As if it wasn't bad enough that the 5 kids under my charge and the 2 friends they made were doing this human chain thing... 3 rando adult tourist women also joined in. I wagged a stern finger at them and said "you'll know when you have kids". Unfazed. Unfazed they were.
You know how people do this obnoxious thing at music festivals. Where they form a human chain and cut through crowds. My kids indulged in this very juvenile behaviour yesterday.
(I noticed that with some practice I could get to @therealindiandad 's voice.)
(I noticed that with some practice I could get to @therealindiandad 's voice.)
Inordinately large amounts of fun was had with newly minted friends.
So glad that Dilshad called us over to the Goa Heritage Festival yesterday. The kids made friends with two kids from Sharada Mandir, who were raising funds for Mollem (for the environment).
I swear I'll get PTSD from listening to the trauma of ICSE kids all my life.
The kids were surprisingly chill and cool for someone who has studied at a Mandir all their life.
I swear I'll get PTSD from listening to the trauma of ICSE kids all my life.
The kids were surprisingly chill and cool for someone who has studied at a Mandir all their life.
The beautiful people of Goa. Surprise partyyyyyy 🎉
So heartening when others are more excited about your big day than you yourself are
Birthday morning began with bicycle ride around the new neighbourhood
Goa is hosting a biker fest.
पूरे देश का midlife crisis मेरे दर पर आ गया है.
पूरे देश का midlife crisis मेरे दर पर आ गया है.
Inauguration की सरकार
In all my time living abroad, I've never heard of politicians inaugurating bits of infrastructure on a daily basis.
Now our Mopa airport is ready and waiting for Modi to kick it off. Meanwhile we suffer rush and long queues at Dabolim.
In all my time living abroad, I've never heard of politicians inaugurating bits of infrastructure on a daily basis.
Now our Mopa airport is ready and waiting for Modi to kick it off. Meanwhile we suffer rush and long queues at Dabolim.
This one has dressed up as one of the teachers in their school. I think it's just low effort, lazy. Some people are always trying to get by on their charm.
With the hands down, it's an Arab person who has lost their way.
How is this a ghost? The meme glasses are destroying the look. Jasper the jocular ghost, this one is.
How is this a ghost? The meme glasses are destroying the look. Jasper the jocular ghost, this one is.
There's a ghost in our street today.
Though he looks more like a Haryanvi farmer in dhoti and shawl going to the fields in the morning.
(He bought a new bedsheet and punched holes in it for the eyes. My 80s-kid ass is so hurt.)
Though he looks more like a Haryanvi farmer in dhoti and shawl going to the fields in the morning.
(He bought a new bedsheet and punched holes in it for the eyes. My 80s-kid ass is so hurt.)
Narkasura has become sarpasura
One of our many neighbourhood Narkasuras.
Passing scooter for size reference.
(It is said that up North diwali is the celebration of the killing of Ravana by Ram. Down south it is the celebration of the killing of Narkasura by Krishna. And of course Jains and Buddhists have entirely different reasons for celebrating Diwali.)
Narkasura burns just before dawn tomorrow.
Passing scooter for size reference.
(It is said that up North diwali is the celebration of the killing of Ravana by Ram. Down south it is the celebration of the killing of Narkasura by Krishna. And of course Jains and Buddhists have entirely different reasons for celebrating Diwali.)
Narkasura burns just before dawn tomorrow.
The 8th All Goa Akash Kandil competition is happening today at Parra. Do visit if you're in Goa. There are some fantastic entries this year.
I don't follow cricket. I'm reading posts/rumours that:
1. Virat was instrumental in India winning today's match.
2. He supported the farmer agitation, and criticised the incidents at Hathras.
3. He was fired from his captaincy, and cheap jokes were cracked about his wife, because of (2) above.
Can one of you verify these facts?
How do y'all sports lovers reconcile the facts that our leading sportspeople are being chastised for their political views?
1. Virat was instrumental in India winning today's match.
2. He supported the farmer agitation, and criticised the incidents at Hathras.
3. He was fired from his captaincy, and cheap jokes were cracked about his wife, because of (2) above.
Can one of you verify these facts?
How do y'all sports lovers reconcile the facts that our leading sportspeople are being chastised for their political views?
Pouter (obstruction)
During World War II, scientists working for the British Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development encountered a particularly obstructive Royal Navy officer called Commander Pouter, for whom the unit of Obstruction was named, due to his implacable opposition to any work being carried out in the field for which he was personally responsible.
Subsequently, the micropouter was used, as it was hoped that no individual of a similarly difficult disposition would be encountered, and the pouter was too large a unit for everyday use.
