Dick Laurent is dead.

SOPA or How I stopped worrying and learned to love the MPAA.

2012-01-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

Last week was intense. The protests against SOPA and PIPA scared the shit out of the senators, and in all likelihood, the law in its current form will not be passed. As a retaliation, Megaupload was taken down the next day of the protests. And then Anonymous takes down Department of Justice, MPAA, RIAA and Universal Music. But this is not the end of it; MPAA CEO, Chris Dodd basically blackmailed the Obama administration for not supporting him over the bill.

Usually, real world issues are not this simple and a bare-bone "if someone complains we take you down" law is not adept for dealing with the piracy situation. To solve it, one needs to understand why almost everyone who uses the internet resorts to online piracy at some point or the other.

The most obvious reason appears seems to be an absence of a regulating authority, and this is what SOPA and the erstwhile DMCA try to address. But that alone is not the source of the problem.

Non-availability of content locally is one of the primary reasons why someone would download a game or a television series or a movie. This is more prevalent in Asian countries where you really don't have options for getting the content (eg. Amazon). Very few TV series / shows are ever shown in these countries as the market for them is not big enough (or at least perceived to be not big enough; this is changing though - shows like South Park and Dexter are being shown in India; albeit heavily censored). Buying DVDs for these shows is not feasible as the shipping rates are very high and the exchange rate is usually very prohibitive.

However, the gaming industry has responded quite well to the piracy problem; they have released "low price editions" of their games which are region locked. And it is working. Even Microsoft has released "low price editions" of Windows 7 specifically targeting this region. Furthermore, the introduction of "Free-to-play(F2P)" games has significantly improved relations between the gaming industry and the consumers. Major titles like "Team Fortress 2", "World of Warcraft", "Starcraft 2", amongst others, are available free-to-play, with certain restrictions. Just go look up on Steam and usually you will find a lot of games with the F2P tag, and a lot of offers on many popular titles. (I got TES IV: Oblivion for $5.00 this November).

Speaking of Steam: the movie industry needs to do what Steam has done for the gaming industry - content available on demand. I own like 13 games on my Steam account and I got a lot of them via offers. I got a game for free from Valve as a Christmas present! The gaming industry is definitely trying to be a lot more flexible to counter the piracy problem and needless to say, it is definitely reaping the rewards.

Of course we have websites like Hulu and Netflix where some shows are available online to watch with commercial breaks and additional content made available by paying for an upgraded account. This is the direction that the entertainment industry should head toward, rather than bogging down the internet with quick-fix laws.

All these innovations seem to be working. In 2011, Torrentfreak reported a sharp drop in online music piracy. Major contribution to this has also come from Youtube. What the MPAA needs to realize is that archaic laws will do them no good and a finer understanding of modern market dynamics will do them a lot of good in the long run.

B-Anna-na Republic

2012-01-16T23:34:00.000-08:00

Well since I am not in India right now, I might not be up to date with the whole Lokpal thing. However, since I was in India when the whole fiasco happened, in all its glory, I feel I can comment on it at the very least.

The concept of Lokpal sounds very fishy to me. It almost reminds me of this clip from Futurama:

The Lokpal system seems like a path way to dictatorship. At the very least, it will result in more bureaucracy, because, if the Lokpal wants, he can try to undermine the system.

The problem of corruption cannot be solved by this quick-fix. There needs to be more transparency in the system, and the right to information act was a step in the right direction.

Also, as tax-paying citizens, we need to use a strengthened RTI act to keep the government on its toes. We can't just employ a Lokpal for fulfilling our duties. If we are as diligent in paying taxes, we can be as diligent about finding out where our money is being spent.

Also what sucks is the choice of elected representatives in India today is limited to ultra-socialistic (Congress) or the ultra-nationalistic (BJP). Our multi-party system has been reduced to a two party system, which leaves us with two bad choices at most times. I have begrudgingly cast my vote to a particular party in each election because I rather not see the worst of the two evils in power.

