Re: [silk] Fwd: Introduction
On Feb 8, 2008 12:21 PM, Srini Ramakrishnan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [...] Thanks Hassath and Abhijeet for accepting my explanation and apology. :-) But now that you have our address, do something useful with it. Send us a nice postcard at least! -- - Hassath
[silk] a standard XML representation for queries
I'm looking for a simple way to represent a search query as XML. The query language applies to email messages, and is a superset of the IMAP SEARCH syntax. It can express things like flag blah is set, and the subject contains foo, and the text contains bar or baz: a handful of primitives plus the usual logical combinators. I want to take that query (stored internally as an sexpr-style string) and render it as XML. I don't really care what the output looks like, I only need to be able to manipulate its structure with some JavaScript, and then send it back to the server. Of course, I could just sprinkle some and around and come up with something; but I'm wondering if there's something around that is meant to be used for such purposes already. It's hard to ask Google for such a thing (because of e.g. XQuery and XPath) and so far I have failed to explain what I want to people who know more about XML than I do. Why XML? Because it has to be something. I don't care, I just want to be able to simply edit it with JavaScript. Any thoughts? (Tim?) -- ams
Re: [silk] another intro
On Feb 8, 2008 8:43 PM, Madhu Kurup [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hmm: Vinayak Hegde wrote: Good to see another Akamite (that sounds like a pest doesn't it :) on Silk. I work in the Bangalore office. When I had work dealings with Akamai (circa 2000-2002) I often wondered how much easier it would be if they did have a Bangalore office. I asked once and was politely shooed away. Vinayak, is this relatively new? Cheerio, M Madhu..if you were not already doing other things...I would wonder, at this time, why you were asking...! Deepa (ha, this is probably the one place where you know me by that name alone! Though why you never told me about silk, and it was Udhay who finally put me on, I will never understandboo to you for that.) Deepa.
[silk] yet another introduction
Hi, Seems like my kurtz intro got lost in the excitement of discovering Hassath's gender/identity and address :-) so yeah /me is yet another woman joining silk. On Feb 7, 2008 6:48 AM, Hassath [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Because I couldn't think of a better introduction. if '/me' implies 'person' and 'person' implies 'www.svaksha.com', then /me = www.svaksha.com || vid || ...crawls back into her shell after waving a hello to Hassath :) and Bernhard and ofcourse Kavita for silk !
Re: [silk] another intro
On Feb 8, 2008 7:13 PM, Linda L. Julien [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi folks, I've known ams for a number of years, and he directed me to this list. I work for Akamai Technologies in the US, and it looks like they'll be sending me to our Bangalore office within the next month or two, for 3-4 weeks. The timing isn't settled yet, but I hope I might get to meet a few of you while I'm there. I live in Somerville, Massachusetts, not far from the location of the recently-mentioned Great Molasses Flood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Molasses_Disaster). A brief summary of me: I write code for a living (and for fun), I have too many hobbies, I have two cats, and I'll be getting married in June. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all. Linda Welcome to Silk. Good to see another Akamite (that sounds like a pest doesn't it :) on Silk. I work in the Bangalore office. -- Vinayak http://www.linkedin.com/in/VinayakH
Re: [silk] yet another introduction
On Feb 8, 2008 2:47 PM, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi VA, and welcome! But...being a non-geek and all, I must confess, that I thought you were (like several others) a lurker who was belatedly introducing..er..hesself...andvid or va don't give me a clue to your name, either...are you based in India? absolutely a lurker, in Bangalore :) Your blogposts (about the Indichix) makes me think so..but I can't make assumptions...and Blogger doesn't seem to have a nice handy userinfo like LJ has, to go and see. actually there is an about page in WP, which lazy me never bothered to fill *sheepish* but, https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Svaksha , has some outdated stuff. But...I am especially saying hi to you after reading your Jan 28th entry...Rockolate chocks! I am a complete and hopeless chocoholic, too. In fact, give me a piece of paper with dark chocolate written on it and I would probably chew contentedly on that... nooo.. you just made me reach out for that addictive thing again :-) || vid ||
Re: [silk] long
Yes, :-) And nice to note the 'Telegu' as opposed to Telugu. :-)) Actually it was something like: stones the colour of frankincense, sweeter than figs or honey [1] - referring to Khand; this was in 326BC. Arthatshasthra of the same time also refers to the whole gamut of products of sugarcane. [1] JB Hutchinson (ed), Diversity and Change in the Indian Subcontinent, Cambridge University Press, 1974. __r. On 2/8/08, Radhika, Y. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: in Telegu, it is Panchadara and chakkira. my understanding is that there is a greek account in Alexander's time that refers to the sugarcane as producing honey without bees. On Feb 8, 2008 8:35 AM, Ramjee Swaminathan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip
Re: [silk] long
in Telegu, it is Panchadara and chakkira. my understanding is that there is a greek account in Alexander's time that refers to the sugarcane as producing honey without bees. On Feb 8, 2008 8:35 AM, Ramjee Swaminathan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: :-) the rambler strikes again. Probable reason: too much sugar. On 2/7/08, Abhijit Menon-Sen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip (but again, not in all languages - in Malayalam and Tamil, they are respectively called charkarai and chakkara, AFAIK - there are also cheenchakkari, chenjeeni etc in colloquial refs) . BTW, in Malayalam, cc sugar is usually called pan[cha]sara. I've only heard the charkarai form used for gur or perhaps palm sugar. Is there a similar distinction in Tamil? Thanks! I forgot this pansarai funda. We used to have Nair neighbours and they used to tell us that from region to region there were different and slightly varying references to sugar and that anyway only after moving to Madras they even 'saw' white sugar! vella chakkarai - pounded and granulated gud/jaggery panam-khandu - palm khand panam-cheeni :-) - palm sugar panai-vellam - palm jaggery etc etc... There are some recorded instances of cc sugar being imported into western india from china (during circa 1-200 ad) Fascinating. I did not know that. What route did it take? When there were no wars in the NE, NW and N of India, there was very little that was imported from china as there was no need to import sugar as it was never an issue of scarcity then. During wars, however, the sea routes were used (malacca straits, ceylon, round kanyakumari and onwards to either musiri or kollam or n other ports near what are now famous as Kanhoji Angre's (one of the greatest naval strategists and admirals) port bastions. In any case, the shipments apparently werent huge or anything, White crystalline sugar must have been a 'delicacy' considering everything (my take) - the echoes of a similar context are found in paperback 'pioneer' recap literature of North America, such as that of Laura Ingalls Wilder. That white sugar be used for 'company' and as a status symbol. * Om Prakash - Food and drinks in ancient India I think I'll try to find a copy of that. Speaking of which, I should go to the book fair in Delhi before it ends. Good luck and warm regards: __r.
