Relocation, I guess is very much a part of life when you're working in the IT consulting field, are single, operate in a specialized domain and I dont want to sound conceit so I would just add etc etc etc...
I'll be moving to a new city, new client, new apartment. It wouldn't be a life-threatening change since well... from a very high level nothing much is changing!
Let's see how things go...
Cheers!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Public Transport
Why do things with the prefix 'public' have to always be so bad. I have yet to see one thing which is 'public' and yet is actually 'OK'. I'm not talking about great. I'm not talking about good even. Just average, mediocre, OK... But even that becomes a couple of notches too high.
To state an example... I'm not going to talk about public toilets because that's something which... well... is universally expected to be bad and because if I start on my experiences with this special category of public utility then this post will lose it's focus!
Being used some pretty bad public transport for all my life I was happy if not surprised to find clean, non-crowded buses here. It's actually quite convenient if you ask me. I had been told Chicago does rank among the better public transports in the US. I would agree but I have pretty low standards in this respect so I'm probably a bad judge!
Nevertheless it had me impressed but... that was till I came to know how badly managed it was! Yeah... I had almost forgotten about the invisible aspect of public transport. The Chicago metropolitan public transport is bleeding and very badly. It's cash strapped. Almost living the life of a parasite on the city's budget. They were going to cut down services and increase fares this month just to keep it going for the heck of it.
The issue was quite simple. There were not enough commuters to make it a sustainable, forget profitable, venture. So the very thing that had impressed me was some what of a problem for the transport authority. Here the problem was of not of plenty but of scanty. But instead of using the opportunity of increasing fuel prices, high parking charges, traffic congestion to leverage the public transport the authority was just sitting on it's back side waiting for the city council to bail them out.
They had played it pretty smart though. They had asked the city for additional funds (a few millions dollars) which was the issue being debated in the local council. And announcements had already been made about the services which had been chosen to be retained, quite clearly insufficient. Though the commuters are low to make the service sustainable, they do form a significant number and definitely was a very unwelcome move for them. The transport authority had avoided becoming the bad guys and if at all services were cut it would've been because they didn't get the funds!
And we all know how politicians are... The transport authority got the funds. No services were cut down. Even fares were not increased. The politicians even voted in favor of free rides for senior citizens! So we're again into the same mode till these allotted millions are finished. Without any action being taken to actually make a proactive effort to make something, which has the potential to be sustainable, work.
This also got me wondering how and why the public transport systems back home are bleeding? There is quite clearly no shortage of commuters. There's no expenditure whatsoever on maintenance. It really is puzzling when you come to think of it. I would even go as far as to say that it is pretty tough to make losses when you're in such a strong position!
But the answer to all these 'public' problems lies in the fact that these issues are public. It's easy not to be held accountable for anything when in reality everyone should be doing atleast something for it!
Cheers!
To state an example... I'm not going to talk about public toilets because that's something which... well... is universally expected to be bad and because if I start on my experiences with this special category of public utility then this post will lose it's focus!
Being used some pretty bad public transport for all my life I was happy if not surprised to find clean, non-crowded buses here. It's actually quite convenient if you ask me. I had been told Chicago does rank among the better public transports in the US. I would agree but I have pretty low standards in this respect so I'm probably a bad judge!
Nevertheless it had me impressed but... that was till I came to know how badly managed it was! Yeah... I had almost forgotten about the invisible aspect of public transport. The Chicago metropolitan public transport is bleeding and very badly. It's cash strapped. Almost living the life of a parasite on the city's budget. They were going to cut down services and increase fares this month just to keep it going for the heck of it.
The issue was quite simple. There were not enough commuters to make it a sustainable, forget profitable, venture. So the very thing that had impressed me was some what of a problem for the transport authority. Here the problem was of not of plenty but of scanty. But instead of using the opportunity of increasing fuel prices, high parking charges, traffic congestion to leverage the public transport the authority was just sitting on it's back side waiting for the city council to bail them out.
