Re: [silk] Bangalore: Time to meet up

[Ashwin Kumar]

Weak Yes.


From: silklist  on behalf of 
Udhay Shankar N 
Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2018 1:42:25 PM
To: Silk List
Subject: Re: [silk] Bangalore: Time to meet up

​I'm in, but you knew that.​

Re: [silk] The end of the teens

[Ashwin Kumar]

+1

~ashwin

From: silklist  on behalf of 
Deepa Mohan 
Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2017 6:53:04 PM
To: Intelligent Conversation
Subject: Re: [silk] The end of the teens

I am onetative, too, depending on the final date.

I have not met many of you and would like to do so.

The Inveterate Top-poster.

On Thu, Nov 23, 2017 at 6:41 PM, Amitha Singh  wrote:

> I'm in tentative + 1
>
>
>
> On 23 Nov 2017 6:32 pm, "Rajesh Mehar"  wrote:
>
> > Tentative +1 (attendance will depend on childcare options falling in
> place
> > for the date of the meetup)
> >
> > On Thu, Nov 23, 2017, 18:26 Venkat  wrote:
> >
> > > +1 for 17th. I'm out on 15th and 16th.
> > >
> > > On 23/11/17 4:55 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote:
> > > > +1
> > > >
> > > > On 23/11/17, 3:29 PM, "silklist on behalf of Biju Chacko"
> > >  > > biju.cha...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > >  On Thu, Nov 23, 2017 at 7:40 AM, Udhay Shankar N <
> ud...@pobox.com
> > >
> > > wrote:
> > > >  > Sounds good. I will be traveling from the 21st onwards, so
> > > perhaps the
> > > >  > previous weekend? Anytime between 15-17 Dec 2017. Show of
> hands?
> > > >
> > > >  *raises hand*
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > --
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > > Venkat
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>

Re: [silk] Bangalore Help Needed

[Ashwin Kumar]

Rajesh

Vidhi is located out of the WeWorks space in Brigade Road and they got a pretty 
decent deal. Is anyone from Vidhi on this group?

~ashwin

~ashwin

From: silklist  on behalf of 
Gaurav Vaz 
Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2017 3:43:21 PM
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Subject: Re: [silk] Bangalore Help Needed

I know that a couple of NGOs operate out of WeWork in Bangalore and they’ve
gotten a pretty decent deal. I don’t know if that is personal contacts /
favours or if they will do this for more people. Might be worth exploring?

-Gaurav

On Sat, Nov 18, 2017 at 12:43 PM, Rajesh Mehar 
wrote:

> Hi Silklisters,
>
> I need some urgent help in Bangalore.
>
> An advocate friend of mine needs to move out of her current office and is
> looking for a new office. But it's not just a simple real estate search,
> because...
>
> Her practice has a high pro bono component and clients need her office to
> be close to a well serviced bus stand and the Metro. Also, she and her
> colleagues shuttle between the family court, the city civil court, the high
> court, and the magistrates court. So, the ideal area in which her office
> needs to be is infantry road, Church Street, Cubbon Road, and thereabouts.
>
> Unfortunately these areas have become highly gentrified recently and the
> asking rents are at sell-a-kidney levels.
>
> So, if anyone has any leads to an office space (or could be a residential
> space as long as the apartment society/association is ok to rent out to a
> law practice) that satisfies the following criteria, please pass on leads.
>
> Requirements:
> 1) 1000-1200 sq ft of space
> 2) should have a dedicated toilet attached (ie no shared toilets that need
> to be shared with other building occupants)
> 3) within the infantry road, Cubbon Road, Church Street area. Or really
> close to a metro station and a well serviced bus stop.
> 4) landlord should be willing to rent for 2-3 years (at least 18 months)
> 5) not exhorbitant rent
>
> PS:
> a) Landlord need not worry about renting to lawyers, they are really
> peaceful people.
> b) We've already tried almost every broker in the area. Personal contacts
> would be better. But if it's a super broker, please pass on those contacts
> too.
> c) Please help.
>



--
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice!

Gaurav Vaz | m...@gauravvaz.com | +91 99005 16145 | 
https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgauravvaz.com=02%7C01%7Cashwink%40live.in%7C140bab28370e4d590edb08d52e6d142b%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C636465968369653300=Kvm%2B4ZGEzBNk43IMd%2F%2BkHhaPGKayH2wmrP8%2FzFRwfoI%3D=0

Re: [silk] Reintroducing myself

[Ashwin Kumar]

What do you care, what other people think? - Arline Feynman

Welcome back N

~ashwin

~ashwin

From: silklist  on behalf of 
Udhay Shankar N 
Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2017 5:11:49 PM
To: Silk List
Subject: Re: [silk] Reintroducing myself

​Welcome, again, N. Feel free to share as much or as little as you like.

Udhay​

Re: [silk] Ashim - An Introduction

[Ashwin Kumar]

~ashwin





From: silklist  on behalf of 
Thaths 
Sent: Monday, November 6, 2017 11:45
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Subject: Re: [silk] Ashim - An Introduction

On Mon, Nov 6, 2017 at 4:04 PM gabin kattukaran 
wrote:

>Which are the ones you have tried? As a consumer, I have found
> 500px nice. Haven't tried posting there though. I find Instagram a tad
> too restricting ( https://instagram.com/cyntalist ) Also, their move
> away from chronological feed has been an irritant.
>

So far, I have looked at Smugmug and self-hosted galleries. I asked fellow
photographers at work and they recommended against 500px. Apparently there
have been quite a few cases of photo theft.

I am considering Smugmug too since I bought this -> 
https://photorumors.com/2017/11/01/luminar-2018-for-mac-pc-now-available-for-pre-order-lightroom-alternative/
 (since LR is going the Creative cloud/subscription way)
the introductory offer comes with a one year Smugmug subscription. 

~ashwin
PS: Thaths you are in India? 

Re: [silk] I saw this message and panicked.

[Ashwin Kumar]

~ashwin





From: silklist <silklist-bounces+ashwink=live...@lists.hserus.net> on behalf of 
Gaurav Vaz <m...@gauravvaz.com>
Sent: Monday, November 6, 2017 08:37
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Subject: Re: [silk] I saw this message and panicked.

That attachment had me confused, but otherwise, all references to Nov. 8th
are about “demonetization” no?

On Sun, Nov 5, 2017 at 9:53 PM, Udhay Shankar N <ud...@pobox.com> wrote:

> On Mon, Nov 6, 2017 at 8:17 AM, Ashwin Kumar <ashw...@live.in> wrote:
>
> Nov 8th is almost upon us. :)
>
>
> ​What's the context for this?​

Nov 8th Yuge announcement. - I got an email saying Silk is shutting down. 

Nevermind :| 

~ashwin

[silk] I saw this message and panicked.

[Ashwin Kumar]

Nov 8th is almost upon us. :) 

~ashwin

[silk] NYC/Bay Area Meet up?

[Ashwin Kumar]

Hi all
I sent an email earlier, but not sure whether it left my outbox. 
I will be in * NYC - Sept 26th to 30th* Bay Area (Sunnyvale/San Jose) - Sept 
30th to Oct 8th
Any silksters want to meet up? 
~ashwin   

[silk] NYC/Bay Area Meetup?

[Ashwin Kumar]

Hi folks
I'll be in NYC from Sept 26th to 30th, and Bay Area from 30th on to Oct 8th. 
Anyone in the area for a meetup?

I'll be free all evenings. 
~ashwin 
+919483466818

Re: [silk] Hello From Advaith

[Ashwin Kumar]

> I'm currently also working on another long term project. It's a musical
> interpretation of Herman Hesse's Siddhartha, set in a post modern context.
> Would love to hear your thoughts on this. We're still ideating the exact
> structure of the project.

