Anna Hazare has proved me wrong. Maybe I'm bitter about that.
To begin with, I never thought the entire country could be distracted away from Sonia Gandhi's cancer & hospitalization. But it turns out that a Gandhian (*sic*) fasting can actually do that. I wasn't spared either - I was debating about the protests and its impact on future democracy to notice this. But in retrospect, Soniaji failing to survive that surgery was an actual national crisis than anything the Team Anna could cause or prevent. It would've been an all-out civil war to fill that particular power vacuum.
And I feel like a sucker. But that is merely the conspiracy theorist in me talking.
Now, let me tackle the bonafide followers in said "Team Anna". I would like to welcome you to the land of unintended consequences.
Just because I approve of your goals does not mean I approve how you go about it - hunger strike or protests. Netaji & Gandhi had the same vision of a unified India. And I'll say with no doubt that they never saw eye-to-eye on the means. If you are trying to devise a legislative way to solve corruption in India, you are barking up the wrong tree. A social majority movement would work, but then you have a luxury Gandhi never had - elections. That is, if indeed you believe enough in democracy to go through with it. But more on that later, let's first assume that the legislations go through.
Making something already illegal, more illegal does not work. The problem was never the legislation, but more in terms of enforcement. Honestly, Kanimozhi never even suspected she would be in jail (I'm glad she is) - deterrence is a non-factor for career politicians. The issue is one completely of enforcement and the problem right now is that the bosses of enforcers are the criminals involved. Producing a different authority body would solve this, but it's a solution with a limited shelf life - until that authority is corrupted or worse, neutered.
Upping the severity of crimes has an even more negative effect. When vigilance raids on police stations in Kerala picked up, my dad was in the home department as one of the good guys. He used to lament that the extra enforcement merely upped the risk involved in taking bribes, pushing up the "rate" as a sort of risk-offset. Ironically, during the raids, people suffered more - paid more or had their needs ignored.
I don't mean to drag down the new-age revolutionaries here, but this is a democracy. Every uninformed voter in this country dilutes my personal vote. If you can bring that majority over to your fold and fight this battle against corruption, I'd stand with you and vote - the only other way would leave bloodstains across history. But the media based guilt fest that you staged was shameful. If this was the best attempt at fixing corruption in this country, I don't want to really support this movement.
Let's assume you want to start a social revolution and bring aboard the majority. The problems start from the top - I don't think very many would want to live in an Anna Hazare world. To begin with I don't eat meat, don't drink, and have never smoked. I don't gamble and I've *never* paid a bribe. But those are my values and they work for me. I might not stand to lose much in an Anna Hazare world, but I wouldn't let him take away my freedom to eat meat, if I wish to. He might be an incorruptible man, but he's still a fascist who values his written laws over the real legislature's. And even worse, he's not open for negotiations - I get to do what I'm told (yeah, we all clap when the politicians are in his cross-hairs).
A "cure": Maybe there will be a more moderate leader who's policies on my private life are more sane? No, the story gets even worse. If Anna Hazare fails to make any impact on indian politics and its kleptocracy, would you support a new leader next year? Could it be that this is a ploy to disillusion the vocal intelligentisa into not supporting revolutionary leaders? Something to convince the indian middle class that the only people the protests affect are the plebs, while the politicos sit in some farmhouse upstate. A political vaccine if you will, to build up some antibodies to clip off the next cycle of protests in the bud. Even if they didn't mean it, would it work that way?
All in all, the whole episode illustrates the failure of democracy. Its weaknesses exploited by both the politicians and protestors - but two wrongs make a right, so it's okay.
--“The first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive is that the end justifies the means”
-- Georges Bernanos
I own an iPod.
Actually, I paid for it. I have never felt like I own it. It has a life of its own. It's something of a snob when it comes to playing nice with everything else I own. It looks down up on me and my software.
And the attitude is somewhat an embodiment of its maker. Apple is absolutely capable of making a device that is simple to its inner core. The layers of obfuscation and intrigue that they bury the workings of it is intentional and not in my interest. To use SQLite and then hash72/hash58 to prevent you from reading it, it is as blatant as it gets to a smoking gun.
The reasons are rather obvious. Apple wants people to use iTunes and eventually click on one of those "Buy Now" links in it. Now, to ensure that I (as an iPod "user") uses iTunes, they don't have any scruples about twisting my arm.
