Advances in Science and Technology !!!

Ladies and gentlemen, as you all know, research in technology and science is changing the way we live in this world. Science continues to redefine what is possible and what is impossible in our lives. While this is true in every aspect of life, in this post I am going to be focusing on one specific aspect of our lives which will never be the same in the next few decades. Sex. Science is contributing significantly to enhance (?) our sex lives, and here I am looking at a few technological innovations that might change the way humans think about sex and emotional relationships...

1. Love and Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships by David Levy I first heard about this book on Comedy Central's popular show Stephen Colbert Report, last Thursday. We all know that there exists a bevy of sex toys and gizmo that cater to the needs of many people in various walks of life. I hear that it is actually a flourishing industry with seemingly great potential for future investment and returns !!! Anyways, in this book, author Levy explores many aspects of human relationships: the reasons we fall in love, the reasons we feel a need for emotional attachments, and why these same attachments could extend to love for robots. He even goes further when he claims that humans would eventually end up marrying robots and feel emotionally satisfied. This may not surprise all of us, as we had seen Jude Law playing the role of a Gigolo in Stanley Kubrick's/Steven Spielberg's movie A.I. While I haven't read this book yet, my basis for aforementioned statements rests solely on various reviews about this book and David Levy's interview on Colbert Report. Some reviews about this book could be found http://www.powells.com/biblio?show=hardcover:sale:9780061359750:17.46 (of course you could google it as well), and his interview could be found http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/videos/most_recent/index.jhtml , and if you scroll down the section where it says new videos and look for interview with David Levy: dated 1/17/08. I hope you can find it, as it is a laugh riot. This interview starts with Colbert expressing his skepticism and contempt at the very thought of humans making love with robots (rather sex-bots, I should say), getting concerned about the role of men in man-woman relationships, and finally getting downright hilarious when he expresses his concern about the sexuality of robots as told by GOD ( for those who don't know Colbert, he is a brilliant comedian who supports Republican party and holds conservative views compatible with the GOP), and is overjoyed when he learns that one day he could get one such robot for 100$ in Best Buy !!! I must say that I was very concerned on how Colbert is going to navigate his show during this writer's strike period, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/arts/television/19writers.html?ref=business , this episode of Colbert report has given me optimism that Colbert can indeed manage the show without his key writers. However, I may have to write another post to express solidarity with striking writers, as I feel their demands are genuine and needs to be addressed.
   
2. Tech and Adult Entertainment industry ( euphemism for porn industry ) While hosting the recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Vegas also hosted the Adult Entertainment Expo. This expo was held to showcase (apparently) the advancements in the intersection of technology and adult entertainment. If Steven Soderbergh was to remake his Sex, Lies and Videotape ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098724/ ), he would call it as...yes, you guessed it right, Sex, Lies, HD Dvd and Blue Ray Disks !!! If you were to listen to porn actress Jesse Jane, she says "I like HD, it's more realistic... It's a perfect picture. It's a crazy picture it's real", more reasons for you to dump your idiot-box and get a 56" flat panel HD, if you don't have one yet. Mobile porn is apparently gaining momentum, thanks to smart phones like iPhone, and iPod Touch (what a name !!!). You could read more at http://www.cnbc.com/id/22578009
3. Reality Romps at Big Sister This is definitely the most depressing of the 3 articles I am reporting here on technology and sex. Big Sister is basically reality TV on prostitution, where the protagonists get free experience, and in return have their exploits filmed and posted on the internet. I personally hate all kinds of reality TV shows, such as Big Brother and other crap. And now you got to contend with likes of Big Sister. You can read more at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a6C0QuB5G6Ys&refer=exclusive

Certainly, we are living in Kaliyug. For every great invention and discovery in science and technology that improves the quality of our lives, there seems to be an ugly counterpart that finds a savior among us. At the end, we are entirely responsible for the decadence and destruction of our society. And the truth is, there is not much we can do about it !!!

