Our voting preferences

We choose the party we would vote for and then come up with reasons why we vote for this party rather than other way round. 

We are immensely smart that way. After all defending a choice based on one factor (Hint:'Modi', 'Gandhi') as if it has been arrived by careful consideration of several factors  is the pinnacle of debating skills But In the End
"A fool who believes he is smart is still a fool." 

Hint: Before voting I find more about local candidate than relying on who the PM will be
1. Local candidate is not a convicted criminal 
2. Is there Quantitative logic and not just only 'promise we will do better than them' 
3. He is not pursuing populist policy just for the sake of votes.

Some people take exception to rich people contesting elections and winning. Sure!



We like our leaders to be poor (preferably much poorer than us) and in politics just for doing 'sewa' of the country. No wonder they claim to do only 'sewa' and eat all the 'mewa'.
(Why do we not like rich candidates? I think it has got to do with our insecurities. We ascribe 'power' with being elected. So if a candidate is rich and gets elected he becomes 'powerful' too. No! no! he gotta be 'poor' and 'powerful' - and We will be 'rich' and 'powerless'. This 'balance' brings peace to our little minds.)

I would rather vote for a good candidate who says he is in politics and sees it like any other job to be done well. 

P.S. Have a look at the ads, if they serve you. It helps me too.Thanks!

In search of...

Carl Jung was a psychiatriast and psychotherapist who founded Analytical Psychology.Among many of Carl Jung 's achievements is concept of introversion and extraversion (introvert and extrovert in popular parlance).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_jung

P.S. Have a look at the ads, if they serve you. It helps me too.Thanks!

Elections: Whom to vote for - Party or Individual?

"The institution is only as strong as the person who mans it"

It means execution is everything. So even if you made the best policies (example our constitution is the largest document for policy making) but had poor executives (example our beloved politicians) You would not be able to get desired result (Need I give an example on India?)

I am against voting for a party because However good the intentions of party are if individual is not good. You cannot hope to get desired result. (ex. Recently our beloved politicians despite parties being fiercely opposed to corruption tried to pass an ordinance allowing convicted politicians to contest elections)

While if you vote for a good individual. Despite no broad policy (like a party) he will use his intelligence to make decisions and they will be better than others toeing the party line (ex. Lokpal is not passed. Need I say more?)

Let me know

P.S. Have a look at the ads, if they serve you. It helps me too.Thanks!

Happiness

P.S. Have a look at the ads, if they serve you. It helps me too.Thanks!

Enjoying music

In our fast lives there is little time to appreciate small things such as admiring the twittering of birds in morning, enjoying the shade of a tree in afternoon, appreciating the mellifluous notes of song. I know, of course we have got our iphones, ipods to enjoy the music at any time but I fear, many a times It is just a way to while away time in a metro without being able to really appreciate the art of a musician

I know there are lesser songs which we can call artistic to admire among today's cookie cutter music, which brings me to my next point.
Have you ever done this:- Sit back, relax with no voice in the room except the wafting melody of a classic song and flowing with the feeling the singer invokes.

If you have You know the feeling.
If you haven't Try it sometime. :)

P.S.
Here is an english classic song You can try: 'Heart of gold' by Neil Young

For hindi there are many
One of my favourites being : Ajeeb Dastaan hain yeh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJLdL5_QkVo


If you would like, Share the song you enjoyed :)

Movies you can watch - The Holiday (2006)

Corny as in sentimental but some dialogues in the movie are well written.
The other good thing about the movie is it touches upon the concept of 'unrequited love'.
Watch it if you just want to see a romantic movie.


Cons: Hollywood writers are way to liberal with 'sex' - Sleeping with a stranger because he looks good??

Movies you can watch - This is the end (2013)

What can I say about this movie. Crude dialogues, selfish characters .... But still manages to keep the suspense with excellent acting by all cast.

A no brainer in the sense Switch off your brains when you watch it. Watch it to the end.

Movies you can watch - Monsoon wedding (2001)

When you have accomplished actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Raaz and Rajat Kapoor with a riveting drama on Indian wedding. You can't really go wrong.

The film raises issues without dragging and has got well written conversations.

Watch it for its take on Indian weddings, social commentary and good cinema.

Sense and Nonsense

I find that some writers in newspaper look at writing an article as just stringing adjectives and nouns to come up with unsubstantiated theories on people (latest person being targeted is Mr. Narendra Modi) to get their pay. To write without facts only hampers their reputation by implying 'Paid News'.

I truly feel sorry for newspapers paying them.

Who are they? They aren't worth mentioning and I wouldn't advertise them by naming them. I steadfastly ignore their articles after sampling a few reads - One should know whom to read and whom not to read.

Words:
Unsubstantiated = not established by proof or competent evidence
Chequebook journalism = The form of journalism where the journalist pays the subject of the work money for the right to publish his story. It suggests Stories obtained by paying people are not so worthy as those obtained by traditional investigations.

A good parody

Please watch the video in sequence while reading to enjoy the post.

Recently I came across the following old spice ad

It is a nice ad with good humor (many women said that...)

Sesame street came up with its own version. It's a good parody.

If the last line doesn't crack you up. You have no sense of humor. :)

Changing definition of friendship

Somebody described parents as : Parents are friends who will be there always.

It's a lovely sentiment.
But there is also another implication - viz. friends are of two types
1. there for sometime
2. always there.

It perhaps points out to the fast pace of life and short term relations.

I beg to disagree with the above categorization
Despite this I believe friends should be only one type - there always. And for that You should be there always for your friends.
Rest short term relations can be called colleagues.