And the pain will go away the moment I use Apple iSomething. Everything would work and it would be nirvana. It is not my fault that it is painful for me to use an iPod without using the rest of the apple cult-products. Stop bullshitting me about that. I know what's causing this pain.
Apple wanted me inconvenienced. It was intentional on their part.
I'm not even asking for them to build a simpler device. I'm just angry at them for intentionally breaking their already undocumented interfaces with every generation of the iPod. I'm not angry at them for not making a linux iTunes. I'm angry at them for springing a surprise every release and hanging onto the file layout specs as if it was their Hello Kitty diary. I'm angry at them because they don't care about me or my money. There are enough dollars to be made with people with iTunes & its Click-to-Buy convenience.
Last of all, I'm angry with myself. I'm angry about paying Apple good money to sell me something that they are going to use as a lever on my choices at other things. I'm angry about giving them more money to screw someone else over, come the next gen of the iWhatEver.
Indeed, one bite of that poisoned apple ...
--Happy is he who has the pure truth in him.
He will regret no sacrifice that keeps it.
-- Faust
It all started with the petty battles, with a collective comedown on a cultural philistine like me - one without taste in music, art, literature or topic du jour.
What they looked in each other was not for glimmers of intelligence, but for a bit of something shared. Something to set them apart from the rest, the secret handshakes, the shibboleth to exclude those of a lower culture. Respect doled out for abstract obscurity, while clarity was despised. The vaguer it got, the easier could everyone trot out their pet ideas without stepping on each others' toes.
I could've been a mute spectator to all that. But then the challenges appeared on my table.
I never did define my identity with things external. Rarely was it propped up with books, music or art. Something reprehensible to embellish yourself with someone else's creativity. To listen, read, collect it. And dole it out instead of your own. There I was, with life's experiences and I thought that was all that remained to be said about me. What I do, that is where my fount of self is rooted on and with some sort of gratitude, I pour myself back into it.
Never felt the urge to defend my choices, in anything that fed my mind. But I almost fanatically defend the choices I make, when it comes to actions. What went in seemed far insignificant to what eventually came out. My principles, ethics and the path I tread in life, those are up for criticism - always have been.
There was no point in responding to those challenges - to be beaten down just for someone's pleasure. For them in their world to feel superior. Maybe that's what gets them through their day, but I've got no time or energy to fight these petty battles. I've got things to do.
Culture intrigues me. I'd rather learn than fight about my personal opinions. Bizarrely, the same people fighting for their opinions object to others sharing theirs. What they always craved I guess was smug superiority, not to convince. Popularity of their niche seems to be their enemy rather than a sign of success.
The world of high culture is full of people who'd love something, yet dissuade the world from sharing it. In a sort of self destructive selfishness, they cordon off their niches. Watching them over the years, I've seen these hypocrites slink away from the bright sunlight of popular attention. Not revel in the new found wisdom of the world or applaud at its good taste.
I've tried to learn what it is about these ideas that make it special. Read Hegel & Kant, Foucault & Derida. Listened to Mozart (ooh, the 5th!), gone to Chopin recitals (thankee hyacie), observed the layered randomness of Coltrane. I've liked some, I haven't others. Perhaps arbitrarily, I don't know.
But equally arbitrarily, I've followed popular culture. I've liked some, I couldn't care less for others. I dig down into Simpsons or Futurama, I play Lady Gaga in a loop for days. Not mindlessly, I notice the nuances of timing & melody of the Gaga, the college level literature references littered in Simpsons, the secret messages written in alienese in Futurama. I notice, I enjoy and I'm not ashamed of it.
I'm overcome by an urge to share & enjoy. I think the fact that more people enjoy it, the better it was. Perhaps it takes more talent to make something the whole world can enjoy. A deeper understanding of all humanity perhaps. And I'll do my part. I can't understand how someone can enjoy something so much, but dissuade someone else from exploring. Even more puzzlingly, only seem to enjoy things that nobody else around seem to be capable of appreciating. Are you that special or is that all a facade put up?
After much thought, I've come to a shocking, but inescapable conclusion.
--Show me an elitist, and I'll show you a loser.
-- Tom Clancy
I hate Slumdog Millionaire.
I don't hate it for artistic or aesthetic reasons. I hate it out of principle - because it is an act of third world emotional blackmail for anyone who's seen it for real - meant to repel and disgust. And it turns me off, pushes me into denial and just turns me into someone numb about reality. Freeze over my emotions when I saw the child being blinded with red hot irons. Maybe there are those who seek numbness over pain.
