A Thanks-Giving'y experience

Algorithms exam was over and it was time to party. And additionally, there was the Thanks giving season! We had decided to take full advantage of the freedom we had recently earned from studies and do some serious shopping for India.

Thus the Thursday never ended for us, instead it merged with Friday without even a single nap. Late night movie - 'To kill a mocking bird' and then early morning on Friday, at 4.30 we left for Tucson Mall. And what we saw everywhere was not to our surprise. Best-Buy, Wall-mart, Office Depot all these big stores had long queues in front of them to get the Door-Buster discounts and gifts. It was impossible to stand in those queues and thus we decided to start the shopping spree from Sears. Everywhere we went, we saw floods of people. American Consumer has waited hard all year long for this day. And the slowing down economy seems to have little or no impact on their willingness to spend. They want to spend and spend hard.

Except for a few good deals, the other discounts were not too attractive. But it was fun to see so many people, enthusiastically shopping at all places as early as 5 in the morning.

As per CNN, the cash Registers all over the country are expected to have amassed $20Bn in this Thanks giving shopping. Indeed a huge amount of money flow. That's the magic of festive season. Just like Diwali in India.

I can resist everything except tepmtation

Some quotes from Oscar Wilde. The greatest authority on aestheticism and sarcasm. His radical writings are invaluable.

It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are eithercharming or tedious.

A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it isabsolutely fatal.

Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination

At twilight, nature is not without loveliness, though perhaps its chief use is to illustrate quotations from the poets.

Biography lends to death a new terror.

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter itevery six months

I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability.

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone elsesopinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

I can resist everything except temptation

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.

When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.

Another Milestone

A 1000 hits! Along with a bonus of Google's pagerank 2 :)

Echoes

Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me
And do I take you by the hand
And lead you through the land
And help me understand the best I can

Pink Floyd (Echoes)

Tatas make India proud once again. This time with Supercomputer !

Being a proud ex-TCSer, I couldn't help post this big news on the blog. One more feather of success in India's cap, earned by Tatas.

[News source: www.ibnlive.com]

A supercomputer developed by the Tata Group has been adjudged the fastest in Asia and fourth fastest in the world.

The supercomputer, called EKA, has been built at Tata's Pune facility. It uses nearly 1,800 computing nodes and has a peak performance of 170 trillion floating-point operations per second.

"High performance computing solutions have an ever-increasing role in the scientific and new technological space the world over," Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Group, said in a statement.

The rankings have been given by the Top500 Supercomputer Sites list announced at the prestigious SC07 Conference held in the US last night.

India made it to the top 10 for the first time.

SC07 showcased high-performance computing, networking, storage and analysis that lead to advances in research, education and commerce.

[Image source: www.ibnlive.com]

???

Does the destiny control the choices we make? Or the choices we make control the destiny?

Does God exist because of our thoughts? Or the thoughts exist because of God?

Are we the only breathing animate machines on the third rock from the Sun? Or we are just cells in a giant living organism called Universe?

Is the world around us a suspended animation? Waiting to kick-start?

[P.S. Do not bother to understand the relation between these thoughts. Because there is none. They are the products of a restless organ called mind]

Story of an unfortunate twin

They were born on a midnight 60 years ago. Born among tremendous hatred, bloodshed and ruined lives. Both of them were born naked, hungry and orphans. They took the first steps together, grappling with each other. Facing the same problems, combating the same demons of poverty and illiteracy. Both of them saw a lot of twists and turns of fate in their lives. But 60 years passed. And today we see absolutely different pictures of both of them. One is on the brinks of complete ruin and the other one is prospering.

Yes, I am talking about India and Pakistan. It is an amazing and unparalleled story. It sounds like Manmohan Desai's movie where two brothers are separated at birth and then one of them grows up to become the hero of the movie and the other one ends up as a villain.

60 years past independence, India has achieved which no other nation could achieve in such a short time. It is world's fastest growing economy. There are Ambanis and Tatas. There are new generation 'Desi' Technocrats in the Silicon Valley. The entertainment world recognizes Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya and the likes. Vikram Chandra, Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth have taken the front seats in the world of literature. Indian doctors feature on the front page of CNN. India is most preferred destination for software outsourcing. It is the largest English speaking nation. And above all, it is world's largest Democracy.

