Monday, December 07, 2009

>> Pristine Pacific <<



Sunday, August 09, 2009

>> Mt Diablo <<

Hiked Mt Diablo last week. Not very interesting I should admit. We three guys (grad school buddies) set out without a map, no wonder we couldn't find the trail head. We kept driving and driving and lo!, the summit had arrived!

We decided to still call it a hike by descending from the summit, for about a mile ascended back to the summit :-D

Overall, a dry place. Not much greenery around, unlike the peaks to the north of SFO.





Wednesday, July 15, 2009

>> Learning the probability distribution of the Uni(?)verse <<

A friend of mine recently asked through his status message on facebook "Why is it that we follow the decimal system (other than the fact that we have had 10 fingers)".

Following are some of our hilarious (?) exchanges :-p

Jugger:
One doubt. Whats this "decimal" number system? Btw, humans have 1010 fingers. Can't you count?


Friend:
"Suppose we had followed binary system, all calculations would have been tougher, representing (and hence remembering) even small numbers would have required more digits. Would that have led to better neuro-evlotions (in terms of computation and memory) ?"


Jugger:
Memory is for those who can't compute. A string of bits is more easily compressible than a string of chars (more likely to have repeatition). So we can store numbers in compressed form :-p besides, it is easy to compute in binary. Again what is this "digit" that u just mentioned? Is it something like our "bit" ? :-p


Friend:
"memory is for those who can't compute." - NO. The Turing machine has memory. All theoretical computer models assume availability of memory. Yes; digit is like bittu. If we had followed binary system, we would have used the word digitu instead of bittu.


Jugger:
the intended meaning was that anything that can be computed (efficiently), shouldn't be stored. (In other words, if the Kolmogorov complexity of the object you would like to store is less than the size of the object itself, you'd rather store the computation).


Friend:
Yea, the kangaroo complexity matter makes sense.


Jugger:
On a serious Note:

1) You ask this question only because the decimal system is popular today. (Sumerians and the Babylonians used Sexagecimal system -- base 60)

2) The same can be asked about why anthropomorphs have a pair of arms, pair of legs. We could have certainly done better with 4 pairs of them. I believe evolution is an optimization algorithm, that has its quirks (exploration vs exploitation) in the form of random mutation. Not everything we have is "optimal".... Read More

3) The same can be asked about religion. Why is Christianity, Islam the two most popular religions in the world. Are they the "optimal" ? (I guess not :-p)

4) The entire universe in the space-time continuum (the state of every matter in it) can be considered as a string of bits (infinitely long). The current "configuration" is only one of the infinite possibilities. We do not know the "distribution" of these configuration (yet?). May be all configurations have a finite probability, may be some are more probable.

so the right question to ask is perhaps NOT "why is this possible?", but "how probable is this"

:-)

Ippidi pesittu irundha no scope for finding a figure....so lets dissolve this debate and get back to work.


Not sure how much of that techno-babble makes sense :-).

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

>> Half-dome hike <<

Finally after a year, SP and I hiked half-dome with a couple of her other friends.

The weather was expected to be worse, but thanks to good planning we managed to get to the peak by 11 AM and back by 12 noon. There was a heavy rain, followed by hail storm which made the cables wet and the route to the peak very slippery. Unfortunately this resulted in a fatal fall for a 41 yr old, who fell to his death some 1000 feet below the peak. Details here: Hiker Falls to Death. Probably someone we saw on our way back from the peak.

I was also terribly irritated by the sick bastards pushing their way up and down the cables.....many of them have little respect for those who are slow. One slip up there by one man could spell disaster for dozens of others....if only they had some common sense! I hope one of these bastards wasn't the reason behind the poor Hiker's death.

It was funny (and scary) to see SP swear at a man who pushed his way past her, during our descent from the cables :-)). Some wise thinking made her bring a harness...it proved handy. I was the reckless one up there...sans gloves, sans hiking shoes, sans harness ...

Yosemite and Half dome....a fantastic place indeed, was a wonderful weekend well spent in YNP!






