The Big Picture

I have made it a point to document all the extraordinarily mundane happenings in my life here. But this might be high time I look at The Big Picture of the past year. I feel some things just slipped through. So it's high time that I note them too (more extraordinarily mundane stuff coming). Here's what..

Things I did
Really picked up blogging (Just look at the count).
Started coming to office on weekends and holidays and discovered that it's not as bad as I thought earlier. (My shifting to a place near office might have something to do with this).
Read up quite a bit, not much to help my career though. Specifically, the volume of genre 'Fiction' dropped.
Participated in a TT tournament and discovered that underdogs are cheered too.
Spent less time with my family than is necessary.
Traveled to wonderful places. Among them Mulashi, Matheran, Malshej, Bhimashankar and Water Kingdom.
Rediscovered some of my childhood passions, among other things.

Things that happened to me
Some changes to my friend circle. There were many reasons; marriage, further studies, economic crisis etc etc. But the holes were quickly filled.
Stumbled upon 'Heroes' and more importantly 'TBBT'.
Received more than usual amounts of advice on topics such as life.
Some of my views about the human relations stuff changed.
Got kicked out (only in a metaphorical sense, but I would say that, won't I?) of the regular chai-adda (along with the group) for generating too much noise.

Thing that matters
[This is also my new year message, from a movie I never finished].

Tu sabr to kar mere yar..
Jara saans to le dildaar..
Chal fikranu goli maar..
Hai din jindadi de char..
Haule haule ho jayega pyaar..
Haule haule ho jayega pyaar..*

Wish you a great new year.


*Just to avoid possible confusion, Pyaar is something the protagonist of the movie wants to achieve in his life. I mean it in that sense.

Something I find profound

“Maybe nature is fundamentally ugly, chaotic and complicated. But if it's like that, then I want out.”

-Steven Weinberg

A beautiful book

Finished reading A beautiful mind today. I had been wanting to read it since I was in college. The movie had made a great impression on me then, and still ranks as one of my most favorite. The books paints a somewhat different, more humane portrait of John Nash. But just like the movie, it is deeply moving. We all have our shortcomings. The lasting lesson of the book is that you can rise above them. All you need to do is try.

I'll urge you to read it.

[Many thanks to Amit for lending me the book].

Ghajini

Watched Ghajini yesterday. Our planning was chaotic, but nothing unusual. And the first thing we noticed upon entering CPK was huge number of kids. I wonder if parents have taken Taare Zamin Par (TZP) too seriously and are expecting every Aamir Khan movie to be good for bacchas. This one is definitely not, violence levels are unusually high. But talking of kids, I got to meet some extraordinarily smart ones (x2001 types). Consider this reaction of a kid to a violent scene, "are he sagala khota asata, aapan doctor-doctor khelato na, tasa" (Marathi).

Returning to the movie; for one thing it is a movie named after the Villian. Are there more? (few English ones come to my mind, like Anaconda or Godzilla :-). It seems that the director wanted the movie to look dark, that is OK, what is not OK is overcoloring the flashback. The length of the movie (3 1/4 hrs) also takes something of it's grip on the audience away. A little trimming of the flashback would have helped, but again, there is junta who might object, coz they are watching the movie only for Asin. I found Rahman's music uninspiring too (yeah, that's too much whining for a single post). But that is my personal opinion and my friends pretty much liked it. On the brighter side, Asin's acting is good, some jokes are really hilarious, and direction in general is upto the mark. Aamir's acting is as always fantastic and action sequences are well shot. [I won't talk about Aamir's body, something over which much ink has already been spilled].

On a different note, my ability (a word from Heroes) of making movies zero sum (If I enjoy, you don't and vice versa) got verified ;-). Not sure about intra group, but our constant blabbering might have pissed aajubaajuwale off. And now something about tatoos, they play an important role in the movie. If I ever get one, I would like it to be a hyperlink to my blog. I surely don't wanna miss my own rant..

Enjoy!!

A bug primer

Types:
Bohr Bug
Heisenbug
Schroedinbug
Mandelbug

But don't worry, here's The Solution (with a capital S. Just ignore the last sentence :-)

Enjoy!!

What a chance to learn..

It was a bored Monday evening. I was not feeling hungry, though it was my normal dinner time. Somehow, apparently for no reason, a name popped in my mind. It was a movie name, recommended to me a couple of times by different people. I had nothing better to do so decided to give it a try. And Whoa!! It was not like anything I had watched before!! I would even go ahead and say it is one of the best movies I've ever watched. A powerful demonstration of what a good story can do, without big names or eye candy. And provides lot of food for thought. A must watch..
[The title is a line from the movie; but wait, I see I haven't told you the movie name yet. My mistake ;-) here you go].

My favorite Piet Hein Grooks..

Nature, it seems, is the popular name,
for milliards and milliards and milliards,
of particles playing their infinite game,
of billiards and billiards and billiards..