Re: [silk] another intro
Deepa Mohan wrote: Welcome to the silklist Linda! And welcome, slightly in advance, to Bangalore as well. Oh, after Massachusetts (have I got all those s's in place?) Thanks. You've got to love those India (American-Indian, not India-Indian) words...place names around here are full of them. Even the locals tend to abbreviate the state name in writing and speech as Mass. Where I grew up, in central Mass., learning to pronounce Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg was a rite of passage. Attempting to spell it is not for the faint of heart. :-) you are going to just LOVE Bangalore traffic...especially if this is your first visit to India. I admit that I've got it good here at home...though I live in the city, I can take the train to work, so I rarely even need to deal with the worst sort of traffic (or the exorbitant parking prices) that the Boston area has to offer. Call me blissfully ignorant on the topic. How's the public transportation in Bangalore? And congrats on your marriage-to-be...I hope to be able to say that in person. AMS has been a good friend to me, too. Thanks again! Of course, traveling nearly halfway around the globe for a month while attempting to plan a wedding might not be the wisest idea I've ever had. Thankfully, a lot of things can be done by email these days, anyway, and maybe I can spend those two very long plane flights working on the embroidery that I wanted to do for my wedding dress anyway. Linda
Re: [silk] long
:-) the rambler strikes again. Probable reason: too much sugar. On 2/7/08, Abhijit Menon-Sen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip (but again, not in all languages - in Malayalam and Tamil, they are respectively called charkarai and chakkara, AFAIK - there are also cheenchakkari, chenjeeni etc in colloquial refs) . BTW, in Malayalam, cc sugar is usually called pan[cha]sara. I've only heard the charkarai form used for gur or perhaps palm sugar. Is there a similar distinction in Tamil? Thanks! I forgot this pansarai funda. We used to have Nair neighbours and they used to tell us that from region to region there were different and slightly varying references to sugar and that anyway only after moving to Madras they even 'saw' white sugar! vella chakkarai - pounded and granulated gud/jaggery panam-khandu - palm khand panam-cheeni :-) - palm sugar panai-vellam - palm jaggery etc etc... There are some recorded instances of cc sugar being imported into western india from china (during circa 1-200 ad) Fascinating. I did not know that. What route did it take? When there were no wars in the NE, NW and N of India, there was very little that was imported from china as there was no need to import sugar as it was never an issue of scarcity then. During wars, however, the sea routes were used (malacca straits, ceylon, round kanyakumari and onwards to either musiri or kollam or n other ports near what are now famous as Kanhoji Angre's (one of the greatest naval strategists and admirals) port bastions. In any case, the shipments apparently werent huge or anything, White crystalline sugar must have been a 'delicacy' considering everything (my take) - the echoes of a similar context are found in paperback 'pioneer' recap literature of North America, such as that of Laura Ingalls Wilder. That white sugar be used for 'company' and as a status symbol. * Om Prakash - Food and drinks in ancient India I think I'll try to find a copy of that. Speaking of which, I should go to the book fair in Delhi before it ends. Good luck and warm regards: __r.
Re: [silk] another intro
Hmm: Vinayak Hegde wrote: Good to see another Akamite (that sounds like a pest doesn't it :) on Silk. I work in the Bangalore office. When I had work dealings with Akamai (circa 2000-2002) I often wondered how much easier it would be if they did have a Bangalore office. I asked once and was politely shooed away. Vinayak, is this relatively new? Cheerio, M -- Madhu M Kurup /* Nemo Me Impune Lacessit */ mmk222 at cornell dt edu
Re: [silk] another intro
On Feb 8, 2008 9:42 PM, va [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: working on the embroidery that I wanted to do for my wedding dress anyway. do you crochet ? or cross-stitch ? or tatting ? Speaking of crochet, I saw this yesterday: http://www.monster-island.org/tina/index.html The wedding dress must have taken a heckava long time...