Pakistan has not been this fortunate. Majority of these years it has been ruled by dictators. Militants have found safe haven for years in this country under the auspicious shelter of its rulers.

Today Pakistan is on such a juncture that it is falling in the hands of militants and is in a state of utter chaos. President Musharraf is in a pitiful situation. He has lost control over his own nurtured militancy. He has lost the confidence of US in him. US is pressurizing him to curb militant activities and restore democracy. He had no other choice but to declare emergency in the nation. On the one hand civilians like lawyers and other educated citizens are protesting on the streets. On the other hand, in deserted small villages on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Taliban supported militants are capturing villages, while the police is fleeing these places. It won't be long before the government of Pakistan will be overtaken by these forces, if the government does not take some stringent steps.

It will be interesting to watch the move by US in coming days. Will they allow overthrowing of Musharraf regime? Will they employ another puppet dictator by provoking a coup internally? Will they ask Musharraf to attack the militants?

I am sure the Indian armed forces are keeping their eyes and ears open. I hope the disturbing sequence of events in the neighboring country does not threaten our security.

Long live peace. Long live democracy.

[Image Source: http://www.peacebuttons.info/0528_India-Pakistan-Flags.jpg]

A state in turmoil

Photographs depicting emergency situation in Pakistan

[Source: http://www.ibnlive.com]



Bhutto - An non-negligible force in the political equation

Anxiety showing on people's face

Confusion, Uncertainty and anxiety

Anger and Frustration

Guardians of 'Freedom' ?



Asif Zardari - Husband of Benazir Bhutto


The common men watching President's speech


The road ahead is full of thorns for the nation

The good old newspapers were in demand when TV channels were banned

American Gangster - Movie Review

Recreated time and space of 1960s, dim colored visuals, steely background music, intense acting by Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe and as usual exceptional direction of Ridley Scott - these are the characteristics of one of the finest movies of recent times 'American Gangster'.

Based on a true story of drug trafficking scandal in US around the Vietnam war era, this is a story of two men, a hardworking man who reached at the top through wrong ways, and an honest cop who is bent on cleaning up the NY and NJ off the dope and corruption. Denzel Washington plays an African American gangster who rose from being a driver to the top of the drug mafia in NY area. Russell Crowe plays an honest cop who would do anything it takes to keep the police force honest and keep the alleys of NY clean of drugs.




The acting is the strongest point of the movie. Those who enjoy the performances of Washington and Crowe, this is a must watch for them. Those who enjoy good cinematography, they are in for a treat. The recreation of the old times reminds one of the chilling sequences in the movies like Godfather and L.A. Confidential.

Washington has once again given a memorable performance. His bursts of anger, display of steel nerves, cool execution of his rivals and his trademark dialogue in the movie 'Maah Man' are just unforgettable. He has proved again that he is the best.

Crowe on the other hand oozes raw energy in his performance. His action sequences with a huge iron hammer in hand, his irritation and anger at dishonesty in the force, nervousness in his public speech at the jury and full blooded dialogues mark a class piece of acting by him.

The movie is a bit long. Almost 3 hours. But every minute is gripping. The story moves slowly. But you will enjoy every moment. This is surely the 'Godfather' of the new age movies. And L.A. Confidential has no longer the right to be called 'THE cop drama of all time'. Both the movies have serious competition by this movie in the time to come.




[Image Source: http://www.murphsplace.com/crowe/gangster/pictures.html]

Say it with pride

Who hasn't heard of the word Procrastination in Grad-Student life. Procrastination is good. It is beneficial for mental health. And Procrastination is the inalienable right of every grad-student.

It is like continuing to smoke Cigarettes arguing, 'One day everyone has to die, I might die having a little fun on my way'. It is like playing with fire knowing that it can burn you. But the satisfaction it gives is priceless!

Why not delay something if you possibly can? You know that life is so uncertain. Due dates of assignments are extended, exams are canceled, lectures get canceled, research meetings get postponed and so on and on. Why not live the moment happily and keep the work till the latest moment possible?

