Demonizing Trump may turn him into a Messiah

I remember the time around 2015 when Trump's name first came up. Until then, many of us in the rest of the world could barely register his existence and if at all, remembered him around swim-suit clad models in some beauty pageant. At that time, he was introduced by the American media as a joke candidate. And that’s not such a big deal in itself, it happens everywhere. I remember at one time, how Darth Vader was contesting elections in Ukraine which garnered headlines.

And then, it started to become more ridiculous as time passed. You see, unlike US perhaps where (I hope) that people tend to watch the entire Republican and Democratic Presidential debates (read Sarcasm), we in the rest of the world, only get the important noteworthy snippets that the American media doles out on news channels and YouTube. So, it was a bit unnerving, that the only newsbyte that we got from these debates seemed to be the outrageous claims Trump made, of making a HUGE Wall at the Mexico border. even as the candidate pool started getting narrower and narrower and the joke candidate started gaining momentum.

And I guess it was at this time that many of the journalists, and Talk show hosts who had been getting ready-made content from the debates realized, "Wouldn't it be great if Trump were one of the candidates for the 2016 Presidential elections? The Celebrity who ran for POTUS!" After all, they had Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton on the other side, so the election results were a foregone conclusion, but wouldn't it be great if this guy got so tantalizingly close to the top spot? And slowly but surely, as the American media started hyping him up and indulging him ever so more, everyone in the US and the rest of the world, bought into that ostentatious experiment which made the Trump Presidency into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Of course, when they realized that the experiment had gone a bit too far, to the extent that the Trump Presidency seemed looking like a real possibility, they tried a dramatic course correction by linking him with the Russians and ridiculing him to the point that the entire narrative seemed biased instead of being funny. This was followed by fervent appeals by journalists and Talk show hosts to the American public to make an informed decision on who should have their finger on the nuclear button. By then, it was evident that the entire news media had taken sides and that objective journalism was out of the window.

Fast forward to now, when Trump has been defeated and all we see on American news and Talk shows is how best they should punish and make an example out of the joke candidate that they themselves are responsible for having allowed to reach such heights. They mock the Trump supporters and the protestors who breached the Capitol on a daily basis but forget that the people who voted for Trump haven't disappeared with the end of Trump presidency. And it is not as if he himself, or through a proxy candidate, can't run for presidency again (Believe me, that happens all the time in the Rest of the World). Trump "may" try something if he is not hounded and convicted, but "definitely will", if he is. It will be better if Trump were allowed to go into oblivion so his supporters can be dished out a new, more reliable leader who can also be acceptable to the Intelligentsia as well as the rest of the world.

The best way to deal with a joke is not to take it seriously. Now, that you have a new President who is a reliable, seasoned politician, it will perhaps be better to look ahead and let Trump be, while preserving dignity for both himself and his supporters, lest Trumpism becomes a permanent feature in the US politics.

Experimental Photography with Moto X4

So, here are a few pics that I clicked using Moto X4. Hope these help you make your smart smartphone decision!

1. View of DLF Cyber City in Gurgaon

2. Inside DLF Cyber City

3. The Depth Effect. Notice how the area between the leaves and the man in white shirt is blurred even though there is considerable distance between the two.

4. My colleague Navaneetham ji in office!

5. Delicious Gulab Jamun with Vanilla ice cream

6. Caramel cheese pop-corn for my buddy Deadpool :P

Moto X4 detailed review

Hi everyone,

This is my detailed review of the newly released Moto X4 mobile. I have been using it since the last 7 days and felt my experiences could help you arrive at a decision whether or not to buy this mobile.

Before Moto X4, I owned Moto G2 that I bought 3 years ago. I am very particular about the price and specifications of the phones I buy (Moto X4 being my third android smartphone). So, there is a lot of analysis and elimination involved when I biuy a phone. This time around the contenders were:

Moto G5S (Midnight blue version)

One Plus 5

Moto G5S Plus

Mi A1

Lenovo K8 Note

Nokia 6

This was the initial list of phones that I planned to buy. As you will notice, all of these phones except for One plus 5 are in the range of INR15000. Based on a lengthy analysis that lasted days, I finally zeroed in on Moto G5S Plus and started waiting for the Diwali sale on Amazon and Flipkart. The only two things that bugged me a bit about this phone were the 5.5in screen (I prefer smaller phones) and the color choices of Grey and Gold.

