Life In America - part n !

 

Virtual World Of YouTube - Part 2

 

Continued from the previous post. A talking dog advertising Medicare advantage plans....

The Virtual World of YouTube!

 There was a prediction made by someone a decade or two ago that there will come a time when we will not have to hire real actors to make a movie. Their likeness will be generated and manipulated by computers to create a movie. 

That time seems to be approaching very fast. If you watch shorts on YouTube, you will see Trump dancing with Putin and Modi and you can't tell if it is real or fake; you will see parrots scolding their owners in American English; you will see kids cracking jokes like grown ups; dogs dancing with tv music shows. I don't know which software they use to create these shorts and whether these were created using AI but the effect is hilarious.

 There are also short films based on Indian epics like Ramayana with impressive gardens and castles in the background which would be very expensive to create in the real world!

JD VANCE & His Servants!

 VP Vance you are not the first one to call us indentured servants!

September 11.

 September 11, 1893 was the day Parliament of Religions in Chicago was inaugurated and one of the speakers was a young Hindu monk named Swami Vivekananda. He started his address with ‘Sisters and Brothers of America….”. His message was the message of inclusivity and brotherhood of all men. He said that just as different streams wherever they originate all lead to the same sea, all true religions lead to the same God. He spoke of tolerance of different faiths that is hallmark of the universal religion that has its origins in Hinduism. Many reporters in American newspapers had difficulty pronouncing his name yet he became a very popular speaker in many cities in America.

September 11 is also the day twin towers in New York city were attacked and destroyed probably due to vengeance by people from other nation /s as reported in the US media. That is because we don't practice what we preach. Inclusivity, equality and tolerance are missing somewhere. 

A clarification about a conversation at the courthouse

 The  year was 2003. I and my ex-wife were legally separated and were at the county’s court house with our lawyers. I was frustrated at the slow pace at which our case was progressing and wanted unsupervised visits with my daughter. Her education and her health were being affected because of supervised visits.She was eleven years old. I prefer not to go into too much detail.

 At that time it seemed my only function was to hand out money to my lawyer ( and other legal professionals) and my wife because of which I eventually became poor.

After the hearing, I was surprised to hear the lawyers talking to each other almost apologetically. One lawyer(male) usually very loud and blunt, said softly ‘my client is crazy’ and the other (female) responded ‘my client is nuts’ !

Back at my work place , while sharing with a coworker about what had happened at the courthouse, I mentioned this conversation and added half jokingly that the lawyers were talking to each other like they just had sex!   I was disappointed and after hearing that conversation, I knew that I couldn't expect much from the legal system. 

I didn't mean that they really had sex!

Kabir's couplets (dohas)

by,

Ravindra Loomba

Kabir was a saintly person born in Varanasi, India, in the 14th century. I remember reading a few of his rhyming two line couplets filled with sagely advice in my Hindi textbook in high school. Kabir used examples from everyday life and nature to illustrate his message. Recently, I came across a rendering of his dohas in musical form on YouTube.

Note: The dohas were written in a dialect of Hindi that is not common. Some of the words are not used in current Hindi. I had to use best guess based on the context without loosing the meaning and message of each couplet.

There were no automobiles or trains or phones or television in that century.

Below is my translation of a few of his two line dohas  in plain English.

1.Consuming books in this ‘mua’ (cursed?) world, nobody becomes a pundit (scholar),

A person who realizes the meaning of the two and half letter word Prem (devotional love) is a true pundit!

2. So what if you consider yourself big, like the tall tree of ‘khajoor’ (dates)

Such a tree gives no shade to the weary traveler and the fruit is very high, beyond his reach.

3. If my guru and Govind (God) were to appear in front of me at the same time, who should I worship first by touching his feet ?

Praise be to my Guru, because it was he who gave me the knowledge about God (and the path to reach him)!

4. People remember God when they are in trouble  and forget him when they are happy and joyful,

Says Kabir, if they remembered God during good times also, why would they ever be unhappy and miserable?

 5. A bee gets buried in sweet jaggery and struggles to get out by fluttering it's wings that become stuck together,

Tired and frustrated it buzzes, says Kabira, greed is not good !

6. Speak words in such a way, even when you loose control of your mind,

that the words purify the heart of the listener and your own heart as well!

7. Keep your true and faithful critic close to you, 

without using soap and water he manages to clean your image!

8. Sai (God) give me enough to take care of my family 

so I do not remain hungry nor does the sadhu who visits me (seeking bhiksa) go hungry!

9. Bathing and washing doesn't remove the filth that is in our minds,

just like the fish that smells even though it lives in water.

10. Value not the low caste of the sadhu(monk), value his knowledge and wisdom,

Just like we value the sword and not the sheath that covers it 

Some additional dohas from Kabir...(Not in the video)

11. Slowly, slowly move my mind, slowly everything happens 

Hundred pots of water the gardener pours but the fruit appears slowly only when the season arrives.

