The Ponzi scheme is now 100 years old

 

Heard of a Ponzi scheme ? This fraudulent gimmick to fool investors out of their money was at first started by Charles Ponzi, in January 1920. He found and tried to exploit a weakness he had found in postal reply coupons introduced around that time. Ponzi made millions out of this scheme, but he owed even more debt to his investors. He was later arrested and served time in jail. He died in poverty, having spent the last of his days in a charitable hospital.

But a hundred years later, even today, people still fall for this kind of ‘investment’ scheme, having learnt nothing from the past.

Today the internet is a fertile ground for ‘get rich quickly’ money schemes. But the underlying foundation is still fraud. People fall for it not because they are greedy, but due a fear of missing out. You see, if a new investment schem works, those who DON’T invest are going to miss a rare opportunity.

So the next time someone tells you of a new investment opportunity, and promises to double your money, don’t fall for it. Its nothing new, it is a very old form of fraud.

 

Things will be allright

 

Time flies.  Even if Einstein had not discovered relativity, time has a funny way of passing by at different speeds. Faster , when you least notice it. Slower, when you really take notice. I caught myself sneaking up on the years today, when  I looked at the calendar. 2020. That is a funny year. When the year matches its century. How many years have passed since the various milestones in my life ?

It is now 15 years since I left college. And 19 years since I left high school. Twenty years into the new millenium, the new century. I try to go back and remember what I my hopes and aspirations were, all those years ago.

Twenty years ago, I didn’t have the slightest idea what I wanted to become in life. Sure, I wanted to become an engineer, but that was only because everyone else was doing it, and because I liked computers. But I honestly could not foresee  where that career choice would take me. And it was the same state of mind for everyone else in my class.  We were all confused and lost. Will this IT bubble last ? How long should a doctor study ? What are my changes in finance ? My parents want me to get a government job, but I want to travel the world. Is it too late to change my stream of study ? None of could see our futures, excep maybe a few years. Hmm..I wonder what happened to them ?

I still stay away from social media. But I try to hunt everyone else down. What happened to the brightest, smartest minds of my class ? Well, most of them have become far more successful than me , and have ended up in different parts of this world. Some have joined dream technology companies in the great mecca of such companies, the USA. Others have become experienced and respected doctors, and have saved countless lives since. The dumbest guy in my college year, who could not even write the simplest computer program is now a project manager for a top indian IT firm. Turns out anyone can become a PM, if you can just get others to do all the work.

The smartest girls in my class ? Well, most of them have quit jobs, and are now stay at home moms. But I guess they only did it because thats how far the industry let them proceed. Many of them have become teachers , and are now teaching the next generation of aspiring students.

And some others, the back benchers of our classes, have defied their teacher’s expectations and have now become successfull leaders and business owners. It took them a while to find their footing, but better late than never. A few of us where so bad at studies in college, but they then went on to do their masters, the desire to study was rekindled when they passsed out of that god forsaken undergratuate college we went to.

I now see a younger generation of students , giong through the same phases that I went through, decades ago. Many of them enquire about my supposedly successful career. And hope for some advice. Should I take up engineering  , they ask, or medicince ? Should I go abroad for higher studies ? Doe IT really have a future in this age of automation ? I am a budding youtuber, should I drop out of college ? Should I go into manamagement and finance ?

All I can tell them is,  that they will find their own way. Life is a series of struggles, its not always smooth. Had it been so, it would have been very boring. The thrill of life is not knowing the future.  And life has a funny way of being allright. Its all right to pick the wrong subject, today a student has more opportunity to change streams. Its all right to fail a subject, as long as you learn from that mistake. There are plenty of colleges in India to go for higher studies, but if you can afford to go abroad, then do that, by all means. That is going to add so much more your experience and learning. College is important.

