Sayan Chakraborti

Supernova Watch

2007-05-23T18:30:00.000+05:30

Supernova Watch will not watch for supernovae. We shall watch for new and interesting papers on supernovae, their mechanisms, their connections with other phenomenon including GRBs, their circumstellar interactions, the supernova remnants that they produce and the pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae that they leave behind. We shall try to give the links to the astro-ph eprint wherever possible.

Scoopal.com

2006-01-01T13:02:00.000+05:30

My friend Tatha and I have started a new social networking and collaborative blogging website at Scoopal.com. Its meant to be a place for you to blog and read your friends' blogs within an unified interface. The site is still in Beta, so do check it out, and suggest improvements to me.

Ubuntu is there!

2005-12-20T22:07:00.000+05:30

I dont know if Ubuntu has reached there, but it has definitely reached here!

I came home today to find a box full of Ubuntu CDs waiting for me. I wanted to try them out, but not disturb my tried and tested Debian installation. And what better way to run an Ubuntu Live CD, configure PPP-Over-Ethernet connection to BroadBand, write a post with OpenOffice and post it with Firefox? Been there, done that! Now, now, isn't Tathagata getting jealous?

I have been a Debian user for a long long time, I dont really feel the need to change to one of its derivatives, but I just might, its that good! Anyone sincerely wanting to try this hot new distro out, collect your free CDs from me.

Bloggers, bloggers, everywhere!

2005-12-11T21:56:00.000+05:30

I had gone to take a test, not of the medical kind, but an entrance test. Now suddenly one of the invigilators seem to flash a smile of recognition. My mind races, do I know him? Turned out to be a fellow blogger! I had read his blog for months, even talked on email! Was definitely happy to see him. Anyway, some bloggers do seem to enjoy the anonymity offered by the internet, so let them be anonymous.

Empire Strikes Back

2005-11-17T22:28:00.000+05:30

Here are a few lines from a comment at Slashdot.

Boss: What's that? [pointing to screen]

Worker: Ubuntu. Been using it for a while. Works so much better than Windows and I'm much more productive.

Boss: Excellent! Good job! Keep it up!

[Boss shuffles off to his office, closes the door, and kneels before raised, circular object on the floor. Hologram of hooded figure appears.]

Figure: What is it?

Boss: My Master, there is a Linux-user here!

Figure: I see. The Rebels are becoming bold, moving faster than anticipated. No matter!

Boss: What shall we do?

Figure: Do nothing. I will send Darth Ballmer to deal with this "Linux-user."

Boss: Very well, My Master.

[Hologram disappears]

Got a new Multimeter

2005-11-15T00:10:00.000+05:30

I cant stop bragging about new electronic equipment. So, here I go. Bought a new Multimeter. Its a M890G. Here are the specs.

DCV:0-200mV-2V-20V-200V-10000V±0.5%
ACV:0-200mV-2V-20V-200V-700VV±1.2%

DC A: 2mA-20mA-200mA-20A±1.2%
AC A:20mA-200mA-20A(40-400Hz)±3.0%
R:0-200-2K-20K-200K-2M-20M-200MOhm±2.0%

Capacitance:2000nF-20nF-200nF-2uF-20uF ±2.0%
Temp:-50°C---- + 1000 °C±5.0% Resolution 1 °C

Frequency: 20Khz Resolution: 10Hz
Audible continuity
Clamp size:1.30inch max.
batt:1.5Vx1 AA

Belated Pujo Posts :: Ponchomi

2005-10-21T01:50:00.000+05:30

I had no plans for Ponchomi, was woken up by Tathagata, only to be informed that Anjan and Ranabir are taking us out to lunch? So, we promptly skipped breakfast and donned a newly acquired pair of jeans ...

Hey! I had other business to attend to. I called them up again ... I have to write my TIFR application ... Should I write it in Latex? ... Use word ... I have never used Word apart from stupid exams ...

My phone rings again... I'm at it ... You're late ... I'm typing ... We are coming over to HELP you ...

They arrived promptly and I gave them my handwritten letter and went in for my bath. I came out to find it nicely typeset. Friends in need ...

