The pleasing paradox ...

I thought this article presented a balanced point of view. Very interesting read indeed!

Paraphrasing some of content:

The challenge is to be of service without becoming servile. We shouldn’t elevate any customer to the role of superior being, but treat each with human respect.

Human respect does not involve treating others as if they were superior or defining yourself through their expectations just because they're paying the bill. Human respect means being responsible, not overly responsible—a curious form of irresponsibility. Don’t cut others' meat for them.

Human respect demands that I respect myself so that I can respect others. Whenever I take that humbling step down and backwards, I can lose my own self-respect, and thereby forfeit my ability to really respect—or be of real service—to anyone else. When I can engage with my customer as a peer, we both seem more satisfied with the result.

I think it is important that you satisfy yourself by doing what you do.

Code comments!

A friend forwarded these code comments recently. Some of them are hilarious!

The best code comment seen in source code ......

1. ///

/// Class used to work around Richard being a $#!%^&* idiot
///

///
/// The point of this is to work around his poor design so that paging will
/// work on a mobile control. The main problem is the BindCompany( ) method,
/// which he hoped would be able to do everything. I hope he dies.
///

2.

// I dedicate all this code, all my work, to my wife, Darlene, who will
// have to support me and our three children and the dog once it gets
// released into the public.

3.

// Magic. Do not touch.

4.

return 1; /* returns 1 */

5.

/* This is O(scary), but seems quick enough in practice. */

6.

/*
* You may think you know what the following code does.
* But you don’t….Trust me.
* Fiddle with it, and you’ll spend many a sleepless
* night cursing the moment you thought you’d be clever
* enough to "optimize" the code below.
* Now close this file and go play with something else.
*/

7.

//When I wrote this, only God and I understood what I was doing
//Now…God only knows

देवनागरी आणि इतर "इंडिक" लीप्यंकन ...

OK, many of my dreams are coming true. One of the dreams was to be able to type in देवनागरी just on the browser.

Several schemes have been attempted for this to happen. But nothing is as simple as using Google Transliteration API and Firefox and its extension for Indic Translation, written by Sridhar. There is room for improvement (of course) but this is a very good step forward.

For the impatient, here is the recipe:

1. Dump Internet Explorer. Use Firefox as your web browser. Get it from http://getfirefox.com.
2. Start the Firefox browser.
3. Click on this link (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8731).
4. Click the (green) button: "Add to Firefox".
5. A Window will pop-up. After a few seconds, "Install Now" button will activate. Click it.
   
6. Firefox would prompt you for "Restarting Firefox". Click that button.
7. Firefox will restart.
8. Let's say you log on to your mail client (e.g. Yahoo! Mail, GMail etc.) If you are using Yahoo!, please choose the Plain Text formatting.
9. After clicking inside the Compose Window, you'll see a block like the one in adjacent image.
10. Choose a language of your choice and check the check-box. This should get you going. At the end of a "Word" boundary, the transliteration would occur. For example typing "bharat" should show you "भारत".
    

Thanks to Sridhar and Google Transliteration API!

English: Tip #2

Consider using "the reason (something) (reason)" without an intervening because. This is often violated and the resulting sentence is rather funny to read.

In such sentence, "the reason (something) " should be simplified for it to make sense.




I was rather surprised that Seth ran into this trap!

Beta or Not Beta -- That's the Question ...

GMail -- Are you Beta or Not? Since anyone can create an account now (which implies it is "out of Beta", I guess) do I need to send any invites to anyone?

Life: a Journey To Be Grateful About ...

I am so grateful having watched one of the greatest Tennis matches ever. After Roger Federer won his first French Open title, I just could not help myself and tears rolled down my eyes, just like his. Of course, I am one of his countably infinite fans, but this feeling is a genuine one. I celebrated his victory just like he would, with those tears of joy. It's rare (yes, rare) that a true champion is loved, respected, bitterly fought against by others. He is one such gem and I am just fortunate to be watching him play, lose and ultimately prevail. I am so glad that he left no doubt and gave no chance to biased sports critics who would not hesitate to brand him a bad player had he not won his fourteenth Grand Slam title.