Re: [silk] a standard XML representation for queries
On Feb 8, 2008 6:31 PM, Abhijit Menon-Sen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm looking for a simple way to represent a search query as XML. The query language applies to email messages, and is a superset of the IMAP SEARCH syntax. It can express things like flag blah is set, and the subject contains foo, and the text contains bar or baz: a handful of primitives plus the usual logical combinators. I want to take that query (stored internally as an sexpr-style string) and render it as XML. I don't really care what the output looks like, I only need to be able to manipulate its structure with some JavaScript, and then send it back to the server. Of course, I could just sprinkle some and around and come up with something; but I'm wondering if there's something around that is meant to be used for such purposes already. It's hard to ask Google for such a thing (because of e.g. XQuery and XPath) and so far I have failed to explain what I want to people who know more about XML than I do. Why XML? Because it has to be something. I don't care, I just want to be able to simply edit it with JavaScript. Any thoughts? (Tim?) Have you tried JSON ? You might want to check it out if you are looking to manipulate data using JS. Less fat more data and more human readable methinks. http://www.json.org/ -- Vinayak
Re: [silk] long
On Feb 8, 2008 10:53 PM, Ramjee Swaminathan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Yes, :-) And nice to note the 'Telegu' as opposed to Telugu. :-)) Actually it was something like: stones the colour of frankincense, sweeter than figs or honey [1] - referring to Khand; this was in 326BC. Arthatshasthra of the same time also refers to the whole gamut of products of sugarcane. I also thought of gulkhand which seems to be a popular sweet in many parts of India. Was this of Mughal, or Indian origin? I never liked it, and could not understand my grandmother's need to dunk rose petals in sugar syrup!... And khand as in piece... khandam, I think, also denotes region in Sanskrit and its derviatives,as in Bundelkhandand so on. Words are just amazing, the way they lead you into further drifts! Deepa. [1] JB Hutchinson (ed), Diversity and Change in the Indian Subcontinent, Cambridge University Press, 1974. __r. On 2/8/08, Radhika, Y. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: in Telegu, it is Panchadara and chakkira. my understanding is that there is a greek account in Alexander's time that refers to the sugarcane as producing honey without bees. On Feb 8, 2008 8:35 AM, Ramjee Swaminathan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip
Re: [silk] another intro
On Feb 8, 2008 8:43 PM, Madhu Kurup [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hmm: Vinayak Hegde wrote: Good to see another Akamite (that sounds like a pest doesn't it :) on Silk. I work in the Bangalore office. When I had work dealings with Akamai (circa 2000-2002) I often wondered how much easier it would be if they did have a Bangalore office. I asked once and was politely shooed away. Vinayak, is this relatively new? It's been around for more than 2 years now. Akamai acquired Speedera which had the Bangalore office. -- Vinayak
Re: [silk] another intro
Deepa Mohan wrote: Ha...don't be too sure about that. The last time at JFK, they let my little swiss army knife through in my handbag, where I had forgotten it was...and they threw out all mysafety pins. The ones I had on, pinning up my scarf, went right through...I was trying to figure out how to terrorize the pilots and crew with both of them! Our tax dollars at work...or something. You hear these kinds of stories all the time. Last I knew, they were even allowing small pairs of scissors on flights originating in the US, but someone told me recently about having such things confiscated, so who knows? I always bring a pair of nail clippers just in case. I've been pondering the idea of wearing my hair in a bun and using my knitting needles as hairsticks. I suspect that storing them with pens pencils would do the trick, too. It's a crazy, crazy world these days. Linda
Re: [silk] another intro
On Feb 8, 2008 9:42 PM, va [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: How's the public transportation in Bangalore? *sigh* (. that is not a negative sigh) its so much better than Bombay (Mumbai if you must) but my pet grouse is No train/rail network exists in Bangalore. And ofcourse beware of the autorickshaw guys, their life motto is to rob you blind. No, i kid you not. Public transportation is pretty much non-existent in Bangalore. (unless your starting point or destination is Majestic). The traffic problem is horrendous as everyone wants to drive their own vehicle. Driving in Bangalore is algorithmic. Everyone in Koramangala drives the following way. 1. Start 2. Honk away to glory to make sure the guy in front of you breaks the Stop signal and goes to the next traffic stop. 3. See if there is small vacant spot on the road ahead of you. Honk again till cars ahead of you are packed like sardines. 4. If that doesn't work, check if pavements are empty. If you are on a motorbike take it. Make sure you have taken every vacant spot on the street. If you have a car mull over the thought of using the pavement. Pause for a second but take it anyways. 5. Repeat till you reach your destination. 6. Stop Bonus points if you complain how everyone in Bangalore drives badly. (Obviously it does not include you) The auto will only come to a place where *they* want to go at *their* price. If not then the meters been rigged (very badly). Every auto guy considers his birthright to fleece IT/Software people. Mumbai in comparison is heaven. Autos don't try to cheat you (unless you are at the airport). Trains are crowded but they keep Mumbai running. BEST (The Bus transportation company) is really good. Lots of routes and frequencies are good. Mumbai is egalitarian. Bangalore's snobbish and elitist. I like Bangalore's weather though but it is getting worse. I wish Mumbai were a lot cleaner. Bangalore's better that way. I wish I were exaggerating but I am not. -- Vinayak (lived in Mumbai 2 decades and Bangalore for a half)
[silk] bangalore public transport - was Re: another intro
On 2/8/08, Vinayak Hegde [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 2/8/08, Linda L. Julien [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip How's the public transportation in Bangalore? snip snip Public transportation is pretty much non-existent in Bangalore. (unless your starting point or destination is Majestic). The traffic problem is horrendous as everyone wants to drive their own vehicle. Driving in Bangalore is algorithmic. snip Nice rant, Vinayak! :-) But I completely disagree with the take on the public transport. But my opinion is that (there have been a few legit exceptions) the 'public' transport system as defined ONLY by the bus system itself is very good in Bangalore. I am not comparing it to chennai or Mumbai. IMO, Coimbatore has the BEST bus system that I know of - with surprisingly polite and friendly staff, apart from coverage, punctuality and stuff. Bangalore bus system has good connections, reasonable frequencies, laid back population, chatty passngers etc etc. I am very happy with this as a constant user of the system. I was 'working' in the s/w arena till about an year back and for most of the last year of my career, I used busses extensively. I did not miss even ONE meeting (how could one ever miss one), nor did I waste too much time on commute. I realized that, with not having to drive to work or wherever, the mind is free of the 'where do I get to park' and 'what if that horrendous sedan bumps into my honda civic while pulling out' kind of traumatic ;-) problems, the moment you outsource your worries to some other III party. It merely requires some planning - which could be painful to start with but becomes easy in a week or so. Also, the bus journeys have the following advantages operating at various levels: 1. In the heart of the city, as there is no byepass or pacemaker, the traffic crawls and a bus is better or equal to any other vehicle. 