I think moving to preferential voting (look it up on the internet) would definitely improve the stagnant situation of Indian politics.

Getting back to the topic, I think that whole Lokpal business is a charade pulled over the Indian middle class to diverge its attention away from inflation, the weakening rupee and the general state of disarray in the country.

And I hope they haven't pulled it off.

Back.. in Eastman color.

2012-01-16T22:24:00.000-08:00

Yeah, my blog went through a hell of its own, called spam. I have no idea what happened, except that I got banned, and now, whenever I log in from an unknown PC, I get a verification call from Google.

But I am happy to see my blog back. I thought I had lost it for good. I got to get back to PSCAD so got to keep this short. The simulation will save my hind tomorrow.

Cheers to the rejuvenated blog!

The last haircut

2011-07-29T06:44:00.000-07:00

A dream that began three years ago comes to fruition. Lot of shit happened, went into a total meltdown for some time. The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind kept me alive in troubled times.

I haven't learned how to cook yet. Will DIY it there. Planned on reading a lot of stuff, probably will carry it there to read. ReIL has not paid me a penny. Yeah, things have not gone to plan.

My ex-boss tried to subpoena me. All he will ever get is this virtual digitus medius as my final salute. You had your chance.

My bags are packed, almost, and I am raring to go. Not missing anything yet, guess it is too early to think about that. Leaving behind everything I know. Going outside Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat. Flying. Lot of firsts there.

So will this gamble pay off? Guess it is up to me now.

MJalomania - brought to you by Viacom®

2010-01-25T21:45:00.000-08:00

It has been 7 months since Michael Jackson died, and Viacom®, why don't you just beat it? Last night I saw a guy wearing a MJ t-shirt, and trust me, I wanted to believe that he was a genuine Michael Jackson fan.

Why don't you all dolts just eat shit and die?! All you have to do is die now, anyway. You arseholes are already on a super diet of MTV - VH1 sponsored scat since you ever laid your baby steps into adolescence!

Berserk!

2009-08-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

"In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some kind of transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God, hovering above? At least it is true, that man has no control, even over his own will."

Thus begins Berserk! And thou shalt be treated to the most violent, sexual gore-fest that narrates the life of a young medieval warrior, Guts. This anime is definitely not for kids / adults pretending to be kids, etc (you get the drift). No bullshit political correctness, no smart ass comments, no feel good guys! Just Guts, monsters, naked warrior women and a slab of steel that Guts calls his sword. The storyline is gripping, artwork is nice (the manga). You got to read it / watch it to believe it.

I will not go into the story, but I promise you this, it will change the way you perceive "cartoons" and "comics" totally!

Geek speak

2009-03-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

Its been some time since I posted anything, and it has been mostly due to lack of motivation. Not to speak of my kick ass job, because of which I am considering shifting my accommodation to my cubicle. Frankly, the only thing stopping me from doing so, it the absence of a bathroom at my workplace.

So, this is the first post of geek speak, for make benefit glorious non-geeks.

1. Difference between a newb and a noob:

George W. Bush: President for 8 years. The quintessential noob.

Barack Obama: He is the newb.

2. What is pwned? How do you pronounce it anyway?
Answering the second question first, you can either pronounce it pawned or owned, but it does not matter. Geeks do not talk, they type.
As far as the first question is concerned:

was pwned by

That's it for now, geek speak will be back...er....hmm.

This site falls under the jurisdiction of the Sovereign Republic of Cartmanland and it is legally binding that you do the following if you disagree with any content on this site:
1. Stop right now
2. Minimize all windows.
3. Go to My computer>>C drive.
4. Select windows folder.
5. Press Shift+Delete and then Enter.

Sue you guys! I am going home!

Just fuck IT off!

2009-01-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

I hate IT! I just can't elaborate how much I would want them off the face of this planet!

