Rant

New Year’s Resolutions – A Status Report

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This is a status report on the resolutions I made. Let’s see how I did with my New Year’s Resolutions last year:

Successes

  1. I was able to lower my time on Social Networks – Deleted my Quora & Reddit accounts. Was able to lower my screen time somewhat.
  2. I was able to restart my donations after a break of few years.
  3. I was able to go bald for good.
  4. I took much fewer sick leaves this year. Almost all genuine.
  5. I have been FaceTiming my parents daily.
  6. I have been able to mostly maintain a healthy reading habit.
  7. I was able to close all 3 rings on my watch for 301 days straight, before Influenza derailed my efforts. Still, was able to close them at least 3 days a week. I even did my first 10k run.

Partial Successes

  1. I cut down on my Anxiety medication somewhat. There were some rough patches, but I am taking less medication now, than I was, at the beginning of the year.
  3. I was able to listen to music more. But I wasn’t able to get into new music, even when recommended by friends.
  4. I was able to cut some toxic people out of my life. Need to do more next year
  5. I was able to cut back on my alcohol consumption somewhat.

Failures

  1. Epic Fail – I did so well about not wasting money till August, then ate shit. I bought an iPad Air in August. By December, I started hating it and bought an iPad Pro 11″. In a couple of weeks, I started hating it, too and bought an iPad Pro 12.9″. Basically, exact opposite of what happened here and here.
  2. I wasted somewhat less money this year compared to before. For the first time in many years, I was even able to save some money.

Overall, I am quite happy with my progress last year. This year I am not making any new resolutions, would rather make sure I complete the ones I already made last year.

Rant

Miss Universe : A joke

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So we have beauty pageants. The most beautiful woman on earth is “Miss World”. I can get on board that. But the next level above that is Miss Universe? What a joke!

A woman who wants to be Miss Universe
Photo by Jacob Von Bank on Pexels.com

How delusional are humans to crown one of their own as Miss Universe every year? Who gave us the right?

Mankind has barely even left the solar system and we are confident that there are no females anywhere else in this universe more beautiful than the one we choose on earth? What assholes!

Also, what’s the difference between Miss World and Miss Universe? 1 planet vs 21.6 sextillion planets? Even Miss Solar System (8 planets) or Miss Milky Way (100 billion planets) would have been more humble.

What next? Miss multiverse is also an earthling?

Rant

The Fix for Indian behaviour : Lashing

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I was discussing with PC the Path finder how most Indians have a poor sense of social responsibility and civic sense. Filth is everywhere, no one follows rules. Most people think only of their own convenience, not their fellow countrymen. How even countries like Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia are better than India in this regard. During the discussion, we bumped into the solution that can fix all this. Lashing. If there’s one thing that can fix the behaviour of Indians, it is lashing.

Humiliating, public flagellation. Import some strongmen from other countries for this purpose. Train them in the art of lashing. For minor offences, mete out punishment immediately. Ask the offender’s family to witness, too.

Some examples below:

Civil Offences

OffenceLashes
Intentional Littering20 lashes, pick up litter with mouth
Public urination20 lashes, rub face in own piss
Spitting in public20 lashes, someone else spits in offender’s eye
Invading personal space5 lashes, smear shit under the nose
Public Smoking50 lashes, send to live in Delhi for 2 months during winter
Listening to music/watching videos on speaker in a public place20 lashes and destruction of phone
Farting in an enclosed public space20 lashes and tape smelling salts under the nose
Presssing the wrong direction button in a lift10 lashes and banned from lift for 1 week
After the lift arrives, asking people inside if the lift is going up or down10 lashes and banned from lift for 1 week
Civil offence lashings

Financial

OffenceLashes
Faking rent receipts100 lashes plus fine double of amount
Fake fuel bills (Car lease policy users)200 lashes plus jail
Fake driver’s salary (Car lease policy users)200 lashes plus jail
Financial Offence lashings

Traffic

OffenceLashes
Overtaking incorrectly20 lashes, car impound for 1 week
Jumping red light50 lashes, car impound for 2 weeks
Overspeeding20 lashes, car impound for 1 week
Driving with modified silencers50 lashes, put said silencer against offender’s ear and start engine
Drinking & driving100 lashes, pour alcohol over offender and set on fire
Traffic offence lashings

These are just examples. I am open to feedback.

Rant

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

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I started watching Monarch: Legacy of Monsters recently on Apple TV+. It is set in the post-Godzilla world. I found it average at best.

The Characters

The lead character Cate is super-irritating. Always crying and acting traumatised. Boo hoo I once saw Gojira kill some people. Ghau ghau, my father doesn’t listen to me. Boo hoo, I am imprisoned by a tyrannical organisation. Always doing RR. Her mother Caroline wears a permanently shocked expression on her face.

The actress playing May feels like a cheaper version of Tessa Thompson. Not because she’s a bad actor but because she is trying so hard to be like her. A few times, she gave me hope that she is dying, but refused to.

The otherwise demure artist Kentaro suddenly turns beast one fine episode, trying to break down walls of his cell with his fists. Then goes back to being like before.