2. The level of the bus is higher - therefore there is less pollution (to you, that is). 3. You can take a paperback and stat reading it, while listening to popular and attrotious film music 4. You can hallucinate that you are polluting less. 5 You can also selfrighteously assume that you are experiencing the *real* india. 6. scroll down to the postscript Suggestions: 1. Take up your acco very near the office (in Bangalore there are residential tenements or the new fangled 'serviced apartments' available in practially all loations) in which case you may not need to commute much by vehicles at all. 2. The smaller roads in Bangalore are fun to walk. If you dont stick to the main roads, then the life is easy. Arm yourself with an Eicher roadmap which is nicely updated and usefully granular. Even a bicycle is not a bad idea at all.(and while leaving India, donate it to me) 3. If you want to use the bus system - always buy a Rs. 30/- (around 75 cents) wholeday pass - you can hop in and out of as many buses and as many times as possible. In this case you dont have to haggle for coin change. If you know your destination, you can very easily packet switch. Please note that it is okay to hop in and out of buses at traffic signals, wherever. I think probably this could be some solution like an unconcscious ant colony optimization problem. :-) Doing a constant trace routing during travel by asking the fellow travellers is an useful idea. While hopping etc, don't be too bothered by your TTL. ;-) 4. Even with the Autos - if one does the groundwork (a couple of enquiries with your office colleagues, Eicher map, Rs. 7/- per kilometre, etc) this is not a problem at all. One piece of suggestion is that, it is better to approach a lone auto or wave it down rather to go an auto stand with n autos. 5. If you want to anyway use the cars etc - you can go to the office at 5/6 AM or so and get back home/hole by 2/3 PM - nicely avoiding or rather outbeating the traffic - and having the rest of the day to yourself, silk, whatever. I have used this technique when a client (from US) was visiting us a few years back; forced both the client and the team to come in early - no long and useless lunch sessions at distant hotels etc. Actually this tactic was very useful and productive. I always feel that, if all the guys who whine incessantly about bad traffic conditions (of course the roads are congested, but why? It is because of all those other big and bigger cars, all those other jokers who drive with one or two occupants at best per car, other clowns who dont do their town planning, other nincompoops who want to bend all the rules because they have to atttend some goddam meetings, other gluttons who want to drive to the other part of the ciry for extended lunch sessions at the expense of productivity etc etc) started using the bangalore bus services, then this city would be a far better place. Note: And after all these whiney folks switch to buses, I plan to royally drive my rickety jeep all over the city congratulating myself on the consummate devilishness of my plan.
Re: [silk] bangalore public transport - was Re: another intro
Ramjee...that was an excellent treatise on how to use the Bangalore bus system, thank you. I too have been using buses almost exclusively (green decision!) and though I disagree with you on the time taken...it took me 2 hours to go from my home to Vidhan SoudhaI do agree that the bus services have improved a lot lately. But then, I don't travel at peak times, either. And I am still laughing! Why would you want a rickety jeep at the end, when you will have Linda's cycle? Deepa. On Feb 9, 2008 12:31 AM, Ramjee Swaminathan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 2/8/08, Vinayak Hegde [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 2/8/08, Linda L. Julien [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip How's the public transportation in Bangalore? snip snip Public transportation is pretty much non-existent in Bangalore. (unless your starting point or destination is Majestic). The traffic problem is horrendous as everyone wants to drive their own vehicle. Driving in Bangalore is algorithmic. snip Nice rant, Vinayak! :-) But I completely disagree with the take on the public transport. But my opinion is that (there have been a few legit exceptions) the 'public' transport system as defined ONLY by the bus system itself is very good in Bangalore. I am not comparing it to chennai or Mumbai. IMO, Coimbatore has the BEST bus system that I know of - with surprisingly polite and friendly staff, apart from coverage, punctuality and stuff. Bangalore bus system has good connections, reasonable frequencies, laid back population, chatty passngers etc etc. I am very happy with this as a constant user of the system. I was 'working' in the s/w arena till about an year back and for most of the last year of my career, I used busses extensively. I did not miss even ONE meeting (how could one ever miss one), nor did I waste too much time on commute. I realized that, with not having to drive to work or wherever, the mind is free of the 'where do I get to park' and 'what if that horrendous sedan bumps into my honda civic while pulling out' kind of traumatic ;-) problems, the moment you outsource your worries to some other III party. It merely requires some planning - which could be painful to start with but becomes easy in a week or so. Also, the bus journeys have the following advantages operating at various levels: 1. In the heart of the city, as there is no byepass or pacemaker, the traffic crawls and a bus is better or equal to any other vehicle. 2. The level of the bus is higher - therefore there is less pollution (to you, that is). 3. You can take a paperback and stat reading it, while listening to popular and attrotious film music 4. You can hallucinate that you are polluting less. 5 You can also selfrighteously assume that you are experiencing the *real* india. 6. scroll down to the postscript Suggestions: 1. Take up your acco very near the office (in Bangalore there are residential tenements or the new fangled 'serviced apartments' available in practially all loations) in which case you may not need to commute much by vehicles at all. 2. The smaller roads in Bangalore are fun to walk. If you dont stick to the main roads, then the life is easy. Arm yourself with an Eicher roadmap which is nicely updated and usefully granular. Even a bicycle is not a bad idea at all.