I've had one too many conversations with people from elsewhere about this movie. In response to their curiousity about whether this is how India is, I can only answer "Some parts of it, yes". It's almost like they want to believe what they see and won't settle for an India where people go to work at 8 and drive autorickshaws everyday.
To draw an analogy, when you think of Paris, the image that pops into your head immediately is the lit skyline with the Eiffel Tower. But imagine a quintessential paree movie of your preference and throw in all the moroccan ghettos which have sprung up around. That stark, depressing but real face of the city wouldn't be something I'd enjoy.
Art is about selecting what to represent and what is irrelevant. And the movie makers made a choice, that was completely theirs to make. Now that I think about it, what I'm hating is not the movie. It's the condescension that the movie invites on my bit of the world. Not because it's dishonest or that I'm patriotic, but the intentions behind it are suspect. It's pandering to the needs of someone filled with Schadenfreude.
What I'm hating is the tourist who says "I want to go see a slum".
--Nothing ever becomes real until it is experienced.
-- John Keats
Next time you walk past a mirror, stop & reflect.
Look deep into those eyes for a glimmer of something real. Break through that facade that has taken several precious years to build. Through all the limits that the world has put on you. Take a good look at yourself.
The most interesting thing about you isn't the people you have surrounded yourself with. It's not the assortment of gadgets that adorn your fingertips, pockets or desk. Neither is it the long list of books you've read and several others you own, merely for others to comment upon. Nor is the rather eclectic taste in music that the pinball machine of life have bounced into you. The sips and dips you've taken, places you've gotten lost in or even whom you hooked up with & when.
It should've been you - just you. But you've lost yourself in incidentals. Thrown away yourself only to replace it with the byproducts of your existence. You became a showcase, instead of a person - with whatever you've got, perpetually on display. What you are suddenly was skin-deep and then it got ugly.
Maybe you were ashamed. Ashamed of who you were. It was fun to pretend you weren't anymore, but what truly changed? You or just a new mask? Wearing it, hoping that nobody ever comes into your life to whom you'd have to bare all? Keep it on forever?
Maybe you'll try. Maybe it was better than being nothing in the eyes of others. I said, maybe.
But just remember not lose all you've collected - at any cost. Because once you've lost yourself, that's all you got. That's all you got.
--What ever you can give up, that's all you have. The rest is what you are.
I'm officially starting to refer to Microsoft Office Open XML by its new acronym - MooXML. Its progress through the ISO process looks like a salmon rush - but it looks like a fish, moves like a slippery slippery fish and steers like a cow (with apologies to the late Douglas Adams).
Superb Standard: And then Miguel goes and calls it a "Superb Standard". Basing most of his justification on the fact that a large quantity of existing OO.org code can be re-used to implement MooXML - take a guess why that is so. And just because the current code can handle "autospace like Word95" specifications (IIRC,the 'sz' node) is no reason to call MooXML a good standard. And multiple implementations only add to the mess, with everyone including the creator interpreting the standard as they please. Implementing it would be yet another game of 'chase the lamespec' (well, grep -i lamespec mono-svn/).
Most people who have complained about the specification has been struck down with the "let the implementors speak". But somehow it seems odd that such a specification which has been sped through ISO got a 'YES' vote from *Cuba* - a country where Microsoft (and any other US company) is prohibited from exporting any software to. A good, proper standard doesn't really need a ballot stuffing to get approved.
I mean, I've previously commented about Miguel losing relevance in the world of Free software. But this time, this is not about his opinion or Novell's patent protections - in fact, not even about the format, but about the standard for an editable document, which renders the same everywhere.
So, don't say MooXML, say NoOoxml.
--Mediocrity finds safety in standardization.
-- Frederick Crane
No, this is totally different from sticking a crayon up your nose, but the results seem frighteningly similar. If I seem a little less than well disposed to people who flaunt an iPhone, want an iPhone or even worse "need" an iPhone, it all begins from the first few minutes I had an iPhone in my hand.
Sometime during OSCON, I dropped onto a sofa in the lounge. And suddenly, the cushion started to vibrate. I put my hand into between the cushions and pulled out a bright shiny iPhone. Despite multiple cries of "that's mine" from various unlikely sources, I was just holding it up for whoever to pick it up.
