tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89977752024-03-13T18:57:00.120+03:00By-Two KaapiThe weblog of <a href="http://www.abhilash.name">Abhilash Ravishankar</a>, India.Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.comBlogger332125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-49058659446335919362008-02-14T15:47:00.000+03:002008-02-14T15:47:42.381+03:00Twittering a pink slip<a href="http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/2/getting_fired_at_yahoo__a_twitter_log">Silicon Alley Insider</a> reports a Yahoo! employee's twitter-log as he spent his last few minutes at Yahoo!<br /><br />Sure is fun to read (maybe not for him). Just another fun-use of twitter. Makes me love it even more.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Dear Blackberry, What great times we had. I'll miss you. At least until tonight when I stop on my way home and buy an iPhone. Love, Me</span> about 4 hours ago<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Oh...and my badge. He's going to take that too. Will I be able to get a latte for the road still?</span> about 4 hours ago<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I'm going dark in a few minutes. The HR guy is on his way over to confiscate my laptop.</span> about 4 hours ago<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Last free triple non-fat latte from Beantrees. Sniff.</span> about 3 hours ago<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Signing off from Yahoo!. Fade to black...</span> about 3 hours ago<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Celebrating unemployment with a giant margarita at Chevy's.</span> 5 minutes ago"</blockquote>Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-35628772412977211362007-12-31T21:04:00.001+03:002007-12-31T21:04:41.303+03:00A car for a billionThe <a href="http://laptop.org/">OLPC</a> has never fascinated me. But somehow, <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Tata_small_car_set_to_offer_25_kmpl_mileage/articleshow/2632502.cms">this has</a>:<br><blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;" class="gmail_quote"> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">It's an eco-car with a 25 km-per-litre mileage on petrol, meets every international standard and specification, including Euro-4 norms. Acceleration wise, it's the same as a Maruti 800.</span><br><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br clear="all"></span>At the end of the day, IMO more than the product itself (in both cases), it will be its aftermath that will be the keystone to next-gen computing/transport. <br><br> Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-18117292209286979942007-12-30T20:01:00.001+03:002007-12-30T20:01:56.201+03:00We'll guzzle oil and recycle paper and plastic!So, says <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/27/AR2007122701595.html">this article in The Washington Post</a>. It also says:<br><br><blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;" class="gmail_quote"> We will witness the dawning of an era of exuberance regarding matters petroleum, a time of optimism comparable to the Roaring Twenties and the recently expired housing boom that was inflated by phony mortgages. Peak-oil theorists, those people foolish enough to believe that a nonrenewable resource is eventually exhaustible, will be vilified as alarmists. American consumers, mollified by falling petroleum prices and the promised availability of more exploitable oil reserves, will breathe sighs of relief. <br></blockquote><br>No comments from my end. Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-50591834775902153742007-12-30T19:42:00.001+03:002007-12-30T19:42:40.898+03:00Finding new loveMark Cuban writes <a href="http://www.blogmaverick.com/2007/12/30/the-one-thing-in-life-you-can-control-effort/">a brilliant post</a> on how the only thing that you can control in life is the effort that you put in.<br><br> <blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;" class="gmail_quote">27 years old. Zero in the bank. Messed up in the head because of the breakup. The good news was that I had my business. The one thing that I could always focus on to the exclusion of everything else. A trait that would serve me well in business, but had more than a little bit to do with my breakup.<br clear="all"></blockquote><br> Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-73908677436564926942007-12-30T19:01:00.000+03:002007-12-30T19:02:02.445+03:00TV and Books<a href="http://www.confusedofcalcutta.com">JP</a> <a href="http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/">points out</a> an <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2007/12/24/071224crat_atlarge_crain/?currentPage=5"> article in the New Yorker</a>. Let me quote a line or two:<br><br><blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;" class="gmail_quote">It can be amusing to read a magazine whose principles you despise, but it is almost unbearable to watch such a television show. And so, in a culture of secondary orality, we may be less likely to spend time with ideas we disagree with.