Since I didn't have a printer, and BroadBand was not working, we transferred the file from my computer to my cellphone to Tatha's computer. Tatha's didi seemed amused at these geeky activities. I left a copy of Chandrabindoo's Tanana Tana Nana Na for her on Tatha's computer.

By this time, rest of the gang is already at Ranabir's house. Phone rings. Tora kothae? ... Ei rastae ... Ki korchish ... Ekta form courier korei ashchi ... We are getting hungry ... One of the sponsors is with us. Ha ha!

We try to pack all the stuff and just before we manage to hand it over, phone rings again, I pick it up and make a deal. We are to meet them directly at Sanjha Chulah, not the Kinnilworth one, but the Bypass one.

We get a S9 bus from Jadavpur and suprise, suprise, we have another South Point gang on it... They find out that Anjan is the Bali-ka-Bakra of the day.

So, they decided to rob Anjan. But, we managed to save him (and our treat) in due time, and get off the bus.

We had arrived before the rest. So we occupied the largest table, and informed the waiters that we have lots of people still to come.

Here is Nilushua. (For the Uninitiated: Nilushua = Niladrish + Anushua, simple enough, eh?) They are the longest surviving couple in our groups history.

Here are Anjan and Rudrajit. Anjan has till now kept his smoking habits hidden from Kaku, but, that leads to a lot of blackmailing on our prts ... Mr Dutta on the other hand is currently busy in the business expansions of the Dey & Dutta Group of Companies at Kharagpur. As to the activities of this clandestine organiation, I hope Tathagata will provide further information...

So, I present you Tathagata and Ranabir. Tathagata seems to be conducting Linux "tuitions" at night, only for girls, or so it is rumoured ... Or is the class only open to penguins? Anyway, he is too busy to update his blog. The other guy in the pic... The name is Dey, Ranabir Dey. Needs no introduction, co-founder of D&D Group of Companies... Has recently acquired a passion for carbonated nicotinated polluted air, much to the anguish of Tathagata, the president of ASS, the Anti Smoking Society.

And at last Shamashish and your's truly. Shamashish has a nice excuse for looking so grave. Our future revolutionary and benevolent dictator is going through some problems of the heart. And I had my excuse for loosing eight kilos of weight too, but trust me those reasons have been cured.

After a nice lunch, we took a walk down the Bypass, much to Anushua's dislike.

Tatha and I ended up at BCL while the others headed for Hobby Centre for some icecream. We joined up later but had to return pretty soon.

I was supposed to go out with Mehuli the next day, but she called up to inform me that she has to attend a marriage reception. Sayam-M called me, Sayan-N, up.

M: Boddo Chap!
N: Keno?
M: Kaal ekta biebari jete hobe.
N: Sheki! Kothae?
M: Tor barir kachhei.
...
N: Amae tor shathe nie jete parbi?
...
M: Amar mamato bhai bole chalano jete pare.
...
M: Beshi barabi hoe jachchhe!

Stay tuned for the Shoshti chronicles, same place, same time. OK, I correct myself. Same place, sometime during the next week, if my readers seem to be interested, or if I have readers at all!

Belated Pujo Posts :: Choturthi

2005-10-20T21:01:00.000+05:30

For the uninitiated, Choturthi or Chaturthi, means the fourth of the 10 day festival. But, festivities dont really take off before the 7th.

Anyway, I was talking with Sayam when we realized that neither of us had any decent clothes nor had we bought anything for Pujo. (Note To The Uninitiated: This is THE festival in Kolkata and you HAVE to buy clothes, at least to keep your mom happy!)

So, we informed Shamashis, who had already been gifted a lot of clothes, of our grave situation. So we went shopping!

I went and met them at a Reliance shop near Gariahat. Sayam was getting a new Reliance connection while Shamashis was checking out Sayam's new digital camera.

We went over to Pantaloons. Shamashis dutifuly informed us that the things to buy were Short Kuttas, err Kurtas ... We got tired soon enough and headed for food. After some exchanging some food and lots of advice, Shamashis left us and went home.