P.S. No negative implication for being colleagues.

Government de-links poverty data with pro-poor schemes

When faced with barrage of questions from the TV show hosts about ridiculous poverty lines by planning commission and recent controversial drop in poverty reported by Government of India. Congress spokesperson argue - "The pro-poor schemes have been delinked with poverty data and cover 67% of population"

This comment begs to ask the question
1. If poverty data does not figure in subsidy distribution. What is the use of reporting it or even being happy about it because even after 22% poverty 67% of India will be covered by food security bill. Is this a poll trick for purchasing votes?Are we trying to create a nation of 100 billion poor happily subsidized Indians?

As per my knowledge subsidy was meant for weaker sections of society.

2. What is the reasoning for the 67% coverage of population?? Why not 80% or even 100%? Is it just whim of the government.
If this is a whim of ruling dispensation we may find ourselves in a soup sooner than later.

Teenage love and Mature Love

I have a somewhat cynical view of 'Love' because it is one of the most misused word of our times with people falling in and out of it at not so long an interval. Nevertheless here in is the description of the two kinds of love - Teenage love and mature love.

Teenage love is mostly about finding that special someone to confide one's insecurities because at that age we are for the first time in life thinking about Who am I? Why am I here? What makes me different from the rest? What makes me 'special'? (Of course we didn't ponder this question in childhood because we were always playing without a care in the world).

This question leads some people to try to find somebody who can define their purpose of living. They would hold on to this relationship with person as a cover against the idea that they are not special - same as all others.

If a relationship breaks up at this stage it results in self-effacing attitude towards life (depression) believing "nothing is worth living" or they would try to find other person to maintain the idea that having someone in your life makes it special.

But when you look deeper You realize: "You have been holding on to somebody to define yourself. Why shouldn't you define yourself by creating 'you' - a set of beliefs and actions that define you - instead of latching on to another person?"

I believe that's the seed of mature love when you seek somebody's company not because you want it to define yourself but because You believe their company would enrich your life as well as theirs. It enhances your 'self' instead of defining it.

Love is a serendipitous gift but not our 'whole lives' - we define our lives.

P.S.: It may seem not much of a flattering description of love but love does have its place in life.
The author believes love is not to inveigle oneself in other's feelings as the most common notion goes :)

Serendipity = the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for

What inception teaches us :)

Inception : an act, process, or instance of beginning  : COMMENCEMENT

Inception beautifully captures the following real life experiences
1. We don't remember how our dreams started: Leave apart remembering how the dream began after getting up, we even don't remember how we came into this position (see pic below)

2. We feel time runs slow while we dream.

3. Even in dreams we feel fear, pain, joy etc. Sometimes feeling frozen due to fear and sometimes so elated in a beautiful dream that the mind refuses to get up. :P


Now for the ending scene of movie.

The main question of contention after the movie was: Does the spinning top wobble and fall showing it's reality OR it continues to spin showing it's a dream?

The important question is not whether Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is still dreaming? But that whether he changes from the guy who obsessed about what is real to the guy who realizes that reality is relative while happiness is absolute? He does not check the spinning top, runs to meet his kids. Inception.

Inputs from : http://screenrant.com/inception-spoilers-discussion-kofi-68330/3/

Updating a dell inspiron 1300 BIOS without battery (also reported working for Dell Inspiron 9400 and Dell Latitude 2100 Mini)

I have a Dell Inspiron 1300 laptop and I wanted to upgrade its BIOS from version A07 to A10
The problem was it did not have a battery and the manufacturer provided BIOS upgrade file (ME051A10.exe) refuses to run without battery.

So what can I do?
The battery condition is to ensure that  that the BIOS update does not face a flash failure due to a power interrupt resulting in your laptop becoming a little more useful than a paper weight. (Of course, there are ways to rewrite a BIOS but that needs another compatible BIOS. Lot of efforts once your BIOS becomes corrupt)

After reading the above warning if you still want to take the risk of updating your BIOS and believe there will be no power failure leaving your BIOS corrupted and laptop useless.

Here is how to do it?
You will need the following things
1. A USB drive

2. Windows 98 boot files to allow you to boot in dos mode.
Download link: http://www.bay-wolf.com/utility/usbkey/win98boot.zip
Alternate link (Use in case if Download link is down): Link

3. HP USB disk format tool (Don't worry it works for all not just HP!)  This software will turn your usb into a bootable usb using the above windows 98 boot files.
Download link: http://www.bay-wolf.com/utility/usbkey/usbmemkeyboot.zip
Alternate Link (Use in case if Download link is down): Link

4. Latest Bios driver from the manufacturer's website.
In this case ME051A10.exe. Please rename the file to bios.exe for the sake of easily remembering the file when we use it later.

Now after you have downloaded all the above
Step1: Extract the zip to their respective folders.
So for win98boot.zip you have win98boot folder
and usbmemkeyboot.zip you have a corresponding usbmemkeyboot.zip folder

Step 2:Install the HP USB disk format tool by running the application file (SP27608.EXE) on your laptop.

Step 3: It will install the software in folder C:\Drive Key (I am assuming C is your root drive). Run HPUSBFW application present in the folder.

Step 4: For the Device drop box select the USB drive (Here it's H:)

Step 5: Select the file system as fat32

Step 6: Check Create a DOS startup disk

Step 7 - Now click on the square box with 3 dots and find the directory where you extracted the win 98 boot files. So In this case you would select the win98boot folder, you made earlier.

