Question

I was asked this very interesting question.

In the London subway, there are more escalators going up than down. Why?

One answer is that people don't mind walking down a flight of stairs, but hate walking up.

However, there is a more fascinating answer.

I am heading to India in a week. I very strongly think that the amount of nostalgia that you experience is inversely proptional to the time left before you head home. 90% of the Tamil movies that I watch in the US are in the few weeks preceding my flight :)!

It should be fun. Actually, much of next month looks good. I am returning back on Jan 7th, and heading to LA on the 12th for the Martin Luther King Day weekend. And then, its close to the end of Jan - 70% of winter is done with. At the rate at which this winter is going, it should feel like summer by then.

Ah Summer! Spring comes in between, but lets not get into that.

Also, there is work. In Finance, the 2 things that people obsess over day and night are volatility and correllation. Volatility is the amount by which a thing bounces around. Correlation measures if things bounce around together or not. Its fun when things go up, and not so much fun when things blow up. Well, the volatility in my life is highly correlated with the volatility in my work. If work isn't getting done, life sucks. If work is getting done, life is cool.

Well...

..how weird is that?

Atleast, the numbers have gone down.

This and that

The Economist, Dec 2nd - Dec 7th

p18 - Blast from the past - America's nuclear deal with India
p48 - India's Muslims - Don't blame it on the scriptures
p87 - Indian Cinema - Let them come to Bombay

The Economist, Nov 25th - Dec 1st

p 42 Kashmir - The invisible scars
p 64 CSN v Tata - Steel the prize ( This is so good. The East fights back! If this deal works out, 2 out of the top 5 steel companies in the world will be of Indian origin : Mittal Steel, Tata Steel.)
p73 India's Economy - Too hot to handle

India seems to be doing quite well for itself, seeing the amount of press it is getting.

..The successful young director of KANK was asked by a fan at the the Toronto film festival when he expects his career to bring him to Hollywood. " Never! Let them come to Bombay" said he.

In other news, Chicago is bone-freezingly cold.

I might go to India, for about 10 days in early Jan.

We need some kind of bill that prohibits analysts from being driven like slaves. Spending all Sunday trying to get some shit to line up to 2 decimal places isn't fun. Why don't they round prices to the nearest dollar?

Whats up with OJ Simpson writing a book about how he might have killed his wife, if indeed he had had the opportunity to kill his wife, hypothetically, since he so obviously didn't kill his wife. The things people do.

I am almost done with 'An Equal Music' by Vikram Seth. I have been reading it for ages. This is especially embarrasing since it isn't even that long. The book is quite nicely written. Its all about Schubert and Vienna and the Musikvieren and the Trout. There seems to be a kind of melody to the words themselves. To really appreciate some aspects of it, I feel one should have some background in music. Also, I feel I am too pragmatic to truly appreciate the love story, but its very touching at times.