December 2012: The rise of reality

They or most of us thought that India had developed and arrived. IT parks, malls, multiplexes, international brands and cuisine, and latest Hollywood movies. We thought that the world started and ended with 8-10% GDP. And in the next 25 years, we would become another US. The only US of South Asia.

We never realized that our men had not changed. They were always the dominant species with everything within reach. Unlike the standards followed in the cubicles of IT companies, men in India never followed, never adhered to, and never needed standards for either them or to what is happening outside. The absence of nothing to rein them and the chaos of how to rein them was the greatest opportunity. Standards were a deterrent and they knew how to subvert them.

Long before today's IT coolies started enjoying life, Indian men were enjoying life, women, and liquor. In various forms and cheaply. They know where to find anything they wanted and they knew how to snatch or violate anything that prevented what they wanted. India was never difficult for men. Never. Power, money fame, women, sex, liquor; every one of these items (if it were a user manual, I would have considered a bulleted list for the items as per the style guide) was within reach at any time of the day. You only needed to look forward and never backward. Indian men laughed at those who migrated to western countries for pleasure and money. They laughed because they knew all these were available at a cheaper price in India.

So, December 2012 showed all of us how monstrous men are in India. After the chaos and protests, everything will be the same again. Unless, someone starts to really do something.  A research into why Indian men have lost their souls.

Indian cricket needs a new strategy

The Indian cricket team, which was defeated in the recent home Test series, appeared comfortable while playing the Twenty-twenty games. While the shorter version ended in a draw, with both teams winning a match each, the body language of the Indian cricketers looked much better. Frankly, I did not understand why the rookie pace bowlers were allowed to bowl the last few overs of the match.

So, create three separate teams for the three formats of the game. Let there be an exclusive Test team, ODI team , and T20 team. Ideally, I would like to see three captains, and specialist batsmen and bowlers for each format. Such a strategy will ensure that there will be variety, a larger pool to select the team from, and more opportunities for youngsters.

There is no point in continuing with the old strategy that puts too much emphasis on individual records and letting the greats play all forms of the game. Individual scores really matter when it results in victory or saves India from defeats.

It's time to change Indian cricket. We are repeating the same mistakes. Let us try something new and tap the talent available in this country.

For no specific reason

OK. I wanted to know what Application Extension really is. So, out of the three different definitions, I decided that the third one was the one I was looking for. The term meant that it was a "supplementary routine that adds capabilities to" the Java application I was working on. And a routine was a set of tasks. Then, I subscribed to a weekly email digest that brings terms ad their explanations to my inbox.

I know that my reading habits will put off people and friends. Because I cannot stand discussing the glories of pulp fiction and best-sellers that do not challenge the reader in any way. How to read books and alienate friends did recount the joys of reading good creative stuff from great writers.

A few anti-corruption questions

It is a fact that when the Congress party is in power or on an extended term, a slew of corruption charges are thrown at it with or without merit. So, things are not different now with a slew of allegations that started from the mistake of hosting the Commonwealth Games in the Indian capital city of Delhi.

Since every week, we sit mentally prepared to entertain ourselves with the latest shockwave of corruption. I would like to know a few things from the everything-we-say-is-right anti-corruption brigade:

1. What steps do you recommend to end corruption in India?
2. How will you ensure that the people in Lokpal would not favour a politician or not take a wrong decision?
3. Will your version of Lokpal punish the errant officers also along with the corrupt?
4. How will you ensure that the corrupt and criminals do not even have party membership?
5. What exactly is the development model you suggest for India so that poverty is wiped out? What is the time frame required to achieve this?
6. What exactly is your policy with regards to regulating real estate, private healthcare, and private education?
7. What exactly will be your culture policy?
8. How do you think that we can end the hostilities with China and Pakistan?
9. What exactly is your environment policy?
10. Will you conduct an audit of corporate, media and legal practices in India?

There are no answers, not even an indication of what their views are on this.

Politics in India is fought by maligning others. Wield the corruption stick, and voters will believe in anything that you say. So, only those who can beat them will win elections. That is, the corrupt doing all their best to defeat their opponents, even if they are good ones, using all means. That is the problem with India.

Lies, lies, lies...

When people lie, the Indian media just laps all of that up and regurgitates them on the reader or viewer. This is first of a periodic collection of such lies, half-truths, canards, unverified facts spread through the media.

There is nobody as minister from the North East. 

• A union minister is a minister of the Union of India. The minister represents the people of India and not his or her state. It is not a quota system out there.

Both the hosts Sri Lanka and Windies can win the T20 World Cup. Yeah.

• But you don't need a sports desk reporter in a suit to tell you that. Right?

India's  natural resources and their exploitation belong to the poor.

• When the media continued to pound our senses with this blatant lie, nobody bothered to check. Those who have read the Constitution of India knew that the natural resources belong to the Indian State and it can utilize them for the benefit of the nation and its people. People do not have inalienable rights to natural resources, unless specifically stated in law.

