1.  Sky dive from one of the world’s highest buildings

2. Go to Japan

3. Write a fantasy novel

4. Go to a Coldplay/U2 concert

5. Learn Horse Riding

Ever since the third year of engineering came into the picture, the thought of doing something different always had passed my mind. Now this obviously has come at a rather surprising time, taking into consideration that the third year is not always that time you would have all the time in the world. For instance , way back in July, i had planned for a meticulous schedule of gym, study and tennis. Now not all things fell into place, considering that academics has never been my cup of tea, neither the idea of getting a body such as ivan draga has materialized into the bonehead thick skull of mine. For the next few months I planned on working out , playing tennis and then concentrate on a familiar known domain Academics. I wanted perfect chiseled abs like the character Dolph plays in Rocky 4, but unlike him, I dont have any fights lined up with Rocky Balboa. Oh yeah people ! i root for the antagonist here. Draga has sort of become of my nickname and I am proud of it ! Well , about the resemblances .. Ahem , moving on …

Heavens ! This picture is so damn sexy [I am not gay if that is what you are thinking] that this just makes up for a great poster and is still an awesome display of chiseled perfection that I really have the mind to upload it again .

See the trick ! In the self proclaimed ‘The God of small things’ book of mine , happiness sure does conjure up uploading photos of draga twice.  The point is – How many of us have been spellbound by the workouts of Sylvester Stallone from Rocky ? Or be transfixed by the exploits of Gerard Bulter in 300  ? And how many of us have let laziness take over our psyche ? Well the fact still remains. Now the effect of seeing a Rocky movie and its awesome training can yield anything , absolutely anything but a goose egg. And when the thoughts of possessing a body such as Dolphie seeped into the mind of mine, it has got to have after effects. I remember once I had to be taken into the doctor for a swollen right arm. No kidding guys ! I am really a fanatic. But in the simple sense , All good things come to a break , if not the legendary end. And so when Life’s simple pleasures consist of uploading Dolph Lundgren’s picture twice, it can also consist of wowing on a picture of this. And then all that inspired frenzy over getting Dolphie’s abs and biceps all come to a weird break, if not end. The goddess thronged as my desktop wallpaper for more than 2 summers until my 3Ghz baby gave me the cold shoulder for not having paid attention to the other quite charming creations of God. My question is – Why God Why ? ..  Why does such angelic creations of God have to be juxtaposed to the imaginary backyard of random cuppers ?  And hence I waste another idyllic setting on what could have been a productive use of cardio workouts , or atleast cerebrum teasers. My good friend Ajay had a question transfixing the myths of modern and pre-historic mankind. Do all the awesome creations of God need understanding? what is their purpose then ? Such questions form an ideal backlight in the rather chaotic thick headed skull of mine. Now, me being in a residential institute , there are no martinets around to keep tabs on me, and the cycle of Karma repeats. The sinking comfort of laziness.The balancing of the equation. I slip into day-dreaming. One of my most favourite totally unproductive pastime. Voila. The contradiction – Me day dreaming led to one productive thing- this post. Now then again, what was this post about ? Ahem Ahem ……

Hello peoples !! Long time no seen. what better to spring back to the fore with a rather interesting topic. Let me first warn you that this blog post is coming from a GUY,and secondly people expecting intense dramatization can better while away their time on another arbit post instead of clinging on to this one. Any resemblances/happenings to people currently living are purely intentional. And this post is really a serious one so i have paid scant attention to my literary skill as I am typing this as I would normally speak out on a topic on something. This post has incidents and observations based from experiences, some having to bear the misfortune of being my own. On a serious note, this post is aimed at girls who sort of dont really get the lay-down on guys. And a post to all the good guys who have been misinterpreted/misunderstood by the other sex and are currently ‘unluckily’ single. I use the apostrophe for obvious comprehended reasons. Anyways the usual perceived notion is that guys always look for physical and proximate needs in girls, which i dont not disagree. But it is a huge mistake to always think in that train of thought as it is seriously saddening to the other really great guys who really want a meaningful purpose of life in their partners . I know girls may think that this is not really the sane way of learning about us guys , in the sense that no blog can just magically guide you dudettes to know dudes better, it will depend a great deal on your own intuition and sense of character judging. Because, after all, at the end of the day, isn’t character what its all about ? And I am no authority to have a say, you might ask as to why read some arbit blogger’s shoutbox, but do help me on the path to bloggarizing…so read this nevertheless. Just have a glance at what a guy has to say about what needs to be known about them . For all the single guys, if you havent really hit it off with the opposite sex, you dont have to mope around. Its like this. If a guy doesnt get a girl, the girl doesnt get him either. So be happy and zen. For more cool stuff regarding being single and not having a girlfriend, please read my Guru Barney Stinson’s blog at CBS. Insanely humorous and cheerful.