A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

from John Keats' epic poem, Endymion, 1818

Life is full of riveting contrasts. Brightness:darkness, success:failure, happiness:sorrow, boisterous laughter:requiem, and many more... We tend to appreciate the bright side of life only if we experience or did experience the dark side at some point in our lives. Almost all the time, transition(s) from a regime of negative things to more positive things are aided by a stimulus/(stimuli) ( analogous to Newton's 1st law of motion), either exogenous or endogenous, either intentional or unintentional... For instance, to avoid a recession or a downturn in an economy, the Fed has to cut interest rates, to overcome inflationary pressures the Fed has to do the opposite. To overcome pressures from both the factors along with massive credit crunch and a possible risk aversion among investors, the Fed has to pump in $ 100 billion or more to revive ailing financial markets, as we face today http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/17/news/economy/fed_bernanke/index.htm and
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/01/17/ap4544823.html

Of course, by no means this is exhaustive. But once in a while, certain events occur that are deemed to be called special. My definition of "special" is "rare", odds of which are very close to zero, if not zero, as from probability theory, an event with zero probability is defined as an impossible event, and one that gives unbounded happiness to those who follow it. One such special event that we happened/happen to witness was/is the performance of the brilliant bunch of New England Patriots in 2007. And it didn't require any stimulus from our side. All we had to do is to turn on the telly on Sundays and savor Patriots ripping apart conventional wisdom about American Football. Sundays have never been more enjoyable !!!

Yes, winning the Super Bowl in Glendale, AZ is the big deal and big goal. That is definitely a pathway to immortality to this great team of winners. In the event of New England falling prey to San Diego Chargers or later in Super Bowl, that should not take any credit away from what they have achieved this season, as we might never get to see a team winning 17-0 in this world of salary caps and free agency. I think this is a truly remarkable feat under any standards, a feat that is tough to replicate. This is a testament to the dedication and toughness of the players, and innumerable hours of preparation that went into winning 17 games.

My great thanks to all those associated with the New England Patriots for the unparalleled entertainment they offered this year, right from Bob Kraft, Scott Pioli, the genius Bill Belichick, Tom Brady to the unsung players like Kyle Brady, Heath Evans, Russ Hochstein and all the backroom staff, who have a played a huge role in this successful year. Images that come to my mind readily include those of destroying the Miami Dolphins, outplaying the Washington Redskins, grinding out the Philadelphia Eagles and surviving the physical pounding of the Baltimore Ravens, and will stay in our thoughts for a long time to come. But if I had to name one game and one play that will be impossible to forget, that would the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the "guarantee" by Steelers Safety Anthony Smith, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22173105/
The standout play I am referring to is the "double lateral" play by Tom Brady and Randy Moss, and the eventual touchdown by Jabar Gaffney to burn Anthony Smith. Truly a sight to behold for all purists of all sports.

In this light, it is very interesting to go through what went behind in transforming one of the most under-performing teams in the NFL to the 1st dynasty of this century. This is an article that I had come across a while back that details humble roots of this wonderful organization called New England Patriots. http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2005/0919/122.html

As Bhagavad Gita says that "impermanence is permanent", like all dynasties in the past, this one will not be on top for ever. But lets rejoice the beauty while we have this moment.

Bhutto Legacy and Nawaz Sharif

On my most recent post, I had commented about political feudalism, and had briefly touched upon Benazir Bhutto blood-soaked legacy in Kashmir and Afghanistan. I want be clear that I am neither gloating her death nor sympathizing with her. I am just indifferent due to her controversial past. Definitely she is no martyr in my eyes. All this talk of wiping out Taliban, and creating a moderate Pakistan sounds good when she is not in power. But she never nudged Pakistan along moderate Islam when she was in power twice.