I wonder how many micropouters of obstruction Nehru causes every day for contemporary governments.
During World War II, scientists working for the British Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development encountered a particularly obstructive Royal Navy officer called Commander Pouter, for whom the unit of Obstruction was named, due to his implacable opposition to any work being carried out in the field for which he was personally responsible.
Subsequently, the micropouter was used, as it was hoped that no individual of a similarly difficult disposition would be encountered, and the pouter was too large a unit for everyday use.
I wonder how many micropouters of obstruction Nehru causes every day for contemporary governments.
I'm scrolling through my feed when I see this ad. And its meta, because The Juggernaut is talking about Poorna Jagannathan. Would they know that their name Juggernaut is derived from the Odiya name Jagannath?
My brain is just this scramble of useless facts that keeps firing randomly. Is that why we exist?To keep filling the grand database perched on our shoulders, and see how many connections it can make.
My brain is just this scramble of useless facts that keeps firing randomly. Is that why we exist?To keep filling the grand database perched on our shoulders, and see how many connections it can make.
The rupee isn't falling. The US dollar is rising.
Just like India buying Russian oil is helping the Russian war effort. While the EU buying three times as much oil and gas from Russia as India is only stopping the European economy from collapsing, not helping the Russian war effort in any way.
(My uncaffeinated morning brain thinks there is an analogy there somewhere, but can't put a finger on it. If you see it, let me know too.)
Just like India buying Russian oil is helping the Russian war effort. While the EU buying three times as much oil and gas from Russia as India is only stopping the European economy from collapsing, not helping the Russian war effort in any way.
(My uncaffeinated morning brain thinks there is an analogy there somewhere, but can't put a finger on it. If you see it, let me know too.)
Waiting for sunrise
Conversations at the beach
Colours
About this morning
Men who grill
Kavin: Our PSHE teacher thinks it is ageist if you are denied a job because of your age. Ridiculous.
Me: (delivers lecture on the subject)
Kavin: (walks away unimpressed)
How? How do teachers teach kids anything? Their opinions are already set in stone.
Me: (delivers lecture on the subject)
Kavin: (walks away unimpressed)
How? How do teachers teach kids anything? Their opinions are already set in stone.
Work jokes are the best
There are some things that we only truly understand by observation. We may have learnt it in school, and believe we know it, but it really only sinks in when we see it.
I've realised this year, during the monsoons in Goa, that plants do not come from soil. On the contrary, soil comes from plants.
Plants come from water and air. That's all they need. Keep pouring water on a concrete floor and moss will grow there. And after three months of incessant rain, when you pressure wash the moss away, soil will emerge from under the moss. Soil that wasn't there when the rains began.
So what's happening here? Don't we "plant" plants in soil? Don't plants need nutrients from soil? Isn't it only certain plants like moss and money plants that'll grow without soil.
Well I'm not an expert. I'm not a botanist. What I've figured out is that ornamental plants, crops, trees - these sort of things need soil. But weeds and a variety of local plants will literally grow on hard rock. Rough concrete, and naturally uneven stone like laterite, give plants the grip they need to start growing.
And well, there's soil and there's sand. And sand is just ground up rock (and sometimes ground up coral). Mangroves will grow in sand, even though it offers no nutrients because it isn't organic material. Whereas soil is entirely of organic origin. It's all poop. It's decayed organic material - plant material that microorganisms and worms and insects ate and then pooped out.
So far I thought that the organic fertiliser we put in soil is poop. The poop of large animals. Dung. But the rest of the stuff is also poop. Decayed material is poop, it just fungus and bacteria poop.
So you're pressure washing the green stuff and then some filthy brown stuff comes out from under it and after you've smeared yourself with this unexpected dirt, it makes you think. In a manner that your biology teacher could never make you think.
All of the organic material we see around us, in all its vibrancy and complexity, is largely synthesised by plants using water and air (and minerals dissolved in water). It is hard for me to imagine that all these solids come out of water and air. And that all the complexity of soil comes from transparent inorganic liquids and gases.
I've realised this year, during the monsoons in Goa, that plants do not come from soil. On the contrary, soil comes from plants.
Plants come from water and air. That's all they need. Keep pouring water on a concrete floor and moss will grow there. And after three months of incessant rain, when you pressure wash the moss away, soil will emerge from under the moss. Soil that wasn't there when the rains began.
So what's happening here? Don't we "plant" plants in soil? Don't plants need nutrients from soil? Isn't it only certain plants like moss and money plants that'll grow without soil.
