Things to do if going on Vacation

Things to take when by plane
1. GPS - to find where you are on the plane to find out what is that great stuff that you look down
2. Sleeping utilities - Airbag ear buds

How English is different across Places

Some words that have different words for same words
British Indian American
Crib/Creche Nativity
Tuition Tutoring
Bonnet Hood
Dicky Trunk
Spectacles Glass
CellPhone Mobile
T on the Road Dead-End

Tire Puncture Flat Tire
Badmonton Shuttle Cock/ Birdie

Different Pronunciation
Alumunium


Some funny meanings that have different meanings in English and Hindi
Woh bahoot pee(water drinking) kaar pee karne ko gaya.
Woh Late (went to sleep) gaya aur late ho gaya.
Ek bath(say a thing) boloon, tum bath karlo.

Some Joking ones

Do have a rubber? asked by an Thai in an US University.

Are you single? asked by a public transit men to a women sitting on a single seat.

I would intimate you when I finish the report? An Indian says he will informs his boss when he finishes his report.
Another usage of this word see this post
Rediff India Posting
and see the text "Stallone came to the sets in his Ferrari, parked it himself, went to his van and asked me to intimate him just 15 minutes before the shot"

A conversation before a closed Gate late at night somewhere in Delhi.
An american comes to a closed gate "Ask where is the key to the gate".
Indian co-passenger "Need to ask the darwan(gatekeeper)"
American "Why do you not know the key"
Indian "It is always with the Darwan(gate-keeper)"

From Nimit
A person going to buy Badminton Shuttle Cock in Loiusana. Can not find it in Walmart so asks a by stander afro-american woman. Do you know where can I find cocks... With hand gesture of how one hits the shuttle cock....
As seen by the afro girl - Wants Cocks and moving his hand up and down. :-)

From Nimit
An Indian student wants to be more hipper.
Comes to know to be cool for a guy is to be addressed "Hey Dog"
So tries to improvives and calls a Afro chick "Hey Bitch"
Rationale - If a cool guy is Dog then hot girl is BITCH...

Getting used to going marketing from 1920's America to 2000's Market

Well it might sound hilarious but for an Indian who comes to US, like me it is a reality. India at least the one that I left behind we do the shopping the 1920's US way. Where shopping especially grocery is predominately by Mom and Pop stores and non self-service grocery stores and non-existent franchise system.

And so when one comes to US where in 2000 we come to the third generation of grocery and shopping by just taking the plane across. And it makes the effect of the wow effect, as it happened with me when I first visited my first Walmart. The economies of scale and the mere choice and prices are a "Knockout".

But it takes a while to come to know why there was a wow effect. US has already seen three generation of evolution from the 20's way of shopping to the todays shopping. It has gone a big way from the first supermarket's then revolutionary thougth of self-service grocery (Clarence Saunders and his Piggly Wiggly) to the next wave of discount retailers like Walmart to the most recent wave of warehouse clubs like Costco, Sam's.

The effect of the automation and effeciecy leads to choice and convienece which is unparralelled. And it opens mind to things which one can not have imagined. Where so many innovative ideas in production delivery and packaging can be seen in these shelves.

Yet it does not goes without it's drawback. Through it leads many choices in durable stuff it certainly lacks the one for non durable products especially food. A small Indian market can easily challenge the choices of food vegetable than a big Kroger's and all of them are freshly and locally grown. The selective medium term extinction of not so durable choices which people like us get to see after the glitter wanes off after sometime.

Angst of Indian Going Back to India for a vacation

So it happens that in last two weeks I meet with two of my friends who come back from their long awaited sojourn to India. And as for most immigrant Desis, it is a long awaited break from his newly difficult adjusting home in US. And so this vacation besides meeting his loved ones also carries with itself a big hope of finding something new. And especially fuiled by all the media hype about the NEW EMERGING INDIA that he immersed in the US media he in his heart hopes to find a better India than he had left. And as had happened with me the trip though brings happy memories it also brings bewilderment or as my friend put it puts him in a "CATCH 22 SITUATION", of not being very happy with life up here but not also happy of how things are shaping up in India.