In Japan all nuclear power plants were closed following the Fukushima accident, and the government has decided to close all nuclear power plants by 2030.

• No media mentioned the fact that most of the Japanese nuclear power plants went offline, and 2-3 were working.

FDI in retail will make Indians eat more junk food.

• As if Indians are not eating junk food at all now.

Energy charges, protests, and consumers

In India, any hike in energy prices leads to a slew of protests, mostly by opposition political parties and mostly meant for the TV cameras. Yesterday, the Kerala state government announced a hike in energy prices across the board. The decision has met with opposition and the opposition political parties are conducting state-wide protests against the price hike.

Now, Kerala requires 3400 MW of power daily, but power from hydel sources alone is just 1600 MW. There are no other major sources of power. Since Kerala faces the biggest opposition in India in the name of environmentalism against new power projects such as hydel projects and thermal plants, all new projects land in controversy. Announce a project and the courts will be flooded with Public Interest Litigations (PILs), and the newspapers will be filled with statements and lengthy op-eds.

So, what exactly can the hapless people do in such a situation? The real solution depends very much on the immediate need for a change in mindset in Kerala, along with other steps to improve energy efficiency such as reducing power theft and transmission loss. One solution that should be immediately tried is solar energy as Kerala is blessed with abundant sunshine. The argument that solar cells or technology is very costly no longer holds true. Solar power can end Kerala's energy crisis to a great extent.

Protesters should understand that as the demand for power keeps on increasing, it will be difficult for the notoriously inefficient state electricity boards and the government to meet that demand. To supply power endlessly to the unregulated demands of the people doesn't make much sense in the long run. The truth is as energy supply increases, its consumption also increases. People are not going to use less power; instead, they will consume more and more based on their lifestyle.

The most environmentally sound solution then is to encourage less consumption of energy. Yes, this is a philosophical proposition. When energy prices are hiked, use less energy so that it contributes to the state pool and brings down the monthly power bills.

The greatest eco-friendly solution to environmental problems is instilling a culture of less resource consumption voluntarily. Switching off your TV for about an hour in the evening will contribute more to Kerala's energy crisis than empty, violent protests and statements by politicians and self-styled intellectuals. Energy, unfortunately, is no longer a subsidized good for people who can pay for its usage. It can be a subsidized good for Kerala's poor. If you want to pay less, consume less. If you want to protest the price hike, consume power less, and then pay less.

Inverted Pyramid in technical writing - A dissenting note

As a former journalist, I have written news stories according to the Inverted Pyramid style. As a technical writer, I have not tried that.

Writing user manuals according to the Inverted Pyramid style, which still is a distinctive characteristic of news writing, may work. However, I do have some reservations. What I would like to point out here to non-journalist technical writers is the "context" and "news values" that are used to select a news story is 'fundamentally different" from writing a section in a user manual. The "analysis" that precedes the actual process of writing in both the cases is entirely different.

For example, one of the important news value or determinant used to select a news story is "Significance." Any event that affects or interests a large number of people merits a news story. For example, the recent hike in petrol prices in India affects not just the entire population, but it has a larger impact on the economy as well.

"Proximity' is another important news value. An accident in Bangalore is given more importance than another one in Chennai. But if the accident in Chennai has more casualties, then that news may get prominence in the front pages. Similarly, "Prominence" is another important news value. For example, the Indian Prime Minister's comment on the economy may be given more importance than a credit rating agency's comments.

Moreover, certain news items will be presented according to the "slant" of the newspaper. The lead or the main story in one newspaper may not be the same as the one in another newspaper. The type of headline, whether it should be single deck or multi-deck, and the words used in each and every headline are very carefully chosen.

So, when someone says that the Inverted Pyramid style can be used in technical writing, then is it that the introduction becomes the most important section? So, is it that the procedural tasks are less important than the section introduction? I don't know.

Re-probe or reinvestigation?

"Call strengthens for re-probe into Yuva Morcha leader’s murder," said a newspaper headline.

Re-probe? Wiktionary says "to probe again", but the Corpus of Historical American English did not return any search results for either "re-probe" or "reprobe". Moreover, reprobe seems to be a molecular biology term than a word meaning "reinvestigation". To be more apt, it is better to use "reinvestigate" than re-probe.

Nadal blasts into the French Open Final

Rafael Nadal stormed into the French Open finals today by beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. 

In a match that spanned just one hour and 46 minutes, Nadal showed total control of the game after Ferrer made initial gains by winning a couple of break points. As the game progressed, Nadal's hard-hitting volleys and agility found no match in Ferrer who struggled to keep pace with the former, who is just one victory away from the seventh French Open title. Nadal showed no signs of slowing down as he continued to hold on to the remarkable run he is having in this edition of French Open.

Nadal will meet the winner of the second semi-final between world numbr one Novak Djokovic and third seed Roger Federer.

