Food, technology, cars and Startups.
I finally got to see a zebra upclose.
1. they stink! &
2. I now know if they are black with white stripes or white with black stripes. 
The key is to look at the inside of their legs. The black spot is actually their base color. So the zebra is black with white stripes.
Mind blown! 🙂
A blog in my earlier site had explored Indonesia. Decided to write up something again:
The History of Indonesia or more precisely of the Indonesian archipelago in South East Asia with 17,508 islands goes back to Homo erectus (popularly known as the “Java Man”). There have been found fossilized remains of about one million years ago.[1]
Austronesian people, who form the majority of the modern population, came to South East Asia from Taiwan. They arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BCE. The native Melanesian peoples went to the far eastern regions.[2] The agricultural conditions were very good. When wet-field rice cultivation was developed as early as the eighth century BCE,[3] villages and towns developed. And small kingdoms began to flourish by the first century CE. Indonesia’s sea-lane position helped international trade. There was trade with both Indian kingdoms and China already several centuries BCE.[4] Trade has since fundamentally shaped Indonesian history.[5]
The nutmeg plant is native to Indonesia’s Banda Islands. It is so valuable, that European colonial powers were attacted to Indonesia.
From the seventh century CE, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished as a result of trade. Hinduism and Buddhism were imported with it.[6] In the late 13th century, the Hindu Majapahit kingdom was founded in eastern Java and under Gajah Mada, its influence stretched over much of Indonesia; this period is often referred to as a “Golden Age” in Indonesian history.[7]
During the 13th century Islam spread to the in northern Sumatra.[8] More and more Indonesian areas gradually adopted Islam. By the end of the 16th century it was the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra. But it mixed with existing cultural and religious influences.[9]
The first Europeans arrived in Indonesia in 1512, when Portuguese traders, led by Francisco Serrão, sought to monopolize the sources of nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku.[10] Dutch and British traders followed. In 1602 the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and became the dominant European power. But Dutch control stretched not very far. Only in the early 20th century it extended to borders of today.
Sukarno, Indonesia’s founding president
During the Second World War the Dutch lost control and in August 1945, Sukarno, an influential nationalist leader, declared independence and was appointed president.[11] After some fights the Netherlands formally recognized Indonesian independence in December 1949[12] (with the exception of The Dutch territory of West New Guinea).
Sukarno moved from democracy towards dictatorship. But Sukarno lost power to the head of the military, General Suharto who was formally appointed president in March 1968. He was supported by the US government,[13] and encouraged foreign direct investment in Indonesia, which helped economic growth during the following thirty years.[14] But his rule went along with corruption and suppression of political opposition.
In 1997 and 1998, Indonesia was the country hardest hit by the Asian Financial Crisis.[15] This increased popular discontent with the New Order[16] and led to popular protests. Suharto resigned on 21 May 1998.[17] In 1999, East Timor voted to leave the state of Indonesia, after a twenty-five-year military occupation.[18] After Suharto’s resignation democracy improved. A regional autonomy program was introduced, and the first direct presidential election took place in 2004. But some political and economic instability has remained.[19] A political settlement to an armed separatist conflict in Aceh was achieved in 2005.[20]
The history of Indonesia has been shaped by its geographic position, its natural resources, a series of human migrations and contacts, wars and conquests, as well as by trade, economics and politics. Indonesia is an archipelagiccountry of 17,000 to 18,000 islands (8,844 named and 922 permanently inhabited) stretching along the equator in South East Asia. The country’s strategic sea-lane position fostered inter-island and international trade; trade has since fundamentally shaped Indonesian history. The area of Indonesia is populated by peoples of various migrations, creating a diversity of cultures, ethnicities, and languages. The archipelago’s landforms and climate significantly influenced agriculture and trade, and the formation of states. The boundaries of the state of Indonesia represent the 20th century borders of the Dutch East Indies.
Fossilised remains of Homo erectus and his tools, popularly known as the “Java Man“, suggest the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited by at least 1.5 million years ago. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the modern population, are thought to have originally been from Taiwan and arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BCE. From the 7th century CE, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished bringing Hindu and Buddhist influences with it. The agricultural Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties subsequently thrived and declined in inland Java. The last significant non-Muslim kingdom, the Hindu Majapahit kingdom, flourished from the late 13th century, and its influence stretched over much of Indonesia. The earliest evidence of Islamised populations in Indonesia dates to the 13th century in northern Sumatra; other Indonesian areas gradually adopted Islam which became the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra by the end of the 16th century. For the most part, Islam overlaid and mixed with existing cultural and religious influences.