If you procrastinate in your assignments, you are not the first one to encounter the difficulties. You can always get the clarifications and work on the problem with a lot of ease. If you procrastinate in your job, the requirements of the client might change and you might not have to do the work at all, rather than changing everything you have done.

Apart from these trivial and overt advantages of procrastination, the best part is the thrill. You keep the things pending till last moment and you risk so much. And this keeps the rush of adrenalin flowing in your brain. It makes you more efficient if you do the work at the last moment and makes you take a lot less time than usual.

So, Do not be shy in saying 'I am a procrastinator'.
Say it with pride.
Enjoy this moment, keep the pain for some other moment.
Procrastinate.


P.S. No pun intended to those hard working people who finish their work one week before the deadline and eagerly wait for the next one to come !

Song for the Lunatic

And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear
And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes
I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon

[Taken from Brain Damage, Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon]

What would he have felt when he saw his own creation slipping out of his hand? What would he have thought when the band started selling platinum albums without him? He created the genius and could not be part of it for long. But he would not have been in a state of mind to ask such questions. He had transcended into another domain. He became what we call 'Lunatic'.

Syd Barrett's story is full of such sad questions. Gilmour has always been very respectful towards Syd's legacy and in every concert or interview he acknowledges Syd's genius. You are immortal Syd. Millions of thanks for creating Pink Floyd.

Hypocracy of CNN-IBN Live

This post has been removed because I fear that because of the high visibility of this post, I can become the target of some unwanted actions by those whom I might have angered.

For you, Father

Today's is papa's birthday. I wrote a little something for him. This is for you papa.

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

For you, father

I look back and think

About cricket, cards and learning math

Those were the days with you, father

I halt in the pace of life and ask

Can I go back in time and live those days again?

You are the teacher of all good things to me

Honesty, Values, Affection and Hard Work

You have been a guide and a friend, father

I take this moment, to thank you

For making me what I am today

Crossing the streets, holding your hand

Climbing on the back seat of our Bajaj

These are the moments, father

I miss them when I look back and wonder

How lucky I have been to be your son

The days are past and childhood gone

You moulded yourself in every stage of my life

To teach me the tricks of life, father

Whatever I am today, I am because of you

Mom and your love has taken me here

Thousands of miles away from you

I stand holding my head high

I thank God silently, father

I thank him for giving me parents like you

Across seven seas away from you

I stand bowing my head low

I pray to you, father

You are dearer to me than any God

With Love

Bhavin

Classic Quotes from Edsger Dijkstra

Dijkstra, as the computer scientist would know, is one of the greatest 'Computer/Math Gurus' who walked the earth. A man of amazing intellect, patience, order and methodology, he has contributed a great deal in the areas of formal system design, algorithms, operating systems, distributed systems, programming languages. Here are some of his quotes.

"Object-oriented programming is an exceptionally bad idea which could only have originated in California."

"If in physics there's something you don't understand, you can always hide behind the uncharted depths of nature. You can always blame God. You didn't make it so complex yourself. But if your program doesn't work, there is no one to hide behind. You cannot hide behind an obstinate nature. If it doesn't work, you've messed up"

"The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offence."

"It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration."

"Programming is one of the most difficult branches of applied mathematics; the poorer mathematicians had better remain pure mathematicians." [ Hail Programmers !!!]

"Program testing can be a very effective way to show the presence of bugs, but is hopelessly inadequate for showing their absence." [Dijkstra was very particular about designing your code well rather than relying on testing for a bug free software]

"The question of whether Machines Can Think ... is about as relevant as the question of whether Submarines Can Swim."

"Elegance is not a dispensable luxury but a quality that decides between success and failure." [Very typical thinking of Dijkstra]

"I mean, if 10 years from now, when you are doing something quick and dirty, you suddenly visualize that I am looking over your shoulders and say to yourself "Dijkstra would not have liked this", well, that would be enough immortality for me." [What would he feel if he sees the software engineering practices which rely on Rapid Development and Prototyping!]

He is immortal for us indeed.

