from:"Suresh Ramasubramanian"


You do have expensive tastes don't you? :)

I would rate copper point over the taj when it comes to taste, personally 
speaking.




On 18 April 2014 1:57:39 pm Venkat Mangudi - Silk s...@venkatmangudi.com 
wrote:



I reach chennai on the Shatabdi. Lunch is doable. What about the restaurant
in Taj Coromandel?
 On Apr 18, 2014 1:35 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net
wrote:

 Which very succinctly answers his questions, I guess.

 Lunch would be preferable, somewhere central, with good bar service ..
 Copper Point at the GRT?

 -suresh

  -Original Message-
  From: Caitlin Marinelli [mailto:caitlin.marine...@gmail.com]
  Sent: Friday, April 18, 2014 1:33 PM
  To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
  Cc: Suresh Ramasubramanian; silklist@lists.hserus.net
  Subject: Re: [silk] Madras 19th?
 
  Yes.
 
  Sent from my iPhone
 
   On Apr 18, 2014, at 12:03 PM, Venkat Mangudi - Silk
  s...@venkatmangudi.com wrote:
  
   Where? When? Who else is going?
   On Apr 16, 2014 1:08 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net
   wrote:
  
   Yes
  
  
   On 16 April 2014 12:16:32 pm Venkat Mangudi - Silk
  s...@venkatmangudi.com
   wrote:
  
   I'll be in Madras on the 19th. A silk meet perhaps?
  
   --Venkat

Re: [silk] Madras 19th?

Dinner is unfortunately tough, I have other plans.  I can do coffee though.

 On Behalf Of Venkat Mangudi - Silk
 Ok,  Ok...
 
 Suggest a place, please. If many of you can't make it for lunch, will you be
 able to do dinner? Suresh, what about you?

Re: [silk] Madras 19th?

Ranjith should have been named Rum-jith.  The other booze is mostly hard liquor.

No wine list to speak of .. gin and vodka maybe, for softer drinks.

--srs

 -Original Message-
 From: silklist [mailto:silklist-bounces+suresh=hserus@lists.hserus.net]
 On Behalf Of Venkat Mangudi - Silk
 Sent: Friday, April 18, 2014 8:08 PM
 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 Subject: Re: [silk] Madras 19th?
 
 Ok... Will come there and get directions or address.  My better half will
 also be there.  Say 5 pm? Need non beer though.  :-)  On Apr 18, 2014 7:38
 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net
 wrote:
 
  Adequate food that won't poison you, cheap and plentiful selection of
  booze like Ravages says .. sounds like a winner.
 
  As centrally located as it gets.  Just down the road from Gemini.
 
 
   -Original Message-
   From: silklist [mailto:silklist-bounces+suresh=
  hserus@lists.hserus.net]
   On Behalf Of Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan
   Sent: Friday, April 18, 2014 7:37 PM
   To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
   Subject: Re: [silk] Madras 19th?
  
   On Fri, Apr 18, 2014 at 7:26 PM, Venkat Mangudi - Silk 
   s...@venkatmangudi.com wrote:
  
So what makes sense for all? Lunch, coffee or both?
   
  
  
   Coffee, preferably.
   I can suggest the Ranjith as an alternative to GRT/Azulia. Decent
   food, cheaper-than-grt booze, and centrally located.
   Plus, Ranjith has Hoegarten. Others don't.

Re: [silk] Madras 19th?

Fresh lime soda, coke, whatever.

 -Original Message-
 From: silklist [mailto:silklist-bounces+suresh=hserus@lists.hserus.net]
 On Behalf Of Venkat Mangudi - Silk
 Sent: Friday, April 18, 2014 8:16 PM
 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 Subject: Re: [silk] Madras 19th?

 Wine and beer is  out for me these days.
 On Apr 18, 2014 8:14 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net wrote:

  Ranjith should have been named Rum-jith.  The other booze is mostly
  hard liquor.

  No wine list to speak of .. gin and vodka maybe, for softer drinks.

  --srs

Re: [silk] Madras 19th?

So 5 pm for a meeting with that fine old partner of messers Allen and Hamilton 
at Ranjith?

Re: [silk] Madras 19th?

2014-04-16 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian


Yes


On 16 April 2014 12:16:32 pm Venkat Mangudi - Silk s...@venkatmangudi.com 
wrote:



I'll be in Madras on the 19th. A silk meet perhaps?

--Venkat

Re: [silk] What should I do with my money?

2014-04-08 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Depends. Real estate by itself tends to appreciate significantly for the first 
few years of a property's life after which the value plateaus and then starts 
to tank till it is only worth the price of the land (where the house is 
demolished and rebuilt)

There are certain tax breaks for self occupied houses and even more for those 
that you rent out.

I still wouldn't buy any more than I absolutely needed to live in / move to for 
one ransom or the other (closer to work larger family, need a nicer home etc)

--srs (iPad)

 On 09-Apr-2014, at 9:56, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:
 
 On Wed, Apr 9, 2014 at 9:40 AM, SS cybers...@gmail.com wrote:
 
 The argument against real estate in the article indicates that tax
 structures in the society the author lives in are unfavourable for
 people who attempt to hold real estate as an asset. Right now that is
 not true in India.
 
 My argument against real estate is that various costs are not factored
 in by people when they talk about it being an investment.
 
 - Actual costs: for most people on this list (e.g), buying real estate
 is not done with cash on hand, but with a loan. And rating its
 performance as an investment has to be done after taking the costs of
 the loan into account, which can easily double (or more) the cost of
 the asset over the tenure of the loan.
 
 - Opportunity costs: Real estate typically (say over a 10+ year
 period) lags behind the stock market in rate of return. Given
 inflation rates in India, it probably lags behind inflation as well -
 making it a net losing proposition. (This is an aggregate claim -
 please don't respond by quoting individual examples)
 
 Also, something is only an investment if there is a willingness to
 convert it into money, which does not typically seem to be the case.
 
 Udhay
 
 
 
 -- 
 
 ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))

Re: [silk] Fwd: [IP] Re The internet is fucked

2014-03-15 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

I dont see much of it referenced in the current debate. At least no 
rational economic statements as opposed to noisy activists with a distaste 
for big telecom.


Let me read through those papers before I comment further. Thanks for 
pointing me to them




On 15 March 2014 11:20:52 am Pranesh Prakash the.solips...@gmail.com wrote:


On Wed, Mar 5, 2014 at 8:43 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian
sur...@hserus.net wrote:
 The Crawford and Wu model of public utility doesn't provide any sensible 
basis for regulation that I can see, and the model has shifted 
significantly from the old sense of net neutrality which once related to 
CLECs and unbundling of services,


Suresh, you're completely ignoring the wealth of economic research
that has been done around the idea of essential facilities / public
utilities.  See, for instance, Suzanne Scotchmer's paper on this topic
last year, before she passed away unexpectedly earlier this year:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2407071

Re: [silk] Bangalore - 27th April

2014-03-14 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian


Theratti Paul?


On 14 March 2014 11:45:11 am Neha Viswanathan nehav...@gmail.com wrote:



 This would make you, at least nominally, part of the group of Tamil
 actresses...Silku Smitha, Nylon Nalini, and so onSatin
 Nehaaccompanied by Velvet Viswanathan we don't know the name of
the
 4-month-old...

She's named Krishna.. So.. Calico Krishna! With husband Pattu Paul.

Re: [silk] Bangalore - 27th April

2014-03-13 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Pity :). 

--srs (iPad)

On 13-Mar-2014, at 22:38, Sumant Srivathsan suma...@gmail.com wrote:

 
 This would make you, at least nominally, part of the group of
 Tamilactresses...Silku Smitha, Nylon Nalini, and so onSatin
 Nehaaccompanied by Velvet Viswanathan we don't know the name of the
 4-month-old...
 
 The baby, despite our strongest suggestions, is not named Rajini Kent. We
 shall never forgive Neha for this.

Re: [silk] Fwd: [IP] Re The internet is fucked

2014-03-05 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Having, in India, started off with an internet which was exclusively a 
government monopoly and only turned over to private enterprise some years down 
the line, I would say that making it a utility is something that most people 
here, given the local conditions, would resent,

Innovations were driven by bell labs, not exactly att, some on government 
funded projects to be sure. But increasingly, down the line, by ISPs and their 
peers in the market. And by content providers, and by CDNs, and by various 
other entities that haven't ever received a dime in government funding of 
research.

The Crawford and Wu model of public utility doesn't provide any sensible basis 
for regulation that I can see, and the model has shifted significantly from the 
old sense of net neutrality which once related to CLECs and unbundling of 
services,

I have seen claims that the broadband charges in the uk are like two pounds for 
some insanely fast amount, but then there are surcharges of ten to fifteen 
pounds more for the local loop costs etc.  So that unbundling certainly doesn't 
cost you less as it makes the pricing transparent and gives you market freedom 
to switch providers much easier, without the trouble of pulling fresh copper or 
fiber to your home each time you switch (which currently is not the case here 
in India, go figure)

--srs (iPad)

 On 06-Mar-2014, at 0:06, Heather Madrone heat...@madrone.com wrote:
 
 I'm addressing some of the links Suresh forwarded to the list.
 
 Bennett:
 
   If we’ve learned anything at all about from the history of
   Internet-as-utility, it’s that this strained analogy only applies in
   cases where there is no existing infrastructure, and probably ends
   best when a publicly-financed project is sold (or at least leased)
   to a private company for upgrades and management. We should be
   suspicious of projects aimed at providing Wi-Fi mesh because they’re
   slow as molasses on a winter’s day.
 
   I don’t see any examples of long-term success in the publicly-owned
   and operated networking space. And I also don’t see any examples of
   publicly-owned and operated Internet service providers doing any of
   the heavy lifting in the maintenance of the Internet protocols, a
   never-ending process that’s vital to the continuing growth of the
   Internet.
 
 One of the oft-overlooked inconvenient facts about the Internet is that it 
 was created by the US military to meet various Cold War objectives.  The US 
 government has poured huge amounts of cash into the Internet over the past 50 
 years. Much of the early work on protocols and structures was done at public 
 universities on the military's dime. The Internet started as a public works 
 project, and public money continues to play a significant role.
 
 During the first decade I was online (1976-1986), it was widely understood 
 that the Internet was to be used for military and research purposes. It was 
 not open to commercial purposes. Advertising was not permitted, and it was 
 generally understood that we were online as guests of the military and the 
 universities.
 
