While watching the Lalit Modi vs Shashi Tharoor saga being played on the television, I couldn’t help reflecting on the frivolity of the exercise. The news channels were all bringing new facts in this case. Did those new facts make any difference to the viewers?
The point is, either you believed Shashi Tharoor or you did not (At least the first few acts of this play were about him before the government machinery got into overdrive). There were three kinds of people viewing these events.
1. Those who believed that Shashi Tharoor was telling the truth.
2. Those who believed that he was lying.
3. Those who didn’t care.
Since the media didn’t bring anything which could be classified as a game changer or something which could be called a clinching piece of evidence, people who were in any of the above three categories stayed right there; no matter what new facts were brought to light by the media (People were suggesting that Tharoor may not have to resign if Pushkar surrenders the sweat equity but the moment she did that, BJP said that it was conclusive proof that she was a proxy for Tharoor).
Bottomline is that the facts don’t matter, what we perceive to be facts do.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Why I hate the movie Rang De Basanti
I don’t hate Rang De Basanti because it propounds violence as a means to make your point.
I don’t hate it because its ending was a total rip-off from The Boondock Saints.
What I really dislike about this movie is that it has given rise to a bunch of sanctimonious people who can alternatively be referred to as the “be the change” generation. The moment you say that there is something wrong with your college/country/pretty much anything else, these people are at your throats asking you to either raise it in a proper forum (only god knows what that is), or you would be told that either you should change the system or keep your mouth shut (Have they considered the possibility that there may not be a system left if each one of the 1.2billion odd people strived to change it).
So the rest of us are not allowed to whine about anything, but these people are allowed to whine about our whining. As it is a case of selective trampling of right to freedom of speech, I see shades of communism in these people.
Bollywood should not even try to make movies that have a message, and this particular movie tells us why.
I don’t hate it because its ending was a total rip-off from The Boondock Saints.
What I really dislike about this movie is that it has given rise to a bunch of sanctimonious people who can alternatively be referred to as the “be the change” generation. The moment you say that there is something wrong with your college/country/pretty much anything else, these people are at your throats asking you to either raise it in a proper forum (only god knows what that is), or you would be told that either you should change the system or keep your mouth shut (Have they considered the possibility that there may not be a system left if each one of the 1.2billion odd people strived to change it).
So the rest of us are not allowed to whine about anything, but these people are allowed to whine about our whining. As it is a case of selective trampling of right to freedom of speech, I see shades of communism in these people.
Bollywood should not even try to make movies that have a message, and this particular movie tells us why.
Acer strikes back
The second visit to Acer was a little less pleasant as compared to the first visit, primarily because during the first visit I didn’t have the guts to entrust my laptop to them. Unfortunately I didn’t have the luxury of that choice this time around. There is only so much you can do with a laptop once you can’t even switch it on. And Acer has been kind enough to have just one repair center for the whole of Bangalore.
I gave them my laptop and I was asked to collect it later in the day. They promised to call me up and inform me once the power button was replaced, something they didn’t bother to do. I had neither asked nor requested them to call me once it was done, so why exactly did they make a commitment they had absolutely no intention of keeping is beyond me.
2 Hours Later
Anyways, I went back to collect my laptop. At times, I haven’t bothered to properly inspect my car once it has been returned by the service center, but somehow I didn’t feel that I could afford to make this mistake here.
I switched the laptop on (Thankfully the power button was working), but I just couldn’t click on the “logon” icon. I pointed it out to the person who had supposedly replaced the power button. His prompt reply was, “Sir, your OS is corrupted and therefore you are facing this problem”. WTF (Yes, I said that). Needless to state that this innovative piece of bullshit kick-started a brief exchange of words in which he tried to give all kind of bull explanations (I would much rather not repeat any of what I told him). Finally he made the mistake of trying to move from the realm of bull to facts.
He said that “I can prove it to you that your laptop’s operating system is corrupt and this is the reason the mouse is not working“. Obviously I didn’t let this opportunity pass. It would take some serious amount of technical skills to prove that the root-cause of an issue like this is a corrupt OS, and frankly speaking someone incapable of replacing a power button properly (and which is incidentally his job) is unlikely to possess such skill.