They had played it pretty smart though. They had asked the city for additional funds (a few millions dollars) which was the issue being debated in the local council. And announcements had already been made about the services which had been chosen to be retained, quite clearly insufficient. Though the commuters are low to make the service sustainable, they do form a significant number and definitely was a very unwelcome move for them. The transport authority had avoided becoming the bad guys and if at all services were cut it would've been because they didn't get the funds!
And we all know how politicians are... The transport authority got the funds. No services were cut down. Even fares were not increased. The politicians even voted in favor of free rides for senior citizens! So we're again into the same mode till these allotted millions are finished. Without any action being taken to actually make a proactive effort to make something, which has the potential to be sustainable, work.
This also got me wondering how and why the public transport systems back home are bleeding? There is quite clearly no shortage of commuters. There's no expenditure whatsoever on maintenance. It really is puzzling when you come to think of it. I would even go as far as to say that it is pretty tough to make losses when you're in such a strong position!
But the answer to all these 'public' problems lies in the fact that these issues are public. It's easy not to be held accountable for anything when in reality everyone should be doing atleast something for it!
Cheers!
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Irony
I was watching this old Hindi movie clip on Youtube.
Rajkumar has a very famous dialogue which goes something like this... "Chinoy Seth... Jinke ghar sheeshe ke ho woh doosron ke ghar pe patthar nahi phenka karte..."
My thoughts on this legendary dialogue:
Dude, I completely agree with you on that one... But why should people who dont live in glass houses be allowed to throw stones at others' houses? That kind of behaviour should make you land in some kind of an asylum.
My policy would be... No one is allowed to throw stones at houses irrespective of housing situation!
On second thought though, there would be one exception...
In case you're trapped in a glass house, as a part of some deranged scheme of an evil warlord, and you need to get out of it & happen to find a stone or an object which can be used as a makeshift stone... Then use it man! Throw the damn thing... Break the glass and just get the hell out of there!
So in fact people who stay in glass houses should be the only ones who have the right to throw stones...
Cheers!
Rajkumar has a very famous dialogue which goes something like this... "Chinoy Seth... Jinke ghar sheeshe ke ho woh doosron ke ghar pe patthar nahi phenka karte..."
My thoughts on this legendary dialogue:
Dude, I completely agree with you on that one... But why should people who dont live in glass houses be allowed to throw stones at others' houses? That kind of behaviour should make you land in some kind of an asylum.
My policy would be... No one is allowed to throw stones at houses irrespective of housing situation!
On second thought though, there would be one exception...
In case you're trapped in a glass house, as a part of some deranged scheme of an evil warlord, and you need to get out of it & happen to find a stone or an object which can be used as a makeshift stone... Then use it man! Throw the damn thing... Break the glass and just get the hell out of there!
So in fact people who stay in glass houses should be the only ones who have the right to throw stones...
Cheers!
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Monopoly
I think this is one of those divine conspiracies. I mean why do we have to start the year with filing taxes? Whoever came up with that idea never heard of well begun is half done!
I know people who go to great lengths, do all kinds of research trying to find the best split for the basket of allowances so that you can save maximum tax. I'm not that kind of guy. I love paying taxes you know. Better way to put it... I dont care how much tax I pay! Many accountants would be saying... What an idiot!
But seriously... if something which is inherently not of interest to me takes longer than a pre-stipulated variable unit of time to accomplish, I stop doing it! That's the rule... I cant break my head over 5 different types of allowances, each having a different formula, a different max limit, a different tax exemption etc in an attempt to save $10. Thank you very much keep the change I'll donate $10 to the IRS! I just look at it as my contribution towards the improvement of society which is surprising considering that I'm anti-social in a different way!
This entire financial planning reminds me of the game of Monopoly. This has to rank among the top 3 all time controversial games of all time. No game of Monopoly I've heard of has ended without a fight. It always has to end up with all the hotels destroyed and sprayed across the floor... the community chest cards hurled into the air... and almost like an unwritten rule someone has to go I'm never ever going to play this *&^$#%@ game and and and I hate all you #@$#@^%%$^!!
