white noise

blog make over...

2009-01-02T13:46:00.003+05:30

I realise that lots of posts here was just immaterial junk, and that this blog needs a make-over.... I want to take a new direction with this space.... What should this blog look like?.... Thinking about the "zen of blogging" now.... Please comment if any of you are reading this -- what are you looking for when you read a personal blog....

Happy new year!!!!

2008-12-31T23:59:00.001+05:30

Have a great year ahead.... May each moment find the best of you and vice-versa....

2008 .... 2009

2008-12-31T19:17:00.003+05:30

Here goes a year.... sometimes I care about clichés, sometimes I do not.... Anyway a psychological boundary of sorts.... Sometimes I live a lot in the past, sometimes I do not. Looking back -- I think I had a pretty good time -- that is about it. Nothing memorable....

I just got an idea now.... should I be shouting eureka.... but I am sure that it ought not to be original, maybe I have read it somewhere, and forgotten about it, but in the thousands of years of philosophical thought.... well here goes....

I am not static. I, you, we, us all dynamic entities. There is no real you or me. I sometimes feel like a crowd. Do you feel that. I sometimes talk to myself, sometimes when I am bored I hold running conversations among the different me's. Again I digress. There is no single you, or there is no single me. Neither is there any real you or nor real me. We are changing. Our ideas change, our attitudes change, our moods change, our values change, our beliefs change....

The you reading this is not the you who started reading this..... One year is a long time to change. I may not even remember in some aspects the me who was a year back. Selective memory, I sometimes feel, is what is keeping us sane.... Anyway too much of television depresses me, hence this post.... Bye then -- and wish you a happy new year..... wish you a clean slate to start over, but is there any clean slates.... hmmm....

Enjoy....

P.S: There are no resolutions for me. I am too lazy to keep them anyway, too set in the old ways of being me.

the visit home(?)....

2008-12-28T22:16:00.004+05:30

I went on a flying(by train) visit to good 'ol Kochi, my home-town... was there for 24hrs....

Met up with friends (those who were there).... bad timing to be there -- most of them were either travelling out or into town for the holidays. Hope to have better luck next time.

Met up with relatives.... aunts, uncles, cousins and others.... many long time no sees....

Went walking around town @ random.... went nowhere in particular

Went to the temple that I used to 'frequent' as a child....

Attended a wedding... I have become a formal invitee who comes into state for weddings and other such occasions. For 21 years I am in and never out, and once I get out I never go back in.

Listened to FM.... Aaah wanted to do this for a long time, to tune into the new (and much hyped) malayalam FM waves, it was good, while it lasted (a couple of hours travelling).... could make do with malayam internet radio stations out there -- but that will have to wait for a high bandwidth connection i.e till next year....

Ate porota and chicken biriyani :P.... pending long time....

And more impertantly what did not happen....
Wanted to check out the new malls (again much fabled) but did (or rather could) not.... Wanted to buy some Malayalam literature but did not(time and money issues)....
I did not go home.... planned to but....

???

2008-12-28T19:55:00.001+05:30

Should throw in the towel and delete "this"....

.... But then that is not me, bad for you - the imaginary reader....

graduate and then ..... (what?)

2008-12-26T09:05:00.003+05:30

With companies "firing" (!!!!) people they recruited from campus, reducing the offers and so on.... I hope I have a job to walk into by July next.... Cannot be really sure of anything these days and the offer letter have been disproved of being an inviolable document we thought it was.... How times has changed, I remember my seniors, just this past year, walking around smug with couple of 'good' offers each. I have no particular dreams or aspirations, not in this economy, not in this job scenario.... Keeping my fingers crossed, let's see how it goes.... Life does not seem so rosy any more, but I guess I have stopped caring (and freaking out) some time back.... Destiny and Improvisations....

disclaimer

2008-12-20T21:01:00.012+05:30

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social entrepreneurship

2008-12-20T08:22:00.009+05:30

The last few days, during the IISc centenary conference, I have been hearing a lot about the need for entrepreneurship, innovation, sustained growth, new models for business and development etc. touted as "India's need of the hour". But that got me thinking. Is the time right for social start-ups. My take is that it is not. Let me state my reasons....

The need
I doubt if the government can solve all the social issues in the country, at least, not on its own. Because of the sheer size and diversity in types of the problems that India is facing. I am of the opinion that local issues are best solved by local people. And that social start-ups or innovations in a local sense is the way out. We, as a nation, are poised in a rather unstable position today. It is not all high and rosy, I some how do not share the mindless optimism for India's future. We could ruin it all if we fail to act. And the best way to act is, I feel, to enable the citizenry to do what it need to do to solve issues. From the way the Indian leaders speak, I somehow get the feeling that they 'hope' that India will succeed on auto-pilot, which is a pretty bad idea to have.

