A > Only 60% of Indians are on electoral rolls. Out of Which only 60% voted.
A > ..and the UPA government got 28% of those votes...so actually only 10% of India voted for Manmohan Singh.
B > (smiles)
B > To put things in perspective, The Great Indian laughter Challenge's viewership is 12%.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
IQ (Imagination Quotient)...
Imagination is important.
Arguably, every major problem on earth can be attributed to either lack or excess of imagination. Terrorists/suicide bombers have too much imagination about afterlife.
Politicians have too little of imagination about everything..from nuclear-energy to health, from infrastructure to education.
Imagination is like a talent and can be developed through practice.
Well-traveled people seem to have enhanced imaginations.. they can imagine the world better through other people’s eyes/perspectives. Interior designers who have seen lots of different homes are better at imagining how to furnish your empty house. They can imagine better.
So, I think it’s entirely feasible to change people’s skills at imagining.
I guess, there should be at least one class on imagination in every school. Students would polish upon their imagination skills. The cource should include tools of critical thinking to curb excess imagination, learn to recognize and suppress their own biases so they can imagine things outside their social box. All this helps in out-of-the-box thinking...lateral thinking you know.
This won’t happen, but imagining this makes me imagine more and feel happy.
Researchers, probably could come up with some hypothetical questions to test people’s baseline willingness to imagine things.
So, what's your IQ (Imagination Quotient)?
Update: 19-Oct-2007
As a head start, can you attribute imagination to happiness?
Just imagine..
Arguably, every major problem on earth can be attributed to either lack or excess of imagination. Terrorists/suicide bombers have too much imagination about afterlife.
Politicians have too little of imagination about everything..from nuclear-energy to health, from infrastructure to education.
Imagination is like a talent and can be developed through practice.
Well-traveled people seem to have enhanced imaginations.. they can imagine the world better through other people’s eyes/perspectives. Interior designers who have seen lots of different homes are better at imagining how to furnish your empty house. They can imagine better.
So, I think it’s entirely feasible to change people’s skills at imagining.
I guess, there should be at least one class on imagination in every school. Students would polish upon their imagination skills. The cource should include tools of critical thinking to curb excess imagination, learn to recognize and suppress their own biases so they can imagine things outside their social box. All this helps in out-of-the-box thinking...lateral thinking you know.
This won’t happen, but imagining this makes me imagine more and feel happy.
Researchers, probably could come up with some hypothetical questions to test people’s baseline willingness to imagine things.
So, what's your IQ (Imagination Quotient)?
Update: 19-Oct-2007
As a head start, can you attribute imagination to happiness?
Just imagine..
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Zonked..
Weekend.
Turned down friend's invite for a movie.
Turned down party.
Wanted to study for the VCP
...had plans for this since long..
Everything's all set..vouchers..study material..everything but preparation.
Ended up sleeping and net surfing for hours.the whole weekend.
Think I'll study now.
Maybe sleep.
Sleep it is...
Turned down friend's invite for a movie.
Turned down party.
Wanted to study for the VCP
...had plans for this since long..
Everything's all set..vouchers..study material..everything but preparation.
Ended up sleeping and net surfing for hours.the whole weekend.
Think I'll study now.
Maybe sleep.
Sleep it is...
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
The 'P' in Politics..
Curtsy: Lead.TOI
Looks like India is poised to have the real 'P'(people) in Politics...
No doubts..nice initiative.
"Self Nominated" leaders (link) is the best part here...
And the desperation in people..to be called themselves a leader..its amazing.
As of now, I don't see even a single nomination which is NOT "Self Nominated" there...wow..
Yes, you are right, I'm questioning the very (diluted) spirit of patriotism here..
Related: Right Path, Lead By Example, Choices we Have
---
Edit (18-Aug-2007): s/"patriotism"/"spirit of patriotism"/
Looks like India is poised to have the real 'P'(people) in Politics...
No doubts..nice initiative.
"Self Nominated" leaders (link) is the best part here...
And the desperation in people..to be called themselves a leader..its amazing.
As of now, I don't see even a single nomination which is NOT "Self Nominated" there...wow..
Yes, you are right, I'm questioning the very (diluted) spirit of patriotism here..
Related: Right Path, Lead By Example, Choices we Have
---
Edit (18-Aug-2007): s/"patriotism"/"spirit of patriotism"/
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Lies et. all..
It occurs that the other person is talking lies..and I am very much aware of it.
I usually keep myself mum and keep listening(and nodding)..eventually(and finally) the person realizes this. (often after a couple of days..but that's fine with me).
Best part with this arrangement is..he'll never ever behave weired with you again.
I can always easily snap on his face..."dude! I know you are lying so just shut up!.." but that's not what I prefer to do.
You cannot ever convey your message across if you are attacking face to face. I always prefer to keep mum and give them some sort of room to realize what he is doing.
This also help in keeping intact the dignity of the other guy. No egos hurt..no harm done...It's all red pill that I have..take it or leave it.
This has always worked for me..until now.
But now I have this never before classic case...
This creature in question...has constantly been talking all lies to me...since last couple of months this time. I..as usual..have been listening patiently all the way till now...hoping that there will be one fine day with all the required wisdom..
But I seem to be giving up on my patience now...I just hope..the day comes soon...and the the Gods enlighten it with the divine knowledge : no-one around is that stupid.
I wonder what makes people behave all that stupid..what are they trying to prove?
Behavioral report would probably have words like: lack of confidence, low self-esteem, split personality..etc..etc.
oh yes...and that's not the only smart thing about these creatures.. They'll constantly keep checking/spying on you...just to see if you are correct with whatever you claim to be...(or for reasons I'm not yet aware of)
creepy isn't it?
I usually keep myself mum and keep listening(and nodding)..eventually(and finally) the person realizes this. (often after a couple of days..but that's fine with me).
Best part with this arrangement is..he'll never ever behave weired with you again.
I can always easily snap on his face..."dude! I know you are lying so just shut up!.." but that's not what I prefer to do.
You cannot ever convey your message across if you are attacking face to face. I always prefer to keep mum and give them some sort of room to realize what he is doing.
This also help in keeping intact the dignity of the other guy. No egos hurt..no harm done...It's all red pill that I have..take it or leave it.
This has always worked for me..until now.
But now I have this never before classic case...
This creature in question...has constantly been talking all lies to me...since last couple of months this time. I..as usual..have been listening patiently all the way till now...hoping that there will be one fine day with all the required wisdom..
But I seem to be giving up on my patience now...I just hope..the day comes soon...and the the Gods enlighten it with the divine knowledge : no-one around is that stupid.
I wonder what makes people behave all that stupid..what are they trying to prove?
Behavioral report would probably have words like: lack of confidence, low self-esteem, split personality..etc..etc.
oh yes...and that's not the only smart thing about these creatures.. They'll constantly keep checking/spying on you...just to see if you are correct with whatever you claim to be...(or for reasons I'm not yet aware of)
creepy isn't it?
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Are you Sure...?
Can you ever be 100% sure about anything..(in life)?
Does, having a feeling of 99% certainty enough..OR, do you need to feel 99.9..9% sure?
If you 'dream' to be 100% sure, you probably don’t understand how human brains work.
