Re: [silk] Silklisters in New Haven
On Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 3:43 PM, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote: Does this mean you are going to be studying at Yale, Solipsist? I must remark on the modesty of those who go to Ivy League schools. If they are at Harvard, they say Cambridge...if at Stanford, they say, California...if Yale, it's New Haven...someone even told me he's going to Alameda County, I am not kiddingwhy is this? Are these people afraid of the evil eye, or of envy? Since thread-jacking is what we do on Silk, this reminded me of my favorite story along these lines. Many years ago, after I had finished my first year of law school at a well known law school in Cambridge, I had returned home to Bangalore to visit my parents. When I arrived from the airport, there was some friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend type person who was visiting my parents, and he engaged me in conversation: Visitor: So, where in the U.S. do you live? Me: In Boston. Visitor: In the city itself? Me: No, actually I live across the river in a neighboring town. Visitor: Oh? Which one? Me: In Cambridge. Visitor, his face lighting up: Cambridge?? That's where MIT is, isn't it??? My MIT friends in particular love that story
Re: [silk] Collateral damage
On Tue, Aug 20, 2013 at 11:50 AM, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote: Groklaw has decided to shut shop. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130820/02152224249/more-nsa-spying-fallout-groklaw-shutting-down.shtml Thoughts? Seems a tad overwrought as far as reactions go, but to each their own. Anyway, I will try to add more thoughts later if/when I find time, but for now I thought I'd share two posts by a political blogger on the NSA surveillance program: Why NSA surveillance should worry us: http://theweek.com/article/index/248479/4-reasons-the-nsa-scandal-is-troubling Why NSA surveillance isn't that big a deal: http://theweek.com/article/index/248478/5-reasons-the-nsa-scandal-aint-all-that DK
Re: [silk] Hello
On Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 12:07 PM, John R. Sundman j...@wetmachine.comwrote: Tracy Kidder's book Soul of a New Machine Added the book to my reading list. What kind is it? Soul of a New Machine is a non-fiction book about a team of hardware engineers working for Data General Corporation 1978-80 who design a computer under enormous time pressure in order to save their company from being put out of business by their main competitor, Digital Equipment Corporation, which had just come out with much more powerful and cheaper machines. The book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1982 or so, and has been in print continuously since, having sold millions of copies. Some people consider it, still, the best description of who hackers are and how they (we?) think. I myself think it's an excellent book. Tracy Kidder is a wonderful writter who has gone on to write a dozen or so non-fiction books, many of them best-sellers and award-winners. Sounds really interesting, thanks. (And in an example of thread-drift ...) I read Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, about Dr. Paul Farmer, and found it fascinating. Welcome, John -- sounds like you've had a fascinating life so far. I'm also hoping you're a Red Sox fan.
Re: [silk] Kragen's essay on Egypt
On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:36 PM, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote: list.lurker Kragen wrote this piece which is all over my twitter timeline, and I thought I'd mirror it on silk as well, as it's a good overview of the events in Egypt so far. Additional thoughts, folks? Udhay http://canonical.org/~kragen/egypt-massacre-sotu.htmlhttp://canonical.org/%7Ekragen/egypt-massacre-sotu.html I thought that was an excellent overview of the events in Egypt, but I disagree as to the take on the Obama administration's approach. The Obama administration's approach on issues -- both domestic and foreign -- is to favor results over the desire to appear righteous and/or take credit. I think the administration's instinct is that any obvious public support for the demonstrators on its part will be viewed as foreign meddling, and runs the risk of turning the discussion into whether what is happening in Egypt is being instigated from abroad rather than something that is happening organically -- and I think their instinct is correct. (The administration took a similar approach with the Green movement in Iran.) This is not to say that every statement coming from the administration is necessarily the smartest -- Biden's statement in particular seemed to me to be off -- but I think that generally speaking, they are playing the situation correctly. Notice also their increasing criticism of the Mubarak regime in the last 24 hours or so, focusing on the violence and the shutting off of Internet access rather than on an ultimate preferred outcome. I would add that the point about the US's historical support for corrupt/dictatorial regimes in Egypt and elsewhere is well taken, and I agree with it ... but it far predates the Obama administration, and anyone who assumes that this administration could simply change that policy when it came to power fails to appreciate the realities of US politics. That's my $0.02.
