Beginnings: Brothy and Browsery

[update [9pm CET]: It is available now!!]

First things first: Last night, finally, I was able to make my first curry in France! I _had_ tried earlier to make it, and had chopped up all the potatoes, tomatoes, garlic and chilli I needed on Sunday, only to realize that I had no cooking oil :). Well, I bought some last evening, and finally made some alu-tamatar [potatoes in a tomato sauce]. And yes, it did come out pretty well :).

Moving on to other new-beginnings, ToI told me today about Google's new browser, Chrome. Of course, being the crappy journalists they are, there were no links to any other useful info [not even attribution to where they got their images from]. To find out more, I went to slashdot, and found this post, rife with interesting comments.

Finally, I went to this post on the google blog, which gives more details.

My suggestions to you:
1. Read this comic explaining what this is all about.
2. Visit this page in one day, to download a copy and run it for yourself :).


Of course, there are a lot of blog posts about what this means, but I am surely looking forward to it. My personal view is that they had this in mind, but the release of IE8 [with its "porn mode"] surely boosted the speed with which they had to release it.

Should MicroSoft worry -- well, if the $200 Techcrunch Open Source Tablet comes with Chrome installed, then it will run all sorts of web apps super fast, and people might just reduce their Windows Vista Laptop purchases. [BTW, they have a prototype already booted up] [ref: /.]

Here's to a brighter browser future, and to the left-over curry I will have for dinner tonight :).

Getting g33ky 'bout getting Jiggy

Sex in an MRI machine?!

That's apparently what the Discovery team got a couple to do, and the result is this wonderful documentary (Anatomy Of Sex) that you _all_ want to watch :). So instead of sending you all emails with the link, I figured I will just post it on my blog :).

Click here to go to the video. Note that you will also have to "launch the NinjaVideo Helper" in order to see the video. Don't worry, no spyware as far as I could figure out. Remember, after the buffering is completely done, you can always right click and save as divx :).

and yes, you're most welcome ;).

P.S. G33ky blog page with pictures from the research papers.
P.P.S. Youtube link.

Holy Windmills Batman!

Proving that there are no free lunches in this world, scientists have shown how windmills are killing Bats! [ref: Digg]



Apparently, the low pressure regions created by the spinning blades causes the blood vessels in the bat's lungs to explode!

So, what to do -- I suggest somehow warning bats no to get close to windmills. Perhaps by installing ultrasonic bat-repellants?

Obama - a Gay Child?

Or so says the guy in this "moment of Zen" :)



And this next video montage... gotta admire the professional quality, and the satire in the "promised one" assumption :)



:).

And finally, how the US economy is actually _helping_ some americans [funny, and sad]



Disclaimer: I no longer think much will change if he gets elected, but still like him more than McCain :).

Of Portals and Pointers

I have talked before about how I _love_ portal. And now, here is some g33ky detail on how it works [ref: /.].


And in other sciency news, here is another post on how animals apparently point north! [ref: /. again]. Maybe there is some wisdom after all in the rule my parents have about not sleeping with my head towards the North.... hmmmm. [NIH link abt magnetic material in humans]


OK then, me off to sleep now, not pointed towards North :).

Moving On, with Cold Feet

So I moved out from my hostel, la clarière, to my studio in Puteaux (I guess it makes me a Putéolien].

The new studio is small, but spacious. It is also furnished, meaning that the nice owners have given me not only a sofa/bed and other furniture, but also utensils -- saucepans, spatulas, spoons, forks, plates, the works!

This studio is definitely better than the hostel room, primarily because of the much faster internet and the lack of noise, in addition to the proximity to Paris :). [BTW, the first thing I did after putting down my first suitcase -- install internet :)]

The only thing I did not realize was that I did not have my blanket while coming from the states! The hostel blanket having been returned, I was left blanketless on my first night at the new place :-|. Since I discovered this only at 10pm after coming back from a Janmashtami function, there was no store open for me to purchase one.

Needless to say, il a faisait très froid dans la nuit [it was cold in the night], mostly because my feet got cold :-|.

The good news, I got a blanket the very next day [i.e., yesterday], and all is well now :).

Next step: Buy a bicycle.

More Reasons to Feel Humble

What is black and white, can fly without machines, and can recognize itself in a mirror?

No, not batman doused with some white paint, I am talking about a Magpie, as this new scientist post demonstrates.

What I liked a lot was the way the researchers prove it without a doubt. They placed a colored spot under the beak of a Magpie, so it could not see it directly. When the Magpie was shown a mirror, it began scratching at the dot, recognizing itself in the mirror. When a black spot was used, so that it was not visible in the mirror against its feathers, no scratching happened. Pretty convincing.



Next step in my opinion: Take two magpies in neighboring cages, put a dot under one's beak, and see if the other one begins scratching -- to make sure that it clearly understands that only the "other" magpie has the dot :).

The funny part is, in our arrogance, we humans had believed that self-awareness is possible only if the brain has a neocortex, but birds don't have one. Go figure.

In other related news, in addition to being able to be trained to paint, Elephants have shown how they can add numbers, and differentiate two quantities, even when they are close-by like 5 and 6, and not just like 2 and 6, as even Salamanders can!



Still think we humans are "God's special creatures"?

-A
P.S. Watched Ice Age 2 last night. Good movie :). Apparently mammoths speak like Raymond, and vultures speak like George Oscar Bluth ;)

Your GMAIL might be insecure!

According to this post [ref: ./], your gmail account credentials can be hijacked if you do NOT enable HTTPS for all transactions with gmail.

So go to your gmail Setting page now, scroll all the way down, and choose "Always use https" in your "Browser connection:" setting.

Click "Save Changes", sigh, get back to email :).

To drive the point home, here is the text from this comment on /.

Unless you SET THE PREFERENCE, you are insecure, even if you MANUALLY type in https://mail.google.com/ [google.com] always.

Because unless you SET THE PREFERENCE, google does NOT set the session cookie to be SECURE.

This is what Mike Perry's tool does: it takes any of your OTHER connections, redirects it to http://mail.google.com/ [google.com] so your browser spits out the session cookie anyway, and then can redirect you back (so you don't know what happened).

Google's SSL mode for gmail, UNLESS YOU SET THE PREFERENCE, offers you NO protection against an active adversary. And since someone snooping your traffic at starbucks can just as easily inject packets, IT OFFERS NO PROTECTION EVEN IF YOU MANUALLY TYPE IN HTTPS ALL THE TIME, UNLESS YOU SET THE PREFERENCE!!!!

What are you waiting for, go secure your gmail!
:-).

Full interview -- Shabana Azmi on India, Kashmir, and Muslims

Here is the full text [and videos] of the interview I talked about yesterday. Haven't gone through all of it yet, but figured I should let you all know ASAP :). A huge thanks to S for the link.

cheers,
-A
P.S. Happy birthday Pushpendra!

