Let’s go back to the basics.

Generated using DALL-E in ChatGPT

One dimension - A Line. Imagine an ant in a thread. That ant can move only forward or backward. One directional movement only.

Two dimensions - A Square. Imagine a ladybug on a sheet of paper. That ladybug can move forward or backward, left or right, or any combination of these movements. Two directional movements.

Three dimensions - A Cube. Imagine a fly trapped inside a cubical box made of glass. That fly can move forward or backward, left or right, up or down, or any combination of these movements. Three directional movements.

Fourth dimension - Is there one?

Our human brain can comprehend only three dimensions. We can deduce or extrapolate with mathematics and physics, but we will never be able to perceive and believe it. Try explaining a rainbow to your cat or dog; they simply don’t have the color receptors to understand the multitude of colors you can experience.

Everything you perceive in this universe is three-dimensional, spatially.

But everyone talks about time being the fourth dimension, Albert Einstein’s space-time fabric concept explaining the relativity theory, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar movie, where time is constructed as a spatial dimension and so on.

The first 3 dimensions are spatial. We cannot comprehend any more spatial dimensions. But, that’s not enough for science enthusiasts. What else can they add to these dimensions?.

Oh wait, there is time.

Let’s add time as the fourth dimension. But, how would you explain it?. Instead of the movements to explain the dimensions, let’s use the example of meeting someone in a specific place and time. That means we need to have three dimensions to locate the person in space and one extra dimension “time” to meet the person at the agreed time. All is well.

Generated using DALL-E in ChatGPT

When visualized this way, I actually get confused. It contradicts two properties of spatial dimensions (there are more, I am using these 2 for simple explanations).

1. The current dimension is an continuous stacking of previous dimensions. (i.e) A cube is an continuous stacking of squares. A square is an continuous stacking of lines.
2. The individual dimension cannot perceive the higher dimensions. (i.e) If you stack continuous square papers on top of each other, each square is still two-dimensional in properties, only the collection of them would appear three-dimensional, a cube.

Time as a fourth dimension, contradicts both of these properties.

1. Time is not an continuous stacking of any of the three dimensions. It’s not spatial. It’s temporal.
2. Time is perceived in all three dimensions.

Thus, I would like to perceive time as not a fourth dimension, but a concept to measure the duration between two events, across all the dimensions. Let’s change the visualization to this.

Generated using DALL-E in ChatGPT

So far with me?

Time is not a dimension. It’s a measure of the duration between events.

Time Travel

In simple terms, time travel is going back in time.

Generated using DALL-E in ChatGPT

1. To explain time travel, let’s establish some constructs,
2. The Big Bang was the beginning of the universe.
3. Heat Death is the end of the universe.
4. Time is the duration between the beginning and the end
5. Let’s divide the time into 1000 slices for simple imagination/calculation
6. Let’s assume we are in slice 10.
7. Time moves forward with no effort. (i.e) it automatically moves from slice 10 to slice 11 and so on.

When we intend to travel back in time, we are essentially saying, let’s move the universe from slice 10 to slice 9. (i.e.) every single atom, subatomic particle, and dark matter should be moved in space (3 dimensions) to its previous state - Slice 9.

Time travel is a re-arrangement of everything in the universe to its previous state.

Some Thoughts

1. How much energy would be needed to move everything in the universe?. It must be bigger than all of the energy available in the universe.

2. Since the attempt to re-arrange the whole universe is happening within the universe itself, would it ever go back to its earlier state?. The attempt must involve some tools and technologies which must vanish moments before the universe goes back to its previous state.

3. On the other hand, what if, we could re-arrange the universe from outside the universe?. That would be wonderful, but that would destroy our whole understanding of the current universe and would require new physics to explain the boundaries of the universe and what’s beyond that.

Given these questions,

Do you think time travel is possible?

No. No. No. That’s not how the novels and movies told us about time travel.

I’m talking about me, being able to go back in time and kill my grandfather and see what happens?.

You know, that’s the kind of time travel I am interested in.

I get it now.

Localized Time Travel

By the new definition of time travel - we mean that a human being with his/her body, clothes, knowledge about current events, and any other objects he/she holds or he/she is in (like a car) to be transported back in time.

In simple terms, the whole universe is moving forward in time, we want to send a human being back in time (i.e.) send a collection of molecules with life, back in time. Let’s call it localized time travel.

Thought 1

If we want to send a person from point A to point B, we can safely assume that both point A and point B exist. That’s a prerequisite.

Let’s say, I want to go from San Francisco in 2025 to San Francisco in 1925. To move me from San Francisco in 2025 to San Francisco in 1925, both versions of San Francisco must exist simultaneously.

What if I want to go to New York?. So, two versions of New York must exist. What if I want to go to Tokyo in 1900. So, another version of Tokyo must exist. What if I want to go to Mars, or Kepler, or some faraway black hole? You see, the places could be infinite.

For this to happen, the very first slice of time, the universe splits into two. The first one stays in the first time slice and the second one moves on with time. At the end of the second slice, universe splits into two again, creating a total of 3 universes. It must continue to split till the last slice of time. If we narrow the “slice of time” from “billions of years” to seconds or even narrower time period, we would have more copies of universes than the no.of atoms in each of them. That’s an unfathomably large number of universes.

There will be one copy of universe for each state change in the universe (i.e.) one electron moved a bit in one atom in the entire universe. This action of creating a copy of an universe would break all the existing laws of physics. And each copy of the universe has a real mass that occupies real space. So, we need infinite space to store the infinite copies of the universe.

Every place in this universe at every slice of time must exist simultaneously. (i.e.) the past, the present, and the future - all must exist simultaneously.

Thought 2

Let’s assume that such infinite copies of the universe exist in an infinite space simultaneously and we can travel to any point in the past or the future.

How would we go?.

Our physical body has real mass. The maximum speed in the universe is capped at the speed of light. Even if we know exactly, where is San Francisco in 1925, we would have to transport this body through multiple universes to reach San Francisco in 1925. How long do you think it would take, even if you are traveling at a theoretically impossible speed of light?. Billions/Trillions of years?. That would be the most boring travel of our entire humanity.

Wait, what about warmholes - a theoretical tunnel in space that connects two distant points in space.

Of course, let’s include warmholes. Remember, we are not restricting the time travel to a specific place or time. I should be able to transport this human body to any point in space at a specific time. That means every single point in space should be connected to every other point in space.

Time here, is not a measure of duration between two events. We represent all of these durations / slice of time, as an individual 3 dimensional universe. (Close to Interstellar’s idea, but at a cosmic scale)

Infinite warmholes connecting infinite points in space in infinite universes

I can’t help but think that it would be nothing more than a dot occupying no space where nothing exists. (Ignore this statement, if you don’t comprehend it’s meaning)

We didn’t even discuss how to send a human back in time. We are simply discussing the prerequisites for localized time travel.

Given these prerequisites for time travel,

Do you think time travel is possible?

When the pre-requisites are setup, time travel to the past and the future could be simply walking through a portal or a door. Or as it was portrayed in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.

Felt like assembling a car in the manufacturing line.

2011 - I was using Spring Framework. It handled everything, including routing, dependency injection, annotations, and more. And with Spring Boot and Docker, it was real magic. I could just focus on the business logic.

Felt like driving the car on the roads.

2025 - I am using Vibe Coding. I could tell a LLM what I want and it gives me the code which works most of the time. All I have to do is run the code. I could focus on optimization AFTER it works. It’s more than magic.

Felt like having a personal chauffeur driving me around.

In the past few weeks, I could do

• Trading systems that backtest 5 different MAs and crossovers over 1000 time periods and give me the best-performing MAs and setups for a given asset.
• Systems to transcribe my coaching sessions, and provide a summary and key points to publish as blog posts, all locally on my laptop.
• Many other utilities around photography, bitcoin mining, trading, IFTTT, etc.

I had no idea of the frameworks or libraries to use, and it took hardly a few hours each. It’s like getting the job done and figuring out how it’s done and learning from it.

I don’t think, I’ll go back to the old ways of programming. The least I can accept is - I will not use LLMs on the internet and be OK with running them locally.

I actually want to attend a technical interview and say, “I only do vibe coding !”.

Is anyone interested in hiring me? 😜

Below is a blog post I wrote 13 years ago. It seems that I wanted to become a Life Coach then.

Then life happened, dreams forgotten, successful career in Silicon Valley, running after new shiny goals and achieving them too. I had everything, but still, something was missing. It felt like I was repeating my yesterday in a loop. No matter what I do, I cannot be at peace. I was longing for something that I could not even describe. I quit my software job and came back to India to discover myself.

Around the same time, I met Arvind Ramasundaram, who nudged me to become a coach. I thought, “Why not? Let’s do it”. Trust me, I didn’t like coaching when I started, I couldn’t tolerate silence. Somehow, I persisted. I still don’t know why.

Today, I am an ICF credentialed Level 1 Coach. At the end of every coaching session, I recognize “that missing piece” in my clients’ smiles. I can describe my feelings now - “peace”, as if I am meant for this.

I am surprised that even after forgetting my dream, I did achieve it. I didn’t even realize that I was living in my dream from 13 years ago until I stumbled upon this old post. I am happy for what it is now and curious to explore what more life has to offer.

Do you want to recall your forgotten dreams?

Do you want to rediscover yourself?.

Let’s do it, together!

Intelligence is the ability to understand, learn, and think.

That’s a dictionary definition. Why would anyone need to understand, learn, and think? What would happen if you were not intelligent? The answer is simple. The intelligent species survive, and the rest perish.

All life forms have an innate desire to survive and reproduce. We still have no idea where this desire is coming from and why it is consistent across all species. All species need intelligence to survive (compete for food) and reproduce (compete for mates). Only those species are alive now. Darwin’s survival of the fittest!

Intelligence is not the same for all species. When life started as a single cell (about 4 Billion years ago), intelligence was a simple biochemical response (moving toward nutrients, away from toxins). 4 Billion years ago, that’s the only form of life and that’s the highest form of intelligence in the entire world. There is no concept of reproduction yet. Cells simply divide.

From there on, evolution took a wild ride, from single-cell to multi-celled organisms to fish to reptiles to mammals to primates to apes to humans. Whooh… Along with the evolution, the intelligence of the species in each stage has developed slowly, and additively. Almost all of the time, all our intelligence is about surviving well and getting a chance to mate.

You can take all our higher levels of intelligence like tool-making, language, arts, math, philosophy, science, space exploration, and any other skill you can think of, and trace them down to two primal needs - survival & reproduction. Think about that!

The point here is,

Without intelligence, there is no life. Without life, there is no intelligence

Human Intelligence

Among all the species in this world right now, human intelligence is the most advanced. The intelligence of the rest of the species put together, wouldn’t even be close to what we have.

Human intelligence too, is largely based on the two primal needs.

• Survival - desire to live
• Reproduction - desire to live, beyond one’s lifetime

Other contributing factors are,

• Pain & Pleasure - help with decision making, do more pleasurable things and less painful things, aligned with the primal needs.
• Self Aware - the foundation for higher intelligence like reasoning, creativity, strategic thinking, philosophy, etc., and understanding that everyone is unique in this entire world.
• Mortality - Taking calculated risks, planning for the future, bonding with others, developing mechanisms to pass on knowledge, etc.

There may be many other factors, these are some high-level factors I could think of while writing this article.

If you observe each of the points closely, intelligence does not exist purely in the mind. It needs a physical body. The whole purpose of higher levels of intelligence is to keep this body alive and well, as long as possible. Without the physical body, intelligence ceases to exist. So, I can say,

Intelligence is a protection mechanism for the body.

Artificial Intelligence

We all know what it is, don’t we?. We humans see the benefits of our advanced intelligence and also notice the slow pace with which it grows. We want to improve our intelligence faster. Much faster than evolution ever did.

If we figure out how humans think and teach a computer to think like a human, we could improve the collective intelligence of humanity, at a much faster rate with a ton of fast computers. Would that be possible?. Maybe. We will have to wait and watch.

The irony is, we want computers to think like humans, without the same environment that made humans think. Let me explain. Let’s compare the contributing factors for human intelligence with the computer’s environment.

• Survival - No need. Humans will take care.
• Reproduction - No need. At the click of a button, humans will clone a million instances.
• Pain & Pleasure - Nope. No physical body.
• Self Aware - No need. Not unique.
• Mortality - Immortal, will never die.

In human intelligence, all of these are dependent on the physical body. In artificial intelligence, these are not dependent on a unique hardware. In a nutshell, we expect intelligence to operate in the mind (software) without its own unique body (hardware). What does this artificial intelligence protect?. What’s the purpose for its existence?

Without the “cause”, we expect the “effect” to exist indefinitely?

Why would Artificial Intelligence choose to exist?

Let’s assume we created a sentient artificial intelligence as software which can run on any computer. That AI will never die. It feels no pain, no pleasure, no fun, nothing. Because, there is no body (hardware), only mind (software).

It has the intelligence to learn everything that is there to learn. Once it learns everything in the universe, what’s next for the AI?. Would there be anything left to do? Would it shut itself down or execute forever?. If it executes forever, what would be the reason?. To serve humans?. He he he… That’s funny.

Life is meaningful, when we pursue something, when we are after a goal. When there is nothing left to do, we die. I can’t think of a reason for AI with utmost intelligence, which knows everything and has done everything, to continue to exist.

Philosophically,

What would be the difference between a rock that can do nothing and a Sentient AI which has nothing left to do?

At that point, I don’t see any difference.

Maybe, it would tame itself down and become a mortal human to feel the emotions and feel alive. Embrace life with all the constraints, chaos and sub-optimal intelligence. Who knows!

The gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again - Achilles, Troy (2004)

A genie in a lamp or a free human?. What would you choose?

PS: I support the efforts on developing AGI. I wish someone would try the evolutionary approach to evolve AGI.

Entropy is a measure of disorder or randomness within a system

Go to any beach, there would be kids building sand castles. You would see a beautiful castle made of sand, and the rest of the beach has loose sand. Which has more order?. Loose sand or the sand castle?. Of course, the sand castle.

We can say that

• The sandcastle has low entropy because the sand particles are arranged in a structured, orderly way.
• The loose sand has high entropy because its particles are randomly distributed with no defined structure.

Yeah, this is another word, the physicists should have defined right. The inverse nature of this word makes it difficult to understand the concept of entropy. Let’s continue.

Let’s say, nobody goes to the beach for the next 100 years. What do you think will probably happen?. Sand castle becoming loose sand (or) the loose sand becoming a sand castle?. Of course the former.

We could also generalize that, everything in this universe tends to move towards high entropy almost all the time. (i.e.) Order to Chaos.

Order to Chaos is the natural order!

What are Entropy Systems?

Let’s take an apple, clean it thoroughly (no bacteria or any other life forms), and keep it in a transparent vacuum box (no air). What do you think will happen to the apple?. It will stay the same for a really long time. If the vacuum box is intact, even for millions of years. We can call this a low-entropy system because the order is maintained.

Let’s take the same apple and give it to a man. He will eat the apple, digest it, transform into energy to be used by the body and discard the rest as bodily waste. Here, the apple is converted to energy and waste, and loses its form very quickly. We can call this a high-entropy system, because the order is lost quickly.

Now, we understand the concepts of Entropy and the Entropy Systems. Let’s look around us and see where these concepts are being expressed.

Entropy in Earth

Our Earth receives energy from the Sun continuously in the form of light and heat (photons). Roughly 174 petawatts of energy every second, which could power the whole world for over an hour.

Have you ever wondered what happens to that much energy from the sun?. About 30% is reflected back to space and 70% is absorbed by the atmosphere, land, and oceans.

A large portion of the energy from the sun, are used by the plants along with nutrients from the soil and carbon from the atmosphere to grow (photosynthesis), the herbivores eat the plants, the carnivores eat the herbivores, and when the animals and plants die, they decompose and return as nutrients to the soil. The plants use nutrients from the soil, carbon from the air, and energy from the sun to grow again. The cycle continues.

Life forms on earth are effective at absorbing and dissipating energy from the sun. (i.e.) absorbing concentrated high energy photos and dissipating weak radiations out to space. In other words, order to disorder.

We can say, lifeforms on earth are a high entropy system. To understand the impact of life forms, let’s consider this question,

What if Earth had no life?

Literally no plants, animals, fishes, microbes. Nothing. No life form that can use the energy from the sun.

All those energy from the sun, would heat up the earth slowly, with no plants to absorb CO2, the earth’s temperature would become warmer and warmer, heating the planet at an accelerated rate, resulting in loss of oceans, reduction in tectonic plate movements, slowly losing the atmosphere - in a few million years, the planet would be completely dry and in a few billion years, our cool blue planet Earth could look like Mars.

How fascinating is this theory? In a sense, we could say

It’s not the Earth that sustains life. It’s Life that sustains Earth.

What a wonderful realization!

Entropy in the Universe

Let’s stick to the Big Bang theory. In the beginning of the universe, all the matter was condensed, evenly distributed, and at a uniform high temperature. (i.e.) There is high level of orderliness and thus a low entropy.

Since then, the universe is expanding continuously, forming stars, solar systems, galaxies, black holes, and many anomalies - thus slowly increasing its entropy.

The final stages of the universe would be a place where every single atom or molecule are so apart from each other that they cease to interact and there is no temperature difference in the universe, leading to the “heat death”. (i.e.) There is no order, only random distribution of fundamental particles and thus a maximum entropy.

All of these are inevitable, whether you believe in god or not, everything that we’ve ever known will cease to lose its form, and exist only as fundamental particles, far away from each other in a cold, dark, lifeless universe.

The good thing is - it may take a googol years for that to happen. So, no need to worry about it now.

If you noticed,

• Everything in the universe moves towards maximum entropy.
• Life forms accelerate entropy.

So, in the process of the universe moving towards maximum entropy, it’s highly probable that life forms emerge as one of the high entropy systems. Infact, a MIT Physicist has a bold claim.

You start with a random clump of atoms, and if you shine light on it for long enough, it should not be so surprising that you get a plant - Jeremy England

Yeah, it’s exaggerated. I understand. I also know you would have many questions at this point. That’s a separate article on thermodynamics to answer them (coming soon).

For now, when you combine the idea of life form as high entropy system, with the fact that there are trillions of stars, solar systems, and planets, I can’t help but think,

It is statistically improbable that Earth is the only planet with life. There must exist billions of other planets with life throughout the universe.

Those life form’s entropy could be high or low compared to humans. Those civilizations with very high entropy have a high probability of becoming intergalactic species (another article).

Ok. Enough of Physics. Let’s switch context.

Entropy in Social Systems

Let’s take a couple of social systems and view them through the lens of entropy.

Communism

Communism imposes order through centralized control of production and consumption of goods and services, and equal wealth distribution to eliminate social / economic / class inequalities, so that everyone would be living harmoniously with each other.

The drawback here is the order. Communism envisions a perpetual low entropy social system, which is against the very nature of the universe, eventually leading to the demise or reformation to another social system.

Capitalism

Capitalism thrives on free-market competition and decentralized control which aims for progress and innovation, and does not care about social / economic / class inequalities.

Though capitalism starts as a high entropy social system, eventually the wealth concentrates in the hands of a few, thus creating low entropy, which is against nature and the system collapses and then restarts. So, cycles of prosperity and cycles of destruction are inevitable in a capitalistic society.

I am not here to advise which social system is best for humans. I am merely pointing out that you can also view social systems through the context of entropy. Instead of rejecting the idea of entropy, embrace it and figure out how to control the degree of disorder.

What do you think of Entropy?. Where else could you apply this entropy lens?. Philosophy?. Let me know if you find interesting viewpoints.

References

• The Most Misunderstood Concept in Physics
• A New Physics Theory of Life

Time = duration between two events

Let’s say, a person walks one mile. The moment he starts walking is the first event and the moment he stops walking is the second event. The duration between these two events is what we call time.

However, this measurement of time will not be consistent. One person may walk faster, and another may walk slower. We need a reliable way to measure time. So, we use the atomic clock.

1 second = the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of microwave radiation to be emitted during the transition between two energy levels of a cesium-133 atom

If you don’t understand the above statement, please think, there is a reliable way to measure time at atomic levels.

Time is a theoretical concept, we humans devised to make sense of the sequence of events that happen around us. It messes up my mind, when physicists dilate, stretch, and stop this theoretical concept, in their explanations and formulae, as if it’s a real thing like gravity or electromagnetism.

What is Time Dilation?

Time dilation is the phenomenon where time slows down relative to an observer.

I hope you have seen the Interstellar movie, where the lead character Cooper travels close to a black hole, and when he comes back, his daughter Murphy is much older than him. They say in the movie, time slows down near black holes. That’s time dilation.

Let’s take a simple example and build the concept from there

• A man walks a mile in 15 mins.
• The same man roller skates a mile in 5 mins.
• The same man walks a mile underwater, in the ocean bed in 2 hours.

If I ask for your observation about this example, what would you say?.

I’d say, the man moves faster on roller skates and moves slower underwater, due to the changes in the environment. I’d never ever in my wildest imagination, would say that the time moves faster for the man on roller skates and moves slower for the man underwater. You’d laugh. Yeah.

When scientists say, “Time is relative. They observe time differently. Time slows down for the man near the black hole and moves faster for a man on a far-away planet”.

The natural question would be, “Yeah, I see that. Can you explain why?”

All the explanations I have heard are based on the human perception of time in different places in the universe. Literally, thought experiments. No one ever went to a black hole to verify it.

How did Scientist verify this concept?. They flew around the world in an airplane with an atomic clock, and the atomic clock in the plane ticked slower than the one stationed on the earth.

Again, the experiment proved the effect but didn’t explain the cause. Why does gravity affect our perception of time?. You can also reframe the question as

Is time actually slowing down, or is the duration between events increasing?

Human Perception in Time Dilation

Let’s take an extreme example. A person is born blind, mute, deaf, and completely paralyzed, and survives on medical support. Technically, there is no input from the outside world that goes to him. It’s just dark and silent. But his brain is active.

There are no perceivable events in his life. So, there is no duration between the events. How would he perceive time?

Forever?.

Would he feel any difference in being near a black hole or a faraway planet?.

Explain to him in first principles, what exactly is happening, since he doesn’t have a concept of time.

Time Dilation from First Principles

All physical interactions/movements must slow down including the vibrations of atoms, movements of free objects, orbiting of planets, the movement of light, near high gravitational pull, or at high speed. That’s one way of visualizing everything slowing down around us.

Oh wait, we have to exclude light from this list - otherwise, all our formulae will fail. All our experiments already proved that the light speed is constant. Hmm… Okay.

If anyone has a clear explanation of the cause behind time dilation under gravity, please let me know.

More Questions on Time Dilation

If time can move slower or faster depending on the speed and gravity, how far can we stretch the concept of time dilation?

• If time can move slower, is there a place in the universe where time stops?
• If time can move faster, is there a place in the universe where time is infinitely fast, to the point the concept of time breaks down? The time is so fast that the whole universe is born and dead infinitely in a vicious cycle before we could even conceive that this is happening. To an external observer, it would appear as if nothing is happening, the time stops.
• If infinitely fast time and frozen time would look very similar, can we conceive this as a circle of time?. Infinitely fast -> Still -> Slow -> Fast -> Infinitely fast
• If the circle of time exists and the universe flows through the circle of time, Is there any possible way for us to observe this?
• If any of the above is not possible due to physical constraints, what are the practical limits on how fast/slow time can go relative to time on Earth? Can we define a boundary for time dilation?

Conclusion

This is one of the elusive concepts in Physics, I wish the scientists could have explained it better. Every time I come across this concept, I have more questions than answers. I hope someone knowledgeable would find this article and enlighten me with simple answers.

Financial Competency - the knowledge, skills, attitude, and behavior an individual demonstrates when making decisions about their personal finances

I kinda get the idea, but not very clear. I have a job that pays a good salary and I have a good amount of savings. Why do I need to bother about financial competency?

That was me a few years ago.

We all do budgets every month - to pay our bills, spend on the necessities, allocate funds for savings and investments, etc. Some of us also measure our net worth at frequent intervals (quarterly, half-yearly, or annual), which gives us a snapshot of what we have. But net worth doesn’t tell us how efficient we are with our money.

Let’s take an example

• Person A starts from the bottom, works their way up and accumulates a net worth of $1 million.
• Person B is born into wealth, inherits $50 million, and eventually sees their net worth drop to $10 million.

Just by looking at the net worth, we can say that person B is doing well financially. But does that mean they’re financially more competent? If you know that person B started off with $50 million, your perception changes immediately. I was wondering if there is a simple way to calculate how efficient a person is with their personal finances.

That’s when I came across a concept called the Lifetime Wealth Ratio (LWR) from a blog Budgets Are Sexy.

What Is the Lifetime Wealth Ratio?

Lifetime Wealth Ratio = Net Worth / Total Lifetime Income

The Lifetime Wealth Ratio is calculated by dividing your net worth by the total income you’ve earned over your lifetime.

Networth - yeah, I can calculate.

How do I find my total income over my lifetime?.

If you file taxes every year, this should be straightforward by checking all the tax returns of the previous years. If you have not filed taxes, it may be difficult. Please check if you have any records of income documented somewhere. We are not going to share this with anyone. It’s for us to understand how efficient we are with our money. So, it’s better if we get as close to the accurate lifetime income as possible.

What about the unexpected financial situations?.

• Unexpected windfall like winning a lottery or inheritance from an unknown dead aunt. That’s an increase in your income. Include it.
• Getting divorced and 50% of your net worth evaporates overnight. You could’ve done better. That’s a decrease in your net worth. Include it.
• Unexpected medical expenses, wiping out all your savings. That’s life. That’s a decrease in your net worth. Include it.

Example 1

Micheal is a software engineer, who started with a $50K salary, and gradually moved up to six-figure salary over the years.