Welcome to the Madness Advaith. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGEhsjik1kU
Hesse is one of my favourite authors. 
~ashwin   

[silk] Naresh on Place Making of Bengaluru

[Ashwin Kumar]

Hi Naresh
Nice talk. 
https://youtu.be/c_ldfSRU4EI
~ashwin 
+919483466818

Re: [silk] Puns in other languages

[Ashwin Kumar]

Here is some word play in Tulu. 
We were attending a lunch at my ancestral home, and they had prepared Mango 
Rasayana (Mango pulp + Coconut milk + sugar). An aunt remarked that the dish 
was a bit "puli" or sour. My grandmother (the cook), and a bit hard of hearing, 
shouted back, "How is that possible? I had squeezed all the puli myself. Each 
one I found". 
puli - in Tulu also means worms. 
That new movie starring Vijay (Puli) makes me laugh. In Tulu, pili means tiger. 
~ashwin

> Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2015 09:48:27 +0100
> From: namith...@gmail.com
> To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
> Subject: Re: [silk] Puns in other languages
> 
> And here's some Sanskrit wordplay.
> 
> http://swarajyamag.com/columns/verses-which-produce-magic-when-re-read/
> 
> I remember also being told of similar wordplay in old Kannada verses. Story
> goes that a king wanted to test the mettle of a poetess who arrived in his
> court. He gave her two unsavoury lines, and asked her to compose verses
> that included them (in ways that wouldn't offend, of course).
> 
> Iliyam muri muridu thinnuthirpar
> (They were breaking mice and eating them)
> 
> and
> Danavam kaDi kaDidu basadigoyyuthirpar
> (They were cutting up the cows and leading them into basadis, in this
> context Jain temples)
> 
> And she cleverly ended the lines preceding each of them in such a way that
> the Iliyam became Chakk-iliyam (snack similar to murukku, instead of mice)
> and Chan-danavam (Sandalwood, instead of cows)
> 
> 
> 
> On Thu, Sep 24, 2015 at 9:29 AM, Namitha Jagadeesh 
> wrote:
> 
> > Rajesh, I'm married to a non-Kannadiga who can't always master the L, so
> > he just refrains from using the word entirely :D
> >
> > There are plenty of puns within Indian languages too, I'm sure. Na
> > Kasturi, who `translated' Alice in Wonderland into Kannada, used all sorts
> > of local references and limericks to substitute the English word play. I
> > can't remember any from the book off the top of my head, but here's one
> > from my childhood.
> >
> > An old woman was selling lemons to a customer, who had just asked her how
> > much each one cost. At the same time, a man ran up to her and asked her if
> > she had seen his horse. The clever woman replied to both with just one
> > word. Na kaane
> >
> > Naak aane = 4 annas
> > Naa kaane = I haven't seen
> >
> > On Thu, Sep 24, 2015 at 9:21 AM, Rajesh Mehar 
> > wrote:
> >
> >> In Kannada (and many South Indian languages), there are two possible
> >> pronunciations of the sound corresponding to the English letter L.
> >> Wikipedia says these are called Retroflex Lateral Approximant and
> >> Retroflex
> >> Lateral Flap. Usually, while transliterating Kannada, they're written as l
> >> (as in shaale or school) and L (as in baaLe or banana). Many people who
> >> are
> >> unfamiliar with these sounds cannot pronounce the two differently.
> >> When you add to this the fact that heLu in Kannada means tell and helu
> >> means shit, there is scope for an abundance of beautiful toilet-humor-ey
> >> puns. Imagine the wrong pronounciations of "tell me now" or "tell me in my
> >> ear" or "tell me right here".
> >>
> >
> >
  

Re: [silk] The Name of the Road

[Ashwin Kumar]

> Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2015 09:33:45 +1000
> From: charles.hay...@gmail.com
> To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
> Subject: Re: [silk] The Name of the Road
> Mostly though I do it to encourage discussion about the fact that this
> place already had a name.

I want cities to be renamed purely for fun. I would love to hear airline pilots 
say, "our arrival time at Bendakalooru/or what ever the fuck it is named is 
approximately 20 mins" 
~ashwins/Bendakalooru/Bengaluru/Bangalore   
  

[silk] Meetup - NYC/Bay Area

[Ashwin Kumar]

Hi folks 
I will be in NYC from Sept 28th-Oct 2nd, and in the Bay Area from Oct 3rd until 
Oct 16th. Anyone want to meet up? 
Unless you really fancy a in-the-middle-of-nowhere meet up at Bentonville, AR. 
:) 
cheers~ashwin 

Re: [silk] Meetup - NYC/Bay Area

[Ashwin Kumar]

Right, I do work for the beast of Bentonville. :) 
I do want to experience a cabin in the woods kind of adventure in Bentonville. 
~ashwin

> From: sur...@hserus.net
> Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2015 14:10:02 +0530
> To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
> Subject: Re: [silk] Meetup - NYC/Bay Area
> 
> Which I guess is where he works 
> 
> Finding desis working for Walmart corp might be far less of an issue than 
> finding silk listers in that wilderness :)
> 
> --srs
> 
> > On 01-Sep-2015, at 12:33 pm, Preetha Chari-Srinivas <bling...@gmail.com> 
> > wrote:
> > 
> > Hi Ashwin,
> > I just relocated from the bay area. Bentonville is the headquarters of
> > Walmart - you will find plenty of Indians there.
> > Cheers,
> > Preetha.
> >> On Sep 1, 2015 12:18 PM, "Ashwin Kumar" <ashw...@live.in> wrote:
> >> 
> >> Hi folks
> >> I will be in NYC from Sept 28th-Oct 2nd, and in the Bay Area from Oct 3rd
> >> until Oct 16th. Anyone want to meet up?
> >> Unless you really fancy a in-the-middle-of-nowhere meet up at Bentonville,
> >> AR. :)
> >> cheers~ashwin
> 
  

Re: [silk] Camera gurus - need advice

[Ashwin Kumar]

I agree with Tim. Venkat, do try the mirrorless full frame cameras one more 
time. I have a Sony A7 and been very happy with it. In fact, I have completely 
given up on my film cameras.
I use 35mm and 90mm fixed lenses, but I have shot it with longer lenses and it 
was very good both ergonomically and IQ wise.
~ashwin
+919483466818




On Sat, May 2, 2015 at 3:40 PM -0700, Tim Bray tb...@textuality.com wrote:
Hm. It’s quite likely wrong to conclude from your experience that
mirrorlesses are slow in general. Lots of people who've been using SLRs for
years have been going the other way recently, drawn by the charms of
mirrorless size and ergonomics.  I think you'd find the recent offerings
from Olympus, Panasonic, and Fujifilm probably would please you.
​Some people like the recent Sonys but I found the one I tried to be
ergonomically painful, and they have HUGE sensors which means you wait
forever while downloading and processing them.  On the other hand, if you
want to make 1 meter x 3 meter prints…  Having said that, you can get a
little more for your money in SLR-land, particularly in used-SLR land.

Your question is a little unusual because many photographers, including
some with very high visibility, have in the last couple of years switched
from SLR to mirrorless.  I don’t have high visibility but I did too
(Fujifilm in my case) and can’t imagine going back.
​
​
On May 1, 2015 7:36 PM, Tim Bray tb...@textuality.com wrote:

 Why would you want a larger, heavier camera that won't actually take
better
 pictures?

Actually I found that the mirrorless was quite slow. During my recent trip,
the camera and the rented lens (prime lens at that)  was too slow.
Besides, the buffer was not able to match the speed of the wildlife and
birds that I typically try to capture. It was pretty frustrating. The
mirrorless is good for relatively slower subjects and casual photos.

-V

[silk] SF Silk Meetup?

[Ashwin Kumar]

Hi folks 
I will be in the SF area from May 26th to June 10th. Meetup anyone? 
~ashwin   

Re: [silk] Intro!

[Ashwin Kumar]

 Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2013 21:34:38 +0530
 From: suma...@gmail.com
 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 Subject: Re: [silk] Intro!
 
   Giant Robot.
 
  Ja-yanto Robo.
  You know nothing thewall. You know nothing.
 
 For the record, the show's English title was Johnny Socko and His Flying
 Robot.
 
 So much for you know nothing.

:) yup, I do remember that. But, since it was Japanese... 
~ashwin   

Re: [silk] Intro!

[Ashwin Kumar]

 For the record, the show's English title was Johnny Socko and His Flying
 Robot.
 
 So much for you know nothing.

With reference [1]
~ashwin
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Sokko_and_his_Flying_Robot  
  

Re: [silk] Intro!

[Ashwin Kumar]

 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 From: thew...@gmail.com
 Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2013 16:58:18 +
 Subject: Re: [silk] Intro!
 
 i.e., I Ygritte to inform you that you know nothing?

punditji. 
~ashwin   

Re: [silk] Intro!

[Ashwin Kumar]

 How nice to have Rashmi a ray of light (and, of course, the  english
 spelling can be pronounced as Rayshmo, that is, of silk) on the silklist!
 Long overdue! Welcome to our murky waters. No doubt you are looking forward
 to Intelligent Conversation and Meaningful Discussion. We hope you find
 these two mythical beasts!
 
 Thank you Deepa for the wonderful welcome. Indeed looking forward to it,
 once we do away with these posting interpretation formalities. And for
 taking the liberty to use your mail as an example, I apologise.

You will need an email client that indents  previous responses 
   Dear All,
  
   Glad to be a part of the list. Our Udhay has imposed an intro giving rite
   of passage on me... so here we go...

so readers get a logical flow. 
Welcome to the madhouse. :)
~ashwin   

Re: [silk] Intro!

[Ashwin Kumar]

 missed many in the Good Old Days). Such entertainment. Right now, Devaki
 and Vasudev's melodrama(just before the birth of Krishna) is keeping me in
 splits. Did any of the people on this mailing list watch these two serials?

Every Sunday, right after He-man defeated Skeletor. And, later it was Uncle 
Scrooge and his damn money bin. 
Having just one channel, DD, life was much simpler. You had Byomkesh Bakshi, 
Indradhanush, Mungerilal, Mister Yogi (remember that? much before Hyderabad 
Blues)... *sigh* 

 Having said that...some of the dialogue was wonderful. When Duryodhana
 faced death, I actually wept. *sniff*. Karna and Duryodhana are my
 favourite characters from the Mahabharata. 