My intuition is that having local systems of high efficiencies of service delivery will be more effective and efficient than nation-wide programs because the diversity that India is leads to the Indian problems also inhering the diverse nature. Nation wide policies are good but implementation tailored to local needs is better.

So why not?
In the following I am speaking of social actors trying to make money while doing good, and may /may not apply directly to social non-profit ngo's.

What is the key requirement for flourishing of social start-ups -- There has to be a system / procedures in place that are start-up friendly. Right now the social sectors like education, health etc. are heavily regulated. I am not calling for removing all regulations, but some of the regulations does not make much sense. The length of the bureaucratic red tape to be traversed to get the venture off the ground signifies considerable corruption. This leads to the logic that whose who go about these ventures might have a different agenda than social good or most efficient delivery of service. The point being -- "You regulate too much, you are regulating the good guy out and the bad guy in". The people who are starting the social ventures in an over regulated system may not be the best people for the job. But those who have enough resources / system leverage. And this might not be the best of outcomes. I agree that there are still good guys out there who run organisations for the social good, having surmounted the red tape. But most of the people run out of steam after some time of wrestling with the red tape.

We as a culture is risk averse. Which prevents us from trying innovation in starting up. But I think that a streamlined system will reduce the perceived risk of failure and encourage innovative actions in social space. Again a case for streamlined system.

Though I have during the course of this post referred frequently to less regulations an "innovation friendly" system might not necessarily have that. It could be--
0) Rules should make logical sense. Do not have rules just to harass.
1) Rules are fair and specifically stated.
2) Rules are the same for all actors..... and so on.

This is where bureaucracy comes in. From my scant dealings and more so from the tales of others, I think that Indian bureaucracy is a big ugly monster. Fighting the monster is not easy for the small guy who wants to try something new, bureaucratic inertia is just too much. It is one of the most inefficient systems in existence. And India cannot hope to have a grass-roots level small-scale systems of high efficiencies unless there is reform in the bureaucracy because it is the bureaucracy that has to act as enablers in letting people act. This is the single most likely point of failure for India as a nation (my gut feel); equal in disaster value to failure of political leadership. In a dreamy idealistic state I may even go so far as to say that bureaucracy should be given lee-way to innovate in service delivery models etc. (But definitely not in today's corrupt system). Bureaucracy will play a major role in either making India or breaking it.

At the stage of "maturity" that the bureaucratic systems are in, it is no wonder that almost all the de-regulation measures come down to the bureaucracy as god's writ, usually from some high echelon's of power like Prime Minister's office. And not as self-initiated. In the interim, while the bureaucracy grows up (which I hope it does) we want political leadership with vision and the guts to take a fresh look at policy.

People will start innovating and inventing new business models to solve their problems, but right now neither is there an awareness of possibilities nor a conducive environment to do so. As people become more aware of the possibilities, they will start demanding streamlining of the system. But can we wait for the natural order to stabilize, will it be too late by then, will we miss making a difference to the millions that comes and goes before we get our act together, what a waste of time and more so of human potential.

It was a pretty longish post.... Let me know what you think, my thoughts could be faulty, so let us think together....

long time no see...

2008-12-17T10:36:00.000+05:30

Well, its been considerable time since the last post. All I can say is that it was not a case of slacking in chronological order the things that kept me bust this month.
1) Exams
2) Term Project , Term Paper and a couple of assignments
3) IISc Centenary Conference

I had a great time during all three. I am happiest when I am busy :)....
IISc centenary conference was.... I, don't have words, may be awesome would come close.... I had a great time this month hope that you (imaginary) reader had the same.... The posting frequencies should increase now that the sem is out and I am still on a intellectual-hyperdrive of sorts.

See ya around.

blogathlon??

2008-11-28T21:47:00.004+05:30

November, supposedly the busiest time of the year for an IISc student, and I log about thrice the average number (averaged over other months) of blog posts (not counting LONG posts on my other malayalam blog). Hmmm interesting....

And here we end....

final exams!!!

2008-11-28T21:26:00.004+05:30

I have three courses this semester. Exams on 2/12, 3/12, 5/12. Should go and collect the materials (slides, xeroxes etc.) tomorrow and then its cram time [I do not CRAM, I cram (just a wee bit)] [about time too]. Time to flex my intellectual muscles and test my intellectual stamina [one last time?; at least w.r.t exams].

I am rather a bit more concerned [almost typed worried :)] about the term-projects and term-papers that are due "soon", lot of work remains on that front and profs expect "stuff" in a term paper [not necessarily in an exam paper :P]. Projects are fun so is working on projects [oho, what did I just say :P]

Wish me luck.... going into battle this last time [the final academic exercise of my life??] :)....

And then there is the centenary conference to look forward to. For the uninitiated this is the Centenary year for IISc, the assorted celebrations with associated celebrities [or what ever their scientific or engineering equivalent] is due. Its good [as in great] to be here now. Well, if you ignore the exam bloach :P.

random walk

2008-11-28T16:30:00.003+05:30

Here are three interesting and diverse links. Stuff that I cam across on aimless wanderings (random walks) on the net.