Shabana Azmi on India, Kashmir, and Muslims

Shabana Azmi will be talking to Karan Thapar tonight IST on CNN-IBN [news post here, video promo here]

From what I read, she will be talking about how she is worried that the latest clashes in Kashmir are being communalized, and the govt is not doing enough to stop them. She also mentions how if they are not stopped, this could spread all across the country, and therefore speedy action must be taken.

Apparently, she also talked about how she and Javed Akhtar, and Saif Ali Khan could not buy houses in Mumbai because they are muslims.

Responding to suggestions of discrimination against the Muslim community, Azmi said with a tinge of bitterness: ‘I cannot get a house in Mumbai. I wanted to buy a flat in Mumbai and it wasn’t given to me because I was a Muslim and I read the same about Saif (Ali Khan).’

She also talked about how India is a very good place for Muslims, but at the same time, both muslims and non-muslims need to work towards fixing some very real-problems that they are facing.

The most interesting part of all this for me was the media coverage. Here is what google news showed me at the time [note the headlines]



Note that what is unfair to muslims ranges from "Indian democracy" to "Indian polity".

In my opinion, the best coverage of this is in the Sindh Today, a non-Indian newspaper, which chose to run a more content-based article, much longer in length that the other articles I saw. So far, even the comments are sane, unlike many I have seen on timesofindia and rediff etc.

No point pulling quotes from the article, but here is the summary. Also, I strongly recommend you to read the entire thing :). Go on, click it.

New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) Indian Muslims are in a ’safer place’ as they have a ’stake and space in Indian democracy’ as compared to Muslims in other parts of the world, feels noted Bollywood actor Shabana Azmi; but she is unhappy that there is still discrimination against the community.

-A
P.S. Links to videos of the interview will be appreciated.
P.P.S. Also, as usual, comments most welcome. If this issue is truly as big as it sounds, then we all need to do some thinking.

You may now salute the flag

[Thanks to having fixed the hostel's internet, I can finally upload the pics :)]

One week ago, Sandrine drove us all to Sébastien's Wedding in the south of Paris. The pictures are finally online for your viewing pleasure :) [the album is here -- start the slideshow to see bigger pictures]




And today morning, I went to attend the Flag hoisting at the Indian embassy in Paris. Thanks to the vacation schedule of the trams [yes, 15th august is a national holiday in France, but for entirely different reasons ;)], I reached a bit late.

There were loads of people there, and I got to meet the gang from the Orkut group. We went on to have a small picnic in a nearby park, discussed politics, and played tons of dumb-C. Good times :).

Here's to the wonderful new friends I made today, and to more such G2G's!
[the album is here -- start the slideshow to see bigger pictures]



update: Pics from Vaibhav here

61, and counting

'tis been 61 years since we started to "redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially."

In the past 61 years, we have come a long way, done some good things, and some bad ones. Are we closer to the goals we had in mind when we got this much-touted "freedom" thing from the Brits?

I'm not sure, and I think I will reserve a detailed article on that topic for later. For now, I am going to be at the flag hoisting at the Indian Embassy tomorrow morning, and then a get-together [G2G] with the "Indians in Paris".

And to you my friends, I give you this [song idea: P and M]:



Jai Hind!

Can I please depose your leader?

... is the question Jon Stweart asks. After all, it is America's turn to oppose Russia which has performed incursion into a different sovereign country.

For the best part, skip to 3:25 :)



And then, this is Jon Oliver "in Europe"


ah, sweet hypocrisy, so sweet.

How to end an argument with your wife

say

"I can't win. I won't win. I don't want to win"

or so says the association mentioned in this article which talks about new divorce rules in Japan.

From the article:

A change in Japanese law this year allows a wife who is filing for divorce to claim as much as half her husband's company pension. When the new law went into effect in April, divorce filings across Japan spiked 6.1 percent. Many more split-ups are in the pipeline, marriage counselors predict. They say wives -- hearts gone cold after decades of marital neglect -- are using calculators to ponder pension tables, the new law and the big D.

So guys, be safe, admit defeat in household arguments :)

Finally, some SMSense!

I have always found the american cellphone system to be weird. One pays for incoming minutes, as well as outgoing minutes. While at some level, it can be explained [one always has the choice to NOT take a call], the idea of paying for outgoing and incoming text messages [SMSs for the non-americans] was completely crazy to me.

Note that I am not pro-free-lunch. For example, if the phone company gave me an option to delete the message without reading it, so as to not pay money for that message, I would be perfectly OK with it. Add to that the fact that people can buy "unlimited" messaging for a fee, and you can see how you can get a close friend bankrupt by just spending $20 a month for your own unlimited messages. I have often said to my friends that there is a class-action lawsuit waiting to happen there :).

Well, finally, at least in the same continent, someone has shown the guts to actually bring about such a suit [via /.].

And in other news, the following clips show how the current US election is turning up. I love that Jon Stewart chose to point out Obama's change in stance for off-shore drilling owing to public opinion polls, but I wish he skewers Obama more. [disclaimer: I am rooting for Obama in the elections, but I hope he was less of a 'politician']



And the Coal-bear gives you the right-wing perspective on this:


:)

À bientot!
-A
P.S. At Guantanamo Bay, a panel of six military officers convicted Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former driver, of providing material support for terrorism but not guilty of conspiracy charged. [reported earlier here]. Make sure to listen to the audio clip at the NPR page.

You say potato, I say suburban edible stem

Civil war or ethno-sectarian competition? Torture or enhanced interrogation techniques?

Jon Stewart tells how in the eyes of this administration, a rose by any other name, can be pretty much anything!



Funny, and sad :-|

Can _your_ potato glow in the dark?

While appreciating the so-much-better tasting and oh-so-subsidized lunches at INRIA, I often think about the Genetically Modified [GM] food in the USA, and of the identical-looking tomatoes that are now available in Patna and elsewhere in India. I also note that my fellow labmates here lament the fact that even the vegetables in France are not safe from pesticides, and the occasional contamination from GM farm-lab pollen.

On that topic, I would like to draw your attention to two interesting news stories on the NPR front page recently.

The first is about Honduras, where farmers are embracing GM technology.

He pulls the husk from one ear and shows off the gleaming rows of white kernels. There are no worms in this corn, which is remarkable, because such worms are everywhere in this part of Honduras and Rubio hasn't sprayed any insecticides.

"No, the only thing we need here is the seed, the fertilizer and the herbicide," he says.

Remember that something similar happened in India with cotton, but there are issues [not including the fact that the husks cannot be fed to sheep anymore]

Others scoff at this prediction. Most farmers in Honduras, they point out, are too poor to spend much money on expensive corn seed or anything else that would boost their production, including fertilizer or irrigation.

The second news comes from China, where an ex-stockbroker has decided to farm organically. He has an interesting perspective on bugs:

Luo says he expects to lose one-third of his crops to bugs and another third to birds — leaving just one-third for him to sell.

