Anna Hazare

I see my whole Facebook feed filled with Hazare causes, questions, links. I get it, ok. Finally, there is someone who is doing something about corruption, taking a stand. And we, who want India to get better but don't know how, finally see an opportunity to get involved, even if it is via Facebook and Twitter. Somebody who follows Gandhian principles? Well what could possibly go wrong with that.

But I am not one of those who has been gung-ho about this whole thing. For one thing, I have never been interested in politics. The eternal pessimist in me sees no hope for a corruption free India till someone like Lee Kuan Yew takes over (bringing his own set of problems nonetheless).

But I did read up on what's been happening, what the whole hulabaloo is about. And this anti-corruption committee that is suggested, do you think they will emerge from some hitherto unknown uncorrupt part of India? With all these immense powers which the government has agreed to in response to Hazare's Jantar Mantar fast, what if the ombudsman turns out to be corrupt? What then?

Hazare is not going to be around forever. How does he ensure that this framework will actually work? I know he has done awesome work in many, many villages in Maharashtra. But just as it is way simpler to micro-manage Singapore, so it is in a village.

I do not want to take anything away from the amazing award-winning work that Hazare has done. But the pessimist in me sees a very long way to go.

The optimist in me hopes.

Chilled Bear Served Hear

This is BRILLIANT!

"Bizarre. Overloaded. Technicolor. Chaotic. Golmaal. Jugaad. Chalta hai.
You'd run out of words long before you'd run out of an India that all those words describe. And in not just one language, but many. Including SMS.
India is not a contradiction in terms. It sets the terms for all contradiction. It's the world's biggest and most energetic democracy, where people chuck out governments as frequently as they chuck out their garbage. It's a byword for immense wealth and terrible poverty, a realm of billionaires and beggars, the Maha Kumbh mela and mega malls, tantrics and Twitter.
Have you ever seen a large 'Commit No Nuisance' sign and a line of men standing under it and peeing? A state-of-the-art expressway with cows roaming across it? A train with more people sitting on the roofs of the coaches than passengers inside? A booze shop advertising "Chilled Bear Served Hear"?

Open your eyes

Ok I mean no offense to anyone here. Seriously, I don't. But when I hear people in Singapore complain how hard their life is, about unhygienic something is, I want to, you know, slap them. Want to know why? In a country where tap water in washrooms is worthy of drinking, what would you know about drinking street water everyday. For people who want to go and calculate asbestos levels at bus stops, imagine walking for miles just to get some water.

Read this. See how many you actually get through: Postcards from Hell.

Find your own match :D

A big black bear was forced up a tree - twice - by the family pet, a tabby cat called Jack. The terrified bear was only able to make its escape when the owner Donna Dickey called the hissing cat into the house.


Another case is : A mountain lion found it was no match for a Jack Russell terrier which trapped it up a tree on a farm in the US state of South Dakota.


Amazing, isn't it? :P

Why Australia is definitely going to lose the Ashes.

Australia? Don't make me laugh. Brilliantly written article. Some excerpts below.


As the cricket match-fixing scandal pinballs around between annoying, disappointing depressing and alarmingly sinister, this blog will ignore for now the murky morass that threatens to swamp the international game, forget about the potential implications of Zulqarnain’s unscheduled London jaunt, and distract itself from the grim realities of reality with an altogether chirpier topic (from a pre-Ashes England supporter’s point of view) – Australia being not very good anymore.

Katich is also reported to be suffering from an existential crisis of confidence after accidentally seeing video footage of himself batting (Cricket Australia had successfully protected him from seeing himself for years, using a series of increasingly convoluted distractions, including puppet shows. Katich loves puppet shows. Can’t get enough of them. He owns DVD box sets of all TV puppet shows. And if that is not true, let him sue me.) “Oh my god, no,” he said, dumbfounded, after watching himself ungainlily nudge a leg-side boundary. “I thought I played like David Gower.”

He [Shane Watson] averages only 30 when Australia lose the toss (compared with 47 when they win it), suggesting that Ponting’s coinflipwork and Strauss’s head-or-tail preferences could be crucial to Watson’s success or failure.

Anyone telling you that Ricky Ponting has not declined over the last few years is either talking about a different Ricky Ponting, or has been poisoned with a mind-altering potion, or has seriously misheard the question, or is Ricky Ponting, or is trying to wilfully engage you in an unwinnable argument whilst their accomplice steals your electrical goods and/or priceless collection of David Boon memorabilia.

No Australian captain has ever lost three Ashes series. Ten years ago the prospect of Australia losing three Ashes series in the rest of eternity seemed remote. But then again, they said man would never walk on the moon. Ponting is all set to become Australia’s Neil Armstrong.

He [Michael Hussey] was once within touching distance of Bradman. Now he rubs statistical shoulders with Wavell Hinds, Manoj Prabhakar, and Chris Tavaré. Could still bump his average back up into the 80s this Ashes, but only if he scores 2500 undefeated runs in the series.