Step 8: Click OK button

Step 9: Select yes for the warning

Step 10 - Your USB memory key is now being formated and the DOS system files will be copied onto it.

Once the program has completed the operation, click on the Close button.

You now have a bootable USB memory key.

Step 11: Now copy the bios upgrade file (bios.exe) in the bootable USB

Step 12: Now boot your laptop using bootable USB device. You should get a stark command prompt

Step 13: Run the following command on dos prompt

bios.exe /forceit /nvram

Explaining the above override parameters:
forceit parameter: The /nvram switch will flash the BIOS even when it detects low battery or no battery
nvram parameter: The /nvram switch will make sure that you keep the Dell Splash Screen.

Step 14: Take action as the bios demands.

If all proceeds well Voila! You have upgraded your bios.

P.S: 
1. The same procedure also works for Dell Inspiron 9400 and Latitude 2100 Mini as per user feedback but please know that I have applied it only on my Dell Inspiron 1300.  :)

2. I have done the above process for Dell Inspiron 1300 and it worked. My limited intellect does not allow me to answer queries for any other model which may all have their respective override parameters. So Google is your guy. :)

Pic Courtesty: http://www.bay-wolf.com/usbmemstick.htm

2014 elections whom to vote for

Shit! Run He is talking politics...
No really! I am curious about the nature of national elections

Congress has not declared its official Prime Minister candidate and It seems to be banking on Food Subsidy Bill to lure the voters but in politics tomorrow is as predictable as weather.

BJP has not declared its official candidate but wants to take benefit of Modi's good governance image while opposition is out to question his record in 2002 riots making it look like He has been the only chief minister tainted with riots so far in 65 years of independent india.So ruling party is trying to win by creating fear of Modi coming to power while BJP is trying to win votes by creating hope of Modi coming to power.

To top it all the prime minister of country will not be elected by voters but by push and pull of coalition politics. So Voters would do well to look at the records of candidates fielded by parties instead of being swayed by debate of who will head the next government.

If you feel that no MP candidate represents your aspirations You can caste vote under section 49 O where you record that You did not vote for anybody. This is available on all election booths and no prior intimation is required.

Credits to respective artists of pictures

The great gatsby (2013)

It's a brilliant take on human relations and behaviour.

You can watch it for Leonardo DiCaprio and Toby Maguire (Yes, You heard it right. You would like the character by the end :P Someting Spiderman lacked)

Buying beauty and Being beautiful

It is particularly interesting- What passes off as beautiful? Anorexic figure, tatoos, blob lips ,nose ,silicones ...

Looks like being beautiful and being healthy are different things because being beautiful has translated into replacing what you have as against being healthy which means maintaining and enhancing (stamina, speed, strength) body.

But What to do about the stupid notions of  specific body parts as measure of beauty?
Next time You look in the mirror. Observe yourself and smile for the body God gave you has perfectly served you for so many years. It is truly irreplaceable.

And as for people failing to appreciate your beauty. Appreciation from an enslaved mind (to the fixed notions of beauty) only leads to further enslavement ,nothing else because Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

Cartoon pic Courtesy: cartoonstock.com

Travelogue: Yeh customer kaisa hota hain

I guess a lot of people have gone through that inevitable five stages of having a good prepaid balance.
No! Read on :)

It starts with forceful balance deduction  from telecom companies such as Reliance et al.
Stage 1 (Denial):
You call up the customer care and explain them that You never requested for that 'dhinchak' caller tune ringtone You have been charged for.

Stage 2 (Anger) :
The executive patiently listens and replies Sir! The request has originated from you phone (although You just explained him You didn't make any request). Hence, We are unable to refund you the amount. You insist You haven't but he keeps on repeating the same thing.

You get a little pissed off and ask to speak to his higher up.

Stage 3 (Bargaining Bugging) :
You spend  a few lot of minutes listening to the latest company offers promising easy, cheap services (although your cheap prepaid plan itself has made your life difficult and burnt a hole in your pocket) Finally after you have memorized the offers a long wait, You get to speak with the higher ups (if your phone hasn't got disconnected in the meanwhile, perhaps more customer care service) but For some reason the higher ups repeat the same thing the executive said.

After again hearing the same argument You are left with two options
Option 1: Repeat  stage 2  You get angrier- More pissed off and ask to talk to further higher up ( You start to wonder! How many levels they have. May be at one point You may get to talk to Mr. Ambani himself to make the decision for your refund)

Option 2: Go to stage 4: Depression

Stage 4 (Depression):
You realize that you have been hooked to the phone for hours and your ears are getting heated up, Now There is a higher possibility of you instantly exploding with pent up anger than getting your balance back.

Stage 5 (Acceptance):
After several sessions culminating in  step 4.You finally stumble onto a revelation and silently admit to her them "It's not you. It's me! After all if users like me don't subscribe to these entertainment services . How are they supposed to keep the entertainment department profitable?" and happen to see the squeaky leg of shaky stool, after carefully levelling the smaller leg of that shaky stool with tape, and sim folded newspaper.

You exclaim "I fixed the stool. Ma! Problem(s) solved."

Looks like Some companies believe
जो कष्ट (cust) से मरे (mer) वो Customer!

But this is not the only perspective:
We met a man in village who was a  cement dealer, who was quite well known in village although he was a small retailer. He gladly welcomed us,talked wholeheartedly with us and shared an incident.

He said "I kept a cement brand but the cement was not of good quality. So my customers complained about it.I refunded them the money and told the wholesaler of the problem. He made excuses So I told him 'I cannot make any future transaction with you because it's not good for my reputation,people trust me and buy the cement'.