Now, it seems Pantaloons had run out of Jeans of our size. So, we headed for the new shopping complex which has magically appared opposite P. C. Sorkar's house.

The building looked nice enough, I took out my cellphone, Sayam took out his new digital camera, and ..... we were immediately confronted by one of the Security Officers. Photography is Prohibited ... Really? ... we have to confiscate your devices ... We wont give them to you ...

Anyway, we got an Autoickshaw and reached Gariahat at 11 pm. Most of the shopkeeper were under the impression that we are twins... No their fault actually, we have the same waist sizes, very similar names, and even the same model of cellphones...

We came out of the last shop at around midnight. I was planning to spend the night at Sayam's, but we got two Taxis at the same time. The most surprising thing was that we had indeed done some shopping. We have this picture, of Sayam carrying the stuff, to prove ourselves!

The Bloodbath

2005-10-04T22:56:00.000+05:30

Our CU Part I results have been announced. Need I say more?

The Last Supper

2005-10-04T01:43:00.000+05:30

Its almost 2AM here. Our Part I results will be announced within the next 15 hours. Am I worried? Yes, I am. But, some people have been giving me a lot of encouragement.

Anyway, it has been a very funny day. I woke up on a missed call. I peeked through my window and found lots of water in the streets.

Being stuck at home, I started thinking about the upcoming results and got really worried. I really wanted to go out. I was feeling horrible at home!

Then Sayamindu called up, we was going out to get a new Reliance connection. He wanted a reunion. So, I called up Shamashis, who hadnt yet wahed his hands after lunch, but was ready to leave in minutes. So, I went to Tathagata's home to pull the Newbie Hacker away from his computers.

After convincing Tatha, that he can complete his project in the night, we got out. Got an autorickshaw and reached Golpark.

As usual, we were late. We found Hacker Lord Sayamindu and Presidente Shamashis waiting for us.

We proceeded to have a nice and long adda session at Grub Club.

We did'nt really stop at that. How could we? We are the founding members of the Official Hengla Association. But, if I write all about it, what will Tatha and Sayamindu write? Happy Blogging.

The Motorola Diaries :: Part 1

2005-09-29T00:14:00.000+05:30

My old Motorola C350 has aged a lot. It has refused to work as a phone any longer. Its speakers don't work! So, I had to get a new cellphone.

On the day of the transport strike, I decided to go and shop for my new phone. Tathagata and I left our house in our car, but asked Sanjit Da, our driver, to drop us at the Tallygunge Metro Station. We would get a train to Chandni Chowk and reach my dad's office to collect a cheque. Easy enough?

We got down a minute away from the station and waved Sanjit Da goodbye. This would not be the last he saw of us!

The que for getting into the platform had spilled over into the street outside! We were terrified! This was definitely NOT our choice of transport! We got out promptly and within a few minutes, found an Auto Rickshaw which agreed to take us to Hazra.

Given the lack of vehicles on the road, Hazra was but a few minutes away. We ran around the Hazra Crossing a few times. The few buses that were plying, had people hanging from them at every imaginable angle.

We managed to find a bus which would start off soon. We had no idea where it was to go. But somehow Tatha found the empty seats irresistible.

When the conductor asked, "Kotodur jaben?" I asked back, "Apnar bus kotodur jae?" I could see ourselves being throw out, in my mind's eye.... Then suddenly the VERY well-mannered conductor answered, "Sealdah." Tatha had started laughing. But I managed to fish out a ten Rupees note and say, "Duto Sealdah," before choking with laughter.

When the bus turned right near Haldiram, we reverted back into panic-mode. By the time we neared BCL, we decided to get off the bus.

We managed to convince a taxi driver that Chandni Chowk is a very safe place to go to, inspite of all the rallies being held there. When we arrived at my dad's office, there was Sanjit Da, having a chat with the security guy. As we entered, he smiled and asked "Tomra ekhaney ashchhile?" Tatha quipped back with, "Ei ektu ghurte beriechhi." The day had just stared!