Saturday, May 30, 2009

>> Facebook killed the blogger <<

When it is much easier to post quick status updates on Facebook, there is not much of an urge to blog.

This place is perhaps goinna be devoid of new posts for a while.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

>> Nano a no-no for dimwits! <<

The second public inauguration of the 1LC (1 Lakh Car), the world's cheapest car "Tata Nano", unveiled today in Mumbai by Ratan Tata has once again not gone down well with some green-eyed, lame-brained dimwits (esp those in the US).

While I did see a small percentage of comments on abcnews actually applauding the efforts of Tata motors and some even wanting to have these on US roads soon, most of the comments were purely non-nonsensical.

"2000$ coffin"
"moving targets"
"scooter on four wheels"
"nice toy"

were some of the words used by these dimwits in derision of the Nano.

Well, the Nano was not meant for dimwits like you guys.

It costs 2000$ and you will only get what can be best got out of 2000$. With a 623 cc engine, it gives you a maximum mileage of 75+ MPG. Compare that to anything you've got back here for something even 3 times that price! Air bags are not a feature of every car that rolls in India, it is not required by LAW. The Nano was aimed at the two wheeler drivers who yearned to own a car that was affordable. The Nano is far more safer than the 2 wheelers back there with hardly twice the cost! At a max speed of 65 mph, it is more than enough on Indian roads! No 2-wheeler rider in India has thought of fitting an "AC", "Music System" to his vehicle so they won't complain.

In its basic form, it is NOT meant for the US market. Those of you who deride the Nano ought to be riding Tanks, it will give you all the protection and power you ask for.

Worry about your ailing auto-industry (thanks to which Detroit will soon be a Ghost town) try to embrace the new cars entering your market.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

>> It happens only in India? <<

A conglomeration of breakers of coalitions (AIADMK,CPI,JD,BJD,TDP) form a coalition (Third front) and expect to be voted to power....it happens only in India!

Look at the track record of the members of this Coalition called Third Front!

The shameless AIADMK which withdrew support from the NDA govt in 1998 leading to the Lok Sabha elections being conducted twice within a period of 2 years in India.

The party of maggots JD (HD Sleping Gowda and his son) refused to honor the agreement they had with BJP in sharing power after having ruled for 3 years, were kicked out of power in 2008 with a resounding win for the BJP (and its first victory in the south).

Patnaik and his BJD who withdrew support last week, from the NDA with false hopes of being a major player in their dreams of a "third front" govt.

Mayawati and her BSP which called the Nuclear deal as "anti-islamic" coz it was being considered in place of bringing natural gas from Iran, THROUGH PAKISTAN!


The party of communists (the word "communist" by itself is more insulting than my coterie of choicest abuses!) who want to establish a Chinese regime in India, withdrew their support from the UPA coz they did not want India alienating itself from China by palling with the USA.

These uncouth maggots form a coalition and expect to be voted to power? Can we let them?
It will be a grave shame and error on judgment if you my countrymen vote these scoundrels into power. India can forget the sustained 10% GDP growth rate it dreams of, (the seeds of which were sown in the 90s, into which our economy was catapulted during the NDA regime and sadly squandered by the UPA in the end!)

Let us bid adieu to the Useless Political Alliance (UPA) and dynasty politics of the Congress. I can't recall any significant achievement of the UPA govt (barring the N-Deal which the NDA could have gotten done anyway!) to boost our infrastructure (hell they even messed up the Golden Quadrilateral which was initiated and gained great momentum under Vajpayee's NDA govt), to boost our economy, to create wealth and include all sections of the society without alienating some! Our country has become the playground for terrorists exported out of the failed states that surround ours. The UPA inherited an economy that was growing at 8% PA in 2004 and now have unbelievably brought it down to 5.7% last quarter. Some blame this as a side-effect of the poor performance of the economy of the world over as a whole, but then shouldn't the 9.5% GDP that was achieved in 2007 also be attributed to the good performance of the world economy? The UPA which thinks Slumdog Millionaire winning oscars is an achievement of their govt, the UPA which bluffed about using "Tycoon Services" to retrieve Bapu's memorablia (and ulimately got snubbed and their lie was exposed by Mallya).

