Re: [silk] Fwd: [schooltool] Janastu and SchoolTool

[va]

On Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 4:42 AM, Tea BeeDi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> va,
>
>  Not so much of a gender crisis I think. This id is shared by some friends.
>


...But your friend (Kavita Philip) wrote to me saying that she does
not remember the password and hence has not accessed tbd DOT lists AT
gmail DOT com for a long time. In such case, do throw some light on
who wrote that introduction mail on Jan10 to the Indichix list
claiming to be Kavita.

She also mentioned that members of this list had some issues with you
in the past, which does not bother me as much as this : Many people
(men and women, how many? - i dont know) share a single mail id and
are engaging Indichix members into conversations, in a space
specifically meant for women (and open to men), with full knowledge
that it could be either a man or woman writing the messages emanating
from tbd DOT lists AT gmail DOT com, but IndiChix members are kept in
the dark about the identity of the person writing them. I hope you
understand the privacy and trust issues involved here.

Since Kavita Philip claims that she does not use that account, it
seems that you (Dinesh, or your friends?) are currently subscribed to
IndiChix as Kavita since that is the impression the introduction mail
of Jan10 gives to the list. If that is not the case, it will be better
that you send a clarification mail to IndiChix explaining how things
stand, since you are still subscribed there.

Re: [silk] Fwd: [schooltool] Janastu and SchoolTool

[Udhay Shankar N]

Tea BeeDi wrote, [on 4/16/2008 9:12 AM]:

va,

Not so much of a gender crisis I think. This id is shared by some friends.


Why?

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

Re: [silk] Fwd: [schooltool] Janastu and SchoolTool

[Tea BeeDi]

va,

Not so much of a gender crisis I think. This id is shared by some friends.

d

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 7:04 PM, va <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 12:22 PM, Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay
>  <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>  >
>  >  http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramkrsna/2106560440/ is one Dinesh who was
>  >  there at the LCIN BoF - no clue if he was there was a Dinesh | Prashant
>  >  as well.
>
>  ... was that picture taken at the LCIN BoF ? -which btw had just one
>  person with a ponytail, glasses and beard, seated in the second/third
>  row to my right side (while i was on the stage with Runa) and Kavita
>  was seated on the opposite side to our left.
>
>
>
>  On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 1:18 PM, Tea BeeDi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>  > I laughed. I mean you (plural) are funny.
>  >
>  >  Interesting, how some mail somewhere in Africa got caught by the Silk.
>  >
>  >  Here below is the follow up conversation.
>  >
>  >  -dinesh! :) (am now curious about this prashanth, not about kavita)
>
>  What I find interesting is this  you used <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>  and identified yourself as Kavita on the Indichix mailing list* BUT
>  morphed into Dinesh on Silk list. Strangely you use the same gmail ID
>  :: Tea Beedi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> on both Silk and Indichix lists but
>  there is definitely a gender crisis. Care to explain ?
>
>  * If curious, check the Jan08 Indichix archives - available to list
>  subscribers only.
>  http://mailman.linuxchix.org/mailman/listinfo/indichix
>
>



-- 
Tea Beedi

Re: [silk] Mexican Food in India

[J. Andrew Rogers]

On Apr 10, 2008, at 10:58 PM, Madhu Menon wrote:

Abhijit Menon-Sen wrote:

Ten, at the YWCA on Parliament Street in Delhi, serves Mexican food
(Quesadillas, especially) that I enjoyed eating; but I have never
had an opportunity to sample authentic Mexican food.


I think that is indeed the crux of the problem. Most people don't  
have a point of reference for "authentic" Mexican food (yours truly  
included.) The only thing that they are familiar with is the Tex-Mex  
stuff - dishes you can find at places like IndiJoe's, Ruby Tuesday,  
TGIF, etc. When the impression so many people have of the cuisine is  
that it's "meat in a tortilla with cheese and some stuff on the  
side", it's an uphill task to elevate it to any kind of "fine  
dining" concept. It's far less risky to sneak in a couple of dishes  
as part of some fusion or coffee shop menu.



Most Americans have never had authentic Mexican food, in large part  
because it is only widely eaten in relatively small portions of the  
United States and what you get everywhere else being heavily  
bastardized.  For example, most styles of authentic Mexican food  
rarely use cheese, whereas cheese practically defines it in many  
locales in the US.  Consequently, most people who think they dislike  
Mexican food have never actually eaten it; the true style is generally  
very appealing to a broad range of palates that find the overly greasy  
fast food implementation distasteful.


Authentic Mexican food is actually really healthy, being comprised  
primarily of lean meat, vegetables, a lot of legumes, and maybe some  
unrefined grain products.  Deep-fried cheesy things are nowhere in  
sight.



There is a pretty broad range of characteristic styles across Latin  
America, but I've only really found three styles that are done justice  
in the US:


1.)  "Tex-Mex", which is authentically rendered primarily in the  
border country of Texas, from about San Antonio on west.  Because it  
has travelled far and reasonably well, it is the style most Americans  
are familiar with.  Still, it will taste a bit different and a lot  
better in south Texas; the big restaurant chains do a pale and  
somewhat greasy imitation of it.


2.)  Desert Mexican, which is what you would find in the border towns  
of Arizona such as Tucson.  This is among the most authentic styles,  
but I never see it elsewhere due in no small part to its dependency on  
the local climate and ecology e.g. sun-desiccated meat and cactus.   
The "shredded beef" often used in mass market Mexican food is often a  
half-assed substitute for marinated sun-desiccated beef that has been  
shredded and reconstituted with water -- you can see outdoor meat  
cages hanging from poles in parts of Tucson.  No one that has ever  
eaten both would confuse one for the other, as the character and  
flavor is very different.


3.) West Coastal Mexican, which uses a lot of seafood and tends toward  
arid tropical ingredients.  In the US, the main place you can get an  
authentic version of this is San Diego.  You can find bastardized  
knock-offs that vaguely resemble the real thing in many parts of the  
US now.  San Diego benefits from cultural, ingredient, and cuisine  
contiguity with the parts of Mexico famous for this type of cuisine.   
Good indicators of authenticity are the use of limes (not lemons) and  
cabbage (not lettuce).




