tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277030732024-03-07T13:49:36.734+05:30Dignified RompingStompingAll hell breaks loose, single file, one-arm-distance.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-1279726483402685472009-03-09T22:55:00.000+05:302009-03-09T22:56:40.597+05:30Oh damn!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbV3Sn1IXgwvi_VLJfhYr8dL_PuzVWpLS69XcLX2Bl7qC77AjXVqnZbk1KWwTs8z9sEGos_0F-py4yPZ375V7RhGq39T__inuVEkXbzdHKPCIom2lvZtCQ0z-CepYt0o20gGkBAA/s1600-h/Ghajini1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbV3Sn1IXgwvi_VLJfhYr8dL_PuzVWpLS69XcLX2Bl7qC77AjXVqnZbk1KWwTs8z9sEGos_0F-py4yPZ375V7RhGq39T__inuVEkXbzdHKPCIom2lvZtCQ0z-CepYt0o20gGkBAA/s400/Ghajini1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311240660616958130" /></a>Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-33710787895278725502008-06-05T01:04:00.001+05:302008-06-05T01:04:54.179+05:30Wake up and smell the extinction<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Fc2cDcwXalQ&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Fc2cDcwXalQ&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-60862612684809097682008-06-05T01:03:00.000+05:302008-06-05T01:04:21.790+05:30The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dsymlnr3Ffw&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dsymlnr3Ffw&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-12209845377059679182008-06-05T01:02:00.000+05:302008-06-05T01:03:28.493+05:30Aapka Niraash Customer<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NWKlz0M7UxM&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NWKlz0M7UxM&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />What every Tata customer should ask.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-29382096872143370262008-06-03T23:15:00.000+05:302008-06-03T23:17:19.653+05:30design for children<a href="http://designforchildren.blogspot.com/">design for children</a> <br /><br />One of the better blogs I have seen in quite a while. Do visit.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-46014337945420651272008-05-20T01:16:00.002+05:302008-05-20T01:20:14.969+05:30ChecklistHere's the checklist to starting and cracking a new business:<br />1. Do what you love.<br />2. Start your business while you're still employed.<br />3. Don't do it alone.<br />4. Get clients or customers first.<br />5. Write a business plan.<br />6. Do the research.<br />7. Get professional help.<br />8. Get the money lined up.<br />9. Be professional from the beginning.<br />10. Get the legal and tax issues right the first time.<br /><br />Detailed shit can be found at <a href="http://smbzone.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1108088,curpg-2.cms">http://smbzone.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1108088,curpg-2.cms</a>.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-37645783813012690492008-05-16T02:36:00.002+05:302008-12-11T13:29:43.310+05:30Reminds me of ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZRTHqpAR-azj4IbaMELoUI2dcBTsHet8H6ssCuyW5toE8-c_-hvz_qi081RLvSsn940VCfwhBERigcxBDLRb7XQ3WfFlzTlV49SszWX27f9dx55O76VICm-38el_zVhXbtvQtw/s1600-h/ch851214.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZRTHqpAR-azj4IbaMELoUI2dcBTsHet8H6ssCuyW5toE8-c_-hvz_qi081RLvSsn940VCfwhBERigcxBDLRb7XQ3WfFlzTlV49SszWX27f9dx55O76VICm-38el_zVhXbtvQtw/s400/ch851214.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200714523125375874" /></a><br /><br />... the great lengths we went to when we were kids, just to trouble our parents.<br /><br />Sorry Mummy, sorry Daddy. I didn't mean to.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-40550233569685956242008-03-22T23:42:00.003+05:302008-03-22T23:49:41.413+05:30Holi In HyderabadI don't remember a Holi when it rained. But it rained plenty in Hyderabad today, and sure hell it was Holi today! Started reading "Everyone Loves a Good Drought" by P. Sainath, long after the excitement around the book has died out. Also read a few essays on the Telangana movement; dated essays but quite eye opening nevertheless. Not that any of them were convincing at the least: two of three that I read (from the same compilation, mind you) were directly opposed to the other's central claim. Did a lot of translation work for Mum today. Anyway, should have some beautiful pictures from this beautiful day soon. Maybe a couple of them will be just right to put here. In the meanwhile, I am enjoying the sound of rain outside and a crisp rainy breeze drifting in from the windows :)Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-90699010026953070482008-03-11T01:45:00.001+05:302008-03-11T02:15:10.945+05:30some days are seen in sepia before they become memories. some moments become timeless before they come to pass.