1) Plenty of room at the bottom -- A talk by Richard Feynman [Dec, 1959] which supposedly got nano started. Here's the Link [http://www.its.caltech.edu/~feynman/plenty.html]

2) The unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in natural sciences -- Paper by Eugene Wigner [Feb, 1960]. A look at the "beauty" of math; math, physics, math and physics etc. Here's the Link [http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/March02/Wigner/Wigner.html]

3) And after that bout of intellectual stimulation a short story by Asimov, by the name "The last question". If you are a Sci-fi fan I am pretty sure that you would enjoy this [in fact you should read this]. Others might still enjoy it, an interesting take on -- let me not spoil it for you here is the Link [http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html]

yet again....

2008-11-27T22:09:00.005+05:30

.... and the news channels are having a hayday.... Do we really recognize the coldness of those statistics? hmmm.... there is a non-zero probability for each of us ending up as one of those numbers....

And as I sit watching the news spewing out of the box, I start thinking.... The following comments are those of a un-civic un-informed cold lay citizen (me). I do not intend this to be part of a blame game but just a few thoughts....

Why is there always a talk about increased security only once an incident occurs? Why not increased security as a way of life?
Intelligence collection might be the best defence [personal opinion]. But how effective are we(India) on that front?
Is "active" defence a better idea that waiting for "incidents" to happen?
Is the politics of religion fuelling the fire?
Is there a "political will" to protect the life of "just-another-citizen"?
Is it proper in criticizing the system -- terrorism is a distributed 'phenomenon' and hence the reduced effectiveness in response. But then what can be done?
Is "terror-marketing" in anyway related to (facilitated by) the likes of "black-money pipelines", local organised crime etc. If so, would the political system dare fight these? [because of 'some' unholy alliances]
When will the political blame game finally start? [I appreciate that 'they' have held off it at least till now]

And then I switch off the T.V, and go on with my life.... for I have thought about it, I have raised the questions, I have expressed my concern... => I have done my part.... hmmm

you have been chatting too much when....

2008-11-27T16:00:00.000+05:30

You have been chatting too much when you can write your mother-tongue [Malayalam for me] faster in english than in original script.

gyaan on gyaan

2008-11-23T07:51:00.002+05:30

I have been putting a lot of gyaan during the exam week*(mid-sems).... here is a gyaan on gyaan for you "gyaan is the chicken-soup for the loser's soul".

*Look-out for yet more GYAAN (intentional upper-case) the finals are coming up in a week or so....

[no title]

2008-11-20T21:57:00.002+05:30

After that bout of intense blogging last week [exam week], I am back out slacking and hence the blog frequencies might decrease in the immediate future.... I am even thinking of working for a couple of days for a change -- slacking is getting boring....

random walks

2008-11-16T20:22:00.002+05:30

I came across this over at slashdot : link
WT* comrades!!

Reminds me of the Pirates of Caribbean quote: "Take what you can.... give nothing in return"

2 down

2008-11-15T20:36:00.003+05:30

I have this issue with equations. The problem stemming from the fact of symbols and conventions -- you have to know [an a-priori condition to exams]. To "the one" the question paper that I got today [math exam] may make sense, but to the poor me it did not. And that leads to... I have a problem with assumptions -- you never know! :P...

Plug me back into the matrix.... I am not the one....

do not ratrace

2008-11-14T09:21:00.004+05:30

My policy in life.... Know what you want [do not make yourself want too much, i.e don't be a greedy pig].... work just enough to get what you want [don't be a damn perfectionist] but make sure you get what you want [which should be easier since you are focussed on a few choice 'things'].... be happy, be lazy -- life is so simple.

a case against ubridled capitalism

2008-11-13T20:25:00.003+05:30

Let me, at the start, say that I am a staunch capitalist [three cheers for the free-market].... Free market is good, but the problem is the people....
See, the basic premise of unbridled capitalism is that "what is best gets done".... but it does not because people are the actuators; if it was some robot / other automaton systems [more logical and less emotional?] then, maybe yes, that premise is valid. The trouble being that human decision making [and thinking] is bogged down by favours, mass-psychosis, mob behaviour [conditioning], culture, fear, ..., what not, ..., and then logic.... Hence the issue with unbridled capitalism.

1 down...

2008-11-12T16:28:00.003+05:30

This is a sequel to: link. After considerable mediation i chose option (3) Study as much as possible barring 7 hrs sleep and chuck the rest and trust in free-thinking.