After smiting three centuries in his first six Tests, [Marcus] North has averaged 29 in his last 13 matches. Traditionally in Australia, this leads to impeachment by Parliament and disappearance to the Dirk Wellham Memorial Gulag, 150 miles outside Darwin. North has been out for 10 or less in more than half of his 32 Test innings, and his five ducks make him the most regular duck scorer in the Australian top six since the 19th century. To where some Australian supporters seem to want him to emigrate.

[Mitchell] Johnson is becoming the Australian Steve Harmison. If Harmison bowled one of the great series-losing balls in Ashes history in Brisbane four years ago, Johnson bravely attempted to steal his thunder with one of the immortal series-losing spells in Ashes history with his geometry-expanding effort at Lord’s. Having come to England with a reputation as a bowler who could bowl unplayable balls, he proved that reputation well deserved - albeit that the balls were only unplayable due to their being unreachable.

[Doug Bollinger] Has never dismissed an Englishman in a Test. Largely through lack of opportunity, admittedly. Has also been injured, and might not play in the first Test, extending his lifelong habit of not dismissing Englishmen in Tests. Startlingly inept batsman. Possibly hair-replacement-themed teasing victim.

If Australia pick him [Ben Hilfenhaus] and Bollinger, they will lose. The last time they picked two seam bowlers with tri-syllabic surnames – Gillespie and Kasprowicz in 2005 – they lost.

On previous Ashes tours, England’s positive statements in advance of their inevitable first-Test mincing sounded not so much like men clutching at straws as men pointing their fingers nervously at what they thought might be a straw, and mumbling something about being confident that it was probably a straw, and that they were definitely planning to try to think about clutching it. This time their public confidence is well founded. England are quite a good team. As are Australia. It will be a draw. A glorious draw.

Opening Ceremony: Fiesta or Fiasco?

So how many of you enjoyed the CWG opening ceremony? It was certainly huge and grand and colorful. And truly Indian. And the huge helium balloon used a screen is purely genius! ("At the same time, spending almost £10m on a giant balloon in a country when so many try to live on less than a pound a day could only kick up uncomfortable moral questions.")

What I would ask more for is coordination, which was almost absent in the entire opening. I mean I get it, with that many people and that humongous-ly large venue, it is an incredibly difficult feat. However, Beijing showed that it could be done in the Olympics opening ceremony, which was amazingly coordinated and organised. But in the desire to be a melting pot of culture from all over the country, all I saw was a central theme of chaos.

The Rhythms of India got a bit monotonous in the middle, the dances were cool though the dancers looked highly uncomfortable coming down the stairs each time, and the ones who went on did it like they were in a school play. A Naga dancer during the Great Indian Railway journey actually fell. Cringe. Aren't you supposed to hire professional dancers who will not fall during a ceremony where you showcase how good you are to the world?

And what is with the theme song Jiyo Utho blah bleh. 5 crores went to THAT? Seriously? Are you kidding me? I think it is a testament to their own recognition of how incapable that song is of getting people on their feet that they had to play Jai Ho after that. I used to tell people that Jai Ho is nowhere in the same league as A.R. Rehman's other brilliant creations, but after watching these 2 songs in succession, I must say I prefer Jai Ho a thousand times more. And what was that besuri screaming that Rehman did at the end of Jai Ho (minute 13)???

Though they must be congratulated that after all the media hoopla about unpreparedness and safety and hygiene, they have pulled off what is being hailed as a major success. "There have been delays and many challenges but we have managed to rise above them all", as Suresh Kalmadi put it, after being booed by the audience, 'reflecting the embarrassment many had felt over the crisis-hit preparations and worldwide headlines of the past fortnight, the same mortification that had led the Tribune newspaper to refer to "a national shame" and the Deccan Chronicle to "a bunch of inept, inefficient and corrupt administrators".'

So have we forgotten all about the shame now? Have all those who said "cancel the games" now all for the Games? Just like the Mumbai Taj attacks led to boiling blood for a few weeks, and then inaction, it seems that a similar future awaits the Games.

We all seem just so pleased that no major screw up happened, that through the Great Indian method of "jugaad", we actually "pulled it off" and are very pleased with ourselves for it. Though I am sure the thousands who have been displaced from their homes to make room for the venues and now live in less than hospitable conditions disagree. Now that everything has been swept under the rug, seems like it will all be buried in the rubble afterwards too, when the temporary bandaids begin peeling off.

We  need to be better than that. We need to expect more from ourselves.

Taken from TOM FORDYCE'S BLOG
A Commonwealth Games that at several points over the past two years had looked perilously close to being stillborn finally sprang to kicking, caterwauling life.

The numbers are vast - 28,378 policemen, 5,000 paramilitaries, 100 anti-sabotage teams, 300 sniffer dogs, 80 radiation meters and 15 bomb disposal squads - and if the organisers cannot be blamed for the wider political problems that require such measures, it can only be an unsettling sight at an event known as the Friendly Games.