Disclaimer : This post is strictly based on my own views and observations. It is not meant to mislead anyone and I do not force neither compel my fellow bloggers to put up with my madness. Read it at your own will.

Now, my dear female blogriends, this goes out to you. I hope you can get a lay-down.

When a guy doesnt really talk, but is sort of shy and nervous, he might enter into panic mode[ which can be characterized by an occasional distinct facial expression and rapid blinking of eye lids.

Its really not fair to judge a guy's character from just one meeting. For all i know, he might be too shy to talk and he might be needing his time to talk and blend with new people

Do spend a lot of time hanging out with the guy as friends so that you will have a really long time to decide what and who he really is.

All the fairytale expectations need to take a backseat. I am not saying dont have them, but atleast it should NOT be given a high preference.

The only way to really know a guy truly is how he blends among his friends and to get to know his interests, likes , dislikes. So start hanging out with him more often.

A guy wanting to show you to his parents is really a great guy !

Once the guy has enough confidence, he might spring up some surprises. So if you expect something from a guy, make sure to him that you like him, or else he is just going to keep his feelings bottled up and wouldn't say anything unless you indirectly hint to him about the go-ahead.

Please do NOT believe in Love at first sight.[ people differing in opinion can challenge me to an open argument on this]

When a guy looks at you into the eye and says something , he really means it and he definitely cant lie to you this way.

If you are really onto a guy and the guy is like into you, it is really not pleasant to talk about other guys[esp your exes] and saying that they are really good looking and things like he was a great guy and all.

It wont take a great deal of effort for guys to flirt or impress you. Many of these specimens are obviously looking for somethings beyond the obvious. I do not endorse guys who like flirting or impressing or wooing and all. I like the slow , but really strong ‘ Get to know each other very well ‘ before making the moves. It is the best to know the guy as a person [ I am open to debate ]

When a guy looks at you with really long unblinking eyes and is taking slow inhaled breaths, his heart is really beating fast and he is really in love with you. Girls who have seen this are really lucky as this is one way where she can make sure a guy loves her without having to be flirted upon.

There are many more facets of a guy’s character but it depends on what you are looking for. There are a lot of great guys out there who stay low-profile. The really high profile people aren’t necessarily the best ones and the best ones aren’t always high profile. So please do not make assumptions about US. Thats about it I think. May all the great gals be \m/ with the suave, cool and hip part of US.

For all my fellow male dudes, if you really like a girl you just saw, befriend her saying you found her interesting or start a mutual interest conversation. If you probably go and try and some fancy moves and give her the red chromed, sweet smelling flora , 95 % of the times you are bound to end up with a broken heart. And a lonely heart is way way better than a broken heart. Girls like surprises , but not from any stranger. [The last piece of advice to the male dudes comes from a uncredited friend of mine who thinks his name is too special to be featured publicly on my literary esplanade]. Anyways thanks to all of you for putting up with my madness. I will be back blogging on a regular basis as I have more time to call mine as of now, even though I am sure it wont be the same in a few months’ time. [ Pre-final year Engg- bah ! tell me about it guys ! ]

I know this is soo unlike me, anyways i did not write this to have some surge in blog readership but lets just say I just wanted to get something off my back. And it feels better. … Ciao around peoples!!!

Planet Earth

A show that has left me gaping with pure awe. I am not exaggerating when I say this- hold your horses, this series is the greatest show television has ever seen. No doubt about it . BBC World takes us on a journey of Our mother Earth, And what a documentary they have created ! Once you start watching this series , you will be left dumfounded, and you will be asking yourself how in the world did they make such a documentary ? I was left with my mouth wide open. Sights you have never seen, locations never ventured, phenomena you have never known, taking us to places man has never ever dreamed of in a million ages. This is undoubtedly the best television has to offer.

