[silk] Yahoogroups silk archive on the blink?
The yahoogroups silklist archive at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/silk-list/ seems to be on the blink. The last message available there [1] is dated Oct 7, and there are, as of this witing, ~70 messages which have been sent after that which don't show up on the archive. Since lists.hserus.net doesn't have an archive (and even if it had, it wouldn't be complete as silk has been on this machine only for a little while) that means that the yahoogroups archive is the only publicly available and complete archive of silk. This is not good. Some history, to help Those Who Came In Late: There was a mail archiving service called findmail.com which I was a beta tester of. I started archiving silklist there in 1998 (I sent them my archives to date so they had a complete archive). Findmail then begat egroups.com which was eventually swallowed by yahoo. Yahoogroups no longer archives external (i.e, not hosted on yahoogroups) lists, but the historical lists that were being archived continued to be archived. And so it stood, until a couple of days ago, when I noticed that the yahoogroups archive was not being updated. I'm not sure what the problem is. I'm not even sure that the problem is with yahoogroups. However, I think we need to get some new publicly available archives. Any suggestions? I have already set up an archive on mail-archive [2] but I need to get the rest of the ~15k messages to them. :) I'm also looking at gmane.org. What other suggestions do people have for good web archives? Udhay [1] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/silk-list/message/14077 [2] http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Yahoogroups silk archive on the blink?
Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: [ on 08:58 AM 10/12/2005 ] findmail.com was later translated to yahoogroups.com I assume they finally retired findmail.com Do me a favor and change that to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and it should work just fine i think That seems to work, thanks. I'll separately try and fix the 70-message hole in the archives. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Yahoogroups silk archive on the blink?
Carol Upadhya wrote: [ on 02:18 PM 10/12/2005 ] This is bad news, I have been following the thread on 'Indian Engineers Good Only At Theory: Microsoft but didnt save the mails because I figured it would be easier to copy the whole discussion out of the archive. If they're not there, then??? Any of you reading silklist via mutt, contact me offlist. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Inventing our evolution
irst, he notes. In the next couple of decades, Kurzweil predicts, life expectancy will rise to at least 120 years. Most diseases will be prevented or reversed. Drugs will be individually tailored to a person's DNA. Robots smaller than blood cells -- nanobots, as they are called -- will be routinely injected by the millions into people's bloodstreams. They will be used primarily as diagnostic scouts and patrols, so if anything goes wrong in a person's body, it can be caught extremely early. As James Watson, co-winner of the Nobel Prize for discovering the structure of DNA, famously put it: "No one really has the guts to say it, but if we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes, why shouldn't we?" Gregory Stock of UCLA sees this as the inevitable outcome of the decoding of the human genome. "We have spent billions to unravel our biology, not out of idle curiosity, but in the hope of bettering our lives," he said at a 2003 Yale bioethics conference. "We are not about to turn away from this." Stock sees humanity embracing artificial chromosomes -- rudimentary versions of which already exist. Right now, the human body has 23 chromosome pairs, with the chromosomes numbered 1 through 46. Messing with them is tricky -- you never know when you're going to inadvertently step on unanticipated interactions. By adding a new chromosome pair (Nos. 47 and 48) to the embryo, however, the possibilities appear endless. Stock, in his book "Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future," describes it as the safest way to substantially modify humans because, he says, it would minimize unintended consequences. On top of that, the chromosome insertion sites could have an off switch activated by an injection if we wanted to stop whatever we'd started. This would give future generations a chance to undo whatever we did. Stock offers this analysis to counter the argument offered by some bioethicists that inheritable genetic line engineering should be unconditionally banned because future generations harmed by wrongful or unsuccessful modifications would have no control over the matter. But the very idea of aspiring to such godlike powers is blasphemous to some. "Genetic engineering," writes Michael J. Sandel, a professor of political philosophy at Harvard, is "the ultimate expression of our resolve to see ourselves astride the world, the masters of our nature. But the promise of mastery is flawed. It threatens to banish our appreciation of life as a gift, and to leave us with nothing to affirm or behold outside our own will." Stock rejects this view. "We should not just accept but embrace the new technologies, because they're filled with promise," he says. Within a few years, he writes, "traditional reproduction may begin to seem antiquated, if not downright irresponsible." His projections, he asserts, are not at all out of touch with reality. Adapted from the book "Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies -- and What It Means to Be Human" by Joel Garreau, to be published May 17 by Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc. © 2005 by Joel Garreau. -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Yahoogroups silk archive on the blink?
Carol Upadhya wrote: [ on 02:18 PM 10/12/2005 ] This is bad news, I have been following the thread on 'Indian Engineers Good Only At Theory: Microsoft but didnt save the mails because I figured it would be easier to copy the whole discussion out of the archive. If they're not there, then??? All the missing messages are now back in the archive, though slightly out of sequence. Thanks to crab for doing the needful. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Anyone in Chennai?
Madhu Menon wrote: [ on 05:54 PM 10/16/2005 ] I'm driving into your city tomorrow morning for a restaurant and hotel exhibition, which is somewhere on the outskirts of the city, I'm told. I drive back to B'lore the next day early morning. I'll be tied up in the afternoon at this place, but I'm free in the evening in case anyone wants to hook up. Off the top of my head, I can think of only Suresh. Anyone else? :) Sriram Karra and Subash Jeyan, off the top of mine. Badri's in London, Divya's in Bangalore. Who else? Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Malayali Names
Ramakrishnan Sundaram wrote: [ on 10:43 AM 10/18/2005 ] Note: The use of the letter 'j' is useful in the naming of sibling where names that sound alike are a novelty. eg: Ajji, Sajji, Majji, Bhajji and Nimajji, or Sijo, Lijo, Jijo, Anjo, Panjo, Banjo. I suspect that whoever wrote this has spent time in Bangalore. :) Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Fwd: printer "dot code" broken by EFF
To: cryptography@metzdowd.com Subject: printer "dot code" broken by EFF From: "Perry E. Metzger" Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:10:57 -0400 Many color printers these days include a subtle set of dots in the output that encodes information on the printer that produced it, allowing tracing of who printed what. EFF has broken the code on one such line of printers: http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_10.php#004063 http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/docucolor/ -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] FSFE: Early comment on new Microsoft Shared Source Licenses
Eugen Leitl wrote: [ on 04:06 PM 10/21/2005 ] I'm considering .procmailing both Microsoft and Google to /dev/null. What does this mean? You're going to procmail away all email that mentions the above two terms? Or email from these domains? Or, as is possible, something else entirely that I'm not understanding? Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Kung Fu Science
From Simon Singh: This is a terrific website that shows the physics behind martial arts. It has been developed by the Institute of Physics as part of Einstein Year, and it is a brilliant example of popularising science . as opposed to their Einstein ballet! http://www.kungfuscience.org -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Hello Alpha
ep before the storming slaughter, BP have the will and capacity to build some new things. You know, a set-up like this would make a well-nigh perfect monastery in the Coming Dark Age. http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7011310 O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O THEY CALL IT "UNSUSTAINABLE" BECAUSE, WELL, IT DOESN'T SUSTAIN. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WATCHING, RIGHT NOW O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] The Buckymobile Is Born
CKelty, have you run into these folks? Udhay http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=14095&hed=The+Buckymobile+is+Born The Buckymobile Is Born Researchers at Rice University have built a one-molecule car, complete with working chassis, axles, and wheels. October 21, 2005 Rice University scientists have constructed a car a little wider than a strand of DNA, complete with rotating wheels, functioning axles, and a chassis. The design details of the worlds smallest vehicle will be published in a future edition of the journal Nanoletters, according to a statement issued Thursday. Scientists working on single-molecule machines with a mechanical function have created molecules that resemble motors, switches, turnstiles, gears, gyroscopes, and even elevators. While other groups have created single molecules shaped like automobiles, these have moved by slipping and sliding across a surface. In contrast, the Rice University nanocar has carefully designed carbon-rich sections of the molecule that provide a pivoting suspension and freely rotating axles. Its wheels are hollow spheres composed entirely of carbon atoms, known to chemists as buckminsterfullerenes (named for the inventor Buckminster Fuller), or buckyballs for short. Out for a Test Drive This means that the nanocar functions much like a real automobile, moving forward at an angle of 90 degrees to its axles as its wheels turn. Wed eventually like to move objects and do work in a controlled fashion on the molecular scale, and these vehicles are great test beds for that, said James M. Tour, the Chao Professor of Chemistry and professor of mechanical engineering, materials, and computer science at Houstons Rice University. Proving that we were rollingnot slipping and slidingwas one of the most difficult parts of this project, said Kevin F. Kelly, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering. The car is approximately one twenty-thousandth the width of human hair. Therefore, the researchers had to prove it could roll on its wheels using a highly sensitive microscope called a scanning tunneling microscope. They took pictures with the microscope every 60 seconds to follow the cars progress over a heated gold surface and then pulled the car backwards. The latter test showed it was easier to drag the nanocars in the orientation that their wheels rolled, as opposed to pulling them sideways. The Rice University group has also made a nanotruck capable of carrying some cargo, albeit tiny loads. The National Science Foundation, Welch Foundation, and Zyvex, a Richardson, Texas-based nanotechnology company, funded the research. -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] The Buckymobile Is Born
Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: [ on 05:14 PM 10/25/2005 ] > Researchers at Rice University have built a one-molecule car, complete > with working chassis, axles, and wheels. Ah. A ricer? Trotting out the tire-d puns again, are we? Enough to drive one to drink (sake, natch) Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] silklisters affected by delhi bombs?