Nothing 'Left' to say

Left parties are like those spoiled kids who will do anything to get attention of their parents. They will cry, they will shout, they will whine and put all kinds of unreasonable demands. They will throw tantrums at their will and make sure that their demand is fulfilled.

Dr. Singh, who is definitely not one of the strong prime ministers India has seen, had to call up President Bush and convey to him that the Nuclear Deal was put on hold because of internal political pressure on him. The deal empowers India to obtain nuclear technology from US with certain conditions which are not too outrageous. Neither these conditions jeopardize the sovereignty of India by any means.

But Left had to disagree. It had been long time since Left had demanded something from Govt. The 'little child' was feeling unimportant because nobody was noticing it. They had to grab people's attention towards them. So what do they do? They sabotage the Nuclear Deal. They do what they are best at. They threaten to pull down the Government. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the 'so called' new age avtar of Mrs. Indira Gandhi comes out in full support of Dr. Singh and blasts the Left parties in her speech. Any effects on Left? Nope. They still persisted and finally the Govt had to put a lid on the deal.

Result? The Govt is red-faced. Dr. Singh was humiliated on the political stage of the world. The Indian entrepreneurs and industrialists are unhappy. India lost a very good deal and an opportunity to strengthen the situation of better energy resources.

But look who is happy. Pakistan is happy. And lo! The Left is also happy ! The unruly child is smiling.

An Inquiry into necessity of Religion in society

Why do we need Religion? This question could not have been more relevant at any time than it is today. Today the world faces crisis under the pressure of religious fanatics. Hundreds of lives are being taken every day in the name of religion.

In these times of turmoil, we stop and ask ourselves, ‘Do we need a religion at all?’ I am reading a book named ‘Breaking the spell – Religion as natural phenomenon’ by Daniel Dennett. I do not place this book among the high quality thought stimulating material. But it did provide some useful insights into the rationale of an atheist. Dennett is more of a scientist – a proponent of evolution theory and Darwinism. He views everything from the point of view of Darwin’s theory and tries to fit the argument at hand into the Evolution theory. Therefore his arguments are almost always based on Darwin theory. The motivation behind this post is not to critic Dennett. I might write a critic on the book sometime later. The objective of the post is to present my thoughts about the need of religion in a society and why people follow religion.

1. To teach us to be good, just and loving to each other.

Although there will be a faction of people who would not agree to this, in general, I believe almost every religion has this foundation. To teach people to be good, just and loving to each other. The fundamental message that the religion is supposed to convey is the overall good of humanity and peace. Most certainly, we can say that there is no religion which is founded on the basis of hate or violence.

2. To teach us how to live our lives beautifully.

They act like cookbook solution to making our lives happy. They teach us good practices. They spread the message of happy living.

3. To give us shelter in the name of intangible and invisible ‘Almighty’

Sometimes, we do not have answers to complicated questions of life. We can not understand why the fate is so cruel to us. We do not have a way of knowing why our loved ones depart. We are upset with ourselves. We are upset with the whole world. The God or Almighty is the answer to all this. We say it’s the Almighty’s will. At least, it gives us temporary respite.

4. To help us achieve ‘Moksha’ (Salvation) after death

Most religion describe the goal of humans as to achieve ‘Moksha’ or salvation. Although we do not know what lies behind the closed opaque doors of death, we always long for a beautiful ‘after-life’. Salvation from the circle of life. Nirvana.

5. To give the follower a sense of belonging to a group

Herd mentality. It gives us a sense of belonging to a larger group. We Hindus. We Muslims. We Christians. It makes us feel stronger. It has ramifications of both nature. Good and Bad. People gather and pray in group. On the other hand, people also form cults and indulge in unacceptable activities. People form mob and spread riots or commit hate crimes.

6. To help keep people away from crimes and anti-social activities

‘Thou shalt not kill’ as the bible says. Killing is bad. If you hurt someone, God will never forgive you. As if the God is omniscient Supreme Court Judge who has absolute discretion and power. Even though nobody is watching, we do not steal. Because we are taught that ‘God is watching you’.

[Image Source: http://www.wisegorilla.com/images/worldreligions/S_S_world.GIF]

500 !