All these IT-wannabe-nerds (really lame, you are a wannabe, that too a wannabe nerd, self pwnage redefined) can't just stop blabbering about some software or some 'language' they know. Now this might impress non-geeks (non-technical people), but for me, the quintessential geek, you are just as stupid as they are. Trust me non-geeks, its no big deal, its just syntax (one of those words they use while they try to sound all important). Anyone can learn them, just as anyone can learn a regular human language.
If that's not enough, they got these IT jokes/puns. My office PC wallpaper reads "For IT related queries, call XXXX. That's IT!" And its not just this, I am pretty sure everyone has atleast seen such taglines/puns. We get it, IT can also be read as it, enough with it already!
And those IT guys working for REL are so pathetic, I can solve most of the problems in my office related to PC malfunctions. And they take a whole day to get the PC up and crawling. Basically their approach is, if there is a bug, reinstall the software. Great going dumbass!
The problem is way too many people, who don't know shit about coding, jump into the IT bandwagon, because according to the Wired magazine, "IT is the way to go!" (If you get it, you travel by BEST buses a lot these days, and yeah I am). Listen up dumbasses, just by learning the syntax, you don't become a genius overnight! They are called geniuses for a reason.

It wouldn't have made much difference to me, if the REL IT department hadn't been such a pain in the ass. So if you are an IT guy, and you feel offended, you know whose cojones you got to pull out.

Kill yourself, Naturally.

2008-12-31T07:25:00.001-08:00

Do you wish to kill yourself? Are you considering sneaking out vials of KCN solution from your chemistry lab? Then read this first.

Conventional toxins like KCN and methanol cause harmful side effects, as they take effect on your body. Methanol is known to produce blindness as you die. Surely you would like to donate your eyes after you are dead, so why use these harmful chemicals?

Or if you are toying with the idea of ODing on Baygon, Hit, prescription drugs, cocaine, etc., there might be unknown side effects that may afflict you. Some of these effects might not even have a cure. Even worse, in spite of all attempts, chances are you might not even die. Do you wish to lead a life of shame, where peers would take potshots at you for failing at dying?

Switch to nature therapy. Nature has a vast experience spread over several million years on developing potent cures for boredom, depression and loserdom. Nature therapy works fast, and with precision. You can choose from a variety of neurotoxins and haemotoxins, each producing specialised effects on your body, with a constant result - death. Or if you are in the mood for something flashy, you can enjoy them all at once, thus ensuring that you go out with a BANG!

All our products are type tested as per IEC standards, on a vast genome of all the herbivores that ever existed on this planet. The fact that most of them went extinct stands testimony to our finesse.

So before your life becomes more pathetic than it already is, kill yourself. Naturally.

The nameless identity.

2008-11-29T23:34:00.000-08:00

I was watching the Roadies-6 auditions right now, and I was reminded of how I was an Indian. Now I will not go into the interconnection between the two, because: a.) It is trifle & b.) I don't want to digress.
And then I was reminded how I was a Hindu, a Kshatriya, a Marathi and what not. And then I thought, fuck this shit, I am Govind Chavan. And then I RE-membered (sorry for this stupid play on words, pathetic), I was named after the idea I hated. Really, what am I? Everything that I am associated with is something I truly loathe from my heart.
And why do you need to be any of them, anyway? Is there some additional morality you get from being an Indian? Do you need to be an Indian to know what is right and what is wrong? Its vanity at best: irrationality is what I think it is probably.
I recall what Tom Araya said in 'A Headbanger's Journey':

"Regardless of whatever fucking religion you believe in, whatever it is you feel is right, everybody knows what's wrong. Everybody knows there are wrong things, there are things that you just do not do. And the people who do not understand that, they are not really connected with themselves, spiritually."

Thankfully, as a saving grace, there is one thing I can call as my own: being an electrical engineer. Notably, amongst all the classifications, its the only one I chose to be.

Plea for a cause.

2008-11-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

The Indian government needs our help.
Do something.
ANYTHING.

