Waking Life

The Missus

2009-03-28T01:14:00.001+05:30

The Missus
Originally uploaded by clickr clickr.

Psting from Flickr!!!

Wanna be

2008-04-27T00:55:00.003+05:30

You wanna be this when you grow up
I wanna be this when I grow up
He wanna be this when he grow up
I wanna be that also
I wanna be like him also
I wanna be like this also

Don't Wanna be

Hmm...HOME

2008-04-16T11:07:00.000+05:30

2008-04-15T10:56:00.001+05:30

Met Maria Goretti for the first time last week. Will try and get a pic with her by the end of the internship.

Walk...

2007-12-19T21:18:00.000+05:30

When the Hunted becomes the Hunter, Walk
Of village and adventure, Walk
Of unfilled urns, Walk
Of imbalanced accounts, Walk
Of Juniors night and Maxi Bazaar, Walk
Of Gripe and Grax, Walk
Of Dadus and Bishu da, Walk
Of Bodhi and Cactus, Walk
Of Gradedrop and LTop, Walk
Of an open bar and seven course meals, Walk
For Newly Committeds, Walk
For Wet nights and Omaxi, Walk
For Dunks and Bunks, Walk
For CPs - Arbit and Desperate, Walk
For Ghissus and A-Poses, Walk
For Fraxers and Prayers,Walk
For Well calls and signouts, Walk

Life @ XL, Walk

[This project is evolving, feel free to leave your suggestions]

Tired.Dehydrated.Frustrated.Hot.

2007-06-18T19:08:00.001+05:30

That sums it up pretty much. They didn't tell me it was like this.[Hold it, I am cribbing about a place I have stay two years with] Actually, it IS a nice place. Folks that remind me of my first year in college. Same enthusiasm to impress the members of the opposite sex, make an impression in class, same devoted adherence to rules, I sit with the gang that does not show even tiny spec of enthusiasm., etc. At the same time the engineering colleges in the south and here are worlds apart-especially with respect to THE ratio. And, every Prof is bent on making our meaningless lives miserable.More later. Tata (yeah, tatanagar).

Can you push my train, please!

2007-06-01T15:00:00.000+05:30

That was an announcement on a train. "Where?" you ask, In Bihar, my friend.[full story]

Hundreds of rail passengers got more than they had bargained for when the driver of their train asked them to get out and push.

It took more than half an hour to move the stalled electric train 12 feet (4 metres) so that it touched live overhead wires and was able to resume its journey, officials said on Wednesday.

Hindutva - Where is it going?

2007-06-01T13:39:00.000+05:30

We witnessed a scary incident recently. The arrest of a student in the M.S. University, Vadodra, Gujrat because he had made 'obscene' paintings of the Gods [link]. This poison tree a.k.a Hindutva movement is being nurtured with great care by the RSS and institutions alike. What is really scary is that it isn't a stray incident we saw it sometime back when 'moral police' beat up unassuming couples in a park in Meerut [link]. It happens every year on Valentine's Day, when power/recognition/money thirsty politicians unemployed youth hired to go on a rampage to destroy gift stores, where probably their sibling is employed, supporting their lazy ass. The fact is the hindutva movement is hardly 20 years old, primarily started to grab political power. I call it the grand circus, unaware that the hatred and intolerance it feeds on will lead to it own destruction. Enough of my opinion, here is a transcript of an interview of Amartya sen, that tracks this hindutva movement. 'India's Two Great Emperors Were Both Non-Hindu' On the Hindutva version of Indian history - and how India was never a Hindu rashtra. [Source]. I believe he has dealt with this issue in detail in his recent book - The Argumentative Indian, which I have picked up and will try to do justice to it during my first few weeks at my new abode.

Though extremely busy with a workshop on 'education, equity and human security' in Calcutta, Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen still took time out to talk to Outlook, and articulate his views on the Hindutva version of Indian history. Sen had condemned the Babri Masjid demolition in 'Threat To Secular India', published in the New York Review shortly after the epoch-changing incident. Here he describes the Hindutva version of Indian history as sectarian and combative, and argues that India was never a Hindu rashtra. Excerpts from an exclusive interview with Subhoranjan Dasgupta:

In your address to the Calcutta History Congress last year, you described the spirit and discipline of history as 'capacious heterodoxy'.

"To study history, we have to have a sense of space. Heterodoxy is important in understanding history."

That's a wonderful expression. Could you please elaborate on it?

Well, I'm glad you like the expression. What I intended to say by that is that in order to study history, we have to have a sense of space-that there could be different ways of looking at past events and in case there are differences, we should be able to argue it out. Heterodoxy is important because understanding history requires different approaches. Furthermore, heterodoxy itself is sometimes among the most interesting things to study in the history of a civilisation or a culture. So, for both these points of view-heterodoxy as a method and as well as a subject matter to be
studied-history has to be deeply concerned, I believe, with it. If you want to know what exciting things are happening at a certain period in a certain country, you look not just at what the ongoing tradition is, but where people are disagreeing and in what way. I am not a historian but that is the way I tend to see history, a subject
on which I occasionally try to write and which I greatly like reading. If the study of Indian history is infused by this spirit, what sort of textbooks should our schoolgoers be reading? Because there is a current effort, for instance, to portray the Muslim period as an age of darkness.

Obviously blacking out the Muslim period-what you are describing as the "Muslim period"-as an age of darkness would be just a gross mistake. Textbooks should contain truths rather than falsehoods. It's not just a matter of understanding our past,

"There is a 'category mistake' in thinking that comparisons with terrorists is a cogent way to assess historians." but also our present. If you look at anything today-Indian painting, music, literature, philosophy, history itself as a discipline-the
great contributions of Muslim scholars, intellectuals and artists are part and parcel of the richness of Indian civilisation. I think it's also important to emphasise that we cannot talk about the history of this period as if it could be split into Muslim activities and Hindu activities. They were interactive. Really, in every branch of art or
intellectual study, you will find Hindu and Muslim activists, artists and scholars working side by side and interacting with each other. So, there's no way we can talk about the period without taking into account the massive contribution made in an interactive way by those who happened to be Muslims by religion as opposed to others who were Hindus or Sikhs or Parsis or Christians.

Your grandfather Kshitimohan Sen wrote the classic text Hinduism (Penguin Books, 1960). In what basic sense does his vision of Indian history and civilisation, or for that matter the vision of Rabindranath Tagore, differ from the saffron family's version?

I shouldn't really comment on this as I am not a great expert on Hindutva of any kind, and my role in my grandfather's book on Hinduism was primarily that of a translator.

I think the remarkable difference between the book and a sectarian view of Hindutva is that my grandfather's as well as Tagore's vision is not combative at all. They were both keen on seeing what different influences operated on Hinduism. Both authors locate themselves in an interactive environment. In The Religion of Man, the lectures that Tagore gave at Oxford, he mentions that his family was situated at the confluence of three sets of influences-Hindu, Muslim and European. The same would apply to my grandfather. As a Sanskritist, he was educated in Benares, in traditional centres of learning, which were, at that time, open and non-sectarian.

"In 'The Religion of Man', Tagore mentions his family was
situated at the confluence of three sets of influences-Hindu, Muslim,
European."

I should also mention that one of my grandfather's books-which I don't think is available in English, only in Bengali, called Hindu Musalmaner Jukta Sadhana (The Joint Work of Hindus and Muslims)-is quite a major work in the cultural history of India, showing that there is no substantial area of artistic or intellectual activity in which Hindus and Muslims have not worked together. You cannot think of Hindus and Muslims as somehow mechanically mixed together, rather than being chemically compounded in an integrated civilisation.

Isn't there an affinity between the saffron version of Hindutva and Samuel Huntington's categorisation of Indian civilisation as Hindu?

I think you are right there that Huntington's description of Indian civilisation as Hindu civilisation almost seems to be taken out of the writings of the Hindutva champions. In Huntington's case, the problem was that he wanted to classify the world according to one principle only and that was what he called 'civilisation', which in his case ended up being primarily religion. So he had to contrast Islamic civilisation with Western, Christian civilisation or Buddhist civilisation, etc. Then, well, how do I accommodate India? Since Islamic was already spoken for, he classified India as just a Hindu civilisation. Well, that's a serious mis-description. India has more Muslims than any country in the world with the exception of Indonesia and marginally Pakistan. Also, the entire cultural and intellectual history of India has been an integrated one, as we just discussed.

Historian Romila Thapar has described Hindutva's history as propaganda where the past is manipulated as political instrument. What is the political goal in question-a Hindu rashtra?

Well, I don't really know what the political goal in question is. Romila Thapar, of course, is one of our leading historians. I haven't seen this particular writing of hers, but I guess what she's pointing out is that a lot of writing on history by people who are champions of Hindutva seems to have an underlying political agenda. Whether this is meant to be a preparation for a Hindu rashtra or whether it is just a misunderstanding of the nature of India, I don't know. You have to ask them. India was never a Hindu rashtra, even before Muslims came to India. In the first millennium BC as well as the millennium that followed, the Gupta period for example, India had a powerful presence of Buddhism along with Hinduism and Jainism. Christians came to India by the 4th century AD latest, and there were Christians here well before there was a single Christian in Britain. Similarly, Jews came to India very early. Parsis came when persecution began in Iran. Also, Muslims came first as traders across the Arabian Sea, well before the Muslim military conquests in the north. India has had a variety of religious influences all this time. Just to mention one thing-if you are thinking of the two greatest emperors of India, you would tend to think of Ashoka and Akbar. One was a Buddhist and the other a Muslim.

Must a 'Hindutva' history necessarily depend on half-truths, lies and legends to sustain itself? For example, that ancient India revered the cow as 'gomata' and did not consume beef; that Akbar was a foreigner, despot and sectarian?

Well, I think if one has a particular way of looking at the past and if there are uncomfortable facts which do not fit into that narrow way of looking, then the proponents of that way of looking would naturally tend to deny the facts.It's fairly easy to point out that these are not half-truths; these are not truths at all. Actually, I can give you many other examples of this kind. "The introduction of European scholars to the Upanishads was mostly based on the Persian translation by Dara Shikoh."

Could you give just one?

