I'm still not over the fact that the US would deploy cops to prevent hungry freezing people from accessing edible food thrown in the garbage, because then someone would have something for free.
I often wonder how one can account for life experiences in product design.
We make metal chassis for computers. There are two kinds of steel sheets available to us - CR (cold rolled) and GP (galvanized plain). Once the sheets are cut and bent, they are powder coated for finish and to prevent rusting. Our vendors proudly stand behind the quality and durability of their powder coating.
As someone who has spent a considerable amount of time in Chennai, I have seen corrosion first hand. Sea air, with salt in it, can eat through anything and everything. Steel is simply no match to the sea. Therefore, I prefer using GP sheets, which are simply CR sheets with a coating of Zinc. The Zinc provides a layer of protection. Even without powder coating, a GP sheet does not corrode in coastal regions.
Between my company, and the offices of our vendors, I am the lone warrior who keeps insisting on using GP for all our chassis.
Any amount of education or work experience cannot account for life experiences. I wonder how great product designers accommodate for this. Do they constantly travel? After all, even an uneducated house owner in a coastal area knows that bathroom fittings would much rather be bought in plastic or brass, than in steel with chrome finish.
We make metal chassis for computers. There are two kinds of steel sheets available to us - CR (cold rolled) and GP (galvanized plain). Once the sheets are cut and bent, they are powder coated for finish and to prevent rusting. Our vendors proudly stand behind the quality and durability of their powder coating.
As someone who has spent a considerable amount of time in Chennai, I have seen corrosion first hand. Sea air, with salt in it, can eat through anything and everything. Steel is simply no match to the sea. Therefore, I prefer using GP sheets, which are simply CR sheets with a coating of Zinc. The Zinc provides a layer of protection. Even without powder coating, a GP sheet does not corrode in coastal regions.
Between my company, and the offices of our vendors, I am the lone warrior who keeps insisting on using GP for all our chassis.
Any amount of education or work experience cannot account for life experiences. I wonder how great product designers accommodate for this. Do they constantly travel? After all, even an uneducated house owner in a coastal area knows that bathroom fittings would much rather be bought in plastic or brass, than in steel with chrome finish.
Kavin: These shoes are so fast.
Me: Which shoes?
Kavin: My shoes. They make me run so fast.
Me: This... isn't the first time you're wearing them.
Kavin: I've had them for an year. So bouncy.
Kavin follows the same approach to life as my friend Goli. First, set a very low bar to happiness. Second, easily and frequently achieve that bar. Then, rejoice.
Me: Which shoes?
Kavin: My shoes. They make me run so fast.
Me: This... isn't the first time you're wearing them.
Kavin: I've had them for an year. So bouncy.
Kavin follows the same approach to life as my friend Goli. First, set a very low bar to happiness. Second, easily and frequently achieve that bar. Then, rejoice.
I want you to read this post and the linked article and spend some time thinking about what happened.
During an unprecedented winter storm, homeless and hungry people were prevented from accessing edible packaged food thrown away in dumpsters. Both the private company that threw away the food because it would soon perish, and the government, were involved in preventing this access.
Take a long hard look at what happened. And how that ties into the kind of economy and government and power structures you have.
During an unprecedented winter storm, homeless and hungry people were prevented from accessing edible packaged food thrown away in dumpsters. Both the private company that threw away the food because it would soon perish, and the government, were involved in preventing this access.
Take a long hard look at what happened. And how that ties into the kind of economy and government and power structures you have.
I don't understand what is going on in Texas. So I looked at a Centigrade map.
This is terribly cold weather. But, last week of December, minimum temperatures in Gurgaon were 4°C. We were sleeping without the heater on, in just a blanket. I'm hearing reports that people in Texas are unable to sleep in the absence of electricity.
Do folks in Texas not have comforters readily available? I mean, if the kind of weather that we have in Delhi suddenly hit Chennai, I know people would literally die. Most folks in Chennai have not seen space heaters or comforters. Is that what is happening in Texas?
Also, I understand Texans have a lot of guns. Are you guys lining up electricity company CEOs in the snow and blowing their heads off yet? Because I understand spot electricity rates are over 100x the usual rates. And none of that excess money seems to be going into restoring the grid. Which for some reason is isolated from the rest of the US.
This is terribly cold weather. But, last week of December, minimum temperatures in Gurgaon were 4°C. We were sleeping without the heater on, in just a blanket. I'm hearing reports that people in Texas are unable to sleep in the absence of electricity.
Do folks in Texas not have comforters readily available? I mean, if the kind of weather that we have in Delhi suddenly hit Chennai, I know people would literally die. Most folks in Chennai have not seen space heaters or comforters. Is that what is happening in Texas?
Also, I understand Texans have a lot of guns. Are you guys lining up electricity company CEOs in the snow and blowing their heads off yet? Because I understand spot electricity rates are over 100x the usual rates. And none of that excess money seems to be going into restoring the grid. Which for some reason is isolated from the rest of the US.
Me: I saw origami paper in the market, so I got you some.
Kavin: But I already have a lot of origami paper.
Me: But you haven't made origami in a long while.
Kavin: How does having more origami paper help me do origami? I'll do it when I feel like doing it.
Me: ओए सुन! This is how Indian parents function, ok. Too much democracy.
Kavin: But I already have a lot of origami paper.
Me: But you haven't made origami in a long while.
Kavin: How does having more origami paper help me do origami? I'll do it when I feel like doing it.