It’s pretty common for us to be certain about things that later turn out to be completely false. It happens all the time..with everyone. (to me..YES it happens).
If it has ever happened to you, then, you know you can’t always trust your powers of being certain.
That also means that you also listen to/rely on your instincts. (which, btw, are never 100% certain).
(Read Blink and you'll get more of what I'm saying.)
Our brains are not 100% reliable. A human can’t be 100% certain about anything. We are just not designed that way.
You might argue that being 99.9..9% certain is as good as being 100% certain.
Well, that is bad mathematics. Let me skew your thoughts a bit more..:)
For example, you might agree to take..lets say, 5% risk of stock market crash, but you wont accept the same ammount(5%) of risk of for a nuclear war.
Larger the problem, less is risk you are willing to take ..right?
Someone said, even a small chance(0.0..1%) of spending eternity in hell has to be taken seriously.
Eternity is a long time. An eternity in hell could be the largest possible penalty.
So while you might not worry about 0.0..1% chance of ending up in Hell(of which, I have my own doubts), you can’t deny the mathematics. 0.0.1% of eternity is a lot longer than your entire mortal life. Probably..infinitely longer.
It might even turn out that even GOD lacks the ability to be 100% sure. As interesting as it is...all that God really wants from his followers is faith/belief.
Well, how could someone as self-assured as God, (who obviously must be aware of his own existence), would want something else as their priority among followers - such as their quest to lead a good life, or accept others openly. And not just faith..
You can only be as sure as humanly as possible...
Does, having a feeling of 99% certainty enough..OR, do you need to feel 99.9..9% sure?
If you 'dream' to be 100% sure, you probably don’t understand how human brains work.
It’s pretty common for us to be certain about things that later turn out to be completely false. It happens all the time..with everyone. (to me..YES it happens).
If it has ever happened to you, then, you know you can’t always trust your powers of being certain.
That also means that you also listen to/rely on your instincts. (which, btw, are never 100% certain).
(Read Blink and you'll get more of what I'm saying.)
Our brains are not 100% reliable. A human can’t be 100% certain about anything. We are just not designed that way.
You might argue that being 99.9..9% certain is as good as being 100% certain.
Well, that is bad mathematics. Let me skew your thoughts a bit more..:)
For example, you might agree to take..lets say, 5% risk of stock market crash, but you wont accept the same ammount(5%) of risk of for a nuclear war.
Larger the problem, less is risk you are willing to take ..right?
Someone said, even a small chance(0.0..1%) of spending eternity in hell has to be taken seriously.
Eternity is a long time. An eternity in hell could be the largest possible penalty.
So while you might not worry about 0.0..1% chance of ending up in Hell(of which, I have my own doubts), you can’t deny the mathematics. 0.0.1% of eternity is a lot longer than your entire mortal life. Probably..infinitely longer.
It might even turn out that even GOD lacks the ability to be 100% sure. As interesting as it is...all that God really wants from his followers is faith/belief.
Well, how could someone as self-assured as God, (who obviously must be aware of his own existence), would want something else as their priority among followers - such as their quest to lead a good life, or accept others openly. And not just faith..
You can only be as sure as humanly as possible...
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Right Path...
Consider this...
You are all set to go for a long journey..and all the (so called) experts tell(ask/advise/instruct) you to take path-A..but you decide to take path-B ..
(may be...Seagull in you sparked...and you ended up following path-B).
You’re probably stupid.
But if you get lucky, and discover (for instance) a pot of gold along the *stupid* path..people will call you a leader.
You’ll still be stupid...but fewer people will feel the need to point that out...
When you’re in charge..there can not be much of rewards in following the expert's path. The best you'll achieve is the label “competent”.
The faintest of praise for you could be...“XYZ is competent”.
To me it sounds like...barely better than being incompetent.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, as the case may be)..life is too complex to know for sure if taking path-A (or path-B) would work out best. Even the experts often get it wrong.
Having said that, this guarantees that a fair number of stupid people would be judged great leaders. They will take the wrong path and things will turn out right for them...
oh..btw, how are we defining stupidity (and who is doing this for us) anyways?
(thinking..)
You are all set to go for a long journey..and all the (so called) experts tell(ask/advise/instruct) you to take path-A..but you decide to take path-B ..
(may be...Seagull in you sparked...and you ended up following path-B).
You’re probably stupid.
But if you get lucky, and discover (for instance) a pot of gold along the *stupid* path..people will call you a leader.
You’ll still be stupid...but fewer people will feel the need to point that out...
When you’re in charge..there can not be much of rewards in following the expert's path. The best you'll achieve is the label “competent”.
The faintest of praise for you could be...“XYZ is competent”.
To me it sounds like...barely better than being incompetent.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, as the case may be)..life is too complex to know for sure if taking path-A (or path-B) would work out best. Even the experts often get it wrong.
Having said that, this guarantees that a fair number of stupid people would be judged great leaders. They will take the wrong path and things will turn out right for them...
oh..btw, how are we defining stupidity (and who is doing this for us) anyways?
(thinking..)
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Imagination...
I have a feedback that every other day I come up with a hypothesis that sounds correct(to me) and that ends up having an added advantage of being totally impossible to verify(for others).
What I mean to say is…if you happen to have an excellent imagination…you might enjoy people, but..at the same time.. you’ll be equally happy being alone with your thoughts for long stretches..
In other words…(and to keep it blunt) *you fascinate yourself*.
(I had this post since long.. but couldn't get time to post it..things kept me too busy)
Edited: 18-May-2007.
That’s almost as good as knowledge for me…(yet another hypothesis it is..)
What I mean to say is…if you happen to have an excellent imagination…you might enjoy people, but..at the same time.. you’ll be equally happy being alone with your thoughts for long stretches..
In other words…(and to keep it blunt) *you fascinate yourself*.
All this being said with the assumption that…people have widely different powers(or levels) of imagination.
To me, this seems to be a possibility. People are all over the world…with every possible mental ability…
Whatever is happening inside the mind of a person with the worst possible imagination on earth is clearly very different from what’s happening in the mind of the most creative…You wouldn’t want to be left alone with your “thoughts” for more than two minutes…you can’t meditate…etc etc..because your empty-thoughtness would scare you to death…
As a workaround…you have to keep your mind engaged 100% of the times…and not giving it a chance to “think”.On the other end of the spectrum…if your imagination is extraordinary/creative… interaction with other people will just get in the way of incredible/enjoyable experiences you could otherwise be having entirely in your head…
btw…where do you lie on this imagination-spectrum..?(I had this post since long.. but couldn't get time to post it..things kept me too busy)
Edited: 18-May-2007.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
The Perception of Being Fair..
The thought occurred to me at the traffic lights..two kids asking for money appeared from no where...both contending to get something from me. I wanted to be fair with them trying to give them both something in equality.
I think being fair is a funny illusion. Yes, it's one of the most useful illusions..but nonetheless..it’s an illusion. [usefulness of illusions is not what I'm trying to make out here..lets leave that for now..]
Just imagine, trying to divide 10 similar toys between two kids. You'll probably end up giving 5 toys to each kid and will suffer from this illusion of being fair. The kids would also probably agree with the arrangement(free will theory you know) and the illusion of fairness would work just fine.
