The Man stiffs us - Indian Style

Many of you might have read that Ford and GM are going to be cutting a lot of jobs to keep up with the competition and many more of you are aware of the technology driven resurgence of the Indian economy. The connection might not be apparent but there is definitely one if you look below the surface.

I am definitely pro out-sourcing (even though one day my job might be on the line), it is the price you pay to have a capitalistic economy. And the past few years have out-sourcing has been specially good to India. Kids my age are earning what their parents would have earned when they retired (If they were lucky). This has been driven by the information technology industry to a large extent. But the rosy picture belies the harsh well guarded truth, in a word sweat shops have been out sourced to the developing nations by the developed nations.

The bottom line has forced the companies out source, but I still can't figure out what motivates the off shoring companies to use sweat shops and screw(pardon my French) their own country men!

The source of all this rage is more close at heart... recently the vendor that I am contracted through to MasterCard was bought over by Wipro, one of top three technology/out sourcing companies in India. Though the change of guard did not affect me, it definitely had a big impact on their direct employees (Most of whom were expecting a better deal from such a well know /recognized company. The first transition meeting went on pretty good I guess, but then that was just a charade (Now I know what they teach in business school).

Yesterday one of colleagues who is a direct employee (Now called a wiproite) heard from them, the new package that they were getting. He was pretty let down, not only did they rescind from their word at the first meeting, they pretty much screwed(for lack of a better word) the employees. Their overtime was taken away (Even though my friend spends most of his time at the office), they sick leave was taken away and the vacation days was reduced drastically. To add insult to injury, their insurance was downgraded so they had to bear a part of the month payment.

This is not a isolated incident, my friends working for the technology companies either here or in India are almost slaves to the company. The salary is definitely better than any other business sector, but money does not make all things right. A lot of my friends working both in India and the US work from 7:30 to 8:00 in the morning to 11:00 in the night and a lot of times even later. All this while receiving only 1/5 th of the hourly rate that their companies get paid for them.

My mentioning of sweat shops might be a little exaggerated in the technology context (try making an employee work such hours with no compensation in a US based company), but it still holds good for the other industries like manufacturing (Walmart is a well known exporter of the sweat shops to China). The companies in the developed countries might not be legally in the black but ethically they are. Meanwhile the companies in third world countries are making hay before legislation (often ineffective) is brought in.

The reason I tied Ford and GM to this situation is because they are on the opposite end of the spectrum. They paid too much and are now paying for it. Believe it or not they have one employee working for every three retirees they are supporting, not a good ratio I should say. This is also the reason that these new age companies use for the maltreatment of their employees. The funny part is that they keep complaining about the attrition rate of their employee, what do they expect ... uncomplaining bots ??

For all the buster of the top executives, its the working class that gets short changed on both ends of the spectrum!

Some food for thought ...
How much would buy a woman for ... 20$s?
If you are on the path to a tummy tuck like me
Another reason I am all for the death penalty

History doth repeat itself!!!

Odyssey - Book 2 - Chapter i - Detroit Car Show

Miles : 1344
Cities Visited : 3 - Detroit, Dayton, Columbus
States driven through : 5 - Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri

The first trip of the year was one of those impulsive trips that I took. Having friends in different drivable cities is pretty cool if you like to drive around. Not only does it help you to take break but also drastically reduces your expenses.

That being said, the main purpose of the trip was to look at some real beauties (not because I didn't want to be alone for a long weekend(sic)). And beauties I did see. I was hoping to see more concept cars though.

First of all let me introduce you to Mr. Rolls Royce. This is probably as close as I would ever get to it in my life. You needed to see it first had to see how massive it really was. This is one car that you would have somebody else drive you around, which rules me out from ever buying it. How could I trust someone to drive this beauty ??? no way hosey! I have been waiting quite a few years to get to this car show.