(and while leaving India, donate it to me) 3. If you want to use the bus system - always buy a Rs. 30/- (around 75 cents) wholeday pass - you can hop in and out of as many buses and as many times as possible. In this case you dont have to haggle for coin change. If you know your destination, you can very easily packet switch. Please note that it is okay to hop in and out of buses at traffic signals, wherever. I think probably this could be some solution like an unconcscious ant colony optimization problem. :-) Doing a constant trace routing during travel by asking the fellow travellers is an useful idea. While hopping etc, don't be too bothered by your TTL. ;-) 4. Even with the Autos - if one does the groundwork (a couple of enquiries with your office colleagues, Eicher map, Rs. 7/- per kilometre, etc) this is not a problem at all. One piece of suggestion is that, it is better to approach a lone auto or wave it down rather to go an auto stand with n autos. 5. If you want to anyway use the cars etc - you can go to the office at 5/6 AM or so and get back home/hole by 2/3 PM - nicely avoiding or rather outbeating the traffic - and having the rest of the day to yourself, silk, whatever. I have used this technique when a client (from US) was visiting us a few years back; forced both the client and the team to come in early - no long and useless lunch sessions at distant hotels etc. Actually this tactic was very useful and productive. I always feel that, if all the guys who whine incessantly about bad traffic conditions (of course the roads are congested, but why? It is because of all those other big and
Re: [silk] bangalore public transport - was Re: another intro
I love the bangalore bus system. When i traveled everyday for 6 months in 2004 from Padmanabha Nagar to Indra Nagar and took the bus, i felt cleaner, safer and more well-read to boot(reading books or people's faces-either way there is a whole new world to be explored). And it was fantastic seeing the little children flutter their schoolbags and ribbons strike up a cacophony like wailing birds when the crowd wouldn't let the kids get off in time. No schadenfraude here mind you, just fascination with all the systems of communication at playI also like meeting people who are not working at my work place or doing anything that I can understand or pretend to understand-in fact, it makes me conscious of the alternate realities i can never have and they become more mysterious and intereto me. The only time i didn't like the bus system was when i was sandwiched within a foot of a bus on either side standing on the median in MG Road. On Feb 8, 2008 11:08 AM, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Ramjee...that was an excellent treatise on how to use the Bangalore bus system, thank you. I too have been using buses almost exclusively (green decision!) and though I disagree with you on the time taken...it took me 2 hours to go from my home to Vidhan SoudhaI do agree that the bus services have improved a lot lately. But then, I don't travel at peak times, either. And I am still laughing! Why would you want a rickety jeep at the end, when you will have Linda's cycle? Deepa. On Feb 9, 2008 12:31 AM, Ramjee Swaminathan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 2/8/08, Vinayak Hegde [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 2/8/08, Linda L. Julien [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip How's the public transportation in Bangalore? snip snip Public transportation is pretty much non-existent in Bangalore. (unless your starting point or destination is Majestic). The traffic problem is horrendous as everyone wants to drive their own vehicle. Driving in Bangalore is algorithmic. snip Nice rant, Vinayak! :-) But I completely disagree with the take on the public transport. But my opinion is that (there have been a few legit exceptions) the 'public' transport system as defined ONLY by the bus system itself is very good in Bangalore. I am not comparing it to chennai or Mumbai. IMO, Coimbatore has the BEST bus system that I know of - with surprisingly polite and friendly staff, apart from coverage, punctuality and stuff. Bangalore bus system has good connections, reasonable frequencies, laid back population, chatty passngers etc etc. I am very happy with this as a constant user of the system. I was 'working' in the s/w arena till about an year back and for most of the last year of my career, I used busses extensively. I did not miss even ONE meeting (how could one ever miss one), nor did I waste too much time on commute. I realized that, with not having to drive to work or wherever, the mind is free of the 'where do I get to park' and 'what if that horrendous sedan bumps into my honda civic while pulling out' kind of traumatic ;-) problems, the moment you outsource your worries to some other III party. It merely requires some planning - which could be painful to start with but becomes easy in a week or so. Also, the bus journeys have the following advantages operating at various levels: 1. In the heart of the city, as there is no byepass or pacemaker, the traffic crawls and a bus is better or equal to any other vehicle. 2. The level of the bus is higher - therefore there is less pollution (to you, that is). 3. You can take a paperback and stat reading it, while listening to popular and attrotious film music 4. You can hallucinate that you are polluting less. 5 You can also selfrighteously assume that you are experiencing the *real* india. 6. scroll down to the postscript Suggestions: 1. Take up your acco very near the office (in Bangalore there are residential tenements or the new fangled 'serviced apartments' available in practially all loations) in which case you may not need to commute much by vehicles at all. 2. The smaller roads in Bangalore are fun to walk. If you dont stick to the main roads, then the life is easy. Arm yourself with an Eicher roadmap which is nicely updated and usefully granular. Even a bicycle is not a bad idea at all.(and while leaving India, donate it to me) 3. If you want to use the bus system - always buy a Rs. 30/- (around 75 cents) wholeday pass - you can hop in and out of as many buses and as many times as possible. In this case you dont have to haggle for coin change. If you know your destination, you can very easily packet switch. Please note that it is okay to hop in and out of buses at traffic signals, wherever. I think probably this could be some solution like an unconcscious ant colony optimization problem. :-) Doing a constant trace routing during
Re: [silk] another intro
get some of my best knitting done on airplanes, but sometimes they don't like to let you onto the plane with knitting needles. I imagine they'll be more laid back about an embroidery needle. Linda Ha...don't be too sure about that. The last time at JFK, they let my little swiss army knife through in my handbag, where I had forgotten it was...and they threw out all mysafety pins. The ones I had on, pinning up my scarf, went right through...I was trying to figure out how to terrorize the pilots and crew with both of them! Deepa. On Feb 8, 2008 11:15 PM, Dave Kumar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 2/8/08, Gautam John [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Feb 8, 2008 11:06 PM, Dave Kumar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: at a law school there a couple of years ago Oh? When was that? I graduated in '02, assuming it's NLS you are referring to. What did you teach? Yup, I taught at NLS in 2004-05, taught Telecommunications Law and Policy (which is what I do in DC) one term and Competition Law the next, both 5th year seminars. (Probably best to continue the conversation off-list.)
