Silver Reflects

Silver Reflectshttp://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/Rajat Upadhyaya's blogen-usSat, 14 Nov 2009 23:06:45 +0530Twitter Redux (Jun 2009)http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2009/11/twitter-redux-2/Welcome to your Quarterlife Crisis - <http://www.eyeweekly.com/print/article/55882> Modern Love: Somewhere Inside, a Path to Empathy - <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/fashion/17love.html> Walkman v iPod: A 13 year old boy's verdict <http://bit.ly/UZ497> (Makes me feel ancient) **RT** [@**udupendra**](http://twitter.com/udupendra): <http://tinyurl.com/l89vuj> - Nice analysis of the comic book industry (hat tip [@**gkjohn**](http://twitter.com/gkjohn)) **RT** [@**uvfan**](http://twitter.com/uvfan): Awesome destinations! :) <http://bit.ly/1kCcZI> **RT** [@**jeresig**](http://twitter.com/jeresig) The Netflix Grand Prize % has been breached: <http://bit.ly/12QDMz> The top 3(4) teams merged to create one winning solution. *[The new team, BellKor's Pragmatic Chaos - <http://bit.ly/11LnVb>]* ROTFL. I think I might have seen a few such people <http://abstrusegoose.com/43> *[I compulsively hover my mouse over any webcomic I encounter. Damn you, xkcd! :-)]* **RT** [@**aadisht**](http://twitter.com/aadisht): Colour photography in early 20th century Russia: <http://is.gd/1byvy> A bit disappointing that Intel's ad uses an actor to play Ajay Bhatt - <http://tinyurl.com/qspjl9> (via [@**prempanicker**](http://twitter.com/prempanicker) : <http://bit.ly/Qyf7f>) Jumbo welcome for Aditi's new employees \*ahem\* - <http://bit.ly/6cW5O> *[YouTube]* Internet ©rapshoot: How Internet Gatekeepers Stifle Progress - <http://bit.ly/MZiDZ> Erik Naggum (1965-2009) <http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/ErikNaggum> (Check out the flame war links. Vitriolic falls short for describing them) "You can't judge a book by its movie", "Dyslexics have more fnu" and more - <http://bit.ly/16ZnGs> Raises the URL shortening grouse I have always had with Twitter - <http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001276.html> *[I wish Twitter would allow hyperlinks. These shortened URLs are such a pain. After opening a few, I don't know who tweeted what.]* **RT** [@**venusatuluri**](http://twitter.com/venusatuluri): Why you (not) sleep with Mother Teresa? <http://bit.ly/LjPCv> Why did MSD feel the heat/lose his cool at the post-match conference? Because there was no Orient PSPO fan in the hall. Sounds like extended EAMCET with national scope. What say [@**venusatuluri**](http://twitter.com/venusatuluri)? - <http://bit.ly/Dzh6D> Dhoni should probably carry Aircel Pocket Internet with him while batting too. Maybe then he can become Man of the Match ;-) [@**chan2182**](http://twitter.com/chan2182) Sadly no - <http://twitter.zendesk.com/forums/10711/entries/14016>. Ideally I should have a public profile and msgs should be public by default with the option to tag msgs as private. [delicious](http://delicious.com/) uses a similar model where you can mark links as 'Do Not Share'. Such a feature is long overdue on Twitter. *[In reply to the question: "When I reply to @someone who doesn't follow me, does @someone still see my tweet? Given that I've protected my updates from non-followers?"]* The Exodus Obama Forgot to Mention - <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/opinion/09aciman.html> (HT: [@**mahesh_shastry**](http://twitter.com/mahesh_shastry)) 25 Years of Tetris: From Russia With Fun! - <http://bit.ly/LNn4I> The Land of No Smiles - <http://bit.ly/VgcQu> (HT [@**sharathrao**](http://twitter.com/sharathrao)) [@**uvfan**](http://twitter.com/uvfan) Could be a recursive acronym too. Bing Is Not Google. *[In response to the question: Is Bing an acronym for "But It's Not Google"?]* Ideal search result for Google on Bing: "Google not found. Did you mean 'googol'? Q: Connect Al Gore to Superman A: <http://bit.ly/b5NO0> Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:06:45 +0530http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2009/11/twitter-redux-2/Twitter Redux (Apr 2009 - May 2009)http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2009/11/twitter-redux/*__Note__: Some of the updates here are longer than 140 characters. These are aggregates of multiple related tweets.