<br></blockquote><br>This reminds me of one of those fascinating conversations I've had with a very close friend of mine. My friend has always preferred books to movies. And that was our point of discussion. Let's say, there's a brutally violent/gruesome scene to be described. Say pyschopathic murder or rape or an orgy. Would you rather read it in a book or watch it in a movie? <br><br>It is invariably true that a sensitive and observant individual would prefer reading about it than watching it on TV. A picture or a streaming media would leave a deeper impression. On the other hand, one could argue that a picture is a picture. Be it the one shown on TV or the one that your mind conjures as one reads. <br><br>I'm inclined to agree with the former. Or rather, a balance of both. Movies are good, but some are best not seen.<br><br>JP puts it best when he says: <br><blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;" class="gmail_quote"> A picture may be worth a thousand words, but an endless diet of pictures alone creates modern cavemen.<br clear="all"></blockquote><br> Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-23769607081199936362007-12-29T15:42:00.001+03:002007-12-29T15:42:30.722+03:00My Orkut profile cost me my job<a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/%7Er/windsofchange/net/%7E3/207938784/employers_social_networking_sites_search_or_no.php">Winds of Change</a> brings up an exciting topic:<br><br><blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;" class="gmail_quote"> Had an interesting conversation with an HR professional today on the subject of employers running searches to see if a candidate has a MySpace page et. al. This is apparently something coming up in her HR training classes.<br><br>Facebook is less problematic, because you have to accept their friend invitation or they can't see your profile. LinkedIn isn't an issue because it's explicitly a professional site. So I'm taking those off the table, and focusing on 2 things:<ul><li>Searching for and viewing a MySpace page or other public access social networking site profile</li> <li>Using Google to track someone back to a blog, and using that in a hiring decision</li></ul>Ethical? Useful? Wise from <span>HR'</span>s point of view?<br></blockquote> <br>Let me make it simpler for us Indians.<br><br><b>Say you are a recruiting manager for an Indian firm.<br></b><ul><li><b>Would you Google me out before you interview me?</b></li><li><b>Would my Orkut profile matter in your recruitment decision? </b></li><li><b>Would you just read my blog or would that influence your choice?</b></li></ul><br>Facebook and LinkedIn do not feature because of the issues listed in the article. And for a moment, think on both sides of the issue. And think about yourself, your Orkut profile, your blog. <br clear="all"><br> Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-20242617713810697222007-12-28T13:02:00.001+03:002007-12-28T13:02:55.852+03:00Why you should IM?I am not an IM guy. And that has cost me.<br><br>In the four months that I spent in the Middle East, I hardly chatted with my friends/contacts on IM. The very few times I did login, I spent maybe less than an hour chatting. This time around, back in India, I met up with a lot of friends, caught up on lost time. And it suddenly struck me that I have missed out on so much. Email, the suggested alternative, has been good. It has brought me all the news from India, from my friends and contacts. But what it missed out on was all the crazy ideas, all the energy that my friends were wallowing in. I was ignored. Blatantly. Very rarely will people think of you and email you of an idea that they have thought of. Very rarely will people think of getting you involved in an idea that they would have definitely bounced off you, if you weren't chatting about trivial things with them. I've never picked up the knack of using email for trivial conversations. IM, somehow, is more apt for that use. <br><br>Ergo, IM!<br> Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-59797895199502678922007-12-27T18:46:00.001+03:002007-12-27T18:46:13.837+03:00Benazir's assasinationBenazir Bhutto was killed today.<br>Mom called me out as she saw it first on TV.<br>She was shell shocked. I was not.<br><br>As an Indian, you are expected to be conversant with the politics of our immediate Western neighbor. As a school/college kid, I matched those expectations. To most of us and the International media, Benazir was the face of Pakistani democracy. The face of reforms. The face of a peaceful Pakistan. <br><br>All this changed when I went to work in the Middle East. I got to work with a lot of Pakistanis, many of them coming from the best engineering colleges in Pakistan. It was during discussions with these folks on Pakistani politics that I realized that all of us are brought up with an entirely contrasting view, compared to that of the native Pakistanis. <br><br>The fact that Bhutto laundered billions out of Pakistan bears no meaning to us. It does to the people of Pakistan.