Go fish. And stay out.
It took a lot of restraint to avoid "fishy" jokes when I wrote this.
I'll be honest. I don't like the smell of fish. It stinks. Worse than a rotting piece of vermin on the streets. And I was one of the many that rejoiced when the move was made by the corporation to displace the big, fat meen market from the main road (which contributed to traffic congestions, apart from nasal ones...) and relocate it to one end of the beach, earlier this year. All that joy seems short lived now, with the erection of a training depot that is going to double as a sales point. Right in the middle of the Besant Nagar residential area. Right on my street, to be precise. They started out with promises that it would only be for training the fisherfolk. A day later, they said they might sell fish once in a while. The next day, they said they had orders from above that it would be a full fledged outlet for sale as well. All this, and more, approved by the Tamil Nadu fisheries development board, apparently. Overseen by none other than her glorious highness Kanimozhi.
Understandably, the residents of the two streets that the 'fishery' oozes its dead offspring into, caused a stir today. A gathering of about 20-strong decided to meet the heads of the setup (which now sits on the remains of the horticulture department's shop that served the locality for years) and ask them to move. Politely. Or so was the plan. It should be noted that a similar gathering had, 3 months back, lobbied for the closure of a new CCD outlet that had opened a street away. But then, that was a private enterprise; neither endorsed nor promoted by the loving, secular government. The meeting did not go too well. Among cries of religious oppression (unnecessary, but somewhat justified given the history of the road I live on) and calls for a dharna, some information was obtained. It was not going to end with a sales outlet; they would build a restaurant with a bar attached. Come now, the people need their fix, don't they? Where better to have the next TASMAC than the middle of a nice little housing society? Who cares about the people that live there? They're just brahmins, after all. The noble, higher caste. They trod on us a gazillion years back. Its our turn.
If you think I'm being a bit too caste-ist, look up papers and reports roughly 40 years back. The comments that were received when the allocation of the houses here was complete should shed some light on exactly how pleased the governement was to see a large population of Iyers take the houses. Disappointment, to say the least, was not concealed.
Getting back to the situation at hand, it looks like a dharna is looming in the horizon. The initial response was only from those that live right next to the building. With word of a bar popping up (despite my interest in alcohol, I must say I was terribly upset at having one in a residential area), there are bound to be more protesters joining the fray. It looks like an eventful week I have ahead. Oh, and if you agree with the ideals in question, turn up for the demonstration. Hold your nose, though.
I'll be honest. I don't like the smell of fish. It stinks. Worse than a rotting piece of vermin on the streets. And I was one of the many that rejoiced when the move was made by the corporation to displace the big, fat meen market from the main road (which contributed to traffic congestions, apart from nasal ones...) and relocate it to one end of the beach, earlier this year. All that joy seems short lived now, with the erection of a training depot that is going to double as a sales point. Right in the middle of the Besant Nagar residential area. Right on my street, to be precise. They started out with promises that it would only be for training the fisherfolk. A day later, they said they might sell fish once in a while. The next day, they said they had orders from above that it would be a full fledged outlet for sale as well. All this, and more, approved by the Tamil Nadu fisheries development board, apparently. Overseen by none other than her glorious highness Kanimozhi.
Understandably, the residents of the two streets that the 'fishery' oozes its dead offspring into, caused a stir today. A gathering of about 20-strong decided to meet the heads of the setup (which now sits on the remains of the horticulture department's shop that served the locality for years) and ask them to move. Politely. Or so was the plan. It should be noted that a similar gathering had, 3 months back, lobbied for the closure of a new CCD outlet that had opened a street away. But then, that was a private enterprise; neither endorsed nor promoted by the loving, secular government. The meeting did not go too well. Among cries of religious oppression (unnecessary, but somewhat justified given the history of the road I live on) and calls for a dharna, some information was obtained. It was not going to end with a sales outlet; they would build a restaurant with a bar attached. Come now, the people need their fix, don't they? Where better to have the next TASMAC than the middle of a nice little housing society? Who cares about the people that live there? They're just brahmins, after all. The noble, higher caste. They trod on us a gazillion years back. Its our turn.
If you think I'm being a bit too caste-ist, look up papers and reports roughly 40 years back. The comments that were received when the allocation of the houses here was complete should shed some light on exactly how pleased the governement was to see a large population of Iyers take the houses. Disappointment, to say the least, was not concealed.
Getting back to the situation at hand, it looks like a dharna is looming in the horizon. The initial response was only from those that live right next to the building. With word of a bar popping up (despite my interest in alcohol, I must say I was terribly upset at having one in a residential area), there are bound to be more protesters joining the fray. It looks like an eventful week I have ahead. Oh, and if you agree with the ideals in question, turn up for the demonstration. Hold your nose, though.