A column in NYTimes dated 1/4/2008, talks about Bhutto's legacy in greater detail. For those who think I am biased, take a look at the link
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/opinion/04dalrymple.html

One would be wise to note that no Pakistani politician had done anything to improve the economic status of Pakistan. It looks as if the state of Pakistan exists just to counter everything that India does. It is as if they have no direction or sense of their own. Nawaz Sharif, another comical Pakistani leader, seems to have improved the art of pimping quite well during his enforced (by Musharraf) exile form Pakistani politics. Few days back, he said he is not averse to working with Bhutto's PPP party in the coming elections. Incidentally, there was no such talk before Bhutto's death. Why would there be one, as Bhutto and Sharif hated each other !!! Now that whichever incompetent guy steps forward in the name of Bhutto is likely to win the elections due to sympathy wave, Sharif has probably realized that he doesn't stand a chance otherwise !!! A clear case of political opportunism...you can read this in the following article
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=IN&?&autono=31908

By now you might think, can people be any more shameless? I am sure you will ask this question many more times as events unfold in Pakistan :-)

A World of Unbounded Irrationality

Late Carnegie Mellon economist Herbert Simon once remarked that most people are only partly rational, and are in fact emotional/irrational in the remaining part of their actions. Prof. Simon continued that rational agents experience limits in formulating and solving complex problems and in processing (receiving, storing, retrieving, transmitting) information. This is the concept of Bounded Rationality in Behavioral Economics, which I consider as a subset of the larger, more important, Mechanism Design, for which 2007 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Leo Hurwicz, Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson. In simple terms, to be considered rational , a human/agent must be able to differentiate 2 choices, and decide why one choice is better than the other. If one can decide over 2 choices, then by induction, one can decide over finitely many choices. In reality, we hardly come across situations with infinitely many choices, an embarrassment of riches !!! By aforementioned statements, I am steering away from circular ambiguities like Condorcet paradox in elections, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_paradox .

For instance, if one is trying to find an integer approximation to 103.13, he/she can enumerate infinitely many approximate values, such as 103,104,101,1001 etc. Each number is an approximation of 103.13. But we know that 103 is the best integer approximation to 103.13, as per the Euclidean metric on real line. Hence we have the notion of utility functions, that maps the set of choices to real valued line, and utility maximization, a notion that agents look for choices that maximizes their utility functions. Different people have different capabilities in coming up with the functional form of utility functions, which is important in the quest for optimal solution(s) for a given problem. Hence society coins words like idiot, stupid etc, for those whose utility functions are incompatible with the larger society.

This post is not about Bounded Rationality, but its complement Unbounded Irrationality, a term that most of us will agree exists to a great extent all over the world. But to understand Unbounded Irrationality, one has to understand what constitutes Bounded Rationality. I hope the above paragraphs are clear in that sense. If not, it is maybe because I belong to the collection of Unbounded Irrationality :-)

The reason for my sudden angst is http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7165255.stm
OMG, I can't fathom how on earth Bilawal and a notoriously corrupt Asif Zardari can succeed Benazir in guiding a rogue nation, full of angry misguided mullahs and nefarious intelligence agencies/military, to sanity. It pains me to note that feudalism exists even in this information/knowledge driven century. To see feudalism in its ugly form, look no further than politics and Bollywood. In these 2 fields, one can come up with numerous instances where incompetent filthy people have consolidated their stranglehold for ages. It is this form of feudalism, that led me to this post. In late 1980s, when I started developing active interest in politics, netas including Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh etc. consistently proclaimed that India will be a developed nation by 2010 or 2015. As we approach 2008, I view these feudal politicians with disgust for failing to walk the talk. All those talks of being a developed country and eradicating poverty is whole load of !@#$. The sad part is our netas continue to make fools out of us with new deadline to achieve the noble goals is 2050!!! Despite these filthy pigs, we have made some progress over the years, and credit for the last decade of modest successes should go to Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Narasimha Rao, to some extent.