Never think of dropping out. None of the education tests can predict your future for you, most of them failed me when I tried them. Many who cleared the tests, failed later. But then got up again. Many who flunked upfront, later went on to find their calling some place else. The world has so much to offer, if you are willing to learn. Don’t worry,

Things will be allright.

 

Students lead the way.

If 2019 has sent society any positive message, it is that when it really matters, it will students who will lead the way. There have been multiple examples of co-ordinated movements and uprising driven primarily by college and school students. Around the world ! They might have not yet completed their eduation, but they know enough to rise against wrongs.

When heptagenarian heads of world governments denied man-made climate changes, children lead the charge. Greta Thunberg was the most visible leader of these students, who encouraged climate activitists to walk out of their school classes around the world.

Over in Hong Kong, university students took up the baton against China's attempts to an earlier power grab.

And now in India, when both the houses of the government, along with its puppet president, passed two laws which are fundamentally against India's constitution, it is once again students, who were the first to protest.

For me , this phenomenon is the best news to have come out of this mess of a year. The uncorrupted, educated minds of young students is where the true future of the world resides. We see it time and time again, education is the only path to enlightment. Here is hoping more of us get to see the light of truth and righteouness in this new year.

Happy New Year. And long live the revolution !

My desktop date format

The date formats used on computer systems seem limiting. Most are too generic, or too short. In my line of work I wished to see everything: including the day of the week and month of the year.

No kidding. Like this:

Yep, I sometimes keep forgetting the month I am in. Time does move so fast.

So here is the custom date string is use to get this:

Short date: ddd,dd-MM-yyy  MMM

Long date: dddd, d MMMM yyyy

Thank You for not promoting me

The last few years have been some of my best. I can't remember the last time I truly enjoyed looking up to living,looking forwards to the adventures I have waiting in store for me. Maybe that last time was way back when I was a child, running around in fields and woods in my hometown.

I have missed this feeling. This liberating, empowering feeling. And I have one of my biggest enemies to thank for this. The person whom I least expected to be thankful to.

My old manager. The one whos name starts with a B.

He was an asshole. Correction, I just looked him up on linkedin: he is STILL an asshole.

I was part of a team which together did a lot of work for his company. A US based consultancy. I had put in a lot of long, all nighters; hundreds of hours of unpaid work. Working overtime on weekdays, and frequently on weekends, there is no measure of how much we have contributed to the growth of the company, and its US customers. I was promised a chance to go abroad, first short term, and then later, a long term onsite opportunity to make up for those lost days. You see, that rare chance to earn in dollars is the only perk of working in the IT field in India. The golden ticket. But first, I was told, I had to prove myself, and wait for at least a year.

So wait I did. First one year, then another, and then, a third. During this time, the long stressful hours took a toll on my health. I was always under stress, and constantly weak and tired. Asthma was only the beginning. I also got married, and found that the unprofessional and unethical work environment was interfering in my personal life a well.

Being an optimist, and extremely patient one , I was willing to wait. But gradually, I realized that I did NOT have all the time in the world. I had always delivered what I had promised as part of my work. So why isn't the manager delivering what he had promised me ? I also found out that he had promised similar onsite opportunities to everybody else in the team. Everybody except the office janitor.

So, in that third year, reality finally started dawning on me. And I had the argument with the asshole manager. I put in my papers, without a job offer in hand. And left a few months later.

About one year from that confrontation, I arrived in Australia.

I still work under managers, but things are so much better. Nobody here forces work overtime , at least without compensation. Ample leaves, and flexible work options. I do go to office everyday, though technically, I don't have to.

But this is the big truth: none of this would have happened, if I had not been wronged against. It is only when I got pushed into a corner, that I started looking for another exit. If everything in my life back then had gone according to plan, I would still be in India. That exit, that was the best decision I took in my professional life. And it has changed me and my future forever.

So thank you,asshole, for not promoting me. For not giving me those opportunities. Thank you to all of the other bad people I worked for, for constantly pushing me into that corner. Thank you for being such miserable human beings.