And then this guy in a suit walks up and says "I'll take that and thanks for not stealing it". I mean, with a self-satisfied tone, assuming I would want it ? And I wasn't the only one indignant about that, in fact, one of the women (rrichards's S.O ?) around actually took offense and pretty much demanded an apology.
And then the guy turns on his heels & walks away.
I mean, I've found phones in all kinds of strange places before. I've returned phones (yes, in plural) which have cost over a thousand dollars (in return for a coffee). I don't ask for any reward, but at least, I don't need to be insulted while I do someone a good deed.
I think one of the php dudes started referring to that particular person from that point onwards as "the guy who had an iPhone up his butt". And the name stuck.
As much as I adore the iPhone's multi-touch zoom UI, the early adopters who have slammed down six hundred big ones for the phone seem to have a large proportion of shallow hipsters, which automatically triggers a smug alert for me.
So, if you have an iPhone & consider this unfair portrayal, blame the guy who "introduced" me to this particular stereotype.
--Only the shallow know themselves;
The rest of us have depths to plumb.
-- Oscar Wilde
Goodbyes are hard to say. The heart still hopes that in this small world, our paths shall again cross.
My voyage ran aground into one of those moments today - sabiokap's last day in Yahoo! Bangalore. He's been the joker in our pack, inventor of crazy games and a very good friend. We all were nightbirds who used to hangout together and in general formed the resident population of the office nearly 24x7. Sitting up in the balcony at 2 AM in the morning was actually fun when everybody thought there was a point to working hard & long - and we liked it.
But more than just at work, he's been someone for me to lean on when my life was shaky. When I was penniless and homeless after booking my LCA 07 tickets, I crashed out in his guest room for four months. I managed to get out of that financial hole thanks to premshree spotting me some dough and accomodation at Hell's Kitchen (that's what we call sabiokap's place, for good reason).
There was a certain bit of company ethos that is oozing out slowly to various other places these days. The day (or well night) of the workaholic hacker is gone, obsoleted by the eary morning meetings. The concept of working with each other replaced by working as team, under the bidding of a manager. The days don't pass so easily and to pour the company into a new mould needs a cultural genoicide of sorts. But well, the good thing is that I was here for those good old days - work hard, play harder and don't care what else happens.
I don't hold any grudges against anyone, but all this takes away the thing I loved about this company - interesting people and good friends. For whatever reasons, good or bad, people I like working with are leaving, those with attitude, talent and a sense of humour. All I can do is wish them Godspeed.
That's how it ends, not with a bang but a whimper.
--philosophy:
The ability to bear with calmness the misfortunes of our friends.
After much thought and inaction, I've compiled a quick list of basic things you can do at work to reduce your tangible value to the company (coming to a bank account near you, soon !).
- Answer questions on devel forums
- Write a technical blog
- Live the company values
- Write cool hacks
- Have a serious hobby
- Contribute to an open source project
All of these things shout out that you have too much free time. If you send detailed, well thought out answers to a question on a devel forum - you aren't working hard enough. If you've got time to write a decent blog about technology - you aren't working hard enough. If you actually live the company values (for instance, like I do) - your irreverance and sense of humour do not suit a professional in this business. So is going around your product managers to actually build something that you personally like, without any input from the product strategy team - that's not what you get paid for. And hobbies - they waste your time and cost you money. Without a hobby to spend your disposable income on, you won't need as much money as you're asking for now.
But the last one takes the cake. Assume your full time job involves working on an open source project. Now answer me this, "what *competitive* advantage does your work bring to this company ?". After all the code that you write automatically becomes available to everybody - irrespective of who paid for the development costs. Code thus released drops to near zero value and ergo, the process of creating it ...
These should just about work, but YMMV.
PS: I'm being seriously *sarcastic* (or tersely ironic) here - these things are a potential investment in your betterment, do them, be a better person and as the Bhagavat Gita said - Karmanye vadhikarasthe, ma phaleshu kadachara (do your duty and expect no reward).
--The term investment (the basis of all capital) is pretty much forgotten.
Instead, investing money is considered spending it.
-- slashdot #18632805
Really, I need a word for this concept. ESR might have gotten his just desserts with such efforts as Everybody loves Eric Raymond, but I still need a word to describe ex-programmers who have looped into their own brain-stem for feedback.
The urge to find a suitable word (in the spirit of The Meaning of Liff) came from reading Miguel De Icaza talking about Mono. I've been watching that project from its very beginnings and I've not been impressed by the way Miguel deals with anyone who doesn't toe the party line. Slashdot comments put it a bit more bluntly than I'll care to be.