Planet Earth is a pure visual treat. I would say the actual context of it being informative and knowledgable would be secondary, and the prime focus of the show in enthralling its viewers lies in its power to attract beyond reason. No matter how many great writers review this show, it will still in no way do justice to what you are witnessing here. All credit to BBC World and its team. What an effort ! Such tenacity, such hard work ! To the benefit of millions of viewers, the folks at BBC world deserve all the applause. The programme also carries out a function of an encyclopedia into unexplored territory, but it does it in a far far interesting and engrossing way that can leave it viewers flabbergasted. Narration, music and editing in the legendary way of the BBC, in a subtle, very light and soothing for the senses.

If you haven’t watched Planet Earth yet, I would suggest you buy a DVD pack from a good retail store. It is one of the greatest treasures that your electronic medium can ever house. Your television or your PC screen will be honored it is playing such a masterpiece. And I am not the one you would associate with fanatism, nor am I going overboard with my slightly descriptive review here, but this according to me just goes to show that such shows deserve all the recognition. I myself am privileged to get an opportunity to watch a series such as ‘Planet Earth’. This is probably the finest of all documentaries ever created, and i would doubt if any other infotainment even in the future can measure up to the gist of this one.

Once again, for all of us who have watched this magnum opus, we ought to thank BBC for everything. For those of you who haven’t, get ready to put on your thanking caps. This is one show that every human on the planet needs to watch. And I am serious.

P.S. Watching this show in a resolution lesser than a high definition format or a Blu-ray would be really insulting to the series, please try and watch it in HD to properly appreciate the essence.

Each day i think
The familiar roads I tread on and the people i used to see seem to sink
Each day i see
People with dreams and dying ambitions walking alongside me
And I ask myself
When will i realize the meaning of life

Each day my face is weathered by the eye of a storm
Each experience teaches a bountiful unknown

Out of the cocoon that I was writhe
Struggling to find my place in this blue sphere
No longer in the protective care of my folks
I have to make my mark in this world
One day i will find those wings
Those imaginary feathers with which the song of life I shall sing

All I am asking is to love and be loved
I want to live my life
And one day I will know
And the world will know
That my day has finally come
Until then I am still trying
To find my heaven in this earth

I want to reach the place where there is sunshine
Go and spread my hands wide
Everyone have their own dreams
Everone have their own ambitions
Everyone have their own reason to live their life

The memories haven’t faded
To this day I remember seeing my infancy
The days which seemed so happy
And I don’t know whether I can find such happiness again

Life as a mixture of colors in a album
I see myself back in time
Its time to live in the present
And I realize that I have to live my life yet
How i would love to see someone look at me
And gleam with pride

I am still struggling
To find my place
People are walking, people are running
The roads they tread are without a trace
My mind has become an illusion
Happy with the so called facts of delusion
And I ask myself
“Who am I ?”

Come to believe that there is a force that is greater than what drives everyone
The spirit of ambition
The burning heart of desire
Everyone’s seemed to have found theirs
And I ask myself
“Where’s mine ?”

The dream needs to be caste upon me
The inspiration needs to manifest
I am still struggling to find them
And without a doubt I am sure
I haven’t figured out the meaning of life
And I still ask myself
“Who am I ?”

 Jan 8 ,2009- We had our lunch in a hurry and got ready as we headed to out (me, Rags , Praddy and Kamikaze rushed out to meet the 11 others on a trip to Manali and whereabouts). We rented 2 cabs- a tata sumo and a chevrolet tavera. We started at around 2.30 PM from NIT and started on our long journey. I was lucky to get the middle of 3 occupiable rows in the cab. We then proceeded for some distance and then stopped as the other cab had to undergo some repairs. ( around 1.5 hrs were wasted ). Then we proceeded till long throught the night until we came across a long deep underground tunnel. The engineering marvel had to be appreciated as the whole tunnel was carved from a single mountain. We took some snaps and then proceeded further to our destination. We then reached a place called Mandi at around 9.30 PM – the place where an IIT is coming up. Then finally we reached Manali- our destination at around 12.30 am in the night and slept peacefully in our dens.( a nice hotel for tourists with a tv and running hot water). Three people were in each of the 5 rooms which were actually meant for 2. Individually , we each payed around Rs.160/- for 2 days(which is damn cheap). 

