guys actually indulging in this kind of stuff or there are so many guys who do this, there is actually a term for it.

Where have I been all this while ? What exactly happened ?

One day I get out wearing this faded shirt, old pair of jeans, a week old beard, devil may care attitude and I notice guys looking at me sideways. I pause to take a closer look at where I am. I always thought this is how guys are supposed to look like - rugged, like they have just been through hell and raring to go through it all over again, without as much as a second thought. Make no mistake, I still think that.

Did I skip a generation or something ? Did I have a star trek moment and find myself teleported to another dimension ?

I'm 25 years of age and I feel I am so much older. I cant recognise the kids who are entering adulthood. You know that age when you are still considering exactly what 19 - 20 years old means. When did generation gap shrink to a mere 5-6 years ?

Well, you let these kids open their mouth and you are happy to realise they still think their age. They certainly dont seem to dress their age.

Why is this happening all of a sudden ? Maybe its been slow and I was too distracted to notice it. Or I noticed it sometime back but was just too damn lazy to post it in here.

Is it the presence of certain men in mass media - models, actors, athletes ? I dont see this happening as much down south as up north. Hrithik Roshan in Dhoom, Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanthi Om, Shekar Suman on TV saying he's working hard to have a 6 pack like the 6 pack Khan. Typing that was so difficult, jeezzz. I dont understand this, really.

What is different in say, Abishek Bachan or Amitabh Bachan or Sanjay Dutt ? When was the last time any of these guys were clean shaven or tried flaunting their bodies ?

They are still popular right. How many people think these guys are handsome ? Exactly what is their sex appeal ? I'm guessing you know the answer. That is how guys are supposed to look.

I think every guy who tries to look otherwise needs medical attention. They are suffering from harmonal imbalance.

Too much Estrogen.

Velinaatu experience

Edward I LongShanks. Something he said comes to mind.

"The problem with Scotland is, its full of scots"

For those who don't know this guy, see here and here. What, still don't know who this guy is ? Go watch Mel Gibson's Braveheart. Again. Only this time, watch the movie and not only Mel Gibson. If you haven't watched it once before, you are even more hopeless than I thought.

Well, I have something to say myself.

"The problem with Britain today is, it's missing the Brits"

It took me less than 2 days of walking around the streets of London to figure that out. Trust me, you can't walk for more than five minutes on the road without seeing at least 5-10 people who are not Brits. They may be from anywhere - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Finland or any of the Muslim nations. There are so many immigrants. Sure looks like they are stuck with memories of the colonies forever - a constant reminder of what they once were. Now they can stand aside and watch the world roll right pass them. I saw a mosque and a Hindu temple but never a church. So much for a country which once played protagonist to the Holy Crusades.

It caught me a little off guard. Not once did I feel like I was in a truly foreign country. Rice and dal, roti and chicken tikka are never far away. Neither is unlimited chettinad meals, or nethali fry, vanjaram fry, squid masala. If you look hard enough you will probably find an odd sign which says "fish n chips" or "steak house". Don't get me wrong, now, I don't mind a steak house, especially if its well done and marinated in some fine red wine.

Maybe my observations are slightly skewed because my eyes were looking for familiar signs and remembered the ones I liked. But I can state with certainty there is an undeniable element of truth in what I just said. I'm not going to dwell into the reasons, economic and political, behind this phenomenon because I don't really care.

I like London city.

I was lucky to be received by pleasant weather and sunlight which was just enough to light the horizon. Enough to take photographs out in the open without a flash. The chill breeze late in the evening, the crisp air in your lungs when you take a deep breath, makes you want to walk - Along the Thames, around Hyde park, through Covent market, all around Oxford street and Piccadilly circus, all the way from Tower Bridge to Buckingham Palace, past westminister abbey and victoria station.

And walk I did. Not because I had to, not because there was no other way to get to where I was going. But because, that is how I think you should see London.

On foot, with just enough clothing so you can feel the cold and not be all warm and cosy. Without an umbrella in hand and the sight of impending rain every step of the way.

It was a good experience. It would have been even more fun had I worn the right pair of shoes which didn't kill my feet after the first thirty minutes. Nevertheless, it was worth the pain.

After a productive three weeks, professionally speaking, I am on my way back to Singara Chennai. I realise I am on my way home. Feeling glad about it. Couldn't wait to end my journey and get home. But it never really truly hit me until I got to Frankfurt airport.

Ten minutes to boarding time, I'm sitting in the lounge reading Financial Times, weekend edition - there is an interesting article about how Iceland, all of a sudden, has become the centre of attention in the financial world. Out of the blue, there is this mylapore mama's voice. Before I lift my head up to see who it is, I have this mental image of how the mama will look.

I look up and see my imagination in true colour - mama in his immaculately pressed Louie Phillipe Khaki trousers, Sparkling white Reebok sneakers, white and gray striped park avenue sweater and his new stylishly designed spectacles, gleaming in the single ray of sunshine that managed to make its way right on to the tip of the frame. Mama is of course talking to mami and by talking I mean having an animated conversation about how his grandson just cant keep his hands off his bristling white moustache, the life in his voice and the gleam in his eyes, so refreshingly genuine. Another mambalam mami joins the gang, and mama, ever so smoothly, offers his seat to the lady. Who said chivalry is dead. That moment Sean Connery would have been at a loss for charm.

