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Showing posts from May, 2012

I drag race everyday

My hands get sweaty with excitement, my heart is pounding with anticipation. Any moment now. I can see the countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4... I put my car in gear. 3, 2... Engine revs to 6000 RPM. 1, 0 HONK!!! And I missed it. The traffic light turned green, but I did not declutch in time. I was late by a microsecond, but the motorists behind me did not fail to inform me of the same. Has this happened with you? Sometimes, it makes me wonder. We are so patient when it comes to parliamentary proceedings. I mean, we are still debating over bills that were proposed in the 1950s, but we cannot wait even a millisecond when driving. Time is money, you know. In a poor country like ours, we have no money, so let us not waste any more time. Someone much older (though I doubt much wiser) once complained that the younger generation was always in a "tearing hurry", which is why they never bothered to follow rules, weaved in and out of traffic, did not stop at traffic lights, ne

Internet Policing in India

Yes, it has happened. While we were so busy fighting PIPA, SOPA and all other acts that threatened freedom on the internet, we ignored the events brewing in our own backyard. It is with great sorrow that I write about the sad state of freedom in India. Yes, we are free. Yes, the constitution declares that we are sovereign. The people are sovereign. The representatives of the people are sovereign. Consequently, the parliamentarians are sovereign. Hence, they are in a position to bring about draconian acts that curb freedom of speech, acts which benefit them and them only, acts which make it illegal for you or me to criticise the government; yet, we must bow down and accept meekly, cause the parliament is sovereign, and anyone questioning the sovereignty of the parliament is a traitor and anti-national. I've always found India to be a strange place, and the series "It happens only in India" on this weblog, under which the current post too is filed, is a collection of thin

The Failure of Capitalism

Warning: This post is meant for a rational audience who likes to wrestle with controversial points of view. If you are not amongst the rational category, please stop reading immediately . The author is not responsible for any results/consequences of reading this blog. The free market economy is touted as perhaps the best thing that happened to mankind since the invention of the wheel. The market is the place where we trade, where we can exchange goods and services for those which we cannot produce or are outside our skill sets. Money is just a way to facilitate trade, and is not an actual commodity. Or is it? Apparently, we can put a price on money. But it's not just about money. The free market is said to offer us ultimate choice; a scenario where the consumer is king; the ultimate in stable equilibria; and an invisible hand that always promotes the good of mankind. However, capitalism, like other systems is an idealistic model, and the systems which we have in place are a po

The Failure of...

Hey there, I know that I've been inactive for a long while. There's a reason. I've been too busy with my other blog, The FOSS Photographer and my end-semester exams. With all this, I've ignored my baby too long. Not any more. This post is to inform you that I've been toying with a certain idea for future posts. I've decided to come up with a new series, aptly titled, "The Failure of...". Just to warn the audience, this series will be meant only for a rational audience who likes to wrestle with controversial points of view (YAY!). I'll just analyse points of failure in many popular systems in the world. (This blog is spared. Though it has been a failure in general, it's not popular, hence will not be the subject of scrutiny in future posts.) Stay tuned. The fingers have gotten rusted from not typing on the blog (55 page long reports do not count). Where is that WD-40?