There are two kinds of people in the world..

There are two kinds of people in the world, largely – the optimists and the pessimists, the rich and the poor, the healthy and the weak, the young and the old, et cetera. However, in my home state of Tamil Nadu in India I have seen three kinds of people as far as the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka is concerned – the good, the bad and the ugly. The first are the dangerous and hawkish people who staunchly defend a solution carved out with guns and bombs and sealed in blood, even if it is that of innocents. The second are the ones who don’t give a damn about the whole issue, the more dangerous ones, because going by The Right Honorable Edmund Burke – the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. The third is the category in which, I believe, I fit in. The people who have every feeling of comradeship with our brethren in Lanka, crying when they cry and withering in pain as the shells explode and shudder every time the mines go off, deep within our hearts. We are often dismissed as anti-Tamils, cowards, congress party agents and backstabbers by the people in the first category and as people-yet-to-get-a-life by the second category.

One of the justifications the central government gave the country when the government extended a quasi-support to the Lankan government on the operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was to prevent the Chinese or the US getting a stronghold in India’s backyard by stepping in to fill the void left by India’s indecisiveness on an issue having a huge bearing on the emotions of countless Tamils and the security of the country. However, what we have witnessed ever since the end of the war is a Lankan government that is intoxicated having bathed and drunk on the successes of the war, an even more displaced Tamil population and more humiliation for India in the world stage with its weaknesses exposed as regard its policy towards Lanka with the latter cozying with China, faster.

It is beyond me why would India, a nation that can detain Italian marines for killing fishermen, even voice it out to Sri Lanka over similar incidents. The Chinese cooperation has extended into infrastructure building and offers of military assistance are also being heard. And the latest space cooperation, I think, is just an indication of what is yet to come. India may have pulled off many diplomatic victories but Sri Lanka is somewhere I think we messed up. Hope the irritant in the relation with Maldives doesn’t go the Sri Lankan way.

007 things I love about the latest 007 flick – Skyfall

<<<<<-----SPOILER ALERT----->>>>>

001 – Realistic, Old school style

By bringing in a cyber war-esque theme the flick is in sync with the times we are living in, unlike most other spy films which lives in their own fantasy world of villains with technology that are alien or prohibitively expensive for governments across the world to possess. A throwback to the old school style of shot guns, Scottish castle, escape tunnel, chapel, dynamite and death by knife throw, all in the ‘Gangnam’ era is a welcome relief.

002 – A failed, underdog, agent saves the world

An agent who fails the tests, considered inappropriate and unfit for the job takes up the mantle and delivers, in style. The movies with underdog heroes have always fascinated me because in real life, problems are always herculean; the same reason why I like Rocky series and the recent Dark Knight trilogy.

003 – Aston Martin DB5

The car screams British Engineering from all sides and from an era that saw the Ford Mustang and the Jaguar E-type. More than the car it’s the feelings Bond exhibits which shows his passion for the car. Be it when he threatens to eject M out when she complains about it being uncomfortable or when he is irritated when Silva has the DB5 destroyed by the gunship, it touched the part of my heart that loves and respects old, classic automobiles.

004 – A radio and a gun. What were you expecting an exploding pen?

The gadgetry at display in this flick was minimal. I loved it when Nathan Muir tells Bishop that all that a good spy needs are a stick of gum, pocket knife and smile in Spy Game. I liked it when all Bond carried was a radio transmitter (Radio! Not even GPS) and a Walther nine millimeter (albeit with finger print sensors).

Please grow up Q

005 – New quartermaster is young, computer savvy and predictably arrogant

The new Q is young and boasts of competence to commit damages with a computer however fails to live up by not foreseeing Silva’s plans on disarming the security measures.

R(etire)IP M. You'll be missed!

006 – An assertive M

M has been one of her best. Be it when cold about Silva’s accusations and her defense of ‘she did what she had to do’ or when enquiring what took so long for Bond to return back to duty. She wouldn’t compromise and retire with ‘dignity’ without completing her job and her testifying before MPs acknowledging the fight is no more with known nations or faces rather unknown faces.

007 – A relatively powerful villain who remains a step ahead most of the time

Silva was one step, if not many steps, ahead of MI6 throughout the movie. After his capture with the three royal marines’ helicopter hovering over the island tracking the radio signal I was a tad disappointed but when it dawned on me that it was a plan to stage his arrest, confinement and break out it got me gripping again.

