Just Another Day

Are you Religious?

2007-09-25T22:12:00.000-04:00

So heres the deal....

I happenstance fell upon this religion which is called Bokonism. I love it. To me this one sentence summarizes all I know about belief systems

"The foundation of Bokononism is that the religion, including its texts, is formed entirely of lies; however, if you believe and adhere to these lies, you will live a happy life."

Its really a cool concept and something I thought only I knew about until I stumbled upon this.
Apparently my idea was not mine...In fact somebody else even gave it a name!

Where all have I been this summer?

2007-09-14T08:17:00.001-04:00

Well, Summer started off with a week and a half long trip to Tallahassee, Florida. Then after two weeks in DC, I left to Minneapolis, spent a week attending a conference in Minneapolis. Then took a two week break in DC. Then attended another week long conference in Durham. This was actually a small workshop with about 50 ppl attending almost every one of them WAY TOO SMART FOR ME TO comprehend what they were saying. It didnt actually help that they were all mathematicians and doing mathematics speak. One of them was actually a Fields medallist!!! The final trip for this summer was a week long trip San Diego to attend SIGGRAPH. This was of crse a wonderful opportunity to meet up with Renga and catch up on old times.....

Are you Liberal or Conservative?

2007-09-12T17:31:00.000-04:00

Heres a toast to EXTREME SCIENCE....

What correlations might we find if only we were looking for it. The popular adage says that we need to ask Questions to get answers...But may be just maybe we are asking too many questions?

Are we?

Openings Available: Applications invited

2007-09-04T10:34:00.001-04:00

Several positions for sounding boards are open including

1. Senior Sounding Board for Totally Unrelated thoughts that will be repeated several times.
2. Senior Sounding Board for Other unrelated thoughts
3. Sounding Board Technician to correct logical flaws in thought processes.

Requirements:
Patience.
Tolerance to radical ideas.
Interest in Politics, Science, Governance and the interplay between these and social issues.

The positions will be temporary and will be for a short-term project. Remuneration and other benefits may be discussed in person. Please contact only via email or comments section.

PS: The ideal candidate may be able to function efficiently and take up all three posts at the same time!

Update on ICCV

2007-09-04T10:30:00.000-04:00

So. Its Official. After much thought I decided not to go to ICCV.

Official Reason: I have just begun working after a long hiayus from any constructive work. and its always good to get back to work. My frequent and many travel trips this summer have interfered significantly with my productivity and left me feeling to intellectually occupy myself atleast for the next three months with something.

Unofficial Reason: No Enthu :)

And yeah Kavitha..Thanks for ur comment. That helped me decide. Its always scary to have ppl admire you for something!. The moment that happens, its time to change...isnt it? Just kidding

Rediff Comments and Sterotyping

2007-09-04T10:11:00.000-04:00

Today I was reading news on rediff and then I did the unthinkable. I decided to read the comments left by readers for this rediff report

Really unfortunate is the complete lack of any sort of insightful thinking...Even more depressing is to see the sort of communal pigeonholing and complete religious sterotyping and posturism that these ppl adopt and that too on a public domain footing. For a second I told myself I did a bad sampling....That I should read the comments for atleast a few posts rather than judge by this single report...I went ahead and read a few more and found that the lack of any understanding of the issues involved or even worse the lack of any real effort to undesratnd the issues involved struck me as plain dangerous.

I urge you all to read some comments on popular reports in rediff and surprise urself. Even assuming that the ppl commenting on rediff are not representative of the entire population, it still remains a scary thought that there are all these scores of people who think that it is alright and completely acceptable to carry such sterotyping in their heads and even go forward and confess their beliefs and given the opportunity would be happy to spread it too.

There should be an organized and informed attempt to somehow somewhere address this issue and I dont see it coming anywhere...

And whats more, I was totally shocked by this and turned over and lamented about this for a couple of minutes....His response
Silence for 30 seconds followed by "What are you doing for lunch?"

and thats what prompted this post !!!

Travel to Brazil

2007-08-31T12:18:00.001-04:00

Oye Ppl, Theres this conference in Rio De Janeiro called ICCV.
I have a paper in the conference but havent yet decided whether I should go to the conference or not.

Pros: BRAZIL
Half the trip is funded...meaning accomodation will probably be paid by my advisor..I still have to pay airfare tho :(
I saw videos of Iguazu falls on Youtube....Its just amazing.
I have looked up some amazing strenuous hikes in brazil...

Cons: I have taken tooooo many breaks from work this summer and as you all are aware of I am also just trying to get out of my low motivation rut.
No hikers from my lab going to the conference and definitely would like to have company on some of those more strenuous hikes in Brazil.
Airfare !!!
Abi is definitely not gonna come -- Ya. She is stupid and adamant :)

I have gotta make my mind up in the next couple of days to a week utmost. Lets see what I do.

Sounding Board

2007-08-29T10:42:00.000-04:00

I never really understood the importance of a sounding board. It seems that it is quite important that I be able to express my ideas freely and without inhibition to some other living being--- no matter how trivial/unimportant and arcane these idea/thoughts are.

The absence of a sounding board essentially means that these thoughts and ideas remain within the confines of your mind. And being locked up within they run amok freely. Now imagine that these ideas were all small little green beings---much like the martians in movies. Now I am quite productive when it comes to useless and arcane ideas (atleast 30 a day). Now imagine all these green martians running around within the confines of my mind....all day long!!!

I need to let these guys out.......

Maybe soon someone will find a program that can be used to download these thoughts (green martians) on to a Flash drive and then I can let them run around within the flash drive and everyone is happy. But until then, I do need a sounding board :)

Motivation

2007-08-28T11:14:00.000-04:00

PPL,

I need motivation.......
I need to sit less on my ass.....
and I need to start getting some work done....

But by now i am so far behind I dont know where to start....
I know we've all been there before....
But I cant seem to remember how I got out of it last time around...

Oye, ppl with better memory....
Drop me an email.

We have seen it all......

2007-05-04T09:38:00.000-04:00

From the monkey man in 2001 (Delhi) to the Boing in 2007 (Mumbai), we have seen it all....

This reminds me of a sentence from "Life of the Pi" which goes something like

"If you lift a city turn it around and shake it you will be surprised by the variety and the number of animals that fall from it---anything from tigers, to bears to monkeys " and now apparently even Aircrafts and monkey men :)
This is a follow-up of the aircraft story.

MIT Computer Science Building

2007-03-31T21:51:00.000-04:00

Here are more than a couple of pictures of the MIT CS building taken when Abi visited Boston....Any comments about the building???

The Great Arch

2007-03-27T13:36:00.000-04:00

This picture was taken at the Arches National Park in Utah. For all of you National Park Lovers --I highly recommend a trip to both the Arches National Park and the Canyonlands in Utah. They are both gorgeous and stunning. Biking is the preferred way to explore these parks.

On another note---I took a series of pictures around the Arches landscape to create a panoramic view, but never got around to creating the panorama. I will try to create the panorma sometime this weekend. No promises though.

And By the Way

2007-03-24T21:11:00.000-04:00

and heres the catch...The money making minds of the World Cup had strategically decided that the format of the world cup should be such that the super 8 stage games are all predictable so that the better followed games get the bigger grounds and weekend games at that... Specifically the India Pak match was nice scheduled for a weekend...supposed to be the biggest money earning game of this world cup..But look at what happened. Neither Pakistan nor India went to the Super eights. Well done Bangladesh and Ireland :)

The World Cup

2007-03-24T20:59:00.000-04:00

Well...what do I say about the spineless, character less, completely shameful early exit from the world cup. If theres one single reason why we lost, it was that the players didnt feel like they deserved to get to the next stage. Did u guys even watch the games against Bangladesh and Srilanka... We batted like we never believed we could score more than 200 and we didnt. There was no devil in the wicket, no devil in the bowling....The only devils were those imagined by the batsmen and they fell victim to their own vivid imagination.