Fast forward to the present.... Though free thinking did not materialize, I do not feel so bad, because I did not study much.... It is kind of interesting how you feel happy in having made the right choice even if you ended up with a bad result in absolute terms. By now it should be clear [from all the self-justifications] the exam was a royal screw-up....

mid-sem flag-off

2008-11-11T19:46:00.003+05:30

I have a quiz tomorrow.... I have just started reading.... Somebody told me that there are close to 500 sildes to cover [that is if you are thinking of reading just the slides and not the printed materials and the other extra materials - for lack of time, as is my usual tactic] I do not remember so many slides having passed by me,or did I sleep / bunk so much? Anyway I have covered about 30-40 slides and I realise something -- there is an art to slide making -- There must be a flow or you are just making a recipe for "bheja-fry" of the poor grad-stud brain. These foils goes like this idea1 --> idea 10 --> idea 2 --> idea 1 --> all over the place no flow or sequence or even causality[!!!] [not even causality is the one that stumps me]!!! [Note to myself : I should learn the art of slide / ppt making information should flow in a sequence -- it is an artistic performance like an orchestra....]

So I am having a strategy review here, I could
1) Do a night-out and mug -- as a matter of principle I do not do night-outs [well except for movie sake]
2) Chuck it
3) Study as much as possible barring 7 hrs sleep and chuck the rest and trust in free-thinking [seems to be the reasonable thing to do]
4) Chuck it and watch the new arrivals @ the repo [oohhh here we go again....?]

Ciao let me see what can be done.... anyway I am losing hope [and that is my only hope, i mean -- I hope that I lose hope and start using my brain freely @ exam]

milkmaid nostalgia

2008-11-11T08:10:00.004+05:30

I came across this post : link over @ desipundit. I could not agree more.... Brings in nostalgia for what I was willing to do for a spoon of milkmaid -- ask, beg, BEG, cry, shout, bargain.... And the competition for milkmaid was intense among the children of the household, on rare occasions that warrented a can of milkmaid [we always knew a-priori that a can has been procured], we used to linger around the kitchen from morning watching out for the can opening and then the fight internal and external for as much as I could get.... Aaah those days -- reading the post makes me yearn for some.... will get some the next time I go out.... Milkmaid still transforms me back into that little boy....

And last time I bought Milkmaid it came in a tube [yuck!!]... eating milkmaid is not the same without crudley prying open the can with knife [aahh the sight of "it" oozing out used to drive me to a frenzy :)]-- licking it up -- and the sticky hands [are you cringing]....

malayalam blog

2008-11-11T06:50:00.007+05:30

You must discount the last post I just could NOT do nothing after coming across the google transliteration service [weird sentence construction, I know]. Let me just say I being a Malayali to my defence, As most [all?] kerala-bred malayalees Engilsh is my third language, my first language is malayalam[slang] and second is malyalam[formal] and b.t.w hindi does not figure in the list of languages that I know at all.

The google transliteration is too cool to let off after that meger singular post, so I have started a malayalam blog just for fun -- link. But not started work on that yet.... The point I was trying to make is there will no longer be any weird scripts in this space, I have made a different place for that....

ആദ്യത്തെ മലയാളം പോസ്റ്റ്

2008-11-10T22:03:00.004+05:30

ഞാന്‍ ആശ്വെധാമ... ഇതു ശാന്തി തീടിയുള്ള എന്റെ യാത്രകള്‍... സഹയാത്രികരെ നിങ്ങള്ക്ക് എന്റെ അഭിവാദ്യങ്ങള്‍...
p.s : link [google indic transliteration] ഇതു കൊള്ളാം കിടിലന്‍... അന്യായം... "SUPER-COOL" thing to do... hats off to google guys [yet again]

what happens after college....

2008-11-10T17:28:00.005+05:30

I have about 6 months left in "student" life. I, having previously made a student life to job life transition [and inverted the operation within a year] am trying to have fun these "last" few months.... Due to personal and professional reasons a PhD is not in the cards.... Well I digressed; the point that I was trying to make was that does life dry up after college?.... In college there are lots of stuff to talk about -- LIFE, books, movies, music,... international politics. It is not that these cease to exist after you pass out, but.... The most that happens is a scrap [@orkut] along the lines of Hows it going yaar?or Hows life?or where r u now?. Which seems coldly impersonal. What happens?

Is "busy"ness getting in the way?
Work eats your life?
Is it the distances? [theory and practice of long distance relationships are queasy]
Is it that the commonality, the common thread that all of you associated with is gone?
Is it that your schedules not longer "match"?
Or your interests have changed? [reduced correlation and hence less "groupism"?]

.... And it starts to feel lonley [been there felt that, and seen it happening to many]... and you resign to the fact that life has moved on [this reminds me of the Shaan song -- Tanha dil, tanha safar...]. Well I should think up something to kill this trend by the time I get back to "industry". Because I want to have a LIFE....

p.s : will post later about the conclusions of these reflections and the actions thereof.... in the meanwhile "guys[and gals],... have a LIFE"

free-thinking

2008-11-09T18:52:00.003+05:30

I have become a advocate of free thinking [especially @ exams]. Mugging is evil... thinking is good... and slacking is divine.... And hence the movement "free-thinking".