In cricket, a certain Rohan Gavaskar was not a regular in Team India despite being the son of an illustrious cricketer. He still had to fight his way through, and got chopped when found inadequate. Gone were the days when an incompetent Maharaja of Vizianagaram could be the skipper of a national team by default. A certain Srinivas Venkatraghavan had to clear exams to be selected for ICC elite panel of umpires, despite leading a national team and having a stellar sporting career. Similar exams are conducted to select referees and to receive coaching badges in soccer. When one is tested for competency in such mundane aspects of life, why on earth do we tolerate feudalism in politics? Lets forget an equally filthy Bollywood for now... Why not have an exam to select national leaders based on their IQ level? One doesn't have to be a Nobel laureate to be a national leader. One can be an illiterate and still be a leader as long as he has the IQ to ask the right questions, and galvanize the country by his/her vision. An example of an illiterate and great leader would be Kamaraj. An example of an illiterate and incompetent leader would be H.D. Deve Gowda. Not content with having screwed national politics, Deve Gowda is now screwing Karnataka with his son H.D. Kumaraswamy. As long as we don't have a well-defined set of guidelines to elect national leaders, we will be mired in this world of unbounded irrationality electing people like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Bilawal Bhutto etc. The fact that these netas are educated in Harvard/Oxford is not going to fool me. Do you honestly believe that it is difficult for such people to get into Harvard or any other big school? Do they have the capacity to formulate a given problem?

The only dynastic leader who deserved to be a leader is the late Indira Gandhi. Despite her mishaps with emergency in mid 1970s, it is undeniable that she was a born leader, unlike the self-anointed netas of current politics. Even Benazir, whom the western media and world considers a martyr, is over-rated in my view. Yes, her loss of life is tragic. But is her death more tragic than many innocent lives that are being lost in many countries as I write this post? In my view, Benazir was as incompetent as any other politician of Pakistan. It was during her reign, militancy in Punjab reached its peak. It was during her reign, ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits started. It was with her blessings that militant camps were built to disintegrate India. Except for a few issues, she largely continued Islamization of Pakistan and Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies that were started by Zia-ul-Haq. During her 2nd term in power, Benazir played a significant role in the creation of Taliban. When Taliban assumed control of Afghanistan, Benazir's Pakistan was one of the 3 countries to recognize it in the spineless United Nations. Ironically, it is these people, whom Benazir cultivated, who are largely responsible for her death. The current state of Pakistan, menace of Taliban, Al Qaeda and other forms of Islamic fundamentalism, could be attributed to Zia-ul-Haq, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, Musharraf and other world leaders who have supported these incometent people over the years. It is important to note that Zia and Musharraf were not democratically elected, and yet were strong allies of western leaders !!!

I write with deep pain, that despite numerous instances of obvious failures, incompetency is richly rewarded in this world of unbounded irrationality. It is heartening to note that someone in Pakistan thinks along these lines, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7165619.stm

I salute this brilliant lady Aila Hameed who is as old as me. Sadly, her voice will never be heard. Strange are the ways Democracy works !!!

Everybody Says I am Greedy !!!

No thats not the title of the next nation captivating sitcom on TBS or in any other telly. Thats probably what A-Rod might be thinking now. And I think A-Rod is indeed greedy. The way he and Scott Boras announced his filing for free-agency in the midst of game 4 of world series, and the obnoxious paycheck ( 30 million USD ) he is demanding for the next ten years, come to my mind readily. Thankfully, A-Rod is NOT asking to be paid in Canadian Dollars, taking advantage of current USD weakening against Canadian dollar !!! Its good that A-Rod and Scott Boras are not economists, and that he is not too greedy to be that greedy. :-)

Come to think of it, anyone would be out of their minds to pay what he is asking. Yes, he has piled on home runs. But he has never delivered in October, when it matters, and so has never won a ring. To compound his problems, he is rumored to have been a disruptive influence in locker rooms in the past. The way he handled himself from Seattle to Texas to Bronx has been nothing but a media circus. All his (potential) suitors should take into account that the Yankees couldn't even reach world series during his three years with them. Therein lies an important lesson. And that is, by coughing up huge packet for A-Rod, a team will NOT be able to afford other superstars that you need to win world series. Even a team like the Yankees, renowned for their bottomless bank accounts, couldn't achieve that.