Madhu Menon wrote: [ on 12:57 AM 10/31/2005 ] my parents said they'd decided to stay at home last week because the pre-diwali shopping crowds and traffic were so bad. Ditto. I spoke to Anil (longtime silklist.lurker) in Delhi, and he and family are fine. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] No Pain! (aka It's All Done With Mirrors)
http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/articles/releases/candy-mccabe311005.html Mirrors can trick the brain into recovering from persistent pain, research suggests Looking in a mirror at a reflection of their healthy hand could help people with persistent pain ease their symptoms and eventually overcome their problem, say scientists in the latest edition of the journal Clinical Medicine. The treatment, being developed by researchers from the University of Bath and the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD), is based on a new theory about how people experience pain even when doctors can find no direct cause. This cortical model of pain suggests that the brains image of the body can become faulty, resulting in a mismatch between the brains movement control systems and its sensory systems, causing a person to experience pain when they move a particular hand, foot or limb. Researchers believe that this kind of problem could be behind a host of pain-related disorders, such as complex regional pain syndrome and repetitive strain injury. In an investigation of whether this system can be corrected using mirrors to trick the brain, researchers asked a number of patients with complex regional pain syndrome (a chronic debilitating condition affecting 10,000 20,000 patients in the UK at any one time) to carry out routine exercises in front of a mirror. More than half experienced pain relief during and after the exercise and further investigations showed that even greater improvements can be achieved if the tasks are practiced beforehand. By using a mirror reflection of a normal limb to convince the brain that everything is alright, we have found that we can correct this imbalance and help alleviate pain in complex regional pain syndrome, said Dr Candy McCabe who works in the University of Baths School for Health and the RNHRD. We think it is the same system that is triggered when you are running down stairs, miss the last step and then feel a jolt of surprise. In missing that bottom step, you jar the prediction that your brain had made about what was going to happen, triggering an alert to the body that things are not as you expected, hence the feeling of surprise. This is because in most cases normal awareness and experience of our limbs is often based on the predicted state rather than the actual state. When the two do not match we think sensations are generated to alert the body that things are not as it thought rather like an early warning mechanism. If the discrepancy is very large [like in the mirror experiment described below] then pain may be experienced, as pain is the bodys ultimate warning mechanism. We think that this system may be responsible for a range of disorders where patients feel pain for apparently no clinical reason. Somehow the brains image of the body differs from what it senses. When the patient moves their hand, foot or limb, they experience pain as a result. This could have important implications for the therapeutic management of people with chronic pain. In a separate study published in the journal Rheumatology earlier this year, researchers from Bath, Cardiff and Exeter showed that it is possible to create sensations and feelings in one limb by looking at a reflection of the other limb in a mirror. They asked 41 healthy people to sit with a mirror at right angles in front of them so that they could only see one side of their body at a time. The volunteers were then asked to move their limbs in the same direction at the same time, and then in opposite directions whilst viewing the mirror reflection of one hand. Within 20 seconds of starting, more than two thirds of people involved in the trial reported some kind of sensation in their hidden limb when the movement they were seeing in the mirror was different to what they were feeling in the hidden hand, for example by moving their hands in different directions. These sensations included numbness, pins and needles, a change in temperature and moderate aching, despite receiving no neural damage to that limb. Some people felt pain in their arm after as little as twenty seconds but not all of our volunteers experienced these disturbances, said Dr McCabe. It would appear that innate susceptibility plays a part, with some individuals more vulnerable to, or simply better at detecting, these sensations. The research is funded by the Arthritis Research Campaign. The University of Bath is one of the UK's leading universities, with an international reputation for quality research and teaching. In 16 subject areas the University of Bath is rated in the top ten in the country. View a full list of the University's press releases: http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/releases -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] No Pain! (aka It's All Done With Mirrors)
http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/articles/releases/candy-mccabe311005.html Mirrors can trick the brain into recovering from persistent pain, research suggests Looking in a mirror at a reflection of their healthy hand could help people with persistent pain ease their symptoms and eventually overcome their problem, say scientists in the latest edition of the journal Clinical Medicine. The treatment, being developed by researchers from the University of Bath and the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD), is based on a new theory about how people experience pain even when doctors can find no direct cause. This cortical model of pain suggests that the brains image of the body can become faulty, resulting in a mismatch between the brains movement control systems and its sensory systems, causing a person to experience pain when they move a particular hand, foot or limb. Researchers believe that this kind of problem could be behind a host of pain-related disorders, such as complex regional pain syndrome and repetitive strain injury. In an investigation of whether this system can be corrected using mirrors to trick the brain, researchers asked a number of patients with complex regional pain syndrome (a chronic debilitating condition affecting 10,000 20,000 patients in the UK at any one time) to carry out routine exercises in front of a mirror. More than half experienced pain relief during and after the exercise and further investigations showed that even greater improvements can be achieved if the tasks are practiced beforehand. By using a mirror reflection of a normal limb to convince the brain that everything is alright, we have found that we can correct this imbalance and help alleviate pain in complex regional pain syndrome, said Dr Candy McCabe who works in the University of Baths School for Health and the RNHRD. We think it is the same system that is triggered when you are running down stairs, miss the last step and then feel a jolt of surprise. In missing that bottom step, you jar the prediction that your brain had made about what was going to happen, triggering an alert to the body that things are not as you expected, hence the feeling of surprise. This is because in most cases normal awareness and experience of our limbs is often based on the predicted state rather than the actual state. When the two do not match we think sensations are generated to alert the body that things are not as it thought rather like an early warning mechanism. If the discrepancy is very large [like in the mirror experiment described below] then pain may be experienced, as pain is the bodys ultimate warning mechanism. We think that this system may be responsible for a range of disorders where patients feel pain for apparently no clinical reason. Somehow the brains image of the body differs from what it senses. When the patient moves their hand, foot or limb, they experience pain as a result. This could have important implications for the therapeutic management of people with chronic pain. In a separate study published in the journal Rheumatology earlier this year, researchers from Bath, Cardiff and Exeter showed that it is possible to create sensations and feelings in one limb by looking at a reflection of the other limb in a mirror. They asked 41 healthy people to sit with a mirror at right angles in front of them so that they could only see one side of their body at a time. The volunteers were then asked to move their limbs in the same direction at the same time, and then in opposite directions whilst viewing the mirror reflection of one hand. Within 20 seconds of starting, more than two thirds of people involved in the trial reported some kind of sensation in their hidden limb when the movement they were seeing in the mirror was different to what they were feeling in the hidden hand, for example by moving their hands in different directions. These sensations included numbness, pins and needles, a change in temperature and moderate aching, despite receiving no neural damage to that limb. Some people felt pain in their arm after as little as twenty seconds but not all of our volunteers experienced these disturbances, said Dr McCabe. It would appear that innate susceptibility plays a part, with some individuals more vulnerable to, or simply better at detecting, these sensations. The research is funded by the Arthritis Research Campaign. The University of Bath is one of the UK's leading universities, with an international reputation for quality research and teaching. In 16 subject areas the University of Bath is rated in the top ten in the country. View a full list of the University's press releases: http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/releases -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Hey ;)
Frank Pohlmann wrote: [ on 10:16 AM 11/3/2005 ] This invitation was sent to silklist@lists.hserus.net on behalf of Frank ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Frank, Was this intentional or did hi5.com automatically do this to your address book? If intentional, I'd rather keep silk free of these social networking sites, and do the social networking manually. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Hey ;)
Frank Pohlmann wrote: [ on 10:37 AM 11/3/2005 ] Sorry. How this ended up on silk, only heaven knows. Well, you must have given hi5.com your yahoo password. :) I recommend changing the password. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] _Nature_ special on sleep
_Nature_ has a special online (free to access) section about sleep, at http://www.nature.com/nature/supplements/insights/sleep/index.html Here's the introduction: Introduction: Sleep John Spiro1 The fundamental truths of sleep are not difficult to master: one sleeps when one is tired mostly at nightand awakens the next day usually feeling rested and refreshed. So why put together an Insight on a topic that seems so straightforward? Although it is often true in biology that things are more complex than they seem at first glance, it is especially accurate for sleep. This became apparent about 50 years ago with the discovery of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This is a sleep state marked by intense brain activity, rapid bursts of eye movement and vivid dreaming. The high level of brain activity during REM sleep created a serious challenge to the prevailing dogma that we sleep simply to provide rest and raised a host of largely unanswered questions about the function of sleep. Intuition also fails us when considering other aspects of sleep namely that 'drifting off to sleep' is a slow process and that sleep and wake are completely separate states. On the contrary, the act of switching from being awake to sleeping can be extremely rapid, an observation that carries significant public health implications. And patients with various sleep disorders can exist in curious states that combine aspects of both sleep and wakefulness, indicating that the two are not always mutually exclusive. That so many big questions in sleep research remain unanswered makes it a fascinating field to follow. This Insight highlights much of that excitement with a diverse collection of articles. We are pleased to acknowledge the support of the National Institutes of Health in producing this Insight. As always, Nature carries sole responsibility for all editorial content and peer review. -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Microsoft scans British Library
Biella Coleman wrote: [ on 08:52 PM 11/5/2005 ] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4402442.stm Microsoft scans British Library Or, Take *that*, google print! I wonder what yahoo is planing to do in response. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Canary in the coalmine
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4413414.stm China's authorities have ordered that coal miners should always be accompanied underground by at least one manager, the Beijing News has reported. The move is part of a renewed effort to improve standards in China's mining industry, which has the world's worst safety record. Officials said the manager's job would be to discover any potential dangers before they lead to an accident. At least 23 people died over the weekend in mining accidents in China. More than 3,000 miners are reported to have been killed this year alone - in fires, floods and other work-related accidents - and analysts fear the actual annual casualty figure could be much higher. Government crackdown The government has recently begun a drive to improve safety standards in China's mines, many of which are unlicensed. The authorities have also been pressing local officials to give up their shares in mines, since the conflict of interest has sometimes led to profit being put ahead of safety. A number of local officials have been sacked for negligence in recent months, and in August the country announced it was suspending production at a third of its coal mines until safety standards improved. But despite these measures, accidents still happen regularly in mines across the country. On Sunday, a gas explosion killed at least 18 workers at a gypsum mine in Xingtai city, Hebei province. Rescuers are still searching for 20 workers believed to be trapped when the mine collapsed, according to Xinhua news agency. Another 15 people are confirmed to have died at the Taiping coal mine in the northern province of Shanxi, Xinhua said. -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Sony DRM redux
More in the ongoing saga of the Sony DRM. The history can be traced through the URLs below. I posted this primarily for the interesting snippet about Sony Being sued in Italy. Gian, weren't you a founder of ALCEI? Can you comment on this? Udhay http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/07/1221209 Posted by <http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=322>Hemos on Monday November 07, @09:10AM from the the-on-going-saga dept. strider44 writes "Mark from Sysinternals has digged a little deeper into the Sony DRM and discovered it <http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/11/more-on-sony-dangerous-decloaking.html>Phones Home with an ID for the CD being listened to. XCP Support claims that "The player has a standard rotating banner that connects the user to additional content (e.g. provides a link to the artist web site). The player simply looks online to see if another banner is available for rotation. The communication is one-way in that a banner is simply retrieved from the server if available. No information is ever fed back or collected about the consumer or their activities." Also on this topic, <http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/11/more-on-sony-dangerous-decloaking.html#113118588334788459>Matt Nikki in the comments section discovered that the DRM can be bypassed simply by renaming your favourite ripping program with "$sys$" at the start of the filename and ripping the CD using this file, which is now undetectable even by the Sony DRM. You can use the Sony rootkit itself to bypass their own DRM!" Update: 11/07 14:21 GMT by <http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=322>H : Attentive reader Matteo G.P. Flora also notes that <http://www.lastknight.com/2005/11/07/sony-bgm-denunciata-in-un-esposto/>an Italian lawyer has filed suit against Sony on behalf of the Italian equivalent of the EFF. Translation availabe through the <http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lastknight.com%2F2005%2F11%2F07%2Fsony-bgm-denunciata-in-un-esposto%2F&langpair=it%7Cen&hl=it&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools>hive mind. Update: 11/07 15:18 GMT by <http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=322>H : It does appear that in fact Sony does see through the $sys$ - see Muzzy's <http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?cid=13969137&sid=167537&tid=233>comment for more details. -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Finally, a bookscanning robot
I recall Eugen was talking about something like this a few years ago. I don't know how serious he was, but here goes... http://www.kirtas-tech.com/ Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Because a great rant is a thing of beauty...