I like Mexican food a lot, but generally avoid what most Americans  
would call Mexican food.  You can find really solid tex-mex and  
coastal Mexican if you know where to look in many towns these days,  
usually small restaurants run by Mexicans.  You can get similar tasty  
food in most of Central America, but in many parts of South America  
they tend to European-ize their versions of many of these dishes.


I am very fond of desert Mexican, but the only place I ever find it is  
southern Arizona. I occasionally make it from scratch myself,  
particularly the slow desiccated meat (in an oven -- climate is  
wrong), and have discovered that it is hugely popular with the  
Vietnamese around here who never envisioned Mexican food as anything  
like it, having a popular but much less developed concept of  
desiccated meat in their own cuisine.


Cheers,

J. Andrew Rogers

Re: [silk] World Bank subsidising bandwidth

[ashok _]

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 11:19 PM, Thaths <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>  What is the latest news on landing fiber at Mombasa? IIRC, there were
>  2 or 3 parallel proposals including one for FLAG telcom to run fiber
>  across the Indian ocean to East Africa.
>

All three still appear to be alive. Though in 2 of them, Reliance
appears to have bought
a significant stake. The project connecting to the UAE is the one
slated for completion in 2010.

Re: [silk] World Bank subsidising bandwidth

[Thaths]

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 12:31 PM, ashok _ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> In Kenya the World Bank is funding a "bandwidth subsidy"
>
>  
> 
>
>  (the article mistakenly says 114 million shillings, its actually $114
>  million so essentially the world
>   bank is supporting BPOs in Kenya by partially paying for
>  international bandwidth...until an undersea
>  cable brings cheaper bandwidth in 2010)

What is the latest news on landing fiber at Mombasa? IIRC, there were
2 or 3 parallel proposals including one for FLAG telcom to run fiber
across the Indian ocean to East Africa.

Thaths
-- 
Bart: We were just planning the father-son river rafting trip.
Homer: Hehe. You don't have a son.
Sudhakar Chandra Slacker Without Borders

[silk] World Bank subsidising bandwidth

[ashok _]

In Kenya the World Bank is funding a "bandwidth subsidy"



(the article mistakenly says 114 million shillings, its actually $114
million so essentially the world
 bank is supporting BPOs in Kenya by partially paying for
international bandwidth...until an undersea
cable brings cheaper bandwidth in 2010)

Link to world bank page :


"One Kenyan call-center entrepreneur told the World Bank Board of
Directors the region simply cannot
compete. "To put 25 agents on the phone, it will cost us close to
US$17,000 a month. Elsewhere, it will
only cost US$600-900 a month," said Nicholas Nesbitt, CEO of KenCall.
"It is absolutely imperative that
something be done right now to make bandwidth affordable. Otherwise,
we're going to miss a huge
opportunity and people are simply going to say that Africa is not
ready for these kinds of jobs, is not
ready for business."

Does it make any practical sense for the world bank to fund such
costs...? it didnt make much sense to me

Re: [silk] Laptop recommendations

[Sajith T S]

Aditya Chadha <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> I think the new Lenovo made Thinkpad hardware is pretty much equal
> in quality to Apple hardware, if not worse.

Hmm.  Is this true about R series too?  Just a couple of months back a
Debian Developer I know chose Dell, after mightily disappointed by an
R series Thinkpad.  This, despite a lot of the Debian crowd cheering
for Thinkpads.  He said the new ones felt flimsy, as compared against
the older IBM made versions.

Oh, and Dell too had no Windows tax refund, not in India.

-- 
 Don't you wish you had more energy... or less ambition?
  9DB8FF06 : CB80 0BA6 7D13 B10A 6FBB  D43E B4D2 28AD 9DB8 FF06

Re: [silk] Laptop recommendations

[Alok G. Singh]

On 15 Apr 2008, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

> why bother with refunds hassle when one can get a laptop sans OS (free
> dos actually)

Not this model apparently (7669-A24). At least, that's what the reseller
tells me. An eloquent shrug when I asked him if there was any way of not
installing an OS at all.

-- 
Alok

A handful of friends is worth more than a wagon of gold.

Re: [silk] Laptop recommendations

[va]

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 6:15 PM, Alok G. Singh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>  I expect quite an adventure to get a refund I'm going to try and get for
>  the pre-installed Vista.

why bother with refunds hassle when one can get a laptop sans OS (free
dos actually)

Re: [silk] Laptop recommendations

[Alok G. Singh]

On 15 Apr 2008, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

> but why not a MacBook?

Partly because it is made by Apple and partly because it doesn't really
suit my needs. And it's fscking expensive here.

> I believe you can install Linux on a Mac...

I expect quite an adventure to get a refund I'm going to try and get for
the pre-installed Vista. Any success stories that you know of ?

-- 
Alok

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.

Re: [silk] Laptop recommendations

[Aditya Chadha]

On Apr 15, 2008, at 11:57 AM, Abhijit Menon-Sen wrote:

At 2008-04-15 16:51:12 +0100, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:


why not a MacBook?


Macbooks are heavy, and my impression is that the hardware (while very
nice, feature-wise) isn't as robust as the ThinkPads. If mobility is a
major consideration, then I personally wouldn't pick a MacBook.


I think the new Lenovo made Thinkpad hardware is pretty much equal in  
quality to Apple hardware, if not worse.
If you're looking for an integrated system with a nice UI and Unix  
under the hood, the Macbook is a great buy.
But to run Linux it makes more sense to get the Thinkpad especially  
since it might be cheaper.


Cheers,
Aditya

Re: [silk] Laptop recommendations

[Abhijit Menon-Sen]

At 2008-04-15 16:51:12 +0100, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> why not a MacBook?

Macbooks are heavy, and my impression is that the hardware (while very
nice, feature-wise) isn't as robust as the ThinkPads. If mobility is a
major consideration, then I personally wouldn't pick a MacBook.

(Obviously, there are a lot of people who disagree with me.)

> I believe you can install Linux on a Mac...

Yeah, but it seems a bit pointless.

-- ams

Re: [silk] rant - Re: Wanted: Exceptional parents

[Sajith T S]

Udhay Shankar N <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> It's not a pyramid, in my recollection. It was just a vertical stack
> of stones. The way we played it, the number of stones was not
> constant, and the opposing team got a bonus for hitting the stack
> directly, but it was also permissible (besides being more fun) to
> hit the person actually doing the rebuilding of the stack.

