Life@Net

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet

2012-01-18T09:16:00.000-08:00

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Private Moon: Amazing Art & Beauty

2011-11-26T01:57:00.001-08:00

Leonid Tishkov's Private Moon Series

Source: http://thejeanicole.tumblr.com/post/11944150539/leonid-tishkovs-private-moon-series

A Programming Contest: For C, Java & DW Experts

2011-11-23T08:27:00.001-08:00

A same problem using a new programming language "P" was assigned to three software engineers with same start date and end date and 5 working days of deadline. They were instructed to work independently in their own capacity any number of hours a day but, to submit a complete solution on the last day of schedule. : i) C expert, ii) Java expert and iii) DW expert. These were activities demonstrated till date of delivery:

i) C expert: Studied manuals and books day and night related to new language "P" and anyhow he was able to implement the solution at last minute. But, he still had something to add and improve his solution. He was very disappointed with the estimation.

ii) Java expert: Started searching using all combination of words present in problem in google/bing/lycos.com from day 1 and collected several template algorithms and their implementations in different prog languages. After little bit modifications, started running with "P" compiler and spent all of his time in debugging/fixing errors. He still had 40000 errors to debug and to modify source code. So, he submitted the code with request of 7 more days of lag time.

iii) DW expert: Started searching some tool which can solve the problem using "P" language. He even called few DW Product Suppliers and explained the problem if that can be solved using their tool. After no luck, he tried everywhere over internet but, did not get any such tool. He submitted an essay explaining top-down and bottom-up approaches of solution in which he recommended tool based solution is needed for better maintenance and support features. So, he submitted a 20 page long essay with a lag time of ? which was even not known to him (i.e; He had to wait till a new tool will be lanuched with that functionality).

P.S: ( It is personal view of author and there is no intention to degrade any programmer or programming language mentioned there in.)

-Chandra Tewary

Social Terrorism Vs Democracy For Rich

2011-10-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

Being an Indian, ashamed and helpless in this fight between Social Terrorism & Democracy For Rich when ultimate result is loss of property & lives of innocent fellow Indians. A must watch documentary for all Indians.

Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/aljazeeracorrespondent/2011/10/20111019124251679523.html

Solar Water Bulb: Green Innovation

2011-10-21T23:43:00.000-07:00

I recently visited http://isanglitrongliwanag.org/ . I was amazed with their campaign of lighting homes of people in day time using solar light, plastic bottle, water and bleach. It is meeting two objectives: 1) lighting homes of poor people who can't afford electricity and people living in areas not having electricity 2) It is saving electricity thereby cutting pollution. Actually, going green is not easy. It will require innovation and effort from everyone living on the earth. This is very innovative solution to light your home in real green way. You can light up your home (in day time) using Solar Bottle Bulb**. This solar bottle bulb does not need electricity. Just a plastic bottle, water and bleach to install. After installation this solar water bulb can provide approximately 55 watts of light!. But, it looks like these green initiatives are limited to poor people. The green revolution will never make significant impact in controlling pollution till people from all levels will start appreciating and using green solutions. For example, for this lighting campaign, this will make sense only when this will be used by those people who are currently using electricity driven bulbs/tube-lights contributing maximum in overall pollution; and not only by poor people who can't afford electricity bill contributing very little in overall pollution.

Instructions:

i) Textual Steps:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-SOLAR-BOTTLE-BULB/?ALLSTEPS

ii) Video Steps:

http://youtu.be/rYTIYUUK70I

**Here is official video of "A Litre Of Light" campaign:

http://youtu.be/o-Fpsw_yYPg

Source: http://isanglitrongliwanag.org/

Individual Greed: Cancer Of Democracy

2011-09-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Democracy is not that 5000-10000 people will say do this and do that, this is right and this is wrong. Democracy means majority of people will say do this and do that, this is right and this is wrong. That is implemented by electing people representative for assembly(in lower as well as upper house) and majority of these elected members form the govt. Election is a process of surrendering people power to the people representatives per se and hence, to the Govt. A kind of power transfer from people to Govt. I really don't understand when we talk against the Govt and we don't mean talking against the people power. One convincing reply is are we in opposition? If yes then Govt has full right to protect constitutional supremacy in the country. Yes, if majority of people are against it as they changed their mind before the Govt's expiry date i.;e before next election then I am sorry..you are not respecting your voting right and yes, the constitution.But, if you want to do so then you have to rectify the process of election and selection of Govt. Can you make a rule that every time millions of people will verify what Govt is doing is right or wrong , and if Govt is doing wrong then lets dissolve it and go for a fresh election. I don't think It is practical. The only solution is if we can introspect ourselves and amend our society. Elected members are part of our society and they are not coming from Moon or Mars. They are product of our society. We don't need bills and pills. We need honesty at individual level...i.e; we need honest father, honest mother,honest son,honest daughter,honest doctor,honest teacher,honest engineer,..in all fields...at all small and big levels...we need honest and corruption free society...we need that change and then only the corruption and dishonesty can be reduced from democracy. The root cause of corruption is individual greed which forms a chain like cells infected by cancer....and individuals are back bone of Democracy....we need to eradicate this cancer from our inner layer, from our family, from our society, from our city, from our state,...., and from our country.Each citizen has to stand against this cancer and that has to start from his or her life. The corruption from whole country will be automatically wiped out. But, the problem is that we don't want to change first and we blame each other for all bad things. The rule is simple and it is all in our hand. Be a change to see a change.

Kishore Kumar: An Interview To Remember

2011-08-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

Amitabh Bachchan(L),Kishore Kumar(C),Amit Kumar(R)

"Zindagi Ke Safar Mein Gujar Jaate Hain Jo Makam...Wo Phir Nahin Aate !!"

**As per Pritish Nandy, his best interview ever as a journalist was Kishore Kumar's in 1985.

PN: Pritish Nandy ( Journalist)
KK: Kishore Kumar (Singer/Actor etc etc;)
Year: 1985

PN: I understand you are quitting Bombay and going away to Khandwa...
KK: Who can live in this stupid, friendless city where everyone seeks to exploit you every moment of the day? Can you trust anyone out here? Is anyone trustworthy? Is anyone a friend you can count on? I am determined to get out of this futile rat race and live as I've always wanted to. In my native Khandwa, the land of my forefathers. Who wants to die in this ugly city?

PN: Why did you come here in the first place?
KK: I would come to visit my brother Ashok Kumar. He was such a big star in those days. I thought he could introduce me to KL Saigal who was my greatest idol. People say he used to sing through his nose. But so what? He was a great singer. Greater than anyone else.

PN: I believe you are planning to record an album of famous Saigal songs....
KK: They asked me to. I refused. Why should I try to outsing him? Let him remain enshrined in our memory. Let his songs remain just HIS songs. Let not even one person say that Kishore Kumar sang them better.

PN: If you didn't like Bombay, why did you stay back? For fame? For money?
KK: I was conned into it. I only wanted to sing. Never to act. But somehow, thanks to peculiar circumstances, I was persuaded to act in the movies. I hated every moment of it and tried virtually every trick to get out of it. I muffed my lines, pretended to be crazy, shaved my head off, played difficult, began yodelling in the midst of tragic scenes, told Meena Kumari what I was supposed to tell Bina Rai in some other film - but they still wouldn't let me go. I screamed, ranted, went cuckoo. But who cared? They were just determined to make me a star.

PN: Why?
KK: Because I was Dadamoni's brother. And he was a great hero.

PN: But you succeeded, after your fashion....
KK: Of course I did. I was the biggest draw after Dilip Kumar. There were so many films I was doing in those days that I had to run from one set to the other, changing on the way. Imagine me. My shirts flying off, my trousers falling off, my wig coming off while I'm running from one set to the other. Very often I would mix up my lines and look angry in a romantic scene or romantic in the midst of a fierce battle. It was terrible and I hated it. It evoked nightmares of school. Directors were like schoolteachers. Do this. Do that. Don't do this. Don't do that. I dreaded it. That's why I would often escape.

PN: Well, you are notorious for the trouble you give your directors and producers. Why is that?
KK: Nonsense. They give me trouble. You think they give a damn for me? I matter to them only because I sell. Who cared for me during my bad days? Who cares for anyone in this profession?

PN: Is that why you prefer to be a loner?
KK: Look, I don't smoke, drink or socialise. I never go to parties. If that makes me a loner, fine. I am happy this way. I go to work and I come back straight home. To watch my horror movies, play with my spooks, talk to my trees, sing. In this avaricious world, every creative person is bound to be lonely. How can you deny me that right?

PN: You don't have many friends?
KK: None.

PN: That's rather sweeping.
KK: People bore me. Film people particularly bore me. I prefer talking to my trees.

PN: So you like nature?
KK: That's why I want to get away to Khandwa. I have lost all touch with nature out here. I tried to did a canal all around my bungalow out here, so that we could sail gondolas there. The municipality chap would sit and watch and nod his head disapprovingly, while my men would dig and dig. But it didn't work. One day someone found a hand - a skeletal hand- and some toes. After that no one wanted to dig anymore. Anoop, my second brother, came charging with Ganga water and started chanting mantras. He thought this house was built on a graveyard. Perhaps it is. But I lost the chance of making my home like Venice.

PN: People would have thought you crazy. In fact they already do.
KK: Who said I'm crazy. The world is crazy; not me.

PN: Why do you have this reputation for doing strange things?
KK: It all began with this girl who came to interview me. In those days I used to live alone. So she said: You must be very lonely. I said: No, let me introduce you to some of my friends. So I took her to the garden and introduced her to some of the friendlier trees. Janardhan; Raghunandan; Gangadhar; Jagannath; Buddhuram; Jhatpatajhatpatpat. I said they were my closest friends in this cruel world. She went and wrote this bizarre piece, saying that I spent long evenings with my arms entwined around them. What's wrong with that, you tell me? What's wrong making friends with trees?

PN: Nothing.
KK: Then, there was this interior decorator-a suited, booted fellow who came to see me in a three-piece woollen, Saville Row suit in the thick of summer- and began to lecture me about aesthetics, design, visual sense and all that. After listening to him for about half an hour and trying to figure out what he was saying through his peculiar American accent, I told him that I wanted something very simple for my living room. Just water-several feet deep- and little boats floating around, instead of large sofas. I told him that the centre-piece should be anchored down so that the tea service could be placed on it and all of us could row up to it in our boats and take sips from our cups. But the boats should be properly balanced, I said, otherwise we might whizz past each other and conversation would be difficult. He looked a bit alarmed but that alarm gave way to sheer horror when I began to describe the wall decor. I told him that I wanted live crows hanging from the walls instead of paintings-since I liked nature so much. And, instead of fans, we could have monkeys farting from the ceiling. That's when he slowly backed out from the room with a strange look in his eyes. The last I saw of him was him running out of the front gate, at a pace that would have put an electric train to shame. What's crazy about having a living room like that, you tell me? If he can wear a woollen, three-piece suit in the height of summer, why can't I hang live crows on my walls?

PN: Your ideas are quite original, but why do your films fare so badly?
KK: Because I tell my distributors to avoid them. I warn them at the very outset that the film might run for a week at the most. Naturally, they go away and never come back. Where will you find a producer-director who warns you not to touch his film because even he can't understand what he has made?

PN: Then why do you make films?
KK: Because the spirit moves me. I feel I have something to say and the films eventually do well at times. I remember this film of mine - Door Gagan ki Chhaon mein - which started to an audience of 10 people in Alankar. I know because I was in the hall myself. There were only ten people who had come to watch the first show! Even its release was peculiar. Subhodh Mukherjee, the brother of my brother-in-law, had booked Alankar(the hall) for 8 weeks for his film April Fool- which everyone knew was going to be a block-buster. My film, everyone was sure, was going to be a thundering flop. So he offered to give me a week of his booking. Take the first week, he said flamboyantly, and I'll manage within seven. After all, the movie can't run beyond a week. It can't run beyond two days, I reassured him. When 10 people came for the first show, he tried to console me. Don't worry, he said, it happens at times. But who was worried? Then, the word spread. Like wildfire. And within a few days the hall began to fill. It ran for all 8 weeks at Alankar, house full! Subodh Mukherjee kept screaming at me but how could I let go the hall? After 8 weeks when the booking ran out, the movie shifted to Super, where it ran for another 21 weeks! That's the anatomy of a hit of mine. How does one explain it? Can anyone explain it? Can Subodh Mukherjee, whose April Fool went on to become a thundering flop?

PN: But you, as the director should have known?
KK: Directors know nothing. I never had the privilege of working with any good director. Except Satyen Bose and Bimal Roy, no one even knew the ABC of film making. How can you expect me to give good performances under such directors? Directors like S.D. Narang didn't even know where to place the camera. He would take long, pensive drags from his cigarette, mumble 'Quiet, quiet, quiet' to everyone, walk a couple of furlongs absentmindedly, mutter to himself and then tell the camera man to place the camera wherever he wanted. His standard line to me was: Do something. What something? Come on, some thing! So I would go off on my antics. Is this the way to act? Is this the way to direct a movie? And yet Narangsaab made so many hits!

PN: Why didn't you ever offer to work with a good director?
KK: Offer! I was far too scared. Satyajit Ray came to me and wanted me to act in Parash Pathar - his famous comedy - and I was so scared that I ran away. Later, Tulsi Chakravarti did the role. It was a great role and I ran away from it, so scared I was of these great directors.

PN: But you knew Ray.
KK: Of course I did. I loaned him five thousand rupees at the time of Pather Panchali-when he was in great financial difficulty- and even though he paid back the entire loan, I never gave him an opportunity to forget the fact that I had contributed to the making of the classic. I still rib him about it. I never forget the money I loan out!

PN: Well, some people think you are crazy about money. Others describe you as a clown, pretending to be kinky but sane as hell. Still others find you cunning and manipulative. Which is the real you?
KK: I play different roles at different times. For different people. In this crazy world, only the truly sane man appears to be mad. Look at me. Do you think I'm mad? Do you think I can be manipulative?

PN: How would I know?
KK: Of course you would know. It's so easy to judge a man by just looking at him. You look at these film people and you instantly know they're rogues.

PN: I believe so.
KK: I don't believe so. I know so. You can't trust them an inch. I have been in this rat race for so long that I can smell trouble from miles afar. I smelt trouble the day I came to Bombay in the hope of becoming a playback singer and got conned into acting. I should have just turned my back and run.

PN: Why didn't you?
KK: Well, I've regretted it ever since. Boom Boom. Boompitty boom boom. Chikachikachik chik chik. Yadlehe eeee yadlehe ooooo (Goes on yodelling till the tea comes. Someone emerges from behind the upturned sofa in the living room, looking rather mournful with a bunch of rat-eaten files and holds them up for KK to see)

PN: What are those files?
KK: My income tax records.

PN: Rat-eaten?
KK: We use them as pesticides. They are very effective. The rats die quite easily after biting into them.

PN: What do you show the tax people when they ask for the papers?
KK: The dead rats.

PN: I see.
KK: You like dead rats?

PN: Not particularly.
KK: Lots of people eat them in other parts of the world.

PN: I guess so.
KK: Haute cuisine. Expensive too. Costs a lot of money.

PN: Yes?
KK: Good business, rats. One can make money from them if one is enterprising.

PN: I believe you are very fussy about money. Once, I'm told. a producer paid you only half your dues and you came to the sets with half your head and half your moustache shaved off. And you told him that when he paid the rest, you would shoot with your face intact...

KK: Why should they take me for granted? These people never pay unless you teach them a lesson. I was shooting in the South once. I think the film was Miss Mary and these chaps kept me waiting in the hotel room for five days without shooting. So I got fed up and started cutting my hair. First I chopped off some hair from the right side of my head and then, to balance it, I chopped off some from the left. By mistake I overdid it. So I cut off some more from the right. Again I overdid it. So I had to cut from the left again. This went on till I had virtually no hair left- and that's when the call came from the sets. When I turned up the way I was, they all collapsed. That's how rumours reached Bombay. They said I had gone cuckoo. I didn't know. I returned and found everyone wishing me from long distance and keeping a safe distance of 10 feet while talking. Even those chaps who would come and embrace me waved out from a distance and said Hi. Then, someone asked me a little hesitantly how I was feeling. I said: Fine. I spoke a little abruptly perhaps. Suddenly I found him turning around and running. Far, far away from me.

PN: But are you actually so stingy about money?
KK: I have to pay my taxes.

PN: You have income tax problems I am told....
KK: Who doesn't? My actual dues are not much but the interest has piled up. I'm planning to sell off a lot of things before I go to Khandwa and settle this entire business once and for all.

PN: You refused to sing for Sanjay Gandhi during the emergency and, it is said, that's why the tax hounds were set on you. Is this true?

KK: Who knows why they come. But no one can make me do what I don't want to do. I don't sing at anyone's will or command. But I sing for charities, causes all the time.

PN: What about your home life? Why has that been so turbulent?
KK: Because I like being left alone.

PN: What went wrong with Ruma Devi, your first wife?
KK: She was a very talented person but we could not get along because we looked at life differently. She wanted to build a choir and a career. I wanted someone to build me a home. How can the two reconcile? You see, I'm a simple minded villager type. I don't understand this business about women making careers. Wives should first learn how to make a home. And how can you fit the two together? A career and a home are quite seperate things. That's why we went our seperate ways.

PN: Madhubala, your second wife?
KK: She was quite another matter. I knew she was very sick even before I married her. But a promise is a promise. So I kept my word and brought her home as my wife, even though I knew she was dying from a congenital heart problem. For 9 long years I nursed her. I watched her die before my own eyes. You can never understand what this means until you live through this yourself. She was such a beautiful woman and she died so painfully.

She would rave and rant and scream in frustration. How can such an active person spend 9 long years bed-ridden? And I had to humour her all the time. That's what the doctor asked me to. That's what I did till her very last breath. I would laugh with her. I would cry with her.