"Greetings from Idiot America": http://templeofpolemic.proboards42.com/index.cgi?board=theo&action=print&thread=1130126466 *well* worth reading in full. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] UK Man's Body Cures Itself Of HIV?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4432564.stm Doctors urge research on HIV man Doctors say they want to investigate the case of a British man with HIV who apparently became clear of the virus. Two Sunday newspapers report Scotsman Andrew Stimpson, who lives in London, was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 2002 but found to be clear in October 2003. Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust, which carried out the tests, has asked him to undergo more. Mr Stimpson did not take any medication for HIV. HIV experts say his case could help to reveal more about the disease. A statement from the trust said: "We regret this has been a distressing time for Mr Stimpson and are happy to discuss any aspect of his care with him. "This is a rare and complex case. When we became aware of Mr Stimpson's HIV negative test results we offered him further tests to help us investigate and find an explanation for the different results. "So far Mr Stimpson has declined this offer. It is therefore difficult for us to comment any further." A trust spokeswoman added: "We urge him, for the sake of himself and the HIV community, to come in and get tested. "If he doesn't feel that he can come to Chelsea and Westminster then he should please go to another HIV specialist." 'Miracle' There have been anecdotal accounts before from Africa of people shaking off the HIV virus, but the evidence in this case, as reported in the News of the World and the Mail on Sunday, appears to be conclusive, BBC health correspondent Adam Brimelow said. Mr Stimpson, who is originally from Largs in Ayrshire, said: "There are 34.9 million people with HIV globally and I am just one person who managed to control it, to survive from it and to get rid of it from my body. "For me that is unbelievable - it is a miracle. I think I'm one of the luckiest people alive." Mr Stimpson told the newspapers that he became depressed and suicidal after being told he was HIV-positive but remained well and did not require medication. Further tests Some 14 months later he was offered another test by doctors, which came back negative. He sought compensation but has apparently been told there is no case to answer because there was no fault with the testing procedure. He has told the papers he would do anything he could to help find a cure. Aids expert Dr Patrick Dixon, from international Aids group Acet, said the case was "very, very unusual". Vaccine clue "I've come across many anecdotal reports of this kind of thing happening in Africa, some quite recently, but it's difficult to verify them," he told BBC News 24. "You have to be rock-solid sure that both samples came from the same person, no mix-up in the laboratory, no mistakes in the testing, etc. "This is the first well-documented case." He said the case was important because "inside his immune system is perhaps a key that could allow us to develop some kind of vaccine". -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] pps
Carol Upadhya wrote: [ on 07:46 AM 11/17/2005 ] pps- Udhay, do I have to rejoin silk using this id in order to post messages. You should be able to post from this account now. Udhay (with a head cold, bah, humbug) -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Omidyar boost for microfinance
Interesting interview. Udhay http://www.fortune.com/fortune/articles/0,15114,1130384,00.html Pierre Omidyar, 38, is one of the worlds richest idealists. With stock in eBay worth $8.4 billion, the founder of the auction giant and his wife, Pam, are starting to give money away. In early November they made their biggest gift yet: $100 million to Tufts University, where they met as undergrads. But the money came with an unusual stipulation: It can be invested only in microfinancetiny business loans (about $600 on average) to entrepreneurs in the developing world.
[silk] The VERY BIG STUPID
Udhay Shankar N wrote: [ on 11:06 PM 11/12/2005 ] "Greetings from Idiot America": http://templeofpolemic.proboards42.com/index.cgi?board=theo&action=print&thread=1130126466 *well* worth reading in full. Since Vinit brought this up again, here is one of the other facets of this mindset, a perfect example of what Frank Zappa called the VERY BIG STUPID - a thing that breeds by eating the future. http://news.com.com/2010-1028_3-5960391.html?tag=chl&tag=nl.e432 HP Labs director Dick Lampman won't quickly forget the warm thank-you he received from England's Cambridge University. Because so many foreign students failed to receive study visas for the United States, they were instead matriculating in the U.K. colleges, and Cambridge's vice chancellor was absolutely buoyant about the quality of their educational credentials. "It was not the high point of my day," Lampman said. Does it really matter that a few thousand teenagers from the Third World can't study here because of post-Sept. 11 restrictions? Many argue that it does not. After all, the technology business is booming, share prices are climbing, and a few companies even are partying like its 1999. What's past is necessarily prologue. The absence of a similar challenge of that magnitude has left the U.S. lazy and complacent. But traveling around Silicon Valley of late, I haven't found many serious thinkers brimming with Panglossian optimism when they assess the state of the technology industry. Beyond the drop in student visas, they are deeply concerned about a lack of national resolve to deal with what some liken to a gathering storm. In a world where access to knowledge is easier than ever before, they don't assume that the U.S. can retain leadership of the very technology industry it invented. Consider the following data points, from a report issued last month by the National Academies Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy. More than 600,000 engineers graduated from colleges and universities in China last year. For India, the number was 350,000. In the United States, it was a whopping 70,000. In a test of 21 countries for general knowledge in math and sciences, 12th graders in this country performed below the international average. U.S. industry spent more on tort litigation than on research and development in 2001. Those are just some of the highlights. If you want to spend a thoroughly depressing afternoon, download and read the rest of the report at your leisure. If current trends continue, we may one day look back to this period as the U.S. era's high watermark. -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] "Health tourists bad for India"
What nutjobs. They are conflating public spending with private spending, as in the following line: "They say too much is being spent on care for foreign patients and care for rich Indians - while public health care for poorer people is neglected." The above seems to imply that the same entity is spending on "care for foreign patients and care for rich Indians"; and "public health care for poorer people", to the detriment of the latter. This is not my understanindg of the still nascent medical tourism industry, which is about individual customers (and, increasingly, their insurers) on the one hand, and private entrepreneurs on the other. Am I missing something? Udhay http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4447140.stm 'Tourists' harming India's health Health tourists are helping destabilise India's health system, doctors claim. They say too much is being spent on care for foreign patients and care for rich Indians - while public health care for poorer people is neglected. Dr Samiran Nundy, from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi, and Amit Sengupta from India's People's Health Movement made the claims. Writing in the British Medical Journal, they called on the Indian government to reconsider its priorities. It is time for the government to pay more attention to improving the health of Indians rather than to enticing foreigners from affluent countries with offers of low cost operations and convalescent visits to the Taj Mahal The doctors say that increasing numbers of patients are coming to India from the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh for high level care such as complex paediatric operations or liver transplants, which are not carried out in their own countries. In addition, patients are also coming from the UK, Europe and the US for "quick, efficient and cheap" heart bypasses or orthopaedic operations, the doctors say in the BMJ. 'Five star hospitals' Dr Nundy, a gastro-intestinal surgeon, and Mr Sengupta say that, while a shoulder operation in the UK would cost £10,000 at a private hospital, or entail a wait on the NHS, in India, the same procedure can be done for £1,700 - and within 10 days of the first email contact. They say India is one of the top 20 countries in the world in terms of its spending on private healthcare. The doctors say drug and IT companies and private individuals have got into the market. "They now dominate the upper end of the market, with five star hospitals manned by foreign trained doctors who provide services at prices that only foreigners and the richest Indians can afford." But at the same time, the country has one of the lowest levels of public spending on healthcare in the world - less than 1% of gross domestic product. Dr Nundy and Dr Sengupta said the conditions seen by the poorest were seeking care were very different. "Each harassed doctor may have to see more than 100 patients in a single outpatient session. "Some of these doctors advise patients, legally or illegally, to `meet them privately' if they want more personalised care," they said. Dr Nundy and Dr Sengupta said that there were even reports of hospital patients having to pay bribes to get clean bed linen. They also warned that some Indians have to go to great lengths to pay for private care, having to borrow money or sell assets to finance treatment. They add: "In India, each year tuberculosis kills half a million people and diarrhoeal disease more than 600,000. "It is time for the government to pay more attention to improving the health of Indians rather than to enticing foreigners from affluent countries with offers of low cost operations and convalescent visits to the Taj Mahal." -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] "Health tourists bad for India"
Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: [ on 10:11 AM 11/20/2005 ] No. What he's saying is - 1. The govt is endorsing a policy of showcasing India as a health tourism destination 2. The govt is not spending even a fraction of the amount required on public health care Showcasing India as a health tourism destination is not necessarily mutually exclusive to spending on public health care. In any case, all the government is doing here is riding on the PR coattails of an existing, privately funded trend. No? Add a slight leftist bias to that (or is it just my bias in assuming that anyone with a bong name automatically has at least some leftist inclinations? the article did sound a bit left leaning at any rate) and you get just the sort of article that the BMJ printed -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Deleting anti-aging gene actually increases lifespan
Ashok Hariharan wrote: [ on 08:51 PM 11/24/2005 ] Maybe i went in the wrong season, it was dull, dreary and humorless place where everyone appeared to be insanely obsessed with 'quality of life' I would be most interested in hearing more about this. With, perhaps, a follow-up from Dave Long. :) Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Meetup?
Sonia Katyal wrote: [ on 01:28 AM 11/27/2005 ] Anyway, I should be in India throughout December, and would welcome the opportunity to meet and speak with folks on any other intellectual property issue that might be of interest. Welcome, Sonia. Talking of meetups, the annual Linux conference is almost upon us. I am unfortunately stuck with work on those days and am extrmely unlikely to be at the conference itself - but will certainly attend the obligatory beer+dinner meet afterwards. Will some kind soul (Madhu? Kalyan?) take over the arrangements of when, where, etc? I will be there, with bells on. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] You thought the current virus/trojan probleam was bad?
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,16559,1650296,00.html Scientists, be on guard ... ET might be a malicious hacker Ian Sample, science correspondent Friday November 25, 2005 The Guardian As if spotty teenagers releasing computer viruses on to the internet from darkened rooms were not enough of a headache. According to a scientific report, planet Earth's computers are wide open to a virus attack from Little Green Men. The concern is raised in the next issue of the journal Acta Astronautica by Richard Carrigan, a particle physicist at the US Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois. He believes scientists searching the heavens for signals from extra-terrestrial civilisations are putting Earth's security at risk, by distributing the jumble of signals they receive to computers all over the world. The search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (Seti) project, based at the University of California in Berkeley, uses land-based telescopes to scour the universe for electromagnetic waves. Just as stray radio and TV broadcasts are now zooming away from Earth at the speed of light, the Seti scientists hope to pick up stray signals, or even intentional interplanetary broadcasts, emitted from other civilisations. All signals picked up by Seti are broken up and sent across the internet to a vast band of volunteers who have signed up for a Seti screensaver, which allows their computers to crunch away at the signals, when they are not at their desks. So far, the only signals detected are bursts of radiation from stars and a murmur of background noise left over from the big bang. But, says Dr Carrigan, improved telescopes and faster computers mean scientists are ever more likely to detect a signal from extra-terrestrials. In his report, entitled Do potential Seti signals need to be decontaminated?, he suggests the Seti scientists may be too blase about finding a signal. "In science fiction, all the aliens are bad, but in the world of science, they are all good and simply want to get in touch." His main concern is that, intentionally or otherwise, an extra-terrestrial signal picked up by the Seti team could cause widespread damage to computers if released on to the internet without being checked. Computer scientists argue that to hack a computer, or write a virus that will infect it, requires a knowledge of how the computer and the software it is running work: a computer on Earth is going to be as alien to the aliens as they would be to us. But Dr Carrigan says there is still a risk. Rather than dismiss his concerns, Dr Carrigan wants the Seti scientists to build safety features into their network to act as a quarantine so any potentially damaging signals can be trapped before they infect the internet.
[silk] Fwd: Re: Meetup?
Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2005 13:50:59 -0500 From: "Sonia Katyal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [silk] Meetup? hello all, beer sounds great! I will be in bangalore from dec 15-18, so look forward to meeting everyone--perhaps either fri or sat? skk Sonia K. Katyal Associate Professor of Law Fordham Law School 140 W. 62nd St. New York, NY 10023 [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> Kalyan Varma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 11/27/05 5:18 PM >>> On Sun, 27 Nov 2005, Udhay Shankar N wrote: >> Anyway, I should be in India throughout December, and would welcome the >> opportunity to meet and speak with folks on any other intellectual >> property issue that might be of interest. > > Welcome, Sonia. > > Talking of meetups, the annual Linux conference is almost upon us. I am > unfortunately stuck with work on those days and am extrmely unlikely to be at > the conference itself - but will certainly attend the obligatory beer+dinner > meet afterwards. Sonia, Could you let us know during which week of December you're in Bangalore, so we can all have a beer session. thanks, - Kalyan -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Meetup?
