Traaaaaaain आई
Rather futile attempt at capturing the beauty of Goa in the rains
I have a Sri Lankan friend and she posted a story with a pic of the Sri Lankan public taking over the president's palace.
I almost responded "stay safe" and then I bit my tongue. Why should the people be afraid when taking power back from demagogues?
When that moron was running+ruining the country, I didn't tell her to stay safe. Now when the people have kicked him out, I'm afraid? Why do we fear crowds of protesters, and keep horrible people in power so they can keep up a semblance of peace by ruling with an iron hand?
I almost responded "stay safe" and then I bit my tongue. Why should the people be afraid when taking power back from demagogues?
When that moron was running+ruining the country, I didn't tell her to stay safe. Now when the people have kicked him out, I'm afraid? Why do we fear crowds of protesters, and keep horrible people in power so they can keep up a semblance of peace by ruling with an iron hand?
If you're into melancholy
https://web.archive.org/web/20080725045740/http://www.solarisbooks.com/books/newbookscifi/last-contact.asp
https://web.archive.org/web/20080725045740/http://www.solarisbooks.com/books/newbookscifi/last-contact.asp
Lennart Poettering, creator of all things evil and monolithic in Linux such as systemd, pulseaudio and avahi, has recently become a Microsoft employee. This man who builds poorly documented stuff that Doesn't Work(TM) and breaks backward compatibility, has found the right resting place for himself.
(Over the years I've cultivated the wrong set of friends on FB. Y'all don't care about the important things in life, such as Linux and FLOSS politics. Y'all can use Windows and Mac and worship the likes of Lennart.)
My life has been a relentless struggle with systemd over the last decade. As recently as Monday I was grappling the bloody beast. And then yesterday Nilay wanted to use a system-wide audio equaliser on his Ubuntu powered Neo. Nobody wishes for their child to deal with the kind of trauma he went through, adding an equaliser to his pulseaudio chain.
(Over the years I've cultivated the wrong set of friends on FB. Y'all don't care about the important things in life, such as Linux and FLOSS politics. Y'all can use Windows and Mac and worship the likes of Lennart.)
My life has been a relentless struggle with systemd over the last decade. As recently as Monday I was grappling the bloody beast. And then yesterday Nilay wanted to use a system-wide audio equaliser on his Ubuntu powered Neo. Nobody wishes for their child to deal with the kind of trauma he went through, adding an equaliser to his pulseaudio chain.
Happy birthday Bill Waterson. The man who never sold out.
How many of you fully related to Calvin in your childhood (or youth), but now relate more to his dad (or mom)?
How many of you fully related to Calvin in your childhood (or youth), but now relate more to his dad (or mom)?
A lazy Sunday... by the sea
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/01/google-will-delete-location-history-for-visits-to-abortion-clinics.html
Google letting us all know that it knows way too much about our lives.
Google letting us all know that it knows way too much about our lives.
So I'm just lying in my bed giving advice to my friends from college who've only recently sprouted kids.
But inside I'm like god damn I'd go nuts if I was running behind toddlers at this age.
But inside I'm like god damn I'd go nuts if I was running behind toddlers at this age.
Kavin has discovered HackerRank.
Future is अंधेरा. Black hole.
Future is अंधेरा. Black hole.
Today, for the first time in my life, I received a telex message.
Our office does not have a teletypewriter connected to a circuit switched network. We do not even have a local loop terminating from the exchange to our office - all we have now is packet switched optical fiber.
The only time I've seen an actual teletypewriter was as a schoolchild, while visiting the Times of India office on Bahadur Shah Zafar Road in Delhi. I don't remember if it had ticker tape hanging out of it, with a message punched in 5 bit binary (ITA2 or Baudot-Murray code).
International shipping law requires electronic bills of lading to be sent by telex. So a shipper digitally stamped the word "telex" onto a computer generated document and emailed us the PDF.
Although I've never used a teletypewriter, I use descendants of it every day. It is bad day when I must exclusively use digital devices that do not have a tty compatible text terminal (Android, and the forsaken cmd in Windows).
Teletype highlights how incremental human technological progress is. Nothing we invent really ever goes away - we just keep bolting on newer features as the edifice grows. ITA2 lives on in ASCII and serial communication. Baudot lives on in baud rates. Sholes' typewriter lives on in the Qwerty keyboard I am using to type this message. And teletypes live on in the text and graphical terminal consoles that we simply refer to as "my computer's display and keyboard" in everyday parlance.
(It's always interesting when a bit of history comes along and makes you pause and reflect in the middle of a busy work day.)
Our office does not have a teletypewriter connected to a circuit switched network. We do not even have a local loop terminating from the exchange to our office - all we have now is packet switched optical fiber.
The only time I've seen an actual teletypewriter was as a schoolchild, while visiting the Times of India office on Bahadur Shah Zafar Road in Delhi. I don't remember if it had ticker tape hanging out of it, with a message punched in 5 bit binary (ITA2 or Baudot-Murray code).
International shipping law requires electronic bills of lading to be sent by telex. So a shipper digitally stamped the word "telex" onto a computer generated document and emailed us the PDF.
