Colorado Calling…

•August 26, 2009 • Leave a Comment

The Rockies were definitely in my “100 places to visit in your lifetime” list. Well, sometimes you do get the chance to realize your dreams. Here are some of the photos I took at Rocky Mountain National Park. And trust me, these photographs don’t do justice to the place itself…

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Thanks to Mmanu for letting me use his camera for these shots. And also to Ted and Alan for showing us around Colorado. They, to a certain extent, forced me to change my opinion on the kindness of strangers…

I was able to upload only 3 pics over here. If you wish to see more of the rockies – check out the following links -

Not exactly great photography – but at a place like that you don’t have to be a great photographer to get good shots…

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To which category do you belong?

•August 21, 2009 • 4 Comments

What’s there in an internet browser?

Well if you ask me – the internet browser you use matters a lot  – even noobs (people for whom the web is google, some email site and you-tube) tend to display browser loyalty – they find changing browsers very irritating (which I feel is the primary reason behind IE’s amazing longevity).  So although some of us may not be aware of the same (check out this video to see what I mean), our internet browser means a lot to most of us.

Now I have only used the following browsers so far -

IE – In my humble opinion – inconvenient and slow and unsafe  except for filling in certain online forms of certain agencies (such as the US government) which, I suspect, have secret deals with the Microsoft to ensure that their forms only work on IE. Or maybe they just have bad coders in their web-ops dept. (In case you need web-ops help of any kind – see notes [1] below)

Firefox – safe, powerful, convenient – lots of tools and features – the best general purpose browser out there.

Opera – terrible – have no idea why people use it except for the pseud looks (Opera is a bit like the prom queen who looks good from afar but turns out to be a shopaholic airhead when you get to know her)

Google Chrome – not as bad as Opera but terrible nonetheless (I guess I’m being a bit biased over here – chrome is a classic case of high expectations resulting in terrible disappointment…)

So technically,given the fact that I have not used Safari, I have no right to criticize or poke fun at Safari users. However some time back I had chanced upon this table during one of my random dives into the net, and while clearing up the old junk from my laptop – I felt it would be unfair to my readers if I just deleted this image without putting it up on my blog…

To which category do you belong? :D

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Notes -

1. In case you need web-ops help of any kind please contact this guy – he is prone to spontaneous displays of his uber-fast typing skills – but otherwise I guess he’s the sort of guy who could handle high pressure international web based diplomatic situations pretty well – just beware of his project hijacking tendency)

2. Although I haven’t used safari – I hate apple interfaces in general – another case of beauty being only skin deep – you get this suave futuristic white box which looks pretty and is good for absolutely zilch. Finally, I guess these days we live in a world where Windows are a necessary evil. (especially true for us guys @ IITM, where monkeys tend to pillage your room if you leave your windows open, and you suffocate/sweat to death if you leave them closed)

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Announcement…

•August 19, 2009 • 1 Comment

“The holly days and jolly days are over”

Well guys (and gals if any) – I  was blogging regularly (at least copy pasting old stories and articles) all through the vacations during my internship at CSU, but sadly those jolly days are over. Now I’m back at IITM and work has piled up (besides I am running out of old articles to put). So for the next few months, posts on this blog will be intermittent and non-regular at best. I’ll try to put up some stuff every few weeks but I guess I’ll be getting back to the 1 post/week schedule only once the winter break kicks off this December. My apologies for the same.

Do keep checking out this blog every month or so in case you are interested – besides I would definitely suggest checking out the old archives (short stories like “Faster…” and “Dead Man Talking”) in case you have time to waste and if you haven’t done so already…

Your not so vetti blogger,

Anubhav

The Sanctity of Science

•August 1, 2009 • 1 Comment

Often we find new age philosophers and anti-atheists comparing science to a religion. Scientists and researchers are said to be the modern versions of Aztec priests (Aztec priests mind you, not Christian ones, nor Islamic mullahs, nor Hindu gurus – No, scientists are Aztec and Incan priests – preachers of old antiquated religions which are accepted as myths at best and hogwash at worst by most of the world’s populace). Recently I came across a statement, the view of a very religious (and probably as a result, a very good and pious) man – It’s harder to have faith in a belief such as evolution than it is to have faith in creationism.