Stuck at home

2005-09-16T12:07:00.000+05:30

All my classmates are working at our lab now. I wish I too were there. But, here I am, stuck at home with fever. At least the computer guys called me up and assured that they are coming to take care of my malfunctioning CD drive. I know its very odd at this hour, but I feel terribly sleepy.

The Motorcycle Diaries

2005-09-15T22:17:00.000+05:30

Shamashis, better known as Comrade Gamma, had come to my home. Inspite of my grave fears, he did not rob me of The Motorcycle Diaries. I told him that I had just borrowed it from Suto. Now, he has gone home and I have started reading it.

As a sidenote, we had been planning a round trip of India. But there are transportation problems. I have never travelled on a motorcycle, neither has Shamashis. I can drive cars well enough. At least that's what I think, not my dad! So, who would lend us a car? Anyway, we wont have enough money for the petrol. So, the only financially feasible solution reamins The Indian Railway. All suggestions are welcome.

What is it?

2005-09-14T23:47:00.000+05:30

I have a fever and a splitting headache. We havent nabbed the culprit yet. But here is a photograph of the prime suspect.

WANTED!
Prefererably Dead!

Anyway, there is also some good news. I got my brand new broadband connection! Its far better than my old dialup connection.

BTW, being sick has its advantages too! Suto came to my house, for the first time, yesterday evening. She left me her copy of The Motorcyle Diaries! Today, I woke up at around noon, walked out wearing a bermuda (no t-shirt) to the balconly only to see my classmates walking up the road towards my house. It seems Arya, Sumitra and Mehuli had decided to check up on me, since I had been absent from college. Pleasant surprise! Yet, there reamins a lot of things that I did not understand. As if I ever understand anything!

Spreading the Word! Eh?

2005-08-31T22:46:00.000+05:30

After a very tense and hectic week Tatha managed to manufacture his first Latex document. Some of the detractors who wanted it to be written in MS Word, would be severely dissapointed.

During the process of debugging the code, I must have read through almost all of it. But, I do not have any idea what the paper is about. Does Tatha?

Here is one for our amateur psychologists

2005-08-28T18:02:00.000+05:30

I had a dream. Maybe, a nightmare. OK, it was at about 9 am. But, what the hell does it matter? I slept till 11 am. Anyway, lets get on with the nightmare.

It started off happily enough. I walked into a building, a hybrid between South Point and St. Xavier's. Anyway it had classrooms, teachers and a strange collection of my friends, both old and new.

Everything seemed normal, but somehow, I got the idea that the people were being replaced by duplicate one. They looked the same, but still there was this spooky feeling. Those who were trying to make sense of the matter were also being replaced one by one.

What do our amateur psychologists have to say about this?

Compu is dead

2005-08-22T23:27:00.000+05:30

I have/had two computers, the older one had the hostname "compu". It was my first computer. It actually meant a lot to me.

It had worked many years beyond its life expectancy. It's CD and Floppy drives had failed long ago. But, it ran a copy of Unstable Debian GNU/Linux and ran it well. Unstable, being a gross misnomer, never displayed any lack of stability.

So, all was fine until the HDD started making strange noises. Its was at that time that I got this new machine. Transfered all my data over LAN. I remember, someone was very paranoid. He wanted to transer all the data in an encrypted form. He said, "You never know, someone might crack the network, sniff the packets, blah, blah..." All, that was meant meant by the "network" was Sayam's own cross-crimped cable, directly connected at both ends to my own computers. Now, who would hack into that?

Sayam? Maybe! You never know.

Today I wanted to boot up Compu again. But it did not respond. I opened it up. I tried out everything that came to my mind. At last, I came to the conclusion that its beyond repair.

I need a break

2005-08-17T23:56:00.000+05:30

I fainted yesterday! I didnt even need to be knocked out by a punch or kick! I just fainted out of tiredness. So, I come to the grand realisation that I need some rest. So, I'll be staying at home and sleeping a lot. I might not be posting for a few days.

tenara shob dekchen

2005-08-16T00:24:00.000+05:30

"tenara shob dekchen...tai na?" -- Apoplexy

Judge yanks a few of Carnivore's teeth

US District Judge James Robertson has responded to a suit brought by American watchdog outfit the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) regarding the FBI's e-mail snoop apparatus Carnivore, by giving the Bureau ten working days to set a schedule for delivering records under expedited Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) handling.