I said earlier that he tried to move from the realm of bull to facts. Actually I was wrong. He had moved from bull to bull++. His new arguments were twofold.
1. He said that he had tried it out and that the mouse works properly in the safe mode and therefore my OS is corrupt. (WTF)
2. The power button had nothing to do with the mouse and therefore I shouldn’t blame him for that. (Yeah right. I give you a laptop that works, you return me one that doesn’t and I shouldn’t blame you for that. Fortunately for me, this clown had actually logged into my system and hence he couldn’t claim that it wasn’t working earlier.)
I asked him to prove that that the mouse works properly in the safe mode. He tried. Actually he kept trying for the next 5 minutes.
30 minutes later
He came back with my laptop, and it was working. I was informed that while cleaning the laptop, somehow one of the cables was dis-connected and this was the cause of the problem. I logged in and in my opinion I checked it thoroughly.
2 Days later
I couldn’t use the mouse to scroll. :D
One part of me wants to go back there and give them a mouthful. The other part of me is reminding me of an old saying in Hindi, “Bhaagte bhoot ki langot bhali” .
I gave them my laptop and I was asked to collect it later in the day. They promised to call me up and inform me once the power button was replaced, something they didn’t bother to do. I had neither asked nor requested them to call me once it was done, so why exactly did they make a commitment they had absolutely no intention of keeping is beyond me.
2 Hours Later
Anyways, I went back to collect my laptop. At times, I haven’t bothered to properly inspect my car once it has been returned by the service center, but somehow I didn’t feel that I could afford to make this mistake here.
I switched the laptop on (Thankfully the power button was working), but I just couldn’t click on the “logon” icon. I pointed it out to the person who had supposedly replaced the power button. His prompt reply was, “Sir, your OS is corrupted and therefore you are facing this problem”. WTF (Yes, I said that). Needless to state that this innovative piece of bullshit kick-started a brief exchange of words in which he tried to give all kind of bull explanations (I would much rather not repeat any of what I told him). Finally he made the mistake of trying to move from the realm of bull to facts.
He said that “I can prove it to you that your laptop’s operating system is corrupt and this is the reason the mouse is not working“. Obviously I didn’t let this opportunity pass. It would take some serious amount of technical skills to prove that the root-cause of an issue like this is a corrupt OS, and frankly speaking someone incapable of replacing a power button properly (and which is incidentally his job) is unlikely to possess such skill.
I said earlier that he tried to move from the realm of bull to facts. Actually I was wrong. He had moved from bull to bull++. His new arguments were twofold.
1. He said that he had tried it out and that the mouse works properly in the safe mode and therefore my OS is corrupt. (WTF)
2. The power button had nothing to do with the mouse and therefore I shouldn’t blame him for that. (Yeah right. I give you a laptop that works, you return me one that doesn’t and I shouldn’t blame you for that. Fortunately for me, this clown had actually logged into my system and hence he couldn’t claim that it wasn’t working earlier.)
I asked him to prove that that the mouse works properly in the safe mode. He tried. Actually he kept trying for the next 5 minutes.
30 minutes later
He came back with my laptop, and it was working. I was informed that while cleaning the laptop, somehow one of the cables was dis-connected and this was the cause of the problem. I logged in and in my opinion I checked it thoroughly.
2 Days later
I couldn’t use the mouse to scroll. :D
One part of me wants to go back there and give them a mouthful. The other part of me is reminding me of an old saying in Hindi, “Bhaagte bhoot ki langot bhali” .
Monday, April 19, 2010
STP analysis of Consumer Behavior
Segmentation:
If you are looking for diversity in any course at IIMB, then look no further than ConB. Segmenting them is nigh impossible but, hopefully due to my enhanced “globe” skills thanks in no small part to ConB and Rambo, I will make an honest attempt here. The eclectic bunch of students in ConB can be classified as follows:
1. Marketing fanatics
2. Finance hopefuls: These are the sorry bunch of folks who had the minimum possible bid points left and were therefore forced to select the elective ConB.
