I have been looking to do some 3D art for a long time now. 

Finally, I found something I absolutely loved.

Sculptris is free and awesome software for sculpting stuff. And after playing around with it for a day, here is a stylized version of the predator from the crap movie "Predator" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (I hope I got his surname right).

Supposedly, this design file can now be fed into a 3D printer and I could have a small figurine of the guy. If I am able to spare the around INR 7 lakhs needed to buy the cheapest 3D printer possible, that is!

And finally, one in gold!!

• Try to request people to participate in at least one of your surveys every year (maybe twice). Do not forget to post a reminder (or two) saying how desperately you need it.

• Try to post at least one album full of pictures where everyone in sight is wearing a business suit; no problems if it's June.

• Try to give us some expert comments every time our Government is on the verge of making a much publicized policy decision. e.g. FDI, Nuclear deal. Preferably align with whatever the US/Europe happens to be pushing at the time; not that you will ever feel the need to do otherwise. 

• Keep sending us some links to articles that happen to rank your alma mater favorably. If there happen to be no such lists (:P), try posting some which talk about some excellent initiatives that have been taken instead (hint: Dainik Jagran).

• And last, but not the least, as an MBA student, it's part of your social responsibility to keep educating half-literates like me. So keep posting fantastic tidbits of knowledge filled with MBA jargons that make me gasp in wonder. Accentuate the effect by having your classmates comment in equally incomprehensible literature.

P.S. I never did an MBA. Nor am I an aspirant.

Do not get me wrong. I have but the utmost respect for people learning so much more. Just because I dropped out half literate doesn't mean I cannot appreciate that.

And any intended offence caused is humbly apologized for.

Man will always be a man. There is no new man. We tried so hard to create a society that was equal, where there'd be nothing to envy your neighbor. But there's always something to envy. A smile, a friendship, something you don't have and want to appropriate. In this world, even a Soviet one, there will always be rich and poor. Rich in gifts, poor in gifts. Rich in love, poor in love.

- Danilov, Enemy at the Gates.

Inequality is here to stay. There has never been an equal world, and there will never be one. That said, I believe that almost all human beings operate in a self constructed notion of fairness (I do not have even the most basic education of human psychology). And yes, that includes your corrupt politician, terrorist or the sabziwala giving you 950 grams instead of a kilo.

Of course, it includes you and me. I will give you an example. Most people I know inflate a few bills when it comes to filing their income tax returns, read rent. They are all very honest people. Some will perhaps donate considerably more than what they save this way to charity. Most will return the extra money to the shopkeeper if he has made a mistake. Quiz them why they do what they do and they will tell you that it is only fair to save some hard earned money rather than give it to a corrupt government which will pocket a chunk of it anyway.

I find it a bit difficult to fathom how anyone could be comfortable with the idea of being a villain. Hence, I can only conclude that it is this same customized sense of fairness that drives what we do; often things which really aren't fair. 

Maybe Salman thought that it was only fair that he could shoot a black buck for a little fun after some grueling shooting schedule, of what use are the animals anyway? Maybe Mr. Bachchan thought it was only fair to declare himself a farmer to get the land for a farmhouse, he was going to do some cultivation on it anyway. And maybe Mr. Praful Patel decided that with him being the aviation minister, it was unfair to not have a business class flight on the route to his home town, even when the airline was bankrupt and no one else would fly business on that route.

Now take the example of our very own Mukesh Ambani's billion dollar most expensive home Antilla; which incidentally, is the ugliest possible construction in the world, atleast on the outside. It somehow violates the simplest possible notions of geometry. Ms. Nita Ambani however, makes a poignant, heart touching story of how it is their only home in the world, how they live on the top floors of the 27-storey structure in the quest for a little sunlight and how like a perfect doting housewife, she tries to put up a smiling face at the end of the day when her husband comes home. Well, you mean after he has climbed 20 something floors with that tummy of his? Just kidding, I'm sure Mr. Ambani can afford an elevator just to get into his parked car (probably would, a few years down the line :P).

Mr. Ambani's abode does not seem all that unfair if you want to believe that he has put in his talent and hard work to earn such obscene amounts of money and choose to ignore that a vast chunk of his wealth has been earned off exclusive access to oilfields and natural resources in the country. Incidentally, Mukeshbhai allegedly obtained access to those not by providing the end products at cheap, reasonable prices but by generously bribing much of the parliament.

So, I will give you a better example. Coca Cola or Pepsi, as most of us are aware, costs less than a rupee per 300ml bottle to manufacture. You and I happily pay 10 bucks for the same. Well, the rest of it goes to marketing ;as they say, to pay super rich celebrities to tell us that it really is a cool product. Well, when you justify the 7 bucks with feel good terms like marketing, brand positioning etc, it sounds okay. But when I consider the fact that I bought a product that cost a rupee to make and someone spent 7 rupees just to tell me that it is a cool product, I do feel stupid, even if a little bit. More importantly, is it fair to ask a 700% premium on a product?

The whole point in all this junk is a question that I often ask myself. Is it fair that Mukesh Ambani's opulence happily co-exists in a country where billions of people cannot afford the basic daal-chawal every day? The pepsi comes in because it cannibalizes a market where rich educated aristocrats (and the wannabes, you and me) could be drinking say, lemon soda manufactured by some agro-industry somewhere in the country. It could have been sold for 5 rupees a bottle. But the educated, socially aware Indian who lights candles in protest of certain social ills and discusses "death sentence for rapists" on facebook, is happy to pay the 700% premium on the bottled beverage and contribute to the "trickle-down economy" as some would call it, rather than more ROI 5 rupees to a road side vendor. Is that fair?