Re: [silk] another intro
On 2/8/08, Linda L. Julien [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm looking forward to getting to know you all. Linda As a former resident of both Bangalore (middle school, high school, taught at a law school there a couple of years ago, parents still live there) and Somerville (while in law school at that other university up Mass Ave from MIT), welcome to the list! I hope you enjoy your time in Bangalore. DK
Re: [silk] another intro
On Feb 8, 2008 11:06 PM, Dave Kumar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: at a law school there a couple of years ago Oh? When was that? I graduated in '02, assuming it's NLS you are referring to. What did you teach?
Re: [silk] Fwd: Introduction
we have conversations in public, in private, and in secret. All three are quite separate. The public is what we say to a crowd; the private is what we chatter amongst ourselves, when free from the demands of the crowd; and the secret is what we keep from everyone but our confidant. Indeed very insightful, Udhay. Had not thought of the distinction between private and secret, before this. Deepa.
Re: [silk] Meeting on 10th - Venue
Damn the drunks I say. Having said that, I can offer safe driving (well, not my wife's view, but still) from the Lavelle Road area. - Vinit -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] et] On Behalf Of Udhay Shankar N Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 5:09 AM To: silklist@lists.hserus.net Subject: Re: [silk] Meeting on 10th - Venue Venkat Mangudi wrote, [on 2/6/2008 2:09 PM]: When and Where? I thought I heard Windsor Pub. Shall we say around 7:30 ish? Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] another intro
Welcome to the silklist Linda! And welcome, slightly in advance, to Bangalore as well. Oh, after Massachusetts (have I got all those s's in place?) you are going to just LOVE Bangalore traffic...especially if this is your first visit to India. And congrats on your marriage-to-be...I hope to be able to say that in person. AMS has been a good friend to me, too. Deepa. On Feb 8, 2008 7:29 PM, Vinayak Hegde [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Feb 8, 2008 7:13 PM, Linda L. Julien [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi folks, I've known ams for a number of years, and he directed me to this list. I work for Akamai Technologies in the US, and it looks like they'll be sending me to our Bangalore office within the next month or two, for 3-4 weeks. The timing isn't settled yet, but I hope I might get to meet a few of you while I'm there. I live in Somerville, Massachusetts, not far from the location of the recently-mentioned Great Molasses Flood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Molasses_Disaster). A brief summary of me: I write code for a living (and for fun), I have too many hobbies, I have two cats, and I'll be getting married in June. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all. Linda Welcome to Silk. Good to see another Akamite (that sounds like a pest doesn't it :) on Silk. I work in the Bangalore office. -- Vinayak http://www.linkedin.com/in/VinayakH
Re: [silk] another intro
On 2/8/08, Gautam John [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Feb 8, 2008 11:06 PM, Dave Kumar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: at a law school there a couple of years ago Oh? When was that? I graduated in '02, assuming it's NLS you are referring to. What did you teach? Yup, I taught at NLS in 2004-05, taught Telecommunications Law and Policy (which is what I do in DC) one term and Competition Law the next, both 5th year seminars. (Probably best to continue the conversation off-list.)
Re: [silk] another intro
va wrote: working on the embroidery that I wanted to do for my wedding dress anyway. do you crochet ? or cross-stitch ? or tatting ? I crochet, and knit...mostly knitting these days. I've done cross-stitch in the past, but not since I was a teenager. No tatting (yet?). I also sew, though not nearly as often as I used to. Remember what I said in my intro about too many hobbies? A brief proof-of-concept test showed that I can embroider some seed pearls onto a piece of silk in a serviceable manner...and thus an elaborate bodice for a wedding dress will be born. I get some of my best knitting done on airplanes, but sometimes they don't like to let you onto the plane with knitting needles. I imagine they'll be more laid back about an embroidery needle. How about you? Linda
Re: [silk] yet another introduction
so yeah /me is yet another woman joining silk. Hi VA, and welcome! But...being a non-geek and all, I must confess, that I thought you were (like several others) a lurker who was belatedly introducing..er..hesself...andvid or va don't give me a clue to your name, either...are you based in India? Your blogposts (about the Indichix) makes me think so..but I can't make assumptions...and Blogger doesn't seem to have a nice handy userinfo like LJ has, to go and see. But...I am especially saying hi to you after reading your Jan 28th entry...Rockolate chocks! I am a complete and hopeless chocoholic, too. In fact, give me a piece of paper with dark chocolate written on it and I would probably chew contentedly on that... Deepa (probably the oldest female person on this list.) On Feb 7, 2008 6:48 AM, Hassath [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Because I couldn't think of a better introduction. if '/me' implies 'person' and 'person' implies 'www.svaksha.com', then /me = www.svaksha.com || vid || ...crawls back into her shell after waving a hello to Hassath :) and Bernhard and ofcourse Kavita for silk ! On Feb 8, 2008 8:05 PM, va [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi, Seems like my kurtz intro got lost in the excitement of discovering Hassath's gender/identity and address :-) so yeah /me is yet another woman joining silk. On Feb 7, 2008 6:48 AM, Hassath [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Because I couldn't think of a better introduction. if '/me' implies 'person' and 'person' implies 'www.svaksha.com', then /me = www.svaksha.com || vid || ...crawls back into her shell after waving a hello to Hassath :) and Bernhard and ofcourse Kavita for silk !
