Nisadas

Passing along the highlevel road, I thanked my stars that the tank was full. Although, I might’ve just as well been better off with a diesel vehicle…

The vehicles belonging to these good people were probably the same ones parked along the road right upto Police Park.

Clearly, LIOC was doing better off than these guys…

I’m fairly sure there must be some kind of demand for these things. With a heel of variable height, straps to hold the shoes in place and other features depending on the lady’s taste and enough protection to ensure that those delicate toes are well protected.

It’s either that, or there’s gonna forever be a new variant – the Cha-Cha-Ow!

Of course, 595 US dollars is a little too much for what I’ve got in mind…

Anyone in the footwear industry?

Eat five fruits or vegetables a day! by st3f4n

A couple of days after reading on Indi’s blog about the effects of a low calorie diet and Rajaratarala’s posts about his latest misadventures in farming and the dietary habits of rural Sri Lankans, I came across the following TED talk by Carolyn Steele. (Embedded YouTube video. MP4 download available at the TED site).

It’s an interesting look at the intricate relationships between humans and our food and how all of this has affected the placement of cities.

Especially important I thought was the point on how our demand for food (which isn’t helped by the amount we waste) is literally eating into the rainforests. Given the limited amount of arable land, this will mean that we will have food production issues far greater than that the sort you would find playing Caesar or Settlers.

Given that the population of the world is on it’s way to the Nine billion mark by around 2050, food will definitely be an even larger item on the global agenda than it is today. If Carolyn’s “Militarized shopping spree” comparison to the growth of the Roman empire is anything to go by, the latest acquisition of farmland in poorer countries by richer nations should also ring a bell (The Guardian, UK).

This brings us to the subject of vegetarianism. Surely the ancient Indians were on to a more sustainable system when they espoused a vegetarian lifestyle. After all,

• A higher portion of grain goes towards meat production, so cutting down on that would also make more land available for agriculture for human consumption.
• A pleasant side effect for those with a hindu/buddhist/PETA mindset would be the significantly less slaughter of animals, not to mention the less animals being maintained for food in awful conditions.
• Fewer cattle may have an impact on reducing the amount of methane gases being released into the atmosphere and causing global warming, but that’s just taking it a little too far…

So there’s definitely scope for businesses in the food industry for the future, especially if they adopt newer methods and possibly focus more on the vegetarian option. Neville from the USA has had an interesting experience after switching, too.

But even if you’re not so hot about switching to a full vegetarian diet (it will take me a long time before I can truthfully say no to a breakfast of bacon and eggs), perhaps reducing your meat intake could possibly help the world, one step at a time. You might want to read up on Cerno’s guide to insecure meat eaters while you’re at it.

Post Script:

On a wholly different note, the Stormtroopers365 by Stefan set is just awesome!

Right above that Nalaka wheel alignment/tyre merchants joint in Colombo 02 is another branch of the famous Food Waves restaurant. This one’s called “Thiru Kumaran’s Food Waves” and it’s a vegetarian restaurant that serves South Indian food. Good food for good prices – enough reason to like it.

The reason that I wanted to blog about it was to put up their phone number on the net. After searching online in vain for the number (don’t get me started on how fun it was trying to find it on the SLT online directory), I ended up going there to place my order, which was thankfully ready in ten minutes. Of course, my order wasn’t a full meal, so that shouldn’t be a benchmark – take away should ideally still be called in advance.

The lunch buffet is priced at Rs. 130/- and is supposed to be good, although I don’t know this from experience. I can recommend the Naan, Paneer Butter Masala, Malaysian Kottu and Chilli Parota (my favourite). Very nice.

Recently, six of us dropped in for dinner, had the main dishes that I just noted plus soup (one portion is generally enough for two people), some starters and dessert, all for around Rs. 500/- per head. I’m not too familiar with the restaurants in Colombo, but I think that’s pretty good value for money.

Their flyer reads that they’re open 365 days of the year, 11:00am to 10:30pm. Lunch available from 10:30am and Dinner from 4:00pm.

The Address:

Thiru Kumaran’s Food Waves

55, Hyde Park Corner, Colombo 02.

Tel: 471 8709 / 471 9522

So recently I get a photograph in my mail of President Barack Obama checking out a young lady’s behind. While I’d normally shrug this off as instinct getting the better of the man, a friend also sends me the link where the situation behind it all is cleared through a youtube video, which proves Sarkozy to be a true frenchman.

Okay, so it’s old news but you can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbifTbJtgJA.

Seeing world leaders’ little indiscretions caught on tape for the world to see reminded me of a good friend of mine doing a (impromptu and with only a little egging on by the compere) funky dance right out of an American Pie kinda movie on stage at an Interact function many years ago. No cameras (in phones or otherwise) to record this strange occurence or the shocked fascination of the crowd; just human memory in all its fallibility to carry those images for posterity, to be brought up at get-togethers and laughed about.

