Recession seems to be the new buzz word. Every one seems to be throwing this word around now-a-days. Guess that’s what happens when news channels keep bringing up the losses to the banking sector and the bad loan write offs. But while everyone seems to know about the real world banking problems anyone seen what has been happening on second life recently? Well I guess if you were regular players you would know that Linden labs pulled the plug on some financial institutions in the game. People not too familiar with the game might be tempted to say big deal its all part of the game. Sadly my friend, that was a long long time ago. With an exchange where you can change your real dollars into Liden Dollars, there have been lots of stories of people making their fortunes on second life. Of people giving up their real lives and careers to pursue the same on second life. A Google search on “making money in second life” threw up a mind blowing 30 MILLION results
So how do you draw the line between what is real and what is make believe? Is there a distinction between the two? I think that disappeared when real money went into the game. It was no more a game meant for fun and recreation. Events there were as real we wanted them to be. Why does that cause a shiver to run down my spine? I guess it reminds me too much of a Matrix like universe.
17 Feb 2008
24 Jan 2008
Google everywhere
I recently received the following picture in my mail. It reminded me of this post that I had written more than a year ago. With you tube, picasa and others under its belt now, there are more areas where Google has penetrated and penetrated our lives. With Google phone that is rumored to have text ads and free subscriptions on its way, need I say more?
31 Dec 2007
The Cost of a Medical Degree
I was recently reading an article in “The Week” ( A weekly magazine) that claimed a 5 year MBBS degree (A basic degree in medicine after 12th standard) in China with an additional 1 year internship cost a total of 7 to 11 lakh only. This it claimed included tuition fee, boarding, lodging, flight charges, and hostel rooms that boasted of broadband connections, washing machine and microwave ovens.
Naturally I was skeptical. As far as I know, the average cost of a medical seat in India was much more than that per year. And many places don’t have even half the facilities listed here. My first thought was that these were some little known colleges. However, the article stated that these were top of the rung colleges in China.
Though there are several questions about whether these degrees will be recognized in India I couldn’t help thinking about the supply and demand equation here in India. Around 6 years back I had heard of a friend’s family who paid 43 lakh for the first year MBBS course (management seat). What justifies these prices? Why are parents willing to shell out so much for their kids to become doctors? Is it a investment whose returns are well worth the initial capital?
I am inclined to think that we are obsessed with our kids becoming engineers and doctors. The emotional attachment of the same makes parents blind to the other considerations. Even if the child is not cut out to become a doctor or engineer the parents push their ambitions onto their kids. While this isn’t true in all cases, it certainly holds good for a majority of the cases. The mushrooming of hundreds of engineering and medical colleges around the country which churn out non employable graduates is being documented by numerous surveys. One such survey stated that hardly 25% of the engineering graduates in Karnataka were employable. They didn’t have the soft skills and / or the knowledge to be hired in companies.
While the figures might be debatable, I feel that there is no smoke without a fire. The demand is much more than the supply. Fly by night operators and sub standard colleges are cashing in on the irrational demand. Whether the Chinese colleges belong to this category or are really providing quality education only time will tell.
In the meantime maybe we should take a good long look at our beliefs. In this day and age, with so much information available and the numerous career options open to people, one cant help but wonder why such an irrational demand persists. Is it because we wax eloquent on this topic to others and THEIR kids, but heart of heart want OUR kids to be doctors / engineers?
Naturally I was skeptical. As far as I know, the average cost of a medical seat in India was much more than that per year. And many places don’t have even half the facilities listed here. My first thought was that these were some little known colleges. However, the article stated that these were top of the rung colleges in China.
Though there are several questions about whether these degrees will be recognized in India I couldn’t help thinking about the supply and demand equation here in India. Around 6 years back I had heard of a friend’s family who paid 43 lakh for the first year MBBS course (management seat). What justifies these prices? Why are parents willing to shell out so much for their kids to become doctors? Is it a investment whose returns are well worth the initial capital?
I am inclined to think that we are obsessed with our kids becoming engineers and doctors. The emotional attachment of the same makes parents blind to the other considerations. Even if the child is not cut out to become a doctor or engineer the parents push their ambitions onto their kids. While this isn’t true in all cases, it certainly holds good for a majority of the cases. The mushrooming of hundreds of engineering and medical colleges around the country which churn out non employable graduates is being documented by numerous surveys. One such survey stated that hardly 25% of the engineering graduates in Karnataka were employable. They didn’t have the soft skills and / or the knowledge to be hired in companies.
While the figures might be debatable, I feel that there is no smoke without a fire. The demand is much more than the supply. Fly by night operators and sub standard colleges are cashing in on the irrational demand. Whether the Chinese colleges belong to this category or are really providing quality education only time will tell.