But just before the sale, Motorola announced the Moto X4 series. The specifications were absolutely the same as Moto G5S Plus, the camera seemed a bit different but it was difficult to speculate on the results based on just the camera specs. Other than that, the screen size was 5.2in (an important factor to me) and the phone’s design seemed absolutely stunning! The IP 68 certification is not relevant to me as I have no immediate or future plans of diving into a swimming pool with my mobile!

It was being speculated to be released in the range of INR 25000 but I was sure that the phone should cost a bit lesser to be competitive against Moto G5S Plus. So, I decided to wait out until after the release of Moto X4. I had set a price target of INR 20000 for this phone.

I read a number of reviews on the net. Some people voiced their concerns about the Glass back that was susceptible to cracks. But in the words of one of my friends, even an Iphone with a glass back is susceptible to cracks. That doesn’t stop people from buying it.

I can think of only two reasons for anyone buying the Moto X4:

1. The elegance and looks

2. The probable Android P update

Now, to the actual review. The phone has been working great.

On first charge, it lasted two and a half days of heavy usage. Subsequently, after I installed the SIM card and some heavy duty games (which worked perfectly and without any lag) the phone lasts one and half days.

I did not experience any heating problems during charging.

The volume of the speakers is great (far better than my last mobile that is Moto G2)

The camera is on the whole great. I tested it both during night and day and it performed well. I am enclosing a few of the photos that I took using the mobile.

The depth effect is OKAY for someone who is experiencing it for the first time, but is clearly managed by software. The transition between the focused and blurred image is rather sharp. I tested taking photos of the same objects with One Plus 5 and Moto X4, and the former easily trumps the latter with much softer transitions as you can see in the following photographs.

The videos are again OKAY. The phone seems to be missing Optical stabilization which makes the videos a bit shaky during movement of camera. The other thing that irritates me about the video quality is the large amount of noise that the camera takes in from the surroundings making the voice of the subject less pronounced. To give you a better perspective, I am uploading a few of the videos that I shot using this phone.

Now, to the verdict. After using the phone for a week, would I still consider it worth buying.

And the answer is a big YES!

You see, even though I expect a bit more from the camera, the truth is I can’t think of a better camera in the price range of this mobile. The next better one might only be One Plus 5 (now One Plus 5T) but that is just too costly for the minimal improvements in the camera department. As a matter of fact, I would any day buy Moto X4 over One Plus 5T just because of the design and the Moto experience.

I would like to add two other perspectives here that helped me arrive at a decision but are not otherwise relevant technically. Due to its premier look, the Moto X4 does not look out of place if you are part of a group with a lot of Iphones!

The other perspective of course is that when buying a phone, I plan (rather hope) to use it at least for the next 3 years. When your target is three years, an additional INR 4000 for the looks and durability seems not that expensive.

So, I hope I was able to provide a practical perspective on what to expect or not from the Moto X4. If you have any other questions related to Moto X4, feel free to ask them here or my Youtube channel.

Corporate Jingle

Just a small jingle I wrote today..

Yawning through the slides, 
with a coffee mug in hand;
Acting like you're taking notes, 
while signing down your name 

Struggling to the point, 
when all seems lost and wild, 
Planning yet another meeting 
just to miss a fight!

Hey! 

Meeting, meeting every day 
Meetings through the day, 
No one's got a clue, what's going on; 
talking all the same!!

Sherlock, Moriarty and the Obliquity of the Ecliptic

Neptune is a rather interesting planet. Unlike all the other planets that were discovered using telescopes while looking for bright moving objects in the night sky; Neptune's existence was mathematically predicted using pen and paper by the French Mathematician Le Verrier. 