Nowadays, you can bet that any incident of that nature will be recorded and found on a social network. With any luck, the poor soul will end up tagged and watched by millions of people who never knew he existed until they saw the video.

This simply means that today, we need to be far more careful about what we say and do; especially the moments of spontaneous craziness (see the part about the Star Wars Kid in the article at Scientific American on social networks and privacy).

This point was driven home extra hard when I took part in a training recently. When the guy doing the training pointed out that my Outlook calendar was easily visible to my superiors at office – something that I understood was possible, but something that I never really thought about. I got a little bothered about this and asked him “Where’s the privacy in that?”

The response was simple – “What privacy? Your system adminstrators have full access to the information on your computer – you just need to make sure that you don’t do anything unnecessary with it.”

And then it struck me – all those personal details on Facebook? All those emails in my “personal” mailboxes hosted by big “free email” companies? Just how private are those emails? Or my events in Google Calendar?

The main argument presented in this case is that “Good people have nothing to hide”. But what if I’m just a private person? Okay, not so private that I blog under my real name, but private in the sense that I like having control of how much information about myself is revealed?

There are so many facebook photos that get saved on to folders and forwarded via email that you might wonder if being in touch is worth the price. It just means that you have to be careful about what the world sees. What used to be the private pain of celebrities the world over has now become a far more common problem. Sure, you can try and sue the moron from the photo studio who decided to share all those interesting photos of your girlfriends off your digital camera with his friends, but how do you intend on proving it?

It seems that privacy as we used to know it died quite sometime ago, around the same time that it became possible to fish out old “personal” emails and forward them to people who weren’t in the loop. All that can be done now is to watch your step – and hope that if anything about you is on the net, you know about it.

Anyone who’s taken the Galle road will know how much fun Dehiwala can be. Used to be (haven’t taken the route in some time) that the traffic would extend somewhere upto Ratmalana in the mornings (to Colombo). Evenings are no better on the way back. The best advertisement for travel by train could’ve included photos of morning/evening traffic in Dehiwala.

Now it would seem that there’s change in the air. I saw some guys with “Access” on their luminous vests along the roads at Dehiwala junction, which is also now missing some pavement.

Apparently, a flyover will be under construction soon. Hopefully, construction will be in 2-4 month range similar to the Kelaniya and Nugegoda flyovers which means some short term pain for long term gain.

However, there’s still the question of this will ease traffic out of Colombo, since there’s still plenty of that in the evenings, but I guess time will tell.

After what has been undoubtably ages, I planned on actually posting something instead of just trawling along achcharu and facebook.

And then I came across xkcd on Jerry’s blog. The theme’s changed, so I think he typed IDDQD again.

After that, on FB I found a link to Gossip Aiyahs Juicy juicy mambalam Blogage.

Looks like I will spend this weekend consuming, not producing – not that you really noticed, anyway…

I was reading Seth Godin recently on Demonization. Whilst he writes  what would be interpreted as a marketing-centric post, he makes a very valid point.

The closer you get to someone, something, some brand, some organization… the harder it is to demonize it, objectify it or hate it.

Reading through Achcharu today, I also came across some interesting posts – Indi’s rant against the diaspora in Canada and Rajaratarala’s innovative suggestion for reconciliation.

My socio-political views have and will be private, and are unlikely to be published. However, in all three cases above, one point is common – isolation from each other contributes most to the rifts in society. Seth talks about (or at least I interpret it to be) how being isolated from an issue makes it easier to demonize it; Indi talks about the Diaspora and how they talk to themselves in the comfort of Canada about the war in Sri Lanka; Rajaratarala talks about how giving the opportunity for the internally displaced to live normal lives again will help heal the wounds of war.

During my studies in secondary school, I had the opportunity to be part of the Interact movement (of which perhaps the less said now, the better). Through this I was able to make friends from different schools and different ethnic and religious backgrounds. The single biggest lesson I learnt from this was that there was just so much we all had in common. Teenagers the world over will have the same issues, albeit in different languages and different settings. Why else was Dawson’s Creek so popular amongst TV viewing Sri Lankan teenagers?

Closeted away in their own little enclaves, it’s easier for people to demonize others and act all morally superior. But then again, it takes a lot of confidence and courage to buck the trend and actually treat others as human beings and not as the labels they choose to stick themselves with.

But it all comes down to the fact that you’re no different from me or the person next to you. You didn’t choose the race you were born in to. You didn’t choose the country you were born in to. You can choose who you are – what your actions will mean in the greater scheme of things, no matter how small.

I only hope that the future holds for all of us the freedom to live our lives in relative normalcy and worry about stuff like learning new things, holding a job, raising a family and such-like – problems that have been around as long as civilisation.