Biju Chacko <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I am out of town 2nd to 4th. Can we meet up before that? > > Who's in? > > Udhay? > Kallu? > Venky? > Danese? > > I suspect there should be a goodly number of interesting people > around > foss.in -- somebody ought to rope them in. I thought I heard Kallu say he was doing that. Kallu? Udhay
Re: [silk] Meetup?
At 09:43 AM 12/1/2005, udhay54321 wrote: I suggest you just gather the folks who are there at the conference and head to Windsor Pub in the evening. Looks like there's already something for the speakers planned this evening, so we'll probably push this meet to tomorrow. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Fwd: [Reader-list] Fwd: Indian print media:critique
At 08:45 AM 12/3/2005, Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote: A Pakistani journalist laments Bollywoodisation of Indian print media. I would've found it more useful if he made his analysis a little mroe comprehensive. The problems he talks about are real. However, the way his article is phrased makes me wonder if his sample was larger than the _Times of India_ and The Hindustan Times_? For instance, does he read _The Hindu_? I wonder what Subash Jeyan, among others, thinks of this piece. Subash? Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] foolproof iris recognition?
http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=88 Foolproof iris recognition technology? Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 10:35 am For almost twenty years, the iris recognition research field has been hampered because of a broad patent covering it. As this patent recently expired, many teams around the world are again working on new technologies in this field. Iris recognition is in fact seen as the most accurate biometric recognition technology because no two irises are identical. And researchers at the University of Bath in England have developed new computer algorithms which are 100 per cent accurate in initial trials. Now the researchers are putting online a database of 16,000 iris images collected mainly from students. The source code is also available if you want to further improve the algorithms. Before going further, let's go back in time to understand why this research field was almost inactive for twenty years. Life Style Extra tells us the story. Looking into a camera to confirm your identity would now be routine and - were it not for the US firm's virtual monopoly of the technology - it would already be in use at cashpoints and passport control. Its backers say it could reduce fraud and illegal immigration. Iridian Technologies, based in New Jersey, patented the system of identifying people using the coloured part of the human eye in the mid 80s and other scientists have had to pay tens of thousands of American dollars to do any research in the field, thus hampering competition. But the patent expired in the US earlier this year and expires in the rest of the world in February 2006. Now, it's time to return to 2005 at the University of Bath. Engineers are currently road-testing their technology using a specially-constructed database containing thousands of iris images collected from students and colleagues at the University. By making this database available to other research groups, the researchers hope to encourage more advances in iris recognition and overcome some of the restrictions caused by a generic patent (recently expired) which has limited innovation for the last two decades. "Our new algorithm does the same job as the one used by almost all of the commercially available iris recognition systems, it just does it better," said Professor Don Monro from the University's Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. Below is a picture showing how an iris picture is shot and rendered on a computer screen before being analyzed (Credit: Smart Sensors Ltd.). The iris image acquisition process And below is an illustration of the iris image normalization process (Credit: Smart Sensors Ltd.). The iris image normalization process First, the inner and outer iris boundaries are located to eliminate the pupil, eyelid and other "clutter". Then the iris image is transformed from polar coordinates to a 512x80 fixed size rectangular image to reduce the effect of iris dilation and contraction, of which 512x48 will be coded. The non-uniform background illumination is finally homogenized. Now that you know how this new technology works, why are these researchers willing to share their database? Here are Monro's answers. Most of the databases that are available are held by commercial interests, so it is difficult for independent researchers to make headway in this field. We are making the database available online so that researchers around the world can use it to develop their own products. So far, more than 30 research groups have applied to use it. If you want to know more about this project, here are two links at the University of Bath about the Iris Image Database and the Iris Capture Project. And for even more information, one of the industrial partners of the University of Bath for this project is a U.K. company named Smart Sensors Ltd., which has published two interesting papers about this iris recognition technology. Here are the links to these documents, "Novel high performance iris feature extraction techniques" (PDF format, 1 page, 119 KB) and "Complexity low complexity human iris feature coding human iris feature coding" (PDF format, 1 page, 222 KB). The above illustrations were extracted from these documents. Sources: University of Bath news release, November 15, 2005; Life Style Extra, November 15, 2005; and various web sites -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Cars [WAS: Re: Fwd: [Reader-list] Fwd: Indian print media:critique]
Abhishek Hazra wrote: [ on 07:20 PM 12/5/2005 ] just in passing mr. bonobashi, how does it feel to share your name with a great commie boss? Oh dear. The perfect straight line. exercising great self-restraint, Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Simon Singh in Bangalore
Biju Chacko wrote: [ on 08:27 PM 12/5/2005 ] Just a quick heads up: Simon Singh will be speaking about The Big Bang at the Faculty Hall in IISc at 4pm on Thu 8 Dec 2005. I pinged Simon, and he said he'd be happy to meet up with us for coffee after the talk - if that adds some incentive. Give me a call as you leave? Udhay Hello Udhay, Sorry for the silence, but I have been equally remiss throughout my trip. A couple of acquaintances in Kolkata arrived today, and I had also forgotten to tell them of my arrival. It would be great to see you at the talk, and hopefully we can have a coffee afterwards. Sometimes there is a media interview after a lecture, but currently there is nothing schedule for immediately after the talk. See you on Thursday, Simon. -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Fwd: Friday talk
Would somebody forward this to the usual places? LI-*, etc. BTW, is Carol involved with this, since NIAS is the organiser? Udhay From: "Simon Singh" To: "Udhay Shankar N" Subject: Friday talk Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 17:17:25 - Hello Udhay, It was good to see you today and your friends. NIAS have made my talk public and moved it to a larger venue, so any publicity that you could give it would be great. Below is a short summary, but please feel free to edit it as you see necessary. If you need more info then please contact Mr A J Solomon 044 5205 0661 or 98410 94187 or Kasturi Rangan: 91-80-23606594 / 23604351. Perhaps I will see you at the talk. If not, then I will definitely bear in mind your suggestion of a return to Bangalore, maybe next year. Cheerio, Simon. Simon Singh, the British author of The Code Book, Fermat's Last Theorem and Big Bang, will be lecturing about Risk, Gambling and Probability at 7pm today at the National Institute of Advanced Studies. Singh's talk last night was packed, so much so that 200 people also filled the overflow room. So turn up early if you want to be sure of a seat. Tea will be served at 6.30pm. To find the venue, just head to IISc, enter through the D-Gate, follow Mud Road to NIAS and look for the Auditorium. -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Fwd: Friday talk
Udhay Shankar N <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Would somebody forward this to the usual places? LI-*, etc. BTW - I missed most of Simon's talk yesterday, but we had a very interesting conversation about the educational system in India, the UK and the US. I think Biju, who did much of the talking, is a better person to summarise it than I. :) Udhay
Re: [silk] The New York Times on Indian open source
Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote: [ on 11:53 AM 12/11/2005 ] Pray what is Mr. Gates's own team? Mr. Gates owns the effing company. Joining his team could mean anything from architecting Xbox 720 to plugging and unplugging all kinds of devices day after day to test the reliability of the Add New Hardware Wizard. It's as ambiguous as it gets. Not really - I understood it to mean that the winners of the contest get to be attached to the "Office of the Chairman" -- which means that they report to one of BillG's Technical Assistants, and work on stuff that BillG directly asks for. Having such an office is fairly common practice at large corporations (and it isn't restricted to the Chairman, either - it could well be any of the CxOs.) It is not clear Microsoft has indicated the contest is out of concern for open source's growing popularity, or if the reporter interprets it so. The reporter happens to be based in Bangalore, where a major open source conference recently concluded. Who wants to take a guess? I've asked Saritha to comment, let's see what she has to say. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Social group size as a function of brain size
model. This grouping also had the lowest coefficient of variation, which we would expect if this group size truly subject to an internal constraint (i.e., cognitive capacity), whereas smaller and larger groupings are more unstable. While these intermediate size groups may be dispersed over a wide area much of the time, they gather regularly for group rituals and develop bonds based on direct personal contact. These groups come together for mutual support in times of threat. Other examples of communal groups of this size abound. The Hutterites, a fundamentalist group that lives and farms communally in South Dakota and Manitoba, regards 150 as the upper limit for the size of a farming community. When the group reaches this size, it is split into two daughter communities. Professional armies, dating from Roman times to the modern day, maintain basic units - the "company" - that typically consists of 100-200 soldiers. Modern psychological studies also demonstrate the size of typical "friendship networks" in this same range. These examples provide further evidence of natural group size constraints. Once the number of individuals rises much beyond the limit of 150, social cohesion can no longer be maintained exclusively through a peer network. In order for stability to be maintained in larger communities, they invariably require some sort of hierarchical structure. Groups and the evolution of language Dunbar points out that primate groups are held together by social grooming, which is necessarily a one-on-one activity and can absorb a good deal of the animals' time. In order to maintain these bonds in groups of 200 individuals would require us to devote about 57% of the day to social grooming. Dunbar proposes that the maintenance of these social bonds in humans was made possible through the evolution of language, which emerged as a more efficient means for "grooming" - since one can talk to several others at once. Dunbar's model predicts a conversation group size for humans (as a substitute for grooming) of 3.8. He then sites evidence that this is indeed about the size actually observed in human conversation groups. Conversations tend to partition into new conversational cliques of about four individuals. Furthermore, studies have shown that a high percentage of ordinary conversations (over 60%) is devoted to discussing personal relationships and social experience - i.e., gossip. [Collections] Networks [Disciplines] Biology [Business Concepts] Relationships Organizational Design & Dynamics Brain Size, Group Size, and Language Text length: 950 words Based on Robin Dunbar 1992, 1993 Contributed by David Gray, 2000 Dunbar, R.I.M. (1992), 'Neocortex Size as a Constraint on Group Size in Primates', Journal of Human Evolution 20, 469-493 Dunbar, R.I.M. (1993), 'Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans', Behavioral and Brain Sciences 16, 681-735. * Group size effects the dynamics of social networks - a community ethos is more likely to arise in human groups smaller than 150 * Network formation depends on social interaction - effective networks arise from regular personal contact that creates a shared sense of community * Networks can be costly to maintain - time and resources are required to maintain the social ties that support a network * Hierarchy becomes important as group size grows - more complex societies require authoritarian structures to clarify and enforce social relationships Keywords: Social networks, primates, intelligence, group size, gossip, grooming, hunter-gatherer societies, Hutterites, army company, fission, bonds, friendship, hierarchy, peers, authority, evolution, language -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Social group size as a function of brain size
Mahesh Murthy wrote: [ on 06:08 PM 12/11/2005 ] Regardless of what BCG or baboon brain sizes seem to say, a quick visit to any networking site - take Ryze, LinkedIn, OpenBC, Friendster, Orkut or the like - should disprove the ~150 people limit. Which is, in some sense, the point I was trying to make. So what is your definition of the term "network"? And do all of your contacts on $NETWORKING_SITE meet this definition? For that matter, do all the 7k names in your Outlook address book meet this definition? Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Silklist anniversary party this weekend?
Folks -- Silklist will be 8 years old in one week (on 19th December). Why don't we have a meeting this weekend? ISTR that we were planning one anyway, to meet up with Sonia Katyal, the law professor who's touring India. Let's make it an even more merry occasion, what say? Suggestions for place / time? Udhay
Re: [silk] Silklist anniversary party this weekend?
sriram bala wrote: [ on 09:37 PM 12/12/2005 ] count me in. (i will have to leave early if it is on sunday, though. Flying out of the country) So, it sounds like we have so far: Biju Kalyan Sriram Bala Udhay Sonia and a couple of lurkers, Suraj and Chetan. Anybody else? Also, it is looking like the sweet spot might be Saturday, which means that we absolutely need to find a quiet place - some restaurant, perhaps? Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Silklist anniversary party this weekend?