Re: [silk] What's the strangest thing you've eaten?
On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 12:05 PM, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote: Inspired by a friend's status message about lutefisk, I ask silklisters to let us know what is the strangest thing they've eaten. It may not seem so strange since it is consumed so commonly in some parts, but I'm going to have to say lobster. That thing is just really ugly looking, and I have no idea who first caught one of them and said -- I wonder how this tastes? I do love me a good lobster roll, though.
Re: [silk] Generalized mailing list thread
On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 2:50 PM, Devdas Bhagat dev...@dvb.homelinux.orgwrote: On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 08:58:41PM +0530, Udhay Shankar N wrote: Srini RamaKrishnan wrote, [on 3/31/2010 8:02 PM]: Why you Nazi you, you are no better than Hitler. Since that is ironic, Mike G's wise observation doesn't apply. Thus, wondering: Can a Nazi be better than Hitler? Will that be a laden or unladen Nazi? A son of a laden Nazi (bin laden) Diversion into discussion of social, religious and economic systems in India and the rest of the world, both historical and current. Additional mention of terrorism and http://www.jesusandmo.net/2007/03/19/badge/ Shiv bashes Pakistan.
Re: [silk] Intro
On Sat, May 30, 2009 at 2:49 AM, Lahar Appaiah thew...@gmail.com wrote: My alumni listing has Infosys, Wipro, National Law School and Bishop Cottons Bangalore. A fellow Cottonian! And another in the long list of Appaiahs to attend Cottons (though it is a common name I suppose). DK (ISC/ICSE from BCBS in '89/'87 and yes, I was on the quiz team)
Re: [silk] Pink Chaddi Campaign hacked on Facebook
On Tue, Apr 14, 2009 at 9:55 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.netwrote: Kiran Jonnalagadda [15/04/09 01:18 +0530]: Does anyone here know how to get the attention of Facebook's management? I have a friend there who heads facebook security. He's not a contact I use very often, certainly not for run of the mill hacked account cases for which FB does have a process that works when used right (passwords can be bruteforced, or if your friend logged in from a cybercafe PC with a keylogger trojan on it, or was on an open wifi, it can be stolen that way too..). This is an exception I'd say - which is why I've escalated it to him Likewise, I sent Kiran's message to a law school friend who is part of FB's management. DK
Re: [silk] Bangalore silk meet up
On Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 9:09 AM, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote: Friday lunch then? Who do we have? Speak up! Udhay Deepa Ravi Bellur Dave Kumar (?) Venkat Mangudi (?) I'm not yet sure about Friday lunch, unfortunately. Relatives are coming to town on Thursday and I may not be able to get away ... I'll see what I can do.
Re: [silk] Yet another introduction (Venkat Inumella)
On Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 2:51 PM, Radhika, Y. radhik...@gmail.com wrote: there was also the woman in Montana who named her daugther Syphilis-it seemed such a feminine, pretty word to her! A friend of mine said she talked to a woman in Brazil who had named her daughter Menage A Trois. She (the mom) had no idea what it meant, but that the name sounded really pretty to her. Something tells me the poor daughter is going to change her name at some point -- probably around the time her first boyfriend keeps pestering her to live up to her name, if not before
Re: [silk] Restaurants in Hyderabad
On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 2:57 AM, Thaths [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Ethiopian, judging from the number of desis I see in restaurants serving this cusine in the US, would be well received, though the dosa-bred southies will wonder what was so great about Ethiopian food. In my experience, desis either love Ethiopian food, or hate it. I haven't come across desis who are so-so about it. I remember an occasion when my parents, two uncles, brother and sister-in-law went out for Ethiopian food in DC -- the occasion we refer to in my family as the Ethiopian food debacle. My parents and one uncle hated it, so much so that we had to stop at the Indian restaurant a couple of doors down afterwards; the other uncle, my brother and sister-in-law and I loved it. I happen to live within blocks of several very good Ethipian restaurants in DC -- in an area that some have tried to rename Little Ethiopia -- but have not been able to convince my parents to go back and try it again. My theory is that Ethiopian food is similar enough to Indian food -- the spices are very similar, with them having imported many of their spices from us back in the day, according to a former colleague who is Eritrean -- that desis either appreciate the similarities or are turned off by the food that tastes like Indian food but isn't, sort of a this would be much better if it were made more like the dish I'm familiar with and love reaction
