Just another blog!

Yes, you read that right. I lost 13 billion dollars. Want to know why? I don't care about your answer, I'm going to tell you anyway. Here's how Verizon and AT&T stole 13 billion dollars from me. You see, I used to offer services to users of the Lover's Telephone . I still do. Anyone who employs my services for the Lover's Telephone has to pay me $5 for every minute of calling. Eh, what's that? You think that is too much? Really? Do you have any idea about the amount of effort it takes to set up lines to you house? Not only do I have to get a wire to your house, I also need to set up a switchboard operator, who has to be extremely skilled at doing and undoing knots. The operator takes around $1 a minute. That along with the cost of delivering a wire means that I make a measly profit of only around $3 a minute of call. But then, there are an estimated 5 million lovers in the world. They talk for, on an average, 90 minutes a day. Okay, of the 5 million, arou...

All hail the idiots, for it is the idiots who run the world. Confused? Let me explain... People are idiotic. They yammer and yell, and yet do nothing, but run the world. The ones who do the actual work are often silent spectators, fed up of the idiots that rule them. Calling my readers "idiots" does not make for healthy relationships, so I'll refrain from doing so. But I'm fed up of the idiots that dictate how I live my life. The idiots pay $ 20 for a movie they cannot copy on their computer, because the DVD is encrypted. The idiots are willing to pay $ 1000 for a software that does the same work they could do for free. The idiots keep the big corporations alive, which then dictate how we live our lives. Yet, it is by the action of the idiots that our world, as we know it, can continue. Think of it... how different would life be, where everyone could make their own movies and share them with the world. If anyone wanted to do anything, (s)he could do it him/hersel...

Ever since I started understanding the little economics that I do know, I wondered whether it was possible to make money using currency (to be precise, speculative trading in currency). Currency changers have long been making money trading in currency, using different rates for buying and selling. No, this post is about making money in the time dimension: Is it possible to make money by utilizing the fluctuations in the exchange rates? Ideally, the answer would be that it is impractical, that better returns shall be obtained with other investments. However, the roller coaster ride of the rupee vs the dollar has got me thinking about this again. The rupee was at around 45 rupees to the dollar until at least August or September 2011. Now it is at around 53 rupees to the dollar as I write this article in January 2012. Which means that in a span of around 4-5 months, the rupee has been devalued by around 7 rupees to the dollar. Let us assume that I purchased a lot of dollars in August, say...

A post after a long time. I have hardly found enough time to blog, and this has caused the readership of my blog to suffer. So, I shall restrict myself to writing posts in a limited amount of time, which shall definitely cut down on their length. A moment to rejoice? Environmental concern has become a worldwide phenomenon. Even as undergraduate engineers, we are asked to study two half semester long courses in environmental sciences. While I do not object to environmental concerns, I do object to some of the hype surrounding the issue. One of the major concerns of the environment, at least in today's age is of global warming. The earth's atmospheric temperature has been showing a rising trend along with its seasonal cycles. Al Gore and all the others trading in carbon credits would have us believe that the sole reason for global warming is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, and going green is all about reducing the carbon dioxide emissions. Hang on!...

We Indians care a lot about social standing. Which means that we like to be shown respect. Which also means that we show respect to everyone. Why am I mentioning this? Because, erm, I find it funny. Sir, I don't understand this. Dude, the ^#%&# just cannot explain If you are new to India, try going into any government office. Even the clerk who accepts the bill payment has to be called Sir, otherwise, he shall stall you as long as he can. That's all, just one word that is required. In fact, it is a word that is conspicuous only by its absence. Try to get a driving license, but forget to address the inspector as Sir. So it's no surprise to find such an email one day, on a mailing list meant to disseminate official notices: Sir, wth al du rspect, i hv lst my blk jcky undrwear can you please forward this mail to the institute i will be greatfull to you if ne1 finds, pls rtrn. to rm***/hstl**. *regards And when someone (another post on such people to follow) makes...

One (of the many) thing(s) I can lay claim to is that a liberalized India and I were born within a year of each other. So, I have seen, since I can remember, the true growth of the private sector and the IT revolution in India. I have also seen a remarkable change in the public sector. When I was a child, I remember about the various public sector enterprises and how hopelessly inefficient they were. I remember of the times when trains used to be late by 6-12 hours, I remember the times when you could not get a telephone line without greasing someone's palm. I remember the times when a private enterprise was considered very efficient. Not any more. The public sector has become extremely efficient. People may disagree and point out many flaws with the public sector, but I sure can find an equivalent number of faults with the private sector. At the same time, the private sector, through complacency or the sheer lack of motivation steadily declined. There were some interaction...

We were trying this out on an Arduino, but we found its computational capacity less, so we switched to an ARM, said a friend of mine who is studying in BITS Goa. In our college, only the most daring would use an ARM. The ones who do are accused of overkill. Most people use AVR, and would not look beyond AVR. What could be the reason? I believe that a major reason is that we have seniors who have used AVR. Because they knew AVR, they held coding sessions for AVR, which is why we have not bothered to look beyond AVR. Now, this is not so much of an issue as when there is a shortage of AVRs, as there is now. When an AtMega8 costs Rs. 300, i.e. $6 in the retail market, then we have an issue. Not only that, but we also have to be content with the lesser capabilities of the AVR. This is just to illustrate an important point: is it better or worse to have someone to guide you? I guess that the example that I stated just goes to show that it really isn't all that good to have someone to gu...

What defines India as a nation? The question stood out like an ugly thorn. Until we heard that question in the Literature class, none of us had ever questioned the notion of India as a nation. Of course the nation exists, and is as diverse as any can be. That is something we've always been proud of. But then, there has to be something binding the mosaic together. Otherwise the whole mosaic would fall apart. What is it that holds India together, apart from the constitution and the government? This question is rather difficult to answer. We read the views of two eminent people. Salman Rushdie, in his essay, The Riddle of Midnight says that it is communal-ism or the politics of religious hatred. William Dalrymple in his essay Bangalore and the Fast-Food Invaders mentions the Mahatma Gandhi syndrome, a fear of big organizations and everything विदेशी (foreign). So difficult is it to answer this question that I have been thinking of it ever since that day and trying to find a convincing...