Re: [silk] Renaming Aurangzeb Road

[Venky TV]

On 12 September 2015 at 10:44, Aditya Kapil  wrote:

> Yup. Me too. Remedies anyone?


Umm.. block him? :D

- Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Bangalore meet in September

[Venky TV]

On 7 September 2015 at 07:04, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:

> ​OK, CBD it is. Shall we say Arbor Brewing Company on Magrath road at
> 6:30pm?
>

I'm in too.

Venky.

Re: [silk] Freedom of Speech

[Venky TV]

On 14 December 2011 17:34, Kiran K Karthikeyan
kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote:
 Are you making the argument as follows:

 I have the right to free speech, and have therefore started a newspaper
 People don't want proper news, just what passes for a news
 I will therefore provide what the people want, while still being a
 newspaper, and enjoying all the constitutional and legal protection provided
 for newspapers to do proper news

What constitutional and legal protection designed for newspapers that
do proper news do you think the Times of India should not quality for?
 (Not being facetious -- this is a serious question.)

 Tags do mean a lot. It means you are qualified and expected to discharge
 your duty honorably and is someone that can be trusted. If a guy in
 plainclothes stops your car and asks to see your license and registration,
 would you or would you not ask to see his badge?

So, calling the Times of India a newspaper is what you have trouble
with?  Not the content but the fact that it calls itself a newspaper,
which by your definition it is not?

Venky.

Re: [silk] Freedom of Speech

[Venky TV]

On 13 December 2011 15:45, Kiran K Karthikeyan
kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote:
 On 13 December 2011 11:57, Venky TV venky...@gmail.com wrote:

 I'm a little confused.  If the logic of giving people what they want
 to pay for is grievously mistaken, I guess you are suggesting people
 should instead be given what they need (and I will not, at the
 moment, split hairs about who gets to define what this need is).

 Perhaps an allegory that Cheeni made and never took the idea to completion
 should be used here.

 So a doctor is allowed to prescribe a pill which has better taste, but not
 as effective compared to another because a patient doesn't like it? Perhaps,
 if most patients vomit out the not so good tasting drug consistently after
 taking it.

Bringing in the only point I was trying to make of people not wanting
to pay for what *might* be good for them, I assume you expect doctors
to chase down every body over 50 and give them colonoscopies for free,
irrespective of whether the patients want the treatment or not?

   So, how is this going to be achieved?  By -uh- censoring the ToI's of
 the world?

 -uh- Yes. The independence as well as the ethics and morals of journalism
 should be constitutionally protected/enforced legally or through a
 professional body.

 Does that clear up the confusion or were you confused about something else?

Ah, so you protect the freedom of the press by censoring the
newspapers you figure are bad for society.  That *does* clear things
up, yes.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Freedom of Speech

[Venky TV]

On 13 December 2011 21:24, Kiran K Karthikeyan
kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote:
 Bringing in the only point I was trying to make of people not wanting
 to pay for what *might* be good for them, I assume you expect doctors
 to chase down every body over 50 and give them colonoscopies for free,
 irrespective of whether the patients want the treatment or not?

 Uh-no. In my mind they're doing their job well if they treat those who do
 come to them. Similarly, nobody who doesn't want to read a newspaper can be
 well informed regardless of how well journos do their job.

I agree.  So, let me try and clean up your analogy.  People going to a
doctor for medicine are analogous to people subscribing to a newspaper
that does quality journalism.  These people deserve what they are
paying for -- good medicine/quality journalism.  (Like Salil said, if
enough people pay for good journalism, you will get good journalism.)

On the other hand, if the sick people, instead of going to a doctor,
go to the neighbour ice cream shop because chocolate ice cream makes
them feel good for a while, your position appears to be that it is the
fault of both the doctor and the ice cream vendor -- with the only
people free of guilt being the ones choosing the ice cream shop over
of the doctor as they are not burdened with having to take
responsibility for their own actions.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Freedom of Speech

[Venky TV]

On 14 December 2011 09:42, Brij Blog brij.bl...@gmail.com wrote:
 I do not think your analogy fits the case. I have no horse in this race
 (been unsubscribed from daily newspapers for more than a year now, so cannot
 really comment on their quality) but just going through this thread I think
 you that is not what Kiran meant. If we would apply your analogy back to
 news it would be like someone reading Playboy (going to the ice cream
 vendor) and expecting to get news (I know, I know we read Playboy for the
 articles; leave that be) That was not the contention here. Here Kiran was
 saying that we are reading a major daily newspaper and expecting to see a
 certain 'level' of news. So the right analogy would be that a person goes to
 a professional who has the certificate of a doctor (like the newsman has the
 Press tag) and expects to be cured.

This is where we disagree.  Tags don't mean a thing.  I call
homeopaths quacks but a bunch of others call them doctors.  It really
does not make a difference.  If enough people turn to homeopathy,
regular medicine will go bust -- while you and me argue about how it
is the ethical duty of homeopaths to take themselves out of business.

Times of India has the largest circulation among English newspapers
not because it is giving people a lower level of news than what they
are asking for.  It has the largest circulation because it is giving
them *precisely* what they are asking for.  People are not being
suckered into bad journalism -- they are asking to be entertained
instead of being informed.  And you know what -- it is their choice.

People like Kiran and you and me who are looking for a certain level
of news are in the minority.  And we are probably also the ones who
have other options.  I don't subscribe to a newspaper either because I
don't find any of them good enough, and I can pick and choose the
columns I want to read online.  It makes next to no financial sense
for a newspaper to cater to me.

 So the right analogy would be that a person goes to
 a professional who has the certificate of a doctor (like the newsman has the
 Press tag) and expects to be cured. Now if the doctor prescribes ice cream
 and palliatives to keep the patient(user) happy and at the same time writes
 down a set of tests to be done to keep the hospital (management/business)
 happy then it is questionable ethics, is it not?

You are saying people are going to the doctor for medicine and are
being prescribed ice cream instead.  (Yes, that would be unethical.)
I'm saying people are making a conscious choice to get ice cream
instead of medicine.  And that's not the ice cream vendor's fault.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Freedom of Speech

[Venky TV]

On 13 December 2011 02:09, Srini RamaKrishnan che...@gmail.com wrote:
 I would consider the circular logic of we only serve what the paying
 customer wants grievously mistaken on many counts.
 Other major users of this fig leaf are the massively profitable and
 demonstrably evil tobacco companies and fast food restaurant chains of
 the world.
 This attitude is clearly harmful to society.

I'm a little confused.  If the logic of giving people what they want
to pay for is grievously mistaken, I guess you are suggesting people
should instead be given what they need (and I will not, at the
moment, split hairs about who gets to define what this need is).  So,
how is this going to be achieved?  By -uh- censoring the ToI's of the
world?