A Sharp# Divide: I was quite saddened when I read jdub's blog post today about the gtk# ribbon SoC submission. Building new composite controls in C# basically makes the widget useless for other languages as it cannot be wrapped easily into C, python, java or $insert_language. But it does make sense for Miguel to suggest it as because it makes people want to use Gtk# over something like java-gnome or php-gtk (*cough*).
Wrapper Hell: Now, if you look back at the history of mono, you'll see that avoiding the multitude of hand-coded wrappers was the so called rationale behind mono in the first place. Read his 2001 interview and the part about "Making Programming Interfaces Language-Independent". Now pull yourself back to today and look at Jdub's blog post. I can see why Miguel is losing traction with the rest of the community, albeit after 5 years or so of work on Mono.
A GPL'd Java: With the emergence of Java as a proper f/oss VM subsystem, I don't think there is any need to introduce an unacceptable risk in the form of mono. When you combine a decent fork-mode java VM implementation (i.e start VM, JIT compile classpath, listen on domain socket, fork for each application to reduce memory footprint with multiple VMs), with a bunch of decent wrappers for C-based GTK widgets - you can create a non-sucky Java user experience. I don't see the point in pulling along mono in a world with Java, python and whatnot to develop gnome applications (read last three words again till the point is taken).
Honestly, I do have a huge axe to grind about Mono in general (because of my brushes with lupus and miguel while working on dotgnu) - but the project is doing some decent work in re-implementing .NET system libraries, which is in fact a good thing. My only beef is with pushing mono into gnome and peddling it as a target platform for F/OSS applications ( tomboy, f-spot, muine etc...).
So, like I said ... I need a new word.
--You'd better smile when they watch you, smile like you're in control.
-- Smile, "Was (Not Was)"
Divisiveness is never something to be encouraged in any community - online or offline. Regionalism is one of those toys for those first crude attempts of Salami Tactics. The introduction of imaginary lines, dividing where no division existed, pulling in foreign boundaries into an otherwise level ground is one of the first seeds of discord that you can seed a community with - especially where physical meetups occur out of band. People who've met each other physically generally interact better and this can be easily misinterpreted as a regional or language bias.
God knows there have been wars fought over much less. And there was one on #linux-india because I got involved - with me getting most of the abuse. But here's some history behind the story - some idiot was spamming #linux-india in 2005 (*some names changed to protect the guilty (and/or innocents)).
**** Dec 13th 2005
* vIkSiT has changed the topic to: crazy day at #linux-india the ban
list doubled in a matter of minutes || /bin/flame > /dev/chill
<lunatech> vIkSiT: some people thought that the ops (i.e me)
were too leniant
<lunatech> in not kicking people out at slightest provocation
<t3rmin4t0r> slightest ?
<lunatech> that was a major reason why I did not give ops to $culprit
<lunatech> t3rmin4t0r: after the things spiralled out - he was
kicked out
<vIkSiT> why?
<lunatech> vIkSiT: why to which statement ?
<vIkSiT> he was kicking people because they were flooding? :)
<lunatech> no, he was asking for ops, but I did nit give it --
he started ranting about how the channel was own3d
by north indians
<vIkSiT> he actually SAID that?
<lunatech> hehe - yes
<vIkSiT> good god
Now, fast forward to present day - when things have not changed much, as the events would prove. But right now, it is quiet out in the west frontier.
** Chapter #1 - where tazz is a power hungry maniac ... NOT !
<tazz> Lap_64, i would suggest you do a '/msg chanserv access
#linux-india list'
<techno_freak> tazz, for ?
<tazz> for the good of the channel
<$culprit> 50 members - vow
<tazz> so that you can see that my name is not in there and
when the ops here ask woh wantes to be an op here
you can vote for me.
<tazz> comeon Lap_64 i am just a power hungry maniac
<$culprit> tazz are you from north of the vindhyas?
<tazz> no i am from the west of the mumbais
<$culprit> tazz: then you have no chance of becoming an op
<tazz> hey i have dreams and hopes you know
Now, I've got a good memory - a very good memory. It is not like I've never been sour grapes about being denied anything - but sooner of later you've got to stop throwing tantrums and grow up. I'm nobody's personal shrink, but the above conversation drew a picture of someone pouring in tiny blue drops of bitterness (everyone knows jealousy comes in green) into the common well of wisdom (*narf*) that is #linux-india.