Now the question is...is five toys per each child actually fair?
Dont we wish/need to know how many toys each kid already owns? What if one kid already has hundreds of them and the other has none?
If you have studied economics, u'll conclude that marginal utility of an extra toy is way much higher for the toy-poor kid.
Shouldn't their different level of enthusiasm for toys also come into the picture?
Remember, you're trying to be fair with their happiness ...and not their toys.
Just in case...what if one of the kids loves toys 'n' times higher than the other...How would you be fair in that case?
I'll, probably end up giving most of the toys to the kid who doesn’t enjoy them as much. The theory being...he'll need more toys to obtain the same level of happiness as the toy lover gets with one...:)
[..Of course this solution would cause one of the kids to melt-down..coz it wouldn’t have the illusion of fairness]
Even further...this simplest example of fairness falls apart when you put it under scrutiny.
Luckily, most of the people are morons...so they'll imagine fairness where none exists..otherwise nothing would ever get done :)
I think being fair is a funny illusion. Yes, it's one of the most useful illusions..but nonetheless..it’s an illusion. [usefulness of illusions is not what I'm trying to make out here..lets leave that for now..]
Just imagine, trying to divide 10 similar toys between two kids. You'll probably end up giving 5 toys to each kid and will suffer from this illusion of being fair. The kids would also probably agree with the arrangement(free will theory you know) and the illusion of fairness would work just fine.
Now the question is...is five toys per each child actually fair?
Dont we wish/need to know how many toys each kid already owns? What if one kid already has hundreds of them and the other has none?
If you have studied economics, u'll conclude that marginal utility of an extra toy is way much higher for the toy-poor kid.
Shouldn't their different level of enthusiasm for toys also come into the picture?
Remember, you're trying to be fair with their happiness ...and not their toys.
Just in case...what if one of the kids loves toys 'n' times higher than the other...How would you be fair in that case?
I'll, probably end up giving most of the toys to the kid who doesn’t enjoy them as much. The theory being...he'll need more toys to obtain the same level of happiness as the toy lover gets with one...:)
[..Of course this solution would cause one of the kids to melt-down..coz it wouldn’t have the illusion of fairness]
Even further...this simplest example of fairness falls apart when you put it under scrutiny.
Luckily, most of the people are morons...so they'll imagine fairness where none exists..otherwise nothing would ever get done :)
Saturday, March 24, 2007
"The Happyness Formula" book..
Every time I see a self-improvement book in the shelves...I fantasize about myself writing a book someday...
And...how about if we could come up with a formal and conclusive *Happiness Formula"..
Basically the idea would be to derive down a simple and precise formula which could *troubleshoot life* and (probably)...improve your happiness.
(now..this could go on back cover..and by using troubleshoot-your-life phrases..I would have already incepted in the readers mind: your life is pathetic and you need to read this book...etc etc..)
On page one I would like to put this top formula:
(F-1)
Happiness = Health + Money (wealth) + Social life (community) + Meaning (for some of you this would mean spirituality..but this is what not I mean).
Rest of the book would contain some nested formulas(with random permutations and combinations of above components).. that would further explain each component of happiness...
For instance...
(F-2)
Health = Sleep + Diet + Exercise
..down another level..
(F-3)
Sleep = Schedule + Technique
..until it starts getting practical...
(F-4)
Sleep Technique = Consistent bedtime and waking time + no reading or TV in bed + no booze or caffeine…
...and so on.
Going further, just to make *The Happiness Formula* extra useful...the highest priority would appear first (leftmost) in the formula.
For example, in the top Happiness Formula (F-1), health is a higher priority than money, which is a higher priority than social life...etc...
I realize you might not agree with my ranking of priorities..and point out all the exceptions...
For example..you might argue..if you have no money..you might not afford to be healthy. But the formula only shows priorities, not absolutes.
Obviously you always need money flowing in...but take it this way...the priority shows that you shouldn’t take a job with high pay that will significantly affect your health. It makes more sense to get healthy and then leverage your health to get the best job.
And, Healthy looking people land better jobs and are more highly paid. Their brains work better too...and they have more energy...
I have ranked money higher than social life (and meaning)..because once you have money..those other things are easier to get. For instance...you cannot have much of a social life...if you can’t afford to do anything. And..obviously..you can’t make money if your health is a mess...
I would further..go on with some rambling about more of further derived confused fundas ...like explaining how could something like “money” can be broken down into a formula so easily that virtually anyone can just follow it to get more...
(I believe: small, simple and precise is always appreciated)
I think it can be done...
(F-5)
Money = Income + Investments
We could further go ahead with a small and precise Investment plan..endorsed by some economists/financial planners..
(F-6)
Investments = Do these steps in the order shown:
1. Make a will
2. Pay off your credit cards and all other short term loans.
3. Get life insurance if you have dependents.
4. Buy a house if you want to live in a house.
5. Put six months worth of expenses in a money-market.
6. Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund and never touch it until retirement.
7. If any of the above confuses you..or you have something special going on (nearing retirement, further studies, tax issues), hire a fee-based financial planner, not the usual insurance-cum-investment agents(they'll mess up your finances).
What stops me from converting this *The Happiness Formula* into a book is...it would hardly be about (say) 20 pages long. Its power is in its brevity, and brevity is not rewarded in our economy.(you know what I mean).
If the best book in the world was only 20 pages long, no one would buy it. They would stand on the shelves and read it cover to cover... :(
Maybe a wiki project would do just fine...
Related: Aim of Life
And...how about if we could come up with a formal and conclusive *Happiness Formula"..
Basically the idea would be to derive down a simple and precise formula which could *troubleshoot life* and (probably)...improve your happiness.
(now..this could go on back cover..and by using troubleshoot-your-life phrases..I would have already incepted in the readers mind: your life is pathetic and you need to read this book...etc etc..)
On page one I would like to put this top formula:
(F-1)
Happiness = Health + Money (wealth) + Social life (community) + Meaning (for some of you this would mean spirituality..but this is what not I mean).
Rest of the book would contain some nested formulas(with random permutations and combinations of above components).. that would further explain each component of happiness...
For instance...
(F-2)
Health = Sleep + Diet + Exercise
..down another level..
(F-3)
Sleep = Schedule + Technique
..until it starts getting practical...
(F-4)
Sleep Technique = Consistent bedtime and waking time + no reading or TV in bed + no booze or caffeine…
...and so on.
Going further, just to make *The Happiness Formula* extra useful...the highest priority would appear first (leftmost) in the formula.
For example, in the top Happiness Formula (F-1), health is a higher priority than money, which is a higher priority than social life...etc...
I realize you might not agree with my ranking of priorities..and point out all the exceptions...
For example..you might argue..if you have no money..you might not afford to be healthy. But the formula only shows priorities, not absolutes.
Obviously you always need money flowing in...but take it this way...the priority shows that you shouldn’t take a job with high pay that will significantly affect your health. It makes more sense to get healthy and then leverage your health to get the best job.
And, Healthy looking people land better jobs and are more highly paid. Their brains work better too...and they have more energy...
I have ranked money higher than social life (and meaning)..because once you have money..those other things are easier to get. For instance...you cannot have much of a social life...if you can’t afford to do anything. And..obviously..you can’t make money if your health is a mess...
