IPL Players are Cows & Donkeys

IPL is business. Team owners are merchants. And, players are cows and donkeys. I thought everyone understood this. But, no! This became especially true with the furure in India and steaming from the other side of the border.

The IPL is a 100% business venture. The teams are owned by businesspersons from India and abroad. The owners think they can milk the cows and use the donkeys to carry loads. The owners go to the market to buy cows and donkeys. They go to the market, browse over the stalls and would check out all the animals on display. However, they are not bound to buy every cow and donkey they check out.

The merchants buy animals when they find some value in it. If there is rumor that a particular staple has mad-cow virus, no one is going to buy a cow from that shed. Do you need more explanation?

In this backdrop, it is extremely unlucky that Indian media made too much noise. The hoopla was unwarranted and pathetic. What do the media have to do with a private business process? What is the point in calling IPL a 'mafia'? Why do people of Pakistan think they were snubbed?

Do cows and donkeys cry if they can't find any takers? There were as much as 66 cows and donkeys for sale. Only a dozen were sold. The rest have to go back to their homes. It is normal. If there aren't buyers, there is no point in crying 'I am not sold' – especially from the part of a horse, donkey or a cow.

It is also unfortunate that top level politics is involved. Even office bearers of responsible institutions raising furore and creating chaos. The least I understand is why people of a country are taking to the streets? Do sellers protest if they can't sell their animals?

Powermat Home & Office - Wireless Recharging No Longer a Joke

I first thought about it as a practical joke. Now, I see you can actually recharge your Blackberry, iPod and Nintendo – all at the same time. The Powermat PMM-HO100 Home & Office is here (to stay or not – I don't know).

Magnetic inductive charging of portable devices is the thought behind this product. Actual users of the product already have positive things to say. Less clutter, fewer wires and possibility of charging multiple devices at the same time are positives. You don't have to plug anything in.

The magnet also draws the devices to the right position. Hey, that is a cool feature. Isn't it?

The power shuts off when the device is not charging. It saves some energy and money for you. This also should attract the green customers out there.

The current price is $99.99, which I think would go down in the coming months or at least years. It also comes with optional accessories like Powermat Receiver Case for iPhone, Powermat Receiver Panel for Nintendo DSi, Powermat Receiver Universal Powercube and possibly more.

For more details and photos, go to PCMag.com review.

For shopping, find it on sale at Amazon.

Acer Recalling (Some) Aspire Notebooks

Acer has issued a voluntary recall notice for some Aspire notebooks, because the microphone cable overheats.

Acer has voluntarily instituted a safety recall program to proactively replace the microphone cable in the affected units to eliminate any risk of overheating.

I still wonder how a microphone cable can overheat. The Acer Aspire models in question are AS3410, AS3810T, AS3810TG, AS3810TZ and AS3810TZG. Check this if you have one.

At Kashiwa Cafe, You Don't Get What You Pay For

Found a cool story of a Kashiwa Mystery Cafe, where you won't get what you ordered or paid for. Instead, you get what the person before you has ordered.

I thought it was a cool idea to replicate outside Japan and around the world. I honestly think the idea behind this Japanese restaurant is cool and can be copied everywhere.

The official rules of the restaurant include:

For the record, here are the rules of the Ogori cafe:

1. Let's treat the next person. What to treat them with? It's your choice.
2. Even if it's a group of friends or a family, please form a single-file line. Also, you can't buy twice in a row.
3. Please enjoy what you get, even if you hate it. (If you really, really hate it, let's quietly give it to another while saying, "It's my treat…")
4. Let's say "Thank You! (Gochihosama)" if you find the person with your Ogori cafe card.
5. We can't issue a receipt.

And, for photos and a firsthand experience, check this out.

Thank You Danny Boyle

...for basing Slumdog Millionaire in India and not somewhere in Africa. Your film has given India a new brand image and Bollywood to the global central stage. Everyone knows it is not an Indian film, but you have touched so many Indian myths in a way no Indian ever could. And with just one film, Indian artists bagged more Oscar awards than they could manage in several decades. Lagaan came close, but as you said in your film, Everything is Written.

'India is now the centre of the world and I am now at the centre of the centre' – I don't know who put that dialogue in Salim's mouth. With the film, it really has happened.

I wonder if you really have a golden tongue, Midas touch or something extra ordinary. Why else should India be in the focus of the world because of an English film? Why else should A R Rehman's better creations don't make it to anywhere near the Oscars while a mediocre number win two of the most coveted awards of the world? How else could Rubina Ali fly to America?