Well I'm not an expert. I'm not a botanist. What I've figured out is that ornamental plants, crops, trees - these sort of things need soil. But weeds and a variety of local plants will literally grow on hard rock. Rough concrete, and naturally uneven stone like laterite, give plants the grip they need to start growing.
And well, there's soil and there's sand. And sand is just ground up rock (and sometimes ground up coral). Mangroves will grow in sand, even though it offers no nutrients because it isn't organic material. Whereas soil is entirely of organic origin. It's all poop. It's decayed organic material - plant material that microorganisms and worms and insects ate and then pooped out.
So far I thought that the organic fertiliser we put in soil is poop. The poop of large animals. Dung. But the rest of the stuff is also poop. Decayed material is poop, it just fungus and bacteria poop.
So you're pressure washing the green stuff and then some filthy brown stuff comes out from under it and after you've smeared yourself with this unexpected dirt, it makes you think. In a manner that your biology teacher could never make you think.
All of the organic material we see around us, in all its vibrancy and complexity, is largely synthesised by plants using water and air (and minerals dissolved in water). It is hard for me to imagine that all these solids come out of water and air. And that all the complexity of soil comes from transparent inorganic liquids and gases.
The sky above Dabolim right now. There's a ring around the moon. If you zoom in, you'll see it's a rainbow.
There are certain professions that thrive on ambiguity.
As engineers, we like to lay down processes based on our knowledge and the amount of effort we can justifiably spend on each task. Since our systems are artificial, we know quite a bit about them, and can easily verify outcomes.
Doctors have it hard, because precious little is known about the human body. Nevertheless, there are well laid medical protocols, and outcomes can be measured by running tests on the patient.
Chartered accountants, company secretaries, priests. These guys will never give you a straight answer. What is the right and canonical way to get to heaven? We don't know. The man hasn't spoken in recent times. He did speak millennia ago to some bearded men, but hasn't bothered to update the operational manual since.
The outcome is hard to test too - nobody's ever written a "how I got to heaven in 20 easy steps" listicle. Its the same with CAs and company law professionals. Each will give you a different opinion, and the outcome can only be tested when a government department audits or raids you.
And so the population lives in fear. And contributes bigger and bigger sums to temples and accountancy firms, in the hope of getting closer and closer to the elusive truth.
As engineers, we like to lay down processes based on our knowledge and the amount of effort we can justifiably spend on each task. Since our systems are artificial, we know quite a bit about them, and can easily verify outcomes.
Doctors have it hard, because precious little is known about the human body. Nevertheless, there are well laid medical protocols, and outcomes can be measured by running tests on the patient.
Chartered accountants, company secretaries, priests. These guys will never give you a straight answer. What is the right and canonical way to get to heaven? We don't know. The man hasn't spoken in recent times. He did speak millennia ago to some bearded men, but hasn't bothered to update the operational manual since.
The outcome is hard to test too - nobody's ever written a "how I got to heaven in 20 easy steps" listicle. Its the same with CAs and company law professionals. Each will give you a different opinion, and the outcome can only be tested when a government department audits or raids you.
And so the population lives in fear. And contributes bigger and bigger sums to temples and accountancy firms, in the hope of getting closer and closer to the elusive truth.
When your padre is an electrical engineer.
Yesterday was asthami. Or Navami. My cook and my guest couldn't agree. Nevertheless, the first plate of food was offered to the gods. Except, the cook left it at the Jesus shrine at the corner of the house. Today, the Goa office had a restricted holiday for Dussehra. Everybody showed up for work, except one Muslim guy. He really needed to be off for Dashami.
People like to call this India's syncretic culture. I just know that the "believers" are covering all their bases. What if the other guy's imaginary friend is real and mine isn't. Eh?
People like to call this India's syncretic culture. I just know that the "believers" are covering all their bases. What if the other guy's imaginary friend is real and mine isn't. Eh?
Carlton Braganza is performing near Verna tonight. Anyone wanna join in for the hour long ride? I guarantee a most entertaining time.
Kavin: Also the exams got postponed.
Me: What
Kavin: They gave us a weekend's notice before the exams. The principal discovered and said what the heck is going on and pushed them by a week.
Me: Not like you will use the week to study.
Kavin: That's besides the point.
Me: What
Kavin: They gave us a weekend's notice before the exams. The principal discovered and said what the heck is going on and pushed them by a week.
Me: Not like you will use the week to study.
Kavin: That's besides the point.
Thanks @[100000908314561:2048:Tushar] for writing this up. I was meaning to write myself.
Some points I want to highlight:
1. I ordered food from a @[100063894224598:2048:Bean Me Up] using @[100064411640740:2048:Zomato]. The delivery guy, Gaurav, met with an accident even before he reached the restaurant to pick up the order. Much later in the evening we learnt that this was a more than one inch gash on his head that required 5 stitches to heal.