Cinematographer Anil Mehta once demonstrated some of his work while
giving a talk, back when Collective Chaos film society existed.  They
"sort of" used this game in a song-dance sequence.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EQ1NLr_VrR4

It's approximately a cone. :-)

Sajith.
-- 
 Don't you wish you had more energy... or less ambition?
  9DB8FF06 : CB80 0BA6 7D13 B10A 6FBB  D43E B4D2 28AD 9DB8 FF06

Re: [silk] Laptop recommendations

[Badri Natarajan]

> At 2008-04-15 20:40:06 +0530, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>>
>> My current top choice is the TP X60s.
>
> I can recommend the ThinkPad X6* without reservation for use with Linux,
> and I think the hardware is fantastic.

My days of being able to comment knowledgeably about Linux (or even PCs)
are far behind me (although Alok might remember them from a decade ago),
but why not a MacBook? I believe you can install Linux on a Mac...

Badri

Re: [silk] Laptop recommendations

[Abhijit Menon-Sen]

At 2008-04-15 20:40:06 +0530, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> My current top choice is the TP X60s.

I can recommend the ThinkPad X6* without reservation for use with Linux,
and I think the hardware is fantastic.

-- ams

[silk] Laptop recommendations

[Alok G. Singh]

I'm looking for laptop recommendations. I need mobility, not a desktop
replacement. I will be running Debian GNU/Linux (sid) on it. I don't
need an optical drive or those dinky SD card readers. A nice high
resolution screen (XGA and above) would be nice. Wi-fi is a
given. Priorities are:

1. A working suspend setup
2. No binary blobs for primary hardware (display, network, etc.). I
   suppose this follows from 1.
3. Battery life
4. Service centre in BLR
5. Weight

My current top choice is the TP X60s. Unfortunately, for love or money,
you can't test it with a livecd in this city. It would be awesome if I
could order a chassis and add only those modules that I need. I believe
that Lenovo do have such an option but I could not find out if this
possible in India.

-- 
Alok

Bigamy is having one spouse too many.  Monogamy is the same.

Re: [silk] Governance and the Sclerosis That Has Set In

[Badri Natarajan]

>
> All petitions etc are swiftly dealt with (even murder charges are
> dealt with, within a year).
>
> Moreover, Singapore govt provides scholarships for students at the
> Junior College to study in LSE, Harvard, Stanford, in return for them
> to come back and serve the govt as a highly placed official (who can
> become a minister).
>

The Singapore Scholars - yes, a good friend of mine is one. My
understanding is that there is no compulsion on them to go back and work
for the govt (but they tend to do so - my friend turned down an investment
banking job in Goldman Sachs in London to do just that).

I have doubts about whether their system can scale to a much larger
country and/or a real democracy (some parts of it certainly can - clearly
(for eg), eliminating cash payments reduces the opportunities for
corruption). On a broader level, if you run a government like a company (a
family company in the case of Singapore), there are all the advantages of
a company, but also the disadvantages..

Badri

Re: [silk] Fwd: [schooltool] Janastu and SchoolTool

[va]

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 12:22 PM, Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>  http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramkrsna/2106560440/ is one Dinesh who was
>  there at the LCIN BoF - no clue if he was there was a Dinesh | Prashant
>  as well.

... was that picture taken at the LCIN BoF ? -which btw had just one
person with a ponytail, glasses and beard, seated in the second/third
row to my right side (while i was on the stage with Runa) and Kavita
was seated on the opposite side to our left.


On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 1:18 PM, Tea BeeDi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I laughed. I mean you (plural) are funny.
>
>  Interesting, how some mail somewhere in Africa got caught by the Silk.
>
>  Here below is the follow up conversation.
>
>  -dinesh! :) (am now curious about this prashanth, not about kavita)

What I find interesting is this  you used <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
and identified yourself as Kavita on the Indichix mailing list* BUT
morphed into Dinesh on Silk list. Strangely you use the same gmail ID
:: Tea Beedi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> on both Silk and Indichix lists but
there is definitely a gender crisis. Care to explain ?

* If curious, check the Jan08 Indichix archives - available to list
subscribers only.
http://mailman.linuxchix.org/mailman/listinfo/indichix

Re: [silk] Fwd: [schooltool] Janastu and SchoolTool

[Tea BeeDi]

I laughed. I mean you (plural) are funny.

Interesting, how some mail somewhere in Africa got caught by the Silk.

Here below is the follow up conversation.

-dinesh! :) (am now curious about this prashanth, not about kavita)

Forwarded conversation
Subject: Re: [schooltool] More background on Janastu


From: Tom Hoffman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Mon, Apr 14, 2008 at 10:58 PM
To: Ronald Wertlen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]


On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 5:55 AM, Ronald Wertlen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> PS Sorry about any confusion from the last post (bit rushed). More
>  clarity/info on my blog...
>
>  http://ekhayaict.com/wordpress/?p=78

Hi Ronald,

I flat out missed this email, and I still can't find your "last post."
 So sorry for the slow response.

I don't think there is much we can do at this point.  For better or
worse we are tied to Zope 3, and our codebase is rather abstract and
sophisticated.  SchoolTool started with very ambitious objectives to
create an extensible, i18n and L10n-able framework for schools around
the world.  This is enterprise software.

The problem is that right now the value proposition for a project like
Janastu to use SchoolTool is at a low point.  The codebase is complex,
individual components work and are being tested and used in a handful
of schools, but we are still in the process of pulling this together
into a coherent suite.

So for web developers without heavy object oriented and component
design experience, getting up to speed on SchoolTool is a big step for
an uncertain benefit.  It is also an uncertain benefit on our side.
We have a pair of developers.  If they're spending time on IRC the
next six months trying to tutor programmers on the fine points of
ZCML, they aren't finishing SchoolTool 1.0 beta (due in October).

There is a long term plan for solving this problem.  First off, more
complete releases of SchoolTool make its value more certain.
Secondly, I'm hoping Grok 1.0 http://grok.zope.org/)  and SchoolTool
1.0 come out around the same time (i.e., next April), and we'll be
able to start leveraging the ease of development Grok brings to Zope 3
for people looking to extend and modify SchoolTool.

In the meantime, however, our priority is to keep our heads down and
finish SchoolTool.