Similar feelings have gripped me when several remarkable things have happened in life, sports or otherwise. Vishy Anand's becoming the World Chess Champion, Pete Sampras's fourteenth Grand Slam Title, several of Sachin Tendulkar's triumphant innings ... All victories and defeats are so enjoyable.

It's exactly like what Poet Bokar said:

भाग्य केवढे, आपुली चाले यातूनच यात्रा!

(We are so fortunate to do carry out the journey of life amidst such marvels).

Carol, please fix Classic Yahoo! Mail ...

It's annoying when the URL's you send in your e-mail are mangled by your web-mail client. Yahoo! Mail client does exactly that and annoys you so much that it's even worse than annoyance caused by a dumb motorist in front of you (while driving). To those Yahoo! Mail developers who don't yet see it --

1. Use your software to send e-mails to a Yahoo! group or others.
   
2. Just put a link to web-page to it.
   

Upon receiving the e-mail, the URL not only does not remain clickable, but also is rendered virtually useless because some space characters are inserted in it. Come on! How hard is it to recognize something to be a link in an e-mail content? Yahoo! Mail support is surprising useless in dealing with this issue. Worse than Comcast support!

This is one of those bugs in Yahoo! Mail's HTML composer that keeps me from using it. This is one of the reasons (little annoyances here and there) GMail is likely to surpass Yahoo! Mail in terms of use, pretty soon. The Classic Yahoo! Mail was changed to use a wad of JavaScript based new client and that is even worse because it is way too bulky.

Carol -- don't waste the head-start you once had in web-mail use. Or have you already given up on it?

What is permanent and what changes ...

This is one of the questions that always intrigue me. I believe in the sentiments expressed in this great quote:

There is only one thing that is permanent and that's change.

But this quote is a source of confusion as well. While changing something, you need to rely on something else that you consider permanent and build on top it. For someone else, this set might be different. Thus, what changes and what's permanent is a matter of perspective of someone who creates something.

Thus, creators create things from nothing and unleash them. The world then upholds them or not. That means the world subscribes (or not) to the change that the creator has brought about. To embrace the change, we apply some techniques like:

• The change should solve the problems with current system while doing all the functions it already does.
• It is more beautiful, which is a matter of taste. But sometimes, beauty is abstract.

Or, you simply think that a change is a breath of fresh air and commit to changing the way you do things even if you run the risk of changing something that isn't broken!

It's this obsession with change that fuels creativity that drives the world.

Be Terse ...

If you read Seth Godin's blog, first thing you notice is his ability to be remarkably terse. I wish I had that skill.

English Usage: Tip 01

English is not my first language. But having lived the language for better part of life, I observe pattern in its usage by its users, especially in writing. So much has been written about "English Writing" that a newcomer like me would be discouraged to write anything any more. But that's not what I am trying to achieve with these posts. It's just a set of observations I have made. It's just an attempt to provide simpler alternatives to convoluted usage without loss of intended meaning. I am doing it in the same vein as the great Patricia O'Conner does it in her seminal book, Woe is I (of course, with much more capacity and capability).

Of course, this is a daunting task and I make no claims of its success or validity. Linguists and English language professors and other references should be consulted for the same, but hey -- it's my blog and I am not fooling around. It's an expression of "nobody" observing something. I will try not to make my own mistakes while I post, and I provide a blanket apology for the same right here ;).

So, without any further ado, here I go.

Tip 01

I see use of these kinds of requests ...,

e.g.

We're trained to respond to these kinds of requests with a sharp intake of breath.

I often stumble upon such use. Questions like "is singular (this kind) more appropriate than the plural?" trickle to my mind.

Doesn't just the same get captured with:

We're trained to respond to such requests with a sharp intake of breath.

?

What's wrong with dictionary.reference.com

While reading the enjoyable Agile Web Development book, I came across the word perversion. Of course, I started looking for its meaning on dictionary.com, by using the search engine addon on Firefox.

The first thing I realize is the clutter they have added to the site. Wow. If the caret browsing is on, you just can't use the site. I almost decide that I should now devise a new model for displaying paid advertisements and actual content better. Anyway, I will bite the bullet and turn the caret browsing off. I press on to understand meaning of this word: Perversion

Here is what I find:

per.ver.sion:
-noun

1. the act of perverting.
2. the state of being perverted.
3. ....