In its application for a temporary restraining order against Carnivore, EPIC charged that the FBI and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) have violated the law by failing to act on its request for fast-track processing of its FOIA inquiry.

Maybe someone is watching BIG BROTHER too!

Ogling at books

2005-08-14T22:48:00.000+05:30

My friend Shamashis seems to be a bit depressed. But, Sayamindu and I wont let it continue. We'll either kill his depression or kill him.

So, we called up Tathagata and Sutanuka, and the five of us decided to meet at Crosswords at 5:15. Sayam (please note the m, not to be confused with n) claimed that he didnt know the place, so he would travel with Shamashis. Tatha (he is my neighbour) and I were supposed to pick up Suto on the way.

Before we even got to the Metro Station, Shama and Sayam had reached Elgin Road and started threatening us, wasting precious mobile talktimes.

Now, for two years, the Metro Railway has been my chief mode of transportation. So, I was the self-appointed guide. We got down at some station. I convinced myself that I had made a mistake. Then, I realized that it was the right one.

After the usual ogling at books and crying over the prices, we started fighting over the eternal question, FOOD! Started with Phuchka (by the roadside) and ended with Gulab Jamun (at Haldiram's) with everything that comes in between.

Here are the pics from Sayam's cell.

Me, shooting Sayam, sitting diagonally opposite to me.

Suto, looking very happy, sitting beside me.

Sayam's Food

Me, trying to rob Tatha, sitting directly opposite to me.

Coming Soon, pics from Suto's cell, seen in my hands.

Clarifation from Sayam "I was utilizing the free Hutch to Hutch talktime that I have."

I'm back

2005-08-13T03:38:00.000+05:30

Aabar she ashiachhe phire.

My exams are over. But, the real exam begings now. I have great talent at messing things up. It seems that whenever I want something desperately, I seem to falter.

Anyway, after the exam, I went to BCL and got a book on Partial Differential Equations, for my upcoming presentation. Met Kirtiman and Suto at BCL. Then Suto and I went to the Oxford bookstore. Suto got about 5 kilos of books. I got The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins. His earlier book, The Selfish Gene, has been one of my favourites.

Speaking of The Selfish Gene, it introduced the concept of a meme. Or should I say, the meme of a meme? OK, enough of recursive statements for my friendly neighbourhood computer scientists. If memetic evolution sounds interesting to you, do read up The Meme Machine by Susan Blackmore. I think I have seen a copy at BCL.

I'll be back

2005-08-12T01:33:00.000+05:30

Even as I type this, there is a book on my lap. I have an exam tomorrow! After that I'm free, at least for a few days. I'll surely beat Hallar Raja at shouting Chhuti Chhuti tomorrow.

But, for now, I have to recall the resistance which needs to be attached to the base of the transistor to make it work as a NOT gate. Just noted that resistance may be an anagram for a nice tress.

Anyway, anagrams are not my business, let Dan Brown worry about them. I better worry about my exam tomorrow.

I wanted to end this post with, I'll be back, Schwarzenegger-style. But Jibonanondo put it better...

Abar ashibo phire.

A sneak peek at my life

2005-08-06T03:22:00.000+05:30

So, what is this guy doing at 3:26 AM? He is working on his report which he has to submit tomorrow. What does that tell you about him? Is he a bit too hard working? No, he is too lazy to start writing the report in time.

Anyway, lets get to business. I had been working on a model to describe traffic flow on a very simplified road. I'll try not to bore you with the equations and numbers but you can see the pictures.

OK, the red lines are the starting values and they evolve into the green lines.

Here are the traffic waves!

And some stationary ones too!

The Pianist

2005-07-31T22:29:00.000+05:30

I was led to believe that The Plague is a metaphoric treatment of the French resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II. So in order to give myself a visual reminder of those times, I wanted to watch Schindler's List. But, I could not find the CD. So I settled for something else, The Pianist.