These games as a whole will cost India somewhere between £3bn and £4bn, depending on which estimate you prefer, a staggering 60 times the original budget.

When Kalmadi looked up and stated, "India is ready," the derision turned to roars of approval. When he followed that by reminding those watching that, "We have the second fastest-growing economy in the world," the cheers got even louder.

Big multi-sport events are as much about showcasing the host nation as they are about mere sport. Two summers ago in Beijing we kept hearing that the Olympics were China's coming-out party. These Commonwealths, and the Olympics that the organisers hope might follow in 2020, are meant to serve the same purpose for a similarly booming nation.

"INDIA! INDIA" yelled the thousands around the stadium in unison as Prince Charles rose to read the Queen's address. The message could not have been clearer.

This was a night for forgetting the painful gestation, for postponing any worries about the quality of the sport we might witness over the next 11 days or the importance of the Commonwealth Games in a rapidly-changing 21st century world.

All those issues are still there. Come Monday, Usain Bolt will still be in Jamaica, Jessica Ennis in Sheffield, David Rudisha in Kenya. Muhammad will still be stranded in Bawana.

What's changed is that, along with the comical tales of cobras under athletes' beds and sobering stories of corruption, collapsing bridges and missing stars, there is finally a genuine sense of excitement in the Delhi air.

Top 10 'unanswerable' questions revealed

"What is the meaning of life?", "Is there a God?" and even "Do blondes have more fun?" - these are apparently the world's trickiest questions.

Full article on BBC.

Would you like sugar with that?

Sporting events a-mess

There is the Youth Olympic Games Singapore.

And then there is Commonwealth Games India.

Work is fun

Ok so I am going to rant now. Since people tend to get sick of my ranting, so time to make use of blog again.

Most of it is about my awesome (read awful) job, and I am wondering if I should be tactful here in case my boss reads it, or should just let all boundaries down. Hmm let's see how this goes.

So the only good thing about my job is that I don't hate it in its entirety. What I hate is that there is just too much to do. And too few people to do it, since this is a start-up. And since my job description does not exist, so everything that they can think up of is dumped on me (Yep tact's being flung out the window right this minute).

So keeping in touch with speakers, getting them to send me their presentations is in itself a rocky mountain to hike up. considering they are all CEOs and GMs and high-up-there people from high-up-there companies like GM, Volkswagen, Mahindra, etc. Then once I get it, I need to pester boss to take a look at them, which in itself takes a few weeks. But once that is done, I am expected to send the feedback out within seconds. As I have been reminded many times, as I struggle to look up at my boss from under the gigantic workload pressing down on my back, speakers are a priority. Then after giving them feedback, I need to chase them if they don't reply. Only 1 out of 10 replies. So this means another round of calls. Plus I need to remind them to put information about the conference on their websites, get their guests, register for the event, send visa letter, etc etc etc. Btw lots of speakers have cancelled, because, well, they are busy people. Everytime this happens, I am given the "I am disappointed" speech. Like it's my fault he had back surgery and his doctor hasn't cleared him for travel.

Then there are associations and media, which I haven't had the time to touch since after I got their logos. But then suddenly, my boss will ask me, so what is the media list attending the event, and me, being incapable of lying convincingly, will gape at him like a goldfish. Then I shall be reminded, it is very important to know these things. Right. I'll get right on it, after I finish the other 100 things on my priority list. Yes, I really hope my boss never comes across this post. Is there a way to limit readership?

Then of course there is social media. LinkedIn is to my boss as the unicorn toy was to the little girl in Despicable Me, a shiny light in the darkness, a wondrous invention of the Free World. And so I was forced to make a profile, micro-managed to an excruciating degree to get it exactly the way he wanted it. And now, I am expected to find articles and post there everyday. And for every post I will be told, oh it's okay, just post, don't need to ask me. Then once I do post, no-no change the heading, change the text. We had social media training as well, whose first session went on till 9 plus. And it was only after violent objections that the next few ones end at 7. From these trainings we learnt how to soft-sell, so entire days used to be spent deciding on the most appropriate text which does not sound too sales-y. Then once we have discussions going, I must add everyone who has commented on it. Then once they are connected, I should invite them to our LinkedIn group. Bleh.

And oh-oh-oh we have a new blog too. So looking after websites and blogs becomes my job too. So in 40 minutes every morning, find news, post 1 on blog, 1 on conference website, then post on LinkedIn. Oh and change the home page every week.

And there are lots of competition conferences coming up. Any everytime they post on LinkedIn, or use the same speakers as us, all hell breaks loose.

Then of course, I am supposedly good at writing. So yay, write articles as well. About something I know nothing about. So go read up a 100 other articles so at least I know what the hell EVs are and what batteries are used and how recharging can be done, etc etc etc. And now it will be excellent if I could write articles on the LinkedIn discussions we have going. I should also interview speakers and write articles on that.