India is going thorugh a phenomenal change not only in its econonomy which the whole world is catching with its breath, but more importantnly socially and enviromentally. This becomes even more poignant as this development means development of more than 1 billion people, which has increased by 200 million( almost the population of US) in last ten years. A high growth of 8% in GDP which India is acheiving, is a good thing economically but its other effects especially seen thorugh the eyes of visotrs like me and my freinds is not so rosy. much o


Another aspect is cultural change with respect to indian family system.

Why we immigrant flock to America yet remain indifferent to this country of oppurtunity

It all started I suppose with an inquisitive question from a native about a degree of indifference to US by the immigrant population. And her question "then why do you all come here." On the onset it could be answered by simplistic answer, better opportunity, better pay or more money. But then when we try to have a macroscopic insight into it, one is made to think why do these things are not found in ones own country. Why this country is so attractive and why is so indifferent. And though there are so many reasons one can give, but it all comes from one word CORPORATION. Why this individual is very important. If there is one thing that US has perfected though might not have invented is corporation. And in no place has corporation become as big and influential as in US. And this age belongs to corporation as earlier
belonged to large governments or communism or industrial age. A true discovery done by American as Industrial revolution was done by British.

And the Mecca of Corporation is US. And if you want to be a part of this omnipotent force that is becoming a part of any part globe it is better to be part of it. If one believes part of it which better place than US. But corporation is unlike any other individual ( note corporation is an entity like individual made of chartered group of individual, having rights like people made especially relevant after 14 amendment). But this entity unlike other entities like government or other people have allegiance only to its only stakeholders i.e. shareholders, who are few (50% of shares are held by 1% and 80% own only 4% of shares). And this make things very complicated, especially as they become as they have become ( the top 20 companies in US is larger than US GDP). They are "no souls to save and no body to incarcerate". And unlike other entities like governments they are very selfish individual as people for whom corporation work are highly concentrated.

And to me that certainly which hits a person who comes to America. He finds himself bitten by this enigmatic but to a degree malicious entity called corporation. Being malicious as unlike other entities which live one earth, as one goal is profit and everything towards that pursuit is legitimate. And as anything that is important in larger perspective becomes externalities as it does not hits bottom line.
Here is where immigrant find it more difficult than a native American. People form Asia and Europe have meet more unselfish concepts like government and family system. These are less selfish as it has less externalities and more responsibilities. And as these individual and systems were more lenient and it was good to be selfless, changing to selfish individual just like John Nash's game theory is a anathema. And thus an enigmatic attraction.

Thus till America remains the Mecca of corporation it will be flocked by immigrants but like a mirage when he comes close he might see a very different picture thus his aversion.

Nature at its menacing yet beautiful

Nature at its most menacing yet giving

Summer rain is making the roof create a music which can equal the grandiosity of Beethoven’s symphony num 6. Visibility has been reduced to feet. And the beaming and tormenting sun has been replaced by another life live dance on car tops.

It is raining and nature present itself at its most embellishing, dramatic and menacing form. The wind surfed sleets with the howling of the rain Gods makes a dramatic sight. Very emollient especially when seen through the windows. And as usual it bring to life the synapses in the brain as it is doing to the environment outside bringing back memories, thoughts and reinforcement of many facts. Rain and water cycle is certainly the most important ingredient of life on land, water with its magical properties of heat capacity and solvent makes the most dull and pale of landscape pristine and verdant. And in the cloudy terra incognito of the known landscape.

The bringing to life to dormant form also rubs on to the those dormant memories. The rainy days, the idyllic days not so long ago. And with each memory we see the enactment of life of past. Sounds sights suddenly come in front of eyes. The school days, the water logged roads. Wading through water with heavy bags in the murky water. Hot pakoras, tea, afternoon movies and tea. The incessant rain of university days of Goa. Where rain was considered so much of life that nothing stopped because it was excessive rain. [Some facts, Panjim gets 115 inches that more than twice that of Miami, which gets 48 inches annually. But more drastic is that it 80% of it in monsoon’s three to four months interestingly Cherrapunji gets 450 inches]. And from there to white pristine precipitation of snow capital of US. Where the snow bought everything to close except the best natural ice-cream you could make and before the weeks of slush the white pristine snow cover was the one of the best landscape eye could chance upon.

And as the terra incognito is replaced by terra cognito by the sudden disappearance of clouds, it bears upon the important task at hand. And soon the mind set changes from historic to tactical.

So India turns 60!!!!