Today I finally saw the landmark figure of 500 hits on my Blog. It's been about 1.5 months since I started the Hit-Counter. Feels good :)

Recollections: Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) in Mumbai, March '05

Today I loaded my iPhone with some classic numbers by Dire Straits. And I was listening to them while walking back from school. It was 'Sultans of Swings' - the phenomenally successful song by Dire Straits which reminded me of his Mumbai tour a couple of years ago.

Mark Knopfler- known as voice and guitar of the band Dire Straits, toured India in March, 2005 and I was fortunate enough to go to his Mumbai concert on 5th March. I visited Mumbai just for one day for this purpose and was looked at with some strange stares when I told people about it. Understandable, as Knopfler is not too popular in India.

But the concert was worth every single rupee I spent for the ticket and travel. Knopfler is a legendary artist who has exceptional control and creativity over his guitar. And his impressive husky voice adds to the charm of his songs.

As a man of simplicity he is, he was in his typical outfit of white shirt and black trouser. His spectacles gave him a look more of a professor than a rock artist. Never running around on stage, not trying to woo the audience, no shouting. Absolutely no-nonsense approach towards his music. This is typical of Knopfler. And this is the attitude which commands tremendous respect towards him as an artist.

Lovers holding hands and dancing to the sweet tunes of 'Romeo and Juliet', young enthusiastic teens jumping and feet-thumping on the beats of 'Tunnel of love', sensitive music lovers sitting down on the ground and enjoying the sad and grave notes of 'Brothers in arms', Knopfler had something to offer to everyone in the crowd. And I remember the surge of enthusiasm when he started his good old 'Sultans of Swing' song. The whole crowd was up on its feet, cheering him. Crowd was thin though which was kind of expected as not many people know Dire Straits in India.

An evening to remember it was.

[Image Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?msid=1042374]

Life's a Trip

I went to our local grocery store yesterday, wearing my good old UMM T-shirt which has 'UMM - Life is a Trip' written on the front.

One jolly old fellow looked at it and said, 'Hey, you think life is a trip? With a one way ticket or return? Do you believe in re-incarnation?'

And I was thinking ... Hmm .. Interesting observation ! Is life a one way trip? Or it is actually a return trip. You go back to where you have come from. No strings attached. Visit an exotic place called 'Planet Earth', stay on an extended vacation, and go back. Go back where? Back home?

You get the chance to put the knife in.....

"....You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to
So that when they turn their backs on you
You'll get the chance to put the knife in....."

This is an excerpt from the song 'Dogs' by Pink Floyd. I love this song for the power of its lyrics. Look at the flair and killing instinct of the above lines. Sheer disregard for ethics and morales. Pure animal instincts.

My inquisitive mind again became active while listening to this song and started asking numerous questions.

Why is it that only humans have an obvious obligation to display ethics and morales? Why do values not apply to any of other species of life?

Darwin theory - 'Survival of fittest'. It does not say something like 'Survival of most kind' or 'Survival of most ethical'. Hasn't God made all the species of life equal from His perspective? Then why do we have to follow rules, social norms, ethics and morales?

Why can't we also be flagrantly bad in our behavior, corrupt and pervert, just like coyotes and wolves and other wild animals? Why can't we let our animal instincts take over us and live free and wild?

"...You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder
You know its going to get harder, and harder, and harder as you get older
And in the end you'll pack, fly down south
Hide your head in the sand
Just another sad old man
All alone and dying of cancer...."

Isn't the end going to be the same for everyone? Why listen to the Aesop's fables and learn morales? Why not live the life the way you want? Why rein our natural inclination for promiscuous behavior? Why hide our obvious lust for money and other material pleasures in the deep dark closets of our conscious?

[P.S. The above thoughts do not reflect my ways of living life. They are just what I call them. Thoughts. ]

"...You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking...."

Keep the fire within alight. Keep such killer instinct in your lives. The world is brutal. You have to sleep on your toes and gotta be able to pick up the easy meat with your eyes closed. Strike when the moment is right and win. There is nothing more important in life than winning. And if you deny, you are being a hypocrite.