Have you been involved in a game of Monopoly which has ended with... Well played! That was some great tactical planning... You really set me up with that barrage of hotels in Atlanta, Tokyo and Melbourne... Now lets take a break, order pizza or something and start off once again in a while!! The reason for it is simple... Its the only game where you're playing for money.
Now in monopoly there are those who set about the game really methodically, plan it out, buy in patterns, evaluate the profitability of an investment etc (yawn!). And then there are those who go on an all out assualt in the first hour of the game to buy every damn thing they land up on. New York for $4 mn. I'll take that. Addis Ababa for $1 mn. Put it in the kitty!
Like any game Monopoly too reaches at that threshold limit, the point from which one player starts his ascent to total domination and the rest start slipping badly. Soon come the major decisions... Should I buy AT&T for $2.5 mn? But I got only $0.5 mn... I'll start mortgaging off some of the holdings... I'll be passing through the start-finish line in two turns. I'll pay it off then... I just have to ensure I dont get 3, 5, 8 or 12 on my next roll of dice... I think the strategy's set!!
People get frustrated with Monopoly because it shows you how well you're doing in reality... It's does possess some mystical powers like Jumanji or something... The exact financial picture, quite eerily, pans out right in front of you... Players are actually hoping they land on those dreaded income tax, luxury tax or such other spaces! That's how bad the situation becomes. It's better to land there and pay 10% of the few bucks you've left than be hit by an army of hotels!
It does hurt, doesnt it?? If not in real life everyone expects to win atleast in a stupid board game!
Cheers!
I know people who go to great lengths, do all kinds of research trying to find the best split for the basket of allowances so that you can save maximum tax. I'm not that kind of guy. I love paying taxes you know. Better way to put it... I dont care how much tax I pay! Many accountants would be saying... What an idiot!
But seriously... if something which is inherently not of interest to me takes longer than a pre-stipulated variable unit of time to accomplish, I stop doing it! That's the rule... I cant break my head over 5 different types of allowances, each having a different formula, a different max limit, a different tax exemption etc in an attempt to save $10. Thank you very much keep the change I'll donate $10 to the IRS! I just look at it as my contribution towards the improvement of society which is surprising considering that I'm anti-social in a different way!
This entire financial planning reminds me of the game of Monopoly. This has to rank among the top 3 all time controversial games of all time. No game of Monopoly I've heard of has ended without a fight. It always has to end up with all the hotels destroyed and sprayed across the floor... the community chest cards hurled into the air... and almost like an unwritten rule someone has to go I'm never ever going to play this *&^$#%@ game and and and I hate all you #@$#@^%%$^!!
Have you been involved in a game of Monopoly which has ended with... Well played! That was some great tactical planning... You really set me up with that barrage of hotels in Atlanta, Tokyo and Melbourne... Now lets take a break, order pizza or something and start off once again in a while!! The reason for it is simple... Its the only game where you're playing for money.
Now in monopoly there are those who set about the game really methodically, plan it out, buy in patterns, evaluate the profitability of an investment etc (yawn!). And then there are those who go on an all out assualt in the first hour of the game to buy every damn thing they land up on. New York for $4 mn. I'll take that. Addis Ababa for $1 mn. Put it in the kitty!
Like any game Monopoly too reaches at that threshold limit, the point from which one player starts his ascent to total domination and the rest start slipping badly. Soon come the major decisions... Should I buy AT&T for $2.5 mn? But I got only $0.5 mn... I'll start mortgaging off some of the holdings... I'll be passing through the start-finish line in two turns. I'll pay it off then... I just have to ensure I dont get 3, 5, 8 or 12 on my next roll of dice... I think the strategy's set!!
People get frustrated with Monopoly because it shows you how well you're doing in reality... It's does possess some mystical powers like Jumanji or something... The exact financial picture, quite eerily, pans out right in front of you... Players are actually hoping they land on those dreaded income tax, luxury tax or such other spaces! That's how bad the situation becomes. It's better to land there and pay 10% of the few bucks you've left than be hit by an army of hotels!
It does hurt, doesnt it?? If not in real life everyone expects to win atleast in a stupid board game!
Cheers!
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