That said, Bangladesh batted like a strong and worthy Test playing nation. They did not bat or even bowl like they were minnows. They believed they belonged in the big stage and belong they did. Especially their batting...It never cracked under the pressure of WORLD CUP or under the feeling that they were batting against a reasonably strong bowling attack...Kudos to Bangladesh and I have a feeling this is that moment when Bangladesh come out of the shadows and join the Big league. Its a good time to join the big league too...Cricket just lost one comptetitive team...Can u imagine that the bunch of mediocre and even less than mediocre cricketers in the Zimbabwe team are actually replacing a really strong team which once boasted the likes of Heath Streak, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Campbell and the rest....Out of which Andy flower looked like he would match Ricky Ponting for the top batsman slot...The political turmoil in Zimbabwe has led to this sad and outright ridiculous state of the Zimbabwe team.

As for Ireland...Of course they played well. But I think they had a lucky day on the field. Pakistan is way better than Ireland but then again, its all in a days work :)

Irony of the world Cup Qualifiers

2007-03-05T09:53:00.000-05:00

http://in.rediff.com/wc2007/2007/mar/05icc.htm

Testimony to the fact that more is not necessarily merrier .

Jaywalking

2007-01-11T14:17:00.000-05:00

Jaywalking.....Its a crime...But where? Here in the US apparently...How many of you have led all your life without ever jaywalking?

Read this BBC report about a poor bespectacled Professor

Chrysler on Global Warming...

2007-01-10T12:38:00.000-05:00

Mr Jolissant, a Chrysler veteran who was recently appointed the chief economist for the German-US DaimlerChrysler Group, said that since he started spending more time at the company's corporate headquarters in Stuttgart he had been shocked by the absurdity of European attitudes towards global warming.

In response to a question from the floor, he said that global warming was a far-off risk whose magnitude was uncertain.

He said that from an economic point of view, it would be more rational to spend lots of money on today's other big problems, and only make small and limited changes in policies relating to global warming, such as a slight increase in gasoline or carbon taxes.

Read the Full Story here

My last India Trip

2007-01-10T12:25:00.000-05:00

I just received this photo by email. It was a photo taken in Bangalore during my last India trip. It was taken in one of the umpteen Coffe cafes in B'lore...one of the many we visited in a 2 day trip. Its just another 2 weeks or so before I embark on another India trip...Just cant wait....

Global Warming is THERE

2007-01-09T21:45:00.000-05:00

So I posted last week about the high temperature in Boston...Today I read this post from Abi... Do u still Believe Global Warming is a Myth

And just to be fair and give you the cynics view on Global warming...Heres what Adarsh had to say Ecological Balance and Global Warming

But then again, if you knew Adarsh that opinion would come as no big surprise.

Global Warming is HERE

2007-01-05T16:42:00.000-05:00

I expected life in Boston in January to be cold and snow filled....But today was freaking summer temperatures...60 degrees F.....Its warm and nice here in Boston.....I am not complaining at all....I am just saying..."lets all move inland and high up" :)

Valluvar

2006-12-23T11:39:00.000-05:00

Yenni Thuniga Karmam Thuninthapin
Yennuvamai Izhukku

Two Lines.....Muxch more than 2 lines
I wish all my thoughts were as crisp as this

Jail Break

2006-08-22T11:40:00.000-04:00

Man.....The kind of ingenuity that the human mind can conjure up when pushed into a corner is just amazing. Equally amazing is the kind of incompetence displayed by the guards in this prison.

Read the story of a jailbreak inIndonesia

But one thing...This jailbreak is the least of Indonesias problems. The Tsunami has left the island completely devastated and these days there are hardly any news from around that part of the world.

NICE

2006-08-20T00:26:00.000-04:00

This is an excerpt from Scott Adams (of the Dilbert fame ) blog

Human Behavior

If aliens landed in your backyard and gave you one minute to describe everything there is to know about human behavior, what would you say?

I found an answer to that question today as I was looking through my old e-mails. This story was sent to me by a Dilbert reader.

--- start ---

The maintenance man is moving the thermostat in our office today. I started talking with him about the "Thermostat Wars" [from Dilbert comics]. He told me about one office with 30 women where they could never get the temperature to an agreeable level. At his suggestion they installed 20 dummy thermostats around the office. Everyone was told that each thermostat controlled the zone around itself.

Problem solved. Now that everyone has "control" of their own thermostat there is no problem.

--- end ---

Caught in Chocolate

2006-08-18T18:11:00.000-04:00

I can imagine some people who would love to be involved in such an accident...Maybe I am being insensitive to the poor soul who had to spend time in chocolat---quite literally :)

Read this News article

The best part of the story is this line
" used cocoa-butter to thin out the chocolate and pull him free. ".........
Hmmm.....Chemists

New Entrant to the Blogosphere

2006-08-15T12:33:00.000-04:00

Eating......Do you actually believe this?

2006-07-25T14:26:00.000-04:00

I really dont know whether or not to believe the numbers quoted in this story....
Its on bbc....so maybe i should believe it. But then again, these are tremendous quantities we are talking about...

Heres the story

Again...Note this is on BBC

NEWS --- NO REASON ---- REASON --- NO NEWS

2006-07-18T16:21:00.000-04:00

One reason why we get to read some really really funny news items and stories is because there are some exceedingly stupid people in political power all around the world. But just now I realize another reason for all these ridiculously funny news stories from all over the world....

Here to the second reason

Hope you found as much joy as I did in reading that article.

Video Gamers Anonymous

2006-07-18T11:26:00.000-04:00

Who did not see this coming? In fact to think that all these years there was not a single specialist centre for video game addicts is kind of difficult to believe....really.

Check This out

On a much lighter note:
Imagine this....Video game addicts are given alcohol for treatment and alcoholics are given video games as alternate paasstime to spruce up their lives...
Video game addicts after alcohol are unable to maintain clear control of their gaming consoles..They suck at what they used to be good at.. They give up gaming.
Alcoholics find a new group of online friends..fellow gamers who enthrall, captivate and keep these ppl busy helping them become sober...

And what a great idea it would be for those companies that own both video game and alcoholic addiction centres !!!

War Here there and Everywhere

2006-07-16T11:30:00.000-04:00

Will the morons running the world never ever comprehend the futility of war and the inevitability of the horrendous and inhuman acts of carnage during war times.

My blood just boils to think and call ourselves "Cicilized Race" when all we still do is wait for some reaason or another to wage another war against ourselves....

READ THIS

OR THIS

OR THIS

OR THIS

There is really no end to this list.....I am really really angry and disappointed and irritated and what not...But then again maybe I should have realized the inevitability of this long time back.....Or maybe I should just hope that one day things get better... WILL THEY?

universe

2006-03-22T14:48:00.000-05:00

It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others.
-John Andrew Holmes

RED RAIN

2006-03-08T09:18:00.000-05:00

Read this rediff article

Fact of the day

2006-03-03T15:22:00.000-05:00

And to top it off

CHINESE LEARN TO PLAY

Interesting isnt it? Best of Luck China....

Bush in India

2006-03-03T12:41:00.000-05:00

For your reading pleasure

Simon Jenkins: Bush Gives a Glimmer of a Gandhian Humility

Well written piece, I would say.

Environmentalism

2006-03-03T09:48:00.000-05:00

I have always been ambivalent about environmentalism. It is one thing to respect nature and be responsible at a personal and social level.....and I completely encourage such environmental initiatives. But sometimes I think we do take being environmentalists a little too seriously. Whatever little I might or might not know about the inner workings and designs of nature, my short and enjoyable stint at Graduate school has taught me that it extremely difficult to predict the outcomes of actions while dealing with extremely complex systems and such actions often lead to counterintuitive outcomes.....Anyways without belaboring anymore I will let you read this wonderful little article

In thrall to the green god

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did....Do post your thoughts and comments both on the article and the issue because I still am ambivalent about these things :)

I didnt know I was a nerd !!!

