Stoned radio

There was this surreal experience, experienced on a sultry Saturday noon, when I was driving back home and had to speak with my wife. I had the radio on all that time. And radio, goes without saying, is more about ads and talkative RJs than music. Coming back to my call with my wife, I decided to use the car speakers for the audio and hooked up my phone via the car USB. I randomly pressed the USB/AUX button thinking the car speaker would amplify the call- which did not work. After the phone call was over, the car goes back to the songs. Now here’s what happened- the car stereo connected with my phone songs and started playing them, without firing up the iTunes app on the phone. Not realizing what happened, I was listening to songs belting off my phone thinking the radio was playing it. Oh man, o man… what a dreamlike moment that was. Here I am wondering what an awesome day it was with radio doing an about-turn with no ads or RJ nonsense, and my kind of music playing for the world to listen to. Steve Winwood, The Beatles, Train… What station was this? That’s when I looked at the display which read… ‘iPod’... and poof! Of course dammit.. what was I   t h i n k i n g ? !

A few minutes later I spotted something really surreal and had to get photos of this- colourful stones on sale, all the way from Gujarat! Here’s what the assortment looked like.

Stoned radio

There was this surreal experience, experienced on a sultry Saturday noon, when I was driving back home and had to speak with my wife. I had the radio on all that time. And radio, goes without saying, is more about ads and talkative RJs than music. Coming back to my call with my wife, I decided to use the car speakers for the audio and hooked up my phone via the car USB. I randomly pressed the USB/AUX button thinking the car speaker would amplify the call- which did not work. After the phone call was over, the car goes back to the songs. Now here’s what happened- the car stereo connected with my phone songs and started playing them, without firing up the iTunes app on the phone. Not realizing what happened, I was listening to songs belting off my phone thinking the radio was playing it. Oh man, o man… what a dreamlike moment that was. Here I am wondering what an awesome day it was with radio doing an about-turn with no ads or RJ nonsense, and my kind of music playing for the world to listen to. Steve Winwood, The Beatles, Train… What station was this? That’s when I looked at the display which read… ‘iPod’... and poof! Of course dammit.. what was I   t h i n k i n g ? !

A few minutes later I spotted something really surreal and had to get photos of this- colourful stones on sale, all the way from Gujarat! Here’s what the assortment looked like.

Dream audaciously

Stayed up late watching the World cup match between Columbia and Greece which went 3-0 the South American way.  Separately, will always love this piece by Robin Van Persi-

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/BY3FlBCPtfA&source=uds

Also kept doodling.

Also had VH1 running later and this was the playlist for the night.

John Legend - All of me
You and I - One Direction
Jack White - Lazaretto
Cold play - Magic
Calvin Harris - Summer
Linkin Park - Until its gone
Banks - Goddess

So that's how I am spending Saturday night.

Dream audaciously

Stayed up late watching the World cup match between Columbia and Greece which went 3-0 the South American way.  Separately, will always love this piece by Robin Van Persi-

Also kept doodling.

Also had VH1 running later and this was the playlist for the night.

John Legend - All of me
You and I - One Direction
Jack White - Lazaretto
Cold play - Magic
Calvin Harris - Summer
Linkin Park - Until its gone
Banks - Goddess

So that's how I am spending Saturday night.

Machine-aargh

Tapping this down from a sense of exhasperation that dawns on me when devices and networks don't work.

So there's a way they work, which is what we expect them to do. It's when they don't function despite no power cuts, software bugs or human intervention that sets you back a bit in limbo. That, if you can get a pulse on, is what makes the difference between really understanding inanimate things and flinging your phone across space time and wifi zones. If you can imagine that device as a living creature with needs, functions, care and maintenance, the gap between the machine and your patience threshold reduces. 

We may spend less on new gadgets and actually make the most of resources simple because we understand what more to do with them. Just a thought.

Machine-aargh

Tapping this down from a sense of exhasperation that dawns on me when devices and networks don't work.

So there's a way they work, which is what we expect them to do. It's when they don't function despite no power cuts, software bugs or human intervention that sets you back a bit in limbo. That, if you can get a pulse on, is what makes the difference between really understanding inanimate things and flinging your phone across space time and wifi zones. If you can imagine that device as a living creature with needs, functions, care and maintenance, the gap between the machine and your patience threshold reduces. 

We may spend less on new gadgets and actually make the most of resources simple because we understand what more to do with them. Just a thought.

Puppy politics is easy business

The general elections currently underway have split friends and relatives in factions. This got me thinking about things I don't usually bother much with. Are we are currently in love with an image? If euphoria can still sway this country, how far have we come from 1991?
Of all the geopolitical elements that go into making decisions, keeping all biases aside, we could discuss three things before we vote for a leader- ease of doing business in India, euphoria in marketing a product, and finally, the janlokpal bill.
Firstly, ease of doing business. India lags behind African countries on the ease of doing business index - http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/india
If one looks at the main factors that pulls us down on this index, it boils down to getting approvals in starting a business, getting construction permits and electricity. Corrupt government officials are the gargoyles that guard this gateway. Multinational corporations keep aside bribe provisions as part of incorporation expenses. So corruption is undoubtedly the Achilles heel for the entrepreneurial spirit of India.
Euphoria in marketing- if a product has an emotional appeal attached to it, the product will sell on its own. It helps hide crucial faults or intentions because the visual alone helps win half the battle. We have seen this in the Hutch (now Vodafone) ads in which the adorable pug boosted the brand value. Those ads sold pugs for Rs.50,000 a pup.
Janlokpal bill - that elephant in the room everyone wished wouldn't look at them. The first line in the agenda could be the only reason any politician would make sure it does not come in force. 'If a politician or government official is found guilty of corruption, he will lose his job, go to jail and his property would be confiscated- without government permission.' Ouch. Now that hurts the very purpose of getting into politics.
Its difficult to get a majority on anything nowadays. So go ahead and disagree, without a bias against a coughing candidate. C'mon... Now that's petty.