Suresh Ramasubramanian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > What we used to do in KCircle was meet at a guy's house and take > potluck .. either order the stuff from a place that does good > takeaway, or bring food and drinks of your choice in from your home / > > your favorite restaurant, and see what turns up. > > Helped some that the guy whose house we usually went to had an > extensive collection of music, 78 rpm records all the way down to CDs > > - and was good enough at audio stuff to build his own music > system. And the first floor of his house was empty and available for > > all night partying. Anybody want to volunteer their house? :-) Udhay
Re: [silk] Silklist anniversary party this weekend?
Jessica Prabhakar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Anybody want to volunteer their house? :-) > > > > Udhay > > If mine is conveniently located.. welcome! If you're indeed serious about the offer it could be an option too. You're located in Frazer Town, right? How would you/Joshua feel about having 5-10 geeks descend upon you on Saturday evening? Like Suresh said, we could outsource all food and drink, so you wouldn't need to cook, etc. Udhay
Re: [silk] Bangalore to be renamed Bengaluru
Vinayak Hegde <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Coming back to the topic, any event (like migration) is always met > with resistance > and hostility. The next step is assimilation. This is the reason why > the Shiv sena is no longer "popular" in Maharashtra. Maharashtrians > form a small percentage of Mumbai's population today so their appeal > is limited. Are you claiming that the Shiv Sena is universally popular among Maharashtrians? This is not the impression I have. Udhay
Re: [silk] Silklist anniversary party this weekend?
Vinayak Hegde <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > In that case can I join in too ? I am new to this list. > It would be nice to meet the other people on this list > in person. Sure. Are we ganging up at Jessie's place, then? Jessie, want to post directions? Udhay
Re: [silk] Silklist anniversary party this weekend?
Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote: [ on 06:47 PM 12/13/2005 ] Are we ganging up at Jessie's place, then? Jessie, want to post directions? Any chance the meet can be held off to post Dec 26? Nothing wrong with holding *another* meet post Dec 26th, is there? Let's do the one this Saturday, and do another one when you're back. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Silklist anniversary party this weekend?
Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: [ on 06:09 PM 12/14/2005 ] Bring stuff. Its far faster than ordering out, and the food arrives with you, not "wait for a couple of hours after ordering it and get a rush job that some frantic cook just put together" My suggestion is that we (or Jessie, given that she would know her neighbourhood better) decide on a decent local eatery and order take-out from there in advance - the bill to be split among the guests. Additionally, each person brings along whatever s/he is drinking. Jessie? Your thoughts? Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Silklist anniversary party this weekend?
Jessica Prabhakar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > What are the numbers we're looking at? 5/ 10? > Order in is an option.. we have chinese nearby, Zacs - > someone will have to stop and pick up.. Sounds good. We could order after we get there - we'd have a better idea of the number of folks then, and no particular hurry. I don't have a better approximatin right now than "somewhere between 5-10 people". > I have a program which will take almost upto 7ish.. > what time were we thinking? Around 7:30 PM is what I was thinking. We still need to know how to get to your place. Directions, please? Udhay
[silk] QotD
A random IM that came my way today. >: did you know mendeleyev (of periodic table fame) >patented the standard for classic russioan vodka >udhay: heh >: truly amazing what science has done for humanity
Re: [silk] Silklist anniversary party this weekend?
Jessica Prabhakar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hope you find it!! > > Additionally, can we organise it this way - I'll order > and keep ready some rice, rotis, breads. Can each one > bring a curry or dry dish as per their taste, and > something to drink? Options would be chicken kebabs, > paneer based curries, gobi stuff.. > > Or we could just go to Barista/ Coffee Day, MG Road > around 7.30ish and order for ourselves as and when we > arrive.. So let's do a roll call: Jessie (of course!) Udhay Kallu Sriram Bala Biju Suraj? Chetan? Sonia Who else? Speak now. Udhay
Re: [silk] Article on probability mentioned by Simon Singh
Vinayak Hegde wrote: [ on 02:50 AM 12/17/2005 ] The story mentioned by Simon Singh about cot deaths in his lecture on "Risk, gambling and probability" is featured on BBC news online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4528398.stm On a completely different note, were you pulling an all-nighter? How come you're posting to silk at 3 AM? Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] FOSS.IN
Chris Kantarjiev wrote: [ on 10:39 AM 12/24/2005 ] I know some of these issues have been discussed here before, but this is such a juicy target, er, summary, I figured I'd post it and see what ensues... http://lwn.net/Articles/162669/ I see lots of suspiciously familiar-looking nicks posting in the discussion that follows the article. :) Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] The lost dark teaspoon of the soul
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=10680956&src=rss/scienceNews A spoonful of science.. Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:31 AM ET LONDON (Reuters) - Australian scientists have proved what is common knowledge to most people -- that teaspoons appear to have minds of their own. In a study at their own facility, a group of scientists from the Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health in Melbourne secretly numbered 70 teaspoons and tracked their movements over five months. Supporting their expectations, 80 percent of the spoons vanished during the period -- although those in private areas of the institute lasted nearly twice as long as those in communal sections. "At this rate, an estimated 250 teaspoons would need to be purchased annually to maintain a workable population of 70 teaspoons," they wrote in Friday's festive edition of the British Medical Journal. They said their research proved that teaspoons were an essential part of office life and the rapid rate of disappearance proved that this was under relentless assault. Regretting that scientific literature was "strangely bereft" of teaspoon-related research, the scientists offered a few theories to explain the phenomenon. Taking a tip from Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books, they suggested that the teaspoons were quietly migrating to a planet uniquely populated by "spoonoid" life forms living in a spoonish state of Nirvana. They also offered the phenomenon of "resistentialism" in which inanimate objects like teaspoons have a natural aversion to humans. On the other hand, they suggested, people might simply be taking them.
Re: [silk] Silklist anniversary party this weekend?
Jessica Prabhakar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hmm.. a belated post to say this happened, > > so.. > - (my directions were good!).. Indeed. We had no problems finding the place. > - the food was great especially Sriram's awesome thai > curry (and yes, I didn't have to cook for at least 1/2 > a week) I was wondering about that. :) It was bound to happen when *everybody* interpreted "potluck" to mean "bring food for the entire crowd". I enjoyed my doggie bag of Sriram's Thai curry as well. :) > - the company thoroughly enjoyable It was a fun evening. We should do it again soon. Udhay
[silk] Scientific American's top science stories of 2005
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=00065442-09C2-13AB-896383414B7F4945 Top Science Stories of 2005 2005 has been a year of tempests both literal and figurative. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma led a record pack of devastating storms; the issue of whether to teach intelligent design in the classroom went to trial; the decision about whether to make "Plan B" emergency contraception available over the counter was postponed; a celebrated stem cell researcher was revealed as a fraud; and the threat of avian flu loomed large. But there were exhilarating developments as well. Long believed extinct, the ivory-billed woodpecker was detected in the Big Woods of Arkansas; astronomers discovered a tenth planet in our solar system--complete with its own moon; physicists created a new state of matter using quarks and gluons; and the genome of our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, was sequenced. These are just some of the biggest science stories of 2005. We've listed our top 25 picks below, in no particular order. But there were, of course, many more findings of note. So consider this list a jumping off point for a fuller exploration of our site as you look back at the year in science. --The Editors
[silk] Delocalizer
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,69942-0.html Hackers Rebel Against Spy Cams By Ann Harrison BERLIN -- When the Austrian government passed a law this year allowing police to install closed-circuit surveillance cameras in public spaces without a court order, the Austrian civil liberties group Quintessenz vowed to watch the watchers. Members of the organization worked out a way to intercept the camera images with an inexpensive, 1-GHz satellite receiver. The signal could then be descrambled using hardware designed to enhance copy-protected video as it's transferred from DVD to VHS tape. The Quintessenz activists then began figuring out how to blind the cameras with balloons, lasers and infrared devices. And, just for fun, the group created an anonymous surveillance system that uses face-recognition software to place a black stripe over the eyes of people whose images are recorded. Quintessenz members Adrian Dabrowski and Martin Slunksy presented their video-surveillance research at the 22nd annual Chaos Communication Congress here this week. Five hundred hackers jammed into a meeting room for a presentation that fit nicely into CCC's 2005 theme of "private investigations." Slunksy pointed out that searching for special strings in Google, such as axis-cgi/, will return links that access internet-connected cameras around the world. Quintessenz developers entered these Google results into a database, analyzed the IP addresses and set up a website that gives users the ability to search by country or topic -- and then rate the cameras. "You can use this to see if you are being watched in your daily life," said Dabrowski. The conference, hosted by Germany's Chaos Computer Club, featured many discussions on data interception and pushing back the unprecedented onslaught of surveillance technologies. Even the Dutch, once known as hacker-friendly, politically progressive Europeans, are now fearful and demanding more cameras on their streets, said Rop Gonggrijp, founder of Dutch ISP Xs4All. Gonggrijp says the Dutch chief of police has announced the intention to store large amounts of surveillance data and mine it to determine who to pressure and question. "People are screaming for more control," said Gonggrijp. Dutch journalist Brenno de Winter warned that the European Parliament's support for data retention doesn't ensure security, and makes citizens vulnerable to automated traffic analysis of who communicates with whom through phone calls and internet connections. "What we have seen is a system that fails because we miss out on too much information, and even if we have all that information, it doesn't give us the right information and it is easy to circumvent," said de Winter. CCC member and security researcher Frank Rieger said hackers should provide secure communications for political and social movements and encourage the widespread use of anonymity technologies. He said people on the other side of the camera need to be laughed at and shamed. "It must not be cool anymore to have access to this data," said Rieger, who argued that Western societies are becoming democratically legitimized police states ruled by an unaccountable elite. "We have enough technical knowledge to turn this around; let's expose them in public, publish everything we know about them and let them know how it feels to be under surveillance." The four-day Chaos Computer Congress is meeting near Alexanderplatz in the former East Berlin, where more than a half-million people rallied for political reform five days before the fall of the Berlin Wall. In his keynote address, Joichi Ito, general manager of international operations for Technorati, warned that the internet could itself become a walled-in network controlled by the International Telecommunication Union, Microsoft and telecommunications companies. Ito said these restrictions would stifle free speech and the ability to question authority without retribution. "An open network is more important for democracy than the right to bear arms and the right to vote," said Ito. "Voice is more important than votes."
