Reaching over 90% of all US internet users?
This, we have serious trouble believing.
Saturday, 26 April 2008
Omphaloskepsis
Came across the word while whiling time at FreeRice.
Know what it means?
Clue: One of the tags of this post :)
Know what it means?
Clue: One of the tags of this post :)
Friday, 25 April 2008
Buon 25 Aprile!
Italy celebrates its 63rd anniversary of liberation from fascist rule today.
And one got a good history lesson in that regard.
Q: What liberation?
A: From the Germans, naturally!
Q: The Germans occupied Italy? I thought Hitler and Mussolini were pals!
A: Of course they were, but Mussolini was thrown out in 1943, remember?
Q: Mussolini was thrown out? And it took 2 years after that to end fascist rule?
A: Post ousting Mussolini, non-fascist Italians (notably the famous Vittorio Emmanuel II -- who has a square or road named after him in every place in Italy one has been to yet, by the by...) and the Allies had a grip on the south, but stuff to the north, above the mountains at Carrara was all fascist+German occupied. From late 1943 to 1945, everyday Italians, American troops, and British troops (consisting of Indian troops as well, one is informed) fought in a long bloody series of guerilla wars in mountains not 50 kms from where one lives.
Whoa :)
And one got a good history lesson in that regard.
Q: What liberation?
A: From the Germans, naturally!
Q: The Germans occupied Italy? I thought Hitler and Mussolini were pals!
A: Of course they were, but Mussolini was thrown out in 1943, remember?
Q: Mussolini was thrown out? And it took 2 years after that to end fascist rule?
A: Post ousting Mussolini, non-fascist Italians (notably the famous Vittorio Emmanuel II -- who has a square or road named after him in every place in Italy one has been to yet, by the by...) and the Allies had a grip on the south, but stuff to the north, above the mountains at Carrara was all fascist+German occupied. From late 1943 to 1945, everyday Italians, American troops, and British troops (consisting of Indian troops as well, one is informed) fought in a long bloody series of guerilla wars in mountains not 50 kms from where one lives.
Whoa :)
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Textbooks online
Somewhat old news, which one heard only today.
The Tamil Nadu state School Education Department has a website where it's put up all school textbooks (classes 1 to 12) ... http://www.textbooksonline.tn.nic.in/
Some digging led to the discovery that other states have textbooks online as well, but one found nothing as comprehensive as TN.
States that have books /chapters online (not just syllabii, which a lot more states have):
The NCERT also had plans in this direction, but not much has come of it. All they have on their sorry excuse of a site, are syllabii and what looks like bits of random textbooks. Get your act together, guys...
Of course, now that the crucial first steps (faltering in some cases) are happening, one hopes to see better stuff too -- like perhaps interactive lessons/ tutorials/ exercises, or video... Best to leverage the interactivity of the medium, wot?
Also, our governments should do something about moving school textbooks onto non-commercial licenses (so that atleast other people can begin building more learning materials)... those books were created with public money, after all.
The Tamil Nadu state School Education Department has a website where it's put up all school textbooks (classes 1 to 12) ... http://www.textbooksonline.tn.nic.in/
Some digging led to the discovery that other states have textbooks online as well, but one found nothing as comprehensive as TN.
States that have books /chapters online (not just syllabii, which a lot more states have):
- Karnataka (with some help from the Azim Premji Foundation)
- Andhra Pradesh (also supposed to be here... but I couldn't find anything)
- Kerala
- Madhya Pradesh (They just have a skeleton site, the actual textbooks are missing :)
The NCERT also had plans in this direction, but not much has come of it. All they have on their sorry excuse of a site, are syllabii and what looks like bits of random textbooks. Get your act together, guys...
Of course, now that the crucial first steps (faltering in some cases) are happening, one hopes to see better stuff too -- like perhaps interactive lessons/ tutorials/ exercises, or video... Best to leverage the interactivity of the medium, wot?
Also, our governments should do something about moving school textbooks onto non-commercial licenses (so that atleast other people can begin building more learning materials)... those books were created with public money, after all.
Monday, 14 April 2008
Deewane-e-Aam
April - May is one's favourite time of the year, largely for a single reason: Mangoes -- specifially alphonso mangoes ( Bombay roots showing, obviously!).
As far as one is concerned, a mango is more than just a fruit. It symbolises carefree summer vacations, fun with cousins, and a million happy memories of occasions spent devouring it in all possible forms. Seriously...if sunshine had a taste, one suspects it'd be somewhat like a mango's. If happiness had a texture, it couldn't have been too different from that supple goldeny-orangey flesh. If bliss had a smell..... Gaah!
And one is waxing lyrical over them, because one is likely to miss having one's annual fix... being in Tuscany this season.