I have to say this, for compatriot mallu's out there
Free-thinking = "kittiya kitti poya poyi"

deep [crap]

2008-11-09T18:20:00.004+05:30

Give me hope and I'll be sad. Put pressure, give me killer deadlines, pile up work -- make me loose all hope -- and see me soar.... Seriously, Bhagavat Gita is right -- Hope is a serious problem [masochism? :P]....

that's a first

2008-11-09T17:53:00.003+05:30

Shit, I do not know when the quizzes are.... I have two impending ones.... For all I care it could be tomorrow.... I know for sure that one of them is on the latter half of the week [and hence not on my radar yet] but the other I am clueless as to the potions or even the date.... Well that is a first and here I am blogging....

The posting frequency could very well increase this week. I get hooked on to "other stuff" just before exams -- It has been a recurring pattern all my life [escapism ??]....

Well if you are an avid "watcher" of all the "bakwas" movies out there [like yours truly] -- go ahead and watch the new [not so new really !!] movie wargames : the dead code.... I accidentally came across this movie in a friends' PC and I could never say no to a movie. Let me digress, Did I tell you this other time when I watched this chinese movie without subs -- till date I have no clue as to what it was [felt like writing the DVLSI exam yet again :P] [NO, it was NOT a hmm-hmm movie :P]. Well, if you are a "normal" movie "watcher" steer clear... remember the name is wargames: the dead code.

P.S : Incedentally "the" wargames movie is supposed to be pretty "KOOL", alas I have not seen it [should see it sometime].... its just the sequels that suck....

mid-sem resolutions

2008-11-08T22:12:00.002+05:30

It is kind of interesting how after every mid-sem [before the days of mid-sem it was 'just' exams] I have been promising myself to stop slacking. And how I went right back to slacking. Well I guess I have exhausted my chances at self-improvement. No next mid-sems left, yes there are the finals, the finals are... well finals -- hopeless cases as in defenite screw ups. So I guess I need not tell myself to stop slacking anymore.... :) ....So lets -- Slack on without a pang....

achievement

2008-11-08T20:48:00.004+05:30

Good news: I have "trawled" ALL the IISc "repositories".... [evil laugh].... Now I can finally rest, about time too. Since the rate at which the repos grow is much less than the repos' sizes, I can comfortably be in synch without much "effort".

Bad news [There always is]: Mid-sem week's up and I find myself clueless. :(. God save my soul. Hey, look at the bright side -- This is the last time that I can be screwed in a mid-sem :). Remids me of the Bhagvat Gita quote "Rest assured everything is kind-of temporary " -- and like all the evils in life "this" too shall pass. I hope I am still standing once the exam has "passed over" me. On that bright[?] note -- ciao... got to hit the books, slides and assorted stuff.

bondgirl

2008-11-08T12:11:00.002+05:30

On the occasion of the release of quantum of solace, lots of conversations seems to end up in bond-girls.... The least liked [I almost typed most hated :P] seems to be Halle Berry. Is it the "indian men" [the sample space of this survey] psyche or is it more universal.

link rates Halle Berry as 8 among top 10 bond-girls -- what??!!

cleaning machines

2008-11-06T12:24:00.003+05:30

When ever I go to the "gym cafe" [night spot @ IISc] past 1:00 AM, I (almost) always see the cleaning vehicle on the road. Description : Looks like a "tanker" lorry with yellow blazing lights and moves very very slow. Did you know that Bangalore roads have cleaning vehicles, like you see in english movies. The machines are vacuum pump or air blower type systems(I should run out of the gates and onto the road the next time to investigate, last few times I was in the middle of a meal when they appeared) anyway not water based (as you see in the english movies).

P.S : I was wandering sleepless and jobless through campus after watching a movie [link to previous post] and ended up @ gym cafe

written on 05/11/2008

[no title]

2008-11-06T12:21:00.002+05:30

Thavamai-thavamai [not even sure if that is the name] the one [and till date the only] time that I could not sleep upon watching a movie. Was up till morning today.... The film as such is pretty stupid, but then.... watch it once [for what it is worth].

written on 05/11/2008

[nothing]

2008-11-02T19:38:00.002+05:30

Boulevard of broken dreams [greenday].... Every once in a while this song comes and hits me, at random, almost unexpectedly, like yesterday on the footwalk outside a music store.... Beautiful song -- I feel some odd association with the lyrics....

winter

2008-10-30T11:05:00.003+05:30

Its winter time again.... I absolutely hate this chill in the air, forces me to hibernation -- I being from warmer climes of Kerala (Temp: 30C Humidity: 100% is my comfort zone).

orkut demographics and orkut nostalgia

2008-10-27T21:53:00.004+05:30

Here is an attempt to explain the demographics of orkut [Link] that I came across
through desipundit.