Me: ओए सुन! This is how Indian parents function, ok. Too much democracy.
You go to school and read one author, one regime's version of history. Centuries of events squeezed into a tiny book overflowing with dates and rather specific, meaningless facts that you're supposed to remember and regurgitate.
And in all this tamasha you assume that you know who you are. You know where you come from.
But the study of history never stops. There are so many perspectives. So many versions. You read the victor's version, but what about the loser? You read the oppressor's version, but who was writing the history of the oppressed?
The first part of the 20th century was a time of great social upheaval in India. But what if the people that manipulated themselves into power after the British left, were too afraid to tell you all about it. Afraid, not ashamed.
(This comment thread provides the context to this post. Skip the first ten comments. Then things get really interesting. If you care about who the jats and the Sikhs are and where they came from, and their relationship to Hindu caste structures. https://m.facebook.com/comment/replies/?ctoken=2834410063543649_2834421063542549&ft_ent_identifier=2834410063543649&gfid=AQCS2Q0fdEgfGML7RpU¬if_t=feed_comment_reply¬if_id=1613676435213171&ref=m_notif)
And in all this tamasha you assume that you know who you are. You know where you come from.
But the study of history never stops. There are so many perspectives. So many versions. You read the victor's version, but what about the loser? You read the oppressor's version, but who was writing the history of the oppressed?
The first part of the 20th century was a time of great social upheaval in India. But what if the people that manipulated themselves into power after the British left, were too afraid to tell you all about it. Afraid, not ashamed.
(This comment thread provides the context to this post. Skip the first ten comments. Then things get really interesting. If you care about who the jats and the Sikhs are and where they came from, and their relationship to Hindu caste structures. https://m.facebook.com/comment/replies/?ctoken=2834410063543649_2834421063542549&ft_ent_identifier=2834410063543649&gfid=AQCS2Q0fdEgfGML7RpU¬if_t=feed_comment_reply¬if_id=1613676435213171&ref=m_notif)
My kids have woken up to see the rover landing.
If only they would wake up on their own like this for online school every morning.
(Meanwhile, teacher reading this: "Excuse me, am I competing with NASA now? Like, my Zoom sessions need to be as gripping as a literal Mars landing?")
Edit: NASA scheduled the live stream to start a full two hours before the actual landing. When the kids realised this, the elder one promptly slept off; he has an exam in the morning. The younger one is unable to go to sleep because he is deeply shaken by NASA's betrayal. So he is munching food, cursing NASA, and not letting me sleep either.
If only they would wake up on their own like this for online school every morning.
(Meanwhile, teacher reading this: "Excuse me, am I competing with NASA now? Like, my Zoom sessions need to be as gripping as a literal Mars landing?")
Edit: NASA scheduled the live stream to start a full two hours before the actual landing. When the kids realised this, the elder one promptly slept off; he has an exam in the morning. The younger one is unable to go to sleep because he is deeply shaken by NASA's betrayal. So he is munching food, cursing NASA, and not letting me sleep either.
Yesterday I was in a group Zoom call with the kids' school. At some point in the call I started talking to one of the boys, not realising that my mic had unmuted itself (touchscreens 😣). I eventually heard a teacher say, "Nilay mute your mic. Saurabh please mute your mic. Ah, I'll just mute him."
So, I'd managed to not just embarrass myself, but also my kid. Turns out Nilay had signed into the Zoom app on my phone many days ago. He had also changed the profile picture to that of a taco. After the call, I wanted to say "I'm Saurabh, I'm not a taco, and I'm sorry."
But after listening to Shweta's call today... all embarrassment from yesterday is forgotten 😂
So, I'd managed to not just embarrass myself, but also my kid. Turns out Nilay had signed into the Zoom app on my phone many days ago. He had also changed the profile picture to that of a taco. After the call, I wanted to say "I'm Saurabh, I'm not a taco, and I'm sorry."
But after listening to Shweta's call today... all embarrassment from yesterday is forgotten 😂
Vertigo is a strange disease/condition. My head goes spinny spinny every time I change its position. So I'm mostly just lying on the bed, or sleeping.
Can't drive my kids around also.
Anyone know how long this will last? Doc gave me Vertin for three days. Only had a day's worth of medicine so far.
Can't drive my kids around also.
Anyone know how long this will last? Doc gave me Vertin for three days. Only had a day's worth of medicine so far.
शर्म तुमको मग़र आती नहीं।
डर तो लगता होगा?
डर तो लगता होगा?
In August I did the suryanamaskar.
The next day I was sick with Covid.
This morning I again did the suryanamaskar.
By noon I was sick with vertigo.
Now I'm stuck on the bed, medicated and ranting.
And people ask me what my grouse with yoga is 😂
(I've been exercising a lot lately. But it's only when I do asanas that the shit hits the fan.)
The next day I was sick with Covid.
This morning I again did the suryanamaskar.
By noon I was sick with vertigo.
Now I'm stuck on the bed, medicated and ranting.
And people ask me what my grouse with yoga is 😂
(I've been exercising a lot lately. But it's only when I do asanas that the shit hits the fan.)
I have just seen Disha Ravi compared to Sophie Scholl.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Scholl
Here. Please read more about Sophie. I hope all of us show the courage that Sophie showed, if and when the opportunity arises.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Scholl
Here. Please read more about Sophie. I hope all of us show the courage that Sophie showed, if and when the opportunity arises.
Ha ha ha. This reminds me of the time I made a very expensive long distance call from my college campus to a school time friend.