Soon India turns 60, and with all the fanfare that surrounds the new emerging India, one becomes retrospective as well eager what future beholds. And being a part of at least the last 20 odd years of its life I find it interesting how all of this will play around.

I still remember the 1987, the "Mile sur mera tumhara", in a country coming out of the disillusioned of the late 70's and early 80's and inspired by fresh blood of Rajiv (was it is the teenage idealism but he was heck of a man). And this new blood and new ways to mend mistakes of the past was carried in this essense of this song. I would still say one song that still invokes so many passions in even people today.

Mixed with the so called "politically mistakes" of a politically neophyte PM, and changing global economic of the world India and world were soon going to be changed. Suddenly the disadvantaged country with 2nd highest graduates but still a third world country, could this huge number of educated mass its greatest enviable asset.

And two things which certainly made things make this turn for better at least economically were first Sam Pitorda. The self altruistic who came to pay back to his homeland and the PM who brought the biggest economic policy change without him knowing the significance of it (PV Narshima Rao, Gurcharan Das: India Unbound). And suddenly the dormant advantage both culturally ( more emphasis on intellectual than worldly Maya oriented) and its educational system ( by a true idealist and futurist Nehru, whom I still believe was the best India produced on equals to the "Mahatma: in its Hindi meaning" ).

And with the economic opening of world especially the early 90's and building of cheap fiber optic cable by telecoms companies (which would become their graves) suddenly allowed two ancient lands to rise. Suddenly India and China suddenly became a force of not the NEW OPEN MARKET of globalisation, as envisioned, but the predators interestingly becomes preys. I suppose no one at that time especially with all the low self esteem of Indian could have never have thought it could play to its advantage.

And suddenly the always sulken middle aged country has spring in its feet. But more importantly confidence, the one stuff we all Indians lacked for so long. And when the whole world beholds rise of these ancient cultures (including China) there is finally hope of alleviation of poverty from half of mankind. All must have been so apropos though a bit late to Nehru's speech on that night, Tryst of Destiny, "Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom"

Clash of Two ideas and American Economic future

This thought came to me when I was watching the movie "xxx". An interesting movie that talks about how a guy, tries to make a Japanese run factory return to his hometown. Though a funny way, it shows the clash the two different cultures. The Western or more correctly American, where more emphasis is given on individual satisfaction and creativity, and the oriental where your society and the duty towards it (Indian "Karma"), is given more emphasis to. So where else on one side we have American families loosing their job but having better family life, on the other hand the Japanese Manager, who works his ass out, finds himself ridiculed by his wife comparing him with the American families. Though at this level things are fine, but at economic constraints, it brings an important question that has troubled me for most of my existence here. That of being how this country in the first hand became so rich and powerful, and what sort of suture entails this country. Geographic and mineral richness can not be the only reason, as India also has them and maybe so many other country that are languishing in poverty. I believe it is in history and more important culture. And for certain period my search in it has thrown some answers. One thing could be the entrepreneurial spirit or as others will say Capitalism, that this country encouraged. The classical example could be the putting railroad connecting California to the east, is a good example (see Ken Burns "American stories The West: The Grandest Enterprise under God"", I think PBS has always been enlightening especially if one comes from another country). As can be seen in these and other stories from past American power came from its creative people be it the people who settled in west or be it FDR's social reforms or Einshower's National highway act. All creative answers, to hurdles plaguing this relative new country.

But what future entails this country. Somehow I do not see some breaks in Economic Fundamentals. First the two aspects where American excelled at, people from other places are sort of doing better. In manufacturing atleast at large scale areas, China at simpler stuff and Japan at more complicated areas area are doing better. In scientific temper, years at stretch American student’s antipathy towards science and engineering are point of concern to organization like NSF. And it is no surprise that visionaries like Bill Gates are even questioning how US will fare in future (see the discussion on this matter by Bill Gates, Shirley Tilghman: President Princeton, David Dreier, U.S. Representative (R-California) ). So how will America fare in future? One of the thing which I found which I find could be the hardest hindrance is the change in culture. America was made by entrepreneurial and hardworking people. Unfortunately American today lacks it today. Americans because of years of prosperity have lost the hard working aspect of their forefathers. Also because of aspects like Insurance and especially the growth of middle class stereotypes as a socialist would call or suburban dysfunction, especially after 1950's among other things make more American avoid taking too many risks with their lives. And thus we are seeing people from other portions doing better than Native American born people. Classical examples are Asians who excel Native American even Caucasian whites both in education as well as in Economic terms. Especially with low labor gone to Spanish, manufacturing gone to China, Service and IT industry being outsourced to India and other countries what are then American’s doing. It is no doubt American are managing the show, but for how long. As we are seeing in IT, because of lack of American doing the lower level work, I do not think American can produce high class managers in future, if today’s young generation do not dirty themselves with manual work.