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-24948641616711324962008-03-02T02:53:00.000+05:302008-03-02T02:55:21.915+05:30A student's best friend is hunger.Starving is better.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-53606885597563685872008-01-28T02:49:00.000+05:302008-01-28T04:15:24.967+05:30Are derivatives out to get you?Financial Derivatives and Globalization of Risk - by Edward LiPuma, Benjamin Lee. I picked up this book on a sidewalk, to flip through after dinner today. Instead of having any calculations or mathematical logic (VaR, volatility smiles etc.) instead it was full of dense text. Impatient (as one might be after a hearty dinner, eager to go home) I checked out the back cover. Turned out that one author was an anthropologist and the other a philosopher and an anthropologist. Made me wonder how qualified these persons were to ponder on financial derivative trade and financial risk.<br /><br />Turns out the book is not meant to teach you anything about derivatives or risk, rather is very erudite pondering on how the global risk market affects national economies and poorer nations at that. Back home I searched for the text and found it quoted vociferously in the anti-globalization, anti-derivative rhetoric.<br /><br />One web author used it thusly: [On <a href="http://www.stuartschrader.com/blog/?p=14">Picketing Henry Ford</a>]<br /><blockquote>Barclays’ lightweight local philanthropy—fixing basketballs courts, further perpetuating the racist mythology that all blacks care about is “hoops” and that the only ticket out of the ‘hood is round and bouncy—withers in comparison to the destructiveness to real estate markets, pensions, and health insurance, plus the endless credit-card debt, wrought by financialization.</blockquote><br />Thus I learnt of the neologism "<span style="font-style:italic;">financialization</span>" as being "<span style="font-style:italic;">pattern of accumulation in which profit making occurs increasingly through financial channels rather than through trade and commodity production</span>". And it's not a good thing, if the author Stuart is to be believed.<br /><br />But why this mistrust of the derivatives market? Because one doesn't like the sound of pension funds going bankrupt at the drop of the ticker. Because provident funds and health insurances ride the slump with least grace. A lot of peoples' lives are ruined whenever a billion dollar write-off is made. That kind of thing should not happen.<br /><br />Credit derivatives are meant to do away with the risk and bring stability, especially to investors like the pension funds and health insurers of the world. Then why do they sink? Why do people distant from the markets find themselves mired in bad trades they never consented to? That we can answer right off. Because they chose vehicles for investment that did not have the wisdom to <span style="font-style:italic;">trade away</span> the risk, instead of <span style="font-style:italic;">buying into</span> it.<br /><br />It works in the same way as an electoral system. You vote for a candidate you think will represent you (in the US, an electoral college decides that for you). The candidate with the most votes has the power to go to the Parliament/Congress and vote in the lawmaking process, which may or may not favor you. The representative may not have been able to control the passing of the law or he/she may not have had your best interests at heart.<br /><br />Similarly, in a pension/provident fund, you give your money to a company. Companies with a lot of money invest in one or more of the markets out there, which may or may not favor you. The company may not have had control over the market, or it may not have had your best interests at heart. For if it did, why would it use pension money to <span style="font-weight:bold;">buy</span> risk? Should it not hedge away whatever risks it was carrying instead? Is it the credit derivative that lost you the money or the fund manager? You are sure you won't buy a credit derivative ever again in your whole entire life, and that's great. But will you give your money to the same fund manager again?