PN: What about your third marriage? To Yogeeta Bali?
KK: That was a joke. I don't think she was serious about marriage. She was only obsessed with her mother. She never wanted to live here.

PN: But that's because she says you would stay up all night and count money..
KK: Do you think I can do that? Do you think I'm mad? Well, it's good we separated quickly.

PN: What about your present marriage?
KK: Leena is a very different kind of person. She too is an actress like all of them but she's very different. She's seen tragedy. She's faced grief. When your husband is shot dead, you change. You understand life. You realise the ephemeral quality of all things.. I am happy now.

PN: What about your new film? Are you going to play hero in this one too?
KK: No no no. I'm just the producer-director. I'm going to be behind the camera. Remember I told you how much I hate acting? All I might do is make a split second appearance on screen as an old man or something.
PN: Like Hitchcock?
KK: Yes, my favourite director. I'm mad, true. But only about one thing. Horror movies. I love spooks. They are a friendly fearsome lot. Very nice people, actually, if you get to know them. Not like these industry chaps out here. Do you know any spooks?

PN: Not very friendly ones.
KK: But nice, frightening ones?

PN: Not really.
KK: But that's precisely what we're all going to become one day. Like this chap out here (points to a skull, which he uses as part of his decor, with red light emerging from its eyes)- you don't even know whether it's a man or a woman. Eh? But it's a nice sort. Friendly too. Look, doesn't it look nice with my specs on its non-existent nose?

PN: Very nice indeed.
KK: You are a good man. You understand the real things of life. You are going to look like this one day.

Source: http://www.pritishnandycom.com

Creativity Or Cryativity: M.F.Husain

2011-06-10T21:12:00.001-07:00

This is my 2nd take on it after http://ctewary.blogspot.com/2010/03/right-of-expression-or-right-of.html . I still stand by my view of not supporting creativity for destruction. I respect M.F.Husain for what he has contributed to the world of art. No doubt about his greatness as history talks volumes. But, don't agree on a single topic of showing his creativity* on Hindu Goddess. I also oppose how non-secular forces took advantage of this topic to force him to live in exile. I wish non-secular forces must had controlled by the Govt so that he could live as per his wish. I wish if he could had found some other topic to show his creativity*. To me it was same as someone showing creativity* on your any family member's snap. There is always a limit in secular world. He could had also shown his creativity* on Goddess of other religion. I wish for peace of his soul.

My 2 cents on current state of India

2011-06-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

Is this democratic? Can a rational citizen support elements not allowing an elected democratic govt to run?. Have we lost faith in our law & order machinery...cbi, police & supreme court? And if yes then what new has happened today which is causing so much issue but, was not present in past? Shouldn't one wait for this govt to complete its legislative tenure as it has the majority and by the way, its we the people who voted for Lok Sabha and when they are in govt then all this non-sense uncivilized way of demanding those stuffs which are not at all new issues..Why not Baba did demand these stuffs when other govts were in rule..black money ,native language in higher study(education) and corruption issues are not new. And yes...common people will never get any benefit from this at all even if this black money will get transferred and we all also know it very well. Why not Baba going to Arunachal Pradesh Border and talking to China for settlement and what abt our Kashmir issue. If he is really so devoted to country then solve these issues and our defence budget will automaticaly come down and we can also use that money for development. And who told that black money will make every Indian rich and India will be US. If current trend will continue then we will be standing miles behind China in development race. See..They are winning Grand Slams and we are concentrating on Baba and all. These are just propaganda to disturb functioning of current govt as they know black money issue is not that easy to solve. It will force to resign many MPs of govt and opposition ; and can lead a fresh election. That will make situation more chaotic. Lets wait for election and select our MP and then even Baba will get chance to use his right to win elections and become PM of India,too. Also, Indian media is culprit which always engage in broadcasting all this non-sense events and approve the legitimacy. Indian Media need any news to run 24*7 channel and currently after WC/IPL Cricket, they don't have any news to cover. I wonder what type of message we want to send to rest of the world by doing these black mailing. It is easy to comment on FB and participating in marathon run ; and vouching to remove corruption because that is what we can do without doing anything. Its we the people are reason behind corruption. One Indian is demanding bribe from another Indian. We need to introspect and then this Govt can be changed democratically in every 5 years. Lets wait fo next election...and vote for your fav person and rest will follow...else tell that we don't need democracy and all types of Baba will rule India :)

Natural Intelligence Vs Artificial Intelligence

2011-05-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, you are right. It is always hard to conclude which is best and why? So, before going into this long discussion, let me give you some background of these elements.

Today, I was on the way and saw a small shoppe. It had a board at the top and name was "Q something y Sweets". Yes, the something was not that much visible as that portion was under dark. But, only this was input to my brain and the output was "Quality Sweets" and it was so prompt. Of course the shoppe had same name on board. Few days ago, I saw a Salon shoppe and the board was very ill maintained and (J,T,A,R,S,A,L and N) were only letters visible.The output from my brain was very prompt and it was "JENTS STAR SALON". Whenever I hear or see something then my brain parses the same and If I will be more specific and talk about a string of characters written somewhere then if that is complete then it simply reads and stores ( I believe) on memory stack and if words are not complete or missing something then it searches in memory stack and gives me best possible results. If I hear Indian and something which I did not get clearly when someone is speaking then my brain gives me possible results like Indian Market, Indian Team or something which is stored in memory stack with latest refreshed timestamp. This is same as one file with list of strings stored and simply using "grep" command for those words and get the rows in output. We can also build the same and attach the same somewhere in hand like a wrist watch. The task is to capture and scan the character world surrounding the person ; and store it in a file with load timestamp. Now, whenever we will encounter some incomplete names or something then it will search and list possible outputs from the file. Joking :). So, the storing of info in a file and searching constitute intelligence. When my brain performs this task then it is Natural in nature and when some computer program then it is artificial.

So, now you must have an idea of these two terms. Natural Intelligence has capacity to build and support Artificial Intelligence so, in a way, it seems superior to later.

Now, consider a mathematical problem of calculating sum of "n" terms for an Arithmetic Progression Series. Say series is 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,....,Tn. If my brain will try to calculate then it will search the pattern of the problem already learnt in memory stack and solve it. Sn=N/2(T1+Tn) so, for 10 terms, it will calculate S10=10/2(1+10)=55. Very fast ..is not it? As I just did based on natural learning which my brain had in past. On the other hand, if I have a computer program in C or Shell like this:
#!/bin/ksh
t1=1;
common_difference=1;
n=10;
tn=$t1 + ($n -1)*$common_difference;

S=$(( $n/2 * $t1 + $n/2 * $tn ));
echo "Sum to $n terms= $S"

The above program will be also as fast as my brain replied for 10 terms. This is a learning stored in the form of an algorithm or steps of instructions which need to be followed but, still we need natural intelligence to drive this program. Now, say we need to calculate for 1500000 terms then my brain will cry and no doubt it will take more time than the program. In this place, you can see a program which represents Artificial type of intelligence is better than our brain which represents Natural type of intelligence. I don't want to mix this with Machine learning and all. That is typical area where I don't want this blog to draw reader attention. The objective is to present a differentiation between Natural and Artificial Intelligences and then if we can draw a conclusion which is better and why?. So, if we consider above problem then AI is better than NI. Even in case of searching words and strings. Similalrly, in all problems which have substantial scale to defeat brain. But, there is one area where this Natural Intelligence beats AI and that is forever. That area is innovation and creativity. NI will keep discovering new stuffs and is not limited to this program and that problem. It has very wide scope. It deals with n number of problems which it receives in the form of stimuli and stores respective learnings in memory. But, AI is very limited and has very narrow scope. AI has to get driven by NI. In this way, Natural Intelligence is far better than Artificial Intelligence. Yes, but, AI is very useful for solving problems and learning . It will add value to applied world as it it ensures minimum number of memory or instruction calls to Natural Intelligence.

India WC 2011 Champion: Who Was Real Hero?

2011-04-03T03:52:00.001-07:00

Yuvraj Singh (352 Runs with an 90+ avg and 15 Wickets) ..yesss...is the man who really deserves to get tag of Hero in India's 2011 WC win. Sachin Tendulkar (482 Runs with an avg of 53+) played a role of solid contributor by both his bat and his inspirational presence along with Kirtsen's motivation. The win against Australia in Quarter Final was never possible without Sachin's foundation and finishing performance of Yuvraj/Raina. Similarly Sachin was instrumental in giving India a fighting total against Pakistan in Semi Final which was well supported by Gambhir and Indian bowlers and fielders. Kohli and Raina also contributed their part whenever required. In the bowling dept, Zaheer with 21 wickets managed India's bowling defence very well along with Munaf,Yuvraj and Harbhajan. In the fielding dept, we had Yuvraj,Raina,Gambhir and Kohli all top class fielders. Starting from Bangaladesh match and before Kohli's out in Final, Dhoni was nowhere and he only did acts to create more pressure on Indian batsmen (150 runs in 8 macthes) and bowlers ( by missing catches/stumps); and also by taking some out of blue decisions like when to take batting power play and late entry of Raina. If you think logically then even in Final match he did blunder by taking Sreesanth who did nothing except giving runs to Lankans. Dhoni (An avg less than Kenya's Obuya) was miserable throughout the WC except the last match where he tried to wash all his mistakes and bad performances by playing a victorious knock on a very flat track and this was the reason he promoted himself ahead of Yuvi.Even Jayawardene scored a century who had similar miserable performance in WC.In the final match, Sachin started very well and he was looking very comfortable ( 18 of 14) but, you never know in cricket and he missed out. But, Gambhir and Kohli played very well and maintained an avg of 5+ (114 in 21.4 overs) . So, when Dhoni came out for batting then India were very well placed. Out of Kohli ( due to bad luck) gave Dhoni this chance else wicket was playing very good and we were expecting the Delhi brothers will bring India in a winning position. Yuvraj could easily maintain the momentum and Raina was always there to follow him. But, I agree Dhoni played well and that gave us a very convincing victory at the end. But, never forget the contribution of Gambhir and Kohli. Also, our bowlers and fielding performaces were of world class. The track was batting friendly in 2nd innings and the bowling (especially spin bowling) was not easy as Dew factor was there.

Overall it was team effort and this is why India have won the Cup. The team effort was not due to Dhoni or Sony. It was due to Sachin. All team members wanted to fulfill Sachin's dream of having WC for India as this man tried very hard many times and even he was very close to that big day 2 times(1996 Semi FInal and 2003 FInal). But, he was not successful as he never got a helping hand from team members. Sachin also thought that only a complete team effort can win WC for India so, he started grooming and inspiring team members. Finally, that day came. Team members did the task for him and the nation (implicit).

Lets stop creating hype and singing names of those individuals and calling them as heroes who have done nothing substantial in this memorable journey of India's WC win. The last lap is important but, far important task is reaching there.

Image Source: www.cricinfo.com

Sachin & His Dream

2011-04-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

28 years ago from now, a very young boy was inspired by his nation's world cup win and after that,he tried to get it for his nation not 1...not 2....not 3....not 4...not 5....yes...6 times. Two times, he was very close ...lost in Semi Final of 1996 and Final of 2003. But, he did not surrender.He kept playing for his nation despite of being 37 years old and finally, his team made through Final of 2011 World Cup by virtue of a complete team effort and this man's inspiration which he injected into all of his team members. India is 2011 Cricket World Champion.

Yes....Sach is life !!.

Image Source: http://www.cricinfo.com

WC Semi Finals,India and Indian Soil: 1987,1996 and 2011

2011-03-30T13:11:00.001-07:00

I can recall the painful exit of India from semis in 1987 as well as 1996. Unfortunately both were held at Eden Gardens,Kolkata. I can remember two things of 1987: 1. Sunil Gavaskar scored a classy 4 by a straight drive and he was clean bowled in very next ball by a slower ball by Phillip DeFreiats ; 2. Gooch was clean bowled by Kapil Dev..a superb in swinger. But, not felt much pain as I was very small. I watched that match standing near corner of my home street surrounded by a cricket crazy crowd ( I bet you will nowhere get such crowd). The television and all were managed by Tarun Sangha Club :). Now,1996 loss against SL was very painful exp. Until Sachin was playing everything was looking fine..it all went off as soon as he got stumped out. We played two semis in Eden Garden and we lost both. We started thinking Eden is curse for our WC. Now 2011: Similar situation as 1996 was there in Mohali,too. A 30-35 % Sachin (got 5-6 life chances) trying to push India's score towards a fighting total and suddenly, 3 quick wickets. But, finally we came out of it and won first WC Semi Final in Indian soil after 2 losses incurred in past :) And that is against arch rivals Pakistan..infront of their PM :) What a better day it was :) I can't get more than this. Anyways, Good luck Indian Team for Finals and yes, Sachin you are still in our heart and will be for ever even if we are not winning this WC . You have done enough for your country to get respected till a single cricket loving Indian will be alive on the earth.

Libya: Battle Field Of Colonial Supremacy

2011-03-20T00:51:00.000-07:00

From very beginning, Libya (Land of native Berbers) has been a battle field for Europeans & Arabs to gain control. Its geo location is very strategic for trade/war being bordered by mediterranean sea in the North (EU) and a state surrounded by EU,Arab and Africa. First Greece, then Arab , then Italy, and then US/Britain/France in WW-2 gained major control of it, and only after UN's interruption they became independent on 1951 under the ruling of EU inclined King Idris. Finally, 1969 libyan revolution led by Gaddafi replaced the King. Till then, the native berbers were all converted into Islam (majority) and Christian. The oil preserve (significant discovery only after WW-2) is now a new theory to conclude anything happening there but, actual root lies in the fact that it is same colonial fight still alive inside heart of Europeans/Arabs. So, this 2011 libyan revolution, Gaddafi's stand of retaliating the civilians protest by military forces and killings, UN resolution of no-fly zone, missile attacks by US/UK/France on Gaddafi's forces should not be sensed as something new for this part of the world. The same history is still continuing.

For current Libyan Crisis:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8390035/Libya-Live.html .

Source:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libya

2. WWW(Internet)

Japan 2011 Earthquake & Tsunami: Links To Visit

2011-03-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

It is really very sad feeling after seeing all these snaps of devastation caused by Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan just few days ago. Lets pray to God that people of Japan will get more courage and power to fight against it and come out of this catastrophe.

Praying to God for good of people of Japan who have survived and let the soul rest in peace who have died.

1.
The big pictures: The moment Japan's cataclysmic tsunami engulfed a nation

2.
Japan earthquake factbox: Entire Japan coast shifted 2.4 metres, earth axis moves ten inches

3.

Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami

4.
Picassa Link

Google Crisis Response: 2011 Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami

What has quake done 2 Japan's nuclear reactors?

NOTE: I will keep adding related links here as and when will get something to share.

Amazing Application Of Kinetic Energy & Art: Theo Jansen creates new creatures

2011-02-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

Dutch Artist Theo Jansen creates sculptures which can move like creatures powered by wind energy. They have genetical code to exhibit each one different structure and movement pattern, lemonade bottles to act like electric tubes charging a binary step counter as brain to give signal to when start and stop walking , have sensory logic gates which can reverse the direction if it senses water and also a mechanism to pin them on the earth surface when storm is sensed. Theo termed them as Beach Creatures as they need wind for their movement enabling these creatures to survive of their own.

Here is what Theo writes in his website http://www.strandbeest.com about these creatures:

Self-propelling beach animals like Animaris Percipiere have a stomach . This consists of recycled plastic bottles containing air that can be pumped up to a high pressure by the wind. This is done using a variety of bicycle pump, needless to say of plastic tubing. Several of these little pumps are driven by wings up at the front of the animal that flap in the breeze. It takes a few hours, but then the bottles are full. They contain a supply of potential wind. Take off the cap and the wind will emerge from the bottle at high speed. The trick is to get that untamed wind under control and use it to move the animal. For this, muscles are required. Beach animals have pushing muscles which get longer when told to do so. These consist of a tube containing another that is able to move in and out. There is a rubber ring on the end of the inner tube so that this acts as a piston. When the air runs from the bottles through a small pipe in the tube it pushes the piston outwards and the muscle lengthens. The beach animal's muscle can best be likened to a bone that gets longer. Muscles can open taps to activate other muscles that open other taps, and so on. This creates control centres that can be compared to brains.

Again, on their leg system he writes:

I can best explain how the leg works using a model I once made from a sheet of plywood. I often take this model to lectures to demonstrate the leg's action. In the middle of each beach animal is a kind of spine, more specifically a crankshaft. The remarkable thing about this spine is that it can rotate. In the model, my hand turns the crank of the crankshaft. This rotation is converted by 11 small rods into a walking movement drawn by a small pencil at the end of the leg. Let's call this pencil the toe.

Ideally, the pencil describes a kind of triangle with rounded corners and a horizontal base. Whenever the toe is on this base, it touches the ground and carries the animal. It describes a horizontal line, or rather the entire animal does, since the toe is carrying the animal. The same holds for a wheel; the axle also describes a horizontal straight line. The beach animal doesn't lurch. When the toe reaches the end of the base (at right), the leg is lifted whereupon it rapidly describes the other two sides of the triangle. During that time the animal is supported by the other legs which at this stage are on the ground. [The above curve is the ideal walking curve; a flat base with rounded corners] [Bijschrift?#] The curve this produces is dependent on the ratio between the lengths of the 11 small rods. Another ratio gives an entirely different curve, a figure 8 for example. Of course, I had no idea beforehand which ratio between the lengths I needed for the ideal walking movement. Which is why I developed a computer model to find this out for me.

But even for the computer the number of possible ratios between 11 rods was immense. Suppose every rod can have 10 different lengths, then there are 10,000,000,000,000 possible curves. If the computer were to go through all these possibilities systematically, it would be kept busy for 100,000 years. I didn't have this much time, which is why I opted for the evolutionary method.