Imagine my surprise when some time into the call, my friend's mother's voice piped up. She had been listening in on the parallel line, and expressed surprise at the distinctly South Indian English accent I had picked up while in Chennai.
To her (dis?)satisfaction there was no romantic conversation between the two of us. It was all mundane stuff.
Imagine my surprise when some time into the call, my friend's mother's voice piped up. She had been listening in on the parallel line, and expressed surprise at the distinctly South Indian English accent I had picked up while in Chennai.
To her (dis?)satisfaction there was no romantic conversation between the two of us. It was all mundane stuff.
Maloshree Sarkar this is your fault.
Anyone remember the name of the movie that was broadly modelled after the Mahabharat. And it was about the liberation of Goa. Something beginning with K. Or am I confusing two movies?
Then there was the movie where an Indian guy returns to his village with a foreign wife. And a local lady ends up fostering their baby. Somewhere in the movie a cow is found dead. Google just isn't helpful if you remember random bits of the plot.
Just trying to get my kids to watch quality Indian cinema. And I can't have them watching एक डॉक्टर की मौत, or मिर्च मसाला, or एक रुका हुआ फैसला. All terribly morbid stuff.
Google did help me find इजाज़त, but then again, not the right stuff for 12 and 14 years olds. But maybe I'll watch it again just for my own satisfaction.
Would you consider मासूम child friendly?
Anyone remember the name of the movie that was broadly modelled after the Mahabharat. And it was about the liberation of Goa. Something beginning with K. Or am I confusing two movies?
Then there was the movie where an Indian guy returns to his village with a foreign wife. And a local lady ends up fostering their baby. Somewhere in the movie a cow is found dead. Google just isn't helpful if you remember random bits of the plot.
Just trying to get my kids to watch quality Indian cinema. And I can't have them watching एक डॉक्टर की मौत, or मिर्च मसाला, or एक रुका हुआ फैसला. All terribly morbid stuff.
Google did help me find इजाज़त, but then again, not the right stuff for 12 and 14 years olds. But maybe I'll watch it again just for my own satisfaction.
Would you consider मासूम child friendly?
The bottles and plastic bags that tourists litter all over Uttarakhand do not make glaciers burst.
The construction boom in small villages, with villagers adding an additional room to run homestays, does not cause cloudbursts.
Individual human activity is an annoyance. It mostly just looks dirty. It does not have the capacity to cause climate change.
Dams, bridges, power plants and roads all over the mountains definitely do cause natural disasters. But all of these look "pretty" to us because of our conditioning.
Only large corporations and governments have the scale and capacity to cause planet altering changes.
These are the organisations we need to target. Your individual contributions (recycling, avoiding plastic, cycling), though valuable, aren't stopping the climate train wreck.
The construction boom in small villages, with villagers adding an additional room to run homestays, does not cause cloudbursts.
Individual human activity is an annoyance. It mostly just looks dirty. It does not have the capacity to cause climate change.
Dams, bridges, power plants and roads all over the mountains definitely do cause natural disasters. But all of these look "pretty" to us because of our conditioning.
Only large corporations and governments have the scale and capacity to cause planet altering changes.
These are the organisations we need to target. Your individual contributions (recycling, avoiding plastic, cycling), though valuable, aren't stopping the climate train wreck.
We worry about climate change, but we want dozens of guards to work in the open through freezing nights to "protect" our homes from other poor people.
We worry about climate change, but we can't provide our guards with warm clothes, cabins or electric heaters.
We worry about climate change, but we can't give our guards the living wages they need to afford warm clothes of their own.
We worry about climate change, so we blame our guards for destroying the environment when they scrounge together firewood and burn it through the night.
We worry about climate change, but we can't provide our guards with warm clothes, cabins or electric heaters.
We worry about climate change, but we can't give our guards the living wages they need to afford warm clothes of their own.
We worry about climate change, so we blame our guards for destroying the environment when they scrounge together firewood and burn it through the night.
Indian culture: If you drop money, pick it up, touch it on your forehead as a mark do respect, then put it back in your wallet.
Also Indian culture: In a wedding procession, shower money so it falls to the road.
Also Indian culture: In a wedding procession, shower money so it falls to the road.
Me: Pushpa, I hate tears 😂
Nilay: Is this some boomer joke that I'm not supposed to understand.
Nilay also got no chill.
Nilay: Is this some boomer joke that I'm not supposed to understand.
Nilay also got no chill.
"So many good songs, people take them and turn them into TikTok songs. Good it got banned."
Kavin got no chill for tiktokers.
Kavin got no chill for tiktokers.
So, last evening, the kids were admiring Z's Enfield as he drove past. And I asked him to let them sit on it. The sweet man that he is, he took them for a quick ride. They came back gushing about the bike.
As we drove away, the boys chattered how cool it would be if we had a Bullet. And the desire to own a Bullet entered me for the umpteenth time in my life.
Earlier in the day, S had been lecturing me about listening to my mind and my body. And so I listened in. Almost as a third person, I watched as desire flooded my being.
And then, I watched as it caused turmoil all over my mind and body.
There was the heart, yearning. There was the mind, shooting out one reason after another why owning an Enfield is such an impractical, ridiculous idea.
And then Kavin piped up. "Remember how dad tried to drive a Bullet a few years ago and it was such a disaster."
As if on cue, the desire started to dissipate from within me. And I'm still watching, like a third person; watching it leave. And then I was at peace again.
R just shared a reel on Insta about desire. So I felt like sharing this.