2006-02-24T17:06:00.000-05:00

A Toast to this woman

2006-02-20T09:26:00.000-05:00

This is really an article worth reading....

One woman roots out alchoholism from 125 villages in Bihar ....

More Thathuvams

2006-02-16T09:14:00.000-05:00

Calendarla thethiya kilikirathu mukkiyam illa
Kilicha thethila ,ennatha kilichom grathu than mukkiyam!

Engineering collegela padichi engineer agalam. Aana Presidency collegela padichi President aga mudiyuma???????????

bus stop kitta wait panna BUS varum... full stop kitta wait panna FULL varuma?????

AIRTEL connection vachiirundalum... AIRCEL connection vachiirundalum... thumumbodhu(sneezing) HUTCH nu than satham varum

oorukae kaekura madhiri sathama korratai vittalum... un korattaya nee kaekamudiyadhu....

gold vachi gold chain pannalam ana cycle vachi cycle chain panna mudiyuma????

enna than 500 Km speedula puyal kathu adhichalum, cycleluku pump vachi than kathu adikanum.... enna ulagam idhu...

auto driver ala auto otta mudiyam!!! BUT screw driverala screw \notta mudiyum a????????? auto driver ala auto otta mudiyam!!! BUT screw driverala screw otta mudiyum a?????????

More Thathuvams

2006-02-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

I am really finding all these thathuvams very very amusing :))

Calendarla thethiya kilikirathu mukkiyam illa
Kilicha thethila ,ennatha kilichom grathu than mukkiyam!

Engineering collegela padichi engineer agalam. Aana Presidency collegela padichi President aga mudiyuma???????????

bus stop kitta wait panna BUS varum... full stop kitta wait panna FULL varuma?????

AIRTEL connection vachiirundalum... AIRCEL connection vachiirundalum... thumumbodhu(sneezing) HUTCH nu than satham varum

oorukae kaekura madhiri sathama korratai vittalum... un korattaya nee kaekamudiyadhu....

gold vachi gold chain pannalam ana cycle vachi cycle chain panna mudiyuma????

enna than 500 Km speedula puyal kathu adhichalum, cycleluku pump vachi than kathu adikanum.... enna ulagam idhu...

auto driver ala auto otta mudiyam!!! BUT screw driverala screw otta mudiyum a?????????

Vaazhkaiyin Thathuvams

2006-02-15T08:59:00.000-05:00

A list of Thathuvams that i received via mail :)))

1. Bus la collectorae erinalum.. mudhal seetu driveruku than......

2. Innaiku thoonguna nalaiku enthirikalam.aana naalaiku thoonguna inaiku enthirika mudiyuma????

3. Cycle carrierla tiffen-a vechu eduthuttu pogalam Aana... Tiffin carrierla cycle-a vechu eduthuttu poga mudiyathu... ???

4. Enna than meenuku neendha therinjalum adhala meen kolambula neendha mudiyadhu

5. Iron boxla iron panna mudiyum ....ana pencil box la pencil panna mudiyuma?...........idhuthan valka........

6. Nee Enna than costly mobile vachirundhalum, Athula evalavu than recharge pannalum, unnalla unakku call panna mudiyathu..

7. puyalala karaya kadaka mudiyum.. karayala puyala kadaka mudiyuma

8. Oru erumbu nenacha 1000 yanaya kadikkum. Ana 1000 yana nenachalum oru erumba kooda kadikka mudiyadhu..

9. Poison 10 naal varusham aanaalum payasam aaha mudiyaadhu But, payasam pathae naal aana poison aahidum!

10. trainukku ticket vaangi platformla okkaralam ana platformukku ticket vaangi trainla poga mudiyadhu

11. railway stationla police station irukkalam ana police stationla railway station irukka mudiyadhu

12. ambalainga adi patta ambulance varum.. pombalainga adi patta pombulance varuma???

13. Busla nee aerinallum..............
Busu UN mella aerinallum..........
Ticket vanga porathu neeeee than

14. Nee evalo periya dancer-a irundhaalum
Un saavukku unnaala aada mudiyuma???

15. Ticket Vangitu Ulla poradu cinema theatre, ulae poitu ticket vanguradu operation theatre...........
16. ULAGAM THERIYAMA VAALRRAVAN VEGULY
CRICKET THERIYAMA VILAYADURAVAN GANGULY.

17. "1000" THAN IRUNTHALUM
"1001" THAN PERUSU

18. Kaakka ennadhaan karuppa irundhaalum adhu podara muttai vellai!
Muttai ennadhaan vellaiya irundhaalum adhukulla irukka kaakka karuppudhaan!!

19. "THANNILA MEEN IRUKURATHAALA, THANNI NON-VEG AAGAATHU"

20. " NADANTHU PONAA KAAL VALIKKUM....AANAA KAAL VALICHAA NADAKKA MUDIAATHU..."

21. Adayar AnandhaBhavanoda Branch Neraya edathula irukkum
Ana Adayar Aala marathoda Branch Adayar la mattum than irukkum!!!

22. Ettukal poochikku ETTU kal irunthalum, Avasarathukku athale Oru Local Call Kooda Panna mudiyathu.

23. Mukklaeele Ukkaralam, Narkaleele Ukkaralam. Aana Thakkaleele Ukkara Mudiyathu.

Rural Scheme

2006-02-02T09:16:00.000-05:00

I really hope this scheme kicks off well and benefits the poor in the villages. It is definitely a venture worth applauding but as they say "The prrof of the pudding is in the eating". It all depends on whether the scheme is implemented transparently with an eye on the economic/social viability of the scheme. Read this article to know what I am talking about. Rural Emplyment Guarentee Scheme

Nagesh Kukunoor

2006-01-27T14:51:00.000-05:00

Nagesh Kukunoor

Read what he had to say at Saarang this year. Interesting I would say. Anyway...Missed Saarang this year also...

Tunneling Through

2006-01-27T09:16:00.000-05:00

This article about drug dealers are using an extremely sophisticated tunnel on the mexican border to enter the United states reminded me of the days long gone when i used to religiously watch Donald duck on TV. Sunday mornings were never complete without Donald Duck and company...and one of the oft repeated themes in DD was an attempt by some thieves to tunel into Donalds uncle's bank locker (the uncle is exceeedingly rich) and how they miserably fail to take the loot back every time...

Those days.........

Cigarette Smoking is injurious to health

2006-01-26T09:25:00.000-05:00

In more ways than one it seems.... Read this report about a hostage situation in California...I have heard of hostage taking criminals ask for Helicopters and cars and Money and getting caught in the process but this particular suspects demand was "Cigarettes"....Yes that is correct indeed.. And the demand led to his ultimate capture.

Read the whole story here

Unproductive

2006-01-24T16:30:00.000-05:00

The last few days have been quite unproductive...I have read a few papers and a cple of books but apart from that i havent had a single idea worth its salt. Am just letting things settle down in my head.

A question thats interesting me is

How does one ensure global consistency of estimates while all the observations that you have are local.
How can global order be perceived as a direct function of local order.
I can see that the bias-variance trade-off of estimators has profound impact on whether local solutions agree globally but am still not exactly clear about what the implications are :))

Chennai Musing of the day

2006-01-19T17:17:00.000-05:00

To add to the musings of yesterday

12. Now that the number of seconds for the signal to turn green is prominently displayed at every traffic signal, it is always customary and mandatory to horn continuously at the people in front of you at the signal when the counter turns to 6 seconds.

13. If u r at the head of a signal it is your duty (to ur country) to risk your life and limb and start driving when there is about 6 seconds for the signal to turn green. If u do not heed then you risk getting a sore ear.

Chennai - Good Old Chennai

2006-01-18T12:44:00.000-05:00

That has indeed been a long layoff...Thanks to an interesting an fun-filled month long stay in Chennai (alias Madras). Now that i am back in Maryland I hope to update the blog much more frequently....