Although I've never used a teletypewriter, I use descendants of it every day. It is bad day when I must exclusively use digital devices that do not have a tty compatible text terminal (Android, and the forsaken cmd in Windows).
Teletype highlights how incremental human technological progress is. Nothing we invent really ever goes away - we just keep bolting on newer features as the edifice grows. ITA2 lives on in ASCII and serial communication. Baudot lives on in baud rates. Sholes' typewriter lives on in the Qwerty keyboard I am using to type this message. And teletypes live on in the text and graphical terminal consoles that we simply refer to as "my computer's display and keyboard" in everyday parlance.
(It's always interesting when a bit of history comes along and makes you pause and reflect in the middle of a busy work day.)
Thinvent is hiring!
Qualification: Diploma (or degree) in engineering - IT, electronics, or mechanical.
Location: Our computer hardware manufacturing plants in Gurgaon (Sohna Road) and Goa (Panjim).
Work: Quality control, manufacturing automation, firmware programming of our IT and electronics products.
Open positions: 10.
Prior experience required: None.
How to apply: Send your resume and SOP/covering letter to rubina@thinvent.in.
Thinvent कंपनी में दस हेल्पर और दस technician की आवश्यकता है।
योग्यता: Technician के लिए डिप्लोमा या ITI, हेल्पर के लिए दसवीं पास। पूर्व अनुभव कि कोई आवश्यकता नहीं।
स्थान: गुड़गांव और गोवा।
अपना biodata rubina@thinvent.in को भेजें, या 9311313987 पर संपर्क करें।
Qualification: Diploma (or degree) in engineering - IT, electronics, or mechanical.
Location: Our computer hardware manufacturing plants in Gurgaon (Sohna Road) and Goa (Panjim).
Work: Quality control, manufacturing automation, firmware programming of our IT and electronics products.
Open positions: 10.
Prior experience required: None.
How to apply: Send your resume and SOP/covering letter to rubina@thinvent.in.
Thinvent कंपनी में दस हेल्पर और दस technician की आवश्यकता है।
योग्यता: Technician के लिए डिप्लोमा या ITI, हेल्पर के लिए दसवीं पास। पूर्व अनुभव कि कोई आवश्यकता नहीं।
स्थान: गुड़गांव और गोवा।
अपना biodata rubina@thinvent.in को भेजें, या 9311313987 पर संपर्क करें।
I told this joke to Kavin and he grunted and said "Very bad. Very bad." Then he grunted again in pain.
Please tell this joke to your children also, and share the results here. I'm doing a survey 🤣
Please tell this joke to your children also, and share the results here. I'm doing a survey 🤣
It isn't just the right wing media that is biased. All modern media is biased. Unbiased reporting seems to be a thing of the past (if there ever was such a time).
Right wing outlets and some media outlets in the US are reporting that Johnny Depp won his defamation suit. But many media outlets, especially those on the left, are reporting that "both" Depp and Heard won. Listen to the verdict yourself and see if that isn't stretching the truth.
https://youtu.be/-swWz46w5VA
When did truth become a victim of "woke"ness?
Right wing outlets and some media outlets in the US are reporting that Johnny Depp won his defamation suit. But many media outlets, especially those on the left, are reporting that "both" Depp and Heard won. Listen to the verdict yourself and see if that isn't stretching the truth.
https://youtu.be/-swWz46w5VA
When did truth become a victim of "woke"ness?
/rant
The latest abomination one has to confront in Gurgaon is MyGate.
It is mindboggling how people are so willing to throw their private information at a random information system just because the the guards at a gated complex tell you they can't let you in without this information.
Why do citizens subject themselves to the tyrrany of an app in order to let their guests come and meet them? And why don't guests tell their hosts to "take a hike, come see me outside, because I'm not entering your walled garden at your RWA's terms".
Not too long ago, you would orally tell your name to the guards, they would call your host on the intercom and check if they wanted to allow said guest to enter the complex and meet them or not. Worked fine. If said guest created a nuisance inside the complex, the guards would hold the host liable.
Then people moved to a system where you would have to scribble your name and number on a paper register. You could refuse to provide information, or enter wrong information, because nobody verified.
Now there are long queues outside complexes, as guards collect phone numbers from every delivery person and visitor. OTPs are sent and verified, because the precious diamonds living inside the complex are to be protected from the evil outside world. And yet each apartment seems to require at least a dozen delivery people and service providers every day just to survive.
It is insanity. Recited out in a distinctly American accent by the MyGate app every time a resident receives a visitor. Why that accent? MyGate literally only operates only in India. Were they unable to find a TTS software that uses a localised Indian English accent, let alone use vernacular.
The privacy policy on the MyGate website gives me the chills. The RWA has access to the entire visitor history of every resident for up to 180 days. Every visitor, with validated mobile number, presented in tabular form to the sanghi unclejis who get voted in unopposed year after year (because nobody with a brain and conscience even bothers to stand up against these jobless rabblerousers).
(The MyGate privacy policy also straight up lies. No RWA guard will let you in without verifying your phone number. The app they receive simply does not allow it. Yet the website claims the phone number isn't necessary. Well clearly the foot soldiers aren't being trained in this "feature".)