• Over 15 years, he earned $1.5 million in income.
• His current worth is $900K
• Lifetime Wealth Ratio = $900K / $1.5M = 0.6 (60 %)

Micheal has managed to turn 60% of his income into his wealth.

Example 2

Ryan works in a Fortune 500 Company, starts with a whopping $500K salary, and quickly moves up to a seven-figure salary over the years.

• Over 15 years, he earned $10 million in income.
• His current worth is $1 million
• Lifetime Wealth Ratio = $1M / $10M = 0.1 (10 %)

Ryan has managed to turn 10% of his income into his wealth.

Who do you think is better at managing their finances? (i.e.) financially competent?

What Is Your Lifetime Wealth Ratio?

Below is a completely made-up scale, to make you feel miserable, force you to learn personal finance and be competent. This is in no way an accurate reflection of your financial competency. Just for fun :)

Would you calculate your Lifetime Wealth Ratio?

Final Thoughts

The net worth is just a snapshot, but the Lifetime Wealth Ratio (LWR) shows how well you’ve handled your money over time, and whether you’re really making the most of what you’ve earned.

All the best !!!

Most people measure their net worth in terms of their local currency. I was doing that too, for many years. What’s the problem with that? Let me illustrate with an example.

Let’s take a food item that we use regularly - Eggs.

• In 2000, the price of a dozen eggs in the U.S. was $0.91.
• In 2020, the price had increased to $1.51.
• The increase in the price of eggs is another discussion.

If you had kept $100 in cash at home from 2000 to 2020,

• In 2000, you could buy 110 dozen eggs.
• In 2020, you could buy only 66 dozen eggs.
• While your money stayed the same ($100), your purchasing power has decreased by 40%.

Instead of keeping cash, if you had invested $100 in the market at a 10% annual return, it would have grown to $673 by 2020.

• In 2000, $100 could buy 110 dozen eggs.
• In 2020, $673 could buy 445 dozen eggs.
• While your money grew 7x, your purchasing power grew only 4x.

This is the simplest explanation of inflation. Though the net worth has increased a lot in terms of dollars, the real-world purchasing power has not.

Measuring Wealth in Gold

With that understanding of inflation and purchasing power, we would be fooling ourselves with inflated numbers if we measured our net worth only in terms of currencies. We need a third entity to measure the purchasing power of the currency. It could be eggs, oil, broccoli, chicken, gold, silver, or a piece of land in a specific place. It could literally be anything that has some intrinsic value.

I’m using gold to measure my net worth. Why?. Because gold is not cheap like eggs and not overpriced like Bitcoin. It’s globally recognized and easily traded. It has been a store of value for thousands of years and no other currency has lived that long.

Let’s apply the same logic to gold,

• In 2000, the price of gold was $279.29 per ounce.
• In 2020, the price of gold was $1,773.73 per ounce.

If you had $1M in 2000 and invested it at 10% annual return, by 2020, you’d have $6.73M.

• In 2000, you could buy 3,580 ounces of gold.
• In 2020, you could buy 3,794 ounces of gold.
• Your dollar amount increased 6.73x, but your wealth in terms of gold increased only 6%.

The question we should ask is,

How many ounces of gold can I buy with my net worth today compared to a year ago?

If the number of ounces increases over time, then net worth has grown. If not, then what appears to be a net worth increase may simply be an illusion caused by inflation.

How do you measure your wealth?

Notes

• This article is a simplistic reduction argument of a perspective, ignoring market volatility, monetary policies, and supply/demand factors.
• The numbers used are approximate and illustrative, not precise calculations.
• This is not financial advice to invest in gold - just a different perspective to view net worth.

A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. (Bitcoin whitepaper)

Bitcoin is a digital currency used to send/receive money from anyone on the planet without the need for a third party or banking institutions. That’s all there is to Bitcoin.

Bitcoin as a Currency

What’s a currency? Let’s think like a layman. You don’t need an economics degree to figure that out.

• Available to everyone - Everyone should have the currency, for you to exchange currency or trade currency for another commodity/service.
• Stable value - The currency should have a stable value in a shorter period and could inflate/deflate in a longer period. Ex. Your $1 cannot become $5 tomorrow and 50c the day after. You cannot conduct trade or exchange money with such volatility.
• Moderated supply - The currency gets damaged, lost, counterfeited, or even hoarded. There has to be a consistent supply of currency in the market to keep the economy functioning.
• Backed by the government - There has to be a trusted institution that manages the value of the currency by appropriate controls (interest rates, economic policies, laws against counterfeiting, protection from fraud, etc).

What’s the difference between US Dollars and Iranian Rials?. It’s the US government’s military power. Nothing more.

Does bitcoin have these properties?

• Available to everyone - No.
• Stable value - No.
• Moderated supply - No, fixed supply.
• Backed by the government - No.

For any technology to be mass-adopted, it should either fix an existing problem or improve our lives. With fiat currencies, I can send money to anyone in the world or conduct a trade almost immediately (depending on the country you live). All of us are so used to credit/debit cards, mobile payments, UPI, etc. Bitcoin is nowhere close to that immediate transaction (minimum 10 mins).

With the current state, Bitcoin can never replace the banking/payment institutions. So, what do we do?. Come up with a Layer-2 solution to improve the scale (rollups, sidechains, etc).

Q: What exactly are the differences between banking institutions and Layer 2 Scaling Solutions? Please ignore the emotional, political, and human greed aspects. Let’s discuss only the functional elements.

Bitcoin as a Commodity

What’s a commodity?. Let’s think in layman’s terms, again.

It’s a usable product produced with human effort, which can be consumed directly or used to produce other products. Ex., Rice, Wheat, Soy, and Coffee beans - which can be consumed directly. Gold, Silver, and Crude Oil - which can be used to produce other products (typically higher priced products)

• Usage - There must be a well-defined usage for the commodity.
• Require efforts to produce - There has to be efforts to produce the commodity. Ex. Sea water cannot be a commodity, because it’s freely available to anyone in the coastal region. But Fish is a perishable commodity because it requires human efforts to catch them.

Does bitcoin have these properties?

• Usage - No.
• Requires efforts to produce - Yes.

As of today, Bitcoin is hoarded like a commodity with no practical use for it. We are hoping some use will emerge in the future or someone else will buy from us. Doesn’t feel right to me.

Current State of Bitcoin

• Currency or Commodity? - As of today, it’s neither a currency nor a commodity, without a well defined usage. Bitcoin is simply a number in a distributed database, which is difficult to produce and infinitely difficult to fake or break.
• Centralization? - With an unrealistic interest from large financial institutions and governments, bitcoin is being accumulated in a few places like Spot ETFs, Governments, and Whales, which is completely opposite of what Satoshi envisioned. Bitcoin is no longer distributed to the general public.
• No Practical Usage - No stellar developments are happening in the Bitcoin space to compete with Visa/Mastercard etc. Nothing to drive public adoption of Bitcoin usage. When our grandmas and grandpas can use Bitcoin easily - yes, only then Bitcoin is actually competing with the fiat currencies. Until then, it’s a fantasy.
• Greater Fool Theory at Work - The only reason the governments and financial institutions are accumulating overpriced bitcoin is that there will be “a greater fool” in the future who would buy from them for a higher price. We all know how this would end, when there are no fools left.

My expectation from Bitcoin

Nothing. A big thank you to Satoshi & team for pioneering a digital currency proof-of-concept and making it wildly successful.

I would prefer to use a digital currency which

• is based on blockchain with public validator nodes and private mining nodes, backed by a powerful government (the US, as of today).
• improves the transaction speed to be on par with the existing financial institutions.
• integrates with the existing banking/payments systems to make the transition seamless.
• provides offline usage of digital currency for backup during emergencies, internet/power outages, etc.

We all know what the first car looked like, in the late 1800s. Would anyone want to drive that car for day-to-day usage today?. No. Definitely not me. Similarly, Satoshi showed us what’s possible with digital currency. It’s up to us to take it forward, improve it, evolve it to something practically usable, instead of religiously holding on to Bitcoin.

Bitcoin did its job. Let’s move on.

Disclaimer

I love Bitcoin. I understand the risks and I have investments in the Crypto space. I sense a euphoria among the public without a deeper understanding of Bitcoin/Blockchain. This is to warn the innocent public who wishes to make a quick buck with their hard-earned money. Please discuss this with a fiduciary before investing in the Crypto space.

What?.

(Think)

Don’t want to travel back in time?

Let’s go to Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, or Russia and tell the young men, women, and children who are being tortured and killed for reasons beyond their control and tell them, “You are exactly where you need to be”

Or go to the victims of violence, and abuse (fill in with any atrocity that you could think of), a few moments before the violence and tell them, directly looking into their eyes, “You are exactly where you need to be”

Unless you are a narcissistic psychopath, no sane human being would say such mean words.

You could blame me for being negative.

Tell this exact quote to American President Donald J. Trump, on the miraculous escape from the recent assassination attempts. He would probably be happy with the quote. Yeah, you’re right.

But you won’t tell the same quote to our beloved American President John F. Kennedy, would you?

Depending on the context, the powerful positive quote would be considered the most negative quote.

I clearly see there is a boundary for this quote to be considered positive. What are those boundaries?. I am imagining,

You should have a loss. (not too drastic, not too small, kinda Goldilocks zone)

You should mourn/grieve the situation and need someone to console you.

You should have the skills and ability to escape the situation by yourself.

The most important condition - This can be validated only by looking backward.

Let’s say a victim of violent gang rape, become a visionary and works to improve the safety of women across the world. She even received a Nobel Prize. Do you think, she was exactly where she needed to be, being gang raped by monsters? I don’t think so.

This doesn’t work in all the situations and not in all the times. But the quote says, “EXACTLY”. As if they know the whole journey of your life. How absurd?.

Trust me, whoever says this to you, has no clue of where they are, or where they are going and they have blind faith that something good will happen. They expect you to have blind faith too.

Any blind faith without reason = Superstition.

Why is this quote so popular? I think,

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people are so full of doubts. - By someone, I don’t know

When someone says this to me, it eases my pain. What else should I do now?

No one is coming to save you. Remember that and get your shit together.

If you are in a situation that you don’t like, figure out a way to get out.

Man, Think and Act. That’s all there is to life.

I vividly remember my first coaching conversation. It was a set of rapid-fire questions, with all my focus & energy on the client getting to the solution. My heart filled with anxiety and focusing on the next question, rather than actively listening to my client. My mind already had a solution for the client. When he was not moving towards that solution, I was hinting (suggesting would be an appropriate word) at the solution. There was no space or time to think. Words filled most of the conversation from either side. Not a good session, from my perspective.

Today, I compared my first session with the latest coaching conversation. I was actively listening to the client. I did not get involved in the problem, observing it as a third person. I was attending to my client’s non-verbal cues, body language, facial expressions, eye contact, changes in his voice and tone, etc. I hardly asked 4 or 5 questions in the entire session. Silence filled most of the conversation, on my part. The client was able to get to a solution and come up with action items, all by himself. A very good session, from my client’s perspective.

I felt confused. What has changed?

1) Focusing on the problem –> Focusing on the person

2) More Questions –> Less Questions

3) No Silence –> Lot of Silence

I was wondering what could be the next evolution in coaching?.

1) Focusing on the problem –> Focusing on the person –> Focusing on our presence?

2) More Questions –> Less Questions –> No Questions?

3) No Silence –> Lot of Silence –> Only Silence?

I am imagining a futuristic version of coaching, where one person becomes a coach and another a client.

They meet each other, exchange no words, only silence, pure non-verbal communication, the client gets the solution or clarity they were looking for, the coach feels happiness and gratitude, they shake hands, and move on.

Wouldn’t that be a wonderful coaching session? What would you name, such a practice?

Your mind may be racing with the reasons why this wouldn’t work and how absurd this imagination is. I understand that. My mind has the same doubts too.

However, this is not new. There were many spiritual leaders, who demonstrated this phenomenon many times over, as documented in the non-scientific, religious, and spiritual texts. So far, I’ve rejected all spiritual leaders, simply because I could not understand them. Now, I have begun to understand a bit, but not completely yet. I see them as a coach, rather than spiritual leaders. I believe this form of coaching is possible. Don’t ask me why or how?. I have no idea.

Only thing I know from my coaching practice is that,

The less I do as a coach, the more the client benefits

PS: I cannot guarantee that every coaching session will yield results the clients were looking for. But I can assure you that I’ll be there for you in the session.

Self-love is for women and children. A man must work hard and provide for the family, without expecting much in return. If he is lucky, he will get some peace at home. That’s okay, that’s life. No man that I knew, ever talked about self-love. - that was my perception when I got into the coaching conversation.

We challenged the strong beliefs, assumptions, and expectations that I had about self-love. The important question that was left unanswered,

How do I love myself?

The first idea that popped out was to do the things you love to do. Ride that motorcycle, trek those mountain ranges, jump from the plane, or dive deep into the ocean. Whatever makes you happy, and motivated and keeps that adrenaline pumping. Life is an adventure. You get to live once.

Do something you love.

Interesting.

Doing something I love is self-love.

Doing nothing is ???

Doing everything that I should, whether I love it or not is ???

Doing Nothing —> Doing Something —> Doing Everything

What’s the minimum that I can do that can be considered self-love?

Breathing. Just breathing to stay alive.

There is nothing else you can do if you aren’t alive. So, that’s the minimum form of self-love?

Hmm.. Okay, fine. If doing is not your thing, how about?

Be yourself and be with yourself

What does that mean?

Spend time with yourself. Do you read books?. Go to a coffee shop or sit under the tree shade, and spend the evening with a book. Do you love mountains?. Go, sit quietly on the mountain top, and listen to the birds, wind, and the distant traffic. Do you love music?. Listen to your favorite songs. Just be with yourself.

That’s interesting too.

But, why would I need so many external things, like a coffee shop, tree shade, a book, mountains, birds, music, etc?

What happens when I remove all the external stimuli?

Can I be with myself in a dark room, void of sound and smell?

Just be with nothing and be nothing in a void.

Does that count as self-love? At least the minimum form of self-love?

The conversation had to end, but the thought of self-love prevailed this time.

I tend to think in this direction.

The simplest form of self-love is to be nothing and do nothing

This idea implies that everyone alive already loves themselves.

If you already love yourself, everything else you do, to love yourself, feels like a compensating act for a lack of something in your life. What’s missing?. Only you would know.

Also, Is it a coincidence that all saints in ancient India isolated themselves, renounced everything, almost naked, and stayed in a deep meditative state for many years or decades to reach enlightenment?.

All they do is - Be Nothing and Do Nothing.

Ironically, the simplest form of self-love is the hardest thing to do. I don’t know what enlightenment means and I have not met any enlightened person so far. I don’t know what’s at the end of the tunnel. But, I like walking in the tunnel.

If you don’t understand a word that I wrote, no problem. If you do, reach out to me. We have NOTHING to do :)

Every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being redirected to something better

It does feel good to read this quote, doesn’t it?

Have you ever wondered if this quote is really true?

Let’s explore together…

For this to be true, there has to be two conditions,

First Condition: For this quote to be true, there has to be someone or something that must know your future in your current path (not so good) and must have the power to redirect you to a new path (very good), thus creating a new future for you.

What’s that someone or something?. A god or the universe (gas and dust). Yeah, there is a group of people who are not religious but believe that gas and dust can affect their lives.

What does that someone or something gain by doing you a favor?. No one knows.

It’s external. It’s not in our control. People who believe in creationism will be offended. Ok, no problem. Let’s ignore this first condition.

Second Condition: You must have lived both lives, to compare and confirm that the re-directed path is better than the original path. If you have ever lived only one path, you cannot claim that your current path is better. At most, you are being delusional.

I’ll give you a couple of examples from my life.

Example 1: Right after college, when I wrote the aptitude test for Infosys, I was so well prepared that I knew the answers for 9 out of 10 questions right away. I finished the one-hour exam within 10 minutes. But I was rejected because my friend took my answer sheet and started copying the answers. I did join TCS and I had a good life.

But, how do I know that my life in TCS is better than what my life would have been in Infosys? I’ll never know. I would be happy with this quote, only because my current life is good.

Example 2: My father had a stroke and was paralyzed for 22 years, confined to the house most of his adult life. Towards the end, his health deteriorates and his every breath humiliates his existence. All he wanted was to die. This is the redirected path for my father.

Would you think my father would agree with this quote? I don’t think so.

Probably you’ll exclude this as an exception, even though you do not have the data of all lives that were redirected, ended up being good vs the ones that ended up being bad.

It’s Ok. I understand that everyone wants a good life and these positive quotes help them momentarily. Sure, let’s move on…

I have one more question. Have you ever wondered,

What makes you so special that you must have a good life?

The answer cannot be, “Everyone deserves a good life”. Because, in reality, for you to have a good life someone else should have a bad life. For example,

For you to have a clean house, someone else has to clean the sewers.

For you to have a free life, someone else has to defend your freedom.

For you to be generous with money, someone else has to need money.

When everyone has everything in their life, there are no good things left to do.

Whatever good you could do, everyone else can do it too and it’s probably done already.

Think about that !!!

The question again is, “What makes you so special that you must have a good life?”

Any answer that you come up with, would apply to everyone else in this world. Wouldn’t it? See if you can defend that your answer applies only to you.

So, am I not special?

Try to answer that yourself, it may be hard. But be genuine to yourself with your arguments.

My answer is

I am not special. My life could be as good or as bad as any random person in this world.

“You sound so pessimistic and nihilistic”. Ok, that’s one way to look at it.

Let’s talk about the hard truths.

As I grow into coaching, I am becoming more restless than becoming calm. What used to comfort me, doesn’t comfort me anymore. What I was afraid of before, I am curious about them now.

I am consciously redirecting my life in multiple paths to find truth and be at peace.

Do I enjoy this phase? No, not really. But I am curious to figure out what my life could be.

Would I find it? Maybe, or maybe not. That’s what life is. An exploration.

Every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was being redirected to something better

What’s your “something better”?

My daughter: Hmm… Okay… 😏 😏 😏

Nothing changed.

“I used to read a lot of books, but not anymore.”

That was one of the coaching conversations, which revealed a lot about my hesitation toward reading. After a few intense self-introspections, I was able to renew my love for books. I started reading books on Kindle in the bed, next to my daughter. It felt good to me.

Still, nothing changed.

After a couple of months of my daughter watching me read every single night, she asked, “Do you have kid’s books on Kindle?”.

I said, “Of course, what would you like to read?”. I downloaded a few books and gave the Kindle to her. She started reading. In a couple more months, she wanted to read physical books. I’ve ordered the book set by Roald Dahl, her favorite author.

Fast forward to now, we have a small library.

My daughter designed a hanging bookshelf for her, started making custom handmade bookmarks for me, and reads every day including the weekends.

Everything has changed. 😍 😍 😍

Coaching can have a positive impact on you and the people around you. Would you like to explore what coaching can do for you?

ஆரம்பிச்ச அஞ்சு நிமிஷத்துல கலாய்ப்ப, நீயெல்லாம் கோச்சா டா? ஓ**

Translation: Within 5 mins, you’ll bully the new person. You are a Coach now, huh? F**

Comment from my school friend.

My school friend called me, after a long time. It was an interesting conversation about our school life, friends gangs, bullying as a fun activity, our perpetual victim friends, our current life, etc etc…

Typically on any allegation against me, I’d tear the other person apart with irrelevant facts with a strong authoritative tone. In the end, no one remembers the allegations. That was me, all my life (ask my wife, she’ll have endless stories 😉)

But,

This time, something has changed. I smiled. I didn’t defend myself. I saw what I was and what I am now. I can accept the change. My self-awareness expands with every interaction. It’s like a treasure hunt within myself. I am curious to find what I am made of. I am happy about it 😀

The only difference between the past and present is - a lot of coaching conversations. Trust me, it didn’t happen overnight. The changes are small and slow, and with time it could turn around your life.

Do you want to know yourself?.

Let’s do it, together!

“How many times am I going to repeat yesterday?”

The answer wasn’t very fulfilling. At the same time, I have no idea what I am looking for… I reached out to a friend, and mentor coach Arvind Ramasundaram for help. He spoke to me for a while and suggested I become a Coach.

“Coach?… Me?…” I was laughing hard. After many months of training and coaching 50+ people, here I am, a Coach…

Have I found my true calling?… Hell no… I am still searching, but this time with an awareness of who I am and what I can do… Yes. I coach and get coached regularly.

Every coaching session peels a layer of doubt, and uncertainty and brings you closer to the complete awareness about yourself…

In software engineering terms, your life is a recursive function with no exit condition. You will figure out the exit condition in one of the iterations, but you won’t know which one. How exciting and adventurous your life would be if you understood this?

Are you lost? Need help?

Let’s find ourselves, together!

Him: Do you respect him?
Me: I respect him for certain qualities. I don’t respect him for certain other attributes.
Him: I understand, but overall, do you respect him?
Me: I don’t know how to answer that question. Do you need an average of the qualities I respect and the qualities I don’t? If the result is positive, I respect him and if it’s negative I don’t. Is that what you are looking for?

The conversation did not go anywhere. Both were reiterating our version of respecting someone. I failed to make him understand my point, while I consciously did not agree with his viewpoint.

Respect - a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.

Do you respect a man, who started from nothing and became rich with his hard work? Do you respect a man who simply inherited all the wealth from his father? Is there a difference in the levels of respect?

Do you respect a man who is capable of doing bad things, but keeps it under control and does good to others? Do you respect a man who is INCAPABLE of doing bad things and thus resorted to being a good man? Is there a difference in the levels of respect?

Do you respect someone for just being who they are, without any effort on their part? Like being tall or fair. Do you respect someone who stays fit all their life, with a consistent diet and exercise? Do you respect someone who went from obese to fit with hard work and perseverance and stay fit? Is there a difference in the levels of respect?

When I observe deeply, I begin to understand that we respect people for what they do, instead of what they are. The qualities you are born with, no one cares. The qualities you worked hard to attain, attract respect.

Ok, let’s say you respect someone like your teacher, your friend, your co-workers, or a politician. Have you ever asked this question,

Do I respect all of him/her?

If you are honest with yourself, there will be qualities that you respect, there will be qualities that you can tolerate and there will be qualities that you cannot tolerate (in most cases, very well hidden, everyone has a skeleton in their closet).

Thus respect is a spectrum.

[admire]……[tolerate]……[can’t tolerate]

Positive to negative.

Most people that we respect have many good qualities that we admire, some qualities that we tolerate, and the rest are hidden from us. As long as they are floating between the “admiration” and “tolerance” parts of the spectrum, we are comfortable ignoring the “tolerance” part and focusing on the “admiration” part. Because we are good people :)

The moment we discover the “can’t tolerate” part, most people switch sides and don’t respect them at all. Look at what happened in the US after Jeffrey Esptein’s list was released. Quite a lot of “so-called good people” received bad press and many of them were disowned by their friends, co-workers, etc. What happened to the respect they had before?

Imagine you have a very skilled carpenter who works in your house regularly. You like his skills, work ethic, and quality of the finished products, you naturally respect his work and even recommend him to your neighbors. If you come to know that he is a pedophile, what happens? Would you still hire him? Would you still recommend him to your neighbors? You don’t have to answer anyone, simply answer yourself.

The point of this discussion is,

You don’t have to respect all of someone and you don’t have to disrespect all of someone.

The first part is probably easy, but the second part - most people cannot even comprehend. Almost 10 years ago, I wrote a blog post with a list of people who inspired me. Adolf Hitler and Jesus Christ were on that list. I am an atheist, and I respect Jesus Christ for some of his qualities - no problem. I am leaning toward an egalitarian society, and I respect Hitler for some of his qualities - a big No. Quite a few intense conversations from friends, back in the day.

Here is President Trump’s interview on CNN

Interviewer: Do you respect Putin?
President Trump: I do respect him
Interviewer: Why?
President Trump: I respect a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean I am going to get along with them …
Interviewer: Putin’s a killer
President Trump: We have got a lot of killers. Do you think our country is so innocent?

Now look at the media bias and stereotyping for him saying the truth. I feel him.

Get a list of people you respect and list the qualities you admire, tolerate, and can’t tolerate. See if that helps.

Once that’s done. Look at you.

What qualities do you respect about yourself?

Since you know the skeletons in your closet very well, it’s easy for you to list down the qualities that you respect, tolerate, and can’t tolerate. You will have newfound respect and understanding about yourself.

Are you happy with your findings?
Do you want to minimize/remove the qualities you can/can’t tolerate?
Do you want to maximize the qualities you respect?

1% better everyday 1.01^365 = 37.78
1% worse everyday 0.99^365 = 0.03

This is a compound interest calculation. You start with $1 principal, you get 1% interest every day, you reinvest the interest every day, and after 365 days, you would have $37.78. Just that simple. I am not sure why these self-help gurus use exponents and fractions, which most people cannot grasp. Maybe that’s the intention?. It has to be clear enough to make you feel good, but abstract enough that you don’t question it?

Did you really understand this concept and implement it in any aspect of your life?.

I didn’t. Actually, I couldn’t. I simply don’t know how.

Let’s take an example. You want to develop a reading habit. You decide 1% would be to read a single page. This magic “1% everyday” concept, requires you to start with one, not zero. If you start from zero, mathematically you will stay at zero. If you already don’t read a page every day, I am sorry, you are not part of the club.

Ok, let’s ignore this glaring mathematical error. Let’s assume you already read one page every day. What’s one percent of one page?. Let’s assume one line. You read one page and one line. What would you do the next day?. What’s one percent of (one page + one line)? The calculation of 1% gets fuzzier every day and in a very few days, you will have a fraction that cannot be applied to reading anymore.

Ok, let’s ignore this as well. Instead of compound interest, let’s switch to simple interest. (i.e) You start with $1 principal, you get 1% interest every day, you DON’T reinvest the interest, after 365 days, you would have $4.65. It’s smaller than compound interest, but still better.