Lessons from the roads

We, Indians (including me of course), could always use a lot of Road lessons. But today I discovered that the infamous Indian roads have something to give.

The festival of lights, Diwali, is just around the corner and the conservative southern city of Chennai is bursting at its seam with people and traffic. The fact that most of the city’s migrant workforce are hurrying back to their hometowns to spend time with their family is stretching the infrastructure of the city to its limit. The city’s police have been doing a good job in controlling the chaos from spiraling out of control and at times employ tactics that blows me over. Just the other day at the Wavin junction in Mogappair the police signaled me to drive on the right side of the road to clear the area. He held traffic on all sides of the four way junction to let us pass and he did well, he was able to clear the logjam at close to twice the speed of what he could do by using only one side of the road as mandated by laws.

The laws require us to drive on the left side of the roads (reminds me of the joke – when a foreigner asks an Indian as to which side of the road they drive – the left or right, the Indian supposedly replied that they drive on what is left of the road! :)) but the traffic constable wanted me to break the law. The reason is the infrastructure constraints, a problem with the system. When the infrastructure improves the law would automatically be followed.

Of late the Indian society has been hearing about scandals and scams and corruption. Everyone talks about punishing the guilty but no one talks about addressing the source of the problem, including Mr. Anna Hazare and Mr. Arvind Kejriwal. A Gestapo like power wielding Jan Lokpal with jurisdiction over the judiciary, legislature and executive is not the solution nor shaking and breaking the system going to help.

Remember punishing me or the constable or both is not addressing the problem, improving the infrastructure is going to make the problem disappear. Dear politicians and civil society warriors please start driving your own vehicles; there are lessons to be learnt from the roads too. :) 

Riders on the Storm..

D Guy:

                      

Shanky. An Awesome Guy!

D Plan:

The planning was done over French fries and burgers as to the destination and the means of travel on board Snow White, the WagonR. A few days back I had been caught unaware in a slight stormy and unrelenting rain shower while returning from office on the Chennai Bypass and had my jitters for a trip on bike when the dark clouds were looming large as per weather forecasts and so suggested Snow White rather than Scarlet (CBR250R) for the trip. But while the planning extended over Gtalk (a lil’ old school for geeks?!), I had a change of heart as I saw bike trip adventures (Youtube links courtesy Shanky!) with ‘Riders on the Storm’ and ‘Hotel California’ as background scores. It was decided – the trip will be in bikes, come hail or storm. The destination was pinned as Kolli Hills after considering Kodaikanal, Ooty and a drive down the East Coast Road, mainly driven by the fact that I had never been there and Shanky had had a ‘thrilling’ experience from his trip before and wanted to relive it.

D Ladies:

Continue Reading here.

Office -r(ror)

‘Hot?’ I was interrupted. After I answered in the affirmative he brought me the red sparkling liquid in a glass and placed it on my table. I take a sip and put it back on the table. It was plain water (served Kerala style having boiled with medicinal roots), not alcohol, though the occasion for most batch mates of mine was a celebration befitting champagne. The 2009 batch of SBT POs we called ourselves ‘proudly’ and it was completion of one successful year for us that night. But I didn’t know whether I should celebrate or not.

Read more here.

You can't handle the truth!

Just the other day I was watching the classic military-courtroom thriller of 1992, A Few Good Men.

This courtroom scene from the movie is a favorite for many including me. "You can't handle the truth", Colonel Jessup starts and goes on to tell why he feels the death of Santiago, while tragic, saved lives.

I couldn't help but consider this an analogy to the situation the Government of India (GoI) is in today after the two high profile scams - 2G spectrum and coal blocks . Not that I blame them, for even in the movie Colonel Jessup comes across as a tough master who merely removed Santiago, the rotten apple who could have spoiled the barrel.

This is probably what the GoI would speak if not for the fear of assault by Opposition/Civil society/Media/Judiciary on it. And when I mean GoI it means any party that sits on the captain seat and steers the country. 

"Son, we live in a world that is globalized, and the companies that drives the economy need to have their raw materials (Coal.?!) and resources (2G spectrum.?!). Who's gonna give it? You? You, Mr. Anna Hazare? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for lost revenue, and you curse the Government. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That the scams, while tragic, probably saved jobs in the dire economic situation. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, drives the economy and in turn your lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on the driver seat, you need me on that seat. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very financial freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you to become a politician/bureaucrat and design policies. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to."