Re: [silk] Bitter Brew - I opened a charming neighborhood coffee shop. Then it destroyed my life. By Michael Idov
Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote: [ on 11:56 AM 12/31/2005 ] Comments, Madhu? http://www.slate.com/id/2132576/ Bitter Brew I opened a charming neighborhood coffee shop. Then it destroyed my life. Looking back, we (incredibly) should have heeded the advice of bad- boy chef Anthony Bourdain, who wrote our epitaph in Kitchen Confidential: "The most dangerous species of owner ... is the one who gets into the business for love." Bourdain appears to have found a good solution (at least, it appears to work for him). Let somebody else run your restaurant while you traipse around the world eating weird stuff on camera for Discovery Channel. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Cory now a full-time writer
x27;m going to get a checkup and have my teeth x-rayed. All that overdue stuff I've put off and put off and put off. Most importantly, though: I'm going to *write*. More blog posts, and longer ones. I have three novellas in the pipe. I'm tripling the pace of work on Themepunks, my fourth novel, and plan to have it in the can by early spring. I'm going to do a fix-up novel with Charlie Stross, completing our "Huw" stories (Jury Service and Appeals Court) and publishing them between covers. My podcast is going thrice weekly. I've got articles in production for a bunch of magazines and websites. I'm not giving up on travel altogether. I'm still going to be speaking at various companies and conventions and seminars on technology, authorship and copyright, but a lot less of that. I'll be spending most of April in Australia, New Zealand and Japan at various speaking gigs and conventions like ConJure, the national Aussie SF con in Brisbane; I'm a guest of honor at Boskone in Boston in February; I'll be at the LIFT conference in Geneva in January and a Red Hat con in Nashville in June. But for all that, I'm going to be spending approximately 1000 percent more time sitting in one place, concentrating on one task. I can't wait. I'm also going to be working on numerous civil liberties causes. I'm proud to serve on the Boards of Directors for two great charities, the Participatory Culture Foundation , creators of the indie Internet TV platform DTV and the MetaBrainz Foundation , which oversees development of the MusicBrainz system for distributing free, rich metadata about music. There's also some big plans for a long, nonfiction DRM-book/research project lurking around here. With any luck I'll be able to announce more about that in late January or early February. This is the most exciting day of my life -- the day I quit my day- job. Thanks to everyone who made this possible, all the readers and bloggers and friends and editors and agents. I'll do my best not to screw it up! EFF: http://eff.org Contribute to EFF: http://action.eff.org/site/PageServer? pagename=ADV_homepage Participatory Culture Foundation: http://participatoryculture.org Metabrainz Foundation: http://metabrainz.org/ -- Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] South Asia and the Dawn of Modern Thinking
http://blog.sciam.com/index.php?title=south_asia_and_the_dawn_of_modern_thinki&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 South Asia and the Dawn of Modern Thinking In our June issue I wrote about the origins of modern human behavior--that is, when humans started thinking like we do. This question has long vexed paleoanthropologists, who observed that whereas humans that looked like us had evolved by nearly 200,000 years ago, art, language, trade and other sophisticated practices flowered only around 40,000 years ago. For years, the prevailing theory was that our species underwent a behavioral revolution around 40,000 years ago in Ice Age Europe--perhaps the result of contact between the resident Neandertals and the invading Homo sapiens. More recently, it has been proposed that this revolution began in Africa 50,000 years ago, sparked by a genetic mutation that kicked our ancestors' cognitive powers into high gear. But for as long as these sudden origins theories have been around, there has been evidence against them in the form of fancy tools, symbolic jewelry and putative artwork that are older than they should be if these hypotheses are correct. Arguably the greatest blow to the revolution scenarios is the material from a South African site known as Blombos Cave, where Chris Henshilwood and his colleagues have unearthed the mother lode of advanced artifacts, including shell beads, engraved iron ore (ochre), ochre crayons and a bunch of modern-looking implements--all at least 75,000 years old. These finds and others suggest that human behavior changed gradually, starting long before 50,000 years ago. Fresh insights into the nature of the behavioral shift appear in the December issue of Current Anthropology, in which graduate student Hannah V. A. James and Michael D. Petraglia of the University of Cambridge review the evidence from South Asia. The paper contains many more details than I can recount here, but I found the following particularly interesting. The authors note that explicit symbolism, such as art and jewelry, shows up later in the record there than in Africa or Europe. And it emerges gradually, as it does in Africa, rather than in a big bang like the one evident in Europe 40,000 years ago. They contend on the basis of that evidence as well as the more utilitarian aspects of the local material culture, such as the stone tools, that anatomically and cognitively modern humans from Africa arrived in the region at least 70,000 years ago with so-called Middle Paleolithic technology. Over time, James and Petraglia surmise, the more advanced Late Paleolithic traditions evolved from the Middle Paleolithic ones. That is, South Asians arrived perfectly capable of modern thinking, but only expressed that potential in archaeologically visible ways later in time. Perhaps, the researchers offer, fluctuations in population size played a role in this cultural change. For example, symbolic behavior may have been advantageous only during times of intense competition for resources. The climatic oscillations of the Late Pleistocene, when these folks lived, would have surely impacted population size, and hence, competition. This, in fact, is the same explanation some experts have proposed for why early symbolism didn't "stick" in Africa: when population size diminished, these behaviors disappeared, either because their practitioners died out, or because they did not pay off. As it stands, the South Asian paleoanthropological record has its limitations: a paucity of hominid specimens, for one, and of solid archaeological dates for another. But James and Petraglia state that ongoing research in the region may help to elucidate the picture. It seems certain that South Asia will figure importantly in future discussions of how we became human. Posted by Kate Wong
[silk] Jolly Green Giant
For Ram and Chris Kelty. Happy New Year! Udhay http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/absinthe_pr.html The Mystery of the Green Menace It's been celebrated as a muse and banned as a poison. Now an obsessed microbiologist has cracked the code for absinthe - and distilled his own. By Brian Ashcraft At first, Ted Breaux dismissed the urgent warnings on TV and radio. He even ignored the sirens that started blaring Saturday afternoon. "The last two times they evacuated the city, I stayed," says Breaux, 39, a chemist and environmental microbiologist. But when he woke up on Sunday, August 28, the hurricane had become a Category 5 and was still bearing down on New Orleans. He decided it was time to get out of his house on the floodplain just south of Lake Pontchartrain. He packed his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution with all the essentials: clothes, toiletries, a laptop, some World War II rifles, ammo, and $15,000 worth of absinthe. It took Breaux six hours to go 20 miles, and a full day to reach refuge in Huntsville, Alabama. He spent the next week watching Fox News, looking at aerial photos of New Orleans on his laptop, wondering if his friends had made it out, and cursing himself for not remembering to grab his original 1908 copy of Aux Pays d'Absinthe. Raised in New Orleans, a city once dubbed the Absinthe Capital of the World, Breaux has long been fascinated with the drink. Absinthe is a 140-proof green liqueur made from herbs like fennel, anise, and the exceptionally bitter leaves of Artemisia absinthium. That last ingredient, also known as wormwood, gives the drink its name - and its sinister reputation. For a century, absinthe has been demonized and outlawed, based on the belief that it leads to absinthism - far worse than mere alcoholism. Drinking it supposedly causes epilepsy and "criminal dementia." Breaux has made understanding the drink his life's work. He has pored over hundred-year-old texts, few of them in English. He has corresponded with other amateur liquor historians. The more he's learned, the more he's felt compelled to use his knowledge of chemistry to crack the absinthe code, figure out exactly what's in it, puncture the myths surrounding it - and maybe even drink a glass or two. Dressed in a black muscle T-shirt, blue jeans, and a Dolce & Gabbana belt, Breaux looks as if he'd be more at home on Bourbon Street than in a research lab. It's a humid summer morning in July, about a month before Hurricane Katrina will strike, and he's showing me around Environmental Analytical Solutions Inc., a chemical testing facility among the warehouses and body shops near Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. On the outside, EASI is classic New Orleans: red brick, white pillars. But inside it's more like a set from War Games: dot matrix printers, ancient PCs, and nine Hewlett-Packard gas chromatography-mass spectrometer machines attached to large blue tanks of helium and hydrogen. This is where Breaux does his lab work, testing water samples for pollution and pesticides. In his downtime, he studies absinthe here. Using the GCMS apparatus, he's able to break the liqueur down into its component molecules. "It's like forensics," Breaux says, gesturing toward the machines. "Give me one microliter of absinthe and I know exactly what it's going to taste like." Breaux explains how the testing works. He takes a bottle of the liqueur, inserts a syringe through the cork (absinthe oxidizes like wine once the bottle is open), and extracts a few milliliters. He transfers the sample into a vial, which is lifted by a robotic arm into the gas chromatography tower. There it is separated into its components. Then the mass spectrometer identifies them and measures their relative quantities. One of the ingredients is thujone, a compound in wormwood that is toxic if it's ingested, capable of causing violent seizures and kidney failure. Breaux hands me a bottle of pure liquid thujone. "Take a whiff," he says with an evil grin. I recoil at the odor - it's like menthol laced with napalm. This is the noxious chemical compound responsible for absinthe's bad reputation. The question that's been debated for years is, Just how much thujone is there in absinthe? Absinthe was first distilled in 1792 in Switzerland, where it was marketed as a medicinal elixir, a cure for stomach ailments. High concentrations of chlorophyll gave it a rich olive color. In the 19th century, people began turning to the minty drink less for pains of the stomach than for pains of the soul. Absinthe came to be associated with artists and Moulin Rouge bohemians. Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Van Gogh, and Picasso were devotees. Toulouse-Lautrec carried some in a hollowed-out cane. Oscar Wilde wrote, "What difference is there between a glass of absinthe and a sunset?" Soon absinthe was the social lubricant of choice for a broad swath of Europeans - artists and otherwise. In 1874, the French sipped 700,000 liters of the stuff; by the turn of the cen
Re: [silk] decss in haiku form
Rishab Aiyer Ghosh wrote: [ on 04:25 AM 1/6/2006 ] On Thu, Jan 05, 2006 at 04:34:57PM -0500, Biella Coleman wrote: > http://www.loyalty.org/~schoen/haiku.html this bit was what i liked the most: Also see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/silk-list/message/5463 Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Credit card cloning finally comes to India
Or finally reaches the attention of the media, I'm not sure which. This has been a huge problem elsewhere for well over 5 years, to my knowledge. Sriram/Kallu, any comments to add? Udhay http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=191413&cat=India Police busts fake credit cards racket; arrests four youth Mumbai | December 15, 2005 1:38:15 AM IST The city police today claimed to have busted a fake credit card racket with the arrest of four youth. The accused, three undergraduates and one graduate , prepared fake cards by swiping the originals using a scanner in a city hotel with the help of a waiter, police said. Senior police inspector Pradeep Shinde of Juhu police station identified the accused as Manoj Chavan (25), Leo Paul (19), Akash Kamble (19) and Mahesh Balani (20). The four were arrested in Juhu in North West Mumbai last night. Chavan is a software engineer, the while the others are studying software engineering. After importing the scanner for Rs 15,000, the accused gave it to a waiter in King Palace hotel at Juhu and asked him to swipe the customers' credit cards on the machine. After collecting the data, they prepared counterfeit cards and made purchases worth Rs 20 lakh using as many as 21 fake cards, the police officer said. The racket was busted when one Danish Gonsalves, possessing a Hong Kong bank credit card, found that Rs 1.5 lakh had been withdrawn from his account and lodged a complaint.