[Always wear a helmet, no matter the distance or discomfort]
2. Why did a man bandage himself with a bandana and continue driving and working? Because he was terrified of losing his job. He is still under probation at Zomato. He said they only listen to customers and do not pay any attention to what their delivery guys say. So in order to keep his job, he went with a bleeding head to the restaurant, picked up the order, then drove to my place.
[As a society, we have failed to provide social security to people whose employment is seasonal or Covid impacted (he usually works in the hotel industry in Goa, but is unemployed right now). We have failed to generate employment in UP and Bihar where large swathes of our people live. And we tolerate companies like Zomato exploiting gig workers to the extent that they drive themselves to death.]
3. How did I discover the injury? While delivering the order, he apologised for being late, and begged me to not complain about him. I told him that I didn't even notice that he is late, and the restaurant also is quite a distance from my home. Then he started weeping. Why was he weeping? Because he did not expect any support from us customers, or from Zomato. He was feeling completely crushed by his circumstances, and even a little bit of humanity made him break down.
[The combination of our caste and class "superiority", and the general apathy that corporate jobs breed, has led to us urban Indians possibly being one of the worst specimens of humans anywhere in the world. We need to treat people who work for us, a lot, lot better.]
4. Then he talked about his injury. Even before I could attend to it, a minion from Zomato called me and started apologising for the late delivery. No point blasting this guy, so I just told him that the order has been delivered and the driver is severely injured, so I am attending to him. In spite of me informing Zomato, Gaurav kept getting notifications that he has not completed his ride/order for as long as he was with us.
[The app would not let him complete his ride. There was no signal near my house, and then when he got a signal he was outside the GPS range of my house. As an engineer I am appalled how other engineers cannot think through the human aspect of what they are coding when they make these apps.]
5. Being prepare for an emergency is critical. I did not have adequate first aid supplies at home. I did not have the stomach to deal with blood. I did not have the training to bandage an injury properly. Tushar bandaged the guy twice before he drove him to the hospital, so that when we reached the hospital, the bleeding had already stopped.
[I have helped more than a dozen accident victims by taking them to the hospital. But last night I realised that not once had I administered even basic first aid to the victims before handing them over to the hospital. I am glad my kids' school has been teaching them all kinds of first aid, even though it is most likely not mandated by the IGCSE board.]
6. On the way from my home to the District Hospital in Mapusa, the man begged not to be taken to the hospital because he could not afford it. I had to repeatedly assure him that the hospital was both free and high quality. When we reached the hospital, they did choose to charge ₹100 for a "paper" that is needed in order to treat a patient. If I remember correctly, that charge was merely ₹10 less than an year ago. Thankfully everything else was free, and they called him back today for free medicines also.
[Free healthcare for everyone is the cornerstone of a civilised society. Use your local government hospital, and insist on good services. I got my vaccine booster dose at the Badshahpur PHC instead of at Medanta, and I made noise about how unhygienic they were. If more of us use these services and demand quality, the services will improve. Don't have the attitude that "let the free services be for the poor".]
Anyway. Apologies for the long rant. I am ordering supplies from https://shop.stjohnsfirstaid.net/ . You should too. And I've uninstalled the Zomato and Swiggy apps. Rather than use these exploitative companies, I'll just call the restaurant and get things delivered. I've been told to do that many times before, but I'm lazy. But the price we pay for our laziness and convenience is too high.
#zwigato
Some points I want to highlight:
1. I ordered food from a @[100063894224598:2048:Bean Me Up] using @[100064411640740:2048:Zomato]. The delivery guy, Gaurav, met with an accident even before he reached the restaurant to pick up the order. Much later in the evening we learnt that this was a more than one inch gash on his head that required 5 stitches to heal.
[Always wear a helmet, no matter the distance or discomfort]
2. Why did a man bandage himself with a bandana and continue driving and working? Because he was terrified of losing his job. He is still under probation at Zomato. He said they only listen to customers and do not pay any attention to what their delivery guys say. So in order to keep his job, he went with a bleeding head to the restaurant, picked up the order, then drove to my place.
[As a society, we have failed to provide social security to people whose employment is seasonal or Covid impacted (he usually works in the hotel industry in Goa, but is unemployed right now). We have failed to generate employment in UP and Bihar where large swathes of our people live. And we tolerate companies like Zomato exploiting gig workers to the extent that they drive themselves to death.]