Some small things that caught my fancy/eye/ear in Chennai

1. Everybody has a cell phone, even ur own housemaid
2. And by definition her instrument is better than the instruments that are common in this part of the world (USA).
3. Rain/Water Scarcity is not the most important topic of conversation for the first time in the history of the city.
4. The most profitable and lucrative profession in the word is that of a computer programmer...unless of course u have the financial and political might to start an engineering college.
5. Every man and woman in their twenties is working in one way or the other for the below listed few companies (Wipro, Infosys, TCS, CTS, ICICI ) ...Well almost.
6. The state government for a change does not seem to be sleeping...It seems to be working....eventhough the policies seem to be conflicting themselves, there is some work being done....and one can see the results.
7. Watching Sun News and Jaya News at the same time can be the most funny and ludicrous source of entertainment the world of free press can ever offer. Both news channels seem so free that neither are intent on NEWS. They seem intent only on political mileage from every NEWS item. The shameless manner of reporting the identical NEWS item in unbelievaeably contrasting view by these two channels was a prime source of entertainment.
8. Everybody watches some family soap serial or the other....Even the men do...Scarcely do the accept it though :)
9. Cars are common commodity. Everybody wants to own a car and those who already own one want to change it for a newer model.
10. You are an introvert and shy if you do not send more than 100 SMS messages a day. You are antisocial if you receive less than 100 SMS messages a day.
11. Tar roads are soluble in water....It rained in Chennai.....

More later

Interesting

2005-12-06T12:52:00.000-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have established humanism as a religion first time in India (N.B:-India’s largest and most powerful religious organization Ramkrishna Mission tried to establish ‘Ramkrishnan’as a religion . But after a long legal fight they failed). It is our great victory that now you can write ‘humanism’ in the column for religion. Please note that United Nations has in the general assembly of November, 1981 declared that “Everyone shall have the right to have a religion or belief of his choice and freedom.”
----------------------------------------------------------

This is an extract from the website of Science and Rationalists’ Association of India

I DID NOT KNOW THIS !!!!

Golden Quadrilateral.....Not all Golden it seems

2005-12-06T11:56:00.001-05:00

This is a NYtimes interactive presentation....Do watch it when you have the time. It will take about 5 minutes or so....

NYTIMES PRESENTATION

There are so many varying reports about the success and the failure of the AIDS awareness programmes in India that it leaves Truth to ones own imagination...

Golden Quadrilateral.....Not all Golden it seems

2005-12-06T11:56:00.000-05:00

Snow in Maryland

2005-12-05T15:27:00.000-05:00

Hey ppl. Its snowing here in maryland. Heres the live view of the snow from my window (almost)

Live view ffrom Kim Cam North View from AVWilliams

It is interesting to note that the snow particles seem to be much more Brownian in the video than when i watch the same snow particles directly through my window...

Team for the first Test

2005-12-01T17:21:00.000-05:00

The composition for the first Test at Chennai is not an extremely difficult one. In the past there have been times when only 5-6 members picked themselves and it was a clear field for the rest. This time around I think about 8-9 members are sure shots who pick themselves...Its only getting tricky because Gangulys presence makes things a lot more interesting for the captain and the coach :))

Anyway here goes my two pennies on the issue....

These people are the sure shots in my book

Batting:
Dravid
Sachin
Sehwag
Laxman

Bowling:
Harbhajan Singh
Kumble
Pathan
Agarkar

Keeper
Dhoni

That leaves two open spots....One of the spots is definitely up for grabs for a batsman and the other for either a batsman or a bowler or a fielder as the team chooses...For chennai strip I would imagine that you will be tempted to choose two batsmen.

The contenders

Gautham Gambir: Has played reasonably well....Deserves to continue.....has performed very very well in the last series against Zimbabwe... Only opener choice available. That gives him a great advantage.

Saurav Ganguly: Wonderful record....Great batsman....Poor form of late puts team in a quandry....Issues about team morale has to be considered.

Yuvraj Singh: Has started maturing as a cricketer. Man of the series in the Ind-SA one day series. Hard to ignore his recent performances... A definite investment for the future of Indian cricket....By virtue of form and foresight he should edge his way into the team.

Kaif: Another long-term prospect. A definite India captain in the near future. A shrewd thinker and good sportsman. His batting has been steadily improving. And his fielding exploits along with Yuvraj could make a difference to the marale of the team during the longer version of the game...

Murali Kartik: Spinner. Good bowler. Has been performing well of late...Considering chepauk pitch...Not a bad idea. In fact considering the fact that Dhone Pathan and Agarkar can be expected to score some runs, a possibly worthy choice...But I dont think the pitch is going to offer enough to warrant 3 spinners. Moreover I think its best not to put pressure on the batting of Pathan and Dhoni but rather let them mature with time slowly and steadily...

RPSingh: I dont think he will be part of the 11 tomorrow eventhough he has been performing reasonably well...

The Argument:
Yuvraj Singh picks himself in the X1 for two reasons. 1. His recent form has been exemplary. He is a definite long-term prospect who needs to be nurtured. His presence in the team will raise fielding standards.....

If we want to stick to our opening pair Gautham Gambir picks himself as the opener and there ends all discussions about the X1.

But I am a little more experimental by nature and believe that Sachin needs to be given new challenges so that the genius can be motivated further. So I am inclined to let him open the Test with Sehwag. That gives us the competitive edge in two respects.
1. If both Sachin and Sehwag get into their grooves....SL start searching leather from ball 1 and that could be destructive fr their morale. In fact it was one such daring and bold move that sent Sehwag opening in the Tests too....Inspite of all predictions otherwise Sehwag has established himself as a great opener. I believe that this gives Sachin another challenge which will kindle the child in him to rise to greater heights of batsmanship.
2. Secondly this opens up the No:5 slot for Yuvraj....And that will help his growing batting....

Moreover, this also provides an opening for Laxman up the order. I think that is very important. Because he has proved Time and again that he is a great batsman in Tests but cannot rally with the tail enders. Several times he has been left in the lurch with tail enders and he just has no idea how to bat with them..Also considering the fact that he is really the "once I cross 70 I dont stop until 200" guy in the Indian team. So he needs to come in early so that we can capitalize on his huge scores...

If we do that then the choice in my mind boild down to either Kaif or Ganguly.....In that case I would still go with Kaif for two reasons.....FUTURE......and Fielding...and Team spirit and integrity of the team. If at all Ganguly gets a chance it must be in later Tests after he has gotten used to the idea that he must fight for his place in the team....He is a great batsman and I am in no doubt that he will bounce back with BIG scores...But I think he needs some time outside on the sidelines before he can fit into the Indian scheme of things.....

So here goes the list;

MY PICK OF X1 for Chennai Test in Batting Order
1. Sachin
2. Sehwag
3. Laxman
4. Dravid
5. Yuvraj
6. Kaif
7. Pathan
8. Dhoni
9. Agarkar
10. Harbhajan
11. Kumble

Inspite of whatever my preferences are I think most probably the X1 will be slightly different.

MOST PROBABLE X1 in batting order

1. Gautham Gambir
2. Sehwag
3. Dravid
4. Sachin
5. Laxman
6. Yuvraj
7. Dhoni
8. Pathan
9. Agarkar
10. Harbhajan
11. Kumble

Rajini going the French way !!!

2005-12-01T10:24:00.000-05:00

Read this article. A 10 second clip of Rajinikanths kung-fu fight sequence in "Muthu" is to be used in a French Movie......Ellarum jora oru O podunga...