3. Masochists
4. Deaf: Anybody who kept his/her ears open knew that unless you intended to experience Ahmedabad at Bangalore, you were well advised to stay away from this course.
5. Idiots: My favorite, simply because I am in this category. Having slept through the summer placement process, I believed that I was almost stress-proof. Have I ever been more wrong, ever in my life?
Targeting:
Statutory warning: Anyone not belonging to segment 1 would do well to stay away from the course, unless of course you are in segment 3. Folks in segment 3 may be under the erroneous impression that they are in for a treat; please be forewarned that the experience may prove to be a bit too overwhelming (and that is a gross understatement).
Positioning:
To understand what we have gained and others did not (I know using “gained” is a case of a very wrong choice of word), we would need to understand the positioning of ConB with respect to other subjects.
If I had a penny for each time he said “Either I can teach you or I can be nice to you”, I would still be in penury. The 200 odd pages long course guideline does not even hint at what was in store for us. Sorry, my mistake. It does, but no one I know has read it end to end. Maybe our junior batch will have a prequel course next year, which would test their proficiency at the course guidelines.
Mentioning other courses in the same breath as ConB is blasphemy, and I refuse to indulge in heresy by doing so. Suffice it to say that it is a multi-dimensional course which will open your “globe chakshu” like no other.
If you are looking for diversity in any course at IIMB, then look no further than ConB. Segmenting them is nigh impossible but, hopefully due to my enhanced “globe” skills thanks in no small part to ConB and Rambo, I will make an honest attempt here. The eclectic bunch of students in ConB can be classified as follows:
1. Marketing fanatics
2. Finance hopefuls: These are the sorry bunch of folks who had the minimum possible bid points left and were therefore forced to select the elective ConB.
3. Masochists
4. Deaf: Anybody who kept his/her ears open knew that unless you intended to experience Ahmedabad at Bangalore, you were well advised to stay away from this course.
5. Idiots: My favorite, simply because I am in this category. Having slept through the summer placement process, I believed that I was almost stress-proof. Have I ever been more wrong, ever in my life?
Targeting:
Statutory warning: Anyone not belonging to segment 1 would do well to stay away from the course, unless of course you are in segment 3. Folks in segment 3 may be under the erroneous impression that they are in for a treat; please be forewarned that the experience may prove to be a bit too overwhelming (and that is a gross understatement).
Positioning:
To understand what we have gained and others did not (I know using “gained” is a case of a very wrong choice of word), we would need to understand the positioning of ConB with respect to other subjects.
If I had a penny for each time he said “Either I can teach you or I can be nice to you”, I would still be in penury. The 200 odd pages long course guideline does not even hint at what was in store for us. Sorry, my mistake. It does, but no one I know has read it end to end. Maybe our junior batch will have a prequel course next year, which would test their proficiency at the course guidelines.
Mentioning other courses in the same breath as ConB is blasphemy, and I refuse to indulge in heresy by doing so. Suffice it to say that it is a multi-dimensional course which will open your “globe chakshu” like no other.
Monday, April 5, 2010
The latest twist
As always, the unkindest cut always comes from people closest to you.
Poor Shoaib Malik.
He got kicked in his nuts by his own countrymen (As if Aaj tak and Indiatimes had not done enough already). Apparently, Women's rights activists in Pakistan are now trying to defend him. Either this is the first time that the women's rights activists are speaking on an issue and defending a man, or this is a case of what I think it is.
Now I am left wondering about the connection between Shoaib Akhtar's genital warts and Shoaib Malik's gender.
P.S.: For god's sake, get married already and spare us from any more of this "Tamaasha".
Poor Shoaib Malik.
He got kicked in his nuts by his own countrymen (As if Aaj tak and Indiatimes had not done enough already). Apparently, Women's rights activists in Pakistan are now trying to defend him. Either this is the first time that the women's rights activists are speaking on an issue and defending a man, or this is a case of what I think it is.
Now I am left wondering about the connection between Shoaib Akhtar's genital warts and Shoaib Malik's gender.
P.S.: For god's sake, get married already and spare us from any more of this "Tamaasha".
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