Eleven holy numbers

Fifteen hundred legs with rods of random length were generated in the computer. It then assessed which of these approached the ideal walking curve. Out of the 1500, the computer selected the best 100. These were awarded the privilege of reproduction. Their rods were copied and combined into 1500 new legs. These 1500 new legs exhibited similarities with their parent legs and once again were assessed on their resemblance to the ideal curve. This process went through many generations during which the computer was on for weeks, months even, day and night. It finally resulted in eleven numbers denoting the ideal lengths of the required rods. The ultimate outcome of all this was the leg of Animaris Currens Vulgaris. This was the first beach animal to walk. And yet now and then Vulgaris was dead set against the idea of walking. A new computer evolution produced the legs of the generations that followed.

These, then, are the holy numbers: a = 38, b = 41.5, c = 39.3, d = 40.1, e = 55.8, f = 39.4, g = 36.7, h = 65.7, i = 49, j = 50, k = 61.9, l=7.8, m=15 . It is thanks to these numbers that the animals walk the way they do.

Video 1:

Source: http://www.ted.com

Video 2:

Animaris Umerus walking - June '09 from Strandbeest.

Source: http://www.strandbeest.com

Unfortunately, there are Indians !!

2011-01-26T12:59:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, there are Indians who scored ranks in millions when studied in India and once, they are in US/UK due to so called IT industry then they start cribbing Indian System. They even use Indian Passport for their foreign stay and behave like they are son of Einstein and by bad luck they were born in India. Pata nahi wo kis mitti ke bane hai :( God bless you frnds. My request to them is that please don't come back to India. The nation will be grateful to you.

Special feature of year 2011

2011-01-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

I was thinking that if by any chance the Year 2011 is different than other years and if yes, then can we frame a similar group of years.

Yes, the year 2011 is different in one respect that it has first two days falling on Saturday and Sunday :). The 01/01/2011 and 01/02/2011 are saturday and sunday. That is very good for lazy people like me because the year gives bonus start with first two days as holi days.

I have prepared a list of years in [1900,2100] range which have similar feature.

1910 + 6
1916 + 5
1921 + 6
1927 + 11
1938 + 6
1944 + 5
1949 + 6
1955 + 11
1966 + 6
1972 + 5
1977 + 6
1983 + 11
1994 + 6
2000 + 5
2005 + 6
2011 + 11
2022 + 6
2028 + 5
2033 + 6
2039 + 11
2050 + 6
2056 + 5
2061 + 6
2067 + 11
2078 + 6
2084 + 5
2089 + 6
2095

So, it looks like I have seen 1983,1994,2000,2005 and now 2011. More to come like 2022,2028,2033 and so on. But, these are not very frequent. Yes, these years come in some year interval like 5 years, 6 years and 11 years. Next similar year would be on 2022 i.e; after 11 years. So, in that way, this year 2011 is special. Now, the formula looks like after 6 years and then after 5 years and then after 6 years and then after 11 years; and the cycle repeats ( As shown in above list).

The korn shell script which lists these years is given below:

cur_yr=1900;
until [[ $cur_yr -eq 2100 ]]
do
if [[ `cal 1 $cur_yr|head -3|tail -1|tr -d ' '` -eq 1 ]]
then
echo "$cur_yr"
fi

cur_yr=$(( cur_yr + 1 ))
done

The criteria which needs to met is the 1st January should be saturday i.e; previous year has to end on Friday. We all know 365 days form a year and 366 days a leap year. So, when I start say by 1910 then as it has already Saturday as 1st Jan, it ends on saturday i.e; 31st Dec falls on saturday.Now, next year will start on Sunday, next to next year will start on Monday and so, after 6 years we will get Saturday as start day of year i.;e 1916 will have 1st Jan on Saturday. But, there is a leap year ( 365 + 1 days ) 1920 which falls within next 6 years so, we will have 6 - 1 i.e; 5 years interval between next similar year i.;e 1921 will be the next year which have 1st jan on saturday. Again after 6 years, i.e; 1927 will be having 1st jan on Saturday becuase there was no leap year in between. Similarly, we expect 1933 as similar year but, it is not the case because we have 1928 and 1932 as two leap years. Here, 1928 forces 1933 as candidate but, again 1932 being leap years dismisses the 1933 by taking one more day so, pushing it further by 5 more years hence 11 year interval. So, We get after 11 years i.e; 1938 as next similar year which has 1st jan as saturday. So, formula is we will get similar year after 6 years if no leap year falls in between, after 5 years if a leap year falls in between, and after 11 years if 2 leap years fall in between where second one precedes the next candidate year.

I am not sure if these interest you but, a kind of stuff which we can remember. The background was very simple but, it could be confusing. So, enjoy the special year 2011 because we will again need to wait for next 11 years to get similar year on 2022 as we have two leaps years one on 2012 and one on 2016 which dismisses the next candidate year 2017.

Amazing Earth: Top to Bottom

2010-12-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

Source OurAmazingPlanet.com, Exploring the wonder and beauty of planet Earth through exclusive news, features and images.

Is 0.99999... = 1?

2010-11-20T22:14:00.000-08:00

Is 0.99999... = 1?

You can search over www and you will get number of ways of proving this equality correct but, nothing convincing to contradict it. Also, you will get number of different ways to prove this equality in wikipedia article at 0.9999... .

The most simplest proof in support of this equality is given below:

There is one very good paper on proving this equality wrong and coming up with right information is available at http://arxiv.org/pdf/0811.0164v8 .

I have tried to contradict it using very basic theory of infinitesimal real numbers. I hope people who are in support of equality will agree with this inequality proof.

My Take:

Assuming infinitesimal small numbers exist where smallest possible positive real number is 0.00000....( 1 at infinity place).

Now, we can write 1.00000.... as
1 = 1.00000....(0 at infinity position)
So, without loss of generality, x = 0.99999... can be written as
x = 0.99999......(9 at infinity position)

Now lets assume an infinitesimal small positive number,
y = 0.00000.....(1 at infinity position) > 0

x + 0.00000.....(1 at infinity position) = 0.99999...(9 at infinity pos)+ 0.00000.....(1 at infinity position)
x + y = 1.00000 .....(0 at infinity position) = 1

0.99999.... + y = 1
1 = 0.99999.... + an infinitesimal small positive number
so, 1 > 0.99999....

How to identify FICN (Fake Indian Currency Notes) ?

2010-11-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

Here is guidelines from R.B.I to identify Fake Indian Currency Notes of Rs. 10,20,50,100,500 and 1000 denominations. Some instances of fake currency notes are found to be so perfect that it is very hard to identify if it is fake or not. But, they can be detected with some effort. Unless common people will be able to correctly identify fake currency notes, it is not possible to stop this circulation and to uncover anti-nation elements behind FICN.

NOTE:

Please scroll down a little because the instruction posters are given a little bit below to avoid overlap with right side widgets present in this blog.

For 10 Rupee Indian Currency Note:

For 20 Rupee Indian Currency Note:

For 50 Rupee Indian Currency Note:

For 100 Rupee Indian Currency Note:

For 500 Rupee Indian Currency Note:

For 1000 Rupee Indian Currency Note:

Source: http://www.rbi.org.in/

Auto Driver: Princeton To IIT To Streets Of Mumbai

2010-11-14T01:08:00.000-08:00

This is a 100% real conversation extract which took place between me and Auto Driver (Named Shambhu) when I was going to office from Andheri to Vikhroli. It was heavy traffic in Hiranandani to Vikhroli route so, we got enough time to chat during journey. The language is roman hindi to keep conversation based humour alive. For now, I am sorry for english readers. Sometime, I will try translating it in english and put here. But, the humour will be lost :).

Date: 2010-11-12
Time: 10:00-10:30
Place: Mumbai

Auto Driver: Sir ye jo bayer house dekh rahe hain na...
Me: Ha.
Auto Driver: Iske baaju me ek princeton house bolkar bahut bada makaan hain.
Me: To..
Auto Driver: To jab jab iske paas se jana hota hain na..to apna caalege yaad aa jata hain...
Me: (Surprised) Aap kaha tak padhe hain?
Auto Driver: Puchhiye kaha tak nahi padha hun. Apna bhi ek taim tha jab engineerig Caallege me padhte the. Sala ladkibaaji ka chakkar me pad gaya.aur kya bolu bada handsome tha...ek ladki ke chakkar me fas kar pura career daawadol ho gaya...

Me: (Poised for seconds) Aise kaise ladki ke chakkar me princeton aapne chhor diya....koi film ki actress thi kya (smiling behind him ;))?
Auto Driver: Princeton koun chhorega sir...computer pata hain aapko?
Me: Wahi main bhi soch raha tha..bhala aise kasie koi Princeton chhor dega...Computer? Yeh kya hota hain? Kahi commuter nahi bol rahe ho na?
Auto Driver: Nahi sir..(laughing full mouth:)) ..aap computer nahi jaante..woh fataafat sab kaam kar deta hain..aaj to pura kaam usi se hota hain.
Me: Ohh..aisa kya? Thoda elaborate karoge. yaani thoda detail me bataaoge...:)
Auto Driver: Yeh bijli se chalta hain aur aadmi ka saara kaam..maane samajh lijiye aadmi ka subah se uth kar raat ko sone tak ka..sab kuchh isi ka jimma hain.
Me: Bhai..yeh to bahut hi adbhut aavishkar lag raha hain....
Auto Driver: Maine isi computer ki padhai ki thi..pura maane mother board se lekar ke cpu tak ka sab kaam sikha tha.

Me: Ok. Aap ka naam kya hain?

Auto Driver: Shambhu...bhagwan Shankar ka naam hain.

Me: Achha. Kaha sikhe tha...aap sachmuch princeton se padhe hain kya? :)
Auto Driver: Haa sir..nahi to abhi tak yeh sab jhuthe batiya rahe hain kya..princeton me mera ek alag pehchan tha...ab honi ko koun taal sakta hain sir..par main hi kuchh galat nirnay le liya. Pehle saal ka parcha dekar mumbai aa gaya aur yeh ladki mere se shaadi kar li..fir har samay kalesh karti rahi..ek din main padhai chhorkar mumbai bhag aaya.
Me: Bahut bura hua aapke saath..unko bhi sochna tha..jab ek aadmi princeton jaise jagah me padh raha hain to thoda intezar kar sakte the..baad me bhi to shaadi ho sakti thi. (waited for 1 minute) To aap woh Manjul Bhargava ko jante hain? Woh indian origin ka math ka professor?
Auto Driver: Sab ko jaanta hun sir..ab Auto chala rahaa hun.

Me: (OMG) Kya subject tha aapka :)
Auto Driver: Wahi computer..
Me: Masters me the..
Auto Driver: Nahi nahi..woh undergraduate course hota hain..B.Tech..
Me: B.Tech? Princeton me to B.Tech nahi deta hain...( Verifying :))
Auto Driver: Kya bol rahe hain sir..aap ko kuchh bhi nahio pata...ab jisko computer nahi pata hain usko princeton kya pata hoga :)
Me: Nahi mere ko jo khabar hain Sanyukt Rajya America ke New Jersey me yeh hain aur bahut famous hain vigyan ke vibhinn chhetro me shodh kaarya me kaafi awaal darje ka visvavidhyalaya hain..par yeh B.S/M.S/Ph.D degree deta hain...B.tech/M.Tech to nahi suna.

Auto Driver: ( Angry ) Aapko kuchhu nahi pata hain..Ghatkesar me hain...Andhra side..kya aap bhi sir...B.tech/M.Tech/Ph.D chhoriye...yaha tak M.B.A ki bhi degree deta hain..bahut badaa caalege hain.
Me: Ok. Thik bol rahe ho..mujhe kuchh nahi pata hain..yeh Andhra Pradesh mein hain to phir mujhe kuchh nahi pata hain.
Auto Driver: Aisa koi baat nahi hain..aap ko bhi kisi aur caalege ke baare me pata hain...ho jata hain galat fahmi aaadmi ko..to wahi bole princeton me the..ab mumbai me auto chala rahe hain..
Me: (I got relieved..) To fir ek bak auto driver kyon..aap to engineer hain.
Auto Driver: Kuchh mahina kaam kiya hyderabad me ek software company me..fir kuchh set nahi khaaya...Mumbai aa gaya..fir IIT me kaam karna start kiya..fir waha bhi nahi laga man to auto nikal liya..ab pata nahi..aage kya likha hain....aaj bahut traffic hain..bola tha chandiwali se nahi lene ko..aaphi bole nahi..short cut hain..
Me: Mujhe abhi mumbai aaye 2-3 mahina hua.kaha pata hai itna sab..aise..aaj jyaada hi traffic hain... Aap IIT me bhi kaam karte the? ( One more surprise !!)
Auto Driver: Haa bhaai...yeh powai hain na..wahi IIT hain..usme computer ke dept me.
Me: Aap lecturer the waha? ( OMG)
Auto Driver: Nahi bhai...sab computer parts hota hain na..us sab ka supply wala kaam..yeh parts woh parts...mother board..cpu sab me tha.
Me: (I got relieved..) Ok.To utna achha kaam kyon chhor diye..aap bhi kya bataye..princeton se nikle to IIT me pahuche..aapka pratibha ka samman sab kar raha hain ..aur aap kuchh aur karne me lage hain...fir wo bhi chhor diye?
Auto Driver: Aise tej to hai hi...apna aise pura aazamgadh me pehchan hain...Chhora kaha..sala paisa nahi tha.....kuchh bhi ho auto me 500-600 rupaye ka roj ka apna munaafa hain...aur agar raat ka tip maar liya to double.
Me: Fir bhi IIT ka kaam samman wala tha..aur princeton bhi chhor diye...aur bataiye aapki gharwali aapko kuchh nahi bolti..itna sab ho gaya.
Auto Driver: Kya bolegi...aaj kal actress ban rahi hain....mere paise pe.
Me: To fir aap bhi actor me try kar sakte hain na.
Auto Driver: Baat to aap thik bole hain...Mera acting me jaane ka ichha to hain lekin dekhte hain...aise aap kya karte ho? ( Looks like now he started thinking who is he? (Koun hain yeh :)).
Me: Aage se right lijiyega...yeh citi bank ka atm ke paas rok dijiyega..godrej park se gate ke samne.

Auto Driver: Aap engineer hain kya? Kaha kaam karte hain?
Me: Nahi....programmer hun...Accenture me kaam karta hun.
Auto Driver: Achha..aap to bol rahe the compueter nahi pata hain..aap kya padhai kiye hain?
Me: B.E kiya hun...lekin princeton se nahi..R.E.C Durgapur se.
Auto Driver: Wo Durgapur wala..saala mere ko pura patti padha diye..main bhi soch raha tha..aadmi to bada tip top hain..kaise computer nahi jaanta hain...sanyukt rajya america bol raha hain...

Me: Yahi rok do. Actor ban jaao...main to bolunga aap ek baar try kar ke to dekho..kisko pata kahi aap amitabh bachhan hi ban jaaye
Auto Driver: Kahe majaak ura rahe hain sir..chaliye aapko meter me jyada nahi lunga...60 rupaya de dijiye
Me: Kyon koi dusra hota to jyaada lete kya?
Auto Driver: Nahi..thoda idhar udhar hota hain na..5-10 rupaya..
Me: Ok..Yeh lijiye Shambhu Ji...itna rochak kahani sunaane ke liye bahut bahut dhanyavaad...mere ek blog ke liye yeh paryapt hain :) phir milenge ..tab tak actor banne ka kahani ready rakhna :) Bhagwan aapka aur aapki gharwali dono ka bhala kare :)

Source: From Blogger's Memory (Based On Real Time Conversation)

Diwali: Some information on this festival of Lights

2010-11-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

The word "Diwali" is the corruption of the Sanskrit word "Deepavali" -- Deepa meaning light and Avali, meaning a row. It means a row of lights and indeed illumination forms its main attraction. Every home - lowly or mightly - the hut of the poor or the mansion of the rich - is alit with the orange glow of twinkling diyas-small earthen lamps - to welcome Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and prosperity. Multi-coloured Rangoli (the design of the background of this page is of rangoli, also people drawn with rice flour on the grounds into their house, rangoli)designs, floral decorations and fireworks lend picturesness and grandeur to this festival which heralds joy, mirth and happiness in the ensuring year.

Another ancient story of how Diwali evolved into such a widely celebrated festival is different in various regions and states of India. In the north,particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and the surrounding areas, Diwali is the day when King Rama's coronation was celebrated in Ayodhya after his epic war with Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. By order of the royal families of Ayodhya and Mithila, the kingdom of which Sita was princess, the cities and far-flung boundaries of these kingdoms were lit up with rows of lamps, glittering on dark nights to welcome home the divine king Rama and his queen Sita after 14 years of exile, ending with an across-the-seas war in which the whole of the kingdom of Lanka was destroyed.

In South India that victory of the divine over the mundane is celebrated in a very peculiar way. People wake up before sunrise prepare blood by mixing Kumkum in oil and after breaking a bitter fruit that represents the head of the demon King that was smashed by Krishna, apply that mixture on their foreheads. Then they have an oil bath using sandalwood paste.

In Maharashtra also, traditional early baths with oil and "Uptan" (paste) of gram flour and fragrant powders are a `must'. All through the ritual of baths, deafening sounds of crackers and fireworks are there in order that the children enjoy bathing. Afterwards steamed vermiceli with milk and sugar or puffed rice with curd is served.

Source: http://spiritualsoul.ning.com

God bless to Indians in Kashmir

2010-10-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

First thing first, I know writing is very easy but, facing ground realities is very tough. But, we need to move out from our sad days and need to start a fresh because we have to live for our coming generation's good. We can't bring back lives of innocent people died in Kashmir but, we can think ways to stop it get repeated and for a better future. I think solution of Kashmir issue is only in the hand of common people living in Kashmir and if they really want to go and get a new state then no one can stop them from doing so. But, this is not the fact. Majority want to live with India but, may be due to some recent events, they are in temporary angry mode and that is their right to be because they have all rights to show their dissatisfaction and discomfort against the present rule/govt. This is not against idea of India and against our integration. But, few people are either in misunderstanding or not happy. They want things to aggravate more and break the integration for only some fame and money.