The introduction of European scholars to Hindu scriptures, in particular the Upanishads, was to a great extent based on the Persian translation of the Upanishads done by Dara Shikoh, the first-born son of Shah Jahan. Dara Shikoh was not a great Sanskrit scholar but he did work hard with the help of Hindu pundits to learn Sanskrit and he translated parts of the Upanishads into Persian. It is this translation that William Jones (pioneering Indologist) first read which attracted him to India and to the study of the Hindu religion. Quite a lot of the revival of our understanding of our Hindu past was based on Jones' efforts and those of others at the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal. I have not seen any mention in the Hindutva literature of the contribution of this Mughal prince to the spread of understanding of Hinduism at home and abroad.

The publication of the Towards Freedom volume edited by Sumit Sarkar and K.N. Panikkar has been thwarted by the ICHR, apparently because it exposes the 'loyalist' role of the rss in the 1940s.

Well, I can't comment on why the ICHR has held up the publication of this volume. It could well be that the rss figures in a rather negative light as a pro-British force in some of the documents. It could have been something else, I don't know. I have also not read the introduction Sumit Sarkar and K.N. Panikkar have written. But I can definitely say that the two are not only among the top historians in India, they would be regarded as major historians anywhere in the world. I personally happen to know Sarkar very well and admire his writings as well as the quality of his mind tremendously. I find it impossible to think that the introduction could have been devoid of their serious professionalism. The episode is puzzling and deeply disturbing.

No one would claim that whatever the 'secular' school of historians has done from Sushobhan Sarkar onwards is flawless. In fact, quite a few critiques have been levelled against secularism per se and you have examined them in your essay 'Secularism and its Discontents'. But do these offer a better alternative in the Indian context?

I wouldn't describe these historians as primarily 'secular'. They are primarily probing and conscientious historians. The fact that they also happen to be secular is interesting, but I don't believe that this dominates their writing of history. I can speak certainly about Professor Sushobhan Sarkar. He was a historian of impeccable
scholarship, with great insistence on rigour and scrutiny. So I would describe him first as a terrific historian rather than as primarily a 'secular historian'.

The second point is, as far as secularism itself is concerned, it is of course really a political belief and as such a subject matter of history, rather than a method of dealing with history. I think that if one has to look at India, one has to see the interactive presence of different religions as well as the presence of non-religious
thoughts-sciences and mathematics for example. Aryabhatta, for instance, is quite sceptical of the received doctrines about eclipses and also about the belief that the sun goes round the earth. He didn't think that eclipses were caused by Rahu but by the earth's shadow over the moon and the moon obscuring the sun. He talked of the
diurnal motion of the earth and the appearance of the sun going round us. So, a historian of Indian ideas has to look at non-religious thought as well as anti-religious thoughts like Charvaka and Lokayata. The subject matter of Indian history cannot be just Hinduism. The historian has to take note of different religious and non-(or-anti) religious ideas. Recognising these varieties does not require any special political belief in secularism.

It has been proposed that religious leaders, like sadhus and imams, should vet history texts so that unpalatable facts-that could injure impressionable minds and specific communities-can be carefully eliminated from textbooks?

I am appalled to hear about this proposal. I hope you don't vet this interview by a sadhu or an imam! HRD minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi has described those he calls
'Marxist' historians, like Irfan Habib, Sumit Sarkar and liberals like Romila Thapar, as 'worse than terrorists'... If the report is correct, we must react with horror. First, there is what in philosophy is called a 'category mistake' here in thinking that comparison with terrorists can be a cogent way of assessing historians. Second, the historians mentioned are, of course, leading historians, and so acknowledged across the world. It is difficult to think how anyone could have made a remark of that kind, least of all the minister in charge of education. I have to believe that he has been misreported and will no doubt issue a corrective.

Song of the day ( also the best dumping song ever )

2007-05-30T17:10:00.000+05:30

Lyrics from sing365

(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)

Whoa Woman, oh woman, don't treat me so mean,
You're the meanest old woman that I've ever seen.
I guess if you said so
I'd have to pack my things and go. (That's right)

(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)

Now baby, listen baby, don't ya treat me this-a way
Cause I'll be back on my feet some day.
(Don't care if you do 'cause it's understood)
(you ain't got no money and you just ain't no good)
Well, I guess if you say so
I'd have to pack my things and go. (That's right)

(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
Well

The video is on youtube take a look. 1000 points to whoever names the advertisement in which this song was used.

Appreciating Rupee - who gained ?

2007-05-21T09:29:00.000+05:30

They did. Check out this article on Financial Express titled - New billion-dollar babies on the bourses.

One year ago, there were just 98 companies in this club, which has expanded by 48 now, taking the combined market value of all listed companies in the country to a little below one trillion dollars.

Among these, the dollar-market values of 25 companies have doubled since the beginning of 2007, while just 16 have seen a two-fold jump in their market capitalisation in rupee terms.

In the past one year, since May 21, the market cap of 27 companies has doubled in dollar terms, while the rupee-market value of only 17 companies has witnessed a similar jump in the same period.

The rupee has gained about 8% in 2007, and over 10% in the past one year.

And me. Got this fabulous deal from Dell. 15.4" might be a little bit bulky. I am not complaining though. :)
[Update]

Who looses ?

The exporters are having a hard time coping with this. [Article Link]. Exporters are resorting to trading in Euros. Remember Chinese Yuan has remained constant!

Although concerned about maintaining competitiveness, many exporters said that they had no option left other than negotiating an upward revision in the prices for their products – a task, which they were finding extremely difficult. Several exporters also displayed their keenness to hedge against the exchange rate risk using instruments like forward contracts.

Exporters were also on the lookout for clients and markets where euro could be used as a medium of exchange rather than the dollar. Some said they were trying for a shift in the medium of exchange from the dollar to euro in their existing contracts. A few exporters suggested that they would be looking at a short period of validity of quotations for greater safety.

The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been affected the most by the escalating rupee, the survey revealed. The SMEs, unlike large enterprises, neither have the option of reducing their cost burden by resorting to external sources of finance like ECBs nor have the knowledge about how to safeguard and hedge their currency exposure using sophisticated techniques like forward contracts.

The Corporation - A documentary you need to watch

2007-05-18T10:59:00.000+05:30

I have taken some time to put these videos on this post. These videos make up A documentary titled "The Corporation". An award winning documentary downloaded 5,00,000 times is a must watch. Do take a look.

We, the monkeys

2007-05-10T14:27:00.000+05:30

Something to bring you back down to the earth.

O Crap

2007-05-09T14:57:00.000+05:30

Two nights back hitting one of my usual haunts, Blossoms, my eyes chanced upon a copy of O Jerusalem. "Hmmm, I have never read about the Israel-Arab conflict - isn't this a nice way to start ? at 90 bucks isn't this a bargain ? - Oh, yes , Oh, yes. Just take it ra", I thought.
[Cut to the next morning] I wake up with the book still inside the carry bag I brought it home in - so much for reading about the Israel-Arab conflict. The compulsive maximizer that I am, I wanted to find out the savings made by going for the used book. Digging beyond the price tag I discovered the killing I made - 5 full rupees. Swindled. Will somebody punch the proprietor please!
BTW this is my wish list for this year. :)

Mr. Gohar Ayub's revelation

2007-05-08T15:01:00.000+05:30

I think this is quite stupid.

In a clear insinuation against Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, former Pakistan foreign minister Mr Gohar Ayub said tonight that an army officer "who rose to the highest position" had sold India's battle plans to Pakistan in 1950s, an allegation that was dismissed as "malicious and scurrilous" by two former
generals.

And, Mr. Gohar Ayub let us assume you are speaking the truth, are you implying that Paksitan's General/President or whoever runs the army, could not defeat the enemy even though they had detailed plans about their moves. Tch. Tch.

O Crap

2007-05-08T09:26:00.000+05:30

2007-05-07T13:50:00.000+05:30

It has crossed my mind multiple times and has been the topic of several debates - Religion/Culture should change with time. I found a very good page that justifies this.

Why Can't I Own a Canadian?
October 2002

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a east coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted fan,
Jim

Can economic policy ruin your life, your country?

2007-05-04T10:02:00.000+05:30

In Yugoslavia between October 1, 1993 and January 24, 1995 prices increased by 5 quadrillion percent. That’s a 5 with 15 zeroes after it.
Stumbled upon this article on StumbleUpon.

Under Tito, Yugoslavia ran a budget deficit that was financed by printing money. This led to a rate of inflation of 15 to 25 percent per year. After Tito, the Communist Party pursued progressively more irrational economic policies. These policies and the breakup of Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia now consists of only Serbia and Montenegro) led to heavier reliance upon printing or otherwise creating money to finance the operation of the government and the socialist economy. This created the hyperinflation.

By the early 1990s the government used up all of its own hard currency reserves and proceded to loot the hard currency savings of private citizens. It did this by imposing more and more difficult restrictions on private citizens' access to their hard currency savings in government banks.

The government operated a network of stores at which goods were supposed to be available at artificially low prices. In practice these store seldom had anything to sell and goods were only available at free markets where the prices were far above the official prices that goods were supposed to sell at in government stores. All of the government gasoline stations eventually were closed and gasoline was available only from roadside dealers whose operation consisted of a car parked with a plastic can of gasoline sitting on the hood. The market price was the equivalent of $8 per gallon. Most car owners gave up driving and relied upon public transportation. But the Belgrade transit authority (GSP) did not have the funds necessary for keeping its fleet of 1200 buses operating. Instead it ran fewer than 500 buses. These buses were overcrowded and the ticket collectors could not get aboard to collect fares. Thus GSP could not collect fares even though it was desperately short of funds.

Delivery trucks, ambulances, fire trucks and garbage trucks were also short of fuel. The government announced that gasoline would not be sold to farmers for fall harvests and planting.

Despite the government desperate printing of money it still did not have the funds to keep the infrastructure in operation. Pot holes developed in the streets, elevators stopped functioning, and construction projects were closed down. The unemployment rate exceeded 30 percent.

The government tried to counter the inflation by imposing price controls. But when inflation continued, the government price controls made the price producers were getting so ridiculous low that they simply stopped producing. In October of 1993 the bakers stopped making bread and Belgrade was without bread for a week. The slaughter houses refused to sell meat to the state stores and this meant meat became unvailable for many sectors of the population. Other stores closed down for inventory rather than sell their goods at the government mandated prices. When farmers refused to sell to the government at the artificially low prices the government dictated, government irrationally used hard currency to buy food from foreign sources rather than remove the price controls. The Ministry of Agriculture also risked creating a famine by selling farmers only 30 percent of the fuel they needed for planting and harvesting.