In the meantime maybe we should take a good long look at our beliefs. In this day and age, with so much information available and the numerous career options open to people, one cant help but wonder why such an irrational demand persists. Is it because we wax eloquent on this topic to others and THEIR kids, but heart of heart want OUR kids to be doctors / engineers?
25 Sept 2007
FM radio comes to town
Recently I noticed one of my colleagues on the bus to work fiddling with his phone through out the journey. Being my usual naïve self, I asked him if he was facing some problems with his phone. After he managed to stop laughing he told me that he was listing to the radio. Yes. FM radio has come to Surat.
There are presently 5 channels:
Radio City 91.1
Big 92.7
My FM 94.3
Radio Mirchi 98.3
Akashvani 101.1
Personally I prefer Radio City and Radio Mirchi. My listening is mainly to and from work which is roughly 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM and 5 PM to 6:30 PM. The songs are pretty popular Hindi numbers. However, the commentary is in Gujarati. For the poor people like me, who would like to listen to the radio and don’t follow the local language, all I can say is this is your chance to pick up Gujarati. English songs seem non existent, though there was a global top twenty on Saturday night at around 9 PM.
That apart, a strange thought struck me today. While flicking through the channels, I suddenly felt like a scientist twiddling with a Geiger counter. Call me crazy, but the thought refuses to get out of my head. The similarity is striking. I didn’t know that FM radio had launched in Surat, until recently. Similarly, you never know the radiation that you are exposed to without the help of a Geiger counter.
We have hundreds of studies on the effects of a modern lifestyle on our health. Have we ever considered the number of radio waves that we are being subjected to? I mean I just realized that I am being bombarded by five more types of man made radiation on a daily basis. My miniature Geiger counter (read as cell phone) shows me 5 FM channels, and four mobile networks (Hutch / Vodafone, Idea, Cellone, Airtel) are bombarding me with their signals. The signals of Reliance are out of its range I think. So exactly how many more of these man made radiations am I being subjected to? How much can my body take? Is there any law governing them? Am I being paranoid? Is the work load getting to me? Am I being incoherent? Guess I should take that break now.
There are presently 5 channels:
Radio City 91.1
Big 92.7
My FM 94.3
Radio Mirchi 98.3
Akashvani 101.1
Personally I prefer Radio City and Radio Mirchi. My listening is mainly to and from work which is roughly 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM and 5 PM to 6:30 PM. The songs are pretty popular Hindi numbers. However, the commentary is in Gujarati. For the poor people like me, who would like to listen to the radio and don’t follow the local language, all I can say is this is your chance to pick up Gujarati. English songs seem non existent, though there was a global top twenty on Saturday night at around 9 PM.
That apart, a strange thought struck me today. While flicking through the channels, I suddenly felt like a scientist twiddling with a Geiger counter. Call me crazy, but the thought refuses to get out of my head. The similarity is striking. I didn’t know that FM radio had launched in Surat, until recently. Similarly, you never know the radiation that you are exposed to without the help of a Geiger counter.
We have hundreds of studies on the effects of a modern lifestyle on our health. Have we ever considered the number of radio waves that we are being subjected to? I mean I just realized that I am being bombarded by five more types of man made radiation on a daily basis. My miniature Geiger counter (read as cell phone) shows me 5 FM channels, and four mobile networks (Hutch / Vodafone, Idea, Cellone, Airtel) are bombarding me with their signals. The signals of Reliance are out of its range I think. So exactly how many more of these man made radiations am I being subjected to? How much can my body take? Is there any law governing them? Am I being paranoid? Is the work load getting to me? Am I being incoherent? Guess I should take that break now.
24 Sept 2007
World cup for World peace?
Finally a world cup comes to the billion strong country after what seems like ages. India lifted the world Twenty20 world cup. But in my jubilation i couldn't believe my ears when I heard Shoaib Mallik, Captain of the Pakistan cricket team state, ' I would like to thank my country, Pakistan and all the Muslims around the world...'
He didn't thank anyone else. Not fans. Not supporters. Not well wishers. Not..... I am stunned. I mean, I know cricket is a religion for many people, but to thank only people of your faith???
With the following that cricket has and the surge in viewership for today's finals between India and Pakistan, I feel he should have chosen his words more carefully. After all "world cup" events are meant to celebrate harmony and understanding between people of the world.
He didn't thank anyone else. Not fans. Not supporters. Not well wishers. Not..... I am stunned. I mean, I know cricket is a religion for many people, but to thank only people of your faith???