Desires cause so much discontent. Yet it is so easy to conquer them. And yet, and yet, my favourite couplet of all time shall always be
हज़ारों ख्वाहिशें ऐसी के हर ख्वाहिश पे दम निकले
बहुत निकले मेरे अरमान लेकिन फिर भी कम निकले
As we drove away, the boys chattered how cool it would be if we had a Bullet. And the desire to own a Bullet entered me for the umpteenth time in my life.
Earlier in the day, S had been lecturing me about listening to my mind and my body. And so I listened in. Almost as a third person, I watched as desire flooded my being.
And then, I watched as it caused turmoil all over my mind and body.
There was the heart, yearning. There was the mind, shooting out one reason after another why owning an Enfield is such an impractical, ridiculous idea.
And then Kavin piped up. "Remember how dad tried to drive a Bullet a few years ago and it was such a disaster."
As if on cue, the desire started to dissipate from within me. And I'm still watching, like a third person; watching it leave. And then I was at peace again.
R just shared a reel on Insta about desire. So I felt like sharing this.
Desires cause so much discontent. Yet it is so easy to conquer them. And yet, and yet, my favourite couplet of all time shall always be
हज़ारों ख्वाहिशें ऐसी के हर ख्वाहिश पे दम निकले
बहुत निकले मेरे अरमान लेकिन फिर भी कम निकले
One of the things growing up middle class in India teaches you, is that there are aspects of your life that you don't have to deal with.
You don't have to clean your plates/room/house/toilet/sewer. That's someone else's job. When that someone doesn't show up, it is still someone else's job. Never yours.
Fixing your broken things isn't your job. Skills are for losers. You just need to study all the time. This is why most adult Indians can't even fix a malfunctioning printer.
Dealing with your emotions isn't your job. When emotional, just let it out on the world. Always find someone to blame for your failures and your malfunctioning relationships.
Taking your big decisions isn't your job. Your education, specialisation, career and spouse will be chosen by others older than you.
Your unemployment and singlehood, in spite of your education and privilege, are caused by society.
I could go on. But you see how easy it is for an Indian to be a parasite. We are taught it to be our natural state. To live a life completely dependent on others, to constantly wait till someone serves you, is our natural state.
And then we wonder where all these free loading politicians, who have never done a day's worth of honest labour in their lives, come from. Don't you see? They are the best amongst us. The most parasitic of all end up in the Parliament and other high places.
You don't have to clean your plates/room/house/toilet/sewer. That's someone else's job. When that someone doesn't show up, it is still someone else's job. Never yours.
Fixing your broken things isn't your job. Skills are for losers. You just need to study all the time. This is why most adult Indians can't even fix a malfunctioning printer.
Dealing with your emotions isn't your job. When emotional, just let it out on the world. Always find someone to blame for your failures and your malfunctioning relationships.
Taking your big decisions isn't your job. Your education, specialisation, career and spouse will be chosen by others older than you.
Your unemployment and singlehood, in spite of your education and privilege, are caused by society.
I could go on. But you see how easy it is for an Indian to be a parasite. We are taught it to be our natural state. To live a life completely dependent on others, to constantly wait till someone serves you, is our natural state.
And then we wonder where all these free loading politicians, who have never done a day's worth of honest labour in their lives, come from. Don't you see? They are the best amongst us. The most parasitic of all end up in the Parliament and other high places.
Short summary...
Nilay unwrapped a Lifebuoy soap bar and placed it at the washbasin.
Me (indignantly): We can't be going back to that!
Nilay: All the handwash refills at the shop were ₹70 or more, yet each refill barely lasts a few days. And the plastic refill bags add to garbage.
Me: Well with this everyone shares the same soap bar. That's gross.
Nilay: You know it's just in your mind. No microbe can survive on a soap bar. Covid taught us that. Sharing a bar is perfectly hygienic.
Somebody lend this boy bell bottom pants. He can bring anything back into fashion.
Me (indignantly): We can't be going back to that!
Nilay: All the handwash refills at the shop were ₹70 or more, yet each refill barely lasts a few days. And the plastic refill bags add to garbage.
Me: Well with this everyone shares the same soap bar. That's gross.
Nilay: You know it's just in your mind. No microbe can survive on a soap bar. Covid taught us that. Sharing a bar is perfectly hygienic.
Somebody lend this boy bell bottom pants. He can bring anything back into fashion.
Gov: We need large dams to protect us from flash floods, cloud and glacier bursts.
Reality: We need to stop constructions on flood plains, river banks and lake beds. If we live where water flows naturally, once an year or once a decade, sooner or later disaster will happen. We can never prevent these disasters with dams.
My heart goes out to all the victims of today's tragedy. They were victims of a man made disaster, not nature.
Reality: We need to stop constructions on flood plains, river banks and lake beds. If we live where water flows naturally, once an year or once a decade, sooner or later disaster will happen. We can never prevent these disasters with dams.
My heart goes out to all the victims of today's tragedy. They were victims of a man made disaster, not nature.
Where Trevor roasts Wall Street the way they should be roasted.
I'm speechless. Read read. ✊🏽
All these performers like Rihanna and Jay Sean aren't just raising awareness for the western audience.
My kids only listen to such artists. They can't even name ten Hindi cinema performers when asked - not even the good ones like Nawazuddin.
When singers they listen to talk about an issue, they'll care.
Only problem is, my kids aren't on twitter. Which is a good thing. Even I'm not on twitter.
Sigh. Burst my silver lining bubble right there.