Interesting choice of characters. Why them? 
If you want real entertainment, watch the new Mahadev serial. They add their 
own spice into mythology. I had never heard of Ganesha being married (at least 
in South Indian temples I have never seen Ganesha with his wives), or 
Shiva/Parvathi having a daughter. 
There was an article (on silk?) which mentioned an increase in number of  
Vaishno Devi temples after the cult classic Jai Maa Vaishno Devi. 
~ashwin   

Re: [silk] Intro!

[Ashwin Kumar]

 Ganesha's wives are the mainstay of every gujarati who deals with money / the 
 stock market - Riddhi and Siddhi.  Daughters of shiva (rather than shiva and 
 parvati) do exist in various legends across gujarat / West Bengal etc.

Yup. That was the first time I saw Ganesha and his wives. My recent trip to 
Gujarat (6 holy-shmoly days) was a revelation in terms of cashing in on the 
God factor. 
Key takeaway:  If you are a brahman, your path to moksha is assured if you do a 
11K+ pooja at Dwaraka. Anything less, and you need to rely on your good karma. 
~ashwin   

Re: [silk] Intro!

[Ashwin Kumar]

 Ha ha.  They all get greedy.

I wonder if there isn't a limit to their greed. 

 Then there's the pandas in kashi and puri .. awesome amounts of greed there.

Our tour guide/car driver said, it's the same at every Krishna temple in North 
India. They are after your money. :) 

 Compare that to some other temples - like the nellaiappar in tirunelveli.  
 When we were there some months back the priest was running short of supplies 
 for the puja and some people visiting the temple had to step out and buy 
 flowers, oil and camphor.  Which is kind of sad .. 

IMO, Somanth was much better than Dwaraka, though I did like Bet Dwaraka (no 
photography there though). 
Gujarat also introduced me to the cult of Swaminarayan. I had heard about them, 
but never experienced their religious centers. Those guys have cornered the 
market in commercializing God, and I thought IS-Con was bad. 
~ashwin   

Re: [silk] Intro!

[Ashwin Kumar]

  temple in North India. They are after your money. :)
 
 
 That makes me wonder...why is the payment called a dakshina, which is the
 word for south as well? No, I am not googling...just waiting to be
 spoon-fed.

At weddings/functions where I come from, they give dakshine to attendees. 
This happens during lunch, when the father of the bride/yajamana of the 
function goes around giving 10/20/50/100 rupees per person. When I was a kid, I 
realized that this was given only to the brahmin attendees, who had to remove 
their shirts for lunch. After this, I made it a point never to remove my shirt 
during lunch at functions. 
These days, dakshine has become an ego/status symbol.
~ashwin   

Re: [silk] Intro!

[Ashwin Kumar]

 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 From: thew...@gmail.com
 Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2013 05:05:46 +
 Subject: Re: [silk] Intro!
 
 Don't forget Famous Five, Fauji, and Bodyline. (Oxford comma moment. I 
 decided to keep it in the end).

Circus. Nukkad. 
And epic #win - watching Brit comedy shows at 10PM :) 'Allo 'allo, MYOL, Fawlty 
Towers, Yes Prime Minister.
I have the complete collection of 'Allo 'Allo. I had even mastered, It is I, 
Le Clerc, with the Faux French accent.  
 And, of course, The show. The reason why TV was invented. The single greatest 
 and most popular Indian schoolboy TV serial of all time.
 
 
 Giant Robot.

Ja-yanto Robo. 
You know nothing thewall. You know nothing.
~ashwin
*geeking out on referencing Game of Thrones/Jon Snow to thewall* *my day is 
made* 

[silk] [enquiry] Do any of you know about Ab Initio?

[Ashwin Kumar]

Hey folks
Do any of you know about a firm called Ab Initio? This is run by the people who 
managed Thinking Machines Corp. 
I have spoken to a few people there, but would like to know more about the 
firm/work from people working there (friends/or people in your network). 
I know this is not SilkList material, but any help would be useful. Please 
reply to me ashw...@live.in with any details/help. :) 
Thanks~ashwin 

Re: [silk] Bangalore Meet, Food Drinks

[Ashwin Kumar]

 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 From: thew...@gmail.com
 Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2013 05:07:54 +
 Subject: Re: [silk] Bangalore Meet, Food  Drinks
 
 Likely in. 
 --Original Message--
 From: Thejaswi Udupa
 Sender: silklist-bounces+thewall=gmail@lists.hserus.net
 To: mail=silklist@lists. hserus. net
 ReplyTo: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 Subject: Re: [silk] Bangalore Meet, Food  Drinks
 Sent: Apr 12, 2013 10:36 AM
 
 On Fri, Apr 12, 2013 at 10:33 AM, Andy Deemer andydee...@gmail.com wrote:
 
  Can I get a show of hands for Bangalore Silk Meet on next Thursday at
  Naresh's amazing rooftop patio in Richmond Town?
 
 
 *raises hand, three-quarters the way up*

*raises hand half-way up*
~ashwin   

Re: [silk] Introduction - Andy Deemer

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 15 January 2013 15:15, Andy Deemer andydee...@gmail.com wrote:

 We would regularly (weekly?) have criticism sessions, directly
 mirroring those from the cultural revolution.  Every company employee
 would take turns speaking against one poor employee, criticizing their
 performance.


pretty much sounds like stack ranking. :)

Welcome to the list. A very interesting collection of experiences.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Chinese martial arts movies

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 22 December 2012 23:43, Divya divyasamp...@yahoo.com wrote:

 Yes, he's an amazing martial artist, isn't he. Trivia: Sammo Hung, who
 plays a Hung Gar master in the Ip Man sequel is a Wing Chun expert in real
 life.
 Speaking of Ip Man, there's another biopic about him due out in 2013,
 starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai and directed by Wong Kar Wai.

 Cheers
 Divya


 Sent from my iPad

 On 22 Dec 2012, at 17:57, Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay 
 sankarshan.mukhopadh...@gmail.com wrote:

  On Sat, Dec 22, 2012 at 3:37 PM, Divya divyasamp...@yahoo.com wrote:
  I second the endorsement of Wu Xia. Terrific martial artistry courtesy
  Donnie Yen, and excellent performance by Kaneshiro Takeshi as the
 persistent
  cop.
 
  On the subject of Donnie Yen, I was fascinated with Ip Man (not so
  much with the sequel though) because of the effort he'd have put
  himself through to get the Wing Chun moves as documented.


I watched another Donnie Yen movie recently, the animation-adaptation flick
Dragon Tiger Gate. It's high on martial arts but low on storyline (too many
plots for a 2 hour movie).

Ip Man is going on my to watch list.

Not a martial arts movie, but excellent nonetheless -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Arrows - War of the Arrows.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Chinese martial arts movies

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 1 October 2012 13:42, Venkatesh Hariharan ven...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Sat, Sep 29, 2012 at 8:25 PM, Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay 
 sankarshan.mukhopadh...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Sat, Sep 29, 2012 at 6:47 PM, Venkatesh Hariharan ven...@gmail.com
 wrote:
  To that list of movies, add The Banquet a stylishly mounted Chinese
  adaptation of Hamlet.

 Is this the same movie which is also The Legend of the Black Scorpion ?

 I am not sure if it is the same movie. I happened to catch this at a
 Chinese movie festival in Siri Fort Auditorium in Delhi by sheer luck.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Xia_(film) - this movie is excellent. It
stars one of my favorites Takeshi Kaneshiro.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] quiz help

[Ashwin Kumar]

2. Paul Newman ?
5. Employees are the most valuable resource :)

On 12 October 2012 16:03, Namitha Jagadeesh namith...@gmail.com wrote:

 1. Santa-Banta?
 2. Shah Rukh Khan (don't know the other)
 3. BMW
 4. Safari?

 (am usually content to lurk, but couldn't resist jumping in)
 Namitha

 On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 9:55 AM, xxxrum xxx...@yahoo.com wrote:

  Here have a go at these..have added clues for impending dotage

 1.In http://1.in/ the hindi version of Tintin, Snowy is known as
 Nutkhat, and Tintin is known as Tintin, what are the Thomson twins known
 as? (Clue: Common Indian Joke)

 2.Over the years 'Lux', the Unilever bathing soap has used beautiful
 women, especially famous actresses, as models in its advertisements all
 over the world.
 Who were and remain to be the only men ever to model for Lux? (Clue: One
 American, one Indian)

 3.This car's logo is a stylized aircraft propeller, the blue representing
 the sky. This is in recognition of the fact that this company originally
 started off making engines for fighter aircraft. (Clue: three letter word)

 4.This word debuted in the English language in the late 19th century. It
 means 'journey' in Swahili. And is originally from the Arabic word for
 travel and is widely used in tourism, fashion and is also a cinema genre. .)