Ecstatic

2005-11-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

I am overjoyed, ecstatic and relieved to know that the Lalu Prasad Yadav rule in Bihar has finally come to an end. It looks like Nitish Kumar and co have won about 150 of the 243 seats in the assembly elections in Bihar. This would mean that withing the end of this week Nitish Kumar (ironically, he was the Railway Minister in the BJP government when Lalu ruled Bihar...Now Lalu is the railway minister) would assume power as the Chief Minister of Bihar. I really dont know Much about Nitish but am fairly confident that he will be better than Lalu. I hope some semblance of normalcy returns to Bihar. One of the first things that must be tackled is Corruption and Violence in this state. The Centre must take this opportunity to invest in some long-term plans for the state. Improving the living conditions of the people while simultaneously educating them is absolutely essential. Orgainizing handloom, handicraft and very very small scale industries and distributed rural employment centers is one option in this regard. But unfortunately the Congress is in power at the center. The problem is that Lalus support is essential for the Congress. Lalu will do everything in his power to keep the Nitish government from being successful which essentially means that he will put pressure on the congress towards inaction. The congress by natutre is quite an inactive and sleepy party. So eventhough their investments in Bihar is absolutelty essential and strategic vision for the country it is highly unlikely that they will come through.

Another interesting result of this electons is the delicate balance of power/party and ideology struggle at the center. The party struggle is led by the Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi led Congress combine that must keep all their allies most of whom oppose their ideologies in order to maintain poer at the center. Power struggle will of course be led by the one-and only Lalu. Now that he is ousted fromnn power at the state, he will have to show his might at the central level. Especially with the fodder scam ruling scheduled to be out by March 2006, he will be facing mounting pressure to let the congress combine know that his continued presence in the combine is essential for the government to maintain majority. How the Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi combine manage to keep him at bay while retaining his 20 odd seats will be an interesting battle that could endanger the stability of the central government. (We can of course ill afford the cost of another election. ) The ideologyvstruggle of course is led by the left parties who dont want to ever hear the word "efficiency". The policies of disinvestment that the Congress would ideally like to undertake are the antithesis of the left parties ideologies. And keeping the left happy takes even more importance now that the Lalu faction will definitely crave for unfair and power hungry policies.

An interesting year ahead if nothing else :))

Obsession with Television

2005-11-15T09:26:00.000-05:00

I am convinced beyond doubt that the Television watching habit that most of us have acquired is turning us into teleborgs who stop thinking. The entire passive exercise of watching television characters emote and think and run makes us all feel happy as though it was us who did all those things. The end result - a consequently lower IQ...

And now some study reported on BBC

reports that its not just our IQ and eyesight but our happiness too :))
Anyway, my television watching time has increased significantly in the last year or so. I am hoping to cut down my television time to a minimal. Lets see how that goes :)). Meanwhile I am just peeking out into the open after having submitted a conference paper to CVPR. I have about a week to refresh and reload the spirits. Then its time to work on that Adaptive Control project thats been pending. And then of course the MUCH AWAITED ALL IMPORTANT INDIA TRIP :))

BTW, this is the Mysterious List that takes you closer to happiness

The 10 steps to happiness

1. Plant something and nurture it
2. Count your blessings - at least five - at the end of each day
3. Take time to talk - have an hour-long conversation with a loved one each week
4. Phone a friend whom you have not spoken to for a while and arrange to meet up
5. Give yourself a treat every day and take the time to really enjoy it
6. Have a good laugh at least once a day
7. Get physical - exercise for half an hour three times a week
8. Smile at and/or say hello to a stranger at least once each day
9. Cut your TV viewing by half
10.Spread some kindness - do a good turn for someone every day

Temples in the US!!!

2005-11-11T14:32:00.000-05:00

A classmate of mine from IITM happened to land on this NRIGuide which contains...YES

A list of temples in the US geographically indexed with the Google Maps

Interesting isnt it?

I guess you could sue for just about anything

2005-11-11T09:41:00.000-05:00

Read this article.

The man is apparently suing Home Depot for 3 MILLION DOLLARS because he got stuck to a toilet seat at Home Depot. Now as soon as u hear that i am sure you are telling yourself..."Now thats a first"....Apparently not. This man has reportedly got stuck to a toilet seat twice....And yes you heard me right 3 MILLION DOLLARS.

The next thing you know, ppl like him will be suing Walmart because he got arthritis...from walking up the long aisles of the superstore :))

This is Really True

2005-11-09T08:36:00.000-05:00

Read this article about the changes to the education system in Kansas.

Wishes

2005-11-04T11:02:00.000-05:00

I am feeling totally bored and feel no enthusiasm to work hard today. I was hoping I could find some company to play some Pool/Billiards today and get to learn to play the game...But that seems to be an unlikely event since all those I have tried asking seem to be busy with their work :((

GOD IS BACK

2005-10-25T09:10:00.000-04:00

Its such a relief to see the scorecard today and just as millions of other "Tendulaker Worshippers" around the world are sighing a sense of relief, a grunt of joy, a smile of satisfaction and above all looking forward to the rest of the series now that the "Master Blaster" is back in action. The less said about this batting Genius, the better and in case any of you are still wondering.-- Yes. I am a Tendulkar worshipper.

What does a mandate mandate?

2005-10-19T15:11:00.000-04:00

I read this article today

It suddenly led me to various questions regarding the electoral system.
For example Do u vote for reform or reformer? In reality you cast a vote for a person and this person then takes the power to incorporate reforms of his/her liking.
So it is absolutely essential that the public (who vote) are completely aware of the policies views and fashions of a certain contesting candidate. (at whatever level).
Not just that, it also means that it is necessary and absolutely essential that the winning candidate then goes on to implement his ideas and ideals expressed before the election.

Is that happening anywhere?

Is SEX necessary?

2005-10-19T09:11:00.000-04:00

Thats the topic of discussion today at Rediff.

Who said this about Cricket?

2005-10-13T13:23:00.000-04:00

He said, 'I tend to think that cricket is the greatest thing God ever created on earth -- certainly greater than sex, although sex isn't too bad either.'

Whois He???

Harold Pinter : Winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature

He is a playwright, commentator, director, actor, cricket enthusiast, and winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in 1930, he has, in a career spanning over five decades, managed to become one of the most famous dramatists of the English speaking world. He is also behind the creation of the term 'Pinteresque' in theatre, signifying an underlying sense of menace in everyday situations.

Interesting Database

2005-10-06T12:02:00.000-04:00

Of all the databases that i have stumbled upon in the data crazy web world, this is probably the most useful and most interesting database.....

How to Find a Human Database

I am sure most of you will find this database useful :))

112 and still having to fight !!!

2005-10-06T10:59:00.000-04:00

I read this news article on Hindu today and it seemed to touch some non-hardened portion of my inner self. Quite unaquainted with that side of me left me feeling bare and naked. Leads one to the question

Have we lost our inner sensibilities Or are we working really hard at losing them?
Why should emoting normally be so remote and abnormal?

Chennai ------

2005-10-03T09:02:00.000-04:00

It is not with the greatest of glee that I write this post...What the hell is this world (or rather Chennai ) coming to.... Tell me ppl what the hell is wrong with two "CONSENTING ADULTS" both words highlighted kissing each other. I dont see any. But some authorities in Chennai police seem to find it obscene and take it an insult to the spirit and culture of the city..."Big freaking Morons". Read this extract again from Rediff

And if all this is not enough personally i have seen some of my friends have the unfortunate experience of going to Colleges that self discipline ("WHAT") their students by enforcing a DRESS code. Who the **** are they to decide appropriateness of a certain dress? And whats most infuriating is the fact that most of these students actually took to it and followed it in letter and spirit. And now what is that leading to.,...More engineering colleges are now adopting the "Gold Standard" in "Power Dresssing". Power to all those morons who decide what studenst can wear and what they cannot. By the way Can I wear Blue Underwear on Mondays? Oh shit...I did not know this bylaw. Made a mistake. What its a Rs 500 fine for inappropriate dressing and a Rs. 500 fine for using obscene words (Thats the shit u pay for using the word shit). Anyway, sooner or later we will all be such consenting morons that all follow the same set of MORAL rules that we have nothing to fear for we are all the same...Everyone in Chennai shall wear blue on Mondays (with Red inners) and Yellow on Tuesdays and Magenta on Wednesdays and so on and so forth....