<br>The fact that Musharraf took over Pakistan in a coup was heinous to us. It was joy to the people of Pakistan. <br>The fact that Musharraf, actually did quite some good regarding development is unknown to us. It's satisfaction to the people of Pakistan.<br>The fact that Musharraf was a military leader unnerved most of us. It wasn't new to the people of Pakistan. <br><br>At the end of the day, the people of Pakistan loved Musharraf. The key word is 'loved'. As far as what I hear from a few intellectual Pakistani folks, they no longer love him. But they don't love Bhutto either. Even today, they would prefer Musharraf over her. To them, the glorification of Bhutto in the international media, the promise of democracy doesn't matter. What matters is development. Economic. Social. (Isn't that the same everywhere in the world?!) <br><br>On a side note, our discussions had ended with a mutual agreement that Bhutto will die any day this year.<br>It's a pity that she was killed.<br>May peace be upon her soul.<br> Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-47057266527401673892007-12-17T20:24:00.000+03:002007-12-17T20:28:44.159+03:00Don't phunk with my stomach<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6mrT7fWykQnKfJK8hRcIjDLAo5gvu4zrqtcAR-CGekx3q8J84HCn1FG0ZuugUG1ojR85lD-6Tn8U0_LSQ03p3mvs-Mfxep0hN4AKGqmpeSksM1XESkkPasA4h59FyC8XLOBB/s1600-h/04122007-724161.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6mrT7fWykQnKfJK8hRcIjDLAo5gvu4zrqtcAR-CGekx3q8J84HCn1FG0ZuugUG1ojR85lD-6Tn8U0_LSQ03p3mvs-Mfxep0hN4AKGqmpeSksM1XESkkPasA4h59FyC8XLOBB/s320/04122007-724161.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144995115001340994" /></a></p>Guess who had Fergie for lunch? ;)Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-73257097946103762752007-12-07T12:31:00.000+03:002007-12-07T12:30:55.649+03:00Hey you!- Pink Floyd. Now playing. As I head back to town after 2 weeks, catching up with nails & feeds on my mobile. It's pretty darn frustrating when you are away from civilization for weeks, and to see that the world around you is no longer the same. It didn't wait for you, mate. Floyd soothens that pain. The client's letter saying 'Good job!' erases the remnants.Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-13141757480827659292007-12-03T02:08:00.001+03:002007-12-03T02:08:04.483+03:00Insomnia at the rigIt's 3 in the morning. A very cold one. I step out of this box that I call home nowadays, and the chill breeze knocks me out. The sand in the wind hits me like a million needles. The sea lies calm. As always. <p>In front of me stands a 50 metre tall mast. The rig. <p>It's come back for me again. Insomnia. This time, however, there's no caffeine in my blood. 4 movies on a trot, that's all. And the thought of what life holds for me in 3 years. <p>Hold on. Do you hear Ozzy singing? Mama, I'm coming home.Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-27450915026010307662007-11-21T15:47:00.001+03:002007-11-21T15:47:38.326+03:00Living in a place where the law is blind<p>I read <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/11/21/saudi.rape.victim/index.html">this</a> in CNN today:<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px;"> In March 2006, the woman, then 18 and engaged to be married, and an unrelated man were abducted from a mall in Qatif, Saudi Arabia and raped by a group of seven men.</p><p style="margin-left: 40px;"> In October, the men were convicted and sentenced to between two and nine years in prison for the assault. She was convicted of violating the kingdom's strict Islamic law by not having a male guardian with her at the mall.</p><p style="margin-left: 40px;"> "From the outset, my wife was dealt with as a guilty person who committed a crime," said her 24-year-old husband. "She was not given any chance to prove her innocence or describe how she was a victim of multiple brutal rapes."</p><p>The woman has been sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison. And this is her status now: <br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px;">She suffers from anemia, a blood disorder , and asthma, he said. She will have surgery next month to remove her gallbladder.</p><p>And if that wasn't enough, the judge when giving out his sentence says:</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; font-style: italic;">You were involved in a suspicious relationship and you deserve 200 lashes for that'</p><p>And to top it all:</p><p style="margin-left: 40px;">The woman was originally sentenced in October 2006 to 90 lashes, but when she appealed that sentence, the court more than doubled it.