In conclusion, I’d like to share something that Terry Pratchett wrote in his book Interesting Times, where the wizard Rincewind while running away from a major battle, finds himself in a field criss-crossed with drainage ditches (I’m hoping that this excerpt falls within fair-use, please notify me if it doesn’t – I can’t afford a lawsuit ):

Someone was watching him.

It was a water buffalo.

It would be wrong to say it watched him with interest. It just watched him, because its eyes were open and had to be facing in some direction, and it had randomly chosen one which included Rincewind.

Its face held the completely serene expression of a creature that had long ago realized that it was, fundamentally, a tube on legs and had been installed in the universe to, broadly speaking, achieve throughput.

At the other end of the string was a man, ankle-deep in the mud of the field. He had a broad straw hat, like every other buffalo holder. He had the basic pyjama suit of the Agatean man-in-the-field. And he had an expression not of idiocy, but of preoccupation. He was looking at Rincewind. As with the buffalo, this was only because his eyes had to be doing something.

Despite the pressing dangers, Rincewind found himself overcome by a sudden curiosity.

‘Er. Good morning,’ he said.

The man gave him a nod. The water buffalo made the sound of regurgitating cud.

‘Er. Sorry if this is a personal question,’ said Rincewind, ‘but . . . I can’t help wondering . . . why do you stand out in the fields all day with the water buffalo?’

The man thought about it.

‘Good for soil,’ he said eventually.

‘But doesn’t it waste a lot of time?’ said Rincewind.

The man gave this due appraisal also.

‘What’s time to a cow?’ he said.

Rincewind reversed back on to the highway of reality.

‘You see those armies over there?’ he said.

The buffalo holder concentrated his gaze.

‘Yes,’ he decided.

‘They’re fighting for you.’

The man did not appear moved by this. The water buffalo burped gently.

‘Some want to see you enslaved and some want you to run the country, or at least to let them run the country while telling you it’s you doing it really,’ said Rincewind. There’s going to be a terrible battle. I can’t help wondering . . . What do you want?’

The buffalo holder absorbed this one for consideration, too. And it seemed to Rincewind that the slowness of the thought process wasn’t due to native stupidity, but more to do with the sheer size of the question. He could feel it spreading out so that it incorporated the soil and the grass and the sun and headed on out into the universe.

Finally the man said:

‘A longer piece of string would be nice.’

Before you point it out, Yes, I’m an apolitical idealist who is quite possibly out of touch with the world around him.

Or maybe not. I’ll fill you in once I’ve figured it out.

The allure of books written by millionaires or billionaires is that there might be something in it that’ll help the reader along the same path. Of course, reading alone won’t get you far, but it helps understanding how some people made it to the top.
Jon M Huntsman is a billionaire who has written a slim little book called Winners never Cheat. It covers some lessons on morality and integrity that immediately appealed to my idealistic side. These lessons are broken down into ten compact chapters, each beginning with a couple of quotes relevant to their content.

• Chapter 1: Lessons from the sandbox. Everything we need for today’s marketplace we learned as kids.
• Chapter 2: Check your moral compass. We know darn well what is right and wrong
• Chapter 3: Play by the rules. Compete fiercely and fairly, but no cutting in line
• Chapter 4: Setting the example. Risk, Responsibility, Reliability – the three R’s of leadership
• Chapter 5: Keep Your word. It’s high time to corral the corporate lawyers
• Chapter 6: Pick Advisors Wisely. Surround yourself with associates who have the courage to say no.
• Chapter 7: Get Mad, Not Even. Revenge is unhealthy and unproductive. Learn to move on.
• Chapter 8: Graciousness Is Next to Godliness Treat Competitors, colleagues, employees and customers with respect.
• Chapter 9: Your name is on the Door Operate businesses and organisations as if they’re family owned
• Chapter 10: The obligation to give back Nobody is completely self made; return the favours and good fortune

Finally, the book ends on the note that Acceptable moral values are child’s play, not rocket science.

Starting with a quote about the fourth of Gandhi’s seven sins - “Commerce without morality”, the book covers Huntsman’s take on the ups and downs of doing business in America – the American Dream and how so many people cut corners to make a quick buck.

A recurring point in the book is Huntsman’s dealings with H. R. Haldeman - the White House Chief of Staff during Nixon’s tenure. As White House staff secretary, Huntsman was independent and demurred to the practice of “blind faith” in the president that Haldeman propounded. As a result he left the post within six months – making him possibly “the only West Wing staff member not eventually hauled before the congressional Watergate committee or a grand jury”. Throughout the book, the idea conveyed is that values are not ambiguous, but are simple lessons that are learnt at an early age.

Huntsman includes Sophocles’ message that “There is no witness so terrible or no accuser so powerful as the conscience“. He presents that laws and ethics may overlap, but the exercise of the latter is often up to the individual.