* How technology lifts Pixar's 'Up' - <http://bit.ly/vitFl> Dumbstruck. **RT** [@**rameshsrivats**](http://twitter.com/rameshsrivats) K'taka Health Minister spends Rs.20 crore on son's wedding <http://is.gd/JBkJ> As they say: Health is Wealth. Is Kanimozhi a freedom fighter? - <http://bit.ly/sdTzq> (via Churumuri <http://bit.ly/7JBf4>). *[One commenter there wonders whether the default value for Freedom Fighter is 'Yes'. If so, the implementor should be hauled up. Most GoI/GoK websites are pathetic in terms of usability. Common sense generally thrown out of the window. Is NIC the common culprit here?]* There are two novels that can change a bookish 14-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs (<http://moodybiologist.com/blog/?p=126>) **RT** [@**aadisht**](http://twitter.com/aadisht): Dear BSNL, do you seriously expect us to believe that someone who's friends with Deepika Padukone has a "non-happening" life? [@**prempanicker**](http://twitter.com/prempanicker) Because a penguin is more intelligent than a robin? *[[in reply to prempanicker](http://twitter.com/prempanicker/status/1885296823)]* Futuristic bus stops blend practical, chic - <http://bit.ly/jvK78> I wonder whether FakeIPLPlayer would call Maharoof as "Bada Chath" [@**venusatuluri**](http://twitter.com/venusatuluri) Use text files. Can't get simpler than that. I use them for books and movies, maintaining both done and to-be-done together. I use the GMail Tasks thingy for stuff to be done though. *[In reply to the question: "Is there an app out there that implements a simple priority queue to manage to-do lists, to-read lists, to-watch lists etc.?"]* "The octopus wrapped his testicles round the diver & strangled him" - Exam howlers at <http://bombay.indology.info/howlers.html> (HT [@**uvfan**](http://twitter.com/uvfan)) I was expecting Onions, tears and Windies in some headline. Now I see Cricinfo using "*Onions make Windies weep*". How about "*Onions leaves a bad taste in the mouth of Windies batsmen*"? Would have been especially apt if he had broken a few teeth. OTOH, -ve ones: "*Smith cuts Onions to size*" or even better "*Onions peeled away by strong Gayle*". Oh boy! This is getting out of hand. As Andrew Miller says on Cricinfo, "*...Onions, the man with a surname that headline-writers cannot help but relish...*" FB feed shows an app called "What Periodic Element are you?". Makes me wish 'asinine' was an element :-) Pak vs Aus T20 match delayed. No, no, it isn't raining in Dubai. They are waiting for the Sheikh to arrive!!! Is There Anything Good About Men? - <http://denisdutton.com/baumeister.htm> Sledging in cricket - <http://tinyurl.com/cvmkf3> Playing now - Rajni's Castrol ad (...Ellame Jujubi...) - <http://tinyurl.com/dha2dz> *[YouTube]* Confessions of an Entrepreneur's Wife - <http://www.inc.com/magazine/20060301/confessions_Printer_Friendly.html> Of couples and copulas - <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/912d85e8-2d75-11de-9eba-00144feabdc0.html> Guha, Ravi Shankar & the Nobel - <http://tinyurl.com/czn9nw> "Testicular guard used first in cricket in 1874 & 1st helmet in 1974. Took 100 years for men to realize that the brain is also important!", "The species has to continue even if it produces mad people. I think the priority is perfectly fine!" - Quotes from Cricinfo [GMail Autopilot](http://mail.google.com/mail/help/autopilot/index.html) reminds me of <http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2005/08/busy-ness-proposal/> (which seems pretty silly in retrospect). The follies of youth! Introducing Opera Face Gestures - <http://labs.opera.com/news/2009/04/01/> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:28:33 +0530http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2009/11/twitter-redux/Twitter Redux (Jan 2009 - Mar 2009)http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2009/10/twitter-redux/The Hardest Interview Puzzle