When a widely respected company came with many people vying to get dealership. They came to know about the incident and approached me to become their company retailer."

He liked to say 'Unlike you folks I am not very educated  but I know Money cannot be eaten.' True, sir!

Observations of a disinterested traveller

People often complain that government is not very effective in propaganda, advertising it's schemes to beneficiaries.Tour the hinterland and you will change your opinion every alternate wall is painted with slogans :teaching girl child, building toilets in homes, vaccination, afforestation, family planning.

They even don't hesitate to go for the killing

Two birds with one stone!

Incidents in Hinterland

I am travelling to Mawana from Meerut.
There are two kinds of Bus from Bus Station (Haan, Yahi board laga hain entrance pe)
1. Regular Bus
2. Express Bus
I quickly climb into the Express bus.It is sweltering hot inside the bus. We are sweating (literally like pigs) sitting in the bus. The bus does not move for half an hour.
A voice erupts " Bhai,  Chala le, Bus mein marega ke?"

Lesson from discussion with fellow traveller: Express Bus chalti utni hi late hain, just beech mein nahi rukti.

कमाई कम, खर्चे ज़्यादा

Eye on foreign investment, Sibal approves options in M&A, PE deals

Allowing put and call options in share purchase agreements will encourage a number of investment deals by foreign firms in India at a time when the government is keen on attracting overseas money to narrow the fiscal deficit.

I observe that reforms are being done in the name of bridging fiscal deficit through attracting FII. Good actions! but then What if unfavourable changes are also passed in the name of attracting FII?

Further FII to me is not the permanent cure for our trade deficit. Govt. needs to reduce unnecessary spending, some government organizations are known to pay employees for just being on the roster due to lack of accountability.

People talk about such organizations saying "Life set hain wahan job lage toh" but Is this a compliment for the organization? and Is it an ideal worth achieving (getting paid for signing attendance)?

As the New Zealand department of tourism puts it :P

Source: http://www.livemint.com/Politics/xNFhxDuFymCtTFPLrUvuXI/Eye-on-foreign-investment-Sibal-approves-options-in-MA-PE.html

Wanna read a Zen story?

---

Is That So?

---

A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who was the father. At first resistant to confess, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter's accusation, he simply replied "Is that so?"
When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. "Is that so?" Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child.

For many months he took very good care of the child until the daughter could no longer withstand the lie she had told. She confessed that the real father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect. The parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby. With profuse apologies they explained what had happened. "Is that so?" Hakuin said as he handed them the child. 



My interpretation:
The story can be interpreted in various ways:
Some would say (and rightly so) that the Zen master should not have accepted the child and allowed the girl to get away with her lie. I have no argument against their approach and if I were in Zen master's place my nature would not allow me to accept the child.

But when I try to understand the response of Zen Master ("Is that so?"). The Zen Master is a person who does not have attachment with the world. So he is not worried about people's opinion of him whether they like him or hate him. He is a detached observer. He is wise too. So he would not come to conclusions without hearing both sides of a story.

Hence his response is in sync with his wisdom and detachment - a passive challenge to the accusers and an invitation to look more deeply into the matter.


I am grateful for the original comments:

1. Perhaps it is too obvious that "Is that so?" is both a passive challenge to the accusers and an invitation to look more deeply into the matter -- both of which were repeatedly declined. The Hakuin wisely declines to force the issue, accepting minor injustice while avoiding greater disharmony.
2. The master has achieved complete acceptance of every person, situation and emotion. He has no fear of being unjustly labeled. He receives the child and gives up the child with the same peace of mind. He is both a detached observer and a complete participant.

P.S : The last "Is that so?" also has an interpretation. Can you find it?

Source: http://users.rider.edu/~suler/zenstory/isthatso.html

Dental health

Some facts on teeth

1. Teeth should be sparkling white (^)
   Reality: Kids have white teeth because they are new. As we grow our teeths will become yellow with age and that is perfectly alright You don't need sparkling white teeth to have healthy teeth.
   
   
2. Why are my canine teeth yellow compared to my other teeth?
I brush my teeth everyday. I brush my whole mouth, the back of the back etc. My teeth are pretty white, but my canines mess up my whole smile. Why are they less white?
Your canines are thicker than the rest in your mouth. They have a larger amount of dentine, and dentine enamel is more yellow than the enamel on your other teeth.


3. Why eating dessert during meal is a good idea?
   Eating dessert at end of meals was an old tradition in 1300's which has lost it's utility
   If you eat sugar, it's a good idea to wash it away with some other food rather than letting it sit on your teeth.
   
   Here's a story to illustrate this point:
   After dinner, you order some Chocolate Mousse Cake. As you eat the cake, the crust gets packed down into the grooves on the chewing surfaces of your back teeth and some might even get stuck in between your teeth. Depending on how much saliva you have — and you might not have very much — it could take over half an hour to wash away this sugary treat from your mouth! That means that your teeth could be exposed to harmful substances and their byproducts for over an hour.
   
   Now, suppose you had the cake first, and then ate a salad. The chewing action of the lettuce leaves would easily be able to wash away the cake, and your mouth would be free from the high concentration of sugar much more quickly. This is one reason that dental experts recommend eating sugar with meals. (Source: Oral Answers).
   