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] an-NRI again

[Venky TV]

On 23 October 2011 16:12, Ingrid ingrid.srin...@gmail.com wrote:
  To me it's a seemingly-eloquently argued defense of cowardice.

 Isn't that a defining trait of NRIs : to move to an oasis that someone
 else built rather than transform one's own desert surroundings?

 You mean cleaning up the crap in a place one was merely born in ( and with
 no say in the matter?)

 One could say that of one's family, no?

Yes, and I do.

 I happen to believe building an oasis is a tad more valuable than drinking
 from another's. But, to each his/her own.

Isn't your definition of one's own desert a trifle arbitrary?  Does
it need to be at the level of a country?  Is moving to a different
state or region where your job prospects are better cowardice too?
Are you being a traitor to your tough neighbourhood if you move from
it to one where your kids could play outdoors?

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Speed of light broken?

[Venky TV]

On 23 September 2011 06:16, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:
 Erm. I don't have either details or theoretical background to say more
 at this point, but does anyone else have any thoughts?

Well, I was quite interested to discover, courtesy of Mint, that these
laws of physics are a century-old.

http://www.livemint.com/2011/09/23223513/8216Faster-than-light8217.html?atype=tp

Must have been quite terrible in the bad old days before these laws
were passed -- with brash young photons skipping mass and harassing
poor, defenseless, church-going neutrinos.  (As someone once said,
Neutrinos has mass? I didn't even know they were catholic.)

How did the scientists at the Large Hard-on Collider ever find time
for this, by the way?  I thought they had their hands full groping for
the elusive Higgs-Bosom.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Mission: Bangalore silk meetup - Thu July 14

[Venky TV]

On 12 July 2011 11:50, Sruthi Krishnan srukr...@gmail.com wrote:
 Hokai. Fri night.

I'm in too.  Will be slightly late, though.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] (no subject)

[Venky TV]

On 20 June 2011 13:37, Biju Chacko biju.cha...@gmail.com wrote:
 blank pun

My response is on this mailing list:

Re: [silk] fish^N

[Venky TV]

On 3 June 2011 07:21, Anand Manikutty manikuttyan...@yahoo.com wrote:
 Hi Heather:

 I am extremely busy right now and am unable to reply to your e-mail message, 
 and address the concerns you may have about the validity of Fish fish ... 
 as a sentence.

Oh, you *can't* have missed that!  Seriously?!  Let me pitch in too.
Think the whole thing is a load of carp.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Skepticism on Technological Singularity

[Venky TV]

 As for your question on me being a philosopher, there is no harm in me
 admitting that I have some competency in philosophy, but to appreciate the
 arguments, you would need to understand the literature in economics and
 organizations, not philosophy. That said, many of the world's leading
 philosophers (and religious thinkers) - Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, the Buddha -
 would most likely not follow this argument either, and so if it is any
 consolation, you and Deepa are in good company.
 In fact, I wish those philosophers were around so that I could convert them.
 My process of conversion is an amazingly enjoyable one and is nothing more
 than the process of Gnana yoga (the yoga of knowledge). I would especially
 enjoy converting Jesus to my way of thinking, I think.

Please, please, tell me you are joking.  (Irony, essence of humour, as
you so very helpfully explained in another thread.)

Seriously, don't you think one of the primary requirements for being
able to convince people is to have them at least understand you?
Judging by your prose, I'd say the only hope you have of convincing
those philosophers (yes, the ones who would likely not follow your
argument anyway) would be by totally confusing them with jargon.
Personally, I wouldn't find that an altogether amazingly enjoyable
experience.

 P.S. This is another overarching theoretical response and so one is unable
 to strictly observe the top-post consideration (it has always been a
 consideration in Internet forums, not a requirement) since the theoretical
 considerations are paramount.

Sorry, I must be terribly dumb, but I don't even understand something
as simple as your reason for top-posting.  Are you, by any chance,
trying to say something like, Some responses necessarily need to be
top-posted so as not to break the flow of the argument?  That's
something I can understand, and maybe even agree with.  Or are you
instead saying that an overarching theoretical response (whatever
that is) necessarily needs to be top-posted?

Venky (the Second).

PS: I don't think Eugen meant one needs an understanding of philosophy
to appreciate your argument.  I read that instead as a comment on how
unnecessarily verbose your prose is and how convoluted and
jargon-laden your arguments are.

PPS: No, I will not be checking the List for a response.

Re: [silk] Skepticism on Technological Singularity

[Venky TV]

On 7 February 2011 22:22, Anand Manikutty manikuttyan...@yahoo.com wrote:
 Hi Venky :
 I think there has been some confusion/miscommunication. The List (capital
 L) I am referring to is this one :
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indo-euro-americo-asian_list/messages
 Since it appears that you have not read the messages I have posted there
 (just read the posts from 215 onwards on Technological Singularity), I am
 going to assume that the last two comments of yours (which aim to counter my
 arguments) arise out of this confusion/miscommunication. I use the List to
 maintain the ongoing list of counter-arguments in one place rather than have
 it scattered all over the place, and to save myself the time and effort of
 repeating counter-arguments. It is more efficient for me.

Well, I had a look.  Found a couple of emails in a thread which did
not say anything new from what was
posted here.  In any case, maintaining a debate over two lists, one
which I check regularly for
arguments and another where I respond is just not terribly efficient
for me.  If this debate is not going to
be on silklist, count me as not interested any more.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Skepticism on Technological Singularity

[Venky TV]

On 7 February 2011 00:01, Anand Manikutty manikuttyan...@yahoo.com wrote:

 Technological systems, businesses and social systems work together.
 Technology is not developed in a vacuum - it needs to be deployed somehow -
 and it is at the point of deployment of technology that regulation by
 government kicks in. That sort of regulation seems to be all that is needed,
 the sort of the system that is already in place.

I don't even to begin to understand this argument.  The very definition of a
singularity is that once it happens, things are fundamentally beyond out
control.  Once a singularity occurs, I don't see how holding businesses
accountable for it will help put that genie back in the bottle.

And if your position is instead that technologies that lead _towards_ a
singularity are the ones that businesses would be held accountable for, it makes
even less sense.  You brought up the concept of bounded rationality yourself,
which demolishes much of that one.  To add to that, the consequences of
such technologies (until the point where they spiral out of control) will be,
almost invariably, positive.  It would be very stupid of businesses to smother
or ignore those, because if they do, they will be left behind by businesses that
don't.

I dislike bringing up the oft-used example of nuclear weapons, but I think it is
quite relevant in this case.  The difference (and one that makes the case for
technological singularity every stronger) is that every country already knows
the consequences of nuclear weapons. It is just that they are mostly helpless.
If India ignores nuclear weapons technology, it will be at the mercy of Pakistan
-- and vice-versa, of course.  (It is for the same reason I remain sceptical of
the possibility of complete nuclear disarmament -- at least until a more potent
weapon is invented.)

