blog updates

Made some changes to the blog. First added google adsense. You see the 'Ads by Google' boxes when you search through google, when you see mails thru gmail and in lots of websites that now have context sensitive ads. I thought it would be nice to do have some ads on my page too and here I go - one more place where ads fight for your attention. Ok. Before you read any further, if you feel like clicking those ads on top of the page, please do. Coz it gets me money. Each time someone clicks it, I get some points and would soon be raking some moolah.

Are you sure you don't want to click those ads? Anyway. Now look to your left. Left on the screen and may be you have to scroll down a bit. Links to some of the blogs by people I know. I have put them up in alphabetical order. They all make very interesting reading. Though not all of them are updated very frequently, I am sure your visit will reveal from treasure trove. The last link in that list is an exception. It is the link to the University of Minnesota Library's blog services directory. From there you will have access to a whole bunch blogs by U of M staff, students and faculty.

Below that I have added a link to my blog's atom feed. This would be useful for syndicating to another site or reading through a news reader. Customer satisfaction
drives it all :)

Happy surfing!

12 angry men

I am no film critic. Yet felt compelled to write on this movie that so beautifully portrayed the different facets of human nature. This movie captured my undivided hard to get attention just with its dialogues, and simplicity of characters we all could meet in our travel on the metro or the bus. The entire movie is set inside one room. The entire cast remains in the same costume throughout the movie. The movie is about the discussions of the jury members in a case involving an 18 year old boy, living in the slum with a father who repeatedly beats him since his childhood. The boy now has been accused of killing his father with a knife. The movie starts with 11 out of 12 jury members convinced that the boy is guilty and just one member not certain. As the movie unfolds, we see how the life of that young man is debated, how prejudice and notions in the society cement shaky evidences, how the same thing is seen differently by different people, how the connections are drawn and evidence analyzed for validity in the context of human tendencies - desire to be known, desire to look good. The movie ends with all 12 convinced that the there is no sufficient evidence and hence not guilt. The efforts taken by the lead in trying to see the facts with a plain glass, trying to make them see more than what they want to see are terrific. He starts off with a possibility that the evidence could be shaky and refuses to send the boy to the death chamber until he is proved beyond doubt. He refuses until all doubts are cleared and in the attempt by others to clear that in him, they step on information that casts a doubt, a second thought, in their own hasty conclusion. The most important thing I got out of this movie was how easy it is to judge someone based on what we typically associate someone to. This movie tears that apart and proves how dear it could have proved on that young man, if not for the determination of one man who decided to stick to his ground. Truly a wonderful movie.

Click here for more details on this movie at IMDB.

Ode the magazine

Ode means hymn or poem. Ode is a magazine, a poem on lives. True lives. Stories about lives trying to get into deeper truth and inner meaning. Looking into ways and means to make lives better on this planet. How to stop worrying and start thinking about the issues that matter. The food we eat. The stuff we use. The way we travel. The way we entertain ourselves and others. The way we see and will be seen. It has streaks of innovations, affirmation of dreams that have become reality. Not the kinda of dreams dreamt in wall street or silicon valley. Dreams that many might think are nightmares. Dreams for the next generation. Wonder what is it like to be more responsible denizens of the world as envisaged by peaceniks of mother earth. Thoughts on thoughts, the functioning of the human intellect. The magazine tries to capture the spirit of the community and how a community is an extension of the human body, how the community, like the human body, can live in harmony, understanding the roles and responsibilities, and helping each other at time of difficulty and illness, sharing the joys and pleasures. Bringing to light rays of hope hidden in the darkness of myriad human cluster.

Try visiting it online and see for yourself the kind of stuff they come up with every month.

balancing act

happened to look at a snap of a thin man balancing a whole bunch of huge empty baskets click here to see. This is one of the pictures appearing in the 2005 AID calendar. You can get it here.

To me, the picture seemed to convey more than the obvious. That if things are balanced, nothing is impossible. That with the right devices, nothing is impossible. That with the right attitude, tasks are not as difficult as they seem.

Pictures. Says a zillion things. Without uttering a zilch.

Test Drive

Today I had the opportune to test drive a Scion xA and a Mazda 3. Both are new offerings for 2004 and were the finalists in my list. Yep I am car shopping. Suggestions invited.

Heres my cent worth of review on those two. Let me start with the Mazda 3. Its the successor to the successful protege from the Mazda stable. It has been made bigger and sportier. Its got the looks, kinda of not too weird but different enough to be noticed. I had heavy expectations on the performance of the car after reading about its reviews. The manual transmission 2.0L vehicle din't disappoint me. The steering was just right. Great response and handling. Dint tilt/sway on high speed turns. Breaks were strong and even and solid on all 4 wheels. The issues I had with it were with respect to the clutch. It was much higher to my liking. I prefer to use the clutch with the back end of left foot still on the floor. In this car, the clutch was positioned higher and hence I had to lift my foot from the floor to use it. That can be painful in stop and go city traffic. Try keeping one foot a couple of inches above the ground for a few minutes. Also, when I took off from a signal, trying to get maximum acceleration from the car, I got a screetch - a slight spin from the back wheels. But I don't think the push I gave to the car warranted that. Dint expect that from a car that screemed sporty all over. The gear shift was precise but I dint like the short throw. I would prefer a longer stick since I use my elbow and not my wrist for gear change.