 The innovations that made the Internet possible did not originate at ATT. 
 ATT, like any other monopoly, views innovation with extreme distrust and 
 stifles it whenever possible. Innovation disrupts their business model, and 
 threatens their control over our communications. ATT fought broadband every 
 step of the way, and lapped up a lot of dollars from the public trough to 
 expand its fiber network to make broadband possible. The cable companies were 
 late entrants to the Internet game, once they realized that they had the 
 broadband cable in place already and just had to figure out the upstream 
 messaging part.
 
 The broadband providers, like the railway robber barons of the 19th century 
 American West, are political entrepreneurs. Much of the heavy lifting was 
 done for them at public expense, and now they act like they built the whole 
 thing by themselves and are perfectly entitled to run things just the way 
 they like it. They cry foul when the very government that helped them build 
 the infrastructure with public money wants to regulate the self-same 
 infrastructure.
 
 Sherman:
 
   Pursuing a public utility model while also desiring competition are
   fundamentally contradictory goals. Utilities are designed not to
   compete. Do you, or does anyone you know, have a choice of providers
   for water, sewage or electricity?
 
   My second question would be: is there anyone in the technology world
   who sees public utilities as a model for innovation? A 1.5 megabit
   connection (T1) was an unimaginable luxury when I started in tech in
   the mid-90′s. It was for well-funded companies only. Today, it is a
   low-end consumer connection and costs around 80% less. Has your
   sewage service followed a similar trajectory?
 
   A public utility is designed to be “good enough” and little more.
   There is no need, and little room, for

Re: [silk] Fwd: [IP] Re The internet is fucked

2014-03-05 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Municipal wifi has a long and checkered history .. And city governments aren't 
the best funded organizations on the planet is the trouble.

Bell labs innovation was pre internet but then Unix did originate there. The 
internet isn't all networks. (And by the way see 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc4ROCJYbm0 for some fun)

And there's a difference between federally funded research and having Uncle Sam 
as a customer when you bid for federal contracts.  I hope I am not splitting 
too many hairs when I say that, 

--srs (iPad)

 On 06-Mar-2014, at 8:13, Heather Madrone heat...@madrone.com wrote:
 
 Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote:
 
 Having, in India, started off with an internet which was exclusively a 
 government monopoly and only turned over to private enterprise some years 
 down the line, I would say that making it a utility is something that most 
 people here, given the local conditions, would resent,
 
 
 I agree that any attempt to socialize the Internet would have people 
 screaming bloody murder, but I do believe that the Internet is a utility. In 
 most places, it appears to be a privately-run utility. In some places, it is 
 a government-controlled monopoly where free speech is stifled. In the places 
 where it seems to work best, it seems to be heavily regulated.
 
 I do think we're going to see more cities providing free wireless access in 
 high density areas, like New York City does.
 
 
 
 Innovations were driven by bell labs, not exactly att, some on government 
 funded projects to be sure. But increasingly, down the line, by ISPs and 
 their peers in the market. And by content providers, and by CDNs, and by 
 various other entities that haven't ever received a dime in government 
 funding of research.
 
 
 There have been a lot of players, for sure. Can you help me out, though? 
 While I am aware of many useful things that came out of Bell Labs, I can't 
 think of a single Internet protocol that originated there. Were you thinking 
 of something in particular?
 The Internet owes a few nods to XEROX PARC (XNS, the precursor of TCP, comes 
 to mind), but I'm drawing a blank for key Internet technologies that came out 
 of Bell Labs.
 
 A technology company in the US that has never received a dime of government 
 money would be an odd duck indeed. Certain branches of the US government buy 
 one of everything.
 
 --hmm

[silk] Car rear view cams in India

I was shopping for car rear view cams and proximity sensors - but all the rear 
view cams + dashboard mounted screens on the market, at least in India, still 
seem to use RCA jacks for connectivity.  

Is there any more modern gear in the Indian market that I've missed out on?
  
--srs (iPad)

Re: [silk] Fwd: [IP] Re The internet is fucked

That is probably the most, to use the same language, bs point of them all.
Mostly parroted by a school of net neutrality people (Susan Crawford, Tim Wu
etc) that really should know better, but that doesn't quite stop them.

Come to think of it, they too like to use overblown and soundbite laden (though
rather less crude) language in multiple blogs and press quotes, as tweet bait
likely, for all that they're professors of law and you would expect more
precise language from them. Still much the same memes as this guy trots out ..
Extortion, Internet tax etc etc when they talk about, say the recent netflix
comcast paid peering deal.

And it has more disturbing consequences too than you would care to think about.

http://techliberation.com/2008/11/19/the-perils-of-thinking-of-broadband-as-a-public-utility/

--srs (iPad)

On 05-Mar-2014, at 8:46, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:

Via Dave Farber's IP list. Ignoring many of the talking points in the rant
below, the claim I am most interested in is The internet is a utility,
just like water and electricity.

I am really interested in the thoughts of silklisters on this, especially
folks like Sunil Abraham and Pranesh Prakash, who work in the policy area;
Cory Doctorow, who ceaselessly educates anyone who will listen on these
issues; and divers others.

Udhay

-- Forwarded message --
From: *Dewayne Hendricks* dewa...@warpspeed.com
Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] The internet is fucked
To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net dewayne-...@warpspeed.com

[Note: This item comes from friend Tim Pozar. DLH]

From: Tim Pozar po...@lns.com
Subject: The internet is fucked
Date: March 4, 2014 at 8:13:00 PST
To: Dewayne Hendricks dewa...@warpspeed.com

POLICY LAW
The internet is fucked
By Nilay Patel
Feb 25 2014
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/25/5431382/the-internet-is-fucked

Here's a simple truth: the internet has radically changed the world. Over
the course of the past 20 years, the idea of networking all the world's
computers has gone from a research science pipe dream to a necessary
condition of economic and social development, from government and
university labs to kitchen tables and city streets. We are all travelers
now, desperate souls searching for a signal to connect us all. It is
awesome.

And we're fucking everything up.

Massive companies like ATT and Comcast have spent the first two months of
2014 boldly announcing plans to close and control the internet through
additional fees, pay-to-play schemes, and sheer brutal size -- all while the
legal rules designed to protect against these kinds of abuses were struck
down in court for basically making too much sense. Broadband providers
represent a threat to internet openness, concluded Judge David Tatel in
Verizon's case against the FCC's Open Internet order, adding that the FCC
had provided ample evidence of internet companies abusing their market
power and had made a rational connection between the facts found and the
choices made. Verizon argued strenuously, but had offered the court no
persuasive reason to question that judgement.

Then Tatel cut the FCC off at the knees for making a rather half-hearted
argument in support of its authority to properly police these threats and
vacated the rules protecting the open internet, surprising observers on
both sides of the industry and sending new FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler into a
tailspin of empty promises seemingly designed to disappoint everyone.

I expected the anti-blocking rule to be upheld, National Cable and
Telecommunications Association president and CEO Michael Powell told me
after the ruling was issued. Powell was chairman of the FCC under George W.
Bush; he issued the first no-blocking rules. Judge Tatel basically said
the Commission didn't argue it properly.

In the meantime, the companies that control the internet have continued
down a dark path, free of any oversight or meaningful competition to check
their behavior. In January, ATT announced a new sponsored data plan that
would dramatically alter the fierce one-click-away competition that's thus
far characterized the internet. Earlier this month, Comcast announced plans
to merge with Time Warner Cable, creating an internet service behemoth that
will serve 40 percent of Americans in 19 of the 20 biggest markets with
virtually no rivals.

And after months of declining Netflix performance on Comcast's network, the
two companies announced a new paid peering arrangement on Sunday, which
will see Netflix pay Comcast for better access to its customers, a
capitulation Netflix has been trying to avoid for years. Paid peering
arrangements are common among the network companies that connect the
backbones of the internet, but consumer companies like Netflix have
traditionally remained out of the fray -- and since there's no oversight or
transparency into the terms of the deal,

Re: [silk] Fwd: [IP] Re The internet is fucked

This one too http://bennett.com/blog/2008/11/just-another-utility/

--srs (iPad)

On 05-Mar-2014, at 8:55, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net wrote:

Come to think of it, they too like to use overblown and soundbite laden
(though rather less crude) language in multiple blogs and press quotes, as
tweet bait likely, for all that they're professors of law and you would
expect more precise language from them. Still much the same memes as this
guy trots out .. Extortion, Internet tax etc etc when they talk about, say
the recent netflix comcast paid peering deal.

And it has more disturbing consequences too than you would care to think
about.

http://techliberation.com/2008/11/19/the-perils-of-thinking-of-broadband-as-a-public-utility/

--srs (iPad)

On 05-Mar-2014, at 8:46, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:

Via Dave Farber's IP list. Ignoring many of the talking points in the rant
below, the claim I am most interested in is The internet is a utility,
just like water and electricity.

Udhay

[Note: This item comes from friend Tim Pozar. DLH]

From: Tim Pozar po...@lns.com
Subject: The internet is fucked
Date: March 4, 2014 at 8:13:00 PST
To: Dewayne Hendricks dewa...@warpspeed.com

POLICY LAW
The internet is fucked
By Nilay Patel
Feb 25 2014
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/25/5431382/the-internet-is-fucked

And we're fucking everything up.

Re: [silk] Fwd: [IP] Re The internet is fucked

Issues with reporting bugs is something that is a kind of side effect of the 
DMCA - but the vuln report community has already split into trusted / vetted 
groups where a lot more takes place than in public groups like full disclosure. 
  For that part I have no dispute with you at all.  Neither do I disagree with 
'rule of law'.

The network neutrality debate is one that has been vitiated with more ideology 
than anything else, a penchant for regulating - one that makes absolutely no 
distinction (among its leading commenters, as I have seen before) about 
filtering for legitimate security (spam and malware) versus discrimination 
based on content.  And its leading proponents see no problem with calling paid 
peering - which IS content neutral, and which is based on traffic ratios rather 
than content - extortion.

There are legitimate policy arguments to be made on that side of things.  A 
penchant for actual public policy rather than playing politics might help them 
make their case a lot better.

--srs (iPad)

 On 05-Mar-2014, at 11:49, Cory Doctorow docto...@craphound.com wrote:
 
 -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
 Hash: SHA256
 
 I pretty much totally agree.
 
