Category: 2Cents

  • Week 6, 2023

    Had three rather odd experiences this week. On the other hand – I am rather sad and concerned about whatever has been happening in Turkey post the earthquakes. The news pouring in is sad. And it’s terrifying that the same could happen to me in Dhaka – and it would probably be 10X worse here.…

  • Week 5, 2023

    This week I had one really odd example of a UX being terrible. Approximately a year ago, I bought a Xiaomi Mouse. It was fairly expensive, and died out on me within a month or so. I was annoyed af, and left it hanging with the idea that I would like to get back to…

  • Is tea worth the slavery?

    জাতিসংঘের মতে দেশে প্রায় ৩৬০,০০০ চা শ্রমিক আছে (নাম্বারটা ফ্যামিলি মেম্বার সহ ধরা, রিয়েল নাম্বার এর দুই তৃতীয়াংশ বলা যায়)। ১২০ টাকার জায়গায় ৩০০ টাকা বেতন দিলে এই জনগোষ্ঠীকে আড়াইশো মিলিওন ডলার এর কম দেওয়া লাগে বছরে। বছরে ৩৬৫ দিন কাজ এর হিসাব করলে, এরপর। পুরোটাই আনরিয়েলিস্টিক, তবুও বাড়ায়ে ধরলাম। গতবছর আমরা ৯৬ মিলিওন কিলগ্রাম…

  • Fintech 2.0 for Bangladesh

    The next fintech revolution is probably not going to come from any MFS company. Rather, there is a big chance that it will come from a ATM Aggregation company that helps move money in a cheap way. Ideally one that has a recycler for ATM’s, and is also able to accept worn out cash.

  • Hi, what are you doing these days?

    If you have an organization, initiative, or skill that you believe I should promote, then please do let me know. I would love to know more about what you do, and maybe shout out a little for you too! I believe that as a friend, you deserve this much from me, and shouldn’t have to…

  • Banana Peels Suck – and so do Forced-Social-Sharing in Competitions

    Look, nobody likes to see banana-peels on the roads. Similarly, nobody wants to see “Desh Amar Dosh Amar” spamming all over the internet. Spamming is a cancer. And marketing moves like these are carcinogen. Derby Cigarettes, Akij Biri, 30 year old trucks burning leaded-fuel, and your Markeing campaign – all of them have very little…

  • What interests me?

    When I was 14 or so, I had this inherent belief that I should be allowed to take part in adult activities. I had a major urge to vote. I had a political perspective. As I age, I have grown a very different thought process. Democracy doesn’t really excite me anymore. Neither do I have…

  • Is silencing creators okay?

    By empowering policymakers into an ideology that they can limit what you see and what you do based on their personal beliefs – you are creating a sinkhole that has very rough edges. And please, don’t pull the religion/culture card. I only need to attend your holud to see you biting your own tail. বাক-স্বাধীনতার…

  • What makes a good burger?

    tldr: what you guys call a “juicy” burger these days is actually an abomination.

  • Bhai, harraaam!

    In light of the recent debacle regarding the missing KUET student, let me throw some maths at you regarding why “Bhai Haraam” doesn’t work with cases like these. So, in the last 1 month – I have prayed with the Jaamat just around 8/10 times. In a University of 5000+, I would assume that 50%…

  • Why are our elections so boring? >_-

    It is a little sad that apart from a select few, most of the people involved in the election campaigns do not really have the understanding that B&W Posters posing as guidons, horrible miking round the clock, and incessant processions aren’t the best tools for Election Campaigns in 2018.  Instead of hanging ten lakh posters,…

  • Did she have to die for cheating?

    Backstory: https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/2018/12/04/viqarunnisa-school-students-demonstrate-in-front-of-campus This might be an unpopular opinion – but I honestly believe that in a largely broken education system, cheating is actually okay. I have taken 2 courses at University this semester, whose professors can explain why. In one course, an Ex-Chairman of Dhaka University’s CSE department teaches. Brilliant teacher. Incredibly challenging course. In his…

  • Why are’t you living your life in the moment?