Having said all that, I'm always happy to offer advice and feedback to
any open source SIS or MIS project.

--Tom
--
From: Ronald Wertlen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 2:18 AM
To: Tom Hoffman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], tb dinesh
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>


Hi Tom,

thanks for the response.

I have looked into the code of Janastu (what is available on the
Google svn) and they are obviously also using a framework.
Additionally, they are tied to a legacy CMS (Pantoto) which the
commercial outfit behind the non-profit started developing in 1999 and
which is now open source free software. The legacy code seems to be in
Java. I think with an agenda that complicated, there was no way to fit
SchoolTool in, even if the programmers are up to getting to grips with
your unfinished system (which I believe they would be).

I have quite a lot of experience with building large enterprise
systems on a shoestring, so I understand the sensitive stages
SchoolTool is currently experiencing. Especially the abstract code is
very scary, because I have seen a lot of abstract code get thrown away
at the end of the day. It's important to keep code in use, by the end
user (be that the developer using the framework or the "actual" end
user).

It is quite alarming to find two projects with such similar aims and
such similar technologies, both in the open source arena, but not
cooperating. You have provided the reason - Janastu is obviously about
getting results quickly for specific schools in the Indian context.
Further that project leverages legacy code and concepts which have an
established user base that directly feed into their project.

I am certain a future version of SchoolTool will provide compatibility one day.

Best regards, Ron
-- 
Ronald Wertlen
+27 79 4354681 (mobile)
+27 46 6229567 (land)
+49 179 4613526 (mobile)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://eKhayaICT.com/
*We build bridges across the digital divide*
--
From: tb dinesh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 8:22 AM
To: Ronald Wertlen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: Tom Hoffman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED]


HI Ronald, Tom

Janastu is not tied to any legacy code. We just use our experience of many years
in developing a new code base. We have moved on with Python (Django framework).
I cannot imagine diverting resources at this point in understanding
and/or working
with the state of SchoolTool, as mentioned by Tom. Before starting this new code
base work, we looked into SchoolTool and decided it was not available for our
immediate needs - mostly we were not sure of the development support behind
it (personally

Re: [silk] Fwd: [schooltool] Janastu and SchoolTool

[Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay]

-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
Hash: SHA1

va wrote:

| After getting Suresh's mail (told him am writing to the list) I
| checked the archives of Silk where one thread says the person's real
| name is Dinesh BUT the description (glasses, ponytail) matches that of
| a person who called himself "Prashant"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramkrsna/2106560440/ is one Dinesh who was
there at the LCIN BoF - no clue if he was there was a Dinesh | Prashant
as well.

This Dinesh is from http://servelots.com/#item01 is what i recall

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=Zckb
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Re: [silk] Fwd: [schooltool] Janastu and SchoolTool

[va]

On 4/15/08, va <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On 4/15/08, Suresh Ramasubramanian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > There's a guy from Janastu on silk ..  TB Dinesh (cc'd)
>
> Erm... Tea Beedi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said she(he?) was Kavita (whom
> I met at foss in Dec07) on the Linuxchix-India mailing lists. /me is
> wondering, so would the real Kavita (er...Dinesh) please stand up.
>

After getting Suresh's mail (told him am writing to the list) I
checked the archives of Silk where one thread says the person's real
name is Dinesh BUT the description (glasses, ponytail) matches that of
a person who called himself "Prashant" *1 (at the Linuxchix-India BoF)
and kept trolling and disrupting the BoF while insisting on addressing
the women present there as 'chicks' and insisted on knowing what we
(women) would do if men pretended to be women on the LC lists. The
next day this same individual (am unsure how to address
Prashant/another-alias ?) was seen trolling Danese Cooper during the
Q&A session of her talk.

Kavita (another woman, who was also at the LCIN BoF and is presently
in USA according to her mail to the LCIN mailing-list) meanwhile used
a different mail id when she sent a mail to Runa (Sankarsan's wife)
and me. So could the real Kavita or is it Dinesh/Prashant(?) please
come forward.

*1 - that is how he introduced himself when I asked him his name at the BoF.

Re: [silk] Fwd: The lesser known aspects of kAmasutra and panchatantra

[divya manian]

I wonder who brainwashes these relatives of ours. Probably their
parents. And them? their parents again. Seems like a never ending
cycle of brainwashing!

On 4/15/08, Deepa Mohan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> What do you mean, AN aunt..I have whole hordes of relatives and
>  friends whose only aim in life seems to be to prove How Wonderful We
>  Indians Were (as Udhay would say, in Capital Letters.)

- divya

Re: [silk] Very Novel Open Source Project

[Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay]

-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
Hash: SHA1

Vinayak Hegde wrote:
| Open source 3D printer copies itself
| http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/tech/2F5C3C5D68A380EDCC257423006E71CD

'tis crazy i tell you ... what is the world coming to ? :)

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=O8l7
-END PGP SIGNATURE-

Re: [silk] Very Novel Open Source Project

[divya manian]

On 4/15/08, Udhay Shankar N <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>  Aiee! Von Neumann machines on the loose! Flee!

Reminds me so much of Tintin and the lake of sharks[1] where Calculus
invents a 3D duplication machine!

divya

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Tintin-Lake-Sharks-Herge/dp/1405206349/

Re: [silk] Fwd: The lesser known aspects of kAmasutra and panchatantra

[Deepa Mohan]

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 3:28 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I have an aunt that keeps insisting the ancient Indians had everything from
>  aircraft (pushpaka vimanam) to nukes (brahmastra). She would be in good
>  company with this guy


What do you mean, AN aunt..I have whole hordes of relatives and
friends whose only aim in life seems to be to prove How Wonderful We
Indians Were (as Udhay would say, in Capital Letters.)

