India

It is just a little weird when people ask me why oh why would you want to leave this wonderful country and go back to a country where:
Beggars fill the streets
Pollution fills the lungs
Men shove and jostle you in lines
Rich people are still succumbing to dengue fever
Water borne diseases are everywhere...

Now, I am not saying there is no difference, because if that were true, I would like living here. But the problems are everywhere...I cannot quit on something because it has problems.

Yes for some USA is a god sent release from micro managing parents, annoying inlaws and lower standard of living. But if that was the reason you live 10000 miles, why fake a connection with a place you don't really like to begin with? Why call India once a week, wear a saree on Diwali, make ready made samosas, watch cricket on the internet, arrange bollywood themed parties, talk about how corrupt Indian politicians are, wonder why India can't have such clean streets and hatch detailed plans about what US inspired business you will start once you go back.

And when exactly is that? When US doesn't need you anymore? When you get the pink slip? When you realize that India has huddled masses that will make for a great market for your company? When? And if and when you do go back, let us see how many of those entrepreneurial ventures you will start or even take part in. Let us see how many non profits you will voulnteer for if it is not needed in a college application.

Why would anyone want to live in a place where they cannot be themselves? And you don't become yourself just by changing your location. If you were waiting to come to the US so you could wear trendy clothes, go drinking at any time, smoke pot and swing, then there is something so deeply wrong with that, I wouldn't want to comment without consulting your shrink.

So do me a favour, if you love living here, continue, God knows India doesn't need more skeptic cynics. And when you finally get thrown out and only India will take you back, do not invite me to your thanksgiving dinner.

Going Gaga in Lala

Lady Gaga is 23 and she is talking about bad romance. heck, when I was 23, I didn't even know there were different kinds of romances. So much talent in such a small neat bizarre package.

The only person who trumps her in bizarreness is Adam Lambert. Both very comfortable with discussing their sexuality on TV.

You may think the taboos are reduced. But when it comes to music, people are not racist, sexist or homophobes. People love african american musicians, folk singers, nusrat fateh ali khan, madonna, shakira, rihanna, george micheal, etc.
But in real life, they fear the black, queers, muslims and sexual women.

So if you think this open display of sexuality will get people to accept things that they are fundamentally against, think again.

Ironically, they like the talent alone and in supporting the talent they end up supporting the person behind the talent.

Even if some of these are gimmicks, we live in a world where it has become relatively easier to talk about it at least if you are famous. Of course there is a long way to go before nobody's with absolutely zero fashion sense can pull off such things.

Thankfully, people are more accepting today of ugliness than they were. Exhibit A: Robert Pattinson.

How Google Docs is green

Conservation is a good thing. If you don't believe this, close the browser immediately.
In my need to be more green, I quit using paper around the time I finished studying. I tried to email everything that otherwise would get printed, used Notepad to make rough notes, used my PDA's drawing tool to make sketches of ideas and managed to get through without using much stationery.

Now giving up stationery is easy. But as a geek, not buying the latest computer is hard. My computer ran ok. It was too slow for my liking and the wide screen glossy models would call out to me everytime I crossed a computer shop. Some manufacturers have to add an 8% tax on the price of an electronic item because they cannot be recycled and lead to e-waste. Physically this electronic waste adds up to so much junk that would be better off filling landfills. But instead, they circulate back into our lives through the air and water because some unknowing lad in a shanty is boiling the plastic to get to the copper wiring and ends up with lead fumes from the paint lining his lungs.

So I thought about what I could do about the one slow computer, one broken computer and one out of date PDA. I installed ubuntu on the slow one, use the broken one as a stand-by because it has lots of licensed marketing software and the PDA is linked to my wi-fi so I don't have to boot everytime I need to check mail.

Which is when I started thinking about the non-immediate e-trash that will soon start clogging our unlimited mailboxes. I got Gmail in 2005 and I've already used up 22% and I delete unnecessary emails. So considering I will want to be checking email for the rest of my life, I am running out of space. Yes, Google says the space is increasing, but the rate sure is slowing down. One day Deepak asked me why I prefer Googleware to normal software...why do I have to type out a word document on Google docs or maintain an online notebook on Google Notebook. But it is not just a Google fetish. It just seems clean. There is just ONE copy of that document. Imagine mailing myself the notebook everyday before leaving for work and updating it. That would be outdated even for folks who still use My Briefcase. That one copy stays and changes on a need basis and even though formatting is a clown, it serves some basic purpose. It is almost like the choked arteries of the internet are getting cleared. Soon there is going to be a need to reduce creating trash in the online world and Google is leading the way.

Even with Google Wave, everything is under one tab. Yes, it leads to more communication, but they are building responsible and efficient systems around communication.