2 Girls Found Stabbed to Death in Illinois Park - New York Times

The New York Times is reporting on the heinous news that 2 Girls were found stabbed to death in Illinois Park, a small, quiet town in Illinois.

The girls were 8 and 9 years old, it is sad to see how someone can perpetrate such acts of brutality!

I pray for their souls, and hope the culprits are caught soon.

Animesh
P.S. If nytimes asks for a passwd, use BugMeNot or look at other versions of the story from google news.

H2G2 review.. at last!!

Hi all,
Sorry for not blogging for some time now, but I guess the presence of a final project counts as a valid excuse :-).

So, Karthik, me and a bunch of others went to first-day night show of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy[also known as H2G2], the movie adaptation of the vastly popular trilogy in five parts written by Douglas N. Adams (a.k.a. DNA) which is a must-read for all geeks and sci-fi-humor fans!

And now, on with the review:
I must say that I spent the week before watching the movie in reading the book (1st part) and catching up on the story, so my views may be a little different than your standard non-geek friend's.

[summary]
The movie starts with a regular (British) earthbeing, Arthur Dent, waking up to find that his house is going to be demolished to make way for a highway! That shock is surpassed only by the discovery of the fact that his good friend Ford Prefect is actually an alien from the neighborhood of the star Betelguese and that the earth too is going to be demolished to make way for a galactic expressway!! Ford saves Arthur by hitching a ride in a spaceship and their journey begins, in which they meet Zaphod Beeblebrox, who is the president of the galaxy and a cousin of Ford (they share three mothers) and Trillian, who is an earthperson whom Zaphod took with him on his last trip to the earth (just as Arthur was getting to know her... )

What follows is a bunch of laughs and amazing circumstances, which I do not want to divulge for fearing of spoiling your fun - but I can say one thing - GO WATCH THIS MOVIE!!

[my comments]
I first read the books in 2002, during my summer internship at INRIA, and instantly my piscean mind fell in love with Adams' imagination - the books are a must read, even if you have seen the movie.

So, I was very afraid that the director may not have done justice to the book. In fact, I was expecting a 50% justice. However, I was most pleasantly surprized to see that they actually managed to get a 75% !! The biggest thing that caught me by surprize was the excellent inclusion of the Hitchhiker's Guide book's excerpts, just as in the stories. The whale scene was also nice :-) .

The 25% where they went away from the book consists mainly of the scenes where they have accentuates the love-angle between Arthur and Trillian. Not to forget that the actress is simply gorgeous and people won't mind seeing her more, but this was one part that is very different from the books. There are also some sideplots that are either not in the books at all or are placed out-of-order as compared to the books.

Finally, Marvin, the "electronic sulking machine", as Arthur describes him, is absolutely great! The robot conveys all its emotions (and they fairly complex ones) with an excellent combination of body language and voice modulation.

All in all, a movie worth watching, methinks.

Have you seen the movie also? Please leave behind your comments and let all know what you think.

Some interesting links .. all from BBC:
1. Guide could become trilogy (I am so waiting for that to happen - A)
2. A Guide to the Guide (an interesting read - A)

cheers
-Animesh

Scientists solve unpopped popcorn

From slashdot today..

CNN is reporting on how researchers have solved the mystery as to whysome popcorn remains unpopped...

Now I can sleep in peace :-) ...

Hibernation possible in mammals!

BBC is reporting on how scientists have succeded in getting "near suspended animation" in mice. Amazing thing indeed.... reminds me of the various science fiction movies I have seen.

The wonderful slashdot comments are here.

Movie Preview : Bunty aur Babli

The guys at IndiaFm have this nice preview of Bunty aur Babli up today!

I am soooooooooo looking forward to seeing this one...

Still mesmerized by Dhadak Dhadak and Karjaraarey kajraarey ...

-A

Are you ill, try a Maggot !!

Boing Boing was reporting about a LiveScience article about using maggots and leeches in medicine. The story is incredible... remember to not watch the pictures if you are eating something. The yuck facter is high.

So, what do you think? ready to go and buy a leach or two??

-A

P.S. They also have the results of the ugly animal contest. Personally I think they all are kinda cute :-).

Bunty Aur Babli music released!

Just saw that Mahiram has released the music of Bunty Aur Babli. Amazing songs!

Have been listening to them on desi radio also.

Cannot wait to see Big B chasing Rani and Small B as crooks!!

Link to wallpapers [indiafm.com] and my personal favorite.

Also, the IndiaFM.com music review for this album is here.

:-)
-A

Pandemic-causing 'Asian flu' accidentally released

Just submitted to slashdot.. lets see.

New Scientist is reporting that a pandemic causing asian flu virus has been accidently released to labs worldwide when it was not intended to be. Alarmingly, the lab in which it was found says that the virus was initially found in a sample unrelated to the test kit.

From the article:

There are fears the virus could escape the labs, as the mistake was discovered after the virus escaped from a kit at a high-containment lab in Canada. Such an escape could spread worldwide, as demonstrated in Russia in the 1970s.

Is that why my officemate has been sneezing incessantly of late?

Call Cutta !!

Thanks to grover, I came to know of this interesting article on a cellphone based theatre form [Indian Express Article] currently being performed in Kolkata. Here is the Goethe Institute official page on this. Pretty informative.. and talks about call centers too, something that is changing the life of Indian youth presently. And here is the Indian Official page.

At the end of the first act, the player finds himself at a hole-in-the-wall shop, where he reveals a password provided by the caller. A deadpan shopkeeper replies, ‘‘Download act two,’’ and hands over a packet of potato chips and a bottle of water.

Sounds interesting.. doesn't it?

So, wanna play a role.. how about starting one in LA?? You know my phone number.. don't you?

-A

Kargil's First Hero

I got a forward today asking me to sign my name at the bottom and forward to all those I know.