 The triumverate of Internet rules we need are:
 
 * Net Neutrality (either by forcing line-sharing like in the UK, or
 through direct regulation of carriers on the basis that they receive a
 massive public subsidy in the form of rights-of-way)
 
 * Vuln neutrality: an end to rules like the DMCA (and its global
 cousins) that prohibit reporting bugs
 
 * Rule of law: an end to censorship without court orders (DMCA
 takedown notices) and without penalty for abuse. Filing a bad-faith
 takedown should be criminally punishable as perjury, should be grounds
 for dismissal from the bar (if applicable), and should also be grounds
 for a civil action with exemplary damages
 
 Additionally, national security agencies' primary role should be the
 strengthening of cyber-security: reporting and patching defects in
 common OSes and applications, improving cryptographic standards, etc.
 
 Cory
 
 On 05/03/14 03:16, Udhay Shankar N wrote:
 Via Dave Farber's IP list. Ignoring many of the talking points in
 the rant below, the claim I am most interested in is The internet
 is a utility, just like water and electricity.
 
 I am really interested in the thoughts of silklisters on this,
 especially folks like Sunil Abraham and Pranesh Prakash, who work
 in the policy area; Cory Doctorow, who ceaselessly educates anyone
 who will listen on these issues; and divers others.
 
 Udhay
 
 
 -- Forwarded message -- From: *Dewayne Hendricks*
 dewa...@warpspeed.com Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2014 Subject:
 [Dewayne-Net] The internet is fucked To: Multiple recipients of
 Dewayne-Net dewayne-...@warpspeed.com
 
 
 [Note:  This item comes from friend Tim Pozar.  DLH]
 
 From: Tim Pozar po...@lns.com Subject: The internet is fucked 
 Date: March 4, 2014 at 8:13:00 PST To: Dewayne Hendricks
 dewa...@warpspeed.com
 
 POLICY  LAW The internet is fucked By Nilay Patel Feb 25 2014 
 http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/25/5431382/the-internet-is-fucked
 
 Here's a simple truth: the internet has radically changed the
 world. Over the course of the past 20 years, the idea of networking
 all the world's computers has gone from a research science pipe
 dream to a necessary condition of economic and social development,
 from government and university labs to kitchen tables and city
 streets. We are all travelers now, desperate souls searching for a
 signal to connect us all. It is awesome.
 
 And we're fucking everything up.
 
 Massive companies like ATT and Comcast have spent the first two
 months of 2014 boldly announcing plans to close and control the
 internet through additional fees, pay-to-play schemes, and sheer
 brutal size -- all while the legal rules designed to protect
 against these kinds of abuses were struck down in court for
 basically making too much sense. Broadband providers represent a
 threat to internet openness, concluded Judge David Tatel in 
 Verizon's case against the FCC's Open Internet order, adding that
 the FCC had provided ample evidence of internet companies abusing
 their market power and had made a rational connection between the
 facts found and the choices made. Verizon argued strenuously, but
 had offered the court no persuasive reason to question that
 judgement.
 
 Then Tatel cut the FCC off at the knees for making a rather
 half-hearted argument in support of its authority to properly
 police these threats and vacated the rules protecting the open
 internet, surprising observers on both sides of the industry and
 sending new FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler into a tailspin of empty
 promises seemingly designed to disappoint everyone.
 
 I expected the anti-blocking rule to be upheld, National Cable
 and Telecommunications Association president and CEO Michael Powell
 told me after the ruling was issued. Powell was chairman of the FCC
 under

Re: [silk] Easily forgotten phrases

2014-02-22 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

The reverse for cars and bikes, mileage in kmpl (kilometers per liter) is the 
usual answer to kitna deti hai?. Curiously enough no one says kilometrage.

--srs (iPad)

 On 23-Feb-2014, at 11:18, SS cybers...@gmail.com wrote:
 
 On Sat, 2014-02-22 at 10:45 +0530, gabin kattukaran wrote:
 While it is indeed common in India to measure mileage in km/l many
 (if not most) countries do measure consumption in l/100km.
 
 Interesting. In the UK it was always miles per gallon as it was in the
 US, and still appears to be. I have not seen any car ads that refer to
 liters per 100 km, but I do know that heavy vehicles such as battle
 tanks usually come with information like liters per km
 
 Which countries specifically speak of liters per 100 km?. 
 
 shiv

Re: [silk] Lunch with Adrianna Tan tomorrow at the madras race club (eom)

2014-02-09 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

The original plan was for lunch I thought, looking at the threads so far on 
silk.

I can't make a 7 pm meeting as I have late night conference calls.  Sorry to 
miss this.

--srs (iPad)

 On 09-Feb-2014, at 14:09, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan 
 chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:
 
 Adrianna says 7 pm. Not sure if that is lunch.
 
 
 C
 
 
 On Sun, Feb 9, 2014 at 1:26 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian 
 sur...@hserus.netwrote:
 
 --srs (htc one x)
 
 
 -- 
 http://about.me/chandrachoodan
 
 +919884467463

[silk] Lunch with Adrianna Tan tomorrow at the madras race club (eom)

2014-02-08 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

--srs (htc one x)

Re: [silk] Chennai meet

2014-02-07 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian


Adrianna Tan [07/02/14 13:47 +0530]:

  Monday or Tuesday evening works for me in Chennai. Would love to meet
  the Chennai silklisters.

 +1


Can we do Monday evening?
Anyone has a place in mind?


Depends on where you are staying in Chennai.

Re: [silk] Chennai meet

2014-02-04 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On Tue, February 4, 2014 5:26 pm, Adrianna Tan wrote:
 Hi all,
 In Chennai 9 - 12 Feb.
 Happy to meet one and all on 10 or 11 Feb.
 Takers?

Sunday afternoon should work for me.

-srs

Re: [silk] Why Hindutva is Like Dog Breeding

2014-02-01 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

It is only two easy to indeed, or to introduce undesirable traits like a 
neurotic temperament along with the good looks you're aiming for. 

I have seen one too many puppy mills as you can probably tell. 

--srs (htc one x)

- Reply message -
From: Surabhi Tomar surabhi.to...@gmail.com
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net silklist@lists.hserus.net
Subject: [silk] Why Hindutva is Like Dog Breeding
Date: Sat, Feb 1, 2014 1:23 PM

 resilience at all. What you're concerned about is pure breeding, even if
 the result of this breeding creates an animal that is so strangely
 shaped that more than two out of every three of its kind have diseases

As an atheist, religious discussions bore me. But as a dog lover, I'd like
to correct that pure-breeding does not equal in-breeding.

[silk] If this place is still open it looks ideal for a silkmeet

2014-01-03 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g297628-d1157595-r184383003-Geese_Haven_Homestay_And_Farm-Bangalore_Karnataka.html

45 minutes from banashankari - so rather a haul out of town but quite driveable

Farmhouse with ducks, geese, turkeys and a friendly dog

Fully equipped kitchen where you cook your own food other than breakfast - the 
entire farmhouse needs to be rented so it looks like a good deal for groups.

--srs (iPad)

Re: [silk] have your reading habits changed?

2013-12-29 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

I have always been a voracious reader - but a lot of my reading is pulp, 
classic and out of print pulp when and where I can get it.  This gettability 
varies between second hand bookstores (hole in the wall real ones as well as 
amazon sellers) and ebooks of one type or the other.

So I won't say my reading patterns have changed all that much after using the 
kindle for a long time (on my ipad and my laptop). Any huge spike in Udhay's 
reading after buying a kindle is more attributable to hey, new toy! right 
now. I guess he'll have to use it for a few months before things settle into a 
repeatable pattern.

--srs (iPad)

 On 30-Dec-2013, at 10:55, Tim Bray tb...@textuality.com wrote:
 
 I use the Kindle app on a 7 Android tablet and, since I started, I read
 more each month than in any of the 5 or 10 previous years.  One big reason
 is the instant gratification, see a notice about an interesting book in a
 magazine or blog or whatever and POP, you have it.
 
 I think that:
 - the future of paper is restricted to antiquarian books and things that
 require high-quality graphics, coffee-table to textbook
 - the pricing of ebooks is insane
 - the production values of ebooks are horrible, if something needs graphics
 or maps or math to work, get paper
 
 Some recent gleanings in https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/What/Arts/Books/
 
 
 On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 9:09 PM, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:
 
 So I got myself a Kindle. And whether it is the novelty or the
 device-specific aspects (doesn't need ambient light, sufficiently
 booklike that one can read sprawled in bed, etc) - I have consumed 3
 books in 3 days, more than in the preceding 3 months.
 
 So - have you folks noticed your reading habits change with the means
 of reading? Is this a special case of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis [1]?
 
 Udhay
 
 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir_Whorf
 
 --
 ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))

Re: [silk] Deracinating the Evidence, in the Language of the Courts

2013-12-23 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

A judge with a hazy grasp of the law, and also not particularly comfortable
with english, and faced with multiple examples of brilliantly worded judgements
from jurists over centuries, might be the explanation here.

He would quite likely have a compulsive wish to try and emulate his illustrious
peers by the simple expedient of stuffing in as many words from rogets
thesaurus as he can find, in an attempt to justify the common ephitet learned
judge

--srs (iPad)

On 24-Dec-2013, at 2:29, ashok_ listmans...@gmail.com wrote:

I can also recommend a really interesting book called The Language of the
Law on how legalese evolved ...

Ashok

On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 11:58 PM, ashok_ listmans...@gmail.com wrote:

IANAL but I have worked with a lot of legislation and legal judgments. Its
not just indian judgments that read like that - it seems to be the case
across the board, for instance, I saw some translated palestinian court
judgments where some paragraphs were not translated and marked as omissis
(deliberate omissions), when I asked was told these were long flowery texts
part of the original case filing - and were merely repeating what had been
already said before (but in 10 sentences instead of 1), so the translators
decided to omit it. This appeared to be related to the business of court
filing fees which were charged based on the length of the document - it was
beneficial to both the lawyer and the courts - since the court charged the
fees based on length of the filing ... and the lawyer of course charged per
page. Perhaps that explains the longer judgments ?

On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 6:51 PM, Thaths tha...@gmail.com wrote:

This isn't just a case of Inglish. Do Justices get paid by the word (or as
we used to say in college, I wrote 50 pages... at a mark a page, I am
sure
to pass)? Are the law clerks who write these opinions the real culprits
behind the wanton use of a Thesaurus?

I know silklist has a handful of lawyers. It'd be interesting to hear
their
theories.