Mein Führer, I can walk!

2008-11-22T08:37:00.000-08:00

Click on the image to see in full resolution

Having fun in Microsoft Paint. Fans of Mr. Stanley Kubrick and Dr. Strangelove will appreciate this!

Random thoughts.

2008-09-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot these days, as my M.S. plans are thrown asunder by, paradoxically enough, a very good placement in Reliance. As if being in CTS - the best department in REL - was not enough, I am working for the 300 MW Butibori power plant project, at least for the next two years. So things are getting really interesting.
Before I digress any further, I return back to the topic at hand.

a. Heavy Metal kicks arse, fuck you impressionable loonies!

b. You are a sellout if you do an MBA because of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

c. Indian Mujahideen is an army of eunuchs.

d. The current Indian government is a crowd of pussies.

e. Lehman Brothers is exactly what happens when you ignore the RISKS. They are called risks for a reason.

f. Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris.

g. IM better blow up that traffic signal at IIT Bombay.

h. Power Transformer: More than meets the eye.

i. Chinese people do sound funny while they speak English in their Cantonese accent.

j. Water, water all around and not a drop to drink. A perfect metaphor for the 273 Mbps internet access at my office PC.

Whoa!

Secession, or national integration?

2008-09-07T05:05:00.000-07:00

As the dust settles down over the entire Kashmir situation, I sit back and reflect on the entire situation (taking time out from my crowded Sunday schedule; which meant sleeping less). Some of these ideas are reiterated from an article in the Sunday Times; though, be rest assured that I thought about them too, so I am not plagiarizing here.

When I was apprised about the secessionist agitation in Kashmir, my opinion was, if the people of Kashmir feel that they want independence from India, then they should get it; the idea stemming out from the right to self determination. As Indians, we fought for it for 150 years, and finally won it in 1947. Mr. Swaminathan's article on Kashmir drew parallels between the princely state of Junagadh and that of Kashmir, but let the bygones be the bygones.

On the other side, we have talks about national integration. What is the idea of an united India anyway? If I think about it, I see nothing fruitful coming out of it. Maybe its the vanity of our leaders and the electorate in general. The way I see it, it is a large group of people trying to force a rule over a certain small group of people.

Of course, all this talk is valid if a definite majority of the people in the Kashmir region want the secession. That makes the plebiscite all the more important.

As for the Indian people, the point is, will there be a difference in our day to day activities if Kashmir secedes from India? The Constitution of India has conferred special status on the state of Jammu & Kashmir, as per article 370. So if Kashmir secedes from India, they stand to lose that. Furthermore, if they chose to accede to Pakistan, it is common knowledge that the political and social situation there is worse compared to that in India. Also, Kashmir is not self sufficient. So they will have to trade with India. We are sort of maintaining a white elephant here, people.

One more point of view exists, however. It says that, we have invested so much already in the Kashmir region, that it makes it ever more difficult to divest and give up that region. Thus, the situation boils down to the decision whether we should hold the hand, or should we fold and cut our losses.

As I write this, I recall this anecdote from Vice City Public Radio (VCPR) from the PC game GTA: Vice City:

Alex Shrub: Do you know what the constitution says?

John F. Hickory: Yes, its talks about freedom, freedom for Florida. We have to build a river, a river of hope, that flows into the sea of freedom.

Ebullience.

2008-08-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

Date: 30th August, 2008.