Re: [silk] long
On Feb 8, 2008 11:26 PM, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I also thought of gulkhand which seems to be a popular sweet in many parts of India. Was this of Mughal, or Indian origin? I never liked it, and could not understand my grandmother's need to dunk rose petals in sugar syrup!... It's gul*kand*, not gulkhand. I suspect it's of Mughal origin, because of 'gul' - which means flower or rose, I think, in Arabic. And yes, Deepa, even I never liked it- notwithstanding childhood memories of nice neighbours offering it to us. :-) -- - Hassath
Re: [silk] long
On Feb 8, 2008 9:41 PM, Ramjee Swaminathan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: misri or chini - white crystalline sugar It would be of interest to note that, of all the above products, misri or white crystalline sugar is a very late entrant to the scene of Indian cuisine in a major way and has quickly become predominant. In UP and Delhi, I believe misri refers not to the everyday small crystalline sugar, but the bigger chunks. And in some parts of Kerala, I've heard the same thing referred to as 'kalkandam'. Chini is the white crystalline sugar which is now predominant. Or does someone know it differently? -- - Hassath
Re: [silk] long
At 2008-02-08 08:11:07 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: misri or chini - white crystalline sugar If chini is Chinese, is misri Egyptian? -- ams
Re: [silk] another intro
Linda L. Julien [08/02/08 08:43 -0500]: I work for Akamai Technologies in the US, and it looks like they'll be sending me to our Bangalore office within the next month or two, for 3-4 Great. If you know John Payne or Patrick Gilmore say hi to them from me And welcome to silklist srs
Re: [silk] another intro
Linda L. Julien [08/02/08 11:01 -0500]: Thanks. You've got to love those India (American-Indian, not India-Indian) words...place names around here are full of them. Even the locals tend to abbreviate the state name in writing and speech as Mass. Where I grew up, in central Mass., learning to pronounce Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg was a rite of passage. Attempting to spell it is not for the faint of heart. :-) Algonquin words certainly make great sounding place names, yes
Re: [silk] bangalore public transport
On Feb 8, 2008 7:01 PM, Ramjee Swaminathan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 2/8/08, Vinayak Hegde [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Nice rant, Vinayak! :-) But I completely disagree with the take on the public transport. I too use the bus network a lot (especially when i get frustrated after asking atleast two dozen autos, who never ever want to go where I want to go) and because of the cost factor. Imagine paying just 30 bucks ($1) and travelling all over the city all day. Inconvenient and time-consuming BUT most importantly I dont have to worry about getting mugged or assaulted on lonely deserted roads and definitely no haggling over the direction or intent of the driver. Auto drivers fleece anyone and everyone and women are the easiest targets, especially if the roads are a maze. Drunken drivers, going around in circles, taking deserted roads is something I find stressful, so prefer the safety in numbers. Another nice thing, the front seats are for women (even BEST has 6 seats for women) only, which ensures i dont have to argue or use any kata's on men who think its fine to accidentally brush against or feel up or fall (by mistake of course) on you each time the driver brakes. Buses here are well networked (if i can remember all 999AtoZ extensions) ... although much lower cleanliness standards than BEST which coupled with the Rail system, few other Indian cities can match 'that' nice a public transport system :) BUT I cant ever imagine a BEST driver waiting for the passenger to board/alight the bus perpetual motion, always. Here, the drivers stop the bus when women flag it down and they have the patience and courtesy to wait for her to board/alight. That care never ceases to amaze me and makes me smile. Roads-- Much much cleaner and wider than Bombay will ever be. The rash driving (been a pedestrian victim), pollution, crazy traffic with no respect for rules and speeding is something I am learning to trade-off with pedestrian walk-a-ways, parks (atleast one/km), nice weather, pockets of convenience (read hospitals, markets, school, entertainment, etc..) a slower life in short. I dont particularly care much for elitist snobs anywhere, which even if plentiful are free to live in their ivory towers. I miss vada-pav, bhel, panipuri and every street-junk food in Bombay but definitely dont miss the maddeningly crazy crowds nor the heat, pollution and dust (which is the story in many major Indian metros today). If the freedom women in Bombay enjoy to travel anywhere ALONE at any time of the day or night by public transport existed here, it would be heaven. -- || vid ||
Re: [silk] another intro
On Feb 8, 2008 5:39 PM, Linda L. Julien [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I crochet, and knit...mostly knitting these days. I've done cross-stitch in the past, but not since I was a teenager. No tatting (yet?). I also sew, though not nearly as often as I used to. Remember what I said in my intro about too many hobbies? same here :) stopped knitting after making socks for 2 left feet, sized for an elephant. A brief proof-of-concept test showed that I can embroider some seed pearls onto a piece of silk in a serviceable manner...and thus an elaborate bodice for a wedding dress will be born. ah... indian embroidery is a wee bit different, too jazzy and colourful is what i have been told. You will see it all when you land here :) I get some of my best knitting done on airplanes, but sometimes they don't like to let you onto the plane with knitting needles. I imagine they'll be more laid back about an embroidery needle. Hmpf people get into trouble for carrying a clear bottle of H2O...knitting needleson board? are you kidding me :-P How about you? crochet, sew (less now), embroidery (to spice that boring kurta), and anything that catches my fancy in between. -- || vid ||