Later the government tried to curb inflation by requiring stores to file paperwork every time they raised a price. This meant that many store employees had to devote their time to filling out these government forms. Instead of curbing inflation this policy actually increased inflation because the stores tended to increase prices by larger increments so they would not have file forms for another price increase so soon.

In October of 1993 they created a new currency unit. One new dinar was worth one million of the "old" dinars. In effect, the government simply removed six zeroes from the paper money. This, of course, did not stop the inflation.

In November of 1993 the government postponed turning on the heat in the state apartment buildings in which most of the population lived. The residents reacted to this by using electrical space heaters which were inefficient and overloaded the electrical system. The government power company then had to order blackouts to conserve electricity.

In a large psychiatric hospital 87 patients died in November of 1994. The hospital had no heat, there was no food or medicine and the patients were wandering around naked.

Between October 1, 1993 and January 24, 1995 prices increased by 5 quadrillion percent. This number is a 5 with 15 zeroes after it. The social structure began to collapse. Thieves robbed hospitals and clinics of scarce pharmaceuticals and then sold them in front of the same places they robbed. The railway workers went on strike and closed down Yugoslavia's rail system.

The government set the level of pensions. The pensions were to be paid at the post office but the government did not give the post offices enough funds to pay these pensions. The pensioners lined up in long lines outside the post office. When the post office ran out of state funds to pay the pensions the employees would pay the next pensioner in line whatever money they received when someone came in to mail a letter or package. With inflation being what it was, the value of the pension would decrease drastically if the pensioners went home and came back the next day. So they waited in line knowing that the value of their pension payment was decreasing with each minute they had to wait.

Many Yugoslavian businesses refused to take the Yugoslavian currency, and the German Deutsche Mark effectively became the currency of Yugoslavia. But government organizations, government employees and pensioners still got paid in Yugoslavian dinars so there was still an active exchange in dinars. On November 12, 1993 the exchange rate was 1 DM = 1 million new dinars. Thirteen days later the exchange rate was 1 DM = 6.5 million new dinars and by the end of November it was 1 DM = 37 million new dinars.

At the beginning of December the bus workers went on strike because their pay for two weeks was equivalent to only 4 DM when it cost a family of four 230 DM per month to live. By December 11th the exchange rate was 1 DM = 800 million and on December 15th it was 1 DM = 3.7 billion new dinars. The average daily rate of inflation was nearly 100 percent. When farmers selling in the free markets refused to sell food for Yugoslavian dinars the government closed down the free markets. On December 29 the exchange rate was 1 DM = 950 billion new dinars.

About this time there occurred a tragic incident. As usual, pensioners were waiting in line. Someone passed by the line carrying bags of groceries from the free market. Two pensioners got so upset at their situation and the sight of someone else with groceries that they had heart attacks and died right there.

At the end of December the exchange rate was 1 DM = 3 trillion dinars and on January 4, 1994 it was 1 DM = 6 trillion dinars. On January 6th the government declared that the German Deutsche was an official currency of Yugoslavia. About this time the government announced a NEW "new" Dinar which was equal to 1 billion of the old "new" dinars. This meant that the exchange rate was 1 DM = 6,000 new new Dinars. By January 11 the exchange rate had reached a level of 1 DM = 80,000 new new Dinars. On January 13th the rate was 1 DM = 700,000 new new Dinars and six days later it was 1 DM = 10 million new new Dinars.

The telephone bills for the government operated phone system were collected by the postmen. People postponed paying these bills as much as possible and inflation reduced their real value to next to nothing. One postman found that after trying to collect on 780 phone bills he got nothing so the next day he stayed home and paid all of the phone bills himself for the equivalent of a few American pennies.

Here is another illustration of the irrationality of the government's policies: James Lyon, a journalist, made twenty hours of international telephone calls from Belgrade in December of 1993. The bill for these calls was 1000 new new dinars and it arrived on January 11th. At the exchange rate for January 11th of 1 DM = 150,000 dinars it would have cost less than one German pfennig to pay the bill. But the bill was not due until January 17th and by that time the exchange rate reached 1 DM = 30 million dinars. Yet the free market value of those twenty hours of international telephone calls was about $5,000. So despite being strapped for hard currency, the government gave James Lyon $5,000 worth of phone calls essentially for nothing.

It was against the law to refuse to accept personal checks. Some people wrote personal checks knowing that in the few days it took for the checks to clear, inflation would wipe out as much as 90 percent of the cost of covering those checks.

On January 24, 1994 the government introduced the "super" Dinar equal to 10 million of the new new Dinars. The Yugoslav government's official position was that the hyperinflation occurred "because of the unjustly implemented sanctions against the Serbian people and state."

Source: James Lyon, "Yugoslavia's Hyperinflation, 1993-1994: A Social History," East European Politics and Societies vol. 10, no. 2 (Spring 1996), pp. 293-327. Link.

Nerd! me ?

2007-05-03T15:44:00.000+05:30

2007-04-11T11:00:00.000+05:30

If you were among the tiny trickle of people who visit my blog and of them if you were among the tiny trickle who read one of my previous posts , you will be relieved to know that I am back with two bangs. Two! Yes, two in the span of eight days I have been in two biggest accidents of my life.
                 Myself, C and a few close friends had been to Mekedatu, a small gorge on the Kaveri river, located 96 Kms from Bangalore. We returned at about 5:00 PM and started on our way back home. We reached the Jakkasandra junction, just after Koramangala on the Sarjapur Road, and proceeded after a slight delay due to an altercation between an auto-rickshaw driver and the motorist who got bumped by the rickshaw. If you have ever taken a ride on the Bangalore roads, it would come as no surprise to you that the roads are filled with umpteen number of useless but large speed-breakers. As we gently rode over one of them on the Sarjarpur road, a 12 year old kid, on a cycle as tall as himself, riding along my right side suddenly decided to see what the under side of my bike looked like and took a sharp turn to the left. Unfortunately for him my front brakes seemed to slam on their own and crashed on to my right with the weight of the bike on my right leg, and C just launched a few feet away from the bike. Folks came by and lifted me and the 150Kg bike off my leg. The boy got up and came over to contest his innocence, claiming I hit him from behind without any reason. Before I said a word the by-standers were blessed with enough common sense to understand who was in the wrong and sent the boy home with a knock on his hollow head. C and myself received good medicle care from our beloved doctor, Dr. Roopashree, my sis, she didn't even spare the needle - an intra-muscular tetanus injection in a disposable Dispovan syringe.
           Another incident happen last Sunday when P, a friend of mine, sought bike lessons from me. I was elated and decided to help him, after all it would be easy since he knew how to ride a scooter. So, we started I thought him how to shift gears, when what gear was warranted etc, etc., He found it hard to press the breaks and bring the bike to a complete halt, everything else he did fine ( of course, I could hear the quite sobs of my gear box, due to the thud, boom, bang caused initially by P). Anyways, I decided to take him on the other side of the main road and show what flat smooth roads felt like. As we approached the main road, I advised him to slow down the bike and take a look before crossing the road. As P struggled press the breaks, I heard a series of beeps, too familiar I thought a Yamaha RX 100, thats it ! It was the RX 100, the bad news: we were on collision course. The Yam speeding on the main road, expecting no one on the main road, warned other vehicles of his approach through the beeps. Finally, P did manage to put the brakes, in a flash the Yam had changed course and moved to the right side of the road trying to pass us from behind, unfortunately the brakes negated that maneuver. And, we were nothing but a sitting duck on the road with the Yam headed straight for us, in that flash, I waited for the collision told God I was sorry for all the bad I had done. I really don't remember where he hit, but I remember crashing to my right, P already standing and apologizing profusely. Pedestrians/Good Samaritans lifted both bikes and took us aside. Surprisingly all of us could stand, and no one was seriously hurt. We dropped off the bike at the service station, and were successful in hiding the bruises from our respective dear one. P's dear one cooked a fabulous Mangalore style chicken curry, C cooked the Ghee rice-the best Ghee rice I have ever eaten, and my mother made a great chicken roast in less than 30 minutes. I wondered if that super super tasty lunch was more tastier because of the crash we escaped.
   Oh! I will be on my way to XL this june, wish me luck. Thank you in advanced for the wishes. And, if you know anybody who coming to India from the US and willing to get a laptop for me. Please contact me, I would be bery bery very grateful. Thanks.

Xmms on Solaris 10/11

2007-03-08T11:15:00.000+05:30

Like every music lover I really missed my Maiden, Metallica, and Pantera tracks while I was on Solaris. One simple way to get xmms is to download it from blastwave.org. I wasnt too happy with blastwave.org cause they install many libraries that are already present on my box. So the only option left was to use java media player or totem that come by default on Solaris 11, or compile my fav player XMMS. I chose the latter. It turned out to be a very simple affair.
* Download sources from xmms.org [or direct link]
* Put gcc, make in the path (Can be found in these locations /usr/sfw/bin/gcc and /usr/ccs/bin/make)
* Unzip and untar. Change directory to xmms-.
* Run configure with no options.
* Add this ( -I/usr/X11/include )include path to the line starting with 'INCLUDES = -I/usr/sfw/include/gtk-1.2 ...' in the file xmms/Makefile. It should look like 'INCLUDES = -I/usr/X11/include -I/usr/sfw/include/gtk-1.2 ...'
* The default installation location is /usr/local/,change it if you want by editing the Makefile and changing the variable called prefix.
* gmake;gmake install
* done

2007-03-06T18:06:00.000+05:30

As some of you might know we created a local community for Java users
called Bojug. This was a couple of months back, now we are community
of 150+ and growing. We created this platform with the intent of
sharing knowledge and to precipitate collaborative innovation. We hope
you will take active part in this community and contribute to its growth.

We are having our first meeting this weekend. We have two sessions
scheduled for the weekend.

    * *Talk on Apache Derby - The pure Java database*, by Anurag Shekar

    * *Netbeans Platform Development* , by Rohan Ranade

*Date :* March 10, 2007

*Time :* 10:30 AM to 12:30

*Venue:*

    Sun Microsystems India Office

    Divyashree Chambers,

    Off Langford Road,

    Shanthinagar,

    Bangalore - 560025

google maps link

Please confirm your attendance by mailing bojug@googlegroups.com

Regards,

Jeevan

Homepage: http://bojug.dev.java.net

Futures Trading - a reason for rising prices?