   Why dessert used to be eaten at end of dinner in earlier times?
   It started during the 1300's. During a time when food was prepared straight from being slaughtered to being cooked, then stored until dinner time. That the main course was not the greatest tasting item, even being a bit bitter and rancid in taste. That a sweet dessert was provided to basically help hold down the main course and to cleanse the pallet of those bad tastes. You must remember that herbs and spices that are a common additives these days along with refrigeration, it wasn't so available back in the past. It is a tradition that has stuck around for near a thousand years or longer, and one practice that I am glad that it survived. I may be a bit foggy about the time frame, but I am sure of the reason. I hope this helped, good luck.

Source: Known dentist and  http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090928092550AAOYnug, http://www.oralanswers.com/2010/11/eat-dessert-first-for-healthier-teeth, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100428120340AAZXbEZ

I want more!

On a holiday following would be my twitter posts:
9:00 AM: Checking my fb account.
10 AM: Checking my fb account. Disappointed! No new post.
12 PM: Checking my fb account again. No New posts. Bored!
3 PM: No new post. Irritated.
5 PM: No new interesting post. Exasperated. Regretting. Maybe I should have read something instead of wasting time on this silly site.

Next day.
9:00 AM: Checking my fb account.
...


Why this voracious need for more posts? :)

Pic Courtesy: http://jayroeder.com/2011/07/06/uncategorized/76-always-want-more/

Travelling and associated things

We travel to reach new places. Some find the time spent between going from A to B to be a hassle, restlessly twiddling their thumbs while some find it calming.

I belong to the later category. Travelling gives me time to self-reflect - Who am I? What do I want to become, on a professional and personal level.

Travelling also gives the time to admire the beautiful scenery of nature. It soothes the senses like nothing else can. Swathes of ploughed fields melding in the distant hills with the brightly shining sun.

I am also reminded of our unpleasant actions like a drainage filled with plastic litter producing stinking smell in the whole area and the mass populace living around it. If passing by this area arouses revulsion How are we going to live in it?

Garbage bins are placed on railway stations to dispose off plastic bottles, packets. I use them even If I have to search across the length of station. Now, I am getting pedantic! but worth it.

Strange Houses!

My LPG home gas cylinder is going to end in a few days. I should order a new cylinder.

Some villages outside city do not face my problem because they do not use LPG (or do not get LPG) But then What do the villages far off where LPG has not been able to reach (and Still there is a long queue of months for LPG connection!) do? ,especially during rains when dry wood will be scarce and expensive.

Those places use cow dung cakes as fuel  (Ya, You know that )and even save them in houses made of cow dung to be used during rains. (hmm..., May be you didn't know that)

The house is made using cowdung and it houses cowdung cakes. The cowdung cakes inside the house, I have been told by the lady making them, remain dry during whole year.

A cowdung house being constructed

A cowdung house 

I saw a lot of these structures filled with cowdung cakes during my visit to villages outside cities. They look beautiful, felt like climbing them (No I didn't climb them!)

Some Trivia :
Cow is a noble animal worshipped by Hindus. It is peaceful by nature. Religious texts say 36 crore gods reside in it (Don't ask me to name them!) in an indication that every byproduct of cow be it cow dung, cow urine, milk is useful to humans.

We give the first chapati of every meal to cow (Although grass would be better But Don't find any near my home)

"Cow is of the bovine ilk.
One end moo, the other end milk."
- Odgen Nash

What is the price of an object?

Some people say "The price of an object is what the buyer is ready to pay"

So let us say there is an essential object /service (such as drinking water) and if it costs a 100 rupees to provide an object/service and you are the only one providing it.  Then add long as the buyer is willing to pay it doesn't matter what you decide to charge - one million or one gazillion. Does it?

After all I guess you would'nt flinch to pay the above million/gazillion bucks if there was only one seller for it . No questions asked!

P. S.  Some would say this would never happen so why assume it? I concede their argument but Aren't men revealed when stakes are high?

A bus journey

I am going from Gazhiabad to Loni.An icecream wallah comes. The boy in front seat bus gets one, so does the elderly uncle sitting on the alternate side in front.
Uncle nibbles the Ice cream and dumps the stick where he is sitting.The little boy does the same (Although, He licks it clean). I have a revelation about why public transport is filthy. Mean while the bubble gum I have been chewing has become a rubbery tasteless mass. I will regurgitate like a buffalo till I find a disposal spot. Phew!

Child begging

I will admit I am not a very religious person. Hence I don't give alms outside temples. Neither do I wish to shine my fortune through such generous acts. My education has shrunk the scope of religion to action sans customs and rituals.

This post as clearly evident is not on the adult beggars but the young children we encounter on platforms. I have never given money to a beggar but instead edibles I had with me at that time for the selfish reason that money can cause harm as well as good depending on its use but food item precludes the chances of self-harm.

A few days back I happened to notice the look in the child's eye whom I gave him poppins. He pocketed it and moved on. Nothing changed in his expression. It is not that I wanted him to exclaim with happiness but I believe children are more sensitive than adults, who hide their emotions. So they smile, laugh, cry easily.To feel nothing at this age is tragic!

There is a lot more to it than what I see.

P.S> No offence to religious people.

Those generous posts

Recently I came across a post which gave generous tips to share with girls
1. Press all buttons to your floor when in company of a strange male.
2. Pretend to give the number of rickshaw you are sitting in.
Etc.
So what it means is that in presence of a 'strange' male in lift a girl should panic, act deranged and press all buttons of a lift. Further she should always be defensive about going anywhere.
I came to the following central idea of the above suggestions
"Girls should be on the look out as they cannot defend themselves."
In a male-dominated society like ours male ego feels superior to women and gives charitable suggestion based on the  assumption that women are no match for it.
I guess those who disburse such ideas have not written for what should a boy do in company of strange female at night in lift?

