Beef or Chicken? The choice

In India with lot of Hindu population who worship cows, choosing a non vegetarian diet is a serious problem. Cow is considered as a sacred animal because it gives milk and so much of Indian livelihood is based on it. India has the worlds largest population of cattle and it can be a source of protein food for many. Once a cattle reaches and age and it is not profitable for a family to keep it as it is no longer a source of income, it is left open in the streets. Hence India has many wandering cows also. Even Indian non veg population don't depend on beef as an alternate source of protein rich food. As to killing of animals is considered it is better to take one life and feed 20 people rather than killing a hen to feed 2 people.

Hurting neighbors- the choice on food habits

Whether to be a vegetarian or non-vegetarian is not a decision we had taken when we were born. It is a from family culture and values one ends up as vegetarian or non vegetarian. If one comes at a stage where a decision on whether to take veg or non vegetarian, these are some of the points worth considering. 

The common say why a person should be veg is to not hurt animals. People generally don't like seeing blood. Veggies accuse non veggies on feeding on their neighbours(animals). The curious question now is whether plants are not their neighbours. How can one accuse another of feeding on their neighbour which he eats his neighbour and that too by cutting out of a living tree. Imagine the pain you will go through if someone cuts your hand and eat it which you look. It is also worth noting that the plant blood is pulp. 

This makes us end with one big question, whether to harm any living thing or die in hunger!

The play of likes

If there is one person earning billions because you like some thing it is mark zukerberg. The foundation of Facebook is in its concept of likes. It is fascinating to note that one can only like something and not dislike. This gives confidence to users who publish their information in Facebook that no one will criticize or dislike their contribution. The only way to differentiate between something great and something not great in Facebook platform is the number of likes. A good contribution can gain you more likes than the other, but definitely not negative criticism. The confidence our friends in Facebook enjoy in sharing trivial things in Facebook is that you have an option to like or not like. There is no option to dislike. This creates another problem. What will one do it someone shares a picture of someone hurting somebody, or of someone losing something. Are you supposed to like that? Or remain quiet not expressing your opinion. Where is the option to strongly criticize this?

Toll roads- the play of user charges and road taxes

Toll road - why do we give money to private operator even after giving petrol taxes and vehicle taxes to develop roads. Since government is charging the users for using the roads, should not the taxes reduce or be abolished. The common argument that profitable roads are only taken for Public Private Partnership (PPP) and the non economically feasible are not is not applicable here. Government funds the private companies for the shortage in profit to take up projects which are not viable through viability Gap Funding (VGF), but this is only from the funds government obtain through cross funding from profitable projects through the concept of negative funding. 

So this makes us curious, why is there road taxes and user charges? If taxes cant be completely abolished why not at least reduce it for the user charges obtained through this innovative concept of PPP.

My experience with TOEFL

This is by far the costliest exam I have written. 170 dollars is roughly a 10500 Indian rupees. This bought a certain curiousness in me. How come this exam is so costly? Are they giving some gold coins during the test which makes it so costly? 

Before the test- be there on time and relax a bit. There is a confirmation which you have to sign stating that you won't cheat in the exam. After that they will ask you to surrender all your belongings. There is a kit and a token system. Nothing is allowed inside the exam centre. Watches, purses, pens are also prohibited and not just mobiles. At your desk you will find the necessary papers and two pencils. After surrendering everything and possessing only your ID card, you will be asked to stand in front of a camera and your picture will be taken. This is immediately synced with your work station and you will find your photo on the screen. Kind of cool eh? The earphones and keyboards were of good quality and there is nothing to be worried of on that aspect. You will have access to toilet and drinking water at your exam centre. So there is no need to carry drinking water. 

As you all might have figured out by now, the first session is reading, then listening, speaking and finally writing. Each session carries 30 marks making the total 120 marks. Any mark above 90 is considered good. 110 and above is exceptional. Each section may carry each mark but there are varying number of questions. So the questions in each section are worth different. For example, there are 14 questions per passage in reading. There are a total of 4 passages thus making it 56 questions and the total marks is 30. Hence half (0.5) mark per question. Compare this with 2 questions in writing which makes it 15 marks for each question. One interesting part which TOEFL does is the marks per question increases as you go from first question to last question. This is possible by reducing the number of questions in each section. The below table shows the number of questions in each section and their marks.

marks	Time for each section	Number of questions
30	100 mins	reading 3-5 passages, 14 questions each
30	90 mins	listening 4-6 lectures, 6 Questions each
30	20 mins	speaking 6 Questions
30	60 mins	writing - 2 Questions