Coming to the Scion xA, I test drove a 1.5L manual version. Not too many frills. Just the car I would look for. Just the car I wished more people would opt for - small, safe, fuel efficient, and one that will last an eon. While people already claim the first three for this car, the last one cant be said about it since it was introduced only this year. Given that it is made by Toyota in Japan, I would not have any doubts with its durability, reliability and resale value. The vehicle looked kinda of strange. It did appeal to me, it appealed as an autorickshaw to some. This car might not turn so many heads in Europe or Asia, where people are used to such tall boy small cars, where small is the norm. Here in the land of milk and honey and hummer and chevy tahoes, this, along with Mini Cooper, Mazda Miata (my other favs. - just in case u want to gift me something) will appear like a bunch of ants racing with a school of cockroaches. The Scion xA handled like a dream. I really don't care what the top speed for a car is. I don't believe in driving my car above 80-85 mph max. And most cars on the road can do that speed with no sweat. Its the handling, the feedback from the road, the cornering and suspensions that matter to me. If I can take a sharp turn at high speeds without fear of tilting and pushing my copassenger to my side, without fear of breaking my suspensions, I would be happy with the vehicle. As long as the back doesn't decide to get its own steering and go in its new path in high speed turns, I am satisfied. If the car can pick up and leave the signal for others to say goodbye and take leave, I am happier than the kid with the christmas gift of his choice. This car did made me feel more than just delighted. It dint make me feel guilty. With a mileage of atleast 35mpg, I am sure I will make a few friends at Green Peace. One issue with the car is space at the back. If the people at the front are tall and are going to push the seat way back, the back benchers may experience coach class on Most Stingy Airlines. In my case, I am not tall and for my height, I tend to sit closer to the steering than what the norm is. So it is not such an issue. The ride is not the smoothest and I cant expect 5 star service at 1 star price. With most roads being free of back breakers and bumps, I can live with a not so smooth ride. Drive in 1st and 2nd gear is louder than normal but that is expected out of a very small engine. The gear shifts were exactly what I would like and the acceleration what I would enjoy. The rpm of the engine was higher than what would be expected for a cruise at 60mph. Again the size of the engine is to be blamed for that. As long as I get a neat mileage, I am not going to be bothered with the rev. The view was panoramic in the front and dint have any problem with the blind spots or view at the back. The speedometer and other gauges are placed just above the music system console (bang in the middle) instead of behind the steering. Din't feel odd. Instead it was staring right into me, making sure I dont fail to notice it. It helped since before I realized, I had accelerated to 70mph. On a high speed turn, given its height, there was a slight tilt but that's something that could be fixed with some of the performance accesories. The Cold Air Induction system might be a good one to add to jack up the power a bit more. This car with a full passenger load and luggage could use a little bit more power, but then, you would not be allowed to go fast by your copassengers. So should not be such a deterent. The music system was good - a Pioneer cd/mp3 system comes standard. So does power windows/locks, mirrors, rear wiper. On the whole, I feel this is a pretty good substitute for all the expensive tinny winny ones that I long to have. Not a pocket burner. Can seat 4. Handles beautifully. Gives great mileage. May not touch 100mph, but neither do I. Will make heads turn, especially if dressed up in a bright yellow or indigo or red. (Or a combination of those - front and back or left in red and right in green.)

Yet another election post

The election is over and there will be no change of guard at the White House. One thing that I observed with amazement was the effect of religion on the outcome. Religion proved to be the most important factor. I am also referring to factors like abortion, gay marriage, gun control. Yes all along we thought war, terrorism, economy, jobs, out sourcing were going to be the main influencers. But what happened? Things that we thought were supposed to affect the people on an everyday basis were sidelined by factors that affects only a small section of the population, by factors that would really not matter in the daily life of people. Does it mean the voters had their priorities wrong? Nope. Their priorities were different from what I thought would be. I would have based my vote on who would do the most for the economy. Someone whose policies would reduce uncertainties and increase the confidence level of the people. It would be stupid on my part to assume that it would be the same with everyone. While religion is important to me, its not the factor dictating my everyday life. To some, the economy, security etc are taken for granted and its the religion that dictates their everyday life. Certain things that are of no concern to us, can be a stomach churning thought to the religious right.

The farmer in Kentucky, people in heartland america, felt someone who is religious, who understands their faith and would not allow people do whatever they like, instead would, as would be expected out of a good leader, stop people from doing wrong thing, things that appear wrong in their eyes, issues like gay marriage, abortion, etc. Now does that sound more logical? The mechanism is the same. The weightage different. We would expect our leader to stand up against people who cheat, murder, etc. We see these acts as wrong. Similarly the conservatives see actions not encouraged by their religion as wrong and want their leader to take a stance against it. Instead, the so called flag bearers of the liberals forgot there existed such issues. Never fully evaluated the import of such issues in the minds and lives of people.

What does it tell us? No matter how much we wish or hope, religion will continue to remain part of the equation with a heavy coefficient. All around, we find religion to be a great unifying and dividing people. Religion is as much part of our life as work, food, entertainment, family. Of course, some would sleep through movies not caring for it, not even VKanth in Gajendra. Some eat whatever is set before them, even if others get food poisoning coz of the same stuff.(Resemblance to real person purely incidental.). Similarly, some people don't care about religion. But to the rest, it is as important as anything else. Yet the so called progressive liberals and forward thinking seem to think religion will not be a critical dictate. To me, that seems the problem. Trivializing stuff based on our own priorities with the least regard for what others think about it.

I feel religion, no matter what, no matter where in the world, will continue to grab the attention of the voters and the liberals need to acknowledge it and take a strong stance. Feel lot are not comfortable enough to be governed by someone who religious ideas are in direct conflict with theirs, no matter how good or bad he or she may in other aspects.