Two good posts

1. Om Malik writes in GigaOm, how Morality is not a group effort, rather
an individual choice.(on the news that Google, Microsoft and Yahoo — are teaming up with human rights groups and other organizations to set up a Global Network Initiative that will help “avoid or minimize the impact of government restrictions on freedom of expression.”)

2. Excerpts from a speech by Watson(co-discoverer of DNA, remember Watson and Crick?) :

1. Talk to your opponents - A lot of scientists are afraid to share their ideas. But by cooperating with Maurice Wilkins, a scientist at a rival lab in London, Watson and Crick learned of experimental evidence that enabled them to clinch their discovery. The person who actually took the pioneering photograph, Rosalind Franklin, never shared her research, and died before the 1062 Nobel Prize was awarded to the three men. “Generally it pays to talk,” says Watson. Oh… and, another rule:
2. Never be the brightest person on the room; then you can’t learn anything.

....and more..

Student Feedback

Here are some chosen comments from the student feedback
I received :

(i) How was the pace of the course?
Pace of the course was like Adam and Eve
wandering in the garden of Eden.

(ii) What topics did you like/dislike in the course?
It doesn't matter what do I like or dislike in the
course. If it is in the syllabus, I have to do it.

Ubuntu

Thanks to Anand Vivek Srivastava for the tip-off, I got
the Ubuntu CD shipped to my home today. It installed
like a breeze. I remember getting Linux installed on
my machine in my college days. It used to be a real
pain in the a**. I used to call upon all the geek gods,
who could waste some precious time on me.
Anyways, let me celebrate the good times now !

Business Idea : Restaurant chain : "The Free Lunch"

The Free Lunch
A restaurant chain.
Lucky customers, based on
a Russian roulette/wheel of fortune/ whatever
don't have to pay for their meal.

time

बहुत टाइम वेस्ट भया, अबहुँ न कीजे मोर ।
काल करे सो आज कर, काम काम चहुँ ओर |
सियावर रामचंद्र भज हरि शरणम् |

bahut time waste bhaya, abahun na keeje more.
kaal kare so aaj kar, kaam kaam chahun aur.
siyavar ramchandra bhaj hari sharnam.

Meaning of Drona

Goldie Behal is all over the place to publicize his
upcoming film, Drona. Jaiprakash Chauksey comments
that meaning of Drona is not what Goldie is proclaiming
to be. Wiki to the help, and here it is :

Drona was born a brahmin, in modern day Dehradun (a modification of dehra-dron, a clay pot), which implies that he was not gestated in a womb, but outside the human body in a droon (vessel).

So, Drona means a vessel.

Further, here is the complete story of his birth :

The story of Drona's birth is recounted dramatically in Mahābhārata, Book I: Adi Parva, Sambhava Parva, Section CXXXI.^[1] Bharadwaja went with his companions to the Ganges to perform his ablutions. There he beheld a beautiful apsara named Ghritachi who had come to bathe. The sage was overcome by desire, causing him to ejaculate. Bharadwaja captured the fluid in a vessel called a drona, and Drona himself sprang from the fluid thus preserved. Drona would later boast that he had sprung from Bharadwaja without ever having been in a womb.

सिन्धी sayings

१ गुई ते गिला, खां पई चिल्ला ।
२ घोट लभे कोन, घोड़ी पेरी तैयार ।
३ गिराटड़ीयूँ पायेण ।
४ छोकरी आए मीं मिज़मान
५ एड़ो सोन घोरयां जेको कन छिन्ने ।

Mother Indus

Here is the route of the Indus river. It starts from Tibet.
Moves through Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab to end
up in Sindh. Tibetans lost their motherland. Same is
true of Kashmiris,Punjabis and Sindhis.

Why mother Indus why?

fuel

does talent fuel ambition
or does ambition polish it?
does failure fuel frustration
or does frustration nurture it?

Giving my Netgear wifi router a water bath !

It happened !
Few days back my Netgear WGR614 wifi router
at home fell in a bucket full of water !
Only saving grace was that it happened
in front of me so I could take it to
the roof instantly to let it dry in the
scorching Jodhpur heat(after shaking it
vigorously to make sure that no drops/droplets
remain hidden behind).

After that, when I used it, it was back
to work like nothing happened.
phew!
thank god!

Success

Is it necessary to have a "thick" skin
in order to "succeed"?

Worst laptop ever : Lenovo N100 3000

Worst laptop ever : Lenovo N100 3000

Noida : Sector-21 to Income Tax office in Sector-20 to Post office in Sector-19

Today morning I made a trip from Sector-21 to
Income tax office in Sector-20 to Post office
in Sector-19. Here's the map.(Lines
indicate the roads I took)


View Larger Map

Cuil

This new search engine has been
launched today. I ran a few ego searches on it, one for
"my name" another for "fundoo quotes". Results
ain't good. Will wait and watch.

pedestrians

No matter what the traffic situation in Bangalore is, pedestrians
have it better than their NCR counterparts. In NCR, the roads are really
wide, but the footpaths seem to be conspicuous by their absense.

disadvantage of flights

your friends can't piggyback with you
in case of a waitlisted ticket :-(

Good movies watched recently

The Dark Knight
Adaptation(2002)
Himalaya

I miss IIT

IITian pulls off a Sholay stunt

IIT student climbs 110 feet high water tank

Ex-IITian gives up suicide bid

Browsing

It is surprising, all of a sudden, my browsing takes a lot less
time than it used to only few weeks ago. I am done with RSS
feeds in few seconds and there seems to be nothing else
to read about...

RSS

There is no need to subscribe to all the blogs
you like. Some can be browsed and forgotten
too...