My kids only listen to such artists. They can't even name ten Hindi cinema performers when asked - not even the good ones like Nawazuddin.
When singers they listen to talk about an issue, they'll care.
Only problem is, my kids aren't on twitter. Which is a good thing. Even I'm not on twitter.
Sigh. Burst my silver lining bubble right there.
Genuine question: How are the farm protests linked to environmentalism?
As far as I know, farmers have asked for fines on crop burning to be reversed. And in all these laws, the government has not proposed any mechanism to procure farm waste and prevent it from being burnt.
How does contract farming or industrial farming, of the scale done in the US and Canada, negatively impact the environment. After all, it's not like the small farmers currently protesting are practicing organic farming.
As far as I know, farmers have asked for fines on crop burning to be reversed. And in all these laws, the government has not proposed any mechanism to procure farm waste and prevent it from being burnt.
How does contract farming or industrial farming, of the scale done in the US and Canada, negatively impact the environment. After all, it's not like the small farmers currently protesting are practicing organic farming.
Do birds feel afraid when flying? "What if I ran out of breath and couldn't flap my way to the other side of this gorge?"
How do they feel when crossing a vast ocean, with no land in sight even from the sky? Do they worry about inclement weather? I'm sure they worry about predators in the sky and on land.
Or have they not yet learnt to overthink and ruin their lives?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BATI.SBOLETOSUNIL/permalink/2915707508666778/
How do they feel when crossing a vast ocean, with no land in sight even from the sky? Do they worry about inclement weather? I'm sure they worry about predators in the sky and on land.
Or have they not yet learnt to overthink and ruin their lives?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BATI.SBOLETOSUNIL/permalink/2915707508666778/
What an inspiring man. An inspiration for every young person wanting to build an honest career and impact the future of this world.
Wow. This explains the recent Internet disruptions at home and work.
What lawlessness in Gurgaon.
What lawlessness in Gurgaon.
कितनी सी ego है संघीयों की। देखो कैसे एक tweet से चुभ गई।
Right now Nilay is doing a computing assignment. His teacher sent a presentation with Python code snippets. He is copy pasting the code, running it, and once it runs, copy pasting it back to his assignment sheet.
Kavin is frantically pacing back and forth, trying to convince him to understand the code, not just run it.
I'm sitting in a corner moping because in my household a grave sin, a travesty is being committed.
The situation is tense. Anything can happen.
Kavin is frantically pacing back and forth, trying to convince him to understand the code, not just run it.
I'm sitting in a corner moping because in my household a grave sin, a travesty is being committed.
The situation is tense. Anything can happen.
All three countries have a completely public healthcare system. Still, see the disparity.
At least the government of India has now woken up and started spending more on public healthcare. At the expense of public education 😂
At least the government of India has now woken up and started spending more on public healthcare. At the expense of public education 😂
So I really admire this guy. I don't have half his intelligence or depth.
But he keeps repeating the same Ghalib couplets and the same statements in each interview.
यह रट्टू भाई वाक़ई UPSC के लिए perfect है 😀
Also, he reminds me of Rajesh Khanna's campaign in Delhi when I was my children's age. He used to repeat the same tired शेरs in each rally, each gathering.
But he keeps repeating the same Ghalib couplets and the same statements in each interview.
यह रट्टू भाई वाक़ई UPSC के लिए perfect है 😀
Also, he reminds me of Rajesh Khanna's campaign in Delhi when I was my children's age. He used to repeat the same tired शेरs in each rally, each gathering.
Nilay: I need to make a drawing on freedom from fear.
Me: Adult diapers.
Nilay: 🤣🤣🤣
Kavin: 😂
Nilay: Seriously, "freedom from fear" is the perfect tagline for adult diapers.
Me: Yes, but do adult diapers adequately represent freedom from fear?
Me: Adult diapers.
Nilay: 🤣🤣🤣
Kavin: 😂
Nilay: Seriously, "freedom from fear" is the perfect tagline for adult diapers.
Me: Yes, but do adult diapers adequately represent freedom from fear?
Kavin: Dad, for science, I need an artifact that has been in the family for two or three or more generations.
Nilay (promptly, while swigging Yakult): Just say genes bro.
Nilay (promptly, while swigging Yakult): Just say genes bro.
So, social dancing.
Salsa. Bachata. Kizomba.
These are very, shall I say, intimate dances.
So, the male dancers. "Leads". They're looking away. Never looking at their partner.
But what is up with the expression on their faces? It's a distant look, yes. Its not disinterest, or constipation, or incontinence. Its something else altogether.
So, apart from the moves, should my boys also be practising "the look"? Because right now they're very cheerful. Laughing and smiling. Or sometimes focused when the steps are tricky.
(I don't remember seeing this look when observing social dancing - salsa and tango - in San Jose.)
Edit: Professional dancers just did a demo. They both had the most cheerful expressions. And they were paying attention to each other. So this expression must be a beginner (or at least non pro) thing.
Salsa. Bachata. Kizomba.
These are very, shall I say, intimate dances.
So, the male dancers. "Leads". They're looking away. Never looking at their partner.
But what is up with the expression on their faces? It's a distant look, yes. Its not disinterest, or constipation, or incontinence. Its something else altogether.
So, apart from the moves, should my boys also be practising "the look"? Because right now they're very cheerful. Laughing and smiling. Or sometimes focused when the steps are tricky.
(I don't remember seeing this look when observing social dancing - salsa and tango - in San Jose.)