2007-03-03T12:37:00.000+05:30

Although futures trading has been banned in pulses the prices continue to remain high. Thus the recent announcement of government banning the futures trading in wheat and rice is expected to have little effect, it might have been politically motivated to silence the left which has been demanding the ban on futures trading with the reasoning that only speculation is leading to the price increase. This however is faulty reasoning the real causes need a deeper perspective. Only four years back the there were surplus stocks of both rice and wheat, with wheat hitting a high of 60 million tonnes ( the government did relax the exports on these goods then), but now rice and wheat stocks have fallen below the minimum level. This has taken four years in the making and the only quick (knee-jerk) measures the government has taken is the relaxing the import norms for these goods. However, only an increase in agricultural productivity is right measure not only to maintain price stability, but also increase farmer well being.

The Finance minister ( during the budget) announced measures to increase farm credit for farmers by allowing rural banks to generate extra capital required for farm lending through allowing them to engage in foreign exchange business and allowing them to accept FCNR deposits among other measures. How effective these measures will be are still to be seen.

All in all one is forced to believe the Finance Minister's view that futures trading is not the reason for inflation , as the left has claimed, but a price discovery mechanism. Of course, one cannot deny that there is speculation in futures trading.

Microsoft has bought the Java keyword

2007-03-01T14:10:00.000+05:30

Just chanced upon this while surfing, Microsoft seems to have bought the Java keyword on Google search. Hmmm... good or bad you decide. Let me know what you think. :). Seems very shady to me.

Bangalore behold, Maiden cometh!

2007-03-01T13:44:00.000+05:30

I wish Ozzy comes too!

Update: D bought the tickets for me! Planet M is doing the sales, strangely enough it is a cash only transaction.

2007-02-03T15:37:00.000+05:30

Have been very busy lately. Life has taken a wrong path, hitting pot-holes, bumps, whatnot. Hopefully things are back on track. Wish me luck.
:|

2007-01-25T12:54:00.000+05:30

Pssst.BeGenerous.GiftMeAnIPhone.

2007-01-25T12:51:00.000+05:30

India's SRE 1 spacecraft successfully completes a twelve-day orbital test flight, making India one of the few nations to return a craft from orbit.
And the imbecile Indian news channels were getting high on SRK with KBC, SRK is a poor replacement for the Big B [period], Shilpa on Big Brother, wake up you nuts-India has been running the caste system since about 5000 years - it is pretty rampant even now, it is shameful to talk about racism against Indians, Sanjat Dutt getting away with possesing an AK-47, tch tch this is the pits. Everyone missed this landmark. Makes me very proud.

The Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE) is an Indian experimental spacecraft which was launched at 03:53 GMT on January 10, 2007 from Sriharikota by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The launch was conducted using the PSLV C7
rocket, along with three other satellites. It remained in orbit for 12
days before re-entering the Earth's atmosphere and splashing down into
the Bay of Bengal at 04:16 GMT on January 22.^[1]

Things are up and running @ BOJUG

2006-12-23T16:36:00.001+05:30

So, we have got things going on BOJUG. We are planning a meeting soon. In case, you want to get involved. Please visit us and join in. This is a image mosaic, adelaider.com generated for me. It is a really cool site. Give it a try, usually images with a lot of contrast make good image mosaic. I am sure Pi will dig this.

BEA to run Java sans operating system!

2006-12-21T14:58:00.001+05:30

It makes some sense, really. Increased performance because of running natively, no OS hassles. Very interesting idea, have to wait and see how the market responds.

http://news.com.com/BEA+to+run+Java+sans+operating+system/2100-1012_3-6142172.html

Sreesanth, the man!

2006-12-18T10:18:00.001+05:30

Andrew Nell, the local madman in the SA cricket team, did his thing on Sunday, he started shooting his mouth off when our dear Sreesanth came in to bat at the fag end of the Indian second innings. The madman bowled a bouncer to Sreensanth and shouted out that Sreesanth did not have the heart to face Nell's bowling (or something to that effect). OurDearSreesanth impolitely asked him to get back and bowl the next ball. I was thinking, "Oh, no Sreesanth is going to make a fool out of himself, when has a 10th man , a former 11th Man, faced a madman and won the contest, tchtch".OurDearSreesanth had other plans, the next ball he made room for himself and heaved the ball over the ropes for a SIX. For all you guys who missed it [losers].

its out, its out

2006-12-11T23:35:00.001+05:30

JDK 6 is out. With scripting support and Monitoring and Management API . It has got a great feature set. I hear that the UI has been pimped up! Watch out for my experiments with JDK6.

krec

2006-12-10T12:38:00.001+05:30

Surathkal is home. I spent the most important four years of my life there. Situated on India's west coast it is the home a fine engineering school. The National Institute of Technology Karnataka, formerly Karnataka Regional Engineering college, is my alma mater.

Naturally, when my company offered an opportunity to visit KREC, I jumped at it. We went there and talked about some great technology that Sun had to offer. Here are some pictures from there. Sanjay Manwani, manager @ Sun India, wrote a nice article about it [here].

National Institute of Technology, Surathkal Karnataka(NITK) is one of the premier technical colleges in India and is rated even higher than some of the IITs in some of the surveys.
NITK has 5 streams of Comp. Science - BTech CS(undergrad course) - intake of 60

students for 4 years, M.Tech(postgrad) - Intake of 60 students for 2 years, BTech IT intake of 60 students for 4 years, MCA (postgrad) - intake of 60 students for 3 years, PhD - intake of 10-15 students for 4-5 years.
After a long phone association of almost 6 months with between NIT Surathkal and Sumitha Prashanth from Sun; 3 engineers and me went to NIT Surathkal on 10th and 11th Nov 2006.
The planned agenda was:
Sanjay Manwani - Talk to Dr.Shet and HOD about Sun and Universities and work with them to identify Campus ambassadors
Sun and Participation Age pitch - Jeevan (an alumnus of NITK 2005)
Introduction to OpenSolaris - Moinak Ghosh
Introduction to Project Glassfish - Varun Rupela.
The main agenda of the trip was to make the students and teachers of NITK aware of the Sun contribution to opensource and solicit their support. Also to get 3-4 names of students for the Sun ambassador program from NITK.
Though most of the sessions were planned only for 11th Nov. We were able to organize 1 formal and one informal discussion between Sun and NITK.
We reached and were received at the University by one of the student volunteers and an active participant of the Open club - Dhaval. Dhaval is a 3rd year student and has done a project at IBM and is scheduled to join IBM at the end of his studies. His interest is in Linux kernels and he is currently involved in a project related to that. The Open club is a group of students and a lecturer (M/s Vani ) who are actively working on open source projects with a lot of them being Linux enthusiasts.
Dhaval introduced us to Mr. Annappa who is one of the lecturers at NITK with interest in distributed systems. Mr. Annapa was very enthusiastic about the Sun visit and immediately organized a meeting with the lecturers of the Computer Science (CS) department.
During the meeting which was attended by the Professors including Dr. Vinay (HOD), Dr. Shet, Mr. Annapa, and M/s Vani, some PhD students including Mr. Jose; whose interest is in the area of compilers and some M. Tech students. We went over the canned presentations that we had planned to share with the students. There was interest in the gathering and some decent questions were asked. The Mtech students informed us that this was good learning for them. After the meeting Dr. Vinay informed that he had already sent 3 names to Sun to choose a student ambassador. He also informed us that the attendance may be less in our session due to the end semester exams in 2 weeks.
Dhaval organized a impromptu session for students to talk about projects. about 7-8 students attended and most were interested in how to get projects. All of us informed about the power of open source and how they could easily contribute. It was a very open session with lots of questions about Sun and open source.
On 11th at 9 AM we began our formal session. there were about 30-35 students and slowly the whole classroom with the capacity of 40-45 students filled up. Dr. Shet introduced the session and mentioned that he had recently become aware of the open sourcing of Solaris. M/s Vani and Mr. Annappa were also in attendance. It was a very interactive session with lots of demos and questions. At least 20 students had worked on Linux and many of the questions related to open source were answered.
There was no flagging of interest till the 3.5 hours of the session when we broke for lunch with the promise of D-trace demo after lunch. 30-40 SDN memberships were signed up and more forms distributed for people who could not attend. Lots of Netbeans CDs and Belenix DVDs were distributed, with 5 of each given for the library to be borrowed by students.
Conclusion
It was a very fruitful trip to learn about such an open and enthusiastic community of teachers and students interested in open source not too far from IEC. We have a lot of leads to continue our association thru students and lecturers for the SAI. We need to keep up this engagement to make sure that it bears the results that we want from our academic initiative.
-- Sanjay Manwani