Historically Universities and centers of learning and education have also been centers of great civil uprisings and have played a very important and significant role even in our independence. The same can be said of almost any other country. Even today, in the US of A the universities are liberal centersa of thought and free spirit and therefore play an important role in curtailing the role of STUPID MORAL POLICING. And by very nature these standardising laws in colleges tend to keep that free spirit and questioning and inquisitive mind in curb....It clearly declares "If u want to think for urself and make ur own guideline U DO NOT BELONG HERE. This is the college for all non-thinkers. We think for u and decide what is right and what is wrong for u. If u want to think for urself Go Elsewhere". Colleges and centers of education must be centers of free thought and expression. That is the ONLY WAY THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE Can GO FORWARD....Hope some educators are listening....If there are ppl reading this post who are as offended as I am by this kind of MORAL POLICING I think its time some of us find ourselves someway of getting into the system to change the system for changes are absolutely essential. Maybe becoming an educator-beuraucrat or whatever is the equivalent policy maker in education is the way to change the norm....Or maybe its the prerogative of the judiciary. Maybe we should contest such unacceptable MORAL POLICING in the court of law...Somethings MUST CHange and This better Do....

When fuel prices are too high !!!

2005-10-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

So....I guess sooner or later fuel prices will rise through the roof...And then those fuel sources that are now termed "alternative energy sources" will become primary energy sources. You can already see countries all over the world interested in nuclear energy....Other sources like the wind and the ocean waves will not be spared either....

So anyway...This was a graphic that was forwarded to me with the caption

"How do u ride your bike when fuel prices are too high ?"

Raiders of the Lost Ark

2005-09-27T14:26:00.000-04:00

According to a Movie Personality Test that i took today My Movie Type is supposed to be
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" and I live for "Adventure Fortune Hunting and Danger". In case u stumble upon this post Do take a moment off to take this test and Let me know what ur Movie Type is in the comments section.

What Classic Movie Are You?

Last Weekend

2005-09-27T09:51:00.000-04:00

Weekend after weekend of tiring strenuous and thoroughly enjoyable cricket welcomed me back into the United States. Except for the lone weekend I travelled to the Outer Banks in North Carolina (in the midst of some serious Gas prices..Thanks to Katrina) the rest of the weekends saw me clad in white pitting my wits and arms against other cricket teams from around this area. The fact that our team continued to register win after win kept us all focussed and motivated. But just as much as it was all these things it was also getting tiring. So I was really looking forward to last weekend when I had no match scheduled. So what did I end up doing when I have no cricket match to play that weekend.

Friday was spent playing some Squash. Saturday began with some light Tennis with Abi, Lavi and Shyam. Both Abi and Lavanya were quite good with the racket and their follies were quite different. While at times Abi refused to react fast enough and run towards the ball, Lavanya in all her enthusiasm to get to/at the ball just did not focus enough on looking at the ball. But all said and done, it was a nice couple of hours of Tennis. After Tennis and lunch it was time for some hard Volleyball. Volleyball is really a FUN game with all the jumping and the diving that it entails...(Seriously even when there are no Bikini clad women playing Volleyball with you its just as much fun:) )

Later that evening we visited Buvna and Prashanth at their new house and watched a thoroughly entertaining movie "Arindhum Ariyamalum". Any Tam's out there starved by the really low quality movies being churned out by the movie industry Do take some time out to watch this flick. It was the second good movie I have seen in a recent while...the other one being "Salaam Namaste".

Sunday saw me Gaurav Vijay and Jishnu play some serious hard Tennis (doubles) and it was as tiring as it was fun....Courtesy all this I woke so late on Monday that by the time I was awake it was already 11:00 AM Monday......What a way to start a refreshing week :D

Car Stolen

2005-09-23T15:08:00.000-04:00

After shopping for most of the day, a couple returns to find their car has been stolen. They go to the police station to make a full report. Then, a detective drives them back to the parking lot to see if any evidence can be found at the scene of the crime. To their amazement, the car has been returned.
There is an envelope on the windshield with a note of apology and two tickets to a music concert. The note reads, "I apologize for taking your car, but my wife was having a baby and I had to hot-wire your ignition to rush her to the hospital. Please forgive the inconvenience. Here are two tickets for tonight`s concert of Garth Brooks, the country-and-western music star."
Their faith in humanity restored, the couple attend the concert and return home late. They find their house has been robbed. Valuable goods have been taken from thoughout the house, from basement to attic.
And, there is a note on the door reading, "Well, you still have your car. I have to put my newly born kid through college somehow, don`t I?"

Veena Virtuoso !!!

2005-09-23T14:29:00.000-04:00

World Routes

A must hear programme for obvious reasons :))

Eerily close to home !!!

2005-09-21T08:53:00.000-04:00

To open a news article in Rediff and find places close to home like "Collge Park" and "Fairfax" etc is one thing but to find the same places in such context as I found today is quite another thing !. Reminds you that there are all kinds of ppl all over the world !

Lashkar suspect released on bail in US

What says u ppl?

Positive signs in India

2005-09-20T09:02:00.000-04:00

Having been away from India for (I really dont want to count this) 3 years now, it has become a sort of a routine to read news about India from one of the online news sources. And the last year or so has seemed to be a good period for the country. The sensex is rising and rising and rising. All seems to be well with the economy. The only concerns seems to be the lack of adequate infrastructure in big cities like Bangalore and Delhi and Madras, especially the transportation infrastructure. But I am sure that will really only lead to internal relocation with smaller cities like Coimbatore and Tirunelveli and Trichy and Madurai and Mysore getting more of the investments and growth. This is only to be expected and in fact good too....

But of all these positive signs that I have read about, the one positive sign that really brings a smile out and makes me feel real good is
The Quiet Revolution

I hope we are paving the way for an educated informed and a sensitive tomorrow.

On the subject of growing up

2005-09-16T10:41:00.000-04:00

Today one of my friends from school Dwarakanath got married in Chennai. The Dwarakanath i knew was a quiet calm and "energy conserving" chap with moderate views.

Add to that three close friends from College Park who are also doing their PhDs at the University of Maryland are also getting married sometime in Dec-Jan. Suddenly it feels as though all my friends and people around me are "GROWING UP". Another pointer to the fact that ppl around me are growing up is the fact that a friend of mine was complaining about loosing hair....

So I sat about thinking whether I was "Growing up" too..."As if u know Growing up was some sort of bad word !!!

I will tell u what i have been doing the last 2 hours and u tell me whether I am growing up....

I have been making several pointless actions like squatting, jogging in place, front foot defense, pushing, slapping, picking up an object etc several times and recording myself on multiple video cameras synchronously :))

Anyway i need to get back to doing crazy actions in fromnt of cameras....

A neat story on science in the media

2005-09-14T13:45:00.000-04:00

Dont dumb me down

This is a neat writeup on science reporting in magazines and newspapers...Personally some of the unbelievably horrendous tales of such reporting have been left quietly unpunished for a long time now.... Such bad reporting has its consequences including higher taxes so that public money funds exactly the wrong enterprises....

Take good care of your health my dear readers

2005-09-12T15:22:00.000-04:00

So that you may never think this

"If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself."
- Mickey Mantle

Theres hardly anything ever said in a serious note and hardly any importance attached to maintaining ones health (except of course the daily routine of my parents in my case)....and I think this quote deserves to see more light than it has.

Something everyone needs to know

2005-08-19T10:23:00.000-04:00

With the ever increasing fuel prices it is imperative that we all learn a little more about our cars and how to get the best performance/efficiency from our cars. Of course social practices like carpooling and the rest that dramatically reduce gas consumption are also advisable. Nevertheless
read this article about gas mileage of cars

I just payed GEICO another hefty sum of money for my auto insurnce for the next 6 months. Auto insurance is such an expensive phenomenon, that every six months when I pay up the premium it leaves a bad taste within me!!! Anyway, I dont have to worry about it for the next 6 months (hopefully!!!).

Suddenly of late I am slowly developin an interest in Public Policy. Lets see how this interest shapes up in the near future.