"Those bugs have the right to stay here. They're part of the food chain. If we kill them, then there will be no birds on the farm," Luo says.

"Eventually, there will be only human beings on the planet — and it will be a silent spring," he says, evoking Rachel Carson's seminal book, which brought environmental concerns to the attention of a broad U.S. audience.

Sadly, he is not making a whole bunch of money, as expected:

For example, vegetables that have been grown without pesticides often sport holes in their leaves — where bugs have eaten. Luo says his customers know to expect that.

But such "imperfect" vegetables could "never be sold on the conventional market," he says.

Luo has about 50 buyers for his weekly market baskets. He used to make most of his money serving organic lunches to visitors. But that business plummeted after the May earthquake.

Lets see how it develops.
-A
P.S. Yay for the 'motherlode' of Gorillas recently found in Congo [with videos], and prayers that they will now not all be killed by loggers, poachers and Ebola :-|.

Fake divorcee, non-terrorist driver, and Dragons in Ostrich-land

Today, I bring thee several news stories worthy of thy attention:

First, from NPR's wait wait, I came to know of the story of the guy from Kolkata who tried to get a divorce by using a rent-a-wife.

Sanjib Saha presented a woman as his wife in a lower court in the eastern city of Kolkata this month. Both said they sought a mutual divorce, something the court granted immediately.

I have seen enough movies when men and women hired spouses for one reason or the other, but hiring one to get a divorce, that's new!

***

Secondly, the US govt continues to claim that the driver of Bin-laden was involved in planning the terror attacks of 9/11, although the alleged "mastermind" Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM) himself said that the driver was just that, a driver.

"He was not a soldier, he was a driver," Mohammed said according to a redacted English translation of his Arabic.

He described Hamdan, who has a fourth-grade education, as a "more primitive (Bedouin) person" who did not share bin Laden's ideology but wanted his money and was "only searching for pleasure and money in this life."

"He was not fit to plan or execute. But he is fit to change trucks' tires, change oil filters, wash and clean cars and fasten cargo in pick up trucks," said Mohammed, who called himself the military official responsible for overseeing al Qaeda cells abroad and "the executive director of 9/11."

Of course, I can totally imagine GWB's lawyers saying that this testimony does not count since KSM was tortured :).

***

And finally, an NPR story that talks about the rise of Chinese business in Africa. I also firmly believe that Africa is still the last unexplored frontier, and China, like a very smart big power, is rapidly assuming economic control over large parts of it. The question is, can the African people, esp their governments, wake up in time negotiate good deals?

Welcome, and Thanks for your Laptop

I saw a link to this Washington Post article about how the US govt can take your laptop indefinitely at the border without any proof of wrongdoing. [ref: /. ]

Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.

Also, officials may share copies of the laptop's contents with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption or other reasons, according to the policies, dated July 16 and issued by two DHS agencies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

I had commented about this in the past also.

Don't say I never warned you ;).

-A
P.S. some people have claimed how making a copy of your harddrive was only like "looking" at the shirts in your suitcase, but I guess this one definitely qualifies as stealing/taking/robbing-me-of my shirt!

What little PhDs are made of ...

... is explained best here :).

Now I know know why he called it "Piled higher and deeper" :P

-A
P.S. Finished the main part of the book [spoiler alert: do not read too much of the summary], amazing all the way till the last four words. :-|

Venn the Rulers break the Rules

B pointed me to this amazing post on slate.com, which describes the people's misdoings in convenient set-theoretic form. From the article:

The best way to make sense of this legal tangle is to mouse over the title of an individual scandal, which will highlight everyone implicated. For example, the wiretapping bubble ensnares George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, David Addington, John Ashcroft, John Yoo, and Alberto Gonzales. At the same time, Ashcroft and Gonzales fall into the overlapping circle for monkey business related to DoJ hiring. Mouse over a person's name for information on how each person is involved. Mouse over the title of each circle for specifics about the particular scandal.

As far as I am concerned, nothing makes any difference. These guys will all go scot free, since the democrats in congress are spineless, and the public too optionless to scare them into doing anything.

Sorry for the jadedness, maybe it is coming from my readings of "The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism" :-).

Anyways, here are some clips from the wonderful satire that is the daily show. First, to illustrate my point as to how shameless they are:



and then, to show how angry I am:


ah well. nevermind.
[/jaded]

Is your bank's website really who they claim to be?

... because according to this NPR post, if your ISP's DNS server is unpatched, you may end up going to a malicious server even if you type mybankname.com on the browser. [Geek friendly version here]

I recommend checking your DNS server using this site. Now.

-A

The thing with French banks ...

... is that they do NOT post your check book and ATM card to you. They mail you the PIN code, and some letters, but you have to go to the bank to get the Checkbook and ATM card yourself.

A very secure method, I must say, but I didn't know it, and thus got these things some days late :).

In other news, I gave a talk yesterday in my new group about my PhD work, and apparently, people did understand what I was saying :). [there were many questions, which is always a good sign].

And in the afternoon, we had a party to celebrate Hassine's faculty appointment in the University of Paris. The snaps are here, but this is the team one :).



à bientôt,
-A

When you knowingly drive over a cliff ...

... you do it because you think that somehow, magically, it will all be OK. That you can have you cake [of bad habits] and eat it too [not get destroyed].

That is the thought that came to my mind when I was perusing two pieces pointed to me by my friends.

First, this NYTimes article [ref: B] about the USA debt crisis, which gives a very clear picture of how the whole system works. For those wanting more, check out the daily show interview of the author of "Confessions of a subprime lender".

*****

Secondly, and perhaps pertinent to more people [how about 6+ billion?], is the following talk [ref: DK] by Douglas Adams, author of H2G2, among many other works. It is a bit long, but strongly recommended.



Among other things, he talks about saving the Kakapo, a huge endangered flightless New Zealander parrot with a wierd mating ritual. The best part is the reason why it is so.

Once again, as I said, watch it!

*****

And finally, I leave you with these words from the book that I am reading nowadays in my journeys on the metro and the bus [more on that in another post]:

War is Peace;
Freedom is Slavery;
Ignorance is Strength.

15 seconds of fame, and USA abortion craziness

Now that I have figured out how to put French accents using my qwerty keyboard, I can blog in English, हिन्दी में, et en Français :).

There are many things to talk about, but sadly, only so much time for blogging. I brought my Sun SPOTs to work today, so have been busy configuring them. Maybe we will buy more for the group here :).

So, to begin, I have been immortalized by a mention in the K&K podcast about the Bastille day picnic, with Victoria doing a cameo [a miceo ?] in the podcast. [skip to 10:41 if you want to jump to the mention :)]

Moving on from the above happy news, B pointed to this article in Slate about another dumbassry in the abortion debate.

From the article:

Starting this week, under orders from the state attorney general and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, medical providers in South Dakota must present a scripted statement to women who seek abortions. The script, dictated by the legislature three years ago, declares that any abortion "will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being."

