charukesi May 25th, 2006
The media blog of LSE has an interesting link to a post by Alex Halavais - how to cheat good. They quote Halavais - When you copy things from the web into Word… don’t just ‘Edit > Paste’ it into your document. When I am reading a document in black, Times New Roman, 12pt, and it suddenly changes to blue, Helvetica, 10pt (yes, really), I’m going to guess that something odd may be going on.
And then move on to another article in NY Time on the increasing use of technology by students to enable in-class cheating. Remember Sanjay Dutt’s medical exams in Munnabhai? And so, faced with an array of inventive techniques in recent years, college officials find themselves in a new game of cat and mouse, trying to outwit would-be cheats this exam season with a range of strategies — cutting off Internet access from laptops, demanding the surrender of cellphones before tests or simply requiring that exams be taken the old-fashioned way, with pens and paper. Gasp! in other words, send students back to the dark ages - when they merely had to peep into other papers or pass notes around the room?
And then of course, there is the other kind of cheating - or being inspired - change a word here, a tune there and voila! Except take care, as Halavais says, not to blindly copy-paste remember to copy-edit-paste - and then be ready to justify too.
charukesi May 24th, 2006
Papa kehte hain bada naam karega… Remember the uncertainty, the excitement, even the slight feeling of fear? I will make it big in life, but I don’t know how…? Here is a cool site for those wondering about what-to-do-next [link via adverblog]
WhatAmIGonnaDoNext has this honest statement on its home page - there are many career paths, some good, some bad, some totally unrealistic. Which one is right for you? [hot tip : the unrealistic paths are the most fun - in this site, and in life too, I guess]
I spent a very pleasant and instructive morning considering such varied and exciting career paths as VP of Mountain Operations and Rock Star. If you are wondering about the future, or just have a lot of time on your hands to kill, or even just interested in checking out cool graphics, visit the site…
Of course, if you have always dreamed of becomig VP of Mountain Operations, then defintely check out the site carefully… You have further options as VP Of MO - green circle, blue square and black diamond… I clicked on blue square and found a ’ski bunny’ dressed in a pink ski suit, further clicked on the ‘talk to her’ option and found that her dad has many dollars and suchlike.
Not that it helps me… but it is great fun, I promise you.
charukesi May 23rd, 2006
For those for you in whom the spirit is willing but the purse is weak, here is your chance to pack you bags and just go. Oktatabyebye is running an online reality travel contest and the winner gets to travel for 15 days to 7 destinations - and all that with the prize money of Rs.50000 - and blogs as he / she travels…
Good luck… Ok tata byebye!
charukesi May 14th, 2006
Quick on the heels of franshp making, on a totally unrelated note, here is one reason why power cuts can be fun. (heh, I switched off the lights for this one but I am not telling you that - atleast I didn’t intend to)… It lets me feel all arty and smug.
It also lets me create a mess, all in the name of, I was going to say art again, but let me say, photography instead…
charukesi May 14th, 2006
Here is continuing right from where Sagnik left off in A friend when not in need…. Those samaritans who throng social (and business!) networking sites looking to “make friendship”. And then there are those who want 2 make franship. Or frndshp (depending on whether or not he is a txt msg addct) wid u.
So much for sexual networking. Social, I mean.
And then there are the hey-you-are-on-instant-messenger-so-will-you-have-sex-with-me types. The instant messenger - another place on the internet where these friend-ship-makers prowl.Their approach line, as I found out today is unbelievably direct.
smenon this morning pops up on my husband’s messenger with hi-asl.
Husband looks at the duh? writ large on my face and says - age, sex, location.
Pale-face speaks in strange tongue.
Duh? widens. Apparently strangers interested in chatting-friendship-sex (not at all in that order, believe me) pop up with alarming regularity on his instant messenger with request for asl. Someone remind me to get him to remove that mug shot from his messenger…
charukesi May 11th, 2006
And once in a while, I come across such pictures too that tell a story. Not a dew-on-flower or red-orange-purple sunset story (which are all magical in their own way and make me gasp - often). But a sad story. A story that has been told before. And needs to be told again and again.
This is from Wam Mosley’s photo stream on flickr [thanks, Chandru, for pointing this out]. The Chinese lettering translates, he says, into “girls can also inherit the blood” - which means girl children deserve to be as much part of your family a boy children. And in China, the horror of female infanticide is increasing; the one child policy makes it worse.
The idea is that if you have a daughter then she will get married, therefore losing the family name, and more than likely she will move in with the husband and they will lose her income into the family.
I kept thinking as I read this - with a daughter, you will lose your family name and the income she gets in every month… think of all that you will gain.
I particularly loved the way this pictures ends with a hazy feel… as if to point to the uncertain future and a young couple, a boy and a girl walking together there… Read also the discussions on this photograph
As an aside, I came across this comment from someone who had recently adopted a baby from China - Interestingly enough we were allocated a boy which is very odd considering 98% of adoptions in China are female (maybe this sign is working?). He is a great kid and we will never forget the country that gave us the opportunity to become parents. I remember reading somewhere that in India too, a majority of adoptions are of baby girls. I wonder about this… Why do people who adopt prefer baby girls?
My earlier posts on this issue : Headed towards Mathrubhoomi - It is believed that the Chinese kill over a million girls every year in order to have a boy. It is also believed that Indians are about to overtake the Chinese in a few years.
and Sex ratio across rural and urban India
charukesi May 6th, 2006
Earlier this week, our maid at home wanted to leave early. She was to go to her children’s school to pick up their mark sheets. The teacher had said that mark sheets would not be given out until the parents came with their kids to collect them.
Bahut saara baccha loge ghar se bhaag jaata hai ya aatma hatya kar leta hai na. Is liye, she threw in casually. So many kids run away or commit suicide the school had decided on this. I gaped at her and tried to ignore the strange word system that kept popping into my head.
Baccha loge paas ho gaya madam. Aise hi faaltu me gaya mein, she grumbled the next day. Her kids had passed. What a waste of time was loud and clear in her eyes…
Talk of pressure.
***
Update : Today’s (May 08) Bombay Times has a story on wunderkind (poor little four-year old) Budia Singh of the 65 km run fame. Mamma, please let me be!
And an interesting SMS survey (the 8888 types where ten ardent readers respond and we are given percentage figures of responses) - Who puts maximum pressure on kids? A) Parents B) Schools C) Peers D) Exposure
Duh? Exposure is a Who now? And aren’t all these inter-related anyways?
charukesi May 1st, 2006
Another birthday, another beach. [Do read the more detailed posts on itchy feet]
Sleepy Kashid, Neha Truest Home - Veg/non-veg, cricket on the sands, hammock under the trees…
Here at Weekend bliss in Kashid.
Sunday morning at Murud - Janjira. The awe-inspiring fort in the sea, built by Siddi Johar. The fort which took twenty two years to build and spread over twenty two acres.
More photographs and a detailed account here at Moored in Murud-Janjira
Kashid Murud-Janjira photographs