Deepa.
>
>
>  > -Original Message-
>  > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>  > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf
>  > Of Namitha Jagadeesh
>  > Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 3:25 PM
>  > To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
>  > Subject: Re: [silk] Fwd: The lesser known aspects of kAmasutra and
>  > panchatantra
>  >
>  > Jace, BCB6 just got interesting. :)
>  >
>  > On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 11:08 AM, Kiran Jonnalagadda <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>  > wrote:
>  >
>  > > No comment. Make your own opinion.
>  > >
>  > > Begin forwarded message:
>  > >
>  > > > From: Balarama Varanasi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>  > > > Date: 12 April 2008 12:45:16 PM GMT+05:30
>  > > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>  > > > Subject: Re: [BCB] The lesser known aspects of kAmasutra and
>  > > > panchatantra
>  > > > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>  > > >
>  > > > Hi friends:
>  > > >
>  > > >  Important thing about Kama Sutra, other than being a treatise on
>  > human
>  > > > sexuality is that it is snapshot from the Knowledge Society, when
>  > India was
>  > > > the most developed nation on the planet, when all countries looked
>  > up to
>  > > > India with much owe compared to how we look at America now. As
>  > couple of
>  > > > friends have shown interst, I am copying the four-page text I have
>  > sent
>  > > > earlier as an attachment into the email itself.
>  > > >  
>  > > >  Demystifying Cultural Wisdom of Ancient India
>  > > >
>  > > >  Importance of Kama Sutra, which has nothing to do with sex at all,
>  > is
>  > > > that it is an Application Area of an ancient Global Standard on
>  > Concurrent
>  > > > Program Management. This aspect demystifies everything about
>  > ancient India -
>  > > > lesser known aspects of Vedas, Sastras, Sutras, Manusmrithi,
>  > Ramayana,
>  > > > Mahabharatha, and Kama Sutra, and the Indian Caste System.
>  > > >
>  > > >  Remember that we study that an ancient Indian Universities at
>  > Nalanda,
>  > > > etc., were destroyed. It is not a University, which was destroyed
>  > but
>  > > > Standardization Institute. Ancient Indian Grama is not a village.
>  > Ancient
>  > > > India prior to the Colonial Power wasn't rigid feudal society,
>  > which
>  > > > depended on the repression of the underprivileged, as it is in the
>  > case of
>  > > > Western Racial Discrimination. Colonial Power recorded as four
>  > thousand
>  > > > castes. Instead it was a vibrant knowledge society with thousand
>  > > > Professional Services Exchanges, which shared the Standardization.
>  > > >
>  > > >  You need to understand how Professional Services Exchange (PSE)
>  > works.
>  > > > Each Grama was a PSE. The Purpose of a PSE is to democratize
>  > knowledge and
>  > > > services - making Professional Development Courses, and
>  > Professional
>  > > > Services available and affordable through. This is done through
>  > > > Service-Credit system, which empowers you to earn Service Credits
>  > by
>  > > > offering Standardized Services to any Service Aspirant, which you
>  > can redeem
>  > > > to obtain other Standardized Services.
>  > > >
>  > > >  India still has the limitation that 1600 engineering colleges and
>  > 400
>  > > > management colleges of India just produce workers- no fair chance
>  > for these
>  > > > professionals to become innovators and entrepreneurs. This can be
>  > overcome
>  > > > if we understand how Knowledge Society of ancient India worked.
>  > > >
>  > > >  If we understand this intuition of PSE, immediately before Jan 26,
>  > 2008
>  > > > we would be able to roll out Virtual Technology Incubator, which
>  > gives a
>  > > > fair chance to become innovators and entrepreneurs to all 500,000
>  > > > engineering graduates and 100,000 management graduates every year.
>  > > > Regulatory regime of India committed serious mistake by allowing
>  > the
>  > > > opportunity to become Innovator and entrepreneur only to the
>  > students of the
>  > > > few premiere colleges. Most of these graduates are being absorbed
>  > as
>  > > > intrapreneurs and employees of MNCs.
>  > > >
>  > > >
>  > > >  In Sanskrit, Kama Sutra means Structured Approach to realize a
>  > defined
>  > > > Objective, Human Sexuality being just one Application Area, and the
>  > > > Structured Approach being Concurrent Program Management. I will
>  > give you
>  > > > notes on Concurrent Program Management, explained with respect to a
>  > > > contemporary Global Standard in Project Management published by
>  > Project
>  > > > Manageme

Re: [silk] Fwd: The lesser known aspects of kAmasutra and panchatantra

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

I have an aunt that keeps insisting the ancient Indians had everything from
aircraft (pushpaka vimanam) to nukes (brahmastra). She would be in good
company with this guy


