Abandoned daughter sues parents

The Times of India has a nice article about a girl who sued her parents for abandoning her as a baby.

Apparently, the parents left her in a garbage bin because they had twin daughters. Also, now when she is 28, they want her to get married the way they want!

This is outrageous. These people should be jailed.

What do you say? My wise readers?
-A
P.S. Had an absolute ball at Eddie's birthday party last night, including a game of kings [with me sipping cranberry juice :-) ]

Hacker Hunters

Business Week is reporting on a crackdown by the feds on a group of hackers called the ShadowCrew.

A very interesting read.

Makes me want to do some security sermonizing [more so since two of my roommates have dysfunctional computers presently, thanks to running unprotected Windows machines].

I strongly recommend that all of you read this article till the end and realize that installing a firewall and antivirus is not an optional thing anymore.

Also, please update your software timely. Please do not ignore the flashing windows update icon on your desktop.

Interestingly, most of these things are free.

Windows Update - Please update your windows machines regularly. Turn on that auto update.

or better

Install Linux


Also,
Install Firefox to surf the web instead of Internet Explorer.

Install Thunderbird to check your mail instead of outlook.

Remember to use Ad-Aware and Spybot periodically to check your system for spyware.

Install Sygate Firewall. The Free version [linked here] is also very easy to use

Install AVG anti-virus. The linked version is also free.

So you see, you can secure your system for free.. it is easy and simple.. just like you can secure your home with a few simple practices [like locking your main door]

Please post a comment if you think this blurb from me was helpful.. or if you think something was missing.

cheers
-A

Bollywood's best comedy movies showcase

The Times of India has this article about the best bollywood comedy movies of all times. A nice read I must say.

So, how many have you watched? And which ones did you like/dislike.
Anything missing?

cheers
-A
P.S. The bay area trip was amazing... I drove 1000+ miles in 36 hours on my dear Jean-Luc-Accord! I simply love my car!

X-rays that see through clothes!

CNET news is reporting that airport screeners would soon be seeing though clothes!!

Interesting... the deptt of homeland security did this after their passengers complained on being patted down.

So, what do you think? Given that terrorists are using means of concealing weapons that cannot be discovered from a distance.. would you like to be "touched" or "seen" ??

The Slashdot comments are here

So, are we going to see a rise in the applications for airport scanning personnel??

Double shock for Films

It is a sad day. Two stalwarts of the silver screen, Ismail Merchant and Sunil Dutt passed away today.

more on Ismail Merchant

more on Sunil Dutt, and his philanthropic activities

Sad. Very sad.

-A

More Sequoia Snaps

Wow.. there are 300+ snaps in all... I have no idea where I am going to host them all.

Here are some of them. Hope you all will like them. Please leave your comments.

The Gang!


Around the car!


In the car [notice how I am the only one who is not looking in the camera, since I am driving!!!]


Pure Nature Pics: Wallpaper Worthy!


Do you see the face in the rocks?? Spooky.. isn't it?


Conifers!


This is NOT a painting... one of my favorites.

Other Interesting Snaps:

Camp Food :-). You can take a desi out of India, but you cannot take India out of desis :-).


Making sure the bears don't get our stuff!


The strawberries were soooooooooooooooo delicious... and the kids were also cute :-).


Some People Snaps:


Gaurav, Ashutosh, and the Jedi Knight! :-)


Another one that I like.


And Another. I pulled out this plastic bottle from the waterfall. Doing my bit for conservation. :-)


Look at the waterfall!! [Me, Chinmaya and Vaishnav]


Working at the farm... these american instruments are HUGE!


More snaps on their way... keep watching!!! [and please post some comments!]

-A

My red-eyed tree frogs

I love them... I simply love them.
This is my latest wallpaper [copyright reserved by the people whose website is on the side of the image - you can use it for a wallpaper]



Sooooooooooooo cute.... so very cute...

What do YOU think?

-A

Back from Sequoia National Park

I am back from sequoia National Park and back to work now.
The snaps will be up soon. But here are two that I like from my collection [still need to combine the ones from all the cameras]



That is me on the trail back from the crystal caves. More snaps of the inside of the caves soon. Notice the dense moss and the cute spring flowers :-).



This is Vaishnav, Chinmaya and Me at the waterfalls near[4 miles] our campground. Long trek, but surely worth it.

More coming soon... keep watching.
-A

Graduation at USC

This is a picture of Sumit, Zack and me at the USC graduation day [May 13, 2005].

We will all miss sumit!!!

:-(

-A

Amitabh's New Movie: Ek Ajnabee

I was pleasently surprized today to see a poster of Ek Ajnabee, the next movie with Amitabh in it.

A quick google search resulted in the facts that the movie is shot in Thailand and is a desi adaptation of Man on Fire, with AB Baby playing Denzel Washington's role!

The poster looks ultra cool.. but reminds me of the musafir poster of Sanjay Dutt.

Must add this one also to my must-watch list. What do you guys think?
-A

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