bangalorekaapi is now here
Like most people, I procrastinate. Often, whenever the thing I need to get done seems hard, or fuzzy, and the deadline isn't close enough, or the reward not immediate enough. I think we as a species are wired like that - save the energy to run hard/climb that tree for a possible crossing of paths with a predator rather than worry about making a shelter/planting a crop for a few months later. The fact that we still do a lot for the future - even goals years away - speaks a lot for our powers of imagination, projection...
Imagination.Builds bridges across unfathomable divides Gives hope in the darkest hour And also gives way to dark hours in broad daylight Makes love possible Yet creates hate out small disagreements And divides indivisible bonds Makes the journey beautiful, worthwhile, Seeks the next cloud when you get there Shrinks the world into a connected, obvious space Discovers unexplored layers of places you've lived in forever It does this and that, and leads you everywhere Joy, trepidation, hope, sorrow, despair Can...
We're pretty interesting as a species. We experiment, spend time/effort/money to make automobiles just that 5-10% more efficient. Even a light 1000kg car - with 2 passengers - essentially uses most of the power to move itself. We invented CFLs, LEDs and increasingly way more efficient forms of lighting. To light pathways, roads, streets and places with a near-zero human population or movement all night. In fact, a city is praised for "being well lit" all night even tho the number of bulbs faaaaar outnumber...
The pressure of choosing the best job, best car, best home in the best neighbourhood to live in, the best gadgets to fill the house with, take the best vacation at the best destinations, fly the best airlines there and pay extra for the best seats if we have to, use the best phone/comp, the best data provider, see the best movies in the best theatre in town followed up with dinner at a restaurant with the best reviews, and oh - also try and get the best deal on all this somehow - is making so much of the world leave...
As the debate around the Jan Lokpal, corruption, etc gets more nuanced, its worth considering systemic changes. Yes, we need more impartial and effective policing, we need make giving and taking bribes "uncool". We also need to restructure governmental work, and political rewards such that For employees, the salaries and remunerations are attractive enough (esp true for policemen and teachers - not just in govt schools) for enough interested folks to want in. There are incentives tied in to our benefits...
[ Update : have added a resources section at the end to keep adding documents, different points of view around this issue. ] Its totally amazing how Anna Hazare has been able to get folks to rally around his cause - we've not seen this level of a more-or-less spontaneous, widespread outburst of public opinion in a long long time - especially from the usually cynical middle class. What next ? Yes, the emotion is probably worth it - if it wakes up the political class and sends the message that some lines have...
Saw an ad for some Waterfront or Lakefront Villas in Whitefield. There seems to be a massive artificial waterbody that ensures every house has a "lake view". There are similar "luxury" projects promising private pools and the like. And this in a city running out of water real rapidly. The population this is being sold to is the richest, (probably) most educated and definitely should-be-responsible folks in town. I'm hoping (against hope?) thats its natural rainwater they're trapping - either directly...
One thing Facebook, Twitter etc have done is to make it even more important to appear to lead an interesting life than actually leading one.Applies to entrepreneurship, patriotism, concern-for-causes too - ? Everyone's marketing - their lives, lifestyles, their relationships, their heartfelt causes, and of course (and maybe most appropriately) their businesses :) Its reverse-voyeurism, in a sense. And surely, our social networks can be for so much more, can they not ?
London portends an ominous warning for all of us. Its not a happy world. Not too long ago, we'd have taken poverty/tough times in our stride and been thankful for whatever we got when we did. Our current growth models and their needs and structures help and serve a few, and that again in the short term. We almost design them to be win-lose, and just too many are shown unreal and sometimes illegitimate dreams, and then kept away from them. Our sense of achievement comes often from having "risen above". We have a...
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