Actually, Neptune which at the time of its discovery in 1845 was the farthest planet in the solar system had previously been recorded on numerous occasions by different astronomers but was considered a fixed star instead of a planet, a result of rather peculiar coincidences. 

It could only be discovered when scientists and astronomers couldn't explain the motion of Uranus using the existing Gravitational laws that otherwise worked perfectly while predicting the orbits of the rest of the planets. This inconsistency led some scientists to question the veracity of Newton's laws of Motion and Gravitation over such large distances, it led others to conclude that there must be a large "perturbing body" nearby influencing the orbit of Uranus by the virtue of its own gravitational pull. 

In culmination of these discussions, a paper published by Le Verrier hypothised the existence of another planet along with its Mass and orbit. 

However, like everything else about Neptune, even its mathematical discovery was wrought with controversy. The British astronomer John Couch Adams, around a year before Le Verrier, calculated the location of this new planet. He then wrote to the Royal Astronomical Society where he mentioned its calculated Mass and radius of Orbit, for it to be observed using a telescope. But alas, because of the time it took the British in processing his discovery, Le Verrier had been declared as the Discoverer of Neptune. And, of course, he did write a paper for the Royal Astronomical Society on the “Obliquity of the Ecliptic”.

“It was Adams, of course. Murderous jealousy. He had written a paper for the Royal Astronomical Society on the Obliquity of the Ecliptic, and then read another one that seemed to surpass it.”

Ring any bells?

That’s an inconspicuous reference to “The Greek Interpreter” in the last episode of the TV series Sherlock- The Abominable Bride when Mycroft Holmes explains to Sherlock the motive behind the murder in a case. But in doing so, it did go a bit far ahead.

Obliquity of the Ecliptic is the angle between the plane of Earth's orbit and the equatorial plane. Its significance comes from the fact that it is the cause of different seasons in a year. There are indeed a few points of convergence that lead us toward this being an important theme in the series. For example, according to the books, Professor Moriarty was an accomplished mathematician famous for his treatise on “The Dynamics of an Asteroid”. Now, the prevalent Titius-Bode law proposed in 1760s accurately defined the orbits of all the known planets in the solar system when calculated in Astronomical Units (multiples of Earth's distance from Sun) save one discrepancy, that it predicted the presence of an additional body between these two planets. This was later verified as the Asteroid Belt between the two planets. Interestingly, the first time the Tituis Bode law came into question and was disproved was after the discovery of Neptune by Le Verrier's calculations, whose position in the Solar system didn't conform to this law.

Additionally, a friend of Arthur Conan Doyle, Alfred Drayson, did indeed write a paper on the Obliquity of the Ecliptic with predictions contrary to the established notions. And the person whose theory proved Drayson wrong happens to be Simon Newcomb, an astronomer widely believed to be the inspiration behind Moriarty. Also of interest is the fact that Newcomb was married to a certain Mary Caroline Hassler, daughter of a US Navy surgeon, Dr. Charles Augustus Hassler.

This amidst talk of Astronomy being the least of Sherlock's concerns!

I must confess that ever since I watched that episode, the one thing that has been constantly on my mind is “The Obliquity of the Ecliptic”, and not unlike Sherlock, who having already been in deep waters while wading through the Mind Palace tells Watson that he needed to trudge deeper still to formulate a theory. In the very next scene, he tells Lestrade that he needs to understand the “Obliquity of the Ecliptic” as it is a matter of supreme importance even as Lestrade keeps referring to the Bride murders. Later, Sherlock and John Watson are seen going to the Diogenes Club to meet “someone cleverer than you”. Mycroft elaborates that Adams had written a paper for the Royal Astronomical society on the “Obliquity of the Ecliptic”, and then read another one that seemed to surpass it; implying that Adams had murdered his peer as a result of jealousy in the Manor House case. So, while there is no further talk on the significance of the Obliquity of the Ecliptic, Mycroft does leave Sherlock with an explanation of murderous jealousy “It is no easy thing for a great mind to contemplate a still greater one”.