The original quote however is here.

We might hang people like Colonel Jessup for human rights violation but when in difficult situation like a war, it is people like him whom we look to. I am not justifying or defending the government, it is just that - Power corrupts, deal with it, losers (anti-corruption brigade)!

Another of my favorite quote comes to my mind, from the movie Die another day. One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter! Not all of them can be satisfied and everyone has their defenses and justifications!

Apple Inc - The World's most (hypocritically) valuable company.!

A lot had been discussed about the outcome of the Apple vs Samsung trial by news and gadget websites around the world. While I am personally shocked at the audacity with which the jury had overwhelmingly handed Apple Inc, the victory, without even properly understanding the jury instructions as this report claims it is not surprising, for what else to expect from a case where the judge seemed to love Apple, the defendant was a Korean company (Apple played this beautifully, by not bringing Google to court first!) with the trial held in the United States of America, where off late jobs (not Steve) from other countries contributing to their economy is considered suspicious and the jury was picked from a place where Steve Jobs is considered an Idol. Well can't blame the jury for anyone who comes into contact with an Apple device, invariably, falls into the 'Reality Distortion Field', which probably helped them answer 700 questions in 3 work days (21 hours) flat, albeit, with a lot of inconsistencies.

All I had for the jury when I heard the outcome was a little prayer.

It was the response of Apple to the Jury's verdict that upset me the most. It started off with thanking the jury for their time - which we see is not the case, they arrived at the verdict at lightning speed. It goes on to say that the fight was not about money but values. I doubt where the values went when Apple ripped technologies from other companies. They continue to state that they value innovation, this coming from a company which was releasing updates to counter jailbroken devices and curtailing innovation with a device someone owned. While Android, the OS Samsung used in the devices in question can be modified, used in other devices such as watches, computers, refrigerators, et cetera. Wonder who values Innovation here? It ends by applauding the court for sending a clear message that Stealing isn't right, while their own former boss, the man behind the ipod, ipad and iphone, Steve Jobs, had said that they have been shameless about stealing. 

Author Mark Henderson was right when he said in The Geek Manifesto that Scientific controversies must not be settled through litigation. Well, maybe, Apple didn't do anything scientific off late.

BAT-ism..

Screen at the top left corner of the Church

Our church, the CSI Redeemer Church in Anna nagar, has a nice projector which projects into a motorized screen, hymns, excerpts from the order of worship for its congregation to read from, pictures and videos. It is a nice touch and makes the Church one among a few technology embracing churches where being traditional rather than technological is the norm.

Despite being the house of God it was a mere human who had to maintain content and the topic for the Sunday mass was Baptism, but the projected topic, had a typo, and read Batism! Bat-ism, I read it as, and my thoughts drifted (I'm confessing!) to The Dark Knight Rises movie I had watched and the discussion surrounding it with friends the other day. 

One of the main complaints from friends was the presence of 'Desi' content in the movie. Examples of such content would be the hero failing to stand up to a villain in the initial stages but emerge victorious towards the end of a movie, acts of dare devilry wherein jumping without a protective rope around the waist guarantees success, et cetera. These are, as Indians would profess, normal for any Indian actor in the average Indian 'Desi' flick (I'm a small-time fan of such flicks!).

But I am of the feeling that this was one of the most realistically made super hero movie and an awesome conclusion to an impressive trilogy. It says even a super hero can fail, confidence can make or break, it is good to have partners (business ones!) and it is a good idea to ultimately retire and let someone else take forward the fight (Did I hear someone say Sachin?!).

I still wish Katie Holmes was part of the cast, thanks, Tom Cruise and Church of Scientology!

The Scourge of PSBs

HDFC Bank pipped State Bank of India (SBI) to become the most valued bank by Market Capitalization.

As the son of a serving SBI officer and having been in service of one of SBI's many subsidiaries, SBT (State Bank of Travancore) as a Probationary Officer, this was a rather embarrassing and sad news, though I understand that this news will be history sooner than later. But what strikes me is the apathy with which my fellow citizens view SBI and the other PSBs (Public Sector Banks) in India. Evident when a friend of mine, an account holder and shareholder of HDFC Bank, pointed me to the above news item with a sarcastic smiley over IM.

