Re: [silk] Hot food paper towel
I've been doing this for years with fresh-cooked bacon, never noticed any ill effect. On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 10:20 AM Radhika, Y. wrote: > Hi all! > > I have a question about placing hot food on a paper towel to suck up the > grease. Firstly, a quick heads up: my knowledge of physics is poor. I still > retain an interest in science especially as it relates to daily living. In > the case of hot food being placed on a paper towel, I'm a little spooked > (unnecessarily, my husband thinks) by the thought of electron transfer > between paper (has chlorine that bleaches it and formaldehyde, a known > carcinogen) and food. I'm aware of the classic example of the bat and ball > in quantum physics where through contact they exchange electrons - well, > that's my understanding of it. Would any of you be able to advise me on > whether I have it all wrong? I was wondering too if the heat plays a role > although I have learned that fresh food is actually quite susceptible to > picking up chemical residue. Happy to learn. > > Thank you. > Radhika > > > > > -- > *Translator/Owner* > *AzulIndica Translations* > *North Vancouver BC, Canada* >
Re: [silk] Your most memorable concerts?
My lifelong passion is music and I’ve been to a *lot* of concerts. Best recent concert before Covid hit: Trombone Shorty, go see him! I don’t know if it was the *best*, the concert that made the deepest impression on me was Laurie Anderson's “Home of the Brave” tour sometime in the Eighties. Wonderful music, unbelievably well-played, well-presented, gripping, emotionally wrenching. Fortunately, they made a film of it, which you can watch for free! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mua8Pr6uRso <== highly recommended. On Fri, Dec 11, 2020 at 10:06 AM Geetanjali Chitnis < g...@geetanjalichitnis.com> wrote: > All in Bangalore. > > The Rolling Stones - April 2003. I was 13. My first ever concert, attended > with my dad. I wore the most ridiculous shoes (some sort of platforms) and > we got into a terrible argument because he wanted me to wear ‘comfortable > sneakers’ but I stubbornly refused to change because I wanted to be > fashionable. Of course, it rained. Of course, it got slushy. Of course, he > was right. > > Sting - Jan 2005. A school friend got VIP tickets, but the regular area > looked like it was a lot more fun. Sounds ungrateful now, but I essentially > left the VIP area and joined my dad and *his* friends in the regular ticket > area. I eventually stood next to a family friend’s younger brother - the > guy who would become my husband 10 years later. I was 15 and he was 18 but > we didn’t get together until.. > > Aerosmith - June 2007. My dad is out of the country, but surprises me with > a call while I’m in a movie theatre. He’d got me a ticket to the show, and > I was going to see Aerosmith live (accompanied by a trustworthy group of > older friends, of course). The show was great (but I don’t think they > played Pink). Anyway, after the show a bunch of us go out for dinner and > there’s that guy again! Part of the same group. By now, I have a cell > phone so I got hold of his number.. > > Norah Jones - March 2013. My dad is weak from chemo, but he’s adamant he > wants to go. Norah Jones is special to us both. We love her music. She and > I share the same birthday, and her ‘Indian’ name is Geetali - so similar to > mine. So, we go. Just the two of us. Our friends are the organisers (or > knew them, can’t remember now) so they make sure he has a chair to sit on > in the sound console tent. I hang around his side nervously, but I leave > him for just a few moments so that I can go and buy a concert t-shirt. That > was one of our last times out together - three months later, he’s gone. > Strangely enough, I took out that t-shirt to wear just today. > > Thank you for this prompt. I didn’t even realise how many great memories I > have.. > > Geetanjali Chitnis > > On 11 December 2020 at 10:34:37 PM, Thaths (tha...@gmail.com) wrote: > > > Excellent thread. For me > > > > > > 1994: Pink Floyd Division Bell tour (San Antonio) > > > > 1999: L Shankar, Zakir Husain and Vikku Vinayakaram in concert (i.e., > > Shakthi minus John McLaughlin) in San Francisco, I suspect Shankar was in > > deep financial trouble at this point in time and did this tour to make > > some > > quick money. I suspect they will not perform together again. > > > > 2000: Santana > > > > 2003/4: Remember Shakthi in Palace Grounds, Bangalore > > > > 2015/17: Buena Vista Social Club, Toumani Diabaté (Womadelaide, Adelaide, > > Australia) > > > > 2019/20: Tinariwen, Mulatu Astatke (Berkeley) > > > > There are also several carnatic music concerts, but I cannot quite place > > them in time. > > > > Thaths > > > > > > On Fri, Dec 11, 2020 at 8:17 AM Radhika, Y. wrote: > > > > 1994 Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young > > 2005 Arturo Sandoval > > 2006 Unknown blues singer at Terra Blues, NYC > > 1986 Zakir Hussain and Birju Maharaj > > > > El jue., 10 dic. 2020 10:10 p. m., Venkatesh H R > > escribió: > > > > Thinking on and off about Udhay's 'what do you splurge on' thread, I > > realised I've spent good money to get to concerts. What have been your > > memorable ones? > > > > 2009 - Paul McCartney "Good Evening London" - by far the best concert > > > > ever. > > > > Me and the missus borrowed money from her parents to pay for the tix, we > > were living in Oxford). > > 2019 - U2, Mumbai (travelled from Delhi) > > 2018 - Judas Priest, Mountain View > > 2008 - Ian Anderson, Anoushka Sharma, New Delhi > > 2002 - Deep Purple, Mumbai > > 2002 - Pandit Shiv Shankar Sharma & Ustad Zakir Hussain > > > > Regrets - haven't been to any good Carnatic concerts, missed Mark > > > > Knopfler > > > > and Iron Maiden when they came to Bangalore, gave away tickets I'd won to > > No Doubt in Bangalore 1998 in exchange for a t-shirt. Also came just > > > > short > > > > of going to a Paul Simon at Queen's concert in 2018 (apparently his last > > one). > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > *Get your 'vaccine' from 'fake news', lies, half-truths, manipulated > > truths, propaganda and general B.S. at my media buddhi newsletter > >
Re: [silk] What are the things you splurge on that are worth the money?
Camera lenses. You can never have too many. On Mon, Dec 7, 2020 at 9:36 PM joy bhattacharjya < joy.bhattachar...@gmail.com> wrote: > Running shoes. Not the absolute high end, but the Asics, New Balance > variety. > I generally try and get good quality lenses and frames once a year. > > > On 07-Dec-2020, at 10:13 AM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > > > > Like it says. I know there are similar threads out there on reddit etc - > > this question is for silklisters. :) > > >
Re: [silk] How to smell
>From “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” by T.E. Lawrence: …we had ridden far out over the rolling plains of North Syria to a ruin of the Roman period which the Arabs believed was made by a prince of the border as a desert-palace for his queen. The clay of its building was said to have been kneaded for greater richness, not with water, but with the precious essential oils of flowers. My guides, sniffing the air like dogs, led me from crumbling room to room, saying, “This is jessamine, this violet, this rose.” But at last Dahoum drew me: “Come and smell the very sweetest scent of all”, and we went into the main lodging, to the gaping window sockets of its eastern face, and there drank with open mouths of the effortless, empty, eddyless wind of the desert, throbbing past. That slow breath had been born somewhere beyond the distant Euphrates and had dragged its way across many nights and days of dead grass, to its first obstacle, the man-made walls of our broken palace. About them it seemed to fret and linger, murmuring in baby-speech. On Fri, Nov 20, 2020 at 9:15 PM Venkatesh Hariharan wrote: > Speaking of smells, this is one of the best opening paragraphs that I have > ever read in any novel. > > > *IT WAS INEVITABLE: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the > fate of unrequited love. Dr. Juvenal Urbino noticed it as soon as he > entered the still darkened house where he had hurried on an urgent call to > attend a case that for him had lost all urgency many years before. The > Antillean refugee Jeremiah de Saint-Amour, disabled war veteran, > photographer of children, and his most sympathetic opponent in chess, had > escaped the torments of memory with the aromatic fumes of gold cyanide.* > > From *Love in the times of cholera* by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. > > Would love to discover other examples of great opening paragraphs. Do > share. > > Venky > > > On Sat, Nov 21, 2020, 2:20 AM Jitendra Vaidya > wrote: > > > On Thu, Nov 19, 2020 at 10:16 PM Danese Cooper wrote: > > > > > > “This scent had a freshness, but not the freshness of limes or > > > pomegranates, not the freshness of myrrh or cinnamon bark or curly mint > > or > > > ― Patrick Suskind, Perfume The Story of a Murderer > > > > One of my favorite books! Thank you for the quote, Danese. > > > > -Jiten > > > > >
Re: [silk] 'herd immunity strategy'
It might have been a cruel-but-rational strategy if you were prepared to accept the increased mortality among vulnerable demographics. (I wouldn't be.) (But I'm in a vulnerable demographic…) But anyhow in recent days I've started seeing reports of permanent effects among "recovered" victims: cognitive impairment, permanent lung damage, etc. Which makes the herd-immunity approach even less attractive. On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 7:42 AM Srijith Nair wrote: > Got to say I am trying to understand the herd immunity concept as well and > falling short with COVID-19. > > With a basic reproductive rate of around 3, it has been calculated that > about 70% of population need to be infected. With a fatality rate of > 0.5-1%, about 0.35-0.7 percent of a country's population will die! That > seems a bit...hmm..bad! > > The biggest assumption we seem to make with the herd immunity approach is > that surviving infection once creates immunity in the host. With COVID-19 > that seems to be still a rather big unknown and seems to completely > undermine the approach towards herd immunity. > > The way I see it, herd immunity would work well only when we have a > vaccine (and second best when we have clear proof of immunity after > infection, but at the cost of rather high number of fatality) and not as a > preventive measure. > > Talking of the Dutch approach, I find it rather astounding that the PM > says two things in the same breath - we don't seem to know what kind of > contribution children have made to spread of the virus, the study results > will come out in June but hey, let us start the primary school (which is > the least affected by a month or two of missed or virtual schooling) in > May, because (I live in Amsterdam, have primary school going kids so I > find this whole approach very weird, especially given that before the > school closed there were 3 confirmed cases of kids/parents who kept coming > to school with early symptoms!) > > Regards, > Srijith > > On Wed, Apr 22, 2020, at 2:42 PM, Alaric Snell-Pym wrote: > > On 22/04/2020 12:11, Amit Varma wrote: > > > On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 4:28 PM Udhay Shankar N > wrote: > > > > > >> > > >> I assume you mean that it is not a good thing to actively work > towards. > > >> This also presumes that teh authorities can affect this outcome one > way or > > >> another. > > >> > > > > > > Well, the idea is to delay and mitigate till a vaccine is ready, while > > > treatment protocols that will lower mortality also evolve at the same > time. > > > > Also, controlling the spread means that the number of people seriously > > ill at any one time isn't greater than the local health service capacity > > to give them quality care. > > > > One big unknown that's making it hard to say what's right to do - and > > therefore giving licence to various nutjobs to claim that any given > > strategy is wrong with great certainty - is that we don't really know > > how many people are infected. > > > > *MAYBE* COVID is highly contagious but not very serious, with only a > > fraction of people showing anything more than a mild cough, and a tiny > > fraction getting seriously ill. It's already been spreading for months, > > and we only noticed it when enough people had it to make a notable > > number of people properly sick. We've all mainly had it already and > > we're nearly at herd immunity and all this lockdown stuff is barely > > necessary as we're unlikely to overrun health services unless we let it > > get REALLY out of hand; the worldwide confirmed-infected and > > confirmed-dead-of-covid rate is mainly just rising as more testing rolls > > out and we've already plateaued, with the lockdowns just flattening out > > the tail end of the rise to the plateau a bit. > > > > *MAYBE* it's actually pretty rare, and the published infection figures > > from various nations are nearly all the people who have it, because > > almost all people who have it show enough symptoms to get noticed and > > tested, and quite a high fraction of them get seriously ill. In which > > case, we're sitting on a ticking time bomb of it getting out of hand in > > the population. > > > > There's some evidence for the former due to a few random population > > sampling exercises, but the only way to really know either way is to > > test as many people as possible. And to avoid bias in the testing, test > > the population at random, rather than just people who start coughing, as > > otherwise we won't know how many people are asymptomatic carriers. Test > > people who died of lung failure, so we know whether to count them or not. > > > > > Also, it is impossible in India, except for privileged elites like us, > to > > > separate the vulnerable from the non-vulnerable. So many poor in > congested > > > cities, more co-morbidities than other nations, and a horrendous > healthcare > > > system -- there would have been carnage. (There still might be carnage > down > > > the road.) > > > > :-( > > > > > > -- > > Alaric
