நுண்மாண் நுழைபுலம்

The Omegle Reading List

2010-08-01T20:14:00.012+05:30

This post needs a backstory to make any sense - so, here goes.

I was on StumbleUpon two days back when I came across Omegle. It looked interesting, and I decided to give it a try. My theory: If you type "Do you like to read?" in an chat window, any pervert on the other end would quit. This seemed to work, for the first few people I got connected with disconnected almost immediately. I also got a reply of "Yes, I love Twilight"- I disconnected.

But after that, I got someone who said that s/he loved to read. It led on to the question - Can you suggest something for me? Well, from the books that that person talked about, I suggested Contact, and asked for a suggestion in return. The result? "Flowers for Algernon", by Daniel Kayes. After I ended the chat, I realised that I had just gotten a book recommendation from someone whom I knew absolutely nothing about. If I tried this a few more times, what sort of collection would I end up with?

For some time now, I've noticed that I read a lot but I stick to a few genres and authors. Asking for book recommendations on a world-wide chat forum would be sure to break this cycle. So, I typed this up and pasted it on the chat after the initial question.

This is my plan - Get 10 book recommendations from anonymous people here, read as many of them as possible, put up a review of each of them on my blog. So far, I've got:

-------List of books-----

Can you give me your favourite to add to this list?

In a surprisingly short time, and with not many disconnections, (People do love to read) I got this list:

Flowers for Algernon
Ranger's Apprentice
Tomorrow when the war began
The girl with the dragon tattoo
We were soldiers once, and young
Of Mice and Men
The five people you meet in heaven
Maximum Ride
Silence of the lambs
The shark net

So, that's the story behind the Omegle reading list. I'm planning to read as many of these I can get my hands on.

When am I hoping to finish it? I have no idea. I'm just replacing my usual reading with these. I'm not putting off any other stuff (and there's a lot) in order to complete the list.

Will I finish the list? Hopefully.

Will I like all of them? Probably not.

Will the books teach me something new, and broaden my mind on one or two things? Almost definitely, yes. (A theoretical physicist has to remember the small but finite probability of anything.)

Right now, the time I have for reading is pretty short, but I think I can get another 30-40 minutes more if I quit random browsing and Zynga. I've started off the project by borrowing Silence of the Lambs.

Let's see how this turns out.

Sparkly sexist vampires > Space-Time curvature?

2010-07-09T16:43:00.011+05:30

I haven't blogged for over three months. I did map out a number of posts, some on paper, some in my mind, but I never got around to sitting down and typing them out. But I came across something on the Web just now which I have to SCREAM about.

It's this:

The top search suggestion on Google for 'step' is Stephenie Meyer! Take a look at the people 'below' her - the second name is Stephen Hawking, and two steps down, there's Stephen King, who is one of the best writers of horror fiction. And as for Hawking....

My sister gave me Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" for my 16th birthday. I don't think I've ever held a book so reverently, or learnt so much from a single book after that. In it, Dr.Hawking presents cosmological concepts and theories in a simple narrative style, chapter after chapter. When I studied cosmology in M.Sc, I found that the theories in the book are a little oversimplified. But why did I study cosmology? Stephen Hawking was definitely a reason. His book is an inspiration to thousands, if not millions of young students. It is also an excellent resource for the even larger population who are curious about the Universe but have lost touch with mathematics.

So, what do I have against Stephenie Meyer? Absolutely nothing, except that all she has done is write the Twilight 'Saga.' (ugh)

I don't hate Twilight because hating it is fashionable. I hate it because I did read the books - I read the 50-odd pages in the first three books that remain if you skip the 'Edward is so handsome' parts. As for Breaking Dawn, I read it till the wedding and stopped because my pharyngeal reflex works. Talking about the Twilight 'Saga' is redundant, as the bad writing, sexism, and sparkly vampires in it have been discussed very well.

When more people are interested in the person who wrote Twilight than the person who wrote A Brief History of Time, all I can say is:

'நெஞ்சு பொறுக்கு திலையே - இந்த
நிலைகெட்ட மனிதரை நினைத்துவிட்டால்'

அன்னையர் தினம்

2010-04-22T14:40:00.006+05:30

அன்னையர் தின நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்!