The in thing for concept cars at this show was to have really thin seats with really weird material. Don't know if that is good or bad. My cars seats really get your butt if you have a wallet in the back pocket because of their inflexibility.

Overall though I don't know if the show itself was worth the drive, but meeting up with some good and close friends was definitely worth it. Had Ravi's hospitality in Ohio, while Rajesh and Abishek provided the same in Detroit.

I had a lesson to learn on this trip, don't wear a torn shorts in front of your mom or anybody who looks like your mom. I made the mistake of doing that in front of my friend's mom and boy did I get an earful.

Cops just don't seem to want to leave me in peace. The best investment that I never made was on a cop detector, it would have saved me money in the hundreds. But this time around I don't think that would have helped either. Got a parking ticket for parking more than two hours on two hour zone. This on a holiday at 10:30 in the morning and the restriction came into effect only at 8:00 A.M, probably one of those henpecked cops who's wife probably chewed him up early in the morning.

These trips sure are full of food, and this time was no exception. Had middle eastern food after a long time courtesy of Rajesh. Also had Ravi make some dosas for me. Anyways for more photos from this trip just go here.

Before I forget, the cars/bike I would really like to own in no particular order are






Odyssey - Book 1 - Chapter i
Odyssey - Book 1 - Chapter ii
Odyssey - Book 1 - Chapter iii
Odyssey - Book 1 - Chapter iv

We must get beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.
--John Hope Franklin

The Man in the mirror - revisited

I'm gonna make a change, for once in my life
It's gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right...

As I, turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin' my mind
I see the kids in the street, with not enough to eat
Who am I, to be blind? Pretending not to see their needs
A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top
And a one man's soul
They follow each other on the wind ya' know
'Cause they got nowhere to go
That's why I want you to know

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love
It's time that I realize
That there are some with no home, not a nickel to loan
Could it be really me, pretending that they're not alone?

A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart
And a washed-out dream
They follow the pattern of the wind, ya' see
Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me

I tend to disagree with the majority on the oldest profession, it definitely has to be politics. Oh how indefatigable corruption is! Especially when it comes to politics : they could be liberal or conservative, left wing or right wing, communist or capitalist, democratic or autocratic but the only common denominator they have is corruption. If indeed there is something called the "most institutionalized" in the world, it is corruption.

This article just goes on to prove that the whole world speaks one language when it comes to corruption, they might have different accents but it is definitely the same language. Be it the only remaining superpower in the world or country like Eritrea where most people can't afford one square meal a day.

I agree that this topic has been taken through the cleaners and juiced to the maximum. Though the one aspect of it that has not been taken note of are the ordinary people like us who condone it, by doing nothing about it. Most people don't care or are part of the malice by using it. I know it takes a lot to take a stand, but stand we must take. Anybody who cannot stand for something that he believes will for anything. Rhetoric apart, I believe individual corruption is more dangerous than any disease know to man.

Its easy to take pot shots(specially people like me) at all those high flying people who get caught.
What's harder is to keep the focus at the root of the problem. Sometime back I had a discussion with a friend on the best way to tackle this issue. (Like everybody else I believe I can solve all the worlds problem!!) He was of the opinion that the people at the top have to change first for the world to get rid of corruption. By that he meant that the political and business class have to change before the bourgeois can change and he was going to do things by hook or by crook till the world changes.

I on the other hand am of the opinion that the middle class is the key to the issue. If you are not corrupt when you are at the bottom of the food chain there is a good chance you would remain the same at the top ... that or you would never get to the top! But like Mother Theresa "every drop of water makes the mighty ocean" its starts with each one of us. Instead of complaining at how people are making money in corruption, lets try to do things without giving that "bribe" that would make things easier.

That said, corruption scandals have become the norm of the day all over the world, either more people are getting caught or the number of incidents is just skyrocketing. The only thing that has accomplished is that people are so sick of corruption that they have become numb to it. That is the kind of attitude that is not going to help! Sprinkling of outrage once in a while keeps the world moving along without degenerating into anarchy.