3. How did I discover the injury? While delivering the order, he apologised for being late, and begged me to not complain about him. I told him that I didn't even notice that he is late, and the restaurant also is quite a distance from my home. Then he started weeping. Why was he weeping? Because he did not expect any support from us customers, or from Zomato. He was feeling completely crushed by his circumstances, and even a little bit of humanity made him break down.
[The combination of our caste and class "superiority", and the general apathy that corporate jobs breed, has led to us urban Indians possibly being one of the worst specimens of humans anywhere in the world. We need to treat people who work for us, a lot, lot better.]
4. Then he talked about his injury. Even before I could attend to it, a minion from Zomato called me and started apologising for the late delivery. No point blasting this guy, so I just told him that the order has been delivered and the driver is severely injured, so I am attending to him. In spite of me informing Zomato, Gaurav kept getting notifications that he has not completed his ride/order for as long as he was with us.
[The app would not let him complete his ride. There was no signal near my house, and then when he got a signal he was outside the GPS range of my house. As an engineer I am appalled how other engineers cannot think through the human aspect of what they are coding when they make these apps.]
5. Being prepare for an emergency is critical. I did not have adequate first aid supplies at home. I did not have the stomach to deal with blood. I did not have the training to bandage an injury properly. Tushar bandaged the guy twice before he drove him to the hospital, so that when we reached the hospital, the bleeding had already stopped.
[I have helped more than a dozen accident victims by taking them to the hospital. But last night I realised that not once had I administered even basic first aid to the victims before handing them over to the hospital. I am glad my kids' school has been teaching them all kinds of first aid, even though it is most likely not mandated by the IGCSE board.]
6. On the way from my home to the District Hospital in Mapusa, the man begged not to be taken to the hospital because he could not afford it. I had to repeatedly assure him that the hospital was both free and high quality. When we reached the hospital, they did choose to charge ₹100 for a "paper" that is needed in order to treat a patient. If I remember correctly, that charge was merely ₹10 less than an year ago. Thankfully everything else was free, and they called him back today for free medicines also.
[Free healthcare for everyone is the cornerstone of a civilised society. Use your local government hospital, and insist on good services. I got my vaccine booster dose at the Badshahpur PHC instead of at Medanta, and I made noise about how unhygienic they were. If more of us use these services and demand quality, the services will improve. Don't have the attitude that "let the free services be for the poor".]
Anyway. Apologies for the long rant. I am ordering supplies from https://shop.stjohnsfirstaid.net/ . You should too. And I've uninstalled the Zomato and Swiggy apps. Rather than use these exploitative companies, I'll just call the restaurant and get things delivered. I've been told to do that many times before, but I'm lazy. But the price we pay for our laziness and convenience is too high.
#zwigato
Can't imagine what Modi is going through in the current circumstances.
A vast majority of Indian military hardware is Russian, or Russian derived/inspired. Same goes for our space and nuclear programs. I'm sure we have significant independence now in terms of parts and repairability. But our dependence on Russia does go far beyond cheap oil and gas. And Russia is getting sucked deeper into a war it cannot win.
Modi didn't even make these choices. Nobody in his party made these choices. And Russia, a nation friendly to us when we were born and chose to be non aligned, wasn't even the wrong choice. I'd also have chosen Russia over the US for military and technology supplies back then.
Russia is still friendly to us. But just how behind it is in terms of technology is for everyone to see.
Which wouldn't be a problem, really. If it weren't for neighbours breathing down our backs. Honestly, why should any economy sink so much money into the military industrial complex like America does. But America does it. And then it arms Pakistan. And now China is investing so much in military hardware.
Sigh. Some days it is just wise to not bother checking the news at all.
A vast majority of Indian military hardware is Russian, or Russian derived/inspired. Same goes for our space and nuclear programs. I'm sure we have significant independence now in terms of parts and repairability. But our dependence on Russia does go far beyond cheap oil and gas. And Russia is getting sucked deeper into a war it cannot win.
Modi didn't even make these choices. Nobody in his party made these choices. And Russia, a nation friendly to us when we were born and chose to be non aligned, wasn't even the wrong choice. I'd also have chosen Russia over the US for military and technology supplies back then.
Russia is still friendly to us. But just how behind it is in terms of technology is for everyone to see.
Which wouldn't be a problem, really. If it weren't for neighbours breathing down our backs. Honestly, why should any economy sink so much money into the military industrial complex like America does. But America does it. And then it arms Pakistan. And now China is investing so much in military hardware.
Sigh. Some days it is just wise to not bother checking the news at all.
Friends who live in cities with Ola-Uber service... has the scene changed with cabs after Cyrus' बलि?
