lunatechian (lunatech-ian) - My take on life

BlackRock Steps Back from ESG Push

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 07:34:55 +0000

In a recent interview, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, signaled a shift in tone. The firm, once a strong advocate of ESG and DEI, is now taking a more “pragmatic” approach. Fink described the “woke” phase as part of a cycle and suggested it may have gone too far.

Looking past the word soup: what does it even mean for a financial firm to lead “environmental and social activism”?

As one Reddit commenter put it:

“None of this even touches on the absurdity of the proposition that an entity such as BlackRock could be considered an interlocutor for ‘environmental and social activism.’”

Another commenter sharpened that critique:

There’s a reason finance capitalist environmental and social plans focus so much on ‘consumerism’ and envision saving the world through a reduction of people and production, and in rent seeking, not a change in property ownership.”

The Hidden Tax on Indian Ambition

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 19:13:00 +0000

Photo by Lukas Kienzler on Unsplash

I spent years losing time I'll never get back. In Bangalore, 117 hours a year stuck in traffic. In Delhi, 76 hours. That's nearly three full days annually spent breathing exhaust fumes, watching productivity evaporate, and feeling ambition slowly suffocate in gridlock.

This isn't just my story. It's the story of millions of Indians trapped in cities that generate wealth but can't govern themselves.

Last week's Economic Survey finally said what we've all been living: India's cities are "economically central but politically peripheral." The top 10 cities hold roughly 9% of the population but generate nearly 28% of GDP—a 3× output multiplier. Yet they raise less than 0.6% of GDP in own-source revenue. They can't tax. They can't borrow. They can't plan their own futures.

The survey's conclusion is damning: "Global cities compete; Indian cities comply."

We've Built a System That Punishes Success

Here's what that compliance looks like in practice: affordable housing in the top eight cities collapsed from 52% of new supply in 2018 to just 17% by 2025. People who build India's economic engine can't afford to live near where they work. So they move further out, where housing is cheaper and commutes are brutal. The congestion gets worse. The tax base hollows out. The cycle repeats.

Meanwhile, the Economic Survey gently suggests cities should "prioritize the movement of people, not vehicles." What it should say is this: we've turned our roads into parking lots for single-occupancy cars while buses remain inadequate and metro coverage stays patchy. First-mile and last-mile connectivity is still an afterthought. Other global cities introduced congestion pricing decades ago. We're still debating it.

Informality Isn't the Bug—It's the Only Thing That Works

The survey notes that "informality is not an aberration but a structural outcome of rapid urbanization under constrained formal systems." Translation: our formal systems are so broken that informal systems have to fill the gaps.

Door-to-door garbage collection covers 98% of wards today. Impressive statistic. But when informal sanitation workers left Gurugram during a labor dispute, garbage piled up overnight. The entire system depends on invisible labor that we refuse to properly integrate or compensate. We'd rather pretend informality doesn't exist than acknowledge that it's the only reason our cities function at all.

We're More Urban Than We Admit

Official Census data from 2011 claims India's urbanization rate is around 31%. Satellite data tells a different story: some regions are functionally above 80% urban when you measure actual settlement patterns instead of administrative boundaries. We're governing 21st-century megacities with frameworks designed for towns.

The Economic Survey concludes that cities need fiscal power, planning power, and enforcement power to move from managing growth to benefiting from it. I'd go further: until cities can tax properly, borrow meaningfully, reform land use, integrate transit, and take political ownership of outcomes, nothing will change. And nothing is changing.

Why I Left

I left India because I got tired of watching ambition collide with dysfunction. Tired of living far from work because that's where housing was affordable. Tired of infrastructure expanding while institutions stayed broken. Tired of hearing about potential that never materializes because the system is designed to disperse power and avoid accountability.

India will keep producing globally competitive talent from structurally constrained cities. And that talent will keep leaving—not because India lacks opportunity, but because its cities can't translate economic productivity into livable realities. Until that changes, the brain drain isn't a failure of ambition. It's a rational response to urban failure.