I smile to myself, get back to reading Financial Times. I find out Iceland is interesting because it has one of the highest per capita incomes in Eurpoe and how the banking industry there has done a tremendous job in supporting the economy.

My eyes continue to read. My mind continues to assimilate the information. I feel this warmth spreading through me.

I am going home.

A man after my own heart

I dare do all that may become a man;
Who dares do more is none

--Macbeth, William Shakespeare

In defiance of economics

Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility.

Its a law of economics which attempts to explain the utility derived from consuming a product. This law states that for every additional unit of product consumed, the utility derived from the act of consuming it keeps reducing. Ultimately, if the consumption continues, it will lead to negative utility i.e. dis-utility.

Simple example, a person is dying of thirst. The first glass of water that he drinks will provide him with the highest amount of satisfaction or utility. The second glass, while still important, will be of lesser signifance as compared to the first and will bring him lesser satisfaction. If he continues to keep drinking water, ultimately he will puke which is what I meant by dis-utility.

This is what everybody knows, reads and has been propogated as conventional wisdom. This is how it looks from outside in.

Now, lets look at this from inside out.

An inherent assumption in this law is, there is always some satisfaction to be derived from performing an act and this satisfaction reduces with every additional performance. If an act does not provide any satisfaction, why would someone perform that act.

Except, a person has multiple needs which needs to be satisfied. What if performing an act satisfies one need but blatantly ignores another need ?? For example, a man wants to work in order to make money and he wants to enjoy his work. He finds two jobs, one which pays extremely well but the work absolutely sucks and the other which pays peanuts but the work is absolutely amazing.

What happens now ?? People, depending on individual preference, will take up one of the two jobs. This is not the best of examples for the discussion at hand, but still I'll try and explain as best as I can. The problem with this example is, the guy who picks the job which pays better is serving a recurring need. The need for money is completely and absolutely inelastic. No matter what else changes, there will always be a need for money which will absolutely need to be satisfied.

So he hates his job, but does it anyway because he needs the money. Doing something inspite of not liking it is not a great feeling. The dissatisfaction from this compulsion keeps mounting with every passing day and ultimately one fine day it will surpass the satisfaction that is derived from the money he is making. There is some truth in the "Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility". After all, it is empirically proven.

When that day comes, what do you think will happen ? One of three things, I say. One, he quits and moves to another job which he likes better but pays a lot lower. Two, he puts up with the frustration, takes is out on his family & friends and continues with the job. Three, he finds another job which he doesnt hate as much, but at the same time doesnt pay that much lower. One of his needs is either ignored or both his needs are compromised.

This is a simple example with just two needs. Extrapolate to a real life situation which has a zillion needs cropping up from every nook and corner. How can anyone possibly handle this situation ? There will always be some amount of dissatisfaction. There will always be some amount of depression. There will always be some amount of hate.

Pareto's law applies. 80% of happiness comes from 20% of activities.

Of course, every rule has exceptions. There will be people who only do what they love and with no compromise.

We all live in the hope of becoming part of that exception.

An exception where 100% of satisfaction comes from 100% of activities.

Speech written for V by Wachowski Brothers

"This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vangquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.

The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-a-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

Some of my favourites, not in any order of preference

"Veni, Vidi, Vici" - Julius Ceasar. More popularly known as "I came, I saw, I conquered"


"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are fool than to open it and remove all doubt" - Mark Twain


"Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them as much" - Oscar Wilde


"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative" - Oscar Wilde


"I am not young enough to know everything" - Oscar Wilde


"Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious" - Oscar Wilde


"Only the shallow know themselves" - Oscar Wilde. Got a soft corner for this one.


"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it" - Oscar Wilde


"Illusion is the first of all pleasures" - Oscar Wilde


"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake" - Napolean Bonaparte

"There is only step from the sublime to the ridiculous" - Napolean Bonaparte

"The price of greatness is responsibility" - Sir Winston Churchill



"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it" - Aristotle. Also this one.


"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted" - Albert Einstein

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one" - Albert Einstein

Wonder what he really meant

"Only the dead have seen the end of war" - Plato

Not many would be really familiar with this quote, including me. Not until the release of Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down in 2001. Interestingly there is no documented proof that this quote appears in any one of Plato's dialogues. Anyway, I'm not interested in verifying the authenticity of this attribution.

Irrespective of who might have originally come up with this quote, it is most certainly an interesting one.

There is always something to fight about. There is always a conflict of interest.

After all, "The purpose of all war is peace" - St. Augustine. Cant help but accept the innate truth in that quote.

I found the connection

Ockham's Razor

The most cited version of the Razor as found in Ockham's work is Plurality ought never be posed without necessity.

This is a principle attributed to the 14th century English logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham.