Made me smile.... nostalgic memories of jobless b-tech days.... when the effectiveness of a day was measured by your scrapbook growth.... About a friend (guy) getting Portuguese scraps from a few Brazilian girls, and the effect of that :P event on MEC (my college).... Free-wheeling conversations moving from scrapbook to scrapbook.... The hunts.... Trading testimonials and ratings (especially when your are expecting "someone" to visit your profile :P).... The fakies and assorted "stories".... The "slaps"....

That was a couple of years ago. I miss being an orkut power user, though I still check in a couple of times a week. It seems that my profile has passed its prime of hectic activity (jobless b-tech days) and headed to oblivion. Orkut has grown with new features and looks, which I have mostly left unexplored. Looking back it was midless fun -- nostalgia sets in big-time and here I stop.

philosophy of philosophy [contd.]

2008-10-26T19:54:00.003+05:30

This is a sequel to this[prequel] post
Now that I have brought out my thinking cap out of the closet and dusted it out. Philosophy is a waste of time. But yet we do it. Or rather I know for sure a few people (like me) do it some more compulsively than others. Makes me wonder how many are out there like me -- mess-table philosophers, cycle-ride philosophers, classroom philosophers etc., would be nice to have that statistics (to feel normal?). ["un-digress"] But I think it is really risky, I mean this whole philosophy business. The problem is that we start believing our philosophy so much, to the point of making it a reality. But what is to say that this philosophy is correct. What if it is wrong. What I mean is that we all have our set of convictions and kind of assume that everyone else has the same. Just Think about it....

There are an infinite number of "realities". What I feel and think as real may not be your reality. Hmmmm.... interesting thought.

philosophy of philosophy

2008-10-26T19:27:00.003+05:30

This is not really my original idea though I contributed my part to this study. Philosophy is something which your [deluded] mind cooks up to feel good about the mess that you are in. Doubt it? Think about it....

Whatever mess you have in your life, and you want to feel good, look no further than Philosophy, your mind can cook-up a deluded philosophy that will make you feel good / make you right / whatever you want to feel....

Maybe Life is supposed to be random, maybe it has no higher purpose, not even what we choose to define (i guess that even if life has no higher purpose we humans will try to define a purpose to satiate our egos). Its unnerving....

Philosophy is the last refuge [in life] of a "loser"

the (third) eye of god

2008-10-19T20:47:00.001+05:30

Is probability the eye of god. Yes, I have read god's debris but this idea pre-dates that read.
Is this world a probability engine.

deep?

2008-10-02T20:26:00.000+05:30

Will I ever belong?....

much ado about nothing

2008-09-28T19:42:00.001+05:30

[This is a pointless post just a status update]

There is nothing happening in my life. Nothing to blog about. All work or all fun is the mix these days. I had about a week worth of night-outs about half of them for an impending project review (which was a disaster by the way) and the other half post- review masti-break (how many dvd's did I watch – lost count). I was never before a "degenerate". I used to have and love my 8 hrs of sleep. I guess IISc is getting to me. How is the world out there? I am / was not aware of anything that is happening. Time I did some google-newsing. Bitching apart the good thing that happened last week was....

I was introduced to Latex (Or rather we, as in the whole batch, were forced to put in out reports in a standardised latex format). It is one of the best tools that I have ever used. Really amazing. Though I had heard about it before I never used it before, thought it was lot of work. For those of you who have not tried it out before please do give it a shot. It takes just a couple of hours to get the hand of it. Amazing tool. And I am starting to learn using beamer for my presentations. Marvellous tools. I want to learn linux shell scripting, now that my tech inhibitions are gone. Tech is really beautiful. (Am I turning geeky?!!)

Will post more in coming days, now that life (hopefully) is back on cool.

optimal path problem

2008-09-06T20:28:00.006+05:30

Figure out the optimal path from my lab to the water cooler and back. The facts on the ground are as shown in fig.1, additional to those is the fact that you are a project student under the guide mentioned in the figures. (This question arose from observations of certain complex behavioral patterns exhibited by students) (Solution attached in fig.2)

fig.1 (qn.)

fig.2 (soln.)

(inspired by xkcd)

last day of "the" vacation....

2008-07-29T17:28:00.006+05:30

Today is the last day of vacations. My home now being in Bangalore itself, ever since my parents transferred here (But I do maintain a hostel room where I crash during the weekdays) afford me a rare luxury of coming home whenever I wish to :)

Tomorrow morning I will find myself back to IISc. One more year left. Looking back at the year past, I really loved it (though I got royally screwed at times -- you gotta give it to the human spirit :P). I defer the nostalgia to another post -- a "One year review of IISc life" is on the drafts.

This year will most probably my last year in academic circles (n reasons -- I do not think that you want to know :P).