The latest abomination one has to confront in Gurgaon is MyGate.
It is mindboggling how people are so willing to throw their private information at a random information system just because the the guards at a gated complex tell you they can't let you in without this information.
Why do citizens subject themselves to the tyrrany of an app in order to let their guests come and meet them? And why don't guests tell their hosts to "take a hike, come see me outside, because I'm not entering your walled garden at your RWA's terms".
Not too long ago, you would orally tell your name to the guards, they would call your host on the intercom and check if they wanted to allow said guest to enter the complex and meet them or not. Worked fine. If said guest created a nuisance inside the complex, the guards would hold the host liable.
Then people moved to a system where you would have to scribble your name and number on a paper register. You could refuse to provide information, or enter wrong information, because nobody verified.
Now there are long queues outside complexes, as guards collect phone numbers from every delivery person and visitor. OTPs are sent and verified, because the precious diamonds living inside the complex are to be protected from the evil outside world. And yet each apartment seems to require at least a dozen delivery people and service providers every day just to survive.
It is insanity. Recited out in a distinctly American accent by the MyGate app every time a resident receives a visitor. Why that accent? MyGate literally only operates only in India. Were they unable to find a TTS software that uses a localised Indian English accent, let alone use vernacular.
The privacy policy on the MyGate website gives me the chills. The RWA has access to the entire visitor history of every resident for up to 180 days. Every visitor, with validated mobile number, presented in tabular form to the sanghi unclejis who get voted in unopposed year after year (because nobody with a brain and conscience even bothers to stand up against these jobless rabblerousers).
(The MyGate privacy policy also straight up lies. No RWA guard will let you in without verifying your phone number. The app they receive simply does not allow it. Yet the website claims the phone number isn't necessary. Well clearly the foot soldiers aren't being trained in this "feature".)
I came back to Delhi, after the longest period I have been away from the city in a decade.
The first thing that hits you at the airport is the smell. The air in the city has a foul smell, that is distinct from the stuffiness and weird taste in the mouth caused by particulate pollution.
I've always felt the pollution, but never smelt the smell before. I assumed this was something at the airport, but I could smell it all the way till Gurgaon, through my N95 mask.
Of course I stopped smelling or feeling anything after a couple of days in the city.
The first thing that hits you at the airport is the smell. The air in the city has a foul smell, that is distinct from the stuffiness and weird taste in the mouth caused by particulate pollution.
I've always felt the pollution, but never smelt the smell before. I assumed this was something at the airport, but I could smell it all the way till Gurgaon, through my N95 mask.
Of course I stopped smelling or feeling anything after a couple of days in the city.
Last night I dreamt that Saddam Hussein visited me. He obviously hasn't been killed by the occupying forces. He has trimmed his beard slightly and that was enough to confuse everybody; although to me it was rather obvious that he was Saddam. Anywho.
We went out for lunch. After lunch I was unable to find my minivan that I drove him to lunch in. We kept searching in the parking lot and pressing the car's remote key in vain. It dawned too late to me that the car was in the parking lot on the other side of the restaurant. By the time I'd found the car and driven him back home, it was time to wake up.
Saddam wasn't too helpful in finding the car, because he clearly hasn't had to search for his car in a parking lot before.
I don't remember the conversations we had. Sads.
We went out for lunch. After lunch I was unable to find my minivan that I drove him to lunch in. We kept searching in the parking lot and pressing the car's remote key in vain. It dawned too late to me that the car was in the parking lot on the other side of the restaurant. By the time I'd found the car and driven him back home, it was time to wake up.
Saddam wasn't too helpful in finding the car, because he clearly hasn't had to search for his car in a parking lot before.
I don't remember the conversations we had. Sads.
Reading about the Uvalde massacre, I gather that
- there was an armed security officer at the school who did nothing
- two cops outside the school didn't stop the shooter
- cops reached the scene and proceeded to extract their own children from the school immediately
- they then stood around for 40+ minutes doing nothing, not engaging the shooter, claiming he has a bullet proof vest. He did not.
- the cops had vests and automatic rifles and other military gear because the Uvalde municipality spends 40% of their budget on cops. They still kept waiting for backup.
- all this while the cops actively blocked parents from taking direct action. They even handcuffed one parent who tried to enter the school.
- somebody not the police finally killed the shooter
Now the cops are calling themselves brave. Claiming they have PTSD from seeing dead children. They will investigate their own inactions themselves, then award each other a medal.
The thing is. If this was happening in India, I'd understand. Our police are just a militia protecting the powerful and the rich. Sometimes they even round up suspects and shoot them up to please the people and the media.
But this is America. How can you have the economic prosperity you have and still have such a flawed democracy. Where the cops are a force unto themselves and not answerable to the citizens.
- there was an armed security officer at the school who did nothing
- two cops outside the school didn't stop the shooter
- cops reached the scene and proceeded to extract their own children from the school immediately
- they then stood around for 40+ minutes doing nothing, not engaging the shooter, claiming he has a bullet proof vest. He did not.