Comments Highlighted

2005-08-11T12:33:00.000-04:00

For my previous post about Farmers in India and Abroad Subhamoy Pal and Vijay had posted comments...Am just listing the comments below

Subhamoy said...

There used to be a somewhat Gandhian model of economics and growth. . .which had its basis in the self sufficiency of villages, strong agriculture, and strong panchayat type self government. A grass roots democracy. But the modern paradigm that has been slickly sold to us. . .and is fairly good for us urban city types who can get software jobs. . .is the paradigm of foreign investment. Let people lend you the money with which you can build things. . .and let's all grow rich together.

I am not for one mode or the other. I think we can do both. The article reminds us not to forget what development should be all about. And what wealth is-- happy citizens, good infrastructure, clean air.

Vijay said...

It's not just about self sustainment or Democracy or Global Economic Markets with Free trade et al. It's about taking care of the BASIC necessities of life, and if you think about it, FOOD is all that is really needed, and everything else comes after that, and we shouldnt forget that. Money is still just paper (nowadays a number residing in some Bank HQ harddrive), and having lots of it with no food to live isn't going to help...

On the other hand, Life is meant to be lived richly, and we are not machines to just fill up our fuel tanks, and expend energy. For having a meaningful lifestyle, we have to do something extra (Manufacturing, Media, Software :P ) in addition to food ... and not in place of food.

Ashes

2005-08-11T12:20:00.000-04:00

Finally for the first ever time in my living memory England have started competing in the ashes. Usually it is such a sordid affair in which the Aussies trounce the English that every catch every wicket taking delivery and every run by England was vociferously cheered.....But this time around the poster boys Flintoff and Pieterson have woken this English team and the captain seems to have risen up to the call....England should manage to bat out most of tomorrow and then restrict the Australian scoring rate. The Australian batting is extremely vulnerable if u restrict their scoring rate and that is exactly what Vaughn must attempt to do when it is their turn to bowl.....

Or am i just dreaming......

Where will they go and what will they do?

2005-08-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

Interesting question this....After reading this report that the SHUTTLE Reentry was delayed by 24 hours because of cloudy skies and the like Gaurav asked me this question....

Well Now that their reentry is delayed by 24 hours what will they do and where will they go ? Even the several unforseen (or in many cases well forseen ) delays of the Indian Railways usually entails several cups of tea and snacks in the railway platforms. In fact during the incessant period of rains in Bombay it was interesting to note that several of the "True Mumbaikars" who wrote in to Rediff were seen commenting about " the snacks that were available in the railway stations and even during the deluge".

Online Sanskrit Classes

2005-08-04T12:44:00.000-04:00

For those who are interested....Florida International University is offering Online Sanskrit Courses

Renga take note!!!

By the way, Renga will be reaching here tonite....Lavanya just returned back from India yesterday....and its Jagans birthday tomorrow!!!

Another day and Another Quote

2005-08-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

—President Theodore Roosevelt, Sorbonne, 1910

Farmers in India and Abroad

2005-07-26T22:53:00.000-04:00

After todays conversation with Aswin about the lack of enthusiasm of the "educated class" in India to vote and the consequent importance of farmers in the political scheme of things....etc.. I found this article quite interesting and relevant

Rain Lashing out Mumbai

2005-07-26T14:26:00.000-04:00

Rain is lashing out several parts of mumbai...Rediff has several accounts of how the rain has gotten the strangehold on this coastal city!!!....

And if u r in mumbai and in any way able to respond to this DO so !!!

Height of Hypocrisy

2005-07-21T22:05:00.000-04:00

Height of Hypocrisy

Really......But one thing seems certain these days...Every mode of public transport seems to be the target of terrorist attacks... It is indeed sad that in this latest episode in London, though some of the perpetrators of these attacks were appaarently spotted none of them were actuaally stopped/held by the people in London...This first of all surprises me because every report I read after the first wave of attcks on July 7 seemed to suggest that the Londoners were a braave race, that were coping with the disaster in the best maanner possible. And i was really impressed by the Londoners response to those attacks. Nevertheless, even the bravest have let these ******(I dont intend to put any expletives openly in this page) off the hook by allowing them to escape even after being spotted in the open...

Its back to maryland time

2005-07-18T04:27:00.000-04:00

So at 4:00 PM I gave the talk that signalled the end of my short stint at Research School of Biological Sciences at ANU. It was a reasonably good talk I guess..atleast thats what the others around told me (Unless they were just being polite.) Any way I got back to my lab and cleared all the mess I had created on the tables...Only 1 thing remains to be cleaned...My Coffee Mug...Its almost dark brown and pleading me to clean it. I will get that guy cleaned out soon too...But thats not all of it...I still have to return to my room and pack everything..and thats not going to be easy either. Lets see how that goes...

Jogging

2005-07-16T23:35:00.000-04:00

Maybe regular joggers at Marina should join these policemen to show them how they are faring compared to some of the others who are not in the business of fighting crime. I can personally recall atleast 5 60+ Senior citizens who would be able to complete this 5km stretch in half the prescribed time limit....They should jog alongside to perk up the attitude of some of these policemen...

Data Collection

2005-07-13T23:09:00.000-04:00

After a really long time I (HAD TO) woke up early today morning. I hurried to lab by 8 AM to set things up for the data collection. We had already drilled the parabolic mirror to the ceiling on the foyer. So all I had to do really was get the tripod up and as close to the mirror as possible then, and allign so that both the tripod and the top of the camera lens are indeed level (and horizontal). The alligning the centre of the camera with the centre of the mirror took some time. Soon by aboy 9:20 the system was up and running. For starters I have captured video for about an hour. Lets see how this video turns out...I mightv have to repeat the capture on Monday if this has any problems...But lets just wait and see...

Also, I read quite a bit of this BLOG and found it quite interesting...

Blog on Baghdad

2005-07-13T22:10:00.000-04:00

This is a nice little blog on the life in Baghdad...
You should try and read it when you have the time

Baghdad Burning

An article worth thinking about

2005-07-11T21:47:00.000-04:00

We cannot change the past. But the future is definitely in our hands.........

Read this article in Rediff

TO Know you

2005-07-05T07:24:00.000-04:00

" there is nothing I can learn from you , that i can't read in a fucking book...unless you want me to know you...unless we talk about your life. But you won't do that."

Robin Williams to Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting. But thats not all

Great News

2005-07-05T03:49:00.000-04:00

Read this astounding news article

Isnt it wonderful...The fact that some of us have this vision and are willing to do anything however impossible to realize that vision. I was one of those people who used to laugh at such cort cases and the people who go to court with such cases. But in the last few years I have become more sympathetic to their cause. I have started wondering whether or not people like these make the world a more saner and more entertaining place to live in than otherwise!. Lose these people and then all around we see similar clones with similar ideas and similar reservations and similar ideals and similar visions and similar inhibitions. Of course I am not in support of the claim of the plaintiff but, I am in support of people like this plaintiff who are willing to go the length to prove their beliefs and concerns to the world....(Even if u think their belief is just $$$$ )

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-07-04T04:08:00.000-04:00

16 Reasons Why God Never Received Tenure at the University

1. He had only one major publication
2. And it was in Hebrew
3. And it had no references
4. And it was not published in a refereed journal
5. And some even doubted that He wrote it Himself.
6. It may be true that He created the world, but what has He done since
then?
7. His cooperative efforts have been quite limited.
8. The scientific community has had a very rough time trying to
replicate His results.
9. He never applied to the Ethics Board for permission to use human
subjects.
10. When one experiment went awry, He tried to cover it up by drowning
the subjects.
11. When subjects did not behave as predicted, He often punished them,
or just deleted them from the sample.
12. He rarely came to class: He just told students to read the book.
13. He has his son teach the class.
14. He expelled His first two students for learning too much.
15. Although there were only ten requirements, most students failed His
tests.
16. His office hours were infrequent, and usually held on a mountain
top.

