The room choses you

My old room mates moved out this summer and new ones moved in. At that time, I figured that the first two guys in would choose the two largest rooms.............well it did not work out quite that way. The first room mate chose the second largest room. That was understandably a result of the room ddecorations left there by the previous occupant and we shall not ddelve too ddeep into it. However, it is the second choice that stupefied me.The second guy to move in, Narendra, chose the smallest room. That was confusing till we realized that it wasn't his choice at all...............it was the room that chose him. How did we realize that? Well, it was pretty obvious that the room enticed a certain breed of people. The late risers (coz its the only one with no direct sunlight. These people need to love yoghurt, cook well, drink often and have a certain independence around them...............they need a personality you can define only when you see it. But then, it (the room) begins converting those people into health freaks of the highest order. Both Ishmeet, its previous occupant, and Narendra got bitten by the health bug on moving in. Both started eating a lot healthier (one gave up pizza, strictly, and the other oily stuff). The nutritional label on the package became more important than its contents. The health conscious stuff in our house exploded. They both became regular and long visitors of the gym.

Well, maybe I am just paranoid.........but then maybe not. We will just have to wait for the next occupant to know and then the room could fund a PhD for a phychic science student.

Contingency planning

A contingency plan is one that gets you out of shit. Well, in the US, they have a contingency plan for all but shit. Let me clarify. Our toilet started overflowing today and there was almost nothing we could do. There was no mori or water outlet on in the bathroom floor and the flush did not have a tap which we could close off. No contingency plan!!! Well, we just pulled up the ball valve in the flush and have it hanging by a ruubber band. Our good nights sleep depends on that rubber holding through till the morning when the repairman comes along.

Cuil addendum

My last post got me thinking....................do celebrities also search the net for sites about themselves. I admit, I have a propensity to google my name every once in a while......just to check what employers also see ;). But, do you think a Paris Hilton searches for "Paris Hilton sex tape" or a Mohammad Asif for "Mohammad Asif drug scandal"?. After all, they are a lot more narcissistic than we are right? What do you think?

Cuil - Not so cool

I read last week about the new search engine cuil (pronounced cool). Started by an ex googler and her husband, it is supposed to have a bigger search database than google. So, I had to try it out. I tried it out just like you try any new search engine. I searched my name in it. It gave fewer sites than google and missed out a lot of honorable mentions including my own website.

My review: Not so positive

Now I knew people would question as they would call it, my narcissistic methodology, so I used another experiment. I tried to search for 'cuil review' on google and cuil. Google gave me what I wanted. Cuil did not. Here are print screens of the experiment.

Cuil results for "cuil review"

Google results for "cuil review"

So my non technical review on cuil.................Giving a plate full of cooked rice to someone asking for a chocolate cheesecake does not make you a better restaurant.....................similarly in search, u gotta be relevant, not big.



PS: I know a lot of you will be asking me questions about the methodology but I consulted and found out that Kingsley had also used the same method to test..................i guess it is from a famous paper and is the globally accepted method.

Did not touch gator - No longer an issue with me

I was in New Orleans a month ago and went to the swamp where they take you on a tour, get you up close with some gators and even let you touch them. Our tour guide told us that gators are not as dangerous as crocs. A few of us touched a gator. I missed him as he swam away. We saw quite a few gators on that trip including one called 'Big Joe'. Now normally I would not recollect a persons name, let alone an alligator name a month from 'meeting' him fleetingly. However, I just read about the boy whose hand got bitten off by an alligator. The alligator, 'Big Joe' was caught and gutted to get back the kids arm which was then sewed back on. Now I do not feel so bad that I did not get to touch that gator............yup its a bit selfish but as Ross would say, thats all fine after you have had a 'near death experience'

At home on the 4th of July........almost

Teju and I went to the 4^th of July Boston fireworks display. It was a lovely night with great weather, a good dinner at the Cheesecake factory and some amazing fireworks as apparent from the videos below. But that’s not the purpose of this blog.

That day, Mass Ave in Boston was packed with people. As we walked towards it, we saw trash cans overflowing and a generic lack of order and thought, “This is what happens in any place with a lot of people. Its not our fault that CST or Kurla station is not clean……. Its just impossible to manage”. We got a nice spot to watch the fireworks thanks to a couple who were bored of it and walked off, presumably to the loo. When we started back, there was a sea of people, a lot more than when we reached there. A lady was shouting out loud from a platform, searching for her kids. People were walking down Mass ave ignoring the cars and the cops. There was, in a way nothing anyone could do. Human nature was taking its own course, or so we thought. Lots of people were amazed and taking videos (and so did we) but to us, this was an evening at Kurla station. We, felt at home.

