The Arguments within

Are these really cost-saving decisions? :-- 1) To have pirated softwares to run the computer systems. 2) To have duplicate, counterfeit parts installed in the systems when the originals are available in the market. 3) To put ‘unauthorized person’ (somebody whom the manufacturers of a device do not certify) to attend or service the device. 4) To replace the device with a human substitute when the device has become dysfunctional. 5) To deny communication , even a ‘BCC’ or ‘CC’ labeling of messages to certain recipients , all for the only reason of cost-savings, ! (where purposefulness is not questionable, only the cost) 6) To refuse communication to ship’s other staff by the Master or other management rank, with the office management in the name of cost incurred! 7) To “enforce” rules like switching off the lights, using the stationery items precariously, etc to say -- cost saving! 8) To hold cost-saving at higher regard than “safety first”, for example in a decision to lay-off regardin...

Alternation and Duplication are two widely known methods of handling breakdowns on board ships. The concept of managing ship equipment and machinery talks mainly of the PMS only, which is the Planned Maintenance System, and, maybe, never talks on the breakdown maintenance of devices. In fact the ISM and other regulations such as ISGOTT have such heavy hurdles in place that no intelligent ship-staff will want to call repairs as his forte, if his ship-owners are a truly regulations-compliant people. Filling the forms, risk assessments, following-up the manuals, skills of the crew, -- these all are discouraging to achieving the repairs of any device or even the simplest of pipelines repairs. therefore the two methods talked above have been resorted to. In fact the cost incurred to achieve Alternation and Duplication (A&D) appears to be taken up for recovery by method of crew size cut-down and minimal stoppages or lay-offs Intelligent ship-owners will also appreciate that they can neve...

Not to endorse the Rakhi Sawant work, but i still see many of our people scared of taking bold acttions only because it might bring them to public glare, which they deem to be 'unwanted' . Earlier, in my child hood days, coming (appearing) of Doordarshan was a big public achievement for people. But, in the days post the media-revolution, people have started becoming scared ..well, some of them. While the rest have taken roads to celebrity-hood. What's immature in our social outlook towards media-attention, our in-depth understanding of the power of media as the fourth estate(the fourth pillar) of Democracy??? In ruralistic outlook, whose denizens replete our armed and police forces, the lacking knowledge of media-mangement as a celebrity maker and the cornor-stone of democracy leads to all sorts of internal game-bit to happen. We Indians have always been criticised for our crab-mentality, or the leg-pulling activities where ourselves scathe the progress and advances of ou...

Characteristics of reasoning minds: It is my general observation that people who are very reasoning are: 1. Very sleazy in their thoughts. They don't like to get chained by any imposed class of thoughts, not the least the social taboos. Therefore, they are endless, thinking the unthinkable. 2. Consumers of some addictiv product like cigerrettes, or tobacco, etc. Their minds are running like jet planes all the times. Hence they stomach needs it's fuel continuously to keep the acid level low. 3. Very argumemtative and hence more disliked by others. Being reasoning, have opinions on most matters. therefore, have a tendency to break the previously held beliefs, thus making a huge league of those who dislike them. 4.

The Global Position Satellite navigation system is an indispensable part of a modern seafarer's life. On a sidetrack , navigation used to be carried out by Star-gazing in the days of yore. The sextant, a star sighting instrument, was invented by the Chinese, although most of us Indian maintain that we taught the world the art and science of Navigation. My personal quest into how the art and science of navigation came to human kind has yet indicated the we Indians would only do a river navigation, which was called 'Nav gath' in Sanskrit which perhaps is the etymological base for the Navigation. But river navigation, which harnesses 'terrestrial navigation' is vastly different from ocean navigation, which uses the 'celestial navigation' . Celestial navigation is the first place where the need for chronometer, or a time measuring device, was first felt by mankind. The purpose was to be able to measure the movement of sun across the longitudes. The "long b...

Most people in Indian Merchant Navy are wary of one particular breed of Technical Managers( aka Superintendents) . And that is the Indians themselves. It is humorous to find that quite many of us are aware of some problem existing in our management approach, although we believe that it is in someone else among us but not me. We realize deeply that the Indian style of management focus a lot on exacting hard work from people, so much that where there is no work, we begin to feel uneasy for not getting opportunity to do our most cherished thing..the hard work! It is agreed that all the arguments that would stand in favour and against our desi notion of Hard Work, ..(Hard work key to success, Hard work can win all battles, Foreigners do more hard work than us, ....and so on), the idea of slow and easy approach is completely abhored by our such the (someone-else-) Managers. My close friend just now rang me up from China, to tell how hard his life has become, on the same ship on whic...