krec

2006-12-09T01:18:00.001+05:30

National Institute of Technology, Surathkal Karnataka(NITK) is one
of the premier technical colleges in India and is rated even higher
than some of the IITs in some of the surveys.
NITK has 5
streams of Comp. Science - BTech CS(undergrad course) - intake of 60
students for 4 years, M.Tech(postgrad) - Intake of 60 students for 2
years, BTech IT intake of 60 students for 4 years, MCA (postgrad) -
intake of 60 students for 3 years, PhD - intake of 10-15 students for
4-5 years.
After a long phone association of almost 6 months
with between NIT Surathkal and Sumitha Prashanth from Sun; 3 engineers
and me went to NIT Surathkal on 10th and 11th Nov 2006.
The planned agenda was:
Sanjay Manwani - Talk to Dr.Shet and HOD about Sun and Universities and work with them to identify Campus ambassadors
Sun and Participation Age pitch - Jeevan (an alumnus of NITK 2005)
Introduction to OpenSolaris - Moinak Ghosh
Introduction to Project Glassfish - Varun Rupela.
The
main agenda of the trip was to make the students and teachers of NITK
aware of the Sun contribution to opensource and solicit their support.
Also to get 3-4 names of students for the Sun ambassador program from
NITK.
Though most of the sessions were planned only for 11th
Nov. We were able to organize 1 formal and one informal discussion
between Sun and NITK.
We reached and were received at the
University by one of the student volunteers and an active participant
of the Open club - Dhaval. Dhaval is a 3rd year student and has done a
project at IBM and is scheduled to join IBM at the end of his studies.
His interest is in Linux kernels and he is currently involved in a
project related to that. The Open club is a group of students and a
lecturer (M/s Vani ) who are actively working on open source projects with a lot of them being Linux enthusiasts.
Dhaval
introduced us to Mr. Annappa who is one of the lecturers at NITK with
interest in distributed systems. Mr. Annapa was very enthusiastic about
the Sun visit and immediately organized a meeting with the lecturers of
the Computer Science (CS) department.
During the meeting
which was attended by the Professors including Dr. Vinay (HOD), Dr.
Shet, Mr. Annapa, and M/s Vani, some PhD students including Mr. Jose;
whose interest is in the area of compilers and some M. Tech students.
We went over the canned presentations that we had planned to share with the students.
There
was interest in the gathering and some decent questions were asked. The
Mtech students informed us that this was good learning for them.
After
the meeting Dr. Vinay informed that he had already sent 3 names to Sun
to choose a student ambassador. He also informed us that the attendance
may be less in our session due to the end semester exams in 2 weeks.
Dhaval
organized a impromptu session for students to talk about projects.
about 7-8 students attended and most were interested in how to get
projects. All of us informed about the power of open source and how
they could easily contribute.
It was a very open session with lots of questions about Sun and open source.
On
11th at 9 AM we began our formal session. there were about 30-35
students and slowly the whole classroom with the capacity of 40-45
students filled up.
Dr. Shet introduced the session and
mentioned that he had recently become aware of the open sourcing of
Solaris. M/s Vani and Mr. Annappa were also in attendance.
It
was a very interactive session with lots of demos and questions. At
least 20 students had worked on Linux and many of the questions related
to open source were answered.
There was no flagging of
interest till the 3.5 hours of the session when we broke for lunch with
the promise of D-trace demo after lunch.
30-40 SDN
memberships were signed up and more forms distributed for people who
could not attend. Lots of Netbeans CDs and Belenix DVDs were
distributed, with 5 of each given for the library to be borrowed by
students.
Conclusion
It was a very fruitful
trip to learn about such an open and enthusiastic community of teachers
and students interested in open source not too far from IEC.
We have a lot of leads to continue our association thru students and lecturers for the SAI.
We need to keep up this engagement to make sure that it bears the results that we want from our academic initiative.
-- Sanjay Manwani

2006-12-09T00:39:00.001+05:30

"International relations ain't just about havin a Bangladeshi cousin" - Ali G

photography thought!

2006-12-08T23:50:00.001+05:30

I am a hobby photographer,[mywork]. I love taking pictures of people most of the time. I try to capture moment of emotion, the problem is the harder you try to grip it the faster does it disappear, like love :). The hardest thing to photograph is suffering, I have tried it once and felt very guilty. I believe it is totally heartless to take pictures of suffering and not do anything about it. Many photographers argue that by taking pictures of poverty they are showcasing to the world 'What a shitty place this world is , and how nobody cares', but, the fact is that they themselves are part of the world and just taking pictures isn't going to cut it.

It is coming

2006-12-07T10:53:00.000+05:30

India twenty/10 win?

2006-12-04T10:23:00.001+05:30

I felt good when India won. Very thrilling I ,must say. My *@$#$ cable operator choose to carry out repairs during the same time India was batting, so had to depend on cricinfo.comand messages from friends. It is not really a win when the best players of the opponent team aren't playing. Nevertheless, a win is a win.

Contemparory Indian cricket

2006-12-04T10:17:00.001+05:30

The Indian cricket team lost a crucial one day international. Again! The Indian Cricket team's form takes a nose dive every time they play abroad. The fact is they are too used to playing on slow spinning tracks, similar to the kind available at home. More importantly most of players in the current team, lack commitment. Loosing on the bouncy and fast tracks because of the lack of exposure to them at least can be understood, if not condonable. But, the morons didnt even put up a fight with the exception of a few lower order batsmen none of the others tried to keep their wicket. The way many of the top order batsmen got out was laughable. It is obvious that the Indian cricket team filled with over-confident, self-centered, greedy, arrogant fools who do not care about the team.
Examining the individual batting performances, one sees a blatant lack of commitment. Jaffer, Sehwag, Tendulkar, Karthick and Dhoni threw their wickets away, perhaps they were giving catch practice to the slip fielders. This is not an isolated case, but an exercise from the previous matches. I wonder how long will it take for the batsmen to realise that they have getting out in a similar fashion for the past two innings, make that three. The ever persistent South African bowling line up, studded with stars like Shaun Pollock and Ntini, bowled accurately and the Indians promptly gave in. Barring Irfan Pathan (he should be bowling though) and Rahul Dravid the Indian batting lineup is in shambles.
The bowling attack (sorry, make that lineup, 'attack' is far to strong) is in a sorry state. Ajit Agarkar, the supposed fast bowler, has lost his ability to bowl his one and only lethal weapon, the off cutter. For a long time he has been hole in the bowling attack. Irfan Pathan, the erstwhile wonderboy, has lost his vigour, if I were him I would take pages out of Zaheer Khan's book. Zaheer Khan, who had been out of the team for various reasons, has come back to form by working hard at county cricket.
In all there is more to it than that meets the eye. All the fat slobs (read players in the team) in cricket have paid bribes to the selectors and they obviously expect to be in the team despite their pathetic form. Some very talented players like Vijay Bharadwaj, even after having proved his worth, has been forced to give up cricket. I feel very dejected looking at the sad state of affairs, I can only hope that some sane person gets to head the BCCI.

2006-11-29T11:11:00.001+05:30

Life is like a war, you have to pick you battles.

An amazing idea!

2006-11-27T14:47:00.001+05:30

It is true when you searching the whole world for ideas to increase literacy, one is sit right there in front of you. Please check out PlanetRead. Planet Read is supported by Google.org (a humanitarian initiative by Google). It aims at increasing literacy by telecating TV programming with subtitles in local languages. The good thing is it really works and has also contributed upto 15% is the viewership rating of the sub-titled program. The brilliant thing is that it costs 1$ to giving reading practice to 10,000 people. Kudos to Cornell educated Dr. Brij Kotari. Larry Brilliant the executive director of google.org has also given an interview. I need to contribute! So do you.

PS: Interestingly, Larry Brilliant was hired by Dev Anand to play an extra in the famous "Dum maro Dum" video!

2006-11-23T23:50:00.001+05:30

Lal badshah is in a 'majhnu' mode. Of the the many modes our lalbadshah has, I like the poetry this mode has inspired. Do not miss this.

Ruined

2006-11-23T19:34:00.001+05:30

I pretty much lost the whole of my hardisk. Lost a years work of photography. I am very sad.

My little mountain

2006-11-22T13:14:00.000+05:30

Deprived of any physical activity I have acquired a nice little
semi-noticeable belly. So, in the endevour to reduce to the belly. I
decided to go swimming. I was gasping after just one lap, hmm...slightly out of touch. I managed to pump my confidence and put 10
breadth laps (that is 210 meters). I would have put more but I had to
get to office.... ok thats a lie, I was too tired and my hands would've
given up and my body would have dropped the pool floor ... the IT
industry would've been faced with another recession (oops, too far...I guess
;) ). Anyways, that is my little mountain for today. I did it.

See you at FOSS.in

Java:Open

2006-11-22T01:53:00.001+05:30

Come in, its open.

Welcome.

Willkommen.

Bienvenue.

欢迎

Benvenuto.

Recepción.

Boa vinda.

نرحب

歓迎

환영

Microsoft Vs Novell

2006-11-21T23:21:00.000+05:30

Microsoft and Novell made deal last week. Of the many things it included two things
1 > Microsoft will go ahead and distribute 350,000 licenses for SUSE Linux Eneterprise.
2 > Novell and Microsoft each promised not to sue the other's customers for patent infringement.
Then Mr. Steve Ballmer went ahead and claimed that Linux users owed Microsoft. ( I could not stop laughing at this). I could not believe he said it.

Ballmer did not provide details during his comments today. But he was adamant that Linux users, apart from those using SUSE, are taking advantage of Microsoft innovation, and that someone -- either Linux vendors or users -- would eventually have to pay up.

"Only customers that use SUSE have paid properly for intellectual property from Microsoft," he said. "We are willing to do a deal with Red Hat and other Linux distributors." The deal with SUSE Linux "is not exclusive," Ballmer added.

Why will a quality product like Linux steal IP from an old, badly written, non-standard, unsafe, fragile, shoddy OS like Windows. Linux is after all, open source, based on open standards. Go ahead Microsoft try to cook up some bad law suit and try slapping it on the community. BTW the Linux community has obviously been irked. Check this.
The day before Novell and Microsoft and Novell came out with an "open" letter to the community.

We disagree with the recent statements made by Microsoft on the topic of Linux and patents. Importantly, our agreement with Microsoft is in no way an acknowledgment that Linux infringes upon any Microsoft intellectual property. When we entered the patent cooperation agreement with Microsoft, Novell did not agree or admit that Linux or any other Novell offering violates Microsoft patents.

Back-stabbed and bruised Novell concluded well.

In closing, we wish to be extremely clear that Novell is committed to protecting, preserving and promoting freedom for free and open source software. We recognize that the community of open source developers is essential to all our activities in Linux, and we welcome dialog with the community as to how we can continue to work together toward these common goals.

The fact of the matter, what most people have failed to acknowledge, is that Novell is a good citizen of the Linux. It has toiled hard and contributed to the Linux community. It is a good win for Linux ( no not the agreement ), but the fact that "Linux is something Microsoft has to partner with", as put by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols. Read more here.
Its only fault being trusting Microsoft too much.

Another reason why one should not trust Microsoft. Some old references.

2006-11-03T12:45:00.000+05:30

I am a regular software engineer. I wake up at 8, in office by 9 and (try and ) leave office by 6, work hard to earn my increments and keep my job. Every now and again I am plagued by many questions regarding my purpose, my plan, my place in the world, my future. Although these questions may seem too abstract when you put them in a context of a software engineer working in India, the questions seem to have a rational answer.
I recently got a copy of "The World Is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. Friedman, explains in good detail how the globalisation is changing the world. And, perhaps trying to answer the questions posed above. It is an "un-put-downable". Although, I still have to get through 40% of it I can safely say it is what every person who has been touched by globalisation should read.

Thanks, Mr.Friedman.