In a previous article, I had vehemently reproached the extended vacation imposed on me, due to circumstances. A month after that ordeal, I find myself in a totally antithetic situation. It has been 26 days since I joined Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. (ReIL), and so far, the experience has been exhilarating.
As an old adage says, a difficulty is actually a dissembled opportunity. Absence of reliable infrastructure is the biggest crisis facing India's growth today, and our visionary chairman, Mr. Anil D. Ambani, has taken over the mantle to improve India's infrastructure to global standards. Being a person from Mumbai, I do not have to endure scheduled power outages, though I hear a lot about it from my not-so-lucky friends. The issue of rolling blackouts, which was sometimes treated with levity amongst my group, is nevertheless a very serious issue. Also this point speaks laurels about the effort taken by Reliance Energy to maintain uninterrupted power supply in their region.
But this is just the beginning. ReIL plans to implement power projects over the next five years, with a gross power rating of over 28,000 MW. To understand the colossal nature of this figure, here are some facts: As of 2008, the total developed generation capacity in India is around 120,000 MW. The Planning Commission has chalked out the 11th plan, according to which, 78,500 MW capacity is to added over the existing capacity. That makes ReIL's contribution a whopping 35.66%! Two ultra megawatt power projects, one in Sasan, MP, and the other at Krishnapatnam, AP are already being commissioned, with each having a capacity of over 4000 MW. Truly, we are dreaming big! And dreaming for a better tomorrow!
So where do we fit in this grand scheme of things? We are the ones to realise this dream, so that our future generations can live in a Power-Full India. The task is daunting, filled with hurdles. The test of fire awaits us. Will we succeed? Or shall it be a Requiem for our dreams? These sure are exciting times.

Stranger in the night.

2008-08-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

Nature continues to amaze me. How can anyone think God made all this?!

Well what prompted me to write this post is the blooming of a beautiful flower last night in my house. Not that I'm of the flowery kind, though.
So about this flower. Its scientific name is Epiphyllum oxypetalum, it is often incorrectly referred to as Brahma Kamal (lotus of lord Brahma), which actually grows at about 4500 - 5000 metres in the Himalayas. It is also called as 'Bakawali', I think.
But what is so special about it? The plant is pretty weird itself. The new leaves of this plant sprout out of other leaves. The plant produces flower buds only once in a year, around the July-August period, which sprout out of leaves too.
The flower blooms at night. It bloomed around the 9:30 pm mark yesterday. The fragrance is mesmerizing, not too strong, but you feel it around. After blooming for the entire night, it deflorates.

Some pictures I took last night:

How many you have, faggot.

2008-08-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

Most of you will remember that annoying Titan FasTrack ad. Some stupid females hanging upside down from trees, repeating the nonsensical "How many How many How many", while they stare at effeminate males wearing FasTrack watches. As I write this, I recall more stupid precursors to this ad.

Everything about the FasTrack campaign oozes unique, trendy, cool and corporate. The brand name has the unique merger of the T's of fast and track, which appeals to the new age youth who type in SMS and CaMeLcAsE. Their website takes this new age-hip hop-bling bling-xtreme-do the dew attitude to an entirely different level.
The website is a collage of all that's 'cool', because the corporation tells us what is cool. You see some white (not as in Caucasian) people fiddling with the ball, a black (not as in Black) person roller skating, and another black couple making out on a bench (looks like it). The other people stand with thumbs up their arse while a white (as in Caucasian) guy grins at you with all his hip hop paraphernalia.
I was actually trying to find the product catalogue, but they had creatively renamed it as 'style lab', because doing so is 'cool' as it makes you unique. The next page asked me to select gear, and I remembered they had a trendy 'eye gear' range too. But more on that some other time.
The catalogue page is stylized as a scrapbook placed on a wooden table to give it a unique look, because all unique new age people maintain scrapbooks. There is stationary, books and a JAM magazine scattered on edges, as all cool and happening people read the JAM.

So the watches. The FasTrack team believes that a truly unique watch is the one which makes time reading as difficult as possible. This can be achieved in a number of ways. Non circular dials is an easy way to do this.

However the most unique style would be to make reading time difficult in a circular dial.

By fusing the above two unique styles, the team created a freak monster spiderman watch that ate them up.

BANG! IN YOUR FACE! HOW COOL AND UNIQUE IS THAT!

I conclude this piece with a Siamese twin timepiece (I can't call it a watch).

A beautiful collision.

