I tend to use my Macbook much more at home – even at times for reading documents and such. So I always found it difficult to keep another computer on just to use gtalk. Also didn’t have time to research on the topic till yesterday.
Which is when I realized that iChat was a Jabber client. And gtalk was built on the Jabber protocol. Which implied that iChat could be configured to be used as gtalk client. Cool. Because then configuration was a snap.
And now I can talk on gtalk on my macbook. Instructions on configuring iChat can be found here.
Shambo the bull has TB. And hence the officials of Wales want to kill him because he is a threat to lifestock. Only problem is Shambo the bull is a “sacred” animal in the local temple there and the local Hindus are up in arms against the slaughtering of the bull. Fair enough. Hinduism considers all life divine and hence they wouldn’t be complicit in the execution.
Problem is, apparently its accepted practice in the UK to slaughter all livestock found with bovine TB. So I guess the purveyors of our great religion in the UK dont see that as a problem as their sacred Shambo is saved. I guess some bulls are more equal than others.
And Shambo leads my thoughts to wander to the hundreds and thousands of stray cows and bulls roaming around the cities and towns in the birthplace of Hinduism – Hindustan. Of course, our religion doesn’t allow for killing sacred animal – hence our recourse is to just let them be – block traffic, dirty roads, eat garbage, get kicked around – till one day they fall and die.
Dont judge too fast. Dont go by the looks. Dont go by the job. A long time ago, Swami Vivekananda said – we are all divine.
A glimpse, of divinity itself….
Sat all of last evening watching the YouTube CNN Democratic Presidential Debate.
In many ways, it wasn’t that much different from a regular presidential debate – atleast from the standpoint of the answers from the candidates. Most answers were loopy, vague, safe and nebulous. Some were factually incorrect, some responses of intent were clearly unachievable. Some were meant for the base, some were meant to just stick to the safe middle path. There were exceptions of course – Dennis Kucinich, notably, was very precise – but then he’s a marginal candidate and will never get nominated. Which is probably why he was so candid.
But what was different were the spectrum of both the questions and the people who were asking them. To a large extent, a majority of the questions were based on very personal prerogatives which lent all of them an element of authenticity that is difficult to escape. ( Like a father, whose eldest son was killed in Iraq, asking when the troop withdrawal would happen under each of the candidates – because he didn’t want his youngest son killed as well). And while the candidates, for the most part handled the questions pretty well – that’s the advantage of stubbornly loopy responses – difficult to blunder one’s response – when one isn’t really answering the question – and is instead dabbling with nebulous hypothetical.
But what was striking was the format – at some point, this format is going to mature beyond just asking a question on a pre-recorded video clip. At some point, it will become more mainstream – be it via video conferencing mediated by a service provider like YouTube – which would lend itself to cross questioning – specifically with regular voters – and not some pseudo intellectualized moderator. And at that point, this format is going to be of real value – because then, hopefully, we can weed out some of the generalities of the responses and get some real answers about concerns of real people.
Ultimately, it proves the fundamental point that I have written about at regular intervals - that technology is the great leveler – the platform that creates an egalitarianism of ideas and thoughts – that would ultimately benefit all of us.
And by the way, Anderson Cooper was great in his facilitation. The man gives me hope – in a sea of loud mouthed, opinionated cable TV hosts – this man stands out – in his sheer class and competence.
I know I haven’t really blogged here lately. A few factors:
I find it easier to blog on this forum when I am in a kind of mood where I can ratiocinate more easily – lately for the good or for the bad, things haven’t been particularly easy for the author/
There is only so much one can write about recurring things in the political world. About the US presidential debate. About Iraq. About the healthcare crisis. Or whatever.
I haven’t really found anything stimulating enough. Or stimulated enough
All in all, lack of drive, lack of stimulants. Lack of many things that is called for intelligent writing.
Hopefully, it will all come back soon. BTW, the one thing I did want to write a line about was the iPhone. A friend of mine recently got one. I stood with very senior execs of a competing cell phone provider, marveled at the interface, the build and the sheer class of the device and wondered why the hell the churn of of all the competing companies have suddenly gone up.
So it ultimately happened. Pratibha Patil today was elected as the 13th president of the Republic of India – and her first woman president.
She beat her sole contender Shekhawat pretty comprehensively on way to Rashtrapati Bhawan. BJP’s Shekhawat failed to win even in states ruled by the saff-champs. ( apparently owing to disqualifying words like “Jai Sri Ram” written on the ballot paper – to think we elect such legislators!)
Anyways, so all the rather vicious political machinations finally come to an end. Soniaji is happy – and frankly, there isn’t anything to be disappointed about – about time we got a woman as the constitutional head of our country – albeit without any real tangible work and powers.
Welcome madamji – enjoy your stay at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. And farewell, Dr. Kalam – you presided with a grace not seen in the government circles of Delhi.
I dont have a movie to watch. And I dont have any new DVDs at home. Much more of a serious issue is that I cant sit through a movie anymore.
Never a movie buff. I would rather read. But I have been trying to watch Hindi movies off-late and realize I need 2 -3 sittings to finish. I feel hungry, need to get a smoke, need to go for a walk, need to make calls. All in the middle of a movie. Because I am bored and frankly, I have an attention disorder. Besides, most movies I get are of rather mediocre quality.
2 exceptions in the recent past – Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi ( Such are my thousand desires….) and Woh Hota to Kaisa Hota (What if…). Lovely movies both. Multidimensional.
I am reading a book called ” A confederacy of dunces”. Its an absolutely hilarious book about this 35 year old fat man who lives with his mother. Cant think of any better way to describe it. But hilarious.
But I bought it because I read the foreword – the author, John Kennedy Toole, a Columbia English grad and a professor at University of Southwestern Louisiana – committed suicide at the age of 33. The book got published posthumously, thanks to a very persistant mother and a professor of English at Loyola she hunted down till he read the yellowed type written pages.
And then it won the Pulitzer Prize.
And why he committed suicide – I guess, some stories, are never published. Not even posthumously.
Haven’t had a chance to update this forum for a while. Lots of reasons. But suffice to say, it can be loosely classified as an extreme case of mental stultification.
Back. Or trying to be. The world hasn’t changed radically. Atleast holistically. The iPhone was released on June 29th. In some quarters, it is a fundamentally transformational event. But on the other hand, the icecaps are still happily melting away ( this is more of a metaphor than an intellectually debated point – there’s loads of theories), innocent people, women and children are dying in Iraq and around the world, doctors are taking to running burning cars into airports in humorously amateurish attempts of terrorism.
Yours truly is still alive. And trying to kick fate’s backside to turn it around. We shall overcome one day! Like the waves of the oceans eventually turning stones into sand. All one needs is belief. And conviction. So my fate, too, one day, shall be transformed.
Enough of a nonsensical post. I just wanted to get started again. I know writing crap helps to get the neurons moving again.
PS: One thing, I DO remember – Tony Blair is Prime Minister no more. He has resigned. And lots of Britons are, apparently, relieved.