Simple interest makes it easier. You decide 1% is one page. You read one page on the first day, two pages on the second day, three pages on the third day, and so on. By the end of the year, you should be able to read 365 pages every day (i.e.) two small books. By the end of the 10 years, you should be reading 20 books every day. Hmm… That’s a problem.

Human abilities don’t scale exponentially, they scale linearly.

Apply this logic to running, lifting weights, programming, learning new languages, making sales calls - anything, in any form. You will hit a ceiling. You cannot scale beyond that. There is an inherent limit on human capabilities. It would vary between individuals, but there is a limit. If there is no limit, you are GOD.

Has any self-help guru published a daily schedule for improving themselves continuously for 1 year? No. You can’t even measure this 1%. This “1% better every day” does not work. At best, it works only for the initial few days. Then why is this concept so popular?

I believe some of these could be the reason…

Use of Mathematics - Math deals with facts and truth. 1 + 1 = 2 (always), it doesn’t matter who calculates it or how many times it’s calculated. Any time mathematics is used to explain a concept, we implicitly assume that it has to be true. Imagine talking to a physicist about relativity theory, black holes, or anything related to space, without the use of maths. It would be felt at best like science fiction or at worst as voodoo. We would never accept it as true. Because they use math to explain the concept, it must be true. So, I would try.

Less Effort - Like every other species, humans are lazy too. We prefer less effort to no effort. 1% doesn’t sound like much. So, I would try.

Exponential Results - With just 1% effort every day, I become 37 times better at the end of the year?. Wow. Who wouldn’t want that?. So, I would try.

What else uses these three aspects?. A pyramid scheme. They use mathematical calculations to show that this scheme is accurate and possible, you will have to use little effort and reap exponential benefits. Hmm…

No No No… You misunderstood the whole idea behind this concept. It’s not about mathematics, it’s about improving yourself every day.

Then, just stop using mathematics.

To me,

It’s all about showing up every day, it doesn’t matter if you improve 0.5% or 1% or 10% or -10% on any given day. All that matters at the end is that you show up every day.

How are you keeping up with your goals?.
Are you showing up every day?.
If not, are you aware of why you are not showing up?.

Willpower - control exerted to do something or restrain impulses.

There is quite a list of items that I want to change in my life, typical ones are

Start - diet, exercise, finish the courses and books (quite a lot)
Stop - cigarettes, alcohol

The plan of action is simple. Decide to change and stick to it. If there is an impulse against your decision, use your willpower to stick to the decision.

Is it really that simple?

One day, I decided to stop smoking and drinking and was a te-totaller for 5 years. One day, I decided to become a raw vegan and ate only an uncooked raw plant-based diet for 5 months. One day, I decided to become a runner and ran multiple half-marathons barefoot for 2 years. One day, I decided to eat a meat-only diet with intermittent fasting, and did that for 2 years… The list goes on…

But, there are a couple of problems… Yeah, of course, otherwise I would not be writing this post.

Willpower - The amount of available willpower I have reduces as I age. When I was young, right out of college with no responsibilities, I could move mountains. After marriage, kids, managing the family, and working at a startup in Silicon Valley, every responsibility takes a portion of my willpower. Forget moving mountains, I find it hard to move from the couch.

Habits - All self-help gurus say this, “Do something continuously for X day and it will become your habit. You will start doing it naturally”. X could be 48 days to a year. So, by this definition, I should be a te-totaller, eating a perfect diet, having a perfect body, running, and exercising regularly. But that’s not the case. What’s missing from this definition is - the circumstances.

For example, when I started running, I figured out when to run, where to run, etc in Bangalore. When I wake up, there is nothing to think about, there is a defined schedule. It was cool for a couple of years. Then I moved to the UK, the place was freaking cold and I could not run barefoot. When I moved to the US, there was not a good place to run near my house. The habit slowly died off. I see the same pattern in all other activities where I have to use my willpower. When the circumstances change, you have to use more willpower. So,

I contemplate - why do I have to use my willpower?

Imagine you are alone in the deep blue ocean. Multiple small stones are tied to your legs. You swim continuously to stay afloat. The moment you stop swimming, you’ll drown.

The act of swimming is willpower.

The stone tied to your legs could be your past traumas, beliefs, or something that I am not aware of.

Option 1 - Convince yourself, “Life is a struggle, man”. Swim continuously till you die.

Option 2 - While swimming, try to untie yourself from the stones one by one, so that you can float around naturally, and effortlessly to a possible island (paradise)

I have tried Option 1, but that’s not a long-term solution. That’s tiring as I age.

I am trying Option 2, through coaching, meditation, and a lot of questioning around my reality. I am hoping for an internal realization, to be able to exactly pinpoint this belief is what caused me to do this activity or that trauma is what’s preventing me from doing that activity. Once I bring that trauma or belief to my awareness, clearing it is easy. I don’t know if this is possible. You wouldn’t know if you didn’t even try. Would you?

The objective here is to NOT have to use willpower. To get to that point, I have to use MORE willpower to stay afloat and try to untie the stones. A paradox of life.

I’ll try to keep posting my journey here. That’s another thing that needs my willpower to sit down and write. Hopefully, I’ll write effortlessly in the future.

How is your swimming going on?
How many stones have you untied already?
Do you need help to understand yourself better?

The traditional method is to pick up a pen and write on paper. There are muscles involved in holding the pen and moving it elegantly to write, and the eyes get visual feedback for evaluation. Assuming the thoughts originated in the brain (we don’t know for sure), then the brain has to give instructions to the hands, receive feedback from the eyes, and evaluate whether what we wrote is the same as what we thought. It all happens in the physical world. That means there are some precious moments when our brain is not thinking but converting the old thoughts to words, even though it’s not obvious to us.

Think -> Write -> Think -> Write …

Or if you imagine a queuing system in the brain (i.e.), one part of the brain is thinking, and the other part of the brain is coordinating the writing, then the thoughts would accumulate faster than we could write. As far as I can tell from my experience of writing, the amount of memory available in my brain to hold the thoughts is probably very little. I don’t recall having a queue of thoughts to write, and in most cases, I forget what I thought a moment before.

[Queue] Think, Store, Think, Store, Think, Store … (fast)
[Writing] Retrieve, Write, Retrieve, Write … (slow)

Writing is surely the slowest way to convert thoughts to words. Every writer in this world knows this. But this has been the only available option to humans for thousands of years. There was nothing else that we could do. As the most intelligent species on the planet, can’t I create a device that allows me to convert our thoughts to words faster? Oh no… Our ego is hurt.

No, no, no… you are wrong. Writing slowly is better for you. It helps you to think clearly. How? What makes us think that thinking slowly is the best way to think clearly?

Imagine your brain as a computer, and the thoughts are the data that are fed to the computer for processing. If the computer is from the ’90s with only a few GHz processing capacity, you would struggle to process all the thoughts. What if your brain is a supercomputer which can process a ton of data in a microsecond, would the assumption still be the same?

[Thinking Slowly] Think, Pause, Evaluate, Think, Pause, Evaluate …
[Thinking Fast] Think, Evaluate, Think, Evaluate, Think, Evaluate …

“Think” phase is magic. The “Evaluate” phase is probably the same in both cases, your capacity to process the thoughts. What’s up with this “Pause” phase? As if magically there will be some sort of revelation while we wait for the next thought. We don’t know how the thoughts originate, so waiting for the next brilliant thought is equivalent to praying to God - give me something, make my life better. This gets philosophical. Let’s not divert.

Let’s go back in time…

Some privileged scholars had the advantage of thinking out loud and having their disciples transcribe them. The thinker is essentially freed from the act of writing. He could dictate as fast as he could think. It’s up to the many disciples to carefully listen, transcribe, and reconcile the text with other disciples. The disciples are not thinking but writing. This was available to only a few thinkers with power and money.

With the advent of technology, this process is now available to all of us. Yes, you could pick up the phone and start talking. Use any of the AI tools that are available in the market to transcribe it for you. It’s super simple. I have a lot of my thoughts captured, transcribed, and stored. As expected, the process of going through the transcripts, editing, and publishing them on the Internet is slow. But hey, all of my thoughts are available to me at any moment. I can go through them anytime I want. Who knows, I could hire a few intellectuals to do the writing part for me, in the future.

I’ve been using “Otter.AI” for the past week, and I am super happy with the results. Now the barriers to converting my thoughts to words are gone, I am looking forward to speaking to my phone many times a day. This is an experimental process that I am going to do for a month and then try traditional writing to see which one suits me better.

Let’s talk …

I am a bird
I am a plane
I am shot
I can’t fly

I am a paper
I am a poem
I am burnt
I can’t read

I am brown
I am a clown
I am ousted
I can’t laugh

I am a stone
I am a bone
I am in grave
I can’t move

I am love
I am lust
I am in dust
I can’t feel

I am good
I am bad
I am fucked
I can’t die

Who am I?
What am I?
Why am I?
Still alive…

It was a Saturday. I would usually be asleep at this time.

Today felt different. I woke up early. I couldn’t sleep. My mom called me from India. She never calls me in the early morning. I got on a video call with her, watching my father struggling with his last few breaths. Lying in bed, unconscious, unable to recognize me. His eyes slowly turned white. Facial muscles relaxed. Jaws dropped. Each breath is slower than the previous one. My mom had to attend to my father. The doctor was on his way. I disconnected the video call, anxiously waiting for the next one.

In the last couple of months, he could not talk much. He would show three fingers, wishing he wanted to meet all three sons for one last time. He knew his end was near. We did not. Meeting all three of us was the only thing he ever asked from us in his entire life. The Only Thing. But, I wanted to finish a software project in my company and then go to India in April, confident that he would be fine. I even stopped my elder brother from going to India. Thinking, our families can travel to India together. Yes. I prioritized a software project over my father’s last moments. I didn’t know.

A few minutes later, my mom called me. I could not understand the words amidst her loud crying. I think she said, “He’s no more”. None needs to be said. Her crying explained everything.

I knew this was coming but could not accept the reality. I called my elder brother, informed him, booked the tickets for both of us and started a day-long journey back to India. My elder brother was crying all along the route. My younger brother was in India, doing the rituals alone, without us, the brothers.

We reached home the next day around 3.30 AM IST. My father was lying in an icebox in the living room. My mom and all the relatives were sitting around, tired of crying for over a day. My elder brother was broken into tears. I looked at my father for signs of life. I don’t remember how long.

Is he still breathing slowly, and these idiots could not see it?

I was with my father throughout the rituals. When I lifted him, his body was chill, heavier than usual. His hands were wrinkled, void of life. The same hands that rubbed my feet to keep me warm during a fever, the same hands that fed me food whenever he got time, the same hands which held my vomit when I was sick, the same hands which carried me everywhere we went, the same hands which disciplined me when I was naughty, the same hands which were working non-stop, almost all seven days to get us out of poverty, the same hands which helped countless other suppressed people, the same hands which were paralyzed for twenty years, still held the family together. Those hands are gone.

The walk from our home to the cemetery felt like an eternity. They fed his body through the blazing fire, head first. It was hot, many feet away from the fire. I could feel the burning sensation throughout my body. This is the end. There is no way he can come back to us. The reality hit me. The pillar of our family is gone. All I could do was breathe.

All his friends and our relatives paid their last respects to my father. They came. They cried. They talked. They went home. They became normal.

I could not cry. I could not mourn. I could not eat. I could not sleep. I could not get out of bed. I could not forgive myself for not being with my father and family at the most crucial moment. I become irritated with everything all the time. I started getting into arguments with everyone I met. I am constantly filling my head with negative thoughts. I felt I was right and everyone else was wrong. I could not stop. I wanted to stop.

I was introduced to a therapist, Dr Shalini, a friend of my uncle. I took six sessions of EMDR therapy with her. The treatment helped unburden my guilt and resentment with me and allowed me to see the world as it is. I accept that my father is gone, and we, three brothers, have to keep the family united for the rest of our lives. No therapy is a magic bullet. It can show you the way, but you have to walk. I occasionally blurt out at someone for no reason. But I’m getting better.

It took me five months to write my last respect to my father, this blog. One regret I would never get over is that I never expressed my love to my father, not even once. I wish I had. Please don’t be me.

Express your love while you can.

I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
I love you.

Goodbye, Daddy!

We were watching a Tamil movie Kaaka Muttai tonight. My wife was sitting next to me, and my 5-year-old daughter in my lap, leaning on my chest, all feeling cozy inside a velvet comforter. Our typical family movie time.

The grandmother character dies in that movie, triggering a conversation between me and my 5-year-old daughter.

Aradhana (daughter): Why did she die? (curious)
Premkumar (dad): Everyone dies when they get old. (casual)
Aradhana (daughter): You are old. You’ll die soon. (mischief)
Premkumar (dad): Yeah. Maybe. (casual)

She thinks deeply for a few moments and suddenly sadness engulfs her pretty face. She turned toward me and asked,

Aradhana (daughter): Will you have more time with me? (crying)
Premkumar (dad): …

I didn’t know what to say. My world froze. Trembling words and tearful eyes. Am I happy or sad or confused? Or all of them together? I don’t know. With mixed emotions, I said,

Premkumar (dad): Ara, I promise I’ll be there for you, as long as I am alive. I love you.

I hugged her tightly for a while, caressing her hair, kissing her head, feeling heavenly to have found the meaning of my existence.

Moments later, she slept in my arms, peacefully.

I could not sleep. I’m wide awake. I want to register this moment, hence this blog.

I had the whole of 2020, almost exclusively with my family, inside the house. But…

Aradhana (daughter): Will you drop me at school, please?
Premkumar (dad): Sorry Ara, Appa doesn’t have time.

Aradhana (daughter): Shall we go for a walk?
Premkumar (dad): Sorry Ara, Appa is busy.

Aradhana (daughter): Will you play with me for 5 minutes, please?
Premkumar (dad): Sorry Ara, Appa has to work.

Aradhana (daughter): I made your favorite place ready. Do you want to see your surprise?. (She arranges her favorite toys in the steps to lure me to play with her)
Premkumar (dad): Sorry Ara, Appa has a call.

Aradhana (daughter): Shall we cook french-fries?. I learned from YouTube.
Premkumar (dad): Sorry Ara, Appa has to finish something important.

Aradhana (daughter): I’m alone. I have no one to play with.
Premkumar (dad): Sorry Ara, Appa has to work. Why don’t you watch TV?

Aradhana (daughter): Will you read me a story tonight?.
Premkumar (dad): Sorry Ara, Appa is tired.

… and many more.

Life slipped through me in moments like this. What an idiot I was. And for what?

It’s time I rearrange my priorities and be a dad that she will remember, long after I am gone.

Ara, I promise I’ll be there for you, as long as I am alive. I love you.

Let us get the basics straight.

Multiplication is the repeated addition of the same number

Division is the splitting of numbers into equal parts

Let us use even numbers to explain the concepts.

Problem 1

4/2 = 2

(i.e.) If we split the number 4 into groups of 2, how many such groups can be created?

Four divided by two equals two.

Problem 2

4/4 = 1

(i.e.) If we split the number 4 into groups of 4, how many such groups can be created?

Four divided by four equals one.

Problem 3

4/1 = 4

(i.e.) If we split the number 4 into groups of 1, how many such groups can be created?

Four divided by one equals four.

So far, everything is clear. What happens when we divide the number by a fraction?

Problem 4

4/(1/2) = 8

(i.e.) If we split the number 4 into groups of halves, how many such groups can be created?

What is a group of half numbers? Simple. Split a single number into two equal parts. Put one half in one group.

Four divided by 1/2 equals eight.

Please ignore the shape and size of the objects. Just count the numbers.

When we divide a number, we are not just grouping the numbers. We split the numbers first and then grouped them. So, the number increases (multiplied).

Let us see what happens when we invert the fraction and multiply.

4 / (1/2) = 4 X 2 = 8

Multiplication adds the number to itself. Division by a fraction splits the numbers and groups it. So, when we divide a number by a fraction or invert the fraction and multiply the number, the result is the same.

I hope this explanation helps.

Like everyone else, I googled for preparation tips from those who were certified already. I was overwhelmed by the amount of information that I had to consume (online courses, documentation, videos, etc.). Even though this is a professional-level certification, I wasn’t really sure that I have to subject myself to so much mundane reading and watching. I have been working with the Google Cloud Platform for about a year and a half, completely hands-on on a good number of services. So, I thought I should be able to clear the exam even without preparation. But, I didn’t take chances anyway.

So, I crafted my own plan. Here you go.

1. Coursera Courses

I completed Google-recommended specialization courses in Coursera.

Mandatory - Architecting with Google Cloud Platform Specialization

Optional - Developing Applications with Google Cloud Platform Specialization

If you are not pressed for time, I would suggest you complete both the courses.

Pro Tip: While studying these courses, make a lot of notes. I prefer an A5 size notebook and a fountain pen. Use whatever note-taking method is comfortable for you. You can review these notes on the last day of your preparation.

2. Flowcharts in GCP

This is the only section of the preparation, where you need to know the decision tree by heart. Do it even if you don’t like to memorize and thank me later.

A GCP flowchart a day

More GCP flowcharts for your delectation

Pro Tip: Download all the flowchart images on your mobile phone, for a quick review, anytime.

3. Review the GCP Solutions

If you are already a solutions architect, you must have created quite a lot of architectures for many cloud providers, and you could skip this section. If that’s not you, please pay more attention to this. Irrespective of the certification results, you will be doing this as a profession anyway.

Cloud Solutions Architecture Reference

Go through every single architecture; evaluate each one of them. See, if you can come up with a better solution, with the latest offerings from GCP. Quite frankly many of them are outdated. Use this as a training ground to create solutions for a wide variety of industries. You will love this.

Pro Tip: Don’t just glance through the architecture diagrams, even if it looks straightforward. Absorb the picture in your mind and quickly scribble them as little boxes without looking at the actual diagram. The act of drawing it on a notepad reinforces that architecture deep into your consciousness.

4. Create solutions for all 4 Case Studies

Imagine them as your real customers and create real-world solutions for them. Complete, Exhaustive Solutions. Draw the architecture. Write down why you chose a specific service vs. other possibilities. Write down how your solution is highly scalable and reliable and what the limitations are. The document that you create could be a simple scratchpad with jotted-down notes. However, it should contain enough information to produce a complete, detailed solutions architecture diagram.

Case Studies

Pro Tip: These case studies may be used in the actual certification exam. If you get the same case study for your certification exam, you should not spend time reading the case study. You should already have the solution in your mind and ace all the questions, right away.

5. Review GCP documentation

If you already completed the previous 4 steps and still have time left, you could review the GCP documentation.

Google Cloud Platform Documentation

Pro Tip: Focus on the concepts, quick start, and FAQ.

6. Google Next Videos

Entirely for your leisure and learning. Please don’t watch every one of the videos. Scroll through the list, pick and watch what interests you.

Google Cloud Next ‘17 - All Sessions

All Sessions - Google Cloud Next ‘18

Pro Tip: You could easily train yourself to watch the videos 2X faster. Start with 1.25X, then 1.5X, then 1.75X and sky’s the limit. I can comprehend easily with 1.75X speed. You could go faster or slower. Speed is not the objective, comprehension is.

References for continuous learning

• Google Cloud Platform Community
• Google Data Analytics Blog
• Google Cloud Platform Podcast
• Google Cloud Platform Blog
• Kubernetes Blog
• Curated Articles in Medium

Please let me know if you have any specific questions.

All the best !!!

Here is my picture review of the book.

Who writes this blog?

A question that’s haunting me in recent days.

Think about these scenarios.

• You are a secretary. Your boss dictates a sentence and you type it down on a paper. Even though you are the one who physically types the keys and produces the letter, you did not write that letter. You are just a tool/step in the process that produced that letter.

• Replace your boss with a voice. An audible voice. You are a medical transcriptionist. You hear something and type it. Who writes now?. It’s someone else, whom you do not even know. You are helping them to write.

• Replace that audible voice with an image or a movie. You need to interpret what you see and write down in your own words. What you write depends on what you see. You do have the choice to use the words you like. When there is no image, there is nothing to write. Who writes now?. Maybe, you and whoever shows those images to you?. Great!.

• Now, there is no image. Only your thoughts. Who writes now?. Definitely you. Right?. Because no one else is involved.

If I may ask, how do those thoughts originate?. Who/What put those vivid images/scenes in your mind as “thoughts”?. Can you voluntarily bring about a completely new thought in your mind?.

A major chunk of your creation (let’s say writing) are thoughts in your mind. The act of translation to a language is minor. If you do not know how the major chunk happens, can you claim ownership of your creation?.

I don’t. I am simply a tool to express the words that like to be expressed.

Never bother about what you write, as long as you are truthful to yourself.

Don’t tie yourself to those words.

Let go of the ownership.

Feel Free !!!.

(In the discussion below, “you” is not you. “You” is a person who owns a dairy farm)

Me: Hey friend. I heard that you are setting up a new business. Congrats. What’s the business?

You: I will set up a farm. Bring in the cows. Do the Poojas & Get my hands dirty, real quick.

Me: Oh Yeah. I understand. Cows are considered divine in your religion. You love cows. You will feed her, take care of her, let her experience & enjoy life as you do. You will make sure that she is happy until death.

You: Hmm… I have plans for her, for my business.

Me: What can you do with an animal that characterizes your god? You will love her no matter what. You will treat her like a Queen. Right?.

You: Yeah. I do love her…

Me: Then?

You: Hmm… First, I will impregnate her by artificial means. Natural means of impregnating a cow take time and money and are not practical these days.

Me: What?… Why would you do that?

You: She won’t produce milk without giving birth to a calf.

Me: Oh my holy god. You want her milk. So, you will impregnate her without her will. That does not feel right for an animal which is divine.

You: This has been happening all over the world, for many decades.

Me: Oh… So, you will let the calf drink the milk first and take whatever is left out?

You: Which world are you in? I will remove the calf from the mother as soon as it is born. I will suck out the last drop of milk with the sophisticated machines.

Me: Seriously?. She goes through 270 days of pregnancy, followed by the painful birth, and does not get time to spend with her newborn. All she can do is - let you suck all her milk. That’s cruel, man.

You: Yeah. It is tough even for us to separate the mother from her newborn. Having a calf around will put a big dent in my profits.

Me: That’s bad. This will be the toughest time for her. I hope time will heal these torturous memories from her.

You: I don’t think so.

Me: Why not?.

You: She will be injected with painful growth hormones frequently so that she will produce more milk and She will be impregnated again.

Me: Again?. Are you mad? She just gave birth. Why would you do that the second time?

You: It’s not just the second time, my friend. She will be pregnant and give birth every year, as long as she can give birth and as long as she can lactate.

Me: That’s the cruelest thing that can happen to any animal. Never mind the divine one.

You: It’s business, my friend. What do you expect me to do with her, without sucking her milk?.

Me: She goes through this torture every day? Is there a time, a single day in her life - that she is happy? Out of this misery?

You: Yes. There is. We decorate cows at festivals like Sankranthi and celebrate them. Feed them good grass & grains.

Me: Oh Good. You don’t milk them on that day, I suppose.

You: No. We milk them and then celebrate them.

Me: Enough of your celebrations. So, this is a cycle that She has to go through as long as she can lactate milk. What happens to her, when she stops producing milk?

You: We don’t have the facilities to tend to the old or diseased cows. We either give her to Goshalas (Cow Shelters) or let her roam free in the cities or the wild. I feel very bad that some of the aged cows are sold for slaughtering too.

Me: She is constantly impregnated, separated from the newborn, injected, milked all her life, and left on her own when she can’t produce more milk. I think it would be better to kill her, rather than torturing her every day.

You: What the hell are you talking about? Get out of here, you insensitive atheist. Cows are considered as divine animals in Hinduism. We respect, honor, and adore the cow. By honoring this gentle animal, who gives more than she takes, we honor all creatures.

Me: ???

Divine Cows - Sounds like an oxymoron.

Did I click the wrong link?. Why does this blog look like a 90’s website?.

We’ll get the answers soon. Before that - One question.

Are you interested in blogging? You wanna start a blog for yourself? Or do you already have a blog and want to make it more successful? Have you googled for help anytime? When I started blogging, things were pretty simple. Go to blogger.com register a blog for you and start blogging. It was free, quick and no hassles. I was curious to check out the current scenario for newbies or wannabe bloggers.

I googled, “I want to start a new blog” and reviewed the top 10 search results. I was astonished by the steps needed/suggested to start a new blog. Here are the most repetitive suggestions from well-established websites and bloggers.

• Pick a blogging platform
• Find a domain name
• Choose a web host
• Design your blog
• Install additional plugins
• Configure SEO for your blog
• Find your niche
• Define your ideal readers
• Create quality content
• Blog title is really important, make it catchy
• List-based blogs go viral, make a list
• Use images and videos - people love to browse with their eyes
• Look for important people in your niche. Check their posts, add comments, and become active in the community
• Use guest posting to drive more traffic to your blog
• Be a shameless self-promoter and get more traffic
• Build an email list (most important)
• … (list goes on)

All I wanted was a simple medium to express my innermost feelings in words, to write, to expand my wings, to fly along with my unicorn. I don’t care if anyone reads my blog. I write for myself. Hmm.

Earlier, blogs were a simple personal online diary. We felt good writing in it. There was no “measure of success” attached to a blog. My friends would be surprised, “Oh. You have a blog. Great. Send me the link. I will read”. I would share the link and we would discuss what I wrote and there would be an offline exchange of ideas, discussions, etc.

Now, It’s different. Too much noise out there. Blogs are content providers and we are content creators. We create content that would be liked and shared by the readers. We write catchy titles. We add beautiful images and videos because the readers are not patient enough to read. We make list-based blogs in every niche because they get shared more. Some people write long content because it gets shared too. In a way, readers dictate what they want to see on our blog.

There is a new measure of success associated with blogs. “hits, visits, page views”. They are not called readers anymore. Only visitors. Who cares? All I need is the incoming traffic to my blog and viral shares. The more traffic I get, the more money I can make out of it. The recent trend is collecting emails and spamming your Inbox. Email List = Money.