</p><p>Is this remotely fair? Being in Saudi, I do know that women are generally well respected in the society. But this isn't respect. I have always maintained that rape is the worst form of brutality - worse than homicide. <br /></p><p>Somehow, this leaves me with a very uneasy feeling. <br /></p>Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-7214390741414617592007-11-02T10:42:00.000+03:002007-11-02T10:43:00.449+03:00Tumblr vs BloggerAfter blabbering <a href="http://blog.abhilash.name/2007/08/signs-of-aging.html">about aging and lack of time and laziness and blah blah blah</a>,<br />The D-day arrived yesterday with <a href="http://blog.davidville.com/2007/11/01/tumblr-3">this</a>: Tumblr v3.<br /><br />IMHO, Tumblr v3 was hyped up more than what it deserved. But it certainly is a significant improvement from the earlier version. I'm happy.<br /><br />But the point in question was <a href="http://twitter.com/abhilash/statuses/357307872">this</a>.<br />So, today after spending an hour looking around Tumblr v3 and how my life has been over the past few months, working in an oilfield, it was time to decide whether I am going to ditch this blog.<br /><br />There are times when you feel a stinging feeling of nostalgia. And I got stung minutes ago, with that very feeling. However, I managed to snap out of it and think of really dumping this blog. Here's the verdict.<br /><br />I realized looking at my tumblelog's archive that it is merely a collection of what I think about a lot of stuff that I hear/see/read. It is merely a collection of my opinions, my likes and my dislikes. Whereas By-Two Kaapi has been a collection of stories, of experiences.<br /><br />Simple isn't it? From now on,<br />All my experiences continue to stay on here, in By-Two Kaapi.<br />All my opinions/likes/dislikes/rants move over to Intoxicated by Possibility.<br /><br />And yes, I promise, I swear, <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wallahi">Wallahi</a>, I am not going to yap more about this!Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-75544192656210533032007-10-21T10:09:00.000+03:002007-10-21T14:33:26.765+03:00The IITian who blinkedI have an extremely hilarious email chain running in my inbox. I have to label it SPAM, however, I can't stop laughing at every single mail I get in that conversation.<br /><br />It all started with this IIT-Bombay bloke blinking. The SOM School of Management folks are organizing some fest, and the folks get a little too drunk on the excitement. And this bloke mails something like this:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"> Dear All, </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Finally all of us have a breather after midterms. </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">... I do not know how feasible it is but with just 9 days left for </span><event><span style="font-style: italic;"> we need to really stay updated on the progress of our work and that of others in our team .....</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Currently I have no idea how close we are to achieve the scale we intended to....</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">....I think we have been missing </span><company><span style="font-style: italic;"> in publicizing for our events. </span><team><span style="font-style: italic;"> in charge of the website publicity this might help. </span><br /><company><br /><the></the></company></team></company></event></blockquote>And he sends this out to an email-list called 'temp' or so, which turned out to be, for his ill luck, a list of all the external contacts of that club in IITB (presumably)!<br /><br />I just grinned at the mail, and deleted it, but the fun had just started. In less than 48 hours, 30 people have mailed in, yelling that this is SPAM, or winking that they are not the intended recipients, or mailing in completely bewildered. Here are some ummm... interesting follow-up mails:<br /><br />The most common answer:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>I ain't part of it. Remove my email address from the list.</blockquote></span>The guy who fought with his wife in the morning:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">I am not supposed to receive this email.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Please remove my name from the list immediately.</span></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>The guy who is fed up of chumping blokes on Facebook all day at work:<br /><div style="font-style: italic;"></div><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">...</span><span style="font-style: italic;">. And also u guys may be more careful in handling databases....as far as my personal perception goes it has not caused any harm as all of us are students afterall and understand what goes in organising such an event..so good luck guys cheers! for ur event..and a bit careful with databases..