Just another blog!

I'm paranoid! Seriously, is there no privacy in this world? My phone tracks me every time. Google knows where I go, where I stay; it has the audacity to point out that I spend most of my time in the middle of Powai Lake, and that I spend less than an hour a week on average at work. It knows that I spend almost all my time on 9gag.com , it knows that I keep searching for funny videos every minute. And all this information is going to big brother. I'm scared of even thinking anything wrong, because I've heard that Google has built a satellite named NOTHEU972 which measures the psychokinetic energy of the world, and can hence read out thoughts, similar to Peter Answers . I've also heard that the CIA pays huge amounts of money to Google to get access to the data collected by NOTHEU972. I dare not put any pictures on Facebook, as hackers are out there to take my pictures, morph them onto some objectionable content, and post them on objectionable sites. I dare not crack jo...

So, I've been busy making a short film based on Julio Cortázar's short story, "The Continuity of Parks". Take some time to watch the movie. Let me know what you think of the movie. The story by Cortázar can be found here .

The newspapers are full of news about Kingfisher Airlines, the "King of good times" not being in such a good time right now. Makes me wonder, does Kingfisher not have enough money to even pay it's PR team? Apparently, Kingfisher has not paid its employees for the past two months, and has instead offered them a Rs. 5000 stipend to get on with basic needs. Makes me feel lucky to have been delayed by just one day when I flew from Chandigarh to Bombay last week. This post will just be a blow by blow account of the two days. Well, I had a flight scheduled to leave Chandigarh on Sunday, at around 1530 in the afternoon. The flight got delayed to 1730, then to 2030. When we reached the airport, we were told that the flight was cancelled because Chandigarh Airport is an IAF base, and night time civilian ops are prohibited. WOW! So, you expect me to believe that you were not aware of this when you rescheduled the flight to 2030? Well, apparently, the flight had some "technic...

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...

Mr. Prime Minister, I'm writing this letter to express the extreme anguish inflicted upon me by the movie "3 Idiots". The movie has hurt my religious sentiments and those of many others. I would request that you ban the said movie immediately. The movie caricatures a certain college of engineering. It criticizes the education system in the country. In doing so, it has hurt the sentiments of millions of pedagogicians over the world, and in India. If you are not aware, pedagogism is a flourishing religion in India, which worships any form of education. Moreover, the movie pokes fun of Rastogi because he believes in the power of rings. This, Mr. Prime Minister hurts the feelings of the followers of millions of "Baba"s, not necessarily political. It also hurts the religious feelings of the Tolkeinians in India, who venerate the rings and search for the One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. The...

The Republic of India has given us a lot to cherish. The constitution gives us freedom of speech, expression, assembly, freedom to move and settle in any part of India, and rights to equality, life and religion. I am grateful to be born in a country where democratic rule has prevailed. I may speak my mind out and not be afraid of being charged with blasphemy. Our country does not censor the internet. Our country has over two thousand ethnic groups with people belonging to almost every major religion, living peacefully in a society with traditions over five thousand years old. Our country has pioneered the Non Aligned Movement. Our country gives us a safe home, a place where we may stay and work without fear. Our country has prevailed. Republic Day is the day that we should be glad of being Indian. Let the national flag fly high all over the country. Let us make a vow to protect and preserve our motherland. A happy Republic Day to all.

This was the subject of an email I received from someone I know. The message asked for my review of the Aakash tablet, a low cost tablet which the Indian government in promoting. I replied with a verdict: uninspiring. My reasons were thus: The processor was pathetic; I cannot expect an ARM running at 366 MHz to provide any reliable computing. My mobile phone runs Android 2.3, and has a 600 MHz processor. Yet, I find it sluggish. To compound the problem is just 256 MB of RAM. I really cannot expect any performance from this tablet. Pathetic configuration is the first thing that ruins a computing experience. Further, the tablet has no 3G or GPRS, only WiFi (This is set to change in the next release of the tablet, with a better processor and Android 2.3 and GPRS connectivity, but still, I really cannot understand the point of including WiFi over 3G. After all, how many people who are the target audience of the government possess access to WiFi. If they did, why would they buy Aakash ove...