I would further..go on with some rambling about more of further derived confused fundas ...like explaining how could something like “money” can be broken down into a formula so easily that virtually anyone can just follow it to get more...
(I believe: small, simple and precise is always appreciated)
I think it can be done...
(F-5)
Money = Income + Investments
We could further go ahead with a small and precise Investment plan..endorsed by some economists/financial planners..
(F-6)
Investments = Do these steps in the order shown:
1. Make a will
2. Pay off your credit cards and all other short term loans.
3. Get life insurance if you have dependents.
4. Buy a house if you want to live in a house.
5. Put six months worth of expenses in a money-market.
6. Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund and never touch it until retirement.
7. If any of the above confuses you..or you have something special going on (nearing retirement, further studies, tax issues), hire a fee-based financial planner, not the usual insurance-cum-investment agents(they'll mess up your finances).
What stops me from converting this *The Happiness Formula* into a book is...it would hardly be about (say) 20 pages long. Its power is in its brevity, and brevity is not rewarded in our economy.(you know what I mean).
If the best book in the world was only 20 pages long, no one would buy it. They would stand on the shelves and read it cover to cover... :(
Maybe a wiki project would do just fine...
Related: Aim of Life
Monday, March 12, 2007
Who's next...?
This one is on a serious note. CNBC had an excellent talk this Sunday...and here's the pollution:
China's Shanghai stock market had a 9% plunge..and led to a global sell-off on 27th Feb, 2007.
And the question was..who' next?...
I strongly believe(now), it's India next..to me, the country(mostly) looks like it's on the road to a *genuine* economic and political crisis...
(me going pessimist?? NO!...hold on your arguments for a while please...)
Reasons being:
In the long term, however, I think India still remains the most attractive of all global stock markets:
Short-term risks:
It's difficult to predict...how deep any credit crunch might be or how much RBI might have to slow down the economy to reduce inflation to its..so called..5-5.5% comfort zone...
Subduing inflation in India would require big increases in supply...
Indian companies..now operating at full capacity...and with improvements in infrastructure that reduce the costs of moving food and fuel...this seems achieveable.
But, I don't know...
---->how long the Congress government will be able to *cling* to power...
---->how other global markets would react to a big drop in Indian stocks...
---->when all of this *would* happen... :)
The core of the problem (per the talks..):
"The imbalance between urban-areas-quickly-growing-wealthy (in Indian terms..) and rural-areas-left-behind in the boom."
All this mess took a while to create...and it will take a while to correct. Crises could be seen within that 18-24 month window...
Long-term rewards:
Stats: The average return on equity for Indian companies(BSE): 21%.
Average return on equity for the U.S ($INX): 18.7%
-> Middle class population(2005): 200-300 million (approx.)
-> India's Per capita GDP(2005): $3,460
-> China's per capita(2005): $6,660 (We are still poorer than China...)
----> Only 10% of Indians have life insurance.
----> Only 2% have credit cards.
----> Only 15% Indians have refrigerators.
China's Shanghai stock market had a 9% plunge..and led to a global sell-off on 27th Feb, 2007.
And the question was..who' next?...
I strongly believe(now), it's India next..to me, the country(mostly) looks like it's on the road to a *genuine* economic and political crisis...
(me going pessimist?? NO!...hold on your arguments for a while please...)
Reasons being:
- we're as big as China. It's growing just about as fast...
- Our economy is in more danger of overheating...
- And...we now are more dependent on speculative hot money...
- We have already suffered a ~30% drop in May-June, 2006, so similar volatility cannot be ruled out.
In the long term, however, I think India still remains the most attractive of all global stock markets:
- Our population is younger than China..
- Our education system is expanding and improving..
- Our companies are now more focused on creating wealth for shareholders...ha!
- Do the long-term rewards outweigh the short-term risks?
- Should I (as investor)..buy in now...determined to weather any storm that may come?
- -> or instead, should I simply wait for the rain to fall and the clouds to clear?...and how long?
Short-term risks:
- Asset prices are high...so high that they show all the signs of a classic asset bubble. Property values have soared...value of prime office space in metros are up by double digits (>50%) the last year...these high asset prices depend on a flood of easily withdrawn overseas hot money...and India being very dependent on global cash flows...makes it all the more vulnerable
- Bank lending is out of control...RBI trying hard to control it but in vain till now.
- Inflation is out of control. Nationally, inflation recently hit a two-year high of 6.7% and is running even higher specially in rural areas where two-thirds of India resides.
- RBI recently raised its benchmark interest rate to 7.5% at the end of January...without noticeably slowing neither inflation..nor..the lending boom.
- FM has *intelligently* undercut the central bank's efforts...urging banks not to pass on interest rate increase to lenders...kudos!!
- A big domestic credit crunch ahead...caused when lenders stop lending...and..borrowers can't get the cash they need to run their businesses.
- Causing India to fall far short of all current forecasts of annual growth...foreign investors start withdrawing money from BSE...resulting in yet another *major* correction...
- Consider Congress Party government losing power. After stumbling with politically motivated attempts to reduce food and fuel prices in rural areas...the new government bites the bullet...and raises interest rates, and cuts down bank lending enough to slow inflation...and eventually the economy slows down. On the other hand, this might lead to return of overseas cash back in also.
It's difficult to predict...how deep any credit crunch might be or how much RBI might have to slow down the economy to reduce inflation to its..so called..5-5.5% comfort zone...
Subduing inflation in India would require big increases in supply...
Indian companies..now operating at full capacity...and with improvements in infrastructure that reduce the costs of moving food and fuel...this seems achieveable.
But, I don't know...
---->how long the Congress government will be able to *cling* to power...
---->how other global markets would react to a big drop in Indian stocks...
---->when all of this *would* happen... :)
The core of the problem (per the talks..):
"The imbalance between urban-areas-quickly-growing-wealthy (in Indian terms..) and rural-areas-left-behind in the boom."
All this mess took a while to create...and it will take a while to correct. Crises could be seen within that 18-24 month window...
Long-term rewards:
- There's no going back to the highly-regulated-economy of the past...open-up is the theme.. Even the Congress Party..(clearly not a friend of open economy)..wasn't able to resist the momentum. And with Indian companies increasingly making big bucks from the global economy, there's no reason to put the genie back in the bottle. That means future growth should be pretty decent..(7-10% ?).
- We have enough numbers (population) to make a decent consumer economy/market. So, even if we are still poorer than China, growth in consumption should be able to take off the overall economy...
- Government realizes the need to catch up...education is getting the attention..and money too. Recent budget has shown the same.
- Thanks to the recent population explosion..half of our population in below 25 years of age...This means that we have the required time to fix our problems before the needs of a huge old aged (60 and older) begin to dip into national savings.....younger economy grow faster..
- Our companies have a culture of creating value for shareholders. It's subjective..but it's important. Many companies here...and some of the biggest...have family driven culture. I think that culture takes much better care of shareholders!..than that of corporate China..where companies are often run to enrich local officials, managers and elites.
- Companies traditionally have shown above-average profitability...inspite of being short of cash flows...so coping up with cash shouldn't be much of a problem.
