...a piece of machinery, abandoned in a corner.... it had not been worn out, it had been rotted by neglect, eaten by rust... I feel a scream of protest against injustice... this is beyond just an old piece of machinery.... Ayn Rand
Sunday, July 18, 2010
More than just abandoned machinery
...a piece of machinery, abandoned in a corner.... it had not been worn out, it had been rotted by neglect, eaten by rust... I feel a scream of protest against injustice... this is beyond just an old piece of machinery.... Ayn Rand
Friday, July 16, 2010
God must be an artist!
God must be an artist, to come up with countless variations of morning, with only a few tools at his disposal, the sun, the clouds, a little rain, on a canvas of nothingness... These are images from my window over the last week or so....
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Every moment has its music
Every moment has its music. Bombay is experiencing rains of the season since the past few days. This certainly is a good spell.
Saturday mornings are relaxed, since it signals the beginning of the weekend, and despite any trouble that one may otherwise be in, there is a certain ease that takes over. I walked to the station to board the train to office. And there was a light drizzle.
I had Hosana from Vinnathandi Varuvaaya, playing on my Sony Walkman, and something prompted me to not open the umbrella. With the light rain falling on my face as I looked up, I felt the music take over, and Rahman weave magic.
Somehow, life felt good, meant more.
Every moment has its music - line borrowed from Sony Walkman
Saturday mornings are relaxed, since it signals the beginning of the weekend, and despite any trouble that one may otherwise be in, there is a certain ease that takes over. I walked to the station to board the train to office. And there was a light drizzle.
I had Hosana from Vinnathandi Varuvaaya, playing on my Sony Walkman, and something prompted me to not open the umbrella. With the light rain falling on my face as I looked up, I felt the music take over, and Rahman weave magic.
En meedu anbu kolla, ennodu serndu sella
Hmm endru sollu podhum, Hosanna
Somehow, life felt good, meant more.
Every moment has its music - line borrowed from Sony Walkman
Saturday, July 10, 2010
A lovely morning
I woke up to a lovely morning. The beginning of the weekend, despite the fact that I have to attend office today, somehow felt good. I could see the sun's shape, like the moon, through a cloudy sky, as if the clouds were filtering out the harsh rays and giving us a view of the sun as we saw in our school drawing book.
Swami and his 'fiends'
Self-styled Swami Nithyananda (Swami is just a name, like it was in Malgudi days; its not a title and there's nothing divine about it in this case) has been permitted by the court to preach! There's no use in not allowing him to speak or preach, as he will anyway have some work to do to regain his audience. But I'm amused by the fact that he actually petitioned that his freedom of speech was being curbed. After going through so much, see the man's pluck!
Anyway, its a pity that learned judges, the judicial system has to waste its time on this despicable being. The judges have considered separately whether he could be allowed to preach and whether he could be allowed to conduct yoga and meditation classes. And the system has to be seen to be hearing him out! We've done this with Kasab, so why not with Nithyananda! But the guy seems to be unmoved. He has the arrogance of suggesting that the police visit his ashram every 15 days for verification, instead of he reporting! And he has also petitioned for his belongings to be returned to him, his laptop and his work! After all, so much effort has gone into this! I admire the guy's record keeping, something that even corporates fall short in. He has all the underlying paperwork in place!
On this issue, there are two parties affected, his devotees and himself. I'm wondering what his devotees must be going through. Those who have given up all of what they had, could have, or could not have and followed him, those who read what he wrote and were influenced and in awe, those who served under him - what must be on their mind now! After the usual denial, the hope that all of this is false, somewhere they must be thinking their faith has been compromised. We are not here to judge what happened, and the jury is still out on this, but faith once shaken, is difficult to restore. Also look at this from his point of view. After all of this, when he comes forward to give his first lecture, what will he say? And how must he position his future discourses, to win back the trust people placed in him. I'm sure of one thing, his job is easier!
As always, the system is to be blamed! The place that religion has in society today is the reason why such godmen thrive. Pain will never end in the world, if any - there'll be more of it in the years to come. This is going by how humanity is on the path of degeneration, if you believe in evolution! And if you believe in the machinations of the yugas, then we will have more negatives in this yuga to maintain the balance required by nature. So pain is not going to end. At such times, religion offers the only solace, and more so if it comes with perks of power.
