My Cupboard

Bribe to pay taxes

2009-12-23T16:45:00.002+05:45

There's a saying "Kahie Nabhayeko Jatra Hadiguan ma" meaning "It [some event] happens nowhere but here in Hadigaun". Hadigaun is a small town in Nepal. This is taken as a negative connotation and now applied in the context of Nepal. Everything, seemed improbable and unethical, happens here in Nepal.

I went to pay the yearly tax of my bike in the department of transportation. I stood in line (something like drawn by a baby) directly under the heated summer sun. There were two lines and hoards of people. I thought, wouldn't it be easy for people and the civil servants if there were several counters. But no. I was showing some sign of boredom and irritation, with sweat running down my forehead and trickling down to the heated floor and disappeared. Someone might have noticed it and whispered "Rs 200 if you are for yearly tax". What? Now I have to pay to pay. Then someone came over and asked if i came for bike transfer and that would cost Rs 700. That was for the quick service charge and the rate is fixed. I still have to pay around Rs 2000 yearly tax. I was determined not to do that. There had been cases where these middle man gave false receipts and in the end causing the victim to pay more money.

Finally after 45 minutes in queue I reached the window pane where I handed over my blue book (it's the bike ownership pocket size document). He told me to move to the next room window. I was given nothing - not a token of receipt. Later I realized that the people inside the other room would call my name and I would have to push through the crowd to get the document. In the next room I saw four people, one was signing it first and pass to the next person, who would be talking with another person next to him. He was signing it as if they were doing favour to us. Around 20-30 people were clinging to the window, they almost climbed. I was not sure if i would be able to hear my name - which would have to make through the buzz of people. Then this person, wearing jeans and tshirt, would stamp government logo. He would be rocking his chair as if watching some dramatic movie outside. Finally about half an hour later, I was relieved to hear my name. Relaxed. Others were shouting what happened to mine.

It was almost 2pm and there would be no more transactions then. It was clearly printed and nailed in the walls here and there. The extra service people started shouting immediately, "It's 2PM and now there's no point in standing in queue. They won't accept any more. Give it to me. I will have it done". The common man has no choice but heed to the call. I didn't have any more energy to stand there and observe what would happen next. People are openly asking for money to do the service, which would obviously be shared with the civil servants. Indeed, Kahie Nabhayeko Jatra Hadiguan ma.

Standing in the heated sun.

Almost there to hand over my blue book. Took me 45 minutes to reach here from where I began my race.

All the documents submitted to the previous room are brought to this room. I don't have any idea why there are so many people. See that red shirt person, he was rocking his chair and enjoying the show outside. He is the one who stamped on the document and who called the names.

People are flocking to get their blue blue back, signed and stamped. Looks like they are watching over the cage in some zoo.

Failed state?

2009-12-21T21:16:00.001+05:45

src: myrepublica.com

Social Networking Consultant at UNEP

2009-11-07T00:44:00.001+05:45

When we hear Social Networking, we, most of the time, think of Facebook. And then Hi5, Orkut, MySpace. These sites are often not desired by the employer, for their employees may substitute facebook for work. Well it's time that people understand the power of social networking. Kudos to UNEP, for they have announced for the post of "Social Networking Consultant". Html view at Reliefweb.

Google Wave

2009-11-07T00:34:00.000+05:45

Google Wave is certainly over-hyped as of now - many of my friends who just started were quite disappointed. The video was no doubt awesome and breath-taking. I also felt that it's easy to get lost in the wave. Just for the purpose of awareness only, I presented Google-wave to all the staff at my organization.

Google Wave Intro

View more presentations from anjesh.

Jainepal and The London Dreams

2009-11-01T09:03:00.001+05:45

If you've been to Jainepal Cinema Hall recently, you would notice that your ticket is scanned for barcode. The funny thing is ticket counter is right next to the entry point, where your ticket is being scanned and hopefully the information are being logged in to some system. Is it that the Jainepal Management is verifying that those who bought the tickets actually get to the hall or that the staff themselves are doing something fishy - not keeping proper records of the tickets sold. Or is it that the management is cutting down the price on the ticket cost - you would notice that a small 4 by 3" paper replaces the former flashy, little thick tickets. But the former contains the ads too. Also the ticket contains this warning "Restriction of Permission by Management" for doing what - they forgot to mention.