(Kabir says pouring more water doesn't make the plant grow any faster.It gives fruits only when the right season arrives. Things happen at the right time, do not rush thru any task...)

12. Maya (illusion) did not die, nor did the  experiencing mind,

      desires did not die, nor did hope 

       said humble Kabira, what died was just my  body.

13. I heard the following Kabir doha from my mother when I was less than ten years old.

I went looking for à bad person, I couldn't find any

then I reflected on my own mind, and discovered I was worse than many.

Note: the message of this doha is that do not look for faults in others because each of us has our own database/repository of flaws however hard we try to rationalize these. 

Without Comment!

 

            Protesting against I.C.E in hot weather!

Near my residence in Issaquah, Washington.

Schrodinger's Cat - Part 2

 When I wrote an alternate interpretation of Schrodinger's cat a couple of days back, it was supposed to be a humorous piece. But since then more serious thoughts regarding the thought experiment have invaded my mind. What if Schrodinger was communicating secretly about the bomb….why would one want to kill a cat to explain Quantum world, strange indeed!

And the killing mechanism is ingenious - a radioactive material that throws out an electron which is detected by a Geiger counter like device which in turn triggers a switch to open a poison cylinder! Because ordinary humans can't see an electron most of the world would remain in mystery as to who released the poison causing the death of the subject. Hollywood ? Bollywood?

Schrodinger's cat - an alternate explanation!

Schrodinger's cat is the silliest explanation I have ever encountered! A cat is in a box with a radioactive material and after a while we have to guess whether it is alive or dead ! It could be alive or dead and because of that uncertainty we say that it is in ‘superposition’ because for a while we have to say that both states, alive and dead, are true, scientifically speaking !! Until we decide to open the box and observe the cat at which point the two states merge into one, scientifically speaking, and we get the answer. 

They also say that the act of observation changes the result ! Even if the cat was getting poisoned, fresh air will enter the box and might save the cat's life !

 It could also be an attempt to blame the observer for the consequence of the cruel experiment.What if there was a human being inside the box instead of the cat ! Can we say that his life was in superposition until we decided to open the box and because we will find him toasted after a while when we open the box, the act of observation caused the result. Therefore, the observer is to be blamed!

What if this was an excuse for throwing the atomic bomb - the scientists could not decide what would happen until the bomb was actually launched and they counted the number of dead and sick people, probabilistically speaking!

Quantum indeed!

Weather Whether !

I have never experienced weather like this before !

Only a a day earlier I had walked a mile in hot sun all tired and wished I had a cap and a T-shirt on and the next day it rains and the temperature goes so low, with a cold breeze included, that it feels like God did a weather rewind and put us back in winter !! I had to take out my winter jacket again.

Weather here changes not only by the day but by the hour or even by the minute. Last year I remember walking on the Front street next to the library hoping to enjoy the warmth of the sun above when all of a sudden freezing cold breeze attacked us making me retreat into the library. On another occasion, rain pounded the pavement on Front street while a street parallel to it was all clear and sunny !!

There was even an attack by the sun god couple of years back when the power went out and many residents of the building I reside in sat in the lobby. Outside it was sweaty and hot wind ('loo') blew making one very uncomfortable. I have experienced such hot weather only in New Delhi, India. According to weather page in the local news paper, New Delhi is listed at 113 degrees Fahrenheit currently.

I live in Issaquah, Washington.

Piku - A movie review

"Piku, flush mein pani nahi hai" (Piku, there is no water in the flush tank)

                      - the starting of the movie....

                     

Shit doesn't happen. That is the theme of this movie. Literally. Director Sircar continues his light hearted and humorous look at life. From the dilapidated ruins of old Lucknow in ‘Gulabo Sitabo’ he moves to the problems of old age in modern life in ‘Piku’. 

Mr. Banerjee, a 70 year old Bengali, and his 30 year old architect daughter Piku , live together in New Delhi, India. That they live together may seem very unusual in the USA but in busy North India this living arrangement is perfectly normal. As the daughter says to her boyfriend she can't just abandon her sick dad and marry someone unless the potential partner accepts the fact that the three will live together . India is a country where family members live together in a joint family arrangement, even if they occasionally argue and fight!

Mr. Banerjee suffers from chronic constipation and he is open about it with his daughter and the servants. There is discussion about the quality and quantity of his stool at the dinner table. He leaves messages with his daughter's secretary regarding gas and semi-liquid motion embarrassing her and amusing the audience. There is a suggestion given as to how Mr. Banerjee should mount the commode in Indian style so the stool release process becomes easier. Mr. Banerjee himself mentions, during one of his informal lunch conversations. that there is a mind-body connection and stress and frustration can cause constipation. The reverse is true as well !!