</span></blockquote><div><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br />This bloke sitting in Sweden is confused:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>I am not sure if you realize this but these mails are reaching much beyond the boundaries of IIT-B... and I am not sure how!!!</blockquote></span>The most intelligent guy asks The Million-Dollar Question:<br /></div><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>Why am I getting these mails?<br /></blockquote></span>And the one that got me on the floor laughing is:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>I've no idea what this is about.. I'm from IITM!</blockquote></span><br />Another really good one: This entrepreneur(I am sure he is a IITB alumnus), writes in -<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Dear Mr. <the><br />I'm reasonably confident that I'm not one of the intended recipients</the></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">of the message below. Do check your mailing list again, and remove my</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">email address from the same.<br />Regards</span></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>But, every guy is using the 'Reply to all' feature and spamming the group, so, this entrepreneur gets fed up and mails back in a few hours:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Hi <the></the></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I repeat - Could you *PLEASE* (yes, I'm shouting now) remove my name</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">from your list? If I get more mails from you, I shall register spam reports against</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">your mailing list.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></blockquote>Finally, one IITB bloke chimes in, with the pearl of wisdom:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Please do not reply all henceforth because there are a lot many others</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">like you, who don't want these mails. Just send individual mails asking</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">to be removed (like I did).</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Happy (un)spamming</span></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>A couple more ....<br />The guy who exposes the scandal:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>I left iitb 2 years back!!!</blockquote></span>My favorite reply: (made by a dozen people)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>Me too</blockquote></span>Sheesh! I have myself on the floor laughing my lungs out .... when a IITB faculty replies back<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>Why is it being sent to faculty?</blockquote></span>And after an hour, sends another mail:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>WHY faculty?</blockquote></span><br />Don't blame me if I die due to this chain.<br />Before I do, what would be my reply to this bloke? This:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>R.I.P</blockquote></span><br />Disclaimer: I have nothing against IITians, bro. I have been a student myself, I have run a student entrepreneurship cell too. And I know the likelihood of such mistakes. But I can't help it if I have a penchant for such humor.<br /><br />Update:<br />The latest guy (the most creative one) says:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>I am not in this team.. In fact i dont even study at iitb... please remove me from the list....or was it a publicity mail ;)</blockquote></span>Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-85923158679485768142007-10-18T13:40:00.001+03:002007-10-18T13:40:44.798+03:0050 daysIn a 'real' job.<br>In the oil industry.<br>In the Kingdom.<p>I never felt the urge to blog. Never had the time to sit down and<br>write. Never had time to read blogs. I could not step back and look at<br>what's happening in my life.<p>The last two days, I did precisely that. I just stopped flowing. It<br>was a 'Hey, wait a minute!' moment. I realized a lot of things.<p>Diversion:<br>Now, I didn't want to write all of this on By-Two Kaapi. Heck! I<br>haven't been writing here in months. But then, I just remembered the<br>early days when I started to blog, I wrote my mind. I wrote shit. And<br>as I saw more of the web, as I saw more of business and technology, as<br>I saw more of people, I began to play to the gallery. The biggest damn<br>mistake any man can make. Live life to please others. I became a<br>whore. Today, I quit. I am back to writing that same old shit. I am<br>back to writing about what I am doing, thinking, seeing, hearing and<br>feeling. I just hate the fact that I sold my soul to the devil and<br>started blogging to get more eyeballs to my site. Blast that damn<br>period. This blog is now, again, being reduced to my ramblings over a<br>By-Two Kaapi. The real me.<p>So, where on sweet Earth was I? Aah...