Should I add this to my Scotch Collection? I’ve never had this Scotch before so I need to find a local place where I can try this variety first..
I’m getting an iBaby instead (for anyone asking if i’m getting an iPad)
ABC’s of Religion
I got this from The Lost Symbol.. Religions A, assure salvation, B - believe in a precise theology, and C, converts non-believers.
Hinduism is not a religion. It doesn’t fit the bill!
Creative
The Wikipedia definition of creative is:
Creativity is a mental and social process involving the discovery of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts. Creativity is fueled by the process of either conscious or unconsciousinsight. An alternative conception of creativeness (based on its etymology) is that it is simply the act of making something new.
My definition is simply - “someone who creates something new” is creative.
I had a long drawn out debate about a comment I made that “People in India are not Creative”. What that means to me, and hopefully to the readers, is that “Generally, people in India are not driven to Create something new”. It is not a knock on my people. It is just a reality that I have observed. A simple way to look at it is the following. We have a solid foundation for Math and Science in our educational system (or so it is believed) and a large number of young students get into Software Development or the IT field. How many Indian Software companies can you name? I’m talking true Software companies that sell a branded software product like a Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, or a smaller outfit like Norton or McAfee. Resist the temptation to throw our names like Wipro or InfoSys as most would regard these as services companies. Wipro used to stand for Western Indian Products - for inquiring minds.
Anyway, the point is not simply that a large number of software developers should have lead to at least a reasonable number of Software companies. The point is that the trend is quite widespread across other industries. The creation of new products and companies in the US is to some degree driven by the desire to create the next big thing. It is not simply a matter of “not working for the Man”. Creativity is an integral part of a civilizations realization or desire to build on what has been done already. We refer to India as part of the Developing world - not by co-incidence, but by lack of definition. I remember hearing once that “India is not a developing country, but rather a highly developed country in an extended state of decay”. I found that to be a very profound statement. How can we refer to the US as a developed country in it’s very short history, and refer to India as a Developing country in it’s rather extensive history? The problem is that we tend to think of things as very black & white - and that’s where we mis-step. Being creative is either a luxury or a necessity, depending on your perspective. On the ‘Global Creative Index’, India is listed as 41 out of 45 countries that made that list. The question I ask is, why would someone be creative if their lifestyle doesn’t support it. I think in the US, creativity is driven by the fact that we have the luxury to experiment and have the tools to build on top of what’s been done before, and we have the luxury of being able to survive. The education system here, flawed as it may be, provides the necessary tools to influence ones future direction. The educational system in India, from what I read, lends itself well to educating yourself, but not truly learning. It encourages people to memorize and copy without critical thinking. At the same time, it does a very good job of “training” people on very fundamental skills of math and science. It doesn’t however encourage the culture of critical thinking, questioning, imagining, innovating, and creating. When people make statements like “The Milk man in India is creative because he adds water to it”, it fails the basic definition of Creativity, and falls below the threshold of an intelligent statement.
Creativity is a process - we build on top of what has been done before. I sometimes am amazed by the stuff that is sold on the “As seen on TV” ad’s where the fundamental idea is ingenious and solves a real problem that can be demonstrated to a side audience. Now granted, the Flow-bee vacuum attachment to cut once’s hair may have been excessive, but it isn’t without it’s failures that we find some products that truly work. The chances of success are probably slim, but not everyone is driven by financial success. Sometimes, people just have that idea that clicks. Whether it’s software, hardware, or an invisible Dog Fence, the fact that it creates something new is what changes the game a bit. It can be an idea, a piece of Art, or music that fires up a passionate reaction - it’s all creative. Some may credit Bollywood as being very creative, and that is certainly an argument worth considering. However, a lot of Bollywood movies are predictable because they are copied from western films. Indian music is amazing and certainly creative in many aspects, but it’s a limited industry that can really qualify as representative of a massive population.
Is it a problem of over-population? Perhaps it is. China in my view is even more un-original in idea and execution. Maybe when you get to be such a populous society, the focus shifts from creating to consuming. India is certainly a consumer society. But whet do we in India consume?
An article I read made the case that the Tata Nano was one of India’s proudest creations. O.K. - how so? What is so unique about the small car that isn’t available in any other car? Or is it just the natural progression of any product where the price can be reduced drastically because of advancements in technology, availability of affordable labor, and marketing? I beg to argue that it’s the latter in the case of the Nano. It’s the equivalent of a Netbook that has so quickly entered the traditional Laptop space and eroded it.
So when we argue about Creativity, we should be honest and open-minded, and not take things too personally. If we as a people are not creative, then let’s look at the environment that discourages creativity. Whether it’s the educational system, the political system, the family structure - or any other external factors. Let’s talk about those things that drive people towards being generic and un-creative. If we can’t accept the problem, we can’t fix it.
Jai Hind!
And there is the rest of the gang. The other good stuff that’s in that box:
Cognac’s - Hines, Courvoisier, Hennessy, Remy Martin, and Martell.
Then there are a few bottles of Craft beer - Chimay Red, Duvel, and Lost Abbey Devotion.
The rest of the bottles are a mix of Vodka’s, Gin’s, Taquila’s, and Rum’s.
So i’m packing the liquor cabinet and wanted to share what’s on my top shelf! Here are the scottish ladies in a row. From left to right..
The Glenlivet Oak Reserve (15), (2) Macallan 12’s, Cragganmore 12, Lagavulin 16, Highland Park (12), Caol Ila (18), Laphroaig (Quarter Cask), Auchentoshan (?), Oban (14), Ardbeg (10), Johnny Walker (Green Label), The Glenlivet 12, and Johnny Walker (Black Label).