Do not get me wrong here, though. The one thing that I am not trying to ask, is for Mukeshbhai's wealth to be distributed among the needy, just like that. In fact, to a certain degree, I agree with Ayn Rand's theory of objectivism, and agree with the concept of the  free market in principle. I am the firmest believer that people should not be given anything for free, because it acts as a deterrent to motivation to work hard, which, at the end of the day, is what creates value in a society. In principle, everyone should have an equal opportunity to succeed in a free market, and whatever product holds the greatest value should be the one to succeed. In a real free market however, this is hardly the case. Because the humble 5 rupee lemon soda, though holds more value, is significantly less likely to succeed.

Most forward thinking Indians are against all forms of caste based discrimination, right? Why? Because we, in all our brilliance conclude that it is grossly unfair for someone to be entitled to something by virtue of birth. Why then, is Mukesh Ambani entitled to an Antilla, which needless to say, he wouldn't have gotten close to had he not been Dhirubhai's son? Why is then Rahul Gandhi, in some dark day, destined to rule India by virtue of being the heir of a family? Or why then, does flop show Abhishek Bachchan get movies at all?

And why then, is a beggar's son destined to not go very far, despite what his IQ, EQ or such other Q's might be, while I get to drink a coke for which the Salman Khan's get paid 70%, because they are telling me that coke might help me jump off a cliff?

Now, is that fair?

There was this time when he felt like a spark....
There were these moments when he could feel electricity inside.
When he felt like a live wire..

Today, he feels like a light bulb.
There are no electric patterns anymore;
He radiates a dirty yellowish light.
Ever responding to the flick of a switch.

No one really needs a spark,
Not many can live with one.
Everyone needs a light bulb.
Most cannot live without none...

Why then on some lonely nights.
When the switch is open,
And there is a queer calm all around,
Does he long to be the spark again?

And why does the line spin in his head
Barely noticed, but always there...
Like a small old wound that never healed right
I was not born to do this.....

One good thing about me switching jobs is that I eventually make a post out of it every time. Thus happened with IBM, Samsung and now Cisco. In retrospect, that is kind of expected. A quick jot of the reasons would look like this:

1. I get loads of time to kill. Wait. Loads is an understatement; its more like Mountains.

2. The Internet speed has improved from College to IBM to Samsung to Cisco.

3. More of alone time leads to more philosophy (not essentially better).

4. I kind of miss the old environment (read people I used to work with) and this point should have been clubbed with the previous one.

5. An entirely new set of females in and around the campus has the creative juices flowing. No pun intended here!

6. Every time I switch, I realize that despite the trillions of pages, there is only so much internet that you can browse.

The body of the post is not related to the title in any way, it's just that the title keeps rolling over and over in the back of my mind as I type.

To end, I would like to say that I find the updated blogger interface decent; this being my first time using it.

Finally, I would really really appreciate if anyone is kind enough to drop a comment, just to let me know that people do still visit my blog.

You are the same

And I haven't added fame (sadly)

The same is my mood

And I still cook my food (I wish)

The same stays my money

And no one calls me honey (still)

I still walk to work

And I still have no perk (Team lunch twice a year doesn't count)

My flat is the same

The same stays my name

There's still traffic on the way

And I'm still late every day

The same jokes people still crack

And HR's still say, "Let me call u back"

My Manager still sits at my rear,

And people tell me "HAPPY NEW YEAR"?????????????

[Consider reading this before you proceed]

Badam became very fond of movies in a very short time. So I decided to take him for Ra.One. As luck would have it, we reached early and Badam started asking me questions again.

Badam: What does Ra.One mean?

Me: It's a sci-fi movie. Ra.One is the name of a Robot.

Badam: So it means nothing. Finally a name that is just a name.

Me: Not really. It stands for random access one.

Badam: What is that? Are they connected somehow?

Me: Not even remotely. Dude, it's just a name.

[The crowd that had turned up was huge]

B: It seems to be a really good movie. So many people have come.

Me: You bet.

B: The acting must be amazing.

Me: Don't bet on that however. Heard SRK plays a Southie nerd who can neither manage the accent nor a believable nerd characterization.

B: Ohh, the story must be amazing then.

Me: Nay, the story doesn't make any sense.

B: Oh, I get it. It's sci-fi. The special effects must be great!

Me: I think everyone here has seen far better special effects; courtesy Hollywood.

B: Why are we here then?

Me: Dude! It's SRK! We have to prove he is bigger than Salman.

B: How come?

Me: You don't get it do you? Salman made a movie that didn't make any sense. It was a blockbuster. Now it's our turn to show them who the star is.

B: But it doesn't make sense either. Anyway, what are we going to gain?

Me: [exasperated]. You materialistic savage, not everything is about gain. There is something called loyalty. [I am furious by now].

B: [mumbling] I don't quite understand....

B: Okay, tell me what I am supposed to say at the end of the movie?

Me: How about this? "I enjoyed Ra.One. I don't know what people are complaining about. Anyway if Bodyguard can be a hit, so can Ra.One".

B: Did you read that on facebook?