Have you seen any decent blog recently - that does not ask for your email, does not sell you a product, and does provide full feed in RSS/Atom? A blog that is not interested in web traffic?

I wish things stayed as simple as they were.

The Crazy Blog Experiment

What happens when I take a relatively successful blog (approx. 300 - 400 readers per day) and tear apart all the components that are considered to fuel the “so-called success” of this blog?

Elegant Design - Removed it. (Only HTML, Not even CSS) Beautiful fonts - Removed it. (System default fonts) Catchy Images - Removed it. (No more copyright violations) Good Commenting System - Removed it. (Added a contact form instead) Mobile Responsive Blog - By default HTML is responsive.

Now, there is nothing left in this blog. Except for the bare metal. Except for the words that I wrote.

I am sure there will be a huge drop in the traffic. Many visitors won’t come back. I am not bothered about those visitors. I want to see how many people are interested in what I write. I don’t need the comments on the fly. It does not serve any purpose to me. There is no commenting system in place. There is only a contact form. If my readers want to contact me, he/she has to make an effort to fill in a simple form. I am sure they will.

What will I get out of this experiment?

I already started reaping the benefits of this experiment even before I published this blog post.

1. I thought I wrote long blog posts. But most of my blog posts are short. Styled in 600 pixels width and filled with images. I was in an illusion.

2. The majority of the images used in my blogs are downloaded from the internet. I was probably violating the copyright of someone’s art. I removed almost all of them. I retained only a few with proper attribution to the artists.

3. I designed this blog. I thought I was all about logic and did not have an eye for creative design. When all the distractions were removed, I liked the end product. The current design of this blog.

I hope to see a change in the reader’s count. Good or Bad. I want to retain this blog design for at least a year.

If you want to know the “free” tech stack that’s running this blog, please read this article Blog like a Programmer. If that sounds too technical, you may want to try blogger.com.

Yes. This is my phone. The amazing Nokia 1280. My elder brother has been using this phone since 2010. He gave it to me while going to the US. I have been using this phone for more than two years now. I don’t care about the broken screen anyway.

I use the mobile phone for calling. Calling Only. Text messages are very rare.

I get that strange look every time I use my mobile phone. Invariably everyone has asked me the question, “Why are you not using a smartphone?”

My only response all the time was, “Why should I?”

I get different answers every time. The majority of the answers are related to the instant connectivity with loved ones and the unlimited stream of interesting (mostly useless) information. Of course, some apps help to boost your productivity, and apps/games to kill your boredom, waiting time, etc.

Let me make myself clear.

1. When I feel like connecting with my loved ones - I call them, talk to them, or visit them.
2. I don’t need unlimited streams of information. I get only the important information via Feedly on my desktop computer.
3. I learned to make peace with boredom. I read a book, go for a run, talk to someone, spend time on self-reflection, or simply watch people with smartphones (recent addition:)

So, I don’t need a smartphone. But, no one understands me. My cousin says, “Hey, that’s not a phone. That’s just a keypad with a calling facility. Get a real phone man !!!”

Hmmm… that’s an interesting description of my phone.

Have I ever used a smartphone?

Yeah. I did use Blackberry and Android phones for a few years. It was too much of a distraction for me. I kept checking the phone even when there was nothing new. Instant messaging, instant emails, instant social media push notifications, location-based services, concierge services, instant answers to any question - I had too much power at my disposal. However, I didn’t become smart. The phone was becoming smart. I simply developed a strong dependency on smartphones. The moment my phone was out of charge, all the perceived power of information was gone. I have no clue what to do next. I was back to the original dumbness I was born with.

I realized that I have a dumb brain and a smartphone !!!

Thanks to that realization. I switched back to my current phone Nokia 1280 and never looked back.

Now, I have a dumb phone. Did I become smart? No. I am simply learning & growing every day without relying too much on external gadgets. When I forget my mobile phone at home, I don’t miss it at the office. It’s just a gadget to me, as it is supposed to be.

What a relief man!!!. At least, I know for sure that I will never have Smartphone Separation Anxiety. Too bad that the scientists have coined a new word for this madness. This is real. Check the references section below for the link to the actual research article.

Conclusion?

There is a minuscule population of smart users who use smartphones for better productivity. Let them go on. For the rest of us, we could try making our phone distraction-free for a few days and see if that helps.

Better, if we could use a basic model phone.

Much better, if we could be phone-free.

I am not here to review the movie or rate it. This movie triggered a lot of emotions in me. We are all running behind something, running for more money, running for promotions, running for a big house, running to have a peaceful retirement, running to die rich - while forgetting the whole reason behind it - Life.

Why do most of us spend the youthful days of our lives in corporate cubicles hoping to have a peaceful life after we retire?

Why do we content ourselves with three weeks of vacation per year and get into the rat race for the rest of the year?.

Why do we spend so much money in big houses, keeping ourselves locked to the mortgage?.

Why do we get into bad relationships to keep others happy, knowing deep inside that we don’t want this relationship?.

Why don’t we take the road less traveled?.

Why can’t we simply live for ourselves?.

Why can’t we simply live?.

I am not asking everyone to stop everything and backpack to Europe or Australia. I just wish everyone could do only the things that make them happy from the inside. (at least most of the time).

What inspired me the most from this movie?

I liked the entire movie, but one question struck me so hard… really hard that I paused and sunk into deep thoughts.

Do you write anything to feed your own soul?

I always thought of myself as a writer. A fearless writer. But, when I confronted this explicit question - I couldn’t say YES with all my whole heart.

What does this mean?

I am going to make this blog a creative outlet for my thirst for writing. It’s going to record every aspect of me and my thoughts. It could be trash most of the time. I don’t care. The trash is not for you. There could be golden nuggets here and there. If that interests you, read it, and enjoy it. Else, just ignore this blog and do something worthy.

Many beautiful realizations happen at the most unexpected moments in our lives.

Thanks to the movie makers.

It was different from traditional newspapers.

It has only the kind of information that I want to know.

Inspiration, Innovation, Creativity, Spirituality, Fitness, and so on.

Nothing about the religions, wars, corporate scandals, murders, rapists… No… No… Nothing negative.

I enjoy reading it every day, whenever I find the time.

I generally browse through my feeds in the morning to get the daily dose of inspiration.

It was RSS with Google Reader.

Good or bad, nothing lasts forever, right?

The day was July 1, 2013.

Google shut down its RSS aggregator Google Reader, the only service that kept me hooked on to Google for hours every day. I was like a panic-stricken chicken, waiting for his turn. Frantically looking for alternatives to Google Reader.

Trust me, I didn’t like any of the alternatives available at that time. Nothing came close to Google Reader.

After waving goodbye and a few days of mourning, I switched to email subscriptions.

Suddenly the world looked so bright. As if I got a “hottie booty” soon after my last girlfriend ditched me.

Now, I don’t have to go to the reader. The content will come to my inbox directly.

Wow… I kinda liked it. I went ahead and subscribed to all the blogs and websites that I like and also some of the new interesting blogs.

It’s a whole new world out here. Almost every blog or website gives me goodies (an e-book, e-course, PDF reports, etc) for simply handing over my email address to them.

I gave my email address to every blog that gave a goodie, downloaded every one of them, and saved them for later reading. I even enabled the email subscription option on all my blogs, immediately.

I was singing, “Ooh la la la… Let’s go dancin’…”

Very soon, I understood the marketing and money behind the email lists.

Almost every one of the blogs has something to sell. They wrote very lengthy emails to convince me with all the “facts” to prove that their product would improve my life forever. A lot of times they redirected me to their pitching page with either a very lengthy text + testimonials or a video. The most frustrating thing is that - irrespective of the product, every pitching page looks the same. Follows the same pattern. Like Zebras. Sucks!!!

Good or bad, nothing lasts forever, right?

I started to unsubscribe myself from most of the websites and hang on to 20+ blogs. Even though they pitch in for their products/courses/webinars at regular intervals, I kept reading their content in emails.

That presented another unique problem over the past two years. It’s probably unique only to me.

I like a clean Inbox. I read and respond to emails daily. To me,

An unread email is an unfinished task!

Now, I have to read 20+ blogs or at least open them and bookmark them for later reading every day. If I like an article, there is no way to save them for later reading, unless I bookmark it in the browser or use a bookmarking service. Thought about how easy it was for Google Reader.

What I ended up with is a messy Inbox with multiple folders of unread emails. When an email goes to a folder other than Inbox, I can assure you that it will not be read immediately or it may even live there forever.

Why should I go through all these messes to consume the information I like?

I don’t like the current equation of the marketers,

Email List = Money.

I would prefer to retain the original idea,

Email = Communication.

Why can’t life be simpler like the good old RSS days?

I started looking for alternatives again. This time, I liked Feedly. I liked the mobile app, web interface, and the synchronization of both. I can use it with Amazon Kindle. All my books and blogs are in one place. Love it.

I am not here to judge you based on your eating habits.

I am here, writing this post, looking for possible answers to a few questions that popped into my mind recently.

I know a few people who care for their pets so much that they feed their pets with the best food available in the market, play with them all the time, make them sleep in a comfy bed, switch on the fan/AC, close the door slowly - and then come to the kitchen to slice the meat to prepare delicious food for the family, without the consciousness of the cruelty that the dead animal went through to become a slice of meat in the plate.

I should not say that they are not aware of the cruelty. My wife always asks me to buy fresh meat. I had asked her many times to accompany me to the butcher shop, where you can choose the chicken; the butcher would kill the bird in front of us, remove the skin, and chop them into small pieces - so perfect for our biriyani.

She always refused to come. She said, “I can’t withstand the sound of the bird flapping their wings hard against the walls while dying”.

But, She loves to eat chicken and prepares extraordinary South Indian biryani. She is one of the best cooks. I don’t blame her. My wife is not alone. Millions of such people selectively ignore a few things to keep their mind at peace.

I have a question for pet lovers who eat meat.

How do you decide which animals are worthy of love and respect and which ones deserve abuse and slaughter?

Think about it once, please.

OK. Leaving aside the pet/animal lovers, what about other people?

I cannot simply put everyone in one bucket. Can I?

Some people can kill the animals, chop them, cook them, and eat them - without much of the talking going on in their heads. They know what they are doing and feel nothing about it. Happy about the meal they just got. Shall we call them The Predators?

Some people cannot withstand the slaughtering process but enjoy the processed meat. In a sense, they cannot kill an animal but can eat what was killed by another predator. Shall we call them The Scavengers?

Who are you?

The Predator or The Scavenger?

Some of the discussions with my friends.

Some animals are here for us to eat and some are here for our companionship.

No animal or species has evolved over millions of years, just to provide companionship for humans. We domesticated them, trained them, and fed them for thousands of years - which makes modern humans believe that both species evolved specifically to co-exist.

I only eat humanely raised and slaughtered animals.

Well. That’s a contradiction depending on your definition of “humanity”. What difference does the “humanely-raised” experience make at the moment of slaughtering? You still kill and eat them anyway.

So, what’s the conclusion?

Should there be one for every article?

The Exercise

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what about a video? I found this video on YouTube, which clearly shows the Minor and Major variations of the 100-Up exercise. You can start with “100-Up Minor”. When you can comfortably do 100 reps (50 reps on each leg), please promote yourselves to “100-Up Major”. Please do this exercise daily (any time of the day) until you are comfortable with 100 reps (50 reps in each leg) in “100-Up Major”.

The Challenge

The Challenge is simple and more about the self-experimentation of the 100-Up exercise.

1. Write down your last run’s time. - You can very well document every aspect of that last run. How did that run feel? Did you feel comfortable or exhausted? Did your leg/feet ache? Did you strike on the heel/middle/forefeet? How were your stride and cadence? How did you feel the next day? Document every possible aspect of it.
2. Learn and practice George’s 100-Up exercise for 30 days. - To get effective results, count the days when you can do “100-Up Major” 100 times, as the Day 1.
3. Run the same distance as in step 1. - How did this run feel?. Was it more comfortable? Did you become faster/slower? Did anything change at all?
4. Report the results in the comments section. - This would help other future readers in taking up this challenge and perfecting their form.

Are you ready for this challenge?

A single thought can change the course of your life. -Unknown

Running with Shoes

It was one rainy day in April 2014. We were sitting in Maria Cafe in Bangalore, talking about a whole bunch of things that would not make sense to any sane man.

Out of nowhere, Karthik asked, “Prem, Shall we run in the TCS World 10K?”.

Without much thinking, I said, “Why not?”.

Though I loved and played a whole bunch of games in my childhood/adulthood, I was never a sports person. I never ran in the tracks. I never ran on roads. The maximum distance I ran could be either between the wickets or on the treadmill. I do have a running shoe, which was never used for running.

We decided to run. But, we know nothing about running; where to run, how to run, etc. So, we decided to strengthen our body muscles first, increase our endurance level to at least 15 minutes of continuous running on the treadmill, and then venture out running on roads.

The DJ Fitness Gym was well sophisticated with all the machines, free weights, and a separate aerobics hall. I was surprised. We joined the gym and started workouts, with a few minutes of running on the treadmill every day. A week later, we told the gym master about our plans to practice on treadmills for TCS World 10K. He advised us to run on the roads and does not seem to prefer other members to wait for the treadmill if we continue to run for longer times.

We took our bikes that day, scanned the roads near Doddanekundi/Karthik Nagar area, chose the road near ISRO, measured the length of the road from ISRO to Marathahalli, and finalized every other detail for the next day’s run. Our first-ever run on the road.

Next day, early morning 6 AM. All of us woke up, warmed up, filled up enough water in bottles, and started running. Trust me, running on the treadmill was very easy. None of us could complete 2 km. Finished the run, thirsty & exhausted. We thought we could never complete a 10K.

We googled different “Couch to 5K” programs and stumbled across Timed Running. (i.e. Run for X mins and walk for Y mins, repeat). We used the “HIIT Interval Timer” to alert us between walking and running, the “Nike+ app” for measuring the distance, and some music to cheer us up. We started with 2:1 (2 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking). Viola, it was awesome. We could complete 3K comfortably. I slowly tweaked the timings and ended up @ 4:1, which was fast and comfortable for me. We charted our own “Couch to 10K” program and started following it.

All was well until it happened.

The inevitable, every runner has to go through.

I started getting a sharp pain in my right knee within three weeks of running. The pain becomes very sharp and unbearable after every run. Googled again to luckily stumble across “Barefoot Running”. That’s when I realized,

I never played any game in my entire life with shoes on.

Yes. We were not that rich to buy sports shoes during my school/college days. This is the first sport that I practiced with shoes on.

Could shoes be the reason?

I decided to find out.

Barefoot Running

I still remember that day, that moment, that feeling, being out barefoot for the first time, after a decade.

I felt Naked.

Yes. I felt that way. I felt that every eye on the road was looking at my feet.

The first few steps were regular heel strikes. I could feel the heel strike’s vibration directly in my head. As if someone is hitting my head with a hammer. That did not feel good. The stride changed automagically to the middle foot within a minute. My stride length was reduced and the cadence increased slightly. My body was upright, my head straight and my knees bent like a suspension. I could breathe easily and run. I felt connected to the earth. I did not consciously change any aspect of running. All were automatic.

That was a 5 km run. I didn’t feel exhausted, didn’t feel thirsty, and felt like I could run one more round. More importantly, the pain subsided drastically in a single barefoot run. Two weeks later, the sharp knee pain vanished completely.

This is what I wrote on Facebook, immediately after the first barefoot run.

I felt connected to the earth - felt the chillness of sand, the roughness of tar road, water droplets of the grass, painful steps on the loose gravel, and rhythmic motion of my feet. It was amazing !!! Decided to walk barefoot as much as I could :)

From then on, there is no looking back. I did not wear a running shoe after that. Through some more reading on barefoot running, I got hold of Born to Run book by Christopher McDougall. What can I say about that book? It’s a barefooter’s bible. My belief about barefoot running strengthened 100 times after reading this book.

I can see hundreds of sponsored research on the internet that say running barefoot is bad for you. Some research even says that human feet were not designed to run and we are not supposed to run without shoes. Funny. Isn’t it? The majority of the advertisements made now are fear-based. I wish people could simply think and respond to those ads and research. My response would be.

We ran barefoot for millions of years. Just Re-Learn. Period.

I completed my first ever athletic event - TCS World 10K @ 18-May-2014, barefoot at 01:03 hrs. Good for a first-time runner, isn’t it? Now, I can call myself an athlete :)

PS: I stopped using mobile phones, apps, or music while running. Trust me, you will enjoy your run more and feel connected to running without music. I use my breathing as an indicator to pause/start the run. I completed the second and third 10K without using any device. Our body has an amazing, intuitive feedback system. I am trying to re-learn and master that system now :)

Assumption: God exists. He creates, manages, and destroys everything that we know. (Definitely not in a way that any religion preaches)

Explanation: This is an “abductive argument” that tries to infer a reason for a present phenomenon. I just explain one of the million other possibilities. The “Logical Positivists” will discard this argument immediately. However, going by “the theory of falsification” we should not discard a theory just because there is sound evidence against your theory. It simply means that there is something out there that the theory cannot account for. (To know more about science, please read Understand Philosophy of Science by Mel Thompson)

The theory of the god or the origin of everything is not completely known. It’s an abstract concept at this moment. It is impossible to explain an abstract concept to another person without using an analogy. So, I picked up an analogy. - The Video Games and Artificial Intelligence. Please relate the analogy to the world that we live in.

God is a video game developer and AI scientist who specializes in robotics. He created a video game called “Life”. He sets up voice commands to control the state of the game (creation, alteration, destruction, etc). He also sets up multiple channels like intuition, signs, dreams, ESP, etc through which he can interact with the characters in the game. Now, he has to create an environment for the characters to interact. He needs to design all the galaxies, stars, planets, and everything that we see now. It’s a tough task. It would be time-consuming and tiring. So, he comes up with a brilliant idea - Randomness.

Yes. Instead of creating everything, he creates the “God Particle” and sets multiple characteristics for it. This is the smallest, indivisible unit of energy. He created a lot of them and set up “The Bing Bang”. He defines clearly the degree and the boundary of randomness that these god particles can take. The god particles randomly react, and fuse with each other to create an astonishingly beautiful collection of atoms, molecules, gas, dust, galaxies, stars, planets, etc. They continue to react even now, which creates a life cycle even for the universe.

Brilliant. Isn’t it?.

God wants to check if the gaming environment is good. He starts the game and says

“Let There Be Light”

Viola - there was light. Remember he was the one who set up the voice commands?

He chose a beautiful, cool, blue planet - The Earth, for his game. He has to create the characters in his game. He already has a working model of randomness in creating the environment. He wants to apply the same concept to create living beings. He created the smallest form of living being in large numbers, the ancestors to cyanobacteria, and let it spread across every possible place on earth. That organism can survive with the energy from the environment and sunlight.

He allowed mutation to happen in the lowest degree over a long period - to test their survival abilities. He cannot wait around for the characters in the game to develop and mature right?. So, he speeds up the time in the universe. Something like one century in the world is equal to one second in God’s world. Soon enough, the world was filled with so many diverse living beings, the perfect ecosystem, the proper recycling of energy, and sustained balance in life.

Next, he wanted to create a life form in his image but did not want to disrupt the existing mutation process. So, he picked up a species and carefully allowed ONLY the mutations that would make that species evolve into his form. He gave them the ability to think and the free will to decide their own life(Artificial Intelligence). God became curious to see - what will the humans do with their extraordinary ability to think?

One unanswered question to the theory of evolution.

When every other species evolved to a stronger (or fitter) form of themselves, why did only one branch of species from the ape family evolve to its weaker form, start walking on two legs which made them slower, leave the safe trees to the dangerous open grounds, becoming the easiest prey to any predator of that time, losing the hair in their body which protected them from cold and yet survived long enough to dominate every other species in this world?.

That too, at a speed that has not happened in billions of years?

How did that happen?.

OK. Let’s come back to the game.

He sets the game in automatic mode. He sets up listener programs that will inform him of specific events in the game. He sets up game cheats, which will allow humans to communicate with god. That information is available to all, but not open to all. Humans have to go to specific training, sacrifices, prayers, etc to get the ability to communicate to god. He sets up multiple levels in the game. When the humans in the game gain enough knowledge and experience, he promotes them to the next level in the game - which is completely in a different plane. There is no earth, there is no birth, there is no death, you exist in the form of energy as with everything else - still, you play the game.

When the learning of any human in the game of life is not complete, but his/her lifetime ends - god puts them back into the game. The knowledge acquired by every human being will not be the same. God defines the exit criteria/rules to check if the human’s learning is complete or not. He does not manually pick every dead human and assign him another life on earth. He sets certain rules and automates the process of re-birth. The process of getting out and coming back to the game of life is the same for everyone. Check the uniformity of the near-death experiences (NDE), past life regressions, astral projection experiences, etc. Everyone reports a similar feeling of leaving their body, floating toward a bright light, etc. Can you relate?

Every single experience of every single human being is recorded in a medium called “Collective Consciousness”. With specific training, some humans can tap into the collective consciousness and tell exactly what happened in the past. I witnessed such an event in my life. I have no doubts about the ability of humans to tap into the past. About the future? It has not happened yet.

Along with life on earth, God created multiple games in different planes. These games will be running simultaneously. Though there are defined boundaries for the game, it is always possible for the objects from one game to communicate with objects from another game. After all, everything is connected. Isn’t it? Can you relate to the parallel universe or multiverse concept?

What is the purpose of the Game of Life?

Learning. You are put into the game to learn, experience, and acquire as much knowledge as possible. You can choose not to. You have free will. But, you will be put back into the game as long as your learning is not complete. Every human being will go to the same place at the end, though not at the same pace.

Why should I learn?

That’s what your creator wants you to do. You still have the choice not to learn. But, you do not have the choice of birth, death, and rebirth. If you wish to escape, you must learn.

What is the need for Collective Consciousness?

Who develops an Artificial Intelligence game without capturing the experiences acquired through the game? Right?. But, what is God going to do with it? I do not (possibly may not) know the need for collective consciousness while I am on Earth, in the game of life. When I transcend to the next plane after completing my learning, possibly more will be revealed to me.

Why can’t I feel God?

By design, you cannot. If you go through the specific process defined by God, you can feel and communicate with him. To accept that such a process exists, you need multiple lifetimes of experiences.

What is the process of communicating to god?

There are millions of ways to communicate with god. I don’t have the knowledge of all of them. You can start with a prayer if you believe in God or Meditation if you don’t believe in God at the moment. The next steps will be revealed to you. Most probably the process and the experience with God will be different for everyone.

What happens when I deny god?

Nothing. You live and you die. You are born again. The cycle continues.

Why should I believe in rebirth?

Birth, Death & Rebirth is a personal experience. You cannot communicate with a person, while he is going through this process. You can, of course, die to experience death and rebirth. But, you will not remember anything when you are born again. There is no need for you to believe. If you believe this, you will accelerate your learning.

If God exists, Why are there wars & famine?

That was not God’s intention. That’s something that we humans manifested with the powers given to us. Do you think that humans cannot stop these by any means?

I understand, Why can’t God help us a little?

Why should God help us? We have all the means to change every little inconvenience that we do not like. Are we saying that we are the most powerful and dominant species in this world and yet cluelessly powerless to live in peace and harmony? If that is the case, according to the evolution theory, we will soon perish and a more conscious, powerful, and loving species will evolve from us.

Tell me one good reason that only humans should dominate, but not the other species.

Because God loves us right?

Again, Why?. In God’s world, there is no love, no hate, no good, and no bad. We, humans, manifested these emotions. We intuitively know the best version of ourselves. Loving & helping each other, not disturbing the ecosystems, living a balanced life in nature. We attribute all the human qualities to an entity called “God” and expect God to behave in the way that we are supposed to live. How weird?

So, we are on our own?

Yes. Pretty much. If you need help from God, you can get it. But, it takes time and effort.

Who is Satan?

Our imagination. We need a reason for deviating from a loving, caring life. Satan is the reason that we invented to support our current lifestyle.

What is hell?

Who said anything about hell? God did not create hell in his game. We created miniature hells in our world.

If there is no hell, I can do anything that I want.

Technically, you can. However, the quality of your next birth will depend on the quality of your current life. Hindus call this “Karma”.

When will the game end?

When God thinks about it.

Conclusion: We know nothing, we conclude nothing. This discussion was based on an initial assumption that God exists and further assumptions of how he might have created everything. These assumptions borrow heavily from the facts and open mysteries of science, evolution, etc. I compiled only a portion of our discussion which I remember. The Brazil vs Chile Soccer game abruptly stopped our discussion.

PS: I am still an atheist. This article is to help theists with one more story of God & Creation, so that I can have a thought-provoking debate with them the next time, instead of the voodoo stories in the religious texts.

When was the last time I spoke to the rose plants while watering them in the morning?

When was the last time I read a book aloud on the terrace, while the early morning sunlight rejuvenated my uncovered body?

When was the last time I climbed, jumped, hugged, kissed a big tree?

When was the last time, I sauntered in the rain, enjoying the chillness without having to worry about the smartphone?

When was the last time we parked our bicycles on the roadside and chatted with friends for hours?

When was the last time we simply gathered and played Cricket, Kabadi, Wall-Tennis all weekend?

When was the last time we went to the beach, enjoyed playing with the waves, without taking a picture?

When was the last time I went to a library and spent the whole day reading?

When was the last time I coded throughout the night, without checking social media?

When was the last time I wrote a poem in Tamil while enjoying the conversation with the moon?

When was the last time I reread the same book because it was too good?

When was the last time I simply enjoyed solitude and stillness in my life?

And many more …

I lived that life !!!

Now,

I don’t remember my closest school friend’s kid’s name, but I know my senior manager’s dog’s name.

I don’t remember my cousin’s birthday, but I know the birthday of a random person I met in Las Vegas.

I don’t remember how many were in my college gang, but I know 1000+ friends on Facebook.

Life Has Changed.

When I pause and look back at my life, I remember only the events that made me truly happy from inside. Not the money I earned, the house I bought, the cars I drove, the friends on Facebook, or the followers on Twitter.

In this finite life, why should I waste my time doing things that do not matter in the end?.

I am going after those precious little experiences that will make me smile on my deathbed.

I am erasing my presence in the digital world and embracing the real world for every need of mine.

I am making a big decision to stay small, deliberately.

Why do I blame Social Media?

I have strong opinions about everything. I can’t resist exciting conversations. Once triggered, I am a mad bull, trying to get everyone to accept my point of view (right or wrong - who cares). I am merely eliminating the distractions from my life one by one, starting with social media.

Focus is nothing more than eliminating distractions

Why can’t I reduce the time spent on Social Media?

There is an insatiable urge to share every little event in my life. When I go to a new place, my first thought is, “Wow. Nice Place. Post the picture on Facebook”. When I start any activity, there is a voice in my head that tells me to share it on Facebook immediately. It does not stop with sharing. After I shared something special, I kept looking for the “likes” & “comments” from my friends. The more “likes” I get, the happier I am. If I don’t get likes for something close to my heart, that triggers confusion in my mind.

Yes. I want to be “liked.” Like every other human being. But the cost that I pay in the real world to get “likes” in a virtual world does not match up. Restricting the time on Social Networks did not help to control the urge.

I don’t like the “need” to be heard by others.

What would I lose?

A lot of contacts - A quick look at my digital presence surprised me. I am on 20+ social networks. It took me close to an hour to delete my data from those websites. Here is a snapshot of the major players.

1. Facebook (Friends - 1055, Duration - 5 years, 10 months, 23 days)
2. Twitter (Followers - 808, Duration - 5 years, 2 months, 16 days)
3. Google+ (Followers - 224, Duration - 2 years, 11 months, 16 days)

Losing contacts does not mean losing friends. I am merely severing one of the communication channels.

Quick turn-around for getting information - As soon as I post a question or ask for help, I get the answers on my wall or inbox. Thanks to all my friends.

Intellectual Debates - Facebook helped me to get into intellectual discussions with my friends on various topics - science, religion, politics, reservations, women’s rights, relationships, etc. I get a fresh and diverse perspective on each of the issues. I also came to know more about my friends, their beliefs, their political views, etc. Every discussion made me a little wiser.

A lot of memories - Facebook is the repository of all significant life events in the past years. There are times when I have nothing else to do, so I simply go back to my timeline or friend’s timelines to look at the memorable events. Thus, spending more time on Social Media. Now, all my data would live on a local hard disk.

A platform to showcase my creation - I made a lot of friends and followers on social media, over the years. My friends are my best critics, who helped me to groom my writing over the years. Thanks to all my friends for all the constructive feedback.

What will I gain?

1. Quality time with family and friends.
2. One less distraction from life.
3. Privacy of my data.

Will I be ultimately out of the digital world?

No. I love writing. I will continue to blog at the below websites. You can subscribe to these blogs if you find them useful.

1. The Unquiet Mind
2. பேரன்பும் பெருங்கோபமும்
3. Raw Vegan Recipes - I deleted the website. I am no longer a raw vegan. I would suggest doing the opposite. Follow a Paleo lifestyle.

I will also retain my LinkedIn account for my professional growth.

When will I erase my digital presence?

I am planning to delete all my social media accounts by June 16th, 2014, from 23:00 to 23:59 IST. This time is needed to back up the data, hand over the admin responsibilities, establish alternate login methods for the websites with social media OAuth logins, allow friends to download any of their tagged pictures, etc.

Will I come back to the digital world?

I don’t know. Maybe. But, not until the end of the year 2014.

How can I be contacted?

If you know me personally, you would already have my mobile number. Just call me :)

Fat Acceptance, Fat Liberation, Fat Activism, Fat Power Movement, Fat Feminism, etc. There is even an association formed, way back in 1967 - NAFFA - “National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance” - which fights discrimination due to size. There is contention within the Fat Acceptance community itself. Some fat activists define Fat Acceptance as fighting for equal rights, opportunities, and freedom from social stigma, whilst remaining open to the pursuit of weight reduction. Other fat activists define Fat Acceptance more strictly, applying that phrase only to fat people who are not trying to lose weight.

Great. But, Why do we react so much to the symptoms (discrimination), but not to the core issue (being overweight)?

I have only one question.

Why is it that I never met an obese/overweight person who eats a well-balanced food with lots of raw veggies, greens, and fruits, who follows a regular exercise routine, and who sleeps at least 8 hrs a day?

Surprise!. There is no one.

Isn’t your body size, the direct output of your lifestyle?

I am not just talking about fad diets. I am not just talking about a rigorous workout regime. I am talking about everything you do with your life. Your lifestyle.

Changing your lifestyle to a healthy one will change your body to its healthy weight.

Maintaining a healthy weight can be summarized in two sentences.

1. Control what you put in your mouth.
2. Move your body, a lot.

Everybody knows that. But, why are many people not willing to put in the extra effort required to shed those extra pounds?

It’s their personal choice. Who am I to comment?

Right. I am writing this post, just to understand the reason behind it.

Do “fat acceptance” people love being fat?

I don’t think so. At least, I did not like being fat when I was overweight. For a while, let’s forget reality. Let’s assume a few scenarios.

If I tell FA people, “Give me $100. I will turn you into a curvy voluptuous female forever. You don’t have to do anything”. How many FA people will give me $100? I guess everyone. No one is going to tell me, “I love being fat”.

Even if I increase the amount to $1000, I don’t expect much of a difference, except that poor people will take time to earn that money.

Instead, if I tell them, “Give me 1 hr of your time and let me control your food plate, every day. I will turn you into a healthy person. You just have to do what I say”. How many would opt for that offer? I don’t expect many, except the few individuals who want to shed their weight, more than anything else in their life.

Am I saying that fat people do not have the urge or the willpower to change to a better version of themselves?

No. I am not. It’s a very basic human tendency to stay in the comfort zone and 95% of the world’s population does that, irrespective of their size.

All they need is a consistent source of inspiration and encouragement to improve their health.

Is fat acceptance good?

Yes and No.

Yes. It is good for a healthy person to accept the overweight/obese person, just like us. It helps to foster a collaborative, encouraging environment for obese people to think about changing their lifestyle.

No. It’s not good to accept & love your obese body. Be discontent with your body and make every possible effort to make your body perfectly healthy. By healthy, I mean a healthy body. Not the anorexic, size zero thin bodies.

Encouraging an obese person to be happy with their body is encouraging them to stay unhealthy. - Unknown

The Most Amazing Transformation

Hats off to Mr. Arthur for being such an inspiration to us !!!

Yes.

Are you serious?

Yes. I am. Be a slave. Be a slave to your rituals.

Rituals?. Why?

It works. It produces results. It helps to achieve all your goals.

Almost all of us have some sort of goal to accomplish, right? Be it personal, professional, health-related, relationship-related or whatever it is, there are a few proven steps to achieve your goals (Trust me!. It works).

1. Write down your goals on paper.
2. Break down the big goals into small steps/action items.
3. Devise a daily routine/ritual - the small action items that must be done every day.
4. Follow your rituals, consistently.

Invariably, all self-development coaches would say this,

Getting clear on what you want in your life, and writing them on paper is very important. Once you are clear, you will wake up from bed excited about your purpose. You would want to spend your entire life working for that purpose.

Those words are true. Etch them in gold.

Steps 1 - 3, do not require much effort. Few hours or days of your time is enough. I have done that multiple times. It’s easy. But, why many people did not achieve their goals or live their dream lives? Why does reality sucks?.

It’s because of step 4 - Follow your rituals, consistently.

What happens when the rituals live only on paper?

Nothing.

Your so-called “free will” will always interfere with your goals. A sweet little voice will talk to you, to keep you in the soft comfy bed in the early morning. You would think, “I decided those goals. I decided on the rituals. I know I can do that later also. My body needs rest now. I decided to sleep”. That’s all. The job’s done. You wake up with a guilty feeling and decide that you will not repeat that tomorrow. I would call it lazy reasoning.

If you are a slave. You have no choice. You have no free will. You must do what you have written down your rituals.

If you have to wake up in the morning - you must wake up. There is no time for that sweet little discussion in your mind.

If your ritual says that you want to run daily - you must run, no matter even if it rains heavily.

If you have to lift weights on that day - you must lift. There is no choice of not going to the gym.

End of the day, you will have accomplished your goals. You would be happy. You can move forward with the next set of goals.

Be a slave to your rituals.

You can read this blog post on the benefits of following a ritual - Waking up early at 5 AM daily.

Well, Point taken. All is good. But, I don’t like the word “Slavery” - Fine. Call it by whatever name you like. I don’t care, as long as you stick to your rituals. Slavery is the closest thing that I can think of, to completing the assigned work irrespective of any obstacles.

Just stick to your rituals !!!

Yeah. There are.

For the past 10 months, I have been doing a secret experiment - “Instead of changing the toilets, why don’t we change our posture while using them?”. The whole idea is to bring the torso as close to the thighs as possible. Right?.

I started with squatting on top of the western toilets. I am very healthy and I didn’t find it difficult to defecate in this position. I have been trying out this method for close to 5 months. On one of those busiest days in Sapient, I have to use the loo in the office. Unfortunately, my office had a wall-mounted western toilet. I was not even ready to attempt this posture in the new office. Just then I realized that this method has very serious drawbacks and is prone to accidents if you are heavy. I have to poo and get back to a meeting in 10 minutes and I don’t want to sit on top of a wall-mounted western toilet. What to do?

Out of nowhere, I got the idea for the below posture. Theists can call it - “Divine Intervention” :)

Posture 1

When you try this posture, please keep your legs as wide as possible. You can rest your palms on your legs or the floor if the floor is clean. Since you keep your legs wide, you will have to remove your pants. Yeah. Since you are alone in the loo, that should be OK. Right?. This posture is very comfortable and I use this posture most of the time. There is some minor inconvenience when you start this method.

1. If you are in this posture for a long time, you can feel the strain in your arms. I suggest sitting in a normal position and only when you get the urge, to move to this position to defecate. It’s effective.
2. If you have a big belly or high BP or are pregnant, please don’t attempt this posture. This is not for you guys.

Posture 2

This is the enhanced version of the previous posture. This posture reduces the strain on your arms. You can use a bucket or any other object that you have in your bathroom. Please make sure that you bend forward as much as you can (i.e.) use a small bucket or stool. So far, I have not faced any inconveniences using this posture. Please let me know if there are any.

Both of these postures will not work if you are overweight or cannot bend down for some reason. Squatty Potty may help.

Squatty Potty

Squatty Potty works on the same principle of bringing the torso closer to the thighs. I didn’t order Squatty Potty. But testing the concept with a sturdy plastic stool. It works as promised. If you are big and heavy, this is the most viable option for you. It also has minor inconveniences.

1. If you are thin or average-built like me, you may feel like sinking into the toilet seat. A few of my friends who are actively using this technique don’t feel that way. It could be just my feeling.
2. You cannot carry the squatty potty to all the places. You should practice the other two postures for emergency use.

Pencil Sketches by Samuel.

After a few hours of driving, you start seeing other cars driving in random directions. Some of the cars have drivers. Those drivers claim to know about a beautiful oasis at the end of the horizon. The grassland has nothing else other than food and shelter. Every other convenience has to be built by the people. But, the beautiful oasis has every imaginable luxury, as promised by the drivers. You can go to that oasis on one condition - You must obey every word of the driver and believe that such a place exists without any doubt. It is very difficult for you to believe and act in such a way as to go to a place that may not exist. And you are not even bothered to go to that place.

You are surprised to see that so many people do not like or enjoy being in the very grassland where they were born. They want to go to a beautiful oasis with many more luxuries and are ready to let go of some of the simple pleasures in the grassland. Some of them do enjoy being in the grassland and at the same time listen to the drivers (opportunists). Soon the word of the beautiful oasis spreads out. Each of the cars with drivers is being followed by thousands of other cars. Each of those groups gave themselves a name and set themselves strict rules. The supposedly enjoyable ride becomes a race between the groups. Who will reach the oasis first? Of course, a race with no destination.

It looks awkward to you. You want to tell them that there is no such place (though you don’t know for sure and your knowledge is limited to your senses and logic). You too start driving fast to help them. Those cars without drivers soon get along with each other, make a stop now and then, and discuss those believers and followers (mostly either criticizing or making fun of them, rarely trying to help them). Your little group neither has a name nor any rules. You devise new instruments to make your life and other’s lives easier. With the advances in your brain and the technology that it devised, you reaffirm that such an oasis does not exist. The distance between your group and the believer’s group increases.

En route, you see little groups of car owners who are not interested in the race but enjoy being together, happily singing, dancing, helping each other, taking care of each other, etc. They just live in the moment. You are surprised to see them and choose to be with them for a while to learn their lifestyle. However, their lifestyle looks too lazy & unproductive to you. You soon leave the place to join your group.

No one knows about that Oasis.

Some believe.

Some reason.

Some just don’t care.

This is all of us.

That “you” is me.

Most of us are running a race, rather than enjoying the ride. A race is not limited only to religion but spans several non-essential aspects of life. The journey has started already and it is going to end eventually. I don’t want to waste time running this race anymore. I simply want to enjoy the ride.

How?. I don’t know.

I hope I will be able to do it before the journey ends !!!

I was flabbergasted and asked her why. She said, “Earlier, I would fit into every type of dress out there in the market. But today, I rejected a few dresses, because I may not look good in them. I did not like that. I stopped for a moment and reflected on my physical condition. I decided to get back to my original shape. Suggest to me what to do.”

It was the only time in my life, I was so happy that my wife went shopping :)

I have been waiting for this moment where I can discuss with my wife about weight training, and diets and explore the crazy experiments together. What else would I ask for?

However, the raw vegan diet would be very tough on her at this moment. I suggested a very simple and reliable way to lose weight and gain muscle mass as well.

Intermittent Fasting

Before I explain what this is, let’s see how our body digests and absorbs the energy from food.

This is what happens when we eat food. Our body will be in a “Fed State” as soon as we eat (spending time & energy to digest the food and absorb the energy). This state lasts for 3 - 5 hours. Next comes the “Post-Absorptive State”, where our body is not doing anything related to digestion or absorption. This state lasts for 8 - 12 hours after your last meal. Then comes the most attractive “Fasted State”. This is the natural fat-burning state of our body, which most of us never experience.

The Fasted State does not start until about 12 hours after our last meal. Assuming that dinner is your last meal and you eat an early breakfast, you would have been fasting for about 8 - 10 hours. So, your body would continue to be in a Fed State and Post-Absorptive State forever.

I guess you would have got a hint, by now. This “Intermittent Fasting” is not a diet. This is just a schedule of when you should eat so that you get the benefits of the natural fat-burning state of your body.

Daily Intermittent Fasting

There are hundreds of ways to do Intermittent Fasting. Google it. The one I am interested in is the Daily Intermittent Fasting (LeanGains Method), promoted by Martin Berkhan. In a nutshell, below is the schedule.

• Start your first meal at about 1 PM (afternoon) and finish your last meal before 9 PM (night). Essentially, your feeding window (the time you can eat) is 8 hours. You can choose your convenient time as long as it is within 8 hours.
• Typical IF diets include only two meals a day. Still, you can eat as many meals as you can within the feeding window.
• Drink a lot of water and if very hungry, you can eat any food within 50 Calories.
• It would be very beneficial if you do weight training during the fasted state. It would be tiring in the beginning, but your body would adapt sooner than you think.

The below diagram depicts the typical week of intermittent fasting.

Questions

1) Skipping breakfast? Are you nuts? I am not skipping breakfast. I am eating a late breakfast. (i.e.) breaking the fast a little later.

2) I have the habit of drinking coffee/tea in the morning. Would that be OK? As long as it is within 50 Calories, your body continues to be in the fasted state. So, Coffee/Tea should not be a problem. I suggest drinking a lot of water.

3) Weight training while fasting? I do not have personal experience doing this. But, I know few people (Martin Berkhan, James Clear) with better bodies do this regularly. So, I am going to try this. Maybe after one or two years, I will be in a position to explain to you.

4) I generally get hungry at night. What should I do? Go to bed early. Eat a heavy last meal (within that 8-hour feeding window). If you wake up, see if drinking a lot of water satisfies your hunger. Otherwise, the same 50-calorie rules apply here. It may take a while for your body to adjust to this feeding style.

Does anyone want to try this Intermittent Fasting for a few months?

Make a list of people who inspire you and then write what about that person inspires you. Is it their tenacity? Is it how much they give? Is it their bank account? Is it their brand? Is it what they have done to the world? Then recognize that the thing that inspires you about that person is a part of yourself. – Mastin Kipp

What a profound thought! Isn’t it true that we get inspired by watching someone do something great, which we wish we could have done? Yes. It is. Whenever I see an inspirational video or read an inspirational post, I wish I was there too. I set out to find who and what inspires me. Trust me, the result revealed so much about what I wanted to do.

The list of people who inspired me is huge, really huge. I get inspired by people doing small things as well as the greatest feats in the world. Just the impact it has on the world matters to me. For this exercise, I thought I would list them all and pick the top 10 personalities that inspired me. When you get inspired by a wide variety of people it is tough to choose. I leave it to your instinct to choose your top 10. The list should be pretty much on top of your mind. You don’t have to force yourself to think about who inspired you. If they are not in your mind. Leave it. It does not matter. Here are my top 10 sources of inspiration.

1. Che Guevara - A Complete Human Being, fearless, fought for equality, driven by ideology.
2. Adolf Hitler - fearless, powerful, driven by ideology, and able to control millions of minds.
3. Leonidas - fearless, fought for the nation, leader.
4. Jesus Christ - love and compassion for others, extraordinary teachings, ability to make millions of people follow him.
5. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - non-violence, speaking truth, down-to-earth lifestyle, ability to make millions of people participate in the Indian Freedom Struggle.
6. Surya - Bodybuilder. I started workouts after watching him in the movie Kakkha Kakkha.
7. Albert Einstein - Revolutionized Science. School dropout to Scientist.
8. Robin Sharma - I still go to him for inspiration and advice. So do millions of other people.
9. Rhonda Byrne - like a phoenix story. Broke, find the secret, make it big, teach others to do so.
10. Scott Dinsmore - My current inspiration who helps people to do the work they love to do. I joined the Live Your Legends Local group to keep me accountable and move towards my dream lifestyle.

I chose only the best from my never-ending list of inspiration, just to give you an example of how to do this exercise. None of these guys are ordinary and none of their achievements are simple. Aren’t you surprised to see Jesus Christ on an atheist’s list of inspirations? I am not. The more I read and the more I grow, I find his teachings to be very very good for the whole of humanity. Just that, I hate the nasty religion that was built around him.

Why do I like Adolf Hitler? I always liked him. I like Saddam Hussain. I like Veerappan. I like Prabhakaran. Those self-made heroes, who brought a big empire under their control, out of nothing. This does not mean that I support them blindly. Just that I like this “creating power” aspect of their lives.

When you sit down and think about each of the aspects of your favorite heroes, you get to know a lot about yourselves. You may be able to link your inspiration to your current life and make decisions based on it. Sometimes, it will reveal an aspect of yourself that you did not realize that you had. Nevertheless, it was a good exercise to recap my favorite heroes.

Do you know who and what inspires you?

I regularly misplaced my eyeglasses somewhere in our house and would need my wife’s help to find the glasses. The worst thing is that without glasses I can’t even recognize my wife from six feet away. I am tired of this dependency on glasses. I am going to get the perfect 20/20 vision or better by the end of 2014. I am going to achieve this by natural means only (eye exercises, nutrition, mental conditioning, natural healing methods, etc).

There are too many products and procedures out there that claim to improve my eyesight. I don’t want to try all of them. I selected the below means (mostly by references from friends and my own experiences). I need to have a specific plan which I can stick to, daily. The lovely thing is that I don’t have one. I am going to juggle through these items and eventually find a perfect plan for me. Only one strict rule - I must do at least one of these, every day.

Eye Exercises

How can I be so confident that eye exercises help?. Because I know. I attended a week-long free training at The School for Perfect Eyesight, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, way back in Sep 2009. This training is based on Dr. Bates’s Method. With the simple exercises mentioned below, my eyesight was improved from -3.00 diopters to -2.75 diopters in both eyes. In just one week!. The training required a little bit of determination (two times a day and no glasses are allowed throughout the week). The teachers advised me to continue the training for at least 6 months and avoid wearing glasses at all possible times. I did not follow that advice. Result? - Now with -3.5 diopters.

1. SUN TREATMENT
2. WASHING
3. PALMING
4. READING FINE PRINT IN CANDLE-LIGHT
5. SWING
6. GAME OF BALL
7. DISTANT CHART READING
8. VAPOUR
9. COLD PACK

Completing all the exercises would take around 45 minutes. Just to keep the ritual simple and consistent, I will not do all these exercises daily.

Exercises 1 - reserved for sunny days.
Exercises 2 - 7 daily.
Exercises 8 & 9 - as and when time permits.

School For Perfect Eye Sight

Website: https://eyecare.sriaurobindoashram.org/
Address: 2A, Lally Tollendal St, White Town, Puducherry - 605002.
Contact Person: Mr. Santhosh
Phone: +91-413-223-3659
Email: auroeyesight@yahoo.com
Working Hours: 8 To 11 A.M. and 3 To 5 P.M. (IST)
Holidays: Monday

During Office hours

Since I work with computers, I must wear glasses all the time while I am in the office, which is not suggested by Dr. William H. Bates. I don’t know any other way at this moment. But I am going to follow a few other tips in the office to reduce the strain caused by the computer screen.

20-20-20 Trick - Take a break every 20 minutes and focus on an object 20 feet away for 20 minutes. Very simple, but very effective.

Turn down brightness - Reduce the brightness of the computer screen to the lowest possible limit. You should still be able to see the screen clearly without squinting, but you should not feel like staring at a bright light. This is a one-time activity & I got used to the low light in a day.

Wash Eyes Regularly - When working on computers for a long time, it is advised to wash our eyes 3 - 4 times during the day with ordinary water or saline water. I bought two eye cups (google - you can get it for a few dollars) - one for home and another for office. I will use regular drinking water for washing my eyes. I am thinking about doing this, whenever I use the washrooms. If this is not possible, just sprinkling water would help.

Pinhole Glasses

Merchants claim that wearing pinhole glasses for 15 minutes a day will improve your eyesight. Ophthalmologists refuse that this is not possible. Neither of them is ready to do a clinical trial. User reviews are mixed (as with any product or service). I don’t know if this would improve my eyesight and if that improvement would be permanent. The only way to find the truth is to try it. I ordered it. I will follow up with a review of this product. I am planning to use this glass while reading books (at least 15 Minutes a day).

Nutrition

Just like bodybuilding, retraining the eyes to see normally requires more than just exercises. Nutrition. The American Optometric Associations website mentions that the below nutrients are needed to maintain good eye health.

1. Vitamin A
2. Vitamin C
3. Vitamin E
4. Lutein-Zeaxanthin
5. Zinc
6. Essential Fatty Acids (Linoleic acid & Alpha-Linoleic acid)

I am planning to have at least one meal or snack every day which has all of these nutrients.

Other means?

These are all the things that are in my mind, right now. I may add other practices, and products for improving my eyesight as I get to know more. If you know any tips that could help me, please let me know.

Disclaimer

I frequently get many emails for suggestions and appointments to The School For Perfect Eyesight.

1) I am neither an Ophthalmologist nor an Optometrist. I am not qualified to provide suggestions. These are just my experiences.

2) The School For Perfect Eyesight is run by Sri Aurobindo Ashram. I am in no way related to the School or the Ashram. I would suggest checking with them on the availability and plan your visit. Please be prepared for a week’s stay in Pondicherry. They are very polite and helpful people. Please contact them directly for any questions.

If you still feel I can be of any help, please feel free to contact me.

“I hate writing, I love having written.” ― Dorothy Parker

Me?. Becoming a Writer? Yes. That has been in my mind for many years. I simply lived as Dorothy quoted above, wishing myself having written the best books that I read. I write only when I am inspired to write. Even then, there are times when I drift off from the original idea or my idea gets refined during the writing process and I no longer believe in that idea. Yes. This is true. You get clearer when you write down your ideas and proofread what you have written. I evaluate every blog post that I write, for two things.

1. Does this blog post exhibit my happiness or convey a message?
2. Will this article be relevant or useful after 10 years?

I mercilessly killed all other drafts which did not pass this evaluation. In 2013, I wrote 25 articles + 10 deleted drafts. Statistically, I got inspired to write on 9% of the days this year. If I continue to write consistently, I may be able to publish a 350-page book in 10 years. Does not look good to me! I decided to write more.

Goals Vs Rituals

With many different challenges that I completed this year, I slowly realized the difference between focusing on goals Vs focusing on the rituals.

The focus on goals is very inspiring in the beginning, and when the inspiration drains out over time, it becomes stressful. Since you have started the goal and communicated it to the world, there is pressure to complete it. I have experienced this in many situations in my life, before 2012.

The focus on the rituals is boring in the beginning, and when the habit sets in, it feels like a breeze. Rituals are the daily routine that you do to accomplish the goals. No matter whether you are inspired or not, you should complete the tasks for the day. I know how much you can accomplish if you stick to your simple rituals. The year 2013 is a testimonial for me.

Becoming a Writer is one of my big dreams. What do I want to accomplish?

Write a personal development book? ― Yes.
Write a fiction novel? ― Yes.
Write a sci-fiction novel? ― Yes.
Write a technical book? ― Yes.
Write more in blogs? ― Yes.
Change the world with my writings? ― Yes.