For the record, I'm not saying that a singularity _will_ occur.  I don't know
enough about AI or its possibilities to make that assessment.  It is just that
your arguments against it make absolutely no sense to me.

Also, I don't think innovation should be regulated either.  Not because I'm
sceptical of the concept of a singularity, but because if a singularity is
possible, regulation will do absolutely nothing to prevent it.

 The fact that I could tell them about Noam Chomsky's response to my email
 did impress the people at the Singularity meetup. Again, the fact that we
 are both skeptical about the concept having arrived at our conclusions
 independently should provide indirect evidence that there may not be much to
 this.

Don't you think dropping the Chomsky name twice in the same context in the same
discussion is a bit much? :)

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Skepticism on Technological Singularity

[Venky TV]

On 7 February 2011 08:55, Anand Manikutty manikuttyan...@yahoo.com wrote:
 Have you gone through the points I made on my List?

Your List being?  If you mean silklist or to a list of points you
made there, yes.
(And you should re-check my previous message where I quoted the parts of your
message I was responding to.)

If you are referring to some other List, no.

 My claim is : there is just no reason to believe (based on the evidence
 presented by Yudkowsky, Vinge and Kurzweil) that a singularity could happen.
 A singularity is still very hypothetical (more or less in the realm of
 science fiction).

Again, I don't claim to be able to assert whether a singularity is
_technologically_
possible.  If your stand is that technology to achieve a singularity
belongs in the
realm of science fiction and will never come to fruition, we have no argument.

But your point (unless it was extremely well disguised) seemed to be that
government regulation will ward it off.  (Quote: Technology is not developed in
a vacuum - it needs to be deployed somehow - and it is at the point of
deployment of technology that regulation by government kicks in.) That makes
absolutely no sense to me, and in fact makes me think you don't understand the
hypothetical concept of a singularity.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Population problem? What population problem?

[Venky TV]

On Tue, May 18, 2010 at 8:10 AM, Biju Chacko biju.cha...@gmail.com wrote:
 Actually, he's a Philip not a Chacko

Pity!  Chacko has potential for -uh- more interesting names.  Dan
Chacko, for instance, has quite a festive sound. Try saying it over
and over again - Dan Chacko, Dan Chacko, Dan Chacko.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Silk Meet?

[Venky TV]

Count me in too.  Might be slightly late as I have a call to attend in
the evening.

Cheers,
Venky (the Second).

On Tue, May 4, 2010 at 9:34 AM, savita rao savita.s@gmail.com wrote:
 Friday works for me, can't make it on Saturday.
 Savita


 On Tue, May 4, 2010 at 12:08 AM, Madhu Menon c...@shiokfood.com wrote:

 On 03-05-2010 18:18, Udhay Shankar N wrote:

 Works for me. What about the others?

 I may not be able to make it either on Saturday.

 --
 Madhu Menon
 http://twitter.com/madmanweb






-- 
One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong.

Re: [silk] book exchange meet? WAS Books to be given away

[Venky TV]

On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 12:13 PM, savita rao savita.s@gmail.com wrote:
 I'm in. Either place works, and if I bring along books, it'll be Udhay's and
 Venky's, since I don't want to part with mine.

Sigh!  My copy of J. D. Salinger's Nine Stories will finally make an
appearance, I guess.  Oh well, at least the timing is appropriate.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] book exchange meet? WAS Books to be given away

[Venky TV]

On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 7:14 AM, Udhay Shankar N ud...@pobox.com wrote:
 Deepak Misra wrote, [on 2/1/2010 2:06 PM]:

     So we're on for the 13th?

     I count so far

     Udhay
     Lahar (?)

     Raise your hands, people.

I'm in, assuming it is in the evening.  Will try and rustle up some
books too.  (Have lots of trouble parting with them.)

 Now. Where are we meeting, then? Shiok? Jaaga?

Jaaga is closer for me, but either works.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Interview Questions

[Venky TV]

On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 9:52 AM, Kiran K Karthikeyan 
kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote:

 I do a lot of interviews, both for Product Managers and for Tech profiles.
 I've had two questions which I've continuously asked, but need to change.
 I've enjoyed the responses of various candidates for these questions for
 almost 3 years now and it has been very interesting to see how different
 people think through them.

 Question 1:

 There are 12 steel (or any other material, the material is immaterial :) )
 balls (yes, I make it cubes when interviewing women) which were
 manufactured
 to be identical in every way and hence indistinguishable. However, one of
 them has a manufacturing defect and has either less or more weight that the
 other 11. Given a weighing scale (with no standard weights), you have to
 find out which of the balls is defective as well as whether it weighs
 lesser
 or more than the others.

 Obviously, there is no solution in 3 weighings



Hope you did not reject candidates for saying this is possible in 3
weighings.  Haven't verified this completely -- it is possible I missed
something.  The approach should be obvious, though.  (As Thats mentioned,
this is something I first encountered and solved in school.)

(Sorry about the rich text mail.  It is an attempt to keep the formatting
for the ASCII art below to keep from getting messed up.)

Divide the balls into 3 groups of 4 each -- a1-a4, b1-b4, c1-c4.  Keep aX
balls on the left pan, bX balls on the right and cX ones outside.

  a1 a2 a3 a4   b1 b2 b3 b4
    W1  
 
/\  c1 c2 c3 c4

Possibilities:
- Pans balance
  Implies: One of the cX balls is defective

 c1 c2c3 X
   ___  W2  ___
 
/\  c4

(X is one of the other balls we know is not defective.)

Possibilities:
- Pans balance
  Implies: c4 is the defective ball
   A weighing against any other will tell you
   if it is lighter or heavier

- Left pan is heavier
  Implies one of c1, c2 is heavier or c3 is lighter

   c1   c2
   ___  W3  ___
 
/\  c3

 If the balance now shifts to the other pan, c2 is the
 defective ball and it is heavier.  If the left pan
 continues to be heavier, c1 is the defective ball and
 is heavier.  If the pans balance, c3 is the lighter
 ball.

Getting back to the other possibilities for the first
weighing:

Possibility:
- Left pan is heavier  (Same analysis applies if the left
  is lighter.)
  Implies: Either one of the aX balls is
  heavier or one of the bX balls is lighter.

   a1 a2 b1 a3 b2 X
   ___  W2  ___
 
/\  a4 b3 b4

Possibilities:
- Left pan stays heavier:
  Implies: a1 or a2 is heavier or b2 is lighter.
  (Those are the only balls that did not switch
  sides.)  Weigh a1 against a2.  If they are equal, b2
  is lighter.  Or else, the heavier ball is defective.