Agreed, the service rendered by most PSB branches are no where near comparable to those offered by the private and foreign banks (PFBs) in India but is that reason enough to hate the PSBs with such hatred. The media too have field days in pointing out mistakes by PSBs while going soft on the PFBs, probably because a lot more can be exposed because PSBs are covered by the Right To Information (RTI) act while PFBs aren't?! So much for being transparent.

It is a well known fact how private banks use 'goondas' and other not so dignified means to recover money, as a borrower the people complain of this callous act but as an investor they are annoyed when PSBs declare rising NPAs (Non Performing Assets). The private banks hardly lend to farmers for they hardly have branches in remote places, so when the monsoon fails it is the PSBs that write off the farmer's loans and take a hit on their profits. The urban educated, savvy, young population would brush off a PSB as not quick enough for their lifestyle but most would have availed an Education loan from a PSB as private banks shun them. The private banks intimidate poor pensioners but whine about lack of Government businesses.

The private and foreign banks brought in many firsts in India and set new benchmarks in service, but the public sector banks have always stood for the nation and should be respected for what they have done.

Gentleman Jack.!

The most admired company in the world is Apple Inc according to most people across the world and also according to this survey and most of my friends, fervently, agree. I tend to disagree primarily because of my views on patent battles and the ill effects the judgments from these lawsuits have on innovation and customer choices. I strongly feel that second place holder Google Inc deserves the first place because of their attitude towards technology, contribution and support to open source projects and trying to live up to their "Don't Be Evil" tag. 

Boxy Bottle and Black Label

Well, my point here ain't about who among these two companies are the most admirable and I still obviously consider my Apple 'fanboi' friends as friends!

It is about the makers of the 'best selling whiskey in the world', the owners of the brand called Jack Daniels, shipped in a boxy bottle and black label. They just became darlings to many across the world and was admired even by people who abhor alcohol.

Spot the differences in the design!

The reason. The traditional black label (not to be confused with the Johnnie Walker Black Label which is a Scotch!) on the boxy bottle of the Tennessee whiskey inspired/was adapted/copied as his book cover by author Mr. Patrick Wensink (or his publishers or both) in his book, Broken Piano for President.

In an age where litigation between the companies in the most admired list are a daily occurrence around the world, the distillers did something which has never been done in modern history (to the best of my knowledge). Excerpts from their letter to the author is shown below.

Excerpts of letter by brand owners to the author.

Shouldn't the companies in the 'most admired companies' list be learning a lesson or two from the above letter. Wish they would.

The Dark Knight and Corruption Nightmares..

It was a Corporate Banking assignment which had been due about a week back and I had submitted it late, as usual. The professor, Mr. Sridharan, an ex banker, wanted us, management grads, to contemplate the depreciation of Indian Rupee, the reasons and solutions and submit it as a two page essay.

My essay was scrutinized for the content and the learned professor pointed out a glaring mistake in my report. I had included corruption as a reason for the depreciation. Well, he was right, I had included it after much deliberation to fill in the empty space (well I had forgotten about the solution part and listed just the reasons and hence the empty space!).

Today after reading two news articles, one about the upcoming fast by Team Anna and another about Russian ambassador, Mr. Alexander Kadakin, ‘warning’ about the investments by India’s ONGC in oil exploration in Russia might run into a Russian Winter if the Supreme Court judgment on license cancellation has adverse effect on Russian Sistema Telecom’s Indian venture, I can’t help but believe corruption does play a role, albeit, a trivial role. Well it isn’t the corruption, literally, since Russia is more corrupt than India. All the vigilantes that have raised against corruption, drawing more airtime and in the process a lot of negative publicity to Indian corporate, government and putting the pressure on a reform-starved Judiciary to deliver overzealous verdicts to appease a corrupt population making them believe they are being forced to be corrupt.

I may be prejudiced here given my disgust for Team Anna and their campaigns which I feel distort facts. I would like to see an honest, non-corrupt bureaucracy with a transparent government at its helm but then I have a feeling that it is like an ideal engine (a carnot engine), possible only theoretically. Even the country lauded for its non-corrupt system has them all.

Well it is Batman season and let me take a quote from the movie.

..as a symbol I can be incorruptible..

Harvey Dent: When their enemies were at the gates, the Romans would suspend democracy and appoint one man to protect the city. It wasn't considered an honor, it was considered a public service. 
Rachel Dawes: Harvey, the last man who they appointed the Republic was named Caesar and he never gave up his power. 
Harvey Dent: Okay, fine. you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. 