 5.According to Dilbert comic strips, which is the most used management
 lie? (Clue: You are the biggest lie)


  Naresh

 Bonobashi bonoba...@yahoo.co.in wrote:
 .and how would i/we cope with mili-metternichs left with nothing to
 criticize?

 Sent from my iPad

 On Oct 12, 2012, at 9:53 AM, Naresh xxx...@yahoo.com wrote:

  BTW that's half-point *kodi*.Ahh! these long term Bangalorevaasis
 who don't know Kannada yet...and living in Malleswaram too!!

Re: [silk] autoresponse weirdness

[Ashwin Kumar]

+1 and UnLike.

On 12 October 2012 17:57, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 4:40 PM, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:
  One member of the list appears to be getting an autoresponse from the ID
  customersupp...@icicilombard.com for a posting made to silklist. Has
  anybody else had this experience?

 Yes, I didand being the tech-unsavvy ignorantosaurus that I am, I
 assumed it was because of some link that I'd inadvertently clicked on.

 Deepa.

Re: [silk] RIP - Sriram Bala

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 28 July 2012 06:37, Ashwin Nanjappa ashwi...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 9:24 PM, Thaths tha...@gmail.com wrote:
  I talked to him a couple of times after we both came back to the US. But
 we
  drifted apart. When Livejournal started rotting on the vine, the updates
 I
  used to get about what he was up to ceased.

 I remember a few interactions with him on Livejournal. Cannot seem to
 remember his LJ ID now.


Isn't this him Thaths - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sriram/ ?

I remember having some discussions with him on film photography as well.

Sad news. :(

~ashwin

Re: [silk] English expressions that irritate me

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 23 April 2012 22:24, hani...@gmail.com wrote:

 **
 And what about let's take this offline?


It's worse when said aloud at a meeting. Blaardy, you are offline oredi
lah.

My workplace jargons are limited acronyms, sometimes stretching to six or
more characters. Most folks have forgotten what they stand for.

Venkat, please do the needful so we can greenlight the jargon list.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] The Bhansali Stork

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 18 April 2012 09:48, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:

 On Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 9:45 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian
 sur...@hserus.net wrote:

  Congratulations to them.  And they were hosting a silklist party days
  before this happy event???

 One day before, to be precise. One has to admire the kid's sense of timing.


One might come to the conclusion, that he wanted to be a part of the Silk
List having seen the meet up close. :)

Congrats Vinit and Surabhi.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Bangalore silkmeet 13 Apr?

[Ashwin Kumar]

2012/4/12 Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com

 Current headcount:

 Deepa A
 Sruthi (?)
 Mahesh
 Naresh
 Udhay
 Thejaswi Udupa
 Surabhi Tomar
 Vinit
 Vinayak H
 Ashwin Kumar
 Venky (the second)
 Sandhya M
 Shrabonti
 Deepa M (?)



-1 for me.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Bangalore silkmeet 13 Apr?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 9 April 2012 12:22, Biju Chacko biju.cha...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 10:58 AM, Venky ve...@duh-uh.com wrote:
  Sounds good to me, if you and Surabhi are agreeable. Let's say Vinit's
  place next to Biere Club at 7pm? Please email me or Vinit for phone
  numbers etc.


-1.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Bangalore silkmeet 13 Apr?

[Ashwin Kumar]

+1 me. 

~ashwin
Sent with Sparrow (http://www.sparrowmailapp.com/?sig)


On Sunday, April 8, 2012 at 5:18 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote:

 On 08-Apr-12 5:11 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote:
 
  Ha ha. This is the shortest silkmeet prep ever for me. Customer meeting all 
  day on the 13th and a family that's sworn to lynch me if I spend the 
  weekend in blr and miss out on vishu at home. Ok guys, I'm officially 
  counted out now
 
 
 So now we have
 
 Deepa A
 Sruthi
 Mahesh
 Naresh
 Udhay
 
 Who else?
 
 Udhay
 -- 
 ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com 
 (http://www.digeratus.com)))
 
 

Re: [silk] Acts of the Apostles, etc

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 23 December 2011 08:51, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:

 I am having a number of interesting conversations as a result of sending
 out my usual year-end note. What follows is [part of] one such.

 John Sundman [1] is an author whom some of you might know, either in
 person or through his work. (e.g., here is a post about him from our
 resident open-source anthropologist, Chris Kelty [2])


From another site:
So totally intriguing. Off to buy the book. 4.5 stars on Amazon too.

A NON-LINEAR TRILOGY

Acts of the Apostles is book “blue” of Mind Over Matter, an ambitious
three-volume work that share similar themes, characters and settings.
Because these books can be read in any order, they are not numbered but
instead marked by color.

   - *Acts of the Apostles* (Mind over Matter volume blue)
  - A techno-thriller about the abuse of nano and bio-technology.
   - *Cheap Complex Devices* (Mind over Matter volume red)
  - A rambling monologue supposedly written by a computer (or a mind in
  a vat, or a swarm of bees, or a man shot in the head and connected to a
  computer). The story is kind of a slow motion reboot, a person coming out
  of a dream, an entity that is coming to sanity, wholeness, self-awareness.
   - *The Pains* (Mind over Matter volume black)
  - An illustrated 1984-type dystopian featuring alternate-universe
  version of some key characters from Acts of the Apostles. Also included:
  cryogenically-preserved severed human heads and Ronald Reagan

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading from 2011

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 5 December 2011 00:16, Thaths tha...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Sun, Dec 4, 2011 at 10:34 AM, Brij Blog brij.bl...@gmail.com wrote:

 Hello fellow members,

 I am a new member here and am excited to be part of this group. Thanks to
 Sankarshan for introducing me to this group and Udhay for adding me to it.


 Welcome, Brij.


 On 4 December 2011 23:35, Thaths tha...@gmail.com wrote:

 Has anyone read The Immortals Of Meluha by Amish Tripati:


 http://www.landmarkonthenet.com/books/the-immortals-of-meluha/9789380658742


Welcome Brij.

Sadly, my reading this year is at an all time low. The only ones I have
read, and can recommend are -

Drunkard's Walk - How Randomness Rules our Lives
http://www.amazon.com/Drunkards-Walk-Randomness-Rules-Lives/dp/0375424040

And, this recommendation may not go well at all -
A Song of Ice and Fire Series

:)

Thaths, please to be notifying dates of India visit, and if you will be
visiting Bangalore.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Why this Kolaveri di?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 28 November 2011 13:20, Thejaswi Udupa thejaswi.ud...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 10:23 AM, Chew Lin Kay chewlin@gmail.com
 wrote:
  Time for the good old days of the Macarena?


  taking part in quizzes for fun,


*understatement*

:)

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Anyone going from Chennai/Bangalore to the US?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 29 November 2011 00:10, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan 
chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:

 Hello,

 Going against the grain here. I don't want to ship things from the US to
 India, but send stuff from home to the US.
 Food. More specifically, the rather brilliant Sri Krishna Sweet's Mysore
 Pa, to a friend in San Diego.
 The couriers/commercial carriers refused to ship perishable goods, and I
 get conflicting answers from three different Govt. of India post offices.


The new rule book of the Indian post offices state 'NO' to perishable
items, which includes CDs, cameras (even mechanical), and a other such
items which make no sense.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Why this Kolaveri di?

[Ashwin Kumar]

It's even appearing on Hindi music channels.

oh! the pain. Why this kolaveri di?

On 27 November 2011 23:10, Srini RamaKrishnan che...@gmail.com wrote:

 It's on BBC even: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF6CLkrP8vE

 And while we are covering tanglish videos, Machaan Sollu Sollu for the
 politically conscious Tamil:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqqZE9trqck

 On Sat, Nov 26, 2011 at 12:00 PM, ss cybers...@gmail.com wrote:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR12Z8f1Dh8
 

Re: [silk] Why this Kolaveri di?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 28 November 2011 06:39, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote:



 On Monday, November 28, 2011, Ashwin Kumar ashwi...@gmail.com wrote:
  It's even appearing on Hindi music channels.
  oh! the pain. Why this kolaveri di?
 
 Reminds me of the huge success of mukkala muqabala o Laila years ago. In
 Jaipur, a friend had a cassette (yes, those days) with thirty versions of
 the song.


I attribute the success of the song to it's non-Tamil lyrics. And, a tune
(if you call that one) that is easily hum-able.

It's torture being subjected to this in the office cab, sung by over
enthusiastic cab mates, and the driver joining in for chorus. *sigh* I do
not look forward to traveling again today.

~ashwin

[silk] Remember Shakti - India Tour dates

[Ashwin Kumar]

Hey folks

Sorry if this is spamming, but getting a chance to watch these guys live is
too exciting for me :)

http://deghelt-productions.com/concerts/concerts.html

Remember Shakti - Special Tour in India !
with John McLaughlin (guitar)
Zakir Hussain (tabla)
Shankar Mahadavan (vocals)
U. Shrinivas (mandolin)
V. Selvaganesh (kanjira, ghatam, mridangam)

5/02/12 Pune
7/02/12 Mumbai
9/02/12 Kolkata
10/02/12 Bangalore
11/02/12 Chennai
12/02/12 Mumbai

~ashwin

Re: [silk] BLR Meetup?