This is all obviously in addition to the at least 20 emails a day which should be followed up on, preferably asap. And now I have been told I need to do the agenda (I just finished it). I do not understand why, considering doing the brochure was supposed to be someone else's task. Plus, there is the bible which will be given to all delegates, and I need to do that as well.

And when I ask my bosses questions, I am 'disturbing' them. Since they are so busy, doing God only knows what. But they are allowed to pester me whenever they so choose.

A newsletter must go out every 2 weeks, through the most horrible software mankind came up with, Constant Contact. It is so buggy it amazes me people pay for it. Links you put up magically disappear, it is up to the software's mercy if and when it will allow you to change font, the colors of the block headings can only be changed globally. Then every block will have a different shade of the same color, with nothing you can do about it. This is of course supposed to be approved by my micro-managing 'perfectionist' (in his own words) boss, who at 6pm and after 4 newsletters have been previously send out, decides that the color theme is not good. So it should changed. So I must stay back and do it.

By the way, work is 1.5 hours away. So 3 hours of travelling everyday.

So that was work. The rest of my life sucks too.
I am currently in the middle of shifting. Half the stuff in one room, half in another. I have 2 tuitions, 1 wants me to come twice during weekend (since I can't make it on weekdays), and the other is again 1.5 hours away (and on a voluntary basis too btw).

I will be working till the end of August, which means I will have to work around my timetable. Everyday that I take "off" to attend classes will offend my bosses since I am not around being a mule for them.

I do not have time to meet the professors whom I need to request to be my mentor for USP Advanced Modules. My FYP results are still not out. I have another job at Science Dean's office during the semester which I had applied for before I got this one. I have two 8-10 am lectures, two 7-10 pm lectures. 2 compulsory lectures where I'm allowed to skip only 1 class in the whole semester, which I don't know how I am going to manage since I'm going to be in Beijing for a week at least.

Life is so awesome. Did I mention I'm being paid peanuts?

p.s. Happy Birthday sista!

p.p.s. Some of the articles I have written:

http://www.ev-li-ionbatteryforum.com/afghanistan-lithium-reserves-–-how-will-they-impact-the-cost-of-the-li-ion-batteries/
http://www.evbatterynews.com/re-branding-the-electric-cars/
http://www.ev-li-ionbatteryforum.com/mining-firms-and-car-manufacturers-whats-the-deal/
http://www.ev-li-ionbatteryforum.com/what-is-the-best-way-to-recharge-buses/

p.p.p.s My bosses decided to give me a bonus yesterday for 'working so hard'. So now I feel a little guilty about writing this post. I shall re-double my prayers that they never chance upon my blog.

And I close my eyes and pray...

Death is a reality, which somehow never feels real. So many people around seem to be passing away recently. When you were younger, at least for me, death seemed like such a distant thing. Sure, people passed away. But they were strangers. Not someone you really gave a second thought to.

In university, somehow, it seems so much more of a reality. Every month or so, you hear of someone. Or see on Facebook even. How someone used to comment on this person's pics, and the next month, they have an RIP profile pic for the same person.

Maybe it's because when you were small, your parents protected you from such news. But now, everytime I hear of someone else, I think of all the older ones.

I always have this fear that I will say something horribly rude to someone and walk away, like I so often do, content in the assumption that I will make it right later. Or I will drift apart from someone, and convince myself I will get back in touch with them when I'm more free. But what if I never get that chance? What if I live the rest of my life in regret?

I know this is quite shallow, to make this about me, but I really do worry about it often :(

Can hotel towels save the world?

Interesting article.

Environment and the human psyche.

Who storms an aid ship?

Bitches.

Nearer my god to thee

May 26th 2010, The Economist by A.A.K.

In India, the operators have roughly segmented the market using the acronym ABCD, which stands for astrology, Bollywood, cricket and devotion. The idea is that all Indians are fascinated by at least one of these things. Not everyone is interested in astrology, though, and Bollywood and cricket have seasonal appeal. Devotion, by contrast, has a perennial audience.

The manner in which a devout Indian communicates with his God has changed over the years. At my workplace, I often find a couple of my formally dressed colleagues who are in their mid-40s muttering prayers to the wallpaper images on their computers, which consist of pictures of their favourite deity. While they may still continue to carry a picture of their deity in their wallets, this new option fascinates them even more.

The telecoms operators have found different ways to be part of a typical consumer’s daily routine. Instead of waking up in the morning to a jarring beep from his alarm clock, his cell phone can sing a melodious aarti (prayer) that stimulates his senses at dawn. To experience this divine start to his day, he pays 30 rupees ($0.63) a month. Depending upon his religion, he can subscribe to daily quotes from his God which are fed to him, like medicine, three times a day at regular intervals. For this service he can either pay seven rupees for a “weekly pack”, or 28 rupees for a “monthly pack”, which includes a free screensaver. To accommodate variations in the popularity of local deities, the operators have customised their services for different regions. There are more Krishna followers in Gujarat (West India), whereas Kolkata (East India) is known for worshipping Durga.