Re: [silk] On Obama's Chances
On Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 11:07 AM, Eugen Leitl [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Whoever you vote for, you're still voting for one of the two wings of the same party. The choice is a) plague b) cholera. Enjoy. I could go on forever explaining why I think this is incredibly misguided, but I'm too busy trying to help ensure Senator Obama wins in November so that we can turn things around in this country. On that note, for all those US citizen expats on silklist who are not registered to vote, please see the message below and (1) register to vote, and (2) cast your absentee ballot!! Happy to answer questions (Note that I don't work for the campaign, I simply spend a lot of time volunteering for it.) Dave Dave Kumar Co-Founder, South Asians for Obama www.safo2008.com - ELECTING OBAMA FROM … INDIA! *Do you know a friend/family member who is a US citizen and living in India??* Whether they're there for a short-term assignment, studies, or permanently moved back, let them know they can vote!! This is a historical election and every vote counts. Don't let them miss out! It's quick and it's simple – just tell them to register for an absentee ballot by by downloading their form at www.VoteFromAbroad.org http://www.votefromabroad.org/ . Pass this message on to your friends and family in India (or anywhere outside the US!). Write a personal email to tell them to vote using www.VotefromAbroad.org http://www.votefromabroad.org/ ! http://votefromabroad.org/ REGISTER TO VOTE AND REQUEST YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT AT www.VoteFromAbroad.org http://democratsinindia.org/www.VoteFromAbroad.org%C2%A0 Fill out the user-friendly online form, print it out, and mail it home NOW in order to receive your ballot in time to vote and be counted in November. Do it now! Early October is the registration deadline for many states – after that, you may be too late. Do not delay! Questions? Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]or call 9871 329 394 www.democratsinindia.org for info about events in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai clip_image001.jpg
Re: [silk] Mexican Food in India
On 4/10/08, Gautam John [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I've been wondering why there is an acute lack of *any* restaurant, in Bangalore, that serves Mexican food. I'm not sure if this is true of the rest of India too... Way back when, in the late 80s, there was a Mexican restaurant in Bangalore, on Church Street or thereabouts I believe. It was a Mexican fast food place. A bunch of us from high school (Bishop Cottons) went there once, and most of us thought it was horrible -- although most of us had nothing to compare it to. I wonder if anyone else remembers this place and remembers it as being as bad as I thought it was. I certainly can't think of any Mexican restaurants anywhere in India, although I've never been too big a fan of Mexican food so I never looked during any of my visits/stays. DK
Re: [silk] Mexican Food in India
On 4/10/08, Udhay Shankar N [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Dave Kumar wrote, [on 4/10/2008 7:05 PM]: Way back when, in the late 80s, there was a Mexican restaurant in Bangalore, on Church Street or thereabouts I believe. It was a Mexican fast food place. Maybe you're thinking of Pecos, in its first avatar? IIRC, it started off as a Mexican food place. Wow, you know what, that is entirely possible. My memory is fading, but the place I'm thinking of certainly was around where Pecos is today. Hard to imagine that that bad Mexican restaurant we went to while in high school is now the most popular bar among my former national law school students
Re: [silk] another intro
On 2/8/08, Linda L. Julien [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm looking forward to getting to know you all. Linda As a former resident of both Bangalore (middle school, high school, taught at a law school there a couple of years ago, parents still live there) and Somerville (while in law school at that other university up Mass Ave from MIT), welcome to the list! I hope you enjoy your time in Bangalore. DK
Re: [silk] another intro
On 2/8/08, Gautam John [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Feb 8, 2008 11:06 PM, Dave Kumar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: at a law school there a couple of years ago Oh? When was that? I graduated in '02, assuming it's NLS you are referring to. What did you teach? Yup, I taught at NLS in 2004-05, taught Telecommunications Law and Policy (which is what I do in DC) one term and Competition Law the next, both 5th year seminars. (Probably best to continue the conversation off-list.)
Re: [silk] The US of A is officially paranoid.