Re: [silk] My thoughts on old age
In related news, just a couple of days I wrote a blog considering whether I should retire or not: https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2018/10/25/On-Retirement On Sat, Oct 27, 2018 at 9:40 AM Deepa Mohan wrote: > Enjoyed every word of your response. No need to apologize! > > On Sat, Oct 27, 2018 at 9:23 PM > > > > > > -- Charles > > > > On November 17, assuming I make it 'til then, I'll turn 66. > > > > > So that was > > how I became a firefighter at age 55 > > With apologies for the length of this ramble, > > > > jrs > > > > > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] My thoughts on old age
My Uncle, since deceased in his nineties of an accidental fall in a parking lot, said “If you’re much past 60, and you wake up and nothing’s hurting, that means you’re dead.” True, but I'm okay with some aches & pains for now. On Wed., Oct. 24, 2018, 6:46 p.m. Deepa Mohan Obviously, the musing went on longer than the blogpost: > > https://deponti.livejournal.com/1215542.html > > I wonder how many people on this list are in their sixties? > > Deepa. >
Re: [silk] Organizing files/ folders on one's laptop
On all my computers, I have top-level directories named (working backward) 2018, 2017, 2016… In 2018 I have 2018-01, 2018--02 … 2018-12. This reduces the decision time on where to put a file to zero, and moves the problem over to finding files. I’m reasonably good at remembering when I was working on something - you might be too - and if you have a Mac, Spotlight is very helpful, I assume Windows has something similar? On Mon, Oct 22, 2018 at 7:44 PM Prashant P Kothari wrote: > A question for the hive mind: do you have any tips for how to organize > files/ folders on one's computer. > My challenge: after multiple laptops/ desktops/ hard rives and transferring > data and files from one to the other, I have a mishmash of folders on my > current laptop - and lots of duplicates > Came across this article online that seems interesting > > https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15677/zen-and-the-art-of-file-and-folder-organization/ > But I'm always a big fan of learning from experience shares - what's worked > for you? > Thanks > Prashant > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] In praise of slowness
I’m getting kinda old and I’m still in the heart of the furnace, helping keep AWS on the air, watching the savings expand as the shares vest. Some days I really don’t feel like going to work. Some days I feel criminally lucky - I get well-paid to write software that affects huge numbers of lives, and occasionally nudge the Internet’s steering wheel. One half of me wants to step away, the other tells me that’s crazy talk, what would I find to do that’s as compelling as what I’m doing?I have no shortage of amusements, some of them - like sitting in libraries and editing obscure Wikipedia entries - very nearly free. So I probably wouldn’t be bored. My Dad retired very poorly, hadn’t figured out what next and so didn’t do much at all, then the dementia was on him in his early seventies. Color me baffled. On Sun, Jan 22, 2017 at 9:19 PM, Gautam John wrote: > I took a year and a half sabbatical to be a stay at home parent. While > I'd hesitate to call it slowness (heck, anyone with a toddler can > never be slow - put that dnnn *runs*) what it did allow me > was re-evaluate the things that I want to maximise for and, more > importantly, truly understand the intrinsic value of these things. It > was otherwise very abstract - to spend time at home, to cook on a > daily basis, to get some exercise etc. So yeah, when I did go back to > work I did choose to find something that offered balance between the > things I found new value in. That said, it is a luxury I am fortunate > to have and did not involve as much sacrifice. I do not know how I > would react to such a decision had it involved a greater than 40% hit > on finances. > > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] Camera gurus - need advice
And I partially agree with Ashwin, except for the phrase “full-frame”. I think that the current state of the art, things like the range of lenses available and - especially - the ergonomics, are a much bigger deal than the number of pixels or square mm.The ergonomics of the main mirrorless lines - Olympus, Fujifilm, Sony - are wildly different, and reflect very different ways of thinking about taking pictures. Did I mention it’s the golden age of photography? On Sat, May 2, 2015 at 9:09 PM, Ashwin Kumar wrote: > I agree with Tim. Venkat, do try the mirrorless full frame cameras one > more time. I have a Sony A7 and been very happy with it. In fact, I have > completely given up on my film cameras. > I use 35mm and 90mm fixed lenses, but I have shot it with longer lenses > and it was very good both ergonomically and IQ wise. > ~ashwin > +919483466818 > > > > > On Sat, May 2, 2015 at 3:40 PM -0700, "Tim Bray" > wrote: > Hm. It’s quite likely wrong to conclude from your experience that > mirrorlesses are slow in general. Lots of people who've been using SLRs for > years have been going the other way recently, drawn by the charms of > mirrorless size and ergonomics. I think you'd find the recent offerings > from Olympus, Panasonic, and Fujifilm probably would please you. > Some people like the recent Sonys but I found the one I tried to be > ergonomically painful, and they have HUGE sensors which means you wait > forever while downloading and processing them. On the other hand, if you > want to make 1 meter x 3 meter prints… Having said that, you can get a > little more for your money in SLR-land, particularly in used-SLR land. > > Your question is a little unusual because many photographers, including > some with very high visibility, have in the last couple of years switched > from SLR to mirrorless. I don’t have high visibility but I did too > (Fujifilm in my case) and can’t imagine going back. > > > On May 1, 2015 7:36 PM, "Tim Bray" wrote: > > > > Why would you want a larger, heavier camera that won't actually take > better > > pictures? > > Actually I found that the mirrorless was quite slow. During my recent trip, > the camera and the rented lens (prime lens at that) was too slow. > Besides, the buffer was not able to match the speed of the wildlife and > birds that I typically try to capture. It was pretty frustrating. The > mirrorless is good for relatively slower subjects and casual photos. > > -V > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] Camera gurus - need advice
Hm. It’s quite likely wrong to conclude from your experience that mirrorlesses are slow in general. Lots of people who've been using SLRs for years have been going the other way recently, drawn by the charms of mirrorless size and ergonomics. I think you'd find the recent offerings from Olympus, Panasonic, and Fujifilm probably would please you. Some people like the recent Sonys but I found the one I tried to be ergonomically painful, and they have HUGE sensors which means you wait forever while downloading and processing them. On the other hand, if you want to make 1 meter x 3 meter prints… Having said that, you can get a little more for your money in SLR-land, particularly in used-SLR land. Your question is a little unusual because many photographers, including some with very high visibility, have in the last couple of years switched from SLR to mirrorless. I don’t have high visibility but I did too (Fujifilm in my case) and can’t imagine going back. On May 1, 2015 7:36 PM, "Tim Bray" wrote: > > Why would you want a larger, heavier camera that won't actually take better > pictures? Actually I found that the mirrorless was quite slow. During my recent trip, the camera and the rented lens (prime lens at that) was too slow. Besides, the buffer was not able to match the speed of the wildlife and birds that I typically try to capture. It was pretty frustrating. The mirrorless is good for relatively slower subjects and casual photos. -V
Re: [silk] Camera gurus - need advice
Why would you want a larger, heavier camera that won't actually take better pictures? On May 1, 2015 5:19 AM, "Venkat Mangudi - Silk" wrote: > Looking to upgrade from my mirrorless camera. Considering a full frame. > > Canon 5D or nikon D810? > > Thoughts? > > -V >
Re: [silk] What book changed your mind?
The most important book in my life was Solzhenitsyn’s “One Day In the Life
of Ivan Denisovich”, which I read in my teens. Because while I’ve always
read obsessively, all I read up till then was formulaic sci-fi, often
re-reading the same one over and over. It taught me that other kinds of
books – “serious” books – were worth trying. I still like me some good
ol’-fashioned Space Opera, but Solzhenitzyn led me to a lifetime of
challenging myself to read big complicated books that try to be more than
entertainment. Even though “Ivan Denisovich” is small and simple. And
perfect.
On Sun, Nov 16, 2014 at 1:08 PM, Charles Haynes
wrote:
> Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama by Daniel
> Goleman
>
> As a rationalist and skeptic, I had been extremely suspicious of "woo woo"
> claims about meditation, but I was interested is Dan Goleman's research
> into meditation and stress and I was intrigued by the "scientific dialog"
> claim. I was reading along with a rather skeptical attitude when I ran
> across a chapter talking about an experiment that Paul Ekman did with a
> trained meditator, in which he suppressed his startle reflex. That should
> not be possible! Digging further I discovered that meditation does seem to
> have objective measurable effects and I now meditate daily. Because of this
> book.
>
> -- Charles
>
> On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 12:57 AM, John Sundman
> wrote:
>
> > I was happy to see The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the
> > Bicameral Mind on the list in the Chronicle (although it's more than 30
> > years old. Closer to 40, I think.) I remember reading it shortly after
> it
> > came out, and while some of its conclusions seemed a bit of a stretch, it
> > was certainly provocative & answered questions that I had never thought
> > about but which are in fact interesting & legitimate.
> >
> > If I had to choose 1 non-fiction book that has changed my mind it would
> be
> > Hofstadter's Goedel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. (It too is
> dates
> > from 1970's but if Jaynes gets in, then I'll assume Hofstadter can too.)
> > This book changed me in two ways. The first was in tying together the
> > various ideas about recursion, self-similarity, and of course the Strange
> > Loop, and the provocative thesis that strange loops are at the core of
> > self-awareness & consciousness (which I believe is very likely on the
> right
> > track & which has certainly influenced me as a novelist; all of my work
> > touches on this central idea in one way or another).
> >
> > The second way that the book changed me was in convincing me that I could
> > understand concepts that had scared me away before I read it. I graduated
> > from college in 1974, a few years before I read GEB. In college I didn't
> > take a single math ("maths") course or course in logic. After college I
> > spent 2 years in the Peace Corps, most of that time living in a mud hut
> on
> > the edge of the Sahara, a full day's travel from reliable electricity or
> > running water. I was interested in agriculture & my philosophy was pretty
> > romantic -- still feeling the after effects of the whole hippie thing.
> GEB
> > showed me that what I really love, where I'm really at home, is in the
> geek
> > world where ideas & fixations like his predominate.
> >
> > jrs
> >
> >
> >
> > On Nov 14, 2014, at 5:29 PM, Thaths wrote:
> >
> > > This post
> > > <http://chronicle.com/article/What-Book-Changed-Your-Mind-/149839/> of
> > > people talking about the books that changed their minds made me
> > wonder
> > >
> > > Which book made *you*, dear Silk lister, change your mind? How?
