Neeraj Vora's Blog: May 2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Bilingual Advantage

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/science/31conversation.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha210

Thursday, May 26, 2011

What was that again moment when I read this:

You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

An Autumn Date for the Apocalypse

Here we go again..Reminds me of the nice line I read on here a little while back..Don't take life too seriously, no one has come out of it alive..guess the world has to eventually end, in a few years or a few million..

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/us/24rapture.html?_r=1

Gold is Not an Investment

http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/gold-is-not-an-investment/

Monday, May 23, 2011

When the Internet Thinks It Knows You

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/opinion/23pariser.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Twitter Trap

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/magazine/the-twitter-trap.html?ref=technology

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Nice Guys Finish First

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/opinion/17brooks.html?src=me&ref=general

It is very interesting that in some ways humans are very similar to other primates with respect to self-interest, but in some ways we are so very altruistic..that's the cross-roads intersection for us between the jungle survival and ethics, morality, religion etc. Human edifices seem to be built with elements from both..We can't survive on altruism alone in general, but we cannot progress with capitalism alone without injecting the necessary dose of altruistic healing..

Laugh Lines from NYTimes: CONAN O’BRIEN

I don’t know if you heard this: It’s been reported Al Qaeda has not yet picked a new leader to run their terrorist organization. Yeah. Apparently, candidates keep losing interest after asking, “So what happened to the last guy?”

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

What I thought when my plane crashed

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/05/08/elias.plane.crash/index.html

Monday, May 9, 2011

How to pop your Internet 'filter bubble'

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9216484/Elgan_How_to_pop_your_Internet_filter_bubble_?taxonomyId=167&pageNumber=1

Fly? No. Shoot? Yes. Bizzare..

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/opinion/09mon3.html

This is a very touchy subject with a lot of cultural underpinnings about the American foundation. Not knowing much then I asked a simple question when I was green to the American ways and guns. The question was simple (in an electronic forum), why do people need guns and I distinctly remember one hearty mid-westerner telling me "over my dead fingers". Well I now understand the debate at least, but sometimes still can't stand the bizarre logic behind gun rights, especially weapons that can inflict mass murder. The founding Americans believed in the right to defend themselves from others as well from the state! Historically that meant they needed arms to organize themselves to be able to resist the state. This led to the right to arms clause in the constitution. In the modern age, this has led to lunatics being able to procure and execute weapons that can fire away bullets continuously and inflict not one but mass casulties in one go, which is very very sad and senseless.

Why We Celebrate a Killing

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/opinion/08haidt.html

Laugh lines from the NY Times..

JAY LENO

Prince William and Kate Middleton are now planning their honeymoon. They say they want to go somewhere where they can have complete privacy and be assured that no one in the country would give away their location. So I think they’re going to Pakistan.

DAVID LETTERMAN

Well, the Republicans were so pleased by the Osama bin Laden raid that today, they granted President Obama full citizenship.

Old Friends

An ode to old friends..a treasure I found on facebook..can you imagine us years from today..what a time it was..a time of innocence..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPTOY8FrvNw

http://www.metrolyrics.com/old-friendsbookends-lyrics-simon-and-garfunkel.html

Bin Laden and Inefficient Markets

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/bin-laden-and-inefficient-markets/

Behind the Hunt for Bin Laden

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/03intel.html?_r=1

Good riddance

It's a cool crisp grayish blue morning on the banks of Hudson. Good bye Mr. Laden and hope the fish stay away from your rotten spirit.

Where China Outpaces America

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/opinion/01kristof.html

Amid Skepticism, Pakistan Calculates Its Response

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/03pakistan.html

Needed: A Clearer Crystal Ball

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/business/economy/01view.html

Memories Lost to a Whirlwind Alight on Facebook to Be Claimed

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/30/us/30reunite.html

Opt-In Rules Are a Good Start

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/business/01digi.html

You Are What You Owe

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2067967,00.html

Laugh Lines

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/weekinreview/24laugh.html

Dumped to die, this orphan is now a Gates scholar

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Dumped-to-die-this-orphan-is-now-a-Gates-scholar/articleshow/8110344.cms

Sleep Can Wait. The Birds Are Angry.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/fashion/01ANGRY.html

Predicting Tornadoes: It’s Still a Guessing Game

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/us/29tornadoes.html

Facebook Hires Duo Behind Daytum, a Personal Data Site

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/facebook-daytum-a-personal-data-site/

