tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-314397782011-10-10T08:38:50.387-07:00Random musings of a CarvakiSujitnoreply@blogger.comBlogger971100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-86633137453954633192010-08-11T17:59:00.000-07:002010-08-11T18:13:34.052-07:00

Vinay Deolalikar's draft of an attempted proof of P!=NP set off an academic storm this weekend with many top mind's set on understanding the paper. See Dick Lipton's blog for the most recent update. The emerging consensus is that the proof won't hold water. But this whole incident only bolsters once faith in P!=NP. The amount of time it is taking people to check his proof seems insignificant

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-36244502690902380262009-10-09T13:32:00.000-07:002009-10-12T05:14:13.129-07:00

I have been trying out the TATA Photon+ for the last three weeks and needless to say the whole experience has been super frustrating. I thought I should share my experience and review so that others become aware of what they are getting into and maybe benefit from this post. My two biggest sour points with the TATA Photon+ service are:First, the Tata photon ads are completely misleading (unless

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-77168828945920839332009-02-12T20:46:00.001-08:002009-02-13T10:42:47.655-08:00

This note is hugely motivated by the talk which Francis Collins gave at Caltech last week, an event sponsored by the Veritas Forum. First, I found the name of the sponsoring group a bit misleading. The mission statement includesThe Veritas Forum at Caltech seeks to explore the possibility of truth, beauty and goodness in every aspect of our academic and personal lives.The Veritas Forum, more than

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-60848307641335799142009-01-29T09:25:00.000-08:002009-01-29T10:25:27.943-08:00

Just some random thoughts on life and hard times. I think its good to go through a really bad time at least once in a life time. Like an economic recession which brings to light all the inefficiencies, incompetence and scandals, so does tough personal times. You get to know who your good friends are and the not so good ones. It helps you realize who your true friends are and who like you for what

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-75472075614969470352008-06-28T09:47:00.000-07:002008-06-28T12:55:01.277-07:00

The momentum is gaining for amending the US constitution to "protect" marriage by defining it to be a union of a man and a women. Here is the text of the proposal introduced in the senate on June 25, 2008, taken from the Library of Congress website: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to marriage. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1073923572531116052008-06-26T16:40:00.000-07:002008-06-26T20:12:21.205-07:00

Check out google India trends from 2004 till now in the plot below. Its a terrible news for all the self appointed moral policers in India. Inspite of all their enthusiasm and efforts, porn, mp3 and sex still seems to be way way popular than Rama or Krishna.Some other interesting statistics from google India trends areKerala tops the search index for sex related queries like sex, intercourse and

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-81499340091672666872008-06-19T09:48:00.000-07:002008-06-23T08:57:10.840-07:00

"It was heartening to know that it was the supporters of Hindutva who had exploded the bomb in the theatre. But it was sad to know that it was planted to hurt the Hindus and I am ashamed about it.""The need of the hour is to plant a strong bomb in Bangladeshi bastis (slums) that have mushroomed in Thane and elsewhere in Maharashtra,"Hear the glorious words of aai-f****r Shiv Sena supremo Bal

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-67190684093032184442008-05-06T13:26:00.000-07:002008-05-06T14:21:54.864-07:00

These touchy desi media are just giving stuff its own spin for rating purposes. Here is the snippet of the official statement which Bush made (available completely at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080502-8.html )Worldwide there is increasing demand. There turns out to be prosperity in developing world, which is good. It's going to be good for you because you'll be selling

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-43727182054628653812008-02-05T09:46:00.000-08:002008-02-06T09:40:41.712-08:00

Check out Whose Mumbai is it?.  A bunch of hooligans from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena(MNS) go about beating up anybody from North India. Raj Thackeray even goes on to say "Maharashtrians cannot be silent spectators while Mumbai is flooded with unwanted migrants."  Wtf is this supposed to mean? We are suckling cry babies when it comes to incidences like treatment meted out to Shilpa Shetty  etc

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-20431599020670180172008-01-29T18:57:00.000-08:002008-01-29T19:17:33.604-08:00

Dr. Madhavan Nair, the chairman of ISRO, India's national space agency is giving a talk in Caltech on February 4, 2008. The title of the talk is India Space Program - Future Perspectives and here is the abstract copied and pasted.Starting with the achievements of ISRO in the last four decades, Mr. Nair shall talk about the sound infrastructure that India has firmly established in space and how it

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-10897962631235006622008-01-12T10:10:00.000-08:002008-02-06T09:45:43.373-08:00

Just came across this article at CNN-IBN titled "Sex after false promise of marriage is rape: Court". The Delhi court sentenced a man to seven years in jail for having consensual sex with a woman. Here is what additional sessions judge Mahavir Singhal had to sayThe so called consent under a false promise to marriage is no consent. Accordingly, the consent obtained in establishing physical

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-32822569286826063702007-10-26T10:33:00.001-07:002007-10-26T16:05:11.871-07:00

so thinks the Gujarat government.The rest of India is smart and intelligent and can watch the whole Tehelka accusing Chief Minister Narendra Modi of inciting the 2002 Gujarat riots. The rest of India can also use his/her judgement and make its  own opinion after  watching the expose. Whereas the average gujarati is a dumbass. S/he cannot think for itself. The Almighty Gujarat government also