Europeans such as the Portuguese arrived in Indonesia from the 16th century seeking to monopolise the sources of valuable nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku. In 1602 the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and became the dominant European power by 1610. Following bankruptcy, the VOC was formally dissolved in 1800, and the government of the Netherlands established the Dutch East Indies under government control. By the early 20th century, Dutch dominance extended to the current boundaries. The Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation in 1942–45 during WWII ended Dutch rule, and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement. Two days after the surrender of Japan in August 1945, nationalist leader, Sukarno, declared independence and became president. The Netherlands tried to reestablish its rule, but a bitter armed and diplomatic struggle ended in December 1949, when in the face of international pressure, the Dutch formally recognised Indonesian independence.
An attempted coup in 1965 led to a violent army-led anti-communist purge in which over half a million people were killed. General Suharto politically outmanoeuvred President Sukarno, and became president in March 1968. His New Order administration garnered the favour of the West, whose investment in Indonesia was a major factor in the subsequent three decades of substantial economic growth. In the late 1990s, however, Indonesia was the country hardest hit by the East Asian Financial Crisis, which led to popular protests and Suharto’s resignation on 21 May 1998. The Reformasi era following Suharto’s resignation, has led to a strengthening of democratic processes, including a regional autonomy program, the secession of East Timor, and the first direct presidential election in 2004. Political and economic instability, social unrest, corruption, natural disasters, and terrorism have slowed progress. Although relations among different religious and ethnic groups are largely harmonious, acute sectarian discontent and violence remain problems in some areas.
I came across a very interesting concept and started reading about it:
The Engel Curve.
In microeconomics, an Engel curve describes how household expenditure on a particular good or service varies with household income.[1][2] There are two varieties of Engel curves. Budget share Engel curves describe how the proportion of household income spent on a good varies with income. Alternatively, Engel curves can also describe how real expenditure varies with household income. They are named after the German statistician Ernst Engel (1821–1896), who was the first to investigate this relationship between goods expenditure and income systematically in 1857. The best-known single result from the article is Engel’s law which states that the poorer a family is, the larger the budget share it spends on nourishment.
Engel’s law is an observation in economics stating that as income rises, the proportion of income spent on food falls, even if absolute expenditure on food rises. In other words, the income elasticity of demand of food is between 0 and 1.
The law was named after the statistician Ernst Engel (1821–1896).
Engel’s law does not imply that food spending remains unchanged as income increases: It suggests that consumers increase their expenditures for food products in percentage terms less than their increases in income.[1][2]
One application of this statistic is treating it as a reflection of the living standard of a country. As this proportion — or “Engel coefficient” — increases, the country is by nature poorer; conversely a low Engel coefficient indicates a higher standard of living.
More Details:
Income consumption curve is the locus, in indifference curve map, of the equilibrium quantities consumed by an individual at different levels of his income. Thus, the income consumption curve (ICC) can be used to derive the relationship between the level of consumer’s income and the quantity purchased of a commodity by him.
A nineteenth century German statistician Ernet Engel (1821-1896) made an empirical study of family budgets to draw conclusions about the pattern of consumption expenditure, that is, expenditure on different goods and services by the households at different levels of income.
The conclusions he arrived at are still believed to be generally valid. According to Engel’s studies, as the income of a family increases, the proportion of its income spent on necessities such as food falls and that spent on luxuries (consisting of industrial goods and services) increases.
In other words, the poor families spend a relatively large proportion of their income on necÂessaries, whereas rich families spend a relatively a large part of their income on luxuries. This change in the pattern of consumption expenditure (that is, decline in the proportion of income spent on food and other necessities and increase in the proportion of income spent on luxuries) with the rise in income of the families has been called Engel’s law.
Though Engel dealt with the relationship between income and expenditure on different goods, in order to keep our analysis simple we will describe and explain the relationship between income and quantities purchased of goods. However, both types of relations convey the same information about individual’s consumption behaviour as in our analysis of Engel’s curve; the prices of goods are held constant.
The curve showing the relationship between the levels of income and quantity purchased of particular commodities has therefore been called Engel curve. In what follows we explain how an Engel curve is derived from income conÂsumption curve. In our analysis of Engel curve we relate quantity purchased of a commodity, rather than expenditure on it, to the level of consumer’s income.