Paraphrasing, the razor sounds something like, "All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the right one". To be a little more practical, when there are multiple theories competing to explain a phenomenon the theory which contains the least number of assumptions should be chosen.

As I have mentioned in one of my previous posts (Yes or No, Right or Wrong), This is the Simplicity of True Genius at work. I didn't know what it was called then. I do now.

Try this if you want to know more.

God is who I think he is

Before you read on, none of the below mentioned is an effect of me reading or watching "The DaVinci Code". I dont want Dan Brown to get ahead of himself. I personally feel that book is one of the most over rated pieces of fiction ever written.

The 14th century church divides sin into two types:

• Venial - forgiven through the sacrament of Confession.
• Capital - meriting damnation.

In the later part of the 6th-century A.D., St. Gregory the Great (d. 604) in his work Moralia in Job, introduced the seven deadly sins.

Seven deadly sins. To make it sound more melodramatic, Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins.

• Lust (Latin, luxiria) - Depraved thought, unwholesome morality, desire for excitement, or need to be accepted or recognized by others
• Gluttony (Latin, gula) - Thoughtless waste of everything, overindulgence, misplaced sensuality, uncleanliness, and maliciously depriving others. Marked by refusal to share and unreasonable consumption of more than is necessary, especially in the case of food or water
• Greed (Latin, avaritia) - A strong desire to gain, especially in money or power. Disloyalty, deliberate betrayal, or treason, especially for personal gain or when compensated. Scavenging and hoarding of materials or objects.
• Sloth (Latin, acedia) - Apathy, idleness, and wastefulness of time. Laziness is particularly condemned because others must work harder to make up for it. Cowardice or irresponsibility. Abandomment.
• Wrath (Latin, ira) - Inappropriate [unrighteous] feelings of hatred and anger. Denial of the truth to others or self. Impatience with the law, or seeking revenge outside of justice. Unnecessary vigilanteism.
• Envy (Latin, invidia) - Grieving spite and resentment of material objects, accomplishments, or character traits of others, or wishing others to fail or come to harm.
• Pride (Latin, superbia) - Pride is known as the father of all sins. Pride is a desire to be more important or attractive to others, failing to give credit due to others, or excessive love of self.

Since i took the trouble of digging up the seven sins, i thought i might as well go the distance and dig up the seven virtues as well.

The Seven Virtues were derived from the Psychomachia ('Contest of the Soul'), an epic poem written by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (c. 410) entailing the battle of good virtues and evil vices. The intense popularity of this work in the Middle Ages helped to spread the concept of Holy Virtue throughout Europe. Practicing these virtues is alleged to protect one against temptation from the Seven Deadly Sins, with each one having its counterpart.

The virtues ranked in ascending order of sanctity:

• Chastity (Latin, virtus) - opposes lust. Courage and boldness. Embracing of moral wholesomeness and achieving purity of thought through education and betterment.
• Abstinence (Latin, frenum) - opposes gluttony. Constant mindfulness of others and one's surroundings; practicing self-control, abstention, and moderation.
• Diligence (Latin, industria) - opposes sloth. A zealous and careful nature in one's actions and work. Decisive work ethic.
• Liberalty (Latin, liberalitas) - opposes greed. Generosity. Willingness to give. A nobility of thought or actions.
• Patience (Latin, patientia) - opposes wrath. Forebearance and endurance through moderation. Resolving conflicts peacefully, as opposed to resorting to violence.
• Kindness (Latin, humanitas) - opposes envy. Charity, compassion, friendship, and sympathy without prejudice.
• Humility (Latin, humilitas) - opposes pride. Modest behavior, selflessness, and the giving of respect.

Restraint is the keystone of the seven holy virtues. The other holy virtues are created through selfless pursuits:

Valour — Pursuit of Courage and Knowledge

Generosity — Pursuit of Will

Diligence — Pursuit of Ethics

Patience — Pursuit of Peace

Kindness — Pursuit of Charity

Humility — Pursuit of Modesty

Several of these virtues interlink, and various attempts at causal hierarchy have been made. For example, restraint is implied in patience, as well as humility and most of the others. Each sin is a particular way of applying heroic attributes.

Prudentius probably wrote about seven virtues only because St. Gregory came up with the seven sins. This is very much in keeping with the concept of duality.

Its amazing. The complex nature of the schema that was developed in cross referencing each of these attributes.

Why did i type all that ?? 'Cos i got curious. Where does the concept of God fit into any of the above mentioned ??

I believe God is a notion. God is the quintessential human being that our forefathers made out to be. God is an icon that we should aspire to be. Faith is a social norm. The constant propagation of faith has made it conventional wisdom. With time, the true purpose of its creation has been forgotten and has been replaced with malicious undertones.

One should not blindly have faith. One should understand and then believe.

I've decided .....

You try to keep in touch with friends. You mail every once in a while. You call once in a while. You message once in a while and what not. The friend replies every once in a while, but only replies. Meaning your friend always only reacts.