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/23/deracinating-the-evidence-in-the-language-of-the-courts/?_r=1pagewanted=print

Deracinating the Evidence, in the Language of the CourtsBy DILIP
D'SOUZAhttp://india.blogs.nytimes.com/author/dilip-dsouza/

For several weeks now, Indian courts have been making news, most recently
with the Supreme Court decision that made homosexuality illegal again.
Given how high-profile these cases are, the court orders were examined and
dissected much more than is usual.

At a panel discussion I was at last week, for example, one participant
used
gaps in the discussion to pore over her copy of a Goa court’s rejection of
the Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal’s anticipatory bail plea in a sexual
assault case
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/01/world/asia/indian-editor-arrest.html,
whispering in my ear about it from time to time.

Such examination is all good, I believe, and not least because we learn
about the enigmatic language these judgments often use. Take for example,
the verdict in the Aarushi Talwar case, delivered by a Central Bureau of
Investigation Special Court in Ghaziabad, outside Delhi. In 2008, someone
murdered young Aarushi in her Delhi home, along with her family’s domestic
help, Hemraj Banjade. Five years of convoluted proceedings ended
sensationally in November, when the court
found
http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/couple-convicted-of-murdering-teen-daughter-and-domestic-help/
Aarushi’s
dentist parents, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, guilty of both murders and
sentenced them to life in prison.

There are plenty of questions about the evidence and legal logic in this
case, but of that, another time. The judgment caught the eye for another
reason, or really plenty of them. Consider some excerpts from just the
first few paragraphs:

“Dr. Rajesh Talwar and Dr. Nupur Talwar … have been arraigned for
committing and secreting as also deracinating the evidence of commission
of
the murder of their own adolescent daughter – a beaut [sic] damsel and
sole
heiress Aarushi and hapless domestic aide Hemraj, who … attended routinely
to the chores of domestic drudgery … [They] were bludgeoned and thereafter
jugulated to death.”

“[T]here is nothing to suggest that intruder(s) perpetrated this fiendish
and flagitious crime.”

“Dr. Rajesh Talwar delated the matter with the Police Station.”

Let’s pause there. You get a sense of the brutality of the killings, sure,
but it is matched, even enhanced, by a certain rhythmic floridity
(“committing and secreting as also deracinating”) in the language. My New
Oxford American dictionary describes “deracinate” as a “poetic/literary”
term, and both “jugulate” and “delate” as “archaic.” “Flagitious” is
neither, but is terminally obscure. So how did these terms find their way
into this judgment?

There’s plenty more to wonder at too, and not just the strange words.
Again
and again

Re: [silk] Fwd: Wine tasting is bullshit. Here's why.

2013-12-19 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian


1000 mg - sheesh, at that does you're skating very near liver damage

The fda reduced the maximum to 650 mg a while back that I can remember

Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay [19/12/13 22:49 +0530]:

On Thu, Dec 19, 2013 at 9:29 PM, Alaric Snell-Pym
ala...@snell-pym.org.uk wrote:

which contained 1000mg paracetomol
(why can't they just say 1g?)


On a tangent, this reminds me of the PR blitz about the new Honda
city - claiming 50mm increase in wheelbase. 50mm - and they
unfailingly report it everywhere. Including the TV shows on cars etc


--
sankarshan mukhopadhyay
https://twitter.com/#!/sankarshan

[silk] Nandaja Varma - debian contributor / linux foundation awardee

2013-09-24 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=604839069560049set=a.202747536435873.50382.189968437713783type=1

http://www.linuxfoundation.org/news-media/announcements/2013/09/linux-foundation-announces-linux-training-scholarship-winners

Says in the article that she's got herself a GSoC working on indic.

Thaths - you might want to say hi to her. And kingsley jegan as well, based on
the last thread we had here.

--srs

Re: [silk] Nandaja Varma - debian contributor / linux foundation awardee

2013-09-24 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Thaths wrote:

 I was one of the reviewers of her GSoC application. :-)
 

Figures. The only female debian contributor in India, so that is impressive by 
itself

Please do keep mentoring her.

--srs

[silk] In Palo Alto nov 3-7

2013-09-24 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Hi, as the subject says.  I will land in SFO at like 2:20 pm on nov 3, couldn't 
get a reasonable enough ticket to fly directly into SJC so caltrain I guess.  

In any case, open for dinner on the 3rd.  4th, 5th and 6th - I have meetings 
but should mostly again be free for dinner on at least one of those days.  But 
since the 3rd is a sunday that should work best I guess.

Flying back out of SFO at 10:30 on the 7th morning.

And yeah - the week before (Oct 25-Nov 3) I'll be in Boston in case there are 
any east coast silklisters around.

--srs (iPad)

[silk] Delhi sep 19-21

2013-09-17 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

As the subject says. 21st busy at a quiz most of the day.
Anybody up for a silkmeet on the 19th or 20th? preferably the 19th
Yes sorry, it is a weekday so being stone cold sober seems indicated :)

--srs

[silk] At last, a fw:fw: that is actually worth forwarding

2013-09-10 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

He's a riot, good fun to read even after reading him for decades.

--srs (iPad)

Begin forwarded message:

 
 
 KHUSHWANT SINGH AT 98 
 Time tested tips on how to stay healthy  live longer – by Khushwant 
 Singh 
 Coming on to 98 and still earning more than I did in my younger days, 
 people ask me how I manage to do it. They regard me as an expert on 
 longevity. I have pronounced on the subject before; I will repeat it with 
 suitable amendments based on my experience in the past two years. 
 Earlier I had written that longevity is in one’s genes: children of 
 long-living parents are likely to live longer than those born to 
 short-lived parents. This did not happen in my own family. My parents who 
 died at 90 and 94 had five children, four sons and a daughter. 
 The first to go was the youngest of the siblings. Next went my sister who 
 was the fourth. My elder brother who was three years older than me went a 
 couple of years ago. Two of us remain; I, who will soon be 98, and my younger 
 brother, a retired Brigadier three years younger than me and in much better 
 health. He looks after our ancestral property. 
 Nevertheless, I still believe gene is the most important factor in 
 determining one’s life-span. More important than analysing longevity is to 
 cope with old age and make terms with it. 
 
 As we grow older, we are less able to exercise our limbs. We have to devise 
 ways to keep them active. Right into my mid-eighties, I played tennis every 
 morning, did rounds of Lodhi gardens in winter and swam for an hour in 
 summer. I am unable to do this any more. The best way to overcome this 
 handicap is regular massages. I have tried different kinds and was 
 disappointed with the oil drip and smearing of oil on the body. A good 
 massage needs powerful hands going all over one’s body from the skull to 
 the toes. I have this done at least once a day or at times twice a day. 
 
 I am convinced that this has kept me going for so long. Equally important 
 is the need to cut down drastically one’s intake of food and drink. I start 
 my mornings with guava juice. It is tastier and more health-giving than 
 orange or any other fruit juice. My breakfast is one scrambled egg on toast. 
 My lunch is usually patli kichri with dahi or a vegetable I skip afternoon 
 tea. In the evening, I take a peg of single malt whisky. It gives me a false 
 appetite. 
 Before I eat supper, I say to myself “Do not eat too much.” I also believe 
 that a meal should have just one kind of vegetable or meat  followed by a 
 pinch of chooran. It is best to eat alone and in silence. Talking while 
 eating does not do justice to the food and you swallow a lot of it. For me no 
 more Punjabi or Mughlai food. I find South India idli, sambhar and grated 
 coconut easier to digest and healthier. 
 
 Never allow yourself to be constipated. The stomach is a storehouse of all 
 kinds of ailments. Our sedentary life tends to make us constipated Keep your 
 bowels clean however you can: by  laxatives, enemas, glycerin suppositories, 
 whatever. Bapu Gandhi fully understood the need to keep bowels clean. 
 Besides, taking an enema every day, he gave enemas to his women admirers. 
 
 Impose strict discipline on your daily routine. If necessary, use a 
 stop-watch. I have breakfast exactly at 6.30 am, lunch at noon, my  drink at 
 7 pm, supper at 8. Try to develop peace of mind. For this you must have a 
 healthy bank account. Shortage of money can be very demoralising. It does not 
 have to be in crores, but enough for your future needs and possibility of 
 falling ill. Never lose your temper, it takes a heavy toll and jangles one’s 
 nerves. Never tell a lie. Always keep your national motto in mind: Satyamev 
 Jayate — only truth triumphs. 
 
 Give generously. Remember you can’t take it with you. You may give to your 
 children, servants or charity. You will feel better. There is joy in 
 giving. Drive out envy of those who have done better than you in life. A 
 Punjabi verse sums up: Rookhi Sookhy Khai kay Thanda Paani Pee Na Veykh 
 paraayee chonparian na Tarssain jee (Eat dry bread and drink cold water Pay 
 no heed or envy those who smear their chapattis with ghee) Do not conform 
 to the tradition of old people spending time in prayer and long hours in 
 places of worship. That amounts to conceding defeat. Instead take up a 
 hobby like gardening, growing bonsai, helping children of your neighborhood 
 with their homework. 
 A practice which I have found very effective is to fix my gaze on the 
 flame 
 of candle, empty my mind of everything, but in my mind repeat Aum Shanti, 
 Aum Shanti, Aum Shanti. It does work. I am at peace with the world. We 
 can’t all be Fauja Singh who at 100 run a marathon race but we can equal 
 him in longevity and creativity. I wish all my readers long, healthy lives 
 full of happiness. 
 
 Khushwant Singh
 
 .

Re: [silk] [intro] Hello people of silklist!

2013-09-03 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 03-Sep-2013, at 18:37, Vinayak Hegde vinay...@gmail.com wrote:

 PS: There is always a danger, when sending this intro email to a new group,
 akin to merging into a freeway, of swerving right into the middle of a
 14-wheeler of a conversation with no context. Here's hoping that doesn't
 happen.
 
 You should find quite a few familiar faces here like me and Jace.

And me I think - half of india-gii and ilug-* is also here.

Welcome

-srs

Re: [silk] Chennai meet up

2013-09-02 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 02-Sep-2013, at 15:25, Badri Natarajan asi...@vsnl.com wrote:

 But if Amethyst is on, I can make it anytime after 6 - my office is nearby. 
 Shall we say 630pm Amethyst?
 
 Is this on for this evening? Around 630pm?
 

As far as I am concerned, it is on.  See you there.

Re: [silk] Duck! Incoming! :) - Animals in war

2013-09-01 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 01-Sep-2013, at 19:26, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:

 I remember a piece I saw many years ago about Castro authorising a
 crocodile breeding program, for use against any future Bay of Pigs
 episodes, but can't find the link now.