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-18281854138621051812007-07-16T13:53:00.000-07:002007-07-16T17:41:39.975-07:00

Feel like abusing a kid ? Don't worry, help is on the way. Just volunteer yourselves for a church with "Sexual Abuse Insurance" coverage, or as they call it technically, the "Multi-peril Liability Insurance". First, I didn't even know such an insurance exists as it doesn't make sense. Isn't abusing supposed to be a crime with jail term ? The above link is from the Evangelical Alliance website

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-7484946240804550442007-06-15T08:05:00.000-07:002007-06-15T08:11:29.319-07:00

Pentagon finally admits to their "gay bomb" project. Check out CBS news website.(CBS 5) BERKELEY A Berkeley watchdog organization that tracks military spending said it uncovered a strange U.S. military proposal to create a hormone bomb that could purportedly turn enemy soldiers into homosexuals and make them more interested in sex than fighting.Read the rest here. Meanwhile, I will wait for Jon

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-89789028942094272032007-06-14T10:53:00.001-07:002007-06-14T11:18:44.326-07:00

Its a day for all gay and lesbian school kids in Mumbai to celebrate. In an apparent move to curb "bad" heterosexual touching and hugging amongst school kids, the Vibgyor School and Jamnabai Nursery School have specifically forbidden boys and girls from touching or hugging members of the opposite sex in the school premises. The rule applies ONLY to members of opposite sex. One of the very few

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-27050894380032150562007-04-17T09:10:00.000-07:002007-04-17T09:46:01.915-07:00

It has been more than a day since the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech. It won't be long till the gun politics debate start again in US. Both sides of the debate will take this as an opportunity to further their views. Both the sides will proclaim aloud their opinions and convictions as though they were irrefutable god given facts.It is surprising that the National Rifle Association has

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-10510539774309442852007-04-13T12:12:00.000-07:002007-04-13T14:35:40.453-07:00

April 13th, the birthdays of Thomas Jefferson and Madalyn Murray O-Hair, are observed as Atheist's Day or the Non-Believers Day. Here is a snippet from www.americanatheist.org if you want to know the history behind it :)Thomas Jefferson and Madalyn Murray O'Hair were both born on April 13. Jefferson was not only the author of the American Declaration of Independence from England, but he

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-63834516896108784282007-04-12T23:12:00.000-07:002007-04-12T23:28:04.379-07:00

I am not a big fan of putting animals in zoo, but this is getting out of hand. Click here to know about what these idiots did to a couple in Bhopal because they chose to marry each other, one being a Hindu and one Muslim. And the police, instead of protecting the couple as per law, instead tied up with those breaking the law.In the landmark case Lata Singh Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh of 07/07/

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-47336805919457216442007-04-07T10:04:00.000-07:002007-04-07T10:10:48.366-07:00

Check out this website www.itwofs.comThis guy Karthik has collected a huge list of old/recent/new songs from bollywood which have been outright plagiarised. Backed with a loose interpretation of the word "inspired" and no worries about being sued, this has been going on for a couple of decades. Shamelessly, they don't even acknowledge the source which "inspired" them.Click here for a list of

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-82589388501312433212007-03-25T21:54:00.000-07:002007-03-25T23:25:47.659-07:00

"In a country where the lingam and the yoni are publicly worshipped and where a book on Kama Sutra has been written, what will happen if a couple is shown kissing as a mark of love and affection? Surely the Ganga will not be on fire!"G. D. Khosla, former Indian chief justice and chairman of an enquiry committee on film censorship.The above question by G. D. Khosla epitomizes the whole problem

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-19991091628254548212007-03-09T14:10:00.000-08:002007-03-09T14:39:34.369-08:00

South Park, known for its shock-valued take on contemporary events, used the nigger word 42 times overall in their latest episode With Apologies to Jesse Jackson, much less than the 162 times they used the shit word in their episode "It hits the fan".Many blacks are glad that Comedy Central decided to air this. Even the founders of abolishthenword.com found the usage of n-word in this episode

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-24642277012182110262007-03-08T19:36:00.000-08:002007-03-08T19:56:54.196-08:00

Nagasena: Well, O king, will sticks and clods and cudgels and clubs find a resting-place in the air, in the same way as they do on the ground ?Milinda: No, Sir.Nagasena: But what is the reason why they come to rest on the earth, when they will not stand in the air ?Milinda: There is no cause in the air for their stability, and without a cause they will not stand.The Questions of King MilindaI

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-50173651840233902932007-03-05T12:53:00.000-08:002007-03-05T13:29:05.282-08:00

Check out this CNN-IBN video about a tribe in Melghat district in Maharashtra who celebrate holi by burning effigies of Ram and Lakshman.Says a tribe member, Khanu Betkar, "Ram and Lakshman burnt Ravana, so that is why we burn them."It's the biggest festival of the year for these villagers and celebrations go on for seven days. The tribe members dance all night and sing hymns hailing Ravana. Holy