Before I run out of steam just wanted to let you where I come from!

Slums may well be breeding grounds of crime, but middle-class suburbs are incubators of apathy and delirium. Cyril Connolly

ReadyMade Excuses

To join issue with CrakerJack, I don't use those articles because I don't need those excuses to explain why I like food. I just love food so. (Period) That been said this is not the only article that tries to explain why we do certain things. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think scientific reasoning and research is a fable; and the truth cannot be farther from the truth. But sometimes we let scientific data overshadow common sense. And before you are crucify me as a right wing fundamentalistic rabble-rouser, let me state my case.

Lets start with the most prevalent excuses to commit a crime ...

• Society doesn't care
  
• Childhood environment was not conducive to all round growth
• People always made fun of me
• Nobody don't understands me/what I go through
• Mom/dad was drunkard/drug addict
• I had nobody to love me
• The world is unfair (sic)
  
• I did not understand the full repercussions of my action (criminally insane)
  

a note of caution: I do not believe that these are entirely false but to just blame them for everything ... come on give me a break! The world is fair because it is unfair to everybody, so just deal with it. To blame their hard childhood for all their actions as grown ups just speaks to how much they have really grown up. Hardships usually make people better, so the actions of a person usually speak about the inner character of a person rather than what people did to him when he was kid.

From criminal behavior to the hornets next that CrackerJack stirred up ... its become a case of statistics and percentages now a days, actually its totally chaos on what to do to keep healthy. Though things aren't that bad, the basic premise still remains the same: eat just enough and move your body. But some people take it the extreme, starving themselves or working out more than two hours a day. Chill out people ... you ain't going to live forever, so why give up on that banana split or the cream filled doughnut with chocolate on top?? (Man I am going to get myself a banana split after I finish this). I would classify anybody working out for more than an hour as insane and maybe somebody who needs to get a life! I know people who are too lazy to work around the house but not too lazy to hit the gym. There are also people who look all buff(like me!!) but have no real strength!

Science is the scapegoat used as an excuse by people for all the above mentioned. I heard once heard this from a friend, that it is possible to prove any premise if you have a sufficiently skewed sample population.

Oh did you know that 1 in 5 kids has ADD (BOSS you can correct me). So all you do when you see a hyper active kid is give him some tablets to calm him down. Where I come from they just call those kids mischievous!

I accept that we need scientific innovation and the role that science plays in making our lives better. But science does not have the right to trample common sense underfoot. These are the reasons you have people who need stupid labels warning about obvious dangers(Anybody seen 'this is not a toy' sign on plastic covers).

Also I think our drug abuse problem stems from the fact that we always want to quantify stuff and need a readymade solution to all of life's problem, be it either a simple headache or a severe trauma!

Maybe we are not generation next but generation ReadyMade

“The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.”

P.S: CrakerJack seems to have generated more comments on a single post than I could in a month!

Ring in the New

A wonderful 2006 to you folks. Starting the new year with my first ever post on a blog. I guess that's what a new year is all about, the starting afresh or rather starting on a new canvas of life. Hope that answers your question NoViCe.

I started of this year with a slew of resolutions (I disagree with people who equate resolutions with laws, in that they are meant to be broken), starting off with being a better person. The last few years have been marred by souring of relations with people really close to me, a trend I am hoping to reverse this year (with fingers crossed). You could say that I have probably antagonised more people last couple of years than Bush did (If ever that was possible).

I'll save the sob story for later. Today I came across this article on MSN. It makes an interesting read and speaks of how people are addicted to food just to make themselves feel good. No wonder America is over 60% obese. Ulysses maybe you should take a hint from this and work on your tummy ;). Get over it, you are not big you are just over weight!

I wonder why people wouldn't use these kind of news to get back in shape. Some people never learn I guess.

I'll sign off in the standard way

“People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year,
but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and
Christmas”