> -Original Message-
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf
> Of Namitha Jagadeesh
> Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 3:25 PM
> To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
> Subject: Re: [silk] Fwd: The lesser known aspects of kAmasutra and
> panchatantra
> 
> Jace, BCB6 just got interesting. :)
> 
> On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 11:08 AM, Kiran Jonnalagadda <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> wrote:
> 
> > No comment. Make your own opinion.
> >
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > > From: Balarama Varanasi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > > Date: 12 April 2008 12:45:16 PM GMT+05:30
> > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > > Subject: Re: [BCB] The lesser known aspects of kAmasutra and
> > > panchatantra
> > > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > >
> > > Hi friends:
> > >
> > >  Important thing about Kama Sutra, other than being a treatise on
> human
> > > sexuality is that it is snapshot from the Knowledge Society, when
> India was
> > > the most developed nation on the planet, when all countries looked
> up to
> > > India with much owe compared to how we look at America now. As
> couple of
> > > friends have shown interst, I am copying the four-page text I have
> sent
> > > earlier as an attachment into the email itself.
> > >  
> > >  Demystifying Cultural Wisdom of Ancient India
> > >
> > >  Importance of Kama Sutra, which has nothing to do with sex at all,
> is
> > > that it is an Application Area of an ancient Global Standard on
> Concurrent
> > > Program Management. This aspect demystifies everything about
> ancient India -
> > > lesser known aspects of Vedas, Sastras, Sutras, Manusmrithi,
> Ramayana,
> > > Mahabharatha, and Kama Sutra, and the Indian Caste System.
> > >
> > >  Remember that we study that an ancient Indian Universities at
> Nalanda,
> > > etc., were destroyed. It is not a University, which was destroyed
> but
> > > Standardization Institute. Ancient Indian Grama is not a village.
> Ancient
> > > India prior to the Colonial Power wasn't rigid feudal society,
> which
> > > depended on the repression of the underprivileged, as it is in the
> case of
> > > Western Racial Discrimination. Colonial Power recorded as four
> thousand
> > > castes. Instead it was a vibrant knowledge society with thousand
> > > Professional Services Exchanges, which shared the Standardization.
> > >
> > >  You need to understand how Professional Services Exchange (PSE)
> works.
> > > Each Grama was a PSE. The Purpose of a PSE is to democratize
> knowledge and
> > > services - making Professional Development Courses, and
> Professional
> > > Services available and affordable through. This is done through
> > > Service-Credit system, which empowers you to earn Service Credits
> by
> > > offering Standardized Services to any Service Aspirant, which you
> can redeem
> > > to obtain other Standardized Services.
> > >
> > >  India still has the limitation that 1600 engineering colleges and
> 400
> > > management colleges of India just produce workers- no fair chance
> for these
> > > professionals to become innovators and entrepreneurs. This can be
> overcome
> > > if we understand how Knowledge Society of ancient India worked.
> > >
> > >  If we understand this intuition of PSE, immediately before Jan 26,
> 2008
> > > we would be able to roll out Virtual Technology Incubator, which
> gives a
> > > fair chance to become innovators and entrepreneurs to all 500,000
> > > engineering graduates and 100,000 management graduates every year.
> > > Regulatory regime of India committed serious mistake by allowing
> the
> > > opportunity to become Innovator and entrepreneur only to the
> students of the
> > > few premiere colleges. Most of these graduates are being absorbed
> as
> > > intrapreneurs and employees of MNCs.
> > >
> > >
> > >  In Sanskrit, Kama Sutra means Structured Approach to realize a
> defined
> > > Objective, Human Sexuality being just one Application Area, and the
> > > Structured Approach being Concurrent Program Management. I will
> give you
> > > notes on Concurrent Program Management, explained with respect to a
> > > contemporary Global Standard in Project Management published by
> Project
> > > Management Institute, USA.
> > >
> > >  I am not interested in researching Kama Sutra, because of the
> > > side-effects :-) But those of you, who wish to, should buy yourself
> Sanskrit
> > > equivalent of thesaurus known as Amarakosa. You take the Body of
> Knowledge
> > > on Concurrent Program Management and how PSE works, which I can
> give you.
> > > You will find one Interpretation, which empowers you to visualize
> how PSE of
> > > ancient India worked, where Kama Sutra as we know today is one
> Professional
> > > Development Course. The Product has the signature of the process
> through
> > > which it was reconcil

Re: [silk] Fwd: The lesser known aspects of kAmasutra and panchatantra

[Namitha Jagadeesh]

Jace, BCB6 just got interesting. :)

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 11:08 AM, Kiran Jonnalagadda <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> No comment. Make your own opinion.
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> > From: Balarama Varanasi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > Date: 12 April 2008 12:45:16 PM GMT+05:30
> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Subject: Re: [BCB] The lesser known aspects of kAmasutra and
> > panchatantra
> > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
> > Hi friends:
> >
> >  Important thing about Kama Sutra, other than being a treatise on human
> > sexuality is that it is snapshot from the Knowledge Society, when India was
> > the most developed nation on the planet, when all countries looked up to
> > India with much owe compared to how we look at America now. As couple of
> > friends have shown interst, I am copying the four-page text I have sent
> > earlier as an attachment into the email itself.
> >  
> >  Demystifying Cultural Wisdom of Ancient India
> >
> >  Importance of Kama Sutra, which has nothing to do with sex at all, is
> > that it is an Application Area of an ancient Global Standard on Concurrent
> > Program Management. This aspect demystifies everything about ancient India -
> > lesser known aspects of Vedas, Sastras, Sutras, Manusmrithi, Ramayana,
> > Mahabharatha, and Kama Sutra, and the Indian Caste System.
> >
> >  Remember that we study that an ancient Indian Universities at Nalanda,
> > etc., were destroyed. It is not a University, which was destroyed but
> > Standardization Institute. Ancient Indian Grama is not a village. Ancient
> > India prior to the Colonial Power wasn't rigid feudal society, which
> > depended on the repression of the underprivileged, as it is in the case of
> > Western Racial Discrimination. Colonial Power recorded as four thousand
> > castes. Instead it was a vibrant knowledge society with thousand
> > Professional Services Exchanges, which shared the Standardization.
> >
> >  You need to understand how Professional Services Exchange (PSE) works.
> > Each Grama was a PSE. The Purpose of a PSE is to democratize knowledge and
> > services – making Professional Development Courses, and Professional
> > Services available and affordable through. This is done through
> > Service-Credit system, which empowers you to earn Service Credits by
> > offering Standardized Services to any Service Aspirant, which you can redeem
> > to obtain other Standardized Services.
> >
> >  India still has the limitation that 1600 engineering colleges and 400
> > management colleges of India just produce workers- no fair chance for these
> > professionals to become innovators and entrepreneurs. This can be overcome
> > if we understand how Knowledge Society of ancient India worked.
> >
> >  If we understand this intuition of PSE, immediately before Jan 26, 2008
> > we would be able to roll out Virtual Technology Incubator, which gives a
> > fair chance to become innovators and entrepreneurs to all 500,000
> > engineering graduates and 100,000 management graduates every year.
> > Regulatory regime of India committed serious mistake by allowing the
> > opportunity to become Innovator and entrepreneur only to the students of the
> > few premiere colleges. Most of these graduates are being absorbed as
> > intrapreneurs and employees of MNCs.
> >
> >
> >  In Sanskrit, Kama Sutra means Structured Approach to realize a defined
> > Objective, Human Sexuality being just one Application Area, and the
> > Structured Approach being Concurrent Program Management. I will give you
> > notes on Concurrent Program Management, explained with respect to a
> > contemporary Global Standard in Project Management published by Project
> > Management Institute, USA.
> >
> >  I am not interested in researching Kama Sutra, because of the
> > side-effects :-) But those of you, who wish to, should buy yourself Sanskrit
> > equivalent of thesaurus known as Amarakosa. You take the Body of Knowledge
> > on Concurrent Program Management and how PSE works, which I can give you.
> > You will find one Interpretation, which empowers you to visualize how PSE of
> > ancient India worked, where Kama Sutra as we know today is one Professional
> > Development Course. The Product has the signature of the process through
> > which it was reconciled. Be warned of the side effects and keep away if you
> > don't have a healthy relationship and a dynamic/supportive partner :- )
> >
> >  Researchers could get very attached to the combinations of choice of
> > words that indicate it to be a treatise on sexuality. As far as I know,
> > reconstruction of one Interpretation as a Standard on Concurrent Program
> > management requires group effort. This is because we are all products of a
> > society subjected to perversions. The way I believe Kama Sutra was
> > reconciled is as follows. It empowers you bright people to decode it as well
> > as publish the next version :-)
> >
> >  Principles and Practices of Standardization

Re: [silk] Reverses....