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-28204381220732698572007-03-03T10:59:00.000-08:002007-03-05T10:59:29.348-08:00

Updates: Please see some updates at the end of this article.Till now, Indian government has been subsidising Haj trip for muslims, Kailash Manasarovar trip for hindus, setting up facilities for Kumbh Mela etc. Infact, if you are a pilgrim to Manasarovar from Delhi, Gujarat or UP, you get an additional subsidy from your state. And now, christians have rightfully started demanding subsidy to

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-60587967246324636492007-03-03T09:57:00.000-08:002007-03-03T19:33:21.420-08:00

The Puri temple board, after hours of debating, decided to throw away food cooked for 7000 devotes after a white American "descecrated" the premises by entering the temple. In a country where around 20% of the population hover around the poverty line, this is an awful lot of wastage coming from a temple. I wonder why the temple board couldn't have asked some random priest to just shower the "

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-80260655554017397342007-02-17T00:50:00.000-08:002007-02-17T01:27:14.598-08:00

Check out this short documentary made by 17 year old Kiri Davis of Manhattan's Urban Academy. In this movie, 21 black preschool kids we shown two identically but differently colored dolls and asked to pick up the "nice" dolls. Of the 21 kids, 15 chose the white doll and when asked why they liked it, the answer was simply "Because its white". One of the kids is then asked to pick up the doll

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-66772474479463456382007-02-02T07:49:00.000-08:002007-02-02T08:01:55.550-08:00

How many husbands does Ash have ? Here is the list ( source here ) :A peepal tree at Benaras.A banana tree at a Bangalore temple.A god's idol in Ayodhya.She is currently engaged to Abhishek Bachchan and hasen't filed for a divorce from her current three husbands. In which case, once they marry, Abhishek will be her fourth husband. Wow, thats pretty impressive for a woman, who Amitabh Bachchan

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-71221599725738504732007-01-16T21:41:00.000-08:002007-01-16T22:32:47.631-08:00

Given how much hatred there is between Shiites and Sunnis, this could well qualify for a basic physics problem in Shiite science textbooks. Or maybe our Cartman dude from South Park will be delighted to hear a lecture on the cold science of hanging by Ms. Garrison.It is actually quite easy to explain why Barzan was decapitated while hanging and there is no need to invoke some "divine act" theory

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-50689940804015759252007-01-09T10:00:00.000-08:002007-01-09T10:47:07.499-08:00

One of my friends pointed me to some writings floating around in wikipedia, ars mathematica, optimization news, etc with my name as the "discoverer" of plagiarism in Cao/Zhu paper on Poincare conjecture. This blog is to clarify what really happened. Whoever made the original wikipedia entry probably read this blog of mine where I clearly state in the first line itself that the pdf was emailed to

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-74424741391284281292007-01-06T22:05:00.000-08:002007-01-06T22:40:32.463-08:00

One of the best "ethics" blogs I have come across. Check out Ashley Treatment. The blog is maintained by parents of Ashley X, a girl child with static encephalopathy. Her parents decided to check her growth, i.e., her height and weight using hormonal treatment. And as expected, the e-moralists have showered them with insults and slander denouncing them as lazy cruel parents who have spayed and

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-58613530904306000172007-01-03T11:37:00.000-08:002007-01-03T11:44:27.855-08:00

Nice, funny interesting collection of "The Onion" news articles on Bush. Healthy way to laugh out and start your new year. Do check out the "Bush Finds Error In Fermilab Calculations" :)

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-41465889694706483582006-12-21T16:02:00.000-08:002006-12-21T16:19:34.022-08:00

Check out this clip. Its in top youtube clips today. Reminds me of some of my childhood friends who could repeat some slokas or mantras or the multiplication tables without having any f**ng clue as to what it means. In all these cases, some pushy parents were the culprits :)Poor kid. I feel sorry for him and his childhood. Surely this kid has amazing capacity to byheart things just like some

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-36829318510473828812006-12-19T10:23:00.000-08:002006-12-19T10:27:32.709-08:00

Click here to see him in action or click here to read some of his stupid rants.

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-14800575870321960992006-12-17T10:32:00.000-08:002006-12-19T11:05:17.947-08:00

Finally managed to get hold of a copy of the petition sent to the President of India, urging consideration of honoring M F Husain with the Bharat Ratna. Thanks to Shashi Tharoor and Ram Rahman for giving me a copy. Click here to read the pdf version. Personally, I don't understand his paintings very much and am no one to comment whether MFH deserves the Bharat Ratna or not. But the names in the

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-63078251108926377892006-12-11T14:46:00.001-08:002006-12-11T15:00:27.730-08:00

A nice funny re-cut of Apocalypto. Its so hard to think of the movie, think of Mel Gibson without thinking of the DUI incident when he made statements likeFucking Jews...the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the worldWhat are you looking at, sugartits ?Here is the youtube clip:Thanks Abraham for the clip :)

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-80381628106170824542006-12-11T12:05:00.000-08:002006-12-11T13:04:12.161-08:00