<br>2 months away from home, as a freshman in the industry; that too in<br>the oil industry and most of all, in the Middle East; and worst of<br>all, in the Kingdom, here's what I have learnt...<br>Errr.....ummmm....<br>Blast! I forgot what I wanted to write, thanks to that diversion.<br>Heck! Who cares!<br>All that I wanted to say is I miss my life.Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-54100111172702074042007-10-15T22:43:00.001+03:002007-10-15T22:43:14.970+03:00One yearMinus one day. <br>And life hasn't been the same. <br>But, as usual, things couldn't get better.Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-87063182260332226832007-10-13T14:07:00.000+03:002007-10-13T14:10:28.354+03:00Waited for her to flow, she came up dry!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBxMOHpMiM2RqzISUWtfjJeBRtvHAj-s4xvZFRD12B8KQFQqfFOMCsJx4_USYUEKIYkv0KZlTsxXsKH1kqiXagACaij_UhHSORSLfu5OMDslAEY9N3DmSwi3J6go05FZMzY1j-/s1600-h/09102007-728356.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBxMOHpMiM2RqzISUWtfjJeBRtvHAj-s4xvZFRD12B8KQFQqfFOMCsJx4_USYUEKIYkv0KZlTsxXsKH1kqiXagACaij_UhHSORSLfu5OMDslAEY9N3DmSwi3J6go05FZMzY1j-/s320/09102007-728356.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120777107238309682" /></a></p>Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-67587793315347113812007-09-26T12:40:00.001+03:002007-09-26T12:40:59.245+03:00Sweat<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I've seen the drops of sweat rolling.<br/>I've heard the drops of sweat hitting the ground.<br/>I've smelt the drops of sweat as they crawl on my face.<br/>I've tasted the drops of sweat kissing my lips.<br/>I've felt the drops of sweat taking the heat off me.<br/><br/>Now I know everything about sweat.<br/><br/><br/><p class='poweredbyperformancing'>Powered by <a href='http://scribefire.com/'>ScribeFire</a>.</p></div>Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-14248808344494775162007-08-27T20:26:00.000+03:002007-08-27T20:34:34.851+03:00Aid, Investment and Angelina JolieArvind Subramanian of the WSJ has authored <a href="http://www.cgdev.org/content/article/detail/14307/">this brilliant paper</a> on how foreign aid is stifling innovation in poor countries and goes on to explain how investment on local innovation efforts is more appropriate than charity.<br /><br />I love this line of thought. I always have.<br /><br />But Arvind goes a little overboard in saying this:<br /><blockquote>When Ms. Jolie appears on the screen calling for more aid, she not only distracts our attention toward her obviously good looks, she may also be distracting our attention away from the search for more effective solutions to helping the poorest around the world.</blockquote>Give that lady a break. Yes, she might be driving people to donate more, but people are not forgetting about innovation by just ogling her.<br /><br />Or are ya? Quit staring and code that software for those $100 laptops!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.loiclemeur.com/english/images/jolie.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 352px; height: 234px;" src="http://www.loiclemeur.com/english/images/jolie.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-37214515469154646492007-08-27T10:54:00.001+03:002007-08-27T10:54:24.965+03:00George Hotz<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/UGYqGooyLlo' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/UGYqGooyLlo'/></object></p><p>The new guru of hacking!</p></div>Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-76692797243532570332007-08-26T11:24:00.000+03:002007-08-26T11:27:32.246+03:00I'm a leftist libertarian!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAFBUh7q4pOY5MX_d-7vxJFo6mIE78m7vSl0HtPAgLvXzdW8FKUqDFAyYiW-aI6ITmpasQbkm8ijnv-UYmJjY1QzlTtgHQFnVrD249euBPsdJORo2rPgh3l7w_Dx_ObllPtFB-/s1600-h/cross.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAFBUh7q4pOY5MX_d-7vxJFo6mIE78m7vSl0HtPAgLvXzdW8FKUqDFAyYiW-aI6ITmpasQbkm8ijnv-UYmJjY1QzlTtgHQFnVrD249euBPsdJORo2rPgh3l7w_Dx_ObllPtFB-/s320/cross.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102922515751567954" border="0" /></a>According to this <a href="http://www.politicalcompass.org/test">sweet test</a> on <a href="http://www.politicalcompass.org/">Political Compass</a>.Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-61792956212697252612007-08-25T19:32:00.000+03:002007-08-25T20:06:50.554+03:00Keep oil out of the hands of terrorists?<a href="http://econlog.econlib.org/authorakling.html">Arnold Kling</a> writes <a href="http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2007/08/gas_taxes_and_f.html">here</a>:<br /><blockquote>Suppose that we used military force to take over oil, keeping it in the hands of private companies and taking it out of the hands of governments. This would not only serve my wife's purpose of keeping oil money away from terrorists. As I read Collier, such a policy would improve the governance and economic development of the countries afflicted with the "resource curse." We would be doing the people (as opposed to the governments) a favor.