Today, once again got moved by the news on Kashmir that some "X" is telling that Kashmir has never been an integral part of India. I am telling let it be but, who are you (those in the name of helping Kashmiris trying to push them in the darkness of under-development and they are traveling overseas on Indian Passport to attend kitty parties and even got education in Indian Schools and Universities) to decide it?. Only Kashmiris can decide. India should not be concerned with what if Mr "X" or Mrs "Y" is telling to people/media in Kashmir that India is this and India is that.

India should be concerned with what angry Indians of Kashmir are telling.
India should be concerned with what Indian students of Kashmir are telling.
India should be concerned with what Indian farmers of Kashmir are telling .
India should be concerned with what poor Indians of Kashmir are telling.
India should be concerned with what peaceful Indians of Kashmir are telling.

India should be concerned with how issues of common Indians living in Kashmir can be addressed in appropriate way and how fast. The most important task which our Govt has in hand is to establish a transparent communication channel between common people and action takers present in govt. We need to understand real problems of common Indians in kashmir and address those in best possible way. The idea of India is to bring people of different faith and capacity in same level of love,peace,power and respect.This message has to reach with supported actions to prove it and not by constitutional article number and documents.The Govt has to show real actions to address real issues mere than speaking in assembly and meetings.

I can think two immediate actions: One is to work on ways of generating jobs for jobless Indians in Kashmir and second is to work on ways to develop basic areas like education, medical and infrastructure in the state. Both actions have pre-requisite dependency on fulfillment of transparent ruling and secured state with proper backing of law and order enforcement elements. India should worry on these things rather than who told what against India and who did what against India. The Govt has to germinate and percolate a people development to regain faith and earn goodwill by actions and that will start from grass level. The media should work for idea of India and not to run shows by organizing debate based shows on sensitive elements aligned to sedition on the name of freedom of speech and democracy which are against idea of India. The idea of India is supported by majority of Indians so, we don't need to worry with handful of people making provoking statements to get media attention and get more people follower. To people like Arundhati Roy, I must say that don't try to break if you can't join. Let the people decide what they need and at the end, only they have to face post-separation life without India if they will go for a separate state and not you ( already got education in India and spent almost a major part of life in India).

Having said that I must accept that it is real tough task but, I am very optimistic for the fact that our govt will introspect pitfalls and will definitely get back the trust of Indians in Kashmir.

God bless to Indians in Kashmir. We really feel pain when you are in trouble. Lets hope for the best and praying for your normal and happy life for ever. Take care.

Long Live India.
Jai Hind

Chandra Tewary

Ayodhya: Root of Enmity Or Root Of Unity?

2010-10-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

Everywhere is the same statement that "Ayodhya is root of enmity between Hindus and Musilms". Not false indeed and in one way it is the fact but, I can see this as root of unity. But, how? Yes, very much possible. It is all about difference in perceptions. I can see it as root of unity between Hindus and Muslims. If Hindus can rebuild Masjid (Mosque) a fresh in disputed land or Muslims can build a Mandir (Temple). Any of these actions will be seed of re-unity. Having said that I am not accepting that we are not united. We are very much united but, we need more bonding. I wish if it could be the reality. Anyways, I have tried to mirror this Ayodhya issue here and again, it is the time to bore you with my uncommon views which may not fall in agreement line of majority.

I agree demolition of Babri Mosque and initiating 1992/93 riots in India were criminal acts. No one can forgive and I am sure culprits will be definitely get punished by Supreme Court. Now, take that case aside and lets talk about the 30th Sept,2010 Ayodhya Verdict given by Allahabad High Court

Allahabad High Court's verdict was to divide the land in 3 equal parts (1/3rd each to Hindus,Mulsims & Nirmohi Akhada) so that both Hindus & Muslims will be happy. It is a judgement which is very balanced and I hope a good opportunity for both the parties to start negotiation and proceed for betterment of secular Indian society. Many people use to question secular nature of India and for those people, this Verdict is a ready reference of the fact that India is not only secular state in paper, it is the state where secularism is also practiced. My point is that We are also secular in practice. At the end, there is Supreme Court for both the parties to appeal and wait for another 10-20 years. Till that time, I hope India will be more changed and its people will be even more matured w.r.t Temple/Mosque issues. When you get maturity then you get strength of forgiving people; and I hope similar changes will happen in near future. The upcoming youth will not have time to talk on all these issues instead they will be busy living their life in this globalization and surviving in this world of fierce competition. Believe me, that time is not so far when an average Indian will not even get touched by these kind of issues which eventually end up in killing of innocent people.

Anyways, I have very much different take on this Ayodhya Land Issue. In my opinion, the govt should build the same Mosque which was broken, revert back the same kind of arrangements for Hindus which were prevailing there in 1992 days right before demolition of Mosque, and speed-up investigation and legal processes for punishment of 1992 culprits both for inciting riots and Mosque Demolition. The judgement could be as short as like this: "Reinstate the previous state."

Regarding Ayodhya Land, there is a very hard truth. We must also accept it. Ayodhya (Capital of Awadh) is not in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is well known that Ayodhya was land of Raja Dashratha and God Rama ( As per Hindu Epic Ramayana) and it was part of Aryavarta. Forget about Mughal Emperor Babar and all, even the Islam started after 622 ( i.e; Hijri Sanvat. Note: Mohammad Sahab's Birth Year: 570 ). When Mosque was built on ruins of temple then it is natural that Hindu belief has edge. Even if it was not built on ruins of temple then also it was built in Ayodhya (a very sacred region for Hindus) and it was at least in the proximity of the place where HIndus used to pray. After all, if belief/faith of millions of Hindus will not get respected in India (80% are Hindus) then where these people will claim their belief and faith? In Afghanistan? I am sorry for phrasing like this but, fact is fact.

Lets hope for a more mature and secular greater india where faith and belief of people will be mutually respected and not catalyzed to spread hatred and enmity. This is the land of great human souls like Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Moulana Azad, Abdul Hameed and many more.

One quote of Swami Vivekanada will define everything which we need: "Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way.".

So, not yet everything is over. There is always a ray of hope. We can rebuild that Greater India and that will be Greater Secular India; and if not us, then it is our upcoming generations who will definitely build it. However, having said that I would also admit that this is easy saying and writing in blog, but, very tough in action. But, after all difficulties and issues, there will be a day when this part of the world will shine like star. Lets wait and hope for the best not by only words, but, also by actions.

Thanks for your time.

Proud to be an Indian. Jai Hind !!.

Chandra Tewary

Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam's Speech: A Must Read

2010-09-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam's Speech: A Must Read

I have three visions for India. In 3000 years of our history people from all over the world have come and invaded us, captured our lands, conquered our minds. From Alexander onwards. The Greeks, the Turks, the Moguls, the Portuguese, the British, the French, the Dutch, all of them came and looted us, took over what was ours. Yet we have not done this to any other nation. We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and tried to enforce our way of life on them. Why? Because we respect the freedom of others. That is why my first vision is that of FREEDOM. I believe that India got its first vision of this in 1857, when we started the war of independence. It is this freedom that we must protect and nurture and build on. If we are not free, no one will respect us.

My second vision for India is DEVELOPMENT. For fifty years we have been a developing nation. It is time we see ourselves as a developed nation. We are among top 5 nations of the world in terms of GDP. We have 10 percent growth rate in most areas. Our poverty levels are falling. Our achievements are being globally recognized today. Yet we lack the self-confidence to see ourselves as a developed nation, self-reliant and self-assured. Isn't this incorrect?

I have a THIRD vision. India must stand up to the world. Because I believe that unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us. Only strength respects strength. We must be strong not only as a military power but also as an economic power. Both must go hand-in-hand. My good fortune was to have worked with three great minds. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai of the Dept. of space, Professor Satish Dhawan, who succeeded him and Dr. Brahm Prakash, father of nuclear material. I was lucky to have worked with all three of them closely and consider this the great opportunity of my life.

I see four milestones in my career: ONE: Twenty years I spent in ISRO. I was given the opportunity to be the project director for India's first satellite launch vehicle, SLV3. The one that launched Rohini. These years played a very important role in my life of Scientist.

TWO: After my ISRO years, I joined DRDO and got a chance to be the part of India's missile program. It was my second bliss when Agni met its mission requirements in 1994.

THREE: The Dept. of Atomic Energy and DRDO had this tremendous partnership in the recent nuclear tests, on May 11 and 13. This was the third bliss. The joy of participating with my team in these nuclear tests and proving to the world that India can make it, that we are no longer a developing nation but one of them. It made me feel very proud as an Indian. The fact that we have now developed for Agni a re-entry structure, for which we have developed this new material. A Very light material called carbon-carbon.

FOUR: One day an orthopedic surgeon from Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences visited my laboratory. He lifted the material and found it so light that he took me to his hospital and showed me his patients. There were these little girls and boys with heavy metallic calipers weighing over three kg. each, dragging their feet around. He said to me: Please remove the pain of my patients. In three weeks, we made these Floor reaction Orthosis 300 gram calipers and took them to the orthopedic centre. The children didn't believe their eyes. From dragging around a three kg. load on their legs, they could now move around! Their parents had tears in their eyes. That was my fourth bliss!

Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why? We are the first in milk production. We are number one in Remote sensing satellites. We are the second largest producer of wheat. We are the second largest producer of rice. Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.

I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert land into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news. In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign TVs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology. Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance?

I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is: She replied: I want to live in a developed India. For her, you and I will have to build this developed India. You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.

Allow me to come back with vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country?

YOU say that our government is inefficient. YOU say that our laws are too old. YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage. YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, the airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination. YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits. YOU say, say and say.

What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM.

YOU comeback to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity. In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs. 650) a month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else." YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 kph) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta hai sala main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost." YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand. Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country why cannot you be the same here in India. Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay Mr.Tinaikar had a point to make. "Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place," he said. "And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels? In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here?" He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms. We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? "It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry." So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbors, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand. Or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too....I am echoing J.F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

"ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY"

Lets do what India needs from us.

Proud To Be An Indian

2010-09-12T10:34:00.001-07:00

Pancham Da: "My God, that's my tune"

2010-09-12T03:35:00.000-07:00

An Interview Extract On R.D.Burman ( Commonly known as Pancham Da) :

R.D.Burman who is considered as best music director/composer Indian Music Industry ever had. He was a very influential music director and composer of Bollywood in period 1957-1994 who revolutionized the filmi music in Hindi films. I have taken extracts from R.D.Burman's Interview, Filmfare,June Issue,1984 and added youtube links so that readers can also listen songs while going through the content making the context more useful.

R.D.Burman:
"This was around 1950-51. My father explained that before you compose you must know the range of the instruments at your command to get the best out of them. I spent over four years with that family and learnt the basics of classical music from them. Even today when I work on a film that has a classical base ('Kinara') I am subconsciously influ- enced by that period in my life."

"I was very bad in studies and my grandmother used to complain con- stantly. My father was in Calcutta one day when he made the decision to take me to Bombay. My grandmother ob- jected saying the industry would be a bad influence on me. Father however was adamant. He said, 'My son is not a good student, I am getting old, I must take him to Bombay and groom him. In ten years I may be able to make some- thing of him.' A quarrel ensued and father left Calcutta. Before leaving he asked me if I'd composed anything. I played the 15 tunes I had ready."

"A year later, while watching the film 'Funtoosh' I suddenly heard one of the tunes I'd composed. I blurted out aloud—'My God, that's my tune'. I wrote and accused my father of flicking my tune and he admitted he had." The song was Ae meri topi palat ke aa—a big hit in its time."

Let's play this song in youtube :-)
Aie Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa By S.D.Burman From Movie Funtoosh [1956] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE2I8U1BMfE

R.D.Burman:
"In December 1955 Guru Dutt came to Calcutta for the shooting of 'Pyaasa'. He was close to my father and I asked him to use his influence to get me to Bombay. It worked. 'Pyaasa' was the first film I helped my father with. I not only composed one of the songs but also played the mouth organ and some other instruments at the recording. Seeing me work like this my mother's fears were laid to rest and she was convinced I was in the right line."

Let's play some tracks from Pyaasa:
"Jaane Woh Kaise Log The Jinke Pyaar Ko Pyaar Mila" By S.D.Burman From Movie Pyaasa [1957]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUuyrmt6ACo
"Sar Jo Tera Chakraye ya Dil Duba Jaye" By S.D.Burman From Movie Pyaasa [1957]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfMDxTtNI5k

R.D.Burman:
"From then on my father started grooming me. He taught me how to mould a song to the satisfaction of a producer or director. For instance if someone narrates a 'situation' you immediately compose a tune to fit it— today after having done it for 25 years it's become a habit. If the situation is bad you have to come up with the best you can. Of course you can try suggest- ing a change in situation but you don't always succeed."

"Another thing my father inculcated in me was never to get over-excited about what I composed. He had a habit of composing the mukhada and passing on the antara to his two assistants (Jaidev Verma, Surit Kaur) and me. A sort of healthy competition prevailed while we tried to outdo each other."

"My father would choose the best and sometimes I scored too. If I felt happy about it, he'd snub me and call the servant and ask his opinion. The moral of this was: simple is beautiful. While composing, he used to say, we can get carried away and add a bit of everything which finally makes it less appealing."

"He also advocated introducing new sounds. The producer or director may not immediately take to it but a novel idea can click in a big way. When a situation was narrated to him my father would visualise it and even dance it out. In the song Chhod do anchal zamana kya kahega ("Taxi Driver") by just adding that Ah.at the beginning he changed the whole complexion of the song. He explained that's how a girl will react when the hero teases her."

Lets Play:
Chhod do anchal zamana kya kahega By S.D.Burman From Movie Taxi Driver [1954] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKqp553d4dI

R.D.Burman:
"An important tip I learnt from my father was picking up cues. When you heard a bird chirp and started hum- ming you thought of a particular aspect of life—you had the situation and the tune that went with it. When I told him that I sometimes dreamt tunes, he asked me to immeditely get up and either hum it into a tape recorder or jot down the notations. The next morning, he said you can improvise on it. The tunes of Kanchi re kanchire ("Hare Rama, Hare Krishna"), Tum bin jaun kahan ("Pyar Ka Mausam") and Duniya main logon ko ("Apna Desh") have all come to me in my dreams."

Lets Play:
Tum bin jaun kahan By R.D.Burman From Movie Pyar Ka Mausam [1969] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y95KfJxvPRw
Kanchi re kanchi re By R.D.Burman From Movie Hare Rama, Hare Krishna [1971] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptrl5WFwmTQ
Duniya main logon ko By R.D.Burman From Movie Apna Desh [1972] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qljp8cTn4qk

R.D.Burman:
"That the film industry is full of fair-weather friends I came to know in 1961 when my father had a heart attack. At that time he'd already composed about five songs for Guru Dutt's 'Baharen Phir Bhi Aayegi". My parents told Guru Dutt that I was capable of getting the songs recorded but he declined and said sorry but he couldn't wait. After that one by one all the producers left my father. The only one to stick with him was Dev Anand—he told my father not to worry, that he'd delay the film. That's something nobody will ever do for a music director today."

"Five months later, when my father had recovered, we finished all the 'Guide' songs in five days and will you - believe it, at the first session Dev Anand okayed four tunes? Shailendra even penned three songs right there— Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai, Din dhal jaye and Tere mere sapne."

"My father was at last proud of me. One day, returning from his morning walk he said: 'Today I'm very happy with you. Till now I was recognised as S.D. Burman but today someone pointed me out and said—"There goes R.D. Burman's father"."

Lets Play:
Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai By S.D.Burman From Movie Guide [1965] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1odcNKyfZJU
Din dhal jaye By S.D.Burman From Movie Guide [1965] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrmhODlzaDU
Tere mere sapne By S.D.Burman From Movie Guide [1965] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27ASuBNWBQQ
Gata rahe mera dil By S.D.Burman From Movie Guide [1965] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b543r0E8ciI
Kya se kya ho gaya By S.D.Burman From Movie Guide [1965] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6zkhN2YGQo
Waha koun hain tera By S.D.Burman From Movie Guide [1965] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KR67xAVj5U

NOTE: R.D.'s first break as a music director came through Guru Dutt. The latter signed him as music director for "Raaz".

R.D.Burman:
"My father wasn't in favour of this. He feared that since I'd only put in two years in the industry a successful film would go to my head. But Guru Dutt was adamant.Unfortunately, after two songs were recorded, the film was shelved. I was thoroughly dejected. I pleaded with the director that it was my first film but he said 'Sorry, apne ko jum nahin raha'.
Mehmood, a friend of mine, heard about this and offered to take the songs but Guru Dutt refused to part with the recorded ones. The unused ones, among them Ghar aaja ghiraye badara sanwariya (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAUXqsaLYd0), Mehmood used for 'Chhote Nawab'. This was in 1957-58 and that was when Lata first sang for me. She came for a session, heard the song, rehearsed it and blessed me. That was one of the important moments in my life."

"When Nasir Husain was on the look out for a new music director Majrooh Sultanpuri recommended me. The film was 'Teesri Manzil' directed by Goldie Anand. The catch Came when Shammi Kapoor replaced Dev Anand in the film. I believed my chances of doing the film were kaput then as Shammi at that time was king, behaved like one and had his own group. But Jaikishen, whom Shammi approached to come in as music director, convinced him that I was good and should be given a chance. Shammi relented. He came over one day and ordered "Eh Pancham, gana sunao".
I began a Nepali folk song. After I'd hummed two lines, Shammi completed the song for me. He said 'Aage chalo, ye song mein Jaikishen ko dene wala hoon'. After that I knew the going wasn't going to be smooth. One by one I started all the songs composed for "Teesri Manzil" : Diwana mujhsa nahin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J1PUEiilUU), Oh hasina (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3O9ZuBBysc), Oh mere sona re- sona (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIpFcBQuQIA), Aaja, aaja (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSYQd2Q1N7I).
After listening to all of them Shammi turned to Nasir Husain and said, 'Pancham says he has 150 tunes, hear them and take what you like'. To me he said: 'I don't want to hear any more songs, you've passed. From now on you're my music director'."