[silk] It's the demography, stupid
From another list: Long rantlike piece by a guy called Mark Steyn. It seems to me that his basic thesis (that the western societies are in for one hell of a shakeup due to demographic patterns, and may not survive in any recognisable form) has a lot going for it. However, it is dressed up in a lot of other subsidiary arguments, including a theme about "Islamism" being the cause of much that ails the world, that may not stand rigorous examination. Interestingly, like Thomas Friedman, I tend to agree with the starting point of many of this guy's theories, but have serious disagreements with the eventual conclusions - which is informed by my opinion that there is a lot that is carefully left out of the analysis. I've had various discussions on related topics with Shiv, among others. It would be fascinating to reprise them in the context of the demographic "bomb". http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007760 Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] FirePIG-HOO-EY
As Dave Barry would say, I Am Not Making This Up. Udhay http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4605202.stm Taiwan breeds green-glowing pigs By Chris Hogg BBC News, Hong Kong Scientists in Taiwan say they have bred three pigs that glow in the dark. They claim that while other researchers have bred partly fluorescent pigs, theirs are the only pigs in the world which are green through and through. The pigs are transgenic, created by adding genetic material from jellyfish into a normal pig embryo. The researchers hope the pigs will boost the island's stem cell research, as well as helping with the study of human disease. The researchers, from National Taiwan University's Department of Animal Science and Technology, say that although the pigs glow, they are otherwise no different from any others. Taiwan is not claiming a world first. Others have bred partially fluorescent pigs before. But the researchers insist the three pigs they have produced are better. Transgenic pig - 12/01/06 In daylight, their eyes and skin are green-tinged They are the only ones that are green from the inside out. Even their heart and internal organs are green, they say. To create them, DNA from jellyfish was added to about 265 pig embryos which were implanted in eight different pigs. Four of the pigs became pregnant and three male piglets were born three months ago. Green generation In daylight the researchers say the pigs' eyes, teeth and trotters look green. Their skin has a greenish tinge. In the dark, shine a blue light on them and they glow torch-light bright. The scientists will use the transgenic pigs to study human disease. Because the pig's genetic material is green, it is easy to spot. So if, for instance, some of its stem cells are injected into another animal, scientists can track how they develop without the need for a biopsy or invasive test. But creating them has not been easy. Many of the altered embryos failed to develop. The researchers say they hope the new, green pigs will mate with ordinary female pigs to create a new generation - much greater numbers of transgenic pigs for use in research.
Re: [silk] FirePIG-HOO-EY
Suresh Ramasubramanian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > In daylight the researchers say the pigs' eyes, teeth and trotters > look > > green. Their skin has a greenish tinge. > > > > In the dark, shine a blue light on them and they glow torch-light > > bright. > > "The Pig of the Baskervilles" Zombie Princess Of Blandings.
Re: [silk] Bruce Sterling's State of the World chat
Thaths wrote: [ on 04:22 AM 1/14/2006 ] http://wiki.osafoundation.org/bin/view/Projects/CosmoHome Bruce Sterling's annual State of the World chat on well. Nice read. I suspect you mean http://user.well.com/iengaged.cgi?c=inkwell.vue&f=0&t=262&q=0- I should probably renew my effort to get bruces on to silk, one of these days. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Bruce Sterling's State of the World chat
Udhay Shankar N wrote: [ on 08:44 AM 1/14/2006 ] http://user.well.com/iengaged.cgi?c=inkwell.vue&f=0&t=262&q=0- I should probably renew my effort to get bruces on to silk, one of these days. BTW, the moderator of the above discussion *is* on silk. Jon, would you come out and say hi? :) Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] Meetings are bad for you
Also, water is wet, the sun rises in the east, bears poop in the woods, etc. Udhay http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/improbable/story/0,11109,1687547,00.html Bored meetings First on the agenda: are meetings too long? Marc Abrahams Tuesday January 17, 2006 The Guardian Do you believe, as someone somewhere perhaps does, that meetings, meetings, meetings, followed by more meetings are altogether a good thing? If so, Alexandra Luong and Steven G Rogelberg think you should think again. In a newly published study, they say: "We propose that despite the fact that meetings may help to achieve work-related goals, having too many meetings and spending too much time in meetings per day may have negative effects on the individual." Luong is an assistant professor of industrial and organisational psychology at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. Rogelberg is an associate professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Their report appears in the journal Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice. It begins with a somewhat brief recitation of the history of important research discoveries about meetings. Here is a capsule version of their tale. Discovery: The majority of a manager's typical workday is spent in meetings. This was reported by an investigator named Mintzberg in 1973. Discovery: The frequency and length of meetings have grown considerably in the last few decades. So declared the team of Mosvick and Nelson in 1987. Discovery: A scientist named Zohar, in a series of reports published during the 1990s, found evidence that "annoying episodes" - which are sometimes also known as "hassles" - contribute to burnout, anxiety, depression and other negative emotions. Zohar advanced a theoretical framework that may one day help to explain why this is so. Discovery: In 1999, a scientist named Zijlstra "had a sample of office workers work in a simulated office for a period of two days in order to examine the psychological effects of interruptions. [They] were periodically interrupted by telephone calls from the researcher." This had what Zijlstra calls "negative effects" on their mood. Luong and Rogelberg used those and other discoveries as a basis for their own innovatively broad theory. They devised a pair of hypotheses, educatedly guessing that: 1. The more meetings one has to attend, the greater the negative effects; and 2. The more time one spends in meetings, the greater the negative effects. Then they performed an experiment to test these two hypotheses. Thirty-seven volunteers each kept a diary for five working days, answering survey questions after every meeting they attended and also at the end of each day. That was the experiment. The results speak volumes. "It is impressive," Luong and Rogelberg write in their summary, "that a general relationship between meeting load and the employee's level of fatigue and subjective workload was found". Their central insight, they say, is the concept of "the meeting as one more type of hassle or interruption that can occur for individuals". Rogelberg has delivered this insight in a talk called "Meetings and More Meetings," which he presented to a meeting at the University of Sheffield. He also does a talk called "Not Another Meeting!", which has been well received at two meetings in North Carolina. · Marc Abrahams is editor of the bimonthly magazine Annals of Improbable Research (www.improbable.com) and organiser of the Ig Nobel Prize
[silk] Cloudy With a Chance of Chaos
y for the shift away from fossil fuels. Equally sensible would be to reduce subsidies and tax advantages that abet the waste of fossil fuels. Such proposals have been on the table since the early 1990s. Many are even more salient today. By not taking action on greenhouse emissions, we are betting our well-being that climate change poses little threat. If we are wrong, we will meet our fate. This article has been adapted by the author from his new book, The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations (Simon & Schuster); see also eugenelinden.com. FEEDBACK [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] On the attention economy
Charlie Stross ranting about attention and advertising. :) Udhay http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2006/01/14/#attention-1 On the attention economy Irritable? Easily distracted? Have difficulty focussing on written text for long enough to read more than a sentence? Welcome to the club. According to some researchers, we are exposed to up to 3500 advertisements per day by way of television, internet, radio, shop windows, buses, and other pervasive display media. (And somehow I don't think they're counting the 400-600 spam emails that end up in my Junk folder every day, either.) This cognitive overload is the end product of an arms race between advertisers (who want to buy a share of our attention) and their target audience (those of us with attention to spare). Advertisements are distracting nuisances most of the time, unless you're specifically looking for something -- say, you want to buy a camcorder so you buy a camcorder magazine and comb through the reviews and ads. We therefore screen them out. Advertisers in turn resort to more and more eye-catching methods in an attempt to get our attention. Personally, I don't like advertisements. I don't like it when someone tries to sell me something I don't need by hinting that I am socially inadequate if I don't own it. I don't like it when insurance companies or lenders try to sell me insurance or loans by playing on fears of financial insecurity. I really hate telesales: telesales calls are like someone standing outside your front door and ringing the bell until you go to the door to find out what's causing the racket, then exhorting you through a megaphone. Spam is even worse, mostly because the content is either incomprehensible, revolting, or fraudulent. And as the spam and telesales problem gets worse I'm gradually finding that my attitudes are hardening -- not just against spammers and telesales firms, but against all advertisers, because they merely represent different points on the same slippery slope. They all nag for my attention -- attention which is not freely given except when I deliberately go looking for a particular product or type of product. And it occurs to me to wonder where it's all going to end. Spam filtering tools block the most obviously mechanized mass-mailings, so spammers resort to more complex tools that try to personalize their pitch; ultimately the job of separating spam from real communication is Turing-complete -- you'd need a human-equivalent AI to do it properly, and by the time we get there the spammers will probably be using AIs of their own to outwit our personal secretary bots. You can try to get away from ads on TV by switching to watching only DVDs or downloads, but this stops working when the media conglomerates realize that the DVD purchasers are a captive audience for secondary content on their disks. You can render yourself less vulnerable to telesales by using the Telephone Preference Service statutory list, or by using an answering machine, but the former only weeds out the better-socialized telesales outfits (scammers don't bother with it) while the latter reduces the usefulness of the communications device. Usenet got overrun by spam so lots of us switched to weblogs; which was fine until the blog spammers arrived. Instant messaging? SMS texting? Hello IM spambots and spimmers. Try to escape by playing a computer game and some asshole in marketing is going to realize that there's prize real estate in their MMORPG and start selling advertising billboards in Middle Earth. Even going for a walk in the country is no guarantee of safety, from the posters gummed to the walls of rotting trailers parked in fields, to the skywriting on the clouds overhead. In the short term we may be able to build advertising censorware into our glasses. But it's still only a partial solution to the blight. About the only really advertising-proof entertainment media are the 19th century hold-overs: theatre, opera, novels. (And maybe live music events at venues too small and primitive to have been nobbled by the likes of ClearChannel.) Get rid of electricity and most of the tools the advertisers rely on stop working. Maybe that's the way forward. Meanwhile, we have a terminally fragmenting society, self-medicating through alcohol and other drugs, that is losing the ability to discriminate between trivia and important issues -- largely because of the way news has becoming a marketing vehicle for advertising eyeballs, the consumer society is driven by fear and insecurity rather than the meeting of actual needs, and we're growing so used to receiving information in ten second long compressed bursts that we can't read books any more. Ban the advertising industry. Ban it now, before it's too late. (This rant brought to you on the back of nearly 500 spams and just two meaningful messages in a 24 hour period, to a primary mail address I've maintained for just 5 months short of a decade and which I may have to abandon shortl
Re: [silk] universal values Re: [FoRK] bin Laden offers truce
At 05:21 PM 1/20/2006, Eugen Leitl wrote: > To use a different example: how many people think it is "invasion of=20 > privacy" for the government to root through your google clicktrail=20 > hunting for CHILD PORNOGRAPHERS? Of course it is. Both Google and the government are guilty. This, in fact, was what I was trying to suggest. Sarcasm doesn't translate well into ASCII. And the user is guilty too, by not hiding his trail better. Hiding your trail (like crypto software, and any number of other things) will become ubiquitous only if it becomes invisible - by which I mean gets done in the background without the need for manual intervention. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] universal values Re: [FoRK] bin Laden offers truce
Eugen Leitl wrote: [ on 05:17 PM 1/21/2006 ] > Hiding your trail (like crypto software, and any number of other=20 > things) will become ubiquitous only if it becomes invisible - by=20 > which I mean gets done in the background without the need for manual=20 > intervention. Would offering a commercial (subscription) service which takes care of the details qualify? This is one of services I'm planning to offer. While commercial services would play an important role, I was thinking more in terms of what the Anonym.OS [1] guys are aiming at. Udhay [1] http://theory.kaos.to/projects.html -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Fwd: Friday talk