Other devotional services can help with decision-making. Instead of referring to a physical calendar, subscribers can receive automatic alerts to tell them which dates or times of day are inauspicious for starting a new job or shopping for a car. And the caller tune, which is played to incoming callers as they wait for the person they are calling to answer, has graduated from being a bland beeping noise to a bhajan (devotional song). Bharti Airtel, one of India’s leading operators, has introduced a service which streams live audio aartis recited by bhatjis (priests) to mobile phones from the most important shrines. While the bhatji is intoning those prayers, he is also talking into a microphone placed near the idol. With the introduction of 3G spectrum, the possibility of video streaming is not far off. Given the devotion of Indian consumers to their mobile phones, all this gives the notion of an omnipresent God a whole new meaning.

Work culture: Singapore vs. India

Ever been annoyed with nothing to do and nothing to pass the time in an Indian office? Or ever been stuck with a never ending list of things to attend to immediately even after your designated leaving time arrives and passes by in Singapore? Sat and counted the number of hours left before work ends no matter where you are?

There are some subtle, some obvious differences as well as some basic similarities between work places around the world. Some are more relaxed, some more deadline oriented, while others operate with the sole purpose of killing their employees of exhaustion or boredom.

As Monica (in FRIENDS) so aptly put it, "Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You're gonna love it."

It all boils down to cultural differences of where we're brought up and the underlying similarity in human nature. Asia, Europe, Australia and US, all have a completely different set of work values. My non-expert, hearsay based perception is that Australia is much more relaxed, with as much emphasis on sports as there is on work, with an unparalleled sense of dignity of labour. Europe for some reason feels more structured to me, maybe because they've been around for and developed for much longer than the other fellas. Based on the recent economic crisis, US seems to conduct themselves with a devil-may-care-about-how-we-treat-the-world-as-long-as-we-do-well-for-ourselves outlook, while Asia is trying really hard to break out of their own more or less self-sufficient little worlds to take advantage of globalisation. Ok I acknowledge I may be way off the mark here, but heck, I'm entitled an opinion.

Singapore, like in everything else, amalgamates, or at least tries hard to amalgamate, the best of all worlds. Which means that it has a killer worklife, a crazy nightlife when you're out drinking with office buddies late at night yet make it to office in time the next morning and somehow outgrow hangovers in the process, as well as a strange mix of Asian-ness and global-ness in its feel.

But I'm drifting off here, as I often do when we start on the topic of Singapore and how hard they try to stay relevant by importing 'talent', 'teaching' creativity, smothering opposition, caning offenders, hanging people found with drugs, and of course, banning chewing gums (I mean seriously, WTH!).

There, I drifted off again. Ok so back to the issue of India vs. Singapore work places. I did a summer internship in a bank in India, 2 of the most mind-numbing summer months I'd say. But it did make me think about how the way people work differs in different places.

We all know how slack many of the Indian offices are, especially those government ones. People will leave their desks, walk around, go meet their friends, chat about politics, corruption, cricket, weather, toot their own horns etc etc. The first hour after they reach work, that too an hour late, is spent socialising and talking about what has changed in the past 15 hours since they saw each other. And the more senior you are, the later you reach work.

In Singapore, it is more clinical. If you know the people around you, good for you. Otherwise its more of a keep to yourself kind of working mode. The moment you reach work, you check the office mailbox, follow up on any correspondence, and begin work, almost as if an invisible Big Brother is watching you. Maybe he is, you never know with this democratic, read authoritarian, government.

There seems to be a greater sense of urgency when it comes to Singapore. The need to get things done on time without someone breathing down your neck seems ingrained into the fabric of daily life. Life seems slower in India, people are more relaxed. We live and breathe the saying "aaj kare so kaal kar, kaal kare so parson. Itni bhi kya jaldi hai, abhi toh jeena hai barson". (What you have to do today, do it tomorrow. What you have to do tomorrow, do it day after. What's the hurry anyways, we've got ages to live!)

Of course, everything in Singapore is computer based. Technology plays a key role in giving Singapore an edge at least over its Asian competitors. In India, the transformation has only just started, specially in government agencies. Many, many people still wouldn't know where to begin if you sat them down in front of a computer, and told them to access the files from there, instead of the big bundles of papers that are sent from one section to another, with their recycled cardboard-ish cover papers tied together with strings. In that way, Singapore is miles ahead.

Singapore work force also seems younger at the first glance. Or at least smarter, better dressed, more professional looking. Maybe I am just using the wrong example. There are of course up and coming companies mainly run by young professionals in India. Also, IT companies seem to be more populated by youngsters. But the older places of work (whatever that means) seem to be frequented by the older generation, where the proud possession of a paunch is a pre-requisite to fit in.