- the cops had vests and automatic rifles and other military gear because the Uvalde municipality spends 40% of their budget on cops. They still kept waiting for backup.
- all this while the cops actively blocked parents from taking direct action. They even handcuffed one parent who tried to enter the school.
- somebody not the police finally killed the shooter
Now the cops are calling themselves brave. Claiming they have PTSD from seeing dead children. They will investigate their own inactions themselves, then award each other a medal.
The thing is. If this was happening in India, I'd understand. Our police are just a militia protecting the powerful and the rich. Sometimes they even round up suspects and shoot them up to please the people and the media.
But this is America. How can you have the economic prosperity you have and still have such a flawed democracy. Where the cops are a force unto themselves and not answerable to the citizens.
Any of you seen this before?
Do you or anyone you know have membership of the Ethiopian Cultural Center in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. Membership is required to visit their restaurant.
http://www.ethiopianculturalcentredelhi.com/restaurant.php
http://www.ethiopianculturalcentredelhi.com/restaurant.php
Comment on the internet: "Even adjusted for inflation, this price increase is too much."
My dude. This price increase is literally where the inflation is coming from. You can't adjust inflation for inflation 🤦🏽♂️
My dude. This price increase is literally where the inflation is coming from. You can't adjust inflation for inflation 🤦🏽♂️
Happy Birthday Gautama Buddha.
By far the most famous and revered Indian ever.
The OG Vishwaguru.
By far the most famous and revered Indian ever.
The OG Vishwaguru.
Why does nobody in India care about safety? Even basic safety.
That's a 20W fiber laser. Next to a finger that could easily be replaced with a clamp.
(This is at a vendor location. We are moving the machine in-house. We will define safety protocols before we begin using it. But safety protocols are often only as good as the value that the operator puts on their life and limb.)
That's a 20W fiber laser. Next to a finger that could easily be replaced with a clamp.
(This is at a vendor location. We are moving the machine in-house. We will define safety protocols before we begin using it. But safety protocols are often only as good as the value that the operator puts on their life and limb.)
The past was ours. The future is also ours.
(Gautam Adani is a Jain. Mind it.)
(Gautam Adani is a Jain. Mind it.)
Them: What is the purpose of your life?
Me (after reading biology for one day): I am a living home for 50 trillion bacteria and 500 trillion viruses. To feed and nurture them is the purpose of my (body's) life.
(PS: the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_microbiome is mind-boggling)
Me (after reading biology for one day): I am a living home for 50 trillion bacteria and 500 trillion viruses. To feed and nurture them is the purpose of my (body's) life.
(PS: the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_microbiome is mind-boggling)
North Korea: We have Covid.
USA (who nobody even asked): We have no plans to send vaccines to NK.
Meanwhile Cuba has five vaccines. One of them is already approved in six countries. The US only has three vaccines available for export (as I checked on the FDA website).
The US keeps making a mockery of itself on the world stage, because its bureaucrats are still obsessed with American exceptionalism and indispensability.
USA (who nobody even asked): We have no plans to send vaccines to NK.
Meanwhile Cuba has five vaccines. One of them is already approved in six countries. The US only has three vaccines available for export (as I checked on the FDA website).
The US keeps making a mockery of itself on the world stage, because its bureaucrats are still obsessed with American exceptionalism and indispensability.
Over the weekend I read about genetics. I had studied genetics for my master's research work 20 year ago, but this was more from a biological perspective.
One thing stood out to me. If I could only find the biological term for it, I could study it more. Therefore I am hamhandedly describing it here.
(It appear to me that) from a genetics and biology perspective, there is no process of the "creation" of life.
Single cell organisms reproduce through mitosis. So they aren't really born. They just divide and multiply. Multicellular organisms are also constantly growing or refreshing their cells using mitosis.
Mammals reproduce sexually through meiosis. But there is no birth of a new life. New life isn't being created. The ova and sperm are both alive when they merge to form a zygote. They already have life. Two lives, two living cells, merge to form a single life.
When we use the term "birth", it is as if an inanimate object is brought to life. That isn't happening. Neither gamete can be dead if a living organism is to be created.
Geneticists say, and the theory of evolution says, that all life can be traced to the primordial soup where chemical reactions transformed primitive chemicals into life. The genetic code began at some point (archaea?), and continues till now. My point is that even life can be traced back to that single source. You are not just inheriting genes from the tree of life - you are inheriting life itself.
So there is death. There is very much the death of individual cells, and of multicellular organisms. For the gene pool to improve, it is necessary that older members of the specie vacate the space and resources they consume in the habitat.
But there is no birth when a baby is born. No new life is created. Two leaves of the tree of life merge and a new leaf of the same living tree is formed.
The single strand (or strands) of life that was created 4.2 billion (or 3.7 billion) years ago continues till now.
I want to know what the scientific name for this concept is. Gaia isn't the right term, because I am not saying that the Earth is a living being. I am saying that all living beings on Earth are fragments of the same single living organism. So rabbits and pine trees aren't my distant cousins - they are in fact distant bits of me.
(Just trying to fit ideas from a book I read into current events related to abortion and "creation" in the US).