To memorise is Human, to document is Divine

2006-10-30T15:37:00.000+05:30

I was working to compile and execute fastDNAml a really smart Bio-App. Something that me and Prem ( a colleague and a friend ) had done before, and I assumed that the steps were too simple to write down "Come on, any fool can remember these steps", I remember saying. I generally desist making such grandiose statements because I know saying such things is just tempting fate. And, Fate is one lady you do not want to tempt ( yeah, I have learnt it the hard way). Getting back to what I was saying, all I had to do was to compile this simple app and run it with some test data. I kept getting silly errors, saying " could not connect to child proc", "unable to find xxx", each of which I distinctly remember solving the first time around. As it turns out I am a fool, a big one in fact. It was a deja vu as I ploughed through each and every hurdle and finally got it to run. If only I had documented I wouldn't spent half a day, yes HALF a day trying to get it to run again. Hence the saying "To memorise is Human, to document is Divine".

Performancing 1.3 on Firefox 2.0 dont like Beta Blogger ?

2006-10-27T17:29:00.000+05:30

I had the same problem. I did download Firefox 2.0 as soon as it was made available.I got Performancing 1.3 to go along with it, to start blogging of course. Unfortunately, Blogger didnt seem to be picking up my blog. After hours of googling and trying to add the account on performancing I could not log in to Blogger at all!
I finally found a way out. Here are the steps.
Step 1: Click on the 'Launch Account Wizard' button. This will open a wizard. ( duh!)
Step 2: Click on the 'Manually Configure' button. Click Next.
Step 3: When the wizard asks you 'Which Bloggin service you want to add?' Select 'Custom Blog' from the drop down. Click Next.
Step 4: Select the Blog system type to be 'Blogger API' and give 'http://beta.blogger.com/api/RPC2' as the Server URL. Click Next.
Step 5: Give your google account credentials.
Step 6: Select the blogs.
Step 7: Enjoy posting!

2006-10-27T16:04:00.001+05:30

I dont like that Blogger is messing with my customised template.

PESIT

2006-10-27T15:57:00.000+05:30

I have been involved with Sun's University relations initiative for a few months now. The present project involves evangelizing Sun's technologies in colleges so as to capture the mindshare of students.
PESIT, a premier institute in Bangalore, was among the firsts to be chosen for the project. The talks mainly revolved around the Solaris OS, the Java platform and the Netbeans IDE. I was itching to give a talk on Java and volunteered for the 'Java Fundamentals', ' OOPS concepts' and 'Extended topics'. Jaya Hangal, a senior developer, picked myself and another colleague, Mahipal, to talk about Java fundamentals at PESIT.
                         PESIT is situated on the outskirts of Bangalore so there was another hurdle I had to pull myself out of the bed and get going by 8 ( on a Saturday it is tough, any self respecting man wil vouch for this). Since Mahipal is an alumni of Pesit we had no trouble getting there.
                    All our dreams of being the guest speakers came crashing when the guard refused to let us in unless we produced an ID card. Thankfully we managed to convince him that we were indeed speakers from Sun Microsystems. After a quick breakfast we landed at the Computer Science Dept of Pesit and we met Dr. Kris kumar the HoD.
              Mahipal and myself walked the students through the basics of Java and OO concepts. The students showed a lot of interest and posed good questions. The really good ones were awarded with a bar of chocolate. Then came the lab sessions. We found Belinix, a distro of Open Solaris operating system, was installed on all machines. We helped them complete five small programs that used the Java language. The five programs touched upon various fundamental I/O operations and the collections framework. Atishay lent us a hand in completing the lab session.
                         I found that a couple of final year students interested in developing a J2ME app the can be used to do some nifty tasks with a computer, with the ability to receive streaming media from the computer. Helped them out by introducing them to my friend(/classmate) who had done a similar project for his graduation. Me, Atishay, Mr Nithin and the Folks at PESIT.

Mahipal, Atishay, Mr.Nithin and the Folks @ PESIT

Solaris Nevada OS

2006-10-27T15:54:00.000+05:30

I got myself a generous helping of Solaris Nevada (build 46) OS and like they say in the McDonald's ad "I am loving it". In case you have no clue what Nevada is, go here. I was suprised with the nice Look and feel it offers, compared to the older releases it is a relief. Whats more I was able to attach my camera to it and download pics. Cool!
Now, I am not an advanced user (like the majority of the people), and the small things like the ease of use is what matters (first impressions are lasting, remember). It is good to see that the Solaris folks are addressing usability issues while adding advanced features, cause time and again Apple has proved that usability is the key to good business. Kudos, to the design folks. OSDir has some screenshots for you to see here. Look here for one of them.

2006-10-26T11:37:00.000+05:30

I have been very busy. The amount is work flowing is almost torrential!
BTW I decided to start my blog at blogs.sun.com. link

As Rajup puts it a Bookworms diet in reverse chronological order

C. Rajagopalachari's Mahabharatha
Gregory David Robert's Shantharam
Kiran Nagarkar's Ravan and Eddie (Again)

(Good) Movies watched recently:
Dor
Motorcycle Diaries ( Che Guavera's memoirs )
Billy Elliot
East is East

Need to watch
Girish Kasravalli's Nayi Neralu

Are you a nerd ?

2006-10-11T12:29:00.000+05:30

Found this video that defines nerds, good fun!

Bandh!

2006-10-04T09:28:00.000+05:30

Today is Karnataka Bandh, called by Karnataka activists on the issue of Belgaum. It is a peaceful bandh alright. I am safely in office now, that is an achievement considering all the chaos that was kicked up during the Dr. Raj's death. I saw the police, stationed at important junctions, all along my way from HSR Layout to my office in Shanthinagar. The good thing about the bandh is that all the traffic signals are off. I never stopped in any. Hi five for that!
I dropped a man from Audogodi to the Langford road junction, the good deed for today.

Thanks Bangalore for keeping it peaceful.

Idiocy of the Crowds?

2006-10-03T14:19:00.000+05:30

We have seen a surge in community effort to acheive general good. Linux is a shining example of this phenomenon. So many developers who have never met each other, have conspired to make a nice OS. Dave Freedman talks about the negative aspects of collabration. Link . I do agree with him, I have experienced it myself.

As far back as 1972, in his now classic book, Victims of Groupthink, Yale psychology researcher Irving Janis theorizes that groups often breed a false confidence that leads to unsound decisions none of the individuals in the group would have made on their own. In the 1990s, research by Purdue psychology researcher Kip Williams shed light on "social loafing"--that is, the tendency of people in groups simply to not try as hard as individuals. In fact, the notion that individuals outthink and outdecide groups is so well established among experts that they don't bother to study it anymore. Instead, the hot question among psychologists and organizational behaviorists is why the rest of us persist in keeping this wrong-headed notion alive. "We've been trying to find out what seduces us into thinking teams are so wonderful," says Natalie Allen, a psychologist at the University of Western Ontario who has studied what she calls "the romance of teams."

Many times I have found myself surrounded by people who know squat about even the basic computer concepts, and want to design next-gen software. Now, the conclusion of this article seems right. Dave Freedman for president!

It's not time to swear off meetings and group efforts, online or otherwise. But it makes sense to be more selective about how we enlist them.

Which sports car are you ?

2006-10-02T17:30:00.000+05:30

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Steve Irwin

2006-09-11T16:42:00.000+05:30

I am a fan. RIP.

Too phunny, bery bery punny!

2006-09-11T15:11:00.000+05:30

The great bong is put up a hilarious post. Please watch this and this.

2006-09-08T10:30:00.000+05:30

Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read.
-Frank Zappa

Heard this on the track 'Paper pauli' by Thermal and a Quarter

Where have I been ?

2006-09-07T11:08:00.000+05:30

I been out for long. Many changes have come my way and I have not been able make time to share it with you guys.
Firstly,
I have worked hard and put out my set of photographs on a brand new photoblog. Have a look and leave comments.
http://jeevan.shutterchance.com

Secondarily,
My company is going through a rough patch, so, it has abandoned many of its assets. Real estate, products and more importantly people. My friend and colleague Sunil had to leave too. He is now happy with a cool company, who gave him a laptop and a plum pay cheque.

My ex-classmate and friend Pi has joined P*a*a*i as a graphic designer. I am sure he will do well, he has got good creative talent and a little hard work will take hime far.

Another friend of mine, Jello, has joined Manthan services. After a year long device-driver-programming stint in Wipro, Jello has decided to head in a new career direction of Market research. I wish him well.

I have a newfound admiration for 'Thermal and a Quarter', a band from my city, Bangalore. Now, I have seen these guys since 1999, a time when they hadn't quite foun d their sound. They have a brand new album now and the sound is great! Whats more, they even completed a tour to UK. Good going guys!
PS: A little known fact I used to live opposite to Rajeev's place (Taaq drummer).

Books & Movies I have completed recently.
Adventures of Feluda - Satyajit Ray
A curious incident about a dog in the night - Marc Haddon
The great indian novel - Shashi Tharoor

Finding forrester
Remember the Titans (again)
About a boy
Dead poets society (again)

I want

2006-07-31T15:22:00.000+05:30

I want to say no even when I say yes,
I want to live however I want,
I want to dress however I want,
I want to concentrate on my studies, whenever I want,
I want to drink whatever I want,
I want to eat whatever I want,
I want to break plans whenever I want,
I want to sleep wherever I want, whenever I want,
I want to live however I want, wherever I want,
I want to do whatever I want,
I want to ...... break free.

Dumb ISPs

2006-07-19T11:36:00.000+05:30

Censored: Govt signs out bloggers is an article on ibnlive.com that talks about how dumb the ISPs can get. When the government ordered them to block certain blogs they ended up blocking the whole blogspot.com website. Even a school kid can write a script to block the page requests.

However, ISPs say that they are not at fault for though a lot of the blocked sites are not on the list issued to them, there is a technical glitch as it's not possible to block certain pages, without blocking the entire site.

2006-07-19T10:18:00.000+05:30

Had been to Pondicherry last weekend, will post the travelogue soon.
Besides French Chicks, Ashrams and beaches Pondicherry is a great place to load up on Movie DVDs. So that is what I did, bought movies.
Loot from Pondicherry + Stuff from US (Thanks to Suchi):
> Fist full of dollars
> Bambi
> Farenhiet 9/11
> me: dead poets' society
> Fight Club
> Remember the Titans
> Scent of a woman
> Shawshank redemption
> God Father 1,2,3
> 2001 - A space odyssey
> Catch me if you can
> Gladiator
> Forest Gump
> Green mile
> A Beautiful mind
> Analyse This
> Crash
> Devil's advocate
> Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
> I, Robot
> Iceage 1,2
> Independance day
> Jaws
> Jungle Book
> Jurassic Park
> The Blair which project
> American history X
> Kil bill 1,2
> Kiss of the dragon
> Silence of the lamb
> hp-chamber of secrets
> Matrix 1, reloaded
> Original sin
> Paycheck
> Pirates of caribbean
> Sound of music
> The Transporter
> Star Wars - Episode 3
> XXX
> Looney Tunes back in action
> The Untouchables
> Naked Weapon
> Manchurian Candidate
> Ronin
> The art of war
> mi:3
> Tombraider - 1
> Analyse That
> The world is not enough
> Moon raker
> From russia with love
> Golden eye
> Tomorrow never dies
> Madagascar

Phew!