Happy Mother's Day!

Clean Surfing

2010-03-14T15:27:00.019+05:30

The Internet is the biggest single source of knowledge in the history of humankind. The problem is that it's not a source of facts,just knowledge that ranges from hard facts to absolute nonsense.

This wide spectrum leads to the accidental viewing of dirty images or animations and profanity while you are doing serious research. Removing the unnecessary elements can make browsing faster and much more enjoyable. For a family computer, filtering these elements is a necessity rather than a convenience. In this post, I am going to run through the steps to filter out unnecessary images, flash videos, advertisements and profanity.

Here is an example of a webpage with all elements present. I've chosen one with clean graphics.

(A note here - Advertisements are how Websites get their revenue, so blocking them is unethical in a way. I prefer to let the site load, take a look at the content and then unblock the advertisements - the sites don't lose revenue, and no weird images burn themselves onto my hard disk.)

Now, here are the steps to remove the unnecessary stuff:

Install Mozilla Firefox – the latest version. As it is open source, the browser is much easier to customize.

Install the following add-ons:

Image Switcher - This add-on lets you stop loading images with a single click. It's a good idea to block images while browsing, especially when using StumbleUpon. After the text in the page load, you can decide whether to load the images or not.
Adblock Plus– This gets rid of most of the unnecessary images. But after installing, you may still see some advertisements that are flash based. The next add-on takes care of this.
Flashblock – This replaces all streaming videos, flash based ads, forms, animations with a button. If you want to play one of the animations, all it needs is a single click. It is easily customizable, so that you can allow some sites to automatically load flash.
Greasemonkey: This add-on lets you run scripts in your browser. This is not useful for our purpose by itself, but it is necessary for the next step.
Profanity filter - This is the script which runs using Greasemonkey. It is an experimental script, but it works fine for me on Ubuntu 9.10 with Firefox. It replaces all swear words with ***. To check the amount of profanity it protects you from, check the source code here.
Disable pop-ups - This does not need an add-on, just use the preferences in Firefox.

Now, here's the result:

Happy Surfing!

Hypatia of Alexandria

2010-03-08T16:02:00.013+05:30

This post is a tribute to one of the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world, Hypatia (Yπατία) of Alexandria.

Hypatia at the School of Athens by Raphael

Hypatia was born between 350 and 370 A.D to the mathematician Theon Alexandricus, a librarian of the Library of Alexandria. She was trained in Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy and Philosophy, and was a Neoplatonist philosopher. She travelled to Athens and Italy to study (something unheard of for women at the time), and rose to the position of the Head of the Platonist school at Alexandria, where she taught the philosophy of Plato and Socrates to her students, some of whom travelled large distances to study under her.

She preferred to dress in the style of men and drive her chariot herself. She had a large number of students who were from Greece as well as other countries. Though most of her works have been lost in the dark ages, some of those we know about are:

A commentary on the 13-volume Arithmetica by Diophantus.
A commentary on the Conics of Apollonius
Edited the existing version of Ptolemy's Almagest
Edited her father's commentary on Euclid's Elements (According to one account, when she was 19)
She wrote a text "The Astronomical Canon."(Possibly a new edition of Ptolemy's Handy Tables.)

She was a good engineer as well, and some of the inventions credited to her are the hydrometer, and a version of the astrolabe.

So...what was the fate of this remarkable woman? The church condemned her as a witch and accused her of bewitching the Imperial Prefect, Orestes. One day, on her way to work, she was mobbed by a group of men. She was pulled off her chariot, (by her hair according to one source) dragged through the city, and brought to a church called Caesarion. Here, she was stripped, and killed by scraping the skin off her body with broken tiles and shells. Her body was torn to pieces and burnt, and her bones scattered on the ground to bleach in the sun.