On Jan 21, 2008 9:24 AM, shiv sastry [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: A chap with the name Ramak Fazel with an untraceable accent (i.eFurriner of unknown origin) is a quintessential world citizen. What's that? Who's deluding whom? Tell me another one. [snip] It is easy to spot an alien from a mile. Hair color, facial structure and other things stand out from a zillion miles away. For those of us who have actually lived in the US, it is important to remember that the USA is a pretty diverse place. There are many parts of the US -- most big cities, and definitely the part of DC in which I live and work, where someone like Ramak wouldn't feel very alien at all. My neighborhood has whites, blacks, asians, desis, tons of Ethiopians, people from Arab countries, etc. No one feels out of place -- except, perhaps, what some people might view as stereotypical Americans. This week, however, I'm in Florence, South Carolina, volunteering for the Obama campaign. Out here, there are white people (and they are Republicans) and black people (and they are Democrats). There's barely a desi or Asian person in sight, and someone like Ramak would feel quite out of place indeed. But both DC and Florence are part of the US, and it is hard to say that one is more typical than the other. On the subject of this thread, though, there's no question that a significant chunk of the country -- the people from places like Florence who aren't accustomed to diversity -- is paranoid, and their reactions end up influencing policies and happenings since the paranoid are always louder than the non-paranoid. And it also true that too many in this country are apathetic, and don't do enough to fight the paranoia because it doesn't affect people like them. Dave
Re: [silk] sanctions and online services
On 12/12/07, ashok _ [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have the following scenario, with no clear answer : Lets say a Govt. department in Country-X purchases online services from an American company (for e.g. Web hosting...). Country-X subsequently, for various reasons, falls under a US govt. black-list (for e.g. economic sanctions...). Will the American company providing the online services be obligated to shut down services immediately ? Any ideas / pointers ? As a US-based lawyer who sometimes deals in related questions, the answer is ... it depends. :) The applicable rules vary from country to country (although some of the rules may end up being the same), and they are available here: http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/ The extent of economic sanctions varies from country to country, and there are numerous exemptions that may or may not apply. (In general, I'm guessing the exemptions would be less likely to apply to government agencies in the embargoed country.) And, of course, negative publicity may end up being more of a motivating factor for the US company than any legal requirements. Dave, with the typical lawyer disclaimer that this e-mail is informational and nothing in this e-mail should be construed as legal advice, etc., etc.
Re: [silk] uTorrent joins up with Time Warner?
On Dec 7, 2007 6:08 AM, Amit Varma [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://www.itpiraten.com/captainsblog.htm#uTorrent As you may or may not know, uTorrent, the popular torrent client, have joined forces with Time Warner. There are already lots of trackers out there that have banned uTorrent 1.7 (even 1.6.1 is being banned) because it's sending information to Time Warner Telecom and Peer 1 Network Inc. It will continue to be banned on most trackers even though uTorrent claim to have fixed the issue in version 1.7.1. But this is something that most people don't think. During a test using locked firewalls it showed that uTorrent tries to send information to 64.124.145.113, 64.124.145.104, 206.169.225.92, 64.34.174.141, 64.34.172.152, 206.169.170.246 and 206.169.230.102. and here are the whois/trace: http://whois.domaintools.com/64.124.145.113 Abovenet Communications, Inc http://whois.domaintools.com/64.124.145.104 Abovenet Communications, Inc http://whois.domaintools.com/206.169.225.92 Time Warner Telecom, Inc. http://whois.domaintools.com/64.34.174.141 Peer 1 Network Inc. http://whois.domaintools.com/64.34.172.152 Peer 1 Network Inc. http://whois.domaintools.com/206.169.170.246 Time Warner Telecom, Inc. http://whois.domaintools.com/206.169.230.102 Time Warner Telecom, Inc. Go figure. It's however still uncertain what information is sent to Time Warner and the bunch at this time. We can all agree on that it's not good when a torrent client start to contact companies that are 100% against file share and claim to make billion dollar losses because of it. Anyone willing to explain what's happening in plain English? Is uTorrent actively informing TimeWarner that a user is downloading a file using uTorrent? Or is this similar to what Comcast was recently reported as doing -- engaging in deep packet inspection and inserting RST signals into BitTorrent transfers so as to shut them down?