> > >
> > > A handful of books have had such an impact on me. I need to whittle it
> > down
> > > to one.
> > >
> > > Thaths
> > > PS: The annual Silk List Book Recommendations thread is starting early
> > this
> > > year.
> >
> >
> >
>
--
- Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see
https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] Books and libraries
In terms of historical fiction, two words leap to mind: Aubrey and Maturin. Which is to say, a very long and pretty well 100% excellent series in the British Naval Fiction genre by Patrick O'Brian. On Sun, Nov 2, 2014 at 6:21 PM, Bharat Shetty wrote: > I was curious about these questions of late: > > Anyone on this lists borrow books regularly from libraries in Bengaluru ? > Are there any ebook lending libraries around in Bengaluru ? > > That said, which has been the best historical fiction that one would > recommend to me ? > > Non-fiction recommendations are also welcome. I've been reading Greenwald's > "No Place to Hide" as well as "Men of Mathematics," both of which are very > fascinating reads. > > Regards, > - Bharat > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] moving past the religious straw man
or guidance. Quite often, I receive useful guidance in return, even > if I address my prayers to “Figment of my Imagination.” There is something > in the process of prayer that allows my busy monkey mind to get out of the > way so I can access to whatever deeper wisdom I might possess about the > situation. When I find myself fretting about a situation that is beyond my > control, I can hand the situation off to my Imaginary Friend and get on > with my life. I can pray for those who irritate me and feel better about > them. > > It turns out that there's a big God-shaped spot in the human psyche. I am > happier, more centered, and more stable when that spot is filled, even > though I firmly believe that most of the effects are psychological. > > In my mind, and the minds of most of the religious people I know, there is > no conflict between science and religion. They are in different realms and > for different purposes. Science explains how things work, and exposes the > mechanisms of the physical universe. Religion has many functions for human > animals who huddle together in the dark of a vast and dangerous universe. > Science serves the rational mind, while religion functions on the vast > animal parts of our minds that are pre-rational. It's a completely > different map of the same territory, with different contours and different > landmarks and serving different purposes. > > You can poke fun at the Just-So Stories of religious mythology, sure. You > can also poke fun at the Just-So Stories of evolutionary biology. > > Oh, and I don't believe in evolution, either. What is there to believe in? > The mechanisms of evolution are apparent all around us, all the time. > There's partial speciation all over the place. Evolution has left its > fingerprints in every process in every organism. I don't need to believe in > evolution any more than I need to believe in computers. Evolution is not a > matter of faith; it's a matter of fact. > > --hmm > > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] USA West Coast restaurant recommendations
Ahem. While there are fine beers in California, head north to Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver for more and better. Portland is regarded as America’s craft-beer capital. Enjoy joining the debate as to whether the Pacific-Northwest approach of ever-more-heroically-hopped IPAs is glorious or an abuse of the brewmaster’s art. To have an educated opinion you’ll have to try LOTS of different beers. On Sat, Sep 27, 2014 at 1:05 AM, Thejaswi Udupa wrote: > A lot of people have covered the "food" aspect of your request, so I shall > talk about the drinks :) > > California is pretty much the craft beer capital of the world, and almost > every place has a wide variety of brews on tap. A lot of great IPAs and > DIPAs. Even the bottled ones are great. Lagunitas is my staple when I'm > there, widely available and never disappointing. > > Some of my favourite places for beer include - > > - OG (Original Gravity) in San Jose downtown > - Magnolia at Haight and Masonic in San Francisco. One of the few places > that regularly has gruit ale on tap. There's also a very nice rare records > and books store right opposite. > - Good Karma in San Jose downtown. It's a vegan cafe, and probably the last > place you'd expect great beer. But they always have one of the best > selections on tap anywhere in the Bay Area. > > If you like the buzz of places with big crowds and much beer, try places > like Tied House, Steins (both Mountain View), Rock Bottom (Campbell), > Faultline (Sunnyvale), 21st Amendment (San Francisco). Gordon Biersch and > BJ's are also crowded, but exude a lot of big-chain vibes. > > Sunnyvale also has an excellent meadery, neatly hidden in an old industrial > area. Rabbit's Foot. Apart from some excellent mead, he also has a few > honey-flavoured beer on tap. > > Of course, do visit a Napa winery too. I wouldn't suggest winery-hopping as > some people do. Just pick one, and spend a lot of time there. Skip Robert > Mondavi and the likes as they are likely to be overflowing with tourists. > Try O'Brien Estate. > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] To retire or not - that is the Q.
Thanks for the input everyone; this is highly relevant to what I’m facing, and it’s been valuable. I left Google in March and I’ve been romancing with a few companies but I’m increasingly realizing that I don’t want another job. Savings are decent so we could entirely abandon income but we’d have to scale back the lifestyle a bit. Which might not be bad. I’ve actually been working like a madman these last few months on nifty privacy and crypto stuff, and plan to keep on doing it; just need to find someone who’ll pay me for doing this… How much I care about that, and how much about not scaling back the lifestyle; well, we’ll find about that. On Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 3:45 AM, Kingsley Jegan Joseph wrote: > What a great thread. I pretty much agree with Udhay's definition of > retirement, as primarily freedom to do what you want, without intolerable > financial consequences. Some thoughts: > > *Freedom vs Spontaneity*: Since my teens, I've done whatever I felt like > doing (and been lucky enough to make a living from it). That's led me on a > fun ride through fashion, sociology, online & social media marketing, game > design and now cupcake retail. But the granularity of freedom determines > how spontaneous you can be. Building a company or a consulting practice may > be exactly what you want to do, but that basically kills your day-to-day > spontaneity. Want to go skydiving tomorrow? Tough luck, you have a client > and a deadline. I think it's important to acknowledge that the granularity > of your freedom affects the capacity for spontaneity. If you choose > spontaneity, you have to deal with the fact you may not be able to truly > build anything of value, lasting or otherwise (unless you're Banksy, I > guess). > > It's pretty important to decide if you want freedom or > spontaneity/serendipity. It seems to me that spontaneity is more expensive > than freedom, so you'd have to be pretty sure you want that. > > > *Boredom & Flow*: I've post-hoc realised that almost all the things I've > chosen to do are capable of producing flow states (Flow, by Mihaly > Csikszentmihalyi, good read). Essentially, it should be something that > needs escalating levels of skills matched to escalating levels of > challenge. Activities that are conducive to flow states also tend to be > things that require a time commitment (since increasing skill levels are > important), which again impacts spontaneity. I've seen many people choose > something they think they're passionate about, and either get very bored of > it, or turn it into a job that is all about the money. I believe that this > happens because, for a beginning writer or a photographer, there isn't a > clear way of telling if you're really getting better at something or not. > One of the reasons I like business, which I treat as a creative endeavour, > is that you know how you're doing very quickly. > > > *Financials*:My theory is that *rent* is a very good cost-of-living & > inflation-adjusted source of cashflow, especially if it comes from the kind > of apt/home you want to live in. We've managed to work & invest ourselves > into a position where we own 2 small apartments. Living in one and renting > the other out gives us an adequate base level of freedom. A combination of > downsizing lifestyle, healthy retirement savings that we can't touch till > we're 60 (401k), insurance and some liquid cash provide for the future and > some emergency buffer. Not enough to travel much yet, but we're working on > it :) > > > PS Re Silk Smitha: When my wife, Divya, met Udhay Shankar for the first > time, her first question was "I've been waiting to ask you this, but is > there a Smita on Silklist?" and it flew right over him. Tch tch. > > Kingsley Joseph > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] USA West Coast restaurant recommendations
It’s a pity there’s “USA” in the subject line, because there’s damn fine food just across the border in Vancouver. Including some of the best Indian food over on this side of the globe. On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 10:35 PM, Danese Cooper wrote: > My comments in-line... > > On Sep 24, 2014, at 9:11 PM, Kingsley Jegan Joseph > wrote: > > >> > >> I would love your recommendations for food and drink adventures in > >> these cities. I have no dietary restrictions. :) > > > > San Francisco: > > Range for stake, Burma Superstar for Asian, Dosa on Valencia (say Hi to > > Anjan if you see him) for dosas paired with wine in a great ambience > > Prefer Dosa on Fillmore at Post. Better cocktails. But why would you seek > out Indian food in San Francisco? > > > , 2 > > large dimsum cart places on Broadway in chinatown, Poncho Villa for > mission > > burritos > > Best burritos in town at La Cancun on Mission at 30th, by general > agreement and many awards, but it's easy to beat PanchoVilla by just > walking a block South on Valencia to El Toro at 17th and Valencia. > > > , birite creamery for ice cream, warakubune in the mission for a > > tacky but tasty boat sushi experience. > > Great sushi in the Castro on 18th at Eureka (Takara) and also Eiji on > Sanchez (great house made tofu). > > Great pizza! > > Delfina Pizzeria on 18th and Guerrero, Gialina on Diamond in Glen Park > (near a BART station), Tony's in North Beach. > > Patisserie? Tartine (next door to Pizzeria Delfina). > > Coffee? Blue Bottle (there are several), SightGlass (on 7th & Folsom), > FourBarrel on Valencia > > For brunch Saturday and Sunday? Foreign Cinema in the Mission, Seperntine > or Piccino in DogPatch, Absinthe at Hayes and Gough (my favorite). > > For Neo French? Boulevard on Mission (get a reservation) > > For High-end Cali food? Quince on Jackson > > Aziza (Neo Moroccan) on Geary in the avenues. > > Slanted Door in the Ferry Building at the end of Market Street for > high-end Vietnamese. The Saturday Farmer's Market is amazing too. > > > I'll send more if there's anything > > specific you want to try. Just don't go anywhere near fisherman's warf > for > > food, unless you like your seafood smothered in extraordinary amounts of > > butter and cheese. > > And in the East Bay: > > Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Duh. Started it ALL. Food Mecca. Too hard to get > a reservation downstairs (alas) but the cafe upstairs is also wonderful > (get a reservation). > > Brown Sugar Kitchen on Martin Luther King in Oakland for soul food. > Chicken & Waffles, smoked yams, grits. Amazing. > > > > > San Jose: > > There are a few good restaurants in Santana Row (but the crowd is > slightly > > douchey) - Citrus, Rosie McCanns serves Guinness and Honeydew on tap, > > Wahoo's was my favourite "fast food" - hawaiian fish tacos, El Jardin is > > great for al fresco Sunday brunch. > > Nearby is Falafel's drive in, with freshly fried falafels and banana > > shakes, a favourite with the stoners of south bay. Gordon biersch has > some > > decent brews and food downtown. Los cubanos is also downtown, makes great > > cubano sandwiches, and also some home-style cuban food I haven't seen > > anywhere else. > > In Campbell, there is a tiny, hole-in-the-wall place called Tres Amigos, > > where I've had the most amazing mexican food. Its right next to a budget > > sushi place called TGI sushi (yes really). > > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] Written vs. spoken version
Evidence suggests that written language evolved from business accounting records, and I suspect that other early applications were also formal in their flavor, for example religion and law. So capturing vernacular usages may not have been that big a deal. On Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 9:03 AM, Deepa Mohan wrote: > To let the thread drift just a little, I feel that written language must > have evolved by "writing down the sound". How did languages evolve > non-phonetic scripts? > > > On Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 9:21 PM, Thaths wrote: > > > On Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 7:54 AM, Meera wrote: > > > > > Which are the languages which have a huge disconnect between written > and > > > spoken versions? Like Tamil/thamizh... > > > And why do such languages evolve like that? > > > > > > > The wikipedia article on Diglossia < > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diglossia > > > > > is a good starting place. > > > > Thaths > > -- > > Homer: Hey, what does this job pay? > > Carl: Nuthin'. > > Homer: D'oh! > > Carl: Unless you're crooked. > > Homer: Woo-hoo! > > > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] Written vs. spoken version
Since this also applies to Arabic and Chinese, it’s probably an issue for a majority of literate humans. On Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 7:54 AM, Meera wrote: > Which are the languages which have a huge disconnect between written and > spoken versions? Like Tamil/thamizh... > And why do such languages evolve like that? > > -Meera > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] Open PGP comes to the browser/JavaScript
Let’s assume there’s a reputable independent audit of this code and we think some particular version is to be trusted. What then becomes very interesting is a way to make it tamper-resistant, some sort of combination of code-signing and versioning so deltas can be tracked and trust maintained. On Tue, Jun 3, 2014 at 10:31 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > I'd be very interested in following the proceedings of an independent > review of this code. > > -- > ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((via phone)) > -- - Tim Bray (If you’d like to send me a private message, see https://keybase.io/timbray)
Re: [silk] have your reading habits changed?