Though I do think it is as grave as I might be projecting. One of the aspects of America is its recover from its problem. The aspect of creation of "xxx" after the great dustbowl, FDR's workers plan to Einshower’s National highway act are classical aspects how American meet depressing time and turned it to an advantage. The other aspects are the intellectual might of this country as well as the premier university it has. And all this I suppose makes US what it is now.

The underdog phenomenon called Rocky

So yesterday I did with some anxiety went to see Rocky Balboa. And the movies brought in many varied emotions.

Rocky has like many of us born in that era envokes a nostalgia. Especially growing in India of 80's, the movie when I first saw, and with teenage curiosity and fascination menat the movie weaved the silver screen super hero wit elan. And when we saw the movie I could still see the magic of the dream in the middle aged women who saw the whle movie on he edge of her seat. And no doubt this movie as lot of others have also said it's the among the best sequel the epic Rocky.

But one of the enduring theme that this movie certianly catures is the cajoling the underdog feeling and then streaching oneself to achieve an almost impossible dream. The Rocky and its sequel gives a human perspective to this enduring theme. Everytime an ordinary mortal who is certainly is not an intelegencia ( "his comment about steps father's lineage being european as he is from Caribean"), and who comes in limelight not because he wants fame but because he has to prove to himself("as said to his son after the insecure son devours his insecurity of being brought up under the shadows of Rocky").

And all these appeals to the good portions of life. Living for something bigger. And as good and esecially poular movies are, one identifies with the movie and lives the Balboa vicariously. To some degree enamouring the the american spirit of "man for himself".

And so at the end even though one knows that movie certianly will be any masterpiece like a Kubrik Rocky will forever make a person feel happy when he comes out of

The Enigma of Bengali Culture

Today I discovered some old songs, songs from Past with memories. Sonar Kella, Goopy and Bagha Byne. But what was interesting was how much it mesmerized me. So what is the charisma of these songs or attraction of Bengali music/culture to me? An attraction which still remains an enigma to me. It certainly is not the physical aspect of Calcutta or Bengal I saw or grew up in, but it the aura of a culture with its refined taste, of the evangelic desire of people. And funnily when I grew up or was growing up i.e. late or mid 80’s, the time when I could assimilate the world around me, much of the stuff which I admired had been or was being lost to the economical realities of times. But still the charm remained, propagated by the movies shown or Puja or trips to College Street or listening to Rabindra Sangeet or JibonMukhi.

But the decadence of an edifice which certainly repelled most of my close Non-bengali friends and relatives (including my brothers and cousins) never seemed to touch me. I always and have remained a staunch admirer of Bengali culture much to disbelief of many of my UPite friends, who felt I had very little allegiance to my other connection.

And though trips to the place (now that I am a visitor to the place however I would like not to be otherwise) I see all the decadence, the music, the films keep in me the charm of the disappeared “Bhadrolok” Culture.

Two Concepts that made America Cleverer and Stronger

When people see a country they sometime are profoundly moved by dominace and superiority of certain societies, and coming from developing nation like India it certaily was one of stuffs that piqued me about USA. And as I started looking more into sociological and historical reasons on the process of why it happened, it amazed me how small changes and some enterpreneurship made this society so much Cleverer (American produces more graduates than any other country) and Stronger (America wins more Olympic medals) than any other.

How America became Smarter
• The GI Bill and emergence of UC System, SUNY and Texas State College.
o Funding: especially Teaxas College which unlike the other state schools or private schools that depend to some degree on students fees gets its funding from “Oil Money”. Donors donated Oil field to these colleges and though in 1950’s or 40’s these oil were nothing but today and in near future it is almost like sitting on pile of Gold which you can bank whenever you are short of funds.
o Education for the Rednecks of the country: Unlike the private schools which elitist (costly as well by fraternity system made middle or lower middle class financially and sociologically out of bounds) it helped educate the mass of people.