The last few days and pronunciation
No updates. No news. No attacks from deranged alien spider monkeys.
Information, yes. Level of interest from reader, unsure.
My project at IIT-M has been going at full *cough* throttle and I haven't quite gotten around. With a professor that disappears often on trips to Kathmandu and resurfacing every 5 days to tell us to keep up the good work, I can't say with conviction that he's justified. Or that spider monkeys like attacking the earth. It would be fun though.
Outside the mundane journeys an engineer is expected to take before graduation, I have been living a life. And what better way to spend my time than improve my communication skills, yes? Deciding to look up a few words that I had forgotten to pronounce, I hit dictionary.com. (And it works!! Thanks, dictionary.com, you have changed my life and I can go there with new courage and determination!! Order your copy today.)
Back to the words. Here are a few things I found:
1) f*ck is actually pronounced with a UH sound over the asterisk. I still prefer A as in the first a of balanced
1.5) nice is pronounced nahys. Not nice-uh. Like I care.
2) sure is actually pronounced close to sh(u)ore. Not SHOERR or SHAAR or SOOR MACHI
3) zomgwtfnowai does not have an IPA code. Its not even in the dictionary.com databse
4) genre is pronounced zhahnruh. or joan ra with joan like in the joan of arc campaign in AOE 2
5) #FF20AK is pronounced gullible
6) kthxbai is kay-thenkz-bye. dictionary.com didn't list it but we know to trust icanhascheezburger.com
Haf a nahys dey.
Information, yes. Level of interest from reader, unsure.
My project at IIT-M has been going at full *cough* throttle and I haven't quite gotten around. With a professor that disappears often on trips to Kathmandu and resurfacing every 5 days to tell us to keep up the good work, I can't say with conviction that he's justified. Or that spider monkeys like attacking the earth. It would be fun though.
Outside the mundane journeys an engineer is expected to take before graduation, I have been living a life. And what better way to spend my time than improve my communication skills, yes? Deciding to look up a few words that I had forgotten to pronounce, I hit dictionary.com. (And it works!! Thanks, dictionary.com, you have changed my life and I can go there with new courage and determination!! Order your copy today.)
Back to the words. Here are a few things I found:
1) f*ck is actually pronounced with a UH sound over the asterisk. I still prefer A as in the first a of balanced
1.5) nice is pronounced nahys. Not nice-uh. Like I care.
2) sure is actually pronounced close to sh(u)ore. Not SHOERR or SHAAR or SOOR MACHI
3) zomgwtfnowai does not have an IPA code. Its not even in the dictionary.com databse
4) genre is pronounced zhahnruh. or joan ra with joan like in the joan of arc campaign in AOE 2
5) #FF20AK is pronounced gullible
6) kthxbai is kay-thenkz-bye. dictionary.com didn't list it but we know to trust icanhascheezburger.com
Haf a nahys dey.
Follow the seeder
And no, I will not follow your blog. Likewise, don't feel obliged to follow mine ^_^
The gunmen from Somalia aren't the only pirates in trouble. For the web savvy out there, the on-going trial of the owners of The Pirate Bay website is not news. After a 9 day trial under a judge with an alleged bias, they were fined the tune of 2.5 million GBP. Quite hard on the piracy thing these days, aren't they? And things were going quite well for the IFPI and the other plaintiffs in the suit until one of their own broke step. Advance Patrol, a latin hip hop group (they sound something like Shakira after a night of hash and gin) pulled out of the affair. What's more, they said they never wanted in in the first place. The IFPI apparently dragged them in claiming one of their albums was leaked and this was in their best interest...
AdPat didn't just leave the issue there. With all the vigor of their newfound love for copyleft (and maybe their hate for the impulsive IFPI?), they released their latest album, El Futuro on Pirate Bay. Apart from being a slap on the face of the prosecution, it also rose to the top of the downloads for the week and had about 500 active seeders (If you aren't familiar with the slangs of P2P file sharing, look it up. Or take my word, that's a huge number). Advance Patrol also issued a statement - clearly stating that they wanted music to be free, like it was meant to be; not bound by what they felt were the crushing restrictions of a copyright industry striving to save the wealth it had amassed.
Its not like I support illegal downloading or breaking of Intellectual Property Rights, but this move by the band has come as a big surprise. Naturally, I downloaded the album immediately. I can't say I enjoyed it; hip hop was never my style. But it was much more about supporting the movement than the music itself. If you have some time, download the album; run a search for Advance Patrol on thepiratebay.org. Can't help but appreciate the guys for what they've pulled. More on copyright and freedom when I get the time.
Oh, and about my previous post, I swear to the nearest polite god I'm not racist.