Reading doesn't require you to read the full passage. You have to just read the title and starting of each para thereby getting an overall idea of the passage. You thus have to scroll through the passage and then only proceed to the questions. The system does not allow us to skip scrolling and move to the questions. There will be a pop up error which can be closed. The question and the passage from which it is taken is given side by side so you can read and comprehend it then and there. The first 13 questions are a mix of deductive, interpretative, meaning etc.. The final question which carriers 2 marks is a summary question. You will be asked to add 3 out of 6 options which is indicated in the passage. 30 marks for reading makes 7.5 marks per passage. 2 marks for the last question leaves you with 5.5 marks for 13 questions. So the mark per question is very less. So please don't spend so much time on first 13 trivial questions and loose on the 14th question. 

Listening. Don't close your eyes and concentrate while listening. Please take extensive notes. I just had to keep on writing. I missed so many things due to my poor note taking speed. Please make sure that you concentrate on the passage to write what is necessary. Make sure to register each sentence in your mind. The written notes should only act as a way to recollect. The answers once given are final and there is no chance of a review. In the reading section, I could skip some question and come back to it. Here that is not possible. In the end I was left with 2 minutes of time because I rushed through the answers.

Speaking. This was the toughest part for me. I can speak fluently but I require 30 seconds to stabilize my tone and content. With only 45 seconds of speaking it was very difficult to cope up. U just have 15 seconds to prepare your answer so there is no scope for a rehearsal. I stumbled completely on a question. There are 6 questions and section is of 30 marks, a question is worth 5 marks. There are plenty of on-line websites and you tube guides which helps you in getting the fodder of the speech. All you have to do is fill these gaps with your ideas or listening. This is a good way ahead but requires tremendous practice and preparation, else you will mess up at the exam centre.

Writing- as mentioned earlier there are just 2 questions. One is based on a reading and listening while other is just a composition on any topic under the sun. This will not be technical or requiring vast knowledge just to create an equal platform for all. The first question requires you to answer in 220 words while the second requires 320 words. Please write more words than required because the word content matter. There is a word content in the interface which makes things easy.

NOTE - TOEFL is not widely accepted in UK institutions. They have shifted to IELTS. I got a mail from TOEFL on the day before exam making me aware of this. By then, my time for cancellation and redemption of fee was over and I had to write the exam anyway. Please double check whether your university approves TOEFL.

Strategy - pirated softwares and books

Strategy of books or of applications or Operating system which are available freely online are often confusing. What is the point of giving these things freely when they can be charged?

Often we see some books which are available online. They have the printed copies for sale in a bookstore near your home. But still they are available in readable pdf versions online. Wondered why this happens? Do you think that the publisher of these books do not have copyright to take down these free online versions?

Or, we see the Operating system (Windows) or the programs (Microsoft office) available in pirated versions online. Don't  the giant Microsoft have enough power to take down these websites?

In fact they do have the power to take down these pirated versions. But their aim is different. They are not looking for the money which this program, or Operating system or the book is going to give them. They want the users to be comfortable or addicted to Windows, Microsoft office etc.. They want to make sure that due to high cost of the products, people are not deprived of using their product. Their long term goal is to make the people addicted to their product and when the people have enough money, they go and buy the good version. 

The authors also want book to be readily available to readers so that they can have more fame than money. A highly priced book will lead to no one reading the book and appreciating the talent of the author. But if it is available freely online, many will read and the skill and fame of the author will be establishing globally.

TV vs Projector - The Choice

People are confused when they have to buy a Television, whether they should go for a 32" LCD/LED screen or a projector which can project to any size. I was also confused at this stage and decided to carry on a research. Here are some pro's and con's of using projector.

( Image courtesy: http://www.techlitic.com/projector-vs-flat-screen-tv-best.html )

Projector
Pro's
1. View at any size
2. Less strain on eyes
3. less costly compared to TV. Starts at Rs. 6,000 compared to TV which is at Rs. 20,000
Con's

1. Light in the room can make the image less clear - A dark room is needed for projector to project viewable video. 

2. Separate sound requirements - TV has both video and audio embedded. If you are going for a projector, you have to arrange a separate audio source also.

3. Dish set up box should have HDMI connector. You cannot use the same connector you use with TV on a projector. Only some set-up boxes come with the option.

4. Bulb life. The life of the projector bulb is less and you will have to replace it once in a year. With the coming of LED projectors, we can expect a longer life.

So, my opinion, give some more time for the technology to progress before you opt for a projector to replace TV.