So what’s not here? I finished the Talisker this week. Once we move, I have nine new scotch’s to add to the collection, and hopefully finish a few while i’m at it.
Nice look for the study maybe. But maybe a bit too modern given the rest of the condo is character filled.
One day, the Eames lounge chair & ottoman are going to occupy the corner of the study corner, but first the baby nursery!
So.. these LightSpeakers by Klipsch could be interesting in the study, or the hallways if we had recessed lights. Come to think of it, I don’t know if we have recessed lights in the condo. Hmmm…
Regardless, these are pretty kick-ass!
Packing & Baby Registry weekend!
Working on packing and getting ready to move back to my old hood, plus getting the baby registry all setup. Fun weekend ahead. I already hate moving, but hopefully this is it for a while now.
I’m looking forward to this summer coming up and walking around the reservoir and Beacon st. with the little man. Once we move, setting up the nursery will be the next big task and we are already debating over the theme. There’s not much time between the move and the baby’s arrival, so i’m hoping we get enough time to set things up and get settled in. I’m glad we’re moving into a big enough place to have space for everything and not have to settle for something smaller than our current place, but I also think that guest room is going to be full of boxes for a while. I need to find a good carpenter to get some built-in’s setup in the study and also some glass doors on the liquor cabinet. The scotch collection needs a good home!
The next two plus months are going to be very interesting!! I have the box of Cigar’s ready to be lit-up and the wife and I already have a deal that I can smoke a couple a year - as long as they’re out on the deck.
So this blog is going to get real dead for a while, until end of March, and then i’ll start to post some pictures… so stay tuned!
Why I wouldn’t get a Nexus One
Why I wouldn’t get a Nexus One phone from Google:
Google made headlines when it announced the Nexus One on Tuesday, Jan 5th. What makes the Google Phone (Nexus One) different than the T-Mobile G1 or other phones in the past is the fact that this product is Google branded and has a lot more technology packing into a slick profile. I also find it interesting how iPhonesque this (and most new Smartphones these days) appears to be. People are raving about the product and there are many blog posts out there that talk about the level of interest in a Google branded phone. To be clear, the Nexus One is also made by HTC like many other Android phones in the market today. It does run the most current version of Android called 2.1 or “Flan”, but truth be told – it’s not all that different from the 2.0.1 version the Motorola Droid is running. The pricing model is certainly unique in that you can buy the device unlocked with or without a contract. It should reach international markets a lot sooner than the iPhone did and will not require jailbreaking.
Google is calling the Nexus One a “Superphone”, but have not yet given a good answer as to what makes it that super. Is it the camera? The Snapdragon processor? I’m not sure. I think the big takeaway for me is that if you bought an Android based phone before this one, you ought to be pissed unless you can get an upgraded version of the OS for your handset.
I see a few problems with the Google phone and the Android platform that keep me biased towards the iPhone. First off, Google releasing their own phone now puts them in direct competition with other Android handset manufacturers such as Motorola. Channel Conflict? Secondly the variety of hardware that Android can and does run on can actually make it more cumbersome for developers who are no longer able to build for a specific device. It becomes no different than any other software that you wrote for a plethora of hardware. Apple on the other hand has three versions of the iPhone and can pinpoint what each version supports in terms of functionality. So developing an app for an iPhone means you know what hardware you are going to run on. The other advantage that Apple has going for itself is that it has a large third-party hardware market for its’ iPhone. If I were a hardware developer looking to integrate with a Smartphone today, I would not ignore the iPhone, but I would not know which Android phone I should develop for. Especially if the hardware cradles the device.
When people call the Nexus One a ‘game changer’, I’m not sure if they are just saying that because of the excitement around yet another device in the market, or if they truly find features and functionality that out-shine the iPhone. Now granted – my opinion is biased. This is my third iPhone (the 3Gs). I do feel though that having a cohesive ecosystem makes it a lot easier for people to build and deliver applications to the masses. When BlackBerry introduced its’ touchscreen device, it was painful to hear people talk about how this was going to be the iPhone killer because at the time the iPhone was lacking things like Search and Copy/Paste. I’m not sure how those people feel now, but the reality is that the 3.0 software quickly made up for those shortcomings. What I am most excited about is the hardware API’s that Apple has made available to developers that should lead to some next generation Smartphone functionality. I remember when the Pre was introduced, there was similar hype, and then with the Motorola Droid. Now with the Nexus One. The problem with all these devices is that they are competing with the iPhone instead of setting their own bar. Apple took a fresh look at the cell phone market and that’s what worked. They were very cautious about third-party applications but when they did introduce them, they did it right. It seems to me like every competitor focuses on filling the gaps that the Apple platform has. The risk here is that Apple can fill the gaps themselves and make the whole discussion pointless.
So what if this post is more about the iPhone than the Nexus One. The point is that I am not planning to get the Nexus One because I can’t think of a single thing it lets me do that my iPhone doesn’t’ – that I actually care about. Unless Google can introduce a platform that totally changes how my phone operates, and makes my iPhone look obsolete and offers functionality that just can’t be found in a closed system like Apple’s, I’m not sure why I would switch? But if you give me a phone that looks like an iPhone and does what the iPhone does – you’re basically telling me that Apple did it right and you can’t do it better.
My next blog post will be about the value of building the ecosystem or marketplace around your devices. Stay tuned. But for now, please don’t preach me on the groundbreaking Superphone that has made my iPhone obsolete.
