Ramana's Blog

How to annoy a Python developer

2012-12-12T00:00:00+05:30

nice & ionice

2012-11-18T15:00:00+05:30

Is your system coming to a grinding halt when you run some programs? Is your web app not responding to regular users when you run some ad-hoc script in the server? Is your database taking forever to answer queries when you are taking backups or copying files in the server?

Fortunately there is a very simple solution to these problems in Linux. nice and ionice. nice helps in optimizing CPU access and ionice helps in optimizing disk access. Just see the man pages and you will be blown away by how simple it is to use such powerful tools.

Here is my strategy. I give nice value of -10 to high prority processes like nginx, mysqld, supervisord, 15 to low priority tasks invoked through cron and 19 to very low priorty tasks like tor and dropbox. Any ad-hoc scripts that I run from time to time will have dafault nice value of 0, which is better than cron jobs but will not impact higher priorty processes.

Here is my python program to adjust these priorities.

Migrated to Pelican

2012-11-16T20:27:00+05:30

Finally I've migrated this blog from Posterous to Pelican. It feels so nice to write posts in reST.

Initially I considered Octopress, but dropped it when I realized that I need a system that I can tinker with. Pelican seems to be a perfect fit for my tastes.

Download Meetup Photos

2012-11-14T18:00:00+05:30

The frustrating thing with meetup.com is it does not allow us to easily download all photos of an event. I created a web app that gives the links to all highres photos of an event so that we can download them in a singleshot using a download manager or wget.

For example, to get the photos of our Dandeli meetup, all I had to do is

wget -i http://meetup.sramana.in/83247792

The app is live at http://meetup.sramana.in and the source code is at https://github.com/sramana/meetup-photos

Bottle Debug Toolbar

2012-10-12T18:00:00+05:30

I am a big fan of Django Debug Toolbar and I miss it badly in Bottle. Fortunately it was already ported to Flask and with little tweaking I was able to port it to Bottle. Please checkout the project at https://github.com/sramana/bottle-debugtoolbar and provide your feedback.

Kovai Memories

2012-04-12T04:21:00+05:30

My last idly and coffee in Anandhas.

My last lunch in Annapoorna. How much I miss it, particularly sambar.

My first batch of students.

My last batch of students.

Monastic reading room & library. This is where we used to meet every morning and night for reading and chanting.

This is where I used to take my food four times a day.

This is where I used to take classes for MCA students.

Ramakrishna Temple. This is where I used to meditate.

My room. I stayed here for almost three years.

Every night I used to have a walk with Brahmachari Sriram. This is where we used to sit and gossip.

My last trip to Palamalai.

With colleagues on the last day.

Learning Sign Language

2011-12-07T17:14:00+05:30

Recently I completed an introductory course in Indian Sign Language. Learning sign language is fun. Here is a video clip from our class. In the first part, we are practicing facial expressions without using words or signs (in sign language, expressions are very important, but we all feel shy). In the second part Radhakrishnan, deaf by birth, is telling us a story in sign language. He is a master story teller, isn't he?

Unlicensing my work

2011-11-22T06:32:00+05:30

Starting from today, I am unlicensing (ie releasing to public domain) all my code, text and photos. I have been thinking about doing this for a while and unlicense.org provided the final push.

Django Chartit

2011-11-17T11:29:00+05:30

Django Chartit is a library to create charts from Django models effortlessly. Here is the description from the website :

Do you need to plot charts in your django websites? Are you using boring static chart images and do you like your charts to be more interactive and interesting? Do you have to write a lot of just to convert the data to the right format before you can plot? With Django-Chartit you can create interactive charts effortlessly. Charts are rendered using Highcharts JS library and jQuery.

Check-out the demo and docs. The code is on Github.

This library is developed by my friend Praveen. This is his first project. Feedback please.

Silent Valley National Park

2011-11-15T09:15:00+05:30

I first read about Silent Valley in 2007 while searching for evergreen forests. When I read that it is one of most biodiverse regions on the planet with no history of human inhabitation, I immediately added it to my must visit places. But I lost hopes when I read that special permits are required to visit the place and generally are given only to research scholars. Recently I came to know that the interior parts are indeed closed, but public can visit the buffer zone and a small portion (1 or 2 km) of the core zone by taking permission (which is just a formality) from Mukkali information center.

Vignesh and me have been planning for this trip for several weeks, finally we did it this sunday. Our bike journey started from Thudiyalur and after criss-crossing for a few kilometers, we found Anaikatty road. From there the single road leads directly to Silent Valley. After traveling for 30km we reached Tamil Nadu - Kerala border. From there Mukkali, the base camp of Silent Valley is another 35 km. Except for few small villages like Kottathara, Attapadi, Agali there is no human habitation on the way. The scenic byway with green pastures coupled with unbelievably low traffic makes the journey one of the most pleasant and memorable drives.