I'm inclined to agree, even in the face of the following two facts: - modern e-book readers, including Kindle, have effective & convenient bookmarking/annotation facilities - Amazon allows one to associate a rather large number of devices with an account; so the unit of book acquisition is in effect the household, as it should be. Your points about what gets left lying around is a good one, as is that about longevity. Back in 2005 I wrote on related subjects, some might find that interesting: https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2005/10/06/Edmonton#p-3 On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 8:04 PM, SS wrote: > On Sun, 2014-01-05 at 20:26 -0800, Mahesh Murthy wrote: > > As a sideways punt on the topic, has anyone noticed how quickly Google > > Play > > Books has become a real contender to Kindle? > > > > Books here are almost always cheaper (often 50% or more) than on > > Amazon > > Kindle, and the Google magazine newsstand has begun to rock. > > The point someone made about space available for regular books is valid. > But disk space only encourages electronic collections of trash. > > None of my (or anyone else's) whines about e-books is going to make them > go away, but they are, IMO, changing the way people handle reading > material. > > Less than a decade ago, my brother and sister in law, both prolific > readers, would have books lying about that someone else could simply > pick up and flip through and get a sense of what was in there. Now they > sit with their noses stuck to an electronic screen and any interesting > thing being read can only be discussed, if at all. No question of > "flipping through" - an impossibility with e books. Both people are now > more detached from their surroundings and people around them - with > their precious i-this and i-that which cannot safely be left in a toilet > or perched precariously on the corner of a full dining table. > > No one lends e books to others. Like an idly, or a sandwich, you get > your own. Its about me and what's mine. > > Has anyone ever comprehensively reviewed an e book? Someone must have > done that. I have reviewed a few (paper) books related to the military > and aviation. I find it necessary to make a pen/pencil mark on a page, > sentence or paragraph and then go back (or forward) to a blank page and > note the page number with a remark or reminder. When I read a book for > review - I end up with at least a 100 or 150 remarks+annotations that > fill up all the bank/white space at the beginning or end of a book. > These remarks serve as a guide for me to either review the book - or > reminders of important points that may come up later if I am writing > something. I can sometimes keep 2 or 3 separate books by my side and > consult the annotations I have made in all 3 books if they are related > to the subject I am writing about. This would be an impossible feat > using an electronic book reader. > > That apart, I sometimes remember something I read in a book as a > paragraph that was in the top left corner about 1/3rd of the way into > the book. This sort of interaction between mental memory and muscle > memory is useful to find information when one is doing some serious > reading and has failed to annotate (or cannot annotate as the book > belongs to someone else or a library). This is again an impossibility > with an e book. Of course a word search is possible - but for that one > has to remember key words. > > Napster, which was discussed at length on Silk, was generally hailed as > a great achievement that broke the back of greedy recording companies. > But sound copyright owners have fought back. Books were primarily shared > resources, and resources that would last a century or more with ease. > That is being killed by e books. It is more of a loss than a gain, IMO. > > shiv > > > > > >
Re: [silk] have your reading habits changed?
On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 7:25 PM, SS wrote: > > No jackets. No waistcoats. No coats mostly. Cargo pants are possible - > but most offices and professions do not provide the opportunity for > people to wear cargo pants. > Obvious when one thinks of it, but I hadn’t; the adoption of various mobile-device form-factors is likely climate-sensitive. But I bet it’s also gender-linked; the sizes of the purses and bags women carry seems fairly orthogonal to the ambient temperature, in my experience. > > > shiv > > >
Re: [silk] have your reading habits changed?
On Sun, Jan 5, 2014 at 7:15 PM, SS wrote: > The Kindle, iPads and 7 or 8 inch devices are too big to fit in one's > pocket and too small to serve as a laptop. Well, that is at least partly wrong. I have a Nexus 7 (similar dimensions to the iPad mini & Kindle devices). It fits comfortably into a wide range of pockets. The ones on the back of your pants are OK for transport but you have to remove it before sitting down. Cargo pants, jackets with internal chest pockets, or vests (waistcoats I mean, for Commonwealth-speakers) all typically have pockets that comfortably contain such a device. As for laptop use, the N 7 (and I assume the others) works fine with a Bluetooth keyboard and is thus a perfectly serviceable laptop unless of course you need Photoshop or Emacs or whatever (and Emacs is coming - it runs but not well, yet). My 58-year-old vision is unremarkable and I found the screen perfectly usable. Also, for those of either gender who carry purse-like objects, this size of device fits comfortably into most things other than a little opera clutch. As for the full 10-inch-ish original iPad format, you're entirely right, it has a real portability problem. It’s easy to believe that these devices are found unsatisfactory as dead-tree replacements by all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons. But pocketability probably isn’t a good one. -T > For many people I know, they > are a fashion statement requiring separate carriage - that is as a > "third device" separate from phone and laptop. Among the more silly > sights I see nowadays is a person taking a photo or video using an iPad > - with a huge rectangle hiding his head. Sillier than that is the sight > of a photoframe size Samsung wotsit being held to one's ear. These are > compromises being made to gain the advantage of a biggish screen and a > debatable degree of portability minus the advantages of a proper keypad > for dedicated writers. It won't go in your pocket or handbag. It's not > for your desk. It's a diary sized thing that replaces the diary of the > pre-1980s era, and offers book functionality. Like roundworms and > tapeworms, it exists simply because it can exist. One can do without > it. > > I find the Kindle/iPad format singularly useless for me. They are > neither here nor there, and the books I want are unavailable. They > cannot be accommodated in my pocket, which necessarily must carry keys, > wallet, glasses and pen. Incidentally I have used my last two smart > phones to read about 10,000 pages in books. I am comfortable with the > small screen and a good smart phone does everything I need apart from > allowing me to type comfortably, for which I need only one larger > device, with no need to squeeze in a third "in between, neither this nor > that" format. > > shiv > > >
Re: [silk] have your reading habits changed?
BTW, a useful fact for those just getting into this: If you’re reading kindle books, Amazon lets you have a large number of clients, over 10. So if you trust your family enough to share your Amazon password, the buying/using unit for a book is, effectively, the household, which is as it should be. -T On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 10:10 PM, Charles Haynes wrote: > I convert all my books to ePub format and host them on a Linode instance so > that I have them all anywhere I have internet connectivity. Given our > peripatetic lifestyle it's a convenient way to access our library (though > honestly the whole library fits on on 16gb micro-sd card) > > -- Charles > > > On Mon, Dec 30, 2013 at 7:41 AM, Mahesh Murthy >wrote: > > > I stated on the Kindle but then found much lower prices on Google Play > > Newsstand - and magazines too in full living color. > > > > I've subscribed to several magazines on there of late - and have begun > > enjoying being notified if new issues being automatically downloaded. > > On 29-Dec-2013 9:37 pm, "Ingrid" wrote: > > > > > On 30 December 2013 10:39, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > > > > > > > So I got myself a Kindle. And whether it is the novelty or the > > > > device-specific aspects (doesn't need ambient light, sufficiently > > > > booklike that one can read sprawled in bed, etc) - I have consumed 3 > > > > books in 3 days, more than in the preceding 3 months. > > > > > > > > So - have you folks noticed your reading habits change with the means > > > > of reading? Is this a special case of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis [1]? > > > > > > > > Udhay > > > > > > > > [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir_Whorf > > > > > > > > -- > > > > ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com)) > > > > > > > > > > The only significant impact of e-books on my reading has been a lighter > > > load while travelling. I still prefer dead-tree versions wherever > > possible. > > > > > > Ingrid Srinath > > > @ingridsrinath > > > > > >
Re: [silk] have your reading habits changed?