    I don’t really understand people who had the privilege to get front row tickets to the Folk Fest, but wasted every single video with their phones coming in the way of the professional cameras. Deepshit, you have enough money/influence. Now enjoy life from the front row. You don’t need to validate your existence by posting…

  • The relation between alone and lonely.

    Being alone and being lonely are two completely two different things. Have you ever thought about that?

  • আরও বাংলা বই প্রয়োজন!

    Over the past few months, I have realized that Bangla books tend to be a quick source of knowledge. Your average one is barely 200 pages (on a large font), and is never more than a 2 hour read. Plus, they are all shiny, and you don’t have to suffer from the piracy guilt.

  • Who is Eshpelin?

    I have genuine well-wishers who I only know as Portugal, or Kuwait, or Congo. Half of theme even believe that I really am Eshpelin. Strange times we live in.

  • How much cheese too cheesy?

    Dabbing a pizza/pasta with a tonne of cheese doesn’t make it extra tasty. It just turns into an abomination that is only good for Instagram. The earlier you wake up to it, the better it is for the food scene.

  • Need an ambition?

    Here, is an easy one: be so important in life, that if you close a door, that becomes international news.

  • Depression isn’t a disease

    Its a disorder caused due to multiple external factors. But most notably, updating a status asking people to “wake up to how depression is real” every-time a celebrity dies from it is actually not that helpful in solving the issue. Really believe that you need to help? Message your friends who post depressing stuff every…

  • একটা কাজ করা প্রয়োজন

    ভাবছি একটা সার্ভিস বানাবো। বিডিনিউজ আর প্রথম আলোর কমেন্ট সেকশনে উগ্রবাদী, মৌলবাদী, ধর্মান্ধ, মুরাদ-টাকলা, বোধ হীন, বিচার বিবেচনায় অপটু, সাধারণ জ্ঞানহীন, কামলা, গেঁয়ো, নতুন-বড়লোক-বেসিক-ছোটলোক, আক্কেল বিহীন, ঠাডা, ইত্যাদি মানুষগুলোর লিস্ট ডেভেলপ করবো লেক্সিক্যাল এনালাইসিস করে। তারপর এই ডাটা পাত্রীর পিতা এবং কর্পোরেট চাকুরিদাতাদের কাছে বিক্রি করবো যেন তাঁরা এই লোকগুলোকে চিনতে পারে পরে। বিদেশে যেমন…

  • Do you even git it?

    Noob developers bitching about how they will shift to GitLab now that Microsoft has bought over GitHub – you do realize that you have 2 commits on GitHub in the past 3 years, have never used it in a real project, and have no idea how it works, do you? You leaving Github is the…

  • 2Cents: The thing about killing dogs

    Here is the deal: I particularly am not against people who eat meat. I like meat, and my actions cause chickens and cows and goats and many such animals to be murdered on a regular basis. Living at the top of the food chain, I am not particularly morally inclined to stop this violence. Offcourse,…

  • 2Cents: What am I even being taught?

    Over the last couple of years, I have spent a great lot of time writing dissertations and essays for foreign students from Universities positioned across vast swathes of land; from Wisconsin till London. I do this less because of the monetary benefit, and more because it really drives me to write, something that I have…

  • 2Cents: Should doctors have the right to refuse service as a form of protest?

    This is a fairly complicated issue that I came across a while back. The buildup Somewhere in Barisal, a couple of relatives of a patient vandalized the hospital and assaulted the staff there, broke down the OT room, and caused massive havoc. In return, the doctors closed down the hospital services and demanded that they…

  • 2Cents: Is facebook too slow?

    One of the major reasons as to why a lot of people feel that Facebook wastes their time is because Facebook primarily concentrates on the social side of the tool alone. It is 2018 – and you still can’t make payments with the double apps that they force you to install (if you ever used…