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Kiran
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http://www.kiranghag.com

(This message is sent OTA using Nokia N70)

Interesting links for programmers

Few famous bugs of their times...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_poke
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrix_coma_bug
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F00f


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_FDIV_bug
Link to Thomas R. Nicely's (person who discovered FDIV bug and reported to Intel) page
http://www.trnicely.net/#PENT
Original e-mail message announcing the discovery of the Pentium divison flaw, 30 October 1994
http://www.trnicely.net/pentbug/bugmail1.html
and FAQ for that
http://www.trnicely.net/pentbug/pentbug.html

Some more generic bugs...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_by_one_error

..and some unusual bugs :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unusual_software_bug

And this is what happens to your code and data over time...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_rot

Window to the south pole...

This is an interesting site...
http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/obop/spo/livecamera.html

Following photo is of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station taken every 15 minutes (if a relay satellite is available for transmission) from the roof of the National Science Foundation's Atmospheric Research Observatory which houses NOAA/ESRL's Clean Air Facility. In order to preserve the life of the camera, it is tilted down onto the snow when the sun is in the field of view, which occurs for several weeks around sunset (March) and sunrise (September) when the sun marches in a circle above the horizon. From mid-April until mid-August the moon and the aurora australis provide the only natural lighting.

To the moon and back...

Yet another easy day at work after long time...time to fire up the browser for some surfing, today the journey was till moon :)

Started off by reading about old computer games that i enjoyed...found that there was a video made by Microsoft using Doom theme...

Check this site...
http://www.reelsplatter.com/doommedia.html

After that I spent next few hours surfing articles related to Moon missions...


This link will give a complete video of Apollo mission

http://sonicbomb.com/dmmvid.php?vid=43X9IGEtONhaw8GIf


Neil armstrong on moon...


Ever wondered how it feels to walk on the moon? Read the first person experience here

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/545
http://men.msn.com/articlees.aspx?cp-documentid=4884951

And these must be the most isolated men in the universe..
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070916.html
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011002.html

Much energy was put into calling Apollo moon landing news a hoax. Read a detailed article here.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Moon_Landing_hoax_accusations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program_missing_tapes

Read about some efforts to take pictures of moon surface and testify
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/24/1037697982142.html

Also see this, http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/21jul_llr.htm


While reading, I just thought for a while, lets keep aside the hazards in space, what it would really feel like being in space? imagine looking at the earth and moon, miles away from your home!

Get a random Wikipedia Article every time you start your browser

I love to spend time reading Wikipedia articles. Whenever I hear something new, I either put it in Google search box, or Wikipedia search. Or sometimes I would just use the random Wiki article link to jump around.

If you are a avid Wikier like me, and would like to get a random Wiki article when you start your browser, here is a trick...

Point your browser startup page to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random. Now whenever you start your browser window, a new Wiki article will be ready for you :)

Who killed Adnan?

Adnan, a teenager was kidnapped by three other teens and later strangulated to death recently. The news made it quit big on print, tv and web.

Adnan was son of a well-to-do businessman, staying in one of the high profile suburbs of Mumbai, India. His three friends (whom he met on Orkut.com) decided to kidnap him and make some quick money. Though they had not planned to kill, they actually killed him in panic when the kidnap news spread in media. Cops arrested the trio and they confessed following that.

In the busy world, this may seem like just another "case closed" for all. People would scrap Adnan's profile for a while, media will chew the news, parents will perform rituals, police will proceed with legal trial and slowly the news will be history.

Even though the accused have been arrested and confessions have been recorded...I am trying to see if the real killer has been arrested....after all, who really killed Andan?

The three "friends"?
Ofcourse yes!
These kids are nothing but a small sample of our lost youth population. Lack of proper education, lack of human motives, lack of morals, lack of real Idols to follow is generating more young criminals everyday than anything else. We need to have serious efforts to tackle this. And this can only happen if the society is ready for the change and be a part of it than sit complaining.

Orkut.com?
I fail to understand why the debate again comes up since the kidnappers used orkut.com to contact Adnan. If it had not been orkut, it could be something else. It could be a simple email. Would the people ask the Internet to be shut down/banned if that happens? People need to be aware of the new technology and how it can be (mis)used. A local political party earlier ransacked a cyber cafe to protest against Orkut.com. There was another news claiming some technical members are planning to write software to block orkut communities in Cafes so that specific communities can be blocked. I pity their technical expertise. Orkut does provide the facility to report abuse and if enough people do that, orkut closes the profile/community down. Can the political parties involve their members do the same instead of breaking things around?