What to Do With Hotel Soap

2005-07-04T01:58:00.000-04:00

What to Do With Hotel Soap

The following letters are taken from an actual incident between a London
hotel and one of its guests. The Hotel ended up submitting the letters
to the London Sunday Times! (OR SO SAYS THE WEBSITE WHERE I SAW THIS JOKE!!!)

Dear Maid,

Please do not leave any more of those little bars of soap in my bathroom
since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial. Please remove the six
unopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest and another
three in the shower soap dish. They are in my way.

Thank you,
S. Berman

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Room 635,

I am not your regular maid. She will be back tomorrow, Thursday, from
her day off. I took the 3 hotel soaps out of the shower soap dish as you
requested. The 6 bars on your shelf I took out of your way and put on
top of your Kleenex dispenser in case you should change your mind. This
leaves only the 3 bars I left today which my instructions from the
management is to leave 3 soaps daily. I hope this is satisfactory.

Kathy, Relief Maid

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Maid - I hope you are my regular maid.

Apparently Kathy did not tell you about my note to her concerning the
little bars of soap. When I got back to my room this evening I found you
had added 3 little Camays to the shelf under my medicine cabinet. I am
going to be here in the hotel for two weeks and have brought my own
bath-size Dial so I won't need those 6 little Camays which are on the
shelf. They are in my way when shaving, brushing teeth, etc. Please
remove them.

S. Berman

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Berman,

My day off was last Wed. so the relief maid left 3 hotel soaps which we
are instructed by the management. I took the 6 soaps which were in your
way on the shelf and put them in the soap dish where your Dial was. I
put the Dial in the medicine cabinet for your convenience. I didn't
remove the 3 complimentary soaps which are always placed inside the
medicine cabinet for all new check-ins and which you did not object to
when you checked in last Monday. Please let me know if I can of further
assistance.

Your regular maid,
Dotty

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Berman,

The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed me this morning that you
called him last evening and said you were unhappy with your maid
service. I have assigned a new girl to your room. I hope you will accept
my apologies for any past inconvenience. If you have any future
complaints please contact me so I can give it my personal attention.
Call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM. Thank you.

Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Miss Carmen,

It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave the hotel for
business at 7:45 AM and don't get back before 5:30 or 6PM. That's the
reason I called Mr. Kensedder last night. You were already off duty. I
only asked Mr. Kensedder if he could do anything about those little bars
of soap. The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was a new
check-in today, since she left another 3 bars of hotel soap in my
medicine cabinet along with her regular delivery of 3 bars on the
bath-room shelf. In just 5 days here I have accumulated 24 little bars
of soap. Why are you doing this to me?

S. Berman

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Berman,

Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop delivering soap to your
room and remove the extra soaps. If I can be of further assistance,
please call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM.Thank you,

Elaine Carmen,
Housekeeper

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Kensedder,

My bath-size Dial is missing. Every bar of soap was taken from my room
including my own bath-size Dial. I came in late last night and had to
call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets.

S. Berman

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Berman,

I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen, of your soap problem. I
cannot understand why there was no soap in your room since our maids are
instructed to leave 3 bars of soap each time they service a room. The
situation will be rectified immediately. Please accept my apologies for
the inconvenience.

Martin L. Kensedder
Assistant Manager

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mrs. Carmen,

Who the hell left 54 little bars of Camay in my room? I came in last
night and found 54 little bars of soap. I don't want 54 little bars of
Camay. I want my one damn bar of bath-size Dial. Do you realize I have
54 bars of soap in here. All I want is my bath size Dial. Please give me
back my bath-size Dial.

S. Berman

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Berman,

You complained of too much soap in your room so I had them removed. Then
you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was missing so I
personally returned them. The 24 Camays which had been taken and the 3
Camays you are supposed to receive daily. I don't know anything about
the 4 Cashmere Bouquets. Obviously your maid, Kathy, did not know I had
returned your soaps so she also brought 24 Camays plus the 3 daily
Camays. I don't know where you got the idea this hotel issues bath-size
Dial. I was able to locate some bath-size Ivory which I left in your
room.

Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mrs. Carmen,

Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest soap inventory.
As of today I possess:

- On the shelf under medicine cabinet - 18 Camay in 4 stacks of 4 and 1
stack of 2.

- On the Kleenex dispenser - 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 3.

- On the bedroom dresser - 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet,

- 1 stack of 4 hotel-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4.

- Inside the medicine cabinet - 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1 stack
of 2.

- In the shower soap dish - 6 Camay, very moist.

- On the northeast corner of tub - 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly used.

- On the northwest corner of tub - 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3.

Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure the stacks are
neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise her that stacks of more
than 4 have a tendency to tip. May I suggest that my bedroom window
sill is not in use and will make an excellent spot for future soap
deliveries. One more item, I have purchased another bar of bath-sized
Dial which I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to avoid further
misunderstandings.

S. Berman

You should do this too

2005-07-02T04:06:00.000-04:00

I Took this survey....If u have a blog u probably should take it too!

Squash and Cricket

2005-07-02T03:45:00.000-04:00

So Finally had a productive time....

Yesterday evening went to the indoor cricket stadium at Lyenhem and played cricket for sometime. Then returned back to lab and spent time reading about multi-view geometry till about 2 AM. Then went back to my room and slept. Woke up really really late today morning, had a quick lunch...What else Burger with Onion Rings and Orange Juice. Then caught up with some squash. Revantha was kind enough to agree to play with me I must say. We played about 12-15 sets of squash...Then i was almost done, I guess...So now i am back in my lab...

It really feels refreshing to play cricket and squash again!!!

Plato on Geometry

2005-07-01T09:35:00.000-04:00

`` experience proves that anyone who has studied geometry is infinitely quicker to grasp difficult subjects than one who has not.''

Plato - The Republic, Book 7, 375 B.C.

Travel Warning!!!

2005-06-29T03:22:00.000-04:00

SHIT

2005-06-28T09:37:00.000-04:00

I do not know whether to call this incredible media. Or should I take the side of the media and sensationalize the news about Darul Uloom Deoband’s edict. In either case this is really oitrageous and we as a society need to GROW UP and put a Full stop to all these rapists who go all around the country with glee. It really infuriates me no end to see this news article
And whats more read this news article

And this comes just less than a month after a case of an alleged rapist who was convicted in the court offering to marry the victim. Whats more and infuriating was that the court actually waited for the victim to make up her mind! As if it was a noble act to actually come forward and offer to marry the victim. Put these rapists behind bars and teach them a lesson. PERIOD. Dont ask them will u marry the victim? How about the victims younger sister?? And so on and so forth.

As a society WE MUST GROW UP. Grow up and put an end to the torture we subject these already victimized women.

Why me?

2005-06-23T23:29:00.000-04:00

This is a repeat post...But i thought it was well worth the repetition.

Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player was dying of CANCER. From world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: "Why does GOD have to select you for such a bad disease"?

To this Arthur Ashe replied:
The world over -- 5 crorechildren start playing tennis,
50 lakh learn to play tennis,
5 lakh learn professional tennis,
50,000 come to the circuit,
5000 reach the grand slam,
50 reach Wimbeldon,
4 to semi final,
2 to the finals,
When I was holding a cup I never asked GOD "Why me?".
And today in pain I should not be asking GOD "Why me?"

Motivation

2005-06-23T23:21:00.000-04:00

"I need some motivation today....I need somebody to give me a chocolate....I need somebody to write me a letter....I need somebody to tell me everything will be fine...I need somebody" cried the little boy. He was sitting alone in an abandoned bus-stop that cold windy night. The shelter of the bus-stop gave him temporary protection from the brutally cold wind that was blowing. But he had no shelter from his feelings. The fact of the matter was that he was dull, in fact increasingly he had been becoming more and more dull as the days passed by. And he wished it were to end. Sobbing away his worries he didnt even have energy to notice that there was indeed somebody to take care of him and engulf him. He was asleep.