Question Ever - <http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001243.html> Jihad against joy - <http://tinyurl.com/bgqanc> Sarkozy and the 'hobby of kings' - <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7910711.stm> Does UC really test intelligence? - <http://tinyurl.com/buuv4z> *[UC = [University Challenge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Challenge)]* 15 Incredible Conceptual Designs You Wish Existed - <http://tinyurl.com/d359pl> "I was driven mad by the Chinese education system" - <http://tinyurl.com/akszvy> Savant for a Day - <http://tinyurl.com/3mz54k> *[Ambivalent about this article. I find it somewhat disturbing. Feels like instant gratification on some level.]* Mysterious number 6174 - <http://plus.maths.org/issue38/features/nishiyama/> Judges Plead Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit - <http://tinyurl.com/cdtncj> Mindf**k movies - <http://tinyurl.com/adx4oy> "Today the level of BQG has gone so high that every serious quizzer is aware of the group" - Am I missing something here? *[Tweeting sceptically after reading [this article](http://archive.deccanherald.com/Content/Feb22009/metromon20090201115920.asp) in the Deccan Herald about the Bangalore Quiz Group]* [@**uvfan**](http://twitter.com/uvfan) "The optimist sees the doughnut. But the pessimist sees the hole." I would say the pessimist sees the calories :-) *[[in reply to uvfan](http://twitter.com/uvfan/status/1156607468) about <http://twurl.nl/hvk07x>]* The Ultimate Dogfooding Story - <http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001217.html> **RT** [@**uvfan**](http://twitter.com/uvfan) "How to choose a chart" chart - <http://tinyurl.com/7uw4xv> <http://edward.oconnor.cx/2005/04/rms> - Was RMS was trying to be funny? If he was, I would say he was unsuccessful. Emoticons FTW :-) How Porsche hacked the financial system and made a killing - <http://radian.org/notebook/porsche> "If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, you’re the sucker" - Matt Damon in "Rounders" "If we’re not failing at something on a regular basis, we’re just not trying hard enough." - Supposedly an old adage The Next World Order - <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/opinion/02das.html> Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:49:54 +0530http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2009/10/twitter-redux/Twitter Redux (Sep 2008 - Dec 2008)http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2009/09/twitter-redux/*The blog has lain fallow for more than a year. However from September 2008, I have been active on **Twitter** ([@urajat](http://twitter.com/urajat/)). Since my updates on Twitter are protected, I thought I would collect some of my better (re)tweets/links/conversations here for public consumption. Some of the tweets are followed by annotations in italics. The links posted here will mostly be of the shortened variety, although I might get them to expand automatically in future posts. Till then, bear with me.* The questions seem all wrong! :-) - <http://tinyurl.com/2racf6> "Happy Christmas everyone!" - <http://www.flickr.com/photos/philbonnell/3132206324/in/photostream/> Kevin Carter - <http://www.thisisyesterday.com/ints/KCarter.html> Stephen Colbert at White House Correspondents' Association Dinner - <http://tinyurl.com/lnjpz> *[Google Video]* The invisible man rescuing art - <http://tinyurl.com/5hnhsl> **SIGH** <http://tinyurl.com/5o9ll7> *[Once upon a time in Bangalore on Route No. 11]* Nice problem - <http://www.ibiblio.org/harris/500milemail.html> Netflix : If You Liked This, Sure to Love That - <http://tinyurl.com/64v4jr> **SIGH** - <http://tinyurl.com/5g7dqw> *[The change of guard in Indian cricket has pulled the rug out from under the feet of a generation of cricket watchers]* David Foster Wallace - <http://tinyurl.com/554hxu> Randall Munroe's (xkcd) visit to Google - <http://www.beyondsatire.us/?q=node/272> Managed to get a Java null pointer exception in Matlab while undoing and redoing edits! McCain in Maine (<http://tinyurl.com/4gy7cd>) - Stephen King could probably cook up a