Obama was not wrong when he spoke about people clinging to guns and religion. In our case, it definitely is true with religion. So with more pain, godmen will gain! They give you what you ask for: escape from responsibility, to give up your duty! But as God said in Bruce Almighty 'since when did people know what they wanted'. So it pays for them to keep the troubled class under ignorance, in the dark. And telling them its ok to not do your job, to ask for submission, allowing them an escape.
And who will tell them that such self-styled godmen have a very limited understanding of what life. They haven't read enough, and they certainly haven't introspected enough, to be able to fathom the depths of human nature and the universe we live in. Such thinkers come far and few - there's only one Bertrand Russell, and only one Swami Vivekananda!
I feel pain at this: when I search for swami on google, Google Suggest throws up Swami Nityananda before Swami Vivekananda!
Anyway, its a pity that learned judges, the judicial system has to waste its time on this despicable being. The judges have considered separately whether he could be allowed to preach and whether he could be allowed to conduct yoga and meditation classes. And the system has to be seen to be hearing him out! We've done this with Kasab, so why not with Nithyananda! But the guy seems to be unmoved. He has the arrogance of suggesting that the police visit his ashram every 15 days for verification, instead of he reporting! And he has also petitioned for his belongings to be returned to him, his laptop and his work! After all, so much effort has gone into this! I admire the guy's record keeping, something that even corporates fall short in. He has all the underlying paperwork in place!
On this issue, there are two parties affected, his devotees and himself. I'm wondering what his devotees must be going through. Those who have given up all of what they had, could have, or could not have and followed him, those who read what he wrote and were influenced and in awe, those who served under him - what must be on their mind now! After the usual denial, the hope that all of this is false, somewhere they must be thinking their faith has been compromised. We are not here to judge what happened, and the jury is still out on this, but faith once shaken, is difficult to restore. Also look at this from his point of view. After all of this, when he comes forward to give his first lecture, what will he say? And how must he position his future discourses, to win back the trust people placed in him. I'm sure of one thing, his job is easier!
As always, the system is to be blamed! The place that religion has in society today is the reason why such godmen thrive. Pain will never end in the world, if any - there'll be more of it in the years to come. This is going by how humanity is on the path of degeneration, if you believe in evolution! And if you believe in the machinations of the yugas, then we will have more negatives in this yuga to maintain the balance required by nature. So pain is not going to end. At such times, religion offers the only solace, and more so if it comes with perks of power.
Obama was not wrong when he spoke about people clinging to guns and religion. In our case, it definitely is true with religion. So with more pain, godmen will gain! They give you what you ask for: escape from responsibility, to give up your duty! But as God said in Bruce Almighty 'since when did people know what they wanted'. So it pays for them to keep the troubled class under ignorance, in the dark. And telling them its ok to not do your job, to ask for submission, allowing them an escape.
And who will tell them that such self-styled godmen have a very limited understanding of what life. They haven't read enough, and they certainly haven't introspected enough, to be able to fathom the depths of human nature and the universe we live in. Such thinkers come far and few - there's only one Bertrand Russell, and only one Swami Vivekananda!
I feel pain at this: when I search for swami on google, Google Suggest throws up Swami Nityananda before Swami Vivekananda!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Lie and succeed
Reinforcing what we all knew for so long, BBC has reported that a new study in Canada that suggests that toddlers who tell lies early on are more likely to do well later in life.The complex brain processes involved in formulating a lie are an indicator of a child's early intelligence. Their children are not going to turn out to be pathological liars. Almost all children lie. It is a sign that they have reached a new developmental milestone. Those who have better cognitive development lie because they can cover up their tracks. This was because they had developed the ability to carry out a complex juggling act which involves keeping the truth at the back of their brains. A researcher added: "They even make bankers in later life."
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Astronomers have announced that they have found a massive star that has been flung out of the cluster in which it was born. The star is huge — 90 times the mass of the Sun — and is screaming away at 400,000 kilometers per hour.
This incredible image is from the ESO’s 2.2 meter telescope in Chile. It shows an overview of the sprawling 30 Doradus star-forming cloud, located about 180,000 light years away in the satellite galaxy to the Milky Way called the Large Magellanic Cloud.
In the center of 30 Dor sits a vast cluster of stars called R136. The total combined mass of all the stars in R136 is unclear, but it has several that tip the cosmic scale at 100 times the mass of the Sun, which is the upper limit of how big a star can get without tearing itself apart.
The inset image is from Hubble, and shows the runaway star, named 30 Dor 016.