The gunmen from Somalia aren't the only pirates in trouble. For the web savvy out there, the on-going trial of the owners of The Pirate Bay website is not news. After a 9 day trial under a judge with an alleged bias, they were fined the tune of 2.5 million GBP. Quite hard on the piracy thing these days, aren't they? And things were going quite well for the IFPI and the other plaintiffs in the suit until one of their own broke step. Advance Patrol, a latin hip hop group (they sound something like Shakira after a night of hash and gin) pulled out of the affair. What's more, they said they never wanted in in the first place. The IFPI apparently dragged them in claiming one of their albums was leaked and this was in their best interest...
AdPat didn't just leave the issue there. With all the vigor of their newfound love for copyleft (and maybe their hate for the impulsive IFPI?), they released their latest album, El Futuro on Pirate Bay. Apart from being a slap on the face of the prosecution, it also rose to the top of the downloads for the week and had about 500 active seeders (If you aren't familiar with the slangs of P2P file sharing, look it up. Or take my word, that's a huge number). Advance Patrol also issued a statement - clearly stating that they wanted music to be free, like it was meant to be; not bound by what they felt were the crushing restrictions of a copyright industry striving to save the wealth it had amassed.
Its not like I support illegal downloading or breaking of Intellectual Property Rights, but this move by the band has come as a big surprise. Naturally, I downloaded the album immediately. I can't say I enjoyed it; hip hop was never my style. But it was much more about supporting the movement than the music itself. If you have some time, download the album; run a search for Advance Patrol on thepiratebay.org. Can't help but appreciate the guys for what they've pulled. More on copyright and freedom when I get the time.
Oh, and about my previous post, I swear to the nearest polite god I'm not racist.
Gultis and the world
Let's be clear on one thing. I'm not racist. Whatever you think this post advocates, it is not discrimination. There is a world of difference between calling a pig, swine, and adding the adjective stinking. Or eating it. That was a disclaimer, by the way.
Oh yeah, about Gults. . .
It began with the IPL. They said it was only the beginning. Problem was, they meant it. With a victory charged with everything the Deccan could pack, it started. A small task for a force so vast. They advanced in waves so fierce that any resistance offered was crushed. Or absorbed. One can still hear the cries of those that lost their minds to the thundering chants of "Ekkada ra?". Every syllable carried with it the preachings of the tribe. The movement slowly spread. Slowly, not because it couldn't. Slowly, because it wanted to savour its victory. A victory that was its by right. A victory it had been denied all these years. And now, it would take the unbelievers by storm. A storm so swift that it would wipe them before they had the chance to say "Ra!". Or even blink, for that matter. And they will be yummy.
Also, Italian is known as the Telugu of the west. Wouldn't fancy seeing myself in the foot any time soon.
Oh yeah, about Gults. . .
It began with the IPL. They said it was only the beginning. Problem was, they meant it. With a victory charged with everything the Deccan could pack, it started. A small task for a force so vast. They advanced in waves so fierce that any resistance offered was crushed. Or absorbed. One can still hear the cries of those that lost their minds to the thundering chants of "Ekkada ra?". Every syllable carried with it the preachings of the tribe. The movement slowly spread. Slowly, not because it couldn't. Slowly, because it wanted to savour its victory. A victory that was its by right. A victory it had been denied all these years. And now, it would take the unbelievers by storm. A storm so swift that it would wipe them before they had the chance to say "Ra!". Or even blink, for that matter. And they will be yummy.
Also, Italian is known as the Telugu of the west. Wouldn't fancy seeing myself in the foot any time soon.
Faces and cookies for the server
Elo again!
Yesh, it's been about a week since I held my head above the bush for the passionate skeet shooting that is referred to here as commenting. Of course, I'd call it trolling. But let's leave that for another day.
Since I haven't ranted in a long time, this is probably the best opportunity to let the heat out. Come on now, everybody needs some cooling in the summer. No need to worry though, I come in peace. Since people have actually started reading what I'm writing, I can't possibly start slinging mud at anyone around. So, I've decided to flame the next best thing - communities of such people. No, I do not plan to be racist. What I was referring to was Fa(e)cebook. There is only about so far you can take online socialization without indulging in name calling or predatorial tactics. Apart from being a breeding ground for online bullies and 40-year-olds wanting to be your friend, the site seems to serve no purpose.
I joined Orkut about 2 years back, and hey, it was a big thing for me then. I had only heard of FB in brief mentions and finding it lacklusture, I pledged my support for the new "in" thing in Indian culture. My infatuation barely lasted a month. I stayed on though, lurked and posted every now and then. It became an old flame that I started avoiding with increasing frequency. Thankfully, unlike other past flames, it didn't haunt my dreams. About a month back, with my return to Chennai I was coaxed to join FB. With my existence a month long, I find it poor - and that is to say the least. The interface is worse than Orkut's (I did hear it was better at some point in the past) and the funcionality dismal. With little in the way of notification settings, it proves as irritating as, if not more than Orkut. A recent post by a friend of mine christening it Quizbook seems appropriate. Besides, I don't even have the sympathy I had for Orkut because of its parent group.