The Pianist is a memoir written by the Polish musician of Jewish origins Władysław Szpilman. He tells how he survived the German deportations of Jews to extermination camps, the 1943 destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, and the 1944 Warsaw Uprising during World War II.

But, its not the book that I'm talking about right now. What I needed was a visual shock! If there is one director, whom you can always entrust the business of shocking people, it is, in my humble opinion, Roman Polański. So I opted for the film version of The Pianist adapted by Ronald Harwood and filmed by Roman Polański.

Now, I'm sure, whatever I might write about Polański might be better articulated by my fellow bloggers. So, what do my friends have to say about all this stuff?

Smallprint: This is not the first Polański movie that I watched. That title goes to the Bitter Moon. But, I dare not write about it in large fontsizes.

Strange little bookmark

2005-07-30T23:05:00.000+05:30

This post is not about internet bookmarks at all, I dont use them. While they have their place, I find traditional bookmarks much more intriguing. I know that Shamashis has not found this blog yet, so I'm safe from "How dare you damage the spine of a beautifuly crafted book by inserting a bookmark?" I assure my bibliophilic readers that I do not use them too. I just memorize the page number. Now, with all those clarifications out of the way, let us proceed to the real matter of this post.

Let me start by quoting a few lines from Chandrabindoo.

Anondo Sen boi porten, Shomoy ta 1972,
Browning, Tennyson, Arthur Miller,
Romance, bhromon, crime-thriller!

Devaluatione taka jeno bekar,
Anondo Sen pore shudhu newspaper!

Now, here's the reason. As most readers of my blog might know, I have been reading The Plague, by Albert Camus. I bought this book from College Street. It happens to be a 1965 reprint of the 1948 translation by Stuart Gilbert.

I found a strange little bookmark in it. A bus ticket for 30 paisa! For the uninitiated, if you had been in India a few years ago, you could pay it as 30p = 20p + 10p. But, both coins are now being phased out. Tomorrow, 10 times that amount, Rs 3.00 might get me a ride, from Jadavpur to Santoshpur, on a strange three-wheeled vehicle called the Auto Rickshaw!

Note: You have to share the infamous "Auto" with four other passengers, excluding yourself and the driver. I have encountered only two accidents in my life while travelling this way. Going by the number of daily accidents, two is a very small number!

Room 101

2005-07-27T23:52:00.000+05:30

Here is a quiz for Matrix fans.
Q. What was Thomas Anderson's room number?
A. 101

Here is another one for Orwell fans.
Q. Where did Winston Smith ultimately yield?
A. Room 101

Do we see a connection? I see strange similarities in the way these two narratives are set up. Yet, the story-lines move away in totally opposite directions.

If my dear reader has read 1984 but not watched The Matrix, I would urge them to do so immediately. As for Tatha and our Matrix fan gang, please read 1984.

Rainy afternoons

2005-07-24T16:43:00.000+05:30

I have been watching the rains since morning, wanting to sms, but restraining myself. Then it comes, the much awaited sms, knocking me far from equilibrium. I take a few minutes to calm down my frayed nerves. Then I reply.

I went through Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four, but I shall comment on it later. I know I can be accused of 'talking by installments', but, now I shall read some more of Camus. I urge you to help me choose between The Plague and The Rebel.

The former was bought from College Street a few days back. While the latter is a birthday gift from Suto. Speaking of Suto, I hope she comes back intact from her trip to London.

Arent there any safe places to go to? Maybe Antarctica? It seems that even, the terror of all terrors, the common cold virus fails to survive there. I wish I could go there. Only if it wasnt for the Ozone Hole!

Binge shopping

2005-07-12T01:00:00.000+05:30

What have I been buying? Books as usual! For the physics books, I prefer the latest editions. But my diet in literature remains vintage. Today's menu includes The Plague by Albert Camus and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. I hope these thin volumes will keep me occupied until I recover from the depression in my mind and the inflation in my knee. Its impossible to run out of books in Kolkata, thanks to College Street.