Carl Sagan talks about Hypatia:

Throughout history, Hypatia has been hailed as a saint, and condemned as a witch and a pagan. She has recently been sainted as a Virian Saint by the Church of Virus. In my opinion, Hypatia was a person who devoted her life to the pursuit of knowledge, and died because of her gender. The motive for her murder might have been political, but the actual deed – stripping and flaying, then leaving her bones in the sun - shows the fear that men have always had of an intelligent woman. If killing a person because of their identity makes them a martyr, Hypatia is a martyr to the feminist cause. She is, in a way, a Feminist Saint.

For her on Women's Day:

போற்றி போற்றி! ஓர் ஆயிரம் போற்றி! நின்

பொன்ன டிக்குப்பல் லாயிரம் போற்றிகாண்

More Sketches....

2010-01-04T08:38:00.004+05:30

I tried sketching the kids in my family...

Types of Atheism

2010-01-03T19:04:00.004+05:30

When I tell people that I don't believe in God, I'm usually asked whether I follow someone's teachings. Or if I belong to a certain political party, or if I'm a communist. Actually, I do not satisfy any of these criteria. I am an atheist because I cannot understand the miracles God(s) is supposed to have performed, or the answers to prayers devotees receive. For every answered prayer, there are thousands left unanswered, and for every life saved by a miracle, there are at least a thousand unnecessary, unjust, deaths.

Why do people assume that all atheists have something in common? Do atheists form a group, like the devotees of a certain God? I don't think so, because people become atheists for several reasons, as different and varied as the people are. However, an atheist usually fits one of the following types:

The Moderate Atheist: The vast majority of atheists – they mind their own business, try not to hurt other's feelings, and would like it if others do the same.

The Spiritual Atheist: One who does not believe in God, but believes in Spiritualism and Numinosity. If you know someone who goes into raptures at the sight of a beautiful idol, but does not believe in God, you know what a spiritual atheist is.

The 'Robin Hood' Atheist: Someone who is an atheist but uses the infrastructure provided by a religious institution to help humanity. In a sense, they rob the rich to serve the poor while acting against their conscience everyday.

The Militant Atheist: The supposed threat to humanity, though I doubt a single death can be attributed to them. Of course, no terrorist is religious, right?

The Forced Worshipper: One who is an atheist but is not free to speak the truth, maybe even on pain of death.

The Scared Atheist: One who does not believe for any reason except to escape Hell. Anyone who thinks Pascal's Wager makes sense, really!

Side-Effect Atheists: People who convert to atheism due to their love for a person, place or thing.

Mindless Atheists: Those who are atheists because their parent/parents do not believe in God, and not due to any self examination or thought, including asking their parents why they do not believe in God.

The Fluctuating Atheist: One who is an atheist for a year, a believer for a couple of years, again an atheist... This may be done knowingly, weighing current benefits over their personal beliefs and opinions, or simply because they have no opinion of their own.

The God-hater: Not an atheist at all, just hates God for something 'He' didn't provide. Selfishness personified!

The Escapist Atheist: One who uses atheism as an excuse to not have a conscience. These are hardened criminals – it doesn't matter what they use this excuse for.

The Hypocritical Atheist: One who proclaims to be an atheist while secretly believing in God. In some cases they are more vocal than true atheists. These people check the panjangam to do anything, even when there are no believers involved. Wearing a particular colour and consulting an astrologer while disparaging God – prime example.

The Religious Atheist: One who pretends to pray but does not have faith - for very selfish reasons. Corrupt priests in all religions are the perfect examples for this.

Gimp+Digital Pen = Fast sketches

2009-12-30T07:29:00.008+05:30

I've bought a new digital pen - a Genius G-pen 4500, to be exact. For the first few days, I was trying to write and draw with it without hurting my wrist. Then, I tried using it with Gimp, and came up with these:

This is my favourite style of sketching - using a photograph, getting the major details and playing with the minor ones. Only now, I just have the photo on a layer beneath the sketch instead of by the side of my sketching pad. Which, according to my nephew is Cheating!!!!

In this one, I tried playing around with the Gaussian Blur feature to give a smudged effect.
This is of one of my friends - doesn't look much like her as I played around with everything from face shape to accessories.