Politics and Economics

2006-07-14T15:38:00.000+05:30

I despised them at school. But, have realised that it is a must for all citizens to atleast know the basic concepts of Politics and Economics, as they govern many aspects of our lives. I am a Centrist according to this and this quiz.

Definition from here:

CENTRISTS espouse a "middle ground" regarding government control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes support individual freedom of choice. Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind, tend to oppose "political extremes," and emphasize what they describe as "practical" solutions to problems.

Right (Conservative)

Conservatives tend to favor economic freedom, but frequently support laws to restrict personal behavior that violates "traditional values." They oppose excessive government control of business, while endorsing government action to defend morality and the traditional family structure. Conservatives usually support a strong military, oppose bureaucracy and high taxes, favor a free-market economy, and endorse strong law enforcement.

Left (Liberal)

Liberals usually embrace freedom of choice in personal matters, but tend to support significant government control of the economy. They generally support a government-funded "safety net"
to help the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation of business. Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations, defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.

Libertarian

Libertarians support maximum liberty in both personal and economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one that is limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence. Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties.

Statist (Big Government)

Statists want government to have a great deal of power over the economy and individual behavior. They frequently doubt whether economic liberty and individual freedom are practical options in today's world. Statists tend to distrust the free market, support high taxes and centralized planning of the economy, oppose diverse lifestyles, and question the importance of civil liberties.

www.digg.com fascination

2006-07-14T11:04:00.000+05:30

Too bad I did not know it till recently.

Here is a news item I found through digg.

A Iraqi sniper who is f*cking the American Soldiers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1542824,00.html#article_continue

My letter to Reva Electric Car Co.,

2006-07-14T11:00:00.000+05:30

To,
M/s Reva Electric Car Co.,
Bangalore.

Respected Sir,

Subject: Need for an advanced electric/fuel cell car.

I am a Bangalorean and like the most of us, I have travel through peak hour traffic everyday. Dodging the unpredictable auto-rickshaw drivers and lethal Bus drivers to get to office and back. Due to this problem the mileage of my two-wheeler has reduced drastically, and is getting increasingly expensive to maintain. It is not just the problem of a Bangalorean but the whole world. With crude prices hitting the roof, there is a need to reduce our dependancy on the crude more importantly on OPEC.

I am aware that you produce a good electric car called Reva and have achieved a commendable milestone of producing the first Fuel Cell prototype in India. I am glad the President Abul Kalam has acknowledged your efforts. And, GM has given you a contract of designing an Electric Vehicle. But, I as a consumer expect a better product from you. The current Reva seats two Adults and two Minors, What happens when the Minors grow up? I am sure you would want sell another Reva to this Family but, most people buy one car in their lifetime and it should serve most if not all of their needs including atleast a 300km range for the vehicle. I feel that this constraint is some what of an aberration and the top reason for people not opting for a Reva. The vehicle should atleast seat 4 adults and should as big as a Hyundai Santro. The second reason is the style Reva scores less in style and I am sure it can perform better if aerodynamics were considered while designing the exterior of the car. Please think of futuristic add-ons such as Bluetooth connectivity for a mobile phone, Backup camera and help, iPod ready, and GPS. Please keep in mind that it only a matter of time Toyota Prius (http://www.toyota.com/prius/) comes to India.

A prospective customer,
Jeevan

Shine on You crazy Diamond

2006-07-12T09:22:00.000+05:30

Syd barret a former member of Pink Floyd is not with us any more. The song Shine on You crazy Diamond, sung by the other members of Pink Floyd is a tribute to him. Syd was a superb song-writer and a talented guitarist and contributed to the early Pink Floyd between 1965 and 1968. Like many stars of the Rock n Roll era he became addicted to Drugs and it is argued that he suffered from mental illness. After a brief solo career Syd slipped into anonymity, but finally appeared at the Abbey Road Studio during the recording of 'Wish You Were Here', sort of a reunion for Pink Floyd.

Shine on You carzy Diamond

Part I

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun
Shine on you crazy diamond
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky
Shine on you crazy diamond
You were caught in the cross fire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!

You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon
Shine on you crazy diamond
Threatened by shadows at night and exposed in the light
Shine on you crazy diamond
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

Part II

Nobody knows where you are, how near or how far
Shine on you crazy diamond
Pile on many more layers and I'll be joining you there
Shine on you crazy diamond
And we'll bask in the shadow of yesterday's triumph,
sail on the steel breeze
Come on you boy child, you winner and loser,
come on you miner for truth and delusion, and shine!

Spam Gourmet

2006-07-04T12:42:00.000+05:30

I just hate spam, like you and millions of other email users. Spam invades your mail box and shatters the enthusiam with which you open your inbox when a new mail arrives. Wouldn't it be good if you had an email id that can eat up the spam. Wouldn't it be even better if you did not have to explicitly go through the hassels of creating one just for spam and then abandon it. That is exactly why spam gourmet was invented.
How to use Spam Gourmet
Step 1 > Register at SpamGourmet.com by giving your protected mail id and choosing a username.
Ex: jeev.kr@gmail.com username: jeevan_spam_eater
Step 2 > I registered at MoneyControl.com ( A notorious spammer ) with the email id: moneyctrl.5.jeevan_spam_eater@spamgourmet.com. This tells SpamGourmet to forward only the first five mails recieved at the above address to my protected mail id, the rest can be thrown away.
Step 3 > (Relieved) Sigh!

PS: For the paranoid-> moneyctrl.5.jeevan_spam_eater@spamgourmet.com is not entirely fool-proof. Somebody who knows how spam gourmet works can abuse it. Don't worry, SpamGourmet has an advanced mode with which you can couter this.

Eyes

2006-06-21T20:55:00.000+05:30

Deathly!

2006-06-16T16:04:00.000+05:30

The Ring!

2006-06-16T16:00:00.000+05:30

Check this out!

2006-06-12T09:37:00.000+05:30

Museum Road!

2006-06-09T14:10:00.000+05:30

Have you ever turned left after Church Street and wondered why this road is called Museum Road, even when there are no Museums on it? I did, so here is what I dug up. Thanks to Deccan Herald.

The Government Museum on Kasturba Road.

One of the oldest museums in India, began as a private collection of sculptures and other art de facts of Reverend Benjamin Lewis Rice, director of Archaeological Researches, compiler of the Mysore Gazetteer, and ex-principal Bangalore High School. This mild-mannered self-effacing man, passionate about the state’s history, and Kannada literature, bequeathed the collection to ‘the people of the state’.

In 1865 Rev. Rice had this collection in a bungalow close to Church Street. To see it one followed the trail that eventually became famous as ‘Museum’ Road. As items kept being added to the ‘museum’, it was decided to shift this impressive collection to a larger facility. Colonel Richard Sankey addressed the issue by designing and building a stunningly beautiful facility on Sydney Road (now Kasturba Road).

Another Tidbit: There is also a Rice Memorial church on Avenue Road.

Bob Marley

2006-06-08T10:02:00.000+05:30

Baba Marley

Turn it on

2006-06-08T09:29:00.000+05:30

Leafy!

2006-06-07T16:51:00.000+05:30

Who is the highest paid Indian film star?

2006-06-07T14:10:00.000+05:30

Take three guesses.

I guessed
1. Sharukh Khan
2. Aamir Khan
3. Salman Khan

Tuns out the correct answer is Rajinikant [link]

Drape Avenue!

2006-06-06T14:00:00.000+05:30

Let there be green!

2006-06-06T10:07:00.000+05:30

Dream stream!

2006-06-06T09:45:00.000+05:30

My Colours!

2006-06-06T09:31:00.000+05:30

Spring - Bangalore style!

2006-06-06T09:15:00.000+05:30

The curious on-looker

2006-06-06T09:05:00.000+05:30

She ran off the moment I waved my hand.

Simpedia!

2006-05-11T12:26:00.000+05:30

In case, you haven't noticed. The wikipedia has another avatar. The wikipedia is now available in simple english [link]. This is aimed at helping out people who read little english. This will help children too. You can help and look for help here.

Musica Gem (another)

2006-05-10T14:25:00.000+05:30

Title: Schism
Artist: Tool
Lyrics: Tool
The rhythm is very different, pausing ever couple of words and allowing the song to be quite appealing.

Here is my favourite piece of the lyrics:

There was a time that the pieces fit, but I watched them fall away.
Mildewed and smoldering, strangled by our coveting
I've done the the math enough to know the dangers of a second guessing
Doomed to crumble unless we grow, and strengthen our communication

cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion

between supposed lovers
between supposed brothers.

And I know the pieces fit.

PS:Had a really hard time finding lyrics as the mp3 claimed the band to be Newage and title to be Don't Desire.

2006-05-09T17:49:00.000+05:30

His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular and also, King of Scotland

That was the title of Idi Amin

PhotonHead

2006-05-08T18:17:00.000+05:30

I StumbledUpon a website that gives a clear understanding of the fundamentals of photography. By far, the most suitable for a beginner at photography.

PhotonHead

Musica Gem

2006-05-05T12:47:00.000+05:30

Todays Gem

Title: Jars of clay
Artist: Flood
Lyrics By: Flood

Lyrics :

Rain, rain on my face
It hasn't stopped raining for days
My world is a flood
Slowly I become one with the mud

Chorus:

But if I can't swim after forty days
and my mind is crushed by the thrashing waves
Lift me up so high that I cannot fall
Lift me up
Lift me up - when I'm falling
Lift me up - I'm weak and I'm dying
Lift me up - I need you to hold me
Lift me up - Keep me from drowning again

Downpour on my soul
Splashing in the ocean, I'm losing control
Dark sky all around
I can't feel my feet touching the ground

[Chorus]

Calm the storms that drench my eyes
Dry the streams still flowing
Cast down all the waves of sin
And guilt that overthrow me

[Chorus]

Lift me up - when I'm falling
Lift me up - I'm weak and I'm dying
Lift me up - I need you to hold me
Lift me up - Keep me from drowning again

2006-05-04T10:25:00.000+05:30

I have collected 15Gb of music thru college.
I don't know how many tracks I have never played at all!
Yesterday, I decided to listen to every track in my collection, song by song, album by album. I expect to discover discover new favourites and gems. Will keep all of you updated on the same.