Re: [silk] Open access on wireless networks
On 10/24/07, Dave Kumar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: This is, admittedly, focused on the US regulatory world, but it includes some discussion of the tension between wireless network operators and software applications like Skype. This debate may be entirely different in other countries. If I may shamelessly respond to my own post, here's a more accessible column on this general topic from Walt Mossberg, who writes about consumer technology for the Wall Street Journal. http://mossblog.allthingsd.com/20071021/free-my-phone/ Suppose you own a Dell computer, and you decide to replace it with a Sony. You don't have to get the permission of your Internet service provider to do so, or even tell the provider about it. You can just pack up the old machine and set up the new one. Now, suppose your new computer came with a particular Web browser or online music service, but you'd prefer a different one. You can just download and install the new software, and uninstall the old one. You can sign up for a new music service and cancel the old one. And, once again, you don't need to even notify your Internet provider, let alone seek its permission. Oh, and the developers of such computers, software and services can offer you their products directly, without going through the Internet provider, without getting the provider's approval, and without giving the provider a penny. The Internet provider gets paid simply for its contribution to the mix: providing your Internet connection. But, for all practical purposes, it doesn't control what is connected to the network, or carried over the network. This is the way digital capitalism should work, and, in the case of the mass-market personal-computer industry, and the modern Internet, it has created one of the greatest technological revolutions in human history, as well as one of the greatest spurts of wealth creation and of consumer empowerment. So, it's intolerable that the same country that produced all this has trapped its citizens in a backward, stifling system when it comes to the next great technology platform, the cellphone. A shortsighted and often just plain stupid federal government has allowed itself to be bullied and fooled by a handful of big wireless phone operators for decades now. And the result has been a mobile phone system that is the direct opposite of the PC model. It severely limits consumer choice, stifles innovation, crushes entrepreneurship, and has made the U.S. the laughingstock of the mobile-technology world, just as the cellphone is morphing into a powerful hand-held computer. Whether you are a consumer, a hardware maker, a software developer or a provider of cool new services, it's hard to make a move in the American cellphone world without the permission of the companies that own the pipes. While power in other technology sectors flows to consumers and nimble entrepreneurs, in the cellphone arena it remains squarely in the hands of the giant carriers. [snip]
[silk] New Yorker book review re: partition
I hesitate to start this discussion with some of the opinionated folks out there (oh, who am I kidding?), but I found this to be very interesting. It is a book review in the New Yorker, although it is really just a column that doesn't really review the book. The original article is quite long, but I thought worth the read. http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/08/13/070813crbo_books_mishra [snip] Many of the seeds of postcolonial disorder in South Asia were sown much earlier, in two centuries of direct and indirect British rule, but, as book after book has demonstrated, nothing in the complex tragedy of partition was inevitable. In Indian Summer (Henry Holt; $30), Alex von Tunzelmann pays particular attention to how negotiations were shaped by an interplay of personalities. Von Tunzelmann goes on a bit too much about the Mountbattens' open marriage and their connections to various British royals, toffs, and fops, but her account, unlike those of some of her fellow British historians, isn't filtered by nostalgia. She summarizes bluntly the economic record of the British overlords, who, though never as rapacious and destructive as the Belgians in the Congo, damaged agriculture and retarded industrial growth in India through a blind faith in the invisible hand that supposedly regulated markets. Von Tunzelmann echoes Edmund Burke's denunciation of the East India Company when she terms the empire's corporate forerunner a beast whose only object was money; and she reminds readers that, in 1877, the year that Queen Victoria officially became Empress of India, a famine in the south killed five million people even as the Queen's viceroy remained adamant that famine relief was a misguided policy. Politically, too, British rule in India was deeply conservative, limiting Indian access to higher education, industry, and the civil service. Writing in the New York *Tribune* in the mid-nineteenth century, Karl Marx predicted that British colonials would prove to be the unconscious tool of a social revolution in a subcontinent stagnating under Oriental despotism. As it turned out, the British, while restricting an educated middle class, empowered a multitude of petty Oriental despots. (In 1947, there were five hundred and sixty-five of these feudatories, often called maharajas, running states as large as Belgium and as small as Central Park.) Though blessed with many able administrators, the British found India just too large and diverse to handle. Many of their decisions stoked Hindu-Muslim tensions, imposing sharp new religious-political identities on Indians. As the recent experience of Iraq proves, elections in a country where the rights and responsibilities of secular and democratic citizenship are largely unknown do little more than crudely assert the majority's right to rule. British-supervised elections in 1937 and 1946, which the Hindu-dominated Congress won easily, only hardened Muslim identity, and made partition inevitable. This was a deeper tragedy than is commonly realized—and not only because India today has almost as many Muslims as Pakistan. In a land where cultures, traditions, and beliefs cut across religious communities, few people had defined themselves exclusively through their ancestral