plot here :-) Term paper madness - <http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article10100801.aspx> Netflix releases API. The ratings are finally free (as in freedom). [*<http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/netflix_api_launches_tomorrow.php>*] Trying to get my T-Mobile rebate. Since June :-( *[More on this saga in a separate post]* Damascus swords & nanotech - <http://tinyurl.com/4uo7go> Richard Feynman and The Connection Machine (<http://www.longnow.org/views/essays/articles/ArtFeynman.php>) "Give you an idea how bad the American economy is - Mexico is now calling for a fence along the border" - Jay Leno Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:59:14 +0530http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2009/09/twitter-redux/Sunke Shor Banaraswala...http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2008/04/sunke-shor-banaraswala/Or "The noise in Benares and how I felt after being exposed to it" :-). Here are some delightful snippets from a book I am currently reading - **Butter Chicken in Ludhiana : Travels in Small Town India** by **[Pankaj Mishra][1]** :- [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pankaj_Mishra > The most uniform and conspicuous feature of the towns and cities you travel through in North India, and also the most serious menace to civilized life in them, is noise. It accompanies you everywhere - in your hotel room, in the lobby, in the elevator, in the streets, in temples, mosques, gurdwaras, shops, restaurants, parks - chipping away at your nerves to the point where you feel breakdown to be imminent. It isn't just the ceaseless traffic, the pointless blaring of horns, the steady background roar that one finds in big cities. It is much worse: the electronics boom in India has made cassette players available to anyone with even moderate spending power. Cassettes too are cheap, especially if you buy pirated ones. People diminished by urban existence can now fill up the immense vacuum of their lives by a continuous production of sound. Further along, Mishra writes about his difficult experience in Benares, the previous year, dealing with the aforementioned problem. > For, to be woken up at five in the morning by the devotional treacle of [Anup Jalota][2], [Hari Om Sharan][3] and other confectioners, all of them simultaneously droning out from several different cassette players; to be relentlessly assaulted for the rest of the day and most of the night by the alternately over-earnest and insolent voices of [Kumar Sanu][4], [Alisha Chinoy][5], [Baba Sehgal][6] singing 'Sexy, Sexy, Sexy', 'Ladki Hai Kya Re Baba', 'Sarkaaye Liyo Khatiya' and other hideous songs; to have them insidiously leak into your memory and become moronic refrains running over and over in your mind; to have your environment polluted and your day destroyed in this way was to know a deepening rage, an impulse to murder, and, finally, a creeping fear at one's own dangerous level of derangement. It was to understand the perfectly sane people you read about in the papers, who suddenly explode into violence one fine day; it was to conceive a lasting hatred for the perpetrators, rich or poor, of these auditory atrocities. [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anup_Jalota [3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hari_Om_Sharan [4]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumar_Sanu [5]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alisha_Chinai [6]: http://www.babasehgalonline.com/discoverbaba.html The book was published in 1995. It describes Mishra's journeys through the smaller towns and cities of India during the post-liberalization period. He even visits Bangalore, which was then a "Pensioner's Paradise". I guess the best thing about his travels is that he had no fixed itinerary as such (reminds me of our [trip to Pune][7] quite sometime back :-). Thoroughly enjoying the book. [7]: http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2006/06/pinheads-in-pune/ Sun, 06 Apr 2008 15:42:18 -0400http://rajatupadhyaya.net/blog/2008/04/sunke-shor-banaraswala/