Dastardly Attack On Democracy

February 15, 2019 Happenings

It was ironic, on the day when the entire world was celebrating an emblem of freedom and democracy there was a reprehensible suicide attack carried out on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway at Pulwama in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, India. It was an explosive-filled vehicle that was rammed into the convoy and the Pakistan-based Islamist terror outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammed, has taken responsibility for this dastardly act which has resulted in over 40 casualties. I collectively stand, shoulder to shoulder in grief with my fellow citizens in offering my condolences to the soldiers who laid down their lives for their nation. I’m not only hurt but also angry by this mindless stunt of sabotaging our democratic rights and freedom. I sincerely hope that every individual responsible for the planning, logistics and execution of this cowardly deed would be brought to justice, sooner than later.

We, the citizens of modern society, proudly advocate the values of freedom and believe in the advantages of global peace & security, in whose absence mankind has suffered in an endless loop of struggle, conflict & survival. The state actors who commit brutality on a democratic society do not believe in the worthiness of a strong & harmonious nation for all humanity, rather, they openly justify the assault on freedom for their own vested interests and falsely driven radical ideologies. These state actors spread misinformation by forcibly suppressing the truth to divide our society and inject their violent doctrine amongst us. But time and again, the ultimate truth and beliefs have strongly prevailed over these inordinate forces.

Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise that despite countless attacks on her innocent souls, be it the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2001 J&K Legislative Assembly or the 2016 Uri attack, whenever radical terrorism has challenged & attempted to clamp down on the democracy and values for freedom India has triumphed over tyranny and falsehood with her vast & diverse society, it has emerged unscathed, proven herself much stronger and highly resilient for her adversaries! Even in this melancholic moment, I am certain that a nation which has stood on the tenets of morality, equality, truth and justice for humanity, will prevail over this misadventure once again. Jai Hind!

Bigger Screen iPhones? I’m Not So Sure

February 13, 2019 Design
Bigger vs Smaller iPhones
The iPhone 7 (left) and the iPhone SE (right)

Apple’s current lineup of the XS, XS Max and XR iPhones sport bigger screens, that has made me wonder about the practical use for large screen phones which are increasingly becoming unwieldy due to its rounded corners. Has the form finally exhausted its potential and it’s time to bring back the flat edges?

I got my first iPhone in 2010, which was the iPhone 3GS introduced by Steve Jobs in 2009 and unarguably the best iPhone that I have owned even by today’s iPhone standards — if you ignore the SE’s sleek design, including being super portable, in which, Apple dovetailed the potential of communication, music and an internet platform, in a light-weight, user-friendly form factor that fit snuggly into my pant pocket and just as easily removable, though I wouldn’t say it was easier to hold.

Now, admittedly, none of those first generation iPhones had any of the high-tech or hardware splendour that Apple today is cramming into every single new version of the company’s most successful product, TouchID, FaceID, etc. Even the camera on my then 3GS, for instance, was a mere 3 mega pix (mp), it took some decent pictures for me although can’t compare that with the current phones which are insanely high-quality in not just the resolution but the video quality as well. I thought the camera had been sufficiently enhanced with the SE giving it a 12mp and better picture quality and what another practical use of a good resolution image is unless it’s satellite imagery of a secret military installation? Bottom line, a camera isn’t tempting enough for me to invest a fortune into the iPhone.

Practically Small, Not Glamorously Bigger!

For me, it has been less about the bigger hardware (form) and more about the technology (functions) which the iPhone packs into its palm-sized brick shape. The TouchID, for instance, has been a great feature in speeding up the sign-in process, not only within Apple’s own eco-system which consists of iCloud, App Store, and Apple Pay on iOS and macOS but also for the humongous size of its app universe. Much recently, Apple introduced Password AutoFill using iCloud Keychain (also allowing third-party password managers) – also using TouchID, to fill your login credentials in Safari and the rest of the other apps. The experience is not near to perfect, moving in an out of the app depending on the app architecture, but it nevertheless removes the stress of remembering and copying/filling passwords. Of course, another platform that predominantly uses the advantages of TouchID is Apple Pay for secure payments. And now, even Apple is acknowledging its support for old generation (smaller) phones with the iOS 12, that may not remain so in the near future. In all of this, there’s one thing that has stood out for me quite evidently – the bigger screen sizes of the iPhones which have now become a standard feature are no longer validated proof of good design. It’s how the whole package works.

I have always surmised that it’s the technology within an iPhone that makes the iPhone experience truly the best for me. Even if it’s still a smaller iPhone SE which I have recently owned and cherished for its overall design effort.