Lee Shaw (Kurt Russel) is shown to be 90 years old. This is explained with “good genes I guess”. Getting kicked and punched, flying through the air from explosions. At least his acting is not irritating and he’s the only reason I saw this Season through.

The Plot

The flashbacks are cheesy. When they discover that the radiation pattern from Keiko’s findings is same as the light patterns in Bill’s paper, there was no real need to tear the page from the diary and overlay them to prove the point. And what are the chances the 2 images would be exactly the same scale and overlay perfectly?

Come on, bullshit

Why did Kyoko have an acceptance letter for Lee Shaw in the old age home?

Why did Lee Shaw stay at the old age home cum prison for decades when he already knew how to escape?

A South Korean policeman (Du-Ho) knocks out his colleague and betrays his country all the while laughing. Just because he’s old friends with Lee Shaw. How is that even possible when Lee Shaw has been interned for decades? Anyways, Du-Ho then flies a plane (alone, from Korea to Alaska), without being noticed by the USAF. Later, when a MUTO destroys his plane’s engines, he still tries to take off (without engines) grunting and screaming, as though the plane will fly from his sheer willpower.

The scenes with Gojira were great, though.

Overall, I would never have seen this show if not for Kurt Russel and Gojira.

TV Shows

My TV Shows of 2023

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I thought I would do a yearly version of this article. Below are the TV shows I started watching in 2023, TV shows I stopped watching in 2023 and TV shows I tried to watch but couldn’t. Also TV shows I continued to watch this year.

TV Shows I stopped watching

  1. Servant (Apple TV+) – Didn’t find interesting anymore
  2. Invasion (Apple TV+) – Didn’t like Season 1, really
  3. Futurama (Hulu) – Not available in Thailand
  4. Loki (Disney+) – Too much work to follow MCU now.
  5. Aspirants (Prime) – Not available in Thailand
  6. Fargo (FX) – Not available in Thailand

Shows I tried but couldn’t get into

  1. The Last of Us (HBO) – Didn’t like it
  2. The Bear (FX) – Too busy and stressful
  3. Made in heaven (Amazon Prime) – Too much drama
  4. Platonic (Apple TV+) – Didn’t like it
  5. Extrapolations (Apple TV+) – Quite average
  6. Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+) – Couldn’t get into
  7. Scam 2003 (Sony Liv) – Didn’t want to pay again for the second half of the series
  8. Grey’s Anatomy (Disney+)

TV Shows I started watching

  1. Rana Naidu (Netflix) – Average
  2. Silo (Apple TV+) – Really good
  3. Hijack (Apple TV+) – Average
  4. Gen V (Amazon Prime) – Surprisingly good

Shows I continued to watch

  1. Young Sheldon (Amazon Prime/CBS)
  2. Tulsa King (Paramount+)
  3. Little America (Apple TV+)
  4. The Mandalorian (Disney+)
  5. Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
  6. Black Mirror (Netflix)
  7. Hostel Daze (Amazon Prime)
  8. Sex Education (Netflix)
  9. For all Mankind (Apple TV+)

TV Shows I re-watched

  1. Raja, Rasoi aur Anya Kahaniya (EpicOn) – Really really good

PS: I use trakt to track my TV show viewings.

Music

Fear of the bark

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Fear of the bark (Inspired by a lesser known Iron Maiden song) was written by JD during college days around 2005-2006. It is dedicated to people with Cynophobia.

Unfortunately, there’s no known recording of it that exists anymore. Enjoy the lyrics and feel free to make your own recording/cover.

Verse 1

I am a man who walks alone
And when I’m walking a dark road
At night, or strolling through the park
When the light begins to change
I sometimes feel a little strange
A little anxious when it’s dark

Chorus

Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
I have a constant fear that doggie’s always near
Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
I have a phobia that doggie’s always there

Verse 2

Have you run your fingers down the wall
And have you felt your neck skin crawl
When you’re searching for the light?
Sometimes when you’re scared to take a look
At the corner of the room
You’ve sensed that something’s watching you

Chorus

Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
I have constant fear that doggie’s always near
Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
I have a phobia that doggie’s always there

Verse 3

Have you ever been alone at night
Thought you heard footsteps behind
And turned around, and no one’s there?
And as you quicken up your pace
You find it hard to look again
Because you’re sure there’s someone there

Chorus

Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
I have constant fear that doggie’s always near
Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
I have a phobia that doggie’s always there

Instrumental Break

Bridge

Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
Fear of the bark, fear of the bark
Fear of the bark, fear of the bark

Health & Fitness

Running Part-3

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This is Part 3 in continuation to my last post about running. The good news is, I have been able to follow my running schedule religiously over more than a year now. The only time I took a break was for a few days when I had the flu.

I have been able to increase my distance a bit since I started and am running around 18km a week.

My VO2 max has continued its upward trend, but still not reached 2021 levels and probably never will, because of age.

VO2 max from running
1 year VO2 max trend

I recently ran my first formal 10k in Bangkok, which was an exhilarating experience.