It can mean one of two things. One, you are an idiot wasting your precious time on people who dont deserve it. Two, your friend thinks he/she is morally superior and is immune from the responsibility that goes into maintaining a friendship. Quite possibly even both of these things.

Of course, everyone has priorities. In an environment which has more than one participant, like a friendship, it is important that the priorities of the parties involved be reasonably similar. A time lag is perfectly understandable. A lack of initiative is inexcusable.

You have to decide for yourself how to handle this. I have decided.

Manufactured Reality

A model is a set of rules that defines the relationship between two or more states of existence. In the most common and simplest of cases, there is quite often a causal relationship between these states. There is always a cause and there is always an effect. There is always a stimulus and there is always a response. To be a little more accurate, the simplest case would be when there is only one cause which can lead to only one effect. The model gets a little complicated when we have more than one cause which can have an impact on the one effect.

But we are never content knowing that there is an impact. There is almost a pathological need to dissect the model and try to understand the nature of impact that each cause has on the effect. It is in the nature of man to question everything. Of course there will be exceptions to this rule. There will be people who are content not knowing things. I'm generalising, where will we be without generalisations. I'll get back to the topic before I diverge any further.

When we have multiple causes which can impact the effect, how do we study the impact of each individual cause on the effect ? Simple, we make assumptions. Lets say we have two causes which form the input factors to the model and the model outputs only one effect. The effect is a function of the two causes. In order to understand the impact that each cause has on the effect, we make an assumption that one of the causes remains fixed and the other is changing. The value of one of the inputs, to the model, is fixed and the other is varied to see how the effect, or output of the model, reacts to the change.

Once a relationship has been established between this varying input and the output, the same process is carried out with the second input keeping the first one constant. Ceteris Paribus, as the guys who invented the Latin language called it.

Please note, I'm using the word "input" and "cause" interchangeably just as I'm using "output" and "effect" interchangeably.

People mostly only remember the relationship that has been established between the input and the output and there is probably a brief mention of the assumptions made while arriving at the relationship. Of course, most of them are carried away by the newly found and pay less attention to the newly flawed.

Enough has been said about the inputs, the outputs and the models. Lets talk about the not-so-commonly-talked-about assumptions.

One fundamental fact which most researchers tend to ignore is, the relationship(s) derived are only as good as the model and the model is only as good as the assumptions on which it is built. If the assumptions are completely baseless and unrealistic, there is a good chance that the assumptions will never hold good and can never be practically achieved. Which means the test environment which is a fundamental requirement for establishing the relationship can never be created. Although the world seems perfect and everything falls into place on paper, when it comes to practice, its a whole new ball game.

Economics, simply called the Study of Human Behaviour, is the biggest contribution that has resulted from the evolution of social sciences. The economy or the people are affected by multiple factors at any point in time. The learned people before my time have managed to study the various factors and their effect on economy or people. All such studies are done using the same scientific approach outlined earlier in the post. Only problem being, the assumptions are all faulty. Pretty much every basic theory in economics which is currently being preached religiously by the academic fraternity is fundamentally flawed. The flaw being, the assumptions on which these theories have been devised are never practically achievable.

Law of Demand and Supply is a perfect example. Law of demand states if the price of a product is high, there will be lower demand, ceteris paribus. Law of supple states if the price of a product is high, there will be high supply as more suppliers would like to take advantage of the high price, ceteris paribus. One law is the inverse of the other. It's the law of supply and demand together that determines the equilibrium state where quantity produced, price demanded and consumer requirement tend to complement each other.

Ceteris Paribus is used in the above mentioned laws in order to isolate the price effect on the quantity produced. Other factors which can affect quantity such as consumer preference for the product and the availability of substitute products etc have been comfortably assumed as non existent or more realistically have been assumed as being constant.

That is never the case in reality. Consumer preference changes all the time. There are new products being introduced in the market all the time. The assumptions never hold and hence the laws are never completely fool proof. I can confidently extrapolate this to most of the theories that have been derived over the years.

In the famous words of Albert Einstein, "Reality is an illusion, albeit a very persistent one".

Reality does not exist. We only live in our perception of reality.

We live in Manufactured Reality.

Truth will set you free

Having said that, how many of us are truly free ? If it was that easy, how come we see so many people not telling the truth. I'm guessing there is more to it. What qualifies as a lie here ? Telling the truth but not the whole truth or not telling anything at all or a blatant plain vanilla lie ? Is a white lie better than a not-so-white lie ?

Obviously there is some kind of benefit that is derived from lying. A lie protects something or someone. People lie probably because in one or more ways it acts in their best interest. I strongly believe that all individuals are intrinsically capable of acting in their best interest. Hence leading to the conclusion, everyone has the potential to lie.

Sure, telling the truth makes you guilt free but at what cost. The truth will probably help you sleep better at night but only because you have spoilt someone elses.

For as long as one can live with the dead weight of not telling the truth, I suppose one can allow for benefits from lying to further one's self interest. But one thing is for sure, you can never tell the truth without hurting the one's you love.

What a rush !!!!!!