Now I generally do NOT forward such emails. However, I do execute a google search for the topic and reply to the sender with the information that the mail is a hoax (as happens mostly.. remember the non-small cell lung cancer mail?).

However, my google search today on Lt. Saurabh Kalia brought forth some heartrending articles. This one on rediff about his supreme sacrifice and the government's apathy towards the issue really moved me.

Here is a link to the online petition, I wonder if this will ever be read by the government.

My salute goes to the family of him and such soldiers who are constantly risking their lives for the country. I pray that the government soon gets something done in this regard.

-A

On Google Maps, Slashdot and Yours Truly

April 4, 2005, 8:30pm Pacific Daylight Time: I notice that google maps has gone satellite and is showing sat images also apart from sketches of the areas in their maps.

April 4, 2005, 8:31pm PDT: I post a story on slashdot to let all know of my discovery and share it with fellow geeks.

I wait for my post to appear ... I wait.... have dinner at gypsy cafe [uhhh... the turkish coffee... so black...] .. wait... watch cricket match.. wait.. sleep..

April 5, 2005, 9:00am PDT: I found this post on slashdot submitted by someone else. Posted today at 9:13am, and citing a newspaper post that was posted at midnight!

I wonder why the editors decided to choose that post instead of mine, especially since that obviously came after mine [read the timings]?

They actually have an FAQ entry about this, but I would say that my post was definately interesting, albeit a bit lacking in links, but who needs links when you can go to maps.google.com [to which I linked] and experience it for yourself!

I am perplexed, but I guess I will categorize this mystery with the mystery of my lost socks and not worry about it :-).

In other news, India won the second ODI [neha's blog post link] yesterday! Way to go team!

-A

Google Maps goes sattellite!!!!

This is simply amazing!!!!

I logged onto maps.google.com today to look for some driving direction and lo! there was a "satellite" link waiting for me next to the "link to this page" link.

Google maps now has clickable, draggable sattellite maps!!!! This is simply mind boggling.... I have no words to describe how I feel now!!

Google is GOD!!!!

go to this link and click on satellite to see USC, my university.

This time, I have reported this before slashdot... just FYI :-).

Dabbawalas for Charles' wedding

The times of India is reporting about how a pair of dabbawallas or tiffin carriers from mumbai are going to attend the royal wedding in Britain.

Nice to see them being honored.

From the article
"Over 200,000 tiffin boxes are delivered by a team of nearly 5,000 carriers across the city each day."

Amazing!

-A

Idea #3: Sex determination of visitors (to your website)

So, the third idea is online on my crazy ideas blog. I am quite surprized that I actually wrote (typed) it. Or did I ???

Waiting for all of you all-knowing-owls to post comments there.

read on!

Animesh

Please don't boil our players [and fans too]

cricinfo.com has a nice article about the infernal conditions at the last cricket match between India and Pakistan. Really sad to know that the match was played at 40 degrees C [104 degrees F] with 90% humidity!!!

I pray that the BCCI comes to its senses and stops subjecting our players to such inhuman conditions.

-A

Brand New Theatre at USC

Joyita and I went to see the brand new theatre show at the Massman theatre today. The experience was simply amazing - there were these short (and long) acts performed by USC students, completely created by them: script, lighting, sounds, everything! The acts were from 5 minutes to 20 minutes long and revolved around life in the dorms/fraternities/sororities at USC but covered topics from alcohol abuse to football at USC.

For the impatient, the snaps and a video are at this page. Please note that a) the pictures were taking without a flash and so are hazy and b) there are no captions, so I recommend reading on before opening the pics or opening the above link in a new tab [what! you do not use a browser with tabbing facility... shame on you].

The theme tonight was My Big Fat Greek Production, and all was very relevent, from the stage decoration to the pamphlet.

First, a gentleman dressed in greek attire greeted us with music, playing some sort of modified hawaiian guitar and then a banjo. The first act, titled Stubats, was basically a fraternity hazing thing in which Winthrop Ellsworth showed us how much he loved his "house", depicted by a cardboard box. The idea of him talking to the audience the whole time was nice, and the other character sitting in the front row was also playing his part nicely.

Second was Scripted, which showed a young man who is deeply in love with a girl but cannot stop planning about how things should be. Hi dad comes and talks some sense into him finally and asks him to stop planning and go for the real thing. The rewind-play again nature of certain scenes was amusing.

The third performance of the night was commons, an extremely wonderful piece written and directed by Kirill Baru, who takes the cake of reminding me of the others and lost highway simultaneously. The piece starts with two girls, one of whom decides to tail her professor in search of a good script for her play, but ends up planning to murder the professor's comatose lover. The strangeness begins when the comatose girl wakes up and tells our protagonist that she is actually dreaming this whole thing! More interesting and unbelievable things happen and you simply must see it to experience it fully. Excellent work by all.

Next came Spirit of Troy, which was a nice behind-the-scenes look at how the USC Trojan football team works. They hilariously showed a scene from the home of coach Pete Carrol, whom the university president reprimands for not defeating the opponents by a zero! Hilarity ensues as he goes on to try to whip the coach's behind! Jaimey played the role of the coach's wife and did a good job of shouting at her husband towards the latter part of the act, after having tried in vain to seduce him and pull him away from the football videogame :-). [Jaimey was the one who helped me in attending this show in the first place... thanks Jaimey!! ]

INTERMISSION

The second part of the evening opened with The Way it Went Down, a funny take on how Jesus, and other biblical characters were frat boys and how the others picked on Judas so much that he had to call the police [romans in this case]. The only (minor) goof up was a beard on one of the characters that started to come off towards the end. John's streaking was hilarious! He got quite a few cheers from the girls :-). This skit reminded me of the various Modern Ramayans we used to have back in ITBHU.