faith. The Pashto-speaking Muslim in the North-West Frontier province (later the nursery of the Taliban and Al Qaeda) had little in common with the Bangla-speaking Muslim in the eastern province of Bengal. (Even today, a Sunni Muslim from Lahore has less in common with a Sunni Muslim from Dhaka than he has with a Hindu Brahmin from New Delhi, who, in turn, may find alien the language, food, and dress of a low-caste Hindu from Chennai.) The British policy of defining communities based on religious identity radically altered Indian self-perceptions, as von Tunzelmann points out: Many Indians stopped accepting the diversity of their own thoughts and began to ask themselves in which of the boxes they belonged. Ineptitude and negligence directed British policies in India more than any cynical desire to divide and rule, but the British were not above exploiting rivalries. As late as 1940, Winston Churchill hoped that Hindu-Muslim antagonism would remain a bulwark of British rule in India. Certainly Churchill, who did not want his views on India to be disturbed by any bloody Indians, was disinclined to recognize the upsurge of nationalism in India. Imperial authority in India rested on the claim that the British, as representatives of a superior civilization, were essentially benign custodians of a fractious country. But as an Indian middle-class élite trained in Western institutions became politicized—more aware of the nature and scale of Indian political and economic subjugation to Britain—self-serving British rhetoric about benevolent masters and volatile natives was bound to be challenged. And no one undermined British assumptions of moral and legal custodianship better than Gandhi, who was adept both
Re: [silk] Global Warming Alarmists?
On 8/6/07, Divya Sampath [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- Gautam John [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Newsweek Disgrace: 'Global-Warming Deniers: A Well-Funded Machine' By Noel Sheppard | August 5, 2007 - 13:43 ET I find it interesting that this article appears to be more critical of the politics behind the position than the actual science. I do agree that attributing scepticism to bad science or bad intentions is deplorable. Actually, the reason the article talks more about the politics and not the science is because the Newsweek article is about the politics of climate change, i.e., how those who oppose regulation to address the problem are funded. I think this is something that the general public isn't really aware of. And while I wish the discussion could be purely about the science, the non-Utopian in me recognizes the importance of questioning the credibility of the witness, so to speak, in addition to questioning what the witness says. As someone who lives in DC and has a DC job, the Newsweek article struck me as spot on in terms of its description of the effect special interests have in the DC political/policymaking space. (The tone may have been slightly harsh.) Also FWIW, I thought the Noel Sheppard article was nonsense, pretty much -- and a quick google search reveals this one to be one of many similar articles (such as the ones in which he accuses the NY Times of treason for disclosing some of the Bush administration's spying programs). Dave
Re: [silk] Two opinions on the iPhone
On 6/29/07, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [Actually, I believe Deepa was quoting someone else, but ] Now here's a prediction: the iPhone will not be seen as perfect, by Saturday there will be a minority of less-than- thrilled new iPhone owners who will form an anti-[iPhone, Apple, ATT] culture. Why ATT? Because these days when you get a phone from a wireless provider they will have disabled a number of the features that they don't consider to be to their advantage for users to use even though the capability was built into the hardware, or they will hold such features hostage unless the user pays for a more expensive plan that offers it. One example is WiFi, which the iPhone is capable of. Other phones which are sold by Cingular and T-Mobile that are WiFi-capable often have that feature disabled by default by the Cingular or T-Mobile firmware so the user cannot go to a Starbucks and use the free WiFi to browse the internet on their phone unless they pay the cell phone provider a $10/month ransom. But, I digress. A mob or two of angry users -- that's my prediction. Apart from being a cool new toy with the power of the Apple marketing juggernaut behind it, I think one of the ways in which the iPhone promises to revolutionize the U.S. market is by changing the way consumers think of their phones. As the above excerpt suggests, wireless carriers in the US control the equipment that is available to consumers in the US and often disable cool new features to protect existing revenue streams. Anyone who has been to a US wireless carrier store knows that they don't really promote the handsets -- the handsets are usually chained to the display and you can't really pick them up and play with them. The iPhone promises to change things, in that people who buy them are very clearly buying the device -- the ATT service is an afterthought. If US consumers begin to think of their handsets in this way, it could open up the handset market as consumers demand the cool new features that are currently being held hostage. Skype filed a petition a few months ago that challenges the extent of the control that ATT and other wireless operators exert over the handsets that are available to consumers and the features available on them. (More on the petition herehttp://share.skype.com/sites/en/2007/02/opening_the_dialog_about_consu.html, and for the hardcore legal minds, a copy of the petition is available herehttp://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdfid_document=6518909730.) There's an interesting debate happening in DC telecom policymaking circles on this issue, and the iPhone helps bring these issues to the forefront for the average consumer and in the popular press. (And now, at the end, full disclosure -- Skype is a client of mine, and I worked on/wrote most of the petition referred to above. The opinions expressed here are mine, however.) Pretty sure I don't need to say this, but comments welcome. :-) Dave
Re: [silk] Good Indian restaurants in Northern Virginia/DC?