How America become Stronger
• Free time and industry that has built around it
o Sports industry: A very recent phenomenon, mainly as after shot of industry looking into how to utilize two things that had come in American society, less working hours after Eisenhower’s 50 and then 40 hour week and mobility via cars, gave birth to people liking sports and lot of money being put into it. The after shot is the elaborate system of sports and people seeing it as an avocation, unlike few decades back when even the best Basketball player used to look for jobs inn off season. The magnanimity of it can be seen in the Career Dome of SU, when during football or basketball season it gets 10 K crowd every weekend for the games. Even a major city in India like Nagpur could feel happy to get that many people for once a year cricket One Day International game.
o Amusement Industry: Again after shot of the stuff. The enaction of cartoon characters and emergencies of amusement parks or concept of thrill like six flag which almost killed the old timers like the Atlantic city (was to a high degree marginalized in 79’s)

Changing Cricket

Changing Cricket

I still remember it was one of the heydays of Tendulkar. It was one of the games played in Sharjah where by the sheer might of his batting genius he was able to accomplish a victory. It was followed by more of them in test as well as ODI. And I always along with other Tendulkar fans all around the world felt happy to be part of witnessing a batting genius. The effortless force by which a person could walk as a Mammoth and making everyone look so pale in comparison was something everyone looked forward in every game. And one thought that came especially looking in cricket retrospection till then was that it might take ages before I could witness another batting extraordinaire like him.

And it came out to be so wrong as within a decade we all would witness episodes which would to a degree pale even Tendulkar’s batting demolition. Atleast when it came to runs scoring abilities. First Sehwag and then Dhoni. Both improving upon what others could do and others notably Jaysuriya, as they put the turf on fire. The recent score of 72 by Dhoni out of 42 balls is a glaring example.

But I suppose this is a part of a larger change in cricket of which Tendulkar was a part also. The redefining of cricket as a more aggressive game loosing the gentlemanliness or yesteryears and transcending it from an elitist British game to more populist game mainly of South Asian. And in that transition it also becoming as the second most watched game only after football/soccer.

And there are many effects of this transition; the biggest for sure is the batting abilities of the whole team. We now can not say anyone as tail. And as has been shown even in tests that now the tail can also score equal to sometimes even better than the top order. And the runs each

One of the biggest reason of it could be the diminishing role of bowlers. Gone are days when bowlers had a fear attached with them. These days even tail enders can smack a bowler like Akthar for a six. An unheard act sometime back. The biggest contributor being the bouncer restriction put in both types of cricket.

The other certainly is the emergence of fielding. Though many argue it is mainly because of the ODI effect, I would more correctly say it is glamorizing act of cricket which is making it so popular. A great catch or great save is as much a crowd puller as a great stroke by a batsman. Immortalized by Jonty Rhodes effected what is now a world famous run out of Inzamam-Ul-Haq it set a trend, and being teenagers then it suddenly made a lot of sense trying to “FLY AS JONTY” does. The cementing of this phenomenon was certainly done by the South African and then the Australin teams of the 90’s.

The Sociological Effects of Birth Pills

Ideas on Birth Pill

The idea of how pill has lead to such sociological changes
• Women liberation
• Women becoming more independent as marriage did not mean the end of their career
• Parents becoming more comfortable with daughters ( combined with nuclear family which are less patriarchal) and thus american parents more comfortable with daugthers
• This all leads different way of looking at women especially the way of looking to them as more as asset ( so less of virginity: as women gives birth to child who is going to own the man’s property, do not want to someone else child get man’s property. Again also element from Biblical stuff where old testament had so much to do with Land: including Jerusalem)


Personal level: Women having less children and independent and career growth
o Immigration problem
o Future dominance by India and China ( fresh blood from economy)
o More alone women in developed country: again independence of women and discord as men not changing a lot from the Cowboy style.

Outsourced Medical Insurance to India

Not a bad idea of using India trip to save on health Insurance ....

Actually when I went this time, I had a full Health checkup and all tooth thing done (one tooth removed and two fillings), and it full cost came to 10,000. Now that is like $200, which is the cost I would have only paid for insurance if I would have taken dental plan only for just one month. that is the price differential.... Only bad thing quite some time went in seeing doctors.... But as was going after 3.5 years had a whole lot of stuff to be taken care of..

