Just testing my new setup with the iPhone. Hope this works out smootly
so I can blog on the go. Keeping my fingers crossed.
1 year ago
Monday, March 16, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
WTF news of today
"Pawar said like leaders from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka have got a chance to occupy the prime minister's chair, a Maharashtrian should also be given the opportunity." [Source]
Yeah right. Now we should have a state wise rotation for the PM's seat. Last election someone from punjab was the PM, so this year someone from Haryana should be the PM.
Don't you get it you stupid politician. PMship is not a right. A PM is a leader. Be a leader and your turn will come. Stop this regional gibberish.
Yeah right. Now we should have a state wise rotation for the PM's seat. Last election someone from punjab was the PM, so this year someone from Haryana should be the PM.
Don't you get it you stupid politician. PMship is not a right. A PM is a leader. Be a leader and your turn will come. Stop this regional gibberish.
What would you look like if you were a superhero?
Have you wondered what would you look like if you were a super hero? I did and just found out.
You can become a hero as well. And don't forget to comment so that I can check your super hero image too.
You can become a hero as well. And don't forget to comment so that I can check your super hero image too.
What sex is your brain?
Inspired by the "GenderTrap" manifesto from Change This, I took the BBC's SEX ID quiz. The quiz was good. Most of teh sections were short and sweet ( Except the emotions part which had some 21 questions - it kind of dragged on for some time).
The result was something that I expected.
As the image shows, i got a score of 25 tilted towards the female side. As I said, I was not surprised as though I am a female, I am not the typical stereotyped female. Not too emotional, too much self-ego, very practical.
The results also had a breakup of the score. In most of the parts, my scores fell into the balanced male and female traits. Except Empathising and Systemising and Verbal section where I was clearly in the female section. In the 3D Object section, I scored well below thw male and female average which explains the problem I have with understanding maps. I am the worst navigator in the world as anyone who has sat next to me in the drivers seat will vouch for.
One thing that amazed me is that the ratio of the length of your index finger and the ring finger can also give a clue of your sex. This is what the quiz says.
"It's thought that your ratio is governed by the amount of testosterone you were exposed to in your mother's womb. The ratio of the length of your index finger to the length of your ring finger is set for life by as early as three months after conception. Even during puberty, when we experience intensive hormonal changes, the ratio stays the same.
Men generally have a ring finger that is longer than their index finger, which gives them a lower ratio than women, whose ring and index fingers are usually of equal length.
Studies have found that men and women with lots of brothers generally have more masculine finger ratios."
I checked Anurag's and mine and clearly, his ring finger is way longer than his index finger while mine is almost the same. Hmm..pretty cool huh?
Has anyone taken this quiz? Do you agree with your results?
The result was something that I expected.
As the image shows, i got a score of 25 tilted towards the female side. As I said, I was not surprised as though I am a female, I am not the typical stereotyped female. Not too emotional, too much self-ego, very practical.
The results also had a breakup of the score. In most of the parts, my scores fell into the balanced male and female traits. Except Empathising and Systemising and Verbal section where I was clearly in the female section. In the 3D Object section, I scored well below thw male and female average which explains the problem I have with understanding maps. I am the worst navigator in the world as anyone who has sat next to me in the drivers seat will vouch for.
One thing that amazed me is that the ratio of the length of your index finger and the ring finger can also give a clue of your sex. This is what the quiz says.
"It's thought that your ratio is governed by the amount of testosterone you were exposed to in your mother's womb. The ratio of the length of your index finger to the length of your ring finger is set for life by as early as three months after conception. Even during puberty, when we experience intensive hormonal changes, the ratio stays the same.
Men generally have a ring finger that is longer than their index finger, which gives them a lower ratio than women, whose ring and index fingers are usually of equal length.
Studies have found that men and women with lots of brothers generally have more masculine finger ratios."
I checked Anurag's and mine and clearly, his ring finger is way longer than his index finger while mine is almost the same. Hmm..pretty cool huh?
Has anyone taken this quiz? Do you agree with your results?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Islam
Islam.
Before you assume that this blog is a Muslim bashing post - take a deep breadth. Go get yourself a cup of coffee and start reading this post again. I, out of all people have deep respect for all religions or no religion. It doesn't matter to me what faith a person conforms to. Like many secular Indians, I have very good friends who are Muslims, I enjoy the sevaiyan on Eid. I love the amazingly delicious food that marks the entire month of ramzzan. I see myself no different from my muslims friends. We wear the same clothes, we sweat after the same superstars. No one can look at my Muslim friends and me and say for sure what are respective beliefs are.