The concept of 'lunch' hours in India can encompass much more than the usual 1 hour break that is standard in Singapore. There is also a definite exodus of people as time nears 5:30pm, or whatever the working hours are like. People rarely stay back to work after that, and within an hour, the entire office is deserted. And there is that delightful concept of extra overtime pay in India, something that would make employers go broke if introduced in Singapore.

Many find the professionalism of personnel lacking and the amount of work minimal in Indian offices. I've personally seen that it is a matter of choice to work hard or not. I think that you can breeze through 40 years of service and stay at the exact same spot because you're content in the knowledge that as long as you don't majorly screw up, your job is safe; or go out of your way to work hard and really make great strides up the ladder.

I was actually surprised during my internship to find that many of the people were brilliant. Most people really did seem to be very well informed about banking, government policies as well as the latest news in the finance world. They were very interested in what they did, and had quite entertaining discussions over lunch, specially since everyone had their own interpretation ready at hand for every situation.

In Singapore, working hard is not a matter of choice. If you want your job tomorrow, you always have to stay on your toes. The rate at which people join and leave companies is really high, especially for start-ups. That's another thing about Singapore, start-ups ABOUND. You can't throw a stone in any direction in a conference without hitting someone who has started their own company. In India, getting a job in a company which no one has heard of is almost as bad as having no job at all. And your parents and relatives will keep reminding you of that distant cousin or neighbour's niece who got a job in such-and-such hi-fi company till you get one yourself or kill yourself trying.

The concept of hierarchy is important too in Asian workplaces. Your boss may be half your age, but you have to talk to him like he owns you. I remember being scolded for not being respectful enough when I didn't bow down and act like a slave to some GM. While Singapore has that Chinese-ness and hence Asian-ness when it comes to respecting those more powerful, it does provide more equality at least in the way in which one interacts with the higher management.

By the way, don't you agree that the middle management sucks everywhere? The people right at the bottom and right at the top are always the nicest and down-to-earth. It's annoying really. I guess the ones in between always have something to prove, to make people believe that they are important too.

On a side note, I don't think we in Singapore or India appreciate how natural English feels to us enough. Today, after a 10 minute call to a Korean association, I was not even able to establish whether the number I was calling was indeed the company I was looking for. Made me wonder why the whole world just didn't use English. But then as someone very aptly pointed out, all the jobs would go to the PRCs and we would be left to "khaak-chanofy".

With that, my rant for the day is done.

What is a life without sex like?

Interesting article.

Let men be men.

(CNN) -- Although women the world over have been doing it for centuries, we can't really blame a guy for being a guy. And this is especially true now that we know that the male and female brains have some profound differences.

Our brains are mostly alike. We are the same species, after all. But the differences can sometimes make it seem like we are worlds apart.

The "defend your turf" area -- dorsal premammillary nucleus -- is larger in the male brain and contains special circuits to detect territorial challenges by other males. And his amygdala, the alarm system for threats, fear and danger is also larger in men. These brain differences make men more alert than women to potential turf threats.

Meanwhile, the "I feel what you feel" part of the brain -- mirror-neuron system -- is larger and more active in the female brain. So women can naturally get in sync with others' emotions by reading facial expressions, interpreting tone of voice and other nonverbal emotional cues.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the male and female brain is that men have a sexual pursuit area that is 2.5 times larger than the one in the female brain. Not only that, but beginning in their teens, they produce 20 to 25-fold more testosterone than they did during pre-adolescence.

If testosterone were beer, a 9-year-old boy would be getting the equivalent of a cup a day. But a 15-year-old would be getting the equivalent of nearly two gallons a day. This fuels their sexual engines and makes it impossible for them to stop thinking about female body parts and sex.

And so begins the 'Man Trance'
All that testosterone drives the "Man Trance"-- that glazed-eye look a man gets when he sees breasts. As a woman who was among the ranks of the early feminists, I wish I could say that men can stop themselves from entering this trance. But the truth is, they can't. Their visual brain circuits are always on the lookout for fertile mates. Whether or not they intend to pursue a visual enticement, they have to check out the goods.

To a man, this is the most natural response in the world, so he's dismayed by how betrayed his wife or girlfriend feels when she sees him eyeing another woman. Men look at attractive women the way we look at pretty butterflies. They catch the male brain's attention for a second, but then they flit out of his mind. Five minutes later, while we're still fuming, he's deciding whether he wants ribs or chicken for dinner. He asks us, "What's wrong?" We say, "Nothing." He shrugs and turns on the TV. We smolder and fear that he'll leave us for another woman.

Not surprisingly, the different objectives that men and women have in mating games put us on opposing teams -- at least at first. The female brain is driven to seek security and reliability in a potential mate before she has sex. But a male brain is fueled to mate and mate again. Until, that is, he mates for life.