- Right pan is now heavier
  Implies: One of the balls that switched sides is
  defective, i.e., b1 or a3.  Put them on the same pan
  and weigh them against two of the other
  non-defective balls.  If the pan with a3 and b1 is
  heavier, a3 is the defective and heavier ball.
  Otherwise, b1 is the defective and lighter ball.

- Pans balance:
  Implies: a4 is heavier or one of b3 or b4 is
  lighter.  Weigh b3 against b4.  If the pans balance,
  a4 is defective.  Otherwise, the lighter one of b3
  and b4 is defective.


-- 
One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong.

Re: [silk] Using Amazon's Kindle in India

[Venky TV]

On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 10:58 AM, Udhay Shankar Nud...@pobox.com wrote:
 An exchange with a friend. Any thought, folks?

 Friend
 kindle works in India?
 Was gifted one but cant register it or download anything
 What to do
 __
 Me Looks like you need a US credit card.

 http://www.amazon.com/using-kindle-in-India/forum/Fx3P49EL3AOYQ1V/TxF63WQU0UXCTH/1
 __
 friend

You can create a new Amazon account which you can top-up using a gift
certificate (which you can order using an Indian credit card).  To get
books on to the Kindle, you need to download them using 1-click and
use USB sync to transfer them to the device.

http://www.nerdgirl.com/2009/03/20/amazon-kindle-outside-the-us/

Venky.

Re: [silk] Bangalore Meetup on May 16?

[Venky TV]

Count me in too.

 * May 16th is the day that the official Election vote tally takes
 place, so it may (not sure yet) be a dry day. In which case we need
 some alternate suggestion for where to congregate after the event at
 Crossword. Ideas, anyone?

Well, if you guys don't mind being slightly cramped, we could meet at
my apartment on Lavelle Road.

Cheers,
Venky (the Second).

-- 
One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong.

Re: [silk] Need some help

[Venky TV]

On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 12:35 PM, sur...@hserus.net sur...@hserus.net wrote:
 Your right stops right where it conflicts with another person's rights.

True.

 Organized policies of discrimination such as vegetarian only buildings are an 
 example.

Don't buy that.  You have no rights to another man's property.  If the
owner allows you to rent his property, it is quite definitely a
privilege and not a right.  And the fact that a redneck in Birmingham
would be arrested for refusing to rent his flat to a black man does
not automatically make it right either. Would he be arrested for
running a no-pets-allowed property?  No?  Now, that is what I would
term illegal discrimination.

It is also not a violation of your rights if you are quoted an
exorbitant price for the same property which another person gets
quoted a much lesser price for unless it is also a violation for a
landlord to lower his rent because he happens to like the tenant.  You
might as well make it illegal to like one person more than another.
That is, after all, discrimination too.

Organized discrimination (not including state-sponsored ones) is no
different from personal discrimination.  Sure, it is even more unfair
and extremely ugly.  But it is not a rights violation any more than
personal discrimination is as long as it applies to private property.

Venky (the Second).

-- 
One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong.

Re: [silk] Oracle Agrees to Acquire Sun

[Venky TV]

On Tue, Apr 21, 2009 at 9:24 AM, Valsa Williams
valsa.willi...@gmail.com wrote:
 On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 5:40 PM, Biju Chacko biju.cha...@gmail.com wrote:


 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?

 -- b


 What they do with MySQL and Open Solaris would be interesting to know .
 Lets hope Oracle does not undo all the Open Source initiatives of Sun, that
 would be disastrous !

Personally, I am concerned about OpenSolaris.  Solaris as an operating
system probably has a brighter future under Oracle than before, but
the OpenSolaris project does not seem to make too much sense for
Oracle.  I don't see them being too interested in an Ubuntu-like
desktop-friendly OS being developed out in the open. Solaris might
just go back to being a closed-source big iron operating system, which
would be a terrible shame.

As for MySQL, I just don't know.  It is kind of like the Vatican
picking up Playboy, Inc.  It might make sense to keep it going from a
business perspective, but something *just* does not seem right.

Venky (the Second).

-- 
One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong.

Re: [silk] Regarding complaints to the police

[Venky TV]

On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 7:51 AM, Kiran K Karthikeyan
kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote:
 I personally don't think what is happening now deserves such grave reaction.
 I still maintain that it is a passing phenomenon, and as long as it is not
 given credence through our reaction to it, it will go away.

I'm a little confused.  The same goons who have no qualms about giving
up their lives just to show women their place in society would give up
and go away because we refuse to acknowledge them?!

Venky.

-- 
One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong.

Re: [silk] Regarding complaints to the police

[Venky TV]

On Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 7:22 PM, Kiran K Karthikeyan
kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote:
 Righteous indignation and idealism are great for coffee table conversations,
 and I indulge in them too. But when push comes to shove, I prefer being a
 realist and practical.

 Moreover, I'm concerned when ordinary people start arming themselves. I once
 had a gun pointed at me (for no fault of mine I might add, lest I be judged
 :) ) and I know what it feels like, and I would never do that to a fellow
 human being, no matter what the circumstances.

Sounds more idealistic than practical to me.  The right to defend
yourself is pretty fundamental.  We have to a large extent (and in my
opinion, not entirely wisely) traded in that right to have the
government defend us.  Now, if the government is unwilling or unable
to defend me, I will set about defending myself.  I'm not saying it
has come to that right now, but if it ever does, I would have
absolutely no qualms about getting a firearm, preferably licensed.

 I also know what holding a
 deadly weapon does to a man (or woman). The power to take another's life is
 not something you want to or should possess unless it’s your job and you’re
 trained not to use it at the slightest provocation.

I really very much doubt people would go about taking potshots at
other people just because they own a deadly weapon.  It is like being
in a car in a tough neighbourhood.  You feel much more secure than if
you are on foot.  But that doesn't mean you run people over if they
shake a fist at you.  A firearm, like a functioning legal system, is
primarily about deterrence.  Most places, the kind of harassment we
are talking about is not common because the threat of legal
repercussions is very real.  As we all know, that is not the case
here.  But it would take a brave goon to attack a girl if he though
there was a reasonable chance she might have a Beretta in her handbag.
It is just not worth the risk.

I don't understand why owning a firearm is so taboo.  If anything,
people who are willing to risk their own lives to avoid owning guns
should be among the safest people to carry them!  All this seems very
similar to (I hate that term!) the moral police, who are so
convinced of their inability to control themselves in the presence of
naked skin that they want to force everybody to cover up for their own
good! :)

Venky.