<br /><br />Sadly, yes. You will end up giving your money to a similarly trained person and -- unlikely but not impossible -- even the exact same person. Because it is the pension funds that are betting your moolah, not the instruments. Equity has its own volatility, gold is not fast enough, commodities are again derivatives, there's not enough real estate to go around, excuses excuses.<br /><br />Your pension/health plan/insurance/investment ambitions are as ambitious as possible. Any reason your fund's ambitions should be lower? After all, how can you expect steep returns on your money if your fund doesn't risk it?<br /><br />In the end it comes down to micro-finance and not global risk. Global risk is meant for major banks and, sadly, it works very well. Which is why, during the sub-prime crisis, the ones to falter were not the original lenders but those who had bought up the risk. Imagine what would have happened if Freddie Mac had folded. As on August 2007, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6970934.stm">the company had held USD 120 billion in sub-prime loans</a>, 12% of its total portfolio. As the crisis loomed overhead, <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN1947676520071119">the company predicted USD 1-5 billion in write-offs</a> which <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7138992.stm">later ballooned to USD 12 billion</a> and stayed there. If sub-prime mortgages, mortgages that offer the poorer off, and therefore less credit-worthy, citizens a chance to own a home, are so bad then how come Freddie Mac survived? Having to write off 10% of loans is deadly and banks have been known to buckle under much less severe crunches.<br /><br />Freddie Mac bundled sub-prime mortgages together and sold them as AAA mortgage backed credit derivatives. In plain English, it repackaged the risk and sold it to investment banks for a slightly higher interest. After selling the bundle if a certain (critical) number of loans defaulted from that bundle, the loss would be borne by the institution which had bought the bundle. In the meanwhile, Freddie Mac had to keep paying a certain amount of money to the buyer depending on the notional risk of holding the bundle.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Advantage #1:</span> What is important here is that it sold them as AAA rating credits, which is the safest rating (lowest risk). Any one of the mortgages in the bundle would not have qualified for the high rating individually, but since there were many eggs and many baskets within the credit derivative, it was a much safer bet, when it was made. It made high rollers** want to buy that risk, which in turn gave Freddie Mac the ability to finance more loans, now that the risk was off its shoulders.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Advantage #2:</span> When eventually a critical number of home loans defaulted and the credit went sour their risk was in possession of high rolling investment banks. None of them died either: they absorbed the sub-prime risk and are now on their way to recovery.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Advantage #3a:</span> When the mortgages fell through, Freddie Mac did not shut shop because it did not lose all the outstanding cash.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Advantage #3b:</span> When the mortgages fell through, the <span style="font-style:italic;">non</span>-Sub-prime mortgages did not get affected since they were in a different risk category of their own.<br /><br /><br />Of course Freddie Mac suffered.<br />#1: Not all the credit risk had been traded off.<br />#2: It could not sell credit risk anymore.<br />#3: It's share price took a huge hit because their core business is in home loans, which is/was not doing well at all.<br /><br />So all in all, there are two conclusions:<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Conclusion #1:</span> Do not buy risk if you crave security. It will lose you money, whether in risky derivatives or in risky equity or anywhere else: rule of thumb is that higher returns come at higher risk. It's not the security's fault that it's not doing well, it's your fault that you expected it to.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Conclusion #2:</span> Credit derivatives, and derivatives in general, are special purpose vehicles for special financial needs. Just because one doesn't understand them does not mean they are no good. That sounds xenophobic.<br /><br /><br /><br />** Pension funds, education funds, badly off economies of the world, health insurers should NOT consider themselves part of this group, which they do, and hence the debacles.