Mr. Banerjee decides to drive to Calcutta from New Delhi with his daughter, a driver and a servant. Among the luggage tied to the car’s roof is a wooden commode just in case…

In Calcutta, at their mansion where his brother lives the discussion about Mr. Banerjee's constipation continues and they argue whether it runs in their family. One day, Mr. Banerjee gets the urge to take a bike ride thru the city and vanishes alone causing much worry amongst the family members especially his frustrated daughter. But he returns after a while safely and has the best potty experience of his life!!!

Mr. Banerjee didn't want to die inside a hospital tied to tubes and instruments and so he passes away peacefully on his bed in his home. Close to his daughter. There is a budding romance between the daughter and the owner of a taxi service and so the boyfriend is omnipresent in her life in the second half of the movie.

A Prayer....

 There are wars in progress, people are vanishing from their homes, murders and potential assassination attempts are occurring according to news reports. To some people this might be business as usual, but is it ? In the lonely dark nights of winter it seems like evil has descended upon the planet if you add to this mix your own personal problems, but the warm sunlight of approaching summer makes this depressing state almost tolerable!

Therefore, it seems appropriate to repeat an ancient Hindu prayer:

Aum bhur bhuvah swaha….

May we meditate on the effulgent light of one who is worshipful and has given birth to all the worlds, may he guide the rays of our intelligence towards the path of good !

Circles & Squares: A new approach!

By,

Ravindra Loomba 

In high school, we learnt that the area of a circle is Pi (π) times square of its radius(r). I had no clue as to the origin of this formula (π• r squared). All of us learnt it by rote. It was a fundamental formula someone discovered, we rationalized.Just as the formula for the area of a square whose each side equals r is (r times r).

However, recently  I spent some time thinking upon this formula and the mystery unfolded. The formula doesn't seem that mysterious now. If you draw a square with each side equaling 2r, which contains four equal squares with each side r , then the area of the circle with radius r inscribed within will be slightly bigger than the area of three of these squares. Actually, the area of this circle will be 3.1416 times the area of a single square of side r! That is the original formula we mentioned in first para, where the number 3.1416 is represented by the special character π.

With this information we can deduce the areas of squares and circles much easily. If we know the area of square then the area of the circle inscribed within is 78.54 % of the area of that square.

Moved!

 The three movie reviews 'Twelve Angry Men', 'Andhadhun' and 'Chalo Dilli' have been moved to Movies Review blog accessible from the Menu option at the bottom of this blog.

The story 'Mr. Tan's Bicycle ' is now in the science fiction blog accessible from the main menu below.

About Social Security.....

by,

Ravindra Loomba

Social Security is a term interpreted differently in some parts of the world as compared to its implied definition within US. In plain English, the phrase simply means that people are secure in their 'social' environment!

Therefore, it is not surprising that when I mention to a relative outside USA that we have social security, his response is 'all of us are secure here as well' !. He is interpreting the phrase according to its meaning in plain English.

Within USA, Social Security is a government agency that provides financial security to retired, poor and disabled people by making funds available to them provided they meet certain criteria. The current working population pays taxes called FICA which is a flat tax of about 6.2% deducted from their salaries which funds all different programs of Social Security mentioned above.

A worker making USD 50,000  a year will pay about $3,100 as FICA in that year.

A worker making USD 100,000 a year will pay about $6,200 as FICA in that year.

I have paid fair share of  FICA during my working years as a software professional.....

                               MEDICARE 

[Note: FICA and MEDICARE taxes are in addition to the Federal and State Income taxes].

In addition to FICA (see previous post), there is an additional flat tax of 1.45%  for Medicare that each employee pays and is directly deducted from their salaries each pay period. The Medicare tax funds the health insurance benefits provided to retired and people with disabilities ! 

A person making USD 100,000 a year will pay $1450.00 in Medicare taxes in that year !

The total of FICA and Medicare taxes is 7.65 % .

M E N U

Messages From The Author - Please Read (updated May 25 , 2022)

Money, Credit Cards And Savings(October 19,2018)

My Views On Software And Computers

The Cosmos In My Own Words (Updated July 25, 2018)

Science Whys And Hows !

Hollywood And Bollywood Reviews (Updated Feb. 28,2023)

In The Hopper - Review Of Favorite Books, TV shows... (Updated June 13, 2021))

My Essays On Life(Updated Nov 22,2017)

My Poems(Updated Aug 22, 2019)

Humor And Cartoons

My Digital Art

My Digital Movies

Fables - Some Ancient Some New (Upuudated

My Science Fiction(updated November 16, 2018)

Tales From Splitsville! (updated  June 17,2018, 2018)

Notes On Immigrating To USA

The Original Blog