A Winter Storm Is Blowing Through Toronto

January 29, 2019 Happenings

Having landed strictly from a tropical lineage AND having successfully achieved the distinction of surviving the frosty winter of Canada so far, I can speak with a certain degree of authority that winter storms are a unique feature of this country’s culture. Needless to say then, any discussion surrounding the Canadian winter is incomplete without mentioning the word ‘storm’. Just like the monsoon season which brings the city of Mumbai to its bare knees and drives the life of the common man to a complete nightmare, we Canadians, have been blessed with heaps of wintery snow raining to bring our individual lives to a dead end. Likewise, the storm that is sweeping parts of Ontario and GTA as I write this piece has wreaked more havoc today than its usual share with no sign of stopping so far, and it is soon going to be followed by a ‘polar vortex’ — one that is going to be much brutal than what came in 2014.

The ice storm this winter (some reports called it the “Alberta Clipper”) is definitely massive with the snowfall predicted to be at 15-25 cms for a single day and bringing temperatures down to the -40s. However, those figures sound lame when you read what happened two decades ago, during another such massive ice storm of January 1999. It was so severe that the then mayor, Mel Lastman, had to summon the help of the military in Toronto (and got squarely ridiculed for his decision) after the city saw a whopping 118 centimetres of snowfall in the first half of that month! Gosh, I can’t even imagine how that much snow must have felt on the ground.

Though, as I began to look deeper for more facts they continued to unravel itself. I realized it was in fact, the snow storm back in the December 1944 which was the harshest in the city’s history — it took 16 lives in Toronto, and 21 in Ontario overall. It seems we might be staring at yet another record-breaking heavy snow storm this time around.

Continue reading…

How Nintendo Named The Iconic ‘Mario’

January 1, 2019 General
Mario - A True Gaming Icon

We have all known Mario and his rescue efforts since childhood. Despite its deep-rooted admiration and fame, it is reasonable that an average person may not likely associate with the eponymous gaming icon from the classic Mario franchise of platform games, though it’s very unlikely that no one would even recognize this iconic mascot even if they aren’t gaming. There are distinctive features to its figure which cannot be missed like the red t-shirt, the blue overalls with yellow buttons, an unmistakable moustache, and to (literally) top it up, the most recognized signature symbol…yup, I’m talking about his red cap with the ‘M’ logo. He’s playful, joyful with a cute pretence for an actual plumber, Super Mario was a significant part of my growing up era and being popular with my generation, he instantly became synonymous with the activity of gaming itself. Glad to experience those moments once again on my Nintendo Classic but that apart, I was able to discover a small piece of history behind the culmination of its name and it was mind-boggling!

In the early 80s, Nintendo had rented warehouses in New York for establishing its US headquarters and the owner of the business park was visiting the warehouse to collect overdue rent when he started berating Minoru Arakawa, President of Nintendo of America in front of employees. At the time, Nintendo was developing the famous arcade platform game Donkey Kong which had a character called ‘Jumpman’ who must dodge and jump over obstacles to rescue a damsel in distress called Pauline. After this rather discourteous display of temper, Arakawa and the developers decided to rename ‘Jumpman’ after the landlord who was called Mario Segale, also because the character itself resembled the suspenders-wearing Italian-American. If there was an instance of killing someone with kindness this one takes the trophy!

Original Donkey Kong arcade gameplay with Mario saving Pauline.

Looking Ahead To A Glorious 2019

December 31, 2018 General
2019 and Calvin-Hobbes

Before I address the elephant in the room called 2019 I must confess it has been a pleasurable 2018, which started dull like the rest of its predecessors but ended on a high note! Though, unmistakably, it’s also a peculiar time of the year today — the year’s last day, which has always pushed me to take stock of the events as I wade through the memories of the bygone era.

New Year, New Beginnings

A new year is like a bunch of 365 fresh pages to channelize infinite energies into writing new chapters, ones which couldn’t materialize in the past year. I always endeavour to accomplish something novel — 2018 was the proving grounds and 2019 is not going to be different at all. However, 2018 was overwhelming in many ways, in which, it felt like it were a ride on some dreamlike magical rollercoaster. To begin with, I became a proud father, while my consulting practice rocketed to greater heights with new ventures, I came across some great reading material as usual that reinforced my belief in my ‘innovation by design’ principles, and I got to experience the latest in PS4 gaming with Lara Croft’s newest treasure hunting. On the downside though, I had to convey my goodbyes to some longtime friends and colleagues although a few new ones joined me in my journey, so in a nutshell, these consequent ebbs and flow enlightened my moments in 2018.

Cannot Wait for 2019

I believe I have emerged stronger, more optimistic and conscious of my purposes thanks to 2018. It was similar to climbing the summit of a mountain, then descending, and preparing to mount another big one, and continuing on the trail until I discovered the spot where I truly belonged. Of course, in this adventure, ‘change’ has been my best ally and I truly believe that the returns of 2018 would continue flowing well beyond 2019 as well, unchanged and quadrupled in volume. So, may the positivity, the knowledge-seeking, and the abundance of joy and happiness also continue to come to everyone’s life. Fingers crossed and hoping for the best and Happy New Year to you all!

Source: Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for December 26, 1993