That was followed by Room 308, which focussed on building of relationships between roommates when they first arrive at their dorms in freshman year - how different people get together and how some influences can be bad. The piece started with a girl enticing a new one to drink "just one drink" which leads to several more that evening and ultimately leads to her death. The first girl is then shows as a resident advisor two years later who is helping new dorm members settle down. The whole skit was sooooo nicely done... excellent performaces by all the actors here!

The final piece was titled Scenes for Young Actors, and Clay from second nature was the main protagonist, Ryder, with a "Y". The act had him trying to convince his girlfriend how he has found his true calling in life, bussing tables and secretly aspiring to act in westside story. The actors then one by one broke into a song and the whole thing transformed into a musical. The piece climaxed with the whole cast of the evening coming out of the wings to take a bow.

It was a nice scene to watch, especially when they all came together on stage. I have a small video also that pans the whole scene.

All this reminded me sooooooooo much of ITBHU theatre. I miss the good old days when we used to work day and night to get a play/skit/mime/expressions on stage and finally when the audience applauded, we felt sooo like a team and sometimes cried with joy (I still remember the last part of Kunal ). I had similar happiness today watching Jaimey, Nick, Clay, John and gang basking in the glory of their successful endeavor. I wish them all the luck and hope to see more students performances at USC.

So long guys.. thanks for reading all the way down to here... remember to make your voice heard by posting a comment!

cheers
-A

Gulp some Google!!

Today, apart from releasing new features in gmail [send me an email at firstname@gmail.com for invites], Google released Google Gulp, a fundoo energy drink that makes your brain work amazingly fast!

I especially likes their FAQ, esp the following bit

11. When will you take Google Gulp out of beta?

Man, if you pressure us, you just drive us away. We'll commit when we're ready, okay? Besides, what's so great about taking things out of beta? It ruins all the romance, the challenge, the possibilities, the right to explore. Carpe diem, ya know? Maybe we're jaded, but we've seen all these other companies leap headlong into 1.0, thinking their product is exactly what they've been dreaming of all their lives, that everything is perfect and hunky-dory – and the next thing you know some vanilla copycat release from Redmond is kicking their butt, the Board is holding emergency meetings and the CEO is on CNBC blathering sweatily about "a new direction" and "getting back to basics." No thanks, man. We like our freedom.

Notice the Redmond reference, just FYI, Redmond, WA is where the castle of evil is. :-).

Way to go people!!! I am off to drink my first bottle, since Gaurav already has a invite, thanks to his bro who works in the silicon valley.

cheers and yppah lirpa s`loof yad to you all!
-A

What [not] to do when your computer crashes

MSNBC has a nice article on people's reaction to computer crashes. A fun read.. especially the deep fryer part.

Here are the slashdot comments.

Today is Neha's birthday. She has a blog now. Sweet!

So... what did "you" .. my dear reader do when you lost precious data on your last computer crash... please post comments.
-A

Quake hits tsunami zone

Just saw this article about an earthquake in Sumatra [London Free Press]. Here is a link to more related articles[google news]

Very sad.

No Tsunamis have been reported.

Lets all pray for the victims of this catastrophe.

-A

Camouflaged octopuses 'walk' on two tentacles

New Scientist has this amazing article about octopuses that walk on two tentacles. This is simply too cool!!!!

Remember to watch the videos that we linked to from the article!

In other news, I finally managed to get semi-melodious notes (all 7) from my flute... now for more breathing practice and getting those notes straight!

-A

Bose – The Forgotten Hero :: Music Released

IndiaFM.com has a nice
music review of "Bose – The Forgotten Hero", a movie about Subhash Chandra Bose, the legendary Indian Freedom Fighter.

If you want to listen to the songs, you can get them from musicindiaonline, since they are not yet there on mahiram or raaga.

Me listening to them now... nice sounds....
Please comment on how you liked them.

-A

The Credit Card Prank II

Slashdot today posted about the zug.com article about The Credit Card Prank II ... amazing article!

The Slashdot comments on this, as always, were entertaining.. :-).

cheers
-A

US denies visa to Modi - excellent!

The Times of India is reporting on howUSA has denied a visa to Narendra Modi, who is considered by many (including yours truly) to be responsible for the mass killings of muslims in Gujarat in 2002. I feel so happy.

I am also sad that people like this give India a bad name - I was once asked by a bangladeshi man during a flight as to why the Vajpeyee govt. allowed the massacre to happen and I could do nothing but hang my head in shame.

Here's a toast to the day (in near future?) when all will live in harmony!

-A

13 things that do not make sense

New Scientist is reporting on 13 things that do not make sense. A nice read for anyone.

This added to the news of a mini black hole by BBC has made my day.... I feel so sciency .. oooooohhhhh....

cheers
-A

Sleeping sheep.. and my house..

The BBC has nice game to test reaction times. Thanks to Aditya Mandavilli for sending the link. I was sooo releived to read the notice at the end of the game :-) .

Further, here are some misc pics from my life.... my home primarily.. and Zack and Gokul (on a chair) and some pics of the multifaith function we had for Tsunami relief.

cheers
-A

Gaurav's Birthday

So, March 14 is Gaurav's birthday. Here are the snaps of the masti we did last night!!! The snaps of the corresponding party will be sent as soon as it happens.

And do not blame me for the cake smearing act... this is mearly a retribution of this. Gaurav takes nice snaps....

Cheers!
-A

When Veer Met Zaara

Outlook India is carrying this nice article on Indo - Pak Friendship. Was heartwarming to read. Goes on to prove that all this trouble/enimty is not quite a reflection of the general public's views, just that of a few politicians.

In other news, Nishant sent me a pointer to the news of a muslim woman getting a shiva temple made in Varanasi - I am surely going to visit that in my next visit.

Also, Animesh (not me, the other one) sent me a link to the news of Shakti Kapoor's involvement in a casting couch scandal ! The shocking part was not the accusation but the fact that he agreed to the act, but alleged that this was a plot - seems that this kind of conduct is so normal in bollywood that film personalities do not bat and eyelid when an aspiring actress offers "everything" to them - man, dhan.. and tan!