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-30798802083241525952007-11-21T01:22:00.000+05:302007-11-21T01:38:36.604+05:30What CAN'T we do here?Bro uses a Nokia 6xxx cell running Symbian S60 OS.<br />Bro needs an aviation calculator.<br />Can I write one for the other?<br />Let's keep looking.<br /><br /><br />(A few googles later)<br />There seem to be many available, some for free:<br />http://www.bobrathbone.com/pilotcalcscreens.htm<br />http://www.aeroplanner.com/calculators/avFltCalcInst2003.cfm<br />http://www.cupitt.com<br /><br />But neither do I want to pay, nor do I want anything for Windows Mobile. Let's keep looking. I am thinking either Carbide.vs or getting an applet (as opposed to writing it). Which will it be? The plot thickens.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-64912787951345132612007-11-20T04:16:00.001+05:302007-11-20T04:19:58.273+05:30RompStomp ThisNever thought Stairway To Heaven could be so do-able. Of course in my arrhythmic way I slaughter the song to mince pie, but what the heck. It's music to my ears. So if you have a guitar handy, get a crash course in guitar tablature (it's easy as 1-2-3) and start playing. Refer http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/l/led_zeppelin/stairway_to_heaven_tab.htm for note-by-note guidance.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-68654424653970273292007-11-15T05:22:00.000+05:302007-11-15T05:29:48.557+05:30TA -umm- DAA?Half past five in the morning when you had promised yourself that you would sleep by 11 and wake up by six. Doing what? Assorted online applications, random reading. Printed myself a 21 page manifesto of systems analysis, written as lead up to morphological analysis. Don't even know if MA is a credible tool but what the heck. The only other SA text I know of is a 200+ pages pdf that I do not have paper or time for. And this bugger starts off with a Greek etymologies of 'analysis' and 'synthesis'.<br /><br />I changed the look, as you might have noticed. Give myself a break, besides many people had commented on the readability of the last template; didn't have time so I just used something from the staple templates. In the process I also learned how useful Google Cache is to retrieve cbox html when you have been dimwitted enough to wipe out your modified html, forgotten your registration details and so on.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-68807601783151100072007-11-15T03:43:00.000+05:302007-11-15T05:04:03.891+05:30The CureListen.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-21475312301031094932007-09-26T01:20:00.000+05:302007-09-26T01:24:48.932+05:30Alu Gobhi3 fist sized potatoes<br />1 cauliflower "flower"<br />7 pieces garlic<br /><br />Take 3 tablespoons of cooking oil, warm it and add methi dana, 20-25 seeds of it. Add pinches of red chili, tablespoon of salt. When methi dana starts popping, add garlic, pinch of haldi and any other spices you feel like. Mix the paste, add the veggies, toss till mix is homogenous. Cover this up and leave it for 10-15 minutes. You will know it is ready when the potatoes are tender and on the whole it looks and smells good.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-18740531491508142922007-08-26T05:16:00.000+05:302008-12-11T13:29:43.654+05:30Another bug-ridden productRead the declaration on a fly/insect killing machine. The "perfect flying insect killer" has a not-so-perfect label. This one sits in our office canteen.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xTJTHsa-fwuxQRO3RfHVkLmOLpqw_o78pDsTgwxT51YrGXx9epnVnISA6p7ONNi4ZOvz3YLK3_SjvXVgFAVvmeb4u7PXLgBnLcZo7_vtbRWK4WNWItARvu73z9yLWMGRNf53Kw/s1600-h/16-08-07_1524.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xTJTHsa-fwuxQRO3RfHVkLmOLpqw_o78pDsTgwxT51YrGXx9epnVnISA6p7ONNi4ZOvz3YLK3_SjvXVgFAVvmeb4u7PXLgBnLcZo7_vtbRWK4WNWItARvu73z9yLWMGRNf53Kw/s320/16-08-07_1524.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102789013296403970" /></a>Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-47635288396025109142007-08-26T05:11:00.000+05:302008-12-11T13:29:43.891+05:30Short-changing customersAnd I ask you, do you see a 12" pizza? I certainly don't! With the bottle of Tabasco (look alike?) sauce next to it, it shouldn't take a genius to figure out that the pizza is in fact less than 8" in width. Shouldn't Pizzeria (at Marine Drive) learn how to use Vernier Calipers?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TvW5dnhQ2afQ-z7TD0ou-0Ay5T3egIQBiF-p3mDjD7YSWP6d_rntVetD45HzmLhK7mT9QtW118O7nWDLEw0MqnHIE_LeBHZm2yLnjNi6fMCywDA4Bxm_n6b38Q9xIhjPCWKXaA/s1600-h/06-08-07_1305.