Not particularly original, that man.  Crocs were every medieval knight's choice 
of critter to stock their castle moats with.

--srs

Re: [silk] Chennai meet up

2013-08-30 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 31-Aug-2013, at 0:40, Srini RamaKrishnan che...@gmail.com wrote:

 Suresh do you have a preference? Chandroo, will you be able to make it?

Amethyst is actually fine but as I said I need to leave early

I have evening calls that I need to attend and some have a nasty way of coming 
in unscheduled

Cross I have to bear when I work mostly with teams on the east coast I guess :)

Re: [silk] Chennai meet up

2013-08-29 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 29-Aug-2013, at 11:52, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan 
chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Thu, Aug 29, 2013 at 11:32 AM, Srini RamaKrishnan che...@gmail.comwrote:
 Does Monday night, 2nd Sep work for everyone?
 I'm in.

ok but early

Re: [silk] Chennai meet up

2013-08-29 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 29-Aug-2013, at 13:34, Srini RamaKrishnan che...@gmail.com wrote:

 6 pm somewhere in South/Central Madras?
 
 I'm not current on places, so can someone help?
 

liu's waldorf = cheap indian chinese, near the IIT campus

you don't need to be current on places, its been around for donkey's years

Re: [silk] Chennai meet up

2013-08-26 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 27-Aug-2013, at 4:06, Srini RamaKrishnan che...@gmail.com wrote:

 Because it's been a while, and I feel like meeting Silk people.
 
 Any interest?

When, this weekend? Anyone else in town now?

Re: [silk] Valerie Wagoner: Tapping the missed-call trade

2013-08-20 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

I think the answer to that is too late, he's already here

Now, intro, please?  Nice to see you here and you're not the first Mint 
columnist to turn up here so welcome, and whatever you do beyond writing that 
very enjoyable article :)

--srs (iPad)

On 20-Aug-2013, at 15:08, Mark Bergen mberg...@gmail.com wrote:

 
 
 http://www.livemint.com/Industry/DxwH4TNGtKS58r7npgjnnO/Valerie-Wagoner-Tapping-the-missedcall-trade.html
 
 Interesting.
 
 
 Yeah, but the author's a pos. Don't invite him.
 
 (Happy to make intros or send invite.)

Re: [silk] Collateral damage

2013-08-20 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

The US bill of rights - which is the bedrock of all these constitutional 
protections, applies to US citizens.  So .. I am not sure if this discussion 
isn't entirely moot.

--srs (iPad)

On 21-Aug-2013, at 9:22, SS cybers...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Wed, 2013-08-21 at 07:47 +0530, Udhay Shankar N wrote:
 Shades of if you aren't doing anything wrong, why do you object? in
 your response. I'll revisit this later.
 
 Yes, but I will explain below. First let me respond to this quote
 
 
 its currency in a society. The Haunted Land, a book that delineates how
 East German society was completely reforged around the authority of
 secretly collected personal data illustrates how caustic routinized
 surveillance can become. Spouses ratted each other out to the
 authorities, in ways resonant with the odd stories of kids turning in
 their parents for smoking dope in the back yard. No one could have a
 personal life worthy of the name. In an environment of permanent
 legitimized electronic surveillance, you could argue the establishment
 of an East German scenario here is only a matter of time
 
 None of this is new. George Orwell predicted it. It happened in Stalin's
 Russia, and China has been well into this for decades. 
 
 Power and control have always meant control over what people say. The
 anger and indignation in my view comes from the idea that some free
 societies were somehow immune to this.
 
 To my mind the only way to counter this is by subversion from within the
 system, not by fighting the system. The system looks out for those who
 fight it. The system needs to be inundated with people who are doing no
 wrong. A world of sheeple who do not worry about surveillance makes it
 easier to look out for those who are avoiding surveillance. In my view
 the thing to do is to accept surveillance, embrace it, and set up the
 mechanism for subterfuge. Only that route can allow creative ways of
 spooking the system to emerge. 
 
 If I were a criminal, this is exactly what I would do. Surveillance is
 designed to discourage criminals (specifically terrorists) from using
 the existing system and restricting their ability to communicate and
 plan. A useful side effect for the government is that everyone gets
 watched. The criminal would be the last person to complain about being
 watched - only honest people do - although criminals might add to the
 protests acting like Honest people who genuinely want privacy simply
 as a political ploy to pressurize governments who are high on their
 ability to control. 
 
 I am not trying to criticize or mock anyone, but I have noticed that in
 America the constitution guarantees certain freedoms and those freedoms
 are being removed, leading to protests. If I extrapolate this I predict
 that there is an outside chance that Americans might win court battles
 that protect US citizens, but non US citizens will continue to face
 everything that can be thrown at them by way of control and monitoring.
 Under the circumstances,  I see no option other than to simply cooperate
 with the system and discover my own ways of doing what I might want to
 do in private.
 
 Incidentally is there a right to privacy?. I have no idea.
 
 shiv

Re: [silk] On self-improvement

2013-08-19 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

In seven habits' defense it is actually quite good in a corporate coaching 
environment if you find a trainer who knows his job. Anyway it is simply a 
method by which you can become more systematic in whatever you do, if you 
aren't already. 

Life hacker is strictly on a caveat emptor basis, totally may not work for you. 

--srs (htc one x) 

- Reply message -
From: Thaths tha...@gmail.com
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net silklist@lists.hserus.net
Subject: [silk] On self-improvement
Date: Tue, Aug 20, 2013 2:51 AM


I cannot remember seeing this thread in Silk when it first happened.

I stumbled upon this corpse when I was searching for something else.

That said, I had a followup question.


On Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 12:15 AM, Kiran K Karthikeyan 
kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote:

 Can't remember why, but somewhere in between the half intoxicated
 banter, the conversation shifted to self-improvement books a la
 Stephen Covey and his ilk.

 I typically stay away from them with the same amount of revulsion some
 feminists have for balemia-inducing fashion magazines. Since I've not
 read any of them, I may not be the best judge - but a title like
 Seven habits of highly effective people is enough to make me turn
 away. Neither am I interested in people of a spiritual disposition who
 sell their Ferrari.


What do Silk listers think about blogs like Life hacker or a GTD-focused
tip-sharing mailing list? Is they in the same genre? Or a different one?

S.
-- 
Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
Carl:  Nuthin'.
Homer: D'oh!
Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
Homer: Woo-hoo!

[silk] comic art style portraits of spammers - reconstructed from spam

2013-08-16 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Here's a few examples. Good fun.

http://benwalkerart.com/news-blog/2013/7/27/portrait-of-a-spammer

At the Draw Show - 53 Bluxome St Gallery in SF, from 8/3 to 8/29.

--srs

Re: [silk] Meet up.

2013-08-09 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

As it happens I am in town tomorrow morning and free for lunch but not dinner 
as i have a family function tomorrow and the day after. A silkmeet and beer 
sounds like a much better idea than elai sapaadu. 

--srs (htc one x) 

- Reply message -
From: rashmi v rashm...@gmail.com
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Subject: [silk] Meet up.
Date: Sat, Aug 10, 2013 9:20 AM

Hi !

Time for a silkmeet in bangalore ?

Rashmi

Re: [silk] Meet up.

2013-08-09 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 10-Aug-2013, at 11:25, Vinayak Hegde vinay...@gmail.com wrote:

 I am free tomorrow. We can meet somewhere in Koramangala for Lunch / Beer.
 On Sat, Aug 10, 2013 at 9:42 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian
 sur...@hserus.net wrote:
 As it happens I am in town tomorrow morning and free for lunch but not 
 dinner as i have a 

Koramangala or Indira Nagar works great for me as I'll be in the general area.

--srs

Re: [silk] running Tor exits in India

2013-07-26 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 26-Jul-2013, at 16:27, Eugen Leitl eu...@leitl.org wrote:

 What's the official attitude towards Tor exits in India?
 Are they outright illegal, will land you in trouble, or
 no problem at all?

Nobody at all cares. Until someone does something bad and then the cops come 
looking for the IP that it originated from.  You're likely to get badly beaten 
up as part of the investigation BEFORE you get done explaining what a tor exit 
node is.

--srs

Re: [silk] running Tor exits in India

2013-07-26 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 26-Jul-2013, at 16:34, Eugen Leitl eu...@leitl.org wrote:

 Even if you're a network operator? Network operator with good connections
 to law enforcement?
 
 What about furriners renting servers, or renting colo space for
 own servers?
 

ISP licenses in India tend to ask you to log everything.  TOR by definition ..

If you rent a colo - you are still subject to the AUP of the provider - and 
still subject to having the police come in and take your box away for forensics.

Re: [silk] Intro!

Speaking of the goa project, do we have annie (aniruddha sengupta) here yet?

And welcome Rashmi

--srs

 Original message 
From: Rashmi Dhanwani rashmi.dhanw...@gmail.com 
Date: 07/01/2013  2:34 PM  (GMT+05:30) 
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net 
Subject: [silk] Intro! 

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...

*My Profile

* Up until a short 10 days ago, I managed Corporate Communications and
Audience Building for the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai
(www.ncpamumbai.com), where I was handling communication and new media
strategy, and public relations. In the past I have worked as a script
writer, an assistant filmmaker (Black Magic Motion Pictures), a features
reporter (DNA) and a content consultant (NEN Online). Before working at the
NCPA, I worked with Breakthrough --- an NGO that promotes human rights
using media education and pop culture. And I managed media for
not-for-profit initiatives such as Mumbai Unplug 07 (similar to Earth Hour
60), and have been a core team member at The Goa Project 2013. I also
coordinated the Literature programming for the Mumbai Kala Ghoda Arts
Festival in 2008 and the Children's Literature programming for the same in
2009. I now intend to move to the UK for an academic sabbatical this fall.
Until then... am engaging in lots of reading, music, small projects,
hounding people on lists and just generally, plotting to take over the
world.

Thanks and look forward to some wonderful discussions with you all.

Regards,

Rashmi Dhanwani
Linkedin: http://in.linkedin.com/in/rashmidhanwani
Twitter: www.twitter.com/rashmid

-- Forwarded message --
From: silklist-requ...@lists.hserus.net
Date: Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 8:45 PM
Subject: Welcome to the silklist mailing list
To: rashmi.dhanw...@gmail.com

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Re: [silk] Intro!