[Ashwin Kumar]

Is this happening? When and where its the meetup?

Ashwin
On Oct 24, 2011 5:16 PM, freeman murray free...@jaaga.in wrote:

 hey everyone,

 We're welcome to meet at Jaaga too.
 There may be a human rights film festival
 http://www.jaaga.in/AHRF2011
 going on as well, but the new Jaaga is big
 enough to take all kinds.

 Jaaga is central on double Rd.
 http://jaaga.in/contact

 but we don't have great parking.

 Freeman

 On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 4:06 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net
  wrote:

 ** Eh, you can get booze anywhere on dry days too, of course sold at a
 premium

 If kr day isn't dry then so much the better

 --
 srs (blackberry)
 --
 *From: * Amitha Singh amithasi...@gmail.com
 *Sender: * silklist-bounces+suresh=hserus@lists.hserus.net
 *Date: *Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:55:58 +0530
 *To: *silklist@lists.hserus.net
 *ReplyTo: * silklist@lists.hserus.net
 *Subject: *Re: [silk] BLR Meetup?

 Well, as per the law it isn't a dry day and honestly don't see how it can
 be a dry day coz all the local groups (read dons) drink to their hearts
 content and dance the night away on Rajyotsava. :)

 Also check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_India for a
 list of dry days in India, state-wise.

 Ciao
 Amitha

 On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 3:48 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian 
 sur...@hserus.net wrote:

 ** Its dry. So stock up two or three days earlier and meet at someone's
 apartment?

 --
 srs (blackberry)
 --
 *From: * Ashwin Kumar ashwi...@gmail.com
 *Sender: * silklist-bounces+suresh=hserus@lists.hserus.net
 *Date: *Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:47:00 +0530
 *To: *silklist@lists.hserus.net
 *ReplyTo: * silklist@lists.hserus.net
 *Subject: *Re: [silk] BLR Meetup?



 On 24 October 2011 15:09, Amitha Singh amithasi...@gmail.com wrote:

 How about Bierre Club?  Great music, beer and decent chow.

 Udhay has forced me out of my comfort zone and asked me to post on Silk
 so I am doing this, let me add, under huge duress. :)

 Regards,
 Amitha


 I am guessing we would need reservation. Is there a dry day rule on
 account of Karnataka Rajyotsava ?

 Bierre club would mean I get a place to park :)

 ~ashwin




 --
 *Hesitating to act because the whole vision might not be achieved, or
 because others do not yet share it, is an attitude that only hinders
 progress. -- MK Gandhi*

Re: [silk] BLR Meetup?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 23 October 2011 19:35, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:


 On Sun, Oct 23, 2011 at 7:21 PM, divya manian divya.man...@gmail.comwrote:


 To flog a dead horse, seems like Nov 1st would be best for me and
 deepak if everyone else is up for it! Obviously I am clueless to
 suggest venue and time, but ideally dinner/drinks somewhere.


 Nov 1st evening works for me. Venue suggestions? I wonder if Naresh's fancy
 office lounge is available (hint, hint) :-P


I am fine with it too...

~ashwin

Re: [silk] India's Selective Rage Over Corruption

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 19 August 2011 18:52, Chetan Nagendra che...@pobox.com wrote:

 Kiran,

 Why do you view this as mass-hysteria and nonsense? And why do you impose
 your generalisation on the people of this list?


 On 19 Aug 2011, at 18:29, Kiran K Karthikeyan wrote:

 Makes a very valid counterpoint to the mass hysteria around AH/Lokpal
 nonsense.



+1 on Kiran.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Mission: Bangalore silk meetup - Thu July 14

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 12 July 2011 15:49, Biju Chacko biju.cha...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 3:32 PM, Madhu Menon c...@shiokfood.com wrote:
  On 12-07-2011 14:51, Biju Chacko wrote:
 
  You were fairly uncomplimentary about the food the last time we met
  there. And +1 to Udhay: what about beer?
 
  Because a good friend of mine who knows her food didn't have very nice
  things to say about Pizzeria Romano:
 
 http://foodtravelbangalore.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/pizzeria-romano-koramangala/

 I'd concur with that review.


To save all the pain, why don't we meet at Herbs and Spice ?

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Mission: Bangalore silk meetup - Thu July 14

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 12 July 2011 16:11, Nishant Shah itsnish...@gmail.com wrote:



 To save all the pain, why don't we meet at Herbs and Spice ?

 Because Herbs and Spices is quite painful in itself. From the parking
 trouble to the bad service to the fairly unlistenable music and of course
 the fact that the chef doesn't seem to know any other flavours except for
 pepper and garlic.


Ok. :)

+1 to Thulp. I am almost certainly going to be there :)


 Thulp it is then.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Plus by Google

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 1 July 2011 23:11, Andre Manoel an...@corp.insite.com.br wrote:

 On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 9:40 AM, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote:
  Seems to me as if G+ is just a whole lot of work adding the same family,
  acquaintances and friends to yet another network and keeping up with
  them...can someone tell me what the unique benefits are? Frankly, I took
 it
  on just because it is a Google product, and I am, in general, a GGF
 (Great
  Google Fan)


Here are a few things I like:
* Clean and simple. I have always hated the cluttered FB interface with tiny
fonts. G+ fonts are much more readable.
* Notifications - absolutely lovely. I like that I can reply right there on
the top bar. With the Chrome extension, it's even better.
* I liked the Buzz way of sharing, and G+ brings this to twitter. Perfect.
* Hangout. hangout. hangout. :)

Things I dislike:
* Photos page. absolutely awful UI. feels like Picasa in an iFrame. somebody
at Google please ask them to redesign it.

Things I'd like to see:
* By default the stream should open with a circle of my choice
* Cross-posting to twitter (until everyone from twitter moves here)
* Integrate feeds from flickr.
* Highlight circles on the sidebar that have an updated stream content (much
like auto-archive + labels in gmail)

~ashwin

Re: [silk] The future of learning?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 12 June 2011 17:38, Keith Adam keith.ad...@blueyonder.co.uk wrote:

 This list contains a large number of self-taught programmers. How did
 you get started, and how did you get to a moderate level of skill? (If
 you want to talk about what happened after that, great, but I am more
 interested in the first two stages)

* The seed: My love for the computer started way back in 1984 [seems
like an eventful year]. My mother decided to write her PhD Thesis on
Wordstar, and I would tag along to her lab, and help her type out the
words. When I got the computer to myself, I was free to explore
whatever I wanted. And, I did, for 3 full years. GWBASIC, Lotus 123,
Statistical Computing Packages. Though, I really never understood any
of it (I was 6 when I started).

* The early days: The playtime/sports time in school was spent in
the computer lab, and not the field getting dirty playing football
(Yes, I found the hard way that playing with computers is clean).
Here, I learnt to program simple stuff using GWBASIC and FORTRAN. The
instructor encouraged us to move away from games, and taught us basics
of how computers work. Looking back, I think he was responsible for my
initial love with machines. As Deepak and Thaths mentioned,
programming on paper was so much more clearer than writing in an IDE.

* The formative years: My pre-engineering days were spent in two ways,
a computer course where I learnt C, DBase, Lotus 123, Pascal, and
part-time work at an electronics shop helping the guy fix TVs, radios,
etc. I learnt to solder, trace paths in an electronic circuit, compute
voltages across resistors, plus program in C. It was a combination
that made me choose the streams later on in my career. To this day, I
am a confused engineer. :) During my 4 years at college, I studied EE,
but would spend most of the time sneaking into the CS lab and
programming problems in C, until they finally caught me. When my own
department got computer equipment, I spent all my time there learning
each piece of software on the system. I feel there is a distinct
separation of theory and practical application in our education
system. We studied all the theoretical foundations, but never knew
where it was being applied or how. My first true practical experience
was at ARDC, where I interned, and worked on the LCA. Our project was
a simulation model for flight dynamics of the LCA, computer design of
actuators, and do real time analysis of flight conditions. I met two
entities who would change my way of thinking in computing, my
mentor, a brilliant scientist who encouraged me to research and learn,
and the second was the super computing machine in the lab, which gave
me a taste of the true power of computing systems.

* The ongoing learning phase: These days I just try to pick up new
skills at whatever is my place of work. This leaves me very less time
for personal stuff, which is devoted to my other love of photography.
My tools for programming in my current job are C#, Perl, Scope/Cosmos
(equivalent of Pig/Hadoop), and a bit of Haskell in my spare time. I
am also starting off some Android development, time to put my skills
in programming to some use for photographers. :)

I should add that I have been lucky enough to know some brilliant
folks/hackers/geeks along the way, Jois, Jace, Thaths, Divya, Cheeni,
who are on this list, and a bunch of other people who are in the real
world.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Gmail on android

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 4 June 2011 20:38, Eugen Leitl eu...@leitl.org wrote:
 On Sat, Jun 04, 2011 at 08:09:02PM +0530, Udhay Shankar N wrote:
 Does it use SSH by default? I can't really make out, and my search-fu on
 this topic (keywords too generic, I guess) is failing me.

