What to write?

There are so many things going on around me that I am actually having a writer’s block as to what I should write in my blog. Let’s look at each of them:

The global economic meltdown:
I am not an expert to go into the reasons behind this collapse. Nor am I well versed to summarise the reasons provided by the experts over the past so many months. And I definitely cannot say with any kind of conviction that the worst has come or is yet to come. So you are better off asking for acting tips from Vijayakanth than checking up my blog to learn about the current economic situation.

The mosquito menace at home:
For the past few weeks, there is a steep increase in the influx of mosquitoes at home. It is a well known fact that the popular repellants like All Out and Good Knight have lost their potency in being effective mosquito killers. So the only options left in front of us are to swat them with our hands or use the hand-held bug zapper. The latter contraption, popularly known as the “கொசு bat” costs around Rs.150 and is extremely efficient in providing மோக்ஷம் to the insect. I have been using it quite extensively over the weekend and at one time, noticed fumes coming from the bat after a particularly large mosquito hit the circuit.

Shifting of IPL out of India:
Nothing in the recent past pleases me more than this news that is breaking out this evening. When the wheels of the 2nd version of this tournament started getting into motion, I distinctly remember Lalit Modi saying that the Government cannot push the country to a standstill due to the General Elections. I felt it was a highly irresponsible statement and was clearly made by someone whose only purpose in life seemed to be chasing the moolaah. And to all the great citizens of this country who are saying that the terrorists have won because of the Government’s decision to not provide security, I have only one request – please remove your head out of the sand lest you start physically resembling the ostrich. I think when the drama surrounding this decision starts unfolding in the days to come, I will surely have something more to write here.

General Elections:
The General Elections are round the corner. There is a lot of political realignment going on, so it is too early for me to give my predictions. But I can definitely tell you what I want. I want the BJP to return to power. And for BJP to win (this may elicit a “Duh!” response from you) Congress and its allies need to lose. And my vote would very much be based on that policy.

Engae Brahmannan:
I have finally bitten the Tamizh Soap Opera (தொலைக்காட்சி நெடும் தொடர் ) bug. As long as I return home at a favorable hour, I make it a point to watch this serial. And it is not for the story, but more for the interesting interlude that Cho provides in the middle of each episode. I am a big fan of his and of late have started getting a strong desire to read the books he has published. Coming back to the serial, everyone says that the chap who comes as Ashok is doing a good job. But I beg to differ. I just don’t like his voice and modulation. And many times, I find his body language contradicting his mental make-up.

Freecell:
My latest addiction is to play this very traditional game that comes with Windows. I have now played around 275+ games and my winning percentage is 77%. Am trying to get it to the 80%+ mark, but it is getting very difficult!

Twitter:
I signed up to this service today. Don’t know how effective it is going to be considering that sending updates by SMS is going to cost at least 10 bucks every time, since it involves a special number. Their site doesn’t seem to be WAP enabled, so I may not find twitter that useful. Anyway, I will let time decide that.

Temple visits:
Believe it or not, I actually had 2 temple visits in a 15-day span this month. The first one was to the ஆறுபடையப்பன் Temple in Besant Nagar on the 8th and yesterday evening, I was goaded to visit the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthana Temple on Venkatnarayana Road. I really cannot remember me visiting temples at this frequency. I am probably getting old!

So as you can see, these are pretty much the type of things that I normally write a lot about. But due to some mental block accompanied by a return of the wrist pain, I am holding myself back a little. Hopefully, I should be able to write a proper post soon and as mentioned earlier, the IPL drama will give me enough ammunition to do so.

The hype over the new seven wonders

First of all, I find the very concept of "Seven Wonders" quite idiotic. Just common sense will make you question the basis on which the very concept came about.

And then there was this media frenzy and hype about having our Taj Mahal become a Seven Wonder. What the ?

What do you gain by making that tomb a Seven Wonder? Do you think that people don't know about that monument? Any travel brochure for India, has a picture of that. All international Government representatives who visit the country are paraded there. All international sports persons are taken there for the standard photo op.

So, do you think that all this non-stop propaganda was required?

And if you even think a little bit more, you will realise that this whole exercise is the brainchild of some private trust/organisation. And its not an org' that is very well recognised. If I had the money power, I would have set up a thingy myself, got some publicity seeking celebrities (are there any other kind) to endorse my group, then hire a good marketing firm and voila, I can have another set of seven wonders poll going on.

What irked me most was the insane number of emails that were being forwarded by "Gen-I" (Gen X, Y and Z are passe. Gen-I is for the iPod generation.) was quite simply mind-blowing. It amazes me that people who pass all kinds of aptitude tests involving so much of logic and maths, are unable to comprehend the simple fact that this whole initiative is stupid.

And ultimately, the only probable entity that could have given a stamp of approval for the whole event was UNESCO. And they have very clearly distanced themselves from this.

So, all that happened was countries - read third-world countries and border-line developed ones - that had easier access to SMS and Internet, voted en masse to the ones nominated from their country (obviously) and voila, you now have a new seven wonders list that excludes some REAL WONDERS.

If you want more details on the kind of money made by the mobile operators, the marketing groups and the organisation that started this vote campaign, please see the attached picture of an article in the Tamizh weekly KALKI.


Simple translation:
Number of SMSes polled = 1.2 Crores
Cost charged by mobile companies = Rs.3.00 per SMS (its a value service to send SMS to some special numbers)
Total = 3.6 Crore Ruppees.
The share:
Mobile companies = 75 %
Government = 15 %
The organisation conducting the survey = 10 %.

These are figures only in India. Just add all the thickly populated third-world countries and imagine the kind of money people must have made.

I hope someone somewhere does indeed wake-up and announce publicly, what a big sham this whole event is.

More details can be had in this article from today's The Hindu.

Not Haywords 3000, but its Jawords 3000

First of all, thanks to Superthumby for coming up with that title.

Secondly, as should be evident from the picture, I actually sent 3011 SMS this billing cycle - Feb 20 to Mar 19!!!!

Needless to say, 90% of it was forwards that I received and hardly 10% would have been regular communication.

Since I have itemised billing enabled, I think my phone bill for this month will run to some 30 odd pages!!!! Hope Airtel doesn't charge me for extra courier charges. :)