On 02-Jul-2013, at 7:16, Shoba Narayan sh...@shobanarayan.com wrote:

 On another note, I hate this bottom posting business.  I open my Silklist 
 digest every morning.  I find that the same message is repeated endless times 
 in order for people to give a one-line response.  In order to follow this 
 rule, I have to delete above and below the one-line or paragraph that I am 
 responding to.  There has got to be a better model.
 

The germans call that TOFU, toppost ober, fullquoten unten I think, with my 
fractured german. They seem to consider it even more annoying than a top post.

--srs

Re: [silk] Intro!

On 02-Jul-2013, at 7:35, Ashwin Kumar ashw...@live.in wrote:

 Having just one channel, DD, life was much simpler. You had Byomkesh Bakshi, 
 Indradhanush, Mungerilal, Mister Yogi (remember that? much before Hyderabad 
 Blues)... *sigh* 

Nostalgia for 1980s quality programming - you should get together with vikram 
joshi for sure.

 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

Right down to the game of thrones iron throne figuring in the sets, ftw.  
Disgusting production quality even worse than the old ramayan / mahabharath 
(which did have quality dialogue and songs to be sure).

 never seen Ganesha with his wives), or Shiva/Parvathi having a daughter. 

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.

--srs

Re: [silk] Intro!

On 02-Jul-2013, at 7:43, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote:

 Duryodhana...though he is so reviled, I think that some of the things that
 the angelic Pandavas did were much worse than any of his actions. And he
 recognized Karna and honoured him for his qualities,not for his birth, when

Much more understandable if you think of it in the terms of greek plays, with 
the concept of Hamartia, the fatal flaw.  Duryodhana's was an overbearing pride 
and jealousy.

Re: [silk] Intro!

On 02-Jul-2013, at 7:56, Ashwin Kumar ashw...@live.in wrote:

 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. 

Ha ha.  They all get greedy.

The first words the priests at the mysore chamundi temple have for you is 
dakshina kodi (please give me your gift of some money).

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

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 ..

Re: [silk] Intro!

On 02-Jul-2013, at 8:17, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote:

 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.

A guru dakshina - the only appropriate use actually - was what you paid your 
guru as a fee for your becoming daksha or expert

--srs

Re: [silk] Any pet-hate subjects? ...why is Mathematics so frequently hated?

2013-06-21 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

I have always found maths disgusting during school (where i scored well enough 
in it) and college (where I didn't), and today I find myself using maths to a 
larger and more practical extent than before - balancing a mutual fund 
portfolio and at work, pulling data and running numbers on it to give me 
information that I need.

But the math I use is not quite rocket science and doesn't require me to waste 
four pages trying to prove it, so I rest content.

As for the rest of it, I cheerfully admit to having forgotten everything from 
ohms law onwards within a few short weeks of getting a degree in electronics. 
What I don't use I consign to the dustbin of my memory .. which, in this case, 
is a blessed relief.

--srs (iPad)

On 21-Jun-2013, at 22:10, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote:

 I wrote this some time agosomeone else referred to it on FB recently
 (yes...a woman.)  What makes us detest certain subjects at school, and why
 is Maths (or Math) frequently at the top of the list? It can't always be
 bad teachers
 
 http://deponti.livejournal.com/902082.html
 
 
 I find that a lot of people on this list articulate far, far better than I
 do. It would help me understand my lifelong aversion to mathematics...and
 the odder fact that though I never scored more than 40 percent in Hindi, it
 was so well taught throughout school and college that I love it as a
 language, though I disliked it as a subject of academic achievement.
 
 
 Cheers, Deepa.

Re: [silk] Any pet-hate subjects? ...why is Mathematics so frequently hated?

2013-06-21 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 22-Jun-2013, at 8:19, Srini RamaKrishnan che...@gmail.com wrote:

 Maths is hated because it is like running, it uses ridiculous amounts
 of energy.

The other factor is an opportunity cost in just where you want to spend those 
ridiculous amounts of energy.  Like a nobel prize winning author might not care 
or even know just how to balance his checkbook, or a famous scientist might 
fall for a pitiful scam.  At a slightly more ordinary level, someone who likes 
distance running and researches up everything from footwear and diet to 
breathing techniques will probably detest maths as well.

I choose not to touch maths with a bargepole except where it has any relevance 
to me. 

--srs

Re: [silk] introduction...

2013-06-20 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Something about frro registration and an apostilled marriage certificate, as I 
remember it. 

--srs

 Original message 
From: Badri Natarajan asi...@vsnl.com 
Date: 06/20/2013  2:37 PM  (GMT+05:30) 
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net 
Subject: Re: [silk] introduction... 

On 20 Jun 2013, at 07:44, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:

 Happy 4th anniversary, Stef and Indro!

 I'd be most interested in your account of your experiences in India over
 4+ years.

Why would the visa be an issue? Automatic PIO card and rights to live and work 
in India for the spouse of an Indian citizen (or even a former Indian citizen)..

(Happy anniversary!)

Re: [silk] Old book smell

2013-06-19 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

On 19-Jun-2013, at 10:44, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:

 Interesting. We've had conceptually similar discussions in the past [1],
 too.

A combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of
 vanilla over an underlying mustiness, this unmistakable smell is as much
 a part of the book as its contents.
 

Much the same jargon could be used to describe the bouquet of a wine, or a 
coffee, or a cigar ..

Re: [silk] introduction...

2013-06-19 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Sounds like a plan. I think the visa issue did sort itself out after a great 
deal of effort :) 

--srs

 Original message 
From: Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com 
Date: 06/20/2013  7:44 AM  (GMT+05:30) 
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net 
Subject: Re: [silk] introduction... 

Happy 4th anniversary, Stef and Indro!

I'd be most interested in your account of your experiences in India over
4+ years.

Udhay

On 17-Sep-08 10:51 AM, Stephanie Whiting wrote:
 Hi,

 I got the welcome mail asking me to introduce myself, I'm Stephanie Whiting
 and I am a 24 year old American citizen, who intends to move and settle in
 Kolkata, India in around a year's time as I have met and fallen in love with
 an Indian guy. Right now I am working on finishing my bachelors degree in
 Criminal Justice, with no idea what to do with it.

 Right now we are working on figuring out exactly what visa I need to get in
 order to arrive (whether to come in on a simple tourist visa and apply for a
 entry visa or what not) and be able to stay in India after we marry. I worry
 about the culture shock and the learning the language (bengali
 specifically).

 Stephanie Whiting

-- 
((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))

Re: [silk] PFRDA and Security

Don't confuse the garbage pension + annuity plans offered by various insurers 
with the NPS, which is what is provided by organizations regulated by the PFRDA.

And do note the tax implications of redemption

--srs (iPad)

On 18-Jun-2013, at 14:45, thew...@gmail.com wrote:

 I'd have signed up for a pension plan, but the ones that are on the market 
 lock in a major part of the capital and compulsorily give me an annuity (at 
 negligible returns/ rates of interest). While some will argue that this is 
 the whole point of a pension plan, I'd rather have the flexibility to take a 
 lump sum and do whatever I want with it.

Re: [silk] PFRDA and Security

On 18-Jun-2013, at 15:42, thew...@gmail.com wrote:

 I suspect they'll impose stringent rules on withdrawal. This is not a 
 loophole that will stay open for long.

Even in the EPF and in older established pension annuities, there's already 
stringent rules for withdrawal, and rules for how such withdrawals are taxed.

Re: [silk] PFRDA and Security

On 18-Jun-2013, at 15:55, thew...@gmail.com wrote:

 But, PF withdrawals are tax free after some reasonable conditions are 
 fulfilled- 5 years service, etc. 
 
 The only annuity there is the EPS- given that you contribute barely 541/- a 
 month, it would still grow to 12 lakhs after 35 years- against which you get 
 a maximum of 3250/- per month as pension. That's a 3% rate of return on 
 capital. Why would the NPS be any different?
 

Market linked to start with.  Which - if you stick to it over 30+ years of 
service - hopefully gets you better returns.  Such schemes ARE a pain in the 
ass when for example you quit a job in a country  and move back to India, at a 
time when the stock markets are facing historic lows [I did, ask me..]

The returns ARE a bit volatile - and the cost structure is loaded against 
people making small contributions.  If you stay with a trusted fund manager and 
stay invested till your retirement it might be viable.  It is still currently 
EET (exempt exempt taxed - that is withdrawals at retirement are taxable) but 
there's currently a proposal - I guess next budget, hopefully - to make it EEE.

However, I personally am not going for this and am sticking to the EPF, which 
is guaranteed return.  I know my contributions here and have other market 
linked investments that I can manage better and more actively than I can do 
with a pension fund.

--srs

Re: [silk] PFRDA and Security


thew...@gmail.com [18/06/13 10:25 +]:

But, PF withdrawals are tax free after some reasonable conditions are
fulfilled- 5 years service, etc.


Note - moneylife - while pointing out what I did - has a contrarian view on
NPS -
http://www.moneylife.in/article/retirement-planning-why-you-should-avoid-the-new-pension-system/30925.html

Re: [silk] PFRDA and Security

On 18-Jun-2013, at 16:20, thew...@gmail.com wrote:

 I'd stick with my PF (I hope they never annuitize *that*!), and handle my 
 market-linked investments on my own. PF + NPS is too skewed, somehow. 
 
 NPS might make sense if you don't have a PF account (though I still wouldn't 
 have taken it).
 

Well, me too - but for a more uninformed investor, it might work better. IF he 
stays invested. And IF the sensex isn't nosediving to sub 8k levels right at 
the time he retires and has his daughter's marriage to arrange.  Though to be 
fair a lot of the investment is in t-bills, government paper etc and the equity 
component is capped.

Re: [silk] cohabitation rights in india

There are other signs of a longer term relationship. Co-signing on bank 
accounts, house paperwork .. with alimony the other factor beyond just child 
support.

--srs (iPad)

On 18-Jun-2013, at 19:05, Nikhil Mehra nikhil.mehra...@gmail.com wrote:

 Don't like the sexual gratification language. That reasoning is a blow to 
 sexual autonomy. But, yes, this judgment is in furtherance of 2 judgments of 
 the SC in 2005 which accepted the fact that line-in relationships give rise 
 to rights akin to marriage in terms of prevention of domestic violence and 
 maintenance upon separation. 
 
 The reasoning in this judgment (I haven't read it yet, relying on news 
 reports) tends to conflate a relationship outside of marriage that leads to 
 children and a sustaines sexual relationship where the parties have no 
 intention to be bound to each other. Reasoning is worrisome but result is 
 laudable.

Re: [silk] Atul Chitnis

2013-06-14 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Oh lord, when was this? Very sad. 