"Somewhere along the way I developed a taste for jazz. I used to accompany friends to their sessions. The musicians just take a sign line and improvise. This brings out your creativity. If a music director doesn't know jazz, he knows nothing. That's how I feel. Spontaneous improvisation is the hallmark of a good musician.

Coming back to my career. Till the end of 1964 I didn't have much work. 'Teesri Manzil' was the only big hit to my credit. It was only after I assisted my father in 'Aradhana' that producers thought 'Pancham ko bhi kaam dena chahiye'. Shaktida who had seen me work in 'Aradhana' gave me his 'Kati Patang'. My assignments started picking up then on."

R.D.Burman ( He recalls his first meeting with Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar. He was surprised by both.):
"I met Lata at Kardar Studio in 1950 when my father was recording for "Naujavan". I saw a very thin girl in a simple sari enter. Nati si ek ladki aage aayi. I thought she was a pilot singer. Then my father introduced us. I've been a fan of hers ever since. She has a special high frequency suitable for dynamic microphones. She sounds totally different without a mike.
Again one day, sitting on a wall of the same studio, I saw a man wearing a muffler and cap and holding a black stick. He was imitating everyone who passed, just like a monkey. When we went into the studio the man jumped off the wall and came into the recording room. Jo jo gana gatey the unka satyanash karte hue woh khud gana gane lage. When I asked him why he was doing it he said: 'I am an orphan. Nobody looks after me. Please give me a chance'."

R.D.Burman (Amused at the recollection, R.D. gave a hearty laugh.The man on the wall was Kishore Kumar who, according to R.D., is the best male singer we have.):
"He is flexible. He can sing a classical song better than any of the others. I know because I've worked with all of them. He can sing a funny song or a sad song, nobody can beat him in versatility. He has never learnt any music but his ability to grasp is the secret of his success. He observes the music director and mimics."

"Several songs which proved great hits were originally rejected by producers. Dum maro dum ("Hare Rama, Hare Krishna") (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddGjV51Edok) Dev Anand had said sounded funny and wouldn't run. I persuaded him to keep it in the album as it was a situational song and useless for any other film. Kora kagaz tha ("Aradhana") (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql1-jjEPErw) had been disapproved by Shakti Da, Kaka everybody. So was Kaaton se kheench ke ("Guide") (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1odcNKyfZJU) by Dev Anand. Goldie filmed it only because they were already on location. All the tunes of 'Amar Prem' had earlier been recorded for a Bengali film 'Raaj Kumari' which flopped miserably."

R.D.Burman (R.D. confessed ruefully that sometimes tunes are rejected just to make the music director work more.):
"But frankly," he says, "the first spontaneous inspiration is always the best. It's true of my tunes at least. Ninety per cent of my tunes have come to me within two or three minutes of listening to the situation."

R.D.Burman (Does the way it is filmed play a part in the success of a song?):
"Of course. 200 per cent. The song Na mein dhan chahun ("Kala Bazar") (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCHoujzwaWY) sounded very good when recorded and might have helped the film. It was a key song in the film but was filmed very badly, the placement was wrong and didn't sound good at all. In 'Mehbooba' all the songs were badly filmed and harmed the film. Shakti Samanta is of course good, but in this case he missed the bus. Before this film was released the songs could be heard blaring from loudspeakers but two weeks after the release they too were rejected by the audience."

"Pre-release exposure of songs usually helps the film. Care should only be taken that the situation justifies the song and it is visually beautiful. Sometimes our judgement also goes haywire. For instance all the songs in 'Lovers' were destined to be big hits, we thought. The film was sold just on the basis of the songs. The audience rejected the film on the first day."

R.D.Burman (What songs does he consider miles- tones in his career?"):
"Ghar aaja ghiraye ("Chote Nawab") (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAUXqsaLYd0), Oh mere sona re (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIpFcBQuQIA), Aaja aaja (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSYQd2Q1N7I) (both "Teesri Manzil"), Dum maro dum ("Hare Rama, Hare Krishna") (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddGjV51Edok), Piya tu ab to aaja ("Caravan") (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Vjf-1F48A) and Mera naam Shabbo ("Kati Patang") (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqZV5wKs5ik). "

R.D.Burman (Some of the films he has enjoyed working.):
""Aradhana" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1MykK4u8U), "Kati Patang" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sZg4EUB3IM) , , "Aandhi" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt4QQMj6-mg), "Parichay" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nCi5kwD1Y8), "Amar Prem" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95UdAo4JdJI), "Aap Ki Kasam" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzNAFUPly38), "Betaab" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl_lNkKoFbg) and "Agar Tum Na Hote" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQoW3d5CNJM)."

R.D.Burman (How does he react to allegations that he has stolen western tunes? ):
"In the past two years I haven't copied any. 'Betaab' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl_lNkKoFbg), 'Masoom' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2ecvklFmCY) have both been totally Indian."

R.D.Burman (But he used to 'borrow' tunes from Abba, for instance.):
"If I like a particular line I take it but after that I improvise. I only borrowed eight bars from Abba's Mama Mia." Any copyright problems? "Not really. If you copy in toto you may have trouble. Again, there are common phrases in music too and two people using the same may just be a coincidence."

R.D.Burman (What should be the equipment of a good composer? ):
"He should be well versed in classical music. This is an absolute must. Some knowledge of jazz and orchestration also helps. He must also have the instinct of picking up cues—say from a car horn or the ringing of a bell."

R.D.Burman (R.D.believes a singer can bring out the best in a song.):
"When we compose we know who will best sing it. Whether it will suit a male or female voice." Among the new crop of singers he feels Amit Kumar will make good after "Jawani". Shabbir Kumar and Penaaz Masani are also sure to go far."

NOTE: On the personal front R.D is a twice married man. He first took the plunge in 1960 and was divorced in 1974. He married Asha Bhosle in 1981.

My Favorite 10 Songs ( In Random Order) From R.D.Burman:

1. Rim Jhim Gire Sawan From Manzil : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d84m-vR9Kdg

2. Musafir Hun Yaaron From Parichay : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nCi5kwD1Y8

3. Sach Mere Yaar Hain From Saagar : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft_3OKSQBX0

4. Kuchh To Log Kahenge From Amar Prem : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95UdAo4JdJI

5. Tumse Milke From Parinda : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivVikjr7hIM

6. Tere Bina Zindagi Se From Aandhi : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt4QQMj6-mg

7. Hume Aur Jeene Ki From Agar Tum Na Hote : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQoW3d5CNJM

8. Zindagi Ke Safar Me From Aap Ki Kasam : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SftApDLA8_g

9. Tujhse Naraz Nahi Zindagi From Masoom : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2ecvklFmCY

10. Kuchh Na Kaho From 1942: A Love Story : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi3VGakWK10

All Credit Goes To: V. S. Gopalakrishnan & Meera Pandya Of Filmfare,June Issue,1984

Source:

1. http://www.scribd.com/doc/37259133/R-D-Burman-My-God-That-s-My-Tune

2. http://www.imdb.com

3. http://www.wikipedia.org

Nature Related Blogs At tumblr :-)

2010-08-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

1. Weather Boner of the Day: http://wbotd.tumblr.com

2. Sea Lust: http://sealust.tumblr.com

3. Landscape, Lifescape: http://landscapelifescape.tumblr.com

4. Silhouettes: http://fysilhouettes.tumblr.com

5. Sun Surfer: http://sunsurfer.tumblr.com

6. Design Your Journey: http://thinkearth.tumblr.com

7. Autumn Dreams: http://autumndreaming.tumblr.com

8. Plants Are Taking Over: http://plantsaretakingover.tumblr.com

9. Biotic: http://biotic.tumblr.com

10. Study Of Nature: http://studyofnature.tumblr.com

11. Nat Geo Graphic Magazine: http://nationalgeographicmagazine.tumblr.com

Search,Share,Connect & Websites

2010-08-08T02:20:00.000-07:00

Let us define the internet in users perspective. I think 3 actions which are most executed over internet are Search,Share & Connect. Even this is the order of most popular website groups. Any website should revolve around any or combination of these 3 actions. Now, the number of hits or user visits depend upon the effective group of the website i;e. Search>Share>Connect .

Popular Three User Actions & Related Websites:

1.
Search:

Google ( http://www.google.com ): A search engine. Synonym for search.
Bing ( http://www.bing.com ): A search engine by Mircosoft.

2.
Share:

Text Share:

Wikipedia ( http://www.wikipedia.org ): Information website.

Twitter ( http://www.twitter.com ): Social micro-blogging website.
Blogger ( http://www.blogger.com ): Blogging website from Google.
Wordpress ( http://www.wordpress.com ): Blogging website from wordpress.

Video Share:
You Tube ( http://youtube.com ): For storing web videos. Place for uploading and sharing your own videos.

Image Share:
Picasa ( http://www.picasa.com ): For storing web albums. Place for uploading and sharing your own photos.
Flickr ( http://www.flickr.com ): For storing web albums. Place for uploading and sharing your own photos.

Document Share:
Scribd ( http://www.scribd.com ): For storing web documents. Place for uploading and sharing your own documents.

3.
Connect:

Connecting through mail:
Google Mail ( http://www.gmail.com ): E-Mail Service.
Yahoo Mail ( http://www.ymail.com ) : E-Mail Service.

Connecting through social networking websites:

Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com ): Social Networking Website.
Orkut ( http://www.orkut.com ): Social Networking Website.
Linkedin ( http://www.linkedin.com ): Professional Networking Website.

Your website has to be equipped with basic elements and then innovation will come into picture. In general, our web world constitutes of Search Share & Connect . If type 3 websites want to increase user base then they have to add share and search actions and the winner will be with all three set i.e; search,share and connect. I can see Google in that race ahead than others like Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL. But, there can be a turn from Connect world to start adding share and search feature ; and join the race. That is for websites like Facebook/Orkut and now, this is very well happening which is causing increase in user base . So, if you want to have a number one website then the formula is very simple i.e; add three basic features in your website : Search, Share & Connect ; and then add innovative stuffs in each area. Basic features will provide you platform and innovation will give you lead in this race.

I have few recommendations for websites which you can check.

My Top 5 Recommended Websites:

1.
Academic Earth ( http://www.academicearth.org ): Online degrees and video courses from leading universities.
How Stuff Works ( http://www.howstuffworks.com ): Source of credible, unbiased, and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works.

2.
Wired ( http://www.wired.com ): Daily technology news website.
Wired Blog ( http://www.wired.com/blogs ): Daily blog on miscellaneous topics.

3.
Popular URLs ( http://popurls.com ): Web News/Story Aggregator. It is the dashboard for the latest web-buzz, a single page that encapsulates up-to-the-minute headlines from the most popular sites on the internet.

4.
WorldWide Telescope ( http://www.worldwidetelescope.org ): WorldWide Telescope (WWT) enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world. Experience narrated guided tours from astronomers and educators featuring interesting places in the sky.

Web Version: http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/webclient

5.
Wolfram|Alpha ( http://www.wolframalpha.com ): British mathematician Stephen Wolfram's computational knowledge engine which generates output by doing computations from its own internal knowledge base, instead of searching the web and returning links.

Reference(s):

http://blog.wolframalpha.com
http://www.wolframalpha.com/screencast/wolframalphaintro.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Wolfram

Other Must Check Websites :

1. http://www.vimeo.com : Community of creative people who are passionate about sharing the videos.
2. http://www.boingboing.net : Top headlines/stories/news .
3. http://www.hulu.com : Movies/Music .
4. http://fora.tv : TV Clips/Programs.
5. http://www.californiacoastline.org : Photo Database Of California Coast.
6. http://www.webmd.com : Info Database For Better Health.
7. http://www.informationisbeautiful.net : Creating effective infographics.
8. http://www.artdaily.org : The First Art Newspaper on the Net.
9. http://www.videojug.com : All instructional videos in one place. Database of videos, articles, answers & people, to help you.
10. http://wikileaks.org : A multi-jurisdictional public service designed to protect whistleblowers, journalists and activists who have sensitive materials to communicate to the public.
11. http://www.openstreetmap.org : It is a free editable map of the whole world. It allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth.
12. http://www.scribd.com : Largest social publishing and reading site in the world.
13. http://www.xkcd.com : World Of Web Comics.
14. http://infosthetics.com : A weblog exploring the symbiotic relationship between creative design and the field of information visualization.
15. http://www.archive.org : Universal Access To All Knowledge.

More URLs coming soon ...

Short Threads: August

2010-08-01T01:13:00.000-07:00

1.
Research report on POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE (PET) for food packaging applications by ILSI :
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35148150/ILSI-Pet-Report

2.
Interesting facts abt the state California :
http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-reasons-not-to-live-in-california.php

3.
World of change by NASA :
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/

4.
The Showcase of Beautiful Pinhole Photography :
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/07/25/the-showcase-of-beautiful-pinhole-photography/

5.
Breathtaking photographs in Visions of Earth By Nat Geo :
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/visions-of-earth/visions-earth-2010

More coming up ....

Met with real life Chatur

2010-07-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

My Meeting with Chatur. (Real LIfe Drama Like 3 Idiots: Moderated On Demand )

Participant:

Me: ETL Designer/Developer

X: My ex-colleague in some high rank position in world's largest IT MNC

One of my project team member

Place:

One MNC's cafeteria

Time: 4.00 PM

Date: 2010-07-19

Me: How was your work till now?

X: It was great. No one in your current company would have done the work which I have done in past few years.

Me: For example?

X: I installed Ab Initio from AIX to Solaris. ( He was telling Unix and when I objected there is nothing like Unix OS then he corrected :-) ).

Me: How that is great then? It is all installation and should be manual driven.

No..no..you dont know anything. It is all great work. Even Ab Initio has emailed me some documents for the same. I still have those.

Me: Unbelievable !!. Ab Initio never does like this. There should be NDA for it and they dont contact a person. One must be client for doing so.

X: You are fool. They have done for me.

Me: Without NDA. They must had sent it to your client email id and with client's permission only.

X: They have sent hard-copy of document to my address.

Me: They usually send soft copy to client email id. Why hardcopy?

X: You have very bad attitude. You should change it.

Me: Anyways, tell me any other interesting stuff.

X: You always pretend. You are not what you show. All false sayings..You are simple and even, you don't mingle with girls and all.

Me: I don't think I pretend. Why should I?

X: There is world after you. You don't know anything.

Me: See I believe installation work is not good. You must be concentrating on algorithm and data modeling side. DW is all abt data modeling and algorithm ( transformations).

X: I have seen all in dw. Its void. No one works like me. Can you convert hexadecimal to ascii?

Me: It must be very easy.

X: Hexadecimal date to ascii date?. Ab Initio helped us to solve it. We needed extra fucntion.

Me: I think you can do without their help. What is special in Ab Initio people ?. You can define your own function and use if it is all abt user defined function.

X: can you do that?. I know you can't do.

Me: If it is possible then I can do it. But, tell me something about pageset?

X: I dont know. I can;t believe on you. You can also tell you have worked in search engine of google.

Me: ( I thought he is now going the wrong way so, lets drag him more. ) Anyways, I know your aptitude level.

X: How?

Me: I have taught you unix shell commands. I know your level. It is same brain.

X: ( Now he is out of world :-) ). Ohh..just few commands. Why did you ?.

Me: You asked me and you used to come for my help.

X: This is enough. Your attitude is really bad.

Me: I get your info from ( My ex-colleague who works in his previous company.). He is currently in same firm . I know what great work you have done.

X: Ohh. He is nothing. He knows nothing abt my work. You ask ( some english name) . I have done great work.

Me: I don't believe. If yes then why did you switch?. I know your interview answers of my prev company. You behaved very unprofessionally.

X: I rejected that offer. They were not ready to give me my rate.

Me: Anyways, You behaved very unprofessionaly. That was your mistake. You must be polite during formal interviews.

X: ( Getting heated .. more and more..) What is your work?

Me: I concentrate in algorithms. I like it.

X: Algoriothms in DW? Ha ha ha :-).

Me: In current project itself. It is really good. Challenging.

X: There is no good work left in this client's dw.

Me: You have to work and then you can conclude.

X: Ok. I will interview you if you will apply in my company. I will see.

Me: I will never appear if interviewer would be you :-). First I will not apply and if yes, then will try with the reference of my ex-managers. You will never come into picture.

X: Your ex-managers have no power. I will be taking your interview. I am in panel.

Me: Who is your manager?. Are not they?

X: Ha ha ha..all different world. I am in higher rank than your all ex-colleagues.

Me: That is great. Many of my frnds are still below your rank. That is very bad. How is that possible?

X: I am lateral joinee. I report directly to manager. There is no middle man.

Me: Great. Its good for you.

X: Even I rejected once again your previous company. I will join only for manager's rank.

Me: You have very less experience. They can't give it you. You must introspect before asking. You don't deserve that rank.

X: I can ask whatever. Ok. You have left so many companies. Where are you going now?

Me: Have few offers. Yet not decided.

X: I know you will go to US.

Me: Not sure. Lets see.

X: You are still imatured. You have to change your attitude. I am running of my patience.

Me: I know your atitude better. So, suggesting you to work on it :-). I am fine what I have.

X: That is why you leave companies frequently.

Me: I helped you so much in work. Now, you have no gratefulness. Really ridiculous. The world is really changing very fast. You are talking in such a high tone. never expected.

X: You helped me? That is only 100 days. Not more than that?.