I found myself getting engulfed in this oblique reference. On the face of it, this seems like a mere continuation of the brotherly banter prevalent in the series. But it is possible, that Mycroft might be suggesting to Sherlock that he must first understand the reason for the murderous jealousy that is, why Moriarty wanted him dead, and how Sherlock may not have yet been able to fully grasp the extent of Moriarty's grand schemes.

It has been established in Season 3, almost as an afterthought, that Sherlock relies on Mycroft while solving cases inside his Mind palace. So, while it is Still Sherlock solving it; the guiding light, at least in his head is Mycroft. The conclusion about “Murderous Jealousy” being the motive behind a certain murder coming from Mycroft was I believe the primary take away from the episode.

In the possible context of John Adams, perhaps Sherlock has realized that instead of looking for Neptune (read death of Moriarty using Emilia Ricoletti's case as reference) in the night sky using a telescope, it is better to look at the disturbances in the path of Uranus (read Events before and after the death of Moriarty) to solve the mystery behind Moriarty's resurrection. Or it is just that we are about to get more details into the Manor House case where Moriarty was somehow involved.

In any case, I searched the net and found three worthy Adams. The first one of course was John Couch Adams. Out of the three, I dug the deepest into his life. I went so far as to find out the cause of death of both Le Verrier and John Couch Adams in a bid to find out if indeed “murderous jealousy” played any part. LOL.

 The second one was the British Philosopher Adam Smith. Out of the many essays and books that he wrote, “The History of Astronomy” is perhaps the most out of place for an economist and political thinker. There of course is a reference to the Obliquity of the Ecliptic in this book, but it doesn’t seem to connect any dots. What did catch my eye though is the repeated reference to “The invisible hand of Jupiter” meant more in mythological terms rather than astronomical ones. It seemed to match with how someone like Moriarty might operate, subtly and discreetly guiding all the pieces on the chessboard towards his ultimate goal.

The third one was the second US President John Adams. Incidentally, he had also been deeply involved in improving US relations with the British, and had indeed spent quite a lot of time in England. Another fun fact, John Adams was a great admirer of the Free market policies suggested by Adam Smith in his book “Wealth of Nations”, which he later implemented during his presidency. Another fun fact that I found out later is that Margaret Thatcher (Thatcher was revealed as a clue to the first episode, now titled “The Six Thatchers” in an apparent nod to “The Six Napoleons”) along with the US president John Adams and the progenitor of those ideas, Adam Smith are considered as the torchbearers of the Free market economic policies. However, I feel that The Six Thatchers shall have more to do with the IRA and the attempts on Thatcher’s life than Obliquity of the Ecliptic or  Adam Smith.

Now, we must understand that Sherlock while in his mind palace was trying to solve the mystery behind Moriarty’s return. There are two ways of looking at this. 

The first, there were some hints already running through Sherlock's mind that he wanted to analyze further. The mysterious death of Emelia Ricoletti that had similar elements as Moriarty's apparent resurrection was one of the reasons for this elaborate Victorian construct. The second, even being his talented self, it is not always possible to take control of everything that happens in one’s dreams. So, while he tried to recreate Victorian London, it is possible that certain events from the real life manifest themselves in his dream. In which case, all these references to Adams or Astronomy are mere noise in the data.

Now to my theories. First, I believe that Moriarty is alive and well. 

Second, we haven’t really seen Moriarty.

If anyone has ever read the books, they would know that Professor Moriarty is a middle-aged Mathematics teacher who prefers to keep away from spotlight. The TV version, while truly sinister, is poles apart from Doyle’s version breaking in and stealing the crown jewels or standing accused in courtroom trials. So, I feel the person we were made to think was Moriarty is actually, just an actor Richard Brook hired by the real Moriarty as he successfully claimed in public. Make some of it right, and people assume the entire narrative as true. 