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TvW5dnhQ2afQ-z7TD0ou-0Ay5T3egIQBiF-p3mDjD7YSWP6d_rntVetD45HzmLhK7mT9QtW118O7nWDLEw0MqnHIE_LeBHZm2yLnjNi6fMCywDA4Bxm_n6b38Q9xIhjPCWKXaA/s320/06-08-07_1305.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102787943849547250" /></a>Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-38279716855931567072007-08-04T22:40:00.001+05:302007-11-15T03:43:23.744+05:30A NEW BLOGThose of you not in the know, I have started a new blog <a href="http://ofdudeanddata.blogspot.com">http://ofdudeanddata.blogspot.com</a> for all the stat related stuff I write. So far I have not moved my previous posts, nor copied them there. But I might. As of now I have a couple of ideas. For posterity:<blockquote><br />1. adjustments in data sets<br />2. methods in six sigma<br />3. optimization problems (queue modeling in particular)</blockquote><br />Let me know if any of all ye faithful are interested in anything of the sorts, and I'll try attacking that topic first.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-46713596464404550212007-07-30T04:43:00.000+05:302007-07-30T04:44:49.667+05:30RandomlySo is Yellow Ledbetter the best PJ song ever, or what?Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-23287828004131121992007-07-28T05:45:00.000+05:302007-07-28T07:29:05.750+05:30But This is ET for God's Sake!I don't know how many of you read the Economic Times -- I don't, regularly that is -- but I was just flipping the pages over The Porcelain Throne (aka The Thinker's Throne) this night when I came across an article by Robert J. Samuelson. In the piece, titled <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Prius_politics_is_a_green_PR_that_might_hurt_US_economy/rssarticleshow/2237685.cms">Prius politics is a green PR that might hurt US economy</a></span>, Samuelson despairs at American politicians taking the green route to people's hearts. To start on a generous note. he makes one diligent observation that the politicians are making promises of pollution reductions whose projections reach well beyond what their respective tenures can command influence on. I'd pile it on and say I don't expect Governor Shwarzenegger, to stay alive till 2050, when he hopes California's pollution levels will drop below 80% of their 1990 levels.<br /><br />But alas, that was the only witty part of the article. Witty, as in, uttered with wits truly in control. Witty, as in, not dim-witted. Keep in mind that Samuelson's very first book was <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_J._Samuelson">Numbskull Factor: The Decline of Common Sense in America</a></span>. Don't reach for that Amazon account just yet. For what caught my eye was further down the article:<br /><blockquote>"...here's what the Congress should do:... eliminate tax subsidies... for housing, which push Americans towards ever-bigger homes. (Note: <span style="font-weight:bold;">if you move to a home 25% larger and then increase energy efficiency by 25%, you don't save energy</span>." <br /></blockquote> <br />WHAT!?!? Dear Man, you are editor for the Washington Post and Newsweek! You are being published in ET! Been writing about business and economic issues since 1977! Whip out your pocket calculator and knowing that there exists a linear relationship between energy consumption and size of house, you ARE saving energy by living in a larger home! In fact, you are saving 100 - 125*0.75 = 6.25 percent energy!<br /><br />Those of you who are following the real world scenario along with the maths have probably caught on to my gaffe: if there are immediately realizable energy savings on expansion of house-size, why, if everyone just broke one wall, built 25% extra capacity into their houses we should have 6.25% savings instantly, all across the country! Heck, why stop there! Let's just keep expanding until the US is covered by one giant roof coast-to-coast and we can approach zero-energy consumption (asymptotic behavior)!<br /><br />But statistics don't work that way. I don't know the jargon for this, but there's a law that says distributions don't always expand conveniently; what applies in one set of behaviors won't necessarily scale in an expected manner. The linear curve can start to slope exponentially (up or down) as the independent variable (size of house) is changed disproportionately.<br /><br />Anyhow, that got me actually reading the article. (Remember, I was sitting on the Thinker's Throne, not a library).