Pulse starts racing as the pace quickens. The curves are beautiful. I can feel the tightness all around me. There is a single minded purpose that is driving all my motor functions. There is a sense of excitment, thrill, and exhilerating pleasure. I can feel it peaking.

5 seconds ...
10 seconds ...
15 seconds ...
....... Here is comes, 150 kmph.

The mind tells me to back off but the heart wants to keep going. I force myself to pull back. Enjoying the moment, soaking in sublime bliss.

What a rush !!!!

Time is the healer, or is it really ??

Murphy's law states, "Left to themselves, things will go from bad to worse" or something close to that. Isn't this a nice little contradiction.

The human body is very resilient and the human mind is very smart. Both of which can come back from almost anything. But the mind controls the body and hence the mind is what matters. You control the mind, odds are you will have control over your body.

Lets say, you break a leg one day and the next day you crack your skull. On the second day, which of the two are you more likely to feel ? I say you will feel your head hurting a lot more than your leg. It is not that your leg is better and the pain has reduced. The brain registers pain in the same order of it's occurrence. This is the case not only with physical injuries, but also emotional. The major difference being, physical injuries heal completely with no lasting effects.

The mind is possessed by acts in chronological order. Given enough time and given the nature of man, there will be multiple occasions which lead to emotional pain. Something bad happens ten years ago and something bad happens today, which of the two is more likely to affect you today ?

You break up with your love partner for whatever reason. You have a fight one fine day, you part ways, don't speak with each other for over a year. Another fine day, you run into each other at a party hosted by a common friend. Does the passage of a year make things better ? Do you not feel the pain ? Do you feel any less stupid or guilty, as the case may be ? Lets say no. If the two of you had met inadvertently after two years, will it make a difference ? Three years ? .... Ten years ?

Time only masks the pain. Time only helps you temporarily forget the pain. Time does nothing to heal the hurt. Time only gives you the illusion of normalcy.

Doing things changes things. Not doing things leaves things exactly as they were.

Motives, Actions and Judgment

Some guy killed another guy because he looked at him sideways.
Some guy killed another guy because he looked at the idol of his god sideways.

What do you think society will call the guy who killed the other guy ?

The first guy will probably be called a psychopath and the second guy will probably be called a religious fanatic. Of course if you are a filthy rich psychopath, you could spend time in a Class A jail with all modern day luxuries, attend court once a month and let you hair turn gray in peace. Do I need to say anything at all for the other guy ? He'll probably make bail, compete in the next election and become a member of parliament. Anyway, that's not what I want to rant about. That's for another time.

The act is common but the perspectives are so different. A murder is a murder, no matter how people tend to brand it. What is different is the motive behind the act of murder. For the guy who committed the murder, his motives had everything to do with his actions. For the people on the outside, the motives had everything to do with their judgement.

It's almost never what you are, it's pretty much always what people think you are.

You kill one, you are a murderer. You kill a million, you are a conqueror. Go figure.

Yes or No, Right or Wrong ......

Imagine what would happen if every crimal trial could end in only one of two ways ? Every judgement would be so simple. Be warned, just because a judgement is simple it does not mean it is any less difficult.

Life without the gray areas. You break the law, you die. No mercy, no quarter, only death. Simplicity of true genius, I say.

I'm picking on the criminal justice system only because it's a convenient analogy. I do have a few lawyer friends, but this has nothing to do with them.

Shit hits the fan when we introduce varying degrees of right and wrong. In other words, we begin to compromise.

Is robbing a house less wrong than raping a girl which is less wrong than committing a murder ? One gets a few months in prison with a fine, the other probably a few years in prison and the last one probably more than just a few years in prison, say life imprisonment.

Let me make this a little simpler. Lets work on the assumption that the criminals are caught, properly prosecuted and sentenced. I'm removing the probability of capture from the equation. Any unwarranted assumption is bad science, but since this is a blog i'm not being as stringent.

I'm not sure what people can infer from this, but I see economics. Rather simple micro economics actually. If the benefits from committing the crime outweigh the risk in committing the crime, that crime will continually be committed. The equation tilts overwhelmingly in favour of committing crimes especially if I remove the assumption that all criminals are caught etc etc. This is a lot closer to reality.

I distinctly remember this from my college days, NOTHING IS EVER FREE. If you don't pay, then somebody else does. How is that being fair ?

What if we always pay the ultimate price? Nothing comes cheap, no compromise. You break the law, you die. I'm not talking about a neat execution where the criminals are granted a last wish, a last meal and then hung by the neck until death. I'm talking a gory death. I'm talking cutting the head off and returning only the headless corpse to the families. Sounds barbaric doesn't it ?

Do you think anything less dramatic is capable of coercing change ? Change has to happen not only at an individual level, it should also happen at the mass level. A person is smart, but people are generally stupid. To convince the people, you need something equally compelling. One high profile case with this law in effect is all it would take. With the current technology, high definition satellite transmission, people would be able to practically taste the brain matter.