Rain did interrupt the match after the first set, but after a 55-minute break and with the Sun coming out, Nadal raced to win the rest of the sets in a pretty quick fashion. Nadal said that he would be matching the second semi-final as it would be one of the greatest matches in French Open this year.

Earlier, Nadal reached the semifinals by beating Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3, and Ferrer by defeating fourth seed Andy Murray 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2. 

Antibiotics and heart death

It was with some concern that I read the news that the antibiotic Azithromycin could increase the risk of heart deaths. Researchers at Vanderbilt University compared data of people who took the antibiotic and those who took other less dangerous antibiotics. The results showed a increased mortality rate for people who took Azithromycin and those who are already at risk of cardiac failure or those with cardiac illnesses.

Since I have no subscription, I could not read the full report published on the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). From what I understand, Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic, which prevents bacteria from multiplying by affecting their ability to produce growth proteins. It is known that macrolide antibiotics cause abnormal heart rates (arrythmias), but Azithromycin was considered safe like another antibiotic Amoxicillin. But the study by Vanderbilt researchers has proved otherwise.

For experts the estimated 245 additional cardiovascular deaths per 1 million cases may not be that significant, but this is an antibiotic that is frequently prescribed even in India. And poor souls like me have taken it.

I don't like IPL

I don’t like IPL. I am sorry to tell this. I don’t know the exact reason. But I still I do not like the tournament. May be, I don’t feel it is just cricket.

Cricket was serious, slow, and silent. May be that is the version I like. May be that is the misunderstanding I have. Cricket was not like someone’s metabolism gone haywire. The game was serious, thin, and decent. Stuffed with ordinary, decent, and quiet souls. It was never elite, vitriolic, or violent. There were only gentlemen, and not villains.

The beauty of cricket lay in hitting the ball through the ground, or not hitting it, or not hitting it over the  boundary line every time. Hitting the ball out of the ground, and using brute power to hit the ball over the green, thick bed of grass was more like unknown violence. Unnatural wooden acceleration against gravity. Man’s restless war against Nature. Sixes resembled violence against the leather, against the spectators, and against the bowler. More importantly, against the game.

The bowler was no longer a practitioner of the art of bowling; he was just a platform for fun, brutality, ecstasy, empty kisses, empty hugs, and victory bugles. And in the end, pity. Bowlers became poor and powerless as the ball soared along with the pride of the batsmen. Bowlers became something to be pitied; powerless against the strength of the demigods who unleashed brute power on the madness and the maddening crowd.

Batsmen: the lifeless medium of pride and profit, and 200-plus scores. They were the super class who showed the entire gullible world their other side. The faces were different and dim when the pitches were grass and solid, and the temperature freezing. When the pitch resembled the one in Dharmashala, the story was entirely different. It was these victorious knights who were powerless, while the ball flew hither and thither, and the bowler was the king. True warriors keep on winning no matter where the battles are fought.

The winning warriors that you see in IPL today may morph into tomorrow’s losers, or may vanish into thin air just like many others. Or, they may mutate into something much bigger than their IPL character.

Today, the millions, who have left their senses somewhere, may clap, scream, or jump for unknown reasons. Tomorrow, the seats they have occupied may be empty. And they may regret the time, effort, and money wasted on meaningless entertainment.

TRAI or Trai?

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is India's official agency entrusted with the task of creating and nurturing conditions for growth of telecommunications in the country. So, why can't newspapers in India agree on using TRAI, instead of Trai?

Trai suggests 20 cr fee for unified licence, screams Times of India. TRAI proposes Rs.20 crore for national level unified licence, says The Hindu newspaper. "One of the main objectives of TRAI is to provide a fair and transparent policy environment which promotes a level playing field and facilitates fair competition," says the official website.

So why Trai? People can view TRAI as an acronym or an initialism. But can these media biggies tell the readers why they prefer one form or the other?

December Noise

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lamented the other day that Indian science lagged China and promised increased GDP outlay for science and R&D.
When every child is brainwashed to become an enginner, doctor, or software engineer, and then settle "abroad" earning crores, who wants to be a scientist in poor and undeveloped India? Also, the establishment and the media still consider "satellite launches and Solar Eclipse" as the biggest science stories of the day!

"There is not only an absence of big ideas backed by political conviction, but there is also an intellectual vacuity," says an editorial piece in Deccan Herald.
It is not just in politics, in all spheres of Indian life there is a big hole. All we are bothered is how much skin has an actor displayed on our websites.Our media is hell bent to ensure we also have beauties who can expose just like Western beauties. Just like that!

Cannot help from saying that this is an excellent intro: "...a buyer is acquiring stake from a seller, largely using money lent by the seller, even as he benefits massively from an announcement-led boost in share price..." The headline is even better, Funded by RIL Trust, Network18 buys ETV channels — from RIL.
It will be interesting to watch these news channels from now on.
Bangalore police prove poor investigators with a dismal conviction rate of 12%
I don't think there would be many who might have thought otherwise. If the police take the same effort they employ to block traffic and clear the roads for VIP movement, Bangalore could have been a better place.