It is worth noting that like the demand curve depicting relationship between price and quantity purchased, other factors remaining the same, Engel curve shows relationship beÂtween income and quantity demanded, other influences on quantity purchased such as prices of goods, consumer preferences are assumed to be held constant.
For deriving Engel curve from income consumption curve we plot level of income on the Y-axis and quantity purchased of a commodity on the X-axis. Consider panel (a) in Fig. 8.26. Given the difference map representing the preferences of a consumer and the prices of two goods X and Y, ICC is the income consumption curve showing the equilibrium quantities purchased chased of a commodity by the consumer as his income increases from Rs.300 to Rs. 400 and to Rs. 500 per day. It will be seen from panel (a) of Fig. 8.26 that when income is Rs. 300, given prices of goods X and Y, the consumer is buying OQ1Â quantity of the commodity.
In panel (b) of Fig. 8.26 in which level of income is represented on the vertical axis and quantity purchased of commodity X on the horizontal axis we directly plot quantity OQ1Â against income level of Rs. 300. As the income increases to Rs. 400, prices of goods remaining constant, the budget line in panel (a) shifts outward to the left to the new position B2L2Â with which consumer is in equilibrium at point S and the consumer buys OQ2Â quantity of good X.
Thus, in panel (b) of Fig. 8.26 we plot quantity purchased OQ2 of commodity X against income level of Rs. 400. Likewise, as income further rises to Rs. 500, budget line in panel (a) shifts to B3L3 and the consumer buys OQ3 quantity of X in his new equilibrium position at T. Therefore, in panel (b) of Fig. 8.26, we plot OQ3 against income of Rs. 500. Thus equilibrium points constituting the income consumption curve in consumer’s indifference map have been transformed into Engel curve depicting quantity-income relationship.
Each point of an Engel curve corresponds to the relevant a point of income consumption curve. Thus R’ of the Engel curve EC corresponds to point R on the ICC curve. As seen from panel (b) Engel curve for normal goods is upward sloping which shows that as income increases, consumer buys more of a commodity.
The slope of Engel curve EC drawn in panel (b) of Figure 5.26 equals OM/OQ where AM stands for income and AQ a for change in quantity demanded of good X and has a positive sign. It is important to note that the slope of the Engel curve in Fig. 8.26 (panel (b)) increases as income increases. This indicates that with every equal increase in income, expansion in quantity purchased of the good successively declines.
This upward-sloping Engel curve with increasing slope as income rises depicts the case of necessities, consumption of which increases relatively less as income rises. For instance, in Fig. 8.26 when income is initially Rs. 300 (= M1) per week, the quantity purchased of the good X equals OQ, and when income rises by Rs. 100 to Rs. 400 (= M2) per week he increases his consumption to OQ2, that is, by quantity Q1Q2.
Now when his income per week further increases by Rs. 100 to Rs. 500 per week, the quantity consumed increases to OQ3, that is, Q2Q3which is less than Q1Q2. Thus, an Engel curve drawn in panel (b) of Fig. 8.26 the quantity purchased of the commodity increases with the increase in income but at a decreasing rate. This shape of the Engel curve is obtained for necessaries.
The Engel curve drawn in Fig. 8.27 is upward sloping but is concave. This implies that the slope of the Engel curve (ΔM/ΔQ) is declining with the increase in income. That is, on the Engel curve of a commodity depicted in Fig. 8.27 the equal increments in income result in successively larger increases in the quantity purchased of the commodity.
Thus, in Fig. 8.27 at income of Rs. 300 the consumer purchases OQ, quantity of a commodity. The increase in income by Rs. 100 to Rs. 400 results in increase in quantity purchased of the commodity equal to Q1Q2. With the further increase in income by the same amount of Rs. 100 to Rs. 500, the quantity purchased increases by Q2Q3Â which is larger than Q1Q2.
This implies that as a consumer becomes richer he purchases relatively more of the commodity. Such comÂmodities are called luxuries. Examples of luxuries are air travel, butter, costly woollen suits, air conditioners, costly fruits, etc.
In case of inferior goods, consumption of the commodity declines as income increases. Engel curve of an inferior good is drawn in Figure 8.28 which is backward bending indicating fall in quantity purchased of the good as income increases.