Software to help you be more productive: Clipboardmonitor

I did not like the drudgery of copying text and then opening file and pasting it. Too much to and fro clicking for a lazy fellow like me ;).

As all computer lovers do : I wrote this small application "Clipboardmonitor". What it does is It  works in background and copies any text you put on clipboard to a text file (.txt) you have selected.
You can quickly access it by right clicking the icon in Notification bar or double clicking the icon to bring the main window from background.

Other features:

1. You can pause/resume the application by right clicking icon in notification bar and selecting Pause/Resume.
2. You can manually edit the text in main application window and save the file.
3. Undo option (from Notification icon) is used to pause the application and restore the last text you copied back to clipboard. (Yeah! that happens when You are multitasking :) ).

Download Here :- Clippy at work

How to run:
Just unzip the file and run Clipboardmonitor.exe

Notification:

1. No financial guarantee/warranty on using software But It worked well for me. Hope it helps you too. :)
2. Since this is an executable file (.exe) Your browser will prompt you first whether you want to run it. I say "Go ahead run it." These are trust issues :)

Smart quotes

• It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
  - Aristotle
  
• Only fools and dead men don’t change their minds. Fools won’t. Dead men can’t.
  - John Henry Patterson
  
• Better an oops than a what if
  - Anonymous
  
• Bad decisions made with good intentions, are still bad decisions.
  - James Collins
  
• As a startup CEO, I slept like a baby. I woke up and cried every 2 hours.
  - Ben Horowitz
  
• The greats never sacrifice the important for the urgent, they handle the immediate problem and still make sure to secure the future
  - Bobby Axelrod
  
• No excuses. No explanations. You don’t win on emotion. You win on execution.
  - Tony Dungy

Kinds of men

There is a famous saying
"If you want to test a man's character, give him power."

True! but often desperate circumstances reveal much more about men than extravagant ones. Trying circumstances show that the Verities people believe in is are just fair-weather belief or they will stick to them even when there is a cost to having them.

At the risk of sounding too simplistic, Here is an example : Most people (except psychos) do not like being pushed or shoving people, basically crowding around when making a queue is possible. Now if say sweets (Or replace it with your favourite dish ;)) are being distributed and you are at the end of line. What would you do? Cut queues and get sweets early because you may or may not get them if you stick to the queue OR Patiently follow the queue respecting other people's time and punctuality.

Therefore I propose an idea:
Men are truly revealed in desperate situations.

- Your's truly

P.S. Great things are simple.

sher-o-shayri

इन्तहा :

चाहत की इन्तहा तो ये हैं

उन्हें ढूंढते-ढूंढते , हम ये भूल गए

के हम कौन हैं |

- Your's truly

Calvin on Love

Succinctly put. Kudos! Bill Watterson and ageless Calvin.

P.S. Of course there are more perspectives too. :)

Dreams

Dreams are amazing. They create a outlandish world where reality clashes with the subconscious creating heightened fear and joy. Sometimes You are so struck by fear feeling frozen and numb unable to get away from it while at other times You feel so much joy that You don't want to wake up. Happy dreaming! :)

Tattooed shoulders and arms

Just a thought
Is this the declaration of one's beliefs to the world OR a reminder of one's beliefs

Perhaps, Many get it for 'coolness quotient'.

Hidden meaning of words we use in daily language

Mr. Jaiprakash Chouksey has intelligently reflected on the underlying meaning of words we use

Complete article available on http://digitalimages.bhaskar.com/mpcg/epaperimages/22022013/BP2819164-large.jpg

Why it matters to protest, if somebody creates public nuisance

It is a common refrain "I don't want to poke my nose in somebody's personal matters" when somebody misbehaves in public.
But if matters are sorted in public, are they personal anymore!

Ignoring a public wrong amounts to encouraging hooliganism.With the legitimacy provided by mute spectators It becomes 'fair game' and spreads quickly. It is only a matter of time before you would find yourself target of one.

The past serves an example :
Martin Niemöller wrote about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.

On conspicuous consumption

I find it unusual that sometimes people strut off their latest gadgets.
An incident comes to mind.

Sometime back, I was at Bank making a demand draft for applying for MBA programme. While I was waiting to get my demand draft, a man in mid forties walked up to the cashier with a cheque, the ones which are present in the bank, asking to withdraw for going to the doctor. I saw the cashier give him a 100 rupee note, That is the sum he withdrew for going to the doctor.

It stands to reason that we live in a country where people go to the bank to withdraw money for visiting a doctor. How do they feel when some of us feel an indomitable need to show we have arrived?

Moral of the story: Etiquette cannot be regulated.

Crash (2004)

Over a thirty-six hour period in Los Angeles, a handful of disparate people's lives intertwine as they deal with the tense race relations that belie life in the city.

Among the players are: the Caucasian district attorney, who uses race as a political card; his Caucasian wife, who, having recently been carjacked by two black men, believes that her stereotypical views of non-whites is justified and cannot be considered racism; the two black carjackers who use their race both to their advantage and as an excuse; partnered Caucasian police constables, one who is a racist and uses his authority to harass non-whites, and the other who hates his partner because of those racist views, but who may have the same underlying values in his subconscious; a black film director and his black wife, who believes her husband doesn't support their black background enough, especially in light of an incident with the racist white cop.

Beautifully crafted movie. No short-cuts taken.

Stars: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate, Michael Pena

Details taken from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375679/

Verity

My friends often ask me - Of the two ways in life, Why do you always choose the difficult one?