Edit: Professional dancers just did a demo. They both had the most cheerful expressions. And they were paying attention to each other. So this expression must be a beginner (or at least non pro) thing.
If you're fed up of being marooned at home, and are looking for something meaningful to do.
Schools can't charge transportation fees. This, from a government that runs buses itself through BMTC and KSRTC. Do stationary buses not require upkeep? Should EMIs not be paid on them? What about drivers, cleaners, conductors - should they have been laid off the day the lockdown was announced, to join this country's ever increasing pool of the unemployed?
Too much conflict of interest here. First, the government runs its own schools that compete with private schools. Second, almost all government officials send their children to private schools, and stand to directly benefit from this move.
Using the epidemics act to dictate the finances of a private entity is a terrible overreach of power.
Too much conflict of interest here. First, the government runs its own schools that compete with private schools. Second, almost all government officials send their children to private schools, and stand to directly benefit from this move.
Using the epidemics act to dictate the finances of a private entity is a terrible overreach of power.
I don't know if they taught us about him in school. I do not have any recall of his name.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayyankali
Such powerful people, who have faught for the real freedom of India. Read through the wikipedia page to see what struggles people have gone through. Inspiring.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayyankali
Such powerful people, who have faught for the real freedom of India. Read through the wikipedia page to see what struggles people have gone through. Inspiring.
Kavin: If we set fire to somebody's hair, that would make such a good photo.
Me: Wheeeere does he get these ideas from?
Nilay: Me!
Me: What kind of terrorists am I living with?
Me: Wheeeere does he get these ideas from?
Nilay: Me!
Me: What kind of terrorists am I living with?
Happy birthday Mirza साहिब। फिर से कब चलेंगे walk पर?
So, they disabled the internet across most of Haryana. Coming soon to a street near you 😍
This is no laughing matter. No jokes about cow मम्मी please.
The horse of a Nihang sikh was killed on Tuesday. Next time the farmers visit Delhi, they should march with their cows instead.
The police should also adopt cows as barriers. Concrete and DTC buses are passé - a little force and they moved. But have you ever tried to move a cow that has settled down in the middle of the road for a good chew on its cud?
The horse of a Nihang sikh was killed on Tuesday. Next time the farmers visit Delhi, they should march with their cows instead.
The police should also adopt cows as barriers. Concrete and DTC buses are passé - a little force and they moved. But have you ever tried to move a cow that has settled down in the middle of the road for a good chew on its cud?
Sage advice. It has always worked for the poor.
Deep. Deep.
Cuts deep.
Cuts deep.
GameStop! Ever heard the name?
What about Reddit? The social network for cool, young people (which, incidentally, resembles the BBS systems you used to interact with other folks in the pre-Internet, dial-up days).
This month, a bunch of young folks who've never visited GameStop (because they download all of their games from app stores) decided to use the GameStop stock (GME) to get rich while simultaneously thumbing their noses at Wall Street.
On Wall Street, you can short a stock. What does shorting mean? It means you borrow something that doesn't belong to you, and sell it (Typical WS shenanigans, right?). So you borrow a stock that costs $100 today, and sell it off. Now you have $100 in the bank. Say you borrowed for a month. After a month, you've got to return that stock. So you go back to the market, and buy it. Your hope is, that in the intervening month, the value of the stock dropped. Say it costs $40 now. So you take $40 out of the bank, buy the stock, and return it to the loser you borrowed it from. You have made a profit of $60 in a month.
Of course, this scheme only works if the value of the stock falls. Enter the 2.6 million followers of https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/. These guys go around looking for stocks that are heavily shorted. Some stocks are shorted to the extent of 120% of their total float (yep, WS also allows this shenanigan). For a few days now, they went after GME. They started buying this stuff.
So now, you are some college kid sitting in your dorm room, buying stock with your precious little savings. But there's 2.6 million other folks like you buying GME. The value of GME slowly rises as all of these tiny investors buy in.
But, the stock has no inherent value. I mean, who goes to GameStop any more? So these small investors are all going to lose their money, right? Wrong. Enter the hedge funds that have shorted 120% of total GME stock. These wretches have to buy this stock on a certain date, because they have short positions that they must fulfil. (Remember they borrowed stock for a fixed period. Those fixed periods end all the time.)
Before you cry bloodbath, remember that nobody, but nobody, likes the suits on Wall Street.
But this gets better. So now while a bunch of kids are pumping the GME stock, hedge funds must swoop in from time to time and buy more stock to fulfil short positions. This makes the price go up even higher. And who are they having to buy this stock from? The kids in their dorm rooms.
Today those kids are raking it in with GME. On guy paid off their entire student loan. Another is paying for their mother's Lyme disease treatment. Others are donating huge amounts to food banks (which, incidentally, WS would never ever do). Meanwhile, wallstreetbets has already moved on to the next stock to pump and dump.
This kind of sattebazi is what stock markets all over world are made of. Which is why I don't have a single penny in any stock market anywhere in the world. Or in cryptocurrencies. If you've left your savings, or worse, your child's college fund, at the mercy of Wall Street and script kiddies, you are going to hurt sooner or later.
And oh, by the way, what happens when something goes wrong? Well, from what I've seen, these guys were buying GME starting 13 Jan at $20 a piece. On 27 Jan GME reached $350. If things go wrong, which means the stock loses value, then these small guys lose a few dollars (maybe GME would have fallen to $5 a piece, in which case they'd have lost $15 a piece). But when they gain, oh they gain big ($330 a piece gains on GME today). Add to that the joy that all of that money ($330 a share) is coming out of WS hedge funds that add zero value to the economy and are full of people who haven't done a single day's worth of honest labour in their entire lives.