I use the Kindle app on a 7" Android tablet and, since I started, I read more each month than in any of the 5 or 10 previous years. One big reason is the instant gratification, see a notice about an interesting book in a magazine or blog or whatever and POP, you have it. I think that: - the future of paper is restricted to antiquarian books and things that require high-quality graphics, coffee-table to textbook - the pricing of ebooks is insane - the production values of ebooks are horrible, if something needs graphics or maps or math to work, get paper Some recent gleanings in https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/What/Arts/Books/ On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 9:09 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > So I got myself a Kindle. And whether it is the novelty or the > device-specific aspects (doesn't need ambient light, sufficiently > booklike that one can read sprawled in bed, etc) - I have consumed 3 > books in 3 days, more than in the preceding 3 months. > > So - have you folks noticed your reading habits change with the means > of reading? Is this a special case of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis [1]? > > Udhay > > [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir_Whorf > > -- > ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com)) > >
Re: [silk] Conspiracy theory of the year
Just a word from another Western Canadian to say that I don't think Bruce's relatives are a majority. On Apr 20, 2013 10:10 PM, "Bruce Metcalf" wrote: > Udhay Shankar N wrote: > > __**__**__ >> A model for world takeover: >> >> And who could have predicted that the secession of Quebec from >> Canada would lead to the annexation of western Canada by the United >> States, the subsequent annexation of Mexico and Central America, and >> finally the entire western hemisphere? >> > > Any of my cousins in western Canada. They're so sick of the "Frogs" in > Quebec and the need to write everything in two languages that they'd gladly > pay for new flags and put up with the loss of health care. > > Yeah, I know. You Indians and Europeans aren't impressed by the need to > write things only twice, but they are. > > Bruce > >
Re: [silk] Thread Drift: Origins of temples/churches/mosques: Was coming calamity in Bangalore
And if you get way out in the fringes of the New-age/mysticism crowd, you can learn about Ley lines and how the places they cross are invariably sacred across the centuries, etc On Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 11:30 AM, Sidin Vadukut wrote: > On Thursday, April 18, 2013, Thejaswi Udupa > wrote: >> On Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 11:09 PM, Thaths wrote: >> >>> I think worshipping, celebrating, sacrificing as a group goes way way > back, >>> possibly to Neolithic or Stone Age times. >>> > > The St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva sits on top of several places of worship > one top of the others. (If you are ever in Geneva you must visit and then > go beneath the Church to see the excavated remains of previous churches and > temples. During the excavations the researchers found the grave of some old > chieftain. They now believe that the place in its earliest avatar, so to > speak, was the grave of a local chieftain. And then it transformed over > time to the Cathedral it is today. > > Many places of worship seem to start as some sort of funerary ritual place > of memorial. I've been to Newgrange near Dublin, much much older than > Stonehenge, which is also believed to be a funerary ritual place turned > place of worship. Though this obviously would not be the genesis for > temples in places where cremation ruled out graves. > > Just pitching in. Cheerio. > > -- > > * > * > *Sidin Sunny Vadukut* > *Foreign Correspondent - Mint* > *Editor - Mint Indulge* > Flat 14, 71 E, Drayton Park > London N51DH, UK > Mobile: +44 757 244 1292 > Fax: +44 203 318 2053 > Web: http://www.livemint.com > Blog: http://www.whatay.com > @sidin
Re: [silk] Lytro
There’s no doubt that it’s drop-dead cool, but the pictures are fairly limited in terms of traditional photographic values: resolution, sensitivity, and so on. Also, you have to use their proprietary viewer, which is the big obstacle for me. -T On Wed, Sep 26, 2012 at 7:20 AM, Venkat Mangudi - Silk wrote: > This product [1] has been in the news for a while now. How is it? Is it the > next best thing to sliced bread as they claim it is? Has anyone tried it > out? > > Cheers > Venkat > [1]www.lytro.com
Re: [silk] LOTR and Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand is really terribly useful in the era of attention starvation: As soon as you discover someone is an admirer, they can be safely filtered from your input stream. -T On Tue, Aug 7, 2012 at 11:44 PM, Kunal Kapoor wrote: > i heard this as a 'dialogue' in a movie i saw recently. and i completely > agree. LOTR is surely not for kids, it is strictly for geeks. no? > > atlas and his shrugging is for atlas. > > mere mortals should have filter kaffee. > > > On Wed, Aug 8, 2012 at 12:09 PM, Ramakrishnan Sundaram > wrote: >> >> Read this today: >> >> There are two novels that can transform a bookish 14-year-kld’s life: >> The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish daydream >> that can lead to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood >> in which large chunks of the day are spent inventing ways to make real >> life more like a fantasy novel. The other is a book about orcs. >> >
Re: [silk] Just So Stories
You say “hippie orgy” like it’s a bad thing... -T On Sat, Jul 14, 2012 at 9:09 AM, Thejaswi Udupa wrote: > I have no bones to pick with Kipling except one. His 'Kim' inspired Timeri > Murari to write that utter tripe--'The Imperial Agent', a supposed sequel to > Kim and filled with more sex and mystic mumbo jumbo than a hippie orgy.
Re: [silk] How the Woosters captured Delhi
Well, the Russians and Chinese *were* generating radio noice to dry to drown out the BBC and VoA. I grew up in the Middle East and we totally relied on the BBC to find out what was really happening. The VoA was always shallow party-line propaganda shit. -T On Sat, Jun 2, 2012 at 6:23 PM, ss wrote: > On Sunday 03 Jun 2012 2:33:36 am Tim Bray wrote: >> It’s awfully nice that in the British Isles, there’s still a vigorous >> ecosystem of regional and class accents; and it pleases me that the >> BBC lets non-RP-speakers on the air. > > The BBC used to air English lessons on their shortwave channels in years gone > by. I'm not sure how many Silklisters have spent hours listening to shortwave > radio as I have done but there is an old joke about the BBC and those lessons. > Will explain the punch-line after typing out the joke, which uses a sort of > black-white stereotype that was common in one era. > > An Englishman, a missionary, was lost in the African jungle. He was part > relieved - part terrified to meet a huge, black, bare chested man in a straw > skirt carying a spear. The missioanry raises his hands in the air and appeals > hopefully, saying, "I'm lost. Can you help me please?" > > He is amazed that the African tribal says in what sounds like almost perfect > English "Of course sir hzzz wrr phweee follow me please." > > The greatly relieved Englishman follows the African and they strike up a > conversation. The latter's English is perfect, except that it is punctuated by > non-words like bz phw and whr that are interspersed randomly > between perfect English words. > > A few hours later they reach civilization and the Englishman thanks the > African and comments, "Your English is perfect. Where did you learn it? And > pardon me for asking, but why do you make those sounds between words? It that > your African mother-tongue?" > > The African replies, "No sir. Those are not sounds. They are English words as > I heard them when I learned the language from the BBC's English lessons on my > shortwave radio" > > (The joke ends here, you're supposed to laugh) > > The sounds phwee, whrrr etc are what any listener hears between other things > on shortwave radio. I was told that random radio waves generate that noise > from interstellar electromagnetic radiation, but in my day I was also told > that the Russians and Chinese were generating radio noise to drown out the BBC > and VoA. > > shiv >
Re: [silk] How the Woosters captured Delhi
It’s awfully nice that in the British Isles, there’s still a vigorous ecosystem of regional and class accents; and it pleases me that the BBC lets non-RP-speakers on the air. If you watch Al-Jazeera English (and you should) they have this shiny-black-skinned gent who gives the world weather in the most outrageously plummy upper-crust-English-via-the-Caribbean imaginable; one can’t not smile. To my ear the most pleasing of English accents is educated-black-South-African (white-SA is nice too) and the original Colorado accent, now being swept away, like most other regional US Englishes outside of the deep South. -T On Sat, Jun 2, 2012 at 10:12 AM, Bonobashi wrote: > There was, actually, an Anglo-Indian (as in Brigadier Hugh Stevens, not as in > Sir Henry Gidney) accent that preferred it to be 'wottah'. So, too, 'caw', as > in 'moto-caw', of which you bought the best you could buy, to impress the > 'gels'. A terminal 'g' was never, ever pronounced. People with proper RP > accents like Philip Crossley, Assistant Editor of The Statesman, visibly > blenched when they encountered this variant (except for dropping the 'g'). > But that was a clash of extremes. Steven Miles, a career diplomat, had a far > easier accent, one closest to the older breed of Indian Army Indian officers, > and quite easy to cope with. > > Sent from my iPad > > On Jun 2, 2012, at 10:11 PM, ss wrote: > >> On Wednesday 30 May 2012 1:03:25 am Thaths wrote: >>> "So how do you pronounce it - >>> is it Woad-house or Wood-house?" >> >> It's ironic that Wodehouse's main character Bertie Wooster bears a name that >> is a spoof on Worcester. >> >> It believe that World war I - (a war fought between nations who thought that >> the plains of western Europe constituted the whole world) was the great >> leveller that brought the British upper (uppah) classes down to the same >> level >> as the lower classes. >> >> The "uppah" class of course had all these wierd liinguistic, sartorial and >> culinary affectations including the intense need to keep their language pure >> and different from the hoi polloi. Even today Prince Charles is likely to say >> "hice" for "house". "About the house" is "abite the hice" in the upper class >> Bertie Worcester accent. >> >> The female who cleans your house is a woman, not a lady. A lady is a lady, >> not >> a woman. The Brits threw off the uppah class affectations ages ago, but >> Indians >> have tended to hang on to them with fond, if faux, "memories" of days gone >> by. >> >> Some time in the late 1980s I was somewhere in England and needed to meet the >> man in charge of something or other (accommodation IIRC) I was told that I >> needed tomeet Mr. Woodwood? Woodwood? wtf, I asked. I was told "Not >> Woodwood. >> Woodwood." Eventually I asked for a spelling and got "Woodward" >> >> And for the Kannada speakers I have this one. My sister in law from the US >> was >> baby-sitting her niece from England for a while in Bangalore. The little girl >> said "I want woota". So my SiL thought the little girl is aking for a meal >> (oota) in Kannada. But the girl said "No not oota. Woota" >> >> She meant "water" which the Brits pronounce as woota. My SiL from America >> thought water was "wa'er" in Americanese. It is, of course wah-tarr for >> Indians. >> >> shiv >> >> >
Re: [silk] The Flight From Conversation
Also, the kids are no good these days. I observe that we still manage to reproduce, ship products, and conduct politics. That whole line of argument is a complete load of crap. -T On Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 6:37 PM, Ashwin Nanjappa wrote: > From: > https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/the-flight-from-conversation.html > > The short: > > "WE live in a technological universe in which we are always > communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere > connection. > [...] > In the silence of connection, people are comforted by being in touch > with a lot of people — carefully kept at bay. We can’t get enough of > one another if we can use technology to keep one another at distances > we can control: not too close, not too far, just right. > [...] > we use conversation with others to learn to converse with ourselves. > So our flight from conversation can mean diminished chances to learn > skills of self-reflection. > [...] > we need to remember — in between texts and e-mails and Facebook posts > — to listen to one another, even to the boring bits, because it is > often in unedited moments, moments in which we hesitate and stutter > and go silent, that we reveal ourselves to one another." > > A Thai TV commercial which I believe is surprisingly apt: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17ZrK2NryuQ > > Finally, the full article: > > == > The New York Times > > April 21, 2012 > The Flight From Conversation > By SHERRY TURKLE > > WE live in a technological universe in which we are always > communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere > connection. > > At home, families sit together, texting and reading e-mail. At work > executives text during board meetings. We text (and shop and go on > Facebook) during classes and when we’re on dates. My students tell me > about an important new skill: it involves maintaining eye contact with > someone while you text someone else; it’s hard, but it can be done. > > Over the past 15 years, I’ve studied technologies of mobile connection > and talked to hundreds of people of all ages and circumstances about > their plugged-in lives. I’ve learned that the little devices most of > us carry around are so powerful that they change not only what we do, > but also who we are. > > We’ve become accustomed to a new way of being “alone together.” > Technology-enabled, we are able to be with one another, and also > elsewhere, connected to wherever we want to be. We want to customize > our lives. We want to move in and out of where we are because the > thing we value most is control over where we focus our attention. We > have gotten used to the idea of being in a tribe of one, loyal to our > own party. > > Our colleagues want to go to that board meeting but pay attention only > to what interests them. To some this seems like a good idea, but we > can end up hiding from one another, even as we are constantly > connected to one another. > > A businessman laments that he no longer has colleagues at work. He > doesn’t stop by to talk; he doesn’t call. He says that he doesn’t want > to interrupt them. He says they’re “too busy on their e-mail.” But > then he pauses and corrects himself. “I’m not telling the truth. I’m > the one who doesn’t want to be interrupted. I think I should. But I’d > rather just do things on my BlackBerry.” > > A 16-year-old boy who relies on texting for almost everything says > almost wistfully, “Someday, someday, but certainly not now, I’d like > to learn how to have a conversation.” > > In today’s workplace, young people who have grown up fearing > conversation show up on the job wearing earphones. Walking through a > college library or the campus of a high-tech start-up, one sees the > same thing: we are together, but each of us is in our own bubble, > furiously connected to keyboards and tiny touch screens. A senior > partner at a Boston law firm describes a scene in his office. Young > associates lay out their suite of technologies: laptops, iPods and > multiple phones. And then they put their earphones on. “Big ones. Like > pilots. They turn their desks into cockpits.” With the young lawyers > in their cockpits, the office is quiet, a quiet that does not ask to > be broken. > > In the silence of connection, people are comforted by being in touch > with a lot of people — carefully kept at bay. We can’t get enough of > one another if we can use technology to keep one another at distances > we can control: not too close, not too far, just right. I think of it > as a Goldilocks effect. > > Texting and e-mail and posting let us present the self we want to be. > This means we can edit. And if we wish to, we can delete. Or retouch: > the voice, the flesh, the face, the body. Not too much, not too little > — just right. > > Human relationships are rich; they’re messy and demanding. We have > learned the habit of cleaning them up with technology. And the move > from conversation to connection is part o