Re: [silk] Rowling at Harvard

[Venky TV]

This caught my eye while catching up with old Silk posts.  Interesting
speech, but this particular bit sounded weird:

One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor
down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could
not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What
we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

To the best of my knowledge, this was a quote by Otto Rank.  A quick
google threw up this webpage in the first few hits:
http://www.cybernation.com/victory/quotations/subjects/quotes_achievement.html

This is a collection of inspiring quotes about achievement (which I
guess one who look up when addressing a group of Harvard graduates)
and includes this section:


...
~ Phaedrus ~

The measure of a man is the way he bears up under misfortune.

~ Plutarch ~

What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

~ Otto Rank ~

The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone.
...


You see how, if you just read this section, it looks like the outer
reality quote is Plutarch's?  Well, the attribution is actually below
the quote! Oops!  Too bad she made up the story about going to the
Classics corridor in search of something she could not define and
finding this quote.  She must have taken a wrong turn and ended up in
the existential psychotherapy corridor instead! :D

Venky, the Second.

On Sun, Jun 8, 2008 at 7:56 PM, Danese Cooper [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pucdJHjZaqs

 If you'd like to listen to it.

 Danese

 p.s. This received really strange coverage on NPR yesterday.  Interviews
 with Harvard grads who were disappointed with the speech because JK isn't a
 world leader.  Listening to the speech I think she's giving pretty good
 advice here.  The radio piece was basically about how unrealistic, snobby
 and spoiled Harvard grads are.

 On Jun 8, 2008, at 5:47 AM, Bharat Shetty wrote:

 Via a friend. Strong fundas here and there.

 http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/06.05/99-rowlingspeech.html

 -- Bharat Shetty | http://freeshell.in/~codo

-- 
One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong.

Re: [silk] Rowling at Harvard

[Venky TV]

On Tue, Jun 24, 2008 at 3:09 PM, ss [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 On Tuesday 24 Jun 2008 2:35:38 pm Venky TV wrote:
 What
 we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

 Uncle Google lists this in pages containing quotes by Plutarch

So, she was not the only one who got caught out by this, eh?!

 http://www.cybernation.com/victory/quotations/subjects/quotes_achievement.h
tml

 Some quotes on this page (other than that attributed to Otto Rank) do not
 match up with the stated author. For example the quote below the Otto Rank
 quote can be Googled to throw up another name.

Well, at least they seem to have got this one right!
http://www.answers.com/otto%20rank (look for Quotes)

From his book Truth and Reality, I think. (Haven't read it, so can't be 
sure.)

Venky.

-- 
One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong.

Re: [silk] Rowling at Harvard

[Venky TV]

On Tue, Jun 24, 2008 at 3:09 PM, ss [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 On Tuesday 24 Jun 2008 2:35:38 pm Venky TV wrote:
 What
 we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

 Uncle Google lists this in pages containing quotes by Plutarch

So, she was not the only one who got caught out by this, eh?!

 http://www.cybernation.com/victory/quotations/subjects/quotes_achievement.h
tml

 Some quotes on this page (other than that attributed to Otto Rank) do not
 match up with the stated author. For example the quote below the Otto Rank
 quote can be Googled to throw up another name.

Well, at least they seem to have got this one right!
http://www.answers.com/otto%20rank (look for Quotes)

From his book Truth and Reality, I think. (Haven't read it, so can't be 
sure.)

Venky.

-- 
One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong.

Re: [silk] Yahan koi dyslexia-lysdexia nahin hai

[Venky TV]

On Sat, Apr 12, 2008 at 6:36 PM, Udhay Shankar N [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 The International Dyslexia Association says there is
 no consensus on the exact number because not all children are screened, but
 estimates range from 8 percent to 15 percent of students.

Oh, there is an International Dyslexia Association too?  I'd just
heard of DNA, the National Dyslexia Association.

Venky.

Re: [silk] The US of A is officially paranoid.

[Venky TV]

On Jan 24, 2008 10:06 AM, Charles Haynes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 To bring this back around to the start of the thread... it seems to me
 there would be a fair amount of selection bias in that.

Fair enough. I almost certainly haven't been to half the countries you
have! :)  And judging by news reports, more than a few of the European
governments seem to be getting very xenophobic.  I count myself lucky
I haven't needed to visit them. But of the countries I've been to --
some in the Schengen region, South America and Asia apart from the
United States -- the one that has makes me feel the most unwelcome
every time I land there is the US.  Unfortunate, because the people
I've met there have been among the friendliest. (Brazil and Spain
still top that list.)

 I don't know about you, but I tend to avoid countries with strongly xenophobic
 governments, being a xeno and all. What bothers me more than
 individually xeonophobia, is the apparent rise in isolationism
 globally.

Amen to that.

Venky, the Second.

Re: [silk] The US of A is officially paranoid.

[Venky TV]

On Jan 21, 2008 9:57 AM, Srini Ramakrishnan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 I assume that question largely went out to the Indians on the list who
 would fit nicely into the emigree-to-USA crowd. So, my additional
 question to them is, how safe do you feel about living in India?

 How safe do you feel when you are in the presence of a policeman,
 politician, government bureaucrat when you transact official business
 with them? Would your feelings change if you were from a different
 Indian ethnicity, perhaps a minority - religious, ethnic, geographical
 or a combination of those. How about a different economic condition,
 say much poorer or much richer.

 How safely do you think India protects your assets? What is your level
 of comfort in owning land for example, where the records system is
 usually without backup, and really has no protection against illegal
 modification?

 How confident are you that you will not be subject to illegal
 detention in the prisons you helped pay for with your taxes, and if
 you were ever to find yourself  in such a situation, how would you
 rate your chances of getting access to a free and fair trial and
 timely legal remedy?

 For all of the above questions, would your answer change significantly
 if you were in a strange part of the country with no access to your
 friends, powerful connections and money?

 How effectively do you think you would fit in with local society if
 you were to move to a different part of India, perhaps one where you
 don't speak the local language?

Most of these questions would work just as well if you are talking
about the United States.  I see your point about people being
naturally xenophobic.  What really scares me though is a xenophobic
government.  And of the countries I've visited, the most xenophobic is
quite definitely the United States right now.

Venky, the Second.

Re: [silk] Where to buy an unlocked iPhone?

[Venky TV]

On Jan 12, 2008 11:28 PM, Thaths [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 On Jan 12, 2008 9:30 AM, Aditya Chadha [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
  The unlock is _fairly_ easy, especially with [2] and [3].
 
  [1] http://www.tuaw.com/2007/11/09/iphone-elite-1-1-2-jailbroken/
  [2] http://jailbreakme.com/
  [3] 
  http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2007/10/16/anysim-graphical-unlock-for-111-iphones-released-instructions-for-installing/

 Ah! Thanks for those links. I was under the incorrect assumption that
 I needed to sign up with ATT even before I left the Apple store. I
 now understand that I buy a phone, walk home and am supposed to sign
 up with ATT from the privacy of my home. I intend to use my home for
 other purposes.