You must be wondering why I am writing this. The reason being I watched the worst movie to date - London Dreams. Even a quarter star would be a praise to the movie. I wonder why some directors or whatever underestimate and at the same time overestimate the audiences. The movie tries to tell you to the bits and pieces - that's ok but again they leave such a big incomprehensible hole that is nowhere to the verge of reality. There are dialogs at points who makes you crouch, shut your ears - especially that drama in the Wembley Statium infront of 90,000 people. It's a total waste of time, money and your energy. I was yawning most of the time. It's a test of patience - atleast for me.

Chicken Ala Carte

2009-10-29T15:31:00.000+05:45

The most powerful heartbreaking video I have seen so far. There are and will be people who criticize such videos - for they can't do anything but just make themselves feel bad. But still I feel that everyone should see it.

Of the 3,600 films submitted to the 56th Berlin International Film Festival, this video won the Green Unplugged Film Fest People's Choice Award.

This film is about the hunger and poverty brought about by Globalization. There are 10,000 people dying everyday due to hunger and malnutrition. This short film shows a forgotten portion of the society. The people who live on the refuse of men to survive. What is inspiring is the hope and spirituality that never left this people.

F-Bomb in Arnold's veto

2009-10-29T12:20:00.005+05:45

Once you see it, you can't unsee it. If you give up, just do the search. Don't ask me - search for what. $#%&@

Facebook for the deceased

2009-10-27T22:01:00.001+05:45

Facebook for the deceased sounds good for the dead - how about ghosts, who should be allowed to login and update status like "I just made him fainted", "wait... someone's freaking".

Barry Collins writes "We suspect it's only a matter of hours before someone is wrongly killed off on the social-networking site". I think many will share his views.

The pitfall of layout

2009-10-27T15:17:00.001+05:45

Doesn't it look like happy fours got arrested for stealing cash and goods? The print "The Kathmandu Post" was nailed in our office board tagged "The pitfall of layout". Indeed!!

Pirates: Who be this Google?

2009-10-26T22:46:00.000+05:45

Well if you don't know how pirates talk or better communicate in paper, then Google Pirate is for you.
Well Me Likes "open sack o' loot in a new browserrr window"

Tribute to Geocities and my experiment

2009-10-26T16:51:00.001+05:45

It was interesting to see xkcd's design changed to give tribute to fading Geocities. "Geocities" is the 14th most popular search item in google trends (US) too. Will the hits to this page be affected? Lets sit and watch.

Nobel Economics Prize for first-year grad student. Spoof?

2009-10-11T23:26:00.000+05:45

There are few facebook status updates on first year grad student winning nobel prize - mentioned on Greg Mankiw blog - a professor at Harvard University. The funny thing is no other leading news sites mentioned about it nor does the nobelprize.org. Why would Greg Mankiw disclose name before nobelprize.org. I would except to see that as a headline in bbc.co.uk and cnn.com and nobelprize.org, not some blogs. But Greg Mankiw blog. Hard not to believe and yet his blog read "Pfuffnick's Nobel Economics Prize triumph hailed by many". Many anonymous bloggers?

"Quintus Pfuffnick" - the student who supposedly won nobel economics prize - also does sound very alien, with 219 results in google. Nobelprize.org is yet to announce the winner. But already lots of discussion going on "Quintus Pfuffnick".

Wow, that's surprising. This guy will make a couple of senior economists very jealous.

It's satirical. It's absurd, but uses the same language used to justify Obama's peace prize.

This is what i got out of the Award being given to Obama.

Maybe its other countries showing their approval for Obama, which is important.

But hardly a good reason for giving a Nobel Peace Prize.