Winter is ending

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 00:09:00 +0000

Notes on Delhi

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 02:18:59 +0000

"NewDelhi | 'Delhi is a city of secrets… everything's hidden, you need a good guide’ says US Ambassador"

Came across this Indian Express article about the experiences of the American Ambassador to India and I was surprised on how closely it matches my own experiences and thoughts about Delhi.

If you want to experience humanity at its fullest, this is the city for you.

This is something that stood out. Delhi shows you the full spectrum on humans in a day: You will see people on the streets - ignored by everyone and you will see politicians surrounded by 10s of escort cars. You will see the fashion parade of people haggling for the latest trends in Sarojini Nagar, and then a family dressed in the most traditional on way to attend a wedding. You will encounter pickpockets and swindlers trying to one-up you and you will see a generous man feeding a street dog half his lunch.

Delhi is a city of secrets… everything’s hidden

.. in plain sight. It doesn’t explain itself, but if you’ve lived here long enough, you stop needing explanations. You start reading the city like a layered book—noise and grace, chaos and intimacy, pride and vulnerability, all crammed into the same lane.

For better or worse, Delhi teaches you how to pay attention.

Dying with Dignity or Dying for a Lack of Support?

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 05:26:00 +0000

The expansion of Canada's euthanasia law, also known as medically assisted death (MAID), has had unintended consequences for some people with disabilities. Bill C-14, passed in 2016, legalized euthanasia for people with a "reasonably foreseeable" death. An amendment to the law, Bill C-7, further expanded the scope of legal euthanasia to include individuals suffering unbearably from a serious and incurable illness, disease, or disability, even if their death is not reasonably foreseeable. While the intention behind the law was to help people die with dignity, it has had unintended consequences for some individuals who may choose to end their lives due to a lack of quality social services.

One example is Amir Farsoud, who has never-ending back pain that qualified him for euthanasia. Farsoud did not want to die, but after fearing he would lose his housing, he applied for MAID as an alternative to homelessness. He had already received the approval of one doctor and was waiting for the required 90 days to pass before obtaining the approval of a second doctor when his story was published. A GoFundMe campaign raised more than $60,000 from people around the world and has given him a new lease on life. Farsoud has since put his application for MAID away, but his story has raised questions about the ethics of applying for MAID due to poverty.

Another example is a Canadian Forces veteran who suffered from traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was casually offered euthanasia by a Veterans Affairs employee. These cases illustrate the potential risks of the expanded euthanasia law in Canada and raise concerns about the impact on individuals with disabilities who may not have access to quality social services.

In conclusion, while the intention behind MAID is to help people die with dignity, it is important to consider the potential unintended consequences of the law. In light of these examples, it is clear that more guardrails are needed to ensure that MAID is not being used as a shortcut to stop supporting citizens in Canada, particularly those who are chronically ill and unable to afford housing.

Selfie time

nospam@example.com (moblog) — Sat, 29 Sep 2018 13:23:00 +0000

Milky Way

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 05:05:46 +0000

Looking at the milky way is an enlightening experience, especially if you know some of the science behind it. The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our solar system. The milky color visible from earth comes from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. The view that we get of the galaxy does not even include phenomenons that we cannot observe: gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, black holes Looking at the milky way and contemplating how vast the universe is and how unique our blue dot is, is a very humanizing experience.

Did Terry Pratchett put a part of himself in Sam Vimes

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 17:29:00 +0000

I was reading Neil Gaiman's eulogy for Terry Pratchett. This part stood out to me:

Terry looked at me. He said: "Do not underestimate this anger. This anger was the engine that powered Good Omens." I thought of the driven way that Terry wrote, and of the way that he drove the rest of us with him, and I knew that he was right.

There is a fury to Terry Pratchett's writing: it's the fury that was the engine that powered Discworld. It's also the anger at the headmaster who would decide that six-year-old Terry Pratchett would never be smart enough for the 11-plus; anger at pompous critics, and at those who think serious is the opposite of funny; anger at his early American publishers who could not bring his books out successfully.