Me: ( To myself: Your interview of yahoo..you came to my desk and requested ..chandra, please help me. They will ask questions in unix. :-). I still rememebr the zombie process question. ). Anyways, you are in wrong line. You must respect after taking something.

X: What is your class 10,12 and JEE marks?

Me: Very less.

X: Ha ha ha. Thats it. I have 90 and 90 percentages everywhere.

Me: We studied in hindi medium and in class 12 we faced very difficulty because it was everything in english.

X: Lets play 3 idiots. I will see you after 5 years from now.

Me: Please repeat. Let me record it so that we can talk after 5 years.

X: ( He took my cell phone and stopped recorder.) I will throw it if you record next time.

Me: ( I became so glad. I was talking with real life Chatur. Ohh my God !!. I started dreaming abt my charity work and comparing me with rancho. And we were three,too. ) Anyways, I will wait for 5 years.

X: Who are you?. Are you my senior..who? Whatever !!. I am going.

Me: You also take my friend with you. Don't go alone.

X: ( He requested my friend. But, he refused. ). Ok. I am going.

After this discussion, I went to his desk and invited him for weekend. Lets see if he is coming.

Have not given name of X but, I think few readers ( my ex-colleagues of same company) will be knowing till now :-). The motive is to just entertain people with some funny conversation and no bad feeling for X or anybody. Please give your feedback. How was it?. Sorry for my bad english.

Arizona Border: A safe heaven for illegal immigrants to US

2010-07-18T01:05:00.000-07:00

Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/CISORG

"Hidden Cameras on the Arizona Border 2: Drugs, Guns, and 850 Illegal Aliens" is the Center for Immigration Studies' second web-based film on the impact of illegal alien activity in Arizona. The Center's first video on the subject, "Hidden Cameras on the Arizona Border: Coyotes, Bears, and Trails," has received over 50,000 views to date. This new 10-minute mini-documentary raises the bar, featuring footage of both illegal-alien entry as well as gun- and drug-smuggling. At minimum, the inescapable conclusion is that hidden cameras reveal a reality that illegal-alien activity is escalating.

The hidden camera footage, acquired from a variety of sources, indicates that there is an unfortunate lack of federal law enforcement presence on Arizona's federal land on the border in Nogales, in the Coronado National Forest (15 miles inside the border), and the Casa Grande Sector (80 miles inside the border). Also significant to the story are responses received as part of Freedom of Information Act requests made by Janice Kephart, the Center's Director of National Security Studies, in August 2009. Featured in the film is a 2004 federal government PowerPoint showing the near-complete devastation of a borderland national park due to illegal-alien activity, highlighting the disconnect between the situation on the ground in Arizona and Washington rhetoric.

Short Threads: July

2010-07-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

1.
Eyes-on: Peter Molyneux's Virtual Human Milo

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-07/13/peter-molyneux-milo-and-kate-xbox-kinect-preview

Watch The Demo: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/puzzle/miloworkingtitle/video/6210718

2.
Planck spacecraft helps explain formation of the Universe.:

http://space.gs/10/05-jul-1.html

3.
The Case for Colonizing Mars by Robert Zubrin:

Interesting :-)

http://www.nss.org/settlement/mars/zubrin-colonize.html

4.
An Internet 100 times as fast: A new network design ( Optical Flow Switching ) could boost capacity:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/33724235/Optical-Flow-Switching-Paper-By-Chan-Muriel-Medard

http://www.physorg.com/news196940134.html

5.
Exclusive: How Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/02/ff_google_algorithm/all/1

6.
The biggest bangs in history :
http://www.newscientist.com/gallery/biggest-bangs

7.
Bit older research report but, we all need it :-). Eating less may extend lifespan :-)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070502143834.htm

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=77925

8.
Apollo-Soyuz: An Orbital Partnership Begins

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/astp_35.html

9.
Bye-Bye Batteries: Radio Waves as a Low-Power Source

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/business/18novel.html

More coming up .....

We Live In A Nation

2010-07-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

I got following lines from www and the source is anonymous.

It really makes you wonder and is a slap on our society. It is something we all should learn and introspect.
Lets learn from these lines.

We live in a nation :

Where Pizza reaches home faster than Ambulance or police,
Where you get car loan @ 8% and education loan @ 12%,
Where rice is Rs 40/- per kg but sim card is free,
Where a millionaire can buy a cricket team instead of donating the money to any charity,
Where the footwear, we wear, are sold in AC showrooms, but vegetables, that we eat, are sold on the footpath,
Where everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to follow the path to be famous,
Where we make lemon juices with artificial flavors and dish wash liquids with real lemon.
Where people are standing at tea stalls reading an article about child labor from a newspaper and say,
“Yaar bachhon se kaam karvane wale ko to phansi par chadha dena chahiye”
and then they shout “Oye chhotu 2 chaii laao…..”

Source: Anonymous

An Internet 100 times as fast

2010-06-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

Can you believe an Internet 100 times as fast? A new network design ( Optical Flow Switching ) could boost capacity.

Here is paper on Optical Flow Switching-Chan & Medard

http://www.scribd.com/doc/33724235/Optical-Flow-Switching-Paper-By-Chan-Muriel-Medard

Here is full story: http://www.physorg.com/news196940134.html

Have you tried GoogleCL?

2010-06-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hey.. GoogleCL ( Go to http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2010/06/introducing-google-command-line-tool.html ) is really awesome stuff from google :-).

First you need to install Google Data Python Client LIb and then you can access google services from cmd line using GoogleCL :-).

I just listed all docs of my Google Docs :-). Now, I am set to do all cmd line stuffs :-). Just need to write scripts :-).

Basically, GoogleCL is a pure Python application that uses the Python gdata libraries to make Google Data API calls from the command line.

References:

1. For Google Data Python Client Library : http://code.google.com/apis/gdata/articles/python_client_lib.html

You have to have python 2.5 or higher.

2.
GoogleCL Project Page:
http://code.google.com/p/googlecl

Instructions For Installing GoogleCL:
1. DEPENDENCIES
GoogleCL requires Python 2.5 or 2.6 and the gdata python client library.
You can get the library from the project homepage:
http://code.google.com/p/gdata-python-client/

The installation directions for the client library should also contain
directions on installing Python, if you don't have it already.

2. INSTALLING GOOGLECL
Short instructions:
From the command line, in the directory as this file, run
$ sudo python setup.py install

or

$ python setup.py install --home=~
(remember to set your PYTHONPATH to include your home directory if you
do it this way)

For more detailed instructions, I recommend looking at the gdata-python-client
INSTALL.txt file. It also has instructions on modifying PYTHONPATH.

After installing Google Data Python Lib ( http://code.google.com/apis/gdata/articles/python_client_lib.html ), you will have sample and example scripts. You can now write your own scripts for accessing various google services.

Just running docs_example.py :

51-196-201-123:gdata-2.0.10 chandratewary$ ./samples/docs/docs_example.py
NOTE: Please run these tests only with a test account.
Please enter your username: ctewary@gmail.com
Password:

Document List Sample
1) List your documents.
2) Search your documents.
3) Upload a document.
4) Download a document.
5) List a document's permissions.
6) Add/change a document's permissions.
7) Exit.

> 1
Retrieve (all/document/folder/presentation/spreadsheet/pdf):
Enter a category: all

TITLE TYPE RESOURCE ID
compensation pl... spreadsheet spreadsheet:0ApfFevdQHTHqdFZpemkyczItY2tTT25lZ2xXTFkxd3c
compensation pl... spreadsheet spreadsheet:0ApfFevdQHTHqdFA4VTBXRENJeXhUdVdiNXkwdE1aeHc
null spreadsheet spreadsheet:0ApfFevdQHTHqdFNBR1lsMnpiR1RJUXA3T3FqcVJZeUE
Inspiration document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF8xOGRzNXQ1c2Nr
Degree Cert4 document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF8xNmN2a3d0d2c5
Degree Cert2 00... document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF8xNGczc2hnd2Z3
Degree Cert2 document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF8xMmdzMm4zZmc2
Degree Cert1 document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF8xMGZjbTMzcmNu
ai_designer_int... document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF83ZGNxd2RjZmc
dw_designer_int... document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF84Z3J0a2M4Y20
General_Qs_Inte... document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF85ZGptc20yemc
Untitled Presen... presentation presentation:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF82Y2hjYjRyY2g
1126_Dossier_P1 pdf pdf:0B5fFevdQHTHqMTE4MGQzMWEtY2FiYy00YmQ5LTlmNTctNWVlM2MyYzRlMDEy
Chandra_Shekhar... document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF8zZmh4OXptaGY
Index document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF8yZGI5dDR6YzM
ITPOfflinePayme... document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF8xZmJrbnEzZmo
NIJobs - Job Se... document document:0AZfFevdQHTHqZHBucnY3NF8wYzV4NDZ2Zm0

Document List Sample
1) List your documents.
2) Search your documents.
3) Upload a document.
4) Download a document.
5) List a document's permissions.
6) Add/change a document's permissions.
7) Exit.

> 7

Goodbye.
51-196-201-123:gdata-2.0.10 chandratewary$

All these dirs have sample scripts for general use for various supported google services. If you want something more then you can also write for your own purpose.

51-196-201-123:samples chandratewary$ ls -lrt ../../gdata-2.0.10/samples/
total 0
drwxr-x---@ 5 chandratewary staff 170 May 13 01:00 webmastertools
drwxr-x---@ 3 chandratewary staff 102 May 13 01:00 spreadsheets
drwxr-x---@ 3 chandratewary staff 102 May 13 01:00 sites
drwxr-x---@ 6 chandratewary staff 204 May 13 01:00 oauth
drwxr-x---@ 3 chandratewary staff 102 May 13 01:00 mashups
drwxr-x---@ 3 chandratewary staff 102 May 13 01:00 maps
drwxr-x---@ 3 chandratewary staff 102 May 13 01:00 finance
drwxr-x---@ 4 chandratewary staff 136 May 13 01:00 docs
drwxr-x---@ 4 chandratewary staff 136 May 13 01:00 contacts
drwxr-x---@ 3 chandratewary staff 102 May 13 01:00 codesearch
drwxr-x---@ 3 chandratewary staff 102 May 13 01:00 calendar
drwxr-x---@ 6 chandratewary staff 204 May 13 01:00 blogger
drwxr-x---@ 6 chandratewary staff 204 May 13 01:00 base
drwxr-x---@ 3 chandratewary staff 102 May 13 01:00 authsub
drwxr-x---@ 3 chandratewary staff 102 May 13 01:00 apps
drwxr-x---@ 4 chandratewary staff 136 May 13 01:00 analytics

Currently, GoogleCL supports following services:

51-196-201-123:googlecl chandratewary$ ls -lrt
total 56
-rw-r--r--@ 1 chandratewary staff 7726 Jun 20 00:35 __init__.py
-rw-r--r--@ 1 chandratewary staff 18978 Jun 20 01:34 service.py
drwxr-xr-x@ 4 chandratewary staff 136 Jun 20 13:34 youtube
drwxr-xr-x@ 4 chandratewary staff 136 Jun 20 13:34 picasa
drwxr-xr-x@ 4 chandratewary staff 136 Jun 20 13:34 docs
drwxr-xr-x@ 4 chandratewary staff 136 Jun 20 13:34 contacts
drwxr-xr-x@ 4 chandratewary staff 136 Jun 20 13:34 calendar
drwxr-xr-x@ 4 chandratewary staff 136 Jun 20 13:34 blogger

Waiting for gmail :-)

What are you thinking? Really cool stuff :-). Is not it?. Yes..so, go ahead and install...and do all those geeky stuffs for accessing google services from cmd line.

Other Links:

http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2010/06/use-google-services-from-command-line.html

David Hockney: Drawing in a Printing Machine

2010-06-13T05:17:00.000-07:00

David Hockney is a british painter. Really wonderful painter. Here is his drawings taken from Drawing in a Printing Machine . For more of his works, please visit http://www.hockneypictures.com .

For his more recent activity :-): David Hockney On Apple Art .

Autumn Leaves :

Autumn Trees Near Thixendale :

Green Valley :

Kilham with Church :

Rainy Night on Bridlington Promenade :

Summer Sky :

Cardigan Road, Brid. :

Summer Road Near Kilham :

Winter Road Near Kilham:

Source: http://www.lalouver.com/html/david_hockney_09.html

Awesome Soccer World Cup 2010 Calendars :-)

2010-06-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

1.
Soccer World Cup 2010 Calendar 1

Its UI is awesome which attracts users :-).

2.
Soccer World Cup 2010 Calendar 2

Multi-Purpose :-)

3.
Soccer World Cup 2010 Calendar 3

But, I like Google one :-). Its simple and very lucid :-). Overall,it gives me more comfort. You can change your Local Time Location i.e; value of ctz.

We all have a date with the planet

2010-04-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

Please watch this documentary movie "We all have a date with the planet":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU

Thanks for watching. Now, it is time of our action. Lets save our planet Earth.

Dongria Kondh The Real Avatar Life

2010-03-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

Was Fictional Pandora's Na'vi:Avatar inspired by Dongria Kondh Tribe,Orissa,india? Was it known to James Cameron and improvised the same story?

1. http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/dongria

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4tuTFZ3wXQ

3. http://makanaka.wordpress.com/2010/02/14/the-last-stand-of-the-dongria-kondh

I do feel India is safest place 4 Dongria Kondh & no harm will be done to their culture and life. But, few articles on net are disturbing.

Free Plastic Surgery For Needy People

2010-03-10T05:52:00.000-08:00

If you know anyone who has met with a fire accident or people who are born with problems / disabilities such as jointed ear, nose and mouth ; and ailment in eyes, ears, nose and lips by birth then please note that they can register their names with the Pasam Hospital for free treatment (plastic surgery). Internationally acclaimed surgeons from Germany will perform surgeries in the hospital to needy patients. The treatment is free.

Address:
Pasam Hospital
(Near Government Higher Secondary School)
M M Street, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu - 624101

Dates: From March 23rd to 4th April 2010.

For Registration:
Contact Nos: 04542 - 240668, 245732.
E-Mail Id: pasam.vision@gmail.com

No harm in broadcasting , Someone will be benefitted somewhere.

News Paper Reference Link: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/11/stories/2009011151570300.htm

Right Of Expression Or Right Of Destruction

2010-03-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

Right Of Expression Or Right Of Destruction? Yes. Do you think ROE is always valid?. Don't you think ROE can be misused for destruction?. There are several cases where ROE can be misused easily and it will lead to destruction. The most danger result will be disintegrating integration of a country.

I am taking a very current news for explaining my point. We all know Mr M.F.Hussain is very talented and god gifted painter artist. He has got ROE for his paintings. He can express his views and ideas in the form of paintings. But, is it rational if u r playing with faith & feelings of crores of innocent people in d name of ROE? http://www.hindujagruti.org/activities/campaigns/national/mfhussain-campaign (This link is given only to refer M.F.Hussain's sample paitings with relevant captions.)

If you just saw his paintings then you can sense the way ROE is valid in India. You can play with purity/respect of anything, even your religion, God( You can cal it source of faith & respect) and country. is that right?. You go 2 any village in India,u will hear chant of "Rama Rama or Durga Durga" b4 eating a single grain & after coming from daily hard work.They don't know what is happening in world and only thing they know is work and prayer. There is no ROE which will allow you to play with faiths and feelings of so many innocent people. You have myriads of things to think and express. There had been great artistes in past but, no one touched this part in any part of the world.

Artistes are for people and by people. They can not be against people. Their art reflect general society trends and innovative ideas.You can not manipulate society trends and present in your art. This is wrong and will give wrong incorrect message to next generation.These things are not true and not happening in your part of world, you cannot put in your art as your expression and publish to public.

Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas: Thinking Of Kalam Sir

2010-02-26T11:41:00.000-08:00

I went through the message and idea involving providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas by India's ex-president Kalam Sir. It is really great idea and I am putting below the full speech so that we can learn from it and follow it for some purpose.

Inaugural Address By H.E. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam On November 16, 2006 , National Press Day at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi :

I am delighted to participate in the National Press Day. I would like to greet all of you on this great occasion. Forty year is indeed a big period and definitely Indian Press would have grown in many spheres of reporting. From now, to the year 2020, is a very important period for the nation. National Press definitely has to get transformed into media of billion people and above all they have to play a vital role as a partner of India’s economic development. The combination of economic development and preservation of values system drawn from our civilizational heritage will transform India into a happy, prosperous and safe nation.

Friends, when I see you all, you are very important component of the society, I recall my experiences of visiting all the States and Union Territories, and witnessing the unique ambience of the seven hundred million people living in 600,000 villages equivalent to 200,000 Panchayat’s. What is that ambience? I call that ambience as, “A scene of sweat”. It is the farmers in the agricultural field, it is the fishermen in the rough seas, it is the worker in the industries, teachers in the schools, knowledge workers in the laboratories, knowledge and Pharma industries, health workers removing the pain at all times in healthcare institutions and many other people, who have to be always remembered by this great media community. In politics, there are two components: political politics and the other important element development politics. Most of you give importance to political politics. The nation’s important need is development politics. Your reporting in this area is essential. That is how I have selected the topic for discussion today as “Press a partner in National Missions”.

Media as a partner in national development.

Friends, I would like to share with you a few experiences that are relevant to the media today.

(a) Fellows of NVA:

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) is engaged in the capacity building activity for rural development through rural youth. The Foundation had organized a meet of the national fellows some time back. The title of “Fellow” is normally attached with the academicians, intellectuals, scientists, historians and economists. Here, the fellows I am talking about are the farmers, fishermen or craftsmen drawn from various walks of life, who can make a difference to people living in the rural ambience. Their only potential is experience and enthusiasm to serve society.