Finally, just to prove to myself that I can sketch men's faces:

The best thing about these is that they took me around 5-10 minutes from start to finish. So, what do you think? Leave a comment, please!

A song in my head

2009-12-16T08:10:00.005+05:30

According to the wise lady at the junk drawer,the best way to get rid of a song stuck in your head is to give it to someone else.

This golden oldie has been inside my head for two whole days, and though I like the song (The only part I like in the entire 'classic' movie), it's getting to be too much. So, everyone, help yourself:

www.onlinetamilmp3.com - Engalukkum Kaalam

Found at abmp3 search engine

Norman Rockwell's 'School Fight'

2009-12-06T21:16:00.009+05:30

I came across this on a Norman Rockwell gallery on the Saturday Evening Post site. (Thanks, StumbleUpon.) Just had to put it up here.

Here's the link to the original page.

Parasites in the Medical Field - I

2009-12-02T13:04:00.007+05:30

Most people can't stand doctors. This is a bitter fact, due to the sheer number of their negative experiences with the medical profession. These experiences are not due to the doctors who truly care about their patient's overall health, those who take time to examine the patient and explain why the patient presents the symptoms she feels, or those who go even further by giving the patient advice on her life and career. They are not even due to doctors who seem short tempered and rushed, but are efficient in providing what the patient needs.

The negative experiences are due to the conceited, insecure, judgmental, completely money-minded people who make up at least 75% of the medical profession. These are the ones who come to mind when anyone talks about doctors. These are the parasites, who are ruining the reputations of the wonderful people I wrote about in the first paragraph.

There was an article in the Reader's Digest a couple of years back titled “41 Secrets Your Doctor Would Never Share.” Some of the people interviewed have said what their patients have known for ages – that they are impatient, care only about money, and can't stand it when the patient shows any sign of intelligence. And, there are other comments which show the doctors' compassion and professionalism. Some of them have used the article to share valuable information with their patients, which they would not be able to do in their consulting rooms. The personalities of the people interviewed showed through very clearly in their comments.

In the next few posts, I'm going to post some of the comments and what I felt about them. I'll start off with their genuine advice to patients and their concerns, not the negative stuff.

One of the things that bug me is people who leave their cell phones on. I'm running on a very tight schedule, and I want to spend as much time with patients as I possibly can. Use that time to get the information and the process you need. Please don't answer the cell.
--James Dillard, MD, pain specialist, New York City

An excellent point. Banning cellphones from a doctor's waiting room and office would save a lot of time for the doctor as well as the patients. But I once saw a doctor who talked on her cordless phone for fifteen minutes while I was sitting next to her. She was swinging back in her chair, too. I learnt a lot about her family, their educational qualifications, their professions, the various countries they live in, and the climate in all those countries that day - General Knowledge! And I had my semester exam the next day – please, people, be considerate!

Many patients assume that female physicians are nurses or therapists. I can't tell you how often I've introduced myself as Dr. M. and then been called a nurse, therapist, or aide and asked to fetch coffee or perform other similar tasks. I have great respect for our nurses and other ancillary personnel and the work they do, but this doesn't seem to happen to my male colleagues.
--Physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor, Royal Oak, Michigan

My sister is a Civil Assistant Surgeon in the Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. You know what most of her patients, their attendants and other official visitors call her? “Sister!” It doesn't matter that she has an M.D in General Medicine, examines 150 patients every day at her morning O.P, and works 24 hour shifts as a duty doctor. She's female, so she's a nurse, whether she's wearing a doctor's coat or an apron and hat. And it seems this attitude is universal. Oh, good! There is also an assumption that all female doctors are “Lady doctors” or gynecologists.

Another point about the same comment - aren't good medical technicians and nurses worth their weight in gold? Why should anyone ask a nurse or therapist to perform a menial task? While most good doctors and paramedics are ready to do anything in an emergency, being told to do a task seems too much.

…. TBC

Open Book, Read a few lines, take a deep breath...