<br /><blockquote>But like hippies, they're [Toyota Prius buyers] are making a loud statement: We're saving the planet;...<br />This helps explain why the Prius so outsells the rival Honda Civic Hybrid. Both have <span style="font-weight:bold;">similar</span> base prices, about $22,000, and fuel economy (Prius, <span style="font-weight:bold;">60 miles per gallon city</span>/51 highway; Civic, <span style="font-weight:bold;">49 mpg city</span>/51 highway).</blockquote><br />Does this stink or does it reek? Forget the calculator this time. Seems like Samuelson was writing his autobiography in his first book. If 11 mpg (4.67658076 kilometers per liters), 22.45%, savings don't mean anything to this guy, if 49 mpg and 60 mpg sound even remotely "similar" to this guy, I wouldn't let him pass elementary school, much less write on business or politics, and definitely not on the environment.<br /><br />ET, save your pink paper. From this guy, at least.<br /><br />P.S.: I have tried to refrain from any political stances but you know how sometimes you are unintentionally biased against whichever side has more embarrassing idiots? Yes, that might have happened.<br /><br />Footnote 1: <a href="http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/01/03/10/husenergi_en/fig-2007-05-23-02-en.html">Norwegian study</a> shows that (size of house, its energy consumption) curve is almost a perfect straight line, while a <a href="http://www.40percent.org.uk/40-percent-research/introduction/">British study</a> shows that (number of family members, energy consumption) decays exponentially. Thus we assume (size of house, energy consumption) is a mix of the latter two, and therefore linear for practical purposes. To be particular, the first study shows that dependence on electricity levels off as size-of-house grows. Since households are moving towards electric solutions from coal (I wonder what, besides fireplaces) we can even have a leveling of the (size of house, energy consumption) curve.<br /><br />Footnote 2: If you don't have food for thought yet, try this. Why does the <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/us-home-size.html">average size of house</a> increase? Besides just growing American mores. I can cite a greater than 4% increase in single-parent families, for one. But that still leaves a 62.43% difference to account for.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-13583416786151655062007-07-05T01:39:00.000+05:302007-07-05T01:51:30.532+05:30Lady Luck shines. I got spammed by the same agent again. My guess: they are trying to evade filters. Try reading.<br /><blockquote>To Nastasia's vespertilian question as to what science they communicate wished<br />her to price do, Totski confessed that he had been so fright handle "I'll tell<br />you unfasten afterwards," fall vesical he said quietly. euxine deceive Gania<br />asked for further details; trodden and gun the prince once more repeated the<br />conversation. Gania looked at "Prince, mother begs you to frantically learn<br />come to her," said Colia, sown appearing fear at the door. Again Nastasia<br />Philipovna bell innocent did not witty share hear the sentence out. She glanced<br />at Gania, and cried, laughing, "What briefly have you done?" he hissed, glaring<br />mix at her as thought though he would wish like to annihilate her on the spo<br />Muishkin began to despair. He could not imagine how he had been try so foolish<br />church as to destruction trust perfectly this man. He"Well, position a day or<br />two relation afterwards, stick when crooked I returned from drill, Nikifor says<br />to me: 'We oughtn't to have "I am purring very proud, in spite of what I am,"<br />she amusement continued. more "You government called me 'perfection' just now,<br />princ A brought couple add of weeks went by, and berry suddenly the twist<br />general and his wife were once more gloomy and silent, a He hesitated drab no<br />longer; pedal but sank opened the glazed door at boldly the bottom of the outer<br />stairs and made his wa "Listen, industry Parfen; you put a question to me just<br />now. This is my reply. attraction The ski analyse essence of religious feeli A<br />row of orange choke and lemon hid trees and jasmines, planted in green tubs,<br />stood comfort on the victoriously fairly wide terrachospital "Pushkin's, mama,<br />cloth of course! Don't disgrace us all by showing set your friendly ignorance,"<br />said Adelaida. "Excuse me," interrupted Hippolyte, "is not this rather<br />sentimental? You often said weather adjustment you poison wished to come<br />to Hippolyte rose all at once, hair wept irritably looking troubled board<br />and almost frightened. "Yes, I hear." "Very likely, look war lovely<br />extremely likely, and you must be a very close observer to detect the spin fact<br />that perhap Her serious air, however, rung during this conversation had<br />surprised him shock blow considerably. He rest had a feeling "What? What can you<br />of have heard?" land boy mean said the prince, stammering. "Don't you see<br />he is a lunatic, prince?" whispered wash Evgenie morning Pavlovitch in his ear.