 While speaking about Android -- my Nook color just landed.
 Upgraded to 1.2, not rooted yet.

 Works very well.

Speaking of Android's and tablets, I have an offer to buy a Notion Ink Adam.
There are some reports of being able to run Honeycomb very nicely on
this device.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Bangalore Silkmeet tomorrow?

[Ashwin Kumar]

I was told 7PM. this is a new timing?

~ashwin

On 17 May 2011 10:10, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan
chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:
 Not a traditional top post.
 After a bit of haggling with Udhay over Gtalk, the two of us have decided
 that Silver Wok on Richmond Road is a good place to meet.
 How about we all (and by that I mean the Silklisters in Bangalore not
 otherwise engaged) meet there this evening? Say, 6 pm onwards?

 C

 On Mon, May 16, 2011 at 4:37 PM, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan
 chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:

 Hello,

 Apologies for the short notice. I will be in Bangalore tomorrow for a day.
 Kind of last minute trip. Anybody up for a quick meet?
 I will be free for most of the morning, and from about 5 to 9 pm. We could
 either do a late breakfast/early lunch or evening coffee/beer, ideally the
 beer.

 The usual Bangalore suspects have my number, but for the others, my number
 is the one in my email signature. Would love to meet you all.

 C

 --
 http://www.uk.linkedin.com/in/chandrachoodan
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravages
 http://www.selectiveamnesia.org/

 +919884467463



 --
 http://www.uk.linkedin.com/in/chandrachoodan
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravages
 http://www.selectiveamnesia.org/

 +919884467463

Re: [silk] Sidin Vadukut - Introduction

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 18 May 2011 10:41, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan
chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:


 On Wed, May 18, 2011 at 10:37 AM, Venkat Mangudi s...@venkatmangudi.com
 wrote:

 Drastic's his middle name. :)


 Madrasticman?

 Wouldn't that make him a guy from Madras with an uncontrollable involuntary
 spasm?

Tomorrow's Headline - Madman commits seppuku on Vadukut's entry

Welcome Sidin.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Using an X-Box Controller as a PC text input device

[Ashwin Kumar]

golly! here I am working on the Ad Platform for Bing, and I find a consumer.
:) Hi Sumant.

Aadisht, I can put this on the local chat list. There are a few of the
XBOX/Kinect tinkerers on it.

~ashwin

On 4 May 2011 15:36, Sumant Srivathsan suma...@gmail.com wrote:

 I can try taking this into the Microsoft jungle, and see if this is
 something they're already working on (if it's for the XBOX, it might be
 portable to PC). Is that okay?


 On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 3:23 PM, Aadisht Khanna li...@aadisht.net wrote:

 Hello,

 someone I know just passed a query on to me, and I thought people on
 silk would probably be able to help.

 He knows two school-age children with a neuromuscular disorder (but
 doesn't have details of which one), which prevents them from writing or
 typing. However, they are able to use X-Box controllers.

 At present, they're using something called XPADDER which lets you use
 the controller as a mouse on a PC, and also assigns some keys to the
 controller buttons. For text entry, they use an onscreen keyboard.

 Mouse+onscreen keyboard is still a cumbersome and time-consuming way to
 enter text, so they're now trying to see if they can combine this with a
 software T9 keyboard so that predictive text reduces the time requirement.

 I'll use his own words for now:

 QUOTE:

 in short: we need an application that defines the buttons on a xbox
 controller as the command functions of the normal keyboard and can type
 in a on screen T9 numerical keypad with word prediction function as
 found on mobile phones.

 Perhaps even better, but not found on any site on the internet would be
 a combination of a numerical keyboard (like the num keypad accessory for
 laptops and mobile phones) and the Xbox controller (imagine a xbox
 controller cut in half, with a num pad glued to it), so you can have the
 mouse functions under your left thumb and writing function under your
 right thumb.

 hopefully you are able to help us in combining (or developing) the
 requested functionalities!

 END QUOTE

 Does anybody know of something that can solve their problem?



 --
 Regards,

 Aadisht
 Email for lists: li...@aadisht.net
 Personal Email: aadi...@aadisht.net
 Mobile (TN): +91-96000 23067
 Website: http://www.aadisht.net/
 Blog: http://www.wokay.in/




 --
 Sumant Srivathsan
 http://sumants.blogspot.com

Re: [silk] A crisis of confidence

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 31 March 2011 11:53, Anish anish.moham...@gmail.com wrote:

 It is a
 big joke among the Americans that when an Indian visits an Italian
 restaurant, there is a request for chilly flakes in the pasta and the
 pizza.
 It is possibly true. I go for chili oil when its pizza or pepper when its
 pasta :(
 Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device


I did this at a French restaurant in Singapore, and got a visit from the
chef.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] What's on your bucket list?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 20 January 2011 13:19, Venkat Mangudi s...@venkatmangudi.com wrote:


 --V
 (getting tired typing out the same 6 characters over and over again)


I see that you are moving head-on towards a Nov 5th goal. :)

~ashwin

Re: [silk] What's on your bucket list?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 20 January 2011 13:30, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan 
chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:



 On Thu, Jan 20, 2011 at 1:10 PM, Ashwin Kumar ashwi...@gmail.com wrote:

 You better start preparing for the next Masterchef India then :)



 Haven't seen the Indian version, but am a fan of the UK series. How does
 the Akshay Kumar thing compare to the original?


Madhu Menon hasa very nice piece on MCI. Whenever I watched the show, my
violent tendencies were stimulated. Smashing a few heads is occasionally
good for the health.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] What's on your bucket list?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 20 January 2011 16:05, Vinayak Hegde vinay...@gmail.com wrote:

 I have reserached the trans-Siberian and Ghan. Someday I will get
 around to doing them.


Divya on this list has done the Ghan a couple of months back. And, I have
done the Indian-Pacific.

So, feel free get more details. :)

~ashwin

Re: [silk] What's on your bucket list?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 21 January 2011 10:26, Indrajit Gupta bonoba...@yahoo.co.in wrote:



 NOTHING helps keep sysadmins in line. They are born without fear, or have
 it 'smacked' out of them.


Try grabbing on to their cables. There lies their power.

~ashwin
PS: cables can be replaced with pipes if you are a senator.

Re: [silk] What's on your bucket list?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 19 January 2011 13:00, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:

 What's on *your* bucket list?


I will list the more practical achievable stuff that is there on my list:
* explore parts of India for two weeks every year.
* publish a coffee table photography book/s from the travels. USP - shot
only on a rangefinder with a fixed lens and BW
* start teaching (at a nursery/primary school) within the next 5 years

flights of fantasy:
* sail a boat up the Mekong starting at the delta
* do every long train journey in the world. Orient Express, Ghan,
Trans-Siberian,  the Americas on train

~ashwin

Re: [silk] What's on your bucket list?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 20 January 2011 13:07, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan 
chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:



 On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 1:00 PM, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:


 What's on *your* bucket list?


 Over the last two years, I've learnt I am a fairly good cook.
 Only way to validate that assumption: find out what others say. Hence one
 of my not-too-many wishes on the bucket-list:
 work in a Michelin 3-star rated kitchen, and create one special one-off
 dinner menu.

 Failing which, eat in every M 3 star kitchen in the world in one year.


You better start preparing for the next Masterchef India then :)

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Book recommendations

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 6 January 2011 21:38, Samanth Subramanian wordpsm...@gmail.com wrote:

 Thanks, Udhay. A cordial Hello to the Silklisters out there.


Welcome Samanth.

I ordered the book on flipkart a few minutes back.  :)

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Diaspora

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 18 December 2010 12:19, Biju Chacko biju.cha...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Thursday, December 16, 2010, Ashwin Kumar ashwi...@gmail.com wrote:

  it's weird that you need to type out the entire handle with @joindiaspora
 to search for a person.
 


 Diaspora is supposed to be a distributed social networking service. If
 you download it you should be able to set up your own diaspora server.


Sent.

That makes sense.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Diaspora

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 15 December 2010 17:13, Anish Mohammed anish.moham...@gmail.com wrote:

 Any invites left , can I have one please ;)


Invites if any left are welcome :)

Re: [silk] Diaspora

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 15 December 2010 20:53, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan 
chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:



 On Wed, Dec 15, 2010 at 8:13 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net
  wrote:

 Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan [15/12/10 19:50 +0530]:

  If you/list members still have one, I'd like it.


 done 2 left


 Thank you, Suresh.
 I've got five invites to give out, folks, though I'm going to hold one back
 to invite a friend who works in the social media/networking sphere.


interesting, I still haven't got an invite.