An extreme case of an Engel curve is a vertical straight line as drawn in Fig. 8.29. This represents the case of a neutral commodity which is quite unresponsive to increase in income. The Engel curve of the shape of a vertical straight line shows that a person goes on consuming the same amount of a commodity whatever the level Commodity X of his income. For example, the quantity of common salt purchased by a family remains the same, determined as it is by food habits, with the increase in their income.
I have read, from various sources, how Southwest is a people centric organization – and considering their stock symbol is LUV, I thought this was the most touching story for a long time. Kudos to the pilot.
It’s easy to be an airline industry critic in an era of “no waivers, no favors” and fees on top of fees. It’s easy to paint airlines as heartless corporations that treat us like self-loading cargo.
But every now and then, you hear a story that turns you into an adoring fan. Like Nancy’s story.
Before I continue, I should mention a few things: Nancy is a faithful reader of this site, and I agreed to use only her first name because of the brutal nature of the crime and the age of the victim. Second, I’m not an emotional, John Boehner-type, but I can’t read her story without getting a little teary.
So you’ve been warned: Grab a tissue.
Last night, my husband and I got the tragic news that our three-year-old grandson in Denver had been murdered by our daughter’s live-in boyfriend.
He is being taken off life support tonight at 9 o’clock and his parents have opted for organ donation, which will take place immediately. Over 25 people will receive his gift tonight and many lives will be saved.
This morning, after only a couple hours sleep, my husband and I began to make all arrangements to get him to Denver to be with our daughter. He is currently on business in LA and is flying Southwest.
While his employer, Northrop Grumman, made arrangements to get his ticket changed so he could get to Tucson today (which he had to do in order to not spend any extra money) I called Southwest to arrange his flight from Tucson to Denver so he would be stepping off one plane and getting on another.
He has several free flights with them so I couldn’t really do it on the website. The ticketing agent was holding back tears throughout the call. I’m actually her step-mother and it’s much more important for my husband to be there than for me to be there.
In LAX, the lines to both check a bag and get through security were exceptional. He got to the airport two hours early and was still late getting to his plane.
Every step of the way, he’s on the verge of tears and trying to get assistance from both TSA and Southwest employees to get to his plane on time.
According to him, everyone he talked to couldn’t have cared less. When he was done with security, he grabbed his computer bag, shoes and belt and ran to his terminal in his stocking feet.
When he got there, the pilot of his plane and the ticketing agent both said, “Are you Mark? We held the plane for you and we’re so sorry about the loss of your grandson.”
The pilot held the plane that was supposed to take off at 11:50 until 12:02 when my husband got there.
As my husband walked down the Jetway with the pilot, he said, “I can’t thank you enough for this.”
The pilot responded with, “They can’t go anywhere without me and I wasn’t going anywhere without you. Now relax. We’ll get you there. And again, I’m so sorry.”
My husband was able to take his first deep breath of the day.
I don’t know any other airline that would have done this.
I’m speechless. Twelve minutes many not sound like a lot to you or me, but every second counts when you’re an airline. Southwest can turn an entire plane around in about 20 minutes, so 12 minutes is half an eternity.
I shared Nancy’s story with Southwest, and a representative said the airline was “proud” of the way the pilot had held the flight. Again, most airlines would punish an employee who holds up the line for any reason.
My Monday post is normally called, “Can this trip be saved?” But today I’m sharing a trip that was saved amid tragic circumstances by a compassionate pilot and an airline that supported his decision to hold a flight.
Good work, Southwest!
I couldnt figure out what i should put in the topic, but the very fact that i cracked up while cycling is somthing of importance.
Last evening was extremely pleasant. Took some time off, went for a nice concert and then went out with a group of folks from different nationalities.
There are those moments that you start thinking about, and yearn for them. Well, this morning was the culmination of one of those moments. Last week, the gas got over at home and then the entire week was spent eating out. As a kid – you think – oh its going to be so cool when you can just go out and eat all the time, but seriously, after 4 days, i was dying for the gas to be delivered just so that i can have home cooked food. Its either the lack of drowning oil, or simply the lack of artificial flavors and rich spices that makes home cooked food bearable and guilt free, but none the less, the greatest loss from the lack of a gas cylinder was the simple fact – microwave tea! – which i must warn you, after a while gets pretty sad.