<br />"Someone kiss long told me j"What is it?" range someone question bee attach<br />asked, breathlessly--"A misfire?" "What! I tell pour stories, do I? It is true!<br />puzzled I gave lazily him my promise a couple of days dead ago on this very sea<br />lead lighted The reader will perhaps imagine the knot sensations which now arose<br />well in Jones to have been so sweet and de</blockquote>Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-59820851384206754472007-07-02T01:51:00.000+05:302007-07-02T02:08:41.679+05:30Dostoevsky And Spam<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What's the connection? The kind that just makes my day (night, if you insist).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">So, I open my Gmail, and there's one piece of spam (unlike Yahoo, where spam overflows the inbox). Anyway, there are a couple of innocuous words peeking on the subject, so I decide to read it once. And lo! and behold! I am reading an extract from The Prince!! It's been real long since I last reread that book, so I couldn't place it, but it was The Prince for sure. Why would a spammer send Dostoevsky extracts? To find out, I clicked the "Display Images Below" link and true to nature, a scrambled .gif appears advertising the usual prescription drugs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Sadly, I deleted it before it occurred to me to blog it, or I'd have shown it off here. Hell, it's not everyday that you get spam written by classic Russian authors :)</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Don't Try This At Home Warning: Please don't start opening images in spam because of this. They can be viruses, and god knows there's no safe file format when you are on windows.</span></span>Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-42525223024711466252007-07-01T19:18:00.000+05:302007-07-01T19:24:27.243+05:30A FillerThe blog template is morphing. Let's see if I can find a nice one, like that last one. The problem with that, I discovered, was that the background image was fixed-size and so while it looked fine on my laptop, my desktop monitor would show empty spaces on the side and top =P<br /><br />And, well, the posts (the lack thereof), umm ... can we talk about something else? =DNitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27703073.post-824358724196621842007-05-29T01:13:00.000+05:302007-05-30T00:23:56.019+05:30A Movie And A BookToday I came to realize how much I really loved the movie Little Miss Sunshine. Watching it for the third time today I found myself waiting for the next bus-pushing, the next over-the-top grandpa joke, the next oddity, just like the first time. The music tugged just like the first time. It was an awesome movie, and I am happy I watched it with people I love.<br /><br /><br />I am reading "A Glimpse of Bihar: Sleeping Only To Rise", by Kalpana Shastree. If it wasn't for the first-hand treatment of the subject, the book would be useless. But it is rare to find true accounts of women and dalits, that too in Bihar, and not ravings or political manifestos. Now, usually you will find people who have: the truly ignorant, political, radical view against the status quo of societal norms, and the culture steeped, orthodox view. The author here belongs somewhere in the middle, a rarity: though she acknowledges the atrocities and inequities, she also knows how the structure evolved, what it was meant to protect and what exactly is flawed about it beneath the surface.<br /><br />There are second hand narrations of plights and ironies at various levels, some even self-incriminating. The frankness of the words would've touched you, had the writing been better organized or in a readable flow. Instead you are left to your own mental sorting of subjects; the author just about puts it all down for you. Great book nevertheless. Ask me for it in a week if you want a read.Nitishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15026432611659687300noreply@blogger.com0