[Random] The Tamil Argument

I have told myself not to get into the Tamil language argument. So many times. So many times. And today will be my last day. In the future if somebody brings this topic of Hindi and Tamil or asks my opinion about it, I am just going to share the link to this post.

To whomsoever it may concern

If you have a problem with the language, its status, attitude of the people and anything Tamil and Tamil Nadu, go screw yourself, your language, your region/ country and everything about you, your reasoning and expectations. We simply do not care. We will continue to be that way. Period.

[Wish] I wish!

I only wish that evolution had built a mechanism that will cause you the same pain that you cause to the people next to you - Both physical and mental! Can't wait for this long term karma shit to kick-in. I am well aware and have experienced first-hand the absence of apathy among humans. I have been angry. Really angry for days. It did not help a bit. For a while I had disowned human race - but then I also come across lot of equally good souls. Its a tough cycle.Realization - At the end of the day, all we could do is try to step-in and try to change things around you in every possible way - even if it is really really small. CKF is one such really really small effort.

[Random] Tips. Why I tip the way I tip?

Tips. Why I tip the way I tip and don't tip sometimes? 

I tip for good service and don't tip if the service is bad. Because I am a kanjoos (a slang for a miser). Nope. That's not it. I come from a place (India) where tips are not common (it is getting common now, but not customary). But, where I come from have a very small role and the primary reason for the way I tip is that, I'm of the opinion that tips are a form of appreciation to people who go above on beyond their duty of serving food or providing any form of service. I cannot (my moral compass will not let me) go with the regular/standard 10% or 15% all the time, irrespective of the quality of service offered. Tips have to be earned and not entitled to. Mandated/ Customary tip is injustice to people doing a good job. Standard tipping also encourages the culture of getting rewarded irrespective of the quality of services offered and in my opinion is a big problem.

[DADT] Remembered!

Thanks Jananni for introducing me to Polyanna. In a way, the book from you and you defined a lot of me. How I wish things were a little (only a little) different. But I am glad things are ok. Thanks again.

“What men and women need is encouragement. Their natural resisting powers should be strengthened, not weakened…. Instead of always harping on a man’s faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out of his rut of bad habits. Hold up to him his better self, his REAL self that can dare and do and win out!… The influence of a beautiful, helpful, hopeful character is contagious, and may revolutionize a whole town… People radiate what is in their minds and in their hearts. If a man feels kindly and obliging, his neighbors will feel that way, too, before long. But if he scolds and scowls and criticizes—his neighbors will return scowl for scowl, and add interest! … When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it. When you know you will find the good—you will get that…” - Pollyanna

[Social] இதுவும் கடந்து போகும்.

இதுவும் கடந்து போகும்.

ஒலிம்பிக் விளையாட்டுகளில் இந்தியாவின் செயல்திறன் பற்றிய வாக்குவாதங்கள் போல...
ஊழல் ஒழிப்பு பற்றிய விவாதங்கள் போல...
இலஞ்சம் பற்றி பேசிவிட்டு அதனை சுவாசம் போல அரவணைத்தல் போல...
பெண்ணுரிமை பேசிவிட்டு மனைவியை அடக்குமுறை செய்வது போல...

எதுவும் கடந்து போகும்.

பெண்களை/ ஆண்களை ரசிப்பதுவும், காதல் பரிமாறுவதும் குற்றம் இல்லை. அனுமதி இன்றி எல்லை மீறுவது குற்றம். உயிர் மீதும் உடமை மீதும் பயம் கொண்டு குற்றங்களை தடுக்க முன்வராதவர்கள்தான் நாம் பெரும்பாலனவர்கள்... பேசுவதை விட்டு உங்களால் முடிந்ததை (தம்பியிடம் அக்காவை மதிக்கவும், மகனிடம் சக மனிதர்களை மதிக்கவும் கற்றுக் கொடுப்பதிலிருந்து  துவங்கலாம்...). பேசுங்கள். பகிருங்கள். அனால் அதை நடைமுறை படுத்த எதையாவது செயுங்கள். நான் என்ன செய்தேன்? CKF'ல் உள்ள மாணவர்களை அழைத்து சக மனிதர்களை மதிப்பதின் அவசியத்தை பற்றி பேசினேன். இனியும் கிடைக்கும் வாய்ப்புகளில் பேசுவேன். என்னால் முடிந்தது.

To put few things in perspective,

• "Mind your own business!" attitude of ours - We have been told not to get into trouble. Most of the times this is done by women in the household. Parents tell this to sons/ daughters and wives to their husbands. That is crime! Ask yourself if the men in your household will get out of their way to save somebody who is in trouble. If they don't do that, how do "you" being a part of the society expect justice from others in the society without contributing? 
• Capital Punishment - I personally do not believe capital punishment is a solution to anything. Yes! We all feel they people need to be killed. That's an emotional knee-jerk animal response. We can do better than that.We violate human rights of people that violate rights of others to show violating rights is bad? Seriously?