2009-11-26T07:40:00.009+05:30

When I write clues for my cryptic crosswords, I use my Dictionary extensively. I give it quite a workout, and I remember to breathe deeply while I'm doing it. You know why? Because this little girl and I have something in common.

Of course, I'm not the only one who does this. Some people are trying to cash in on this, too. A company has introduced a product - "New book smell in a can" to make ebooks seem more real. I love ebooks, and something that can actually make them better seems like a good idea. (Of course, there is no ordering information available – hoax alert #1!)

But why do books smell good? It's definitely not the freshness of the paper. In fact, old book smell is due to several organic gases that are released as the paper and glue in the book decay. And new book smell? Probably due to the printing ink. So that's what we like! Problem solved - or maybe not...

Some time back, I was looking at a pop-up book with my niece. I took a good sniff, of course, and the smell was very familiar. I didn't have to think too long, for memories came up rapidly – A large book with a laminated cover - A huge white moon with a smiling face on the first page - A deep blue sky with stars, Russian style – Heavy, textured paper – Windows and doors and pop-outs in the pages – The cool table top under my arm - sunlight through the open window in front... The children's section in the Devaneya Paavanar Library.

I also remembered going to get the book issued, and the librarian pointing to the REFERENCE sign, saying “You cannot take out the books in that shelf. Books like dictionaries are kept there because everyone will need them, also books that are very expensive. Because not everyone knows how to handle books - other children may tear it.”

I owe that librarian a great deal. She was perfect for a children's library – sweet, encouraging, and never putting a finger to her lips. She made the library a nice place to spent time in, not just to come in when I needed a book. And I hadn't thought of her in a few years.

Printing ink and organic gases? Synaptic memory in the olfactory lobe? No,there's a simpler explanation which also explains the joy of reading – IT'S MAGIC!

Lest We Forget...

2009-11-26T07:03:00.004+05:30

Perfectly normal crimes against women

2009-11-22T17:42:00.012+05:30

It's been raining in Chennai for almost three weeks. There's one thing I love about the rains – I get to wear my raincoat! It's brown, thick, long and big enough to cover me with my handbag, and has a nice visor which keeps the rain off my glasses. I look like a witch in it – not a cute witch from Harry Potter but like a proper hag from Macbeth.

Obviously, when I wear my raincoat, I don't get wet. But you know what I do get? Totally non-creepy offers for lifts by men on two wheelers (which I can't accept), lower fares in autos, and a nice walk in the rain without any stares or catcalls. Why? It's a men's raincoat that I bought it to test out the 'men's clothes are comfortable while women's clothes just look good' theory, and only part of my face is visible when I wear it. It makes me look more like an adolescent boy than a woman. And that's the difference.

Till these things happened to me, I didn't realize why I saw only women stranded at the bus stops when the city goes underwater. And, I'd always ignored all the catcalls I got when I walked with an umbrella. Sometimes I blamed myself for getting my clothes wet and looking 'indecent'. Just like all women in Chennai. It's one thing to know that women are oppressed, but realizing that I was actually accepting some of society's perversions as normal...too much!

Fascinating new facts on mosquitoes (or) Sani peyarchi nonsense

2009-10-03T07:21:00.001+05:30

There are some intriguing things about mosquitoes that most people don't know. Of course, all of us know that mosquitoes range from the totally harmless ones which don't even bite humans, to the dangerous ones which spread Dengue and Malaria.

The difference between them? When a mosquito is born, it is influenced by the positions of Mt. Everest, Mt Ranier, Mt. Kilimanjaro and K2. These positions decide several things in the mosquito's life, like whether it is going to live long enough to bite someone, whether it will carry a disease, whether it will infect a person with a disease, and whether the infection will be lethal.

Mosquitoes' brains are well attuned to the positions of these four mountains. By analyzing them, a mosquito can decide whether the human it is planning on biting is susceptible to infection or capable of killing it. It can also send a telepathic signal to the mountain responsible, and protect itself from being swatted.

What? I'm crazy? Why? It's a perfectly logical argument!