The kids were listening to loud music, singing and dancing along while cleaning up their room.
So I walked into the room and yelled at them "Stop being so happy".
I think that's a pretty adult response to teenage.
So I walked into the room and yelled at them "Stop being so happy".
I think that's a pretty adult response to teenage.
This made me weep tears of joy to watch.
https://youtu.be/pSq_UIuxba8
I wonder when Indian media will see the normalcy of representation.
https://youtu.be/pSq_UIuxba8
I wonder when Indian media will see the normalcy of representation.
"Safety Regulations are Written in Blood" is an adage you will hear frequently while working with safety rules.
Sometimes that blood is blue in colour...
Sometimes that blood is blue in colour...
The American people elected Trump as president. He won fair and square. American citizens gave that man legal access to sensitive information. No country is going to accept that America isn't responsible, as a collective, for that man selling out nuclear weapons information, and even more sensitive secrets, to terrorist states like Saudi Arabia.
When NTBT and similar treaties were being pushed, America called countries like India and Pakistan "unstable", "corrupt" and "prone to proliferation". America has lost that moral high ground for decades to come.
Search for "Trump raid confidential" if you don't know what I'm talking about.
When NTBT and similar treaties were being pushed, America called countries like India and Pakistan "unstable", "corrupt" and "prone to proliferation". America has lost that moral high ground for decades to come.
Search for "Trump raid confidential" if you don't know what I'm talking about.
Sunak is a bigger fraud than the Murthy family he married into
https://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-cars-batteries-lithium-triangle-latin-america-11660141017
Get a load of this bullshit. Car makers and mining companies are upset because South American nations want (a) greater share of wealth generated from Lithium mines for the indigenous people whose lands they operate on (b) proper environmental impact assessment and mitigation of damage to the land by mining and fresh water usage and (c) governments that want a greater share of profits from mining so they can invest that money in a better life for citizens.
What is the bogie man that mining companies are trying to scare people with? That nationalised mining companies do not work, due to a lack of advanced technology.
So basically what large global mining companies want, is a free hand to exploit South America's natural resources and generate windfall profits, without safeguards for the environment, jobs and wealth for local or national residents. And they are upset that "leftist" governments care about these things.
Wow. Just wow.
Get a load of this bullshit. Car makers and mining companies are upset because South American nations want (a) greater share of wealth generated from Lithium mines for the indigenous people whose lands they operate on (b) proper environmental impact assessment and mitigation of damage to the land by mining and fresh water usage and (c) governments that want a greater share of profits from mining so they can invest that money in a better life for citizens.
What is the bogie man that mining companies are trying to scare people with? That nationalised mining companies do not work, due to a lack of advanced technology.
So basically what large global mining companies want, is a free hand to exploit South America's natural resources and generate windfall profits, without safeguards for the environment, jobs and wealth for local or national residents. And they are upset that "leftist" governments care about these things.
Wow. Just wow.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3175099/
Based on a study conducted in the US:
- More often than not, men who called the police (in the US) after suffering violence from their female partner, ended up getting arrested. A majority of these arrested male victims ended up in jail, and were only released when a judge finally heard them out.
- Only half the victims were able to find online resources for men seeking help after battery by a female family member. Most resources online only cater to women victims.
- more than half the domestic violence helplines refuse to help male victims. Further, when speaking to such helplines that only help women, (a) half the male victims were blamed for the violence they had suffered and (b) 95% of the victims felt the helplines were biased towards women.
- a large percentage of online and phone resources sent victim men to a program for abusers (and not a program for victims).
- but there is hope. Mental health professionals were the most likely to help male victims. Medical professionals also responded favourably when treating injuries. Those victims who took the help of mental health professionals, were a lot less likely to suffer from PTSD or turn to alcohol abuse.
tl;dr - if you are a man suffering violence at the hands of a female family member, take the help of counsellors and friends. This will lead to a much more favourable outcome than if you turn to law enforcement or family (relatives).
Based on a study conducted in the US:
- More often than not, men who called the police (in the US) after suffering violence from their female partner, ended up getting arrested. A majority of these arrested male victims ended up in jail, and were only released when a judge finally heard them out.
- Only half the victims were able to find online resources for men seeking help after battery by a female family member. Most resources online only cater to women victims.
- more than half the domestic violence helplines refuse to help male victims. Further, when speaking to such helplines that only help women, (a) half the male victims were blamed for the violence they had suffered and (b) 95% of the victims felt the helplines were biased towards women.
- a large percentage of online and phone resources sent victim men to a program for abusers (and not a program for victims).