Even if this is to be a standard rant, I can't leave out all reason. All steam and disappointment aside, the movement of people to FB from other places is an interesting phenomenon. Sites such as Hi5 deserve no less, while Orkut does seem to be an unintentional victim. The migration of a large part of the Orkut community to FB is by no means mere chance. It is much more a matter of timing, and westernization.
That's right, I'm blaming this one on the ape-effect. When Orkut was released back in whenever, it was something cool for all the students/kids to join and they could run around asking people if they were on and feel superior when answered in the negative. This culture pretty much carried on until these kids grew up and started meeting more people - some of whom had FB accounts and informed them how much bigger it was and how much cooler it was to be a part of something that was so American. Orkut was from the west too, but the scales tipped against it once the rapid multiplication of Indians on it started. It remains, to date, filled with Indians - with a population constantly vying to be in the top 3 on it. Filled with fellow citizens who weren't as cool as the dudes from Facebook, Orkut was abandoned like an old toy with the fascination, freshness and cool factor of FB raking in the users like a swarm of flies. On a psychological level, this event is but an example of people moving from one group to another in the hope of appearing at a higher stratum of society after having seen some proof of the shift. This may have come in the form of cousins/friends/NRIs insisting it was much more in.
I've probably drawn the ire of FB fanatics with this, but I do stick by my point. As local and useless as it may be, I stand by Orkut. Personally, I find no difference between the two. As I mentioned, both suck. And badly, at that. At least I don't get invites to play Travian on Orkut.
Yesh, it's been about a week since I held my head above the bush for the passionate skeet shooting that is referred to here as commenting. Of course, I'd call it trolling. But let's leave that for another day.
Since I haven't ranted in a long time, this is probably the best opportunity to let the heat out. Come on now, everybody needs some cooling in the summer. No need to worry though, I come in peace. Since people have actually started reading what I'm writing, I can't possibly start slinging mud at anyone around. So, I've decided to flame the next best thing - communities of such people. No, I do not plan to be racist. What I was referring to was Fa(e)cebook. There is only about so far you can take online socialization without indulging in name calling or predatorial tactics. Apart from being a breeding ground for online bullies and 40-year-olds wanting to be your friend, the site seems to serve no purpose.
I joined Orkut about 2 years back, and hey, it was a big thing for me then. I had only heard of FB in brief mentions and finding it lacklusture, I pledged my support for the new "in" thing in Indian culture. My infatuation barely lasted a month. I stayed on though, lurked and posted every now and then. It became an old flame that I started avoiding with increasing frequency. Thankfully, unlike other past flames, it didn't haunt my dreams. About a month back, with my return to Chennai I was coaxed to join FB. With my existence a month long, I find it poor - and that is to say the least. The interface is worse than Orkut's (I did hear it was better at some point in the past) and the funcionality dismal. With little in the way of notification settings, it proves as irritating as, if not more than Orkut. A recent post by a friend of mine christening it Quizbook seems appropriate. Besides, I don't even have the sympathy I had for Orkut because of its parent group.
Even if this is to be a standard rant, I can't leave out all reason. All steam and disappointment aside, the movement of people to FB from other places is an interesting phenomenon. Sites such as Hi5 deserve no less, while Orkut does seem to be an unintentional victim. The migration of a large part of the Orkut community to FB is by no means mere chance. It is much more a matter of timing, and westernization.
That's right, I'm blaming this one on the ape-effect. When Orkut was released back in whenever, it was something cool for all the students/kids to join and they could run around asking people if they were on and feel superior when answered in the negative. This culture pretty much carried on until these kids grew up and started meeting more people - some of whom had FB accounts and informed them how much bigger it was and how much cooler it was to be a part of something that was so American. Orkut was from the west too, but the scales tipped against it once the rapid multiplication of Indians on it started. It remains, to date, filled with Indians - with a population constantly vying to be in the top 3 on it. Filled with fellow citizens who weren't as cool as the dudes from Facebook, Orkut was abandoned like an old toy with the fascination, freshness and cool factor of FB raking in the users like a swarm of flies. On a psychological level, this event is but an example of people moving from one group to another in the hope of appearing at a higher stratum of society after having seen some proof of the shift. This may have come in the form of cousins/friends/NRIs insisting it was much more in.
I've probably drawn the ire of FB fanatics with this, but I do stick by my point. As local and useless as it may be, I stand by Orkut. Personally, I find no difference between the two. As I mentioned, both suck. And badly, at that. At least I don't get invites to play Travian on Orkut.