Can we let our nation be wasted by these incompetent imbecile oafs who "represent" us at the lice-nest?

Vote for NDA, vote for BJP! (Not because I ask you to, but go explore and vote when you are convinced what the best choice would be).I am a supporter of LK Advani , if you would like to know more about him, the BJP's manifesto or the upcoming talks of "Advani on Campus" visit www.lkadvani.in

If you are a blogger who is a supporter of Advani, add the "Bloggers for Advani" button you will find to the right of this blog post.(simply click on it and follow the directions).

It is great to see Advani reach out to the youth of India like Barack Obama did here in the US. It will be great to see the day when the battle for Lok Sabha is fought in the colleges and universities in India with the promise of prosperity and catapulting India into an economic and military superpower through sound policies that are well debated, as the ammunition and not with 100 Rupee notes or packets of Biriyani in remote villages or city slums!

GO AND VOTE my countrymen.... we are a YOUNG NATION, 650 million of us are under 35, let us be the change we want to see in India!
Spread the word!

Saturday, February 28, 2009

oblivion

Another sidereal revolution of the sun went unnoticed but for family and 2 not so close friends.
Feels normal.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Quitter

inspiring...
---------------
(by Robert Service)

When you're lost in the Wild, and you're scared as a child,
And Death looks you bang in the eye,
And you're sore as a boil, it's according to Hoyle
To cock your revolver and . . . die.
But the Code of a Man says: "Fight all you can,"
And self-dissolution is barred.
In hunger and woe, oh, it's easy to blow . . .
It's the hell-served-for-breakfast that's hard.

"You're sick of the game!" Well, now, that's a shame.
You're young and you're brave and you're bright.
"You've had a raw deal!" I know -- but don't squeal,
Buck up, do your damnedest, and fight.
It's the plugging away that will win you the day,
So don't be a piker, old pard!
Just draw on your grit; it's so easy to quit:
It's the keeping-your-chin-up that's hard.

It's easy to cry that you're beaten -- and die;
It's easy to crawfish and crawl;
But to fight and to fight when hope's out of sight --
Why, that's the best game of them all!
And though you come out of each gruelling bout,
All broken and beaten and scarred,
Just have one more try -- it's dead easy to die,
It's the keeping-on-living that's hard.
----------------

Sunday, February 22, 2009

>> The Outlanders <<

A friend of mine happened to raise the following question on a discussion board

"Will you work (legally) in a foreign country against popular wishes?"

His personal view was that it was far better to get back to one's home country (where we are wanted) than work in a foreign land no matter what "dream job" you may have (and you are not wanted).


I had to say this:

What makes you think we are wanted/accepted in India?

Manus/MNS/Thackeray don't want Bhaiyas in Mumbai.
Karuna and his clowns don't want Northies/Kannadigas in TN.
Communists in West Bengal don't want any form of development (they are happy with their barren lands).
Kashmiris don't want people from other states in "their" land (Article 370 forbids it anyway).
Kannada Rakhshana Vedike and other such orgs in KA want reservation for kannadigas in IT and BT.
Mayawati wants dalits
Arjun Singh wants OBCs (not so long ago an Indian Brain was on sale on e-bay!)
Barkha,Sagarika,Rajdeep et al want Sickulars (aka Hindu Bashers)
Muthalik, Bajrang Dal and other such useless orgs want "moral" folks.


Makes me wonder....aren't we "Outlanders" anyway anywhere?

Thursday, January 29, 2009

>> Barkha Dutt Silences right to free speech <<

Shame on NDTV and Shame on Barkha Dutt to use their strong arm tactics and political clout to silence a blogger who posted his views on 26/11 coverage by Barkha Dutt and NDTV.

For details follow this link.
Barkha Dutt silences free speech

Monday, January 26, 2009

>> Atheists Acknowledged <<

Did you watch Barack Obama's inaugural address last week? Well, I didn't as I was on my way back from my winter vacation in India. (Too bad I should have chosen a different return date). But I picked up the Wall street journal while waiting @ Frankfurt airport and found the transcript of Obama's inaugural speech. It was quite interesting, sensible and avoided hot-air. But what impressed me the most were the following lines:

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers."