After reaching Mukkali, we approached the Silent Valley information center and learned that bikes can't go further and we need to hire a jeep for Rs 1000 to reach Sairandhri, the main entrance to Silent Valley National Park. It's a bit costly for us, but fortunately we are joined by Anand and Sanju from Palakkad and four of us shared the jeep. The 23km ride through the forest is like a roller coaster ride. I'm seeing such a pristine and thick forest after a very long time. On the way we saw black monkeys (came to know later that they are called lion tailed macaque, endemic to western ghats and one of the most endangered primates) and giant squirrel. Our guide cum driver told that even though Silent Valley is known for its biodiversity we won't be able to see wild life because there is plenty of food inside the forest and animals won't come out.

After reaching Sairandhri, we parked the jeep and went to the watch tower. The 3-storey watch tower is a terror for people like me with fear of heights. The other guys are fortunate and didn't have this problem. They shouted from the top that the view is terrific and I'm missing a life time opportunity. Resolved to conquer my fear of heights, I started climbing the steps. After crossing 10 or so steps, the unobstructed view of the valley below coupled with the shaking of the structure scared the shit out of me. I abandoned my resolve and came down.

Next we trekked 1.5km into the forest. The trek is most amazing. We also had nice taste of leeches. From Anand, I learned that leeches will inject something that will prevent blood clotting and if we kill it the blood won't clot for a very long time. The only way is to put salt on it so that the leech will detach by itself.

After coming back to Mukkali, we learned that there is a river just behind the information center. The water is cold, pure and waist deep, perfect for bathing. Anand and Sanju, being true Mallus, immediately jumped in. Vignesh and me, afraid of the chilly water, stayed out. There is no one else, making it virtually our private swimming pool. We did all sorts of crazy things. My favorite one is spitting out water like a fountain (see photos below).

With all the excitement, we didn't notice that it is getting dark. We have another 65km to travel through a remote, mostly uninhabited road, that too through the heartland of elephants in the dark. The idea sent shocks down our spine. Added to that, I don't know driving and Vignesh bought his bike only three months ago and has no experience of driving through curvy forests in the dark. You can imagine our plight. It is the most adventurous ride in our lives. I never felt so much adrenaline rush. Fortunately or unfortunately we did not encounter elephants.

After reaching Coimbatore, we had a nice dinner in Cock Rako and went to sleep with tired bodies and filled souls.

Tintin

2011-11-12T12:25:00+05:30

Today I saw Tintin movie. Seeing my favorite hero on big screen is amazing. The animation is marvelous, particularly Tintin's. I just love it. The comedy is a big bonus. It would have been perfect except for one thing. They left out prof Calculus, my favorite character. How can they do it? I hurted!

PS: I wish they released it on Oct 10. Tintin on Ten Ten.

Sathy Trip

2011-11-07T15:31:00+05:30

Long ago, on the way to Kotagiri I saw a large reservoir at a distance and fell in love with its grandeur. I learnt that it's Bhavani Sagar reservoir and since then I've been dreaming to visit this wonderful place. So today I started from Vidyalaya and reached Satyamangalam after changing buses in Mettupalayam and Annur. This Satyamangalam (written in short form as Sathy but pronounced as Sakthi) is a beautiful place. The land looks very fertile. Everywhere I saw coconut, banana, papaya, sugarcane fields.

From Sathy, I took a 30 minute bus to Bannari. Located at the entrance to Satyamangalam forest in the border of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, this place is famous for Bannari Amman temple. I heard that this was Veerappan's sentimental temple. Given how small the village is, I was surprised to find that there are direct buses to faraway places. Must be pretty popular.

From Bannari I headed to Bhavani Sagar dam, a 45 minute drive from Bannari. But I was totally disappointed when I learned that the dam and boating are closed two years ago because of large number of suicides. I did not even get a chance to see the catchment area. All I could see was a small stream coming from the dam. What a disappointment.

However I enjoyed the trip, thanks to the beautiful and rich green fields which accompanied me throughout the journey.

New Look for my Website

2011-10-31T08:42:00+05:30

I redesigned my website. How is it?

Kovai Kutralam

2011-10-20T19:33:00+05:30

Last week our FDMSE staff and students went to Kovai Kutralam for one day trip. Here are some snaps.

Launching Vidyalaya Support Center

2011-10-04T18:05:00+05:30

Vidyalaya Support Center is a centralized one-stop service for asking questions / reporting problems / submitting ideas / sharing feedback related to our Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya. People can ask questions in several ways :

by sending email to help@srkv.org
by filling up this web form
by filling up this email form
by tagging @srkmv in Facebook
by tagging @vidyalaya in Twitter

All conversations are managed through a single interface, thanks to Assistly. The biggest selling point for us is all of their awesome features are free for one agent. Couldn't ask for more.

I am 60

2011-10-03T06:06:00+05:30

Yes, I did it. For the first time in my life, I crossed the 60kg mark. For the past decade, my weight has been fluctuating between 54-57 kgs. This 60kg mark is more than a round figure, it pushes me from underweight category to normal (According to Wikipedia, for my 5 ft 11 in height, 60kg is the entry point to normal category). I'm no more underweight. Hurray!