My idea is why not go to India for a short break, i.e. unpaid leave for Health Checkup and save on Health Insurance cost....

See the cost stuff..

If you take the minimum plan i.e. when you only take of emergency like mine it costs $70 if you take minimum including dental it will cost $250, so extra $150 per month adding that on an average you will visit a doctor 1 time so 20$.

So you save $200.

Now in a year if you take this health cum visiting family break... It costs $ 1200 + $300 ( for heath stuff), so total cost $ 1500.

Assuming you took a cheap insurance then you almost get that money in 6 months so why take a full borne insurance when you can go to India take vacation meet family as well get your health checkup... Note here it takes more time to visit doctors as they do not work on Sat/ Sunday, there in India you can also utilize Sat/Sun...

I am seriously thinking of utilizing this stuff..

Will save a lot of money as well will be from a spiritual sense a better stuff, I think even if my company pays me better insurance I think I can ask them to pay me that money so I can utilize the

"OUTSOURCED MEDICAL HEALTH STUFF"

Firefox and its Phonetic Rise

Being a programmer who learned the programming stuff during late 90's and to had my understanding got introduced during one of the best times and certainly best place (in the idylic Charm of Goa). One of the biggest reason I think it was because was seeing the growth of the Open Source Movement. Especially being from the socialistic mindset of being an Indian as well as ecnomic realities of being an Indian Student Open Source movement was something that appealed to all of us. The mindset was certainly helped by presence of a towering fugure of My Gurunandan Bhatt (http://www.codesutra.net/), many of us did treat him like Genius which to very high degree I also give credence to. From seeing what Collaborative effort could give especailly the Linux OS (some of the stuff we say in Linux would be put in Windows years after we saw it) and seeing the code was more like giving some matter to dark hole, we gobbled whatever came our way.

A Phenomenon called Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart, the name and the phenomenon, is an aspect that anyone who is in America just can not escape. And why not? Wal-Mart is only the second company after GM (who did it 30 odd years ago), whose revenue is equivalent to more than 10% of US GDP.

I like many others have even always been startled by this phenomenon. Starting with the first time when I entered its store, when a lot of stuff that were seemingly impossible for an immigrant student became reality, to my studies where I came to know how the operation of the it work, to the radical opponent of its operation especially in CNY to lot of shows on it, it has been a learning experience.

And like the capitalist dream that it fulfills it has it pros and cons. The most important is certainly making a lot of stuffs possible for many customers for whom many of it would not have been possible. Personally Wal-Mart had made many items economically feasible for me, especially when I was student. And I am certainly not the only one. A big reason, why, Wal-Mart appeals to lower earning communities. Wal-Mart surely is leveling the rich and poor divide by bringing up the lifestyle of so many Americans. And for decades much of increase in American lifestyle was because of this advantage of Globalization.

The other good aspect of Wal-Mart is the Globalization it is brining. Though its implication will be decided by history, Wal-Mart has made it possible for a manufacturer anywhere in world to market its goods. The supply chain makes it possible but its results are phenomenon. Much of China’s progress is because of Wal-Mart, (Wal-Mart is the single biggest buyer of Chinese commodity). And this is to the fastest growing developing nations. Add names like Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka and Malyasia it is uplifting lives of many across the world.

On the con side, one aspect is the loosing the small stores, and the high consumerism it generates. I suppose, especially form personal experience, Wal-Mart forces us to buy or have hope of buying the next time we come in, for many stuff that we do not need. And this I suppose can adds a lot of chaos to the already life that one lives.

Delving a more into the above aspect, it especially becomes relevant to an Indian, where we are taught from really early on that one needs to avoid a lot of "Maya". Do we need so much, or we are buying what a big store wants us to. In this way I suppose small stores are always better. And though we might buy each item at a higher price there, but as we are buying less, the overall amount we pay might not be as much as we might calculate first hand. Also it makes our life simpler. It is not spending hours at Wal-Mart and trying to decide but getting us do stuff that matter

The implication of this is big. Personally it helps in making our life simpler. I believe one of the challenges of a modern lifestyle is to distinguish between ones needs and ones wants. Stores like Wal-Mart make this really difficult especially if you happen to be a curious person, like me.

