Software Employee?

This Link , contains the phrase/epithet "software employee". I wonder what that means? I mean the story contained in the link is tragic, but I think having a software employee would be pretty cool. As opposed to a hardware employee. Throw away those large clunky obsolete pieces of junk. Hire a software employee, now. I guess even making software employees will be a big industry if having a software employee would be possible. So what is an employee who writes software for a software employee manufacturing company called?

57% Male

Is the result of a probabilistic gender analysis of the person writing this blog by the following site.
You might want to find out your gender by clicking on this link.
They also mention that my blog (and probably me?!!!) is supposedly nearly gender neutral.

Hat Tip: Shiva

Interesting article

Netas, I think is short, for Net Assets

Kaun Jeeta?

I learnt last year that the PFMI- Universe Title was now secondary to the PFMI- World title and PFMI-World was actually number 1. Reading the articles written post this years event, I am damn confused. Why? Because you have a couple of contestants claiming that both had won the title, some writers writing that PFMI-World had actually won the title and a bunch claiming that both PFMI-U and PFMI-W were equal in status this year and both were actual winners.
WhoTF actually won?
Not that anybody cares about the 'change' and the message of love and hope that they are going to bring to the world.....

The land of Kashyapa Muni?

This has been discussed on several levels over the past years. Several trees have been cut, reams of tape devoted to this anomaly.
I was reminded of it when I saw some videos on YouTube highlighting the difficulties faced by Kashmiri Muslims in the light of the Indian army's so called 'occupation'.
Here is a video highlighting the other side: Kashmiri Hindus who have born the brunt of extremism since the rise of millitancy in the valley in the late 80's and early 90's. Refugees in their own homeland, victims of the politics of religion, are nearly 0.7 million of these people.
Surely, even these people deserve to be heard.
In times where 'going green' is a metaphor for secularism, we should not forget that there are people from the other side too.
Gaza and Kashmir seem to grab eyeballs. But the tales of these Kashmiris seem to be less newsworthy and highlighting it, patently unsecular.
Do spread the word, not the hatred. Voices of victims need to be heard, be it a Muslim living in squalid conditions in a ghetto in Ahmedabad, post 2002, or a displaced Kashmiri Pandit waiting to get official compensation for his father's death in 1990 at the hands of extremists.

Gandhi ki Neelami

How did Gandhi's belongings come into Otis' possession in the first place?
Any ideas?
If it was auctioned, then why?
If it wasn't, did Otis steal it?
Was it gifted to him?
Is guththi ko kaun suljhaega?

Ma-Kasam, WTF!!!

The movie Sorry Bhai seems, on the exterior to be a movie that has a good script, treats a sensitive subject well, has a good cast and has very good performances.
You read the reviews and think, yeah, maybe the movie is good. Let's watch it.
You start watching the movie and you realize that there's a hotshot Indian scientist who wants funding for his proposal that says everything is alive because 'sab cheezon mein molecules hote hain' and such things are supposed to reflect his love for physics.
WTF moment 1.
You say, chalo theek hai, maaf, lets watch on.
A female who falls for this passion of his (besides his good looks) despite being his brothers 'mangetar' and loving him for the last 5 years.
WTF moment 2.
Theek hai, watch on.
They decide that forbidden fruit must not be eaten but suddenly realize that forbidden fruit must be eaten. So they decide to spill the beans to bhai dear who doesnt care two hoots about his beautiful wife to be, but is bothered about a stock market crash in NY despite having settled in Mauritius. (He has a business too, it is said, but then he has one big client, Marco who, like him, is in Mauritius and is worried silly about the NY stock market)
WTF, WTF moment 3.
(Must I) watch on?!
Post legume spillage, lover boy and girl-who-wants-to-do-nothing-but-study-teach-and-slide-on-indoor-railings decide they will get married, but then OHMyGodWTFHappened type WTF moment happens. Mommy dear overhears bro spilling beans to elder bro and decides that her son cannot do such a 'neech harkat' and tells the bridegroom (new, scientist), 'tumhe meri kasam hai, tum shaadi nahin kar sakte, tum thodi der ke liye bhatak gaye ho' WTF!!!!!
Whats more WTF! is that scientist son fearing for his moms life, says no to the impending marriage (It has been mentioned early on in the movie why this ma-kasam thingie is important, but in a very stupid way, so much so that you ignore the scene)
WTF moment 4,5,6.
I've started, so I'll finish type sentiment occurs, and I decide that inspite of overwhelming WTFness, I shall finish the movie.
After dirty faces from daddy dear and a sudden epiphany that goes unmentioned, mommy darling realizes that shes made a mistake. So what does she do. Well, she does a ma-kasam once more. She tells scientist kiddo that you must live-in with your love, so that previous ma-kasam is fulfilled (and she gets to live!!). Now kiddo has to do it, because he's been ma-kasammed by ma once more. So he goes for it.
WTF moment 7, going on infinity!!!
Finish off this goddamn movie.....
End scene, scientist kiddo is marrying his live-in love after eleven years, with two kids in tow. Apparently, mom has ma-kasammed him once more into doing this.
Movie over!!!! Double cartwheels(in mind) and lemonade follow.

The essential premise of the film, that of the scientist kid-brother falling in love with big bro's fiancee, is dealt with in a fair fashion, but with so many WTF moments going around, it just gets overshadowed.
Good acting alone cannot bear the burden of propping up such a poor script and bad screenplay. It was good to watch Chitrangada Singh back in action after a long time, but every shot that she's in is pure eye candy and nothing more. She has a meaty role, only in terms of screen footage, but she sleep walks through it, looking disinterested at times, as does Boman Irani.
Sad, I'd watch Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye any day over this movie, many times over.
Ma-Kasam!!!

P.S: I think mommy dear agrees to come to Mauritius only after she hears that Elder Bro has Ma-kasammed younger bro.
Why Mauritius and why the flimsy premise of the bro having settled there, I do not know. Any other location wouldn't change the point of the movie. But yes, Mauritius is very, very very beautiful it seems from the movie footage.

Native festival in foreign land

We celebrate Diwali, Independence Day and Republic Day here at Purdue every year. I believe this is the case with almost all universities in the US. All these celebrations are, without exception, peaceful and do not cause any problems to local residents. We do not go around asking others to come and celebrate festivals with us, but if others are willing to come and join us, we welcome them. Again, I believe this is a uniform pattern in nearly all U.S cities and universities.
However, when I hear Raj Thackeray spewing his venom against Biharis for celebrating ChhaT Pooja or against UP guys for celebrating UP Diwas, I can feel nothing but anger for the man. I am almost certain that these celebrations do not disrupt normal life in Mumbai any more than bomb blasts, encounters, marriages and sundry other activities do. For that matter, I am sure that it does not cause more inconvenience to locals than festivals like Navratri (The large scale Garba-Dandiya version of which is essentially Gujarati in nature), Tazia processions during Moharram, Durga Puja and the biggest of them all (for Maharashtra, i.e.), Ganeshotsav.
Pray tell me Sir, are you going to support the Americans if they go around bashing Indians for celebrating their festivals and national holidays?

Praising 'The Raj'

This article in the newspaper Slimes, sorry, Times of India, made me wonder, when o when, willst thou cease to crap, o Times?
I knew that TOI had gone degenerate, but I did not know that they had taken to being apologists for Raj (If-you-are-a-northie-then-f.o) Thackeray.
Are the editors at TOI napping or what?