--srs

 Original message 
From: Kiran Jonnalagadda j...@pobox.com 
Date: 06/15/2013  12:55 AM  (GMT+05:30) 
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net 
Subject: Re: [silk] Atul Chitnis 

On Monday, June 3, 2013, Thaths wrote:

 First it was Raju Mathur and now this? The Open Source pioneers of India
 are slowly going away.

Also Kenneth Gonsalves, less than a year ago. Kenneth was a severe critic
of Atul and they rarely agreed on things, but when he passed Atul paid
homage to him on the foss.in website and at the event. Kenneth ran
operations for NRCFOSS co-founded the Indian Python Software Society, which
runs PyCon India.

Kiran

-- 
-- 
Kiran Jonnalagadda
http://jace.zaiki.in/
http://hasgeek.com/

Re: [silk] Atul Chitnis RIP

2013-06-14 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Sure was. My involvement with him went all the way from liking and respecting 
him for his pc world and pc quest articles to what passed for a reasonably 
close friendship, all the way to an epic three or four hundred email flame war 
in 2000 where he ended up threatening to get me fired from my job, knew my ceo 
and all that. 

After that, our lives didn't quite move in the same circles, I only saw him 
once years later at a small open source round table discussing god knows what, 
and again having, to put it mildly, a difference of opinion. 

He was still quite a character for whom mark antony's funeral oration in Julius 
Caesar doesn't quite apply, he will be remembered for both the positive as well 
as the negative (and in both cases, highly so) interactions that he had with 
various people here. 

--srs

 Original message 
From: Indrajit Gupta bonoba...@yahoo.co.in 
Date: 06/14/2013  11:51 PM  (GMT+05:30) 
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net 
Subject: Re: [silk] Atul Chitnis RIP 
 
Wasn't that the point?


 
bonobashi



- Original Message -
 From: Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net
 To: mail=silklist@lists. hserus. net silklist@lists.hserus.net
 Cc: 
 Sent: Friday, 14 June 2013 8:07 AM
 Subject: Re: [silk] Atul Chitnis RIP
 
 It is amazing how a lot of people get to resemble their fathers even if they 
 face conflicts with them during their lifetime. 
 
 That last paragraph could actually describe Atul himself to a T
 
 --srs
 
  Original message 
 From: Shoba Narayan sh...@shobanarayan.com 
 Date: 06/14/2013  8:03 AM  (GMT+05:30) 
 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net 
 Subject: [silk] Atul Chitnis RIP 
 
 
  This, by his brother, was also well done:
  http://arun.chitnis.com/2013/06/08/my-brother-atul-chitnis-1962-2013/
 
 
 Ingrid, thanks.
 This is such a lovely piece, about fathers and sons.  
 
 Love these lines:
 Like it or not, sons live their adult lives in a manner which is directly or 
 indirectly dictated by their fathers. We may either spend our entire life 
 complying with our father’s wishes or rebelling against them. We may either 
 do 
 exactly what the old man taught us to do, or do exactly the opposite. But 
 either 
 way, the fathers of sons hold the reins from beyond the grave.
 
 Throughout the Indian part our childhood, our father was a person to be 
 feared 
 and steered clear of. He was a hard and peculiar man – brilliant in his own 
 way, 
 but driven by his own demons and completely oblivious of how his ways 
 affected 
 others.
 
 I tackled our father in a very different way – not very original, but 
 effective. 
 Atul met him head on – he gave him the middle finger and waited till he could 
 take charge of his own life. He did that much sooner than I did. But he did 
 not 
 walk away a free man. The specter of not being good enough, for not meeting 
 expectations, haunted both of us.

Re: [silk] Atul Chitnis RIP

2013-06-13 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

It is amazing how a lot of people get to resemble their fathers even if they 
face conflicts with them during their lifetime. 

That last paragraph could actually describe Atul himself to a T

--srs

 Original message 
From: Shoba Narayan sh...@shobanarayan.com 
Date: 06/14/2013  8:03 AM  (GMT+05:30) 
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net 
Subject: [silk] Atul Chitnis RIP 

 This, by his brother, was also well done:
 http://arun.chitnis.com/2013/06/08/my-brother-atul-chitnis-1962-2013/

Ingrid, thanks.
This is such a lovely piece, about fathers and sons.  

Love these lines:
Like it or not, sons live their adult lives in a manner which is directly or 
indirectly dictated by their fathers. We may either spend our entire life 
complying with our father’s wishes or rebelling against them. We may either do 
exactly what the old man taught us to do, or do exactly the opposite. But 
either way, the fathers of sons hold the reins from beyond the grave.

Throughout the Indian part our childhood, our father was a person to be feared 
and steered clear of. He was a hard and peculiar man – brilliant in his own 
way, but driven by his own demons and completely oblivious of how his ways 
affected others.

I tackled our father in a very different way – not very original, but 
effective. Atul met him head on – he gave him the middle finger and waited till 
he could take charge of his own life. He did that much sooner than I did. But 
he did not walk away a free man. The specter of not being good enough, for not 
meeting expectations, haunted both of us.

Re: [silk] Atul Chitnis

2013-06-09 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Eh at least in Hyderabad the DoT run ISP (hd2.dot.net.in) had a menu option 
that took you straight to a korn shell

--srs (iPad)

On 09-Jun-2013, at 12:51, Badri Natarajan asi...@vsnl.com wrote:

 
 On 9 Jun 2013, at 06:01, Indrajit Gupta bonoba...@yahoo.co.in wrote:
 
 But there was an entirely different side to my relations with Atul as well. 
 I got to know him when I started using a small editor that he and some 
 friends had built, and which was floating around in shareware form. It was 
 accidental that I found a place to work opposite the block from his house 
 and his residence, and got to meet him almost as accidentally, and it was 
 comical to see his expression when I dug into my rather bare pocket to pay 
 him the measly sum that they were charging for the editor. Those rare visits 
 were very nice. The great man actually had a very efficient support system 
 working for him. Apart from KK, there was an indefatigable and 
 rarely-to-be-seen on line Geetanjali, and an adorable muppet who stole 
 hearts effortlessly. That was in 1987, some - dear Lord! - twenty six years 
 ago, and the muppet must be a poised young woman mourning her father. And he 
 was a great man, one to mourn, never mind the strong views and inflexible 
 stands
 
 I wasn't in touch with him since the 90s, but I still remember how helpful he 
 was to me as a teenager struggling to come to grips with this whole online 
 thing at CiX..
 
 I also remember a surprise phone call once at home from him, telling me how 
 to trick the dreaded VSNL GIAS system into giving me a shell prompt (at the 
 time, that was a bit like the holy grail..)..

Re: [silk] Atul Chitnis

2013-06-03 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian


I agree. RIP
In memory of an epic flamewar that started out as linux on the desktop, 
about a decade or more back


--srs (htc one x)



On 3 June 2013 9:29:30 AM Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:

On Mon, Jun 3, 2013 at 12:55 PM, Biju Chacko biju.cha...@gmail.com wrote:

 He was not universally liked but I guess even those that didn't like him
 would be saddened by the news.

I agree, on both counts. RIP, Atul.

Udhay

--
((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))

Re: [silk] In Mumbai

2013-05-28 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Vikram Joshi has probably eaten his way through the best fish places in south 
Bombay, so you might ask him for recos, Sumanth ,,

--srs (iPad)

On 28-May-2013, at 21:49, Sumant Srivathsan suma...@gmail.com wrote:

 Mahesh (the restaurant) is one of my favourite places in Mumbai. I'm game.
 7:30-ish on Wednesday?
 
 Really? I can only assume you haven't been there in a while. The Lonely
 Planet curse had struck with a vengeance. Overpriced generic fare that does
 its reputation no justice, IMO. Decent wine list, though.

Re: [silk] literacy in schools

2013-05-13 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Writing is very early on - fag end of kindergarten is when they start getting 
taught to write the alphabet.  Initially standing line (|), sleeping line 
(_) etc that they can use to form E, I etc - and then the alphabets are taught 
as combinations of standing, sleeping etc lines .. based on how my daughter was 
taught about 4..5 years back. 

--srs (iPad)

On 13-May-2013, at 13:22, ashok_ listmans...@gmail.com wrote:

 Just a general question on schooling in India ... hope someone can help me !
 
 At what age (or in which class - kindergarten, primary ) are kids to read
 and write in Indian schools ? Does it differ based on the kind of
 curriculum ?

[silk] Testing. Please delete.

2013-05-05 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Re: [silk] Chennai and Bangalore Beer-ups

2013-05-03 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian


Adrianna Tan [03/05/13 19:01 +0700]:

Am in Chennai 6-10 May, and Bangalore 13-15 May.
With the exception of the night of 10 May in Chennai, all other nights are
good.
Anyone wants a beer?


Late evening calls all week :(

Re: [silk] instructional / educational dvds for toddlers in indian languages

2013-05-01 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian


Surabhi Tomar [02/05/13 06:23 +0530]:

Do you think there is a demand for this in Indian languages ...or is it
just me ?


There is a demand. Unfortunately, it seems that the only animated DVDs
available in regional languages are religious.


There are very crudely produced (poor animation, even worse english or
tamil) CDs of nursery rhymes and such - tamil has several of these produced
by a couple of local brands called Pebbles and Apple Tree for example.

Nothing that's quality at all. So, grandparents fill the gap.

Re: [silk] Migrant workers and bank accounts

2013-04-23 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

There are plenty of pure term products available and sold online

Most of the worst insurance products - the heavily missold ones - have been 
banned or significantly modified by pressure from the insurance regulator, IRDA

While sophisticated investors might not want to mix insurance and investment, 
it still remains an option - in several cases - for less sophisticated 
investors, as long as they find a honest advisor who doesn't missell to them.

--srs (iPad)

On 23-Apr-2013, at 15:10, Srini RamaKrishnan che...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 8:06 PM, Caitlin Marinelli
 caitlin.marine...@gmail.com wrote:
 Do they need micro insurance?
 
 India is generally very passive-aggressive towards insurance isn't it?
 Most insurance products sold here are halfway between investment and
 insurance, with the insurance pay out generally being dismal, and so
 also the investment return, but nevertheless popular. The status quo
 is a self reinforcing cycle since no one in India really trusts
 insurance companies to pay up yet no we are a risk averse lot.