** Chapter #2 - t3rmin4t0r acquires magical op powers
* ChanServ gives channel operator status to t3rmin4t0r
<tazz> i wanna be op!, i wanna be op! :-S
* t3rmin4t0r has kicked $culprit from #linux-india (I need to be born
exactly where ... ?)
* t3rmin4t0r removes channel operator status from t3rmin4t0r
<brainless> what did $culprit do ? !
<t3rmin4t0r> heh, he said that you need to be born north of
the vindhyas to be an op here
There are a bunch of people in this world, whom you could respect, if only they'd shut up for a while - ESR comes to mind, immediately. These are people who are not only senior to you in age, but in terms of age in the community - people whom you expect to be calm, mature and mellowed. But there are often exceptions which prove the rule (or compensate for it) - even people twice my age.
** Chapter #3 - $culprit unleases his insults
<techno_freak> omg, $culprit is saying he wont return back
<segphault> techno_freak: I am damn sure he will
* $culprit (n=$culprit@xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) has joined #linux-india
<techno_freak> ahh
* techno_freak grins at segphault
<$culprit> t3rmin4t0r: in my opinion you are an immature rascal
unfit to be in this channel
<$culprit> or any channel
<$culprit> op is a priveldge given to people deemed to be mature
enough to protect a channel
* segphault feels like nostradamus
<$culprit> unfortunately at times ops are given to petty minded
people with a chip on their shoulders who like to
flaunt their authority
<tazz> t3rmin4t0r, was harsh in kicking $culprit out.
<$culprit> not harsh - a juvenile display of his unfitness to
be an op
<$culprit> why the hell did they make a madrassi an op?
<segphault> $culprit: t3rmin4t0r is a veg mallu - madrassis come in
different flavours -- like sambar
<brainless> $culprit, well maybe they are not well represented in
the op clan ?
<segphault> I propose a quota system to fix this issue of ops
representation.
<$culprit> but no more madrassis - and t3rmin4t0r should be de-opped
Funny, isn't it that the same man who was b*tching about people from south india not getting ops is complaining about some madrassi being an op. Yes, the thing I like about these conversations is their consistency of content. But either way, I'm at the pool table (@office) for the period of that conversation - which leaves enough room for other conversations.
** Chapter #4 - "I am codier than thou" quoth the raven
<$culprit> that woman is a girl who has not contributed a line of code
to foss - like her friend empty_mind
<empty_mind> $culprit, she has contributed far more to Creativecommons
than anyone else
* floyd_n_milan doesn't understand why only `code' is considered as
contribution
<empty_mind> $culprit, <blank> is not a computer geek she is a writer
<$culprit> empty_mind: tell her to stick to writing
<empty_mind> $culprit, it is stupid people like you who piss away serious
contributors
<empty_mind> $culprit, she is sticking to writig and contributing more
than you have contributed
<$culprit> what happened to that mallu clown t3rmin4t0r ?
After the random quarter of the continent insults, it starts to get personal - so I'm putting that part off the RSS feed. Let those who want to dig into the steamy underside of IRC life in #linux-india click the link.
** Chapter #5 - insults get personal
<t3rmin4t0r> what else can I talk about @ a college ?
<empty_mind> t3rmin4t0r, loads of things
<t3rmin4t0r> "Do as I say, not as I do" is so hypocritical
<$culprit> $culprit kicks t3rmin4t0r
<$culprit> t3rmin4t0r: is the ultimate hypocripte
<t3rmin4t0r> $culprit: yeah, I took the Hypocrite's Oath
<t3rmin4t0r> no run of the mill hypocrite, I am
<$culprit> t3rmin4t0r: you are a cheap asshole
<t3rmin4t0r> $culprit: exactly how am i an asshole ?
* empty_mind watches $culprit's cheap rant again
<t3rmin4t0r> for good, return good
<$culprit> in every way
<t3rmin4t0r> for evil, return justice
<t3rmin4t0r> so if you think I'm a cheap asshole ... let me not be
the one to judge
<empty_mind> t3rmin4t0r, "return NULL " to $culprit
<t3rmin4t0r> $culprit: I still don't understand what you've got against me
or anyone else in this channel
<t3rmin4t0r> but what goes around, comes around
<t3rmin4t0r> if you can't deal with it, don't dish out and so on
* HereBeDragon didn't get the feeling that $culprit has got anything
against anyone
<$culprit> except that mallu asshhole
* empty_mind thinks $culprit forgets he is not in a court room
<$culprit> t3rmin4t0r: why did you kick me from the channel?