On 5/31/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The mangoes are probably straight from the can. Generally, restaurants use canned alphonso mangoes to make the icecream Doubt that was the case at Rasika -- they made a show of adding the dessert special right after the US-India mango deal was all over the press (there was an article about Indian mangoes in the Wash Post, for example), and my sense is that it is too fancy a restaurant to risk false advertising along those lines. Also, the dessert was mangoes with ice cream, not mango ice cream -- they certainly tasted fresh to me. DK
Re: [silk] Good Indian restaurants in Northern Virginia/DC?
In my opinion, your best bets in DC/Arlington are all in DC -- Rasika (6th and D downtown, near the Verizon Center), Indique on Connecticut in Cleveland Park, and Heritage India on Wisconsin in Glover Park (the original, not the newer branch near Dupont Circle). Heritage India was for a long time the most widely recommended Indian rest. in the District -- I haven't been there in a while, but it was good when I went there, although the service was pretty bad. Indique opened a few years ago and usually gets good reviews -- their small plates appetizers are a nice and welcome innovation. Rasika is the new kid on the block, and has been very well received since it opened -- it even made several nationwide Best New Restaurants lists. While I've heard some negative reactions, most responses, including my own, have been very positive. One thing about Rasika, though, is that it is somewhat expensive -- it is one of those places where you're paying not just for the food, but also for being at a trendy restaurant with a beautiful setting and an excellent cocktail selection. I guess there's also Bombay Club, but I've never thought the food was anywhere close to worth the price (and I'm also not a fan of Indian restaurants whose decor evokes the Raj). Not sure about Arlington -- a friend said good things about a place in Clarendon that opened within the last couple of years or so, but I haven't been and I'm not sure I'd take my friend's word as gold when it comes to Indian food. DK, de-lurking briefly, but hopefully back soon with other posts On 5/30/07, Dan Moniz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi all, Speaking of food, I wonder, can anyone recommend good Indian restaurants in the Northern Virginia (primarily Arlington, VA) and Washington, DC area? Preferably ones you or someone whose culinary tastes you trust have dined at. I ask because earlier today in another forum, I was recommending some other places to eat that I liked to someone else, and I made a note that I had found no worthwhile Indian places yet. The few that I've been to (notably not any in DC lately, just ones in NoVA) have been either roundly awful or, at best, fall severely short of the hype seen in reviews of them. Thanks in advance! -- Dan Moniz [EMAIL PROTECTED] [http://pobox.com/~dnm/]
Re: [silk] Good Indian restaurants in Northern Virginia/DC?