Losing one glove
is certainly painful,
but nothing
compared to the pain,
of losing one,
throwing away the other,
and finding
the first one again..

Similarity: Commutative law
No cow's like a horse,
and no horse like a cow,
That's one similarity
Anyhow

More about Piet Hein, More grooks.

Enjoy!!

<title> See Image below </title>

Watched The day the earth stood still yesterday. Not the latest one starring Keanu Reeves (you might have guessed that by now), I am referring to the original, which first appeared in 1951. The movie is thoughtfully made and overall I liked it. Most admirable was its acute depiction of human nature, with our love for frivolity, impatience with real knowledge, and constant bickering. Just proves people back then were just like what people are like now, but that will hardly come as a surprise to anybody. The movie powerfully captures the tension and suspicion of the era. I wonder what it would have been like to watch the movie when it was originally released (or for that matter, watching a movie released today in 2065). You can spot changing trends too, e.g. the smartest man in the world is shown solving a problem in celestial mechanics, today it might be String Theory or Loop Quantum Gravity (source: TBBT :). Klaatu's parting remarks are as pertinent today as they were back then. If only somebody paid attention. I will close with my favorite lines from the movie

Boss: Did you try calling the electricity guy?
Secretary: No, the phone doesn't work..
Boss: Then call the phone company..
Secretary: (In a tired voice) But the phone doesn't work..
(Reminds me of Keyboard Not Found, Press F11 to continue :-)

Enjoy!!

Rediscoveries

I recently whined about the need to expand my musical horizons (aka playlist). Well, I decided to do something about it (besides whining). Went ahead and listened to some stuff. Frankly, I haven't discovered anything new and impressive yet, (though I am far from exhausting the collection), but in the process discovered a few songs which were an important part of my list (and hence life) at one point in time or another, but which later just vanished. I don't know why or how, what is certain is that it happened. It feels great to have them back now. Here's what..

Pal by KK.
Listening to this song invariably brings memories of College Gatherings back. It used to be played every year at the end of ceremony. The ambiance, the dark, star studded sky, the quiet after all the shouting and final year guys joining on stage.. let me say, made a powerful impression. An important song for me..

Other top finds
Mantra by Euphoria - I especially like the lyrics of this one.
Kaise bhulegi mera naam by Euphoria
World of our own by Westlife

And now, the search continues..

New category: PreWeekend post

Watched the last episode of Heroes Season 3 this evening. I liked Season 3 better that Season 2, but probably because (among other things) I took it slowly. Watched the latest episode of TBBT before that. And my love for it just keeps growing. I am also nearing the end of a nice book, but more about that later. Now you might (quite naturally) wonder what's my point? Well, the point is that I have already exhausted my weekend survival kit, if I could call it that, and the weekend has not even begun properly. (Something similar happened last Friday too, but I guess the Landmark trip saved me. That is no longer an option though). But wait a min..

OK, I am back. Just returned from The Rabbit's desk. The guy is a champ in most games I've ever heard of. Watching him play Half Life brings to my mind the cherished memories of Unreal Tournament and Call of Duty. God, I miss those days, and that old me. Maybe it's time for me to re-start playing something. (Though what I really want is UT2003, one of the finest games ever made, in my not so humble opinion). Another thing I can try is listen to some new music. My playlist (frankly not very large) has started to seem a bit monotonous (I see that I've become more aware of my musical tastes since reading the iPod book). Suggestions are welcome in this regard. And of course there are the books. Sometimes I just completely forget about a book after buying it. Wading through my collection might yield some fruits.

Well, that's enough planning I guess. Good Bye and Have a nice weekend.

In company of The Dragons of Eden

The road to human progress passes through the Corpus Callosum, Carl Sagan tells us towards the end of The Dragons of Eden. Corpus Callosum is the main pathway connecting the two hemispheres of the brain. What he means is an equal emphasis on left hemisphere analytic functions and right hemisphere holistic functions to explore the world and move ahead.

The main topic the book deals with is how the human intelligence might have evolved. Also touches on the anatomy of brain, the evolution from Australopithecines to Homo Sapiens, the nature of sleep and dream (this part was really interesting) and how the brain might evolve in the future (possibly as a combination of machine and human intelligence). Sagan is as always wonderful with his prose. Interesting tidbits are scattered throughout (like our ears are crossed in the sense that signals from left ear are processed primarily in the right hemisphere and vice versa, but such is not the case with eyes or nostrils). But more importantly, he successfully imparts his enthusiasm along with the knowledge. And somewhere touches your heart. Finishing his books always feels like saying goodbye to a friend. Thank god there were and are people who are willing to make the world a little bit more understandable to others.

