Procrastiblog

Matthew Yglesias takes on Andrew Sullivan’s latest on Iraq. Sullivan is against “any timetable for withdrawal” from “a war conducted by an administration whose key players are manifestly incompetent and reckless.” He is for… prayer. Yglesias:

This gets us toward what is, I think, a fairly fundamental point of political morality — it’s wrong, seriously wrong and seriously irresponsible, to support military action that has no likely prospects of success. It’s one thing to ask young men and women to kill and die for a good cause. It’s another thing entirely to ask them to kill and die as a token of your support for a good cause.

Clearly, my first-choice scenario for the world would be one in which the nominal goals of American Iraq policy — killing terrorists, preventing a civil war, building a stable liberal democracy — are achieved. But I can’t support the war — can’t say it was a good idea to launch it, and can’t say I think it’s a good idea to continue it — precisely because I don’t think the war is accomplishing its goals, don’t think it stands a good chance of accomplishing them, and don’t think it ever did stand a good chance of accomplishing them.

How hot can “hot red paprika” be? Very hot. “Crisp capsicum” can be pretty hot too, although I think “capsicum” sounds a little more suspicious than “paprika”, which is after all most commonly a fairly bland and inert spice. But I guess “paprika” is just a generic word for a pepper here and I suspect what I got is something along the lines of a red serrano.

Which is a long way around to discussing Pizza Hut’s Indian-themed pizza offerings. The best I’ve had so far was the Tandoori Murg, which has chunks of chicken and a non-standard, Indian-spiced sauce that I found very pleasing. The Tandoori Paneer pizza was disappointing, with bland chunks of paneer and the aforementioned chunks of hot, hot peppers. (I guess my paper menu is a misprint, because it didn’t even have a little red pepper next to it.) The other pizzas I’ve tried are more or less as you would expect: a little spicier than an American pie, but nothing too far out (unlike Pizza Corner, which packs a fairly strong punch).

And to those who wonder why I’m eating pizza at all: eat daal and chapati for 6 weeks straight and get back to me.

Coffee Maker, the Second
Originally uploaded by C+H.

The Nova died. That was a bad Rs 1000 investment. I place my trust (and my Rs 1800) in the hands of the Philips Corporation of the Netherlands. Can you last two months, little helper?

Don’t know how I’m getting stuck on women’s health issues. The following appalling item showed up in the Times of India today: “Is it Vaccine or Virginity Test? Ethical and Scientific Issues Raised in Cervical Cancer Trial”. I’ll try to post a link if one becomes available.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approve [a] vaccine, Gardasil, designed to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection that causes cervical cancer, and it’s used on girls aged 9-26…. The company says the vaccine will not work for pre-existing infection, which is usually transmitted sexually. “How do we ensure the candidate is not infected? The only way is to do a cervical smear, where a spatula is inserted into the vagina to take a smear of the cervix. How ethical is it it conduct such a test on unmarried women? Or, on a nine-year-old? Isn’t it akin to a virginity test?” asks Dr M Radhakrishna Pillai, director, Rajiv Gandhi Centre For Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram.

Apparently, it’s never occurred to anyone to just give the girl the damn vaccine either way and let her virginity remain between her and her God (and, realistically, her husband and parents). The article goes on to more relevant points, like the cost of the vaccine (Rs 16,000) in comparison to basic PAP smears (Rs 100), which are not routinely performed in this country.

I think what’s going on here—beside a basic and unhealthy preoccupation with female virginity (which is not unknown, if different in form, in the US)—is a cost-benefit calculation that just doesn’t translate to my American mindset. From the Indian point of view, it is unthinkable to waste good medicine on someone who doesn’t need it, even if the net benefit (socially and medically) of this wastage is apparent.

“Condoms Found to Block a Virus Harmful to Women”:

Women whose male partners used condoms every time they had sexual intercourse had less than half the rate of infection as did women whose partners used condoms less than 5 percent of the time…. Experts on infectious diseases say they believe that condoms, when properly used, are effective in preventing papillomavirus and virtually all other sexually transmitted infections.

I am one of these people. Help!

Elevator Console
Originally uploaded by C+H.

I have been meaning to blog this wonder of interface design all week. This is the console in the elevator in my building. Rather than having a button for each floor—as in every elevator I’ve ever seen in my life—this elevator has a calculator-style keypad. There are only 4 floors in the building (numbered 0 to 3, which makes the CS nerd in me very happy and the American in me very sad), as well as the basement/garage, which you get to by keying in “-1”. The numbers 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 on this console serve no purpose. If you press any of these, the display reads “Er”, which can be read either as “Error” or as “Er… Are you sure you want to do that?”

Reading the Frank Bruni restaurant review, I’m struck with this odd feeling that I am not a New Yorker… He’s talking about restaurants that have been open for several years in the East Village and I have never heard of them. And I start to wonder if chopped mackeral goes better with naan or chapati?