[Divya Sampath]

--- Srini Ramakrishnan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 2:44 PM, 
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > Just use the Spanish system. It scales...
> 
> and that would be, what?

In most of the Spanish speaking world, everyone has
double-barrelled last names: for example, Maria Gomez
Felix. In the US, they tend to hyphenate to aoid
giving the impression that the first surname is a
'middle name'. By convention, we may infer that
Maria's paternal surname is Gomez and maternal surname
is Felix. There are exceptions, some people use the
reverse order. In cases where the paternal surname is
very common, the person may go by the maternal
surnmae, i.e., the painter Picasso or the politician
Zapatero. If Maria Gomez Felix marries Jose Ruiz
Alvarado, their children would normally take the
surnames Gomez and Ruiz; again, there are exceptions.
For example, if the parents were Maria Perez Felix and
Jose Perez Alvarado, the children may take the
surnames Perez and Felix, or Perez and Alvarado. 

Of course, there are some pepple who use all four
names, so you may well encounter Elena Perez Gomez
Alvarado Felix. 

Plus, many hispanic people have two first names(not a
'middle name'), so when you see Javier Miguel Torres
Gomez - you reasonably infer that Torres is his
paternal surname and Gomez is his maternal surname; he
may choose to go by either Javier or Miguel. 

cheers,
Divya

Re: [silk] Reverses....

[Abhijit Menon-Sen]

At 2008-04-15 14:57:53 +0530, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> > Just use the Spanish system. It scales...
> 
> and that would be, what?

http://klamath.stanford.edu/~molinero/html/surname.html

-- ams

Re: [silk] Reverses....

[Srini Ramakrishnan]

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 2:52 PM, Abhijit Menon-Sen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
[...]

>  In fact, the only relevant double-hyphenate I know is Rishab, and I
>  suspect, somehow, that he doesn't want to have my babies to further
>  the cause of quadratic hyphenation.

It's not that abnormal, I have cousins that decided to hyphenate their
wedded last names, and we decided against hyphenation at our wedding.

Cheeni

Re: [silk] Reverses....

[Srini Ramakrishnan]

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 2:44 PM,  <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Just use the Spanish system. It scales...

and that would be, what?

Cheeni

Re: [silk] Reverses....

[Abhijit Menon-Sen]

At 2008-04-15 14:44:14 +0530, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> When hyphenated individuals marry they become a double hyphenated
> couple, and when their offspring [...]

This is a story I've always heard while I was growing up (in Bengal).
I'm somewhat disappointed to note, however, that I haven't found many
double-hyphenated potential partners since.

In fact, the only relevant double-hyphenate I know is Rishab, and I
suspect, somehow, that he doesn't want to have my babies to further
the cause of quadratic hyphenation.

-- ams

Re: [silk] Very Novel Open Source Project

[Udhay Shankar N]

Vinayak Hegde wrote, [on 4/15/2008 2:47 PM]:


Open source 3D printer copies itself
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/tech/2F5C3C5D68A380EDCC257423006E71CD


Aiee! Von Neumann machines on the loose! Flee!

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

Re: [silk] rant - Re: Wanted: Exceptional parents

[va]

On 4/14/08, Udhay Shankar N <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Dave Long wrote, [on 4/14/2008 10:56 AM]:
> > 
> > I can easily imagine pyramids of 4, 5, 10, and 14 stones but am coming 
> > up blank on 7 stones.  Is the opposing team allowed to throw the ball at 
> > the partially rebuilt pyramid as well?
> 
> It's not a pyramid, in my recollection. It was just a vertical stack of 
> stones. The way we played it, the number of stones was not constant, and 

7 was both tough 'n easy depending on team size. More than 10 members a team 
meant we increase the number of stones. But then these are gully games so 
besides the made-up rules its free-for-all i guess. 


> the opposing team got a bonus for hitting the stack directly, but it was 

IIRC, if they catch the ball bouncing off directly after hitting the stone 
pyramid (like cricket) when the bonus points was equivalent to the number of 
stones that fell.


> also permissible (besides being more fun) to hit the person actually 
> doing the rebuilding of the stack.

*big grin*

[silk] Very Novel Open Source Project

[Vinayak Hegde]

Open source 3D printer copies itself
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/tech/2F5C3C5D68A380EDCC257423006E71CD

Based in the Waitakeres, in West Auckland, software developer and
artist Vik Olliver is part of a team developing an open-source,
self-copying 3D printer. The RepRap (Replicating Rapid-prototyper)
printer can replicate and update itself. It can print its own parts,
including updates, says Olliver, who is one of the core members of the
RepRap team.

The 3D printer works by building components up in layers of plastic,
mainly polylactic acid (PLA), which is a bio-degradable polymer made
from lactic acid. The technology already exists, but commercial
machines are very expensive. They also can't copy themselves, and they
can't be manipulated by users, says Olliver.

RepRap has a different idea. The team, which is spread over New
Zealand, the UK and the US, develops and gives away the designs for
its much cheaper machine, which also has self-copying capabilities. It
wants to make the machine available to anybody — including small
communities in the developing world, as well as people in the
developed world, says Olliver.

Accordingly, the RepRap machine is distributed, at no cost, under the
GNU (General Public Licence).

RepRap's open-source project aims to keep on improving the machine.
"So it can do what people want it to do", says Olliver. Improvements
will go back to users and, in this way, the machine as a whole
evolves, he says. The idea of evolution is important, he adds. The
device Olliver is creating now will probably bear very little
resemblance to the device that will appear on everybody's desks in the
future, he says.

"We want to make sure that everything is open, not just the design and
the software you control it with, but the entire tool-chain, from the
ground up," he says.

Olliver works for Catalyst IT, a Wellington-based open-source business
system provider. He is fortunate enough to get "Google-time" from the
company, which means he is allowed to work on his own research
projects one day a week — just like employees at Google. This has led
to considerable developments in the RepRap project in the last six
months, his says.