...

I have to say, it's a relief to learn that the embryo is so complete and independent. I mean, it solves the whole problem. Here's this woman who just wants to be separated from her embryo. And lo and behold, it's already separate! No need to agonize. Just detach it and let it grow. It's separate, it's whole, it's living. Cancel the abortion. Perform a separation instead.

Seriously, when will the 'pro-life' lobby get consistent!

***

In other news, Leesa has posted pics of our Indian-food adventures. I will post more of it and the Buddha bar experience, but when my hostel net gets better.

***

Also, a HUGE shoutout to Biplav, who has started a new website to help people looking for advice on GMAT/MBA issues. Best wishes dude!

***
And finally, HOLY HISTORY LESSON BATMAN! [ref: DK]

Another picnic, Bastille Day pics from Frog, and a movie to watch

I still need to get my picasa account in order, so I guess I will let you all know of my adventures in France but linking to two wonderful posts.

First, Leesa has posted pictures of the picnic we had on the banks of the Seine last Wednesday. Another one coming up next week, and I intend to take some free dance lessons :).

And secondly, more pics of the Bastille day picnic from Frog with a Blog. Figured you all might be interested.

And finally, a movie recommendation. I watched High Fidelity yesternight, thanks to Zack. I am sure it would have been much more fun if I knew those songs, but the movie slowly grew on me, and I loved it! Strongly recommended [viewers cautioned for strong language and some adult situations].

Then I realized that it was similar to War, Inc., in that it has monologues by John Cusack, and his talented sister Joan also acting in the movie :). Zack tells me there is another one like that. Must look for it in the INRIA media library.

Well, that's it for now folks, off to buy some saucepans for ghar-grihasthi :).
-A

ITBHU to IIT -- almost done

I got to know yesterday that the cabinet has 'in principle' approved the conversion of ITBHU to an IIT [and the creation of several new ones etc.].

You can get the links for the official press releases, as well as follow the discussion at this IIT-conversion related post on the ITBHU Alumni website.

I, for one, would hold off on calling us an IIT just yet. Sadly, I have been badly burnt multiple times on this, and would wait for the proverbial cup to get to the proverbial lip :).

Cautiously optimistic,
-A

Unfounded food, and semi-long term job

Two things:
1. R sent this amazing article about what happens when you blindly use machine translation. Must watch :-). Also, make sure to look at the comments.

2. Valerie just told me that my INRIA postdoc fellowship application came through -- meaning that I am now funded on a no-strings attached 2 year fellowship here that she does not have to pay for :). Time to start hunting for an apartment :).

And as a bonus, some life updates. I am learning more french words here every day, and also making new friends. Leesa was kind to invite me to another picnic last evening, and to lunch in India-town on Sunday. Will be doing some more shopping at Carrefour this weekend.

On the work front, things are good too. I have been given my own office with enough sunlight that I don't need to switch on the lights, and a Dell Latitude D620 with a docking station and an extra monitor to work on. Must say it is nice to have your inbox open in a completely different monitor while you focus on the main screen. Discussions with group-mates are also going well, and they are very helpful with pointers, both for research and for life@INRIA.

and that's it for now,
A bientot!

-A

Bastille Day, and K&K

Yesterday was Bastille day, and I finally met up with Katia and Kylie Mac and their wonderful friends at Les Invalides. It was great fun, and I made a lot of new friends, thanks in part to the large bag of M&Ms I brought to the picnic :).

While I figure out how to best upload all the videos and large resolution pics without getting over my Picasa limit, here is a facebook album to satiate you all :).

Also, check out Leesa's posts here, here, here and here for some more amazing snaps.

Looking forward to more such picnics,

salut!
-A
P.S. On a different note, here is a post about French researcher salaries [via Abi]

Washington DC Snaps

I went to see the Bastille day parade today near the Chateau de Versailles, and the snaps are on their way.

In the meantime, here are some snaps from my Washington DC visit.



Salut!
-A

The sweet smell of gunpowder

No no, I am not talking about the fireworks for the Bastille day celebrations this coming Sunday and Monday, I am talking about the American power-strip I plugged into the power supply here this afternoon.

!POP!

went the power strip, and the smell filled the room. What was worse, as I later realized, that I had taken down not only the electricity of my room, but of half my floor with me. [btw, the "surge protector" was rated at 120V, and the voltage here is 220V -- do the math]

As I went downstairs to meet the people at the reception, I met another floor mate who was there because his room was dark now. I asked him how to say "It is my mistake" [«il est ma faute»] :).

And that's how I met Ahmed from Tunisia, a PhD student at INRIA. We looked for the circuit breaker, but could not find the one for the floor [we did find the ones for each room, and those for the gym and the kitchens and the restrooms, but to no use]. During this adventure, I also met Danielli, an Italian intern at INRIA.

Finally, an electrician was called, who promptly opened a panel we had not seen, and flicked a switch, and all was well.

Then, I took a bus and a train to Paris to meet Yogesh, one of the most active volunteers of the ITBHU Alumni website, who was visiting Europe with his family.

I came back at midnight and was greeted by Ahmed and Rania [Intern at INRIA], who were playing chess. We had a good conversation while I spectated, and they were impressed by the geolocation facility of my iPod Touch, as well as my James Bondesque wristwatch :).

Then it was time to call bhai on skype [he has a toll-free number, and it is free from anywhere on skype :)], and to post this post.

And now, it is time to sleep.
Bonne Nuit!
-A

Reached!

I have reached France, and posting this one from my hostel. All is well. More later.

Salut!
-A

Au revoir!

The past few days have been fun -- visiting Atlanta, Washington DC, New York City and New Jersey, and I am supremely thankful to all those who hosted me, fed me, and enriched me with wonderful conversations.

And as an extension, the same holds for the past 5 years.

But now, it is time to leave, and I give you this:


For those looking for the Armageddon version, here it is.

til we meet again.

:'-)

-A

'tis Time to Play the Next Song

In preparation for the next phase of my life, I figured I should buy my first wrist watch. I still love the one J gave me, but its straps broke :-|.

So I got a Timex IronMan Sleek iControl, which can also be used to control my iPod :D.

Leaving Atlanta tomorrow -- and it is starting to sink in more -- I am moving on :-|.

-A

This weekend -- get smart :)

I watched this movie the weekend it was released, and strongly recommend you to watch it for some laughs.

For my review, I think it is best I post the email I wrote to NPR after watching the movie.

+++++++++++++++++++Begin+++++++++++++++
Subject: Get Smart's Bad Review Completely Unfair

Dear Hosts,

I am an avid listener to NPR, on the radio as well as online. The one trait I greatly admire about NPR, in this day of biased main-stream media, is its _objectivity_. Therefore, if I hear a movie review on NPR, I trust it.

However, I was in for a rude shock last evening, when I went to watch "Get Smart [IMDB]" with some friends. Since I had heard NPR critic Kenneth Turan's extremely unfavorable review of the movie, I was hesitant in going for it.