If you don’t think that’s a big deal, I’ll note that this equals 180 octillion tons — that’s 180,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons.
The UV observations also confirm that the star is plowing through the gas that lies in interstellar space in the LMC. Here is a closeup of the star:
The new observations, using Hubble’s new ultraviolet camera called the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, confirm that this is a single star (and not, say, a binary with two members each with 45 solar masses), making it one of the most massive stars ever seen. This kind of star is extremely rare!
Amazingly, the star is 375 light years from the cluster! A star this massive can’t live very long, a few million years at most. At 400,000 kph, it takes about a million years to travel that distance.
How small we are! I'm reminded of what Carl Sagan once said. I found a visual on the net which I'm reproducing below:
See this link for the complete story - http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1008a/
Image credit: Hubble: NASA, ESA, J. Walsh (ST-ECF) Acknowledgment: Z. Levay (STScI). ESO image: ESO Acknowledgments: J. Alves (Calar Alto, Spain), B. Vandame, and Y. Beletski (ESO), processing by B. Fosbury (ST-ECF).
This incredible image is from the ESO’s 2.2 meter telescope in Chile. It shows an overview of the sprawling 30 Doradus star-forming cloud, located about 180,000 light years away in the satellite galaxy to the Milky Way called the Large Magellanic Cloud.
In the center of 30 Dor sits a vast cluster of stars called R136. The total combined mass of all the stars in R136 is unclear, but it has several that tip the cosmic scale at 100 times the mass of the Sun, which is the upper limit of how big a star can get without tearing itself apart.
The inset image is from Hubble, and shows the runaway star, named 30 Dor 016.
If you don’t think that’s a big deal, I’ll note that this equals 180 octillion tons — that’s 180,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons.
The UV observations also confirm that the star is plowing through the gas that lies in interstellar space in the LMC. Here is a closeup of the star:
The new observations, using Hubble’s new ultraviolet camera called the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, confirm that this is a single star (and not, say, a binary with two members each with 45 solar masses), making it one of the most massive stars ever seen. This kind of star is extremely rare!
Amazingly, the star is 375 light years from the cluster! A star this massive can’t live very long, a few million years at most. At 400,000 kph, it takes about a million years to travel that distance.
How small we are! I'm reminded of what Carl Sagan once said. I found a visual on the net which I'm reproducing below:
See this link for the complete story - http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1008a/
Image credit: Hubble: NASA, ESA, J. Walsh (ST-ECF) Acknowledgment: Z. Levay (STScI). ESO image: ESO Acknowledgments: J. Alves (Calar Alto, Spain), B. Vandame, and Y. Beletski (ESO), processing by B. Fosbury (ST-ECF).
Boys don't cry, but speakers do!
IBNLive reports that the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker Ishwardas Rohani broke down and cried in the House on Wednesday after learning that Congress MLAs had allegedly taunted a BJP woman MLA.
Congress MLAs allegedly told the woman MLA she was late because she must have been busy at a beauty parlour.
Rohani was so moved to tears after learning about the incident, he refused to give any ruling on the Congress’ boycott of the Assembly. He said that he considers the Congress’ protest unconstitutional, but the party had a right to express its opinion. The Speaker said he will not recognise their protest, but he will not give any ruling on the issue either.
I consider it incredibly silly. Both, the Congress MLAs alleging that the lady was at a beauty parlour and that the speaker cried! Was it so serious a remark that warranted such a wet response? I'm sure there are a whole lot of other important and pertinent issues relating to working of the government. Was he moved enough to cry when the innocent were murdered or the poor died of hunger?
And to top it all, the Congress is holding a parallel session since last evening by organising a Symposium to corner the government on the issue of corruption, power and water crisis and to highlight the problems of the people!!!!
Congress MLAs allegedly told the woman MLA she was late because she must have been busy at a beauty parlour.
Rohani was so moved to tears after learning about the incident, he refused to give any ruling on the Congress’ boycott of the Assembly. He said that he considers the Congress’ protest unconstitutional, but the party had a right to express its opinion. The Speaker said he will not recognise their protest, but he will not give any ruling on the issue either.
I consider it incredibly silly. Both, the Congress MLAs alleging that the lady was at a beauty parlour and that the speaker cried! Was it so serious a remark that warranted such a wet response? I'm sure there are a whole lot of other important and pertinent issues relating to working of the government. Was he moved enough to cry when the innocent were murdered or the poor died of hunger?