Return of the WeekendPost

Went to the office on Saturday. And I was surprised to discover only two other souls (discovered a few others later). But a small group also means something approaching (asymptotically? I don't know) a meaningful chat, like what we would be doing after, say 20 yrs. It was good. And here is a discovery of immediate practical utility (at least for Kothrud dwellers). BB is has started serving Hyderabadi Biryani, and the taste was good. Fellow HB lovers, Be Ready!!

Went to Landmark in the evening. And I must say, Pune traffic is a b****. But the journey turned out to be quite fruitful. Made my single biggest purchase so far (which made me eligible for their 'card'). I am not going to pen down the whole list, but got a few books which have been on my list for a long long time, like DNA, and there were some interesting new finds like The Dragons of Eden. I now have something to keep myself busy with (probably more than I can cope with :).

There were a few frustrations too, but I'll leave it at that. Now must get ready for the Monday. Signing out..

Into the uncanny valley

It was only recently that I came to know about the Uncanny valley. The idea was put forward by the Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970.

The concept implies that whereas cartoonish or other abstract human figures draw immediate empathy, robots or animations that appear similar to humans (but not identical) provoke a sense of unease.

So the familiarity we feel with robots and other facsimiles of humans increases with their human likeness, but there is a dip in the graph (Uncanny Valley), when the object is almost human but not quite. In Mori’s view, a full ascent out of the valley occurs only when robots become indistinguishable from humans. But the experimental results are not conclusive,

.. researchers have started to ask whether the uncanny valley actually exists. Mori’s graph was not based on experimental data—and recent studies mapping out responses to humanlike robots have produced conflicting results..

But cultural background might also influence the perception of the valley, as Christoph Bartneck has pointed out. I wonder if all this combined explains why I (a fan of Disney in general) never quite became a fan of Anime/Manga ;-).

River out of Eden

Finished reading River out of Eden yesterday. The book is about evolutionary biology and uses the 'River of DNA' as a metaphor. Now that might sound heavy, but Dawkins knows perfectly how to make it all interesting and understandable to a lay reader. So we get to know about Darwin's encounter with the ichneumon wasp (which changed his life), how the dance of the honeybee (which the worker bee uses to tell her companions where the food is) might have evolved, how nearly two billion years ago bacteria took residence inside our cells (mitochondria) and how very much important they are to us now, and many other things. The discussion of Fisher's theory of Sex ratios is also illuminating (e.g. why a beehive has hundreds/thousands of drones and just one (or a few) queen(s). Personal observation: Bees seem to be a favorite of biologists :-). And packs all this in just 188 pages (one of the best information densities I've seen and something that all writers can learn from). Go ahead, read it.

For TBBT fans..

Full lyrics of the theme song..

My current thought...

Perception is reality and All Perception is abstraction.
[again, just for the record].

Yet another edit to the blog..

Tags are cheap. You (at least some of you) know that already. But I discovered only recently that my blog lacks them. After the revelation (being a software guy) I spent some time doing the requirements analysis. What do you need tags for? For one thing, you can quickly search related posts. Now I couldn't imagine another human being searching my blog, but sure enough, it could be useful to me too. Sure I can have a few tags. The next question was whether to add tags from now on or tag my old posts too. Keeping some posts without tags seemed unfair, so I decided to take some time to tag all o' them.

I did not underestimate the task. I have 100+ posts. And I had to go through almost every one of them (in some cases even I had forgotten what was there). But overall it was a refreshing exercise. Then I had to invent stupid names for my tags, which was fun too. And in the end, I know more about my own blog now. For example, I always thought that I wrote too much about what I did over weekends, now I see their number is not that much (which means there is more to come :-). The number of tags that you need, number of posts in each category and so on speak volumes too. What started as a pointless exercise in redundancy (to use the expression from the camel book) ended up being quite fruitful.

The conclusion? Tags are useful, think of using them, if you haven't already.

Gems from Glibc

Today while browsing the (extensive) Glibc documentation, something caught my eye. A function named strfry. Now the expression 'frying a string' conjures up varied images, so I decided to check what it is. Basically it takes a string and replaces it with a pseudorandom anagram of itself in place. I can imagine a few uses for that. But more interesting is what the documentation has to say..

The function addresses the perennial programming quandary: “How do I take good data in string form and painlessly turn it into garbage?". ..for programs based on the GNU C library, the strfry function is the preferred method for destroying string data.

A standard way of destroying data? I mean, these guys are really meticulous. (Thank God for that).

Another interesting one is memfrob. The prototype is similar to memset, but instead of setting everything to 0, it ex-ors each byte with a constant (00101010b). Do it again and you get your original data back. ROT13 for binary data. Nice..

And I am sure there are many gems still hidden, just need to keep looking. But wait, doesn't that also apply to life?

Unexpected..

Unexpected rains =
Unexpected Maggi and Omelette
+ Unexpected discoveries of movies and music
+ Unexpected raindrops on your body (and glasses)
= Unexpected fun..