 Jan 9,2009- We got up at around 8 AM, went to a nice decent hotel and had our breakfast. As we are ethnique south, we just tried a hand on dosa as we wanted to know if they can prepare the south dishes good too. All i can say is they didn’t do it bad. But the onion parantha was good though. Then we walked around a mile and a half and climbed some 75 zig zag ascending steps to visit the Hadimba temple. ( According to mythology, Hadimba is the asura married to Bheema and the mother of Ghatotkach). We had a good time there and then went to a museum where we saw artifacts and items of historic himachal significance. As we walked back , we realized that we were walking in beauty indescribable here. Paradise, scenic beauty with its snow capped trees and orange and red trees donning unparalled whiff of God’s own country. Those people who are in awe of Switzerland better take a trip here too.  Manali is one such place.Then we returned and took a long trip on the cab to Solang valley. The journey was a long 3 hr one but it was the one to be  permanently etched in our minds. The roads to this were snow laden and the mountains were snow capped which had us staring with raw awe and had our cameras clicking. We then unarguably had one of the best times of our lives, once we reached there, we payed Rs.150/- for renting some protective snow clothing which included thick leather boots. We then walked uphill on thick snow paths where vehicles weren’t accessible. A large ground was in view and people were playing all kinds of sports. We tried our hand on skiing. I fell down 2 times at the start, but boy, once I got the hang of it , I enjoyed it like anything. I mean anyyyythinggggg. My hands started to pain a little from vigorous pulling and my back started to hurt from the supposed posture I was maintaining. Then we tried our hand on tube- slide, 2 persons were made to sit on a tube and then pushed from a steep incline of the snow mountain. We had unbelievable fun here. As Vijay(a senior) and myself made our way to the bottom from the top of the incline , he was pushed out of the tube due to some bumps in the incline. Then I fell out of the tube at high speed and slided in the ice for around 20 feet. Luckily, neither of us were hurt or even scratched thanks to the protective clothing. Then we did some mountain climbing. We spent a lot of time there and finally as dusk was approaching, we made our way back to our  cribs.

Jan 9,2009- 8 am- We didn’t have our breakfast as we started out earlt for Manikaran- a place known for its natural hot water springs. We had some chowmein for Rs.20/- on the way . The roads to this place were very beautiful. We then reached Manikaran in the afternoon at around 4pm and had an amazing bath at the hot spring. We then went and had free food inside the Gurudwara. Nice food. And one thing I like most about these Gurudwaras is that many of them give free food as well as some give free lodging as well. We then went inside the Shiva temple and then saw some exquiste places where the steam was oozing out of the hot unbelievably hot spring.( The temple was built around some of these place). We then took some recluse inside a hot cave. Slowly , we approached the end of an amazing trip – wait , not amazing- a legendary trip. The trip cost each of us around Rs.1700/- including around 950 bucks for the cab.

         We then started at around 6.30 pm in the evening and returned to NIT at around 12.30 am on Jan 10, 2009… What an exhirilating trip!!

Jan 2,2009 -The time is 8AM.  I woke up from my everlasting slumber to a lot of commotion. A lot of boys were heading out of the hostel to see what was happening. Even the sleepy legs of mine, eagerly interested in the ‘awakening’ developments, rushed out to see and get a glimpse to see what this melodrama was all about.  And there i witnessed it , dozens and scores of police walking around. If this was not enough, I took a stroll near the Administrative block to see what is happening. And lo behold  ! hundreds of scattered police walking around in an protective circle while some eager looking students were trying to get a peek of what was happening inside the circle. The entire campus had become sort of a fortress and all this just happened overnight!! An overtly eager hand pulls up on my shoulder and I was asked,” Hey, Did you catch a glimpse of him?” . Myself not really the one having the latest insight into the happenings of a college, replied in a meek submissive NO!!!??? coupled with a confused ‘what in the world is going on’ look.  Only minutes later did I realize the gravity of the situation when I was told the man himself, our beloved former president DR.APJ was visiting the campus ! Myself with awe and dumbfounded excitement, I was told to whisker away from the place by the security. Well, I registered myself to attend a lecture cum interaction by him the following evening.