The pigs had an even harder struggle to counteract the lies put about by Moses, the tame raven. Moses, who was Mr. Jones's especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker. He claimed to know of the existence of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain, to which all animals went when they died. It was situated somewhere up in the sky, a little distance beyond the clouds, Moses said. In Sugarcandy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges. The animals hated Moses because he told tales and did no work, but some of them believed in Sugarcandy Mountain, and the pigs had to argue very hard to persuade them that there was no such place.

As all bibliophiles in Kolkata know, College Street is where all books go when they die. So, when in need of used books at competitive prices, dress your worst, revise your haggling tactics, head straight to College Street and shop till you drop.

Orwell is too cool

2005-07-10T00:28:00.000+05:30

I just finished reading the Animal Farm. Here are a few words from the cover.

Having got rid of their human master, the animals of Manor Farm look forward to a life of freedom and plenty. But as a clever, ruthless elite among them takes control, the other animals find themselves hopelessly ensnared in the old ways.

It is indeed one of the most shocking books I have read. The new rulers impose more and more controls on the animals while reserving privileges for themselves, until ultimately all that remains of the Principles of Animalism is that

ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL
BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL
THAN OTHERS.

Birthday coming up

2005-07-09T03:54:00.000+05:30

My birthday is coming up. For those six billion people who I'm sure will forget to wish me, its on the 16th of July. Here is a shameless copy-paste from that page.

1945 - Manhattan Project: The Atomic Age begins when the United States successfully detonates a plutonium-based test nuclear weapon at the Trinity site near Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Anyway, I dont have any such grand plans for my birthday. I do recall that my last birthday was the best one I ever had. There was no party, none of the usual stuff... Yet, there is someone who made it so special. But I cant write about it here. Lets see what happens this year.

What is Tao?

2005-06-30T01:22:00.000+05:30

So, I managed to prepare the first version of the Natural Query Language Parser, and asked it, What is Tao? Here is what it came up with.

* Parsing query "What is Tao?"...

* Topic recognized as: "Tao" ...

* Comparing with known topics...

* Asking google for data...

* 10 elements acquired from Google...

Tao is the natural order of things

This project might turn out to be more interesting and of course more difficult than I imagined.

Natural Query Language

2005-06-30T01:13:00.000+05:30

As we all know, there is no end to Google's generosity. Google allows us to perform searches using neat APIs. So we intend to produce a front-end to search the internet using a Natural Query Language, namely English to begin with. Then maybe our localization enthusiasts can bring out a Bangla version! This project will expose us to lots of string parsing, AIML, XML, APIs etc. I suppose it can all be done in good old PHP. Lets see how it goes?

Magical realism

2005-06-26T16:40:00.000+05:30

Thanks to my friend Shamashis, who introduced me to the works of Borges, I'm not totally new to magical realism. Those were but short stories. Marquez dishes out magic on a much larger scale. He writes just after the arrival of the railroad.

It was as if God had decided to put to the test every capacity for surprise and was keeping the inhabitants of Macondo in a permanent alternation between excitement and disappointment, doubt and revelation, to such an extreme that no one knew for certain where the limits of reality lay. It was an intricate stew of truths and mirages that convulsed the ghost of José Arcadio Buendía with impatience and made him wander all through the house even in broad daylight.

New inventions, the phonograph, the telephone, electricity, etc arrived at Macondo from the "civilized" world. The people of Macondo, who accepted flying carpets and miraculous rains of yellow flowers as part of the real, started doubting the reality of the newly arrived technological inventions.

One of the people who doubted the reality of the telephone is the ghost of José Arcadio Buendía! Engrossed in the text I tend to lose track of what is real and what is not?

Jean-Paul Sartre

2005-06-21T15:27:00.000+05:30

Jean-Paul Sartre (June 21, 1905 – April 15, 1980) was a French existentialist philosopher, dramatist, novelist and critic. One never ceases to know new things about him, such as his attempts at writing "a cookbook that will put to rest all notions of flavor forever."