I came across this rather interesting article published by dell, targeted at the SMB market.
http://tinyurl.com/3yu2ell
If you’re a small or medium business owner with more than one computer, it’s time to consider investing in a server. A server will keep your data secure and organized and will help you run your business more efficiently and professionally. If you’ve reached one of the 10 thresholds below, a server could do your business a world of good:
1. You Have More Than Two Business Computers
The bottom line is, if you need two or more computers in your business, then it’s time for a server. By storing and organizing data in a core location, you’ll be able to access and share files easily and manage business information more efficiently.
2. You Have More Than One Employee
A server enables your employees to share software tools and access company databases on-site and off-site. As your business grows, you’ll be able to better manage additional computers and software applications and better control which employees and devices have access to certain information.
3. Your Customers Think Your Business Is Owned by Go Daddy
If you’re still using a Web site hosting company like Go Daddy®, then it’s time to upgrade to your own server. Hosting your own Web site and email system presents a more professional image and enables you to conduct business more easily by consolidating email accounts.
4. You or Your Employees Conduct Business Outside the Office
If you work from home, travel frequently or have a mobile workforce, a server will allow you and your employees to remotely connect to your company network and access information and resources no matter where you are.
5. You’re Tripping Over Cords
If you have two or more computers that share access to peripherals, such as printers and fax machines, it’s time for a server. Not only will a server help you eliminate the mess of excess cords, it’ll also help you save the cost of buying them.
6. You Can Never Find That Master Document When You Need It
If you share documents between multiple computers, you run the risk of losing important files and of having multiple versions of vital documents. A server will help you manage your files and provide a centralized location for you to store and organize important documents, so that you always have access to what you need, when you need it.
7. Your PCs Are Old and Grumpy
Whether you want to replace your old PCs or help them function better, a server can help you. A server makes the migration of files from an old PC to a new one a cinch, and freeing up memory and storage offers a welcome break to older PCs that are loaded down with data.
8. Your Computer Crashed and You Lost Critical Data
If you have valuable files and data that can’t be replaced, a server will help protect them from loss and corruption. You’ll be able to back up information easily and restore files that were accidentally deleted or misplaced. You’ll almost never have to worry about a crashed hard drive wiping out your system again.
9. You Want to Protect Information from Unauthorized Users
A server will allow you to restrict access to sensitive information, such as financial records and personnel information, by storing it away from prying eyes. It will also allow you to better manage firewalls and virus protection, especially when you have a mobile workforce.
10. You Want to Improve Communication with Employees and Customers
A server enables you to easily add platforms — such as customer relationship management (CRM) software and accounting programs — which allow you to schedule group meetings, share information, and manage clients and vendors. It also allows your employees to send group emails and faxes, and organize customer contacts and customer data in one location.
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personally – i think its a cunning ploy to scare people into buying unecessary infrastructure. While the world and its neighbor is moving towards hosted services and clouds, pushing a first time business owner to install a server simply because there are two employees is sad and moreover pathetic.
Windows it pushing that the file share services is good, where you can share folders etc, so why invest in a server?
The points outlined in the article show that a company / startup / small business should first look at hosted services and then when they are too big for hosted services – they should invest in their own infrastructure. instead the article has flipped the schema the other way and proposes own infrastructure from the beginning! WTF?
the doctors told me that i need to lose a significant amount of weight. so i went on this excercise routing, where i did loose a lot of fat first. So after mch stress and hard work, this is how i looked
To boost that, i fell ill, and lost even more weight. 🙂 so this is how i look now. 
Over the last two weeks, things have been on a bit of a roller coaster for me, in the health department specifically. Been battling fever every now and then, and finally i got run down by the fever bus. But all through this this, my wife has been awesomely supportive and not a hint of anger, frustration or even angst about how my health was going. She patiently drove me to the doctors, gave me cold compresses and gave me “healthy food”, usually making it specifically for me. When I had to finally get admitted to the hospital, I did feel a sense of relief, with the fact that she can now relax and there were nurses to run around and take care of me. But yet, she spent the nights in the hospital, and went to work during the week, and followed the whole routine.
I came back home on Saturday, and i was most worried about being a burden on my wife, but i was most amazed with the energy with which she handled everything, and had the energy for more. Making juice, food, bringing me the tabs. etc etc. One thing typhoid (or whatever I am suffering from) does is drain you so bad that brushing your teeth looks like a herculean task. So with the way I see her zipping around, only two things come to mind,
a) Thank you god for giving me such an awesome life companion and
b) I married superwoman! 🙂