I ask them - Why do you see two ways?

-Anonymous

Interpretation : 

It talks about eternal verities such as honor, love, truth, honesty. There are no two ways about these regardless of the costs.

Some may argue otherwise that 'Wealth' trumps everything. So actions should be taken to maximize  profits even at the the cost of cheating others, But little do they realize they have mistaken arrangement for friendship and alliance for love.

Calvin on skiing

How a tornado went through a scrape yard creating a Boeing plane

One of the big arguments put in favour of existence of god is
"You see, how incredibly complex life-forms are. How much effort would it have taken to create us? Do you think we could be created without efforts of an invisible hand. If you don't believe in an invisible hand.You are  saying: A tornado went through a scrape yard and assembled a Boeing airplane."

The above argument appears gripping argument for existence of a divine being But it fails on its own premise to truly comprehend the efforts involved in development of complex beings like us.

We are a product of millions of years of recorded history. We started off as a pool of mixture of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur etc. all atoms gamboling around when two atoms collided under appropriate conditions (say hydrogen and oxygen) and made water which was more stable compound. Atoms interact with one another (called reaction) for benefit of stability. Atoms reacted to form molecules. Molecules combined to form DNA's, RNA's etc. creating a first single celled life to come into existence in which every molecule served a purpose and existed. As time progressed we became more complex with more cells interacting with each other to create ever complicated life forms.We humans are ourselves a lot of organisms working in tandem. For example the bacteria in our stomach help us digest food.

In coming to the present form was not an instant creation of tornado, the so called tornado blowing through the scrape yard of hydrocarbons blew for a million years and more to make us what we are - a set of atoms co-ordinating with each other.

Hence, it stands to reason "A tornado can assemble a Boeing plane in a scrape yard, Just give it time." :)

My Interpretation of Karl Sagan's idea of "us".

All things bright and beautiful

The resplendent sun

A nation of faith

Religion is the opium of the masses - Karl Marx

We are a nation with about 83.6 crore (77% of population) surviving on less than 20 rupees a day, But still to my amazement Crowds gather and vote when one Mr. Owaisi (an elected MLA) declares: "His faith makes people braver than others, Only if Police give him an opportunity to show that"

Never mind, his community seems to have missed more on economic growth than others accounting for twice (22.6%) occupancy in jails than its population (10.6%). But well Mr. Owaisi is the knowledgable leader of masses, who visits London for medical treatment. He must be more well-informed on the issue.

Not to be outdone Mr. Togadia declares his faith's strength by the bodies piled up by his followers.

Both leaders are banking on the fact that "Faith will provide 2 square meals to the 83 crore Indians", perhaps reasonably so because it is providing feasts in their homes, at least.

As Mark Twain put it in his book Following the Equator: "It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes…. enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining."


Source:
'Most Indians earn less than Rs 20/day in India' accessed on 10 Feb 2013, 10 pm
More Muslims in Maharashtra and Bengal prisons than Gujarat accessed on 10 Feb 2013, 10:30 pm
After Owaisi, it’s Togadia’s turn to make hate speech accessed on 10 Feb 2013, 10:40 pm

;)

The new judge in town

Interesting choice of words:
Mallya’s holding company will get Rs.2,400 crore from Diageo.
Though Mallya has not publicly said so, he is expected to use at least some of the proceeds of the Diageo deal towards debt repayment and equity infusion in his grounded Kingfisher Airlines.

Who is expecting Mr. Mallya to do that? Is this Media speculation? Reminds me of posts by some people on facebook, a while back, which labeled Sachin a Congress sycophant for taking retirement to divert attention for UPA government because UPA nominated him to Rajya Sabha. Do the people think that Sachin should ask them before retiring, since they watch his matches.I wonder, Why should Sachin be answerable to public for his retirement? It's his life, it should be his decision. Perhaps, we need to stop trying to decide for famous people, what they should do in their life.


Also true for court cases where media declares who is innocent and who is guilty while case is still going on in courts. This makes so much more difficult for courts to deliver judgement. Is Media, the new judge ?




Personal freedoms are sacrosanct

Martin Niemöller wrote about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. 

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.

Sugar

Beautiful song and video!

Research has proven a direct relationship between consumption of sugary drinks and an increase in obesity, which promotes diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many other health problems.

Health :

An extra sugary drink each day increases a child’s risk of obesity by 60% (The Lancet, 20010)

Drinking one or two sugary drinks (such as Pepsi, Coca Cola, etc.) per day increases your risk for type 2 diabetes by 25%.
Diabetes can lead to erectile dysfunction.
Diabetes in the cause of more than 60,000 amputations a year (U.S. Centers for Disease Control)

Beauty :
The sugars and acids in soda promote tooth decay (Surgeons General’s Report on Oral health, 2000)

So it's not advisable to make a habit of consuming such drinks regularly.

Detailed plot : Why the bears? What's the story exactly?
http://www.popisms.com/TelevisionCommercial/64595/Center-for-Science-in-the-Public-Interest-an.aspx

Wise words

No one else will accept you if you don’t love yourself.You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.

Sher o shayri ;)

Taken From the article by Khushwant Singh's article in Hindustan times on December 30, 2012

By sheer chance, I happened to stumble across Balmukand Arsh Malsiyani's (1908-1979) poem Haqiqat (Reality), which I had translated for my Collection "Celebrating the Best of Urdu Poetry" (Penguin), jointly with Kamna Prasad. I reproduce it as it sums up my present state of mind & body:

फिरदौस के चश्मों की रवानगी पे न जा
ऐ शेख तू जन्नत की कहानी पे न जा
इस वहम को छोड़, अपने बुढ़ापे ही को देख
हूर - ए - बहिश्ते की जवानी पे न जा |

English translation:
Do not get taken in by takes of streams that flow in paradise;
Old Sheikh, do not be fooled by stories of heavenly delights;
Forget this make-believe, be your age, see your grey hair forsooth
Don't dream of houris in the bloom of their youth.