But then this Sunday happened. I was going on and on about how I wish the partition had never happened. So that all these incidents would never happened. There would not have been the threat of an angry neighbor. But one of my friend, Aditya a.k.a Chintu, pointed out that in one way the separation was a good thing. Being a country with equal number of people of two very different religion would have torn the country apart. Politics would have been based on nothing but religion. And who knows, if democracy would be the same as it is today. ( India, though very young, is lauded for its democracy). He also pointed out that India and Pakistan. Both the countries have the same history. The same people. The only thing that differs is the religion. But look where India is and where Pakistan is today. This itself speaks for itself.
At first, when I heard my friend say these things, it didn't seem right to me. Its not prudent to say one's religion is superior that the other. But the more I thought about it, the more it felt right. There are so many religions in the world. No one has done so much damage to innocent people than the people of Islamic faith. Most of the Islamic countries have inherent domestic terrorism.
This is strange because in all the pre Independence books and movies, Muslims are shown as learned men. What happened then? I believe how religion affects a person's action boils down to how stringent the religion is. Hinduism has always been forgiving and has been changing or rather evolving over time. For e.g., the belief of untouchable(practiced by every high caste Hindu, a few decades ago) has almost nonexistent. However, Islamic Universities still continue to teach that Jews are pigs and monkeys. And that women and men must be stoned to death for committing adultery. Source.
In the article linked above, the author says "There is a certain schizophrenia among many Muslims who seem to believe that it is acceptable to teach hatred and violence in the name of their religion, while at the same time expecting the world to respect Islam as "a religion of peace, love and harmony." " Its very important for Islamic community to show that their religion does not harbor hatred and that their beliefs too can evolve with the times. Issues such as modernization of madrasas, abortion, birth control need to be studied and agreed upon by the entire community. ( I have heard from many that birth control is unholy in Islam but also have read that its legal).
Lastly, after the 26/11 Mumbai incident, there was one flicker of hope. The decision of the Indian muslim community not to allow the burial of the terrorist in India reinforced the message of democracy and secularism of India. It was a brave decision and it sent out the right message in those dire days. A article by Thomas Friedman
Kudos to the leadership of India's Muslim community. Its time to speak up. Not as muslims, not as Hindus but as very proud Indians.
Before you assume that this blog is a Muslim bashing post - take a deep breadth. Go get yourself a cup of coffee and start reading this post again. I, out of all people have deep respect for all religions or no religion. It doesn't matter to me what faith a person conforms to. Like many secular Indians, I have very good friends who are Muslims, I enjoy the sevaiyan on Eid. I love the amazingly delicious food that marks the entire month of ramzzan. I see myself no different from my muslims friends. We wear the same clothes, we sweat after the same superstars. No one can look at my Muslim friends and me and say for sure what are respective beliefs are.
But then this Sunday happened. I was going on and on about how I wish the partition had never happened. So that all these incidents would never happened. There would not have been the threat of an angry neighbor. But one of my friend, Aditya a.k.a Chintu, pointed out that in one way the separation was a good thing. Being a country with equal number of people of two very different religion would have torn the country apart. Politics would have been based on nothing but religion. And who knows, if democracy would be the same as it is today. ( India, though very young, is lauded for its democracy). He also pointed out that India and Pakistan. Both the countries have the same history. The same people. The only thing that differs is the religion. But look where India is and where Pakistan is today. This itself speaks for itself.
At first, when I heard my friend say these things, it didn't seem right to me. Its not prudent to say one's religion is superior that the other. But the more I thought about it, the more it felt right. There are so many religions in the world. No one has done so much damage to innocent people than the people of Islamic faith. Most of the Islamic countries have inherent domestic terrorism.
This is strange because in all the pre Independence books and movies, Muslims are shown as learned men. What happened then? I believe how religion affects a person's action boils down to how stringent the religion is. Hinduism has always been forgiving and has been changing or rather evolving over time. For e.g., the belief of untouchable(practiced by every high caste Hindu, a few decades ago) has almost nonexistent. However, Islamic Universities still continue to teach that Jews are pigs and monkeys. And that women and men must be stoned to death for committing adultery. Source.
In the article linked above, the author says "There is a certain schizophrenia among many Muslims who seem to believe that it is acceptable to teach hatred and violence in the name of their religion, while at the same time expecting the world to respect Islam as "a religion of peace, love and harmony." " Its very important for Islamic community to show that their religion does not harbor hatred and that their beliefs too can evolve with the times. Issues such as modernization of madrasas, abortion, birth control need to be studied and agreed upon by the entire community. ( I have heard from many that birth control is unholy in Islam but also have read that its legal).
Lastly, after the 26/11 Mumbai incident, there was one flicker of hope. The decision of the Indian muslim community not to allow the burial of the terrorist in India reinforced the message of democracy and secularism of India. It was a brave decision and it sent out the right message in those dire days. A article by Thomas Friedman
Kudos to the leadership of India's Muslim community. Its time to speak up. Not as muslims, not as Hindus but as very proud Indians.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Is it time for Atlas to shrug?