And do you now see the apparent connection to Emelia Ricoletti? Other people posing as the presumed dead Bride to commit murders. Why is it not possible for Moriarty to use Richard Brook as a pawn, first to try and destroy Sherlock out of "Murderous Jealousy". And when his scheme failed, introduce Charles Augustus Magnussun to take on Sherlock, and just after Magnussun is killed, resurrect the dead Moriarty to cause terror and confusion.  In fact, Richard Brook might be the equivalent of his henchman Sebastian Moran who did all the leg work while Moriarty directed from behind the stage. What if there are actually a number of such Richard Brooks out there, working/posing as Moriarty in a vast Criminal syndicate?

The virus in the data was never Moriarty. It may have been Richard Brook and Magnussun

Misleading Birthday Wishes

Birthdays bring a smile on all our faces, don't they? Well, by the end of this article, that won't be the case anymore!

A long and happy life, that is the basic idea behind birthday wishes.

Happiness is difficult to quantify unless you are living in Bhutan (which has a Happiness index of its own).

That's not the case with Longevity. That particular bit could be quantified by the number of years one lives.

We all remember this famous song from our childhood days:

                                           

Tum Jiyo Hazaron Saal, Saal ke Din Hon Pachas Hazar!

For the benefit of my foreign readers, it is a B'day wish that translates to "May you live a thousand years, and may each of those years have Fifty thousand days"

Perhaps the innocence of a song sung in chorus did not sound alarm bells ringing in our minds. But recently I realized the sinister hidden meaning behind it.

So, one day on my way to office, I came across a giant hoarding congratulating a local politician on the occasion of his Birthday. Beside a smiling picture of the birthday boy was written this same B'day wish with photos of goon-like flunkies and supposed well-wishers adorning the remaining poster cum B'day card.

At first glance, I let it go as just an attempt by this guy's flunkies to aggrandize their leader in front of the general public and in the process keep themselves in his good books.

But as the days passed, this hoarding began to haunt me as I came across it wherever I went. And one fateful day, I realized the sinister meaning behind it and that is what I am about to share with you all.

PART-1: Tum Jiyo Hazaron Saal (May you live a thousand years)

Now let's get it straight, this B'day wish is basically asking for the subject's immortality. Such an eventuality might make this person happy for himself. I mean it does look cool to see the advent of human civilization over the course of an entire millennium!

But there's a catch. Wishing for immortality puts one in the company of notorious fictional villains such as Lord Voldemort, Darth Sidious, Tamraj Kilvish and whatnot! Being a part of such a list is bad for any person's reputation and goodwill among the voters right?

Now I reach the second part of the Birthday wish which makes it even more sinister and makes me wonder whether all these "well-wishers" are really what they seem or secret RSS functionaries out to ruin the poor congressman's life! The second part in fact makes me question the Humanity behind it all!

PART-2: Saal Ke Din Ho Pachas Hazar (May each of those years have 50000 days)

On the face of it, this seems like an instrument to provide a further decisive push for the subject's immortality. I calculated and it comes out to Fifty million days (that's seven zeroes!). In contrast, the lifespan of an average human being is 70 years which turns out to a measly 25550 days.

But being myself, I gave it deeper thought and realized there is a secret message inside that everyone has been ignoring.

I checked Wikipedia and found out that while Uranus, the seventh planet in our solar system has 30000 Earth days in an year, while the eighth planet Neptune takes 60000 Earth days  to complete one revolution around the Sun.

So basically, these back-stabbing gentlemen want our poor fellow to live a near eternal life circling the sun somewhere in the emptiness between two planets far far away from the hustle and bustle of human civilization. But as soon as he finds himself at this location, the vacuum of outer space shall make his body swell and his lungs to explode as a result of the relatively higher blood pressure of 1 atmosphere inside, just before he suffocates himself to death due to a lack of oxygen!

But since these clever people have put the clause of immortality out in the open, this guy shall have to endure great endless pain just as gravity goes about its work.

Being so far away from the dominant pull of the Sun, he will be forced to make a parabolic entry into Neptune's atmosphere which is predominantly filled with Hydrogen and Helium and crash land on a surface composed of crystallized Ammonia and Methane with temperatures ranging to the lows of -150 Degrees Celsius.That doesn't sound like a great place to be spending a thousand years!