Project seems to be in a BAD (intentional upper-case) state even the problem statement is not finalised, the latest addition to my slacking accomplishments. Lots to crib on there yada-yada-yada... maybe another crib post hmmmm. That reminds me of a long overdue meeting with my project guide [:(](oh booyyy!!!!).

The vacation was an experiment in (slack)^n and the following weeks may amount to some very rude awakenings. IISc life is best for self-realisation (as in Bhagavat Gita) :P.

... Will keep you (imaginary reader) posted. And in the meanwhile -- have a blast, or as they say on FM "Mast Maja Maadi!!".

Meanwhile a pile of clothes and (dusty) books (remember, it is the placement season) awaits packing(hmmm exciting :P).... For me there are no plans, in there I take on life a nanosecond at a time.

the speaker incident

2008-07-27T21:59:00.004+05:30

The following events are entirely fictitious, any resemblance to anyone real, imaginary or complex is a coincidence [!!!]

Scene 1 : 2 friends talking, location : hostel corridor
Friend 1 : hws the 5.1 doing? [Recap : friend 2 had recently got a creative 5.1 speaker system]
Friend 2 : "Koool", come on in maaann...
Friend 1 : Sure...

Entering the room... Scene 2

Friend 1 : Bring on the blast... [bracing for the hit, eyes closed, nirvana posture]
Friend 2 : {evil laugh} [goes unnoticed by friend1]
Speakers : booming sound of the professor, with assorted bass. [Friend 1 shocked out of nirvana]

He (friend 2) played a bloody video lecture.

Afterword :
Quote List -- new addition
"You have not heard a video lecture until you hear it in \"this\" " -- atributed to friend 2

it is that time of the year again

2008-07-21T19:07:00.003+05:30

It is that time of the year again. The vacations are over and classes are about to start off again. And like always (for me) the dsp (depression) sets in. The grass, as usual, is always greener on the other side; though the vacation seemed to suck, I wish for a few more days of "nothingness".

The placement season is about to start, some how the movie "open season" comes to my mind when I hear "placements". The hunt schedule will be up in a couple of days, I have just started dusting out all those long forgotten books and plan to get going with "hitting the books" (its always plans and plans and more plans for me). I have had confidential reports that "others" (we all hear a lot about these elusive "others, don't we?) have been killing the funda for about 1-2 months now. I hope that an empty brain, developed over 3 months of funda-abstinence, will be able to soak up concepts faster. This year the placement projection is abysmal. Recession + early placement season (allegedly due to the IISc centenary celebrations in Dec.) = WT* feeling. Right now the decision is the cut the crap and attempt only core -- VLSI.

Well, I digressed, I have this attention disorder and self-obsession hence the effect -- i.e me.

It is really a relief to start doing something "useful" even if under duress.

And there is nothing much to write about. Vacations are so "plain".

What's going on?
Well I have shifted room, from the hermetic seclusion of PD hostel to the lively environs of U-block. Much closer to the action -- i.e. friends, "crowd", mess, juice centre, restaurant, canteen, and of course the ladies hostel(S) (intentional upper-case) [:P]....

That is pretty much it....

P.S : The posting frequencies might dip drastically in case of un-placed dsp.

do not mix buisness with pleasure

2008-07-09T17:12:00.002+05:30

Belatedly, I realise why this vacation sucks, The whole problem was that I was trying to mix lit. survey (for "the" project) a bit with all the wasting time business. Mistake, and hence the corrective action -- "Dump the book (papers and ....) and pump the ether (and movies and all else that makes this existance worthwhile)".
..... Result : validated the age old adage "Do not mix B with P".

Z101 [0:0]