</blockquote>I have a very mixed feeling to this line of argument. For one, I hate the very thought of a rogue state sitting on tonnes of oil, the corrupt politicians/militia playing around with hookers all day while the people of that country rot in abject poverty. At the same time, a military intervention? By whom? You expect me to trust Uncle Sam? Are you on medication, son?<br /><br />These days oil companies are bigger than nations in terms of revenue. The biggest oil giants outrank every country in the world except 25-30 countries. (Check <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_world%27s_largest_companies">1</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29">2</a>). And I wouldn't trust the oil which my kids would need, entirely on them either. <a href="http://priceofoil.org/oilandstate/">Oil and state</a> are too intertwined to let anything good happen.<br /><br />What do we do? Beats me!Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-37342634864348905432007-08-25T11:21:00.001+03:002007-08-25T11:27:06.303+03:00I prefer cheese sandwiches. Thank you!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ch/2007/ch070825.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 525px; height: 165px;" src="http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ch/2007/ch070825.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I once remember <a href="http://parietallobe.blogspot.com/">Jay</a> said:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">How can you eat something that shits?</blockquote>I think that aptly explains why I'm a veggie.Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-18865479593678908752007-08-25T10:54:00.001+03:002007-08-25T10:54:24.524+03:00Content-Aware Image Sizing<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/c-SSu3tJ3ns' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/c-SSu3tJ3ns'/></object></p><p>Wow! Simply, wow!<br />If you've ever been into any sort of Image Processing/Resizing/Compression, or heck, if you've ever played around with images, you ought to see this!</p></div>Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997775.post-77359115925904447752007-08-24T19:12:00.000+03:002007-08-24T19:50:44.591+03:00Signs of agingI'm 21 and I think I'm aging? Hell, yeah!<br /><br />Life's different from the last four years that I spent in college. Pretty obvious, isn't it? A lot of things change. You can start listing all the clichés - Responsibility, Work, Focus etc etc. But the buck doesn't stop there. The change is a little deeper than what it seems.<br /><br />Right now, I'm sitting in a posh hotel room in an island in the Arabian Gulf; a couple of thousand miles away from a place I call 'Home'; suffocated by the opulence around me; and I'm reading about what I blogged exactly two years ago. And I start focusing on the change that is creeping in.<br /><br />It's amusing and well documented as to how you always feel that your posts a year ago were so immature. But, for a change, I felt there was a sense of innocent beauty and zeal in my posts a couple of years ago. I realized, I loved to debate on issues till I dropped dead. I loved to live in my own esoteric/poetic world. I loved to talk about life, about music that touches the soul, about love, about pain, about lack of achievement. The wheels rolled. Today, all that sounds romantic. But I have materialistic thoughts in my mind. I'd rather talk about people, about money, about petty politics. The fire no longer burns. All that exist are lame blames, isolated cries and a general apathy.<br /><br />As a corollary, I seem to have a relatively shorter attention span. Signs of aging! I'm shocked to see myself having written blog posts that span more than a couple of thousand words. Sorry, brother. Doesn't work anymore. I pushed myself a couple of weeks to pen this post, and I'm pretty darn sure I can't keep this running.<br /><br />So, what's in it for me? Well, this blog will see fewer, shorter posts. I probably saw this coming when I was introduced to <a href="http://www.tumblr.com">Tumblr</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com">Twitter</a>. The hard fact is that I almost shut down this blog today. Just before doing so, I flipped through my archives, and felt a stinging guilt of not being that flamboyant, happy-go-lucky blogger. And with that faint hope that someday I might return to writing, I leave this blog alive.<br /><br />For the record, my interest will now be focused on <a href="http://www.abhilash.name">Intoxicated by Possibility</a>, a tumblelog, a stream of consciousness, an online trail - call it what you want. And this blog shall stay, for those peaceful days when I am sipping coffee and feel the kid in me, yearning to write.Abhilash Ravishankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03145666406077007158noreply@blogger.com2