(Another fun aspect. The maximum one of these little guys can lose is the amount they put into the market. If a stock costs $20, the lowest it can fall is $0, so the maximum you can lose is $20. On the other hand, there is no theoretical upper to how much the hedge funds can lose. That same $20 stock can rise to $200, $2,000, $20,000. And these hedge fund folks buy stock by the millions. GME has done a volume of 22 million just today. Multiple millions with $350 and you know the kind of losses these hedge funds are making - quite possibly with your pension fund.)
(I don't know the first thing about stock markets, so if I've made factual errors, please do correct me. Or not. Who cares? I am not putting that knowledge to any use because I don't invest in the stock market.)
What about Reddit? The social network for cool, young people (which, incidentally, resembles the BBS systems you used to interact with other folks in the pre-Internet, dial-up days).
This month, a bunch of young folks who've never visited GameStop (because they download all of their games from app stores) decided to use the GameStop stock (GME) to get rich while simultaneously thumbing their noses at Wall Street.
On Wall Street, you can short a stock. What does shorting mean? It means you borrow something that doesn't belong to you, and sell it (Typical WS shenanigans, right?). So you borrow a stock that costs $100 today, and sell it off. Now you have $100 in the bank. Say you borrowed for a month. After a month, you've got to return that stock. So you go back to the market, and buy it. Your hope is, that in the intervening month, the value of the stock dropped. Say it costs $40 now. So you take $40 out of the bank, buy the stock, and return it to the loser you borrowed it from. You have made a profit of $60 in a month.
Of course, this scheme only works if the value of the stock falls. Enter the 2.6 million followers of https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/. These guys go around looking for stocks that are heavily shorted. Some stocks are shorted to the extent of 120% of their total float (yep, WS also allows this shenanigan). For a few days now, they went after GME. They started buying this stuff.
So now, you are some college kid sitting in your dorm room, buying stock with your precious little savings. But there's 2.6 million other folks like you buying GME. The value of GME slowly rises as all of these tiny investors buy in.
But, the stock has no inherent value. I mean, who goes to GameStop any more? So these small investors are all going to lose their money, right? Wrong. Enter the hedge funds that have shorted 120% of total GME stock. These wretches have to buy this stock on a certain date, because they have short positions that they must fulfil. (Remember they borrowed stock for a fixed period. Those fixed periods end all the time.)
Before you cry bloodbath, remember that nobody, but nobody, likes the suits on Wall Street.
But this gets better. So now while a bunch of kids are pumping the GME stock, hedge funds must swoop in from time to time and buy more stock to fulfil short positions. This makes the price go up even higher. And who are they having to buy this stock from? The kids in their dorm rooms.
Today those kids are raking it in with GME. On guy paid off their entire student loan. Another is paying for their mother's Lyme disease treatment. Others are donating huge amounts to food banks (which, incidentally, WS would never ever do). Meanwhile, wallstreetbets has already moved on to the next stock to pump and dump.
This kind of sattebazi is what stock markets all over world are made of. Which is why I don't have a single penny in any stock market anywhere in the world. Or in cryptocurrencies. If you've left your savings, or worse, your child's college fund, at the mercy of Wall Street and script kiddies, you are going to hurt sooner or later.
And oh, by the way, what happens when something goes wrong? Well, from what I've seen, these guys were buying GME starting 13 Jan at $20 a piece. On 27 Jan GME reached $350. If things go wrong, which means the stock loses value, then these small guys lose a few dollars (maybe GME would have fallen to $5 a piece, in which case they'd have lost $15 a piece). But when they gain, oh they gain big ($330 a piece gains on GME today). Add to that the joy that all of that money ($330 a share) is coming out of WS hedge funds that add zero value to the economy and are full of people who haven't done a single day's worth of honest labour in their entire lives.
(Another fun aspect. The maximum one of these little guys can lose is the amount they put into the market. If a stock costs $20, the lowest it can fall is $0, so the maximum you can lose is $20. On the other hand, there is no theoretical upper to how much the hedge funds can lose. That same $20 stock can rise to $200, $2,000, $20,000. And these hedge fund folks buy stock by the millions. GME has done a volume of 22 million just today. Multiple millions with $350 and you know the kind of losses these hedge funds are making - quite possibly with your pension fund.)
(I don't know the first thing about stock markets, so if I've made factual errors, please do correct me. Or not. Who cares? I am not putting that knowledge to any use because I don't invest in the stock market.)
If you have lost faith in love, stopped believing in the power of love, I want you to follow Noor Fields' posts on @[669615740453955:69:Survivor Corps].
Yes, love can move mountains, and people are moving mountains together for love ❤️
(I adore how she clipped his nails and cleaned him up in the precious little time they got together. I remember desperately asking to be shaved while I was in the ICU, because my stubble would hurt me when I wore the BiPAP mask. I hope medical professionals will figure out how to give patients some much needed grooming care while they're in the ICU.)
(Links to more of Noor's posts in the comments.)
Yes, love can move mountains, and people are moving mountains together for love ❤️
(I adore how she clipped his nails and cleaned him up in the precious little time they got together. I remember desperately asking to be shaved while I was in the ICU, because my stubble would hurt me when I wore the BiPAP mask. I hope medical professionals will figure out how to give patients some much needed grooming care while they're in the ICU.)