To my surprise, I ended up loving the movie, and found the humor to be very well-times and good quality. I understand how disappointed Mr Turan was to see his childhood buffoon get smart [pun intended], but the people whom I went with had also enjoyed the TV series, and they LOVED the movie.

As someone who creates comedy [I was the founding-director of the first Indian improv comedy troupe at USC ], I can understand how tough it is to make good comedy, and that a comedy cannot stand on slapstick and vulgarity alone. "Get Smart" did that for me -- it was entertaining, and did not leave a bad taste in my mouth. We all stepped out of the theatre laughing and in a good mood.

Bad reviews, especially as bad as the one I heard on NPR that day, can hurt a movie's business. I would strongly urge Mr. Turan to not use his own expectations to provide a subjective review, but aspire to give an objective one.

Best wishes,
Animesh Pathak
+++++++++++++++End+++++++++++++++++++

cheers,
-A

My Blog: New Rules

Some of you would have noticed that I went offline from my IMs yesterday. Well, that was a part of my final adieu to the University of Southern California, from where I flew out on the afternoon of July 1st.

This means that some things will change:

1. I won't be online 24x7 on my IMs. I do strongly recommend that you subscribe to the ATOM or RSS feed of this blog to keep up to date :). Use Google Reader if you can, works for me when I want to keep track of my friends' infrequently-posted entries.

2. My posting will be a bit more erratic -- some days there will be no posts, and some days there might be multiple posts :).

3. I will miss LA, and the people who made my life worth living there :-|.

'nuf said, off to bed now.
-A
P.S. Wii Sports is amazing! and so is Rock Climbing :)

Hasthakshar -- हस्ताक्षर

I think I understand now what Amitabh and Shashi Kapoor were going through in Deewar.

Here is what I finally obtained today.



I guess it is finally starting to sink in ... I have completed my Ph.D.

:-|

- Dr. A

The Real Face of the War

Lara Logan of CBS was on the daily show the other night. Her interview is a must watch, since she has spent time both in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is not afraid to tell the truth.



And now, this soldier talks about what they used to do when the reporters were _not_ around. [thanks to a comment on this digg post for the link]

WARNING: This is graphic, and may be disturbing. But hey, the truth _is_ bitter.



~speechless~
-A

Why Obama should become a Hindu

... according to the Peabody winning Stephen Colbert:



must watch -- I like how he is funny, while not being disrespectful. However, I am sure there are those who disagree, that there might be Colbert-effigy burning by the 'soldiers'.

Back to thesis finalizing.
-A

Before T = Zero

I have always loved the title song of Bharat Ek Khoj, taken from the rig-veda. I especially love the questions it asks -- namely, what was there before the creation?

The relevant lyrics, taken from the above wikipedia page, are:

[Hindi in Roman script]
Srishti se pehle sat nahin thaa, asat bhi nahin
Antariksh bhi nahin, aakaash bhee nahin thaa.
Chhipaa thaa kyaa, kahaan, kisne dhaka thaa?
Us pal to agam, atal jal bhi kahaan thaa.

[Hindi in Devnagri]
सृष्टि से पहले सत नहीं था, असत भी नहीं
अंतरिक्ष भी नहीं, आकाश भी नहीं था
छिपा था क्या, कहाँ, किसने ढका था
उस पल तो, अगम अतल जल भी कहां था

[Translation]
Truth/Good did not exist before the Universe came to be, Neither did Untruth/Evil
Neither did Space, Neither did the sky
What was hidden? Where?, Who had covered it?
At that moment, Unmoving, bottomless ocean was not there either

***

As a kid, when I read A Brief History of Time, it mentioned how even if time existed before the big bang, it does not affect us, so it does not make sense to think about it.

So, that made me stand up and take notice when I read this BBC article about possible evidence of time before the Big Bang.

From the article:

Detailed measurements made by the satellite have shown that the fluctuations in the microwave background are about 10% stronger on one side of the sky than those on the other.

Sean Carroll conceded that this might just be a coincidence, but pointed out that a natural explanation for this discrepancy would be if it represented a structure inherited from our universe's parent.

Then, as if taking a cue from the slokas I mentioned in beginning, he said: "We're trained to say there was no time before the Big Bang, when we should say that we don't know whether there was anything - or if there was, what it was."

As a bonus, here comes the video:


Enjoy!

Letting our Mothers Die

An integral part of life in Varanasi [and in almost all Indian cities] was the presence of stray cows [and Bulls, in Varanasi's case] on the street. I must say that I miss them at times here in LA, when I have to throw away part of a meal that I have not been able to finish, thanks to the huge portions in USA.

Now, as most of you know, Hindus treat the Cow as a sacred animal, many believing that the cow absorbs celestial energy and stores it in its milk, and even its urine and dung. I am sure many protests have been held in India to ban cow slaughter, and indeed, a fatwa was also issued for it by Darul-Uloom.

But there is another killer of the holy bovine Gau Maata in India, and one which is much, much harder to apprehend. It is our own apathy and laziness. The following NPR story shed more light on the threat that plastic bags post to stray cows. In case you did not know, many cows die in India because they ingest whole plastic bags with food in them. Imagine starving, being able to see and smell food in a bag, but not being able to open it. Is that treatment worthy to be given to the mother?!

On the solution side, I remember being told as a kid to not tie tightly the plastic bags which had food in them, so cows could easily shake them open and eat the food. The above NPR post talked about an amazingly convoluted method that the administration came up with. The idea was to make the ultra-thin plastic bags illegal -- so the bags that are used end up being more attractive to the garbage collectors, who pick them up from the garbage piles, emptying them for the cows to eat.

Nice plan, isn't it? The plastic makers make more money per bag sold, the rag pickers make more money per bag thrown, and the consumer foots the bill.

The only problem is regulation. How does one measure if a bag is "thick enough" [20 microns is not the usual resolution of the human eye, you see]? Apparently, the enforcers of this ban were supposed to be equipped with devices to measure bag-thicknes; but alas, due to budgetary constraints, it could not happen. When the NPR reporter suggested that the thicker bags could have a simple image, perhaps a smiling cow, to mark them, the admin guy went "ah, we never thought of that!".

At some level, the above scenario sounds comical -- reminiscent of Yes, Minister even. However, when I think of the end-result -- painful death of the poor stray cows, and the hypocrisy of the so-called followers of the sanatan dharma, my blood boils!

I searched on the website which recently launched a protest against the Love Guru, and was unable to find a campaign to prevent cow-death arising out of plastic bags.

If any of you know of such a campaign, please let me know.
-A
P.S. This post does not reflect my views on cow-slaugher, merely on cow-murder by negligence, perpetrated by its sons and daughters.
P.P.S. In case you didn't click on the link above, read/hear the NPR post -- Very moving.

Touched

Posting this from my iPod touch 16GB.