Re: [silk] Sociolinguistic query
It’s been a while since I spoke much Arabic, but I recall, along with the usual family/sex imprecations, lots of dog-related imprecations. Just plain "dog!" also ibn-kalb and some other family relationships but not specifically female. In good old English, my favorite non-sexual non-gender-specific nasty has long been “asswipe”. Just in the last 10 years or so we’ve gained “asshat” which I think also very good. -T On Fri, Apr 13, 2012 at 10:45 PM, Vinit Bhansali wrote: > Been reading to many westerns. > > Yellow bellied skunk? > I think it's lost it's menacing tone over the last century. Pity! > But back to the future used various versions of it, including the (in_famous > "you chicken?" > > > On Sat, Apr 14, 2012 at 10:18 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian > wrote: >> >> the scatological ones? asshole, shithead etc >> >> --srs (iPad) >> >> On 14-Apr-2012, at 10:15, Udhay Shankar N wrote: >> >> > Picking up on one of the conversational threads from yesterday's meetup: >> > >> > Can people here provide examples of strong curse/swear words in any >> > language (i.e, these mean something beyond just punctuation or verbal >> > tics) that DO NOT involve female relatives? Extra bonus point if they >> > also DO NOT involve sexual acts of varying degrees of improbability. >> > >> > Udhay >> > -- >> > ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com)) >> > >> >
Re: [silk] Fwd: Life and Love in Bangalore
On Tue, Mar 27, 2012 at 9:06 PM, Deepa Mohan wrote: > It was so common > for the "women and children" to go for the summer holiday for four or more > weeks, and the "man of the house" to join them for a much briefer period. This is not just an Indian thing. It is traditional in Canada to have a "cottage" or "cabin" at the lake, and there are so many lakes that even people of very modest means can often manage to have one. These are passed down in families. When I was working at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, there was this guy on my team who'd married into a family where a bunch of sisters had cabins near Parry Sound (http://g.co/maps/9hu46) - most of these women were traditional full-time Moms, and in Summer, would decamp with the kids en masse for the cabin. Their husbands would drive 5 hours up to the cabin to spend the weekends, when they could. -T
Re: [silk] Diversity and trust
I live in Vancouver, which is as ethnically heterogeneous as almost anywhere maybe even including Singapore. It helps that our millionaires and criminals are similarly multiethnic. One upside is that we're rapidly breeding our own Transpacific ethnic group. Another effect, whether positive or negative, is that the color of someone's face, or the accent on their English, tells you nothing useful about what kind of person they are culturally. It's actually difficult sometimes. But I think this is a good way to live. -Tim On Feb 25, 2012 12:48 AM, "Chew Lin Kay" wrote: > > > On Sat, Feb 25, 2012 at 6:46 AM, Srini RamaKrishnan wrote: >> >> >> On a recent visit I noticed that Singapore seems to do this at a >> larger scale - where there are a lot of neighborhood outreach programs >> that bridge the ethnic gaps. There are weekly meetings, outreach >> workers and such. >> >> Maybe Chew Lin can expand? >> >> > Arguably we need the state and civil society to do all these things > because left to our own devices, we hardly smile at our neighbours? :) > > Throwing a comment out there until I find more brain space to deal with > it--there is diversity of race, there is diversity of religion, there is > diversity of class. In Singapore we talk a lot about racial harmony, and > we're starting to talk about religious harmony (banning Campus Crusade for > Christ from operating at the National University--not necessarily the > smartest move. But altar wrecking is not necessarily the best plan for > building goodwill either), but we've not, till recently, been able to talk > about the poor in the community (see: income gap as a big election issue. > unfortunately the rhetoric of "they're poor cause they didn't work hard" is > still a popular one in certain circles, and it all gets messy when race and > class intersect). > > CL >
Re: [silk] Query on wines.... and snobbery
Actually the evidence is on Charles' side. Practiced wine-tasters can identify many different characteristics of wine with high statistical significance. This is not to say it isn't a major outlet for snobbery. -T On Nov 10, 2011 4:36 AM, "Charles Haynes" wrote: > On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 9:24 PM, ss wrote: > > On Thursday 10 Nov 2011 2:17:14 pm Deepa Mohan wrote: > >> I don't see anything wrong with liking the cheapest and most plonky > wine in > >> the supermarket. > >> > > Deepa wine appreciation is pure snobbery nothing else. > > Certainly there are wine drinkers who are purely snobs and nothing > else, but I assure you that I learned to taste wines in a rather > stricter, more structured way. > > A friend of mine used to conduct semi-weekly wine tastings, usually > 5-6 bottles either of a single varietal from a single producer over > multiple years (a "vertical" tasting) or 5-6 bottles of a single > varietal from multiple producers in the same region in a single year > (a "horizontal" tasting). Both vertical tastings and horizontal > tastings usually had one or two "ringers" - wines that were either > from a different producer (in the case of a vertical) or from a > different grape, region, or year in the case of a horizontal. The > wines were put in opaque bags by one person, and given random letter > labels by a different person. We then poured a measured portion of > each wine into our separate lettered glasses. > > The tasting itself was relatively structured, each person evaluating > each wine indepenently of everyone else, writing down observations > about color, aroma and taste along multiple dimensions and at > different times. Each person then rated the wines by letter, and the > ratings were collected. > > The scores were aggregated and the wines were then revealed from > lowest to highest. > > From this, over time, we learned how to identify grape varietals, > producers, styles, various kinds of defects, and how to distinguish > and describe different wines. Because the tastings were double blind, > we were not influenced by brand or price. It was in the course of > years of these kinds of tastings that I determined my own preferences > in wine style and varietals (I tend to prefer reds in a traditional > burgundian style - usually pure pinot noir - and I dislike big > extracted wines, or whites with a lot of oak for example.) I am a big > fan of traditional champagnes, and at one point I could tell if a > champagne from a producer I was unfamiliar with was from Marne, Reims, > or Cote de Blancs, blind. > > We also did what's called a "components" tasting, where we would start > with 5-6 identical bottles and add specific components (like tannin, > oak, malic acid, lactic acid, sweetness, and ketones) would be added > in small amounts to the wine to let us learn what those flavors were > like in wines. > > Anyway, I'm just trying to say that no actually, real wine > appreciation is a learned skill that can be used for snobbery or not > as suits the inclination of the individual. I find that it enhances my > enjoyment of wine to have a discerning palate, but it also means I do > not get as much enjoyment out of boxed wine as I did when I was > younger. I'm willing to make that sacrifice. > > -- Charles > >
Re: [silk] samsung 8.9 tablet
The tablets have a way better battery/everything-else ratio than the handsets. For my sins, I travel too much, so on the Galaxy Tab I'll read a whole book and listen to a bunch of music and play some games on a transcontinental flight, and still be confident that it'll have lots of juice to run maps to get to my hotel, and plow through my email backlog on the train, and so on. And if you just use it casually as a bookreader in the evening and mail-reader on the breakfast table, the tablets will easily go days at a time. The handsets... not so much. -Tim On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 10:12 AM, Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote: > On 14-Jul-2011, at 9:05 PM, Tim Bray wrote: > >> Well, I have read a *lot* of books on the Galaxy Tab, some >> "paperback-like" and some not at all. I found it very satisfactory; >> but I can accept that for others, the experience might be different. > > What kind of battery life do you get on it, Tim? I've found that even an > hour's reading on any of my Androids will bring the battery down to 20-30% > from full charge. After that, it's at most 2 hours to end of day. > > Kiran >
Re: [silk] samsung 8.9 tablet
Well, I have read a *lot* of books on the Galaxy Tab, some "paperback-like" and some not at all. I found it very satisfactory; but I can accept that for others, the experience might be different. -Tim On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 8:07 AM, Eugen Leitl wrote: > On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 07:42:40AM -0700, Tim Bray wrote: >> I don't agree that 7" is too small. I have had my hands on a lot of >> Android devices, and the original 7" Galaxy Tab remains my favorite. >> Easy to carry, plenty big enough for news or browsing or email or >> games, light, even works as a phone if you have that model. -Tim > > Not if you want to completely substitute dead tree. For that, you > ideally need something A4 sized with ~300 ppi (Nook color only has > 169 ppi). Scrolling around and zooming (which is slightly too > slow on the Nook color) on a 7" gets old really quick. > > I would still keep a 7", but only for reading paperback-like > ebooks on the road. > > -- > Eugen* Leitl http://leitl.org";>leitl http://leitl.org > __ > ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.ativel.com http://postbiota.org > 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE > >
Re: [silk] samsung 8.9 tablet
I don't agree that 7" is too small. I have had my hands on a lot of Android devices, and the original 7" Galaxy Tab remains my favorite. Easy to carry, plenty big enough for news or browsing or email or games, light, even works as a phone if you have that model. -Tim On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 1:39 AM, naresh v wrote: > I have been putting off buying a tablet ,particularly after Silklister > Kingsley's comment that ' there is the iPad2 and then there are tablets".. > The 10.1" size for tablets is too large to hold in one hand comfortably and > the 7" is too small.. > I own too many apple devices already and was wondering if anyone on the list > knows anythng about the new Samsing Galaxy Tab 8.9' launch date in India? > Naresh >
Re: [silk] Gmail on android
I haven't actually gone and looked at the source code, nor have I directly asked a gmail product manager, but I would be flabbergasted and astounded if it weren't. Google is pressuring the world, in case you hadn't noticed, to use TLS for everything; and there are few things that are juicier attack targets than a cellphone on an open wifi network. -Tim On Sat, Jun 4, 2011 at 8:59 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > On 04-Jun-11 8:13 PM, Tim Bray wrote: > >> If by "ssh" you mean "TLS" I believe the answer is yes. > > Just so I am clear, does this mean ALL transactions are SSL-encrypted by > default, not just login? > > I ask because, on my client (gmail v 2.3.4.1 on Android 2.3.3, running > on an HTC Desire S) I can't see any option to turn SSL on. > > Udhay > -- > ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com)) > >
Re: [silk] Gmail on android
The only other linux-for-phones with any momentum at the moment is MeeGo, and it's not looking that strong either. Nobody counts these things, but Android might be the world's most popular linux distro just at the moment. (Disclosure: I work on it). -Tim On Sat, Jun 4, 2011 at 4:18 PM, Thaths wrote: > On Sat, Jun 4, 2011 at 8:08 AM, Eugen Leitl wrote: >> While speaking about Android -- my Nook color just landed. >> Upgraded to 1.2, not rooted yet. > > Eugen, > > I recall that, way back in the mists of silklist, you were advocating > Openmoko or some such alternative for running Linux on phones. Does > this (your getting Android phones and devices) mean you think there > aren't any other decent Linuxen for phones? > > Thaths > -- > Marge: Quick, somebody perform CPR! > Homer: Umm (singing) I see a bad moon rising. > Marge: That's CCR! > Homer: Looks like we're in for nasty weather. > Sudhakar Chandra Slacker Without Borders > >
Re: [silk] Gmail on android
If by "ssh" you mean "TLS" I believe the answer is yes. -Tim On Jun 4, 2011 7:40 AM, "Udhay Shankar N" wrote: > > Does it use SSH by default? I can't really make out, and my search-fu on > this topic (keywords too generic, I guess) is failing me. > > Udhay > -- > ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com)) >
Re: [silk] Books on Words & Language
Anything from Guy Deutscher is good on W&L. I was also immensely fond of Steven Pinker's "Words and Rules" which draws some remarkably amusing lessons from a ridiculously deep dive on a small number of English irregular verbs. -T On Sat, Feb 12, 2011 at 9:32 PM, Deepa Mohan wrote: > If someone gives me 43 referencesoh, dear, I wind up looking at NONE of > them. :( > > I had an excellent book on etymology for both my undergrad and post-grad > studies, here's the wiki about the author: > > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Jespersen > > The language has evolved so very rapidly since the days of my University > studies that it's even more fascinating than before! > > Can anyone tell me if there are equally good studies on languages like > Hindi, or Tamizh,please? Udhay, can you ask your Erudite Uncle? > > > > >
Re: [silk] Any ideas on a digitiser / ripper - player for CDs?