P.S. For those of us who live in the US and who were ecstatic to hear that Indian mangoes are now available in the US (but haven't yet seen them in stores), Rasika has a Alphonso-mangoes-with-cardamom-flavored-ice-cream dessert. On 5/30/07, Dave Kumar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In my opinion, your best bets in DC/Arlington are all in DC -- Rasika (6th and D downtown, near the Verizon Center), Indique on Connecticut in Cleveland Park, and Heritage India on Wisconsin in Glover Park (the original, not the newer branch near Dupont Circle). Heritage India was for a long time the most widely recommended Indian rest. in the District -- I haven't been there in a while, but it was good when I went there, although the service was pretty bad. Indique opened a few years ago and usually gets good reviews -- their small plates appetizers are a nice and welcome innovation. Rasika is the new kid on the block, and has been very well received since it opened -- it even made several nationwide Best New Restaurants lists. While I've heard some negative reactions, most responses, including my own, have been very positive. One thing about Rasika, though, is that it is somewhat expensive -- it is one of those places where you're paying not just for the food, but also for being at a trendy restaurant with a beautiful setting and an excellent cocktail selection. I guess there's also Bombay Club, but I've never thought the food was anywhere close to worth the price (and I'm also not a fan of Indian restaurants whose decor evokes the Raj). Not sure about Arlington -- a friend said good things about a place in Clarendon that opened within the last couple of years or so, but I haven't been and I'm not sure I'd take my friend's word as gold when it comes to Indian food. DK, de-lurking briefly, but hopefully back soon with other posts On 5/30/07, Dan Moniz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi all, Speaking of food, I wonder, can anyone recommend good Indian restaurants in the Northern Virginia (primarily Arlington, VA) and Washington, DC area? Preferably ones you or someone whose culinary tastes you trust have dined at. I ask because earlier today in another forum, I was recommending some other places to eat that I liked to someone else, and I made a note that I had found no worthwhile Indian places yet. The few that I've been to (notably not any in DC lately, just ones in NoVA) have been either roundly awful or, at best, fall severely short of the hype seen in reviews of them. Thanks in advance! -- Dan Moniz [EMAIL PROTECTED] [http://pobox.com/~dnm/http://pobox.com/%7Ednm/ ]
Re: [silk] Human species 'may split in two'
On 10/23/06, Thaths [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 10/23/06, Dave Kumar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 10/23/06, Kragen Javier Sitaker [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: What's the London School of Economics?Is it part of some university, or is it more like DeVRY? Is that a joke? LSE is regarded by many as one of the finer academic institutions in the world -- not quite Cambridge/Oxford/Harvard/Yale territory, but not too far behind in the subjects it is known for. While the LSE has produced such stellar graduates as the Rt. Hon.James Hacker, its reputation among cognoscenti like Sir HumphreyAppleby and Sir Bernard Wooley is not among the best.Thaths Ah -- was Kragen making a Yes Minister reference (or one to some other show) that I just missed?
Re: [silk] Geographic spread
On 8/2/06, Udhay Shankar N [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: So. Where is everybody located these days? In Washington, DC these days, working for a small law firm specializing in telecommunications law. Involved in all the fun fights in the telecom law and policy world, such as net neutrality (on the right side of course). The original intent: I wanted to post a gentle reminder to several ofthe newer members that silk is NOT confined to folks from Bangalore, or even India - though some of the recent posts might indicateotherwise to the casual observer. We have folks here from all fivecontinents. Some of the exceedingly Bangalore-specific stuff mightnot make sense without context to much (perhaps even most) of the list. It might be a good idea to keep that in mind. Though I've lived in Bangalore for over a decade (including the so-called formative years of my life) and lived there when I met Udhay and joined the list, I wanted to thank Udhay for that admin note. I enjoy the discussions on silk, but not so much the I'll be there at 7:30 -- who's bringing the biriyani? or it was good to run into you guys at the art gallery on Cunningham road posts that we see on occasion DK
Re: [silk] (Yet) Another latebloomer's bio ... and yet another
On 4/27/06, Ashok Hariharan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: i didnt know there was a'broke-back' bijuon this list who was 'leadingpeople astray' :pmind your words sir, in some quarters such language may not be looked uponkindly...I believe a not that there's anything wrong with that is in order. ;-)
Re: [silk] Veteran actor, 10, writes and directs his own film
On 1/31/06, Thaths [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,5387630-111087,00.htmlVeteran actor, 10, writes and directs his own filmRandeep Ramesh in New Delhi Tuesday January 31, 2006GuardianA 10-year-old Indian boy is close to becoming one of the world'syoungest directors with his first film being prepared for an Aprilrelease. [snip] Known as Master Kishan, the young man is a local hero in his home cityof Bangalore, the country's information technology capital. An actor for the past six years, he has already appeared in 24 films and 1,000episodes of a local-language popular soap opera. I admittedly do not follow Kannada soaps, but 1,000 episodes???