Dalai Lama gives up freedom dream

Just saw this on the Times of India
Dalai
gives up freedom dream- The Times of India. I still cannot believe
it folks!!

Also, he
has expressed his thanks for India. I wonder how the people of
Tibet are going to react to this!

-A

Idea #2 online!

Hi all,
Idea # 2 is online on my crazy ideas blog.

Don't forget to post your comments... I will be waiting!!

cheers
-A
P.S. Thanks to all who wishes me yesterday! It was fun.

Oh Shit!!

Wired news is reporting about a new design of toilets that flush better, much better. Have you ever flushed 24 golf balls down a toilet! Read on!
-A

Maj Gen gets RI in Tehelka case

The Hindustan Times is reporting about a major general getting jailterm for the tehelka case. Nice to know that. Here is a link to related news items. I wonder when the politicians involved will get to visit tihar!

Amen to this thought!
-A

Invisibility Shields , Google, Firefox and Kenyan Linux-based Palmtops

Nature is reporting on an invisibility shield that uses electron effects to prevent objects from scattering light. Although they admit that this is not a one-size-suits-all solution, it has interesting implications in stealth, microscopy and other fields. Read the article for more.

In other news, BBC is reporting on a Kenyan school where kids are using linux based handhelds. Those kind of things make sense in India also.

Yet another article (from ZDnet) reports about how google is helping firefox. I don't mind them getting together :-).

-A
P.S. All above references taken from slashdot ... really cool.

Annual Filmfare Awards 2004 : The Winners

Hi all,
IndiaFM.com has this nice article that summarises the results of the filmfare award!
My dear SRK got 2 awards.... and do did Rani! Abhishek Bachchan also got an award! me happy :-)

read on!
-A

Dal-roti, dal-roti 'n' some Maggie for soldiers

The times of India is reporting about the lack of proper food for the Indian soldiers who are helping out in the avalanche hit Jammu and Kashmir state of India.

Kudos to all of you, dear soldiers! We are proud of you!

Animesh
P.S. I was told that apparently some millitants were also saved from snow during the rescue mission of the army. That did not affect the terrorists' hearts, who lauinched another attack yesterday.

Creatures Frozen for 32,000 Years Still Alive

LiveScience has an article on defrosting creatures who came back to life. Interesting one. Be sure to check out the gallery of the ugliest animals also.

Slashdot readers have posted some nice comments on the frozen animals article, including some more links. The best comments are here.

cheers
-A

India, as Seen Today Through the Eyes of an Eminent Pakistani Scholar

Came across another nice article today. This is about India, as seen today through the eyes of an eminent Pakistani scholar.

Very interesting indeed. A must read.

-A

Astronomers find star-less galaxy

Another BBC article.
Astronomers find star-less galaxy. Interesting.

Slashdot post and comments here.

-A

Doubt over Nasa boy exam triumph

BBC News reports that there may be a doubt over Nasa boy exam triumph. Hmm interesting...

I shall keep a watch.

Thanks to M for sending the link over.

Indian boy tops Nasa examination

Saw this on BBC NEWS today. Really great stuff!!
cheers
-A

Mushkil hai apna mel priye... nice poem

Thanks to Animesh for sending in this hilarious (hindi) poem ... too good. I wonder who the author is.

MUSHKIL HAI APNA MEL PRIYE

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,
mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

tum MA 1st division ho, main hua matric fel priye,
mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

tum fauji afsar ki beti, main to kisaan ka beta hoon,
tum rabadi kheer malai ho, main to sattu sapreta hoon,
tum AC ghar mein rahti ho, main ped ke neeche leta hoon,
tum nai maruti lagti ho, main scooter lamreta hoon,
is kadar agar hum chup-chup kar aapas me prem badhaenge,
to ek roz tere daddy amrish puri ban jaaenge,
sab haddi pasli tod mujhe bhijwaa denge vo jail priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

tum arab desh kee ghodi ho, main hoon gadahe ki naal priye,
tum deewali ka bonus ho, main bhookho ki hadtaal priye,
tum heere jadi tashtari ho, main almunium ka thaal priye,
tum chicken-soop biryani ho, main kankad waali daal priye,
tum hiran-chaokadi bharti ho, main hoon kachue ki chaal priye,
tum chandan-wan ki lakdi ho, main hoon babool ki chaal priye,
main pake aam sa latka hoon, mat maaro mujhe gulel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

main shani-dev jaisa kuroop, tum komal kanchan kaya ho,
main tan-se man-se kanshi ram, tum maha chanchala maya ho,
tum nirmal paawan ganga ho, main jalta hua patanga hoon,
tum raaj ghaat ka shanti march, main hindu-muslim danga hoon,
tum ho poonam ka taajmahal, main kaali gufa ajanta ki,
tum ho vardaan vidhata ka, main galti hoon bhagvanta ki,
tum jet vimaan ki shobha ho, main bus ki thelam-thel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

tum nai videshi mixi ho, main patthar ka silbatta hoon,
tum AK-saintalis jaisi, main to ik desi katta hoon,
tum chatur rabadi devi si, main bhola-bhala lalu hoon,
tum mukt sherni jangal ki, main chidiyaghar ka bhaalu hoon,
tum vyast sonia gandhi si, main v.p.singh sa khali hoon,
tum hansi madhuri dixit ki, main policeman ki gaali hoon,

kal jel agar ho jaaye to dilwa dena tum bel priye,
mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

main dhabe ke dhaanche jaisa, tum paanch sitara hotel ho,
main mahue ka desi tharra, tum red-label ki botel ho,
tum chitra-haar ka madhur geet, main krishi-darshan ki jhaadi hoon,
tum vishva-sundari si kamaal, main teliya chaap kabadi hoon,
tum sony ka mobile ho, main telephone waala chonga,
tum machli maansarovar ki, main saagar tat ka hoon ghongha,
dus manzil se gir jaaooga, mat aage mujhe dhakel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

tum satta ki maharani ho, main vipaksha ki lachari hoon,
tum ho mamta-jailalita si, main kwara atal-bihari hoon,

tum tendulkar ka shatak priye, main follow on ki paari hoon,
tum getz, matiz, corolla ho main Leyland ki lorry hoon,

mujhko refree hi rehne do, mat khelo mujhse khel priye,
mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

main soch raha ki rahe hain kabse, shrota mujhko jhel priye,
mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye.