NIT Hamirpur played host to Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India invited as chief guest for the convocation of the students who passed out of the college. At around 6.30 pm in the evening, students started pouring in the auditorium where Dr.APJ was to make his presence. We had to go through thorough security check ups and metal detectors before we proceeded to the auditorium. We were also told not to carry any mobile phones inside the large hall capable of seating around 500 odd persons. Minutes later, the noisy crowd came to a halt. The man stepped his way into the auditorium to a standing ovation. He started with 4 inspiring stories of 4 nobel laureates to explain strong principles with concrete examples. But before that he addressed the gathering with the following words,”Dear friends !” I was  being a avid listener of his speech, which not only spoke volumes about the man but also showed in me the compassion and belief that he radiated to other fellow human beings. An useful interaction session with the students followed. A wide variety of topics were being discussed pertaining from economic development to fighting terrorism.

An enlightening session for many of those who were present at the audi that day, the words that he spoke have to be treasured for a long time and hopefully his dream India 2020 and now – our collective dream of a developed India will be realized…

What i am going to write is probably prevalent in some of the major residential institutions with a ready local area network. No prizes for guessing.. They are the lan games. More of an electronic drug.. is what i would like to call it. The intent to which it has taken up part of the daily routine of the hostelers is sickening, and in my case, insanely maddening. If lan games were a drug, then Counter-strike would be the big momma of all drugs. The more you play this game, the more and more people get addicted to and lesser and lesser people focus on other imporant things, such as academics. Guys go late into the night planning strategies, playing matches  ( 5 on 5 ) or simply random head shotters. Whether a hostler has attended classes as a part of his regular routine is debatable, but his absence from the regular gaming circuit is only rare. Another drug, if not like CS, is Age of empires. Although this drug can only be administered at certain times when there are enough people and this drug is more a brain triggering one rather than the former’s mouse navigational abilites. CS involves mouse skill and strategy(if you are a serious fragger) while AOE is all about strategy.

One thing that seems to be redolent of all these games are that they seem to have a huge impact on one’s academics, but the almighty is not benevolent when it comes to having poor grades… .. These games seem quite alright when it is played in MODERATION, else there are debates of it being able to spark aggressive behavior in teens, and it is really not that worthwhile to be playing it at the cost of your health , your grades and ultimately your life ! If i were a doctor and you asked me what would be the drug rehab for such a case, i would say first uninstall these games, then go for something extra curricular, say hit the gym or go play some ball ! It does not seem exciting at first(considering you can stay in your room all day and do nothing but CS) , but once you have become a part of that small regular group, you can be rest assured you are going to have a great time.

Give it a thought and you wouldn’t disagree with me when i say that lan games have very much become a drug- definitely not for the good of ‘mankind’( hehe ye i know i have exaggerated but here mankind refers to a special kind of men- the gaming hostlers). Well, CS is no medicine but it is actually a poison and you know what happens when it is taken in overdose!! My friends are literally going to kill me considering I wrote this post, myself being a serious CS freak!!He He

when do people basically get inspired? When they see someone marvelling at their job so damn excruciatingly well, that they would like to emulate them in a similar fashion. Well, sometimes, what may be found as inspiring to some may be perceived as not so appealing to others. Now, what makes for these set of differences? yeah, you get loads and dozens of self-help books on the market which do nothing but shell out your hard-earned money. Sometimes, they do help. many a time, they don’t.

Now, in no way am i suggesting that there aren’t any good self help books at all. But, many do lay emphasis on the obvious niceties on life and telling us that one is right and one is wrong, but all these will mostly depend on how receptive your reader is. The most fascinating thing of a great writer is obviously how well he can anticipate his reader’s perception. And sometimes ,hitting on the deck is exactly what most of the authors do without much dressing up, bit more in vague like the executive management style. And it pays off pretty well too. Now, what appeared to me as a pretty decent way of summing up things is- many of these self-help books finally centre down to one basic thing- that thing called LOVE.

A bit confused? Don’t be. Why do successful people called what they are called? because they love what they are doing. Yeah Yeah , you mostly end up getting advices like you have to improve in that area of discipline and this and that, but if one tries to focus to love what they do, all these other factors come after that automatically. All these proclaimed beneficial factors spring up by itself. pronto.  LOVE whatever you do, wherever you do .Learn to LOVE your life, and the life loves you back. This is what i learnt after so many experiences(not all of them my own).  LOVE ,love, love .that is it. Well, if you do not know how to love whatever you are doing, no one can teach you to love. The burning desire to love comes from within the heart ,not the intelluctual mind, thus free from any other specific want based desires, instead just aspiring and ambitious ones. Well, once you have learnt how to love your life the way you don’t love anything else, all these countless self-help books seem nothing but a heap of dust, and the world will dance to your music.