- but there is hope. Mental health professionals were the most likely to help male victims. Medical professionals also responded favourably when treating injuries. Those victims who took the help of mental health professionals, were a lot less likely to suffer from PTSD or turn to alcohol abuse.
tl;dr - if you are a man suffering violence at the hands of a female family member, take the help of counsellors and friends. This will lead to a much more favourable outcome than if you turn to law enforcement or family (relatives).
So, there is a doctor in Gurgaon who has been prescribing me a multivitamin for two years now. No matter how hard I try, I am unable to procure this capsule anywhere beyond the particular market complex that her clinic is in.
Today, I decided to dig deeper. Turns out, that although the medicine strip carries an address in Pune, the Private Limited company that manufactures it is registered at the address of her clinic. She is one of the two directors. The paid up capital of the company is a mere ₹1,00,000.
Are there no checks and balances in India for something like this?
Today, I decided to dig deeper. Turns out, that although the medicine strip carries an address in Pune, the Private Limited company that manufactures it is registered at the address of her clinic. She is one of the two directors. The paid up capital of the company is a mere ₹1,00,000.
Are there no checks and balances in India for something like this?
The #sky at #sunset burst into a riot of #colours today
#Goa is so fabulously #green in the #rains. The phone camera just does not do justice in these low light conditions. The #paddy #fields have different #shades of green, in waves. Its breathtaking.
This random piece of ज्ञान has now become a geopolitical weapon.
Putin is going to reduce gas supplies to Europe as winter approaches. He believes that as ordinary Europeans freeze, they will ask their governments to stop supporting Ukraine in the war. Germany, among others nations, is now doubling down on heat pump installation. They can then use their electric generation capacities for heating, thus reducing dependence on Russian gas in the winters.
Here is the original post I'd referenced: https://m.facebook.com/story/graphql_permalink/?graphql_id=UzpfSTUzNjc2MjAzOToxMDE1OTQ3MzY4MDEzMjA0MA%3D%3D
Putin is going to reduce gas supplies to Europe as winter approaches. He believes that as ordinary Europeans freeze, they will ask their governments to stop supporting Ukraine in the war. Germany, among others nations, is now doubling down on heat pump installation. They can then use their electric generation capacities for heating, thus reducing dependence on Russian gas in the winters.
Here is the original post I'd referenced: https://m.facebook.com/story/graphql_permalink/?graphql_id=UzpfSTUzNjc2MjAzOToxMDE1OTQ3MzY4MDEzMjA0MA%3D%3D
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-09-27/nicholas-effect-organ-donation-italy
Reading this will make you cry. Let that not deter you from reading it anyway.
I am registered to donate my entire body (for transplants and for science) when I die. I always wanted to do it, but never quite got around to registering. A cousin of mine (who has herself donated an organ to her father) makes sure that every family event in our extended family has an organ donation counter. That makes it stupidly easy for procrastinators like me to walk the talk and actually register.
Register to donate your organs. Make the lives of many families better when you die, without spending a dime.
Reading this will make you cry. Let that not deter you from reading it anyway.
I am registered to donate my entire body (for transplants and for science) when I die. I always wanted to do it, but never quite got around to registering. A cousin of mine (who has herself donated an organ to her father) makes sure that every family event in our extended family has an organ donation counter. That makes it stupidly easy for procrastinators like me to walk the talk and actually register.
Register to donate your organs. Make the lives of many families better when you die, without spending a dime.
Did you wish the birthday boy today?
So I'm lying on the physiotherapy table this morning and the therapist asks me to stretch and I tell her I can't do that coz my back hurts. So she digs her fingers into my ribcage and says "does it hurt here?". Then she jabs me again and says "or is it here?" As I quipped "yeah, well, that's one way of solving the pain," I was reminded of the joke "the beatings will continue till morale improves".
She tells me to stretch again. My brain commands my muscles to move. But my muscles just lay there sending a cold blank stare back to my brain. So she asks again, and my brain asks again, and my muscles are all like "Are you new here, brain? Do you not know that this is not how we roll. In fact we never wanna roll at all."
And at that moment a realisation dawned on me. That there are multiple brains and multiple power centers in our bodies. And some of those decision centers are incredibly stupid. For example, we have an immune system that we are constantly tricking into doing simple shit.
Our brains have the capacity to communicate and innovate and observe. Our brains invented mRNA vaccines. Then we must shove those vaccines into our bloodstream so our immune systems can learn. I mean, how damn stupid is the immune system? I'm watching what the Covid virus looks like on TV. Its got spikes. My brain sees that. But my brain can't just communicate with my immune system and tell it to learn and deal with this shit. Nope. My brain has to walk my ass to the hospital and get literal fake dead virus protein and RNA pumped into my blood for the immune system to get a clue on things.
