Yesterday was the first anniversary of my blog. Commemorating such an important occasion ought not to have been delayed, but what to do, life is like that.
14th August 2002 was also the fifteenth anniversary of our first TV purchase. This fact stays in memory mainly because the first thing that showed up on the screen was the tricolour. This nugget has been left here for my biographers to pick up.
I picked up this domain and hosting service much before I had thought of which blogging service to use. I didn’t want a future biographer to ask: “Why didn’t you snap it up when ravikiran.com was still available?
In my first post, I made a sort of contract with my (then) future readers. I’m afraid I’ve violated every one of those terms one time or the other. Nonetheless I think that such a contract is important because it forces you to think of what exactly you are doing. And this reminds me that I have to write a new one.
Swami was the first person to comment on my blog. He was “impressed”. That was the last thing he ever agreed with me on anything.
My second post was on advertisements. Strangely enough, I mentioned Coke and Pepsi. That established me firmly as a lackey of Capitalism and an advocate of crass commercialism, facilitating my later recruitment by the CIA. There I had my first discussion with Lakshmi who later went on to marry the aforementioned Swami. I am quite sure my blog had nothing to do with it; they were in love even before. But?I just leave this nugget here for my biographers to pick up. By the way, I am still waiting for my film role in a Tamizh Movie.
I wrote more in defence of brands here
My third post was on the PM’s independence day speech. This was a day late. Thereby I set a tradition which continues to this day.
I later realised that my hosting service does not support Movabletype. Not being able to use its features will be one of my abiding regrets.
I’ve been trying to teach people basic economics in many subtle devious ways. Unfortunately people aren’t getting the hint.
I have also written about why psychohistory won’t work in practice.
I also posted a probability puzzle which hasn’t yet been answered, but which has made my site the google magnet for people looking for average heights of men and women, especially in India.
I find that I don’t have to comment on Sachin and his Ferrarri now because I had already done so back then.
I tried to give elementary foreign policy lessons to countries here
I dissect the lump of labour fallacy without mentioning lumps here
I violated my contract for the first time here.
I posted on Iraq for the first time here.
I slandered Gandhiji for the first time here.
I predicted that the dollar will go down here.
I claimed that the scientific spirit is incompatible with a belief in God here Then I wrote about why I pretend to believe in God here. (Do I contradict myself? Very well I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes. Who wrote this?)
My readership moved up to 2 here
I wrote a thank you speech here.
If only people listen to my solution to the Kaveri dispute.
This is my famous post calling the Dissent Globalizer a verbal terrorist. I explained why here BTW my site is on top for verbal terrorist This post keeps ?ttracting commentors. Unfortunately, all of them speak in a strange language.
I posted on Iraq for the second time here.
This post probably got the largest number of comments from a single person.
I can’t make sense of this post now.
I posted tangentially on Iraq a third time here.
(BTW, The best way to navigate my whole site is by going to the “previous” and “next” links at the bottom. But no one does that. My archives links are badly broken. No one goes to my archives. I don’t know which is cause and which is effect. )
I posted on usability of computers here.
I opposed human cloning here.
My 100th post was on 24th December 2002. I conducted a survey then.
I posted on why I dislike Kannada movies here.
I attacked Praful Bidwai for the first time here.
I am sure no one understood what I was saying here.
I posted on the Golden section here.
I posted for the fourth time on Iraq here., fifth time here and the sixth time here
I posted something on names here.
I posted on Iraq for the fourth time here. Notice the subtle shift. That’s when the CIA payments started trickling in.
I criticised the US for once, but ended up defending it in the comments section.
I posted something on the IITs here.
I posted my Iraq blogathon here, here and here.
I defended fairness creams here.
I posted on Glass houses and stones II
I once again predicted that the dollar would go down as it did later
Iraq post no 10, no 11 , no 12, no 13., no 14 no 15 and no 16
I made a sceptical post on the greatness of the Vedas.
I tried my hand at dissent globalisation
You can learn more about Giffen goods here.
I supported the US here but ended up fighting with its defenders in the comments.
Did no one get the subtle joke in the headline of this post?
My SARS conspiracy theory series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
I posted on why it is a bad idea to legislate against consensual crimes. More here
How I became a capitalist
Iraq post no 17
Something on Ends and Means
Why I opposed sending troops to Iraq (no 18)
Something on self-sufficiency, Coke and Pepsi (1, 2)