To sum all this up, THE SECRET OF SUCCESS IS LOVE.

2008 – a year that has witnessed the fall of the big players in the investment field-

Bear sterns was taken over by JP Morgan

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were nationalized

Lehman Bros became bankrupt.

Merryl Lynch taken over by Bank of America for a meagre $50 bn !

With financial institutions falling prey one after another to the global credit crisis, the bailout packages announced by various governments across the globe are inching towards $2 trn mark — an amount nearly double the size of Indian economy !

The Wall street tremors will have aftershocks the world over, with global markets plummeting to new lows and with liquidity crisis in perspective, the world is facing a severe economic crisis and many are blindly hopeful of a bail-out plan. But …….let me guess what you are thinking…..

Q 1)  what in the world is going on right now?

Q 2 ) why does all this matter to me? and how do I, the Indian citizen stand to be affected by this?

THE WHOLE STORY:

The first signs of the sub-prime crisis was evident in the form of Bear Stearns whose 2 hedge funds collapsed in the mid of June 07 . Sadly , help in the form of $ 100 billion in liquidity courtesy Federal Reserve Bank and European Central Bank didn’t do much to solve the prevalent sub-prime crisis as the housing market continued to elevate without increase in interest rates. Then the wall street virtually went on a wild horse ride with one of the prestigious players Lehman brothers posting huge losses and eventually they din’t become lucky as the others as both Bank of America and Barclay’s refused to save the investment giant. The sole cause- Lehman Bros and Bear Sterns had relatively small balance sheets, they were heavily dependent on the mortgage market and were humungously reliant on the repurchase market (use as a short-term financing tool). The final nail in the coffin of the Lehman Brothers was put as it applied for a bankrupt protection on September 15th, which created a violent storm in the world financial system

AIG which was supposedly a basic insurance company also committed the erraneous speciality of investing in derivatives. Now for non- enthusiasts like some people out there, what are DERIVATIVES? Well, more on that later in this post.

IMPACT ON INDIA:

With many of the top IT companies save HCL having half their revenues from financial and banking segments, no doubt they are going to take a harsh beating, with Infosys already losing $2 bn the past week(Sept end) out of an approximate $10 bn lost by Indian IT companies listed on the US market. Banks may suffer as Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch had invested substantially in the formers’s stocks.

Supposedly, some of the PSU banks are also said to be affected even though assurances by the FM P.Chidambaram that none of the former are influenced. Well, that remains to be seen.

Now with traders possibly selling their stocks in India, Indian rupee stands to decline and hence imports will become costlier, one of the many things that stand to be affected, in line with many of the innumerable crisises that our country has still looming at large.

WHAT IS DERIVATIVES ( In Layman’s terms) in this case also know as HEDGING

–>The main use of a derivative is reducing risk for a party.

–>Derivative products derive their existence from actual market indices, hence the name derivatives.

I am not a expert on this, but with a great amount of thanks to my dad( who is pretty good at this stuff), I can put forward a vague idea what this is all about. Now supposing Mr.X  enters into a FUTURES CONTRACT with Mr.Y, say he pays a certain amount of money for a certain commodity from Mr.Y in the future(any fixed amount of time in the future) , now as the market can be totally unpredictable with fluctuating interest rates, such an agreement can reduce risks.

BENEFITS:

1. Mr.X now has an assured supply of commodity in the future at the existent market rates at that time.

2. Mr.Y now has an assured price for his commodity in the future from Mr.X

Something like this.

Now there are many forms of derivatives, one which caused the epicentre here in the sub prime crisis being mortgage-backed security (MBS). For more information on MBS, you can easily refer … say wikipedia or the article by Mohit Satyanand in Outlook MONEY was pretty awesome.

Now in the present case , since the housing rates didn’t shoot up, the investment banks couldn’t recover money and the growing housing markets only added to their downfall.. Voila !! this almost does it for a layman’s understanding to the current global economic crisis.