Was Quintus Pfuffnick also nominated for the award two weeks after enrolling?

Probably, especially considering that his admissions essay was a major factor in his selection!

I love the reference to the essay in the grad school application which, in Obama's case, is missing from all records

His grad school application? I'm pretty sure that Obama had a grad school application.

I'm not ridiculing Obama. I'm ridiculing the Nobel Prize committee.

Ok now - atleast apologise

2009-06-16T23:20:00.001+05:45

Isn't it hard to keep away from bad news when you are surrounded by nothing but bad news. Sometimes you are penalized for not keeping up with the bad news; that happened to me when I realized that people are flocking in queue at petrol pump and my fuel meter warned for refill. The fact being Terai remained closed since god knows when. And yesterday Kathmandu valley was closed because Maoists believed that their cadre Rajendra Phuyal was killed by UML Youth Wing - Youth Force. And now there's another news that Mr Phuyal death was caused by consumption of pesticide, Metacid. For a moment i felt like laughing. And I see nothing but stupidity. Similarly yesterday I was watching Avenvues News where some Maoist guy appeared on the screen and shouted "We [maoists] are not doing anything [closing down the valley], it's Kathmandu dwellers who are uprising against such atrocities by closing down the valley". Now you tell, what should be our reaction. Atleast I was expecting some apologies though their action will never be forgiven - torching the motorbike of doctor, vandalizing the media vehicles.

Looking back in 2008?

2009-01-02T16:00:00.001+05:45

The year 2008 saw the least number of blogs. I tried but never tried too hard to try. Now I can't remember what I did during the year. It's true that time flies and now i am having hard time trying to organize images up from the past. I remember reading an article from John Dvorak, saying internet is too much public. Why would i tell others what i am doing/thinking, why i am doing. But again, it wouldn't do much harm if people knew about me.

Some 2008 deeds that I remembered so far...

1. Self realization about blogs
2. Was in Colombo, Srilanka for a GDLN workshop
3. Joined MBA at ACE
4. Did several presentations at ACE college - ebay, web2.0, facebook
5. Got involved in a new venture
6. Made new friends
7. Travelled a bit around Nepal - Khasa, Dolkha, Ghandruk, Pokhara

It seems 2008 is the least productive. It is - one of the reasons being lack of proper journaling. Anyways I will update this list if I remember something, anything.

simple graphical presentation on Wiki

2008-12-30T12:33:00.001+05:45

I just uploaded my presentation on Wiki at slideshare, which I have prepared years ago. It just occurred to me that graphical way is the perfect way to get to the minds of people right away. Many people liked this presentation and its simplicity. So for the greater good, I uploaded this for you, if you have been looking for more easy way to grasp the concepts on wiki. Some animation parts are missing when you view online. Download to see it the action.

Wiki:Collaborative tool for building documents

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: wiki collaboration)

What was I doing?

2008-12-29T23:11:00.001+05:45

I still remember looking for some simple firewall file in the fedora box to add some lines. I had no idea that I had already written that somewhere. Guess where? It was published long back in my just-tech blog. I am feeling so stupid to find this information here in my own computer in ScribeFire which lead me to my own blog. Wondering why didn't i ever checked my almost dead tech-blog. I just realized that it was last updated a year ago. Hopefully next year will see more of my blogs here and there.

how to get justice

2008-09-11T22:28:00.001+05:45

I understand people are and need to be sentiment; otherwise they would be better termed insane. But obstructing others in the name of sentiment is not justifiable. Just to give you some background there was a long queue of vehicles all the way from Gwarko - the most happening place in Kathmandu interms of accidents. You are right, i got senti and just didn't find any better place to pour my emotions.