Carnatic Concert in Vidyalaya

2011-09-29T05:37:00+05:30

There is one event in Vidyalaya that I eagerly look forward to. Kalaimagal Vizha, celebrated during the first three days of Navaratri, is a festival of Music, Dance & Literature. Yesterday was devoted to music with a three hour carnatic concert. It's pure bliss. I wish I have words to describe it.

Build Desktop Applications at Amazing Speed

2011-09-24T19:37:00+05:30

I never did desktop GUI programming in my life. When I was asked to create a desktop application for Vidyalaya's Youth Convention, I had no clue. PyGtk & wxPython sounded too complex for me. I had no intention of spending too much time learning them because I am sure this is the last time I am going to build a desktop app.

I wanted something lightweight & simple. Fortunately Stackoverflow pointed me to Camelot. It blew my mind away. I was able to implement 90% of the required features within a few hours. By just defining our models, we get a lot of things for free. Full fledged CRUD (including many-to-many relationships), search, filters, export to excel/word, database backup/restore all come by default. The framework includes a complete example app, which is invaluable to quickly get started.

It's like Django Admin meeting Desktop world. Thank you Camelot.

The code for my app is here.

Downloading TeamworkPM Reports

2011-09-12T09:36:00+05:30

I'm using TeamworkPM to manage a project. The free version of the service is great, except reports. The reports are scattered in several places and there is no API to download them. So I wrote a shell script that automatically logs into the service, submits the necessary input parameters and downloads the PDF copies of the reports.

Ooty Trip

2011-08-30T09:04:00+05:30

This sunday Vignesh and me planned to go on a trek. But the hot weather changed our plans and we headed to Ooty. I went to Ooty once in 2009, but had only a small trek there and did not see anything else. Same with Vignesh. Even though born and brought up in Coimbatore, he went to Ooty only a couple of times on some business and did not see any places. So we decided to see Ooty, particulraly the overhyped botanical garden. I had a low opinion of the botanical garden. But after going there, I realized that the garden lives upto its hype. Actually it's a small hillock with dense vegetation. It feels like heaven to walk amidst beautiful plants and trees and in such a beautiful weather. We walked for more than 3 hours and I think we have not yet seen the entire garden.

Tired of all that walking, we headed for lunch. Venue is Dominos Pizza. I think this is my first pizza after coming back to India. Wow.

Our next stop is Ooty lake. I'm surprised to see that two-seater boat is only Rs 90 for half-an-hour. Even though the water stinks a little, the beautiful weather and wind makes the ride one of the most beautiful experiences.

I wanted to go on horse riding and mountain biking also, but I postponed them for my next visit.

Meeting a Social Entrepreneur

2011-08-25T12:09:00+05:30

Meeting Udhay last week was pure serendipity. He came to our college to interact with the students and then I came to know that he founded India Sudar, a very active educational NGO with 1300 members, mostly from IT sector. I am very much impressed by their work and how meticulously they are documenting everything. And he is an avid traveler too. Can you imagine biking from Bangalore to Bhuton? It's truly an honor to meet such motivated people.

I am on Hacker News

2011-08-11T14:02:00+05:30

Somebody just submitted my Django Offline Docs page to Hacker News. With in an hour it got 45 points and 7 comments and is appearing in the front page. Wow!

Launching Web2py Instant Admin

2011-08-01T05:31:00+05:30

I just launched the beta version of Web2py Instant Admin, a beautiful admin interface for Web2py applications. The documentation is at ReadTheDocs and source code is at Github. Please check out the demo and give me your feedback.

Launching Gospel of Ramakrishna.org

2011-07-15T03:47:00+05:30

Few months back, a friend introduced me to Audio Books and within a short time I became a devoted fan. Now by default I am searching for audio books, falling back to ebook only if audio book is not available. Given my addiction to audio books, it is only natural to expect an audio version of the book that has the biggest impact on me, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. But I was surprised to find that it does not exist. How is it possible? For more than half-a-century, it is read by every member of Ramakrishna order every single day and nobody thought of releasing an audio version? Why can't someone take the initiative? Then I realized that I can be that someone. I know that I am not a good narrator and my voice is not something that people want to hear again and again. But I love Gospel and audio books. That is enough for me to go ahead.

With that spirit, I am launching gospeloframakrishna.org, a website where I will post my audio recording of the Gospel. It's a huge book with more than 1000 pages, so it will take me few months to complete. I will update the website once or twice a week. Today I posted a sample. Incidentally today is Guru Purnima, an auspicious day for such endeavors.

Go ahead, listen and tell me how I can improve the quality of the audio book. This is the first time I am recording a book, so it might be terrible. But I am confident that with your feedback I can make it better.

What the --?

2011-07-12T08:29:00+05:30

At the insistence of Microsoft marketing people who visited our college recently, we decided to give Live @Edu (campus email solution from Microsoft) a try. But today when I tried to signup from my Chrome browser, I saw this message. What? Chrome not supported? I'm still not able to digest the stupidity.