One thing stood out to me. If I could only find the biological term for it, I could study it more. Therefore I am hamhandedly describing it here.
(It appear to me that) from a genetics and biology perspective, there is no process of the "creation" of life.
Single cell organisms reproduce through mitosis. So they aren't really born. They just divide and multiply. Multicellular organisms are also constantly growing or refreshing their cells using mitosis.
Mammals reproduce sexually through meiosis. But there is no birth of a new life. New life isn't being created. The ova and sperm are both alive when they merge to form a zygote. They already have life. Two lives, two living cells, merge to form a single life.
When we use the term "birth", it is as if an inanimate object is brought to life. That isn't happening. Neither gamete can be dead if a living organism is to be created.
Geneticists say, and the theory of evolution says, that all life can be traced to the primordial soup where chemical reactions transformed primitive chemicals into life. The genetic code began at some point (archaea?), and continues till now. My point is that even life can be traced back to that single source. You are not just inheriting genes from the tree of life - you are inheriting life itself.
So there is death. There is very much the death of individual cells, and of multicellular organisms. For the gene pool to improve, it is necessary that older members of the specie vacate the space and resources they consume in the habitat.
But there is no birth when a baby is born. No new life is created. Two leaves of the tree of life merge and a new leaf of the same living tree is formed.
The single strand (or strands) of life that was created 4.2 billion (or 3.7 billion) years ago continues till now.
I want to know what the scientific name for this concept is. Gaia isn't the right term, because I am not saying that the Earth is a living being. I am saying that all living beings on Earth are fragments of the same single living organism. So rabbits and pine trees aren't my distant cousins - they are in fact distant bits of me.
(Just trying to fit ideas from a book I read into current events related to abortion and "creation" in the US).
Weekend fun read https://archive.org/details/The_Cartoon_Guide_To_Genetics_Larry_Gonick
Makes you understand genes. Helpful if you are dealing with genetic diseases, or wanna get a rough idea of how mRNA vaccines work.
If only these biologists didn't use so much Greek and Latin in naming stuff, and could draw better, we would all have a better understanding of how the heck we stay alive.
Makes you understand genes. Helpful if you are dealing with genetic diseases, or wanna get a rough idea of how mRNA vaccines work.
If only these biologists didn't use so much Greek and Latin in naming stuff, and could draw better, we would all have a better understanding of how the heck we stay alive.
Them: So its like the pre French revolution, where they could see all the partying and the food but not have it?
Me: Or, like, India, always.
Do we read too much? Or have we become detached to the reality around us?
Me: Or, like, India, always.
Do we read too much? Or have we become detached to the reality around us?
Screenshots of a discussion about this article https://organiser.org/2022/05/06/79737/bharat/dmk-govt-offers-hindu-priests-60-ticket-share-for-replacing-sanskrit-mantras-with-tamil-a-move-to-kill-sanskrit/
(I cannot confirm the veracity of this article; I haven't even read it. I'm citing it because the discussion about it is just gold. There are these two guys who are confused how a priest isn't automatically a brahmin because that's what they were told the rules are. They must be new here. Anyone who claims casteism is dead in India needs to just walk into a right wing chat room. When people don't have food, hate is what they feed on.)
(I cannot confirm the veracity of this article; I haven't even read it. I'm citing it because the discussion about it is just gold. There are these two guys who are confused how a priest isn't automatically a brahmin because that's what they were told the rules are. They must be new here. Anyone who claims casteism is dead in India needs to just walk into a right wing chat room. When people don't have food, hate is what they feed on.)
So, umm, we are now laser etching product information directly onto our computers. Thought I'd share it with you guys.
(That's powder coating on Aluminium alloy. The housing is laser cut from recycled Aluminium sheets, bent and coated, after which a mild laser burns away the paint to create this beautiful, permanent marking. When using mild steel we are unable to burn all the paint away; it still leaves a nice print.)
(That's powder coating on Aluminium alloy. The housing is laser cut from recycled Aluminium sheets, bent and coated, after which a mild laser burns away the paint to create this beautiful, permanent marking. When using mild steel we are unable to burn all the paint away; it still leaves a nice print.)
This time last year, many industries had ground to a halt for many months due to a lack of oxygen. All oxygen had been diverted to hospitals.
I can't imagine what all industries and livelihoods will be impacted due to this coal shortage, leading to all coal being diverted to power plants.
Is there no end to the incompetence of this government?
I can't imagine what all industries and livelihoods will be impacted due to this coal shortage, leading to all coal being diverted to power plants.
Is there no end to the incompetence of this government?
I can't get over the fact that Goans have a saint called SFX.
Like, the Sanghis are going up against a 500 year old dude called SFX:
"He wasn't a saint"
"But he clearly had the special effects"
Like, the Sanghis are going up against a 500 year old dude called SFX:
"He wasn't a saint"
"But he clearly had the special effects"
Why y'all saying Eid Mubarak "to those who celebrate".
This is discrimination against us atheists. As if y'all want my day to not be mubarak.
This is discrimination against us atheists. As if y'all want my day to not be mubarak.