Stats: The average return on equity for Indian companies(BSE): 21%.
Average return on equity for the U.S ($INX): 18.7%
-> Middle class population(2005): 200-300 million (approx.)
-> India's Per capita GDP(2005): $3,460
-> China's per capita(2005): $6,660 (We are still poorer than China...)
----> Only 10% of Indians have life insurance.
----> Only 2% have credit cards.
----> Only 15% Indians have refrigerators.
State of affairs...
"A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude. To make them love it is the task assigned,in present-day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda,newspaper editors and schoolteachers."
-- Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)
Author Source: Forward to 'Brave New World', 1932
-- Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)
Author Source: Forward to 'Brave New World', 1932
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Self Brain Examination...
Just a parody of... you know what!
Brain irregularities have been found rare among women, probably because brains are rare to that subgroup.
Nonethless...if you'r a woman..and unfortunate enough to have a brain...then it is strongly recommended to conduct a self-examination for brain irregularities once every month...
Rub your fingers gently all over your head to check for any lumps. Some lumps are quite benign and can just be ignored..e.g...the nose.
Remember that..some lumps can actually prove beneficial..the nose being a good example.
No..not just because of some healthy nose'y reasons.
Nose can be also used to emit a snort at unexpected moments...to stun the enemy at a distance...or to divert his attention. Some women have (in fact)..mastered the art till the point that they can paralyze an unwary prey at long distance over a mobile phone.
Women in love are considered a high-risk group.
They are susceptible to large emotional swings...and they cause general upheaval among all concerned. Usually these symptoms can be detected as a lump in the throat.. not in the throat of the afflicted woman...but that of the beloved victim...
Women who are in their shopping period should conduct the examination only after atleast a week has elapsed. This is because their bodies are flooded with *loot-o-throne* hormones...which make their brains naturally lumpy during this period.
Women afflicted with credit-card-syndrome should allow 2 extra days to elapse to let the additional hormones subside.
Studies have found two responsible hormones : *loot-o-throne* and *plunder-o-gen*.
These two are countered by a third hormone called *sense-i-mone*.
Female body strives to maintain a very delicate balance of these opposing forces...at all times..
Please be aware that this fine balance can easily be disturbed by triggers like a TV commercial...or...vicinity of a shopping mall.
In case an irregularity is detected...there is no cause for alarm...as the cure is simple: *brain removal*.
Studies have also proved that most daily activities can be performed without it. Some researchers even argue for female brain being a subsidiary organ.
Evidently...some women with severed brains have even gone on to become successful supermodels..TV anchors and bollywood heroines.
It is even suspected that brain removal might be the reason for their success...
Brain irregularities have been found rare among women, probably because brains are rare to that subgroup.
Nonethless...if you'r a woman..and unfortunate enough to have a brain...then it is strongly recommended to conduct a self-examination for brain irregularities once every month...
Rub your fingers gently all over your head to check for any lumps. Some lumps are quite benign and can just be ignored..e.g...the nose.
Remember that..some lumps can actually prove beneficial..the nose being a good example.
No..not just because of some healthy nose'y reasons.
Nose can be also used to emit a snort at unexpected moments...to stun the enemy at a distance...or to divert his attention. Some women have (in fact)..mastered the art till the point that they can paralyze an unwary prey at long distance over a mobile phone.
Women in love are considered a high-risk group.
They are susceptible to large emotional swings...and they cause general upheaval among all concerned. Usually these symptoms can be detected as a lump in the throat.. not in the throat of the afflicted woman...but that of the beloved victim...
Women who are in their shopping period should conduct the examination only after atleast a week has elapsed. This is because their bodies are flooded with *loot-o-throne* hormones...which make their brains naturally lumpy during this period.
Women afflicted with credit-card-syndrome should allow 2 extra days to elapse to let the additional hormones subside.
Studies have found two responsible hormones : *loot-o-throne* and *plunder-o-gen*.
These two are countered by a third hormone called *sense-i-mone*.
Female body strives to maintain a very delicate balance of these opposing forces...at all times..
Please be aware that this fine balance can easily be disturbed by triggers like a TV commercial...or...vicinity of a shopping mall.
In case an irregularity is detected...there is no cause for alarm...as the cure is simple: *brain removal*.
Studies have also proved that most daily activities can be performed without it. Some researchers even argue for female brain being a subsidiary organ.
Evidently...some women with severed brains have even gone on to become successful supermodels..TV anchors and bollywood heroines.
It is even suspected that brain removal might be the reason for their success...
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
laws of Attraction...
A girl..in class..thinking:
"Am I so attractive?..why is everyone trying to impress me?..this never happened in my college days..”
She was just wondering why was she getting so much attention from boys around...
Economics teacher's loud voice interrupted her...
"Prices of goods are decided by forces of demand and supply...when demand for goods is significantly more than supply of goods then prices of goods increase... even though there is no change in the intrinsic value of goods..."
She got the answer.
Edit(6-March-07):
A friend is in college again..and finds oneself in similar situation..so..may be this theory is already validated...
"Am I so attractive?..why is everyone trying to impress me?..this never happened in my college days..”
She was just wondering why was she getting so much attention from boys around...
Economics teacher's loud voice interrupted her...
"Prices of goods are decided by forces of demand and supply...when demand for goods is significantly more than supply of goods then prices of goods increase... even though there is no change in the intrinsic value of goods..."
She got the answer.
Edit(6-March-07):
A friend is in college again..and finds oneself in similar situation..so..may be this theory is already validated...
Blogger Fido...
Consider me typing a new blog post, cellphone rings..a friend's call:
Friend: "hey dude..wass..up?...what are you doing..?"
"Writing a blog..expect one of those yet-another-crap-things there in a few moments.." I said.
"Why are you wasting time doing *this* crap?"
"okay...tell me, what should I do?"..suddenly I was inquisitive.
"Study for CAT, GMAT or something...and crack it", he said.
"Then..?"
"You'll get admission...in..may be IIM..(including me, he too had doubts on this)", he continued.
"Then..?"
"You will get placed in a top company with...astronomical salary", he added with an enticing tone..
"What will happen next?"..me going all the more inquisitive..
"Then one day you will become CEO of a big company...then like all modern (read moroon) CEOs you'll want to communicate informally with your customers..employees." he explained...(pretending to be intelligent)
"Then what will I do?"...I asked curiously.
"You will write a blog to communicate with all stakeholders *informally*", he explained..igniting my mind about the word "informally" he used...
"Dude..that's what I'm already doing...writing a blog!"
(remember one of those sprite TV ad?)
Friend: "hey dude..wass..up?...what are you doing..?"
"Writing a blog..expect one of those yet-another-crap-things there in a few moments.." I said.
"Why are you wasting time doing *this* crap?"
"okay...tell me, what should I do?"..suddenly I was inquisitive.
"Study for CAT, GMAT or something...and crack it", he said.
"Then..?"
"You'll get admission...in..may be IIM..(including me, he too had doubts on this)", he continued.
"Then..?"
"You will get placed in a top company with...astronomical salary", he added with an enticing tone..
"What will happen next?"..me going all the more inquisitive..
"Then one day you will become CEO of a big company...then like all modern (read moroon) CEOs you'll want to communicate informally with your customers..employees." he explained...(pretending to be intelligent)
"Then what will I do?"...I asked curiously.