<t3rmin4t0r> because you said something idiotic about people's birth
places and channel ops
<t3rmin4t0r> now, if you can't press /rejoin and take a joke ... I
don't know
<t3rmin4t0r> is your problem, I guess
<t3rmin4t0r> drag politics into this channel and start saying
regionalistic things about "above the vindhyas"
<$culprit> t3rmin4t0r: has licked bihari ass and got power and
showing it off
<t3rmin4t0r> just to stir things up, I don't know what a decent ops
guy might do
<$culprit> t3rmin4t0r: you are a sick son of a bitch
<HereBeDragon> whoa $culprit, let's not be regionalistic
<t3rmin4t0r> or personal ad hominem attacks
<Lap_64> $culprit, may be he licked OldMonks arse
<HereBeDragon> gawd
<HereBeDragon> folks, no personal attacks or regionalism. Period.
That should be the rule.
<$culprit> anyway i am leaving this channel - until that asshole
t3rmin4t0r is kicked out
<empty_mind> t3rmin4t0r, kick $culprit again for personal abuse
<t3rmin4t0r> empty_mind: nah, I don't really take irc that seriously
<Lap_64> $culprit, chill out
* $culprit (n=$culprit@202.56.231.116) has left #linux-india
The insults were so bad that we actually suspected whether it was $culprit himself or just someone else pretending to be him. The IP turned out the be a Bangalore IP, while last known location of $culprit was Chennai. Anyway, I don't really care whether it was the real one or an impostor, that kick was warranted as some conversation later proved - people pickup these biases quite easily.
** Chapter #6 - the influence remains
<$kid> Oldmonk is true bihari
<HereBeDragon> $kid: what about Biharis?
<$kid> HereBeDragon, lots of things
<HereBeDragon> $kid: "no regionalism" you get it. Or else I'll
recommend you be banned.
<$kid> HereBeDragon, can list them all here for a real example
see any bihari talk to him for 5 mins and you will know
So that was friday on #linux-india. I hope I haven't made an enemy out of $culprit, he doesn't quite deserve my enimity - but just as a hint, mellow out, old timer. There are so many better things in life to do than mud sling my teflon coated soul - maybe get yourself a copy of the 70's Show DvD and watch The Cat Fight Club episode.
--Why don't those stupid idiots let me in their crappy club for jerks?
-- Homer Simpson (#2F09, "Homer The Great")
So as it turns out Linux Asia '07 was sponsored by Microsoft and Novell. Even before this was announced, the local LUG - ILUG-D decided that they would boycott the event, and they went through with that decision. But what was to follow is probably competing for the longest single flamefest ILUG-D has ever seen - no holds barred. But the IRC conversations are getting more and more interesting.
<OldMonk> spo0nman: i have very high regard for his intellect <OldMonk> didn't you see the subtle and suave way in which he insulted me in this channel? <spo0nman> OldMonk: you stink of sarcasm. <sm|CPU> Feel the power, know the wisdom <t3rmin4t0r> "sudo intellectual" (n): <t3rmin4t0r> intellecutal whose facts are true because of who he is (or his uid) <OldMonk> t3rmin4t0r: it strenghthens your argument if you blast your own side first <OldMonk> after that you can be as rude as you like and no once can take offense
IMHO, except for the lone exception of bluesmoon, there were no other Indian speakers of note amongs the speaker panel. I think bluesmoon could've made a stand in the situation - but LinuxAsia paid for his flights (heh, more miles) and there are enough people in Delhi to meet. Amidst all the flame wars, Sudev seems to keeping his head - being clear about his worries.
The thread has spread to other mailing lists - where opinions differ from Freedom (capital F) of participation to Freedom to boycott.
I'd given LinuxAsia a wide berth because it has a definite CxO trend to it and is really a media circus, run by real media companies, with a definite slant towards appeasing sponsors (alright, explain away the Google Maps Api talk on day 2).
I really wish Freedel was happening this year in Feb, like it was suggested amidst the heat of September, last year.
--All diplomacy is a continuation of war by other means.
-- Chou En Lai
Linux.conf.au 2007 kicks off on monday, but even now, I'm not exactly sure whether I'll be attending or not. Initially, I'd written off the conference as out of my grasp. But some recent events have convinced me that life's just too short to say maybe next year and give up.
