Thursday, August 27, 2020

Huitzilopochtli & Narcos

It is fascinating to see modern problems being framed through the lens of mythology. In the tele-series "Narcos" a drug lord invokes the patron god of the Mexica tribe to explain the war of succession in his smuggling cartel, "Even Huitzilopochtli had to kill his brothers to sustain the sun, and to save the world from darkness".

Much has been written about this tele-series but I found the first part (on Escobar and the Medellin Cartel) a lot better than the sequels. The story moves a good pace, and its fascinating to see how a petty smuggler of washing-machines takes to smuggling cocaine under trucks laden with Peruvian potatoes, and how it destroys country after country. 

The first part is also high on nuance. Not all drug-lords sell their souls for easy-money - some of them see it as a tool to improve lives of impoverished rural communities; US agents are not one insensitive, evil monolith - there are differences in priorities and objectives of DEA, CIA and the State Department - and each of them has no qualms about undercutting the other to claim that all-important visibility and increase in annual budget. Human relationships also matter - Escobar was ruthless but he was also gentle and loyal to his family, and his own father pitied and loathed him for all his bravado and brutality.

I don't know to what extent this series was short on location, in Columbia or Mexico it is nice to see so many different houses, surrounded by lush gardens, bathed in sunlight.

Neither did I know the difference between the drugs that are extracted from three different plant -  cannabis, coca and poppy.  Now it is clear from the Cannabis you get marijuana, hashish and hashish oil; from Poppy you get morphine, codeine, heroin and oxycodone, and finally, from Coca, you get cocaine.

While working in Afghanistan, I had learnt how poppy fits neatly into the socio-economic gaps of demands and supply. The crop thrives in the most drought prone areas, gives the farmers some form of dependable revenue to feed their families, but it also fuels the internecine wars with a good chunk of 'export' earnings going for buying weapons. And yet, the money made by the Taliban on afghan poppy is not a patch on the empires built by the South American drug cartels. A conservative estimate is that USD 100 billion worth of drugs flows into USA and just Columbia earns about USD 30 billion from its illegal exports. 

As the Narcos series moves from Escobar to the exploits of DEA agent Kiki Camarera, his brutal torture, killing and subsequent retribution; the rise of the Cali Cartel and the rise of the Mexican cartels, all the way to El Chapo, you can clearly see a drop in quality. Story-lines stretch, actors appear wooden, dialogues stilted and cliched. I had to stop watching after two episodes of El Chapo. My patience and capacity for binge-watching had run out - thus far and no further!

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* Illegal Drug Trade - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade

* DEA Museum - Coca, Cannabis and Poppy - https://www.deamuseum.org 

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu%C4%ABtzil%C5%8Dp%C5%8Dchtli

* Narcos Mexico -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcos:_Mexico

Monday, August 24, 2020

Casio G-Shock - Seeing through the Hype

Casio spends serious money in building its G-Shock brand of digital wrist-watches. Even during the ongoing pandemic, you can see them displayed prominently on billboards, SM advertisements,  exclusive brand-stores, and in almost every watch store worth its salt.

Does the brand actually live up to its claims? Is it worth the premium it charges for durability? I got my answer last month - an unequivocal 'No!'.

I had been taking my G-Shock to the local Casio Service Centre ever since I purchased it. Last month, when the screen went suddenly blank I once again to CSS-Noida thinking its battery had run out. No such luck. Instead, an elderly technician who had taken my watch in for a check-up came out with the air of a doctor announcing the death of a loved on - "There is no hope", he shrugged, "It has got completely rotten from inside".

This is how the watch looked - 


The "stainless steel" back was all rusted. Ditto for the the four screws that held it in place. A watch which claimed to be "Water Resist 20 Bar" had been a complete let down.

So if you are planning to buy a G-Shock please beware. For the price you will be forking out for a watch that looks durable, you will be shocked to know how fragile it really is!

The problem with digital watches is that once you get used to one it's difficult to switch completely to analogue/quartz watches. I always prefer to wear a digi for everyday use and set aside the needle-watches for formal occassions.

My hunt for an alternative to G-shock took me to Timex (the Expedition series), back to Casio (for the non GShock series) and to Decathlon.  

The Timex looked good but the leather straps put me off. Experience tells me that these straps do not survive two monsoon seasons. Also the very idea of having a tiny strip of "Indiglo" digital on a predominantly analogue watch did seem to make sense.

The Casio "normal" digi's seemed like an attractive option - they are way cheaper (starting at INR 870)  but the displays seemed too cluttered -- too much of unnecessary information staring at you at all times, when you don't really need them.

Finally I have settled for a watch from Decathlon - the W500+M



At INR 1299 this provides what we could perhaps call the best value for money. I like the uncluttered,  large that tells you only what you want to see all the time. The navigation is simple and intuitive and despite the large face this watch feels quite light on your wrist. I also love the fact that the straps can be changed easily ( a nightmare with Casio) - you just have to slide them off (no screws and pins) and they are available for just INR 250. 

Caveat: The plastic case is flimsier than expected and scratches easily. Also, please don't be fooled by the display pics - the display digits on black background have much less contrast compared to what you see on the smart packaging. 

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LINKS & REFERENCES:

Decathlon online - a good option in these pandemic-times - https://www.decathlon.in/electronics/sport-watch-15077