The self-made man is a myth!
https://youtu.be/FEHFDZW5kUI
https://youtu.be/FEHFDZW5kUI
Have you been to Kashmir in recent years?
If I were to visit with my kids, what precautions would you recommend, if any?
My kids have never been to Jammu, Kashmir, or Ladakh.
If I were to visit with my kids, what precautions would you recommend, if any?
My kids have never been to Jammu, Kashmir, or Ladakh.
People are usually shocked when they find out I am not a good electrical engineer.
There isn't a self proclaimed nerd out there who isn't excited about drones. They are unmanned, autonomous (yet remotely operated) and capture (and transmit) imagery.
This video out of Ukraine shows a Russian drone made by taping together commodity commercial (non military spec) components.
The world is rather divided about using "jugaad" in times of war. The global military industrial complex is designed around selling countries extremely overpriced hardware that is very reliable, and has spare parts available for decades.
Here you see a small PCB controlling a Canon DSLR. Every time Canon changes its DSLR model (external dimensions, control buttons, etc) the chassis and electronics of the drone would have to be redone. But, this drone likely has a BOM cost of $2,000, while surveillance drones used by western countries likely cost upwards of $100,000.
Given that you lose no strategic information during a war if one of your drones crashes and is captured, how does it matter if you are using $2K or $100K hardware. In fact, you could use a lot more $2K drones and afford to lose many more of them, than if you used precious $100K hardware.
This is really also the strategy the cloud uses. Instead of running critical transactions on a large mainframe with a centralised highly available database, transactions are distributed across multiple servers and services. This drastic reduction in server cost is really what has fueled the tech explosion we see today (not that the current proliferation of apps is a good thing).
What do you think? Is it clever or just stupid?
This video out of Ukraine shows a Russian drone made by taping together commodity commercial (non military spec) components.
The world is rather divided about using "jugaad" in times of war. The global military industrial complex is designed around selling countries extremely overpriced hardware that is very reliable, and has spare parts available for decades.
Here you see a small PCB controlling a Canon DSLR. Every time Canon changes its DSLR model (external dimensions, control buttons, etc) the chassis and electronics of the drone would have to be redone. But, this drone likely has a BOM cost of $2,000, while surveillance drones used by western countries likely cost upwards of $100,000.
Given that you lose no strategic information during a war if one of your drones crashes and is captured, how does it matter if you are using $2K or $100K hardware. In fact, you could use a lot more $2K drones and afford to lose many more of them, than if you used precious $100K hardware.
This is really also the strategy the cloud uses. Instead of running critical transactions on a large mainframe with a centralised highly available database, transactions are distributed across multiple servers and services. This drastic reduction in server cost is really what has fueled the tech explosion we see today (not that the current proliferation of apps is a good thing).
What do you think? Is it clever or just stupid?
The Internet is flooded with videos of Russian dudes doing crazy lifethreatening acts.
When you see the way the Russian military acts, you realise why Russians don't value their own lives. Because their government and society doesn't value life - Russian lives or other lives.
It really doesn't matter to the Russian government how many soldiers they lose in their war in Ukraine. Therefore, ill equipped and underfed young men plod on through Ukraine, wondering whether there even is a war plan in place.
Is it hard to imagine then, that not one Eastern European nation has good memories from the time when they were indirectly ruled by the Russians.
Russian inaction and misinformation regarding the sinking of the Moskva played out exactly like the sinking of the Kursk submarine. Russia did not allow anybody to rescue anyone from the Kursk. But Turkey did rescue 55 of the 510 sailors of the Moskva.
Russians did gather at Sevastopol to pay tributes to the sunken warship. Not to remember the soldiers that sank with it.
A strange people indeed.
When you see the way the Russian military acts, you realise why Russians don't value their own lives. Because their government and society doesn't value life - Russian lives or other lives.
It really doesn't matter to the Russian government how many soldiers they lose in their war in Ukraine. Therefore, ill equipped and underfed young men plod on through Ukraine, wondering whether there even is a war plan in place.
Is it hard to imagine then, that not one Eastern European nation has good memories from the time when they were indirectly ruled by the Russians.
Russian inaction and misinformation regarding the sinking of the Moskva played out exactly like the sinking of the Kursk submarine. Russia did not allow anybody to rescue anyone from the Kursk. But Turkey did rescue 55 of the 510 sailors of the Moskva.
Russians did gather at Sevastopol to pay tributes to the sunken warship. Not to remember the soldiers that sank with it.
A strange people indeed.
Some of us know him only as the creator of the Indian constitution and a champion of dalit rights.
Babasaheb was a great and very accomplished man, and these were just two of his many achievements. He started India's first trade union. As India's labour minister, he reduced the workday from 12 to 8 hours, and brought in numerous other reforms. As law minister, he fought bitterly with the Hindu upper caste for women's rights. He studied and wrote extensively. As an economist, he gave the framework for the creation of the RBI. He planned the Indian electric grid and various irrigation projects.
We are because he was. In giving dignity to the oppressed, he also gave dignity to oppressor classes like mine, by holding up a mirror to our oppression and showing us the path to reform.