The end.... hmmmm makes me want to search all hasya kavita books in los angeles :-).
-A
P.S. Saw BLACK last night.. first day, 3rd show. Excellent movie.. detailed review on next post...

Schnappi

Hi all,
I have been listening to the schnappi song for some time now. It is really cute.
Go here for a nice translation of the song. The page also has a link to a real media version of the song (look for "here it is" on the page). If you want an mp3 version, ask GOD.

Really cool.
Lemme know if u like the song. I for one cannot stop thinking about its cuteness :-).

-A

Nice ideas about Bulleh Shah

So all of you must have heard the song Bulleh ,ki jaana maen kaun by Rabbi Shergil. I found this article on Bulleh Shah on the net. The song indeed has a very nice meaning.

Enjoy!
-A

Solar super-sails

New Scientist is reporting how Solar super-sail could reach Mars in a month. An interesting read I must say.

As for my ideas blog, the second Idea is on its way... hold on to your seatbelts :-)...

-A

On how to help Indian villages with technology

Read an intersting article on Bridging India's digital divide with Linux today. Hope you all will like it too.

Nice to see technical advances going on back home.

Another thing that can help in Indian villages something like this Bolivia Solar Panel LED experiment.

I hope someone back home is listening..... is someone?

Love,
-A

Happy Republic Day - Jan 26, 2005

Hi all,
My best wishes to you all on the 56th Republic Day of India.

Please read President of India's Message to the Nation here.

Great words from a great man!

Jai Hind!!!

The Car's Birthday Party!!

So, I drove with Gaurav to Artesia (the Indian market close to LA) and got some Indian food for a party that my housemates were pressing me for :-). The menu was:

Appetizer
- Bhelpuri
Main course
- Butter Chicken
- Navratan Korma
- Shahi Paneer
- Chana Masala
Dessert
- Custard (this item made by Samip, all else bought at artesia)

The snaps are online at this page.

Let me know how you like them!

I got a car!!!!

I bought a 1993 Honda Accord today! Yipee!!!
More details and pic to come!
-A

GMail Bug!!

Hi all,
Saw this article on GMail Messages are Vulnerable to Interception today. Please read.
Animesh

Announcing the "Ideas" Blog

Hi all,
I have been thinking about this for a long time now, and especially after meeting Ghosh Uncle in ITI Bangalore. So here goes:
I started the Animesh Pathak's Crazy Ideas blog today. I will be posting any and all brainwaves I get over there from now on. And you, my blog readers, are requested to comment on the posts with any suggestions/criticisms/appreciations/business plans :-).

Hope to look at that blog in some year's time and feel good :-).

Now I am going back to work... you go to http://animeshideas.blogspot.com and see what's cooking !!
-A

I am back !!!

So I am back finally!! Met a nice pair of japanese sisters in the flight.... somehow the flight has been interesting all the way.

Presently jetlagged... more posts starting tomorrow!!!

-A

I am BACK .. well.. nearly :-)

Hi all,
Posting this from Bangkok airport Business Class lounge (Thanks to Ujj!). Will be back in the city of angels by Sunday midday PST, and the mayhem will begin!
Since there is a lot of work already waiting for me there, there might be a slight delay in posting the report/pics, but good things come to those who wait :-).

Met an interesting girl in the plane, she was learning jewellery design :-O ... now that is something you don't hear everyday! Lets see what more I get to know about her trade ... and about the dairy farms :D.

Anyways.. back to work... so nice to see this great speed after a month almost!

wait for the photo goodies... they are on their way!!!

-A

Long Time no Post!!

Hi all,
Sorry for not posting for some time now, but I was busy at HiPC, the International Conference on High Performance Computing, helping with registration. Made quite a few good friends there and hope to stay in touch with them (anyone listening!). Presently at home at Mankapur, a sleepy township near Lucknow, in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Have quite a few stories to tell, how I nearly missed my flight to India from LA, what all happened in Bangkok and then in Bangalore and Delhi.. the snaps will be online as soon as I get back to LA. Till then, they are happily sitting in my laptop.

Next stop, Varanasi and ITBHU, my alma mater.. lets see what all is going on there!

and yes, a very merry christmas and a happy new year to all !

yours, truly
-A

Leaving on a Jetplane

Finally, the moment has come.. in 8.5 hours time, a Thai Airways plane will take off from LA airport with me in it ... on the way to my motherland - India!

So, I won't be posting very frequently in the next month.. as I will be travelling, and internet speed may be an issue too.

Let's see if I meet any of YOU - my blog readers, in India.

Wish me luck!
-A
P.S. more abt my journey later.

Secrets of Firefox 1.0

A really nice article about the Secrets of Firefox 1.0. A must for all power users of firefox.
2 days to fly!!!

How my laptop made me clip my nails

This was coool... I realised that I had to finally clip my nails.. but the funny part is what made me do so!

I realised that typing on my new laptop (yes I bought one finally!) was getting increasingly painful with my nails making contact with the chicklet keys of the laptop's keyboard, which is very unlike a PC keyboard I realised.

So here I am, nails clipped, typing away at lightning speed :-) ... a laptop "does" change your life B-).

-A

JS Online: Think, think, shoot, score!