2008-07-27T06:21:00.000-07:00

For the past two days, I have been surfing the Hubble Space Telescope website. For the slow, HST is NASA's eye in the sky, bringing HD images of distant galaxies, nebulae, novae and star systems to NASA scientists and laymen alike.

So I went into the galaxies section, and found this:

As per the appellation, the above two galaxies numbered NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 are collectively termed as the Antennae galaxies. These galaxies, which are about 45 million light years away from our own, are undergoing a collision. The regions of impact are also the places where rapid star formation is taking place.

It is quite surprising that such collisions are a commonplace in the universe. Our own native galaxy, the Milky Way, is said to be on a collision course with its companion, the Andromeda. Scientists predict that the collision is not due for another 2 to 3 billion years, however. Here's an artist's rendition of the predicted collision:

Surely a view to die for! ;)

Put that stylus up yer arse!

2008-07-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

OK, in cellphones, there is this one thing I don't understand, other than their ridiculous model numbers and acronyms, is the touchscreen enabled phone. I have been trying to find the usefulness of the touchscreen, and besides saying, "OH! HOW SOPHISTICATED I AM! I GOT A TOUCHSCREEN PHONE ACTUATED WITH A PLASTIC PHALLUS!", it's sure an invention that has brought in nothing good for the human race in general.

In fact I have a found a use for the stylus and the touchscreen phone, but there's a catch. You need to learn kanji. Kanji, the character set that forms the basis of Japanese language, is one of the few character sets big enough (around 50000) to warrant a touchscreen interface. Touchscreen is pretty useless for the pathetically small 26 plus 10 alphanumeric character set English has. Although if you prefer to write in Devanagari, you might consider buying that MotoRokr.

But if you don't, you better bend over and stick that stylus up yer...

What actually prompted me to make this post was this incident with my good friend, whom I shall not name here. It happened like this:

This friend of mine, codenamed FB, was playing a mobile game on his mobile phone. Pretty normal right? Oh yes, I forgot to mention that his phone had no keys! So I asked, "Hey FB! How are you playing this game with your stylus alone?" So he explained, "See, I cannot play games directly on this phone, so I "ADAPT THEM" with a software on my PC and then install that game in my phone."

But my question was not answered. "How do you play the game, dimwit, without any keys?"
Now this part is better explained with a diagram (or two).

He said,"See, while playing the game, my touchscreen gets converted into a virtual keypad (see above). So in the game, if you have to press key 1 on your keypad, I touch my stylus at the appropriate square (see below)."

And then I stopped asking. Because I realized that the touchscreen was asinine and inane. First, you remove the keypad. Then after a millennium, you realize that you got your head up your arse. So, as a last ditch effort, you assemble an IT team to remove that head off your arse. But no matter what you do now, your hair will carry that stench until you burn it or shave it off!

For a bit-by-bit analysis of another useless device, visit this great website:
[ http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=segway_more_complicated_than_it_needs_to_be ].

Non Serviam

2008-07-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

"I will not serve."

- Son of the Dawn.

"Better to reign in hell, than serve in heav'n"

- Satan, in Milton's, Paradise Lost.

Blasé.

2008-07-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

I am experiencing the impossible, I am positively abhorring vacations. The wait! The fucking wait for my joining date! I was contemplating joining Siemens! I thought of joining a GRE class, which I did! And they took a 14 day break! What's with people?
And amidst all this, there is this confusion regarding what kind of work will we have. Though, right now, I am willing to take any damn job so that I can end this miserable period in my life.
Most of the people I know have already started working, or will do so in the coming week. My date with Reliance is a full two weeks after that! All I do is seed torrents, watch movies, social networking, eat and sleep! And I am enjoying none of it.

As I am writing this, I recall Eric Cartman from the "Go God Go" episode [ link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_god_go ].

PS: I joined ReIL finally, safe to say that I made the right choice.

Why Tony Montana is so cool.

