Awesome Natural Spectacles

These desert vistas make you realise, yet again, how awesome, grand and time-transcending Nature is. Helpful when you feel that the world is closing in on you :-)

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Fight we must!

Life's never fair. You know that, and you're probably wondering, like the inimitable Calvin in "Calvin and Hobbes" why it's never unfair in your favour. Here's one corny answer: because!

All of us start life in different ways. Some of us are born into so-called middle-class families, while yet others are born with silver spoons in their mouths; some are born normal and healthy, while others are born with physical or mental deficiencies; some are born with a superior mental apparatus (the world knows them as geniuses), while the rest of us just get by with average intelligence. And so on it goes. So, what are we to do? Resign ourselves to our fate, and go through life with a sense of defeat?

Never! Fight not the world, but that which you assume to be your limitation; not against what you assume to be life's unkind blows, but for the ideals that you hold dear to you. If you want to be a topper in your class, and you know that some of your classmates are born cleverer than you, then make up for it by spending more time on your studies than they do. Sure, they may still outscore you, but you'll be better off for the toil that you put in. If you're a sportsperson and your hand-eye coordination is not in the league of an Agassi or a Federer, then what you must do is spend more hours on the sports field honing your abilities: movement, footwork, racquet / bat skills, speed, etc. Sure, you may never win over critics, but you'll certainly win over the hearts of people who see you fight with every muscle and sinew.

If you are more emotional than the average person, and tend to decide more with your heart than your head, then try and learn to be aware of your feelings all the time. Remember, your tendencies and feelings are strengthened by yielding to them unthinkingly; it's not for nothing that resisting temptation is said to build character. For while anyone can yield to temptation, it's only those with a strong will who can overcome temptation and emerge stronger. If you look at it from that perspective, your being emotional is actually a blessing in disguise for it gives you a wonderful chance to become a stronger-willed person. In fact, that's just what difficulties in life really are: a means to overcome your weaknesses and emerge stronger.

Remember, "there is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts," and "You are never given a wish without being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however." (Richard Bach, Illusions)

Lessons from Movies - 3: Iron Man (2008)

This is a really terrific movie that I liked, and so I ended up buying a DVD after watching it a few more times! And in the spirit of the movies chosen for this series, it has quite a few lessons for us.

Lesson 1: A person who's leading an irresponsible life (whether in your opinion or the prevalent public opinion) may not continue to do so all his / her life.

Lesson 2: Genius is not always evil. Benevolent geniuses are always around, doing incredible things for the common good.

Lesson 3: If you have a serious and fundamental disagreement with one of your good friends, then maybe it's time to reevaluate the friendship and part ways before either of you can do the other a lot of damage.

Lesson 4: Anything is possible if you set your mind to it.

Lesson 5: If you realise that you have spent your whole life in pursuit of something that's not worth your time anymore, stop doing it and start doing something else. Just make sure that you don't repeat your mistake.

Lesson 6: Help can sometimes come from unexpected quarters. Be prepared to accept it.

Lesson 7: Comics sell! ;-)

Fun lesson: when you are going to the top, it can get very lonely. And cold ;-)

Iron Man

If things are too good to be true..

Ever had the feeling that everything is going your way without your having to break sweat? That things are just perfect? That more things are going for you than you imagined would? That all’s well with the world; your world, at any rate? If you’ve answered yes to even one of the above questions, then I say to you, “Watch out!”

Why? Because it’s precisely such a feeling that can lull you into complacence; into blinding you to the path that you’re taking in life which may be opposed to the path that you wanted to take. And then, one fine day, when you wake up from this dream existence, you’ll find that you’re far too down the road you had meant to avoid a very long time ago to even think of any course correction.

So, if things are too good to be true, beware the comfort zone!

Lessons from movies - 2: Inside Man (2006)

This is a movie about a bank robbery. But wait, it's not any ordinary burglary, but a grand, superbly orchestrated one. In fact, it's so perfectly done that the police and the authorities think that nothing has even been taken. What can we learn from this movie? Many things.

Lesson 1: Whenever you set out to do something, think about it. Real hard. And then think some more. If you do this, and plan for eventualities as well as you can, then you're likely to succeed fantastically.

Lesson 2: Not everyone who appears to be innocent is innocent; not everyone who appears guilty is guilty. Sometimes, it's impossible to distinguish between the two.

Lesson 3: People sometimes do things just because they can. So, don't go looking for reasons all the time, because there may be none.

Inside Man

RFCs, Standards and Delight!

Have you ever had a moment when you felt the presence of pure intelligence? A cleansing, uplifting presence in the midst of the muck of mediocrity? I do, when I read clear, concise and unambiguous sentences like what you can find in RFCs and standards specifications (like the one for WSDL, for instance). There are moments when I could whoop in joy at the sight of such lucidly written articles and standards that I feel I have been given a rare glimpse of what omniscience must feel like. It's only in these moments that my narcissistic self retreats and I acknowledge how far I am from reaching that pinnacle, if at all.

However, having said all that, this article had a sobering effect on me when I realised that the standards mentioned above were also written by a similar set of people: engineers. That obviously does not indict all engineers of having criminal intentions, it only reinforces the fact that everything can have a dark side to it.

Fly away

Leaving one's country always causes, I suppose, mixed emotions. On one hand, I'm sad that I'm leaving the shores of the country that I've always called home, though I've not been proud about it at times (that happens to most citizens all over the world, I guess). I'll definitely miss the sight of familiar faces and places. On the other hand, I'm looking forward to what I think will be a new life for me, a new beginning, a fresh start. A fresh start implies getting rid of one's past baggage (to a reasonable extent, the extent being entirely subjective and personal), and that can not only be unnerving at times, but also painfully difficult. Yet, this is what I feel I must do, and this is what I'll strive to do, if I have to have any chance of reviving my sagging career, my not-so-inspiring life. My personal credo can do with some updates, the old patterns of thought and behaviour being contradictory, sometimes, to my core beliefs. Knowing that never fails to make me squirm, and I hope I can successfully get rid of those mental cobwebs.

Who knows, as a result of those changes that I'll work on, this blog might even get a bit more interesting to read!