JS Online has this nice article about controlling things by just thinking about them. So nice to see all this happenning.... very soon... we might be in the matrix!!
Do read the article... it is a really cool developement... done in monkeys before this.. and now.. men!
-A

'Cut perks of MPs disrupting House'

The Times of India has a nice article about Cutting perks of MPs disrupting House. The 'house' here refers to the Indian parliament and MP = member of parliament.
With so many stupid politicians disrupting the works of the parliament, I think this is a real nice thing. I hope this bill makes it to law....

cannot stop laughing at the thought of the MPs stopping their friends from making a noise because their paycheck will also be affected =).

Long live democracy!

Ramgarh Alumni

Found this Ramgarh Alumni website on livejournal. Too good.... kudos to their creativity!!

Thanks to Animesh (Hazra) for the link.

one week.. and I will be India :-)

-A

Linux in Hindi and other Indian Languages!

Express computer has a nice article about Red Hat Fedora 3 in Indian Languages. Nice to know that local languages are being supported in India now...

power to the vernacular!!!

-A

The Worst Jobs in Science

Popular Science has this nice (second) article about The Worst Jobs in Science. It is a very nice read.. and you feel sad .. sometimes happy that yours is not one of them. Although I do feel like a Computer Help Desk Person every once in a while.

Does being a graduate student count?

If you think your job is worse... post a comment here :-)

cheers
-A

Second Nature: Last show of the sem.

Hi all,
Just back from ground zero, where I witnessed the last show of Second Nature Improv Comedy for this semester. Well, if you do not know them yet, read this post.

As always, they had great games for us, starting with the story "Sleeping Beast" (my suggestion :-] )and going on to make a nice shakespearian play about a strange couple, among a bunch of other games, including one involving two members of the audience and Mount Rushmore. My favorite game is still the one in which the scene moves with the outgoing character (really loved Nick's style of "diggin' through" the scenes).

Today we also wished David a good life in the Czech republic (he won't be at USC anymore :_[ ) and sang Happy Birthday to John in Czech!! I must the say the cake that Jaimey had brought was nice, although she has made it clear that she is not a baker(ess).

So Clay, Evan, Nick, Jaimey, David, Eddie, John, Jacquie, Jacob and the two new members of the gang whose names I cannot remember, thanks for making my friday evenings laughter-filled and best wishes for your finals.

Be back soon 2nImprov, we are going to miss you!!! (how abt a special session in the middle of final's week ;-) )

Your Fan.
-A
P.S. Nick actually knows my name!!!! How much cooler can life get B-)

Ladder Theory !!

Found this interesting way to model relationships!!
Ladder Theory Master Page....
any comments, dear readers???

Robots to rid us of cockroaches

This is what I have been waiting for!!
NEWS.com.au report about Robots to rid us of cockroaches (November 16, 2004): "They say they will soon be using robots to stop sheep jumping off cliffs and to encourage chickens to take exercise."

Isn't that interesting....

beware world... the robots are coming!!!!

am I the only one who is scared :-?

-A

Interactive Map Of India!!

I saw this site which has interactive maps of India. Pretty cool. Nice to see something like mapquest finally taking shape in my motherland!
Way to go people!
-A
P.S. Thanks to Gaurav for forwarding me the link.

Second Life : Your World. Your Imagination.

I came across this site called Second Life today. Apparently this is an alternate online world... nice to know that...

Or is it actually "third life" ?? are "we" already living in a virtual world???


hmm.....

think.. and post ur replies!!

BTW.. Happy Diwali!!!

101 things you can do in Mozilla

Since Firefox 1.0 got released today, it is only fair to link to 101 things you can do in Mozilla.

get firefox!!!!

Feel free to post ur comments/experience with Firefox here.. and remember, if you ever need free tech support on Firefox.. send me an IM on animesh_pathak @ yahoo messenger!!

-A

I was hungry for a day - so that someone doesn't have to

Hi all,
I participated in the USC Muslim Student Union's fast-a-thon on Thursday November 4, 2004.
The proceeds went to help organizations that help put food on the plate of people who cannot afford them.

It was nice to be in a mosque... it was my first visit. Also the fasting was a nice thing to do... cleansing one's body... also feeling the pain of hunger.. so that we can appreciate other's pains.

It was also nice to hear the speaker talk about the significance of fasting across religions. I also told some christians about the various types of fasts we have in hinduism.

Last but not the least, the food was AWESOME!!! the sweet called "baklawa" was just too good!

Diwali Culture show on sunday at 7pm... wish us luck!!!

-A

Let's remember the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots

Please visit
Timesofindia > 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots

TOI has a nice feature about the riots... reminds us that no violence is good.. no matter what the justification.. kudos to the sikh community for rising from those ashes like the phoenix.

Here's hoping for a peaceful future..
Amen.

Animesh

Free-for-all in Orissa House

The Indian Express has an article about what happened recently in the Orissa assembly.. makes me hang my head in shame... chappals in the state assembly!!!
What do you feel about this? Please leave a comment.
-A

Children's games to give water to thirsty people!!

The Roundabout Outdoor people have come up with a nice idea.. to get water out of the group using the energy from children's games... a nice site... read on.

Makes me wonder, could this not be used in India nicely??

Anyone listening??

-A

Allerca | The Hypo-Allergenic Cat

A very interesting thing this is!
Allerca is producing Hypo-Allergenic Cats that are genetically engineered to not cause problems to their owners..... how nice....

Add this to the list of fiction becoming fact..... (see previous post about brain on a petridish)..

Don't think about the future, know that it is here!

-A

Brain outside body!!!

Univ. of Florida has this nice article about the culture of brain cells outside the body.. in a pertridish... and that it can control a flight simulator... interesting... or SCARY!!!
Post you comments folks!!
Animesh

Security Report: Windows vs Linux

Excellent article in the Register about Security Report: Windows vs Linux . Read on!
-A

SRK teams up with son Aryan -- cool na?