I was reading this article from the Economist today. Link. The article gives data that since the US government has taken (or tried to take) the economic reins into its hand, the sale for Ayn Rand's book "Atlas Shrugged" has gone up. People have been comparing today's scenario with the times mentioned in the book. Many are hailing the book because many small or privately owned banks have stood tall during this recession while many big and public banks have weathered. While many say that the world is inching towards a situation where innovators will not be rewarded (like the anti trust case on Microsoft which broke the company apart)
This really got me into thinking about what do I think about what's happening nowadays?
There are many points that I wanted to write about
1) Nationalization of banks
I do believe that fascism, socialism, communism kills competition and in turn kills innovation. But what should be done in this situation? Should the banks be allowed to fail or should government stimulate the banks with more tax payers money? Many people believe that banks should be allowed to fail and the tax payers money should be given back to the people. It makes sense but this solution is wrong in the long term. The main agenda for the government to bailout the banks is to stop the market from coming to a complete standstill. Imagine the scenario where the government allows the banks to fail. Millions of people lose their jobs and their savings. The price of commodities/markets comes down to pennies. Now if the government gives money to the people, what will most of the people do? Put the money under the mattress and save like there is no tomorrow. So there is very little market circulation, there is plenty of supply, no demand and therefore price of most of the things is worthless. Now, if the government bails out these banks, people still have job, people can take loans, make deposits and the whole money supply chain continues. therefore I think, in this dire situation in which no one knows the correct solution, it is worthwhile for the govt to bail out these banks. Of course, its prudent that these banks and auto companies don't misuse these funds to pay off bonuses. Talent should be rewarded but not from someone Else's pocket.
2) an Lassiez Faire economy: I do not believe in a total Lassiez Faire economy. I think there has to be regulation. Greed is a double edged sword. In the right people, it can bring immense benefit but in the wrong people it can bring great despair. I am not worried about the first group of people , its the second group for which regulation exists. And since all men must be treated equal, regulation must exist. The bigger question is how much? Make it little and its next to nothing and make it more and it becomes a pain in the ass. I think all regulations should follow the imperial model. As it grows, refine it and adjust it to suit the conditions. Of course there is no correct answer (if there was, we would be living as robots).
3) Big companies. If I started the company and it really hit it off well, should I allow it to grow very big? Like google? I think even if my company became a hit, I will not want to let it grow into a big company. There are many reasons. With big company, I will loose control. There will be many decisions that I will not make. But since the company is my baby, I will want to make all decisions. What will actually happen, only time will tell
This really got me into thinking about what do I think about what's happening nowadays?
There are many points that I wanted to write about
1) Nationalization of banks
I do believe that fascism, socialism, communism kills competition and in turn kills innovation. But what should be done in this situation? Should the banks be allowed to fail or should government stimulate the banks with more tax payers money? Many people believe that banks should be allowed to fail and the tax payers money should be given back to the people. It makes sense but this solution is wrong in the long term. The main agenda for the government to bailout the banks is to stop the market from coming to a complete standstill. Imagine the scenario where the government allows the banks to fail. Millions of people lose their jobs and their savings. The price of commodities/markets comes down to pennies. Now if the government gives money to the people, what will most of the people do? Put the money under the mattress and save like there is no tomorrow. So there is very little market circulation, there is plenty of supply, no demand and therefore price of most of the things is worthless. Now, if the government bails out these banks, people still have job, people can take loans, make deposits and the whole money supply chain continues. therefore I think, in this dire situation in which no one knows the correct solution, it is worthwhile for the govt to bail out these banks. Of course, its prudent that these banks and auto companies don't misuse these funds to pay off bonuses. Talent should be rewarded but not from someone Else's pocket.
2) an Lassiez Faire economy: I do not believe in a total Lassiez Faire economy. I think there has to be regulation. Greed is a double edged sword. In the right people, it can bring immense benefit but in the wrong people it can bring great despair. I am not worried about the first group of people , its the second group for which regulation exists. And since all men must be treated equal, regulation must exist. The bigger question is how much? Make it little and its next to nothing and make it more and it becomes a pain in the ass. I think all regulations should follow the imperial model. As it grows, refine it and adjust it to suit the conditions. Of course there is no correct answer (if there was, we would be living as robots).
3) Big companies. If I started the company and it really hit it off well, should I allow it to grow very big? Like google? I think even if my company became a hit, I will not want to let it grow into a big company. There are many reasons. With big company, I will loose control. There will be many decisions that I will not make. But since the company is my baby, I will want to make all decisions. What will actually happen, only time will tell
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