You also find pseudo-scientists, whom I like to call pseudo-science buffs, who criticize modern science for its failings, and, in the same breath, use the same to justify pseudo-scientific claims. To me the claims and statements made by these people sound something like this (in terms of logical infallibility of the statements made) – “OK guys, not giving equal opportunities to the wheel-chair bound is really unfair, hence it should be obvious to anybody with an ounce of common sense that making provisions such as elevators and ramps for them is a very wrong thing to do, and that people promoting such measures are really evil people with very deep plans for world domination.” In short such statements are sometimes so absurd, that they’re not hilarious any more, they’re disgusting.

Let me make a brief comparison of Science, religion and “pseudo-science” -

Science promotes questioning, curiosity and re-evaluation.  In science all hypotheses and new discoveries/explanations have to go through an extremely rigorous (any PhD student would say too rigorous) set of tests before being accepted as facts and “scientific knowledge” by the scientific community at large. Also science does not hide itself behind allusions of its proofs and results and methods being beyond the understanding of any individual. If you wish to understand any aspect of science, any claim that science makes – you can easily find resources and people willing to help you understand the same. It might take you a long time to gain the knowledge required to understand the same – but at every step of the way you will be presented with firm proofs based initially on axioms (“assumptions” like 1 + 1 =2) and later on – on repeatable observations and things you have proved earlier.

Pseudo-science lacks the rigorous cross-examination of its claims, it promotes its claims amongst people who (by its own admission) cannot understand or cross-examine the details regarding the evidence supporting its claim – nor the derivations resulting in its final result. If you disagree with or question pseudo-science – the people promoting the same would state that you simply lack the intellectual ability or the knowledge to understand the same. Either that or they would label you as being part of the “Grand Conspiracy”.

Religion usually hides behind dogma and the fear of committing heresy by questioning dogma – the divine truths are always unquestionable – you are not allowed to doubt the same. Also religious truths are not based on proofs beyond the writings of men (I don’t know of anybody being in possession of the original holy book of any religion), and on the enlightenment or divine truths that God shares with some select individuals only.

I do not claim that science explains everything – one day science may evolve to understand and explain mysticism and miracles. One day science may find hard evidence and proof that God truly exists. Till then, I think religion, or at least theism, is an unshakable belief, held by a large part of the world’s population, including myself… A belief without scientific proof, and sometimes a belief which is refuted by science – but an unshakable belief nonetheless.

Science has its failings because human beings have failings. Hence on one hand you sometimes hear of new “discoveries” and claims which turn out to be mistakes made by researchers and on the other you hear of great researchers whose remarkable contributions receive only posthumous laurels and awards for their work. Science does not claim monopoly on the truth. But it does not accept faulty logic, and it does not accept theories contradicting experimental or natural evidence

So let us not compare science to pseudo-science and religion. The still evolving institution and method that is science is more valuable, and great, and worthy of respect, and if I may use the words – holy and sacred – then anything else that has ever come out of Man’s intellect or industry…

“The point is ladies and gentlemen – Science, for the lack of a better word, is sacred.

Science is right, science works.

Science clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of human logic, intellect, and industry.

The scientific method in all its forms and applications – be it in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology or such “unscientific” fields like finance and sociology – has been responsible for the upward surge of mankind.

And science, you mark my words – will not only save children studying in the US, but that other lost and innocent group of people called humanity…”

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1. The “children studying in the US” is a reference to the controversy involving teaching of creationism in Science classes in the US.

2. I’m no Gordan Gecko – but I simply could not resist the temptation of comparing “science is sacred” to the “greed is good” speech…

3. I’m not an atheist – My religious views are best described as being those of a somewhat agnostic theist. I am a very religious person and believe that religion has the potential for great good. However I do not believe in burdening God with unnecessary jobs like creating man artificially – I think He had enough on his hands to deal with at he beginning of time anyway.