Hi all,
SRK teams up with son Aryan .. nice article on IndiaFM.
Now I want to see this movie in Hindi :-).
-A

Scopo ... heads-up display....

I would say the future is here!!!
Video page for scopo.
Click on the "Scopo" video link.
Simply amazing... well.. this was bound to happen..
I wonder what's next!!

Animesh

Theater at USC ... I finally found it!!

Ever since I came to USC, I have been looking for a place to see theater as it happens in american universities. However, all of the performances I came across were either non-free or clashing in time with something else I had to do, or both.

However, my fate changed for the better when on Oct 14, 2004, while pasting flyers for the AIS garba, I saw the flyers of a show by second nature, an inprov. comedy group at USC. I immediately decided to go since the timing was ripe.. Friday night at 10pm.

So there I was at Ground Zero Coffee House at 10pm, waiting for it to start... and boy.. was it coooool....

They started with the host impersonating a french waitor... he called a guy and a girl at random from the audience and made them sit on a table on the stage. They then chose "dishes" from a menu, which were actually games which the other members of the team played.

It was very similar to whose line is it anyway, in which participants had to think of dialogues and situations and responses instantly.

The appetizer was a game in which they all told a story... with the "controller" pointing out who has to continue next. Very much like the "block and tackle" we played back at ITBHU, except here you were responsible for completing other people's words also :-).

The next game was "revolving doors", in which three participants were each secretly told of a word (separate for each), upon hearing which in a conversation, the participant either leaves the stage if he is in or vice versa. It was hilarious to see them doing a pen-pal meeting scene with "cue" words like "the" and "letter" :-)).

Another one included a game in which the audience suggested dialogues which were written on bits of paper and thrown on the stage. The participants were to pick them up while enacting a scene and blend them into the conversation.... I nearly fell out of the couch I was sitting in =)

Then there was "chain murders". This involved three participants, one of whom is told a murder location, the dead person's profession and the murder weapon. Then the others enter one by one and the previous person to come on stage "tells" the person these answers by gestures and gibberish ... like adasdb aksdb lorem ipsum ..asdlaibaf adsfjba (if you could understand what I meant by those words... go see a doctor :-) )... The people have to do this "information exchange" within 2 minutes and then all are called on stage and start telling what they think are the answers... kinda like the game we all playes as kids in which we would pass around a message by whispering in each others ears in a circle.. and then heard what everyone "thought" the message was.... except here it was with gestures and oh-so-funny gibberish!!

They also did a "shakespeaker" spoof... and a scene in which one of them has a "skill/property" which he does not know of and the others try to make his realize what it is by giving clues while talking to him in a scene...

All in all... it reminded me of the pot-pourri and expressions events that we had back in ITBHU.

My friends from ultimate frisbee and Ben, a student of mine from EE102 Spring2004 tell me there are more groups on campus like that. Good for me!

I am surely looking forward to all the humorous theater I can attend at 'SC.

People who were patient enough to read till here.. please leave a comment.. I will appreciate your views on this post and any questions that you may have.

cheers
Animesh
P.S. I have not detailed all of them.. like "dubbing" etc.... more about them later..

Excellent article -- How to install Windows XP in 5 hours or less

Just too good!!!!
How to install Windows XP in 5 hours or less [dive into mark]

cheers
-A

Dhamaal at ITBHU alumni meet in Southern Cal.

Saturday Oct 9, 2004 will go down in history as the day 25 people of the ITBHU family met at the Taal restaurant in southern california and had a great deal of fun.
More details at

ITBHU Alumni SoCal page
.
A must read for all ITBHU people reading this page, and for the people not from ITBHU... this is how much fun we have.. hope u have it too!!
cheers
Animesh

Showdown at Center of Campus @ USC!!

Date: Wed, Oct 6, 2004
Time: 3:30pm

So here I am, going peacefully to teach a discussion session... when suddenly I see a DPS (Department of Public Safety) vehicle whizzing past me... horns blowing to clear the crowd that is generally present near Tommy Trojan, the symbol of USC pride.

Going a few more yards, I see that there is a huge crowd near tommy trojan, all looking towards the Bovard Auditorium. As I wondered what happened, I heard the cries of "Get out of the way" from behind me. Before I could respond, a DPS official gently brushed me aside while running towards the location of the event.

It was then that I heard this girl, in tears, talking on the phone telling someone about how this woman took her purse and showed her a knife. I was shocked to know that such things happen in the midday also.. and that too in the center of campus!!

I then saw the woman, brandishing a knife even as 7-8 DPS officers had her surrounded with guns in their hands. She started replying to one of the officer's request to drop the knife and it was then that another offier jumped her from behind and within a span of 3-5 seconds, they had her giftwrapped, all set to go to the DPS office and later, LAPD.

The incident reminded me how dangerous it is becoming nowadays here... and at the same time how efficient the DPS people are. Three cheers for them and also the students who reported this incident ASAP.

My wishes are for the girl whose purse was snatched.. I hope she comes out of the shock soon.

-A
P.S. You can read more about this on the Daily Trojan

FavIcon Generator

I came across this FavIcon Generator at Dynamic Drive. Pretty neat thing.
Thanks to them, we now have a favicon at the ITBHU.org site :-).

AIS Cake and Cream Social.. and ITBHU Lit events...

We had the Association of Indian Students (AIS) Cake and Cream Social today (Oct 2nd, 2004) at USC and had TONZ of fun(pics coming up soon).

We played In-Out, Dumb-C and Ad-Mad games .... made me reminisce about the fun we had during the lit club events in ITBHU ... sniff...

Felt really good to see those competitions... too bad I could not take part.. I was organising.. (NRG, SP, Nitai, Animesh(Hazra), Pranay, Grover, Rajini, Maggie, Keerty, other ITBHU alumni .... are you people listening... send me emails at animesh.pathakATcse03.ITBHU.org about what you all are organising ).