And that anger, it seems to me, is about Terry's underlying sense of what is fair and what is not. It is that sense of fairness that underlies Terry's work and his writing, and it's what drove him from school to journalism to the press office of the SouthWestern Electricity Board to the position of being one of the best-loved and bestselling writers in the world.

This description of Terry Pratchett reminded me of the character Sam Vimesfrom the Discworld series. Vimes is an idealist, but a committed cynic whose knowledge of human nature constantly reminds him how far off those ideals are. Vimes also has a dark side that comes out when Vimes loses control of his anger, especially when he temporarily lets go of "the Beast" (in the novel Thud!).

revisiting the play Julius Caesar as an adult

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 00:14:23 +0000

I have had to read and take an exam on the play Julius Caesar. This had meant that I was forced to read the play and not see it performed. I had always assumed the play Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to be about the death (and life) of Julius Caesar. I got a chance to see the play performed by OSF and it has led me to question some ideas I had about the play.

Cassius was not Brutus's puppeteer

One of the impressions I had about Cassius was he was the villain in the play and he was the puppeter who was controlling Brutus's opinions about Caesar and inciting Brutus against Caesar. However, as the play progresses, it becomes clear that Cassius was not a scheming villain and he was perfectly happy to give Brutus the role of the leader of the assassination plot. This is very clear when he wholeheartedly agrees to not bring Cicero into the plot.

Â CASSIUS

But what of Cicero? shall we sound him?
I think he will stand very strong with us.

CASCA

Let us not leave him out.

CINNA

No, by no means.

BRUTUS

O, name him not: let us not break with him;

For he will never follow any thing

That other men begin.

CASSIUS

Then leave him out.

The next time this happens is when Cassius warns Brutus to not let Marc Anthony speak

CASSIUS

Brutus, a word with you.

Aside to BRUTUS

You know not what you do: do not consent

That Antony speak in his funeral:

Know you how much the people may be moved

By that which he will utter?

BRUTUS

By your pardon;

I will myself into the pulpit first,

And show the reason of our Caesar's death:

What Antony shall speak, I will protest

He speaks by leave and by permission,

And that we are contented Caesar shall

Have all true rites and lawful ceremonies.

It shall advantage more than do us wrong.

CASSIUS

I know not what may fall; I like it not.

Another scene when this shines forth is the argument that Cassius and Brutus get into at the battlefield and Cassius offers Brutus his sword to kill Cassius. This way the argument ends shows Cassius

CASSIUS

Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come,

Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius,

For Cassius is aweary of the world;

Hated by one he loves; braved by his brother;

Cheque'd like a bondman; all his faults observed,

My spirit from mine eyes! There is my dagger,

And here my naked breast; within, a heart

BRUTUS

Sheathe your dagger:

Be angry when you will, it shall have scope;

Do what you will, dishonour shall be humour.Â

Was the play about Caesar or about Brutus?

The other thing that stands out is that it is a little difficult to say Julius Caesar is the protagonist of the play. A lot of the play centers around the internal struggle that Brutus goes through before and after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Â There are monologs where Brutus tries to resolve his doubts about assasinating his friend and a man who trusts Brutus.

One part that stands out is towards the end of the play, when Brutus comments on how good his life has been

BRUTUS

My heart doth joy that yet in all my life

I found no man but he was true to me.

I shall have glory by this losing day

More than Octavius and Mark Antony

By this vile conquest shall attain unto.

Even his enemies respected Brutus.

ANTONY

This was the noblest Roman of them all:

All the conspirators save only he

Did that they did in envy of great Caesar;

He only, in a general honest thought

And common good to all, made one of them.

This is in sharp contrast to the life of Julius Caesar who was assasinated by people who were close to him and thought of him as a tyrant.

Quote from "The Stranger" by Albert Camus

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 03:24:24 +0000

My dear,
In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.
In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.
In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.
I realized, through it all, that ...
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger - something better, pushing right back.