With the following that cricket has and the surge in viewership for today's finals between India and Pakistan, I feel he should have chosen his words more carefully. After all "world cup" events are meant to celebrate harmony and understanding between people of the world.
17 Sept 2007
Big brother
Be scared! Be very scared!!!
In continuing with my previous post on matters of convenience take a look at big brother watching you
I think that we are giving in too much for this "increased surveillance against terrorism". There are more people dying of diabetes and heart ailments than those dying due to terrorism. Do we see the government enacting compulsory morning walks or gym sessions?
In continuing with my previous post on matters of convenience take a look at big brother watching you
I think that we are giving in too much for this "increased surveillance against terrorism". There are more people dying of diabetes and heart ailments than those dying due to terrorism. Do we see the government enacting compulsory morning walks or gym sessions?
5 Sept 2007
Grow up
Ok. I’m pissed and I need to vent some steam. My room mate had borrowed my helmet and I needed to go to a close by (not close enough that I could walk) shop. This traffic cop stops me and slaps a nice big fine for riding without a helmet. Ok. So I broke the law. But my question is why should there be a law?
I know the benefits that wearing a helmet gives. It was just that I took a conscious decision due to the prevailing circumstances. Is that a crime? “Yes, it is” says a friend of mine. Criminals are not born. They are made, goes his argument. Ok. Maybe I cant generalise the statement. Let me rephrase. The government says that I am an adult since I am over the age of 18. But it refuses to treat me like one. If I chose to not wear a helmet, though it is for my own safety, why should they bother? Why should I be fined for CHOOSING to disregard my own safety? I am not a child that needs to be taught what is right and what is wrong.
Ah…. There in lies the problem. Everyone tells you to grow up and behave like an adult, but they refuse to actually believe that you could. How do you expect people to behave like grown ups if you keep treating them like kids?
A friend of mine is attending one of the reputed coaching classes for CAT. He was telling me how half the students in his batch are attending the class only out of fear of the coaching center calling up their houses. Our future managers are not considered mature enough to take their own decisions AFTER having paid close to 15,000 to 20,000 for the course?
No. this is not a isolated incident. A friend of mine is studying at IIM – Indore. He was narrating how there is a ten o’ clock in time. Though we might be tempted to brand it as just “one of those rules” which no one takes seriously, it wasn’t so. Two students came in late one night and gave the guard a name of two of their classmates who were in another country taking part in an exchange program. The whole final year batch was called in and were told that placements would be on hold until the culprits confess.
“Culprits”???? If faculty at the premier Indian Institute of Management Indore cannot trust their students to decide how to manage their own programs, how do they trust them to take decisions that will affect not just corporations but the society at large? And if this is the attitude of IIM – I, I can’t even begin to imagine how the other “Management” schools treat their students.
Yeah. I guess I need to grow up to the fact that the rule makers will never be able to treat me like a grown up since they haven’t grown up themselves to know the difference.
I know the benefits that wearing a helmet gives. It was just that I took a conscious decision due to the prevailing circumstances. Is that a crime? “Yes, it is” says a friend of mine. Criminals are not born. They are made, goes his argument. Ok. Maybe I cant generalise the statement. Let me rephrase. The government says that I am an adult since I am over the age of 18. But it refuses to treat me like one. If I chose to not wear a helmet, though it is for my own safety, why should they bother? Why should I be fined for CHOOSING to disregard my own safety? I am not a child that needs to be taught what is right and what is wrong.
Ah…. There in lies the problem. Everyone tells you to grow up and behave like an adult, but they refuse to actually believe that you could. How do you expect people to behave like grown ups if you keep treating them like kids?
A friend of mine is attending one of the reputed coaching classes for CAT. He was telling me how half the students in his batch are attending the class only out of fear of the coaching center calling up their houses. Our future managers are not considered mature enough to take their own decisions AFTER having paid close to 15,000 to 20,000 for the course?
No. this is not a isolated incident. A friend of mine is studying at IIM – Indore. He was narrating how there is a ten o’ clock in time. Though we might be tempted to brand it as just “one of those rules” which no one takes seriously, it wasn’t so. Two students came in late one night and gave the guard a name of two of their classmates who were in another country taking part in an exchange program. The whole final year batch was called in and were told that placements would be on hold until the culprits confess.
“Culprits”???? If faculty at the premier Indian Institute of Management Indore cannot trust their students to decide how to manage their own programs, how do they trust them to take decisions that will affect not just corporations but the society at large? And if this is the attitude of IIM – I, I can’t even begin to imagine how the other “Management” schools treat their students.
Yeah. I guess I need to grow up to the fact that the rule makers will never be able to treat me like a grown up since they haven’t grown up themselves to know the difference.
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