Which brings me to our DNA, that other set of "brains" in our body that keeps doing it's own thing even when it's damaging to us. Like hello, cancer is now one of the leading causes of death because DNA will keep mega replicating itself even after its gone bad. But my brain can't just request some of my DNA to stand down when the time comes. Nope. We need to literally get chemotherapy or surgery to take our bad DNA out.
My immune system is so stupid, it thinks my bones are attacking me. So I have to take drugs to keep my immune system from attacking and literally calcifying my ass.
(Later this week I have an MRI of my butt to see how much my autoimmune disease has messed up my butt bones. Yeah, this attempt at humour turned into a rant rather quickly.)
So at what point do we evolve enough that the various systems within our body talk to each other and, just, get along? Right now our bodies are like a distributed system design nightmare - as if a bunch of Dev teams that refuse to communicate with each other just cobbled together a bunch of disparate systems, and the whole thing just sort of moves in the general direction that the user wants.
She tells me to stretch again. My brain commands my muscles to move. But my muscles just lay there sending a cold blank stare back to my brain. So she asks again, and my brain asks again, and my muscles are all like "Are you new here, brain? Do you not know that this is not how we roll. In fact we never wanna roll at all."
And at that moment a realisation dawned on me. That there are multiple brains and multiple power centers in our bodies. And some of those decision centers are incredibly stupid. For example, we have an immune system that we are constantly tricking into doing simple shit.
Our brains have the capacity to communicate and innovate and observe. Our brains invented mRNA vaccines. Then we must shove those vaccines into our bloodstream so our immune systems can learn. I mean, how damn stupid is the immune system? I'm watching what the Covid virus looks like on TV. Its got spikes. My brain sees that. But my brain can't just communicate with my immune system and tell it to learn and deal with this shit. Nope. My brain has to walk my ass to the hospital and get literal fake dead virus protein and RNA pumped into my blood for the immune system to get a clue on things.
Which brings me to our DNA, that other set of "brains" in our body that keeps doing it's own thing even when it's damaging to us. Like hello, cancer is now one of the leading causes of death because DNA will keep mega replicating itself even after its gone bad. But my brain can't just request some of my DNA to stand down when the time comes. Nope. We need to literally get chemotherapy or surgery to take our bad DNA out.
My immune system is so stupid, it thinks my bones are attacking me. So I have to take drugs to keep my immune system from attacking and literally calcifying my ass.
(Later this week I have an MRI of my butt to see how much my autoimmune disease has messed up my butt bones. Yeah, this attempt at humour turned into a rant rather quickly.)
So at what point do we evolve enough that the various systems within our body talk to each other and, just, get along? Right now our bodies are like a distributed system design nightmare - as if a bunch of Dev teams that refuse to communicate with each other just cobbled together a bunch of disparate systems, and the whole thing just sort of moves in the general direction that the user wants.
The UK isn't designed for heat.
But a lot of the world's mimics British architecture. Architecture that isn't designed for the heat.
And then those buildings survive on air-conditioning, all through the year. Without the AC pumping, one would suffocate in them.
We really have to start thinking about the energy costs of our buildings. The architecture here in Goa is so, so different from Gurgaon. Everything is built to handle incessant rain, humidity, and the heat. And then I get to Panjim or Porvorim and see the same stupid glass buildings. Heat traps. Death traps. They even need pumps to not get flooded.
PS: I might have felt a tingle of serves-you-right, seeing the British suffer. I don't think we formerly colonised can ever get over our misery about being colonised.
But a lot of the world's mimics British architecture. Architecture that isn't designed for the heat.
And then those buildings survive on air-conditioning, all through the year. Without the AC pumping, one would suffocate in them.
We really have to start thinking about the energy costs of our buildings. The architecture here in Goa is so, so different from Gurgaon. Everything is built to handle incessant rain, humidity, and the heat. And then I get to Panjim or Porvorim and see the same stupid glass buildings. Heat traps. Death traps. They even need pumps to not get flooded.
PS: I might have felt a tingle of serves-you-right, seeing the British suffer. I don't think we formerly colonised can ever get over our misery about being colonised.
श्री लंका का तो जो होगा सो होगा मगर हमारी तो लंका लग गई
Can you see the clouds on the road?
The view of the Anjunem Lake from up above
Somebody's delighted to be here
From here, we will drive into those cloudy hills, on the border of Goa and KA
Sigh
The rather Insta-famous Keri Foot Bridge
Canaaaaal. From a briiiiidge above it. So exciiiiiited.