Private adult tapes :- to the question of future of the protagonists Private videos of common civilians in their compromising positions have become replete on internet these days. With digital camera becoming a toy device in every person’s hand, the most secretive life of people is coming to public light in galore. Sometimes I feel elated that to the students of human psychologies it is opening doors of some new frontiers, and sometimes sad as to what would be the public life of people who have been caught up in those videos. Almost all people I meet are enthusiastic about seeing those tapes. But many of them feel utterly disgusted with other people who see or talk about them, because of a natural fear rising in own mind of themselves falling victims of infidelity some day. The instantaneous thought of own family’s women member getting caught deters most of such people to ever appreciate, comment, or discuss such videos. Therefore this lot of people are always in disgust and denigratin...

( a letter written to appeal against strict, zero-tolerance, D&A policy in some of the shipping companies ) Dear Sir, This is in response to the “zero tolerance” drug and alcohol policy implementation, which is getting a little too merciless on seafaring community as though to make an austere saint of us! The sea farers in the days of yore were the outcast, convict people with immense skill and desire to live and survive. Perhaps they savoured all the taste of women, wine and ate away all the dodos of this planet, feeding their will to live more in the rigorous’t of ocean waves. Then suddenly dawned upon the mankind the rule of “Governments”, which captured the “companies” for un-social and environment un-friendly policies. A new era of “Drug and Alcohol” abuse came upon the ravelling sea-farers, which I agree was and is, a need of the hour to check more damages to the seas and oceans, from happening. It tamed the sea-farers slowly into the family-people who started to crave for mo...

A sheer mis-carriage of justice by the apex court of India. Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Bloggers-can-be-nailed-for-views/articleshow/4178823.cms I understand from this news report that the SC has yet only attempted to put accountability of their work on the bloggers. Whether Ajith is really guilty or not would be another case to follow. I have no qualm on this. But, holding a blogger, Ajith in particular, guilty would be a severe injustice to the liberties of any educated man. India is a land of half-minded people. Sample this: Ronen Sen is summoned to the parliament for speaking "Headless Chicken", which, in reality had no great allusions! The MPs thought it was aimed at them! The books on shivaji by a foreign author showing a local hearsay are banned alleging that he is defaming Shivaji! MF Hussain's paintings are protested against! Now where will an intellectual man, like Computer Engineer or student, show up his creativity, if not on the net!? whe...

The problem that modern women are ‘ The essence of a woman is that she is the one who teaches men what loving and caring is all about . ’ -- Miss Universe Shushmita Sen when winning her pageant crown India is basically a nation of faiths. People are ritualistic-religion oriented. The women society is still, by and large, into talking on upcoming festivals, the successes of their husbands, the achievements of their children, the food n clothes they have lately themselves bought, relationship between- other people, neighbourhood, etc. Afterwards, they privately put their shared information on a comparison against each other. Quite often they have reasons, some very possessive, or protective reasons for doing this comparisons. Like, they don't like their ward to lose out, defeated, down played by the rival woman. This process is very commonplace in our society, setting another source for envy, or female-induced competition amongst men and children alike. Children are mostly a true an...

Slumdog Millionair This movie is surely a wonderful work. I hold firmly the belief that there is more -ve to our life than we actually speak. Infact our problem is that we like to see only the +ve things, because of which we have higher sensitivity to reject the -ves. (incidentally this is also one of the points raised in the movie when Jamal asks Latika why do people watch this KBC.)we are a terrible cultural broth. We seek happiness by flying away into an illusion of happiness through/'created by' our movies. We cannot accept the truth. Dharavi is a real place in the real city where those reality- inspired shots of child molestaion, limb mutilation, alms seekers/child-beggers, cheats, thugs, murders have been taken.Just that the movie, a little too far, upholds the indian belief in Fatalism, whereby it almost confirms to us all that " d:it is written"..(the option 'd' of the question "if u suddenly become a millionaire" --- raised at the start of t...