Now do I have to tell you who I think are the enemy and Caesar in case of India? Fine, Corruption is the enemy and Lokpal or the Corruption Crusaders may well be the Caesar.


God save my country!!!

An American Inc, a Korean Conglomerate and a Korean-American Judge

Judge Lucy Koh

Yet another judgement against Android by judge Lucy H Koh. She says and I quote, "I really don't think this is a trial about Steve Jobs", when dismissing Samsung's argument that Jobs' 'Thermonuclear' quote speaks of Apple's bias, motives and lack of belief in its claims. 

Obama with his mac

Obviously it ain't a trial against him but then when other Judges like Chicago Federal Judge Richard Posner agrees its fair game to include Steve Jobs' quotes why would Judge Koh do the opposite. Being the Korean-American she is, she doesn't have to side with Samsung but she should at least be sincere when dealing with an electronics giant from Korea rather than being corrupt or biased as being alleged around the world. The fact that she and her spouse are active in the current administration with Barack Obama at the helm, who incidentally is a mac lover and Jobs' admirer is worrying.

Tim Cook, Apple CEO

I personally feel patent lawsuits take us nowhere and seriously hamper innovation. Apple does get its share of profits by charging a premium over its products for its 'innovation', which occasionally were stolen ideas as admitted by Steve Jobs. Why raise the rhetoric now? Given that Tim Cook prefers to 'settle rather than battle', I believe Apple is doing all this to keep alive the Jobs' legacy of waging the battle.

The war might never be won and war has always been a setback to development.

Billa 2

              A lot of negative reviews floating around, even from Ajith fans, set the stage for my film watching yesterday. The trailer was, as expected from the Billa lineage, ‘stylish’. The music wasn’t that great when I listened to a few over FM broadcasts. So much lackluster reception to a much hyped movie almost made me put it off but then decided against it.

            And what in store was a pure surprise. To borrow John Travolta’s lines from Broken Arrow – God damn what a rush!  Well the movie didn’t move at any explosive speed or annihilating plots but it was how a ‘Gangster to Don’ metamorphosis movie should move.

         The plots were all believable and realistic to a great extent. A few were glaringly overlooked especially those that undermining the security at the coast guard consignment detention depot and the assassination of the Goan Chief Minister. Otherwise, the story moved at its own sweet pace, with a lot of dirty gangster underpinnings, blood, and gore. I would say the movie fulfilled my appetite for an authentic, South Indian, Don-in-the-making, movie.

            I overheard someone say Billa 2, which is a prequel, ain’t as good as Billa 1. I do agree, Billa 2 is just a lot better! Though it is strictly not for those seeking entertainment, laughter, romance and a ‘and they lived happily ever after’ fairy tale ending.

DISCLAIMER

• I’m no fan of Ajith in the strictest sense, well I’m not a fan of any star for that matter, except maybe Superstar Rajnikanth because I was driven enough to watch a couple of his movies ‘first day first show’. I do like Ajith, for we share certain interests such as cravings for fast bikes and cars and I adore him for his love for racing for which I treat him as a real life hero, kindly note real life hero doesn’t mean the ‘larger than life’ matinee hero, and my mom and dad too easily qualify to be real life heroes for putting up with me!
• This is the first time I'm reviewing a movie!

Considering the above points my review might be a little biased, hence take it with a pinch of salt!

About SamieBoy..

Born in the planet Earth as the only son to loving parents based in Chennai, India.

Interests range from microscopic level viruses and quarks to macroscopic mammals like Blue Whale and distant galaxies and Black holes. Special love for technology (computers and gadgets) and science (physics in particular)!

Majored in Computer Science and Engineering and had a brief stint as a Java developer in a MNC and an Officer in a Nationalized Bank. A post graduate program in management has sealed the academics for now.

Hobbies are dynamic with new ones added and old ones dropped as per convenience, Reading and Riding has stuck around for a few years now. Writing has been around too, a few write ups can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/samsmusings/ (not for the faint hearted!), considered a profession of print journalist, briefly, but decided against considering the greater good.

Started this blog to write and torment the strong-willed, minded, dare-devilishness exhibiting, individualistic humans and aliens (just hope the blog ain't reason behind an interstellar war)!