"You will write a blog to communicate with all stakeholders *informally*", he explained..igniting my mind about the word "informally" he used...
"Dude..that's what I'm already doing...writing a blog!"
(remember one of those sprite TV ad?)
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Those nostalgic RED walls...
It's not just about those red walls...
It's about the people who have been there...lived there...
It's about eating together...those first cigs..nanu ki chai...
It's about that craziness...insanity…meaningless loud songs from rooms all day…all nights...
It's about those never-ending rumors...those screaming-voice-incidents from girls hostel...
It's about those white-ghosts-at-the-hostel-terrace stories...and those conspiracies…
The endless gyaan...funde… juniors...
Those fights..strikes..anti-principal'ism…
It's about those classrooms...those sleepless nights...questions with no answers...
It's about that usual chaos..confusion...exam dates......and those new syllabi/pattern cribs...
It’s about those..question-paper leak stories...vivas…practicals..file assignments..submissions...marks ...cut throat competitions...and what not!
It's about those last parting days...
...and everyone was nice..was a friend..then!
It's about the people who have been there...lived there...
It's about eating together...those first cigs..nanu ki chai...
It's about that craziness...insanity…meaningless loud songs from rooms all day…all nights...
It's about those never-ending rumors...those screaming-voice-incidents from girls hostel...
It's about those white-ghosts-at-the-hostel-terrace stories...and those conspiracies…
The endless gyaan...funde… juniors...
Those fights..strikes..anti-principal'ism…
It's about those classrooms...those sleepless nights...questions with no answers...
It's about that usual chaos..confusion...exam dates......and those new syllabi/pattern cribs...
It’s about those..question-paper leak stories...vivas…practicals..file assignments..submissions...marks ...cut throat competitions...and what not!
It's about those last parting days...
...and everyone was nice..was a friend..then!
Friday, February 23, 2007
Superpower crap...
There could be many benefits of acquiring some sort of powers over people around...but collectively they form what I'll call them as a MILD superpowers..
REAL superpowers might include the ability to bend steel...fly like superman..shoot fire from your eyes...etc etc.
FULL-STRENGTH superpowers would be the ones that would make it *extra* easy to kill people...or keep you from getting killed. These are the best ones to have.
If you're telling me...you haven't ever concentrated on someone’s head...just to see if you can make it burst into flames...you’re lying!
Unfortunately, I only have MILD superpowers.
A MILD super power would be...for example...the ability to scratch the middle of your own back...but..that's just an example.
My MILD superpower is the ability to make people temporarily nicer....
When people don’t know what I think of them...they tend to treat me the same way that they treat everyone else.
Often..a guy(and rarely a gal) recognizes my face(I might look like those decent/innocent/gentleman/ignorent types...), suddenly becomes a little bit nicer.
I get more smiles...offers to help me in some way or the other.
I think that always makes people happy...and happy people are nice people...
And then...you witness a maroon turning into a *nice* chap...
I have other MILD superpowers too..like I cant remember phone numbers..bug numbers..and even birthdays..believe me that's a MILD superpower.
Oh yes..I cant even remember names..specially if that's a girl.
I could have a best friend for say 5 years..but if he goes away for a month and comes back without a name tag, it's going to be awkward..(for him).
My memory subsystem is simply not optimized for certain data types...
All this makes people treat me special...my cousins call me to remind me of their own birthdays...etc etc.
Oh, btw...I recently had a chance(read MILD superpower) to be able to *shutdown* and *retrieve* a friend of mine...:) (no offenses meant).
(with tongue-in-cheek)
REAL superpowers might include the ability to bend steel...fly like superman..shoot fire from your eyes...etc etc.
FULL-STRENGTH superpowers would be the ones that would make it *extra* easy to kill people...or keep you from getting killed. These are the best ones to have.
If you're telling me...you haven't ever concentrated on someone’s head...just to see if you can make it burst into flames...you’re lying!
Unfortunately, I only have MILD superpowers.
A MILD super power would be...for example...the ability to scratch the middle of your own back...but..that's just an example.
My MILD superpower is the ability to make people temporarily nicer....
When people don’t know what I think of them...they tend to treat me the same way that they treat everyone else.
Often..a guy(and rarely a gal) recognizes my face(I might look like those decent/innocent/gentleman/ignorent types...), suddenly becomes a little bit nicer.
I get more smiles...offers to help me in some way or the other.
I think that always makes people happy...and happy people are nice people...
And then...you witness a maroon turning into a *nice* chap...
I have other MILD superpowers too..like I cant remember phone numbers..bug numbers..and even birthdays..believe me that's a MILD superpower.
Oh yes..I cant even remember names..specially if that's a girl
I could have a best friend for say 5 years..but if he goes away for a month and comes back without a name tag, it's going to be awkward..(for him).
My memory subsystem is simply not optimized for certain data types...
All this makes people treat me special...my cousins call me to remind me of their own birthdays...etc etc.
Oh, btw...I recently had a chance(read MILD superpower) to be able to *shutdown* and *retrieve* a friend of mine...:) (no offenses meant).
(with tongue-in-cheek)
Friday, February 16, 2007
Poised again...
giving me nuts actually..
link1
..so many ways to look at things...
Who decides ..what's *right* and what's *wrong*...?
Should prostitution be legalized..?
Are you allowed to wear Indian flag on mini skirt..?
What's the right age to order a drink..?
Is it ok to have pre-martial sex..?
Who decides when a party is over..You or the State?
Why should a bride be a virgin...?
Do we need moral policing..?
...
...
link2
Why do you have to lean either this side or that..?
Can we afford to see the world in just black or white..?
If, something is good, does that mean the opposite is bad..?
Can't there be more that just one point of view in the world..?
..
..
The way you see a particular situation depends on which side you see it from... (relativity).
Related: choices
link1
..so many ways to look at things...
Who decides ..what's *right* and what's *wrong*...?
Should prostitution be legalized..?
Are you allowed to wear Indian flag on mini skirt..?
What's the right age to order a drink..?
Is it ok to have pre-martial sex..?
Who decides when a party is over..You or the State?
Why should a bride be a virgin...?
Do we need moral policing..?
...
...
link2
Why do you have to lean either this side or that..?
Can we afford to see the world in just black or white..?
If, something is good, does that mean the opposite is bad..?
Can't there be more that just one point of view in the world..?
..
..
The way you see a particular situation depends on which side you see it from... (relativity).
Related: choices
Sunday, February 11, 2007
"Gravity" conspiracies..
"Gravity" :- Not too long ago an apple landed on Newton's head and he loudly announced that there exists a force known as "Gravity"!!!
Now...what's tinkering me are..things like..what if we don't have "Gravity"?...and at the first place why the heck Newton called it "Gravity"?...could'nt he name it something else?...what actually prompted him to name it "Gravity" only..?
Or probably it dose'nt even exist at all..it's just that the apple dropped so hard that Newton lost his mind and invented this whole thing. Things do go up too.. you know... ;)
In that case...it would be an irrelevant thing to ask...the real question I should be bothering then should be: Is it gravity that pulls us or an invisible layer in the clouds that pushes us...???
