India Nuggets: Happy Republic Day

January 26 is India’s Republic day, the day in 1950 that we chose to be a republic. As a modern republic and nation state, India is today 57 years old.Some interesting guardedly optimistic readings to celebrate, and thank those that preceded us, for what they built (and a hope that we don’t screw it up).

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Global Rich List: How Rich Are You?

Ff you thought the world was getting richer, you probably thought so because you were getting richer. This Global Rich List calculator tells you where your salary puts you on the global pecking order - in absolute terms.
Now, absolute numbers don’t mean much in a world of unequal incomes and expenses. So I figured I’d [...]

Kidney Transplants Legal in Iran

Iran, apparently is one of the few countries that allows people to legally sell their kidneys. And The Economist approves:
With proper regulation, a kidney market would be a big improvement on the current, sorry state of affairs. Sellers could be checked for disease and drug use, and cared for after operations. They could, for instance, [...]

Those Damn Foreigners - Immigration to Europe

Scribbled on a wall in Geneva:
Etrangers, ne nous laissez pas seuls avec les suisses.
Translation:
Foreigners, don’t leave us alone with the Swiss!
What’s all the fuss about? A recent referendum here that tightened Switzerland’s immigration laws, making them among the harshest in Europe according to the UNHCR. Odd then than a country that prides itself as a [...]

India’s Architecture Catches Up

My friend Gaurav pointed me to a story in BusinessWeek on India’s Modern Architectural Wonders. Good reading for a proud country.
Now if only the general quality of building design came up to these levels. And if we could get Delhi’s traders to stop violating building laws and the government to plan urban living. And give [...]

Politically Correct? Not Us Swiss!

Flying Swiss? Open the inflight magazine to their frequent flyer program. There, they describe the exclusive tiers of service - Regular, Frequent Traveler, Senator, and HON Circle. And if that doesn’t make it clear which one the true leaders aspire to, the sample cards have colors to match - blue, silver, gold, and black (or [...]

Makeover of Dweep’s Weblog

As you will no doubt notice, Dweep’s Weblog has had a makeover. I had a feeling the old scheme was not exactly easy to read or navigate. In addition to the new look, however, there’s a few other changes:

I call it ‘The Discomfort Zone’. The old name was fine for authorship, but it didn’t really [...]

The Abyss - Bungy Jumping in Valais

This past Saturday, I looked into a 190m abyss…leaped…

…and bounced back.
After effects? A certificate of insanity, a headache, eyes ready to pop out, a few million fewer grey cells, and bragging rights to a hell of a memory.
If you cannot see the video above, you can
download the entire file and watch it on your computer.

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