Meanings:
Forsooth = : in truth : INDEED — often used to imply contempt or doubt
Houris = one of the beautiful maidens that in Muslim belief live with the blessed in paradise

Credits: As mentioned.

Garfield, the trouble maker ;)

Smoking: Reel v/s Real

U/A certification not mandatory for films with smoking scenes

A question on my mind :

A hero puffs away, while a marquee rolls saying "Cigarette smoking is injurious to health"
What is a kid supposed to believe? His favorite hero puffing away stylishly OR a rolling text. May be the kid also gets to listen to 30 sec ad at the beginning, middle (Who stays after Interval to listen to an 'ad') and ponder "If smoking is bad and my favourite actor is good (Now-a-days Heroes are also playing shades of grey But mostly 'good grey' we can safely assume ) then why is he smoking?".

I guess pondering on such grand matters of being would help our precocious young buds to grow taller, sharper, stronger (by smoking?? oops!).

An interesting story comes to mind:
Sir Alex was a famous Hollywood star. He was approached by a liquor company to promote their brand. Coincidentally, he also drank the same brand But he politely declined. Thinking the money wasn't enough the manufacturer approached him doubling his offer. Sir Alex replied "It is not that I do not drink this brand, Or your offer is not good. It is just that Liquor consumption is not healthy and addictive So I prefer to drink in the privacy of my house, I can't share this addiction with my fans."


Detractors would argue : Smoking onscreen is a matter of personal preference. But then if it is so, why do we rate movies as U, U/A, A in first place? To my mind the only reason for rating is kids cannot make informed choices in case of Cinema and You gotta admit Cinematic charm is strong on kids, hence employed in ads to influence opinions.

P.S. Comments invited :)

Facebook!

There is an old saying
Neki kar dariya mein daal

The latest version of it is:
Kuch bhi kar Facebook pe daal

Who has got it all? Me!
People are declaring their recent purchases. Sometimes it feels ostentatious.It is like they are having a competition with their friends on who buys the most expensive gadget. It makes one smile in amusement, if friends are the competition - Is there anyone to rely on? Is it the daily dose of 'likes' we are after OR are we hopelessly alone in this small connected world?

Pyaar bhi Facebook par aur Gam-e-Izhar bhi Facebook par
We are sharing everything mundane or otherwise - right from eating out at Mac D to our deepest emotions, declaring love, even heartbreaks.


If every feeling is public then Where does that leave space for private emotions? Makes me wonder!

P.S. The article is intended not to criticize But pondering choices, we make.

Seasons of life

Like it cannot be sunny forever,
It won't be rainy forever.

Cliffhanger

One day while walking through the wilderness a man stumbled upon a vicious tiger. He ran but soon came to the edge of a high cliff. Desperate to save himself, he climbed down a vine and dangled over the fatal precipice. As he hung there, two mice appeared from a hole in the cliff and began gnawing on the vine. Suddenly, he noticed on the vine a plump wild strawberry. He plucked it and popped it in his mouth. It was incredibly delicious!

People's reactions to this story:

"After having only 5 hours of sleep I understand now. 'Live life to the fullest!'"

"'Eat, drink, and be merry; for tomorrow we die!' Not sure who to credit the quote, but it seems to apply."

"Live each moment to the full. The plight the man was in was no reason not to enjoy the wild strawberry."

"The man knew that he was about to die, and that there was nothing he could do about it. The strawberry was his last chance to enjoy life so instead of wasting his last moments in fear and frustration he took what little pleasure he could and made the best of it."

"Enlightenment can be found in distraction from distraction. The Universe is now! And strawberries are delicious."

Credit:  http://users.rider.edu/~suler/zenstory/cliffhanger.html

lol

Mayank : Mera room koi mandir ka dwar nahin tha.....


KI MERI BLUE COLOR KI CHAPPAL GAYAB HO GAYI :(


Sagar :

Ye to aapke bhakton ka pragaadh prem hai.. Jiske kaaran vah aapki aakaash rangi charan padukaaon ko shirodhaaran karke is viraat mele roopi sansaar mein virte phir rahe hai.. :D

Calvin's take on happiness and a big screen tv

Please Read the cartoon first.

Appreciate the simplicity of presentation! and How happiness has transformed from being an internal state to buying new things.

 I believe that happiness is not just a result of buying new things, going new places, luxurious stay etc.It can come from something as simple as spending a day at home with your family.Of course, you would have to help out at home ;)

Committee for the accused, by the accused, from the accused

In his majesty's service :
Recently one of the government ministers said along the lines of "People are losing faith in the law because law does not apply to the influential "

I guess he can get Why this happens?, when

The committee enquiring land deals between Robert Vadra and DLF Limited includes K.K. Jalan, who was the Director General and Principal Secretary, Town and Country Planning department, which renewed the licence to Mr. Vadra in January 2011.


It is equivalent to "A student asked to check his own examination copy." A sure case of Conflict of interest. Wouldn't you agree?


Would be interesting, if media takes this up Unless ... :)


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/haryana-govt-misleading-court-to-protect-vadra-says-khemka/article4305065.ece?homepage=true