Thanks for this amazing gift Divakar and Deepika!

Celebrating two rebirths

June 9th, 2002: Rebirth of yours truly. [No, not like GWB, but like the Bionic [wo]man :) -- post car crash]

June 9th, 2007: Rebirth of this blog.

And thanks to your blessings, prayers and blog-hits -- both me and my blog have been chugging along well.

So Ashish, Akshay and Rahul -- happy re-birthday!

Interestingly enough -- Ashish is in Britain right now, Akshay travels to France sometimes, and I will be working in the same research group as I was in the summer of 2002. I guess we will be able to finish that road trip after all.

Listening to Both Sides

I believe in the power of informed decision making. Therefore, although I am a liberal at heart [and support Barack Obama], I am more than willing to hear the other side's point of view. The sad fact is, most of the spokespeople of both sides are either loud or loony or both, making it tough to separate reasoning from propaganda.

Which is why over the past year or two, I have loved left right and center on KCRW, which is "the civilized, yet provocative antidote to the screaming talking heads that dominate political debate".

And today, I was exposed to George Will, who appeared on an interview on the Colbert Report, and whom Stephen Colbert called "a formidable opponent". I loved how Mr. Will explained the difference between democrats and liberals. Also, upon reading his wikipedia profile, I came to know that he writes for NewsWeek, and realized where I had seen his face :). [yes, I regularly read NewsWeek also :)]

Anyways, 'nuf said -- here is the video.


cheers,
-A

Post PhD Plans PhAQ

... or the phrequently asked questions about my life-to-be :).
[kindly excuse the allitration :)]

[Note: Scroll down to see the question I need your help on]

Over the past few days many of you have wished me, some after noticing my post-hooding snap on my facebook and orkut profiles and IM statuses, and some after seeing my post-PhD blog-post. Thanks very much to each of you!

To paraphrase the guy with the webs, with great wishes come a great many questions. So, I figured it would be best to summarize all of them.

Q. So, you are really done? Anything left?
A. Well, I have "successfully defended" my work in front of a committee of Professors, and they have okayed my work. However, I still need to update the text of my thesis -- the intro and related works sections.

Q. So, when do you get done?
A. Hopefully by the end of June.

Q. OK, what after that?
A. I'll be visiting my brother in Atlanta, and then off to INRIA Paris-Rocquencourt, to work as a postdoc with Dr. Valerie Issarny. I intend to live in Versailles, and visit Paris to chill out every once in a while :).

Q. Cool! How long is this going to be?
A. Hopefully 2 years.

Q. And what about your knowledge of French? Do you know la langue française?
A. Mais Oui! [of course!]. All thanks to the Faculty of French at BHU.

Q. Aha! Speaking of BHU, whatever happened to your plans of becoming a faculty member at ITBHU [see last line of this post]? Have you too given in to the lure of money and French wine?
A. Well, this is perhaps the most important question to be asked, since those who know me well know how much I wanted to teach at my alma mater. In all fairness, I applied late last year to be a faculty member there in the CSE department, but was told that there were no vacancies. The current plan is to finish my postdoc at INRIA, and then see where life takes me.

Q. And what about an India trip?
A. Well, the last time I was there was in Dec. 2005. The current plan is to visit again this December, after a productive half-year at INRIA.

Q. Well, enough of the dry academic and career details -- give us some dope now -- what about the personal life? Koi bandi wandi?
A. LOL. Nah. Still single. Still not looking [?]. If you know a well-educated, mature, world-visited, news-reading, geeky, activist type female who would not mind joining someone who wants to be in Indian academia, drop me a line ;).


Q. OK. What is the question you wanted help with?
A. Thanks for asking. You see, a whole bunch of people have asked me what I want as a graduation gift, and I have a tough time figuring it out. Can you please post a comment and suggest something I should ask for, given my tastes and the [near] future plans?

Q. Sure. But can we crash at your place when we visit?
A. Of course! Cya in France! [special treatment to those who post comments and help me with gift selection :D]

Thanks a ton!
-A

Did someone ask for a Doctor?

'coz if you did -- I am at your service :).

Yup, I have passed my defense. There is still a whole bunch of text to be written in the Introduction and Related Work sections, but the huge hurdle has been crossed. The committee members were inquisitive, insightful, and kind :). Thanks professors!

A big thanks to all those who sent in their wishes, and to those who showed up to help :-).

I guess I will make this one short, like the one written just after my previous achievement. Details to follow. Stay tuned.

- Dr.A

Preparing for D-day

Tuesday, May 27, 2008, 10am to 12pm PDT --- that is the time when I will be defending my work in order to get a PhD in Computer Engineering at USC, and to truly deserve the [premature] congratulations.

As I continue to polish my presentation, a wide range of thoughts stream through my mind, but I try not to get distracted ["yeah, right!", you say, "what about writing this post?" :)].

I guess I wanted to make one final post before the defense. Just wanted to say au revoir. See you all after the fateful presentation.

-A

Liberty for Safety? No thanks.

The guy on the $100 bill once said:

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

On that note, Abi has a wonderful post on the recent demands of BJP et al for getting "hard on terror" [no pun intended :)].

Go read it. You will like it. I did :).

Back to working on the defense presentation [4 days to go].
-A
P.S. Mom wrote a poem :)

Coating Seriousness in Humor

Not much time, but all I can say is that War, Inc. [ imdb ] is a superb movie -- go watch it!

Trailer here:



The scary thing is, it is not too implausible a reality :-|.

How about some physics?

I have loved physics from the Resnick and Halliday days, and have always been a sucker for good physics lectures.

So thanks to /., here is a set of great physics lectures.

How about you all watch these, while I work on my [much more humble] defense presentation :)
-A

Busy-ness meets cuteness

The work on the dissertation continues -- but I give you this amazing gallery of cute animal baby pics :) [reminds me of the animal families memory game I used to play as a kid].

cheers,
-A
P.S. The commencement/hooding was yesterday. Will post pics post defense, when I actually deserve the gown, cap and hood :-).
P.P.S. Bonus: Colbert's take on the O'reilly breakdown

A little familiarity to breed some respect

After the Jaipur blasts yesteday, and after reading the vitriolic comments left by people on the desi news sites, I got thinking how this animus can be addressed.

And sure enough, R sent me the following today, a song by Amir Khusro.

From his bio:

Khusro was born in Patiali near Etah in what is today the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. His father Amir Saifuddin came from Balkh in modern day Afghanistan and his mother hailed from Delhi.
...
[about the multi-lingual poem]
The phrase "Zeehaal-e-miskeen" comes from a poem of Amir Khusrau. The unique thing about this poem is that it is a macaronic, written in Persian and Brij Bhasha. In the first verse, the first line is in Persian, the second in Brij Bhasha, the third in Persian again, and the fourth in Brij Bhasha. In the remaining verses, the first two lines are in Persian, the last two in Brij Bhasha. The poem showcases Amir Khusrau's mastery over both languages.