But having decided I was going, my economic woes remained - I just couldn't afford to do the trip, not on my salary. The flight ticket and conference fee together would eatup this entire quarter's take home pay and then there's that simple need of mortality - food (whether I travelled or not).
No Homers Club: So, I vacated my house in Bangalore. The house advance refund and a bit more would pay for my tickets to Sydney and back. For a couple of weeks, I slept in office. For the first couple of days, crashed on the sofas - I'm used to doing that. There is an air-conditioned room with two beds upstairs and pretty soon, I was a resident Yahoo!. Except for the early mornings, the office had everything I needed - hot water showers, coffee, bandwidth and a pool table. And most of December was spent in Kerala. And recently, thanks to some very good friends, I've been sleeping in real beds.
Credit where 'tis due: Credit might be the axle grease of the economy, but it feels really bad to borrow from friends. But I owe about 40k INR to my friends - which is what is really keeping me afloat right now. In the past, I'd have borrowed from my parents - but now, I cannot bring myself to ask. The long and short of it is that, I'm running on empty.
And then visas. I got my visas without any hassles and they're with me right now. But, tickets - that's another story altogether. My Bangalore to Sydney tickets are waitlisted for the last nine days and there is about 48 hours left before I've got to report for the flight.
Last year's trip also went down to the wire - with that visa arriving around 4+ hours before the check-in. But I wasn't truly in control last time and I'd have dismissed it as fate, if I'd missed that flight.
But this time, if I don't end up going ... I'm not going to sit around.
--Lack of money is the root of all evil.
-- George Bernard Shaw
posted at: 18:42 | path: /conferences | permalink |
There are no innocents in this war. To not have an opinion is treachery to a greater cause - for it needs nothing more for evil to thrive than good men to stay out of the battle. But when the battlelines are a line in sand, unclear & transient, only a vocal minority survives a twinge dissent in a dystopia which rewards disloyalty with a jingling bag.
The squeaking wheel always gets the grease, but does a wheel squeak for all others bereft of lubricant ? But there are wheels within wheels, connected cogs running this juggernaut that fulfils our needs, wishes and aspirations. This isn't a zero sum game, where everyone else has to lose.
But silence is golden. In fact, it will be bought with gold, spices and precious stones. The turncoats reap the profits of their new found discretion and the immorally inept, failing to curb their conscience, experience a re-run of Mr Carrot meets Mr Stick.
Like in the game in its simplest form, the winners always defect.
--It occurred to me that my speech or my silence, indeed any action of mine, would be a mere futility.
-- Joseph Conrad, "Heart of Darkness"
Looking at this world is like seeing a movie. The events are dramatic, the villains evil and the heroes just. But recently the script's gone awry - villains are missing. I think we need a Goliath for all the Davids this century has given birth to. So let me introduce to you the third part of the trilogy - Gulf War III. And this time it isn't personal.
Basically, the political actions of the last decade can be reduced to a single line. If you have nukes, the world's policeman would negotiate and embargo you rather walk in with their marines. But assuming you forgot to buy the old russian nukes and those are hardly the stuff that could go off without lightnink and mad scientist included, you'd get stomped over by U N inspectors and then by the afore said marines.
Now that the oil-rich lands of Iraq are ruled by Freedom, we have basically run out of targets which are non-nuclear. Maybe we could try to nail that monster behind 9/11, hunt him out of home, bust every bolt hole and shoot him like a dog ? Or maybe we could bring freedom and peace to the war ravaged lands of Africa but where's the oil, bauxite or natural gas to actually require such a peace keeping effort ?
Anyway, there's enough artillery sitting somewhere in the Persian Gulf to turn Iran into dust. And it is even parked right next to the border that it only takes a hand wave to get the motorcade moving. But whose hand would do the waving and exactly who has his (even her) hands up this particular sock puppet ?
Somebody (yes, a US president himself) said that "Speak softly and carry a big stick". He was right about not hitting anybody in particular. The world will sit idly by watching one getting cut out of the herd and killed, just like all the buffalo on the veldt. Except when you destroy rather than defeat will this world be truly afraid enough to team up and send a message back.
Twice in this world's history have nuclear weaponry been used on innocent civilians. Let this jaded generation wake up to the truth and I don't think anything would do but the glowing horror of the mushroom cloud. So, I say - go ahead and nuke Iran.
Yes, this script's missing a villain.
--"I say we take off; nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
- Corporal Hicks, in "Aliens"