We walked on to our car, using all our garnered skills to reach there in record time. And that’s when the difference struck us. We reached from the parking lot to the interstate in under 20 minutes. A big achievement. There were no traffic snarls. No people trying to cut lanes to get there faster. No disorder in traffic except Stop signs being ignored, but I guess that was acceptable then.

We realized that there was discipline in the whole system. Maybe, it was there since this was a one off incidence. Maybe people will lose it if it becomes a daily occurance. Maybe, it is because America has a car culture and we do not. But then, maybe, just maybe, it’s a discipline they have and we lack. And this is the maybe we need to focus on to improve.

There are difficulties and some things cannot be changed but disciplined traffic moves a lot faster. Quite often, cutting lanes, going straight from the right only lane or creeping before a signal changes helps the ones doing it but then it hampers the pace of others.

As I think back, I realize that though the trash cans were full and overflowing, most of the trash was next to the cans. I am sure all of that would be gone by the 5^th of July. The first thought in many minds on reading this would be ………damn the BMC (or your local body). The one that should come to mind is damn us. We are the ones polluting the area and making it difficult for the cleaning staff to do their job.

The problem is seeped into our culture and is location specific. I have seen tons of people who will walk for a mile to find a trash can when abroad but not a couple hundred metres when back in India. Does that mean that we as a nation are followers? If everyone throws trash on the roads lets do it as well…………if everyone pays money to get stuff done, lets do it as well. If that is the case, dear educated people, let’s lead the way. Let us change the habits of the country. If we lead, others will follow.

Always throw trash in bins. Think of the rest of the traffic before cutting someone or taking a left from the rightmost lane. Tell the next person you see littering to not do so. I do it all the time. They may smirk or laugh at you behind your back but if one in 100 is changed, we have one more leader.

I realize that I have diverted a lot from the topic but there is one more random thought that I can link to this post. The time has come for us to give good news stories to 24 hour channels. Let us provide them with stories of people fighting corruption, cleaning up the neighbourhood and solving water problems because they seem inept at finding these. In a month in India, I saw stories (oops sorry the story of) Aarushi Talwar from the viewpoint of everyone form her father to the cockroach in chief of the household atleast 25 times. Is this news? I found out a lot of stuff about what is happening from random sources. I request the news channels to please be relevant or we will become just like America by copying their bad habits not the good.

So the moral of this ping pong ball story is – Lets rise up to the level of the US not fall down to it.

The North South divide

Nope this is not another post about the North South divide in India……its about the attitudinal difference between the North and the South of the USA. I drove down to New Orleans, LA for a conference recently and was amazed by how green the south was. I was even more amazed when I saw a bridge traveling parallel over a river. It was then that a colleague, who had done her undergraduate education in Alabama, told me that the South is a lot more nature friendly than the north. Whereas in the North, they cut off trees to build roads and develop the infrastructure, in the South they try to avoid it. Interesting, I thought!

A new beginning to a new year (Hindu new year). Good results. That felt so good. But then again, new year same old me. I forgot my wallet and phone at home ;) . Also, could not get the deal on the car i wanted. So i guess all three perspectives of life, the positive, the same old day and negative all a signal for the new year. And as I write this I remember that I forgot to eat soething bitter to start off this new year. The bitter is to prepare you to face all difficult situations for the year. Maybe, I should have had that cuppa cappuccino after all.

What a beautiful morning today was. I could smell the moisture in the air, i could feel it in the wind. The temperature was a perfect 21. It was the best weather I could have hoped for in Mumbai and i got it here. Life looks so rosy again.

CRICKET: Sehwag rocks man................ gr8 innings of 254 in 247 balls. Sad they missed out on a record partnership but i guess dats how Sehwag plays............... A fitting reply to Pakistanis for creating such a horrible pitch and trying to demoralise Indian bowlers... hahaha

Horror of an evening: Well, mebbe not quite. Left the department at 6:15 after having waited for a friend forever, only to leave the 1B coz the 4B comes after it anc drops me a mile closer to home. To my dismay, I realized that it was well past the time for the 4B to arrive. Crossed the road on that wet, chilly afternoon and then saw the 4B, probably late itself, come careening by. tried to stop it but was ignored by the driver. Decided to take home the free Coke zero advertized in the paper but Food Mart did not have it as yet........so decided to go to the library and pick up a few books. Well, it was Friday, and the library closes at 6 pm so................ This alone calls for buying a car wat say? 20 mins daily is not walkable in this coooooooooooold weatherespecially with no bus service on weekends, summers and evenings.

Cricket and Ganaguly: Rahul Dravid showed his sense of team spirit and responsibility by coming out to open. He did not try to take part in petty revengeful activities by forcing Ganguly to come out to open coz he was made to keep or anything of that sort. He just showed that since the team needed a stable platform and Ganguly was uneasy against the new ball, he was willing to open for the better of the team