Despite stereotypes to the contrary, the male brain can fall in love just as hard and fast as the female brain, and maybe more so. When he meets and sets his sights on capturing "the one," mating with her becomes his prime directive. And when he succeeds, his brain makes an indelible imprint of her. Lust and love collide and he's hooked.

The 'Doting Daddy Brain'
A man in hot pursuit of a mate doesn't even remotely resemble a devoted, doting daddy. But that's what his future holds. When his mate becomes pregnant, she'll emit pheromones that will waft into his nostrils, stimulating his brain to make more of a hormone called prolactin. Her pheromones will also cause his testosterone production to drop by 30 percent.

These hormonal changes make him more likely to help with the baby. They also change his perceptual circuitry, increasing his ability to hear a baby cry, something many men can't do very well before their wives are pregnant.

And a word to the wise for all the young mothers who are reluctant to let your husbands hold and care for your newborn. The more hands-on care a father gives his infant, the more his brain aligns with the role of fatherhood. So, hand over the baby.

His emotions run deep
Although men have earned the reputation for being more stoic than women, they actually have stronger emotional reactions than we do. They just don't show it very often.

Studies of men's faces show that the male brain's initial emotional reaction can be stronger than the female brain's. But within 2.5 seconds, he changes his face to hide the emotion, or even reverse it. The repeated practice of hiding his emotions gives men the classic poker face.
It's his poker face and his analytical response to personal problems that can put him in the doghouse. She's crying as she talks about what's wrong with the relationship, and instead of hugging her, his mind is racing to find a way to resolve the problem as soon as possible. With practice and because of the way their brains are wired, men use their analytical brain structures, not their emotional ones, to find a solution.

They enjoy this advantage, but women often take affront to it. When you're telling your husband your problem and he tries to solve it instead of hearing you out, you may think he's being insensitive. But that's not what's going on in his brain. He's working to solve the problem so he can relieve your pain as quickly as possible. Not because he doesn't care or doesn't want to listen, but because he loves you.

'Lovable Grandpas' and 'Grumpy Old Men'
As men age, the male brain hormones change and the male brain and body goes into the stage of life called andropause. The king of male hormones -- testosterone -- goes down and the queen of female hormones -- estrogen -- goes up. Whether Grandpa is your kids' hero or the grouch they hate to visit depends a lot on how he handles these hormonal changes. For example, if his testosterone levels drop to an abnormally low level, he can feel tired, irritable and even depressed. Some men in this condition seek hormone replacement therapy and others find relief in exercise, more frequent sex, and spending more time with other people.

The grandpa that kids can't wait to see is the one who's feeling the effects of the hormone oxytocin, often called the "cuddle hormone." He's fun and playful and likes to hear what his grandchildren have to say. He's much more patient with your children than he was with you, when you were growing up. The love circuits of the mature male brain can be hijacked by his grandkids, even more than they were by his own children.

The 'Lonely Hearts Club'
Not only is the mature male brain more receptive to closer bonds, but it's also more sensitive to loneliness. Nobody thrives when they're lonely, but it seems to take a major toll on older men. Sixty percent of divorces in couples over the age of 50 are initiated by women, leaving their husbands shell-shocked and devastated.

Once his wife leaves, unless he makes a point of socializing more with other people, his brain stops getting the social workout it needs to make him feel good about himself. If he becomes a loner, his social-approval circuits don't get activated. In brain scan studies of older males researchers have found that the brain's pleasure and reward areas, the VTA and the NAc, remain more active in men who are social. So don't begrudge the divorcee or the new widower some socializing and seeking female companionship.

The bottom line
The human brain is the best learning machine on the planet and human beings are capable of making major changes in our lives. But there are some things that the male brain and female brain are not likely to change anytime soon. And it makes more sense to deal with these brain realities, than to argue with them or ignoring them.

The best advice I have for women is make peace with the male brain.
Let men be men.

Singapura

Things you may or may not know about this place we call our second home:

Singapore consists of 63 islands, including mainland Singapore.

On average, the relative humidity is around 90% in the morning and 60% in the afternoon. During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100%.

Singapore is unique as it is the only country in Asia which has English as its first language.

Singapore is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita.

In 2009, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Singapore the tenth most expensive city in the world in which to live—the third in Asia, after Tokyo and Osaka.

The city state is also the second most crowded country in the world after Monaco.

Singapore has consistently been rated as the least corrupt country in Asia and among the world's ten most free from corruption by Transparency International.

The Economist Intelligence Unit describes Singapore as a "hybrid regime" of democratic and authoritarian elements. Freedom House ranks the country as "partly free".

In its Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index for 2004, Reporters Without Borders ranked Singapore 147 out of 167. Most of the local media are directly or indirectly controlled by the government through shareholdings of these media entities by the state's investment arm Temasek Holdings, and are often perceived as pro-government.

Capital punishment (hanging) for first-degree murder and drug trafficking.