I was moving here and there just hoping for some space to squeeze through the crowd and I ended up wasting my time, energy and the most precious fuel. It took me an hour to reach my destination which otherwise would take maximum 20 minutes. If you calculate the same for hundreds or even thousands of others who faced similar circumstances, how justifiable is the blocking of road for the name of the dead. I heard that there was some killing of a person or some driver at that place by policemen. That was definitely wrong and the perpetrator should definitely be brought behind bars. I don't know how to ask for justice - whether by blocking the road or by asking for justice. If you look at the past, definitely putting pressure on the authority by causing pain to hundreds of civilians seems to give way for justice. The funny thing is it's the most easy way too. You just gather a group of people and hundreds of people will support you without going deep into the issue. How justifiable is this?

back in ..

2008-04-01T20:45:00.002+05:45

I have been asked by many people or better friends, why isn't my blogs being updated. I have no answer, perhaps just wanted to have some privacy. Yup.. people do know a lot about you from your writing - even there are tools that can differentiate the writing from male to that of female. Accuracy - machines. I don't know.

I realized that it's been three months and even more that I stopped my blogs; no it's postponed actually. So back in the road on the first of April - but definitely not an attempt to be a fool.
It's not just blogs that I was trying to avoid. I have almost stopped logging into hi5 - too much spams, and also much less facebook - just responding to friends' requests.

PS: It wasn't many people that asked me but just a handful of them. There's no harm if one wants to feel good :)

How should we judge people?

2007-12-10T22:40:00.001+05:45

"One Laptop per Child Doesn't Change the World" by John Dvorak caught my eye. After going through it, I find him quite sensible and thoughtful, nonetheless critical. His list of contributed articles were even more interesting...

Why Social Networks Stink
The Google Phone Is Doomed
What's Wrong with Open-Source Software?
AJAX and the Road to Bad Web Sites
Wireless Promises, Unmet
Online Shopping Frustrates Me
Don't Trust the Servers
Is Everyone Over 30 Useless?
Will the Internet Collapse?
The Mobile Phone Industry Must Die. DIE!

Ok! What would you make of him? An unhappy person frustrated with these techy happenings? Well I haven't gone through all of his articles but just listing, which ofcourse I learned from him. And I deliberately left out some articles like

My Top Ten Bright Ideas
Don't Give Up on Old Media

But the list is small :) Check out the list for yourself.

Worldbank largest ever support package to us: be optimist

2007-12-10T22:16:00.001+05:45

I am wondering if we should feel happy about the World Bank's largest ever support package to Nepal with US$253 million. As mentioned in the press release, the following projects will be undertaken: Poverty Alleviation Fund, Project for All, Irrigation and Water Resources Management, and Road Sector Development. It does sound convincing. I am optimist and definitely happy about it. But I am wondering if there's going to be a huge party for this occasion - by whom, where, I don't know. I just wish such things don't occur in the name of development and poverty, as realized by John Dvorak of PC Mag., on the over-hyped OLPC (one laptop per child).

[...]Every time I bring up this complaint [OLPC vs basic needs] to my Silicon Valley pals—usually as we race down I-280 in their newest Mercedes-Benz S Class sedan while listening to their downloaded music from their iPod to the car's custom stereo—I get flak. They tell me, "It's a start. Computers will save the world from poverty..."[...]

Nothing is better than something. Keep the hope alive.

Gmail by Microsoft

2007-11-25T21:48:00.000+05:45

Someone really got time for this. What If Gmail Had Been Designed by Microsoft?
Well just go through the pics. You will definitely agree with this someone.

Finally I get my machine running Linux

2007-11-18T21:27:00.000+05:45

I never dreamt I could ever install linux in my rather old laptop - considering my several attempts at installing susu, ubuntu, fedora causing berserk screen. My good pal suggested me "try Wolvix". Guess what - it just worked out of the box without any manual work - I am even writing this post from my freshly installed Wolvix Cub 1.1.0. I was not expecting my internet to work so easily in linux box - having heard bad and harsh experiences of friends in installing modem. My case may be different - i am using a router and cable internet.