After spending about an hour everyday for the last couple of weeks reading reviews on various Nikon and Canon digital SLRs, I landed up buying a Nikon D50 last night from ritzcamera.com. Its literallly a throw away price ( $450 and $430 if you use google checkout). I also ordered a Tokina 12-24mm wideangle lens from normancamera.com. The Nikon 18-200mm VR lens is out of stock and I have

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1165257963948156292006-12-04T10:42:00.000-08:002006-12-05T11:17:26.480-08:00

Its hard to find a mallu who hasen't heard of the crunchy snack "Achappam". It might actually be equally hard to find a chinese who hasen't heard of "Tong Wan/Chinese Pretzel" :) We got the chance to try this during our Hawaii visit in 2003. Looks the same and tastes the same. A google for achappam or chinese pretzel recipes also confirms it. Most of it has the basic ingredient as1. All purpose

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1165178577068833772006-12-03T12:42:00.000-08:002006-12-04T13:21:32.663-08:00

Its been a year since I wrote my piece on M F Husain. Things have turned out so bad for the artist that he is now on a self imposed exile and resides in the UK. Here is what some of his critics want out of the whole issue:The Hindu Personal Law Board had announced a Rs 51 crore reward for beheading the artist.A local leader in Gujarat promised one kg of gold to anyone who gouged out Hussain's

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1165169299589401442006-12-03T10:06:00.000-08:002006-12-03T10:19:02.770-08:00

BBC special reports has a nice piece on Dharavi, Asia's largest slum. If you are bored of the recent media obsession with Sanjay Dutt story ( or "saga" as they call it), you might want to read this instead. Click on the image below to read about their personal stories and struggles in life.Name: Selvaraj Thevar (46)Occupation: Aircraft maintenance for Jet AirwaysEarns: $260 (£140) per month -

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1164997088257892362006-12-01T10:15:00.000-08:002006-12-01T10:34:09.903-08:00

Thanks MP for the link. Check out the "news" at The Onion by clicking here. Nice take on Intelligent Design movement in Kansas. It reads"From now on, the streets, forests, plains, and rivers of Kansas will be safe from the godless practice of evolution, and species will be able to procreate without deviating from God's intended design," said Bob Bethell, a member of the state House of

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1164934310865533622006-11-30T16:47:00.000-08:002006-11-30T21:40:41.203-08:00

Here is the now famous kiss between the Rajasthan CM and Biocon India Chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. Coming from a male dominated state which gives handouts to tourists with lessons on "local Indian culture" likea man must never touch a woman in public, even to help her out of a car, unless she is very elderly or infirm.she definitely has the balls to kiss someone from the same sex in public. And

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1164682958125825202006-11-27T18:55:00.000-08:002006-11-27T19:04:19.200-08:00

Yes, the Rs. 14 lakh crore giant is about to enter India in a tie up with Bharti group and plans to open "hundreds of stores" all around. The financial details haven't been released yet as India still doesn't allow FDI in retail sector, but only in the wholesale sector.If you have some land in India which is potentially close to where Walmart plans to put up its store, hold on to it and wait

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1163399573539165302006-11-12T22:30:00.000-08:002006-11-12T23:16:30.286-08:00

Imagine you call your brother-in-law an ass when you are having an argument with your wife. As per the "THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT ", this amounts to emotional and verbal abuse and you could be jailed! The Domestic Violence Act (DV) came into effect on Oct 26th, 2006 and is already causing quite an uproar. Karan Thapar in his Devil's Advocate interviews Renuka

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1163384328482748212006-11-12T18:14:00.000-08:002006-11-12T23:17:45.796-08:00

Adobe Labs has released Flash Player 9 for linux. (The windows version has been available for quite some time now ). You can download it from here, unzip and copy it to your browser's plugins folder.Many websites like CNN-IBN videos require atleast version 8 of flash player. You can now browse through them in linux without having to go through additional hacks like using wine etc.

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1163383866865045332006-11-12T18:08:00.000-08:002006-11-12T18:14:14.896-08:00

Check out this CNN-IBN clip on women in Kerala.Etamanoor (Kerala): Women in Etamanoor, Kerala, can do almost anything, from driving auto-rickshaws to running hotels and even climbing coconut trees.This is a village where women are on top and that is because of the Swasreya Sangham – a self-reliance initiative in the Kottayam district.The initiative has designed a mechancial equipment enabling

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1163182720824189662006-11-10T10:14:00.000-08:002006-11-10T22:53:32.086-08:00

Here is a picture of a happy closed set sitting in a two dimensional plane. It has points with a zero, one and two dimensional "neighbourhood".

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1162941099822737412006-11-07T15:06:00.000-08:002006-11-07T15:20:11.296-08:00

Just a follow up on my previous post "Indians bribe most". Transparency International relesed CPIs of various countries worldwide yesterday. India ranks 70th in the list (better than being at the bottom as was for the bribery index). TI reports:The 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), launched today by Transparency International (TI), points to a strong correlation between corruption and

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1162939471160876352006-11-07T14:42:00.000-08:002006-11-07T14:49:40.300-08:00

Check out indextube.com. Its a nice website where most of the videos from youtube and video google are organized with a nice interface. Because its based on wiki, anyone can edit it or add new clips to it. The current links on the top of their TV Shows list are Ali G and Borat collections.