Truly yours,
Albert Camus

Is it the start of the American apocalypse?

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 15:19:16 +0000

From The Intercept's article "Donald Trump Will Be President. This is What We Do Next.", this section captures the most dominant thought I have:

Be not downhearted.

Don't give up. As bone-chilling as this moment is, it also proves that no one's in charge and just about everything in America's up for grabs. After all, Bernie Sanders looks like he's appearing in a role where the casting notice read: "Male, 70s, white, must look exactly like the caricature of a socialist from 1980s right-wing agitprop." Yet from a standing start he almost beat Hillary Clinton.

Young Americans are extremely progressive, so much so that Frank Luntz, the GOP's top pollster, says it should "frighten every business and political leader." To some degree we just need to engage in a holding action until they're running things.

Despite having no resources other than lots of cell phones with the Twitter app, Black Lives Matter has done more to blunt police brutality than anyone in the past 40 years. There should be classes taught around the world about how they're doing it.

However, there is a section of people who might be harmed by the administration. There is no easy way to predict what the targets would be and how they will be targeted.

it's real hard to be free

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 14:59:43 +0000

Billy: What the hell is wrong with freedom? That's what it's all about.

George Hanson: Oh, yeah, that's right.

That's what's it's all about, all right.

But talkin' about it and bein' it, that's two different things. I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace.

Of course, don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, 'cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are.

Oh, yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em.

â€” Easy Rider

Your spending power is less than what you think

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 07:41:32 +0000

Your income is not as much as you think it is. Let me show you why using the numbers from the US Census Bureau for Santa Clara county

Median household income (in 2013 dollars) is $91,702 .However, note that this is not the amount that comes into the bank. The employer deducts the federal tax from this. A rough estimate of the income tax would be 27% (standard deductions, no dependents). This leaves $66942.46 .

After the Federal government takes its cut, the state government levies the state tax on the income. For California this would be 8%. This leaves $61587.06 .

Now let us calculate how many hours someone needs to work to get $61587.06 into the bank. A workday is 8 hours. Mean travel time to work in(minutes), is 25 minutes. Let us assume that he/she gets 21 days of vacation. This means that including the commute hours, subtracting vacation hours and assuming 5 days a week, he/she work 2069.55 hours annually.

So, your hourly earning rate is 61587.06/2069.55 = $29.75. Read that again: the median hourly earning rate is $29.75 . If you do not account for the tax cut and the time you spend in commute, you will believe that your hourly earning rate is 46.65 . However, that is not what an employee earns.

Next, let us see how this converts to buying power. Suppose someone with median income wants to buy shoes with a sticker price $100. The sales tax in California is 8%. What this means is that he/she end up spending $108 on the shoes. To earn $108 , this person needs to work for 3.6 hours.

I have made a spreadsheet to make this calculation easier. . If you want to figure out your spending power, create a copy of the spreadsheet and fill in the cells with numbers that apply to you.

Some ballpark numbers (for California):

if your annual income is $50,000 , you need to work 6.7 hours to spend $100
if your annual income is $100,000, you need to work 3.3 hours to spend $100

some thoughts on tattos

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 21:00:19 +0000

Not my original words, but I agree with them

the more 'ornamented' a person is today, that necessarily detracts from their energy (however insignificantly) to either improve themselves or contribute something new. Not as a rule, but in general the people who have tattoos did not get them to demarcate a significant emotional or symbolic event, but because they need to bolster an otherwise weak sense of identity. It's not just physical markings, either; it could be tattoos, humblebrag facebook statuses, endless numbers heavily filtered selfies on instagram, short-but-intense passion for some political cause, armchair activism, etc. Truly remarkable people tend not to care what others think of them, by virtue of the fact they are fulfilled by the fruits of their precious time and energy.

Tattoos used to mean, ‘get away from me.’ Now they mean, ‘Ask me about my tattoo`

QOTD

nospam@example.com (Raj Shekhar) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 03:03:04 +0000

You get what anybody gets - you get a lifetime.

Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 1