New features include, for example, heads that can be changed for
different kinds of plastic. A head that deposits low melting-point
metal is in development, he says. The metal melts at a lower
temperature than that at which plastic melts, which means the metal
can be put inside plastic, says Olliver. "That means, in theory, we
could build structures like motors."

RepRap also allows people to build circuits in 3D, as well as various
shapes, with the result that objects, such as a cell phone, don't have
to be flat, he says.

There are at least seven copies of the RepRap machine in the world
that Olliver knows about. The 3D printer also allows for a new and
fascinating way of communicating: Olliver can design something at home
in New Zealand, which then appears on another researcher's desk, in
Bath, in the UK, or the other way around.

At the moment, the RepRap uses two different kinds of plastic — PLA, a
relatively rigid plastic, which is ideal for making objects such as
corner brackets; and a more flexible plastic for making, for example,
iPod cases, he says.

But having the machine copy itself is the most useful thing the team
can make it do, and that is the primary goal of the project, says
Olliver. However, it can also be used to make other things, such as
wine glasses — definitely water-tight, he adds — and plastic parts for
machines. When Computerworld talked to him, Olliver had just printed
out a small part to fix his blender.

"We know that people are going to use the printer to try to make
weapons [and] sex toys and drug paraphernalia," he says. "This is
obviously not what we're hoping they are going to build. We are hoping
they are going to build more and better RepRaps."

-- Vinayak

Re: [silk] Reverses....

[divyasampath]

Just use the Spanish system. It scales...

--Original Message--
From: Srini Ramakrishnan
Sender: 
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
ReplyTo: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Sent: 15 Apr 2008 10:14
Subject: Re: [silk] Reverses

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 8:53 AM, Deepa Mohan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
[...]
>  I do like to see the Indian-integration surnames on this
>  list...Aiyer-GhoshMenon-Sen :))

My concern is that hyphenation doesn't scale. When hyphenated
individuals marry they become a double hyphenated couple, and when
their offspring marries the marriage will produce perhaps a quadruple
hyphenation (assuming a linear preference for hyphenated partners) and
so on.

Cheeni



Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

[silk] Fwd: [schooltool] Janastu and SchoolTool

[va]

Rene,
IIRC you are involved with Janastu (incase you are in
Bangalore/India). Anyone else here know the folks behind Janastu ?- to
combine forces with schooltool.

-- Forwarded message --
From: Ronald Wertlen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:43:28 +0200
Subject: [schooltool] Janastu and SchoolTool
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Dear Janastu and SchoolTool!

I have been following the SchoolTool project for a while now, and was
surprised to find another group attempting to do something very similar,
in a field (non-profit, school education, etc.) in which cooperation and
collaboration are the only way to win.

It is quite peculiar to note that both projects are English AND using
Python!  That said I don't know how (in)compatible Django and Zope are
as these seem to be the frameworks being used. The legacy of the Pantoto
platform will surely be a problem if that is involved on the Janastu side.

If you are unaware of each other - which I can hardly imagine, I hope to
get some collaboration going with this mail!! It would be fantastic to
grow a great project (and not get into petty company rivalries or
technical flamewars)!


Aside: We hope to get a SchoolTool project going with 20 rural schools -
but are still waiting for funding (a collaboration with the Nelson
Mandela Institute). So once that comes through we may be hearing more
from each other.


Best regards, from the Eastern Cape of South Africa,
Ron Wertlen



-- 
Ronald Wertlen
+27 79 4354681 (mobile)
+27 46 6229567 (land)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://eKhayaICT.com/
*We build bridges across the digital divide*
___
Schooltool mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://lists.schooltool.org/mailman/listinfo/schooltool

Re: [silk] Reverses....

[Srini Ramakrishnan]

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 8:53 AM, Deepa Mohan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
[...]
>  I do like to see the Indian-integration surnames on this
>  list...Aiyer-GhoshMenon-Sen :))

My concern is that hyphenation doesn't scale. When hyphenated
individuals marry they become a double hyphenated couple, and when
their offspring marries the marriage will produce perhaps a quadruple
hyphenation (assuming a linear preference for hyphenated partners) and
so on.

Cheeni

Re: [silk] "My boy works for Infosys" - was Outsourcing and health

[Srini Ramakrishnan]

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 8:59 AM, ss <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
[...]
>  Here are some thoughts I posted in my college alumni web forum. Thoughts
>  sparked off by the article above and general conversations with colleagues.
>
>  "MY BOY WORKS FOR INFOSYS"


Shiv,

Remarkably well written, you make a great effort at pointing out a
malaise that's really hard to spot amongst all the cultural camouflage
and the lack of decades of empirical evidence. I am afraid it's going
to take a lot of effort to make this heard though. If no one wants to
hear it, (which I suspect is the case) then it doesn't really matter
how loud you repeat it. In a society where global warming and
evolution can be questioned, this is a far more difficult sell.

In my limited experience, I've come across many who suffer the
maladies of being lychnobites with ulcers and no social life. The
cyber/ electronic/hi-tech cities that have popped up primarily in
erstwhile badlands bordering Indian cities aren't helping. They stand
out as solitary landmarks in otherwise useless yet overpriced real
estate. The deficient and corrupt town planning bureaucracy among
other things forces zombie workers of these office parks to pack
themselves into trademark white cabs and buses for a long ride home at
odd hours of the day. Usually migrants to the city, they don't speak
the language, they don't understand the local culture, they have left
their friends behind and don't have the time to make new friends, they
miss home a lot, they get fleeced at every turn from the veggie seller
to the maid to the landlord for being "IT" employees, they don't know
what to do in the city on weekends besides vegetate in front of the TV
set and order pizza - in short they lead miserable lives. The
principal expense heads for most of these kids isn't designer attire
and parties, it is their cell phone calls back home, the train and air
tickets home and take out food.

A vast majority of these souls aren't lucky enough to get 50,000
Rupees out of college, a more realistic figure for BPO employees is
8,000-15,000 Rupees a month. Which is still far more than what their
fathers earn in rural Tamil Nadu or Bihar.

In short the point I make is that it's really hard to lay blame at the
doorstep of just the employers - it's equally government and society
(per Shiv's eloquent argument) who share the responsibility.

Cheeni