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1162797349744462852006-11-05T23:13:00.000-08:002006-11-05T23:32:08.470-08:00

Just back after seeing Borat. Found it quite funny and interesting. I think opinions on this movie will turn out to be good or very bad. It is not for the faint hearted. Its a movie on racism, stereotypes and intolerance. You can read its CNN review and its ABC review before deciding to see it. Both are good reviews.If you are the kind of person who finds certain jokes out of taste or certain

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1162757171602510152006-11-05T12:05:00.000-08:002006-11-05T13:07:42.446-08:00

This is the same guy who accused Richard Dawkins of "intellectual arrogance" in Dawkin's movie "The root of all evil". Click below to watch it at youtube.He tells Dawkins:If you only read the books I know or if you only met the scientists I meet, you would be great like me! We can now add the following to itIf you only met the gay prostitutes I meet, you would realize that I am such a self

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1162716141648210652006-11-05T00:40:00.000-08:002006-11-05T10:01:29.780-08:00

If I were managing CNN-IBN, I would definitely stop her from hosting any shows. Even after being told so many times by Jethmalani that it is no business of her to question his right to defend someone, even after her own " national polls" show that a huge majority (80%) of the pollsters support Jethmalani, she goes on with next next segment Was Jethmalani's decision right ?. This time she

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1162665599006390582006-11-04T10:35:00.000-08:002006-11-04T11:14:29.016-08:00

Here is an update on my previous posting on the Poincare conjectures.Click here for a pdf file Jeremy Morgan emailed me yesterday. Its quite clear that on reading it that not only did they copy the same argument/idea from Kleiner/Lott paper, but even the sentence construction is same at many places. In the pdf file, the left column is the stuff from Kleiner/Lott paper posted at www.arxiv.org and

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1162616537125390842006-11-03T21:00:00.000-08:002006-11-03T21:45:39.373-08:00

Check out this interview on CNN-IBN of Ram Jethmalani by Sagarika Ghose. The title of the article is "Raging Jethmalani vows to save Manu, slams media". Firstly, the title is misleading. I would suggest changing it to "Raging Jethmalani forcefully tackles stupid and self-righteous Ghose". Secondly, Jethmalani only wovs to give Manu Sharma a fair trial, not to save him (atleast in this interview

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1162514788902476332006-11-02T16:39:00.000-08:002006-11-02T17:00:46.220-08:00

This happened more than a month ago but didnt get too much attention. Recently, some gruesome images showed up in blogs like www.shivamvij.com and atrocitynews.wordpress.com. WARNING: The second link has some very disturbing pictures. You can also read a DNA India article here.Bhaiyyalal’s wife Surekha, 44, daughter Priyanka, 18, sons, Roshan, 23, and Sudhir, 21, were first stripped naked,

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1162513578376234152006-11-02T16:20:00.000-08:002006-11-02T16:26:18.386-08:00

Check out this post at sepiamutiny.com. Quite hilarious :)

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1162350659363812812006-10-31T19:07:00.000-08:002006-10-31T19:49:43.856-08:00

Check out this "White and Nerdy" by Weird Al. According to CNN, it hit top 10 in Billboard 200. Here are the lyrics taken from www.lyricsdir.com. They see me mowin'My front lawnI know they're all thinkingI'm so White N' nerdyThink I'm just too white n' nerdyThink I'm just too white n' nerdyCan't you see I'm white n' nerdyLook at me I'm white n' nerdy!I wanna roll with-The gangstersBut so far

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1162246662436515252006-10-30T14:15:00.000-08:002006-10-30T14:28:13.506-08:00

May not be very surprising but atleast we can quantify these. Check out Economic Times article on the 2006 BPI released by Transparency International. NEW DELHI: In a global recognition of a different kind, India has been ranked as the worst performer by Transparency International on its global Bribe Payers Index, which is based on the propensity of companies from the world’s 30 leading

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1161712744982400042006-10-24T10:57:00.000-07:002006-10-25T22:21:06.206-07:00

"Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix." These were the words opined by Judge Leon Bazile in a 1967 case when he sentenced to jail an interracial

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1161665970995243342006-10-23T21:59:00.000-07:002006-10-23T22:30:07.176-07:00

Video google has a speech by Modi after the Mumbai blasts. Some of his lines included belittling United Nations, comparing Manmohan Singh to a coward drunkard and accusing him for givin up on POTA, bashing five star foreign activists (probably referring to foreign returned activists) and as expected Pakistan and Jihadi terrorism.He starts off with a very lifeless and robotic "Bharat Mata Ki"

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1161490054945214722006-10-21T21:03:00.000-07:002006-10-21T21:25:07.990-07:00

Just the other day (Oct 18, 2006 to be more precise), I was having a discussion on American politics with some of my American friends. And no such discussion can end without mentioning voter turnout in America. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance has released a ranking of 172 countries by their voter turnout percentages since 1945. Click here for the report.Some (