One Hundred Years of Solitude

2005-06-21T01:29:00.000+05:30

Who doesnt like a gift? Especially if it is a book from from a teacher? After my English and Bangla exams today, I recieved a call from someone who had been our computer teacher in school. His name is Joyrup Bhattacharya and we called him Joyrup Sir. We had a great time at Landmark, a bookshop in Kolkata. He even got me the One Hundred Years of Solitude. I had been wanting to read this for quite some time. Thank you Sir.

Police violence against JU students

2005-06-12T02:37:00.000+05:30

Horrible incident! A lot of my friends have been injured. Check out these links.

Peaceful Action

The Telegraph

Somewhere, my flower is there...

2005-06-09T19:41:00.000+05:30

I'm too unstable to write what I feel, but I'll quote from one of my favourite books.

His face turned from white to red as he continued: "If some one loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars.

He can say to himself, 'Somewhere, my flower is there...' But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened... And you think that is not important!"

He could not say anything more. His words were choked by sobbing. The night had fallen. I had let my tools drop from my hands. Of what moment now was my hammer, my bolt, or thirst, or death? On one star, one planet, my planet, the Earth, there was a little prince to be comforted. I took him in my arms, and rocked him. I said to him: "The flower that you love is not in danger. I will draw you a muzzle for your sheep. I will draw you a railing to put around your flower. I will..."

I did not know what to say to him. I felt awkward and blundering. I did not know how I could reach him, where I could overtake him and go on hand in hand with him once more.

It is such a secret place, the land of tears. --Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince.

Choice, the problem is choice.

2005-06-08T18:48:00.000+05:30

I have been very confused lately. So, trying to find some solace in poems read long ago, I remembered this piece by Lord Tennyson.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

But sometimes, our choices are the "reason why". Then we start being too careful, trying not to make blunders, not to make the "wrong" choices, trying to see past those choises. Then we are in trouble, deep trouble.

Tic Tac Toe

2005-06-07T22:56:00.000+05:30

Exam season has started with a really lengthy Physics test, covering Mathematical Methods, Mechanics, GPM and Acoustics. I came home very tired. I try to relax by writing some stupid piece of code and torturing my friends by forcing them to read it. So, upholding this tradition, here is the free source and even the win32 binary for the very impatient! It tries to guess at Tic Tac Toe moves by doing a MinMax depth first tree search. Dont forget to post your comments about the code. Enjoy!

What Matrix Persona Are You?

2005-06-06T03:00:00.000+05:30

Are we never bored of these stupid personality tests?

You are Neo, from The Matrix. You display a perfect fusion of heroism and compassion.

What Matrix Persona Are You?

Monkeys Don't Write Shakespeare

2005-06-05T23:16:00.000+05:30

Researchers at Plymouth University in England reported a long time ago that primates left alone with a computer attacked the machine and failed to produce a single word. So it seems Monkeys Don't Write Shakespeare!

It Rains

2005-06-05T19:56:00.000+05:30

It started at last! I have been waiting for the last few hours. At last it rains.

There had been no rain for a long long time. There were rumours of a drought or perhaps a delayed monsoon. But it rained yesterday, bringing much needed relief.

Somehow, the atmospheric turmoil calms my much disturbed mind.

But, it brings back my happiest memories from a year ago, moments that I shared with just one person in this whole wide world.

"There is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery." --Dante Alighieri, "Divina Commedia: Inferno"

Admit Cards

2005-06-04T10:17:00.000+05:30

Today we are supposed to get our admit cards for the Part I exam. The ultimate device to test our frayed nerves! I'll write more when I return.

Hello World!

2005-06-04T02:16:00.000+05:30

So, this is my first journal entry. Its late in the night here, 2:18 am. I have been coding for some time. But really, I should be studying for my exams up ahead. My girlfriend is convinced that I study all night, I wish could do that. I dont know how many more entries this journal will have, I'm sinking deeper and deeper into the mess that I have created. I wish I could call you up. But I know you are asleep. Sleep well baby. If you read someday, I wish to tell you that I ......... Well, you know it already. Dont you honey?