The MP3 is here, and I strongly recommend you to give a listen.

So, I guess one way people will start thinking twice before killing each other is exposure to each other's cultures, and perhaps some shared-language art. But at the end of it, it will need political will -- part softness, part hardness -- which I am not sure if any party in India is currently capable of.

What is the sound of one earth quaking?

The past some days have been disastrous -- and I mean the natural kind -- Myanmar, Central USA, Chile, and now China.

I know nearly all of you know about this -- but there is nothing like audio [short of video] to convey the extent of this.

I urge you all to listen the clip on this NPR page -- as Melissa Block was able to capture the moment of the quake right there in Chengdu [she was interviewing someone when the quake struck]. I know of friends here at USC whose parents are choosing to spend the next couple days in a makeshift shelter [although their house is intact] to avoid aftershocks.

Sad. Kinda reminds me of the Latur and Bhuj quakes, esp this piece about a school -- reminiscent of the kids who dies singing the National Anthem on Jan 26, 2001.

:-|

-A

Adorable, Adoptable Animals

Amol, who I have known for 5 years now [he's the guy whose research provided the base for my work], has been volunteering at an animal shelter for some time now, and has finally started a blog on the topic.

So, if you are interested in animals [esp. the canine kind], or just want to do me a favor :), visit his blog, and add it to your RSS feed list. I am sure he will be posting interesting stuff on it on a regular basis [in addition to the amazing pictures he has taken].

Great job Amol! Fight on!

Warming - Globe, Heart, and Brain

First, some global warming/alt energy links:
1. Why a warm earth does not mean more food in new ice-free areas.
2. What happens when people at Google, and Abu Dhabi choose to accept that the world is about to change, and new research is needed.

Secondly, this cute video I found while trying to figure out if I should sleep or continue working:


And finally, this thesis-writing is frying my brain!! gaaah!!
20 days to go.

The Empire Strikes Barack

B linked to this cute [and nicely made] fan video of Barack Obama -- more fun to watch if you know the star wars canon.



Well, the video is nice, but personally, I am amazed at how this guy (who has so far managed to not let any manufactured petty distraction stick on him) is actually feeling the heat right now. I have seen his poll numbers drop in South Carolina and Indiana, and somehow Hillary Clinton's claim that he is an out-of-touch elitist are seeming to stick, nevermind the fact that all 3 candidates are super-rich people. Also weird is the fact that her gimmicky idea of "no gas tax from people, only from companies" is finding favor with people -- while his straight point of this being a political solution for a serious problem is not getting received by the people! Do they really think that the gas companies will NOT pass on the costs to their consumers?

The Obama campaign had given me hope. No, I am not talking about the general hope of America becoming a better place and somehow getting away from its current place where its seen as a hypocritical bully all over the world. I had hoped that in a country where freedom of speech is sacrosanct, and people are educated enough to read newspapers, a candidate's truthfulness and genuineness may be able to defeat the petty mudslinging that is the elections game. Now, I must confess that my hope has been shaken -- 'coz somehow the electorate does not seem to understand.

Let's see how this one plays out, and whether my hopes are shattered or met.
P.S. For more on what I am talking about, see this daily show clip.

The Mother of Blogs

rather ... the blog of my mother :).

Yes, mom has started blogging.

Welcome to the blogosphere mom!
-A
P.S. Check out this wonderful piece about global warming. I like the kid's attitude. And speaking of kids, what if you mistakenly gave your kids hard lemonade?

Learning from other's experiences, part Trois

NPR has this nice post about how Indians born abroad are showing up in India, and helping handle its development.

Apart from the desis being jealous of "ABCDs who get more girls due to being stronger on account eating beef", the good part of this article talks about how the America-raised kids bring a fresh perspective, and lessons learnt in another culture, to this developing country.

Go on.. listen on.

Back to thesis-writing.

Learning from other's experiences, part Deux

I have said before how we Indians can learn a lot from how America has developed, and perhaps even avoid some pitfalls as the nation goes on its path of economic development.

And along comes NPR to the rescue [rather, augmentation]. They are running a 5-part series on debt, and all aspects of the current American personal debt situation. I strongly feel that our up-and-coming crorepatis at home should pay heed.

First part: Why do we borrow so much

In 1982, Americans saved more than 11 percent of their disposable income. The personal savings rate dropped to just 0.4 percent last year. An economist blames easy credit — and how we think about money.

Read/listen to the whole thing -- is good.

Part 2: Making Changes to Head Off Credit Disaster

Americans struggling to make ends meet can quickly find themselves in over their heads when credit card and other bills come due. Kim Love, 49, of Chesapeake, Va., was keeping up with her debt until she went on disability. Her income from working as a medical secretary was cut in half. Her husband also stopped working for medical reasons.

They soon had 11 credit cards, some with interest rates as high as 24 percent, and their bills topped $20,000.

Well, that's it for now, back to thesis writing.

P.S. yay for ISRO's 10-in-1 launch [video]!!

One month to go, recycling in slums, suicide bombers, and the vanishing act

Let's come straight to the point: One month from now, on May 27th, is my defense! So I guess there will be a bit of a lull on this blog for some time, and my posts will become [more] intermittent -- something else needs my writing skills :).

For today, I give you this NPR piece about a slum in Cairo that is leading the charge in recycling and renewable energy.

Another story from the Mediterranean coast is of a small town in Libya which is providing a disproportionately high number of suicide bombers to Iraq. What makes a youth want to kill him/herself and be a martyr? We still don't know what, but this article sure gives a very interesting perspective on the human side of it all.

It was easy to see why Awad's father was keeping an eye on his youngest son, who displayed a mischievous wit. When I asked whether his brother Abdelhakim had any previous military training, Awad replied, "No training at all. He didn't even have muscles." When I asked Awad what his brother looked like, Mustafa Okaly's youngest child stared at me and then shot back: "He looked like you."

The Okalys said they haven't heard from Abdelhakim for more than a year, nor have they received a call telling them that he has been killed. Before I left, Mustafa made me an offer. He must have seen me as something of a conduit to a distant American world he had little access to. The desperate father leaned in close and insisted, a little conspiratorially, that he would give me a camel if I could find some way to bring his son home.

And finally, in honor of my disappearing act, I give you this David Copperfield illusion. Simply Brilliant!

Imagine! A world where there is harmony

K linked to the following amazing video:

Kenya sings for India:


Apparently this is for Pangea day, and they have gotten people of different countries to sing each others' national anthems:

France for USA:


The comments on the Kenya for India page go to show the objective of this endeavor -- a lot of Indians are posting very positive messages about Kenyans :).

But wait, there's more!
Australia for Lebanon
Japan for Turkey

Check out pangea day for more info.

Cellphones and the Developing World

The sinner sent me this news article about cellphone use in the developing world and how Nokia is trying to design its cellphones according to the conditions they are used in.