I must say Catilyn Martin beautifully articulated review on Wolvix inspired me to write one. As I am writing this, I miss something from my not-so-beloved-yet-attached Windows XP. There are several applications I would love to have them in my Wolvix. Wordweb, notepad++, FoxitReader, just to name a few. There must be alternatives to all these - just need some exploration. That does explain I am a newbie linux user - desktop one - if I must say.

I even compared the boot time for both my XP and Wolvix. Well it took 30 seconds to get Windows logon screen while Wolvix took 56 seconds. Not bad. I should also inform you that my Windows XP is also freshly installed in my freshly plugged Hard disk; this may also have credited to the rather fast load time of XP.

I am a bit disappointed with the GRUB screen of Wolvix. Looks like few others are also sharing the same view as mine and it seems that I will always have to look at this shabby looking GRUB screen until the patch is available or the next version is released.

The other interesting thing is the constant watch on Memory and CPU usage right on the desktop. One can also turn it off if necessary. I don't think I will be able to use my other beloved app "ProcessExplorer".

For all those out there, wanting to use linux but never got guts to do so, should definitely try Wolvix. It's for the users. Just download the iso file from the site, burn it to CD, run as a live CD, use it/see the features and install it if it pleases you. If you are installing Linux for the first time, be sure to backup all your important data to the external storage. Be careful and read doc if you are installing on your own and for the first time.

nepali speakers count...

2007-10-24T22:42:00.001+05:45

Kudos to the NepaLinux Team for grabbing "APC Chris Nicol FOSS Prize" Award.

In Himalayan Nepal: Where language can propel FOSS

I was interrupted to see the number of nepali speakers - native and worldwide.

[...]The initiative began as an attempt to find makeshift solutions for electronically cataloguing books in the Nepali language (which has seventeen million native speakers, and an estimated 40 million worldwide).[...]

Wow where did this journalist Frederick Noronha find this number? I remember being told to be questionable whenever we see any numbers. On my quest to this uneasy and strange number, this wikipedia page on Nepali Language does infact have the same number

Total speakers: native - 17 million
total-appr. 40 million

What does this total mean - does that mean all the nepali speakers including natives or excluding?

Isn't it exciting to have such a larger user base. Indeed.
17 million at Wikipedia seems to be referenced from this site Omniglot.com, which has no references as such.

[...]Nepali is an Indo-Aryan language with around 17 million speakers in Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and India.[...]

Noticed "around"!!

Sometimes this does question the credibility of Wikipedia. Infact it does; even Jimmy Wales, the creator of Wikipedia, said "For god sake, you are in college, don't cite Wikipedia." in response to the complaints from the students, who emailed Jimmy, saying "Please help me. I got an F on my paper because I cited Wikipedia".

Ok still on my tiny quest and hanging within Wikipedia, I saw another page

[...]According to the 2001 national census, .... The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are Nepali (49%),[...]

Still from Wikipedia
Population: July 2005 27,133,000

Which means that native nepali speakers would be 13 million. Note the year difference. Granted for now.

We are still in deficit of 4 million native Nepali speakers. Maybe this number have been covered by now, as of today. And now I can't go on with my quest for another 40 million. Let it be for now.

happy me...

2007-10-22T19:30:00.001+05:45

Sometimes Worldlink makes me happy - 24 hours internet during Dashain since the eighth day.

Dashain or Dasa (misfortune)

2007-10-20T08:45:00.001+05:45

"Dashain ho ki, yo mero dasa, kati aayeko" meaning "Is this Dashain or is it misfortune (dasa), why does it come so many times?".

I wonder what percentage of Nepalese actually celebrate Dashain with new clothes, good food. For a country like ours with such high poverty rate, it's very unlikely that people actually take Dashain as a celebration but rather as a misfortune. Why won't they? Even if you take a walk around the city, you would see people laughing, carrying big smiles with heavy loads for dashain; and on the other side, you would see another group of people confused with what to buy, whether to buy or not, busy calculating in their head. You can actually read their faces, especially children. There are stories of people getting bankrupt during dashain - mostly in villages; this is the only time, children get to wear new clothes. I just wish every nepali may celebrate Dashain equally.