The Yankees ( Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenners ) might think A-Rod is greedy too. Voila !!! Finally, the Yanks and I are on the same wave-length on atleast one topic of interest. Truly a remarkable event, thanks to A-Rod. But its very funny when the Yankees crib about A-Rod, afterall they are the epitome of greed. Nevertheless, these are good times to be a Bostonian !

Quite a few in the media have expressed their anguish and anger about this whole thing unfolding during world series. Some have used their wit to express their views. The following link is one of the funniest I had come across. I, especially, like the one connecting A-Rod, Boston Red Sox and that silly Drew Barrymore movie Fever Pitch. If you know the media circus and the sitcoms that is aka A-Rod, you will enjoy this link.

Oh btw, it also has David Letterman's 10 funny excuses for Rockies' loss to Red Sox... :-)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/071031&sportCat=mlb

Make Hay While the Sun Shines... So Loot The Loot when You Can !!!

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has collected tons of items at security check points since 9/11, from passengers who obviously hadn't bothered to check the list of permissible items. And guess what, they are available online or through retail stores at knockdown prices. This definitely qualifies as Looting The Loot, if only you have interest for these items. Some items include the usual stuff, viz. kitchen knives, cork screws, golf clubs, Swiss army knives etc. A few exotic stuff includes ninja swords, canes with knives inside (can be found at Austin and Dallas) and, hold your breath, a round Eskimo chopping blade called ulus !!!

Some weird stuff include machetes, chain saw, deer-hunting kit, and yesss lots of fuzzy handcuffs and errr, lets say other paraphernalia to spice up your nightlife if you are kinky enough to be Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas in The Basic Instinct !!!

For more details, check out
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-20727057;_ylc=X3oDMTFrZXJjazY1BF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEX3MDMjcxOTQ4MQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDZnAtdG9kYXltb2QEc2xrA2xvb3Q

An Innovative/Geeky way to Propose !!!

Since my high school days, for about a decade now, I had been thinking about innovative ways to propose to a girl. Being an old-fashioned macho romantic, I totally detest SRK's stuttering, Salman et al. 's silly style of romance. Unfortunately, it works with most desi women of modern times. Can life be any more sad??? Some girl once told me that I can't be both macho and a die-hard romantic at the same time, as according to her, one conflicts the other. Thats one of the dumbest things I have ever heard, and I had to give her a load of my infamous lip service/trash talking. Whatever happened to the old-fashioned raw and primal romance???

My earliest impressions of classy romance goes back to my days as a kid, through various Hindu mythologies. I could name Kambar's Ramayana and Lord Krishna-Sathyabama episode as two of them that impressed me the most. While Lord Krishna seizing Sathyabama, from her swayamvara, was cool, very romantic and macho, all at the same time, Kambar's poetic version of Valmiki Ramayana is simply a lyrical beauty. Kambar, one of the greatest Tamizh poets of all time, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kambar%2C_Tamil , also left an indelible impression in the Tamizh film industry, as many 50s, 60s, 70s, and even 80s movies believed in such classy romance and used to invoke many lines from Kambar's poetry. Much later, quite a few movies in both Tamizh and English had interesting characterizatons of romance that appealed to me. Some of the Tamizh movies include Indru Poyi Naalai Vaa, Kaadhalika Neramillai, Mouna Raagam and Alaipayuthey, and the most notable among the Hollywood are North By North West and Natural Born Killers.

Originality and improvisations always appealed to me wrt romance. So when I came across this news article, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070924/ap_on_fe_st/odd_crossword_proposal , I can't help appreciating this creative guy, for being so original and for making the occasion quite memorable. Romance before marriage could be a great time for all the parties concerned, and I hope men come up with more stylish and innovative ways to propose... My best wishes to this couple from Boston/Cambridge.