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1161371696260886252006-10-20T12:11:00.000-07:002006-10-20T14:50:59.456-07:00

I really can't understand the world obsession with Kim Jong II. This poor underprivileged kid wanted to celebrate Diwali with some lights and the world is going boo boo over it. I managed to get in tough with North Korean officials to check what other plans they had. To my surprise, they sent me this official Diwali greetings which Kim has been planning to send to world leaders.This picture is

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1161120948500747832006-10-17T14:34:00.000-07:002006-10-17T15:38:37.056-07:00

It all starts with the elusive proof of Poincare conjecture posted in a set of three papers by Perelman.Then came the surprise that Perelman plans to reject the Fields Medal and everyone starts putting up their own conjectures as to why he declined. One such attempt to "explain" is a New Yorker article by Silvia Nasar. Click here to read an online version of the article or click here to download

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1160760395755203332006-10-13T10:25:00.000-07:002006-10-13T11:13:55.466-07:00

BBC's South Asian section reports that EMI had to recall Christ Illusion after some Christians protested.Joseph Dias, of Mumbai's Catholic Secular Forum, said the album was "offensive and in very bad taste".Firstly, "Catholic Secular" is as oxymoronic as it can get. Second, if I were ever to meet Joseph Dias, I would tell him that I find the first Catholic Commandment in the bible "extremely

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1160694424847933142006-10-12T16:03:00.000-07:002006-10-13T11:14:08.650-07:00

A funny article by the Science and Technology team at The Onion. It describes in great details how a group of eight Caltech physicists successfully split their bill at a Cheesecake factory in Pasadena. Here is a sample. Visit their website for the complete news. Its a nice funny read after half a day's work!The team of physicists decided to test Dreyfuss's Pay For What You Ordered Algorithm,

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1160587446595525182006-10-11T10:15:00.000-07:002006-10-11T10:50:34.176-07:00

Many of us have heard of the "Barber's paradox" introduced by one of the most influential logician and mathematician in recent times, Bertrand Russell, to demonstrate a logically impossible scenario and contradictions in set theories prevalent in his times. But there is another interesting construction by Russell called the "Russell's teapot". Here is its statement:If I were to suggest that

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1160287332986664102006-10-07T23:01:00.000-07:002006-10-07T23:37:51.503-07:00

If you are an underpaid graduate student who cannot afford to have a desi cable channel, there is a nice free alternative. Go to http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/ and you land up with a page like this.You will see a "Live Streaming" link at the location circled above. Click and enjoy. I just happend to see this week's comedy segment "The week that wasn't" hosted by Cyrus Broacha. Quite hilarious

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1160001546051210842006-10-04T15:36:00.000-07:002006-10-04T22:05:03.813-07:00

Probably the best way to deal with astrologers is to do what Munnabhai did. Ridicule them in public by asking them to "predict" whats going to happen in the next one hour. I think Bollywood will be doing a great social service if they can get rid of peoples superstitions. Its really a shame that astrologers are able to feed themselves on peoples financial and emotional insecurities even in

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1159899886685072672006-10-03T11:23:00.000-07:002006-10-03T11:26:46.200-07:00

Paper deadlines... Visa paperwork.... Havent been able to blog for a while. But atleast I have a new look to my website and an updated academics link :)

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1159639225632611412006-09-30T10:57:00.000-07:002006-09-30T11:13:23.996-07:00

Just came across an interesting article by BBC on the forgottern India's African Communities. Check out BBC 's website for some pictures."The children don't know anything about Africa because those who knew about Africa have died," Hassan says.Many of them were brought as slaves, but some were merchants, travellers and sailors.Wiki mentions the following regarding the history of slavery. .The

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1158864842389943552006-09-21T11:53:00.000-07:002006-09-21T12:22:35.206-07:00

Just came across these links on Lage Raho Munna Bhai inspired Gandhirigi. Check out these if you are curious about what exacltly it means.Another link is www.gandhigiri.co.in. If you are inspired to know more about Gandhi, the best source to start with is Gandhi @ Wiki. Gandhi's autobiography is also available online at wikisource, though I would recommend buying the book. Its not easy reading a

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1157752968303607092006-09-08T15:01:00.000-07:002006-09-08T20:59:03.926-07:00

Warning: This video is so funny you might die of laughter!!!Check out CNN-IBN. Many of them dont even know its meaning and keep dodging questions :)BJP's senior leader Ravi Shankar Prasad was asked by the reporter to translate "sujalaaM suphalaaM malayaja shiitalaaM". To everybody's surprise, his ultra retarded (counter question) answer was:I will definitely give an answer to this question. But

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1157749107711809642006-09-08T13:57:00.000-07:002006-09-08T14:12:10.836-07:00

Hindu has an interesting article on the Poincare Conjecture written by T. Jayaraman and R. Ramachandran totally adapted to desis. A two dimensional sphere is a bonda, a doughnut is a medu vada, a surface with two holes is two meduvadas glued while frying.Nice article and funny sometimes, especially if you are not used to bondas and vadas. T. Jayaraman