Mountains don't move? Well, a mosquito is the center of its personal universe, so if it moves, the mountains also move, relatively speaking. Then? Mountains cannot control mosquitoes' lives? Why not? Oh, because mountains are made of rocks, and are not sentient?

Well then, why all this fuss about Sani Peyarchi?

With all the media coverage, the crowd in temples and the crores of money people are spending on pujas to Saneeswaran, one might think the apocalypse is taking place. If it was an everyday event, people would rather use the money to eradicate poverty, right?

The fact is, it is an everyday event. Astronomically speaking, Saturn (Sani) has done nothing but travel in its orbit, as regularly as it has done for millenia. For us, watching from our fixed vantage point o Earth, the constellation behind it has changed. The constellation Leo was in the same direction as Saturn before, now that Saturn has moved, Virgo is in the same direction.

The planets in our solar system are never part of the constellations of stars. Saturn lies a mere 1.2 billion km from us, while the constellations are light years away. There is really nothing linking the stars in a constellation together – the individual stars are separated by light years of vacuum and radiation. For example, the constellation Leo has stars ranging from a distance of 7.7 light years to 336 light years from earth.

Can a gas giant's path through space affect human beings, who are even less significant than mosquitoes on Earth on the astronomical scale?

I have a great respect for ancient Indian astronomy, and for people who really believe in God. But in this Sani peyarchi nonsense, there is no regard for astronomy, or faith. It's just superstition! And for superstition, there's just one word that fits: வெங்காயம்!

Why I like Ubuntu

2009-09-30T06:47:00.002+05:30

I switched to Ubuntu Linux sometime back. And after that, anyone I see gets a “Switch to Ubuntu” speech.

Why do I love Ubuntu? Simple, because Ubuntu is free. Free as in...

Free: The simplest meaning of the word – no price tag.

Free disk space: The Ubuntu OS needs a surprisingly small amount of hard disk space and RAM. And all the applications written for Ubuntu are small, or rather, tiny. The files created by Ubuntu applications are smaller too. This means plenty of free disk space, and better performance.

Freedom from proprietary software: A Windows machine needs proprietary software to do anything more than type unformatted text or create very simple bitmap files. Using the system for anything else means spending a small fortune each year to keep the system up to date, or the other alternative.

Ubuntu has open source alternatives for most Windows applications. For example, the document reader can handle .djvu, .cbr and .pdf files, each of which require a special software to read in Windows. And for graphics, there's Gimp, which I prefer to Photoshop – much more intuitive. (I'm an amateur, not a CG professional. I know people prefer Photoshop and Mac for really high-end graphics). There's also Blender, a 3D modelling software that's free and open-source.

And of course, Ubuntu does not need the most tyrannical type of software – you know, the one which slows down your system, requires updates every week, and once your annual license expires is absolutely useless, not just outdated? And after all that trouble, not 100% effective?
Well, Ubuntu does not need Antivirus Software, because its...

Free from viruses. Actually, there have been viruses in Linux systems. Now, for comparison, check here.

Free, efficient tech support: An Ubuntu user is a part of a community, not a customer who has to depend on the vendor for support. In Ubuntu, all it takes is a single Internet search to get the answer. The Ubuntu forums are terrific, with people explaining the 'how and why' of a problem before giving clear instructions on how to solve your problem. This is the best part of using Ubuntu IMHO.

And best of all, I never have to see this nasty thing which had the audacity to turn up at the end of one of my nightmares. Take that BsoD!

Just a note: The stuff mentioned here holds good for all Linux distributions, not just Ubuntu. This page gives a comparative analysis of most of the distributions.
Here's the link to download Ubuntu, and some tips on switching to Linux from Windows.

Thanks to boygeniusreport.com for the image

First Post!

2009-09-15T22:37:00.001+05:30

செப்டம்பர் 15 - பேரறிஞர் அண்ணா பிறந்த நாள்.
என் வலைப்பதிவைத் துவக்க இதை விட நன்னாள் எது?

I will be writing in both தமிழ் and English.
What should my first post be about? Please suggest!

Physics
Astrophysics
Crosswords
Feminism
Bus
Books