It is very tempting to underestimate the power of stupidity and the power of fear. Fear will overcome stupidity any day, hands down. An attack on the most primal of man's instincts, survival, is bound to get a lot of attention.

I hate repeating myself but i'll make an exception here, Simplicity of true genius.

There will always be an argument that fear is not a permanent solution, it'll never bring a sense of peace. But it will bring order and considering the current state of affairs it will more than suffice.

Imagine all the accused in the mumbai hit and run cases are sentenced to death. How many people will still have the guts to drink and drive on the streets ?

I can already hear the human activists screaming their guts out. I only say, save it for those who are wrong fully punished. None of the others deserve a break.

This one is for myself

"I'm no Angel" by Dido

If you gave me just a coin for every time we say goodbye
Well I'd be rich beyond my dreams, I'm sorry for my weary life
I know I'm not perfect but I can smile
And I hope that you see this heart behind my tired eyes
If you tell me that I can't, I will, I will, I'll try all night
And If I say I'm coming home, I'll probably be out all night
I know I can be afraid but I'm alive
And I hope that you trust this heart behind my tired eyes
I'm no angel, but please don't think that I won't try and try
I'm no angel, but does that mean that I can't live my life
I'm no angel, but please don't think that I can't cry
I'm no angel, but does that mean that I won't fly
I know I'm not around each night
And I know I always think I'm right
I can believe that you might look around
I'm no angel, but please don't think that I won't try and try
I'm no angel, but does that mean that I can't live my life
I'm no angel, but please don't think that I can't cry
I'm no angel, but does that mean that I won't fly.

What if ......

your alter ego is of the opposite sex ? Does that person become your soul mate ? Me being a he, my alter ego will henceforth be referred to as she.

She should complete me. Isn't that what conventional wisdom is all about - the completely overrated concept of equillibrium ? If she is everything I am not, the two of us would be made for each other. What is she ? The absence of every trait that makes me, me ?

Lets see now, we'll never like the same things. We'll never agree on anything. All life would be a compromise. This is like Game theory. One person's loss becomes another person's gain. A perfect zero sum game. My misery becomes her happiness and vice versa.

Do opposites really attract ?

Beneath the glossy veneer of this irrationally romantic illusion lies the harsh reality that most people tend to comfortably ignore.

She wont complete me. She will end up pissing me off and i'll end up returning the favour. Not neccessarily in that order.

If she is perfect, just to reinforce my initial assumption - she is my alter ego and not a person, (it's really easy for people to get carried away with this line, so i'm being just a little cautious) as in she is everything I am not - I can never love her, but given the right circumstance(s) I can come to hate her.

Life with her will always be like Game theory, but it should never be a perfect zero sum game. All her misery should not become my happiness or vice versa.

If a little of her misery becomes a lot of my happiness AND a little of my misery becomes a lot of her happiness, now that is a she, I will definitely be interested in. For this to happen, she should never be perfect.

She should never be everything I am.
She should never be everything I am not.
She should always be something I am and something I am not.

Who is she ??

If I ever write a book ......

Not a bad idea. My one chance to make an impression on this pathetic, miserably misled world. Me likey. I decide to take it further.

What will be the name of my book ? I wouldn't like to make it sound very profound. It might scare people away from reading it. Atleast the title needs to be appealing. I cant think of a name.Ahaa. Something clicks in my head. I think, what if I dont name my book ? The title of my book would be - Untitled. Excellent. I like it.

What should I write about ? I consider the broad genre of topcis. Fiction - no. Religion - no. Philosophy - no. Biography - no. Autobiography - Hmm (I think) ... no. I cant think of an appropriate topic. Thats when I decide to create my own topic. Something peculiar, which a majority of whom we call rational people would find irrational. Thats where i decide to leverage my ability to write ad hoc statements. I have the audacity to think i can get away with it.

The next phase. I need to add form, structure and substance. I have no idea what that means. Typed it 'cos it sounds cool. Another thought springs in my head. I think, what if I dont write anything in my book ? I try to imagine.

I put myself in the place of a reader entering a book store looking for the latest publication. The reader sees a book named - Untitled. The reader is curious. The reader picks up the book and opens it to see what the book is about. The first page is blank. The reader doesnt think too much of it as most books have a blank first page. The reader flips to the second page. Finds that also to be a blank page. The reader turns to the third, fourth, fifth page - all blank. The reader quickly brushes through the entire book. Finds the entire book to be blank. The reader stops to think. Maybe its a printing error and that copy was placed on the stands by mistake. Puts that copy aside and picks up the next copy. The reader, after the first experience, is quick to realise that even the second copy is all blank. Thats the point where the reader thinks - its a prank. The reader puts the book down, calls the writer (ironically), namely me, an insane little #$%^@# and leaves.

I come back to reality.

I realise thats exactly what i'm looking for. A book which most rational people would think is irrational.

Ahaa, I'm a genius.

