New Papa Hari Law: SODHA Law

Filed under: Humour and Nonsense by Hari
Posted at 10:33 IST (last updated: 5 Feb 2012 @ 11:23 IST)
Papa Hari News Service

Anti-SODHA signs Hot on the heels of the SOPA and PIPA, a new law, this time enacted by the Papa Hari World Government, titled SODHA has officially come into force today. According to official Papa Hari World Government sources, the SODHA law is a revolutionary act of legislation that would actually determine the future of the entire World, but the exact details are yet to be worked out. "The Act will have a major impact on the entire World, but the actual details, including specific provisions in the enactment are not determined as of now," said a spokesperson of the Papa Hari World Government.

When asked what SODHA expanded to, the spokesperson was guarded and stated that the Law Ministry was working day and night to determine a proper and meaningful sequence of words that would fit the acronym. "It is too cool an acronym to give up," he added. He also reiterated that the law would have a major impact on the entire World. "This is the first time in history that a formal codified law has been enacted even before a first draft," he said, "The future is here!"

Protesters all over the world took to the streets and shouted anti-SODHA slogans. When our reporter asked a student why he was protesting he appeared confused and at a loss for words, but an enlightened professional protester took over and said, "Anything beginning with SO- is bad for Free Speech. It probably means Stop Online- something or the other and that is absolutely unacceptable." When it was pointed out that SO could also stand for "Start Online", "Start Offline", "Start Ordering", "Stay Outside" and a host of other expansions, the protester sniffed cynically and stated that no Government enacts anything positive. "It's always about stopping."

Legal Experts questioned the validity and constitutionality of the Act, but Papa Hari dismissed all such concerns stating that since the Papa Hari World Government has no written constitution, there would be no question of any law being in violation of it.

In related news, a Papa Hari Law Ministry press release also hinted at a new Law for the future entitled Anti Internet Idiocy Act (AIIA). He stated that such a law would bring to an end all kinds of online stupidity protecting the millions of innocent subjects of the Papa Hari World Government from loss of IQ caused by reading nonsense online. Protesters are already working out a campaign against the proposed law. "Stupidity is our birthright and we shall have it and no law of man can deny us the privilege," declared an activist.

Reasonable expectations of professionally qualified individuals

Filed under: People and society by Hari
Posted at 08:52 IST (last updated: 26 Jan 2012 @ 08:52 IST)
Being a professionally qualified individual myself, I think it is fair to say that most of us have some reasonable expectations of what we want from our jobs. I think it all boils down to the following aspects:
  1. Expectation of proper, proportionate reward in return for the application of expertise to solving problems. The reward may be a combination of job satisfaction, recognition and also monetary and material compensation.
  2. Reasonable independence of thought and action in following a career path, subject of course to the guidance of experts and more knowledgeable professionals in the field.
  3. Lack of restraints on our working environment and the flexibility to work within our comfort zone, subject of course to the inevitable deadlines and time constraints.
  4. An aversion to close or constant supervision by colleagues or superiors.

Of course, some of these points also apply to non-professionals but I think professionals are a bit more sensitive on these points, particularly the last two. I think most of us are far more interested in the quality of the actual job we do than on the peripheral aspects of how it is done. The difference, I think, between professionally qualified folk and the rest, is that we professionals actually prefer to determine these parameters on the basis of a considered judgement formed of collective experience, norms and standards set out by the larger community of the particular profession rather than those determined by the immediate boss.

In return for these perquisities, professionally qualified people have a greater degree of responsibility and answerable to not just clients or immediate superiors, but also to the profession and society at large, which may in some cases, also include a legal duty to adhere to a code of conduct as in the case of practising lawyers/advocates.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Filed under: Portraits and Caricatures by Hari
Posted at 09:47 IST (last updated: 20 Jan 2012 @ 09:49 IST)
Here's my rendering of one of India's greatest revolutionary freedom fighters, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

I've been reading a lot about this great man, both online and from books lately and his life story is an inspiration to all patriotic Indians.

Wishing my friends a very happy new year

Filed under: Life and Leisure by Hari
Posted at 15:22 IST (last updated: 21 Jan 2012 @ 11:08 IST)
Here's wishing a very happy new year to all my friends and blog readers in advance. Have a great time. :D

Hopefully 2012 will bring cheer and good news to all. :-D

Papa Hari's Chuck Norris Facts

Filed under: Humour and Nonsense by Hari
Posted at 10:45 IST (last updated: 14 Dec 2011 @ 10:45 IST)
Here are some new, original Chuck Norris fact Papa Hari invented... er... discovered. Mind you, somebody else might have already thought of these, in which case I humbly defer to them. However, I have submitted these facts to the Chuck Norris Facts website.

As a kid, Chuck Norris found the blue sky too boring and got busy with a watercolour paint set and brushes. The rainbow was the result.

If you say "Chuck Norris sucks...", he appears in person; then you continue "...the strength of his enemies with a mere glance." if you value life.

Everybody celebrates with fireworks. Chuck Norris celebrates by pulling off meteorites from their orbits and creating shooting stars.

The East India Company was created because a young Chuck Norris expressed a casual desire for Indian seasoning in his gravy. The rest is history.

Cyclones are created whenever Chuck Norris takes a deep breath and creates an intense low-pressure area in the region.

Probably these would make good Rajnikanth facts, except probably the East India Company one (Rajnikanth being an Indian) :D

BiaCV - an open source, cross-platform résumé editor/creator in Python

Filed under: My software by Hari
Posted at 15:11 IST (last updated: 6 Dec 2011 @ 15:13 IST)
I'm currently developing a résumé/CV editor creator in Python and PyQt4. Like most of my software, it is licensed under the GNU GPL v3.

Here are some of the screenshots of the GUI:

Personal information tab

Educational qualifications tab

Professional/career history tab

Career objectives tab

Skill sets tab

Additional information tab

While I have implemented saving and loading files in the native BiaCV format (which is a JSON file), I am planning to include an export functionality which will allow the document to be converted to more usable formats like text, HTML and also OpenDocument flat ODT (no Microsoft Word, though you can use OpenOffice to convert the FODT file to DOC if you want to).

You can follow the progress at my gitorious repository. As always feel free to check it out if you have the time and provide your feedback. :)