Today's Gem:

Title: King of Pain
Artist: Alanis Morissette
Lyrics By: Sting

Here is a part of the lyrics I loved.

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain

PS: More gyan invited on this song.

Ravan and Eddie

2006-05-03T11:04:00.000+05:30

Ganja told me he regretted he couldn't pick this up (due to a lack of space, his parents had banned him from getting more books home). I did and was thankful to his parents.
Ravan and Eddie is a story about two boys growing up in a chawl, in Bombay. Both Ravan and Eddie grow up in homes where Mother plays a dominant role. Ravan is very interested in Kung-Fu and starts off practicing like Ekalavya because he cannot afford the classes. Eddie joins the local RSS Sabha attracted by the comics of Ramayana and Mahabarath. This is only the start of many adventures and struggles they go through as children. The experiences are something most of us can relate to.
Mr. Nagarkar has given a deep insight into the different families living in the Chawl and how they deal/ignore their problems. The book is filled with humour at the same time revealing stark reality. The author's ability to get into a child's mind must be applauded. He has good eye for detail and exhibits great skill in wording erotica. Though the end is disappointing it is a good, hilarious read.

PS: Please leave comments.

A hundred words

2006-03-22T16:47:00.000+05:30

A hundred words, nothing less, maybe more! Not for them, not for her, just for me. To amuse, to ponder to be with myself. Too self-involved, too self-centered, too ego-centric, a megalomaniac.
Do we think I care. I hope not!
Floyd shouted "Wake up, wake up, they have started. No one told you when to run. You missed the starting gun!". We run and run to catch the dream, the star. Aren't we running in circles. We run for gold but get weary. Too late to go back, to restart, to redo, to undo. Do we think I care!

poto blag caming soon!

2006-03-20T11:59:00.001+05:30

It has always been my dream to develop a hobby of photography. Thanks to Rohan and Sathish who have agreed to get the cam from the US, the land of freedom and place-to-import-good-electronic-gadgets.
BTW my weeks of research has lead me to a few websites which review digicams and offer resonably good price for the camera.
Here are the links
a) Steve's Digicams - Balanced reviews, does not favour any particular brand.
b) Digital Photography Review - More detailed info on the cam.
c) Finally, the manufacturer's page: For me it was canon

PS:Canon seems to be the undisputed leader with close competetion from Nikon.
Free Quote:

If you want your camera to look good get a Sony. If you want your pictures to look good get a Canon.

Bangalore, Bangalore!

2006-03-06T14:43:00.000+05:30

I am sure. I am sure that the whole of the bangalore community cuss'd the weather last week. It was painfully cold in the mornings and nights. Scorchingly hot during the day.
Confession 1: I have been escaping the heat, just like all the thousands of software engineers who sit in front of a monitor all day.
I have lived here all my life. I vehemently defend Bangalore when anyone tries to takes shots at it, ( considering ALL the help I have got from Mr. Dharam Singh my defense has held up well).

Confession 2: Even I cuss'd Bangalore weather last week.

The beauty of Bangalore is what transpired over the weekend. At first, there was cool breeze and dry leaves, twigs were strewn all over the streets. The humidity in the air suddenly rose up. And it rained, it rained again on Sunday. Provided much relief to us all. That is why I love it. We get the showers whenever we want it.

One word!

2006-02-27T18:50:00.000+05:30

I visited this site. A random word is generated and you are supposed to write whatever you want about the same in a minute. This is what I had to say about "Aimless".
Aimless Aimless, where do I want to go,
Here there never know for sure,
Mom, said I would know where,
I am now Aimless, I here voices in my head shoutin "Shameless, Shameless!"

2006-02-15T22:14:00.000+05:30

What do you think of that?

In case you do not know who this is and who the hell put up a poster referring to him as God, don't bother. For those who want to know here goes; This is James Gosling, a god for many, and devil to some in the software universe. He created 'Emacs' a WYSIYG test editor, contributed greatly to the multi-processor version of UNIX. More importantly he was one of the forces behind Java. He wrote the original virtual machine and compiler almost all by himself. Java has grown out of its programming language costume into a technology.For many developers, like myself, it is providing our bread.

PS: This was a poster at the Sun Tech days recently concluded at Chennai.

Convocation 2006 cancelled!

2006-02-03T15:54:00.000+05:30

I was very dissapointed to read this. Thanks to the so-called profs, deans, directors or whatever you would want people to call you. Although I was not exactly dreaming about attending the convocation ( like in Five point someone1 ). After all numerous bitter experiences 2 with my department I don't think any of my class-mates wanted to attend the ceremony except for the reason that it would have given us a chance to catch up, thanks to the software industry not many of us have kept in touch. Towards the end of last year I had contacted our college regarding the convo, all they had to say was, "The current Director does not have the power to reward degrees, since he is just an 'Acting' Director"

The story actually starts when the Congress came into power at the center. One of the agenda's of the government was de-safrronisation. 17 directors, appointed by BJP, of various NITs (formerly RECs) were sacked in the process. Thus one of the faculty used his muscle to get the covetted Director's post of our college, who is called 'Acting' because he is not officially appointed by the HRD Ministry. We poor students, are frustrated!
Inspite of collecting the expenses from us, the faculty has denied us the ceremony we deserve. It is not everyday that you graduate from an engineering college. This is certainly unacceptable for an institute that was ranked 6th in India.

Our ex-director had put a program in motion to try and get alumni funds for the development of the college and its facilities. They can forget about getting even a buck from me!

1:Surprisingly people have cast serious doubts on the intellectual ability of Mr Chetan Bhagat after his new book One night at a call center was published.
2: I have a draft for this story that dates back a few months, hopefully I will get time to complete it.

What does ABCD stand for ?

2006-02-03T15:44:00.000+05:30

Found two of them on the net. Check it out.

America Based Confused Desi Escaped From Gujarat; Housed In Jersey;
Keeping Lotsa' Motels Named Omkarnath Patel; Quickly Reached Success
Through Underhanded Vicious Ways; Xenophobic Yet Zealous

American Born Confused Desi, Emigrated From Gujarat, Housed In Jersey,
Keeping Lotsa Motels, Named Omkarnath Patel, Quickly Reached Success
Through Underhanded Vicious Ways, Xenophobic Yet Zestful.

Java Fact

2006-01-25T17:58:00.000+05:30

Java went to Mars. Java, the software developed by Sun Microsystems Inc. in the mid-1990s as a universal platform for Internet applications, gave NASA a low-cost and easy-to-use option for running Spirit, the robotic rover that rolled onto the planet's surface on Thursday in search of signs of water and life. Proof.

Solaris Fact I

2006-01-20T14:59:00.000+05:30

The Auto-pilot program on planes made by Boeing or Airbus runs on Solaris with Sparc. (I wonder what would happen if Windows was used...."Excuse me, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. You will experience that we are plunging towards the ground for a some time as windows is restarting, so please fasten your seat belts"

To Startup or not to Startup!

2006-01-17T16:28:00.000+05:30

Joel gives out tips to budding entreprenuers in his foreword to Bob Walsh's new book, Micro-ISV: From Vision to Reality.

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/Micro-ISV.html

Here is a snippet

Number One. Don’t start a business if you can’t explain what pain it solves, for whom, and why your product will eliminate this pain, and how the customer will pay to solve this pain. The other day I went to a presentation of six high tech startups and not one of them had a clear idea for what pain they were proposing to solve. I saw a startup that was building a way to set a time to meet your friends for coffee, a startup that wanted you to install a plug-in in your browser to track your every movement online in exchange for being able to delete things from that history, and a startup that wanted you to be able to leave text messages for your friend that were tied to a particular location (so if they ever walked past the same bar they could get a message you had left for them there). What they all had in common was that none of them solved a problem, and all of them were as doomed as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Number Two. Don’t start a business by yourself. I know, there are lots of successful one-person startups, but there are even more failed one-person startups. If you can’t even convince one friend that your idea has merit, um, maybe it doesn’t? Besides, it’s lonely and depressing and you won’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of. And when the going gets tough, which it will, as a one-person operation, you’ll just fold up shop. With two people, you’ll feel an obligation to your partner to push on through. P.S., cats do not count.

Number Three. Don’t expect much at first. People never know how much money they’re going to make in the first month when their product goes on sale. I remember five years ago, when we started selling FogBugz, we had no idea if the first month of sales would be $0 or $50,000. Both figures seemed just as likely to me. I have talked to enough entrepreneurs and have enough data now to give you a definitive answer for your startup.

That’s right, I have a crystal ball, and can now tell you the one fact that you need to know more than anything else: exactly how much money you’re going to make during the first month after your product goes live.

Ready?

OK.

In the first month, you are going to make,

about,

$364, if you do everything right. If you charge too little, you’re going to make $40. If you charge too much, you’re going to make $0. If you expect to make any more than that, you’re going to be really disappointed and you’re going to give up and get a job working for The Man and referring to us people in startup-land as “Legacy MicroISVs.”

That $364 sounds depressing, but it’s not, because you’ll soon discover the one fatal flaw that’s keeping 50% of your potential customers from whipping out their wallets, and then *tada!* you’ll be making $728 a month. And then you’ll work really hard and you’ll get some publicity and you’ll figure out how to use AdWords effectively and there will be a story about your company in the local wedding planner newsletter and tada! You’ll be making $1456 a month. And you’ll ship version 2.0, with spam filtering and a Common Lisp interpreter built in, and your customers will chat amongst themselves, and tada! You’ll be making $2912 a month. And you’ll tweak the pricing, add support contracts, ship version 3.0, and get mentioned by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and tada! $5824 a month.

Now we’re cooking with fire. Project out a few years, and if you plug away at it, there’s no reason you can’t double your revenues every 12-18 months, so no matter how small you start, (detailed math formula omitted – Ed.), you’ll soon be building your own skyscraper in Manhattan with a heliport so you can get to that 20 acre Southampton spread in 30 minutes flat.

And that, I think, is the real joy of starting a company: creating something, all by yourself, and nurturing it and working on it and investing in it and watching it grow, and watching the investments pay off. It’s a hell of a journey, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.