Hope to be able to take part the next time, will ask someone else to do the organising.

I am very senti now.... will go and sleep...

I miss my days at the insti!!!

-A

Critical bug in firefox!!!

Hi all,
There is a super-critical bug in firefox.... thanks to the author.
Please go here : http://www.livejournal.com/users/shmivejournal/94967.html
:-)
-A

Problems with blogger and Firefox :-(

Hi all,
I suddenly woke up to the fact that my favorite blogthis! extention for firefox was not on update.mozilla.org for Firefox PR1.... that has surely reduced my blogging lately...

Also, I found that search-as-you-type does not quite work with the blogger "edit post" page... I wonder why....

Anyways.. back to work....

and yes.... use firefox



cheers
-A

Firesomething

Installed Firesomething today for my Firefox browser.

Writing this from my "USC LightSpider" browser ;-) ... For changing your browser name also, install firesomething on your mozilla-based browser too (what!!!!! you still use Internet Explorer.. shame on you!!)

cheers
-A
P.S. as a nice trick, add MicroSoft , Internet, and Explorer to the list of options in firesomething and viola.. you have more interesting browser names :-)

Interesting Quote.

I clicked on Wanda and this is what she said:

You see, I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.

-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "A Study in Scarlet"

Nice thing, I'd say.

-A

Dodgers Game!!!

Hi all,
Here are the snaps of the baseball game between Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. We won!!!
We went there on august 20, 2004. Thanks a lot to Ron for taking us there :-).
I owe you a cricket match Ron!
-A

Technology Review: An Alternative to Windows

Nice article about Linux versus Windows!!
Technology Review: An Alternative to Windows

way to go!!!
-A

Snaps from Universal Studios Trip

Hi all,
This past saturday (August 7, 2004), Neha. Bijju Mama and I went to Universal Studios, Hollywood. Here are some snaps from our trip to Universal (opens a new page).
The first some snaps include
- Snaps of Union Station
- Snaps of Mama's home
- Universal Studios Itself!!

Some of the attractions were:
- Castle from Van Helsing
- Terminator 2 - 3D
- Back to the Future, The Ride
- Spiderman Rocks! (he moved too fast to take clear snaps)
- Revenge of the Mummy
- Special Effects Factory (That's me handling a cat's paw :-))
- Jurrassic Park
- Tour of Universal Studios, with locations where movies were/are shot
- Shrek -4D

No snaps of waterworld on my digicam.. the batterys ran out :-(

cheers
-A

Linux desktop viability myths exploded -- Nice article

Nice article on Linux.
I myself installed Mandrake 9.2 in like 5 clicks, no problems....
Then I switched to debian.. cause I missed the long problematic installation :-)
NewsForge | Linux desktop viability myths exploded

-A

Simpler pump boosts failing hearts| New Scientist

Another good one today. Interestingly, this leads in patients having no pulse - since the heard does not beat !!!
Article: Simpler pump boosts failing hearts| New Scientist

interesting.. isn't it?
-A

What's Next: Fleeting Experience, Mirrored in Your Eyes (NYTimes)

Nice article on "eye info extraction" on the New York Times website.
The New York Times > Technology > Circuits > What's Next: Fleeting Experience, Mirrored in Your Eyes

If you are asked for a passwd, go to http://www.bugmenot.com or download the plugin at http://bugmenot.mozdev.org if you use a mozilla browser (I love Firefox!!).
-A

A Penny For Your Idea : OutLookIndia.com

Excellent article on outlook. Thanks to gaurav for pointing it out.
A Penny For Your Idea : OutLookIndia.com
enjoy!
-A

Want a job in google ???

Came across Google's number theory AD. Really cool stuff these guys are up to :-)
cheers
-A

The New York Times - Indians Go Home, but Don't Leave U.S. Behind

Excellent article on reverse-brain-drain :-)
The New York Times - Indians Go Home, but Don't Leave U.S. Behind
Free registration required, but if you are lazy, check out http://www.bugmenot.com or http://www.bugmenot.mozdev.org

PC World New Zealand - PC World at 15

This is an excellent article showing how technologychanges too fast for anyone to imagine.
PC World New Zealand - PC World at 15
Check it out folks.. it is really cool!!!
-A

Army rations rehydrated by urine | New Scientist

Found this extremely interesting article in the New Scientist magazine! Read on..
Army rations rehydrated by urine | New Scientist

cheers
-A

Will this whistle blower survive? - The Times of India

Came across this article today.
Will this whistle blower survive? - The Times of India

I hope something is done soon in this regards. Feels kinda ashamed to be the citizen of a country which cannot protect its honest people.

My prayers are with him.

-A

Fasting to fight corruption!

Today, July 12, 2004, I am keeping a sunrise to sunset fast to show solidarity with the fight against corruption in India. Please visit the S.K.Dubey Foundation site for more details. It will be great if you also volunteer to keep the relay fast going.
-A

Latest Pics ... july 4th weekend

Hi all,
click here(opens a new page) for the latest snaps from my digicam.

Brief list of captions:
- Marybeth, our cookie fairy!
- Ron's birthday celebrated in office.
- Zack and I in mirror opposite poses.
- Prof's little angel, Avanti.
- Visit to Ujj Nath's place (do these guys look like they graduated from ITBHU in 1979!).
- Enjoying around LA with Nitin and his friends from UWisc.
- Malibu temple (see the tilak on our foreheads in the snap with the car)
- 3rd Street Promenade.
- This waitress at a greek restaurant reminded us of Preity Zinta. She was so happy when we told her she resembled an Indian actress!!

That's it folks...
enjoy!
-A

Courageous Cop gets award.

Came across an article about a gallant Indian cop today who acted bravely in the gujarat riots.
Hope you all will like it.
People like this give us all courage.
-A