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1157144947343217222006-09-01T14:08:00.000-07:002006-09-01T14:27:06.800-07:00

If you are reading this blog, chances are that your orkut profile has been voted worst. Orkut monitors people's online activities and they come up with the most boring person. Its updated on a regular basis. Check outhttp://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?2uid=3849827725404266552to know who the current prize winner is for the worst profile :)

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1157052883860207652006-08-31T12:33:00.000-07:002006-08-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

Just a follow up on my previous post on Lalu. He has been invited to lecture at IIM-A on his management skills. According to rediffEver since Prasad took over as India's Railway Minister, the Railways have become the second-largest PSU profit-earner after the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. Lalu has surprised many by emerging as one of the top-performing ministers in Prime Minister Manmohan

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1156617185787531172006-08-26T11:31:00.000-07:002006-08-31T12:42:32.410-07:00

The recent campaigns against M. F. Husain and blocking of various internet sites by the Indian government has prompted me to write this note. The outrage which bloggers have expressed against the government decision to block website has been quite impressive. But at the same time, as Kingsley pointed out in his blog title "Free Speech Free Riders", the outrage has been sometimes very ``selfish''

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1156267767539995812006-08-22T10:29:00.000-07:002006-08-22T10:35:36.706-07:00

Grisha Perelman is one of the winners of the 2006 Fields Medal, though he has declined to accept it. The other three winners are Andrei Okounkov, Terence Tao and Wendelin Werner.I am glad that I happened to sit for Okounkov's course on Representation Theory while I was in Princeton. He was a very lucid and friendly teacher.Terence Tao is only 31. Swap the digits in 31, you get 13. The age at

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1155836881416644102006-08-17T10:31:00.000-07:002006-08-17T10:54:41.536-07:00

Perelman is in news again. After three years of proof checking, mathematicians are convinced that this guy has indeed cracked the conjecture.Apparently, this unwordly genius is "missing" somewhere in Russia and is not responding to emails. People have also started conjecturing tha he will turn down the Clay Math million dollar prize and the prestigious Fields Medal, which he will most likely

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1155584926911931702006-08-14T12:48:00.000-07:002006-08-15T23:56:29.526-07:00

This is straigh off the Kerala state government website. It lists the council of ministers and their hobbies. Most of them list the standard boring stuff like reading, library etc as their hobbies. But the following two definitely are the interesting ones. A. K. Balan, Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1155535876166277172006-08-13T23:08:00.000-07:002006-08-13T23:11:16.176-07:00

A very funny, sad, true, sarcastic blog from "Dog's Own Country ?" Must read I should say. You wont have time to stop laughing at this ridicule of marriage institution.

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1155525530768781892006-08-13T20:12:00.000-07:002006-08-14T10:32:53.770-07:00

So says Christian Evengelist Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. You can view the video clip on youtube. Its an old clip, but I just came across it. Quoting Mohler,“I would have to say that as a Christian that I believe that any belief system, any worldview, whether it’s Zen Buddhism or Hinduism or dialectical materialism for that matter, Marxism, that keeps

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1155489844035760562006-08-13T10:18:00.000-07:002006-08-16T15:46:10.660-07:00

I just finished reading Amartya Sen's Argumentatvie India . Hats off to Prof. Sen for this passionate and patriotic account of India's past, its culture, argumentative tradition, identity and tips for India's future.Growing up in Mumbai (previously Bombay), I always wondered why we Indians argue over anything and everything. (I still vividly remember an incident when I was travelling in a

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1154930833343297922006-08-06T23:05:00.000-07:002006-08-06T23:07:13.353-07:00

Known to be one of the most ancient forms of martial arts in the world, Kalaripayittu was developed in Kerala no later than 1200 according to some historians. There are two styles for this art, the northern style practised in Malabar region and the southern style practised in Travancore. It should be noted that the term Malabar comes from the Portuguese malabaristas, meaning acrobats.Though known

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1154715251389670692006-08-04T11:04:00.000-07:002006-08-05T00:40:20.053-07:00

"I have never found one among them who could deny that a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia. "Thomas Babington Macaulay, Minute on Indian Education, 1835.India was usually known to outsiders until very recently as the land of naked sadhus, snake charmers, overtly religious mystical land which taught the world how to make love. Such a

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1154563854773397512006-08-02T17:01:00.000-07:002006-08-02T23:08:26.446-07:00

Here is some Carvaka stuff from Sarvadarsanasamgraha by Madhavacarya. (Please note that this is the monist Madhavacarya and not the dualist Madhvacarya.) In the text below, Carvaka very strongly critises rituals as well as the obscenety bestiality/necrophilia associated with Aswamedha [*]." If a beast slain in the Jyotistoma rite will itself go to heaven, Why then does not the sacrificer

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1154444144793471922006-08-01T07:44:00.000-07:002006-08-01T10:30:28.383-07:00

Maybe its in his blood to make Senaspeaks. Raj, president of MNS (offshoot of Shiv Sena) has threatened to make it difficult for lawyers to "move around Mumbai" if they defend the accused in Mumbai blasts. Clearly infringing the democratic rights of lawyers as well as the rights of accused to a frail trial, Raj's statement has been strongly been condemned by various lawyer's association.Maybe

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1154365807212838992006-07-31T10:07:00.000-07:002006-07-31T10:10:38.076-07:00

NEW DELHI, JUNE 24:Is Microsoft Excel the reason why tigers can’t be counted? That’s the official explanation, howsoever bizarre it may sound, behind the fact that as many as 15 out of 17 tiger states have not filed their primary census data to the Centre.Read the complete article at Indian Express.