But, I personally think..."Gravity" is like Matrix...you have to believe it really bad!
whatever it is..but for sure..."Gravity" is an *undue attraction*...and that might explain some of the behaviorals...:
---->I'm feeling an *undue attraction* towards girl A...that's "Gravity"!
---->I'm feeling an *undue attraction* towards girl B...that's "Gravity" again!!
---->And therefore...I'm revolving around both of them in an orbit that is proportional to the force of attraction and the period around each tends to half an year....[We'll call it kepler's law of heartly motion.] :)
Things that occurred..
-> without "Gravity" people would *fall* upwards...
-> jaws would'nt drop at sights of hot chics...
-> and obiously belts would prove to be useless...
-> you would'nt need RED BULL to get wings... ;)
-> without "Gravity" girls won't need a bra!!!
-> if we wont have gravity then guys wont be able to get laid ! and we *do not want that*!...CHEERS! to gravity and whatsoever to everyone else! ]
-> uncles would stop worrying about premature ejaculations [**needs citation**]
-> men would have high-pitched voices as their balls would'nt drop..
-> all the men would have Dali moustaches...
-> Without gravity your shit wont drop...and so if you'r kinda constipated...you might need a lil more of "Gravity"...
-> just imagine oceans without gravity...would be easy for birds to eat fish...
-> might be difficult to cook without "Gravity"...
-> I guess without gravity...marriage would mean getting magnets to stick bride and the groom together for life...or probably binding them with a belt or something. Noone would like that!
-> No "Gravity" might also mean no clothes actually....
Proof:
----->No "Gravity" ---> lot of randomness. (like..no orbits, and all other crap..etc..etc)
----->Lot of randomness ---> lot of freedom.
----->Lot of freedom ---> lot of possibilities.
----->Lot of possibilities --> lot of fun.
----->Lot of fun ---> lot of babes.
----->and there's no fun when babes have clothes... :)
You might argue..why do we see Astronauts wearing spacesuits traveling to the space(no "Gravity" zones)...probably it's not a spacesuit...It's just an enclosure for the pixies...astronauts are really/actually nude inside the spacesuit... :)
Newton actually used many names for gravity, including his preferred nomenclature, "apple-falling-down-thing". But...unfortunately...when Newton later tried to market Apple-Falling-Down-Thing Knives, the rather silly name ...caused them to not sell well owing to the lack of catchy brand name. So... he later referred "Gravity" as "->", which proved difficult to pronounce...and a whistling sound that decreased in pitch followed by a thudding noise made with the lips. This again proved difficult to write....and he ended up calling it "gravy", as in "if I can ever shift these bloody "->" Knives I'll be on the gravy train", which later became known as "Gravity" (as we know in now) due to a problem with the book publishing typesetters....
----> rather..if we didn't have "Gravity"...we wouldn't have "Gravity" knives [or any kind of knife for the matter]...and clearly we need knives to cut up our apples so it's a bit of a circular argument .
In simple words..probably, because after thinking about it gravely he could'nt come up with a grave enough solution..and too much graving led to the word "Gravity".. :P
Whatever it is...apples have been falling down ever since eve ate one of them...so to cover up the whole conspiracy...Newton came up with this "Gravity" thing...
May be there are some more "*grave* conspiracies around...then this stoopid "Gravity" conspiracy ...who knows!
This whole idea occured to me and had to work a bit for this post..(that includes google'ing around a bit, some of the wikipedias)..
And yes you are taking it right..two posts in a day means I have nothing better to do today...
Feel free to comment out your idea for "what if we don't have "Gravity"?" ...
Now...what's tinkering me are..things like..what if we don't have "Gravity"?...and at the first place why the heck Newton called it "Gravity"?...could'nt he name it something else?...what actually prompted him to name it "Gravity" only..?
Or probably it dose'nt even exist at all..it's just that the apple dropped so hard that Newton lost his mind and invented this whole thing. Things do go up too.. you know... ;)
In that case...it would be an irrelevant thing to ask...the real question I should be bothering then should be: Is it gravity that pulls us or an invisible layer in the clouds that pushes us...???
But, I personally think..."Gravity" is like Matrix...you have to believe it really bad!
whatever it is..but for sure..."Gravity" is an *undue attraction*...and that might explain some of the behaviorals...:
---->I'm feeling an *undue attraction* towards girl A...that's "Gravity"!
---->I'm feeling an *undue attraction* towards girl B...that's "Gravity" again!!
---->And therefore...I'm revolving around both of them in an orbit that is proportional to the force of attraction and the period around each tends to half an year....[We'll call it kepler's law of heartly motion.] :)
Things that occurred..
-> without "Gravity" people would *fall* upwards...
-> jaws would'nt drop at sights of hot chics...
-> and obiously belts would prove to be useless...
-> you would'nt need RED BULL to get wings... ;)
-> without "Gravity" girls won't need a bra!!!
-> if we wont have gravity then guys wont be able to get laid ! and we *do not want that*!...CHEERS! to gravity and whatsoever to everyone else! ]
-> uncles would stop worrying about premature ejaculations [**needs citation**]
-> men would have high-pitched voices as their balls would'nt drop..
-> all the men would have Dali moustaches...
-> Without gravity your shit wont drop...and so if you'r kinda constipated...you might need a lil more of "Gravity"...
-> just imagine oceans without gravity...would be easy for birds to eat fish...
-> might be difficult to cook without "Gravity"...
-> I guess without gravity...marriage would mean getting magnets to stick bride and the groom together for life...or probably binding them with a belt or something. Noone would like that!
-> No "Gravity" might also mean no clothes actually....
Proof:
----->No "Gravity" ---> lot of randomness. (like..no orbits, and all other crap..etc..etc)
----->Lot of randomness ---> lot of freedom.
----->Lot of freedom ---> lot of possibilities.
----->Lot of possibilities --> lot of fun.
----->Lot of fun ---> lot of babes.
----->and there's no fun when babes have clothes... :)
You might argue..why do we see Astronauts wearing spacesuits traveling to the space(no "Gravity" zones)...probably it's not a spacesuit...It's just an enclosure for the pixies...astronauts are really/actually nude inside the spacesuit... :)
Newton actually used many names for gravity, including his preferred nomenclature, "apple-falling-down-thing". But...unfortunately...when Newton later tried to market Apple-Falling-Down-Thing Knives, the rather silly name ...caused them to not sell well owing to the lack of catchy brand name. So... he later referred "Gravity" as "->", which proved difficult to pronounce...and a whistling sound that decreased in pitch followed by a thudding noise made with the lips. This again proved difficult to write....and he ended up calling it "gravy", as in "if I can ever shift these bloody "->" Knives I'll be on the gravy train", which later became known as "Gravity" (as we know in now) due to a problem with the book publishing typesetters....
----> rather..if we didn't have "Gravity"...we wouldn't have "Gravity" knives [or any kind of knife for the matter]...and clearly we need knives to cut up our apples so it's a bit of a circular argument .
In simple words..probably, because after thinking about it gravely he could'nt come up with a grave enough solution..and too much graving led to the word "Gravity".. :P
Whatever it is...apples have been falling down ever since eve ate one of them...so to cover up the whole conspiracy...Newton came up with this "Gravity" thing...