So, should this B'day wish come true, the poor man shall live out the rest of his eternal life in obscurity, at the fringes of the solar system gazing at 14 different moons orbiting Neptune and a nearly star like sun.

In conclusion, in all my kindness and foresightedness, I have come up with a more humane wish.

Tum Jiyo "an appropriately suitable number of years", Saal mein din rahein 365, aur Tum roj khao ek Raj Kachori!

That is:

"May you live an appropriately suitable number of years, May the year have just 365 days, and May you get to gorge on a Raj Kachori (a delightful Indian snack) every other day"

                                                                                                                    

Fightalot Thinkalot Smilealot

Once upon a time, there was a Great kingdom. It was ruled by the honorable and just King Greatalot. The people in his kingdom lived happy, prosperous and peaceful lives.

The king had three sons: Fightalot, Thinkalot and Smilealot.

The king loved all three of his sons equally but as he grew old, he started worrying about who should be his heir. He couldn't decide who could be the better king.

He discussed this issue with his council of ministers, and concluded that the three princes should be tested for their ability to rule. It was decided that each of the three princes would be given 3 months to rule the kingdom. The king and the council of ministers would observe their rule closely and decide on the future heir of the kingdom by the end of the year.

Being the eldest one, the first chance was given to Prince Fighalot.

Now, before we go further into the story, we need to know more about our first candidate. Prince Fighalot was born in the initial years of King Greatalot's reign. His developing years were spent watching his father strategize and ruthlessly fight through scores of battles, winning wars and conquering new territories. Obviously all this had a strong impact on the prince's personality. He grew up to become a fierce fighter and an expert swordsman much admired by the military generals and the Kingdom's armed forces.

So, within three days, the new King Fightalot soured relations with neighboring states. Within three weeks, he decided to mount an attack on one of these states that had otherwise had peaceful relations with our great Kingdom. Fightalot inspired his army of soldiers by taking to the front lines and through his clever strategies. Though he won after 6 weeks of ferocious battle, the kingdom lost a lot of men to the war, attracted thousands of refugees from the defeated state and left the economy in tatters.

The next chance was given to Prince Thinkalot.

Now Prince Thinkalot was brought up during the consolidating years of the kingdom. The King spent most of his time holed up in a room discussing trade and economic policy with his council of ministers. Obviously, this had an impact on the developing prince. He became an introvert, spending his days learning about finances and other policies.

The new King Thinkalot spent most of his days and nights holed up inside the palace. Only a select few ministers and traders were occasionally invited to meetings that would go on for hours and hours on end.  He was as such perceived to be authoritarian king, ruling through a small coterie of advisers, and for all purposes invisible to the people at large.

Even so, by the end of his third month, the economy of the kingdom had started showing strong signs of revival, ambassadors had been sent to neighboring states to placate and reassure them of the king's peaceful stand, and work had been started towards rehabilitation of those affected by the war.

The last contender for the throne was Prince Smilealot.

Prince Smilealot grew up in the years of prosperity. The king had started working on improving relations with neighboring states. There were lots of parties, summits and festivals that were celebrated with gusto throughout the kingdom.

As such King Smilealot became very popular with the general public very fast. Riding high on the strengthened economy left by his predecessor, he lowered the taxes, visited the neighboring states, showered gifts and freebies for all. It was as if there were a party everyday! By the end of his third month, though the economy had started to stagnate, the new king had won over the people and the neighboring kingdoms with his charm.

Even as King Greatalot and his council of ministers began to mull over who should be the next king, Greatalot's health began to deteriorate. Unfortunately, the king died without naming the heir to the Great Kingdom...

A few hours after the King's death, a large fire breathing dragon came out of nowhere, and the entire kingdom was burnt to ashes leaving all its inhabitants dead...

.

.

LOL..Just kidding, leave out the "Dragon and the Kingdom burning to ashes" part...

To Be Continued...