Re: [silk] Migrant workers and bank accounts

2013-04-23 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Insurance premiums are a tax deductible under 80c as are your provident 
fund contributions, kids school fees and a bunch of other things you 
normally spend money on anyway


--srs (htc one x)



On 23 April 2013 3:40:43 PM Srini RamaKrishnan che...@gmail.com wrote:

On Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 3:36 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian
sur...@hserus.net wrote:
 While sophisticated investors might not want to mix insurance and 
investment, it still remains an option - in several cases - for less 
sophisticated investors, as long as they find a honest advisor who doesn't 
missell to them.


It isn't just that - insurance premium is tax deductible I thought, or
something like that. At any rate the tax laws were a driver IIRC.

Re: [silk] Migrant workers and bank accounts

2013-04-23 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

There are plenty of other ways to invest and save and I personally never 
touch insurance plus investment products.


--srs (htc one x)



On 24 April 2013 9:11:57 AM thew...@gmail.com wrote:
A lot of the selling is by the local 'family friend' who moonlights as an 
agent, or by the branch manager who has quotas. With 40% commissions, 
selling ULIPs was irresistible. It's an easy sucker ploy, too- tell the 
buyer that he pays 1 lakh, saves 33K on tax, and gets *at least* 1.5 lakhs 
at the end. Most people anyway submit the receipts to their office HR guy 
and are too clueless to check how much tax has actually been saved.


I have no sympathy for the 20 and 30 year olds who bought into this con, 
and then learnt that (a) they were saving no tax because their 80C was used 
up (b) found that they faced 100% surrender charges, etc (c) saw the value 
of their units fall. A classic case of throwing good money at a bad product 
thanks to this 'save tax' madness.


That said, this malaise has affected older people who've been suckered into 
buying useless products (same principle should apply, but I do have a 
little more sympathy for retirees who've paid money they can ill afford, to 
scamsters).  I have a 65 year old aunt, who does not need life insurance at 
all, but who was bullied into buying some ULIPs because her local agent 
shouted at her and said 'Don't you have value for 33K? Do you just want to 
throw this money away?.


SRS- I don't see why anyone should buy the money-back kind of insurance at 
all. If you're risk averse, aren't there other ways to put money in 
tax-saving instruments which have guaranteed returns and shorter lock-ins? 
NSCs, Post Office deposits, etc?



Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone

-Original Message-
From: Srini RamaKrishnan che...@gmail.com
Sender: silklist-bounces+thewall=gmail@lists.hserus.net
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:40:43 To: 
silklist@lists.hserus.netsilklist@lists.hserus.net

Reply-To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Subject: Re: [silk] Migrant workers and bank accounts

On Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 3:36 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian
sur...@hserus.net wrote:
 While sophisticated investors might not want to mix insurance and 
investment, it still remains an option - in several cases - for less 
sophisticated investors, as long as they find a honest advisor who doesn't 
missell to them.


It isn't just that - insurance premium is tax deductible I thought, or
something like that. At any rate the tax laws were a driver IIRC.

Re: [silk] Migrant workers and bank accounts

2013-04-22 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

I do believe that kiva tied up with a local micro lender some months or maybe a 
year back ,,

--srs (iPad)

On 23-Apr-2013, at 5:28, Vinay Rao v...@bangid.com wrote:

 Do they have bank accounts?
 Between the extensions in my family, I've had two maids from Punjab (not
 the same pair all along) working in Bangalore for a few years now. My
 experience from this small sample set is that their parents, or an uncle,
 or a neighbour, has a bank account. Typically someone with a seemingly
 bonafide job, such as a security guard at a school, has a bank account.
 
 
 Problems faced by them in opening bank accounts esp on KYC front
 Without a permanent address or a 'Sanaaksh' (something like that - I think
 it means 'identification') card, banks make it  to open accounts. The
 bigger issue I think is the distance to a bank, or source of income. A new
 source of income in Punjab villages is textile industries, but this
 involves long hours of work from including travel from the village, 6 days
 a week, and many are barely able to keep up. If they have no steady source,
 the need for a personal bank account diminishes.
 
 
 How do they send money home?
 In our case, we would 'drop' a  cheque at the local SBI bank branch in
 Bangalore, with a teller, with written instructions. And then wait close to
 20days to confirm with the maids' contacts, AND our local bank branch, that
 the money has been transferred.
 
 
 Do they have banks in their villages?
 typically have a bigger village or district HQ where a bank exists.
 
 
 Do they get any loans there?
 I have never asked my maids but I doubt it. They depend on more informal,
 and possibly more dangerous, ways of getting loans
 
 
 Do they need micro insurance?
 Yes. I don't think they know insurance of any form exists. Their biggest
 concerns are when a family member needs an operation or such medical
 assistance.
 
 
 Do they need any micro saving products?
 Not sure I understand what a micro-saving product is, but teaching them how
 to manage and save their money is a challenge.
 
 
 Are you aware of this organisation http://www.alittleworld.com/ ?
 Off-list, I can connect you to one of the founders. It could be difficult
 to get a response from him, but I can't think of anyone else with more
 experience in this area.
 
 
 :: Vinay Rao

Re: [silk] Help!!help!!

2013-04-20 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian

Check booking.com .. I see two rooms at the citizen m London bank side for 1048 
quid for 7 nights so that's 150 odd quid. And other properties too. Select 
southwark as the area and sort by price

--srs (iPad)

On 20-Apr-2013, at 21:16, Naresh nar...@vagroup.com wrote:

 I and a (male) friend are heading to London 25th april evening till 2nd may 
 and didn't book a hotel /accomodation till now..and it's all full up or 180 
 pounds ++.i need to be in fairly central/south bank /southwark and the hotels 
 / bb's are full.
 Any Silklisters in London who can help?a little tight on budget!! A largish 
 twin bedder would do !!am happy to pay for it..btw airbnb sucks.!!all the 
 availability charts are out of date!!
 
 Also is a silk meet possible on next Sunday?28th?we had a great meetup in 
 Bangalore this Thursday with 20+ people showing up!!
 
 /a little stressed right now !
 
 
 
 Naresh Narasimhan
 Sent from my Phone
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Re: [silk] coming calamity in Bangalore


Srini RamaKrishnan [18/04/13 19:49 +0530]:

If there's any innovation in Jugaad, it is in talking a tall tale.


Jugaad is precisely what gives us characters like Harshad Mehta and
Ramalinga Raju. It simply means zero lack of ethics and bare or zero
adherence to standards.

Re: [silk] Migrant workers and bank accounts

Not very many do.  it is a strictly cash economy - often facilitated by 
informal banking channels - shops or contractors or local goons they are in 
debt to, people they trust heading back to their village (usually, they 
graviate towards people originally from the same community and same neck of the 
woods).

Some do send postal money orders and such when it comes to sending remittances 
back home

Aadhaar is supposed to fix kyc but that's going to be very doubtful.

Banks - possibly, or in the nearest town.  At least nationalized banks or local 
cooperative banks (equivalent to savings and loan outfits).  Of course in the 
really really small and out of the way villages, not much - but there are other 
banking channels, microbanking initiatives and such (though some of these are 
pure corporatized excuses for loan shark operations, for all they're publicly 
traded)

Microbanking, micro savings products, government sponsored health insurance 
schemes etc are all available.  Their reach does need to be sizeably expanded - 
and a lot of the graft and pure commercialism weeded out .. but it is around, 
and there are some genuinely good players in this space.

--srs (iPad)

On 18-Apr-2013, at 20:06, Caitlin Marinelli caitlin.marine...@gmail.com wrote:

 Hey all, need a little help on some research. Can anybody recommend a
 reading or a contact that can help me with these questions?
 
 We are trying to understand financial needs of migrant workers:
 
 Do they have bank accounts?
 Problems faced by them in opening bank accounts esp on KYC front
 How do they send money home?
 Do they have banks in their villages?
 Do they get any loans there?
 Do they need micro insurance?
 Do they need any micro saving products?
 
 -- 
 Caitlin Marinelli
 
 PS - Believe in the power of collective creativity? Check out The Goa
 Project http://www.thegoaproject.com
 
 blog: http://caitlinmarinelli.wordpress.com/
 cell (Mumbai): +91 9820207217

Re: [silk] coming calamity in Bangalore

The mrts does help people get around without traffic jams.  Yes it could be 
better - those stations are all poorly sited and poorly constructed over-large, 
in the vague hope that people would turn those structures into shopping malls 
and the footfall would be far more than it currently is on the velachery - 
beach line (compared to the tambaram - beach commuter rail line, which is 
crowded even on holidays).

As for the temples - yes, beautiful, cultural, need to be preserved and all 
that, but do you seriously expect thiruvanmiyur to revert back to being a dense 
forest to set off the beauty of the temple and its tank?  preferably with water 
lilies rather than pond scum but that's a detail.

--srs (iPad)

On 18-Apr-2013, at 20:15, Srini RamaKrishnan che...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 8:02 PM, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan
 chandrachoo...@gmail.com wrote:
 Much as I like the marundeeswarar and much as I don't like the MRTS
 station, your comparison doesn't hold true. Temple poetry is more about
 exaggeration of the attributes of the diety and less of architectural
 critique.
 
 
 I can see poetry in imagining a time when this place was covered with
 forest, and the imprint of man was vanishingly small - and out of it
 arose a tower like no other, made brilliant by lines of oil lamps -
 built with muscle and sinew - a paean to faith - towering over the
 trees of the forest and adding its brass timbre to the chorus of the
 birds. Man's voice as a challenge to nature.
 
 The MRTS evokes only the poetic character of yesterday's putrefying vomit.

Re: [silk] coming calamity in Bangalore


Eugen Leitl [18/04/13 17:22 +0200]:

I think the farmer suicides are a canary in the coal mine though.
Precipitation shift + fossil water depletion are not a good combination.
India isn't immune from what's creaming Pakistan.


Farmer suicides have also been due to a debt trap they've got into. [though
yes drought is a contributing factor of course]

Several private banks decided to fulfil their mandatory quota of rural
banking customers - the so called priority sector where banks need to
lend 40% of their loans for agriculture, student loans and such .. by
hardselling tractor loans to farmers that'd have like a small plot of land
and would be much better off just renting one for the small part of the
year that it is needed.  


Several farmers would just get these loans and use them to, say, marry off
their daughters. And then wind up unable to pay - and faced with hard nosed
collection agents (or even hired thugs, with more than one bank), they'd
just drink pesticide and die. Shiv might have some theory on why
organophosphorous pesticide is such a favored means of committing suicide
in India.

Re: [silk] Migrant workers and bank accounts