Ah well. One will read about them and drool.
Mind the wet floor.
As far as one is concerned, a mango is more than just a fruit. It symbolises carefree summer vacations, fun with cousins, and a million happy memories of occasions spent devouring it in all possible forms. Seriously...if sunshine had a taste, one suspects it'd be somewhat like a mango's. If happiness had a texture, it couldn't have been too different from that supple goldeny-orangey flesh. If bliss had a smell..... Gaah!
And one is waxing lyrical over them, because one is likely to miss having one's annual fix... being in Tuscany this season.
Ah well. One will read about them and drool.
Mind the wet floor.
Friday, 11 April 2008
India Day in Pisa
One is singing, along with K:
1) Colonial Cousins' Krishna
2) Mile Sur Mera Tumhara (cliched, but.... perfect answer to everyone who's ever asked me 'So, what language do you speak in India?')
1) Colonial Cousins' Krishna
2) Mile Sur Mera Tumhara (cliched, but.... perfect answer to everyone who's ever asked me 'So, what language do you speak in India?')
Thursday, 10 April 2008
Lost in translation
Claudio, telling someone (who had problems with their gas bill)... "Call up the Enel company, and ask them about your consummation".
Makes me wonder... How many such blunders have I made in the past months with my Italian?
I know what word I am taking to my next word-exchange session with him, certainly!
Makes me wonder... How many such blunders have I made in the past months with my Italian?
I know what word I am taking to my next word-exchange session with him, certainly!
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
Agile Theatre
If you've encountered any kind of description of Agile methods, Extreme programming, etc., you know how much they emphasise good communication -- from communication between .
My software engg prof, John Favaro, and his wife Patrizia Falcone have a cool idea on how to improve communication -- theatre.
Right from trying to 'be' the elements ('OK Hanisha, now try being Fire'), to being a mirror, to playing a weird version of Passing the Parcel (where each of us had to modify the parcel in some way, then use it --all in mime), this was totally unlike any drama one had ever done.
It was an eye-opener... I found myself saying "I can't do this... I can't make a fool of myself" way too often!
If you're like me, you're thinking... 'Fun! But what does this have to do with building software?'
Think about what extreme programming stands for -- short incremental build cycles, close-knit teams of developers and clients, constantly refactoring your designs in a million small ways to improve them -- all add up to agility, improvisation, responsiveness.
And where better to learn all these, than theatre, where the concepts have been used for centuries, if not millenia?
Using improvisation in the theatrical sense, and then wondering how to apply it to your software development, is mind boggling stuff. Something one can admit to liking... Now that the marks are in, and it doesn't sound like sucking up to a prof :)
My software engg prof, John Favaro, and his wife Patrizia Falcone have a cool idea on how to improve communication -- theatre.
Right from trying to 'be' the elements ('OK Hanisha, now try being Fire'), to being a mirror, to playing a weird version of Passing the Parcel (where each of us had to modify the parcel in some way, then use it --all in mime), this was totally unlike any drama one had ever done.
It was an eye-opener... I found myself saying "I can't do this... I can't make a fool of myself" way too often!
If you're like me, you're thinking... 'Fun! But what does this have to do with building software?'
Think about what extreme programming stands for -- short incremental build cycles, close-knit teams of developers and clients, constantly refactoring your designs in a million small ways to improve them -- all add up to agility, improvisation, responsiveness.
And where better to learn all these, than theatre, where the concepts have been used for centuries, if not millenia?
Using improvisation in the theatrical sense, and then wondering how to apply it to your software development, is mind boggling stuff. Something one can admit to liking... Now that the marks are in, and it doesn't sound like sucking up to a prof :)
Saturday, 5 April 2008
Why do people marry?
As G reminded me just the other day, I have on occasion claimed that '...marriage is for mad people'. So obviously, this has been a question I have asked enough people at enough times...
I found a somewhat-decent answer in the most unexpected place...
"Because we need a witness to our lives.
There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean?
But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything.
The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day.
You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed, because I will be your witness'."
-- Beverly (Susan Sarandon's character) in Shall We Dance?
Am I convinced?
I found a somewhat-decent answer in the most unexpected place...
"Because we need a witness to our lives.
There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean?
But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything.
The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day.
You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed, because I will be your witness'."
-- Beverly (Susan Sarandon's character) in Shall We Dance?
Am I convinced?
Friday, 4 April 2008
Google farming out Performics
When Google announced its acquisition of ad technology major DoubleClick, one of our thoughts concerned a relatively small entity in the DoubleClick stable -- their performance-based ad agency, Performics.
You *are* the medium, and then you run an agency helping people exploit it? Not goody-two-shoes-Google's style, one thought.