A Win for Women: Females Hold More Advanced Degrees

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/27/a-win-for-women-females-hold-more-advanced-degrees/

Quora Raises Questions

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/quora-raises-questions/?sudsredirect=true

Trading Trial Captivates South Asians

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/nyregion/raj-rajaratnams-trial-captivates-south-asians.html

Friendster to Erase Early Posts and Old Photos

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/technology/27friendster.html

East coast weather

I hate this about the east coast..it is literally not even two days before I discarded any over clothings coming to work..a beautiful sunshiny 80 day turned into horror when my 20 min ride from Newark Penn to Metropark turned into two hours and plus the train I was stuck in did not have air conditioning and we were like cattle prisoners showering inside and suffocating..The heater is barely off and we were all dying for air-conditioning! Looking forward to the fall now! How I wish I could give some west coast perspective to the east coast weather design committee..Winter and summer are ok but they need to be trimmed by about half..spring is nice, let it be..the most brilliant of all is fall, let it spread and cover parts of summer and winter..then all the west coasters will envy the east coast..

Joke

What's the height of optimism? An investment banker ironing five shirts on a Sun eve..

porche 911 funniest commercial ever(lol)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4EnnlZf2j0&feature=related

Joke

What is the best way to make a million dollars on wall st? Start with two million..

Facebook Makes Groups More Useful With Optional Security

http://techland.time.com/2011/04/25/facebook-makes-groups-more-useful-with-optional-security/

In a Data-Heavy Society, Being Defined by the Numbers

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/23/your-money/23shortcuts.html

The Promise of Rapture for the High-Tech Elite

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/us/24bcstevens.html

Sorry, Vegans: Brussels Sprouts Like to Live, Too

I find it amusing these circulating generalized question vegatarian or not. For most of us it is not so much a choice as much a matter of birth and upbringing. There are a few who make the transition from being raised a vegetarian to be eating meat later on, and vice-a-versa for any number of personal reasons. If I am not eating meat, I am entitled to find healthy options without having to be in fashion trying to eat meat. If I am eating meat I do not have to be forced to answer moral and ethical questions. The same kind of moral higher ground can be claimed by vegans against latco-ovo vegetarians. For vegans as well there is the ultimate question, plants are living entities as well. Do they feel any pain?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html

How to Save a Life: British Tourist in Right Place at Right Time

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/22/how-to-save-a-life-british-tourist-in-right-place-at-right-time/

For U.S. Economy, Short-Term Good News Is Bad News

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2066604,00.html

Obama and Facebook in Warm Embrace

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/obama-and-facebook-in-warm-embrace/

Look at Me, I’m Crying

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/look-at-me-im-crying/?emc=eta1

Obama, Before Facebook Crowd, Presses G.O.P. on Budget

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/us/politics/21obama.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Illustrating Your Life in Graphs and Charts

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/technology/personaltech/21basics.html?_r=1

Obama’s Young Mother Abroad

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/magazine/mag-24Obama-t.html?_r=1

Real Estate Steal

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/19/real-estate-steal-entire-italian-village-on-sale-for-800000/

Apple vs. Microsoft by the numbers

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215786/Apple_vs._Microsoft_by_the_numbers

An ‘Unvarnished’ Peek Into Microsoft’s History

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/technology/18allen.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha26

Abrupt Turn as Facebook Battles Suit

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/technology/18facebook.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha26

Where have all the flowers gone?

After the biting winds and 40s it was a beautiful sunny mid sixties day and was driving with my daughter. The CD in the car was playing Peter Paul n Mary. I have listened to this nice lullaby song many times without really connecting the dots and understanding the meaning. It took my seven year old's open mind to see the pattern and tell me the flowers go to young girls who go to hubands who become soldiers who go to graveyards where the flowers grow.

When will we ever learn? Will we?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYii6nxhvUk

http://www.peterpaulandmary.com/music/f-01-12.htm

Do Cellphones Cause Brain Cancer?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17cellphones-t.html

In Libya, an Odd-Couple Alliance

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/weekinreview/10landler.html

Wall St jokes:

-- I used to be an institutional investor but after 2008 I am now in an institution.
-- What’s the difference between an investor and a pigeon? The pigeon can still make a deposit on a house.
-- George Bush has said that he is saddened to hear about the demise of Lehman brothers… His thoughts at this time go out to their mother as losing one son is hard but losing two is a tragedy.