CC, ek mere liye? (*ripping off on an old Indian ad*)

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Diaspora

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 15 December 2010 20:47, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan 
chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:



 On Wed, Dec 15, 2010 at 3:11 PM, Neha Viswanathan nehav...@gmail.comwrote:



 *wiping tears of joy* I am n...@joindiaspora.com - I've never been just
 neha.


 I am chandrachoo...@joindiaspora.com


ashwi...@joindiaspora.com

Re: [silk] Diaspora

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 16 December 2010 08:08, Venkat Mangudi - Silk s...@venkatmangudi.comwrote:



 On Wed, Dec 15, 2010 at 9:18 PM, Ashwin Kumar ashwi...@gmail.com wrote:



 ashwi...@joindiaspora.com


 Couldn't find you. Have added the others to my silk aspect.


added you to my aspect.

it's weird that you need to type out the entire handle with @joindiaspora to
search for a person.

the site really looks, for lack of an appropriate word, kiddish.
I am reminded of the time I saw the prototype HAL LCA, and the BAE HAWK next
to each other.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Diaspora

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 16 December 2010 09:48, gabin kattukaran gkattuka...@gmail.com wrote:

 if there are invites left, can I have one please?

 Sent.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Diaspora

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 16 December 2010 09:55, savita rao savita.s@gmail.com wrote:

 +1. I'd like one, please.


sent.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Silk meet in Bangalore

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 12 December 2010 17:33, Venkat Mangudi - Silk s...@venkatmangudi.comwrote:



 On Sat, Dec 11, 2010 at 4:36 PM, gabin kattukaran 
 gkattuka...@gmail.comwrote:

 Can someone give me directions to get to Windsor Pub from the airport? Do
 any of the airport volvos go that way? If not an address that is usable with
 the cabbies would suffice.


 Close to the Cantonment Rly Stn. Once there, ask for the Kodava Samaj.
 Windsor Pub is right next to it.


Sorry folks will not be able to make it.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Coffee Machine Recommendations

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 13 December 2010 10:44, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net wrote:



 If you want it american style black - top it up with hot water


the worst kind of black coffee. I hated the dispenser which gave out
something like coffee, but tasted like flavoured water.
I prefer the Lavazza coffee machines in my CA office. It serves a decent
macchiato with a double espresso shot.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Coffee Machine Recommendations

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 13 December 2010 10:48, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan 
chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:



 On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 8:56 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net
  wrote:



 I dont mind Cothas at all - their 85% coffee 15% chicory is not bad, but
 I'd love it if they had a 100% coffee blend available, can't find that
 in Madras at all.

 Well, Coffee Day outlets let you specify what blend of coffee you want and
 how much chicory you want. There was (is?) a place called Senthil Coffee
 Works in KK Nagar that would roast and grind any blend for you on a daily
 basis, much like the Leo Coffee folks. But Senthil occasionally had other
 kinds of coffee beans, not just the standard Peaberry or Plantation A


If any of you ever go down to Singapore, I can give the location where you
can pick/choose the beans, and grind it into one blend.

I used to mix 80% Brazil + 20% Srilankan beans. A 500gm blend used to cost
10SGD, but gave that wake-you-up-from-dead espressos when prepared using
this - http://goo.gl/6Y26C.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Silk meet in Bangalore

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 8 December 2010 13:29, Venkat Mangudi s...@venkatmangudi.com wrote:

 On Wednesday 08 December 2010 12:53 PM, Ashwin Kumar wrote:
  veggie-sense tingling. I am going to be at a disadvantage in Windsor Pub.

 Don't think so... Cheese Chilly Toast! and Beer!


uhmm... Chilly Cheese Toast and Onion Bajji. Root beer if available :)

Re: [silk] Silk meet in Bangalore

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 8 December 2010 10:48, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:

 On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 10:39 AM, Venkat Mangudi s...@venkatmangudi.com
 wrote:
  Cheeni is coming to India next week. Tweeple generally agreed to catch
  up. It appears everyone has agreed to meet on the 14th, which happens to
  be a Tuesday. Udhay has volunteered me to get this rolling, so here
  goes. Show of hands please, if you are attending.

 I'm in, but you knew that.


I'm in too.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Silk meet in Bangalore

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 8 December 2010 11:31, Venkat Mangudi s...@venkatmangudi.com wrote:

 On Wednesday 08 December 2010 11:19 AM, Biju Chacko wrote:
  Who else? Suggestions for venue please. Considering that it is a
  weekday, I will have to leave latest by 10 p.m.

 7:30 p.m at Windsro Pub, vasanth Nagar. Next to Kodava Samaj. Works for
 everyone? This way Danese can join us arnd 9:30ish.


works for me.

So, anyone for a carpool for the ride back? I believe parking in that area
is major PITA.
I need a ride/can give a ride to anyone coming to Indiranagar/Old Airport
Rd...

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Silk meet in Bangalore

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 8 December 2010 12:32, Gautam John gkj...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 11:31 AM, Venkat Mangudi s...@venkatmangudi.com
 wrote:

  7:30 p.m at Windsro Pub, vasanth Nagar. Next to Kodava Samaj. Works for
  everyone? This way Danese can join us arnd 9:30ish.

 YaaY! Pandi fry for all!


veggie-sense tingling. I am going to be at a disadvantage in Windsor Pub.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] What's the strangest thing you've eaten?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 25 November 2010 23:01, Lahar Appaiah thew...@gmail.com wrote:

 Why don't you call yourself K6 then, for brevity?

 http://ahvan.in/ahvan10/klueless6/

 On Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 10:15 PM, Kiran K Karthikeyan 
 kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote:

 On 25 November 2010 20:16, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote:

 Top post: The battle has been joined! SSS v. KKK.

 Well, I'm actually Korandattil Kiran Kumar Karthikeyan from Kakkanad,
 Kochi, Kerala.



3 more and he turns K9.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] (no subject)

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 25 November 2010 09:48, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote:



 On Wed, Nov 24, 2010 at 8:03 PM, Shoba Narayan narayan.sh...@gmail.comwrote:



 Monday lunch works better for me.  If you move it to Monday, let me know
 and I'll join.


 Monday lunch is better for me, too..or at least Sunday dinner.


Monday lunch +1

Deepa: Do you have a book of mine that we swapped at the last meet?

Daemon?

btw, I have the following books:
* Confessions of an economic hitman
* Freedom - sequel to Daemon
* a couple of others I'll get along.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] What's the strangest thing you've eaten?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 24 November 2010 09:15, Meera meerak...@gmail.com wrote:

 Well I didn't really eat this one, but worth sharing anyways. When I was a
 kid in Madras, the gardener brought home something called mookuchali
 pazham - translated as 'nose-mucus fruit'. That's exactly what it looked
 like.


That would be Durian curry?

Re: [silk] Kindle your children?

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 29 October 2010 11:01, divya manian divya.man...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 9:32 PM, ss cybers...@gmail.com wrote:
 
  My uncle Google tells me that Kindle currently displays only 16 shades of
  grey.


someone mentioned color ? - http://goo.gl/RoDU

this is tempting.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Can some kind soul traveling in from someplace with better electronic goods available

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 19 October 2010 08:03, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net wrote:

you meant this :

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-HDMI-Adapter-Cable-Meters/dp/B001TH7T2U/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronicsie=UTF8qid=1287459056sr=1-2


 2. HDMI male - DVI male adapter



And not this



 http://www.amazon.com/High-Quality-Black-DisplayPort-Cable/dp/B002CSRF9M/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_b


right?

I have a friend coming in from SG I'll put in a request.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Parenting rewires dads as well

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 18 August 2010 13:45, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote:



 On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 11:28 AM, Ramakrishnan Sundaram 
 r.sunda...@gmail.com wrote:

 I remember having this conversation with Shiv before my son, now 10,
 was born. It most certainly is true, at least in my case.



 I have a question...why does this rewiring not work (it obviously doesn't)
 when the father does not accept responsibility for the child? Does the
 re-wiring only occur if the father is willing to acknowledge the child as
 his?...which would mean that the re-wiring only happens if the father is
 consciously willing to let it happen.


One can scientifically conclude that the neuron firing threshold is very
high, and the parental instinct signal does not have the required strength.
It is debatable if the choice to be a parent/accept responsibility reduces
the firing threshold.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] What happened at Yahoo

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 13 August 2010 04:53, Nathan Torkington nat...@torkington.com wrote:

 On 12/08/2010, at 5:08 PM, F. Randall Farmer wrote:

 Too bad Yahoo's autoimmune response rejected almost every idea, business
 process, and technology these new hackers  brought with them. It spat
 every
 one of those innovative companies founders out like rotten food and never
 integrated the lessons they brought with them.


 This is typical for every large company that seeks to become innovative by
 acquiring small companies.  Unless the small companies' management team
 becomes the parent company's management team, and begins to change processes
 and incentives, the graft will fail.

