World Peace

We all talk of world peace and how our life is inflicted by lack of peace in the world around us. I heard this story in context of explaining this.

A small kid was waiting on the shores of a sea. The kid's mother asked - "What are you waiting for? Why are you not taking your bath?".

The kid replied - "No No! Let all the waves settle down; then I'll take my bath."

This is how many of us are when it comes to peace. For certain we can make our perception of the world leave us without conflict and in peace. Yet, we disregard it and wait for the world to be in peace before we would.

On a related note, the more people try to bring peace in the world there only seem to be less of it ;). Think about it. Every war starts with the note to bring peace. It is interesting that we spend our efforts in vain efforts to bring peace to the rest of the world even before we realize peace within ourselves.

My Cousin Vinny

After quite some time I saw this hilarious comedy thanks to my friends recommendation. It was much more convincing since he had watched it before.

Really neat movie with a nice entertaining flow all through. I can probably watch it again for the dialogues. If you ever get a chance to watch this movie please pay attention to the dialogues. Thats when you'd get the most fun out of it. A good movie for light hearted evening (perhaps not with the kids though).

And then this movie Surrogates! A sci-fi flick with the regular story and action. Something unexplained in the end, but otherwise watchable once. Not really thought provoking or anything. Not the first of its kind but interesting. Twists, turns and a happy ending.

Riculous Products

Is it so hard for people to think how the customer would use a piece of software? Why in the world would someone write an installer for a piece of software that customers would potentially use only a few times on a machine? Beats my mind.

And so does Intel. I've been trying to use the Virtual XP Mode in Windows 7 and as part of the process I get advised to use in Intel Processor Identification Utility and check for the support. Now how many times would one want to use that? Not even a handful!

With such software plauging the PC world why wouldn't Windows suck? The OS is by itself a marvelous piece of work only surpassed by its monumental failure for having given power to the developers thinking they are *smart*. Most of them are NOT!

It is pretty disastrous to see a reputable software house coming up with something like this. End-customers end up paying the price for the developers technical inadequacies. Welcome to the world of bang-for-the-buck!

This is one reason why Apple products rule while the others plain suck. They let the customers do what they need to (for most part, read - bearing enterprise users), and not forcing them to do things coz of their engineers inadequacies. Apple split the consumer world into two - those who love Apple products and those who would do anything not to buy one just coz they want to be different (or can't afford blah blah blah) from the crowd.

Nothing else matters

The only thing that matters in this world is me. Everything else is what I've been taught by society since I was a kid to hold on to, nourish, account for blah blah blah - family, friends, world affairs, work and all the diurnal things we do.

As long as these thing satisfies our ego we feel good about them and we live obliviously thinking they are the purpose of our existance. We happily faily to recognize that we exist despite it all.

But the moment they no longer satisfy my ego which at some point they will in our lives, it dawned on me that perhaps the ONLY thing that matters is me. Perhaps a fallback mechanism to fulfill my ego?

All of a sudden I don't care a damn about anything else! Don't care about the past, the future, those nearby, those far away. It all fades away, in my mind atleast if not my actions. All this while I keep up with all of the bondages, etiquette and nicety towards these attachments without any thought or deliberation. They seem to have become part of my reflexes.

Perhaps my situation is similar to those for whome every square meal is a struggle. Nothing else matters to them but to satisfy the hunger. Why would anything matter when in dire need of basic needs.

Strange that it is in our nature to live for the present moment while we spend a lifetime living for the so call future no one knows about. And here I am doing my part thinking so much instead of living my present, a plausible proof to my depraved mind.

Now, what a load of crap this was :D. I need a life!

Cameron is back with Avatar

My most anticipated movie of this year. The Teaser Trailer was brilliant. ~ T-4 months and counting :).

No Opinions

Off late I don't seem to have strong opinions or rather let go of em quite soon.

I had this feeling of disgust over some desi people but then I realized I am not too different. Just that we vary at the level of cheapness. Turns out that those were unacceptable for me, while it could be so about me for someone else.

Perhaps the reason why every time I think of making a post I dump it coz I feel it doesn't make sense! So much for a post :)

In spite of us

Quite a while back I wrote a post on how we substantiate our existance in the name of others. Children substantiating their lives in the name of their parents, adults substatiating theirs in the name of their spouse and children.

We always have this thought that people depend on us and we have to live up for their comfort etc., in a way. But how often do you entertain the thought that they are going to be, "despite" us.

Imagine you cease to exist shortly. Every one of these dependents would continue to live one way or another, despite our absense. It is the very nature of existance - things exist despite others and not bound to the existance of others.

The only problem with this thought is it leaves people feeling of no importance, without attention and leaving their ego empty. Too much for the public I guess. Everyone wants to be a pillar and that they in as the purpose of their life.

On a related note, remember how we question the appropriateness of someone taking sanyAs, as we call it - "leaving their family behind". Lets put aside our instinctive counter arguments for a moment. It is all a matter of how we have been conditioned by society to look at this.

Try thinking beyong and perhaps you'll understand that everyone IS "Despite" you.

Following in AWE

No it wasn't some lovely girl or something such :). It was just a blind man walking steadfast with his walking stick. All I felt was awe and zilch pity.

It was just amazing watching him navigate his way sensing the world with the end of a stick. He stood right at the pedestrian crossing waiting for the pedestrian signal and beeps to go.

I couldn't differentiate the beep between the direction I was to take and the perpendicular one. But he did :). We could say I never had to or haven't trained myself to do it. Bit still it was an awe moment.

He crossed the road at the signal and so flawlessly handled the curb. He was steadfast and in fact was walking quicker than I. Okie! he was tall and had a longer stride (and thats to satisfy my ego)!

After our ways split I wondered how I've taken my vision for granted and have never felt a pint of gratitude for it. And it reminded me of this anecdote -

A blind man went to a doctor who promised to restore his eyesight. The doctor explained it all and said - "Once you get your vision you wouldn't need you walking stick anymore. You can throw that away :).". The blind man got a little scared and asked - "I understand that I will be able to see, but how will I walk if I don't have my walking stick?"

Reminds me of how institutionalized we get to become as we "grow up".