A lifelong champion of democracy and equality. A day will come when the entire nation will remember him with love and respect on his birth anniversary.
Babasaheb was a great and very accomplished man, and these were just two of his many achievements. He started India's first trade union. As India's labour minister, he reduced the workday from 12 to 8 hours, and brought in numerous other reforms. As law minister, he fought bitterly with the Hindu upper caste for women's rights. He studied and wrote extensively. As an economist, he gave the framework for the creation of the RBI. He planned the Indian electric grid and various irrigation projects.
We are because he was. In giving dignity to the oppressed, he also gave dignity to oppressor classes like mine, by holding up a mirror to our oppression and showing us the path to reform.
A lifelong champion of democracy and equality. A day will come when the entire nation will remember him with love and respect on his birth anniversary.
You laugh. But in 1992, Hemant Sreekumar and I sat on a park bench in the Sector A children's park, figuring out exactly which event in Indian history we would change, using the single use time machine that we were subsequently going to invent. This event came pretty close.
Yeah. 90s kids were all about how bad the British were. 2020s kids would be hating on the mughals, if only they weren't so preoccupied with TikTok.
(Google Earth says that park has turned into a forest. Must visit soon.)
Yeah. 90s kids were all about how bad the British were. 2020s kids would be hating on the mughals, if only they weren't so preoccupied with TikTok.
(Google Earth says that park has turned into a forest. Must visit soon.)
GST department: We have complete visibility into all your transactions. Nevertheless, periodically we will mess with you by calling your transactions fake, then put the burden of proof on you to demonstrate that we are in fact bullshitting.
One person's dharma is another person's comedy.
Such merit. Much wow.
Such merit. Much wow.
The other day a frog visited us, and sat on Kavin's helmet.
Springtime in Goa.
Oh damn. I'd forgotten that the police is actually supposed to act against corruption in the government.
The same police that reports to the executive, is answerable to the legislature, and is constantly being tried by the judiciary.
I laughed a miserable laugh. 🤦🏽♂️
The same police that reports to the executive, is answerable to the legislature, and is constantly being tried by the judiciary.
I laughed a miserable laugh. 🤦🏽♂️
http://bitsavers.org/bits/Xerox/Ventura/doc/610E03760_Ventura_Publisher_1.1_Reference_1987.pdf
is the first technical manual that I read cover to cover.
It is an excellent guide on how to make a complex subject easy to understand and exciting - even to a 9 year old.
John Meyer was one of the three members of the team that coded the entire Ventura Publisher software. And he wrote the 500+ page manual single handledly.
Imagine. Creating the first successful desktop publishing software. Then using your own software to create a 500+ page manual that explains desktop publishing and your software to a global audience. People were really living it up in the '80s.
is the first technical manual that I read cover to cover.
It is an excellent guide on how to make a complex subject easy to understand and exciting - even to a 9 year old.
John Meyer was one of the three members of the team that coded the entire Ventura Publisher software. And he wrote the 500+ page manual single handledly.
Imagine. Creating the first successful desktop publishing software. Then using your own software to create a 500+ page manual that explains desktop publishing and your software to a global audience. People were really living it up in the '80s.
Kavin: A Heritage school bus was lost for three hours. Nursery kids, stuck without AC for three hours in the heat.
Me: That's obviously not true.
Kavin: No no, one of my former classmates told me. His sister was on the bus.
Me: And the bus managed to be "lost", in Gurgaon of all places, for three hours, and the driver did not call for help, and nobody reached the bus.
Kavin: Oh they called all the parents but none of them picked up the phone.
Me: Yeah, totally believable.
I think it was two years ago that Heritage taught Kavin's elder brother about critical thinking. Or rather, how to tell if some news being shared with you is from a trustworthy source or not, is believable or not, how to question the source, how to do independent research to verify. Stuff like that. Kavin will need to be brought up to speed, obviously.
Kids are so gullible. One moment they are teaching you maths, and the next moment they are spreading fantastic rumours.
Me: That's obviously not true.
Kavin: No no, one of my former classmates told me. His sister was on the bus.
Me: And the bus managed to be "lost", in Gurgaon of all places, for three hours, and the driver did not call for help, and nobody reached the bus.
Kavin: Oh they called all the parents but none of them picked up the phone.
Me: Yeah, totally believable.
I think it was two years ago that Heritage taught Kavin's elder brother about critical thinking. Or rather, how to tell if some news being shared with you is from a trustworthy source or not, is believable or not, how to question the source, how to do independent research to verify. Stuff like that. Kavin will need to be brought up to speed, obviously.
Kids are so gullible. One moment they are teaching you maths, and the next moment they are spreading fantastic rumours.
Kavin: I did very well in the French exam. But my overall marks will be bad.
Me : Why?
Kavin: I keep doing badly in the homework submission.
Me: How do you manage to do well in exams, but not complete your homework?
Kavin: Oh I just forget to submit it. All other teachers take homework during class; the French teacher expects us to deposit homework at her desk in the morning. I keep forgetting to do that.
Me : Why?
Kavin: I keep doing badly in the homework submission.