On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 2:58 PM, Mahesh Murthy wrote: > So I have some 1,500 or so CDs and I'd like to digitize them and a > reasonably high bit rate. > Not all at a go - but to keep doing a handful now and then. I did a thousand or so in 2009 and wrote lots about the process: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2009/03/02/The-Great-Music-Migration http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2009/03/21/More-Migration http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2009/06/12/Music-Migration-Done I think our tastes and constraints are quite similar. -T > Is there some sort of device with a hard drive and a CD player/ ripper where > I can simply play from the drive when needed (with remote, 5.1 out etc) and > on occasion slip a CD or a few dozen in and rip it fast - where some access > to Gracenotes or such ensures titles / song data is input automatically? > It'll be nice to have a drive in the TB range so DVDs can be digitized too > on the same system and accessible centrally in every room of the house etc. > One obvious answer might be to dedicate a laptop/computer to this and use > iTunes etc - but it seems an inelegant solution - not enough ripping speed > and perhaps not enough HDD space plus I really don't care for a locked Apple > solutions like iTunes plus I am not sure it produces high quality sound - I > do have a reasonably good set of amp, speakers and TV > Any suggestions? > Regards > Mahesh > > > >
Re: [silk] Wikileaks and the Long Haul
FWIW, I also held forth at length: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/12/05/Wikileaks On Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 8:19 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > A great post from Clay Shirky, who needs to get back onto silk sometime. > > This adds some much-needed nuance to the public discourse. Speaking > for myself, I believe that Wikileaks is a symptom of some backpressure > from the collective unconscious - a move towards some form of > sousveillance [1] and that we will see more such efforts [2]. > > Maybe this is the 21st century version of Gilmore's Law [3] ? I can > hope, can't I? > > Udhay > > > [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sousveillance > [2] As a start point, wikileaks now has ~800 mirror sites. See > http://wikileaks.ch/mirrors.html > [3] http://blog.futurestreetconsulting.com/?p=11 > > http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2010/12/wikileaks-and-the-long-haul/ > > Wikileaks and the Long Haul > > Like a lot of people, I am conflicted about Wikileaks. > > Citizens of a functioning democracy must be able to know what the > state is saying and doing in our name, to engage in what Pierre > Rosanvallon calls “counter-democracy”*, the democracy of citizens > distrusting rather than legitimizing the actions of the state. > Wikileaks plainly improves those abilities. > > On the other hand, human systems can’t stand pure transparency. For > negotiation to work, people’s stated positions have to change, but > change is seen, almost universally, as weakness. People trying to come > to consensus must be able to privately voice opinions they would > publicly abjure, and may later abandon. Wikileaks plainly damages > those abilities. (If Aaron Bady’s analysis is correct, it is the > damage and not the oversight that Wikileaks is designed to create.*) > > And so we have a tension between two requirements for democratic > statecraft, one that can’t be resolved, but can be brought to an > acceptable equilibrium. Indeed, like the virtues of equality vs. > liberty, or popular will vs. fundamental rights, it has to be brought > into such an equilibrium for democratic statecraft not to be wrecked > either by too much secrecy or too much transparency. > > As Tom Slee puts it, “Your answer to ‘what data should the government > make public?’ depends not so much on what you think about data, but > what you think about the government.”* My personal view is that there > is too much secrecy in the current system, and that a corrective > towards transparency is a good idea. I don’t, however, believe in > total transparency, and even more importantly, I don’t think that > independent actors who are subject to no checks or balances is a good > idea in the long haul. > > If the long haul were all there was, Wikileaks would be an obviously > bad thing. The practical history of politics, however, suggests that > the periodic appearance of such unconstrained actors in the short haul > is essential to increased democratization, not just of politics but of > thought. > > We celebrate the printers of 16th century Amsterdam for making it > impossible for the Catholic Church to constrain the output of the > printing press to Church-approved books*, a challenge that helped > usher in, among other things, the decentralization of scientific > inquiry and the spread of politically seditious writings advocating > democracy. > > This intellectual and political victory didn’t, however, mean that the > printing press was then free of all constraints. Over time, a set of > legal limitations around printing rose up, including restrictions on > libel, the publication of trade secrets, and sedition. I don’t agree > with all of these laws, but they were at least produced by some legal > process. > > Unlike the United States’ current pursuit of Wikileaks.* > > I am conflicted about the right balance between the visibility > required for counter-democracy and the need for private speech among > international actors. Here’s what I’m not conflicted about: When > authorities can’t get what they want by working within the law, the > right answer is not to work outside the law. The right answer is that > they can’t get what they want. > > The Unites States is — or should be — subject to the rule of law, > which makes the extra-judicial pursuit of Wikileaks especially > nauseating. (Calls for Julian’s assassination are even more > nauseating.) It may be that what Julian has done is a crime. (I know > him casually, but not well enough to vouch for his motivations, nor am > I a lawyer.) In that case, the right answer is to bring the case to a > trial. > > IIn the US, however, the government has a “heavy burden” for engaging > in prior restraint of even secret documents, an established principle > since New York Times Co. vs. The United States*, when the Times > published the Pentagon Papers. If we want a different answer for > Wikileaks, we need a different legal framework first. > > Though I don’t like Senator Joseph Lieberman’s proposed SHIELD law > (Securing Human
Re: [silk] Antimatter
On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 9:29 AM, Kiran K Karthikeyan wrote: > Even Einstein believed in God. Superstition is hard to root out. -T
Re: [silk] For the language pedants among us...
Major time-sink alert. -T On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 6:41 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > This includes myself. > > http://english.stackexchange.com/ > > Udhay > -- > ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com)) > >
Re: [silk] FSM-janmabhoomi
You mean the venerable Phở. As in our sacred hymn: Psycho killer qu'est-ce c'est Phở Phở Phở Phở Phở Phở Phở Phở Phở Phở -T On Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 8:03 AM, Thaths wrote: > On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 9:28 PM, Biju Chacko wrote: > > I'd like to state that by my true faith and belief, an avatar of the > > Flying Spaghetti Monster -- the Moderately Mobile Shavige Baath -- was > > born on the outskirts of Agra a gazillion years ago. All true > > Pastafarians revere this spot. However, in the intervening period some > > pesky invading Islamic terrorists...err...invaders defiled the spot by > > burying some woman or other there. The Curch of the Flying Spaghetti > > Monster would like to reclaim the spot, knock down whatever nonsense > > is there and build something more pasta-like. > > I declare that this Shavige religion of yours is faux. The Real Noodle > In The Sky visited us in the form of the venerable Pho. > > Thaths > -- > Marge: Quick, somebody perform CPR! > Homer: Umm (singing) I see a bad moon rising. > Marge: That's CCR! > Homer: Looks like we're in for nasty weather. > Sudhakar ChandraSlacker Without Borders > >
Re: [silk] Google ditches Windows?
On Tue, Jun 1, 2010 at 9:36 AM, Eugen Leitl wrote: > There's number of attacks, and there's intrinsic vulnerability. OS X > is pretty vulnerable, Linux less so, and *BSD even less. Then you > must differentiate by desktop vs. server, and whether the systems > are well-kept, hardened or stock, etc. Is there any empirical data to support this assertion? It looks reasonable to me, but it would be nice to have it backed with some data. -Tim
Re: [silk] How does one unregister from Hinduism?
On Sat, Apr 17, 2010 at 6:51 PM, ss wrote: > If you do not belong to group X and wish to belong to group Y, surely joining > group Y should suffice. Suppose there is no particularly-organized Group Y? "I do not believe in God" seems like a very worthwhile unregistration to me. While I totally don't believe in any Hindu deities, I'm unprejudiced, I equally scoff at the plausibility of the existence of my own tribe's. -T
Re: [silk] How does one unregister from Hinduism?
On Fri, Apr 9, 2010 at 12:12 AM, Srini RamaKrishnan wrote: > Besides there is no > formal process (legally speaking) to be admitted as an atheist I'm glad he hasn't found out about the SECRET HANDSHAKE. -T
Re: [silk] Tim Bray "the new face of the google apple rivalry"
On Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 8:39 PM, Biju Chacko wrote: > Greg Kroah-Hartman's got a good blog post about this: > > http://www.kroah.com/log/linux/android-kernel-problems.html On the other hand... http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=5992&tag=trunk;content -T
Re: [silk] Tim Bray "the new face of the google apple rivalry"
On Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 8:25 PM, Vinayak Hegde wrote: >> Upstream... huh? Expand please? -Tim > > Harald Welte (netfilter hacker) had linked to a good presentation > called "Android Mythbusters"[1] sometime back. Not sure if the issues > mentioned have changed since then. > > -- Vinayak > 1. http://laforge.gnumonks.org/weblog/2009/11/04/ So, he disagrees with the way the Android flavor of Linux is structured and says "I can't wait until somebody rips it apart and replaces the system layer with a standard GNU/Linux distribution with Dalvik ". Because it's GPL'ed free software, the Android people can give the strategy that he disagrees with a try, and because it's GPL'ed free software, Harald is free to try to do exactly what he proposes, not just hope someone else does. (Well, actually, the Android parts are Apache license not GPL, but he's still free to do that). It seems to me clearly outside the spirit of FLOSS to sneer at someone else's distro just because it's different. Android devices are currently in more pockets than the sum total of all previous efforts to make Linux usefully portable, so one could argue that the evidence isn't on Harald's side. Do we know *why* the Android people did these in-his-view horrible things? Actually, I don't either. But it sure is nice to have a polished commercial phone in my pocket that I can run a shell on. -T
Re: [silk] Tim Bray "the new face of the google apple rivalry"
Well, I suspect that moving from Oracle to Google does involve a net decrease in evil. I wonder what units evil is calibrated in? On Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 9:49 AM, Biju Chacko wrote: > I do hope he teaches 'em how to play better with upstream -- right now > they're doing a lousy job of it. Upstream... huh? Expand please? -Tim
Re: [silk] testing
Sorry, didn't get that. Something must be terribly wrong. -T ___ silklist mailing list silklist@lists.hserus.net http://lists.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/silklist
Re: [silk] Alternative careers
> Just FYI, some for some of us software engineering _is_ the > alternative career. I, for example, started off as an architect and > became a software engineer because I found it interesting -- at the > time it had not yet become the Indian middle class' ideal of a safe > career. This story is so common among us old folks. I stumbled into a bunch of CS courses some decades back because I was getting medium grades in my math major and all-A's in my CS sideline, and I liked it. There were tons of us escapees from Physics and Biology and you-name it. Then one day, in a course which happened to be taught by the head of the CS department, he said "The strangest thing is happening... everyone we graduate with a bachelor's degree is getting snapped up and at really very decent salaries". The room was silent as a tomb... we'd genuinely had no idea. -Tim
Re: [silk] BJP pulling wool over our eyes?
On Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 11:04 AM, Venkat Inumella wrote: I find the culturally liberal Scandinavian systems to be too > socialistic with their high taxes and elaborate social security nets Well, if you measure outcomes, the Scandinavians have been doing very well in recent years by various economic and quality-of-life metrics. If it seems, by objective measures, to work, is it still "too socialistic"? > , and I > find the anti-gay, anti-abortion but pro-business brand of Republican > right-wingism(never mind their ineptitude) to be too culturally regressive. The problem is that a healthy society needs to have intelligent conservatives making their case. In the US, there don't seem to be any. -T > >
Re: [silk] All done with mirrors
On Mon, May 11, 2009 at 11:26 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > Wow. This is truly cool. And scary. > > Udhay > > http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=hackers-can-steal-from-reflections&print=true > > How Hackers Can Steal Secrets from Reflections Yow. Mind you, at some level not really a *new* problem; here's some Usenet chatter; Larry Wall and me in 1988: http://is.gd/zd3C -Tim
Re: [silk] America's Sri Ram Sena
On Fri, May 8, 2009 at 10:55 PM, . wrote: > On Fri, May 8, 2009 at 9:55 PM, Ravi Bellur wrote: >> Like I said, we got 'em too. So concerned with repressive control that they >> miss the essential points of their religions. Historically, the essential point of many religions has been repressive control: of sexuality, of particular ethnic or other "outsider" groups, of whatever. With an elegant theological backing of course, but terribly convenient for those exercising control. -Tim
Re: [silk] Another Incarnation (Book Review of 'The Hindus, An Alternate History')
On Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 6:46 AM, Radhika, Y. wrote: > One friend felt the Mahabharat to be highly > casteist - the prejudice is openly displayed Well, to be honest, essentially all of the world's key religious texts are primitive, based in a tribal world-view; they encourage violence, sexual oppression, and all sorts of behavior that a modern reasonably civilized person would consider unacceptable. -T
Re: [silk] Oracle Agrees to Acquire Sun
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/technology/companies/21sun.html?ref=business >> >> Well ... what to the Sun and ex-Sun folks on the list think of this? What's amusing is to watch all the prognosticators making authoritative-sounding but contradictory and entirely speculative pronouncements as to what the future will hold. -Tim
Re: [silk] Recommendations for Bluetooth headset?
On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 1:21 AM, Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote: > Greetings, list. > > I recently lost my Jawbone 2 bluetooth headset and am seeking a replacement. > What does the list think is a good headset to buy these days? Data point: I have a teeny tiny Samsung WEP200 and I'm very fond of it. Not fancy, but gets out of the way and, so far, Just Works. -T
Re: [silk] Introduction - New Member
On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 8:58 PM, Ravi Bellur wrote: > I was born in the US to an Indian dad from Bangalore and a Danish mom. This is a true story. One time I was in Helsingør, AKA Hamlet's hometown, at a technology conference, and I was single, and I met a comely young Danish woman, also single who looked at me That Way, and thought there might be something there, but I couldn't pronounce her first name and she didn't think that was cute, so I got nowhere. I recognize that having a Danish mom doesn't make this your fault, but I'm still bitter. -Tim
Re: [silk] Twitter users
Be warned... Twitter is quite addictive and time-consuming. But you'll be better-informed. -Tim (timbray on Twitter)
Re: [silk] Street photography
On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 8:32 AM, Radhika, Y. wrote: > Shooting in RAW requires access to a software like Lightroom else it is not > practical. Well, there are alternatives, but Lightroom and Aperture seem the best right now. I'm an open-source bigot but I have to admit that Lightroom is a totally wonderful piece of software, the best evidence I know of that closed-source proprietary software has a future. -Tim
Re: [silk] Street photography
On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 12:11 AM, Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote: > Drawing from two recent threads... > Citizen Matters published a report on the Women's Day demonstrations in > Bangalore, with two of my pictures: > http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/883-bengaluru-reacts-fearless-karnataka-campaign > > Their versions are heavily compressed, but you can see the originals here: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/jace/sets/72157614979031608/ Wow... every picture tells a story, as they say. Thanks for that. -T
Re: [silk] 'Sita sings the blues' - now online (legally)
On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 11:12 PM, Jai Iyer wrote: > Animator Nina Paley's much anticipated 'Sita sings the blues' is now > online, for free viewing : > > http://www.thirteen.org/sites/reel13/blog/watch-sita-sings-the-blues-online/347/ That is *astounding*. Thank you. -T
Re: [silk] I am Israel: A point of view
On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 10:32 AM, wrote: > > Because the Arab countries rejected the propose division of the land and > > went to war to wipe out Israel. As usual they lost, leaving "Palestine" > as > > the West Bank/Gaza rump, which at the time nobody believed was a viable > > basis for a state (this may be correct). This lasted 19 years until the > > Arab nations tried again and lost again. > >Try replacing the phrase "wipe out Israel" > with "defend their homes, land and people". > It captures the motivation a lot better. Um, I'm sufficiently pro-Palestinian to have gotten myself in trouble repeatedly. Having said that, the fact is that in '48 and '67, the Arab strategy for dealing with the problem was to attempt to wipe out the state of Israel. This is a matter of historical fact, as is the fact that it didn't work. If we get a peace settlement, it's going to include most of the current population of Israel. I'm increasingly coming to believe that the two-state solution has become impossible simply because the Israeli settler movement (and there's as nasty a bunch of filthy racists as you'll find anywhere) has essentially won. If the USA instantly, like within *months*, informed Israel that all further aid and moral support would be discontinued failing immediate rapid progress on the evacuation of the settlements, there might be hope. But I don't believe that's going to happen. See http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2009/01/23/Muammar-Ghost -Tim
Re: [silk] I am Israel: A point of view
> > I am referring to what happened to Palestinian lands following the > 1949 Armistice Agreement. See > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine#Current_status : > > "Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the 1949 Armistice Agreements > between Israel and neighboring Arab states eliminated Palestine as a > distinct territory. With the establishment of Israel, the remaining > lands were divided amongst Egypt, Syria and Jordan. The Arab > governments at this point refused to set up a State of Palestine. Because the Arab countries rejected the propose division of the land and went to war to wipe out Israel. As usual they lost, leaving "Palestine" as the West Bank/Gaza rump, which at the time nobody believed was a viable basis for a state (this may be correct). This lasted 19 years until the Arab nations tried again and lost again. If your larger point is that the Palestinians have no reason for particularly friendly feelings about any of their neighbors, I'll grant that. -Tim
Re: [silk] I am Israel: A point of view
> > Also, memories in the Arab world seem to have conveniently forgotten > the other occupation - the occupation of Palestinian lands by the > their Arab brethren - the likes of Jordan, Syria and Egypt. All the other rights and wrongs aside, this is historically illiterate. None of these countries had enjoyed independence for any sustained period for quite a large number of centuries, having been passed from the Roman to the Byzantine to the Ottoman empires before they fell into British and French colonial hands after 1918. -T
Re: [silk] some more from arundhati
On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 11:43 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > Eugen Leitl wrote, [on 12/15/2008 6:05 PM]: > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/12/mumbai-arundhati-roy/print > This is interesting: > http://greatbong.net/2008/12/16/the-algebra-of-infinite-fundamentalism/ Udhay, please expand. Which of these do you find more compelling? - Tim
Re: [silk] Vir Sanghvi on Kashmir
I wonder how many people inside India realize that the country has a big public-relations problem in Kashmir. Looking in from outside, the appearance is that the government is inflicting pretty severe brutality in order to impose Indian citizenship on a population that really doesn't want it. I say "appearance" because I've never been close enough for a first-hand view. But from outside, it really looks bad. -Tim
Re: [silk] Muslim Heavy Metal
On Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 12:02 AM, ashok _ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > i found this hiphop artist called Blaaze (who is also a playback > singer in tamil > films apparently), quite alright : > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZzOAFYllWI > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1pLv-fOJ3U Um, if you haven't clicked on that second one, I recommend it. -T
Re: [silk] inshallah
On Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 1:58 AM, Rishab Aiyer Ghosh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> a silly western reporter discovers that egyptians say "inshallah" all
> the time [1] and thinks, from the literal translation ("god willing")
> that it represents a new religiosity in egypt.
As a former foreign resident of an Arabic-speaking country (Lebanon) I
can testify that Inshallah was widely used by all ethnic groups there,
but with varying degrees of irony.
-T
Re: [silk] Iggy Pop
On Sat, May 31, 2008 at 8:39 AM, Venkat Mangudi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Many thanks for this link. It was a wonderful read. I think I will try their > music. :-) Iggy's most recent, "Skull Ring", is a wonderful piece of rock & roll. Of course you have to *like* screaming guitars, snarling vocals, anger at the world, and so on. The record that made him famous a whole lifetime ago was called "Raw Power". -Tim
Re: [silk] Crazy English in China
On Sat, May 3, 2008 at 10:34 AM, Brian Behlendorf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > If I had kids today, I'd try to get them enrolled in the Chinese immersion > schools here in San Francisco, or perhaps hire a Chinese tutor. Here in Vancouver, there is Mandarin immersion, starting in grade 4, and our son is going into it next fall. To get in, you have to prove that the kid *does* have excellent English competency and have to assert that he/she does not already know Mandarin. He's had a head start (already knows multiple languages) but is enthralled at the idea of learning Chinese. He'll be a visible minority; the program is mostly full of the kids of Nth-generation Vancouver ethnic Chinese who feel bad about having lost the language. Seems like a kid competent in English and Mandarin has a leg up in the world. -T
Re: [silk] driving from delhi to bangalore
On Jan 30, 2008 5:32 PM, Abhijit Menon-Sen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Has anyone done it? Or does anyone have an idea of how long it will > take, and what the roads are like? I've never been to India, but I have some advice: Do it. Long-distance point-to-point driving is an experience unlike any other. I've been across large parts of Canada on four separate occasions, and a day or two in, you get into an altered state of consciousness that I think is very special. -Tim
Re: [silk] OpenMoko - Thoughts? (was Re: IPhone - Thoughts?)
[BTW, hello all, been lurking for a while] It's not clear whether to hack on the phone you need to get the "debug board" and also not clear what kind of computer/OS combination you can plug that board into. So I sent OpenMoko a question a couple days ago. No answer yet. Agreed that this is a *very* interesting device. -Tim On 7/10/07, Eugen Leitl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: On Tue, Jul 10, 2007 at 01:48:38PM +0530, Gautam John wrote: > On 7/10/07, Aditya Chadha <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >No WiFi in v1 of the FIC1973 (GTA01), which limits VoIP capabilities > > And no camera either. Like the iPhone, I'll wait for version 2. I'm also waiting for October. I'm also waiting for actual numbers for runtime on the battery. GPS + navi application running better last for 8+ hours, and phone standby should do a week, or so. -- Eugen* Leitl http://leitl.org";>leitl http://leitl.org __ ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.ativel.com http://postbiota.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE
