lunatechian (lunatech-ian)

A question that has been on my mind for a long time was put in by my friend Mary (he is the sysadmin at Sarai). Let me give a bit of the background. When I was in Delhi, a bunch of us fellow-geeks used to meet almost twice a month to talk about our hacking projects, our current work (all of us were happily free of NDAs), have a good dinner and generally get into debates about topics that would be considered a taboo (or inappropriate by most people). Once when we were joking about how prostitution is legal in Thailand and what procedure would the government be using to collect the taxes (I mean, how will they cross check the receipts), that Mary popped the question "Why do you think prostitution is wrong ?" . My first reaction was "It is not the right thing to do" - however, I realized that pushing my judgement of what is right and what is wrong on someone else is not the correct thing to do. I have been thinking of why I consider prostitution to be wrong - it is a profession - a service is provided and a price is paid for it.

This question again came to the front of my mind when I read this blog post by Joshua Newton. He writes about the An autobiography of a sex worker by Nalini Jameela. He posts the following quote from the book

Some see brothels as a space for sexual perverts.
They are wrong. Why do people of all walks of life come to us? Parents prevent our sexual desires in the beginning. Then teachers in schools. Then moralists in churches, mosques, and temples slap rules. When you grow up, police and courts take up the role. They spread the rule one man for one woman. Yet people seek out prostitutes all over the world in all ages. What does it prove?

So are you against moral structures?
No. Men dictate the morality of this age. They use wives or sex workers to their ends. We dream of a new dawn of morality. Sexuality like food and shelter is a terrain of human tastes. It is still to be developed into a plateau of endless tastes and forms. Morality should not suppress. It should be liberating. When sex work turns into one among many human service sectors, you will stop suppressing yourself and others.

I have not read the book but this book is definitely on my to-read book

There is absolutely something heavenly in being drunk and listening to Curt Cobain. The lyrics start to make sense

A discussion was going on in the Linux Gazette's The Answer Gang about a post by RMS on harry potter book. Ben Okopnik, an all-round nice guy and a perl guru, made the following observation -

> If the injunction really orders them not to read the books they have 
> purchased, that strikes me as wrong, but hey, we all know the law is an ass, 
> even in Canada. If I'd bought a book and got an injunction like this, I'd 
> still read it, I just wouldn't tell them 

...and if we extend that line of reasoning just a bit further, it brings
us to (what I think is) RMS' original point. How much of a right do we
grant to our governments to declare arbitrary actions illegal, no matter
how trivial or harmless?

The cynic in me says that governments love having their citizens buy
into a belief that they (the citizens) are guilty of something; people
with something to hide are likely to keep their heads down and be good
little sheep lest they be noticed and shorn. As the saying in Russia
went, "nobody ever asks 'why' when the KGB takes them away." The KGB, of
course, had a matching expression: "if we have the man, we'll make the
case."

If the government is allowed to control trivial aspects of people's
lives, then they will do so. Not in all cases, but... oh, the
"opportunities" that arise. Perhaps this case is not as black-and-white
as it could be, but I surely do see it as a very steep and well-greased
slippery slope - with its entry point just under a hidden trap door.


 Ben Okopnik  Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette  http://linuxgazette.net 

I agree with his sentiments completely. Most people assume the government to be all knowing and always correct entity. What they forget is that the government is not an amorphous mass, it is made of people - who might have no clue. Anyone has just to look at the Indian government's blunderings in the IT LAW to learn how clueless it is.

I have been struggling to understand a Concept about something at the work for the last 3 days. Initially, when I started, it was all black.. till a few moments ago it was still black hole (even though I had been filling a few pages drawing boxes and arrows while trying to understand it).. and then suddenly the blackness dissolved as I was hit by enlightenment. The Concept made perfect sense now. It is the moments like this that make the lighthouses of the life - beacons of hope, that I am not dull .

Thought for the day - to reach a particular point of thought, where you have a clear picture of the thing, you have to struggle through hours of working through cobwebs misunderstanding and pitfalls.

Update: Enlightenment followed by nice dinner and icecream is much better

This weekend I had gone to Goa. One of the good points of living in Bangalore is that it is only 12 hours bus journey to Goa. Here are my notes from the visit

• Take the sleeper seat in the bus - The Paulo Travels runs luxury buses from Bangalore to Goa. They have two choices of the seats - sleeper and sitting. We had the misfortune to get the sitting seat and could not sleep a wink for the whole journey. The guy sitting behind us was snoring quite a lot and added to our discomfort.
• Hire a scooter/bike when you get down at Panjim - We did not hire a two wheeler when we got down at Panjim. We reasoned that we would get a bike from the hotel where we were staying. This would make it easier for us to return the bike when it was time for us to leave. However, it was a bad decision. Most buses pass through Panjim when returning to Bangalore. It would have been far easier to return the bike at Panjim and then board the bus to Bangalore.
• Stay away from the autorickshaws if you can - They overcharge a lot. A lot. If you know where you want to go, it is far more easier to get a bus (but remember that the bus service stops at 7:00 PM). The people there are quite friendly and you can ask almost anyone to give you directions. It is even more convenient to hire a two wheeler if you plan to move around a lot.
• Watch the sun set over the sea - It really is a site to behold.
• Eat the sea food and Goan cuisine - If you are a North Indian, give up the desire to eat the chicken tikka and chicken tandoori while you are at Goa. Get your hands on the excellent seafood offered by the restaurants there. Not only is it cheaper, most restaurants make very tasty dishes.
• Try to get a room in the GTDC hotels - Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) hotels are government maintained, somewhat clean, comfortable and cheap. We stayed at Calangute Residency (Annexe).

This is a continuation of my previous blog post (my perspectives on working in a small company - Part 1). Here I will list the disadvantages of working in a small company.

• Lack of resources - By resources I do not mean just in terms of money, but in terms of knowledge-base and manpower too. If a member of the team leaves or is sick, the work pressure on the others increases exponentially. Since most small company lack finance, it usually cuts down on the benefits provided to the employees.
• Not enough ideas floating around - Since the number of employees are less, you do not have much diversity in line-of-thinking. If you feel like bouncing your ideas off someone else, you will not have much choice.
• Too much work pressure - The work pressure is way too high. This usually translates into 6 days per week work days .. often with 9-10 hours per day. Though the work pressure is high, the salary and benefits provided usually do not match up to that. Most of the employers are stingy and usually play the carrot and stick game with the employees.
• Danger of office romance budding - Been there, done that, got stung in the process . Since the number of people are less, and the office hours are long, there is a strong chance of getting involved with someone. Though it does not always have a bad ending, in my observation it affects your work a lot.

Though it may seem that a small workplace is the hunting ground of satan, it is not really so. If the employer is good, the office can be a nice place to work at. I have a small test to check if the employer is a bloodsucker or not. If he says that you have to come in on Saturdays and possibly might have to work on Sunday,it is a sure sign that the office is a sweatshop. Avoid it

It has been a long hiatus for my blog postings. A lot has happened in the interim. I got a job at Yahoo! Bangalore (yes, it is the same Yahoo! that brings you the famous yahoo.com ) .

I have shifted to Bangalore (from Delhi). The city is not as bad as I had imagined it to be. The people at Yahoo! are an excellent bunch of yahoos - intelligent and friendly.

Hopefully I will be able to update the blog more often now. Thanks for staying tuned in