In end as it is mentioned Wal-Mart is a classical example of Capitalism. It has it pitfalls besides having its advantage.

The two Empires

Having lived for most part of my life in a place which has to a very high degree being to a degree a benefactor or influenced by the First Empire, and having lived the later part of my life espcially with my career part of the new Empire, it makes me often wonder what diffrentiates these two worlds.

And to a degree it is amazing how poles apart how these two Empires (the socialist or the communist would have rephrased it to be the Imperilist/Colonist which to a degree after the Iraq fiasco that too after such fresh memories of Vietnam does seem to hard to fathom).

All ofthem had come after seeing the PBS episode "Empire: Victoria".

Much of that can be understood by looking into an egalatarian Hagelsitic or Bernard Russel's British World compared to more Pragmatic "Pragmatism theory" of the americas.

The enigma of 70's

It always has remained an enigma why am I so fascinated by that era. Be it the music (Pink Floyd, RD Burman and John Denver), the political movements (Vietnam War and its after effects, Green movement or Naxalite movement in Bengal), or be the freedom of expression (from extreme like Larry Flynt to Noam Chomsky) to other sociological and cultural changes like feminism. So how come so many of these important sociological changes happened during this time.

What caused all this upheaval. Though for sure many of the events were caused by earlier movements. Especially the coming of equanimity of mordern life after the heady days of 50's and mainly 60's, when mordern technology was thought to to be a panecea. But still it does not answer why these movement of such high degree of global, holistic and evangelistic mindset and thinking was replaced by more practical mindset of 80's and 90's. It becomes even more interesting when you look and meet the people of that era. They are now usually responsible aprt of community and are not any different from practical and rational Gen Xers like us.

I had read in one Sociology book, one of the reason for this was that the society goes through periods of cultural change. The 50's and 60's were marked by the practical reasoning. The world had to build after the upheaval of WWII. But their children who inherited a better world and maybe one of the most optimistic times ever achieved, became more holistic. This might have lead to the broad minded and cosmopolitan people of that era. But unfortunately good items did not last long. The 80's and 90's with world brought the practical realities with the oil crash and other political events. Changing a lot of people to become more self oriented.

But are these reason true reasons. I seriously think there is more to this, events and history have more to them than just few macroscopic tools of analysis. But what were these aspects, that changed the same people and also the one that came after that.

Clash of Two ideas and American Economic future

This thought came to me when I was watching the movie "xxx". An interesting movie that talks about how a guy tries to make a Japanese run factory return to his hometown. Though a funny way, it shows the clash the two different cultures. The Western or more correctly American, where more emphasis is given on individual satisfaction and creativity, and the oriental where your society and the duty towards it (Indian "Karma"), is given more emphasis to. So where else on one side we have American families loosing their job but having better family life, on the other hand the Japanese Manager, who works his ass off, finds himself ridiculed by his wife comparing him with the American families. Though at this level things are fine, but at economic constraints, it brings an important question that has troubled me for most of my existence here. That of being how this country in the first hand became so rich and powerful, and what sort of suture entails this country. Geographic and mineral richness can not be the only reason, as India also has them and maybe so many other country that are languishing in poverty. I believe it is in history and more important culture. And for certain period my search in it has thrown some answers. One thing could be the entrepreneurial spirit or as others will say Capitalism, that this country encouraged. The classical example could be the putting railroad connecting California to the east, is a good example (see Ken Burns "American stories The West: The Grandest Enterprise under God"", I think PBS has always been enlightening especially if one comes from another country). As can be seen in these and other stories from past American power came from its creative people be it the people who settled in west or be it FDR's social reforms or Einshower's National highway act. All creative answers, to hurdles plaguing this relative new country.