2008-07-03T06:44:00.000-07:00

I love Scarface. I love Al Pacino. I love Tony Montana. Here's why.

Manny: You know how you pick up chicks in this country?

Tony : What the fuck was that? What you just did?
Manny : That's it that's what you do.
Tony : That is disgusting.
Manny : Watch (does it again).
Tony : Uh! Look at that! What a fucking thing...like a lizard! Like a bug coming outta your mouth!
Manny : I figured you wouldn't understand. But the women in this country, when you do that, they know.
Tony : They know what?
Manny : They understand. They...they go crazy. It takes a lot of practice but you gotta learn,because women love when you flap the [beep].
(A woman walks in close in a bikini)
Tony : She looking at us. Hey esse, go ahead, you think you could do with her, eh?
Manny : I think I can do with her.
Tony : You wanna try with her?
Manny : Why not? You gonna watch?
Tony : Go ahead Romeo! Do your thing!

Manny : You be quiet! Just hang back!

Manny : You are looking very pretty today. I was watching you from over there.

Girl : You're sick!
Manny : Bitch! Lesbian!
Tony : Hey! Come on! What I told you? In this country, you gotta make the money first. When you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the woman.

What is common between llello, benzoylmethyl ecgonine and coke?

2008-07-03T03:45:00.000-07:00

They are all banned! Also, they mean the same thing: Cocaine. So we are talking about narcotics! Now lets get some history about cocaine huh!
Cocaine is an alkaloid obtained from the leaves of coca plant. Coca is primarily cultivated in the South Americas, in the Andes. Through treatment, cocaine is extracted from these leaves. Cocaine is one of the most popular narcotic drugs around, seconded only by Mary Jane. Cocaine was once used as medicine, and was also an ingredient in the soft drink, "Coca"-Cola, or "Coke".

So what happened? People slowly realized that the friendly faced cocaine is really a demon in disguise. However it would be 1970 until cocaine was listed as a Controlled Substance in the USA. Today cocaine is a universally banned drug, and possession of cocaine can lead to a death penalty in some countries.
So why am I writing this? Am I a drug baron advocating its use? NO!! Hell no! Lets talk about another plant, shall we? Tobacco. Tobacco contains nicotine, yeah we all know that, and also that it kills you when you smoke or chew it. According to the WHO, tobacco smoke is the second biggest cause of death worldwide, and is reported to have been responsible for the deaths of 100 million people in the 20th century [Source : http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/mpower_report_full_2008.pdf ]. As of today, Bhutan is the only nation to have banned tobacco sales [Source : http://www.slate.com/id/2112449/ ].
Or should we talk of ethanol, the alcoholic beverage? Lets also talk about your 18th birthday, the special day you acquire magical powers from the Government to digest alcohol (only light alcohol, you receive extended powers to digest strong alcohol only when you are 25) and filter off nicotine from cigarette smoke.

I sooo hate you guys! Screw you guys! I'm going home!

Google Adsense - sometimes it makes no sense.

2008-07-03T03:07:00.000-07:00

Before I say anything about Google Adsense, I must introduce the two parties associated with this screw up.

A. Rob Darken - Guitarist, founder of Graveland, a Polish black metal band. His music mainly deals with pagan pride and bringing death to all Christians alive. His ideals abut Nationalist Socialism, but he has denied any affiliation towards it.

B. Google Adsense - An initiative to bring relevant ads to your website. Adsense matches ads with your site content, and you earn money when visitors click on them.

So why am I talking about this? Look at the screenshot I came across some time ago.

[ Click on the image to view full size ]

How can you screw up this bad?!

Epilogue.

2008-06-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

It should be obvious now that Raj Thackeray is targeting the North Indians because he is trying to undermine SP and BSP. If he really wants "immigrants" out of here, he would have talked of the Gujarati and South Indian communities too. But he didn't, as they fall under allies (BJP, etc.) . This is all being done to gain political mileage and nothing more.