Just make sure you can actually unlock the 1.1.2 phone before you buy
it.  Last time I checked, there were no confirmed hacks available.
Even the links above have some caveats mentioned.

The unlock.no[1] site is a good place to start.  It still maintains
that phones shipping with 1.1.2 pre-installed (as opposed to those
which have been upgraded to 1.1.2) cannot be unlocked right now.  I
know a couple of people at work who have the new 1.1.2 phones which
they have not been able to unlock for phone calls.  Everything else
(WIFI, etc.) work fine.

Venky, the Second.

[1] http://iphone.unlock.no/

[silk] Mind Your Language

[Venky TV]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=029e27cc-99df-4664-8aba-ab8a6b43b2eeHeadline=Counterpoint%3a+Mind+Your+Language

Vir Sanghvi, Hindustan Times
December 15, 2007

Mind Your Language

Am I glad that I no longer edit a magazine or a newspaper? You bet!
It isn't that I mind the work -- I quite enjoy the thrill of putting
a publication together. My relief stems from something entirely
different. I no longer know what rules to apply when it comes to
language. There are so many variations of English floating around
that it has become almost impossible to decide what is a mistake and
what is acceptable usage; what is jargon and what is gibberish.

All Indian editors start out by watching out for the traditional
mistakes that are the trademark of sub-continental English.

Top of the list is the misuse of the word inform to mean said:
as in he informed. Then there are the Indian words like
air-dashed (the minister air-dashed to Delhi) or youngmen
which is really two words needlessly fused into one (and on par with
gangs of youths, another Indian usage). Nobody in India is ever
strangled, they are always strangulated (we like big words) and
there are few criminals, only miscreants.

The Indian obsession with polite euphemism is best captured by our
reluctance to admit that anybody has ever died. They have expired
(like a passport or a driving license) or passed away or, even,
left for heavenly abode. But the obsession with euphemism often
translates into mistakes -- few Indian newspapers bother to
distinguish between marriage or wedding (the actual ceremony) so
you will always read that there were 200 marriages in the city
yesterday so traffic was jammed. It isn't that I mind the work -- I
quite enjoy the thrill of putting a publication together.

Some of the Indian usages are regional. Gujaratis have colonised the
word fine to mean good to the extent that is part of our
language (bahu fine chhe) and as far as Bengalis are concerned,
all the maa-bahen gaalis mean nothing compared to the biggest insult
of them all: You are a nonsense!

North Indians and Punjabis contribute their own pronunciations and
usages to the glorious traditions of the English language. In my TV
job, I have to worry about pronunciation: why are there roits in
Ghaziabad and why are the loins dying in the Gir forest? Why
should the DMK pledge its sport to the Centre when all that the
Congress wanted was support? Why should India and Pakistan make a
giant declaration when a joint declaration would have been enough?

(There are some unintentionally funny moments though. A minister in
our Foreign Office during the last administration believed that his
British counterpart was called Jackie Straw -- because of the north
Indian tradition of putting an ee sound before an s as in
iskool, istudio. And when General Zia-ul-Haq called Imran Khan
the Lion of the Punjab, Benazir Bhutto retorted that in the Punjab,
they said lion when they meant loin -- which in Imran's case was
entirely appropriate.)

In print terms, however, the biggest problem for anyone editing copy
in Delhi these days is that ninety per cent of young journalists do
not know where to put the definite article -- where a or the go
in a sentence -- largely because they are not writing the English
very well. A second problem is that they have no sense of number.
Is police singular or plural? Why must every airline be treated as
plural (The airlines said that its pilots were on strike) for half
the sentence?

But, in defence of Indian English, there's a certain practical logic
to some of our usages. There may be no such word as prepone but if
there is postpone, then doesn't prepone capture the sense of
advancing something? And isn't relook crisper than take another
look?

Then, there are the literal translations from Hindi. We all say,
Isn't it? at the end of sentences when we mean the Hindi hai na?
And the misuse of only to mean the Hindi hee has been
immortalised in the Channel V slogan, We are like this only.

But we should recognise that it's not just Indians who misuse the
language. All over the world some mistakes have because so common
that we now accept the wrong usage over the correct one. For
instance, hopeful only means full of hope (as in I am hopeful
that we will win). But it has been twisted to mean with a bit of
luck as in, Hopefully, there will not be too much rain tomorrow.
Exotic simply means foreign. In Harold Evans' stylebook for journos
(Newsman's English), he famously noted an Italian peasant is as
exotic as Gina Lollobrigida. But we now use the word to mean
glamourous and unusual.

Americans routinely misuse English words so often that language
teachers have all but given up. In America, momentarily does not
mean for a moment but in a moment (I will be with you
momentarily). This usage doesn't make it into big city papers but
you find it in papers throughout the Midwest and on TV.

Some words are on the verge of losing their original meaning. Many

Re: [silk] Wikipedia

[Venky TV]

On Dec 10, 2007 4:09 PM, shiv sastry [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 If the the entire right wing are blamed for the latter, how is it wrong for
 the right wing to blame all Muslims for the former? Tit for tat group blame
 and group punishment after all.  If you can blame the entire right wing, you
 need to blame all Muslims, in order to be fair.

Not really.  By that line of reasoning, all right wing Muslims would
need to blamed -- the ones who explicitly or implicitly support
terrorism -- not all Muslims.

Not that I am supporting the concept of group blame, but this
particular argument sounds like a strawman to me.  Both right wing
Hindus and Muslims are being blamed here.  I don't really see a case
for religion-based discrimination.

Venky.

Re: [silk] Wikipedia

[Venky TV]

On Dec 10, 2007 6:55 PM, shiv sastry [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 So when did you last hear anyone blaming any Muslims, right wing or any wing
 for any bomb blasts?

 I only hear that terrorists have no religion but, on the other hand,
 Muslims get killed by right wing  Hindus.

I *have* encountered the phrase terrorists have no religion but
definitely not as often as the term Islamic fundamentalists or
Muslim extremists.  Most bomb blast reports in India routinely blame
Muslim militants anyway[1][2].

Venky.

[1] 
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Serial_blasts_claim_12_lives_in_Uttar_Pradesh/articleshow/2564801.cms
[2] http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=12840

Re: [silk] 10th Anniversary silkmeet

[Venky TV]

I'm in.

Venky, the Second.

On Dec 9, 2007 8:34 PM, Udhay Shankar N [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 The first message on Silklist [1] was sent on 19 December 1997. Next
 Wednesday, it'll be 10 years since that happened. Many generations in
 internet time, or even in dog years.

 Anybody wants to do a meetup where lots of beer is comsumed, and
 stories are traded?