Media?
Media is one of the communication medium where morality and ethics play important role.
Unfortunately, media has now become a business which is fought like war. There has been a mushroom growth in news channels in India recently. Zee News, NDTV, AajTak, IBM7, CNBC-TV18, CNN-IBN, Headlines Today, Tej, Star News, Sahara News are just some of the prominent ones. There is a cut-throat competition between all of these to give the "exclusive coverage" and to be the first to obtain the "breaking news". Gone are the days when news was "covered", now the channels can do absurd things to "make news"! And once there is a bit, it would be looped continuously on-air (with big "EXCLUSIVE" and "BREAKING NEWS" tag) whole day, or till there is another news to cash on. All the ethics and Morales are kept aside in view of profit and TRP.
Selective Journalism too, is playing huge role in the business . A star wedding makes it to TV and media and everything from the ceremony is covered, be it the wedding attire, place, astroprofiles of couple - everything is discussed. Innocent people are spending years in overcrowded jails, but only when a star is jailed, the case gets attention. Poor women in country are harassed, assaulted and abused in many ways, yet a news is made only when a high profile officer is made target by another officer.
Adnan's news was no exception and it was promptly covered by Media. And soon the news was everywhere, thanks to news readers continuously crying aloud about the missing guy. Could have the murder been avoided if the news had not made it public?
Maybe Yes! If Police could investigate the case quietly, they could zero-in on the trio on time, given the fact that trio confessed of not planning to kill him and they were amateur kidnappers. The undue attention attracted by media caused panic amongst the kidnappers and they murdered him out of fear.

Police and Law?
Police actually did quiet a good job in this case. They managed to investigate the case and track down the kidnappers. Too bad they couldn't catch them before the murder took place. But was this because the case was lodged by a wealthy businessman and media attention was involved in the case?
Maybe Yes! Not all are bad, but Cops here are notorious for being active on high profile cases only. If you are not a businessman/ star/govt official/politician or son/daughter of one, try going to cops for a reason and then you will experience the fun. I remember when my cellphone was stolen and I interacted with cops. And there was a news in media after some days when a filmstar son forgot his cellphone in the city cab. The cops went out of their way, without an FIR and whole area was combed to find out the missing cellphone!
Do the people today think twice before committing a planned act of crime? Are they deterred in any way by fear of law and order? India is comparatively better country than many other with respect to law. But still a lot of efforts are required before Police change their role from "maintaining crime records" to "actively preventing people from committing crime and Justice system be made quick enough to punish ad-hoc criminals.

Parents and society?
Kidnappers said that they kidnapped him for money. But why in the first place they felt money is so much important. Where are the morale police who protest against movies and valentines days only?
Adnan left home in his own car, and was killed in the same. Being son of businessman, he had a rich lifestyle. I am not trying to portray him as a villain or spoilt brat but he represents a class of teenagers who have easy money at hand to spend for luxury. Their day spending can easily run a poor man's house for a week or more. The parents stay usually busy in their business and the need for looking after the child mentally, socially is hardly felt. The parental duties are considered done if they are able to provide money when asked.
Following the incident, Adnan's father said - "I’d give all my money". Why sir? Is money everything? If you had kept enough checks on his friends/hobbies, spent time trying to know him more, do you think you could have seen this day?
Adnan's parents are not the only parents involved. It applies equally to parents of the kidnappers. They are definitely not happy since the death sentence looms over their sons. Maybe they are poor, yet they could have spent time teaching their sons the importance of being a good and educated human being in this world. Money comes naturally isn't it?

So called forums who take onus of fixing Indian culture by banning western cloths/movies/books etc, fail to understand that the society needs an inside change - a change in its mentality and cultural beliefs. Its not a one day job. It will need a phenomenal change in people's mindset and this might take a generation or two to happen.

We at least can start with ourselves and try what we can. No need to start another forum or protest on road. A simple pledge to groom a kid well can do wonders.

I wish Adnan's soul rest in peace.

Happy Birthday India!

My country turns 60 today. After a long fight by uncountable freedom fighters, the country became independent on 15th August 1948.

60! That's a lot of a life for a human, isn't it? For a country its not a small span either.

Where do we stand now? Are we really independent? Like a 60 year old person, who has been through difficult times, Have the 60 years made any wiser?

India is independent, but the people are not. There is a long way to go for the people. Ignorance still rules their mind. Corruption is doing its best to slow down the growth. People and their desires have taken over their own happiness. Democracy is the foundation for the success we have so far achieved but now politics has become a profit career.

Tomorrow when I would wake up, every TV channel will have dedicated Independent Day special program. Most will air special commercial promos showing inocent children singing song and holding tri-color. Newspapers will cover special articles and editorials. Every traffic signal will will see homeless kids selling miniature flags. Some would utilise the public holiday to take a break from routine and enjoy the day at a travel destination near city. But next day, everything will be different, rather will be back to routine after the hangover is over.

Today we have worldwide recognition as a growing economy. Indians are everywhere. They are being employed in the developed nations. Indian entrepreneurs are thinking big and are part of "whose' who" of the world. Life is comparatively peaceful. We have most of the new technology available. Our currency is getting better. Kids can go to school, men and women can walk road without fear in most part of the country.

Its like a glass of water, half empty or half full, the way we look at it. The generation that actually participated in the freedom fight, is slowly going behind the curtain of time. But the spirit of independence and recognition of efforts behind that is not yet dead.

The country is not a 60 year veteran. Its a teenager. We are still growing up. And hence its worth celebrating the day, with the hope that the kid will be a nice and fine as it turns into an experienced wise man. Its worth wishing that we would be truly independent, soon.

Happy Birthday India!