Re: [silk] bangalore public transport - was Re: another intro
On Feb 9, 2008 12:31 AM, Ramjee Swaminathan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Nice rant, Vinayak! :-) But I completely disagree with the take on the public transport. Then we agree to disagree. I was obviously exaggerating a little :-) But public transport in Bangalore works only if you have loads of time. Still not as good as some of the other cities I have been to. But it has improved a lot over the last couple of years. Especially, the Red Volvo buses are a welcome change but Bangalore was one of the later cities to adopt them Mumbai and Hyderabad already had them more than 5 years back. Bangalore bus system has good connections, reasonable frequencies, laid back population, chatty passngers etc etc. I am very happy with this as a constant user of the system. I was 'working' in the s/w arena till about an year back and for most of the last year of my career, I used busses extensively. I did not miss even ONE meeting (how could one ever miss one), nor did I waste too much time on commute. I realized that, with not having to drive to work or wherever, the mind is free of the 'where do I get to park' and 'what if that horrendous sedan bumps into my honda civic while pulling out' kind of traumatic ;-) problems, the moment you outsource your worries to some other III party. It merely requires some planning - which could be painful to start with but becomes easy in a week or so. I do not think that the connections are good enough. Reasonable frequencies depends on route. Like buses to Koramangala from Majestic are fairly frequent. But my experience with other routes was not very good. Especially the east and west of Bangalore. North and south seem to be very well connected to the centre. Also, the bus journeys have the following advantages operating at various levels: 1. In the heart of the city, as there is no byepass or pacemaker, the traffic crawls and a bus is better or equal to any other vehicle. 2. The level of the bus is higher - therefore there is less pollution (to you, that is). 3. You can take a paperback and stat reading it, while listening to popular and attrotious film music 4. You can hallucinate that you are polluting less. 5 You can also selfrighteously assume that you are experiencing the *real* india. 6. scroll down to the postscript Suggestions: 1. Take up your acco very near the office (in Bangalore there are residential tenements or the new fangled 'serviced apartments' available in practially all loations) in which case you may not need to commute much by vehicles at all. This is not exactly a pro for the public transportation. 2. The smaller roads in Bangalore are fun to walk. If you dont stick to the main roads, then the life is easy. Arm yourself with an Eicher roadmap which is nicely updated and usefully granular. Even a bicycle is not a bad idea at all.(and while leaving India, donate it to me) Yeah it is still possible to use the bicycle on some of the smaller roads in Bangalore. You are good if you keep off the main roads. 3. If you want to use the bus system - always buy a Rs. 30/- (around 75 cents) wholeday pass - you can hop in and out of as many buses and as many times as possible. In this case you dont have to haggle for coin change. If you know your destination, you can very easily packet switch. Please note that it is okay to hop in and out of buses at traffic signals, wherever. I think probably this could be some solution like an unconcscious ant colony optimization problem. :-) Doing a constant trace routing during travel by asking the fellow travellers is an useful idea. While hopping etc, don't be too bothered by your TTL. ;-) Yeah this is a big plus, which I use frequently. 4. Even with the Autos - if one does the groundwork (a couple of enquiries with your office colleagues, Eicher map, Rs. 7/- per kilometre, etc) this is not a problem at all. One piece of suggestion is that, it is better to approach a lone auto or wave it down rather to go an auto stand with n autos. You get fleeced either ways. But if you stand your ground and pay them the right fare, most of the auto drivers relent. For comparison, the Auto fare in Mumbai is still 10 bucks minimum, Bangalore is 14 bucks. Also I found that 8 out of 10 meters are rigged. Tip: Hire the auto with the digital display. I have found that most of them are accurate. 5. If you want to anyway use the cars etc - you can go to the office at 5/6 AM or so and get back home/hole by 2/3 PM - nicely avoiding or rather outbeating the traffic - and having the rest of the day to yourself, silk, whatever. I have used this technique when a client (from US) was visiting us a few years back; forced both the client and the team to come in early - no long and useless lunch sessions at distant hotels etc. Actually this tactic was very useful and productive. Yeah This works well generally. I always feel that, if all the guys who whine incessantly about bad traffic
Re: [silk] bangalore public transport
On Feb 9, 2008 10:26 AM, va [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Another nice thing, the front seats are for women (even BEST has 6 seats for women) only, which ensures i dont have to argue or use any kata's on men who think its fine to accidentally brush against or feel up or fall (by mistake of course) on you each time the driver brakes. Buses here are well networked (if i can remember all 999AtoZ extensions) Well one of my grouses with the Bus ssystem is all the boards are in Kannada. Why not have them in dual languages such as Hindi / English. BEST does this well. I dont particularly care much for elitist snobs anywhere, which even if plentiful are free to live in their ivory towers. I miss vada-pav, bhel, panipuri and every street-junk food in Bombay but definitely dont miss the maddeningly crazy crowds nor the heat, pollution and dust (which is the story in many major Indian metros today). I miss street-food as well. There used to a place near V V puram which was similar to the Khau-galli (Food Lanes in Marathi) in Mumbai. But it has depleted thanks to high-handedness of the Bangalore police. -- Vinayak