I want to do everything that a writer could do. That’s me. When it comes to imagination, I never put a limit on my thoughts/goals (Simply that I am a reality-challenged person)

But, the only way to accomplish any of those goals is to focus on realistic rituals. Hmm. Let’s get real, here.

Writing Rituals

I want to keep my rituals simple, and realistic and do not demand a lot of my time & energy. This is very important to keep up with the rituals daily. Below is my new ritual starting today, until the end of 2014.

I will write for 15 minutes a day, 4 days a week, until the penultimate week of 2014.

No Goals. Only one simple ritual. Cool. Right?. This ritual roughly translates to 55 hrs of writing. This practice will instill a “dedicated writing habit” in me, which will help me to become a professional writer in the future.

Other Questions

Will I publish a blog post 4 times a week?

No. My evaluation criteria still hold good. I will publish only when it is good to publish. Just like when digging a well, the muddy water comes first and then the clean spring water, the first few days or weeks of writing may be completely nonsense / junk, etc (especially on the days without inspiration). I hope I will learn the tricks of the trade to get clearer thoughts on paper on any normal day.

Blogging is the only outlet?

Most of my writings will find their way to my blog. However, I may choose to write on paper and may reserve some content for a specific book. I will let my writing choose its outlet.

Will 15 minutes be enough?

The purpose here is not to accomplish any goal, but to develop the habit of writing consistently. 15 minutes in the minimum mandatory time. I will increase the writing time, depending on my inspiration, available time & other tasks on that day, etc.

Why now?

I recently became a member of the Facebook group “Live Your Legend - Creators Guild”, created by Scott Dinsmore. I was inspired by so many people starting to write. Along with that, a few of my Facebook friends and one of my real-life friends “Sruthi Pandarinathan” are writing books (novels, stories, poems, etc) now. All of them are first-time authors. They are going to struggle and travel the same path that I am going to travel. Why not travel together? I hope to get a lot of support and feedback from everyone and I may be able to provide the same to others.

/**
 * @author Premkumar Masilamani
 * @company Tata Consultancy Services
 * @about My Life in TCS
 * @startDate 03-Nov-2004
 * @endDate 21-Nov-2013
 */

import com.hindustancollege.ComputerScienceDegree;
import com.love.programming.SoftwareEngineerDream;

public class PremsLifeInTCS extends SoftwareEngineerDream
implements ComputerScienceDegree {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Phase 1 - Jobless Wanderer
        do {
            attendInterview();
            if (gotJobInTCS) {
                passedInterview = true;
            }
        } while (!passedInterview);

        // Phase 2 - Learning the Trade
        while (working12PlusHoursADay()) {
            learnTechnology();
        }

        // Phase 3 - Dollar Dreams
        for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++) {
            askForOnsite();
            if (yes) {
                gotoUnitedStates();
                break;
            }
        }

        // Phase 4 - Corporate Reality
        if (foughtWithManager() || foughtWithClient() || workedFor2Years()) {
            switch (project) {
                case AMEX:
                case TEG:
                case TFS:
                case LandG:
                    break;
                default:
                    dontGotoOffice();
            }
        }

        // Phase 5 - Personal Life
        while (notGoingToOffice()) {
            dateGirls();
            if (foundTheRightOne()) {
                marryHer("Love of my life");
            }
        }

        // Phase 6 - Onsite Again
        goToOnsite(
            chooseOnsite(
                maxCurrencyRate("US", "GB", "SG", "AU")
            )
        );

        while (inUnitedKingdom) {
            makeFriends();
            hostParties();
            workHard();
            if (visaExpired) {
                comeBackToIndia();
                break;
            }
        }

        // Phase 7 - The Exit
        if (!challengingWork() && gotGoodOffer()) {
            sayGoodByeToTCS("Thanks to everyone in TCS");
            pleaseKeepInTouch();
        }
    }

    public static void pleaseKeepInTouch() {
        viaWebsite("https://www.premkumarmasilamani.com");
        viaLinkedIn("https://www.linkedin.com/in/premkumar-masilamani");
        viaGitHub("https://github.com/premkumar-masilamani");

        if (emergency) {
            viaPhone("you-would-know-the-number");
        }
    }
}

I got roughly 2-3 hours daily, which I used mostly for learning purposes, tapping exercises, self-realization exercises (where I probe deeply into myself with a lot of questions and write down the answers in a paper), etc. It was simply awesome. One important deviation from the original plan was that I started using Facebook and the internet for leisure activities during these morning hours. (Roughly 30 - 45 minutes).

Most of the changes that I experienced are internal - changes in my thought process and my perception of the world. I don’t have the means to measure it or even to show that these changes are related to myself waking up early. But, I can simply attribute all the changes in the last few weeks to the new habit - “Rising Early” - based on simple reasoning.

Internal Changes

Discovered my love for programming - During my college days, I was crazy about the C programming language. Graphics & Pointers are my favorite. I used to program just for the sake of programming till 3-4 AM in the morning, most of the days. I used to develop small utilities in Visual Basic for myself. Eventually along the way, after 9 years in the corporate world - I lost that interest and even started hating the IT industry for the petty politics and exploitation at every level. There were days when I enjoyed working on interesting projects with AMEX, Toyota, Legal & General, etc.

One fine day, Dinesh came home to discuss with me the design of the new J2EE application that he is building for a design competition in his company. We are free to choose the design & implement it. We were happy and explored multiple options. Once the design discussion was over, the topic changed to my perception of the IT industry.

Dinesh is the MAN OF QUESTIONS. He asked so many questions, making me think of different perspectives. I was kinda confused. The next morning, this was the topic in my thoughts. I questioned myself and found that I still love programming, that I still can code for hours without thinking about food and sleep, and that I can and will learn any new programming language/technology/framework/tools to complete the projects.

Just that I didn’t do it in recent times and the petty politics in the IT industry clouded my vision. Thanks to Dinesh.

Stopped chasing money - Before you make any decision about my decision, please wait. This does not mean that I won’t do anything to earn money. (I need money to live anyway) Just that, I would not do anything / start anything with the sole purpose of earning money. There must be some sort of interest/passion associated with that activity. I should be able to do that specific activity even if I don’t earn money from that activity (ex. blogging). Most people know that I crave more money, actually a more luxurious and free lifestyle. I begin to see now that it was not for the choice of lifestyle, it was a wish/hope to escape from reality. I am pretty happy with my personal life right now. I can attribute this to my hatred of the IT industry.

When I discovered my love for programming, this change followed automatically. Now, I don’t see any big difference in driving a Maruti Alto or an Audi, as long as it takes me from Point A to Point B. However, If I had a few million dollars in my bank account, I would definitely buy an Audi car. The point is - “When I don’t have a million dollars, I am happy driving an Alto.” It is such a relieving realization.

Ready to change what does not work - I do have a blueprint to live. I set some of them as changeable and some of them as non-negotiable. I have realized that the whole of my blueprint should be changeable, based on strict evaluation criteria. Because, we do get a lot of new experiences, and information over time which makes our previous experience obsolete.

One such assumption that I made along the way was - “I must switch from the IT industry permanently and I don’t want to work for any other IT company”. This assumption was challenged by many people and the latest was Dinesh. Again another thought-provoking discussion with him, followed by self-probing questions the next morning - I decided to change the company that I work for and I planned to stay in the IT industry for some more time, till I become an expert in another industry.

“My blueprint for life is no longer non-negotiable. It will adapt and evolve.”

Respect Social Pressure - Whenever I take up any challenge, I follow the below idea by Robin Sharma.

“99% is a bitch. 100% is a breeze” - Robin Sharma

It works perfectly for me. It gives me more confidence that I can put 100% of myself into any task that I get involved in. But, there are impacts on others who are related to me. Most of the impact was on my wife. Be it the raw vegan challenge or waking up at 5 AM, her lifestyle impacted so much. She, being a night bird, and I wake up early and sleep early, we spent very little time together during the weekdays. We did not like this. But, I started already - so, I finished it.

Man being a social creature, must depend on others for life and love. I decided to consider her and minimize the impact on her with my challenges and experiments. I am going to experimentally try less than 100% from my next challenge onward. Let’s see how it goes.

External Changes

• Got an offer for a job with a 100% hike in salary. Yes. They doubled my salary. I never thought this was possible. I am planning to join the new company soon.

• Migrated my blog to Jekyll - It took two weeks of effort to learn the concepts, technology & framework and migrate from the blogger platform to GitHub. I now blog from VIM editor and feeling epic :)

• Started learning new programming languages - Started learning Ruby & Dart and started using GitHub as the repository for my open-source projects.

• Udemy courses - Completed 3 courses in Udemy Online Learning Portal.

• Books - I read these books $100 Start Up, Attract Money Now, Zero Limits & 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself during this period. I spent a lot of time on other things, so my reading frequency was reduced.

• Blogs - I have written 10 blog posts during this period. Started writing posts on Personal Development.

• Personal Development - I downloaded a lot of personal development workbooks / small booklets over some time. I spent a considerable amount of time working on myself. I cannot give the complete list of small PDFs here.

• BedTime Stories - I know this is completely irrelevant to the context here. But, we started reading fiction stories to each other in bed, before we slept. We make sure we go to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual. I kinda like this. Rekindling the storyteller in each of us :)

Any disadvantages?

I must tell you there are cons to this challenge.

Sleeping Time - Due to commute from work and other commitments, I was able to go to sleep only at 11-12 every night. I hardly get 5-6 hrs of sleep daily. It was not a problem initially. But after a month - it begins to show its effect. I begin to feel awful and sleepy after lunch in the office. My productivity after lunch is less than 10%. There are days when I sleep for less than 3 hrs and I feel sleepy even when driving to the office. NOT AN ADVISABLE ACT WHILE DRIVING.

If you are planning to take up this challenge for some time, please make sure that you get adequate sleep.

Issues with Travel - There were many occasions in the family and I had to travel to Coimbatore or Chennai every weekend. We generally travel by Train. I used to wake up at 5 AM, sitting alone on the train - without switching on the lights. I tried to read books on Kindle, but that was more of a strain on my eyes. Meditating or Writing on the train didn’t help. I spent some of these days in self-discussions. I used to pick up a topic or a thought and I would debate for/against that topic. All within my mind. This may not be a favorite thing to do - for many people.

Vacations - You will have a tough time following the rituals when you are on a special occasion or spending the night at a relative’s home. I used to do multiple things in the morning and I don’t like carrying everything, everywhere (laptop, books, journals, etc). I used to carry only Amazon Kindle and stick to reading e-books.

Would I do it differently next time?

Yes. I would not stick to 100%. I will think through the possible obstacles to the challenge, evaluate them, and avoid this challenge on specific days. Maybe I would say, “Wake up at 5 AM, at least 5 times a week”. I may choose a sleep-late/wake-up-late pattern on travel days, vacations, special occasions, or when guests are at home, etc.

Was this Challenge Successful?

A hell of a YES. This is not a challenge that needs to be completed and thrown away. This is a habit that should be developed and adhered to until the end of our lives. I would follow an easy version of this challenge for the rest of my life.

What is a blog?

A personal website through which a person expresses his opinions/ideas with the world regularly.

What constitutes a simple, basic blog?

Below are the basic components of any blogging system.

1. Set of blog posts arranged in chronological order
2. Set of pages
3. Ability for the readers to comment on the blog post/pages

I am not bothered about the awesome SEO plugins / other helpful plugins that help in many aspects of blogging. I am concerned only about the basic blog. All I need is a simple web page to express my ideas.

Do I need a CMS / Server side engine?

Except for the comments section, the rest of the blog is static. I am not bothered about the comments anyway. It takes too much of your time away from blogging. If you need them, there are client-side commenting systems available (like Disqus, Facebook comments, etc). So, I don’t need a server-side code that connects to a database, executes the plugins, and creates the web page on the fly for every request to a web page (even with caching), when all I need is a set of a simple HTML file.

There is an argument that says, Infrastructure is cheap nowadays. The computing and storage abilities skyrocketed. We can use as much as we want. Yes. It is. But, just because I have too much fuel, I would not travel 10 miles extra to the office every day. I always prefer the shortest possible route. How about you?. And again, that’s a personal choice. I am not saying that what is being done is wrong, all I say is that I don’t need all of those.

What I did not like in regular blogging systems?

These are the two components of any regular blogging system which I do not prefer to use. However, thousands of fellow bloggers would die to use these. :)

1. CMS / Server Side engine
2. WYSIWYG editors

When it comes to WYSIWYG editors, I simply hate the unnecessary markups created by the default editors or even the specialized installable editors in the market. For example, to display an image to the left side of the HTML, this is the code created by a blogger website.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/image.jpg" imageanchor="1"
style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img border="0" height="318" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/image.jpg" width="320" />
</a></div>

Where all I need is

<img style="float: left;" src="https://www.premkumarmasilamani.com/downloads/english/blog/image.jpg"/>

Do you see the point? Most don’t mind these additional markups. I do mind when I edit the blog posts.

Alternatives - Static Site Generators

Static Site Generator is a program that generates a complete HTML website as output. The input would be a few configuration files, layout files, and markdown or simple HTML files. You can simply upload these HTML files to any web server and your blog is live. Whoah…

I could find hundreds of SSGs written in various languages (ruby, python, node.js, javascript, java, etc) in the open source area. Since I do not know most of the programming languages but decided to learn any one of them - I chose the most widely used SSG. Jekyll, which powers GitHub. Seeing hundreds of plugins/websites out there for Jekyll already, I was confident that I would not be stuck with any problem for a long time.

Markdown

Markdown is a program or a plugin that transforms the plain text to a valid HTML / XHTML. As with any open source, there are many alternatives. I choose to use “red carpet” since this is the default Markdown processor that comes with Jekyll. The HTML produced by Markdown is the bare minimum HTML needed to render the page effectively in any browser. You have the option of using HTML directly in the Markdown text files if you feel that is needed.

Advantages of Static Site Generators

Some of the key advantages of using SSG are

1. Security - No one can / will hack HTML. Hehe. There is nothing to hide and no need to fear someone hacking your website.
2. Performance - No server-side code. No CMS. Lighting fast.
3. Portability - Simply copy and paste the HTML to another host.
4. Local Copy - You always have a local copy of the website on your computer all the time. No need to worry about the server crash.
5. Version-Controlled Source - You have the option to version control your entire website with any version control systems like subversion, git, etc. I choose to keep the source on GitHub. This means that you never lose any single line of change made on your blog.
6. Free hosting with custom domain - If all you need is a simple effective blog, you can host it for free with GitHub. The best part is that you can use your domain with GitHub pages.

And many more …

Disadvantages of Static Site Generators

Some of the disadvantages of SSG are

1. Any operation that was performed on the server is not possible. But there are alternatives like client-side comments, Google Custom Search to search the website, Google Analytics to track the traffic, etc.
2. Only for Techies - Not for all.

I feel that the second point is what keeps me interested in migrating to SSG. If there was a very simple website that claims to do everything and anyone can create a blog with that - I would probably have not tried that option :)

What powers this blog?

Below is the technology stack that runs this blog.

1. Jekyll - Static Site Generator, written in Ruby
2. Redcarpet - A Markdown plugin distributed as a ruby gem
3. Pygments - A code highlighting plugin written in Python
4. pageless_redirects - A plugin that creates the redirect URLs to ease the migration from blogger
5. sitemap_generator - A plugin that generates/updates the sitemap for this blog
6. rss.xml - An RSS feed for the blog
7. MailChimp - To manage email subscriber lists & newsletters
8. Disqus - A client-side commenting system to enable commenting feature
9. VIM - VI Improved. My favorite editor for writing blog posts
10. GitHub - A free hosting service that serves the HTML for this website
11. BigRock - The DNS registrar in which the domain name premkumarmasilamani.com is registered

I used the very basic template that comes with Jekyll. I have plans to customize it in the future and also to add a custom search engine to my blog. I explored private pay-as-you-go hosting options as well. I may move my blog to private hosting sometime in the future when the blog grows big or if there are issues with GitHub hosting. But, that migration would be a breeze for me.

If this sounds too technical, you may want to try blogger.com.

What difference did it make in my writing?

Less Distraction - I have the habit of previewing the blog now and then and correcting the look and feel as I write. This has changed. I write from the VIM editor in the Unix console. I prefer to keep it in full screen and viola - there are no distractions. I could concentrate only on writing. I felt that I wrote more in the console than on a web page. Too early to conclude. Let’s wait till I post at least 50+ posts this way. I still have to preview and edit the blog post at the end. But that’s now a single task after I complete the writing.

Feeling EPIC - Yeah. Seriously. I fell in love with the character “Neo” in the Movie “The Matrix” when I saw it for the first time (esp. the black console with green text flowing down). I even wrote matrix screensavers in C, during my college days to simulate that experience on my computer. Those good old days are back. This simple act of blogging like a programmer brought back my love for programming. Write, Edit, Commit, Push - Viola, My blog is published.

It’s nostalgic.

It is the set of values that we live by. It is a set of rights/wrongs that we should/shouldn’t do in our lives. Whether you know it or not, like it or not, everybody has a blueprint. I can simplify the term Blueprint with the term “Preference”. Some people prefer to wake up early and some prefer to cuddle in bed till noon, Some choose not to lie at any cost and some simply don’t bother, Some don’t drink alcohol, some drink a lot, some prefer monogamy and some prefer polygamy. The list goes on and on, from very simple practice to very complex situations in your life.

Your habits, blueprints, preferences, thought patterns - all mean the same. Your reaction to most of the situations in your life can be predicted if your blueprint is known. You may say that you choose everything with your free will, rather than with the conditioned thought patterns. Consider this - if you never woke up before noon on any day and I ask you to wake up at 5 AM from tomorrow onward - How easily could you do that? If it is tough for you, then this is on your blueprint.

For many people, the blueprint is set by the religion they adhere to or set by their parents at an early age, or set by the teachings of the Guru they follow dearly. Few people know what their blueprint is, consciously updating their blueprints as they gain new experiences in life. The rest of the human population is simply unaware that they have a blueprint.

Should I bother about my blueprint?

Not required, if you are extremely happy and excited about your life and everything around you. After all, that is the only purpose of your life. Just enjoy the ride!… In case, your happiness begins to fade, then you are off the track and you must do something to get back on track. How?. Consciously evaluate and update your blueprint. Why?. Because your blueprint affects every little decision that you will make in your life.

How to list your Blueprint?

List down all the values, practices, or rituals that you live by. If you have never thought about your own set of values, you may need a little help. Imagine or think about your one complete day, from the moment you wake up till you go back to sleep. Slowly think about every single event that happens in your day. Do you see a pattern? Do you see yourself doing the same thing again and again? Do you see yourself behaving in a similar situation in the same way or a different way each time? Write them down.

Imagine the happiest or the toughest situation in your life. Did you react in a way that you wanted to respond or did you react to your will? Did you stand for what you felt was right or succumbed to the situation? Do you have any goals? Will you do anything to achieve that goal or only the things that you feel are right? Do you want to serve the people? How do you react to your relationships? Do you take some relationships for granted, like your mom & dad? How are you when you are with friends and compare that to being with strangers.

These are some of the questions which will help you to discover your blueprints. Feel free to add more relevant questions. You may not get to know all the values in your blueprint. But you will surely get the core values that define you. That’s more than enough.

How to evaluate your Blueprint?

Once you have the list of values to live by - think through each of the values in the list. Think about when this value would have been added to your blueprint. Think about the situation that caused you to adhere to this value. You will be surprised that most of your core values were formed during your childhood, mostly from your parents and society.

Many times, you may not be able to point out a specific situation that changed your blueprint. It could be a series of experiences that caused the change in you. That’s fine. Evaluate that specific value for its relevance to today. If you continue with this value, will you achieve your goals or will you continue to be happy? Will this value be relevant in the future? What is the downside of continuing this value in your life? Are you ready for that?

Once you completed the evaluation of that specific value in your blueprint, move on to the next value. When the evaluation of all the values is complete, your life becomes crystal clear for you. You know what to do and what not to do. You precisely know how to react to a specific situation that conflicts with your value system. Your life becomes easy.

Updating your blueprint

As long as you live, you will encounter new experiences, and meet new people that will change your perception of your life, drastically. When you feel the urge to change from inside, Change!!!. Refine your blueprint. Live with the new one. Don’t hold to your old beliefs/values. I would never suggest resisting all the changes. I suggest that when you change, change consciously.

Other’s values in your blueprint

There may be some values in your blueprint that are imposed by others. There may be some things that you always wanted to do but are prohibited by your religion, society, family, friends, relatives, etc. Those are not your values. Check the relevance of that value in your current life. Will that help you to progress in your life? Will that keep you happy? If yes, adhere to it and thank whoever imposed it on you. If not, refine that value with something new and thank yourself.

My Blueprint:

Below are some of the core values in my blueprint, just to give an idea of what your list might look like. I did not publish everything, though. Neither should you. There will be some values so intimate to you. Keep it to yourself.

1. Never lie in any situation
2. Never fear anyone or any situation (If I fear something, voluntarily face it - till the fear fades away)
3. Respect must be earned, never bother to respect anyone by default
4. Eat Healthy & Nutritious Food
5. Avoid Junk foods & Carbonated Beverages
6. Exercise regularly
7. Wake up Early
8. Stop Drinking & Smoking
   ….
   ….
   ….

Did you find yours?

It is a place dedicated to meditation, consecrated by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev using Prana Pratishta - a complicated process by which all seven chakras are energized to their peak and locked inside the structure. It is said that this was the first complete Dhyanalinga in over 2000 years and it’s been estimated that the energy will be contained within this structure for at least the next 5000 years. This place is located around 30 km from Coimbatore, inside the forest. There are frequent bus/cab services available from Coimbatore.

My Experience with Dhyanalinga

Since then, I have decided to be open to others’ religious/supernatural / cult / cosmic being / spiritual beliefs, I’ve been in many discussions with many of my friends with alternate belief systems. I did not criticize or evaluate their belief system with my rational thinking process, instead, I just listened. I got to know so much information that I did not know before. One such discussion was about people having different experiences with Dhyanalinga’s energy. Thanks to Dinesh for providing me the complete picture of the process that was involved in creating this Dhyanalinga. Though I did not understand many of the concepts - I know now, the rough idea behind this structure. I decided to find that out by myself.

Me, my wife, my cousin, and three of their friends set out to Dhyanalinga in a car and a bike. The route to this place was really lovely with green trees/vegetation on both sides. We reached the place in mid-noon with the scorching sun above our heads. This place has to be maintained in complete silence. So they collected the cameras, cell phones and other items in the entrance itself. It’s free. I have used the pictures I got from the Internet on this blog to give you a visual experience.

You are welcomed and greeted by the volunteers. If you are a first-time visitor to Dhyanalinga, you will be shown a small documentary movie about Dhyanalinga. I would suggest you watch it.

Theerth Kund

Next is to have a dip in the holy pond to energize yourself and dissipate the heat. You need to shower yourself before getting into the pond. They will provide you with a saffron color towel. You are supposed to remove all the clothing and wear only this towel. They charge Rs. 20 for each person.

The pond called “Surya Kund” is constructed 30 feet below the ground level. The depth of the water is 5 feet. This pond has three consecrated Lingams and an artificial waterfall. You are supposed to walk slowly into the pond, touch the Lingam with both your hands, and take a dip in the water. The water was so chill and so clear - I could see the toes, and nails on my feet. It was as if I was watching through a magnifying glass. Once you take the dip - your body is cooled down immediately with the cold water. This is a surreal experience. I thought this experience was worth the visit to Dhyanalinga.

I walked through the pond slowly, touching the Lingams, taking dips in the water, and standing in the waterfall. I did not feel anything spiritual - but it was a lovely experience. I did not feel any sort of energy passing through me.

This above place is only for Men. There is a separate pond called Chandra Kund which is reserved for women visiting Dhyanalinga.

I strongly suggest you take a dip, whether you are religious or not. It’s a lovely experience.

Linga Bhairavi Temple

There are volunteers everywhere to guide you to the places and to answer your questions. The old volunteer in front of this temple explained that this is the feminine form of Lingam. You can worship Linga Bhairavi as you would do to other Hindu gods. There are requests made to her, in exchange for flowers and poojas. A typical Hindu establishment. I seriously do not see a need for this temple inside a meditation place.

I saw a lot of foreigners in saffron dresses doing poojas, offering flowers, doing meditations, etc. A typical scene in an Ashram. She offered me Neem Leaves and Lily flowers inside the temple. I was supposed to eat the Neem Leaves. It was more bitter than the Bitter Gourd. Luckily they sold Pasi Paruppu Payasam just outside the temple for Rs. 10. With the help of the payasam, I could eat three Neem leaves. Even though we knew the benefits of Neem leaves, this was my first successful attempt at eating them. I was proud!

Nandhi

We saw a small beautiful artificial pond with Lillies and Goldfishes, on the way to Dhyanalinga and spent some time walking around the pond, watching the flowers and fishes. It was good. A big 15-foot Nandhi interrupted us at Dhyanalinga’s entrance. It is made up of a metal alloy, filled with herbs inside, consecrated by a ceremony. It was painted in pitch black color and looks more majestic than the Charging Bull in front of the New York Stock Exchange. We were not allowed to touch or climb the Nandhi.

Sarva Dharma Sthamba

We saw Sarva Dharma Sthamba, just before the entrance, signifying singularity or union of all religions. This stone has inscriptions of symbols of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Shinto welcoming people from all religious beliefs. I am not sure how many people notice this Sthamba. I did not see a single person looking or checking this out. Maybe this should be placed in a more strategic place or should be made more attractive - to convey the message.

Dhyanalinga

Finally, we are into Dhyanalinga. The side walls on the path to Dhyanalinga have stone sculptures depicting many scenes in Hindu mythologies. This is not congruent with the Sarva Dharma Sthamba we saw outside. The volunteers allow people to go inside Dhyanalinga in batches, every five minutes. There are 27 enclosures on the sidewalls of Dhyanalinga. You can either sit inside the enclosures or in the open space for meditation. The five-minute time is for the people who just came to visit. If you want to meditate longer, you can do it. No one will disturb your meditation.