The poet in me ... or so I like to think

the subtle submergence of silken veneer brings forth the facade, a visage that deceives ...
a venial offense forgiven by the sacrament of confession ...
the cardinal vice that can veer a man's sights ...
the opulent charm of fully blossomed purple ...
i offer my enamored self to your comely virtue ...

wrote that for a friend of mine ... not sure if i used the right words or even if the metaphors mean what i intended them to ... kinda liked it ... putting it here.

Why don't we write letters anymore ?

Let me guess - Email is way too cool. Mobile phones are cheap. Lets all embrace technology and allow ourselves to be consumed by it.

Sure. I've heard the talk about how technology has brought the world closer. Who would have thought of outsourcing if not for technology and not to mention generations being brought into this world not knowing what they have missed. India vs. Pakistan playing not in a cricket match, not a hockey match, not on any open air field, but in a virtual world of 3d games.

What happened to the good old blood, sweat and guts theme ? What happened to the personal touch ?

It is in the nature of man to seek out the path that yields the maximum return with least possible effort. Simple cost benefit ratio. Lets see now. Writing a letter vs. sending an email. Cost benefit reveals the following:

Cost(s) associated with Writing a letter:

=> You need paper. Jeez, who uses those things anymore.

=> You need a pen. The 16 year old's of right now don't know what that is, something to do with exams being conducted on a computer. The concept evades me.

=> Once the above mentioned items are in possession, there is of course the archaic, time consuming, physical act of writing.

=> You do need some semblance of grammer when you write to make sense, which means more of an effort in performing the physical act which is labour intensive as is.

=> Of course you need the envelope, the stamp and the complete postal address. Yes, "postal address" exists. Address does not always mean, who@idontcare.whatever. (this thing actually hyperlinks automatically, you see what i'm talking about)

=> To top it all of, the act of walking, jogging, running, riding or driving to a post box and posting the letter.

Benefit(s) associated with Writing a letter:

=> The person reading the letter gets to see your handwriting. Considering that the physical act of writing has not been performed in a long time, it is bound to be horrendous. Why do I feel this should also go in the cost section. In the interest of fairness, i'll leave it here. Handwriting, as sad as it may be, is a little more personal than electronic characters on a screen.

Now, lets try the same thing with email.

Cost(s) associated with Typing an Email:

=> You need a computer, laptop, or whatever cool gadget that allows you to send an email. (Possible arguement: C'mon who doesn't have one of these things at home, work, in the mobile.)

=> You need an internet connection or whatever cool technology that has replaced it. (Possible argument: Oh please, who has a computer or whatever without one of these things to go with it.)

Really cant think of anything else to put in here. But trust me, the benefits thingi is going to be a lot better.

Benefits(s) associated with Typing an Email:

=> It's probably easier to own a computer now than to set up a mailbox outside your home.

=> You dont have to be educated to type an email. Nobody uses the English language to type an email. Some sort of pseudo written english thing has taken over. Really not sure what this lingo is called even. (u get dis!!!)

=> You can send the same email to more than one person at the same time. Cool huh.

=> You can set rules, put your email in different places, chooe to ignore some. All automatically. Sounds like a secratary's job back in the 60's.

=> No more envelopes, stamp, postal address, nor the act of finding a post box. The "SEND" button conquers all. (It actually only takes care of the post box part but you get my drift right ??)

I could go on, but then i'd be stating the obvious.

So, do I still write letters ? The answer is no. Why ?? Not because of the cost benefit stuff I typed out just now. My equations are different.

Benefit:
I get to communicate with people. There are few amongst people, at large, whom I dont communicate with, but then i'm not typing this post for them. So, I couldnt care less.

Cost:
What cost ?? Approx Rs. 1/- per MB of data transfer is cheap.

I get to overcome my guilt for not having time to keep in touch with people I like using the sheer economic gains that can only be attained with the use of technology.

Thats why I dont write letters anymore.

Sciences and Man

“The only way to overcome temptation is to give in to it” – Oscar Wilde, Picture of Dorian Gray

At the onset it would seem like an irrelevant statement to the topic at hand. On the contrary, it has everything to do with the topic being discussed here. To dwell into the psychological realm of human kind clearly falls outside the purview of this post, but to try and understand the circumstances that determined the course of human development is the ultimate purpose of this post.

At a holistic level, I will attempt to articulate the connection between natural sciences and social sciences. George Soros in his Theory of Reflexivity talks about the same undeniable connection between the two, which he also successfully tested with the stock market as the test arena and the various participants as the subjects.

Man is driven by needs and wants. There is a fundamental difference between need and want. A need is something which is essential for man’s survival. A want is more of a luxury, something that manifests itself when the primary urge for the need has been completely satisfied.
For example: A man “needs” food for survival. A man “wants” pizza for a meal. I think the example is self explanatory.

Man has various different requirements at different points in time. But there is always a reasonably defined path that is followed when the change starts to occur. Darwin, in his theory of evolution, talks about survival of the fittest. That is man’s first and foremost, primary need. Survival, security, sustainability and eventually growth are probably the driving needs for all of man’s actions. These are social needs which attempt to rationalize man’s actions. In this case, man’s actions being the development of natural sciences or, in common parlance, technology.