Although some fools have assumed it is India's culture or something making it to the world's centre stage, no one can deny your one film has given brand India a new lease of life. Call centre operators pretending to be from somewhere in London or Los Angeles is no new news. The poverty, child abuse, and gangland are always there. The celebration of any victory is not new here. However, no one has ever seen a dream working out the way Slumdog Millionaire did.

I really wonder if the story within the film or the story of the film is more captivating. They two merge so seamlessly that it is really hard to separate the dream run of Jamal in the film and of the film in the world.

Sorry Mr Boyle, I originally intended to bash you for showing the most disgusting and disturbing sights. I also intended to bash you for selling dreams too good to be true. You have already proved the dreams of slums to world's centre stage can be true for Rubina, Azharuddin, and a few others. Everything is written – I take a bow!

Stop Attacking Girls & Women, Now!

Since Mangalore pub incident, it is getting increasingly disturbing to read about the unholy practices of distorted Hindu activists – Sri Ram Sena to be precise. The different attacks against women at public places are an insult to the constitution of India. They are attacks on personal freedom and liberty.


They are attempts to control women in the name of history, culture and religion. Only Taliban did it. Hindus never did it and the hooligans distorting Hinduism this way should be dealt with strongly and brought to before law.

These attackers are not defenders of culture, but only a bunch of distorted fanatics driven by several motives including jealousy – jealousy of not being able to form meaningful social relationships.

Any attempts to curb personal freedom must be met with strong arms. As we have seen, no government is there to protect the people. The evidence is Nov 26, Mumbai. Here too, the onus is on the general population to come together and to deal with the issues as it should be.

Young men should unite in the name of personal freedom. You can't let anybody take away your freedom in the name of religion or culture.

Nowhere in the world, except maybe for Taliban have I seen anything like glorifying attacks against women. However, today in India, a bunch of distorts are more than ready to attack women – that too in the name of Ram and Culture.

If they are defending a culture, it is not India's. I have read hundreds of stories from Hindu epics. Nowhere have I seen anything like anybody attacking women.

Even Ravana didn't touch Sita, even though he has captured her. Bhasmasur didn't attack Mohini. Wherever women are attacked, it was disaster for the attackers and their nation. If India's custom has been to respect women, how come these hooligans attack helpless women and claim it as an act of defending your culture.

Hey hooligans – by attacking the helpless young women, you bring shame to Ram, Hinduism and India.

links:

15 YO school girl commits suicide

Chief of Sri Ram Sena, Mr Muthalik is all set to receive truckloads of pink panties on Valentine's day and the collection center has to be shut down because of influx of 19,000 panties for Sri Ram Sene in one day.

Mangalore refuses to forgive Sri Ram Sena

How to Earn Big with Today.com VIP Blogging Program

Today.com offers a blogging platform, where bloggers are paid for the posts they publish there. I will tell you how to take maximum advantage of the program offered by Today.com.

There are two types of payments

1. For the first 30 days, a post of more than 100 words fetch you $ 1 each.
2. 1000 page impressions fetch you $2 each.

The $1/post is applicable for the posts you make for the first 30 days only. Make use of this option and you make $ 30 straightaway. Make a blog post a day, every day for the first 30 days.

If it is not possible, make five or ten posts a day and edit the timestamp for the days to come. You can timestamp for future dates only and not backwards. That is, you can timestamp today's post for yesterday. However, you can timestamp today's post for later today, tomorrow or next week.

Make use of this timestamp feature if your blogging is irregular, but wants a regular output. Remember, press 'Publish' button after editing timestamp and not 'Save' for the post to be automatically published when the time reaches.

However, you need to make a minimum of $50 to get paid. That is, only if your blog attracts significant traffic can you get paid. Thus, it is important that you pick a popular topic, which gets attention. You should also be passionate about writing on the topic on a daily or at least twice-a-week basis.

I have seen several 'get paid to blog' platforms. However, none of them promises to pay for the first posts you make. You have to work hard on developing traffic to your blog before you can get paid.

Today.com VIP Blogger program is the only thing I have ever seen to make such a promise of paying you up front and not having to wait for a lifetime to see some cents in your account.

All my posts have been approved for payment and I expect to reach $50 mark sooner than later. Check out my today.com blog at kerala.today.com