But what future entails this country. Somehow I do not see some breaks in Economic Fundamentals. First the two aspects where American excelled at, people from other places are sort of doing better. In manufacturing atleast at large scale areas, China at simpler stuff and Japan at more complicated areas area are doing better. In scientific temper, years at stretch American student’s antipathy towards science and engineering are point of concern to organization like NSF. And it is no surprise that visionaries like Bill Gates are even questioning how US will fare in future (see the discussion on this matter by Bill Gates, Shirley Tilghman: President Princeton, David Dreier, U.S. Representative (R-California) ). So how will America fare in future? One of the thing which I found which I find could be the hardest hindrance is the change in culture. America was made by entrepreneurial and hardworking people. Unfortunately American today lacks it today. Americans because of years of prosperity have lost the hard working aspect of their forefathers. Also because of aspects like Insurance and especially the growth of middle class stereotypes as a socialist would call or suburban dysfunction, especially after 1950's among other things make more American avoid taking too many risks with their lives. And thus we are seeing people from other portions doing better than Native American born people. Classical examples are Asians who excel Native American even Caucasian whites both in education as well as in Economic terms. Especially with low labor gone to Spanish, manufacturing gone to China, Service and IT industry being outsourced to India and other countries what are then American’s doing. It is no doubt American are managing the show, but for how long. As we are seeing in IT, because of lack of American doing the lower level work, I do not think American can produce high class managers in future, if today’s young generation do not dirty themselves with manual work.

Though I do think it is as grave as I might be projecting. One of the aspects of America is its recover from its problem. The aspect of creation of "xxx" after the great dustbowl, FDR's workers plan to Einshower’s National highway act are classical aspects how American meet depressing time and turned it to an advantage. The other aspects are the intellectual might of this country as well as the premier university it has.

Clash of Two ideas and American Economic future

This thought came to me when I was watching the movie "xxx". An interesting movie that talks about how a guy, tries to make a Japanese run factory return to his hometown. Though a funny way, it shows the clash the two different cultures. The Western or more correctly American, where more emphasis is given on individual satisfaction and creativity, and the oriental where your society and the duty towards it (Indian "Karma"), is given more emphasis to. So where else on one side we have American families loosing their job but having better family life, on the other hand the Japanese Manager, who works his ass out, finds himself ridiculed by his wife comparing him with the American families. Though at this level things are fine, but at economic constraints, it brings an important question that has troubled me for most of my existence here. That of being how this country in the first hand became so rich and powerful, and what sort of suture entails this country. Geographic and mineral richness can not be the only reason, as India also has them and maybe so many other country that are languishing in poverty. I believe it is in history and more important culture. And for certain period my search in it has thrown some answers. One thing could be the entrepreneurial spirit or as others will say Capitalism, that this country encouraged. The classical example could be the putting railroad connecting California to the east, is a good example (see Ken Burns "American stories The West: The Grandest Enterprise under God"", I think PBS has always been enlightening especially if one comes from another country). As can be seen in these and other stories from past American power came from its creative people be it the people who settled in west or be it FDR's social reforms or Einshower's National highway act. All creative answers, to hurdles plaguing this relative new country.

But what future entails this country. Somehow I do not see some breaks in Economic Fundamentals. First the two aspects where American excelled at, people from other places are sort of doing better. In manufacturing atleast at large scale areas, China at simpler stuff and Japan at more complicated areas area are doing better. In scientific temper, years at stretch American student’s antipathy towards science and engineering are point of concern to organization like NSF. And it is no surprise that visionaries like Bill Gates are even questioning how US will fare in future (see the discussion on this matter by Bill Gates, Shirley Tilghman: President Princeton, David Dreier, U.S. Representative (R-California) ). So how will America fare in future? One of the thing which I found which I find could be the hardest hindrance is the change in culture. America was made by entrepreneurial and hardworking people. Unfortunately American today lacks it today. Americans because of years of prosperity have lost the hard working aspect of their forefathers. Also because of aspects like Insurance and especially the growth of middle class stereotypes as a socialist would call or suburban dysfunction, especially after 1950's among other things make more American avoid taking too many risks with their lives. And thus we are seeing people from other portions doing better than Native American born people. Classical examples are Asians who excel Native American even Caucasian whites both in education as well as in Economic terms. Especially with low labor gone to Spanish, manufacturing gone to China, Service and IT industry being outsourced to India and other countries what are then American’s doing. It is no doubt American are managing the show, but for how long. As we are seeing in IT, because of lack of American doing the lower level work, I do not think American can produce high class managers in future, if today’s young generation do not dirty themselves with manual work.

Though I do think it is as grave as I might be projecting. One of the aspects of America is its recover from its problem. The aspect of creation of "Social Security System" after the great dustbowl, FDR's workers plan to Einshower’s National highway act are classical aspects how American meet depressing time and turned it to an advantage. The other aspects are the intellectual might of this country as well as the premier university it has. All these have mde this place what it is