I had met and interacted with over 140 fellows coming from different rural parts of the country. It is indeed a celebration of our rural core competence. The Foundation has really thought of an innovative scheme to recognize and train the people who are wedded to rural development and empowering them to promote rural transformation in certain areas. Particularly, I was impressed by the choice of fellows such as Mr. Anwarji of Balipara, Assam who has core competence in education, suitable for local people in areas such as literacy, sanitation and the use of ICT. Ms. Pushpa Ben of Village Sokhada, Gujarat who has the core competence in water conservation and vegetable vending; Ms. Vijyantha Raut of Nimgoan Bhogi, Maharastra who has the core competence of social work particularly in micro credit movement, Mr. Narsingh Singh from Charanwala Bajju village of Rajasthan who has the core competence in Computer education in rural areas; Mr. V. Deenadhayalan from Umbalchery village, Tamil Nadu with core competence in indigenous live stock keeping and also practicing animal healing using herbal plants. This clearly indicates the spectrum of experience of the fellows selected. I would recommend that journalists should interact with such grassroot social reformers and bring out their core competence, dedication and experience in serving rural communities, which can become a model for our youth to follow.

Friends, after I took over as President, apart from visiting States for participating in various functions, I also have interacted with students and people from rural areas wherever possible. I have also addressed the State Legislatures wherever possible. So far I have addressed 12 State Legislatures. In my addresses, the central message has been how the State can be economically developed with high Human Development Index, and how to increase the per capita income of the State? I normally give 8 to 10 missions. These missions have been developed based on the inputs from the Planning Commission, consultation with State ministries, the core competence of the State and the rural development profile of the State which are mapped to Vision 2020 targets. I would suggest that the media personnel should study, research and analyze these missions and put forth the actions and suggestions to the executives, leaders contribute to the development of the corresponding States.

(b) Pro-active Media:

I would like to share with you an out-of-the box solution. After my address to the Kerala Legislative Assembly on the “Missions for Kerala’s prosperity”, there was a detailed discussion in the Kerala Assembly amongst all political parties. As you know, the media in Kerala is very alert and dynamic. They took up the mission and extended the discussion to the people and all the political leaders, inviting suggestions from all of them. I would like to share with you how Malayala Manoroma contributed to the document which I presented to the Kerala Assembly. Malayala Manoroma translated this document “Missions for Kerala’s prosperity” and ensured that it reached all the readers and various active development groups. Also the media organized six workshops, in different places in the State for discussing all the ten missions and seeking the operational problems and their solutions. In this workshop, ministers, political leaders, government functionaries and media personal participated. I also interacted with them during the concluding session through video conferencing. The media finally submitted their recommendations to the Government for implementation. This proactive step undertaken by the media shows how the media can be an effective partner in the national development.

Friends, I am sharing this experience with you, which is very important for the media to be a partner in national missions, such as Developed India 2020, PURA and the recently sanctioned “Bharat Nirman” programme with an investment of Rs. 1,74,000 Crore to be executed in 4 years by the Government. There is another important programme, called the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme covering 200 districts. In addition, the Government has also passed an act called the “Right to Education Act’ for providing compulsory and free education to all children between 5 to 13 years. All these programmes are very important national programmes and particularly the media should take interest, highlight the positive aspects and provide solutions to difficult aspects through nationwide consultations. This will certainly make a difference in the implementation of the programme and bring smiles to the faces of our billion people.

The economic development has got a tremendous link with the standards of ethics in the country and dynamics of globalization. Hence I will be discussing certain development goals in our country.

Now, I would like to discuss some of the innovative development programmes that need media attention, which I have come across in different parts of the country.

(c) PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas):

The integrated method which will bring prosperity to rural India is called PURA, which envisages four connectivities: the physical connectivity of village clusters through quality roads and transport; electronic connectivity through tele-communication with high bandwidth fiber optic cables reaching the rural areas from urban cities and through internet kiosks; knowledge connectivity through education, skill training for farmers, artisans and crafts persons and entrepreneurship programmes. These three connectives will lead to economic connectivity through the establishment of enterprises with the help of banks, micro credit and marketing of products. We need to establish approximately 7000 PURA Complexes in the country encompassing over 2 lakh Village Panchayats.

(d) Operational PURA:

There are already four operational PURAs in the country pioneered by private institutions independent of Government efforts. They are the Periyar PURA in Vallam, Tamil Nadu, Loni Pura in Loni, Maharastra, Chitrakoot PURA in Madhya Pradesh and Byrraju PURA in Andhra Pradesh. Now I would like to share the experiences of my recent visit to Byyraju PURA in Bhimavaram, Andra Pradesh. Byrraju Foundation of Satyam Computer Services has undertaken the mission of establishing 32 Ashwini centers benefiting 116 villages with a population of around 500,000 people. It has provided electronic connectivity through wireless (512 kbps to 2 mbps), knowledge connectivity in cooperation with the National Academy of Construction, Hyderabad and other domain experts, thereby creating economic connectivity in these villages.

(e) Economic Connectivity:

During the last 4 years of its operations, it has skill enabled and knowledge enabled people in areas such as construction, tailoring, garment production, IT and spoken English. This programme has resulted in the creation of 3000 jobs with the minimum earning of Rs. 3000 per month, which is 3 times that of the earlier earning potential. A rural BPO Gram IT, established in Jallikakinada center has trained unemployed graduates in IT skills and spoken English and employed one hundred people to do BPO operations such as transaction processing of Human Resource data of Satyam Computers as back office processing; data processing of one million self-help-group members of Andhra Pradesh such as financial data, accounting data, spending patterns and cultural aspects under the programme “Mapping the bottom of the Pyramid”. This Gram IT BPO has led to the 10% reverse migration from Hyderabad to Bhimavaram. I am sure this Model can be replicated by many of our IT companies in the rural sector to create PURA clusters and bring rural transformation. Journalists assembled here today can definitely study this PURA and analyze the impact it has made in improving the quality of life for the people living in this cluster. Based on this study, they can spread the message of the benefits of PURA to different regions in the country. Now I would like to talk about the important facility established by the Ministry of Agriculture which should be brought to the notice of all rural people in the country for deriving maximum benefits.

(f) Chhattisgarh Bhaktara PURA:

Recently, I was in Chhattisgarh, where I inaugurated a PURA complex at Baktara village in Arang Tehsil of Raipur District. This PURA complex covering 22 villages with a population of 36,000 people is coming up and very soon it will be a vibrant PURA with high quality 4 lane roads with Battery operated and Bio-diesel buses, 1000 modern dwelling units, quality health care facility with 250 bed hospital and a state-of-the-art school by DAV Institution and paramedical and nursing training institutions. The Corporate have committed to establish these facilities linked to the schedule of commission of the PURA within next 5 years. I thought of sharing this experience with you to give an idea how the areas are fast developing in different parts of our country. Central Government is planning to create 2 PURA clusters in each district across the country as a part of the 11th plan programme. Media’s interest in PURA is indeed will be the interest of village development of the country and there by economic development of the nation.

Media Research:

I have a suggestion particularly to the members of the media consisting of editors, journalists, correspondents and reporters. In our country, it is essential to have research wings in academic institutions developing media personnel in reporting news, event analysis and highlights. This will enable our journalists to carry out original research on topics of national interest and provide solutions to medium and long term problems. The owners of newspapers should encourage research being carried out by experienced and young reporters for acquiring post-graduate qualifications which will improve the quality of content of the print media. Participating media members must realize that continuous updating of knowledge in research environment is essential for all media personnel. For example, before any issue is discussed in foreign newspapers, they send it to an internal research group where data is studied; verified and factual news is generated and sent for publication. When there was a critical comment about outsourcing to India, a US journalist stayed in India and studied the issue and found out that the companies engaged in Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) were carrying out business using imported equipment from USA and Europe. Thus, they found that the BPO industries provided an indirect market for the hardware industries of the USA and Europe. Immediately this was reported in the Indian media in a big way. Similarly a Discovery Channel media person wanted to study India’s growth in Information Technology; Thomas Friedman came to India and stayed for a month and visited Bangalore and other places. Based on his news analysis he wrote a book titled “The World is Flat”. Such is the power of research. I would suggest our Indian newspaper agencies should encourage research being carried out by our correspondents and journalists within India in academic research institutions, which will definitely improve the quality of our reporting and enhance the participation of journalists in national development missions.

Missions for media:

In the present development context of the nation, I would like the media to take up the following missions for immediate implementation.

1. A media movement: Developed India before 2020.

2. Media becoming a development partner in the programme of PURA (Providing Urban amenities in Rural Area) – connectivity is the focus.

3. Celebrating every aspect of the success of the people of the State and the Nation particularly in rural areas.

4. Evolution of corruption free India before 2015.

5. Promoting an enlightened society, which means education with value system, transforming religion into a spiritual force and building economic prosperity of the nations based on their core competence. For this mission, a unique world body is essential.

6. Print media and electronic media should bring honor to the womanhood. 7. Scanning and digitizing all old issues of the print media since its establishment and store in a digital library to preserve our national heritage and make it available for research.

8. Media should evolve a code of conduct among themselves for ensuring that all reporting is analyzed, evaluated, and researched prior to publication. This is essential for peace, prosperity and safety of the nation.

Conclusion:

Friends while I am discussing the necessity of having the code of conduct for the media, I would like to share with you a healthy practice being evolved and followed by a newspaper which is published all over the country. They have appointed a consultant exclusively for maintaining the standard of the newspaper reporting and nurture the name of the paper, thereby ensuring that all the guidelines are adhered to by the reporters.

There is a constant review of the quality of reporting and improvement in the guidelines. This may be followed by the media organizations all over the country to continuously improve the quality and maintain the consistency of news reporting.

The Members of Press council of India may undertake the task of motivating every citizens of the nation to work towards transforming India into a developed nation well before 2020. This is the mission which has to be done unitedly by all the media organizations. Once again let me greet you all on the occasion of the 40th National Press Day and wish you success in your mission of igniting the minds of our youth for making positive contribution towards the development of our nation.

May God bless you.

Real Story: I was chattiing with Facebook phishing scammer

2010-02-14T04:22:00.000-08:00

It all started with one "Hi" from one of my friend over Facebook chat. I replied as usual saying "How are you?". Then he surprised me of being held at gunpoint and stranded in London.

I started thinking how to help him. If he was stranded in London, then why ask for help over chat and not calling my cell?. He said his credit card, cash, and cell phone were all stolen and he needed 920 USD to sort out hotel bill dues and all. I asked if he had his passport, which he first time told even passport is lost but, second time he said he just got his passport back when I asked if I will send you money via Western Union ( he was requesting me to send money via Western Union) than how he will provide his Identification to agent. He even sent me message from his gmail id to prove he is the same person when I asked him if he can come over gchat. I became convinced about his genuinity. I really tried sending him money online but, it was not getting through. I called nearest Western Union Office and they told online transfer is not possible from India to UK and since today is Sunday, our agent offices are closed. His issue was having to check out of his hotel and not being able to pay. He added a time constraint of having to fly out in few hours, with the promise of paying me back. He seemed very serious and in real need. Since,I had very good relation with him, I tried helping in anyhow. I sent mails to my UK friends and also to few US friends seeking help with chat extract embedded. I even tried calling few of my friends. My one UK friend called me and suggested that tell him to reach nearest police station and he will also reach there ; and then we will help him. I became very happy and thought my friend will be out of danger very soon. But, my one other UK friend was online,too. He told me that this can be scam and we need to verify it first.

He continued to ask if I could help. I was almost done and everything was set for him. I said I am done and all set for you. But, please let me know if you are alone?. I was trying to get his wife's name. He surprisingly told me that he is with Kiran( his real wife name, I have changed here) and he is in local library.

I was convinced. I called my UK friend and told that this is genuine case. I need this help and I really need at any cost. My friend agreed immediately and he told me that ask how he will get money. Even he told if needed he will transfer money using western union from UK and he can meet him at his hotel for bill payment and all. I got out off the call. Then I asked him if he can let me know his hotel address. Meanwhile, one of my friend sent me some links which had similar type of scenarios and those were related to scams. Exactly same story. He suggested me even after going through this link if I need help then he will try. This my second friend really saved us. I continued chatting and asked his manager name. I said I need these infos because my friends are telling this can be fraud. He told "OMG!why will they said such thing. Have they been held in a Gun point before. What is worth doing is worth doing well.ok?". Then he immediately went offline.

Still, I was worried, so I called my friend and left voice message that if he is in London. Then again I emailed him that his accounts are already hacked. Even , his gmail account had been compromised.

Again, after sometime he pinged me saying "The internet was down so, he got off and if I can still help him.". I immediately asked him about which was the year when we worked in France. He said he worked with me in France but, not sure the year because he had pain in brain, I got doubly confirmed that this is a phishing scam because we never worked in France. I contacted Facebook and google security team and reported my friend's this issue. They are yet to get back to me .The hacker was online for 5-6 hours and was till before few minutes. But, I was helpless. I could only get the ip address of sender using orginal header in gmail but, that is useless. Limitation of technology is exploited by these people. I cannot do anything. Facebook and Google can do..but how?

Can you believe?. Really, I spent more than an hour chatting with a hacker. Thanks God it was Sunday :-) and Western Union was closed in India.

So, please change your passwords for all web acccounts and be aware of such things.

I have also received reply mail from facebook regarding this issue. It is same 419 scam which facebook has referred in reply. The below link has similar useful example: http://tinyurl.com/yz5nsk6

Google Buzz To Twitter

2010-02-12T16:36:00.000-08:00

We all know that Google Buzz has connecting sites feature to read your updates from their and post it to google buzz. So, we can easily have our twitter updates get published in google buzz but, the reverse is yet not official by google. Here is a way to achieve the reverse i.e; your google buzz updates will get published in your twitter account. The minimum update frequency is 30 minutes. Is not that useful?.

You have to add your Google Buzz RSS Feed URL http://buzz.googleapis.com/feeds/{your_uid}/public/posted to http://twitterfeed.com to integrate google buzz with twitter.

Here are steps:

Step 1: Create Google Buzz Feed in twitterfeed using your Google Buzz RSS Feed URL
Step 2: Configure Publishing Services
Step 3: Done

P.S: RSS i.e; "Really Simple Syndication" is a format to share data, defined in the 1.0 version of XML. You can deliver information in this format and one can get this information, and information from other various sources, in this format. Information provided by a website in an XML file which holds URL, title and summary of each page to display.is called an RSS feed. Recent browsers can read directly RSS files, but a special RSS reader or aggregator can be designed and installed to read RSS Feed. There is a very good article on "Building & Using An RSS Feed" @ http://www.xul.fr/en-xml-rss.html By Denis Sureau .

Please Help Haiti

2010-01-16T05:40:00.000-08:00

On January 12, a series of earthquakes measuring 6.5 to 7.3 on the Richter scale devastated Haiti. There is an urgent need of help from all over globe to assist those affected by this disaster.

Your gift will support emergency relief and recovery efforts to help those people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Assistance provided by the various organizations including Red Cross may include sending relief supplies, mobilizing relief workers and providing financial resources and recovery. Please donate something and help affected people from this disaster. People of Haiti will be very thankful for your help.

How To Donate?

1. Visit the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

2. Learn about the William J. Clinton Foundation's Haiti Earthquake Relief efforts.

3. Financial Donations

i. Donate $10 to the American Red Cross – charged to your cell phone bill – by texting "HAITI" to "90999."

ii. Contribute online to the Red Cross

4. Google Haiti Crisis Response Link.

5. Find more ways to help through the Center for International Disaster Information.

Crowded Train In India: Can you imagine?

2010-01-08T06:02:00.000-08:00

1. A Train, Before Indian Independence:

2. A Train In Bihar( Indian Rural State ):

3. A Train In Mumbai ( Indian Industrial City ):

4. I doubt if engine will start :-)

5. Do we really need inside compartments?

6. Can you imagine how enjoyable would be this ride?

7. My God !!
8. Speechless !!
9. Even during verification and checking ( after train crash ), train is crowdy !!

10. What else?

P.S: This blog is to show curiosity and unbelievable crowds in Indian trains at various times. It does not reflect regular state of past or present times of Indian trains.The author has no intent of showing any bad or down for India :-).This is just to show curiosity of unbelievable situations and to show how huge crowd can be in Indian trains.

When Our Mumbai Cried 60 Hours And World Was Numb

2009-11-21T06:35:00.000-08:00

When Our Mumbai Cried In Blood For 60 Hours And Whole World Was Numb:

The day 11/26 was one of the shocking event of the world. I am putting few links which you can refer for understanding what really happened. After watching the documentary video and reading these articles, please write your comments that what whole world should do to get rid of this hate and kill game. I am just numb after viewing this documentary. A little boy who lost his parents in this terror play is telling : "Mere ko samajh me nahi aata yeh log unlogo ko kyon marte hai jo kuchh kiya nahi hai."===> "Why they kill people who have not done anything bad to them." .

0.
Sixty Hours of Terror By Jason Motlagh:
http://www.vqronline.org/webexclusive/2009/11/19/motlagh-mumbai-attacks

1.
Documentary Video "The Truth Behind The 26/11 Mumbai Attacks" : http://mobmag.in/seriously/dispatches-terror-in-mumbai

2.
Article On Similar HBO Documentary:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/18/AR2009111803808.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

Really thankful to Jason and Reed for their brave work and coming up with these exclusive infos.

P.S: Intent of this blog is to take views/suggestions from various people around the world on this very hate and kill play called terrorism. Politicians of various countries play with each other on this and that topic and at the end, innocent people are killed by this group and that group. When will ordinary people start taking initiatives of their own to solve problems like this? At least, we can start from our respective country. If each country will take steps then whole world will be hate and crime free. But, it is childish to say like this...saying is easy..but, doing is very tough. What actually these men ( who are killing innocent people) need and how we can motivate or change their mind-set about world. I believe they have a wrong understanding about life and world. We should talk to them and show the actual scientific world. Nothing will glow and never you can be immortal being a biological life process. I hope we can solve this terrorism amicably by rational conversation and training/educating young people of related countries. We really need a global initiative of arranging meeting and seminar where directly they will participate and we will also try to understand what they really want and how we can clear their illusions and perspective about life.The only thing we need is a peaceful solution. God Bless All Living Elements.