Full Metal Frat Fest: A Requiem for an Anime…

•July 24, 2009 • 5 Comments

As a general rule unplanned sequels never turn out to be as good as the original. Even with a back story or well developed storyline, it often happens that a sequel, prequel or remake does not live up to the expectations of the fans (think Hannibal Rising). In the absence of any such story or definite vision, the results are usually disappointing.

Given all these facts, and after the not too exciting “Full Metal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa” movie, I wasn’t expecting much from the “Full Metal Alchemist : Brotherhood” anime series. I was hoping for a sequel of sorts, but the new series is clearly supposed to be a remake of the original “Full Metal Alchemist” anime series. It’s not a sequel, nor a prequel, nor a compilation of “missing episodes” from the original story. It’s the entire thing done over again, and given it’s quality compared to the original, watching it almost feels like watching a spoof. And if you haven’t seen the original series: making a spoof of FMA is like making a spoof of Schindler’s List. It’s a disgusting thing to do.

FMA was possibly the only anime which was truly mature in every aspect of it’s storyline and character development. It was a serious story, well-paced, with character development and a superb, intricate storyline which is unmatched in its genre. It broke the mold, set a new level of excellence which no other anime has managed to surpass till date. It was brilliant, masterful, storytelling at it’s very best.

I cannot think of any valid rationale behind why anyone would want to remake the series. Some people cannot accept that you cannot improve upon perfection, but I don’t think that is the reason behind attempting a remake. After all it’s only been a few years since the original.  No, I think maybe it was a sub-conscious desire to bring the series down to the level of immaturity and low overall quality and which characterizes most anime.  It’s a willful and intentional sacrilege, a desecration of something that was beautiful, an unforgivable act of vandalism.

Now, some people claim that Brotherhood remains closer to the FMA manga than the original series. Well, I would say that the original story, i.e. the manga, had been retold already – and in it’s retelling it had been transformed into something which was much more well developed, sophisticated and mature than the original. Why do you wish to go back to the original, inferior plot line? What purpose does it serve other than the satisfying the fetish of some obsessed fans of the manga? And, if you have to do that, you could at least try to strive for the level of excellence which had been reached by the original…

In short, the story of the FMA franchise can be summarised with the following allegory. An artist’s sponsor reads a popular comic and asks the artist to make a painting based on the same. The artist creates a fantastic piece of art which ends up being critically acclaimed as well as quite popular amongst the masses. It’s realistic, mature and super-cedes the original comic in terms of quality in every way. However the fans of the comic, including the sponsor hate it. So another painting of the same name is made – this time a pin-up – something to satisfy the comic lover’s fetish. And this painting ends up ruining the name of the brilliant work of art that the artist had created.

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The original Full Metal Alchemist is one of the best anime ever made and this post is my tribute of sorts to the same.

The Coffee Wars

•July 17, 2009 • 10 Comments

My heartiest congratulations to RF for becoming the only one of my friends to be featured on both my blogs (this one and my older anonymous one). Some people are crazy, some are unbelievably stud (i.e. intelligent, talented etc) (most people who satisfy the second criterion, also end up satisfying the 1st one to a certain extent). RF fulfills both these criteria – he is undeniably stud, and I personally harbor no doubts regarding his (in)sanity. Any discussion that RF gets involved in is bound to turn into a riot. Last time he almost gave me a run for my money by pretending to be a hacker targeting my blog. This time the discussion was on Chennai vs any other city in India (for those not in the loop – for most of us – the only part of Chennai we really love is a relatively small forested area inhabited for the most part by some very intelligent monkeys, some not so intelligent apes and some amazing professors and researchers)…

I took a Facebook quiz “How well do you know Pune?” (and got the result “Pune Wizard” – but that’s irrelevant to the discussion) – The discussion that followed is presented verbatim (with comments wherever necessary) -

RF : Pune sucks. I can confirm that.

Jordy (He’s from Hyderabad) : bttr than madras though! :D (Madras is the old name of Chennai)

RF :  No way in hell.