Me: How do you manage to do well in exams, but not complete your homework?
Kavin: Oh I just forget to submit it. All other teachers take homework during class; the French teacher expects us to deposit homework at her desk in the morning. I keep forgetting to do that.
Today I learnt about repeating decimals from Kavin. How did I live for 42 years without knowing about the vinculum?
He says he learnt it from the @[100064566015041:2048:AhaGuru Math and Science] lectures he saw during his winter break.
I did not expect to see any development in school level maths, in the thirty years that separate us.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeating_decimal
He says he learnt it from the @[100064566015041:2048:AhaGuru Math and Science] lectures he saw during his winter break.
I did not expect to see any development in school level maths, in the thirty years that separate us.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeating_decimal
Kavin: Don't look at my potatoes. I'm not giving you any. Took me one hour to make them.
Me: Where'd you learn to make boiled potatoes.
Kavin: I didn't. That's why it took me an hour. Half an hour in the pressure cooker and then some more.
Me: Why wouldn't you just eat dinner?
Kavin: I'll eat that too. But these are nice.
Boiled potatoes with salt and pepper 🤷🏽♂️
Me: Where'd you learn to make boiled potatoes.
Kavin: I didn't. That's why it took me an hour. Half an hour in the pressure cooker and then some more.
Me: Why wouldn't you just eat dinner?
Kavin: I'll eat that too. But these are nice.
Boiled potatoes with salt and pepper 🤷🏽♂️
Me: I'll put a pic of your note on Facebook.
Nilay: So? FB is for old people. I don't care what you say there.
You. He's talking about you, boomer.
Nilay: So? FB is for old people. I don't care what you say there.
You. He's talking about you, boomer.
Kavin: Nilay sends you this note.
Me: I shall post this on social media and destroy his carefully created image of being a goody good boy.
"Ha ha, excellent," said Kavin, rubbing his hands in glee. "I shall turn on the lights and take a good photo of this note to help you, father."
Me: I shall post this on social media and destroy his carefully created image of being a goody good boy.
"Ha ha, excellent," said Kavin, rubbing his hands in glee. "I shall turn on the lights and take a good photo of this note to help you, father."
Me: Go get scones and donuts from the bakery. And buy some ginger ale from the grocery while you're out. And ask the cook to make tomato and cucumber sandwiches.
Kavin: All this for a school picnic?
Me: How long since you read an Enid Blyton?
Kavin: Oh yes. Yes. They're going to the forest all the time with their picnic baskets loaded with goodies (now his eyes are twinkling). I will go find a good basket.
Me: And make some lemonade. And while you're in the loft, find our blue and white and red picnic blanket.
Oh. To be a child again.
Kavin: All this for a school picnic?
Me: How long since you read an Enid Blyton?
Kavin: Oh yes. Yes. They're going to the forest all the time with their picnic baskets loaded with goodies (now his eyes are twinkling). I will go find a good basket.
Me: And make some lemonade. And while you're in the loft, find our blue and white and red picnic blanket.
Oh. To be a child again.
If you're feeling unsettled, call me.
I'll ground you.
I'm an electrical engineer.
(as told by me just now over WhatsApp to a friend)
I'll ground you.
I'm an electrical engineer.
(as told by me just now over WhatsApp to a friend)
Me giving useless gyan after making mistakes twice (and wasting two days of my new team member):
That is why it is never enough just to be interviewed for a job. You should also interview your future manager to see if he is competent enough for you to work with him.
That is why it is never enough just to be interviewed for a job. You should also interview your future manager to see if he is competent enough for you to work with him.
The inspiring words of a true hero.
When in distress, man turns to an imaginary god for succour. We have to give man the courage to deal with his problems himself, without the crutches of God and faith.
When in distress, man turns to an imaginary god for succour. We have to give man the courage to deal with his problems himself, without the crutches of God and faith.
Ended up dunking an expensive camera in the sea when I slipped and fell on rocks this morning.
Anyone know of a good camera worksman in India who can remove water and salt from the PCB and optics? The camera was off when it went in the water, and has been off since. The batteries have been removed and it currently nests in silica gel.
I need the camera for work from tomorrow, and then this happens 🤦🏽♂️
Anyone know of a good camera worksman in India who can remove water and salt from the PCB and optics? The camera was off when it went in the water, and has been off since. The batteries have been removed and it currently nests in silica gel.
I need the camera for work from tomorrow, and then this happens 🤦🏽♂️
Kavin becomes eligible for his vaccine today. But there are no vaccination centres offering Corbevax, paid or free, anywhere in Goa.
Same situation in Gurgaon.
Anybody know what the plan is? How do we get the little ones vaccinated?
The District Hospital in Mapusa is offering free vaccines from 2:30pm to 4:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Nilay got his second shot there yesterday. Do we just show up there on Thursday for Corbevax too?
Same situation in Gurgaon.
Anybody know what the plan is? How do we get the little ones vaccinated?
The District Hospital in Mapusa is offering free vaccines from 2:30pm to 4:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Nilay got his second shot there yesterday. Do we just show up there on Thursday for Corbevax too?
The only election results that matter