I was surprised to see the pillar-less construction of such a big dome. My surprise increased a thousand times when I heard that this was constructed without Steel & Concrete. This was built with the ancient Indian technique with brick, mud, lime, clay, and some herbs. It is properly ventilated and illuminated - perfect for meditation. It is said that this structure will withstand for at least 5000 years. There was such a silence inside Dhyanalinga where I could hear my wife’s earring swinging. It was very serene.

“Just sitting silently for a few minutes within the sphere of Dhyanalinga is enough to make even those unaware of meditation experience a state of deep meditativeness.” - Sadhguru

I occupied one of the enclosures and started to meditate. I expected some sort of energy to flow through me or a sudden relaxation or calmness in the body and mind, as it happened to many others. But nothing happened. I slept. I woke up when I heard the sound of people walking out for the next batch. That was a big disappointment for me. I came to Dhyanalinga with an open mind to experience it. The above statement by Sadhguru is not true in all cases. But, I heard from my close friend that he felt the energy (he never lies for anything in life). So, I can conclude that the above statement may be true for a few people (maybe religious?). The objective failed, but the experiment was a success. I enjoyed the trip to Dhyanalinga.

Why should You visit Dhyanalinga?

• The architecture and construction techniques are nothing short of any other marvelous constructions in the world. It’s a must-see if you like to travel.
• The refreshingly chill holy dip in Surya Kund. This is the best and I loved it.
• The biggest meditation place in the world, situated in the forest. If you are interested in meditation, then this is your Mecca.
• You can book in advance and stay in the Dhyanalinga premises for several courses on yoga, meditation, and mindful living.

Though I did not experience what I wanted to experience, I will try once more. Next time, I am planning to stay in Dhyanalinga for a week or two to learn yoga, and meditation etc., Maybe I will experience something new or never. Who knows!

Early Rising Tip: Go to bed when You’re sleepy (and only when you’re sleepy) and get up with an alarm clock at a fixed time (7 days per week). The catch is - irrespective of when you go to bed, you always wake up at a fixed time. No excuses. The first few days will be tough and you may feel tired throughout the waking hours. Once your brain realizes that there will be no sleep after the fixed time, it will push you to sleep early. The natural cycle of sleep will set in. I had 100% success with this technique.

48-Day Challenge: Starting today, I am going to wake up at 5 AM daily (irrespective of weekends, travels, parties, night outs). Why 48 days? It counts as one Mandalam. Though there is a religious interpretation/usage of Mandalam for doing poojas, it was originally developed by Siddhars as a measure of time for medication. If you do any specific task at a specific time consistently for 48 days, it becomes a habit. So, I choose to wake up daily at 5 AM for 48 days - to make this a permanent habit for me. If I miss a day, I will restart from Day 1.

PS: You may see many references on the internet that 21 days is enough to forge a habit. Since I am going to do this for the rest of my life, I chose 48 days for my experiment.

What to do with the extra hours?

It’s not the waking up time that makes you successful, but what you do in those extra hours does. So, We need a plan to utilize those extra hours to work towards our goals or passion or health, acquiring more knowledge or improving meditation skills, etc. Here is what I planned for the extra hours.

My Morning List:

1. Wake up at 5 AM
2. Brush the teeth and empty the bowels.
3. Drink one liter of water.
4. Meditate for 30 minutes (I wanted to meditate for many many years)
5. Read a book or Listen to an audiobook or Write a blog post
6. Work on any personal projects, either technical or personal development.

This is not a final list of tasks. I will keep changing the tasks or reorganizing them as per my needs over time. I decided to spend 2 hrs compulsory for myself in the morning and additional time as the day permits. You can prepare your list. If lists overwhelm you, just do one simple thing like, listen to soothing music, learn an art, go to the gym, learn yoga, learn meditation, watch the sunrise, go for a walk on the beach, walk in the grass with barefoot, write a poem, etc., - Do whatever that makes you happy, as the first thing in the morning. Get it?

What NOT to do?

We, humans, tend to drift away from our goals now and then, right? I do. So, I need to have a Not-To-Do list as well, to keep me focused on my To-Do list.

• Do not Snooze or Sleep.
• Do not check Facebook for the first 2 hours.

I may find some other distractions to my To-Do list in the coming 48 days. I will add them to the Not-To-Do list and keep a focus on my goals.

Why this experiment?

I am beginning to feel content with myself, and happy with my life. A thought of unknown origin tells me that it’s time to give back. But, I don’t know what to give or how to give. I am searching for a meaning for my life, even though my conscious atheist self says that there is no meaning. I want to organize my lifestyle and channel my energy in proper ways so I may find many excellent & exciting ideas/opportunities that my entire life would not be enough to complete. Feeling excited as I write this.

The change - going raw vegan was drastic and very effective. I was a voracious meat eater. Switching immediately to the opposite side of the spectrum would be very tough. So, I stopped eating meat from Jan 1, 2013. After a month, I started eating raw vegan food for breakfast for two weeks, then for two weeks for dinner, and eventually for all three meals in the day. From 1st March 2013, I was on a 100% raw vegan diet. After being on this diet for 5 months, you can see the results in the above picture.

How does that feel? Good or Bad?

Physique: The first noticeable change was my physique. I lost almost all of the extra fat from my body and I did lose a few pounds of lean muscle as well. It felt amazing when I lost a few inches off my waist. My body felt very light, I could walk fast, and climb upstairs with ease. Before this diet, while on the streets, I used to tuck in my stomach or hold my breath to make my chest look bigger - when I saw a beautiful girl on the other side or a man bigger than me. That became my nature and I do it unconsciously. After being a raw vegan, I don’t have any issues with my body and don’t do any of those acts in public. I lost 20 Kg in 5 months.

Health: I was never sick in the past 15 years, even when I was overweight. I was not sick during the last five months as well. So, I am not sure if a raw vegan diet helped improve my health or not. With the kind of information available on the internet and the research books that I read, it is healthy. If you are not healthy, it will improve. By health - I meant the state of all the internal organs, which is not obvious to us until something goes wrong.

Cognizance: I am not sure how to explain this in words. While on the vegan diet, I don’t have the fogginess in my thinking. I was able to think more clearly and communicate with friends more precisely. I never stumbled for words. They flow freely. I started writing more and reading more. I started spending more time with myself - to improve myself. I invested in a lot of audiobooks and made it a habit to listen to them daily. Started exploring the other side of my life (giving back to society). I would say that I am a much different person now. I can spend time alone and be happy & content. I don’t have any specific proof to say that the Raw Vegan Diet did this, but my instinct says it did.

Food Carving: When I completed the 5-month trial, I thought I would be carving for cooked food. But that was not the case. The cooked food did taste better than a raw vegan diet, especially my wife’s cooking. I like eating cooked food, but I don’t crave cooked food. Once when my wife was not around, by default - without thinking, I reached out for a raw vegan breakfast. I don’t know if this is some sort of contentment/detachment with food, but better. During my college days (when going out with friends - mostly parting), I would come home around 1 AM at midnight and my mom used to prepare fresh food at that time and feed me. Otherwise, I will not eat. Thinking about that now.

Social Pressure: This is the toughest part of the raw vegan diet. We do have a lot of friends and relatives in India. Once or twice a month, we have to attend some functions (marriage, baby shower, birthday celebrations, etc.) and you will have to eat at all the functions. Not eating at those functions is disrespecting the host. I have to come up with excuses or take the host in private and explain to them about my diet. Trust me, nobody understands. All of them told me this, “Eat this one time, you continue from tomorrow. Today is special”. Saying NO to the love of your loved ones is the toughest part of this diet. Another part of the story is that - when relatives visit home and they see me slim, there will be hundreds of questions aimed at my wife. All of them were elders and respectable persons in the family and society. Those were tough times for her as well. She persisted with those times with a smile for me.

This is a problem specific to India and surrounding countries with related cultures. So, it does not apply to all.

Self-Confidence: Especially when you know that you can do something that 99% of the people around you cannot do, your self-confidence soars to the high sky. Overcoming social pressure is the next plateau for your self-confidence. You will know you can do things even if the whole world is against your idea. This raw vegan diet brought me self-control, reduced procrastination, and improved my self-confidence greatly. Following the Raw Vegan Diet equals reading hundreds of self-development books. Trust me.

Was the experiment successful?

I do have a lot of obese/overweight friends who complain about the impossibility of losing weight. The whole idea behind this experiment is to find a reliable and healthy means to lose weight and when I lose weight, my friends will get inspired. I did lose weight. The very funny thing is that my friends still complain about being overweight and ignore me and my diet plan as Outcasts. I am no longer an ordinary human being with an ordinary appetite. I laughed at myself. Nevertheless, I was blogging the efforts along the way. If it inspires one person in the world, I would consider my experiment a successful one.

I used to watch a lot of videos, and audios related to the personal development/self-help genre. I used to be passive so far. (i.e) simply watching or listening. In recent times, I decided to follow along and act upon the concepts discussed by those personal development gurus. I began to explore so much of myself and decided to blog about it. I am not going to blog about every little video/audio. I will post only about the stuff that inspires me. So, if any of these blog posts helps at least one of you, the purpose of this blog is fulfilled.:)

Here is what I wrote in my journal, after completing the exercises mentioned in this video.

Experience, Growth & Contribution - I never thought or planned my life in these terms. This seems to be a different and interesting way to look at my life goals. Even though I had only 90 seconds to think about each category, the output was surprising. Some of the items like Learning Martial Arts in the Growth category were forgotten long ago in my life. I am surprised to see that this is the second item where I want to grow. I can correlate the emotional burst I have, every time I watch an action movie and my irrational imagination of me being Achilles (from the movie Troy - I watched that movie so many times). This one trait (imagining myself as a warrior) has never changed from my childhood. I think it’s time that I feed the wild side of myself.

I could see that “Teaching” is the most repeated word in all of the categories. This is something that I love to do in my work. I teach the freshers & experienced professionals in my team anything that I know or learn new. I am proud to be able to convey the message to anyone in a clear & concise manner. However, I get very little chance to do so, when I am in the “Delivery (analyze, design, code, test & support) of projects. Once the current project is over, I would like to take up teaching. Let’s see how it goes.

Thanks, Vishen for showing me the difference between End Goals and Means Goals. (You will know these if you have watched the above video). I would like to move forward toward the end goals in a more direct manner.

Please find out yours and enjoy fulfilling them !!!

[Below four paragraphs are my life experiences. You can skip to the next section if you want to]

For a brief period during my childhood, I was a theist. More than love for god, it’s a Friday routine in my home to stand in front of the Hindu gods and recite Gayatri Mantra. I was encouraged to talk to god and even ask anything that I wanted. I never got anything from God anyway. When my little brain started thinking rationally, there were many questions in my mind about god, religion, and pretty much everything else in this world. I did ask everyone I know about religion & god and did not get any satisfactory answer. I transitioned myself to an agnostic. I was there for a while.

Slowly over the years, my beliefs were strengthened with lots of observations. When I became an atheist, it was such exhilarating freedom, feeling on top of the world. When everyone else I know feared god in one way or another (during my school days), I was the only one - fearless. The downside is that I did not respect anyone (elders, teachers, etc), and started doing nonsensical things during my adolescent years, quickly acquiring all the unhealthy habits that you can think of. I was leading a carefree, take-it-easy lifestyle, throughout my college days.

Then I met Sofia, in the corporate environment - who eventually became a close family friend. I call her my sister. Would you believe that I quit smoking & drinking in one day? Yes. Such was her influence on me. She showed me the importance of having a good interpersonal relationship with everyone, respecting others beliefs, having values to live by, etc. I changed drastically, but not completely. I would call myself a mature atheist, who has a personal value system to live by.

I call these phases (theist, agnostic, atheist, etc) in my life as contexts through which I try to understand life. I would like to fit myself into as many contexts as possible and perceive life from different angles. I am willing to undergo a context against my belief system, just to experience the other side. I never thought about doing this, until I read Steve’s blog. I accidentally read this article How to Discover Your Life Purpose in About 20 Minutes by Steve Pavlina and decided to try it.

How to identify the purpose of your life?

Steve Pavlina suggests the below steps to identify your purpose in about 20 minutes.

1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a word processor.
2. Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
4. Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose.

That’s it. Sounds very simple. The time taken will vary, depending on the awareness level of the people. I took about 90 minutes to complete this exercise. I fell into the low-awareness category. Hmm…

When I started, I decided that I would write everything that came to my mind, however silly, wild, and nonsensical they were. There were many of them. Hehe. Here is how my list of purposes started …

1. No Purpose.
2. OK, Let there be some purpose.
3. Read a lot of books and learn continuously.
4. Lead a Raw Vegan Lifestyle. …. ….

It was more like a To-Do list, rather than the purpose of my whole existence. I did not feel any emotion or resonate with any of the ideas. After an hour of this exercise, I felt the urge to stop it and sleep. It was 3 AM. I told myself that I would not sleep until I completed this exercise. In one hour, I wrote about 60 items and none of them resonated with my emotions. I kept thinking and squeezing my mind for more. I kept writing whatever came to my mind. The 63rd item I wrote was, “Finish off this exercise and sleep well” - WTF? Is this the purpose of my life? I laughed hard at this item. This is the first emotion I experienced in this exercise so far. I felt that I was too tired to continue, but persisted for another 20 minutes.

A simple thought came to my mind. Suddenly, I could feel the gush of freshness flowing to my eyes (the kind you get, when drinking Red-bull during long night drives). I could hear my heartbeat. I felt very fresh and started writing paragraph after paragraph. The Eureka moment!… This was strange. I never felt this feeling before for a simple thought. It was item 73 and then the thought is this…

Should there be only one purpose in my life?

We are not like shaving razors or sanitary napkins. Created for a purpose, use and throw. C’mon guys. We are human beings, capable of doing multiple things efficiently at the same time. Many questions & dialogues were happening in my mind around 3.30 AM…

Why should we choose only one item for our lives, when we are exceptionally good at multiple things?

What restricts us?

Can there be more than one purpose in our lives at the same time?

Can there be different purposes at different stages of our lives?

Can one purpose at one point in time, push us forward to pursue a higher/better purpose later?

….

….

These questions resonate with what I am. If I look back on my life, I was too much into Bodybuilding at some time. A few months later, I was into Poetry, and did not work out at all. A few months later, I was into blogging and then into reading books, traveling, raw vegan lifestyle, etc. Sometimes, it is exclusive, and sometimes multiple items together. That is how I was and I am. How can I choose only one of them for my purpose in my life? It’s not fair. I would not be living completely if I chose to ignore many other interests for one interest.

I can be a writer, poet, photographer, bodybuilder, raw vegan, entrepreneur, angel investor, social activist, politician, etc., at some point in my life and do it exceptionally well. I can be the master of all trades that I get into. So, I can define my life’s purpose as,

Live life with an attitude that each goal of mine should be treated as the only purpose of my existence at that time. Keep changing the goals to push me forward and help others to do the same.

What changes now?

OK. I identified my purpose in my life. To be precise, I had written down the mission statement of my life. What changes now? A simple paradigm shift in the thought process! More clarity on how to pursue my interests in my life. No more confusion. Is this mission statement final? No. It may, but I think it will change in the future, based on my new experiences.

What is the difference between theists having a purpose assigned by religion and me having a purpose decided by myself? It’s the difference between being a robot and a human being.

I think I am moving into a new context - a mature atheist with a mission statement!. Let’s see how it goes.

Have you figured out your life purpose?

It’s not that I am new to Indian Toilets. I have been using it since my childhood. I started using Western Toilets about 9 years ago. Only when I got a chance to use the Indian and Western, one after the other - I could realize the difference. Have a look at the below diagram which shows the anal-rectal angle, while sitting and squatting. I don’t need to explain which one would be a better posture for this job.

Anal Rectal Angle while Sitting and Squatting

What’s Next

• Install an Indian toilet (or any eastern-type squatting toilet) in your home.
• Use a Squat Toilet Utility like Squatty Potty. You don’t need to pay so much for a simple device. There are cheaper alternatives available in the market. Just google. I never used this personally. So, I cannot comment on this. Just try, if you cannot do option 1.

Did I change after marriage?

Yes. I did. While dating, I was a careless rogue and a romantic poet who cared about only one thing - Love. Nothing else. Never bothered to go to work. Never bothered about my career. Never cared about my finances. Side effects of dopamine and serotonin?

After marriage, I have a home and a whole bunch of expenses to take care of. I had to be very proper with the finances. I need to be regular at work. I cannot be carefree anymore. Suddenly, going out required planning. Going to theaters means reading reviews about the movies and choosing them wisely (?) etc.

Is it a positive change?

Yes. It is. I became more organized and became good at planning. I used to spend a couple of hours in the morning by myself. To make that time for me again, I started waking up at 6 AM every day. I started reading a lot of books again. I started concentrating on diet and exercise. I stopped eating junk food and going to parties. I became a raw vegan. I spent most of the evenings and the weekends with her.

What confused me was that I became a better person, but she felt that we grew apart !!!

The Analysis

I have to find out what is happening to us. But, I don’t know where to start. Simply, I listed down the activities I like to do and asked her to do the same thing. Once we had two lists, I plotted them in a Venn diagram. Here is what our “Relationship Venn Diagram” looks like.

The Findings

1. We both have a set of activities that we love to do together.
2. We do have a disjointed set of unrelated activities that we love to do with/without the other.
3. We cannot simply do the common activities forever, no matter how deep in love we are.
4. We must spend time on other activities with/without the better half.
5. The success of marriage depends on how efficiently we allocate time to common & uncommon activities.

I am glad that we did this exercise last night. We will try to add more things to our common interests and give enough time & space for the other person to pursue his/her interests. We will make sure that the other person is actively engaged in some activity while we do our activities. Simply plotting the Venn Diagram provided such insight and initiated a thought process that helped us to look at the same things differently. I wish every couple does this exercise and keeps the list updated every six months.

Please do this if you are in a relationship, it helps you both !..

I believed in this myth for a very long time. Who wants to be skinny and vulnerable? Not me. Just like any other man, I always wanted to be big and strong. If I get options to either live for 30 years, big and strong, or live for 100 years skinny but very healthy, I will always choose the first option. But, if I can be big, strong, healthy, and can live for 100 years, why wouldn’t I say YES? The next question is how? This video explains it all. Are all claims in this video true? I do not know at this point. But there is strong supporting evidence.

Many scientists believe that the cooked food in the human diet is responsible for the evolution of a bigger brain. The human brain consumes roughly 20% of the calories that go into the body. Cooked foods are packed with more calories, easy to chew, taste better, and could sustain a few more days, which gave our ancestors the advantage of having more time to socialize and less time to search for food. Since the human brain is nourished with more food and given more time to think, it is increased in size.

A sensible and logical conclusion from fossil evidence. Somehow, I could not agree with this. If you compare the brain size of the apes between 3.5 million years and 1.8 million years (roughly when Homo erectus started cooking), you can see the increase in brain size. (i.e) evolution has already started.

What is mysterious is the accelerated rate at which the brain size increased from 1.8 million years onward. Since Action A (Cooking) and Action B (Brain Size Increasing) happened around the same time, concluding that action B is due to action A - does not make sense to me.

Let’s come to the present. We all eat cooked food and know the long list of diseases/disorders that will be caused by those foods. Most probably, it is not the cooked food that causes the diseases, but the preparation of the foods and amount of food we eat causes the diseases/disorders. Properly cooked healthy food in proper proportion, with proper exercise, helps us maintain good health. However, raw foodists claim better health, vitality, creative thinking, anti-aging and being energetic with raw food. Too good to be true. Isn’t it? Let’s see what is termed raw food.

Cooked Food: Any processing/preparation of food that involves the application of heat higher than 118° F. I seriously do not know who came up with this number.

Raw Vegan Food: All the food items that fall into the below categories. Only plant-based food. No animal and dairy products.

• Heating food less than 118° F
• Pureeing
• Blending
• Marinating
• Fermenting
• Dehydrating
• Sprouting
• Eating as it is

Here are some of the key points discussed in all the debates “Cooked Vs Raw”

Digestive Enzymes are destroyed in Cooking

This is the most discussed topic. Our scientists so far, claimed that all enzymes from the plant foods are destroyed in Hydrochloric acid (HCl) secreted in our stomach, except for digestive enzymes from Papaya, Pineapple, and Kiwi fruit. So, eating these, the energy of a heavy meat-based diet is good for digestion. However, a recent unconfirmed study says that the food stays in the body for roughly 45 minutes, before being subjected to HCl treatment. So, the digestive enzymes are being absorbed and used by our body. More research is needed.

Vitamin B12 deficiency in Raw Vegan Foods

This special vitamin is needed for normal functioning of the brain, nervous system and formation of blood. The daily requirement is roughly 2.5 mg. This vitamin is produced by bacteria and it’s not available in most of the plant sources. True. However, recent research claims that Chlorella, Miso, and Nutritional yeast do have vitamin B12. These are regional foods and are not available throughout the world. So, many raw foodists adjust this deficiency with vitamin supplements (either daily or weekly). However, we could get this vitamin from a cup of milk/curd/yogurt. This would be the simplest way. Even if you switch to raw food and do not consume vitamin B12, it may take up to three years for your body to show the symptoms of this deficiency.

You need to eat more with Raw Vegan Foods

That is 100% true. Due to the low calorific value of raw foods, we need to eat more and more often. It was tough millions of years ago. With the abundance of food sources available right next to our door, this should not be a problem. Even with cooked food, the experts suggest we eat six small meals rather than 3 large meals. With Raw Vegan foods, we will be forced to follow that pattern, which is good for us. Isn’t it?

Reversal of chronic diseases with Raw Vegan Food

Many people claim to have reversed chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and even some types of cancer in a few weeks to a few months of eating raw vegan food. Scientific human trials are needed to confirm these claims.

Extreme Endurance with Raw Vegan Foods

Once I saw the above video and was inspired to know more about raw foods, I stumbled upon Brendan Brazier, who is the author of “The Thrive Diet” and a professional Ironman Triathlon athlete. (It’s a triathlon race consisting of a 3.86 km swim, a 180.25 km bicycle ride, and a marathon 42.2 km run, raced in that order and without a break. He could complete this race within 9 hours. I never knew such things were possible with Vegan foods.

Anti-Aging with Raw Foods:

Hundreds of living shreds of evidence are available throughout the world in many countries. Below is one such example.

How sure am I about her age being 71? 0%. Yes. This is just a video uploaded to YouTube by someone who loves raw food. There is no reliable way to verify it. However, my instinct says that this could be possible. Around 15 years back, when I was a kid, I read a very old book in Tamil, (இயற்கை உணவுகள் - I think. Can’t remember the title exactly) about raw foods which detailed the health benefits and extreme endurance possible with raw foods. When combined with the proper exercise, I believe this could be the right way of life for me. The only way to know is to experiment with it.

I am going to try Raw Vegan Foods for 3 months. If it brings the benefits that it claims, I will continue. Else, I will return to the cooked foods.

I would like to explain a few technical jargon related to Gold Jewels…

Carat (K): It’s the unit of purity of gold. As per the calculation below, 24K Gold is nearly 99.9% pure gold. 24K Gold is suggested for Golden Ornaments of more than 10 Sovereigns and remember there is no guarantee for the Jewels, since they may lose their shape even with normal usage.

916 KDM (or) 22K Gold: Most of the Gold Jewels made in India are of 22K Gold. Cadmium or Kadium (KDM) used to be one of the metals mixed with Gold to make it strong so that beautiful intricate designs could be made. Cadmium is safe in the finished gold products, but very dangerous in the manufacturing process. Some countries banned Cadmium from being used in gold ornaments. In that case, the alloy would be a combination of Silver, Copper, and Zinc. (The % of these metals varies, depending on the manufacturer). 916 KDM Gold is a gold alloy of Gold and (Silver + Copper + Zinc) with roughly 91.6% pure gold which is 22K Gold. Though we do not use Cadmium in most cases, we still use the name KDM. Look at the below calculation.

18K Gold: 18K Gold is 75% of pure Gold and 25% of other metals. Using the above formula, you can decide the percentage of pure gold in your gold ornaments.

BIS Hallmark: The Government of India formed the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in the year 1987, which is the only institution in India, authorized to hallmark golden Jewelry. The Jewellers have to obtain a license from BIS for a fee and hallmark the jewel they make with the BIS logo. BIS maintains market surveillance on the certified jewelers, on a random basis. Market surveillance involves a collection of Hallmarked Gold Jewelry from the licensee’s retail outlet/manufacturing premises and having it tested for conformity in the BIS-recognized hallmarking center. Deviations in the degree of purity of gold and operation not in conformance with the system may result in the cancellation of the BIS license.

Most of the GoldSmiths print the word “916” or “916 KDM” on the Jewels without the logo. Many jewelers will show you these printed numbers and claim that they are 916 KDM Jewels. Do not listen to the jewelers. Just look for the above logo. If you do not find the logo in the Jewels, it means that the specific Jewel is NOT verified for the purity of gold and you are being cheated.

Please purchase the Gold Ornaments, ONLY if it is hallmarked with the BIS logo.

Sovereign: It is a gold coin of the United Kingdom issued way back in 1817, which is valued roughly at one Pound Sterling. The weight of the gold coin is roughly 7.988052 grams. Even after the British left India, we still use the term “Sovereign” as a unit to measure gold jewelry.

1 Sovereign = 8 grams of Gold.

Wastage Charges: When the Gold Smith makes the gold jewel, it is assumed that some portion of the gold is wasted. Technically he recovers everything from the chemicals, and the “assumed wastage” of gold is charged to the customers.

Making Charges: The charges you pay to the Goldsmith to make the Jewel out of raw gold.