(Links to more of Noor's posts in the comments.)
Farm leaders: Yesterday's Farmer's March was unique because for the first time ordinary people could take part in the Republic Day parade.
That is so true. The only republic day festivities I've taken part in, were in the neighbourhood or at school. The official/state celebrations needed passes and planning. And the hassle of security बंदोबस्त।
That is so true. The only republic day festivities I've taken part in, were in the neighbourhood or at school. The official/state celebrations needed passes and planning. And the hassle of security बंदोबस्त।
अबे what nonsense is this?
If you get vaccinated you get a vaccine passport.
If you test negative you get an RT PCR report.
But what about people like me who developed natural immunity for the bloody virus by being very sick? हैं? कुछ नहीं? Scientists have studied that I have strong immunity for six months. I don't need RT PCR tests. I don't need the vaccine.
But somehow I don't get discounts at restaurants? हैं? क्यों? Fraud. This is all fraud.
If you get vaccinated you get a vaccine passport.
If you test negative you get an RT PCR report.
But what about people like me who developed natural immunity for the bloody virus by being very sick? हैं? कुछ नहीं? Scientists have studied that I have strong immunity for six months. I don't need RT PCR tests. I don't need the vaccine.
But somehow I don't get discounts at restaurants? हैं? क्यों? Fraud. This is all fraud.
Google Maps is finally doing what CDAC and Indian Railways did forty years ago. Transliteration of Indian place names for the ease of commuters.
चलिए। देर आए दुरुस्त आए।
चलिए। देर आए दुरुस्त आए।
Probably the worst day to be working for the Delhi Police.
Like, your lines were literally attacked by horse mounted religious warriors adhering to an ancient sect.
Absolutely none of your cop training had prepared you for this shit. You're standing around following orders, like "Ok so the agreed route says they go left from where I'm posted, but I'm supposed to make them go right and create some chaos." And then you get charged by blue men on white horses with long pointy weapons like whaaaaaat the fuck am I supposed to put up with so I can retire with a pension.
It's like the scenes from the movie The Mummy. Only, this happened for reals.
Like, your lines were literally attacked by horse mounted religious warriors adhering to an ancient sect.
Absolutely none of your cop training had prepared you for this shit. You're standing around following orders, like "Ok so the agreed route says they go left from where I'm posted, but I'm supposed to make them go right and create some chaos." And then you get charged by blue men on white horses with long pointy weapons like whaaaaaat the fuck am I supposed to put up with so I can retire with a pension.
It's like the scenes from the movie The Mummy. Only, this happened for reals.
क्या है आख़िर लाल क़िला?
Lesson learnt today - don't mess with farmers. These buggers have too much strength and ingenuity.
@[100051647884740:2048:Melroy Fernandes] you literally have Lucky Ali come to your club and launch his new song from there.
मतलब, I'm out of words here.
मतलब, I'm out of words here.
Glue sniffing is a huge problem among the street children of Delhi.
And they will do anything to get their daily fix of glue.
Anything. That's the operative word here.
Young children. Under 10.
The toluene that is inhaled from the glue, eats into their internal organs, especially the brain.
And the more the inhalant impacts the brain, the more the brain craves for the inhalant.
It's a global problem. Is the world prepared to turn industrial glue and cough syrup into controlled substances? Or, to be more precise, are we prepared to build a world where the educational, nutritional and emotional needs of every child are met, irrespective of the circumstances of their parent?
And they will do anything to get their daily fix of glue.
Anything. That's the operative word here.
Young children. Under 10.
The toluene that is inhaled from the glue, eats into their internal organs, especially the brain.
And the more the inhalant impacts the brain, the more the brain craves for the inhalant.
It's a global problem. Is the world prepared to turn industrial glue and cough syrup into controlled substances? Or, to be more precise, are we prepared to build a world where the educational, nutritional and emotional needs of every child are met, irrespective of the circumstances of their parent?
Me: We have to leave now. Your salsa class begins at three.
Nilay: What? Dance? No. Never.
Kavin: Whyyyyyy? You never asked us.
Nilay: There is absolutely no way I'll attend.
After much drama, we arrive at the class. After the class:
Me: How was it?
Nilay: Amazing.
Kavin: 😁 I like.
Nilay: We talked to the teacher. Fixed the same time every day for classes.
My style of parenting is very cooperative*. No forcing the kids. But once in a while I flex myself on an issue. And the sheer joy when it turns out a success 🎉.
Bonus. The teacher speaks fluent Spanish. So the kids can practice the language they learn at school (and didn't particularly enjoy learning, till last week).
*Cooperative on everything except chores. The kids have to do two-thirds of the work around the home. Always. That's my रोज़ का रगड़ा with them.
Nilay: What? Dance? No. Never.
Kavin: Whyyyyyy? You never asked us.
Nilay: There is absolutely no way I'll attend.
After much drama, we arrive at the class. After the class:
Me: How was it?
Nilay: Amazing.
Kavin: 😁 I like.
Nilay: We talked to the teacher. Fixed the same time every day for classes.
My style of parenting is very cooperative*. No forcing the kids. But once in a while I flex myself on an issue. And the sheer joy when it turns out a success 🎉.
Bonus. The teacher speaks fluent Spanish. So the kids can practice the language they learn at school (and didn't particularly enjoy learning, till last week).
*Cooperative on everything except chores. The kids have to do two-thirds of the work around the home. Always. That's my रोज़ का रगड़ा with them.