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1154279029801842332006-07-30T09:57:00.000-07:002006-07-30T10:06:19.766-07:00

Wow wow! Quite impressive figures. Apparently Lalu and his management increased net profit of the Railways by Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 crore. Pasted below is the full article taken from sify.com. You can also read more about Lalu at wiki.Ahmedabad: Critics of Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav may accuse him of messing up the development of Bihar during his party's rule in that state but he has

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1154114346553141572006-07-28T12:10:00.000-07:002006-07-28T13:38:06.330-07:00

Daily Show has a funny clip featuring Samantha Bee, Jason Jones and Dan Bakkedahl on how god has been three-timing the Jews, Muslims and Christians. He first promised the land to Jews, then to Muslims and finally plans to hand it over to Christians (after the Armageddon I guess).At least going by the middle east events the last couple of decades, it looks more cursed than promised.

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1154113589413465312006-07-28T11:38:00.000-07:002006-07-28T13:32:34.113-07:00

CNN has this article today titled "Lactivists: Where is it OK to breastfeed?" . Public breastfeeding is a topic which has gained momentum the last couple of weeks after a lady in Wisconsin was asked to breastfeed her baby in the restroom at a Victoria's Secret store! The store has since then apologized for the incident. My personal take is1. Not many people on this planet feel comfortable eating

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1153890744451998582006-07-25T22:10:00.000-07:002006-07-25T22:23:50.953-07:00

Well, actually google bombed and this self righteous Christian fundamentalist guy definitely deserves it in my opinion. Do a google for "Santorum". If you are expecting the senator's official site to show up on the top of the list, you are in for a BIG BIG surprise...Some of Santorum's past blunders include making homophobic statements, trying to insert creationism into science classes,

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1153890287600209202006-07-25T21:52:00.000-07:002006-07-28T13:30:52.716-07:00

Check out Times of India to read about betting which took place in India over the survival chances of Prince, the four-year old who was trapped in a bore well for well over 48 hours. Personally, I dont have any problems with this or any other forms of gambling, betting over incidents etc. But what struck me in this article was the subtle racial tone against Gujrati's. It starts off as " The

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1153888334500626302006-07-25T21:27:00.000-07:002006-07-25T21:32:52.350-07:00

Some of you might have already seen Colbert literally roasting Bush alive during the White House Correspondents Dinner. Personally, I liked his performance. Its was very much Bush deserving. Do check out this clip at "google current" about google searches related to the event...

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1153839575372346982006-07-25T07:56:00.000-07:002006-07-25T15:46:25.536-07:00

Followed by 1000 years of peace on earth. So says many of the faithfuls around the world looking at the current events in Middle East. They point to Revelation Chapter 9 and interpret the current events as prophesies in that chapter unfolding before their eyes. The Armageddon they see is the world forces turning to Southern Lebanon, leading to unforseen catastrophe.Just as a quick reminder. As

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1153700716866733352006-07-23T17:08:00.000-07:002006-07-23T17:25:16.893-07:00

To get you interested, check out the following two versions about this Shiite group, which the Lebanese government recognizes as a resistant movement and which has 23 of Lebanon's 128 parliament seats. The links are from BBC. One is dated April 4, 2002 and the other more recent, dated July 13, 2006.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1908671.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4314423.

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1153463894093354872006-07-20T23:35:00.000-07:002006-07-24T16:07:04.766-07:00

An article I had written some time back. Blogging it now. Taken from my website at http://www.cds.caltech.edu/~nair/husain.php---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you are wondering if this is about chasing Saddam Hussain, no its not! This is about a very versatible and enigmatic photogenic icon of India, Maqbool Fida Husain (MFH). MFH

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1153462703504720412006-07-20T23:17:00.000-07:002006-07-20T23:22:23.280-07:00

its real and on todays CNN :) ex-porn star standing for nevada's governorpost. i guess if schwaz@@@ger can be CA governor, she can also. this isher official "MiMi for Governor" website. do check out her resume. i mustadmit, her views sound very reasonable.go nevada go...http://www.melodydamayo.net/

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439778.post-1153462230704648962006-07-20T23:08:00.000-07:002006-07-20T23:10:30.716-07:00

In one line, I consider myselves as a Hindu subscribing to the Lokayata or the Charvaka philosophy. Broadly, Hinduism school can be categorized into Vedanta, Sankhya and Lokayata. The Vedanta school is theistic, the Lokayata school is materialistic and rationalistic and the Sankhya school is somewhere in between these two schools of thought. The Lokayata school tries to explain the universe

Sujitnoreply@blogger.com2