So... What is the point?
Rape is a heinous crime. Crime of the worst form (same as murder) against fellow humans. It is wrong and needs to be addressed. Addressed how? Not by capital punishment which is essentially an eye for an eye solution that reflects the moral compass of the entire society. But - acknowledging that it is a crime (unlike this and more here), by educating the society (and law enforcement even more) to be sensitive about the issue, supporting the victims by treating them as a women in your household and giving them voice, enforcement of existing laws (examples as to how enforcement is pathetic now) on rape both in terms of faster investigations and closing loopholes that are used for reduced sentences and sometimes get-away altogether. We also need to acknowledge that the mindset of the society needs to change and that will only happen over time. The above said actions, if enforced, will help in the mindset transition in the next 20-30 years.

What is my other larger point?
Float your moral compass in all directions. You do not want to live in a society with good rape laws and rampant corruption and other issues - Think sound mind, sound soul and sound body. Be sensitive, intolerant, raise your voice, get involved and protest about all things wrong - like bribery, injustice of any form (in the name of caste, creed, social status Et cetera), like corruption, like violence, like terrorism, like domestic violence, like eve teasing, like traffic violations, like famine, like communal issues, like political hypocrisy and like rape.

Build a free, equal and just home, street and society around you!

Some interesting perspectives/insights/reactions from the blogosphere.

• http://prempanicker.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/the-problem-is-apathy-not-activism/
• http://gtoosphere.blogspot.in/2013/01/outrage-on-outrage.html
• http://kupamanduka.livejournal.com/29345.html

Note: My thoughts on this topic are evolving. So, expect updates to this post. 

Tags: #Tamil #Rape #Violence #Social

[Opinion] What am I proud of?

I am proud of my team and the work I am doing. That's all. I am of the opinion that we all should be proud of what we accomplish and not what others have accomplished and definitely not from happenings in the history. Example: I am not proud of the country I come from, state, language, religion, associations etc.

#Opinion

[Opinion] Skyfall - The not-so-bond, bond movie.

007: You were supposed to deliver mind blowing intelligence bits, action sequences or at least few hot scenes.  In this movie you forgot all that and have been running around with this old wo"M"en. Disappointment! Were you (old bond dude) not supposed to be an efficient killing machine? All this drama to kill this old lady? Seriously? No wonder she gave you up. And there were no new gadgets this time. The only good thing in the movie was the nice Aston Martin DB5. I liked the fact that the new bond got mad and destroyed the house (and killed everybody with it) when the old bond destroyed the car.

Adele delivered and that is good - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HKoqNJtMTQ

Key Words: #Boring #NotSoBondLike #DC #AstonMartin

[Pain] State Bank of India - Online banking is PIA

I just want to slap the guy who comes up with these weird rules and regulations. What is really a very simple process has been made very complicated weird protocols by Online SBI. What you have to go through to do a simple money transfer from SBI to other bank is beyond human pain.

Below are the restrictions.

1. To add a beneficiary, within the secure internet banking site you have to get into another secured location.
2. You can only add 1 beneficiary per day.
3. You have to approve the addition of the beneficiary by calling the branch or feeding the code via mobile
4. Even after approve of the beneficiary, it will become active only the next day and so transfer could be done only the next day
5. Once activated, within 5 days of activation you can only transfer a maximum of 50K INR
6. After all this pain... you will be charged Rs. 5 for online transfer. :(

So, essentially it takes more than 3 days to make an online transfer. Why would i go for online banking if it is this complicated? SBI has got their channel economics completely wrong.

#SBI #Online #InternetBanking

[Idea] Get your Body Moving campaign!

Reading Time: 2 Minutes

All of you know about the problem of brick and mortar stores getting crushed in the US (and spreading fast everywhere). Showrooming is just killing them. There are various reasons for this behavioral migration over the past few years. There is the "price" component. There is no denying that. But in my opinion the most important aspect of Online Shopping (rather peoples preference towards it) is "Convenience". No driving. No sweat. No walking around burning calories. The convenience of chips, pop, television and browsing the web to make a purchase makes the whole process a "no process". 

If you think about it, online shopping also has an effect on human interaction. Internet has reduced quality human interaction. You replace interacting with people in the store to reading reviews online to make purchase decisions. Note: The idea of reduced human interaction because of online shopping was a digression from the main idea of this blog post. But as I was writing, I thought that it is an interesting hypothesis (theory) and that there should definitely be some correlation that could be established. Making a TODO for myself. Ok... now lets get back to my original tiny solution. I did not want this post to be big.

I was thinking that there is something more that could be done... apart from what is already being done. Something that will benefit everybody in some sense. These physical stores should team up with Michelle Obama and start a "Get your Body Moving!" campaign asking people to visit stores (and enjoy the outdoors) during the holiday season. The extra dollar you pay in physical stores breaks-even the health benefits of getting out, can be your marketing message. BBY - Are you listening?

#Showrooming #onlineShopping #BBY #USA

[General] Tablet PCs

I don't consider myself as a tablet user. For 2 reasons. One - Though it does everything a phone does, it does not replace my phone since it does not come with me everywhere. Two - It does not replace a laptop to do all I wanted to get done from a laptop. I honestly think that tablets will never replace laptops. Laptops are here to stay. I understand that tablets are for pure entertainment and not positioned to replace laptops. And, I am happy with my phone and laptop.

#laptop #tablet #pcs