The painful truth that doing something because you were “pressured into it” is merely a way of glossing over a lack of backbone is driven home quite solidly.

On leadership, there is a small anecdote on how Huntsman misheard the confirmation of his orders from a helmsman during his time in the navy. As a lieutenant who was responsible for ensuring the formation of ships, this caused a dangerous disarray, with possible collisions between warships of different nations. The captain immediately takes over (albeit in his bathrobe) and instead of berating his junior, explains that he continues to be responsible for what happens on his ship and that the occasion will be a life-long learning for the young Huntsman. This is a lesson for all CEO’s the world over, a reminder of what we call Agency Theory.

Huntsman seems to have a dislike of corporate lawyers and their insistence in creating mounds of paperwork just to ensure that people keep their word. Of course, this is going to be de rigueur until everyone in the world decides that their word is their bond, but his point is that these long clauses tend to impede the execution of a promise.

The best example is a quote featured from the National Review:

The First Amendment is 45 words;

The Lord’s Prayer is 66 words;

The Gettysburg Address is 286 words;

There are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence,

but the Government Regulations on the sale of Cabbage total 26,911 words.

That there is a danger in being surrounded by “Yes-Men” is also included in chapter six. As mentioned in the book, the reason for having so many whistle-blowers is the lack of a proper internal warning system -something that many companies will be mindful of in these times of crisis.

Chapter seven was my favourite, since it pretty much summed up one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in life. Getting beyond petty squabbles and thoughts of revenge (for whatever reason) helps keep a much clearer mind and causes less heartburn in the long run.

The most compelling message however, is at the end of the book in the tenth chapter, about giving back to society. That Jon Huntsman Sr is one of America’s biggest givers lends more credence to his appeal that businesses and individuals spend time and money to make better the lives of the less fortunate. As he says (and the same is often said by my better half), “Save for God’s grace (and a few worldly breaks), there go us“.

I’m fairly sure that at some point people will read this book and criticise it for the high level of Christianity prevalent in it. That Huntsman is close to his religion and has leveraged it to make him a better person is beyond doubt. Reading this book, my cynical self thought whether it was just good morals and values or Christianity that was being propounded – a point many anti-conversion types the world over are likely to pounce on.

However, if anyone is willing to read this book for what it is – a slim volume of thoughts cleverly and appeallingly written about the importance of morals and values in both business and life – they will not be disappointed.

In a case of synchronicity, it turns out that the Vesess blog has an interview with a company responsible for a site about good deeds.

As I may have pointed out before, the consistent feature of this blog has been upgrades to WordPress and its plugins.

Rarely have I taken the time to actually add anything of note to this blog.

Beginning May 2005, Nisadas was launched from home on my dial-up connection and featured a mashed up theme that borrowed (stole?) heavily from various existing themes that I thought were interesting.

Prabhath, the design guru at the up-and-coming contender for Best Sri Lankan Web Design Firm (Vesess) saw it, puzzled over it and then kindly advised me to use a more interesting theme like Blix.

After that, I managed to squeeze in a few posts such as;

• Small is beautiful
• Multum in parvo
• Identity crisis
• The Horton Place Progressive Front (possibly one of my better posts)
• Quis custodiet ipso custodes? (which combined my penchant for latin headings with my interest in Pratchett)
• The Magic of books (the Kindle wasn’t out yet)
• Life on the silver screen (my first movie review and the first time I went for a premiere. It was weird sharing the theater with so many sri lankan actors, ‘cos I didn’t know any of their names – just their faces )
• and my most viewed post – HSBC (SL) doesn’t want me to use Linux

After that, most of my posts came few and far between, with random surges whenever I got some free time (which was spent mostly fiddling with the themes and plugins).

During all this time, I’d been hosting at NearlyFreeSpeech.net which I have to say is the best bet for anyone looking to start out hosting their own domain for their blog. Then came a special offer from Dreamhost which sounded pretty good  so as of January 4, 2009 Nisadas found a set of new nameservers. Within a few days though, the server this was hosted went down. It was back up again and I’m sure apart from a few spambots, no one else apart from me noticed. Which is ok – I’ll give DH a go and see how it fares. If it doesn’t impress me, I’ll be back at NFSN.

Installing WordPress 2.7 and getting the fabulous Amazing Grace theme working (after getting it off NFSN) was a breeze. I’m quite impressed by the ease of exporting the blog using the settings. Also, WordPress 2.7 looks even better than before. Very Web 2.0 so to speak (I remember the older 1.5 UI). The facility to upgrade from within the blog comes quite in handy, especially since I’m not much of a hacker anymore.

So my goal for 2009 is quite simple – at least one post a week, for a total of 52 in 2009. Let’s see how that goes.

I’d ask you to put your seatbelts on, but this is going to be more like a ride on a bullock cart, so no worries, y’all