 Discuss.

 Udhay

 [1] http://www.netropolis.org/silklist/msg3.html

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

Re: [silk] FoU camp - logistics

[Venky TV]

I'll be able to make it on the first day.  Which means there is
another car leaving from Jayanagar (close to Udhay's place).  Can
offer a ride to 3 people from that part of town.

In fact, I would insist on getting someone to ride with me.  I have a
terrible sense of direction and it's no fun being lost alone.

Venky, the Second.

On Nov 27, 2007 3:05 PM, Biju Chacko [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 On Nov 27, 2007 2:56 PM, Srini Ramakrishnan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
  On Nov 27, 2007 2:38 PM, Biju Chacko [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 
  [...]
  
   But seriously, Koramangala, BTM Layout  or JP Nagar are on my route --
   any of those would work for me.
 
  /me reserves seat on Biju's automobile - pickup location to be
  confirmed over voice channel

 Hmmm, so you and Ramki planning to arm wrestle for the last seat?

 -- b

Re: [silk] FoU camp - logistics

[Venky TV]

Just talked to Udhay.  The plan is for people who need transportation
and are close to that part of town to meet at Udhay's place.  Will
pick up people from there.

Venky.

On Nov 27, 2007 7:37 PM, Venky TV [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 I'll be able to make it on the first day.  Which means there is
 another car leaving from Jayanagar (close to Udhay's place).  Can
 offer a ride to 3 people from that part of town.

 In fact, I would insist on getting someone to ride with me.  I have a
 terrible sense of direction and it's no fun being lost alone.

 Venky, the Second.

Re: [silk] To FOU or not to FOU

[Venky TV]

On Nov 11, 2007 11:14 AM, Udhay Shankar N [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 A show of hands, please? Who's coming, and which location do you prefer?

Looks like I'll have to go out of town for a wedding that weekend.  I
might be able to make it at least one of the days if we are going to
Fireflies.  Will not be able to confirm BR Hills, though I'd
personally prefer that venue.

Venky.

Re: [silk] Meng Wong on what might happen if most spam disappears

[Venky TV]

Oops!  Sorry about the multiple posts!  After all the talk about the
iPhone, I decided to pick one up after all!  And it looks like if you
save a mail as draft on the iPhone, it decides to post a copy anyway,
as insurance! :)

Venky.

On 11/3/07, Venky [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 On Nov 3, 2007, at 7:56 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Suresh Ramasubramanian)
 wrote:

  From: Meng Weng Wong
  Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2007 17:47:27 -0700
  To: [a mailing list]
  Subject: antispam is working too well
  X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.752.2)
 
  you know, this just occurred to me...
 
  if somebody gets 1 phish a day, they figure out that phishing is a
  con, and they ignore it.
 

 But if you teach a man to phish, you feed him for a lifetime! :)

 Venky.
 

Re: [silk] the_new_nostradamus

[Venky TV]

On 11/1/07, Gautam John [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 The New Nostradamus
 Words By Michael A.M. Lerner
 Photos By Ethan Hill

 Can a fringe branch of mathematics forecast the future? A special
 adviser to the CIA, Fortune 500 companies, and the U.S. Department of
 Defense certainly thinks so.

Surprised nobody has mentioned Psychiohistory yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Psychohistory_%28fictional%29oldid=168201534

Not quite the same, but close enough.

Venky.

Re: [silk] SNAFU and FUBAR

[Venky TV]

 I overlooked only one thing: I have absolutely no sense of direction.
 After running for an hour, I noticed that Boston was not where I thought
 it was. After two hours, I was jogging past eerie, deserted factories.
 After three hours, my world was empty country roads in a pitch-dark
 blizzard.

 Peter Levine would have been proud of the way I eventually freaked out,
 stomping, kicking, and, yes, using strong language. My tantrum freed me
 to release my expectations of knocking this off in a few hours and
 accept that I was well and truly lost. This allowed me to narrow my
 focus to the immediate situation, and I immediately formulated a plan:
 Retrace my route by following my own footprints.

And then there are the studies that find venting increases anger and
aggression rather than dousing it! :)

http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/6/724

Does Venting Anger Feed or Extinguish the Flame? Catharsis,
Rumination, Distraction, Anger, and Aggressive Responding
Brad J. Bushman

Iowa State University, [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Does distraction or rumination work better to diffuse anger? Catharsis
theory predicts that rumination works best, but empirical evidence is
lacking. In this study, angered participants hit a punching bag and
thought about the person who had angered them (rumination group) or
thought about becoming physically fit (distraction group). After
hitting the punching bag, they reported how angry they felt. Next,
they were given the chance to administer loud blasts of noise to the
person who had angered them. There also was a no punching bag control
group. People in the rumination group felt angrier than did people in
the distraction or control groups. People in the rumination group were
also most aggressive, followed respectively by people in the
distraction and control groups. Rumination increased rather than
decreased anger and aggression. Doing nothing at all was more
effective than venting anger. These results directly contradict
catharsis theory.

--

Also:
http://www.physorg.com/news91899145.html

In study after study, subjects who vented anger against inanimate
objects, who vented directly against the person who induced their
anger, who vented hostility by playing football or who vented verbally
about an employer - all showed more resentment than those who had not
vented. In some experiments, venting led to aggression against
innocent bystanders. Even those who firmly believed in the value of
venting ended up more hostile and aggressive after thumping pillows or
engaging in other expressions of anger.

What people fail to realize is that the anger would have dissipated
had they not vented. Moreover, it would have dissipated more quickly
had they not vented and tried to control their anger instead, the
researchers wrote.

--

Peter Levine, by the way, is apparently the originator of something
called Somatic Experiencing which claims that trauma is due to
quoteun-discharged survival energy (that) remains stuck in the
body and the nervous system./quote[1]

Sounds slightly new-age to me!

Venky.

[1] http://www.traumahealing.com/intro.html

Re: [silk] A Wireless Revolution in India

[Venky TV]

On 10/29/07, Srini Ramakrishnan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 I don't think the iPhone wave will hit India as powerfully as it
 invaded the US. Indian carriers unlike their US counterparts probably
 won't bend over backwards to accomodate the iPhone.

This seems like a remarkably low-key launch, but I received an offer
for the iPhone along with my Citibank credit card statement yesterday.
 So, I guess the iPhone is here in India already.

http://www.deals4all.net/citinew/apple%20i%20phone.html

Took me quite by surprise.  I was not expecting it here until mid-2008.

The brochure says it works with all GSM networks, so I guess Apple was
not able to pull off an exclusive deal with any carrier here.

Venky.

Re: [silk] A Wireless Revolution in India

[Venky TV]

On 10/30/07, Srini Ramakrishnan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 On Oct 30, 2007 5:44 PM, Venky TV [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 [...]
  http://www.deals4all.net/citinew/apple%20i%20phone.html
 
  Took me quite by surprise.  I was not expecting it here until mid-2008.