I think he is the first American President to have acknowledged Atheists as Citizens.

When George Bush Sr was asked way back in 1987 what message he had for his Atheist supporters, he had said:

"I don't think Atheists should be considered as Citizens, nor can they be patriotic. We are one nation under God".


May sense prevail (again)!

Thursday, December 04, 2008

>> Vulnerability of Economic Progress <<

Yeah right......secure your police forces, get better equipment, give higher bonuses, better pay, upgrade technology, seal the borders bla bla bla .... spend as much as you want and "protect" yourself.

While the terrorists keep hatching more plans to inflict more damage.... the best defense is a strong offense! period! Nobody should mess around with India.... Bush's administration failed for so many reasons, not necessarily coz it invaded Iraq.

He who says WAR is not a solution should remember that if humans are alive today it is coz we wiped out other "competing species". Survival is indeed of the fittest.

There is no point in spending 28 billion $ on our defense budget if it cannot be exercised in such times of national crisis from external militancy.

India is not a war monger, but it is pusillanimous to back-off from war. You will become vulnerable and this economic progress alone is our biggest vulnerability if we don't fearlessly tackle external threat. While the terrorist bastards and pak will continue to mess around by abetting and inciting countless terrorists.

When your house is being looted by marauders, will you blow the shit outta the marauders or will you build a fence around the house?

It is a well known fact that US became the "official superpower" and recovered from the great economic depression after the war economy took over starting from late 1936. War greatly progresses technology that at the end of the war the economy is strengthened (if planned properly).

Look at what the former chief of ISI says about "bombing bangalore".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBb3aLAJ3Lc

These cowards can't even dream of economic progress, all that they can dream of is destroying the symbols of economic progress.

While neo-(pseudo)intellectuals in Paki parliament (like Marvi Memon) concoct stories like this is an international conspiracy and that India is trying to destabilize pakistan (as if your country has ever been stable) and that India is fighting a war for resources "Oil, Wheat and Water", she said.

Yeah right, your country is staring bankruptcy in its face and we are interested in your "resources"!!! What filth. Are you guys even in control of your own democracy? Every time zardari makes a spontaneous statement only to be made to retract it by the army/ISI. Taliban in the meanwhile has been threatening to take over Pakistan.

Friday, November 28, 2008

>> Who are the real cowards? <<

"This is an act of cowardice", thats the all too familiar words we hear from UPA politicos after every act of terror.

Shut the fuck up you pusillanimous scoundrels. No they are not the cowards, they have dared to enter the Indian soil from Karachi and have dared to bomb our landmarks, shoot out people, target our railway stations, our commuters and the common man, and they have done it AGAIN!

The real cowards are the 275 in the UPA!
I am so sick of politically correct crap! The shameless MMS delivered a "robotic speech" (as Shobha De --whom I dislike, but it is not relevant right now --- called it), soon after the operations were underway by the NSG commandos.

While Mr Presentable Patil was finding it hard to construct a proper sentence while addressing the media (and he wudn't take questions).

Where the fuck is that bastard Raj Thackeray and his MNS? It is your mumbai (as you claim) that is bleeding, what the fuck can you do to heal its wounds?(some inflicted by you and your men)

He who declared the no flight will take-off from Mumbai until all sacked Jet Employees are re-instated, he who beat up the poor bhaiyas and biharis and the helpless autowallas, taxiwallas and rickshaw-wallas....where the fuck are his men? Chickened out?

I am also so sick of hearing this italian waitress speaking about the economy, about governance, national pride and fighting against terrorism.

What the fuck the whole point of flaunting the Brahmos, the Agni, the Prithvi and SURYA if you we cannot take these cockroaches out, in their breeding ground in Pakistan?

ACT....or QUIT -UPA- Useless Political Alliance....enough is enough!

PS: I saw this movie "A wednesday" couple of minutes back and it has summed up the emotions of the "common man" pretty clearly. I recommend the readers of this blog, to watch the same!

Here is a scene from the movie
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