Sunday, February 19, 2006

A Geeky list on parenthood

Here's a really funny list. Top ten reasons why geeks make good fathers. link.

But lets leave the list aside for a minute. What exactly make some a good dad or a good mom?
Is it what their children feel about them, esp. as the years roll on? Is it how society judges them based on their childrens' actions? Or is it something internal, when a good parent looks at his children and proudly shouts- that's my boy or that's my girl.

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Monday, February 13, 2006

Actual pictures of the McLaren crew uniform

Due to the change in McLaren Livery, the crew uniforms also have to change. The shiny, chrome coloured car would require a equally shiny chrome coloured uniform. Pitpass has the pics here.

Oh! We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz.

How heartless. (sic)

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Sunday, February 12, 2006

Higher Education

According to the SF Chronicle, Men are slowly becoming a minority in US colleges. The only courses bucking the trend are Engineering and Computer Science related. link.

This is quite different from colleges in India, where all courses are still dominated by men. However there is a curious trend, especially in South India. Amongst the Middle Class and Upper Middle class in South India there is a strong preference towards either Engineering or Medicine.

A number of my friends chose engineering more out of peer and parental pressure rather than any real interest. The result? Most of them have moved out the field and into fields that they are more interested in.

The question to ask is, why is there so much pressure to do engineering? The answer is simple - Engineers and Doctors are perceived to have higher incomes. Within the different fields of engineering too there is higher preference to Computer Science and Electronics - again due to the perception that these fields have higher incomes.

Lesser importance is given to personal interests.

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Saturday, February 11, 2006

Pilgrims Throng

The Hindu reports of the steps the temple authorities at Tirupati plan to take to tackle the huge number of pilgrims who throng the temple. link.

The interesting figure is the number 2 crore or 20 million. Think about it. 20 million people visit Tirupati each year and they all walk in a single file past the idol of Venkateshwara, and get only a few moments in front of the idol. That's equal to the population of Australia and much more than the population of either The Netherlands or Switzerland and almost the size of the population of The United Kingdom, France or Italy.

Imagine the entire population of Australia visiting one single temple or church or mosque each year. It boggles the mind because that's around 50000 people each day. That's more than the population of Monaco, The Vatican put together - every single day.

A story goes that when the West Indian Cricket team toured India in the early 80s, some of the of cricketers remarked that the crowds they saw in the stadium were more than the entire population of some of their home island countries. Needless to say, the Indian cricket team lost all the test matches to the all conquering West Indians. Many say that Cricket is the religion of most Indians though officially its Hinduism. Perhaps, not enough prayers are answered given the shockingly low quantity of Silverware with the Indian Cricket team's name on it.

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McLaren's New Clothes

McLaren have a new livery. Pictures here and here. Official pics from McLaren are here and here.

Quoting Kimi Raikkonen -
"I have only seen illustrations of the new livery until now but they do it no justice. It looks fantastic and should create a bit of a stir when we drive it on tracks around the world. If we can make the car as fast as it looks then we will be in good shape."
Hmmm.

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Friday, February 10, 2006

Smile - You are on Google Maps

A Giant Smiley can be seen from Google Maps here. (via)

Not quite a smiley, but still the corridors of power is the Vidhana Soudha, seen from Google Maps here. What amazes me, is that till now I always thought of the place as a huge building with endless corridors where political skullduggery was always afoot. Seeing the gardens, the High Court across the road, and Cubbon Park nearby, the Vidhana Soudha almost seems harmless.

Whats even more surprising are the fountains inside the Vidhana Soudha.

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Thursday, February 02, 2006

Old Bangalore Photos

The old-timers often say that Bangalore has lost its charm. Some of that charm can be seen in the form of old photos at flickr. link.

The photos of MG Road and Town Hall are pretty amazing considering the gaudy colors and sinful billboards that adorn them now.

These photos are similar to the ones put up at Corner House - a local icecream chain. I wonder if Hot Chocolate Fudge was as delightful then as it is now. Hmmm.

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