The growth of technology is driven by man’s obsession to consolidate the satisfaction derived from one level in the hierarchy of needs and eventually to move on to the next. Right from the time when man learnt to make fire down to the latest development in the various area’s of science, the motive has been to consolidate and grow.

When one need has been satisfied, man moves on the next level of need. What we now know as industrialized nations, what we now call as commerce, and what we now see as economy is a result of the development in man’s social needs.

It is man’s social requirement which drives man’s creativity. It is creativity which leads to man’s insuppressible urge for curiosity. Both of which combined have now led us to this point in time where the creativity and the curiosity have overcome their dependence on man’s social needs and have come to exist as a self sustaining force.

It is my opinion that it is the psychological needs of man which has led to the growth of technology. It is also my opinion that mankind is at a stage where the rate at which technology is growing does not commensurate the rate at which man’s social needs are evolving. The ultimate need for man is a feeling of accomplishment, a feeling of satisfaction. That is a void, attempting to fill that void is the reason why we are still left innovating.

Economics in real life

Business ... Finance ... Politics ... the underlying economics is undeniable. This is pretty cool stuff.

Me, Myself and Moi

I think I have finally become articulate enough where I have found the right words to express one of my innumerable flaws.

I think I am consumed by the sheer unemotional force of logic, for the most part at the cost of passion.

Cant help but think of one of Murphy's laws - "Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence".

My past ..... My future

I find myself at the gates of Midian. I leave behind chaos only to find myself staring at the face of pristine insanity.

Moses took 40 years to go back and lead the Israeli's to freedom. Wonder how long it'll take for me to figure out what needs to be done.

I wake to a morning with no reason for waking.
Terrible fears replace reason.
I live in a world where to think is treason.
I think back to the time I lost my way.
Gentle memories replace my fears.
I can hear the song where my heart collides.
My thoughts are blurred.
Like reflecting light, glistening under water.
So close, yet so far.

Valentine's Day

SO WHAT !!!!

The "G" words

If the couple sitting at the table next to you are speaking in English, it's Globalization.

If it rains in the wrong part of the world at the wrong time of the year, its Global warming.

Namma makkal, total vetti. Total damage.

Pandhal + Rendu vazhai maram + Arusuvai saapaadu

Put all of this and the elder's of a family in the same place at the same time, anyone from Thenn India knows whats coming, man-made disaster.

So you've got two people who are so completely overwhelmed by the situation, that they are merely zombie's doing what they are told. It actually comes to a point when all that blaring lights from the camera is staring you right in the face, and all you can think of is not to lose that smile on your face. It's amazing if you can stop blinking as well. Nobody wants mapillai and kalyana ponnu in the photos with their eyes closed. This is when things are presumed to be going as planned and people are tense and nervous, well because there is actually nothing else to do.

After all the vetti peychu, two cups of bru coffee and bitching - people actually get down to matters of relatively higher importance, you know, like attending the ceremony. Of course, edhellam only till saapaadu mani rings. The one and only thing that can effectively shut people up - the point of convergence where food induces silence. Bliss, I tell you. Not so much for the silence, but for the fact that you know the end is near.

All this because I bore witness to two people getting formally engaged. Expect nothing from the wedding ceremony, but a larger audience, more of what I was compelled to rant about and a lot of more of which I just don't have the heart to talk about. I have learnt from bitter experience that the difference between an engagement and a wedding is the size of makkal who are participants in this archaic habit.

Wedding day is supposed to be one of the happiest day's in the couple's lives. Showcasela thanjavur bommai mathere nikka vettu, seeve, singarichi, photokku pose kuduthu, avangala paadaa paduthi - yeah I can see how this will make them happy. And they accuse the younger generation of not being generous.

Adaa paavingala.

I'm not alone.

Someone else's words to my thoughts.

Love at first ... err i mean second sight

I saw this and thought i was in love. Then i saw this.

I'm lost

TRULY, WHOLLY and COMPLETELY.

Acquaintance, Friend, Close Friend, Best Friend

Where does one stop and the next begin ?

There are people whom you don't meet for years, but as and when you do meet the years just seem to melt away.

There are people whom you meet everyday, but everytime you try to start up a conversation it never seems to get beyond initial pleasantries.

When does someone you know become someone you can talk to ? Is it a matter of convenience ? It must be a result of a lot of things coming together.

I dont know. But would be nice to know.

What would I do when

I am on vacation + I have a car at my disposal + I have money in my pocket + I have a friend who is as jobless as me.

Drive to b'lore and back.

Add on's:

- Very very decent roads to drive on.

- I know some people in b'lore who are worth my time and effort.

- Get ditched by some of the above mentioned people. Yep, I'm proud of the choices I make.

- Get a feel for b'lore traffic. Seeing is believing.

- Scout for potential investment avenues.

- Drag race for close to 200 kms.

- Re-realise that there are plenty of people around who think they are on top of the world: - everyone's world.

- $!^&#$????? .....

Thats it.

Probably wasn't as eventful as I would have expected it to be.