From the article:

Last summer, Chipchase sat through a monsoon-season downpour inside the one-room home of a shoe salesman and his family, who live in the sprawling Dharavi slum of Mumbai. Using an interpreter who spoke Tamil, he quizzed them about the food they ate, the money they had, where they got their water and their power and whom they kept in touch with and why. He was particularly interested in the fact that the family owned a cellphone, purchased several months earlier so that the father, who made the equivalent of $88 a month, could run errands more efficiently for his boss at the shoe shop. The father also occasionally called his wife, ringing her at a pay phone that sat 15 yards from their house. Chipchase noted that not only did the father carry his phone inside a plastic bag to keep it safe in the pummeling seasonal rains but that they also had to hang their belongings on the wall in part because of a lack of floor space and to protect them from the monsoon water and raw sewage that sometimes got tracked inside. He took some 800 photographs of the salesman and his family over about eight hours and later, back at his hotel, dumped them all onto a hard drive for use back inside the corporate mother ship. Maybe the family’s next cellphone, he mused, should have some sort of hook as an accessory so it, like everything else in the home, could be suspended above the floor.

See the article for more.

New crazy idea: One way to cite them all

Long long ago, I started a blog to chronicle my crazy ideas. And then there was a lull.

Well, wait no more, there is a new crazy idea on the block, something the researchers in you will perhaps appreciate more than the others.

'nuf said. Check it out here.

Message Force Multipliers

B sent me this NYTimes article about ex-military news analysts who were apparently guided by the pentagon in their comments, but the following daily show segment puts it best.

The embedded journalist program, apparently it was an exchange program.


bravo... bravo "neutral" media!

And more: Rob Riggle gives it like it is. My sentiments exactly.

Make any surface a multi-touch input tablet

[thanks to K for the ref.]
All of us by now know about the multi-touch iPhone, and some have even seen/heard of Microsoft Surface, the multi-touch tablet. Surely, a great way to interact with the computer.

Also, we know about the Nintendo Wii, the uber-cool game console that is making people fit, in addition to entertaining them :).

Along comes CMU's Johnny Lee, and gives us this:


Now that is what smart people can do - provide a cheap way of using existing technology to provide the masses with something that would have cost an arm and a let otherwise.

respect!

When relationships break

R and I were discussing yesterday [as many other desi friends of mine and I have, in the past], about the changing dynamics of the Indian relationships and marriage scene. The topic of the increasing divorce rates came up, and so did the idea that there are lessons to be learnt from the US experience.

On that note, I share with you two pieces I found recently.

First, a segment from NPR that talks about a museum that honors soured relationships, which is a bittersweet look at breakups.

The other, a much longer read, is this Newsweek article on the first American generation that grew up in divorced households. I believe that my generation of Indians, whose kids will be the first Indian generation of this type, should definitely go through it, because the similarities are amazing.

In the real Valley of the 1970s, families weren't coming together. They were coming apart. We were the "Divorce Generation," latchkey kids raised with after-school specials about broken families and "Kramer vs. Kramer," the 1979 best-picture winner that left kids worrying that their parents would be the next to divorce.

The change had begun in the '60s as the myth of the nuclear family exploded, and my generation was caught in the fallout. The women's rights movement had opened workplace doors to our mothers—more than half of all American women were employed in the late '70s, compared with just 38 percent in 1960—and that, in turn, made divorce a viable option for many wives who would have stayed in lousy marriages for economic reasons. Then in 1969, the year I entered kindergarten, Gov. Ronald Reagan signed California's "no fault" divorce law, allowing couples to unilaterally end a marriage by simply declaring "irreconcilable differences."

Reminds me of this quote from Santayana.

The power of humor

So, what can a comedian do? Well, how about having enough clout and listeners to get three top democratic presidential contenders to come over to his show?

That's what Stephen Colbert achieved on Thursday. Watch for yourself:

The lady who is ready to "fix things...


The "white male" vote ...


and the one who put manufactured petty distractions on notice.


I will look forward to the time when Indian humorists wield such power.

And speaking of Indian humor, come and check out the Vidushaks tomorrow evening at 6pm at Fracas.

Faux News, the Legacy

The guys at the daily show [esp. John Oliver] have a great two part documentary, on Fox news' journalistic contributions:

Part 1:



Part 2:


Thank god for the humorists here, who dare to point out the hypocrites for what they are. Would be nice to see something of the same standard in India.

Just Animals?

For a long time, human beings have thought of animals as "lesser creatures" [thought my zoologist friends would argue that we also are in the kingdom Animalia ].

Today, I present you with two humbling videos, that definitely make me sure that we are not any "special" species.

First, this lion who shows love for the lady who rescued him when he was a cub. [ref: Princess]


Second, an elephant who draws a self-portrait!! [ref: Abi] Even if he was trained for this, I consider it no small feat. Many adults I know don't have such a steady hand [let alone nose-muscles :D].

update: Youtube version found. Embedded. More info here.


The other day, Jack Miles told me after an event that he believed that religion is as old as humanity -- since from the moment when we knew that we knew something, we also knew that we did not know a whole lot more, and thought of gods to explain it. I then asked him -- "Does this mean that Dolphins also pray?". He did not believe that it was the case, since Dolphins do not know what knowledge is. I don't think I completely agree, the videos above being testimony to the fact that animals are much more complex than we give them credit for.

Friendly Ventures

Sorry, no time to blog, working on some journal papers [and a visit to a conference in Miami next week].

This post is dedicated to three blogs that were recently launched/revived by friends of mine. Though you might be interested.

• Bharathwaj's Blog


• The whole spectrum, by Abheeshta


• Shaadi Comics, a webcomic by I-won't-tell-you-who :)

Welcome to the weblog world my friends! May you live long and publish!

-A
P.S. Apparently John McCain is still confused between Shias and Sunnis. War hero - yes. World politician - I don't think so!

It's not too much to ask you ...

... to keep paying attention.

'nuf said.

5 years, 0 WMDs, countless dead, endless animosity -- I am not sure if there is a hell, but if there is one, the architects of this "freedom operation" will surely be there. /rant

P.S. Somehow the phrase "but the streets were clear except for a few children and families running from the violence" shakes me to the core. :-|

P.P.S. Tamiflu and Ibuprofen are working well.

One flu over the cuckoo's nest

warm forehead - check
feeling cold - check
body ache - check

yup.. welcome to the flu.
[off to the health center, and then home to rest]
tips appreciated.

P.S. For the link of the day .. I give you India's first transgender celeb. Take that! you flu-who-tries-to-wear-me-down!

The machine knows what jokes you like!

On this wonderful day, I give you the link to a machine which will tell you jokes which will depend on your sense of humor. It magically knows what your like -- trust me ... check it out ... don't worry about today's date ;).

Also, I sent you an email two days ago, didn't you get it?

In other april-foolish news, how about making houses out of garbage?