The LokPal Movement

The recent stir caused by Anna Hazare has had me thinking quite a bit. Thinking about the government, its mistake in trying to jail and then throw Mr. Hazare out of prison. Also about the LokPal bill, its implications, the support its received and whether or not people realize what it will do for them.

My own personal opinion is that the LokPal bill, while being a move in the right direction, will not solve any of the problems with corruption which currently plague India.

Lets stop for a second and look at what the bill proposes... That a sovereign body filled with people nominated from the ministers and people elected from the public will play watchman over other ministers to avert cases of corruption.

However, my primary contention point to the bill is that people from the public must be ELECTED.

How are people elected? By campaigning for a position of power.

Who has the money to campaign? An average Indian citizen hoping to change the fate of the country? Doubtful.

Hence, most campaigning in our country, as well as others, are supported and sponsored by the rich.  Therefore, lets weigh the chances of someone winning a spot in the "watchman committee" with a self/community-funded campaign budget or one sponsored by a minister / corporation? We all know the answer to this one.

If this is the case, then how will the Lok Pal bill solve anything? At the end it will be just another agency, controlled by the ministers and corporations (apparently corrupt) and filled with their puppets.

Who loses? Us - the common public.

Corruption exists because of greed. Greed is a part of each and every one of us - ask your self how many times have you thought "i want" or "if i had more" - it's all human nature. It's very easy to point a finger at someone and say "he took bribes" but, if you had an opportunity to make millions daily by ignoring the everyday needs of the public would you?

Therefore I ask - where should the blame go? What needs to be corrected? Corrupted ministers or us as a human race?

A great quote from how I met your mother

The great moments of your life wont neccesarily be the things you do, they'll also be the things that happen to you. Now I'm not saying you cant take action to affect the out come of your life, you have to take action, and you will. But never forget, that on any day you can step out the front door and your whole life can change forever.

You see, the universe has a plan kids. And that plan is always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings, and it starts to rain. Its a scary thought but its also kind of wonderful. All the parts of the machine constantly working, making sure you end up exactly where your supposed to be, exactly when your supposed to be there.

The right place, at the right time.

-How I met your mother, season 4, episode 22.

Ubuntu could be so much more.

I've been using Ubuntu (9.10 and 10.04) for about 3 months now. I think the philosophy of open source software is awesome, especially Ubuntu's which means "by the people, for the people".

The O/S comes with everything from an email client, to office productivity tools, games, photo editors, movie editors, mp3 players, and the list goes on.. and they're all free

Ubuntu is also easy to use, has an GUI that aims to be as simple to use as the MAC or Windows 7. But, the problem is that it requires a bit of knowledge, or atleast, the will to experiment and figure things out on your own. You can post your queries in the forums, but ultimately, executing the help is all on you.

Basic usage isnt a problem though, the os installs easily, detects all your hardware and poof, your all set to go.

Problem is though, that if it didn't detect any hardware (rare case) it would be a bit of a task to find the right drivers and install it.

Now, when you try and do things like stream media over the network to a ps3, you'll find steps online, which make it seem easy but sometimes, you might miss a small step and everything is out of whack.

Also, the system does seem to hang randomly at times, when using certain software (and this isn't just with my version).

I think, Ubuntu has tremendous potential, and if it could fix these small issues, and make the workings less visible to the user and focus on the task he wishes to perform, it has a chance to take over mass markets. But will it?

It seems its a simple trade off.. either you pick a proprietary system like Apple's and you let them control everything (how your data is stored, where, etc.), or you take on the decision -making with Linux, but with the ability to control how and where your data is stored, also comes the problem of understanding how the system works.

Though, if your looking for an alternative to Windows and Mac, I would definitely recommend you give Ubuntu a shot. All in all, aside from the small glitches, the system incorporates the best of both worlds.

The towing crew is back at Nariman point!

Khao Galli gets a visit from the infamous towing crew.

Parking in Mumbai

 

I was walking by my usual smoking spot below work when i noticed this marvel. I wonder how the driver got this close without actually touching the other car. Though, considering the way traffic actually works around here, should i be surprised?

Some thoughts of Wisdom

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain."

 Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone..

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
 

Warhammer 40000: Dawn Of War II - What a waste!

So what do you do when you wanna buy a nice new state of the art game to waste ur precious time on?
After doing my research on the kind of game I wanted I decided to buy Warhammer 40K Dawn of War II. High ratings on picky sites like gamespot and ign gave me the impression that this new "unique" concept would be an interesting play, something that is out of the ordinary.

While I decided to pick this over Red Alert 3, which I'm sure wouldn't have caused as much drama as this one. Not to mention, this game was 300 bucks cheaper, why? I guess I was to find out soon enough.

I got home excited, ready to play the game that, hopefully, could become my favourite pass time over the next few weeks or months.

Here is where the problem really starts... Once you try to install the game, it asked me to update Windows Vista to SP1. Alright I said, a long wait, a 400mb download, and a few restarts later I was geared up once more, to engage in the battle that was so highly spoken of.

Obviously, I was mistaken. Now, upon trying to install the game, the STEAM client (a launcher used for games produced by ValvE entertainment) needed an update. Using steam for any game, even if it is valve, is nothing less than a irritating, and frustrating experience.

So, another long wait, a big download an a steam update later, I was for a third time, hopeful.. that this was the start of the gaming rainbow.... Wrong once more!

Once steam was installed, it proceeds to update the GAME! Frustrated yet? I sure as hell was. I still am.

Sigh, you think, this has to be the end. No, no, not yet.

Once you launch the game, yes, you guessed it, ANOTHER UPDATE. This time, it was Windows Live for games. Which by the way, could not update itself from within the game, as most other windows products that "automatically" do things. I think microsoft should say they "automatically" screw things up.

Ergo, I found the update on line, another download, another install, a longer wait.

Now once all is updated, you try to log in to your Windows Live ID.. only to find that you have to PAY TO PLAY ONLINE! After all that freakin shit you have to pay these people money to continue frustrating you.

This is by far the worst game experiance anyone should be put through. There are a hundred companies that produce game, in a highly competitive market. Frustrating your customers isn't the best idea for repeat sales.

Are you listening THQ, Microsoft, and Relic?

The gameplay wasn't bad, but you really, really, really messed up the process. 4 updates, 4 different accounts to play online and in addition to the price of the game, there is a price to play online. Oh by the way, did I mention of the 3 races available, you can only use 1 if you play single player. Hence, to play with the other 2, you must pay them. Again.

In comparision, I look at my PS3 - albeit the games are more expensive. But a few bucks more means you can take the game, put it in your console, download 1 update (this time it really is automatic) and play online as much as you want - no more hassle.