Biju Chacko wrote: [ on 11:21 AM 12/9/2005 ] Of course, Simon depressed us by telling us a little about the UK. To paraphrase my CEO, Science Education in the UK is like teenage sex: there's a lot less of it going on than you'd expect and what there is is done quite badly. BBC: Science 'not for normal people' BBC NEWS Science 'not for normal people' Teenagers value the role of science in society but feel scientists are "brainy people not like them", research suggests. The Science Learning Centre in London asked 11,000 pupils for their views on science and scientists. Around 70% of the 11-15 year olds questioned said they did not picture scientists as "normal young and attractive men and women". The research examined why numbers of science exam entries are declining. 'Big glasses' Researchers Roni Malek and Fani Stylianidou are completing their research in April but have analysed around half the responses so far. They found around 80% of pupils thought scientists did "very important work" and 70% thought they worked "creatively and imaginatively". Only 40% said they agreed that scientists did "boring and repetitive work". Over three quarters of the respondents thought scientists were "really brainy people". The research is being undertaken as part of Einstein Year. Among those who said they would not like to be scientists, reasons included: "Because you would constantly be depressed and tired and not have time for family", and "because they all wear big glasses and white coats and I am female". Keep positive Dr Stylianadou said: "These results are worrying for UK science but also hold out hope. Young people see science as important and exciting. But they don't see themselves doing it. "If we can keep young people positive about science but help them to see the full range of scientific careers, more of them may realise that a career in science can be satisfying - and for them." Lord May of Oxford, president of The Royal Society, which promotes science, has said "proper targets" for the numbers of pupils opting to take science at GCSE and A-level are needed. The number taking A-level physics dropped by 34% between 1991 and 2004, with 28,698 taking the subject in that year. The decline in numbers taking chemistry over the same period was 16%, with 44,440 students sitting the subject in 1991, and 37,254 in 2004. The number of students taking maths also dropped by 22%. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/education/4630808.stm Published: 2006/01/20 13:30:38 GMT © BBC MMVI -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] The Return of the Puppet Masters
http://www.corante.com/loom/archives/2006/01/17/the_return_of_the_puppet_masters.php January 17, 2006 The Return of the Puppet Masters Posted by Carl Zimmer Are brain parasites altering the personalities of three billion people? The question emerged a few years ago, and it shows no signs of going away. I first encountered this idea while working on my book Parasite Rex. I was investigating the remarkable ability parasites have to manipulate the behavior of their hosts. The lancet fluke Dicrocoelium dendriticum, for example, forces its ant host to clamp itself to the tip of grass blades, where a grazing mammal might eat it. It's in the fluke's interest to get eaten, because only by getting into the gut of a sheep or some other grazer can it complete its life cycle. Another fluke, Euhaplorchis californiensis, causes infected fish to shimmy and jump, greatly increasing the chance that wading birds will grab them. Those parasites were weird enough, but then I got to know Toxoplasma gondii. This single-celled parasite lives in the guts of cats, sheddding eggs that can be picked up by rats and other animals that can just so happen be eaten by cats. Toxoplasma forms cysts throughout its intermediate host's body, including the brain. And yet a Toxoplasma-ridden rat is perfectly healthy. That makes good sense for the parasite, since a cat would not be particularly interested in eating a dead rat. But scientists at Oxford discovered that the parasite changes the rats in one subtle but vital way. The scientists studied the rats in a six-foot by six-foot outdoor enclosure. They used bricks to turn it into a maze of paths and cells. In each corner of the enclosure they put a nest box along with a bowl of food and water. On each the nests they added a few drops of a particular odor. On one they added the scent of fresh straw bedding, on another the bedding from a rat's nests, on another the scent of rabbit urine, on another, the urine of a cat. When they set healthy rats loose in the enclosure, the animals rooted around curiously and investigated the nests. But when they came across the cat odor, they shied away and never returned to that corner. This was no surprise: the odor of a cat triggers a sudden shift in the chemistry of rat brains that brings on intense anxiety. (When researchers test anti-anxiety drugs on rats, they use a whiff of cat urine to make them panic.) The anxiety attack made the healthy rats shy away from the odor and in general makes them leery of investigating new things. Better to lie low and stay alive. Then the researchers put Toxoplasma-carrying rats in the enclosure. Rats carrying the parasite are for the most part indistinguishable from healthy ones. They can compete for mates just as well and have no trouble feeding themselves. The only difference, the researchers found, is that they are more likely to get themselves killed. The scent of a cat in the enclosure didn't make them anxious, and they went about their business as if nothing was bothering them. They would explore around the odor at least as often as they did anywhere else in the enclosure. In some cases, they even took a special interest in the spot and came back to it over and over again. The scientists speculated that Toxoplasma was secreted some substance that was altering the patterns of brain activity in the rats. This manipulation likely evolved through natural selection, since parasites that were more likely to end up in cats would leave more offpsring. The Oxford scientists knew that humans can be hosts to Toxoplasma, too. People can become infected by its eggs by handling soil or kitty litter. For most people, the infection causes no harm. Only if a person's immune system is weak does Toxoplasma grow uncontrollably. That's why pregnant women are advised not to handle kitty litter, and why toxoplasmosis is a serious risk for people with AIDS. Otherwise, the parasite lives quietly in people's bodies (and brains). It's estimated that about half of all people on Earth are infected with Toxoplasma. Given that human and rat brains have a lot of similarities (they share the same basic anatomy and use the same neurotransmitters), a question naturally arose: if Toxoplasma can alter the behavior of a rat, could it alter a human? Obviously, this manipulation would not do the parasite any good as an adaptation, since it's pretty rare for a human to be devoured by a cat. But it could still have an effect. Some scientists believe that Toxoplasma changes the personality of its human hosts, bringing different shifts to men and women. Parasitologist Jaroslav Flegr of Charles University in Prague administered psychological questionnaires to people infected with Toxoplasma and controls. Those infected, he found, show a small, but statistically significant, tendency to be more self-reproaching and insecure. Paradoxically, infected women, on average, tend to be more outgoing and warmhearted than controls, while infected men tend to
[silk] QotD
It sucks to be in the music retailing business anyway, where else do you end up competing with both Apple and Starbucks? --Anil Dash (who should also probably be on silk)
Re: [silk] Examplars of genre in Indian movies
On Sun, Jan 22, 2017 at 5:36 AM, Thaths wrote: Spaghetti Western: Sholay > Black comedy: Jaane bhi do yaaro > Sports: Lagaan -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Examplars of genre in Indian movies
Gangster: Nayakan
Re: [silk] In praise of slowness
On Sun, Jan 22, 2017 at 2:48 PM, Venkatesh Hariharan wrote: "What do you.love the most about living a slower life?" To be able to do things on the spur of the moment. This is more a goal than an achievement at this point, but still. Oh, and naps. One of the great pleasures of life and a criminally underrated productivity enhancer. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Indian authors in english for 8-10 year olds
On Mon, Aug 22, 2016 at 10:56 AM, Shalini Prema-Umachandran < shali...@gmail.com> wrote: Tulika has good books for age 8-10. Plus, they put age levels on their > books, which makes it easier to pick and they're not expensive. > I was hunting for something else and stumbled on this old thread. Seeing the name of Tulika Books reminded me of an old friend and old silklister Savita Rao, who passed away this day 6 years ago. Her book, which is published by Tulika and appears to be in print, is apparently a recommedned textbook for schoolkids in Bhuta: http://www.tulikabooks.com/general-non-fiction/postcards-from-ura-english.html Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] The Need for Guaranteed Basic Income or why Kiran is worried sick
On Thu, Jan 5, 2017 at 11:24 AM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > https://medium.com/basic-income/deep-learning-is-going- > to-teach-us-all-the-lesson-of-our-lives-jobs-are-for- > machines-7c6442e37a49#.4mn452rn9 > > > I like the last line here: > > https://aeon.co/essays/what-if-jobs-are-not-the-solution-but-the-problem > Tying this thread with a previous one on retirement financial planning, by silklister Josey John: http://factordaily.com/ai-big-data-machine-learning-funds-fintech/ I'd be interested in thoughts from folks like Shyam Sunder and Deepak Shenoy (and others too, of course) Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Introducing myself
On Tue, Apr 4, 2017 at 9:44 AM, Thaths wrote: Welcome to Silklist, Cindy. I first heard you (and of your work) a few > years ago, IIRC, in Dan Savage's podcast Savage Lovecast. Thaths, your name came up in the conversation that Cindy and I had - due to your past work as part of the back end team at the world's most valuable domain name. :) Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Introducing myself
On Tue, Apr 4, 2017 at 9:50 AM, Thaths wrote: > On the other the patriarchy tries to keep women suppressed through a > > veneration of (women's) virginity, an emphasis of abstinence, rules of > > impurity around mensuration, etc. > > > > By which, of course, I mean 'menstruation'. That'll teach me to not trust > my browser's spell corrections. Yes, I was wondering what your angle was. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Introducing myself
On Tue, Apr 4, 2017 at 10:04 AM, Thaths wrote: > Yes, I was wondering what your angle was. > > > > I am acutely embarrassed now. That's right. You're being deliberately obtuse. Is it a reflex? Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] aqvavit
On Wed, Mar 5, 2014 at 5:29 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > > Another water purification tidbit: > > > > http://www.fastcoexist.com/1682625/turn-your-waterbottle- > into-a-brita-with-this-coconut-filter > > > > > > Turn Your Waterbottle Into A Brita With This Coconut Filter > > And another: > > http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0089934 > A video, for a change: http://www.natgeochasinggenius.com/preroll?video=5 Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Any leads?
On Thu, Jun 1, 2017 at 11:58 AM, Samanth Subramanian wrote: > > A friend in the US is working on a photo feature, and she's looking for > families in India (nuclear or joint) that go repeatedly to a particular > place as an act of pilgrimage -- that consider this a kind of family > vacation, almost. > > Would anyone know of any such families? Any contacts or leads would be > much appreciated. My mom used to chivvy us to go to a temple in Karungulam (near Tirunelveli) which is supposedly the home of a family deity. My wife has now taken this upon herself. I rarely go. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Any leads?
On Thu, Jun 1, 2017 at 1:00 PM, Samanth Subramanian wrote: > Interesting. How often does she go, Udhay? Does she go by herself, or is > there an assortment of relatives that travels as well? Once a year typically. Usually with mom, although I am not sure if my mom is up to this going forward. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] CAT5 vs CAT5E vs CAT6 cable for home
Note that wireless tends to flake out while streaming large media files within the internal network - as in streaming a movie from a NAS to a AV receiver. -- -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((via phone))
Re: [silk] Is sugar toxic?
On Fri, Apr 4, 2014 at 11:22 AM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t. > html?_r=2&pagewanted=all > > Another interesting long read, even if the language sometimes is a > little too wide-eyed. > > http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/sugar/cohen-text > Some more practical notes: https://www.wellandgood.com/good-food/beginners-guide-to-cutting-out-sugar/slide/5/ I'm curious what the experiences of various list members who have cut out sugar from their diet have been. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Silkmeet on June 29 - bangalore
On Sun, Jun 18, 2017 at 10:25 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: Hi, I'll be in town and Udhay suggested that we do a silk meet. Please > rsvp so a suitable bar can be located I'm in, but you knew that. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Silkmeet on June 29 - bangalore
So, where are we meeting?
Re: [silk] Silkmeet on June 29 - bangalore
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 4:00 PM, Vinit Bhansali wrote: I'm in. > > Also, if we change to 28th or 30th, then Surabhi and I can host the meet as > well. > I'd say that depends on a show of hands, primarily Suresh and Samanth (as the out of town folks) Speak up, folks! Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Silkmeet on June 29 - bangalore
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 4:17 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: I'm mostly arriving on the 29th morning > > If I am able to schedule a work trip back to back I can also be in town a > day or two earlier but this is doubtful. > By when will you know? Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Silkmeet on June 28 - bangalore
Changed the subject line. 28th it is, at Vinit and Surabhi's place - venue of much fun in the past and a silklist baby as well. :) Udhay On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 4:33 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: > Hopefully next week let me try -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] Silkmeet on June 29 - bangalore
On Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 6:41 AM, Rajesh Mehar wrote: Who wants to draw a Venn diagram of all of this? Heh. Please move discussion to the other thread. It's on 28th. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