May be there are some more "*grave* conspiracies around...then this stoopid "Gravity" conspiracy ...who knows!
This whole idea occured to me and had to work a bit for this post..(that includes google'ing around a bit, some of the wikipedias)..
And yes you are taking it right..two posts in a day means I have nothing better to do today...
Feel free to comment out your idea for "what if we don't have "Gravity"?" ...
A new approch to nose-picking...
and you thought nose-picking is a bad habbit? think again..!
There is an Austrian doctor who has gained popularity by advocating the picking-of-one's-nose -and-the-consumption-of-resulting-bounty, particularly in children.
[children being soft targets for new health theories...]
According to the theory...children/people who pick their noses with their fingers are healthier, happier, and *more in tune with their bodies*.
This forks from the notion that...exposing the body to the dried germ corpses helps to reinforce the immune system...
"With the finger you can get to places you just can't reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner. And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of strengthening the body's immune system."
"Medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine."
Further, probably...the society should adopt a new approach to nose-picking, and encourage children to take up the habit...and even the adults should be welcome... :)
If the theory gets accepted..nose-picking could be considered just another humanly act..with no dirty looks attached...
can't stop myself thinking of interesting scenarios in which people would be found nose-picking...
[feel free to leave comments with interesting ones striking your ignited minds...:) ]
So..don't feel guilty if you'r caught picking nose in public...it's all part of one of those our good-health-drives... :)
Wikipedia too has a say.
A bit of google coined the terms like...
rhinotillexis: technical name for using one's finger to extract boogers.
(and doing so compulsively is termed: rhinotillexomania).
The act of eating the resulting harvest is called mucophagy.
Happy nose-picking!
There is an Austrian doctor who has gained popularity by advocating the picking-of-one's-nose -and-the-consumption-of-resulting-bounty, particularly in children.
[children being soft targets for new health theories...]
According to the theory...children/people who pick their noses with their fingers are healthier, happier, and *more in tune with their bodies*.
This forks from the notion that...exposing the body to the dried germ corpses helps to reinforce the immune system...
"With the finger you can get to places you just can't reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner. And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of strengthening the body's immune system."
"Medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine."
Further, probably...the society should adopt a new approach to nose-picking, and encourage children to take up the habit...and even the adults should be welcome... :)
If the theory gets accepted..nose-picking could be considered just another humanly act..with no dirty looks attached...
can't stop myself thinking of interesting scenarios in which people would be found nose-picking...
[feel free to leave comments with interesting ones striking your ignited minds...:) ]
So..don't feel guilty if you'r caught picking nose in public...it's all part of one of those our good-health-drives... :)
Wikipedia too has a say.
A bit of google coined the terms like...
rhinotillexis: technical name for using one's finger to extract boogers.
(and doing so compulsively is termed: rhinotillexomania).
The act of eating the resulting harvest is called mucophagy.
Happy nose-picking!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The problem with me is...
PS: This is a formal explanation for me not being frequent here...
[excuses..excuses..excuses...rock!]
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
The *Impatient* me...
Long back I had a feedback of being *impatient* ...I still wonder what was that supposed to mean. Am I too spontaneous? or am I ....
I wonder what made me turn into all this non-real me...
I used to be (generally) a patient and calm person(yes I think so), especially at work. :) . I used to take my time explaining things properly to new people(whenever I could), and I am always happy for people to ask me questions. But....
But...my usually(and generally) sunny demeanour was challenged...well let’s just call it a.. *situation*.
At best, I was being ignored...and at worst, was intentionally undermined.
Direct requests were not carried out as requested. Simple requests were not understood.
I wondered if I was speaking English(don't forget...I'm a north Indian in Bangalore).
I thought the “situation” was causing unrest in an otherwise happy and functioning me. I took steps to raise my concerns....it was frustrating and turned my friendly smiles into _bitchycowness_.
It just goes to show that someone who is clever on paper can still turn out to be a bit dim....
And that made me impatient....
I wonder what made me turn into all this non-real me...
I used to be (generally) a patient and calm person(yes I think so), especially at work. :) . I used to take my time explaining things properly to new people(whenever I could), and I am always happy for people to ask me questions. But....
But...my usually(and generally) sunny demeanour was challenged...well let’s just call it a.. *situation*.
At best, I was being ignored...and at worst, was intentionally undermined.
Direct requests were not carried out as requested. Simple requests were not understood.
I wondered if I was speaking English(don't forget...I'm a north Indian in Bangalore).
I thought the “situation” was causing unrest in an otherwise happy and functioning me. I took steps to raise my concerns....it was frustrating and turned my friendly smiles into _bitchycowness_.
It just goes to show that someone who is clever on paper can still turn out to be a bit dim....
And that made me impatient....
Friday, January 05, 2007
Choices we have...
I read this in the newspaper. Trying to recall it (if I can)..
From the Minute your born..
You do not make your own choices..
You do not choose your parents...your family..your sex..your zodiac sign.
Not even the colour of your skin..nor the sound of your name.
As you grow older...the society conditions you further...
You start babbling things others want to hear...
And, you learn to please others without pleasing yourself...
You are conditioned by...
Your first cousin...your teacher..your television..your job..your boss...Everyone!
.
.
.
From the Minute your born..
You do not make your own choices..
You do not choose your parents...your family..your sex..your zodiac sign.
Not even the colour of your skin..nor the sound of your name.
As you grow older...the society conditions you further...
You start babbling things others want to hear...
And, you learn to please others without pleasing yourself...
You are conditioned by...
Your first cousin...your teacher..your television..your job..your boss...Everyone!
.
.
.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Analytics me...
Behavioral differences could be described (very simply) as : men *oversimplify* and women *overcomplicate*.
Oh yes! I'm aware....this is an _oversimplification_ ...which proves my point anyways.
Oh yes! I'm aware....this is an _oversimplification_ ...which proves my point anyways.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Thank you anonymous...
Here I had this packet to be courier'd to a bank containing some documents.
Somehow I lost the packet on road (flew away from my bike while riding).
I also went to the way back..following the same road hoping I'll find it lying on the road..
No luck I had...and so eventually gave up my hopes with that.
Not that the packet had some important documents...were just some xeroxed letters of which I could always make a copy again..and then I almost forgot the incident...
Now, this fine day..I have this office mail guy handing over the same parcel to me.
Someone generous might have found this lying on the road..and did actually posted the parcel back to me back..(obviously I had my address / phone number written at the back)...the parcel was completely intact..un-opened.
Incidents like this make you feel good..isn't it?
Thank You Anonymous.!!
Somehow I lost the packet on road (flew away from my bike while riding).
I also went to the way back..following the same road hoping I'll find it lying on the road..
No luck I had...and so eventually gave up my hopes with that.
Not that the packet had some important documents...were just some xeroxed letters of which I could always make a copy again..and then I almost forgot the incident...
Now, this fine day..I have this office mail guy handing over the same parcel to me.
Someone generous might have found this lying on the road..and did actually posted the parcel back to me back..(obviously I had my address / phone number written at the back)...the parcel was completely intact..un-opened.
Incidents like this make you feel good..isn't it?
Thank You Anonymous.!!
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