The only problem with participating in marathons in Bangkok is that they start very early (approx 2 AM for full, 4 AM for half and 5 AM for 10k). However, the atmosphere is electric, even early in the morning. There are mascots dancing, drones buzzing overhead and a live band playing.

Amazing Thailand Bangkok Marathon 2023 medal
Finisher’s medal
Amazing Thailand Bangkok Marathon 2023 medal
Finisher’s medal

Running among hundreds of people is a completely different experience compared to running alone. The distance goes by very fast and before you know it, the race is over.

Rant

Things no one told me about being bald

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Actually, no one told me anything about being bald, because I didn’t have bald friends to consult with. Below are the things that came as a surprise as part of the bald life

  • I am sub-consciously running my hand over my scalp all day. However, I don’t think this will last long.
  • I need to shave my head every 2/3 days max. If I go longer, the shaver can’t catch the hair. I had planned to shave once a week, but had to re-think my strategy.
  • It took me many days to learn how to shave correctly. The first week was full of bruises and blood and missed patches.
  • The money I was saving from not buying Shampoo and Minoxidil, I am now spending on shaving gel and aftershave.
  • Shaving the head feels like a novelty at first, but starts feeling like a chore after a few days.
  • The balder requires weekly maintenance/lubrication.
  • There’s an unspoken solidarity between hairless men on the street. A subtle head-nod is not uncommon. I have even received welcomes from bald men I knew already.
  • The head feels unprotected, especially during activities like running. It feels like if I fall, the head will crack open like a watermelon.
  • Sunburn on the scalp is real. So now, instead of Minoxidil dripping down my face while running, it is sunscreen.
  • My parents have taken this worse than I had foreseen.

Overall, staying bald seems to require more work than maintaining hair. However, bald is better than blading, any day.

Rant

Bye Bye Hair!

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My relationship with my hair (The ones on my head i.e.) has been rocky to say the least. I had mentioned before, that I hate haircuts. Experiencing hair loss for quite a few years, I had made up my mind that I will not end up like Pathetic Fool 6. In the beginning of the year, I had decided that I would exit with dignity, and that time has come.

Bye Bye Hair!

Few days ago, I made the leap and shaved all the hair off my head, for good. This was a moment I had been dreading for years, but surprisingly, the act ended up being liberating beyond measure. I can think of the following ways it has improved my life

  • No need to comb anymore. One less thing to keep.
  • No need to apply Minoxidil anymore. Further saving of money, no more low blood pressure.
  • No need to wait for the tresses to dry after a shower.
  • No need to worry about hiding the slowly-expanding bald-spot on the top of my head.
  • Haircuts are now a thing of the past. It is so liberating to shave my own head without having to speak to someone or going somewhere. Further saving of money.
  • No need to wear a cap while swimming.
  • No need to worry that wearing a helmet will squash my hair flat. Plus points for safety.
  • No need to worry that getting wet in the rain will squash my hair flat. The rain drops just roll right off.
  • Hair not getting in my eyes anymore.
  • No bad hair days.
  • No need to buy and track shampoo anymore. Further saving of money.

All in all, this was one of the best changes I made to my life and there’s no looking back.

Movies

Demolition Man

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I caught Influenza A last week. The first 2 days were so bad, I couldn’t even get up from bed most of the time. The third day, I decided to watch Demolition Man. It is a classic 90s action movie with oodles of adrenaline; about a 90s cop (Who doesn’t give two fucks for collateral damage) being put on ice and then being thawed out 30 years later. It is also one of the first movies to have predicted woke culture. Having seen it at least 20 times during school days, I decided to watch it again and see what I notice now. This follows a similar exercise that I did a while ago.

Demolition Man
Demolition Man

What I noticed

  • How does it matter if you cryo-freeze a prisoner for 1 day or for 30 years? For the prisoner, it is still over in the blink of an eye (It is later revealed in the movie that the prisoners were mostly conscious, but they didn’t know that before).
  • Why is the communication system in a robo-car called FiberOp? I would assume most consumer communication would be wireless and video service providers would be abstracted from ISPs?
  • Retina/Iris scan don’t work if the eye is severed from the head.
  • Why would handcuffs have passwords? Shouldn’t they, too, be biometric?
  • Seeing the penii of many men in a movie is not as shocking anymore.
  • Why is Lenina Huxley always typing on the police computer terminal first and then asking the same question via audio? Shouldn’t the interface be more simplified?
  • Even 20th century technology wasn’t that bad that frying 1 camera caused every camera in 6 blocks to go offline.
  • Someone saying “ching-chong” when they see people of Mongoloid descent would not have been acceptable in 2023, even if the character was a villain.
  • Why would someone (Lenina Huxley) who knows so much about the 20th century be surprised that John Spartan doesn’t know how to use the three sea-shells or have sex using a brain-machine interface?
  • They never address the topic of whether only San Angeles went woke, or the entire US or the entire world.
  • Why was there a cryo-tube in a pneumatic arm at the end-fight scene?

Overall, it is still a very entertaining movie. Stallone acts well, but the real credit goes to Sandra Bullock, who was just supreme. Especially her incorrect 90s quips like “You licked his ass” and “Let’s go blow him”.