Rock the life fossils way !!

2009-10-26T02:27:00.000-07:00

Ext File System : Soft Link & Hard Link

2009-10-18T03:46:00.000-07:00

In POSIX-Compliant OS,the file system(say ext2/ext3) maintains each directory as a list of inode linked data strcutures.This list contains filenames and corresponding inode number ; and the entry is linked to corresponding index entry to actual inode table.

The inode table conatins all important attributes for files like perms bits,access control list,size,data block address,link count etc etc;.

Refer this link for more details on ext file system and inode: http://ext2read.sourceforge.net/documentation/inside-ext23-file-system

Following is the structure of an inode in Ext2fs:

struct ext2_inode {

__u16 i_mode; /* File mode */

__u16 i_uid; /* Owner Uid */

__u32 i_size; /* Size in bytes */

__u32 i_atime; /* Access time */

__u32 i_ctime; /* Creation time */

__u32 i_mtime; /* Modification time */

__u32 i_dtime; /* Deletion Time */

__u16 i_gid; /* Group Id */

__u16 i_links_count; /* Links count */

__u32 i_blocks; /* Blocks count */

__u32 i_flags; /* File flags */

union {

struct {

__u32 l_i_reserved1;

} linux1;

struct {

__u32 h_i_translator;

} hurd1;

struct {

__u32 m_i_reserved1;

} masix1;

} osd1; /* OS dependent 1 */

__u32 i_block[EXT2_N_BLOCKS];/* Pointers to blocks */ ==> Disc Data Block Address Array

__u32 i_version; /* File version (for NFS) */

__u32 i_file_acl; /* File ACL */

__u32 i_dir_acl; /* Directory ACL */

__u32 i_faddr; /* Fragment address */

union {

struct {

__u8 l_i_frag; /* Fragment number */

__u8 l_i_fsize; /* Fragment size */

__u16 i_pad1;

__u32 l_i_reserved2[2];

} linux2;

struct {

__u8 h_i_frag; /* Fragment number */

__u8 h_i_fsize; /* Fragment size */

__u16 h_i_mode_high;

__u16 h_i_uid_high;

__u16 h_i_gid_high;

__u32 h_i_author;

} hurd2;

struct {

__u8 m_i_frag; /* Fragment number */

__u8 m_i_fsize; /* Fragment size */

__u16 m_pad1;

__u32 m_i_reserved2[2];

} masix2;

} osd2; /* OS dependent 2 */

};

Say, dir /prod/users/chandra/utility is maintained something like:

Create a file:

touch b.dat

b.dat,23456--->Corresponding index row in inode table

Create a soft link to it:

ln -s b.dat a.dat

a.dat,12345--->Corresponding index row in inode table

I-Node Table:

inode#,...........,Data Block Addresses........,...............,Link Counts

12345,............,i_block[0];i_block[1];......,...............,1

23456,............,i_block[0];i_block[1];......,...............,1

Whenever OS encounters a file path say /prod/users/chandra/utility/a.dat, it traverses its associated tree structure to get its parent directory and filename. It then searches the filename in contents i.e; dir entry list of parent dir ( say utility) and reads the corresponding linked data structure to access inode row in inode table. Here, for a.dat, it accesses inode# 12345 row in inode table.

Resolving File Path:

1. Traverses the path tree:

root-->prod-->users-->chandra-->utility-->a.dat

2. Searches the parent directory content using filename and gets the inode number. Since, each entry in dir is a linked data struncture,OS by using this , accesses inode row for this inode#.

3. In inode# row, it gets actual data by reading block memory address values mentioned in data block address array i.e; i_block[]. This association of actual data address and inode# row is direct.

Here, you can have more than one directory entry with same inode# but, diff file names. Each file will be linked to same inode# row leading to a direct link to actual data block through data block address. If a file is removed, other files are still accessible since inode# row entry is stil there unless link count sets a zero count deallocating inode# entry. Since, inode# row associated to these files have data block address(s) of actual data blocks i.e; you can not change data association once created for actual data and removal causes unit decrement/link removal in link count of inode# row so, the name hard link i.e; hard link to target( i.e; target inode# row).

There is a diff way of storing data address in inode# row and that is to put actual path of the file to which you need to point for file operation or address of data block which contains the text of file path i.e; these files are not directly linked to their inode# row for actual data block address rather it depends upon other file's inode# row so, the name symbolic link.It is kind of symbol based data block addressing and often called symlink in short .Removing these links keep unchanged the link count# in inode# row of associated target and also, no change in actual data file to which these links are pointing. Thus, this has name of soft link,too i.e; soft link to target ( i.e; target inode# row ).

Now as a.dat is a soft link/symbolic link ( created using -s option of ln command

i.e; link() system call), the data block address array may either contain actual text value of actual path of the target or address of data block containing text of actual path of the target which was given during soft link creation. Here, OS first traverses the tree structure for a.dat to get its own inode# row i.e; 12345; and there it gets actual target path. It again traverses the actual target path and reaches to inode# 23456 row in inode table. Here, it gets data block addresses pointing to actual data. A kind of double ( tree traversal + inode lookup ) operation is needed. Thus, soft links are slower in read/write/other file operations than hard links.

Here, b.dat is a type of link which has direct data address(s) in inode data address blocks and a.dat is a special type of link which has address to data block containing actual path of target file in inode data address blocks i.e; a symbolic address. Files of type b.dat are thus hard links and files of type a.dat are soft links.

Create Hard Links:

ln b.dat c.dat

c.dat,23456--->Corresponding index row in inode table

ln b.dat d.dat

d.dat,23456--->Corresponding index row in inode table

Final Directory Entry List:

b.dat,23456--->Corresponding index row in inode table

a.dat,12345--->Corresponding index row in inode table

c.dat,23456--->Corresponding index row in inode table

d.dat,23456--->Corresponding index row in inode table

I-Node Table:

inode#,...........,Data Block Addresses........,...............,Link Counts

12345,............,i_block[0];i_block[1];......,...............,1

23456,............,i_block[0];i_block[1];......,...............,3

Here, we created two more hard links for file b.dat and link count increments to 3 in same inode row. Even, if we will remove original file b.dat, other hard links

c.dat/d.dat will be accessible since inode entry will be removed only when link count goes to 0.

rm b.dat

Final Directory Entry List:

b.dat,23456--->Corresponding index row in inode table --> It will be removed.Think it is not present.

a.dat,12345--->Corresponding index row in inode table

c.dat,23456--->Corresponding index row in inode table

d.dat,23456--->Corresponding index row in inode table

I-Node Table:

inode#,...........,Data Block Addresses........,...............,Link Counts

12345,............,i_block[0];i_block[1];......,...............,1

23456,............,i_block[0];i_block[1];......,...............,2 ==> It is decremented by 1.

In this case, the soft link will be invalid despite the corresponding inode# row exists since, the actual path in data block address in inode row can not be searched in dir entry list.

Soft Links are target dir/file dependent which is supplied during creation time. Hard Links depend upon inode# of source.Same file can have many hard links. No one of them is preferred to the others.

Unlike soft links, changes done in one file are visible in another file in case of hard links since both the files point to same inode#.

Since, your inode numbering is file system specific. It is always possible that two files of same inode# say 23456 can exist in diff file systems : Say /data and /opt are two file systems and they have test_fs1.dat and test_fs2.dat as two files respectuvely and both have same inode# 23456. Now, OS will get confused when you will try to create a hard link /data/test_fs3.dat on /data for /opt/test_fs2.dat. It will not understand which inode# to entry to refer to associate this hard link i.e; link count increment and data read/write etc;. So, it is better not to allow any hard link in one file system against inode# residing in another file system. Hard links can thus only be created in same file system to avoid confusion over same inode# in diff file systems.

Soft Links are very well possible across file systems since it is independent of inode#. It purely depends upon file path traversal logic which is same for same OS.

Also,hard links have not been implemented yet for directories. It is possible theoretically to hard link dir but, to avoid confusions in various internal file system related programs, hard linking of dirs was not implemented. For more detail: http://lwn.net/Articles/249607/ . I think programs like "rm -rf" which need dir tree recursive traversal will get confused if some other hard link for some sub-dir also exists because those will be like files instead of a sub-dir kind to the "rm -rf".

Just to underline till date, soft links are possible for files and dirs both in same file system and diff file system ; and hard links are only possible for files in same file system.

Storage Consideration:

For Hard Links:

Only Directory Enrty of one row, one inode# row and link count updation in inode row as per need.

For Soft Links:

There are two considerations:

Type1:

When the target path name contains up to 64 bytes,it can be saved directly in the inode row, on the i_block arrays.

Total Memory Strctures: Directory Entry Of one row and One node entry .

Type2:

For target path name >= 65 bytes, i_block array contains address of additional block to store the target path name.

Total Memory Structures: Directory Entry Of one row, One inode# row entry and one extra data block memory containing the actual path of target object.

Type2 is comparatively slow because the OS needs to read additional block to resolve the pathname apart from inode row. It is also called slow soft link.

Type 1 is fast because the pathname resolution does not need any additional block and can be done using the one inode row. It is also called fast soft link.

All file related operations on a soft link is basically done on target file except removal operation which only removes the soft link directory entry and inode row deallocation.

The corresponding target file still exists . Here, soft links will be invalid/orphan if target file/dir will be removed.

All file related operations on a hard link is basically done as a regular file and it is removed only when link count goes to zero in inode# row.

Even if we remove a hard link , the other hard links will be accessible.

Example(s):

rm c.dat

Still, a.dat,b.dat and d.dat are accessible.

I-Node Table Change:

The inode# 23456 row exists with link count 2.

The inode# 12345 row also exists with link count 1.

Dir Entry Change:

c.dat's dir entry is removed.

rm b.dat

a.dat is now invalid but, d.dat is still accessible.

I-Node Table Change:

The inode# 23456 row exists with link count 1.

The inode# 12345 row also exists with link count 1 but, with dangling target file path

Dir Entry Change:

b.dat's dir entry is removed.

rm a.dat

Still, b.dat , c.dat and d.dat are accessible.

I-Node Table Change:

The inode# 23456 row exists with link count 3.

The inode# 12345 row does not exist as link count decrements to 0.

Dir Entry Change:

a.dat's dir entry is removed.

rm b.dat c.dat d.dat

Nothing accessible.

I-Node Table Change:

The inode# 23456 row does not exist as link count decrements to 0.

The inode# 12345 row exists with link count 1 but, with dangling target file path.

Dir Entry Change:

b.dat, c.dat, d.dat dir entries are removed.

ln -s target_path soft_link_path

Memory Consideration:

i. One row for directory entry for soft_link_path to inode# link.

ii. One row for inode# in inode table with block address array having address of data block(s) containing actual text string for .

iii. One extra data block(s) containing actual text string for .

ln -s target_path soft_link_path

Memory Consideration:

i. One row for directory entry for soft_link_path to inode# link.

ii. One row for inode# in inode table with block address array containing actual text string for .

P.S: Soft links are slower than actual files i.e; hard links as two times traversal including path tree/inode level is needed. Again type 1 soft links are faster than type 2.

In the order of decreasing efficiency for file operation:

Hard Link

Type 1- Soft Link

Type 2- Soft Link

IMP:

There are some other implementations for soft links which we have not included here. See section 5.3 on Symbolic Links in http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~brewer/cs262/FFS.pdf .

DB Tech Links #1

2009-09-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

I am starting a new series which will help in exploring database tech world. It will include important and interesting links related to database,dw,sql,ETL,db programming and related stuffs.Mainly it will cover database oriented links/stuffs .

I hope it will be useful :-).

Article:

Teradata 12.0: Active performance

http://www.teradata.com/tdmo/v07n03/Tech2Tech/AskTheExperts/ActivePerformance.aspx

Book:

e-Data: Turning Data Into Information with Data Warehousing By Jill Dyche

http://www.thattechnicalbookstore.com/book.aspx?isbn=0201657805&cp=0

Chapter:

Web DBMS

http://www.objs.com/survey/webDB.htm

History:

SQL:

1. Dr. E. F. Codd published the paper, "A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks", in June 1970 in the Association of Computer Machinery (ACM) journal, Communications of the ACM. Codd's model is now accepted as the definitive model for relational database management systems (RDBMS).

http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=362384.362685 ( You have to enroll as professional/student member to download it. ).

2. The language, Structured English Query Language (SEQUEL) was developed by IBM Corporation, Inc., to use Codd's model. SEQUEL later became SQL (still pronounced "sequel").

http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/chamberlin/sequel-1974.pdf

3. In 1979, Relational Software, Inc. (now Oracle) introduced the first commercially available implementation of SQL.

4. Today, SQL is accepted as the standard RDBMS language.

ANSI:

http://tinyurl.com/n8xb6v

http://tinyurl.com/3cswap

Source: www.oracle.com / www.ibm.com / http://archive.opengroup.org/public/tech/datam/sql.htm

Googlized Survey: Where is Yahoo? Where is Bing?

2009-08-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

I would call this survey as Googlized :-). Open source users have a general tendency to go for google. I also prefer google over yahoo or bing. The reason which I think would be the simplicity of google and many times, it helps me to land in correct page and what else I need?. Google does not talk much on its doings. It simply adds one more page in its blog and announces new features. It never tries to sell things instead it wants people to use it and if you really need then welcome to buy :-). I really like this approach. Others are too talkative and also, nothing they have better than google. They have beautiful pictures and flash power ..they hardly focus on basic content of search engine and that keeps me away from others. Google keeps things simple and very compact. It is in market due to its innovative stuffs and not by money and colourful ads :-). Others should understand it and they have miles miels to go for coming even closer to google. You can buy companies but, you can not buy innovations. You can by man but, you can not buy heart. Google is on later track and others on former.

Many also see Google as an open source search engine but, that is not purely true. But, it uses and promotes required open source stuffs. I see google itself as open source :-). Anyways, here is the blog on latest survey on search engine users by diff OS and Google is too high in ranking even for MS's Windows :-).

http://chitika.com/blog/2009/08/21/chitika-study-open-source-users-love-google-hate-microsoft/

Mahatma Gandhi : Forgotten In His Own Land

2009-08-16T06:19:00.000-07:00

This is a documentary video series consisting of 6 parts on Mahatma Gandhi Ji [Starting from his childhood,How he changed from an affluent lawyer,His Fight For India's Freedom,Partition Of India and His Assassination,Post Gandhi Era and Current India (A Western-Indo mixture) where no one follows Gandhi Ji's path.]. But, essence of Gandhi Ji's dream was to build his India a secular and multi cultural country prospering in peace and happiness. The dream of building multi cultural India was almost complete few years back when when we saw Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam Ji ( A Muslim ) as India's President , Dr Manmohan Singh Ji ( A Sikh) as India's Prime Minister and Smt. Sonia Gandhi Ji (A Christian) as one leading India's Ruling Congress Pary. But, is there any Gandhi ideology germinating in this multi cultural land? It is complete but, without Gandhian Principles. It is due to globalization and self interests. I doubt how significantly Gandhi Ji's ideologies are considered or taken in current India which is just becoming more replica of western world day by day . It is really sad to accept that the Great Mahatma is only remembered in speeches and letters; and in international meetings to buy some respect for India ....the fact is that the great Mahatma has been lost in his own land ....only the name Gandhi exists which is getting sold for self-interests :-(.

Various Moods Of Indian Flag: Happy Independence Day

2009-08-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

Google discovered security bug in Linux Kernel

2009-08-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

Bug#: 516949

The Bug : Linux NULL pointer dereference due to incorrect

proto_ops initializations.

Bugzilla Page:

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=516949

Description Of The Bug:

Reported by Tavis Ormandy and Julien Tinnes.

The SOCKOPS_WRAP macro from include/linux/net.h

doesn't initialise the sendpage operation in the proto_ops

structure correctly. Leading to a kernel NULL pointer

dereference, and thus a local privilege escalation.

All About The Bug# 516949:

In the Linux kernel, each socket has an associated struct

of operations called proto_ops which contain pointers to

functions implementing various features, such as accept,

bind, shutdown, and so on.

If an operation on a particular socket is unimplemented,

they are expected to point the associated function pointer

to predefined stubs, for example if the "accept" operation

is undefined it would point to sock_no_accept().

However,we have found that this is not always the case

and some of these pointers are left uninitialized.

This is not always a security issue, as the kernel validates

the pointers at the call site.

For More Details:

http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2009-08/0174.html

Affected Software:

All Linux 2.4/2.6 versions since May 2001 are believed to be affected:

- Linux 2.4, from 2.4.4 up to and including 2.4.37.4

- Linux 2.6, from 2.6.0 up to and including 2.6.30.4

Consequences:

This issue is easily exploitable for local privilege escalation.

In order to exploit this, an attacker would create a

mapping at address zero containing code to be executed

with privileges of the kernel, and then trigger a

vulnerable operation.

Successful exploitation will lead to complete attacker control of the

system.

Mitigation:

Recent kernels with mmap_min_addr support may prevent

exploitation if the sysctl vm.mmap_min_addr is set above zero.

However, administrators should be aware that LSM based

mandatory access control systems, such as SELinux,

may alter this functionality.

It should also be noted that all kernels up to 2.6.30.2 are vulnerable to

published attacks against mmap_min_addr.

More From Bugzilla:

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=516949#c10

Solution:

Linus committed a patch correcting this issue on 13th August 2009.

Related Patch URL

Credit:

This bug was discovered by Tavis Ormandy and Julien Tinnes of the Google

Security Team.

2. http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2009-08/0174.html

3. http://blog.cr0.org/2009/08/linux-null-pointer-dereference-due-to.html

4. http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/505751/30/0/threaded