And true to expectation, Google's taken the controversy-free way out, and decided to let go of Performics
It'll be interesting to see who lines up at Mountain View for a piece of the action!
You *are* the medium, and then you run an agency helping people exploit it? Not goody-two-shoes-Google's style, one thought.
And true to expectation, Google's taken the controversy-free way out, and decided to let go of Performics
It'll be interesting to see who lines up at Mountain View for a piece of the action!
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
Twittering
What's all the fuss about, you ask?
Well, I don't know about you, but I *loved* the way it allows me to dash off little thoughtlets on the spur of the moment...
Perfect for people with low attention spans :)
Well, I don't know about you, but I *loved* the way it allows me to dash off little thoughtlets on the spur of the moment...
Perfect for people with low attention spans :)
Back from the land of the dead...
... or so it'd seem, given that one is posting here after ages.
Will write with some regularity this time around, hopefully!
And also liberate some older posts from Draft-folder imprisonment. Watch this space.
Will write with some regularity this time around, hopefully!
And also liberate some older posts from Draft-folder imprisonment. Watch this space.
Friday, 28 March 2008
Please vote for a good cause
This blog isn't intended for calls-to-action, but one is making an exception for a good cause that one personally believes in (and hopes that any reasonable individual believes in too).
Of course, this is valid only if you're in India.
----
A friend, Kamayani, has been been invited on Star One's reality show ' Kisko Milega Cash', for an episode dedicated to law. Her dream project is the implementation of PCPNDT ( Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques) Act, on the issue of sex determination of the foetus.
The program will be telecast on APRIL 2nd, 10.00PM IST on Star One. Please hear her out, and if you are convinced by her arguments, do vote for her to make her dream a reality.
To vote, you have type CASH C and send an SMS to 57827. Voting lines will open from 10:30 p.m. on 2nd April to 10.00 a.m. on 3rd April.
If you want to know more about her thoughts on the issue, Kamayani can be contacted at:
Adv. Kamayani Bali Mahabal
South Asia Advocacy Coordinator
Women's Health and Rights Advocacy Partnership (WHRAP)
Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre For Women (ARROW) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
website: http://www.arrow.org.my
It'd also be nice if you could pass on this message to any of your friends who may be interested. Thanks!
Of course, this is valid only if you're in India.
----
A friend, Kamayani, has been been invited on Star One's reality show ' Kisko Milega Cash', for an episode dedicated to law.
The program will be telecast on APRIL 2nd, 10.00PM IST on Star One. Please hear her out, and if you are convinced by her arguments, do vote for her to make her dream a reality.
To vote, you have type CASH C and send an SMS to 57827. Voting lines will open from 10:30 p.m. on 2nd April to 10.00 a.m. on 3rd April.
If you want to know more about her thoughts on the issue, Kamayani can be contacted at:
Adv. Kamayani Bali Mahabal
South Asia Advocacy Coordinator
Women's Health and Rights Advocacy Partnership (WHRAP)
Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre For Women (ARROW) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
website: http://www.arrow.org.my
It'd also be nice if you could pass on this message to any of your friends who may be interested.
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Word Exchange
Claudio, my ever smiling tutor, has decided to begin this word-exchange programme with me.
Basically, once every few days, we will teach each other one new word ... his forte is Italian, and mine is English, of course...
Good fun... considering today's impromptu session clearly didn't stop at dictionary-like explanations...
Given that our past chats have been known to morph into long discussions about everything from India's languages to Hannibal's conquests, this is something one is looking forward to!
Basically, once every few days, we will teach each other one new word ... his forte is Italian, and mine is English, of course...
Good fun... considering today's impromptu session clearly didn't stop at dictionary-like explanations...
Given that our past chats have been known to morph into long discussions about everything from India's languages to Hannibal's conquests, this is something one is looking forward to!
Monday, 28 January 2008
Saat rupaiyya, baraah aana
*Not* the Kishore Kumar song, but something far more substantial.
CNBC TV-18 reported today, that each school-going child in Pondicherry gets 35g of biscuits and 150 ml. of milk for breakfast each day. Trivial move, but it's led to better attendance, and better attentiveness in the classroom -- Pondicherry reportedly has 100% attendance upto Class 12.
And it costs them Rs. 7.75 per child per meal to achieve.
Of course it isn't just food that motivates students to study.
But one takes the simplistic approach here -- what if it did? What if poor parents began sending kids to school, if only to keep them from starving (one has read too many stories in Reader's Digest!)?
What if Rs. 7.75 (a little below 20 cents in USD terms today) per child, per meal could lead to a 100% literate India 15 years from now?
Loose change never achieved so much.
CNBC TV-18 reported today, that each school-going child in Pondicherry gets 35g of biscuits and 150 ml. of milk for breakfast each day. Trivial move, but it's led to better attendance, and better attentiveness in the classroom -- Pondicherry reportedly has 100% attendance upto Class 12.
And it costs them Rs. 7.75 per child per meal to achieve.
Of course it isn't just food that motivates students to study.
But one takes the simplistic approach here -- what if it did? What if poor parents began sending kids to school, if only to keep them from starving (one has read too many stories in Reader's Digest!)?
What if Rs. 7.75 (a little below 20 cents in USD terms today) per child, per meal could lead to a 100% literate India 15 years from now?
Loose change never achieved so much.
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Stuff I'd never have known without seeing ads on TV
1) There is an actual Hicksville ... somewhere on Long Island, of all places.
2) So you've wrecked your body eating waaaay more than you ideally should. No worries! Buy a diet plan / stepper / vaccum cellulite deleter thingamajig (preferably all of the above) to go from hippo to hip in one month. Seriously!
3) One bartender can crush 3 mint leaves in a mojito glass for so long that the world has heard him doing it (*and* is, strangely enough, dancing in time to his pestle's movement), but when he stops... the mint leaves are still untouched. Bacardi invents the uncrushable mint leaf?
2) So you've wrecked your body eating waaaay more than you ideally should. No worries! Buy a diet plan / stepper / vaccum cellulite deleter thingamajig (preferably all of the above) to go from hippo to hip in one month. Seriously!
3) One bartender can crush 3 mint leaves in a mojito glass for so long that the world has heard him doing it (*and* is, strangely enough, dancing in time to his pestle's movement), but when he stops... the mint leaves are still untouched. Bacardi invents the uncrushable mint leaf?
Monday, 15 January 2007
The meter is ticking...
... and its never just one meter.
The Time Meter ... The omigosh-where-*did*-the-last-five-years-go! one.
The Money Meter ..... The how-much-am-I-spending-just-to-exist-this-second one. A.k.a Sindhi Hell.
The Success Meter ... The how-the-hell-did-that-nut-get-ahead-of-me one.
The Guilt Meter ... The how many people could have been fed for months with the kind of cash I just blew at Basilico one.
Hell there are so many of 'em, my head's in a perpetual spin just keeping track :)
The Time Meter ... The omigosh-where-*did*-the-last-five-years-go! one.
The Money Meter ..... The how-much-am-I-spending-just-to-exist-this-second one. A.k.a Sindhi Hell.
The Success Meter ... The how-the-hell-did-that-nut-get-ahead-of-me one.
The Guilt Meter ... The how many people could have been fed for months with the kind of cash I just blew at Basilico one.
Hell there are so many of 'em, my head's in a perpetual spin just keeping track :)
Sunday, 29 October 2006
Wednesday, 2 August 2006
Hyderahhhhh!bad
The weekend saw me doing one of those weekend trips that life has lately seen very few of.
The agenda: ACE2006 at the ISB.
One more city, right? Not.
Hyderabad 'Dakhkhan' as my grandparents would have called it, is cool. The cantonments remind me of the more innocent Bangalore of just four years ago, the roads are blissfully flat, and 'Gachi Bowely' is all wide open spaces and breezy campuses (Tangent: Is the plural of campus campii?).
To add to which, how can you go wrong with a city where you can get into a rick, and ask to be taken to Paradise?
The agenda: ACE2006 at the ISB.
One more city, right? Not.
Hyderabad 'Dakhkhan' as my grandparents would have called it, is cool. The cantonments remind me of the more innocent Bangalore of just four years ago, the roads are blissfully flat, and 'Gachi Bowely' is all wide open spaces and breezy campuses (Tangent: Is the plural of campus campii?).
To add to which, how can you go wrong with a city where you can get into a rick, and ask to be taken to Paradise?
Thursday, 27 April 2006
Overdoing?
For a change, I read a book BEFORE everyone's hearing of it.
The book in question? 'Opal Mehta'.
Not having read the book which the author has supposedly plagiarised from, I still think far too much is being made of the whole issue.
If you think she's copied, don't buy her book.. Your dollars won't be added to her burgeoning millions.
But, should Harvard even be thinking of ticking her off for this? http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513035
If you're Ivy League, and your reputation is the base of all you have, and you've encashed it mightily all these years... I suppose all this trivia would matter.
The book in question? 'Opal Mehta'.
Not having read the book which the author has supposedly plagiarised from, I still think far too much is being made of the whole issue.
If you think she's copied, don't buy her book.. Your dollars won't be added to her burgeoning millions.
But, should Harvard even be thinking of ticking her off for this? http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513035
If you're Ivy League, and your reputation is the base of all you have, and you've encashed it mightily all these years... I suppose all this trivia would matter.
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