Singapore has one of the busiest ports in the world and is the world's fourth largest foreign exchange trading centre after London, New York City and Tokyo.

Singapore introduced a Goods and Services Tax (GST) with an initial rate of 3% on 1 April 1994. The taxable GST was increased to 4% in 2003, to 5% in 2004, and to 7% on 1 July 2007.

Singapore is fast positioning itself as a medical tourism hub — about 200,000 foreigners seek medical care in the country each year. (I'm guessing that's 200,000 * 20 Panadols given out)

Singapore has one of the highest percentage of foreigners in the world. 36% of the population in Singapore are foreigners and foreigners make up 50% of the service sector in Singapore.

About 7.8 million tourists visited Singapore in 2006. The total visitor arrivals reached around 10.2 million in 2007. Singapore population is still less than 5 million.

Singapore maintains diplomatic relations with 175 countries, although it does not maintain a high commission or embassy in many of those countries. Singapore enjoys good relations with many European nations, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

In 2008, the total fertility rate was only 1.28 children per woman, the 3rd lowest in the world and well below the 2.10 needed to replace the population. To overcome this problem, the government is encouraging foreigners to immigrate to Singapore. These large numbers of immigrants have kept Singapore's population from declining.

Zimbabwe's forgotten children, struggling to survive

Here I sit in my room, with everything I need within an arm's distance. My biggest worry at the moment is whether I will be able to get over my laziness and finish researching for my ISM before I meet the prof in another 5 hours. And then I chance upon this.

Do you ever feel shallow? When you're drowning yourself in self-pity, do you ever stop to think about how pathetic your problems are? Do you ever wonder what it would be like if you had no food, no place to stay, no parents, or maybe even sick parents and siblings whom you have to take care of and provide for? I know I don't. I wail and whine about how broke I am, but that doesn't stop from planning overseas vacations, or spending $40 on a meal. That 40 dollars which could very well support an entire family for a week in many parts of the world. Do you ever feel shallow?

Whenever any overseas volunteer trips are organised, I always convince myself that they are too expensive, and yet I found the money to go on exchange. And I want to spend a lot more on traveling, do a Europe and Australia and South America trip someday maybe. Why? So I can get more cultured? More learned in the ways of the world? How much will I really learn if I only look at the beauty of the world and ignore its ugliness. For believe me, there is a lot of ugliness out there. A LOT of poverty, misery, hunger, child labour.

If you feel you had a hard childhood, ask yourself, did you have to support your family by digging bones and selling them?
If you feel you had hard teens, ask yourself, did you wish someone close who was dying of AIDS would die faster, so you would be able to live just a little bit better?

Use condoms. Else the product may be a Ris Low.

We've got to take our hats off to Ris Low. Like watching an out-of-control car career back and forth across the highway from one accident to another, you feel horrified, yet strangely fascinated. And somehow the Ris Low vehicle keeps on running. She's got the media equivalent of a flak jacket -- scandal, mockery and open criticism just bounce right off. She's been stripped of her Miss Singapore World title, diagnosed as bipolar, convicted for credit card fraud, bombasted for her poor diction, laughed at for creating nonsense terms such as "boomz" and "shingz," yet she just shrugs and goes on to do something else, just as jaw-dropping.

When she was ousted as a beauty queen, she publicly stated she wanted to make a comeback as a beauty pageant organiser and was looking for sponsors for an as-yet-unnamed three-in-one beauty pageant. Then she stirred another round of controversy by the liberal use of vulgarities and expletives on the Shan + Rozz show on radio station 98.7.

But now, condom company Espire has appointed her to be their youth ambassador, to promote its latest product as well as advocate safe sex to Singapore youths.

Understandably, the reactions online have been mixed, with most expressing bewilderment and a strong sense of "oh god not her again." mllx4rt2 posted on the Diva website, "This girl is like a recurring nightmare that refuses to cease... And now she's selling Expire condoms. Why isn't her probation officer monitoring her activities?"

Chieftain chuckles at it all, writing that "we're at fault for giving her the infamous publicity to be infamous. Her determination to be a celebrity knows no bounds of decorum or sense of ethics."

On the Temasek Review website, Andrew Chen thanked the writers for "alerting us to a brand of condoms to AVOID. The Espire people can’t be very smart, I can only imagine the failure rates on their products."

no way commented, "To me, Ris Low is just another attention seeker. What “boomz” and “shingz,” really nonsense. So what if she was a former Miss Singapore World? She lost it, she doesn’t deserve. She’s a failure."

The only semi-positive response we spotted was from SeeWhoDie, who said that "we should respect her as a person. She is earning a decent living promoting this product."

p.s. The video is a MUST-SEE. Condom ad, in a uniquely RL style.

p.p.s. Original interview

p.p.p.s. PCK interview (Ris Low Spoof)

p.p.p.p.s. All about Boomz See the whole list of videos in the sidebar :D