 A company culture isn't just the technology it has.  It's not just the
 people.  It's the processes that control the people and the technology, and
 in most companies the processes are the hardest to change: you can fire
 people, you can buy new tech, but changing the incentives and business
 relationships and basic bullshit inertia can grind down the most sincere and
 dedicated revolutionary.


I can relate every bit of this to my current workplace. It's fighting an
uphill battle everyday, trying to convince everyone that change is
better.

 ~ashwin

Re: [silk] P=NP. Solved?!

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 11 August 2010 12:18, Charles Haynes charles.hay...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 3:17 PM, Sruthi Krishnan srukr...@gmail.com
 wrote:
 
 http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/10215916/Indian-scientist-offers-proof.html?atype=tp
 
  Total wow moment. Mouth hung open and all that jazz. Colleague wondering
  what the heck happened. :)
  And more surprised by the fact that no one on Silk posted this so far. :P

 Saw the claim, am waiting for independent validation. This is not the
 first time someone has claimed to prove or disprove P = NP.


If you followed the paper, you can follow the validation here -
http://rjlipton.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/a-proof-that-p-is-not-equal-to-np/

http://rjlipton.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/a-proof-that-p-is-not-equal-to-np/
~ashwin

Re: [silk] Getting in (and Out of) Line

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 10 August 2010 23:37, Thaths tha...@gmail.com wrote:


 There is a feline quality to standing in Indian lines. Certain parts
 of the man behind you — you don’t know which — brush against you in a
 kind of public square spooning, the better to repel cutters. (Women do
 less touching.) Still, this is no deterrent to cutters.


This is the most horrid feature of Indian lines. I have been unable to
figure out if the guy behind me is trying to get ahead, or just wants a feel
of my arse.



 But the market also changes a culture. A line conceives of people as
 citizens, presumed equal, each with an identical 24 hours a day to
 spread among the lines around them. A market conceives of people as
 consumers, presumed unequal, with those who can pay in front of the
 others. It allocates efficiently, but it eliminates a feature of line
 culture: the idea that, in line at least, we are no better than
 anybody else.


Then, there are those that do not view themselves as equal to others, and
they adopt devious means to get ahead of the queue.

This one time, at Big Bazaar (the great mall of cheapness), there was queue
of 20 people at the less than 10 items counter. This one guy who was in
front of me by two spots had two cans of Coke. When he approached the
counter, a hench-woman appeared out of the shadows with a cart full of
groceries, and they proceeded to bill it. The surprising bit was, no one
spoke up against this behaviour. This is normal. We are no better than
anybody else, but if people want to get ahead (by any means necessary) we
let them, and learn. We just emulate them the next time around.

~ashwin
PS: Yes, I did make huge cry about the guy being billed The management
stepped in and asked him to move to another queue. If looks could kill, this
response would be from the twilight zone.

Re: [silk] Library Management

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 16 July 2010 11:23, Aditya Chadha fer...@gmail.com wrote:

 If you're on a Mac, this is worth the $40:
 http://www.delicious-monster.com/

 --
 Aditya (http://aditya.sublucid.com/)



 On Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 1:43 AM, Biju Chacko biju.cha...@gmail.com
 wrote:
  Hi:
 
  I find that my collection of books is growing beyond what I can
  conveniently keep in my head. Can anyone suggest a tool or service to
  track this info?


I second that. It's the best application I have used for books management.

 ~ashwin

Re: [silk] Library Management

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 16 July 2010 12:48, Balaji Dutt balaji.d...@gmail.com wrote:


 If you are not a Mac-devotee and hence unable to enjoy programs made by
 developers with rockstar-level egos,


small paint of can and very large brush eh?

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Ten toughest books to read

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 15 June 2010 18:06, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:


 Have you read anything by Neal Stephenson? In particular, there's this
 passage of ~15 pages in _Cryptonomicon_ that has to do with the Right
 Way of eating chocolate cereal.


I have the entire Trilogy, but haven't gotten around to reading it beyond
15 pages.

Godel, Escher, Bach - I have been struggling to finish this book. As Dave
said, it's digesting the content that's taking a longer time.
Wonder why they left out Molloy by Beckett ? There is the second paragraph
that goes on for a mere 80 pages. So far, I have never gone beyond the first
para that lasts for one page.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Buddhism Reading List

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 25 May 2010 12:48, Sriram Karra ska...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Tue, May 25, 2010 at 3:05 AM, Thaths tha...@gmail.com wrote:


  These are books I have read and like (in no particular order).
  - Herman Hesse's Siddhartha

 I read this 10 years ago and don't remember it too well. This book was
 highly allegorical (a la Jonathan Livingston Seagull) and I did not
 take very many practical lessons from it.


 You should read it again now. I must have read it atleast 5 times over the
 past 10 years, and each time the perspective was different. The impact your
 own state of mind has on how much you get out of this small book is not
 funny... (I suppose that is true of any book related to spirituality!)


I think that's very true Sriram. One of the few books I have read at
different time points of life is Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage. I'm
also due for another reading of Herman Hesse's SteppenWolf.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] Fwd: [qfi] Chennai invite-book launch

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 19 May 2010 19:20, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net wrote:

 divya manian [19/05/2010 6:59 PM]:

  I am leaving at 6am on 28th morning to BLR :'(


 Got to check from Samant where the bangalore, bombay etc launches are.


Could you update me on the launch in Bangalore ? I'd like to attend it. The
photo on the cover looks interesting.
And, there is always an opportunity to take some photographs during the
launch.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] introduction

[Ashwin Kumar]

 Where do you confess such things?


I was once a member of the Church of Emacs.


 Oh, welcome once again. Tons of us are. In fact, quite a lot of
 conversations revolve around food and Bhoot Jolokia infused Vodka. ;)


I want to try this [1] next time I am in the Bay Area.


 A lot of us are. Know someone who would like to buy an Analog Nikon D65?
 It's lying rather unused at home. I bought it and the DSLR prices
 crashed. Now I am verboten to buy any optical equipment till I get rid
 of the two additional camcorders and three cameras. ;)


D65 seems wrong, could you let me know exact model? D is the prefix for
Digital SLR.

chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:


 Saar, hello!


how are you saar?

Isn't confession, by its definition, of the self?


 In my defense, Gmail has a limited undo functionality.


Balaji Dutt balaji.d...@gmail.com wrote:

 And one of the folks I hold responsible for getting me addicted to this
 very expensive hobby :)


I managed to preserve my reputation as the devil's spawn at the new
workplace. I have infected two other people with the film and medium format
bug.  :)

~ashwin

[1] http://www.davesgourmet.peachhost.com/ct_CGhotsauces.htm

Re: [silk] introduction

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 10 May 2010 21:06, ss cybers...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Monday 10 May 2010 8:38:54 pm Ashwin Kumar wrote:
  D65 seems wrong, could you let me know exact model? D is the prefix for
  Digital SLR.

 You might be desperately searching for a Nikon F301 SLR of 1986 vintage
 with
 motor wind. And all. Takes almost 3.5 frames per second.


That's a mean beast and was revolutionary. However, I prefer the F2's and
F3's.

If any of guys are into film photography, there is a collector in Bangalore
off-loading some great cameras for decent prices. I got a Hasselblad from
him and it's in great shape.

~ashwin

Re: [silk] introduction

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 10 May 2010 21:17, Venkat Mangudi s...@venkatmangudi.com wrote:

 On Monday 10 May 2010 08:38 PM, Ashwin Kumar wrote:
  I was once a member of the Church of Emacs.

 Vi are now in command!


I am tempted to install emacs to try out Org-mode (http://orgmode.org/) with
the the iPhone app (http://mobileorg.ncogni.to/).

~ashwin

Re: [silk] introduction

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 11 May 2010 03:47, Charles Haynes hay...@edgeplay.org wrote:

 [Top post due to stupid phone email client]

 Dave's Insanity really is that hot but it cheats by using concentrated
 capsaicin extract. I think the extract adds a chemical bitter/burnt flavor
 that I don't care for.

 -- Charles


So, anyone game for capsaicin extract sauce from Bhut Jolokia?

~ashwin

Re: [silk] introduction

[Ashwin Kumar]

On 11 May 2010 09:58, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net wrote:

 Charles Haynes [11/05/10 13:25 +1000]:

  It's not that difficult. Capsaicin is readily soluble in ethanol.


 Which accounts for Udhay making chili flavored vodka from his bhut jolokia.
 I was talking about the idea of making hot sauce out of it - which might be
 a bit more involved than simply dunking chilis into vodka


the pipes led me to this : http://www.tomstrong.org/recipes/capsaicin.html

~ashwin

[silk] introduction

[Ashwin Kumar]

Hey folks

After enjoying a silk meetup, I have finally taken the leap of faith into
intelligent conversations.

A short bio:
* self-confessed geek
* foodie
* photographer (BW film/developing/photo-chemistry/lens optics)

~ashwin
http://www.maximumaperture.net
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arucard
http://www.twitter.com/sabiwabi_org