 Interesting, the ones in my workplace are from the US and hacked to work here.

And the weird part is that Apple was quoted as saying that the iPhone
will launch in Asia in 2008 just a couple of days ago! [1]  I would
have instantly assumed somebody is selling hacked iPhones illegally
here if this offer had not been delivered through Citibank!  Am still
wondering if that is the case.  Would be one amazingly bold move! :)

Venky.

[1] 
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Telecom/Mobile_cos_activate_plans_to_copy_Apple_tune/articleshow/2498318.cms

Re: [silk] A Wireless Revolution in India

[Venky TV]

On 10/30/07, Gautam John [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 Could you look at the wording on the pamphlet carefully please? I recall 
 seeing a weasel word/phrase. Something such as get ready for the iPhone or 
 some such..

Doesn't seem to be the case here.  I called them up yesterday.  They
are taking orders for it right now and promising to deliver in 15
days!  Something does seem rotten here.  Can't figure out what.

Venky.

Re: [silk] A Wireless Revolution in India

[Venky TV]

On 10/30/07, Neha Viswanathan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 You can apparently also buy the iphone on Rediff Shopping.
 http://shop.rediff.com/shop/searchv3_gall.jsp?shop=AllQuery=iphoneSearch=Search

Ah, ok!  This clarifies matter somewhat.  A bunch of small time
operators selling hacked iPhones.  This is bound to be illegal.  Still
amazed that something like this made it into Citibank's offers to its
cardmembers!

Venky.

Re: [silk] A Wireless Revolution in India

[Venky TV]

On 10/30/07, Udhay Shankar N [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 shiv sastry wrote: [ on 09:23 PM 10/30/2007 ]

   operators selling hacked iPhones.  This is bound to be illegal.  Still
   amazed that something like this made it into Citibank's offers to its
   cardmembers!
 
 Is there a presumption here that Citibank's activities are all above board?

 The presumption, at least from my side, is that as a large MNC,
 Citibank is likely to be subject to more scrutiny (and has more to
 lose) than a fly-by-night operator.

Exactly.  I don't expect big business to be trustworthy.  They just
happen to have a lot more to lose from actions like these.  Apple
would find it much more difficult to go after the small time crooks as
compared to a Citibank partner.  I'm sure there would be a lot of
small print absolving Citibank of any actual responsibility, but some
of the mud is bound to stick.

Venky.

Re: [silk] A Wireless Revolution in India

[Venky TV]

On 10/31/07, shiv sastry [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 In fact I believe that in India and in countries where the rule of law is a
 gleam in some reformer's eye, large corporations such as Citibank actually
 employ small time crooks to implement at least some of their policies and
 help ensure that their bottom-lines stay healthy and their meter keeps
 ticking

Sure.  Could happen anywhere.  Breaking the law can be a perfectly
sound business decision if the benefits outweigh the risks.  In this
particular case, the risks far outweigh the benefits.  Citibank stands
to gain very little, and lose a lot.  Which is why I would have
expected them to be a little more careful than they seem to have been
here.

Venky.

Re: [silk] Fascism?

[Venky TV]

On 10/3/07, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 On 10/3/07, ashok_ wrote:

 If people are gullible enough to believe something,
 they should be allowed to.

 Well..I would take exception, on principle, to that word gullible,
 which I think is a value judgement. In matters of religious faith,
 there are only different beliefs..

Isn't that what gullibility is all about -- belief in something illogical?

 if someone has a belief that hes
 horse is the tenth avatar of Vishnu, do I have rationally acceptable
 proof to the contrary?

Why would you need to provide proof?  It would be up to the believer
to do that.  Until that happens, you are perfectly justified in
assuming the person is gullible.  (Well, technically not gullible in
this case -- just cuckoo -- unless it was someone else who convinced
him his horse is divine.)

 It is only when people begin interfering with
 others' lives in the name of those beliefs that mischief brews.

This make a leap from gullibility to being a menace to society.  I did
not see any such correlation implied here.

Venky (the Second).

Re: [silk] Fascism?

[Venky TV]

On 10/4/07, Biju Chacko [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 I'd say gullibility would be belief in something illogical without
 realising it's illogical. Religious belief  (very often) is a
 conscious choice to believe in something irrational.

Fair enough, though I'd expect the majority of the hard-core religious
believers to be of the former kind.  Like the ones who ignore evidence
to the contrary and continue believing that the world was created in 7
days or that Adam's bridge was built by humans, just because a holy
book says so.

  Venky (the Second).

 I think you'd be Venky (the Third) because

 a. There were at least two silklist Venkys before you.

 b. Somehow the third seem appropriate for you. viz
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Madness_of_King_George

I know only one other Venky here.  The other one is a Venkat.  Nah
nah nah nah naaah nah! So there!

Venky (the Second)

Re: [silk] Introduction

[Venky TV]

Hey Jim,

Welcome to Silk!  We've talked often on the OpenSolaris mailing lists.
 Looking forward to meeting you at FOSS.IN.  I could certainly use
some help getting some of the Linux zealots here to try out
OpenSolaris! :)  (Biju, you there?!)

Venky.

On 8/22/07, Jim Grisanzio [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 Hi ...

 I'm new to this list, so I thought I'd say hello. :)

 I run community development projects for Sun on the OpenSolaris project
 and have done so for 4 years now. I moved to Japan last year to focus on
 open source in Asia. I'll be traveling to Bangalore for the first time
 for FOSS.IN in December and Sun's Tech Days in February. So, I'd love to
 get to know more people in India since I hope to visit very often. More
 info at my bio: http://blogs.sun.com/jimgris/page/bio

 Jim
 --
 Jim Grisanzio http://blogs.sun.com/jimgris

Re: [silk] Douglas Adams

[Venky TV]

Another Venky on this list? Reminds me of the time when I worked in a
cubicle farm for Citicorp way back in 1992. When someone shouted Venky,
five heads would pop up :-) You could shout Subbu with the same results.


Oh yeah!  That happens all the time!  I have a slightly more
interesting problem in that if you shout Venky at home, three heads
will pop up - dad, brother and me.  My family is remarkably
unimaginative when it comes to names.


Welcome to Silk List.


Thanks!

Venky, the second.

Re: [silk] Douglas Adams

[Venky TV]

Does anyone know why a book by Douglas Adams is called The salmon of
doubt?


That is a takeoff on the Irish myth of the Salmon of Knowledge.
http://www.allaboutirish.com/library/tales/demne.shtm

Considering this is my first post on this list, I guess some sort of
introduction would be in order - but sorry, I'm terrible at 'em.

Venky.