2008-07-09T17:06:00.003+05:30

The (this) master (here in referred to as I, yours truly, the maaan, or anything else that he may choose to from time to time without prior ack or nak) learned the trade of living from none other than Zaphod Beeblebrox (the sans "conscious character" one). (By distance education from a certain theoretical series -- tHGttG)
The tricks, in random order are, maybe there is some order, Is there? Does order matter, what is order? This, dear students is a sample of the way your thoughts should run -- wild, unrestrained.... let thy neurons fire on the wishes of the sloth....
[Z101] [credits - 0:0] zen of slothful existence - 101 :
0) God made our lord the sloth in all perfection in his image and nature. Hear this ye all : Sloth is the ideal of perfection to which we should aim for.
1) Never think : Thought is the cardinal evil. As the saying goes "A thinking mind is the devils workshop". Thought could lead to value-based pangs of character. Hence thought is evil. Never think just live.
Dual is "move as little as possible".... physical exercise sports or rigours are to be shrugged off as NA.
2) Have enough movies / songs / games / any form of media in your HDD : This is "the" tool, with which the learned ward off thought and hence pain and dsp. The literary types could make do with books (But yours truly had a violent reaction to Ayn Rand, be warned of such pitfalls in the path).
3) Nothing is absolute and the dual nothing is relative : there is nothing. Understand that, internalise that. If you are physically inclined think of yourself as a "Boltzmann's brain"
4) Establish a temple complex : Find / smoke out / divine / telepathy /... fellow travellers of the true path(search and thou shall find) and establish the temple. Yours truly recommend the presence of a 5.1 (or better) speaker system and as many comps as you can fit in there (with network as an umbiquitous unsaid) and assorted amenities to de-stress the mind and body after long periods of nothingness.
5) Cultivate an internet addiction. Blog Orkut are all good....
6) Have lots of philosophical discussions : that should keep your mind occupied.
7) Through positive reinforcement techniques [citation needed] learn to HATE work. This should be easy, laziness should pretty much come naturally (you should not have to reinforce it too much).
8) Never crib about GPA / results / blah-blah : Cribbing can (possibly) cause self-reflection in yourself and, worse still, @ your temple. Let it be know that it is the way off the path and to the destruction of the temple (all that is good in this world should have by now been in the shrine). You may crib when forced to work under duress, I suggest you use your profound intelligence to automate and work as smart as you can so that your deviation from the path is minimal.
9) Give a Damn about GPA : Yeah!! (I wish[:(]). I recommend you maintain a semblance of dignity w.r.t your GPA (work just enough not too much to tempt you off the path -- it is for you to find out the right mix on your own), I recomend this for I hope you will be alive, wildly successful, make a ton of cash and be respected so that 1) all the other dumb guys will fall for the zen 2) you can give back to your alma mater (that should be me) 3)and we can have those hung-ho-reunions, with assorted nostalgia etc. (the full works)
Note : The master expects you to consider the GPA as evil incarnate (the view that he holds) and this is the only axiom here (I am not particular about anything else, but this). A good way to work out bouts of intellectuality would be to find "n-things that is wrong with the GPA system" -- substitute n that suits your need / intellect / whim / fancy. And "how you can improve the (present) broken system" -- master's sadist evil laugh.
10) Have fun and rot in hell!!! see ya there....
11) Pass this on....
12) If you find sticking to the path to be too demanding, mug on my friend for you were born to mug, pray to the lord the sloth for forgiveness and redemption for all is not yet lost.
That is all the theory to it.... Practice makes perfect.
A word of good natured advice : do not be intimidated by the maggu... for a considerable number of the flock are failed / reformed / made-over / vacationing /ad infinitum, maggu as the master knows in first, second, third,... persons.

This is particularly badly written -- because
1) I (the master) do not care. Master's rights, you know
2) I have spent more than enough time on this -- the LAN waits for me
3) I was too lazy to reformat / think further / expend energy, time (mine and CPU's)
4) that should be enough for you....

May the sloth be with you.....

By now the chosen ones amoung you would have realised that the trick is to hide behind the thick of smoky writing / talking / living /...

2008-07-08T11:11:00.001+05:30

damn.... its official....
I am addicted to the internet.... its my great escape....

damn, and now I have to fight this!!!

ode to you, my love

2008-07-07T19:30:00.001+05:30

This is an ode to my first love, here goes....

I remember, I remember the day we first met
By accident or by divine providence
I waked in through the magical glass door....
... and there you were, as if, waiting for me.
Nobody told me love will feel so...,
But we did not speak about love, did we...
There were a million other things to be...
People called me crazy, but I did not care
For I was in love and I had you.
You were patient, you were pure,
so very correct, so very true,
Life was so arbit, and you made it simple....
You spoke too little, you dressed very simple...
In black and white you looked so perfect.

And yet life made us part, only in matter but never in spirit,
I moved on.... and had many more.... but you were special...
Yet still I think about you.... for you were my first love
you were.... my first.... computer....

2008-07-05T20:20:00.001+05:30

I bit the bullet and added a page counter. I know that in all probability (tending for all we care to surety) the traffic would be meagre, sort of an ego killer.... but lets count it for what its worth. The hit count is quantifiable “measure of value to the broad internet of my blog” though I blog for “what the hell” sake too (and it is much more difficult to measure that).

p.s: I do not think that this post is worth even a title.

just a thing about movies

2008-07-05T19:32:00.007+05:30

Have you noticed.... in movies the bad guy always knows exactly what he wants, no irresolute squirming for him, that is for the “good guy”. To me the villains are more entertaining (not generically but only some villain acts) the hero act is so cliche.

much ado about nothing -- intro

2008-07-03T17:59:00.000+05:30

Halla one and all... This being the first post, let me set the trend for the blog with beating about the bush, and no real contend what-so ever. The attempts to obtain a "livable" blog URL was tiring and this is it.... we are nearing the end of the first blog.

Ok what do I attempt in being one of the gazillion blogs out there, I do not know, I am doing this for fun and for what ever my two words are worth. there is no mission statements and no objectives I will post what seems to be fun to me (Ya, this is MY blog).

Bye then and till next post....