Me : Pune rocks – literally ! It’s more metro than the metro that is Chennai. Compared to Pune, Chennai feels like an overgrown small town.

RF : Dude! Can you point out 1, just 1 place, to get good coffee?

Me : There’s a CCD in almost every neighborhood in Pune – (2 within walking distance of each other in Viman Nagar where I live). Barista’s also more common than in Chennai (although less so than CCD). Besides there’s coffee club and a hundred other local joints where you get good coffee… (CCD stands for Cafe’ Coffee Day – a very popular but slightly expensive coffee joint in India)

RF : Pack CCD. Think about the Aam/broke Admi. All local joints use Nescafe. Thats sacrilege! (Aam Admi means the common man)

Jordy : ok…u mean the nescafe one of gurunath’s ishtyle…or real nescafe! :D …nyway is getting a coffee the point of discussion? (Gurunath is a fast food joint at IIT Madras – notorious for it’s terrible food and coffee)

RF : Life in the universe is centered around coffee.. wars have been waged and names have been made, all for the magical bean. So yeah, its about coffee.

Jordy : lol!….thats too much senti for a bean u r showing ! i just meant maybe other things like infra might make good points to discuss!

RF : infra? lite only. That forms the basis of a conversation for old people. Tell me this : As a student, what do you need the most :
(a) Roads
(b) Electricity
(c) Water
(d) CoffeeRead More
Choose wisely.

Me : uh… isn’t the answer (b)??
(a) is also important if you don’t live where you are studying…

Jordy : let me make one thing clear!
a) i dont drink coffee or tea..but i understand its need for others
b) as a student u r better off with water and electricity or else u wu’nt have landed in here to argue this point in 1st place
c) addiction towards anything is bad! :D
d) couldnt be wiser more! :(

RF : All I’m saying is, there are workarounds for a,b and c. For a,
(a) Find a place near the place of work. Since most student-oriented places have hostels, pack your bags and move in
(b) The institute would have subscribed to an exclusion from the power grid’s load-shedding (if any ). So if you face frequent power cuts, study in your lab
(c)Again, Read Moremost institutes get bubble-tops in the academic zone, so bring a nice big bottle
(d) What do you do if you can’t find a good cuppa? (PS : If you don’t drink coffee, I pity thee )

Jordy : dude! if u read carefully, i’m referring to lyf outside/before insti! :D …thr is a lots of difference..when ur in home say? for eg!…nd we r comparing facilities in a city not in ur home or my home!….nd well drinking coffee doesnt take u to places….nd i’m not into wars and making names! :D

Well at this point the discussion stalled. A rather premature ending I would say. I personally was hoping for more, and for a while I considered adding fuel to the fire so to speak, but the coffe wars had been won, and the chennai tam did not seem interested in pressing any further with his easily refutable arguments in favor of his hometown. While it lasted, it did give me quite a few chuckles… :)

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  1. To be fair – Chennai does have some excellent coffee – I am a hardcore fan of the filter coffee we get at our mess at IIT Madras – I haven’t found anything in Pune which comes even close to the same in terms of flavor or aroma. However once again to be fair – leaving aside the mess, the coffee at most other joints in Chennai has generally turned out to be simply terrible.
  2. I am pretty sure that RF would be after my blood after reading this post. In an effort to avoid getting killed once I get back to IIT let me state this : RF is one of the most intelligent and diligent guys I know of in our year at IIT Madras, he’s brilliant in academics as well as literary activities, music etc. Lastly, he is also a very good friend of mine (that being the only reason I am taking the liberty of posting this conversation without taking his explicit permission – the implicit permission being the fact that he posted his comments on my wall on facebook :) )…

@ RF – look on the bright side – at least I am not posting your photograph this time. (Ladies and Gentlemen – I know he looks like a dunce (once again, to be fair – I look like a dunce as well) but consider this – the only statements in this entire post, typed out with even a hint of seriousness, is the point no. 2 above – in his case at least looks are decieving…)