And to top it all, the Congress is holding a parallel session since last evening by organising a Symposium to corner the government on the issue of corruption, power and water crisis and to highlight the problems of the people!!!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
American Presidents on energy dependency
In 1974 with 36.1% of oil from foreign sources, President Richard Nixon said, “At the end of this decade, in the year 1980, the United States will not be dependent on any other country for the energy we need.”
In 1975 with 36.1% of oil from foreign sources, President Gerald Ford said, “We must reduce oil imports by one million barrels per day by the end of this year and by two million barrels per day by the end of 1977.”
In 1979 with 40.5% of oil from foreign sources, President Jimmy Carter said, “Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 – never.”
In 1981 with 43.6% of oil from foreign sources, President Ronald Reagan said, “While conservation is worthy in itself, the best answer is to try to make us independent of outside sources to the greatest extent possible for our energy.”
In 1992 with 47.2% of oil from foreign sources, President George Bush said, “When our administration developed our national energy strategy, three principles guided our policy: reducing our dependence on foreign oil…”
In 1995 with 49.8% of oil from foreign sources, President Bill Clinton said, “The nation’s growing reliance on imports of oil…threatens the nation’s security…[we] will continue efforts to…enhance domestic energy production.”
In 2006 with 65.5% of oil from foreign sources, President George W. Bush said, “Breakthroughs…will help us reach another great goal: to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025.”
In 2009 with 66.2% of oil from foreign sources, President Barack Obama said, “It will be the policy of my administration to reverse our dependence on foreign oil while building a new energy economy that will create millions of jobs.”
In 1975 with 36.1% of oil from foreign sources, President Gerald Ford said, “We must reduce oil imports by one million barrels per day by the end of this year and by two million barrels per day by the end of 1977.”
In 1979 with 40.5% of oil from foreign sources, President Jimmy Carter said, “Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 – never.”
In 1981 with 43.6% of oil from foreign sources, President Ronald Reagan said, “While conservation is worthy in itself, the best answer is to try to make us independent of outside sources to the greatest extent possible for our energy.”
In 1992 with 47.2% of oil from foreign sources, President George Bush said, “When our administration developed our national energy strategy, three principles guided our policy: reducing our dependence on foreign oil…”
In 1995 with 49.8% of oil from foreign sources, President Bill Clinton said, “The nation’s growing reliance on imports of oil…threatens the nation’s security…[we] will continue efforts to…enhance domestic energy production.”
In 2006 with 65.5% of oil from foreign sources, President George W. Bush said, “Breakthroughs…will help us reach another great goal: to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025.”
In 2009 with 66.2% of oil from foreign sources, President Barack Obama said, “It will be the policy of my administration to reverse our dependence on foreign oil while building a new energy economy that will create millions of jobs.”
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Goldman Has Zero Trading Loss Days In Last Quarter
If you ever wanted to see what monopoly looks like in chart form, see this:
In the quarter ended March 31, Goldman made money on every single trading day. The firm did not record a loss of even $0.01 on even one day in the last quarter. That's 63 days profitable out of 63 trading days. The statistic probability of this event is itself statistically undefined. Goldman is now the market - or, in keeping with modern market reality, Goldman is the house, it controls the casino, and always wins. Congratulations America: you now have far, far better odds in Las Vegas that you have making money with your E-Trade account.
Adding to the alice in wonderland insanity of this announcement, the firm made over $100 million daily on 35 different days. Of Goldman's $9.7 billion in total Q1 revenue, 76% came from trading. Forget investment banking, forget underwriting, forget advisory: over three quarters of the firm's value is based on being the house to the biggest corrupt casino in existence. Ever.
If you ever wanted to see what monopoly looks like in chart form, see this:
In the quarter ended March 31, Goldman made money on every single trading day. The firm did not record a loss of even $0.01 on even one day in the last quarter. That's 63 days profitable out of 63 trading days. The statistic probability of this event is itself statistically undefined. Goldman is now the market - or, in keeping with modern market reality, Goldman is the house, it controls the casino, and always wins. Congratulations America: you now have far, far better odds in Las Vegas that you have making money with your E-Trade account.
Adding to the alice in wonderland insanity of this announcement, the firm made over $100 million daily on 35 different days. Of Goldman's $9.7 billion in total Q1 revenue, 76% came from trading. Forget investment banking, forget underwriting, forget advisory: over three quarters of the firm's value is based on being the house to the biggest corrupt casino in existence. Ever.
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