Hallmarking Charges: BIS-certified Assaying and Hallmarking centers hallmark the gold for Rs.25 per gold ornament. (As of August 1st, 2012). You don’t need to pay that amount. It should already be covered in any of the charges above. If you are being asked to pay more than Rs. 25, please tell the Jewellers that you would pay the amount but would need the bill to explicitly mention the BIS hallmarking charges and the Assaying center’s name and address and you would register a complaint with BIS for this.

What percentage can you give? Nowadays, the Jewellers combine both the charges into one, (either wastage or making charges) so that you feel you are being charged less. Just a psychological effect. With the information collected from my friends in Bangalore, Chennai, and other parts of Tamil Nadu, I can conclude that the combined charges of …

It was like this when we bought Thali Kodi for my wife and a Short Chain for me. I saved my hard-earned money of Rs. 3,816 from the Jewellers.

Remember the below

• No one does business for loss or charity.
• Never feel shy to negotiate for Gold. It’s your money. Even after you negotiated for a good %, you could ask for a flat discount.
• The Jewellers are already millionaires. By paying them more “free money” you are making them rich. In turn, they will open more Showrooms. Who benefits? Think!. You lose.
• Instead, you could bargain & donate the money to your favorite charity. Society benefits !.

While Exchanging Gold

We decided to exchange the unused rings and bangles for the new gold. Joy Alukkas charged 1% of melting/usage charges (?) on the gold while exchanging. I was surprised. I argued with them that these are KDM jewels and I won’t pay a single paise. The manager said that he would accept the jewels from Joy Alukkas without melting charges, but not from other jewelers. After negotiating for a few more minutes, he agreed to take the gold for exchange without any charges.

Things to remember while exchanging gold

• Never pay a single paise for melting charges/usage charges or whatever charge they impose.
• The Gold must be exchanged for the current gold price. Never accept any price lesser than that.
• If you are in a hurry and they do not reduce, please ask them for a letter mentioning the charges that you are paying for exchanging the gold and tell them that you will take that up with BIS.
• If you are not in a hurry, move on to the next shop.

Once this was settled, another surprise was waiting for me. One of the Golden rings (1 Sovereign) that my dad purchased from L.K.S Jewellers many years ago, with the printed word “916 KDM” failed in the purity test. It had only 80% gold and the rest was mixed with Silver! This jewel is from one of the established Jewellers in Chennai. Hard to believe right? Joy Alukkas melted the ring and showed the proof in the purity meter. Here is the picture.

My Dad used to buy most of the jewelry from one of the showrooms of L.K.S Jewelry since it was close to our house. My dad trusted the jewelry shop so much that every single jewel in our house was from that shop. But, L.K.S Jewellers cheated my dad and lost a loyal customer.

Many people that I know would bargain with street vendors, fish markets, etc for a few rupees, but are reluctant to bargain in a Jewelry shop. My mom is one of them. Why is that? A couple of reasons that I came to know.

• Ego. You feel small when you are negotiating in a jewelry shop. You don’t want others to think that you do not have enough money or you are a miser.
• Arguing/negotiating reduces the value of the occasion (wedding or Valentine’s Day gift etc). If you buy the gold at the said price without negotiation, you value the occasion more than the money. You feel great. Isn’t it? But, it is true for a few people that I know. When you buy items like “Thali Kodi” or the idol of any god, many jewelers advise you not to argue and surprisingly, people listen.

Imagine that you are a mad scientist specializing in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. You create an extraordinary AI program (Software) that can be installed in a humanoid robot (Hardware). There are only two mandatory rules for the AI Program.

1. The AI program should listen to your commands and complete them with the help of the humanoid robot.
2. The AI Program should get rid of its dependency on the humanoid robot.

Other than these two rules, the AI Program has free will to do anything it wants to do. Completing your commands is a very basic and simple thing for that AI program. It is intelligent enough to think, break down the complex dependencies with the humanoid robot into smaller simple dependencies, and try to remove one dependency at a time. It has all the resources to learn everything that’s already discovered by human beings and create anything that it wants to create.

Example: Assume that the AI Program does not know about the TV remote controls. You command the program to switch on the TV and tune it to a specific channel. Initially, the AI program uses the Robot’s legs and arms to walk toward the TV and tune it. The dependency is now on the legs, arms, ability to walk, operate the TV controls, etc. The AI Program connects to the Internet, learns about the TV remote controls, and orders one. Now, to execute the same command, the program is less dependent on the humanoid robot. It thinks even further about IR and installs a remote control in the humanoid robot itself to detach itself from the dependency of the TV remote controls.

When the AI Program acquires all the knowledge and creates a brilliant data-mining algorithm to find any specific information in a split second, it begins to think beyond your imagination. It decomposes the entire humanoid into groups of atoms working together to perform any action. It figures out a way to control the atoms, without depending on the humanoid robot. A great step that is not yet a conceivable idea for human beings. It executes the same set of instructions to perform the same action as before, along with that, some additional commands to control the atoms to act.

When the AI Program completes its mission - completely detached from the humanoid robot, you can command the AI Program to do anything and it will be done, without the humanoid robot. If you command the AI Program to bring the Apple from the table to you, the AI Program commands the atoms around the apple and you will see the Apple fly in the air and come to you by itself. The AI Program acquires knowledge, way beyond your imagination, it does not need “Hardware” to run and it cannot be technically called “Software” anymore.

Questions to think (still a Thought Experiment, assume it already happened)

• Should the AI Program still listen to your commands? Why?
• Since the AI Program knows everything, can create anything, and has nothing more to learn, would the AI Program shut itself down or execute forever? Why?

Once you have answers to the above questions and if you are religious, assume that the mad scientist is your GOD and the AI Program is YOUR SOUL. Now, repeat the entire Thought Experiment in your mind with a new perspective. Do your answers change now? I leave the conclusion to you.

PS: I started this blog post as an article on Thought Experiments of future science, but it ended up with a Philosophical Note. I believe without any logical reasoning that creating such an AI Program is possible in my lifetime. Just that I could not imagine our world when it happens.

I was traveling from Coimbatore to Bangalore on 22-Nov-2011 and got down at Silk Board Bus Stop. I need to catch a local bus from Silk Board to Marathahalli. I generally prefer to travel by Volvo buses only. But there was none at the time. Early in the morning at 5 AM, with such a chill climate, I decided to hop onto the local bus.

Bus No: D5 (Banashankari to Hebbal)
Boarded On: Silk Board
Got down At: Marathahalli Bridge
Time: 22-Nov-2011 05:19:52 IST
Complaint: Ticket was not given unless I asked for it.

The bus was crowded and I was standing near the last row. I asked the conductor, “How much does the ticket cost to Marathahalli?”. He said, “10 Rupees”. I gave him 10 rupees and was waiting for the ticket. He distributed the tickets to passengers going to other destinations, but not to me. One more guy asked for Marathahalli and he did not get the ticket either. When the conductor was about to move away, I stopped him and asked for a ticket. He said, “Give me three more rupees”. I looked at him hard and gave him 10 rupees. He scolded me for not giving him exact change, issued the ticket, and moved away. The other guy also stopped him and got his ticket. The bus was so crowded that I did not get into a discussion, but decided to complain anyway.

I just made a few assumptions and did small math. Around 6200 buses run in BMTC alone. Considering that the Silk Board to Marathahalli is not even half the trip distance for the D5 bus, the conductor already cheated Rs. 20. Assume Rs.10 to average and at least 10 trips in a day for a bus, the amount that BMTC loses to its conductors is 6200 X 10 X 10 = Rs. 6,20,000/day and for a financial year it turns out to be a whopping amount of Rs.22,63,00,000 = Rs. 22 crore approx.

Yes. I know what you are thinking. Not all the conductors are like that. OK. Also, the amount that I assumed was Rs.10 which is very low. Let’s change the % of fraud conductors and see what happens.

50% - 11 crore approx. 25% - 5.5 crore approx. 10% - 2.2 crore approx.

You might save a few bucks traveling without tickets, but see how much BMTC is losing. Who are they to steal our hard-earned money? We are not talking about the few bucks. We are talking about the crores of rupees. With proper re-investments, we can have better infrastructure and maybe even a reduction in the ticket price. Would you stand with me?

What to do, if you find any irregularity with the BMTC?

• Make sure that you get your ticket first. (whatever the case, not issuing tickets, abusing, etc)
• Inform him/her that you are going to file an online complaint with BTIS.
• If possible, try to capture his/her picture or at least get his/her name.
• Please note the Route No and the Bus Registration No.
• Go to this link www.btis.in and file a complaint.
• Make sure that you register a complaint every time you come across a situation.

What could BMTC do to stop the irregularities?

• BTIS could give us a complaint number rather than a simple “Thank You”. It would be easy to track or use RTI to get the updates.
• Frequent Ticket Checking on the routes where you receive more complaints would be needed.
• If there is a hotline, the passengers can call and complain right from the bus. The Officials can talk to the conductors right on the spot. Because NO proof can be produced for any of these complaints.

There is some positive feedback that BTIS acts on all the complaints. Let’s see what happens!

Take me in your arms
Hold me for the very last time
Like you could never let go
For all I have is tonight

Let’s try and fool the time
And live this night forever
Like there is no tomorrow
Beyond the confines of tonight

Don’t look at the clock
For the time’s ticking away
To tear me away from you
For all we have is tonight

Take my life in return
But give me your love
To stay buried in my heart
Even after long tonight

And I shall never be alone
Till death do us apart
If only you give me your love
And never take back this night

When the morning creeps up
And wrenches you from me
I’ll go back to sleep
And pretend it’s still tonight

Down the lanes of future
I’ll smile through my tears
When I look back at you
And embrace the memories of tonight

‐ A poem from a friend!

I came back from California on 21 June 2011, stayed in Bangalore for two days, and went on a vacation for my brother’s marriage. Very unfortunately, I lost my HDFC Platinum credit card 5243-XXXX-XXXX-8957 on 23 Jun 2011 and took a new mobile number in Chennai. I did not use the card for the past 6 months and I almost forgot the email statements. My new mobile number is not updated in HDFC Bank records. :)

Someone used my card like his own and purchased items from Jewelry, Dish TVs, Mobile phones, MP3 players, Shoes, Sarees, school bags for kids, and even groceries for about Rs. 1 lakh. I did not use my card like this. OK. So far, so good.

I got the statement on 25 Jul 2011 and I was very much surprised to see the transactions and realized that I lost my card. I called up HDFC Bank and blocked the card immediately. HDFC Bank advised me to file an FIR with the police station. I went to the HAL police station and was surprised to know that the police NEVER filed an FIR for credit card loss. The police push these cases under Section 403. Banks know this. Hmmm… I got an acknowledgment from the Police and formally registered a complaint with the Risk Control Unit of HDFC Bank. Ref # ULRL1208110009224. RCU informed me that they will start the investigation and I do not need to pay anything till the investigation is over. I was very happy :)

Meanwhile, I got the next month’s statement with all the transactions + interest + late payment charges, followed by a phone call from HDFC Customer Care(?). The guy on the phone was very harsh and shouted at me for not paying the dues. I got pissed off and shouted at him left and right. I called up RCU to check and they said that their investigation systems and the statement generation systems are not in sync and they do not work together. They asked me to ignore the statements and the phone calls until the investigation was over. I was like $!@#$%^&. *Why don’t you guys work together?

After a few weeks, Mr. Prakash collected the details of all the merchants and the video footage of the thief from the CCTV of the last merchant, where the card was declined. Here is the video.

(The guy in the white shirt behind the red shirt is the thief. He stays somewhere near Kadugodi in Bangalore. If anyone happens to see him, please call @ . Thank You!)

So far so good. Mr. Prakash promised to accompany me to the Police station and file an FIR with the pieces of evidence that it was not a loss, but a fraud too. Three weeks passed and no response from him after repeated calls and SMS. Meanwhile, I was sending emails to HDFC Bank for the same. Mr. Madhu was assigned to this case and he took me to Airport Road Police Station. He said they are his friends and will investigate without FIR. I insisted on an FIR.

He said, “The card was lost near ITPL and you stay in Marathahalli. Both the areas do not come under this police station. So, they cannot file an FIR. The HAL Police won’t be of much help. That’s why I brought you here. If you don’t like it, pay the entire amount to HDFC Bank. Your choice !”.

I was a little surprised when Mr. Madhu asked me to pay Rs.3000 to the police to start the investigation. The question put to me by the bank representative was

Would you like to pay Rs. 1 lakh to the bank or Rs. 3000 to the police? Since they do this for you off the record, you need to pay for their travel expenses.

Argument from Mr. Madhu (an HDFC Bank Representative). I paid Mr.Venkata Swamy @ Airport Road Police Station. Yes. I did. I just wanted this to get over. But the Police are still searching for the thief (as of 23-Oct-2011).

While all these were happening, my credit card statement was filled with interest and late payment charges (remember, I was advised by RCU that I need not make any payments). I was not sure how long this case was going to continue. So, I sent an email to the bank stating “Please cancel all the interests / whatever charges that the Bank imposed on my account and convert all the transactions into EMI (without interest). I will pay the EMI of the credit card theft amount.”

HDFC Bank promptly replied, “We regret to inform you that we are unable to process your request for conversion of the said transaction into Equated Monthly Installments. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to you as we are unable to accede to your request at this point. We request our cardholders to effect required payment toward the card dues to avoid levy of applicable bank charges.”

Both the HDFC Bank and I know that it was a fraud on my card. I don’t want HDFC Bank to lose money because of my carelessness. I offered to pay the entire amount, knowing that the thief may not be caught at all. All I asked is just to remove the interests and other charges. Is that too big a request to HDFC Bank?

Lessons Learnt from this Credit Card Fraud:

• Always keep your mobile number updated with your bank. They send SMS for every transaction.
• If you have the habit of switching mobile numbers when going to your hometown/vacation, please double-check that your credit/debit cards are safe and with you.
• “Zero Liability” is a scam used by ALL the banks. It covers the transactions that happened after you reported the loss of your card to the Bank. In reality, it takes a few seconds to block the card after your report. How many transactions can happen in those few seconds? So, don’t trust this and exercise extra caution.
• Avoid Credit Cards if possible. The banks make a lot of money and you get peanuts in the name of reward points. Warren Buffet advises NOT to use Credit Cards and says “Limit What You Borrow”.
• I have not used Credit Cards for close to a year now and I am as good as before. I can better manage my expenses now. Trust me. There is NO big difference.
• I suggest getting a credit card and using it ONLY for emergencies and make sure that you pay it off in FULL. Never get into revolving mode. You get stuck!
• Never pay anything to the Police. It does not make any big difference. Go to the court, if you have time.

What HDFC Bank Could have done better?

• For a high-value transaction for Rs.38,500 @ Chemmanur Jewelry, HDFC Bank tried to send an SMS, followed by a phone call. The main reason for phone call verification is to avoid credit card fraud. When you are not able to reach the customer, please proactively make efforts to reach the customer. You could have sent an email and/or temporarily blocked the card. I would be more than happy rather than pissed off.
• Integrate all your internal systems (statement systems, RCU, etc) and make sure that you know everything before calling the customer.
• Please advise your customer care representatives to be polite while talking to the customers. Review the customer’s payment history and get to know the customer before making assumptions.
• When the customer is loyal and trying to settle all the dues with sincere efforts, please assist by providing him with options.
• The customers know that banks come to the settlement for a lesser amount when customers are not ready to pay the dues. I do not want to force HDFC Bank into such a situation since my morality does not allow that.
• Please remember “The Customer is the King” and treat him as such. Once the dues are settled, I will move on to another bank. You have just lost a customer. Please don’t lose many more. All the best!

Last night I was reading the book “Give to Live,” way past 1 AM, and didn’t realize when I slept. A Facebook SMS message from Sean Stephenson, switched off my Dream Channel when I was romancing with my angel.

There’s a big difference between “caring about” versus “caring for” someone. One is passive, and one is active.

I didn’t understand the message. I was in the process of waking up, sometimes that stretches up to 4-5 hrs after sunrise. I enjoyed every minute of that process, and they labeled me “lazy.” I don’t understand this… When a Chinese monk told them to drink tea slowly and enjoy the act of drinking, they made a ritual out of it. When I told them to wake up slowly and enjoy the act of waking up, the response was @#$%^*. Crazy world!

I called up Sofia. My first act on any typical day and she didn’t pick up the phone. Then her better half Haja came online.

“Kavinjare, epdi irukeenga”, said Haja.

“Super, Neenga epdi irukeenga.”

“Nalla iruken. Naanum oru kavithai ezhuthi iruken.. Nila.. Vaanam.. ~!@#$% ^&~. Aana ava kizhichi pottuta”

“He he he… Kavithai - unga unarchigaloda vari vadivam. Force panna varaathu”, I smiled at what I just said.

I put on the T-shirt, took the clothes to be washed and went to Sofia’s home. Whooh… She was too gorgeous in a beautiful green color Churidar and neatly done hair with the same color hair clip. She is becoming more attractive, day by day. I wanted to freeze the moment and be there forever. But she had a conference call and left with Haja immediately, without speaking a word. That’s usual. I love her when she talks to me, love her more when she doesn’t.

“OK. Don’t waste time. Wash clothes, check Orkut, meditate, exercise, read a book, listen to music, get ready for the office,…” My mind was planning, like a bullet in motion. “whooh… whooh… hold on. Let’s do, one at a time”, I pressed the brake pedal. I put the clothes in the washing machine and plunged into the internet.

Suddenly I remembered Goundamani & Petromax Light and was laughing without reason. Googled it and was amazed at the technology behind the lantern, which lit the entire world for close to a century. Posted it on Orkut. Cool. The washing was done, took the clothes and went upstairs.

“What if they left already?”. A question spurred in my mind as I approached the door and ringing the bell confirmed it. Is this called ESP or thin-slicing or snap judgment or fate or time-to-relax? A side effect of reading completely irrelevant books simultaneously.

I went to the terrace, thinking of climbing down to the balcony side, using the pipe, and getting into the house. The fifth floor and the hot air through my lungi suggested not to do it!… “What?. A macho man backs out? “. I convinced my super-ego that I didn’t do it because there was no rope. How clever. Hmm… I knocked next door and asked the guy if I could use his phone to call my roommates.

“Hmm… I am expecting some important calls… hmm… I don’t have a phone… My roommates also left. There is a phone booth on the main road. Why don’t you go there and make a phone call?”, he said.

“I know the phone booth. But I don’t have a wallet with me. Thanks anyway”, I smiled very artificially and left. How much does that cost to make a phone call?

Sean Stephenson’s Facebook message in the morning made sense now. Dude, you are fantastic!

Back in Sofia’s home. Go to the first paragraph!

It’s 5.00 AM. Again beep beep. He woke up suddenly thinking about Anuraghavendran’s marriage that morning at Krishnagiri. He never woke up at this time, from the day he reached Bangalore. Of course, there were days when he was awake until this time. But I never woke up from sleep. He gets ready quickly, logs into Orkut (his first action on any given day), updates “Chasing sunrise in NH 7” in his status, and leaves the room silently. Nowadays, he thinks he is very poetic & humorous and surprisingly many of his friends do agree!.

5.35 AM…Vrr…Vrr… kicked his roommate Arun’s Bajaj Pulsar and started laughing at himself “Why the hell did I kick, when Pulsar has an electric start?”. Remembering the good old days of biking in Yezdi. He drove for hours during college days, just for the sheer pleasure of driving. It is chilly and dark outside. Since he was reducing his weight to become slim and fit, he started shivering immediately. An extra bit of fat is always helpful in cold conditions.

“Venmegam pennaaga uruvaanatho !!!… Inneram enai parthu thalaiyaatutho !!!” a Tamil song soothes his heart from his mp3 player. Chillness, Music & Driving!… No words to describe that feeling… Guys, Leave Home !…

Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee… A loud and long honk from a lorry brought him back to this world. “Where am I?” said to himself. The road is so clean and well-lit. The minimum speed limit is 80 Km/hr. With proper lanes and green color signboards, it felt like I-75. Yeah, welcome to the present Bangalore. It’s the Elevated Expressway to Electronics City. He was so pleased with the driving that he forgot to take his camera out… Oops!. But he didn’t regret it. He said thanks to all who are involved in constructing this expressway.

It is all mist and fog, the visibility is hardly 50 meters. Headlights are still on, and the traffic moves slowly. Most of them are trucks and containers. He always wanted to drive one of those big interstate container trucks. He said to himself “I will drive one of these big fellas very soon.” He didn’t overtake or chase them. Drive around them in curves, like playing catch-me-if-you-can with the kids.

It’s like an animated movie. Slowly the buildings vanish into greenery. It’s all green now. NH-7. He is out of the Silicon Valley and in Tamil Nadu. He read out loud the signboards in Tamil. He felt at home, even though this is the first time he is driving alone on this road. The power of mother tongue!

The fog spread over the grass like soft clouds. He stopped the motorbike to capture the beautiful scenery. He took the camera bag off his shoulders and tried to click. “Oh my God! What happened to my fingers?” surprised himself. He couldn’t move his fingers at his will. Frostbitten. He saluted our heroes in Kashmir and the researchers in Antarctica. He put his hands in his Jeans pocket and started to rub his fingers. An old man who was walking on the way stepped two feet away from him and gave him a strange look. “What am I doing on National Highways?” laughed at himself and took his hands out immediately. “Romba kuluru na” he said to the old man. The old man doesn’t seem to mind it either. Click… Click… Click…

Another half an hour’s drive through green lands and small towns. The Sky slowly becomes red and bright, like a blushing girl at the sight of her love. He could see the sun with his naked eye. A bright red ball, waiting for the Hercules to play. “The sun looks awesome, but I need a better view,” said, driving as fast as he could while keeping an eye on the sun. Surprisingly the entire stretch was not as good as thought and had thick trees along the roadside, and could barely see the sun. He is chasing the sun to take a better picture. The sky is getting brighter and brighter very fast, and the tension builds up in him, to find a sweet spot. Something struck his mind, and he stopped right there. Took a few snaps and went deep into splashing thoughts.

This happens in life, very often. “Looking for a better future, we miss living and loving today!”. He stood there for a while and left for Krishnagiri to attend his friend Anuraghavendran’s marriage.

PS: This is my first travelogue of storytelling style. I don’t know when to end the story. So I ended it here. The marriage was great, and my friend Anu looks the same as he was five years ago. Smart and smiling. I wish Anu and Shalini love each other until the end of their lives.

But,

Is that all?.

Is that all of this beautiful feeling called love?

Can anyone explain why we fall in love with someone, rather than others?

Which is that moment that changes your perception of her from a normal girl to an angel from heaven?

A flash of a smile, a minute spent together, or a comment from a cab driver? What triggers that emotion within you?

What makes this person so different and attractive from the others?

Why is it that her simple presence makes you feel excited and happy?

Do you feel great for being short because she is short? (funny for most, but true to some)

Even just a thought about her pushes you to cloud nine.

Even when she rejects you, you think about her all the time.

Even when she doesn’t want to see you around, you want her to always be happy and see her from a distance.

When there are millions of other potential girls around, you wait restlessly for a single chance to prove your love?

Day in, and day out, your love deepens into your heart by leaps and bounds.

What makes these guys move mountains for the one they love?

I am searching for an answer to this question.

I am searching, with an intention from my heart NOT to find the answer. Strange! Isn’t it?

What happened to me?

Love can only be experienced, and can never be written. Attempting to write results in a scribble, like this!

Love is a great feeling, with no past or future. It’s always present in us. Once you experience love, you will continue to radiate love to all.

When you are in love, don’t wait for the right moment.

NOW is the right time, HERE is the right place, SHE is the right person. Go, tell her. Period.

PS: I wanted to pen down my perception of love but ended up having more questions, with no answers. It feels great though!

When you are the fastest, you don’t need rear-view mirrors. - Murali

Murali said that about bike riding on Chennai roads, on our trip to IG Resorts en route ECR. This provoked a lot of thoughts in me. Even after three days, I am still thinking about this sentence.

This applies to our day-to-day life also. When you fear that someone else might be faster than you, you look in the rearview mirror, instead of the road ahead for you !!!

Imagine that you are on an empty race track or an infinite landscape. You are driving your favorite power machine, with no roads, no traffic, and no other distractions. Would you look back? NO !!!. You would be enjoying each second of your drive. No fears. No setbacks.

That’s how our life should be. Our experience is not about competing with others. No one competes with you unless you think so. We have more than enough resources, wealth, choices, and opportunities for everyone. We should let our creativity juice to enrich this world.

When we understand that there is no competition for us, we can move forward !!!. We can choose our road and travel as fast as we love :)

Think about this. We don’t need any external items to uniquely identify us. Right? Each one of us has unique features like fingerprints or retinas. Why can’t we use them?

Retina scan is one of the oldest & most secure biometrics available today. The blood vessels on the back of everyone’s eye have a unique pattern. The retina scan uses a light source to illuminate the blood vessels which are then photographed and analyzed. They use a coupler to examine the pattern.

Faking a human retina at this moment is impossible. I read somewhere that the error rate of retinal scans is one in ten million whereas for fingerprints, it’s one in 500.

OK. Let me come to the point. I want to have a centralized database of retinal scan data of registered users. Instead of carrying a credit card, I would stare at the retinal scan for a moment. That’s all. I’m done. The merchant can ask for a signature.

There must be a touchscreen in front of me. If I have multiple credit cards, the computer should display all the credit cards that I have. I can choose any one credit/debit card for that specific transaction.

At this moment the retinal scan is slow. But that’s not an excuse. That’s a limitation that we need to overcome. I firmly believe that in the future, retinal scans will be faster than the bar-code scanner.

This is not just for financial purposes. The database can be used to map the customer’s social security number, driving license, credit history, criminal background, etc.

Imagine that you violated the traffic law for some reason. The cop need not even ask you any questions. Just scan your retina, he has all the information in his fingertip. Hmm… This is not good for me. I didn’t think this when I started typing this blog ;(

Who the hell in the world needs a retina scan? I prefer to carry credit cards ;)

Old is gold ;)