Last night there was a power surge which apparently blew a fuse or tripped a breaker—none of the kitchen appliances are running this morning. When the houseboy arrived, I demonstrated to him that the fridge was not running and that the washing machine and microwave were not receiving current. He immediately lept in to action and I retired to my bedroom to drink coffee (Nescafe made with water boiled on the gas range) and eat toast.

Ten minutes later, he steps into the bedroom and says, “Sir, come, come,” so I follow him into the kitchen, where he demonstrates to me that the toaster is working, which apparently refutes my contention that the fridge is not running.

I know the toaster is working! I’m eating toast! Will you please just call your boss and have somebody bring a damn fuse?!

It is 11:30 at night and you are in an autorickshaw with a young woman you have only just recently met, trying to get home from the bus station. You have spent ten hours on a bus, driving on rural roads and are exhausted and hungry. The auto driver has ignored the name of the neighborhood you have asked to go to and taken you instead to another dis-similarly named neighborhood with a similarly named traffic circle. You have no idea where you are and the driver seems to have no idea where you want to go. Do you: (a) get out of the auto and find some other way to get home, this guy is obviously trouble, or (b) give the auto driver a second chance, it was an honest misunderstanding?

You chose (b).

You give the driver a second chance. He starts driving. At times he seems to be on the right track, but he keeps veering off on odd tangents. You are pretty sure you have driven past your destination and are now moving away from it, but you have no idea where you actually are. Do you: (a) stay in the auto, the driver will figure things out eventually, or (b) get the hell out, this guy is obviously an idiot?

You chose (b).

You tap on the driver’s shoulder and tell him you want to get out. He’s confused by this, which is not surprising—he’s been confused about pretty much everything that’s gone on since you got in his auto. Do you: (a) pay the man what you agreed (1.5 times the meter), he did his best, or (b) refuse to pay the man, he hasn’t gotten you where you wanted to go and he has run up the meter well past where it would be if he had done so directly?

You chose (b).

You refuse to pay the man. After all, it’s his job to know how to get around in the city and he has manifestly failed to do his job. The driver jumps out of his auto and demands to be paid. You continue to refuse. The driver asks you to accompany him to the police station. Do you: (a) go with him, you’re sure the police will be able to sort this out, or (b) make an obscene remark about the driver’s mother?

You chose (b).

In so many words, you inform the driver that his mother was neither chaste nor hygienic. Speaking just barely enough English to negotiate fares, he stares at you blankly for a moment, gets back into his auto, and drives away. You and your female companion are now alone on a dark street corner. You do not know where you are and you do not know which direction you need to go. Do you: (a) hail another rickshaw, he’s probably not an idiot and its not like they’re all in cahoots, or (b) call the company car service, this isn’t strictly speaking a business trip, but you’re running out of options?

You chose (b).

You call the company car service. They know you well by know, having brought you home drunk from Tobi and Deb’s flat and taken you to Commerical St. when you wanted to buy a backpack and even dropped you off at the bus station this morning when you set of for your Very Official Company Visit to Some Waterfalls. You tell them what you think you know about where you are and they say they’ll be there within 15 minutes. Around this time, the autorickshaw driver returns with a policeman in tow. Do you: (a) apologize and pay the driver, there’s no hope of convincing the policeman that you’re in the right, or (b) tell the policeman exactly what you told the driver (omitting the choicest bits about the driver’s mother), he’s probably a reasonable man who’s bound to see it your way?

You chose (b).

You tell the policeman it will be a cold day in Hell when you pay the auto driver. He patiently explains to you that autos have meters and it is customary for the passenger to pay the amount of the meter when he or she leaves the auto. The driver says something agitatedly in Kannada. You say something agitatedly in English. The policeman sighs. Do you: (a) continue your argument, it’s clear that your position is carrying the day, or (b) give the driver his damn money, it’s only 100 rupees?

You chose (b).

In a spirit of great magnanimity, you hand the driver a 100 rupee note. He isn’t satisfied! He doesn’t just want the money. He wants an opportunity to regain his pride by seeing you through to your destination. Do you: (a) get back in the rickshaw, the policeman probably knows the way and you’ve all learned a valuable lesson, or (b) swear another oath on the driver’s progenitors and refuse, you’ve had enough adventure for one evening?

You chose (b).

You tell the driver just exactly what you think of his bloodline. He gets back in his rickshaw and drives away. The policeman also goes on his way. Five minutes later, the company car arrives and you climb in. After a half kilometer, you realize where you are. In another kilometer, you are home. You realize that if you had carefully studied your map, you could have managed to walk home in less than 15 minutes time. Do you: (a) curl up and cry yourself to sleep, or (b) hold it in, burying your resentment until you finally snap?