OK, so I need to look into what pervert means. Sadly, there is no double clicking on the word to look a word up. So, I either choose it from the related word list or look "pervert" up explicitly. And this is what I get:

pervert
-verb

1. to affect with perversion.
2. to lead astray morally.
3. ...

What?

Put literally, the first bullet point on pervert means -- to affect with "the act of perverting". Does that even make any sense?

Again, there is no criticism of this web-site (which I use heavily) meant here and I have no relationship with their business. I have no business affecting their traffic. It's a subtle usability observation about the web-site and probably structure of English Dictionaries in general. Why can't the first given meaning be the one a dictionary user would look for? I mean if Google weren't to put the most relevant search result at the top, how good would they be?

Start leaving your mobile phone somewhere!

Google (as a company) keep on coming up with something. They have to try out different things, believe in them and see if we believe in them too. Of course, we believe in their search prowess. But do we believe in everything they have done? Of course not. And again, they are trying out several things on the basis of lot of intellect and money that they (sort of) own. Sometimes, their judgment is bound to go wrong.

Take the case of Google Latitude for instance. Unless you are like me (a forgetful soul), you might repent sharing your physical location with your near and dear ones. Seriously. And it is even more unfortunate to see official Google Blog saying something like

So now you can do things like see if your spouse is stuck in traffic on the way home from work ...

Pardon my language, but WTF? On a crowded highway, what are you going to achieve by seeing(if you are a strong believer in seeing is believing, that is) that your spouse is caught in a traffic jam? We (still) don't have the technology to muster a Star Trek fame Teleportation. So, what is it that you are going to achieve? That the dear one who has shared her physical location with you is really where she says she is? 

I am telling you, you need to be forgetful like I am. If you are not, you need to pretend to forget belongings when desired. Or maybe (hopefully) in a year from now, people will defeat Google Latitude.

Thread of Life ...

This is a brilliant movie in the public domain. Please watch it in the earnest.

Game 2: 1/2-1/2

Whew. It was a wonderful game. Both the giants (as Levon Aronian called them) played well. But Vishy definitely surprised his opponent (who am I to say he surprised Kramnik, I can't read his mind ;)) by playing 4 ... f3. It was rather atypical that it was Anand who had less time left on the clock -- but hey, it is the World Chess Championship where they play classical time control!

It was very tense during the game as it progressed:


Move 8:




Move 14:




The draw agreed:













Replay the game at: http://chessbase.com/news/2008/bonn/games/bonn02.htm

Scores after Round 02: Anand -- 1, Kramnik --1.

Game 1: 1/2-1/2

Game 1 of the match was drawn with the World Champion having plenty of counter-play after being a pawn down. Vishy played Black and resorted to Exchange Slav.

Here is how it ended.



See (http://chessbase.com/news/2008/bonn/games/bonn01.htm) for the complete game.

World Championship Chess Match ...

Ah folks. Here we are.

Next Tuesday, October 14, 2008 it is. Vishy Anand will be all set to defend his World Championship title against the challenger Vladimir Kramnik. It is expected to be an intense battle for the supremacy rather than a string of predictable draws. Who wins is matter of few days but the chess enthusiasts from around the world are going to enjoy this match being played at the famous Arts and Exhibitions hall at Bonn, Germany.

Here is the official website.

The tension is unbelievable and as a Vishy Anand fan, I feel my chest is bursting. I am sure he is calm and composed just as he said in this interview at chessbase.com -- a must read for any chess enthusiast (or a person who likes any form of art or sport or a thing of beauty).

If you want to see and hear what this man's current thinking is, click on the image/video below (from ibnlive):

Wow! I can't wait.

The 3 Trillion Dollar Iraq War ...

All right, this is one of the most straightforward accounts of just how dearly the war has cost the Americans.

Wake up!

The New American Dollar Bill ...

Someone sent me this

imprint of the American Dollar Bill. Looking at the current economic situation and bailouts, it looks painfully funny!

(Disclaimer: I make no claims about this image. I am just using it for the sake of sharing the fun part of it. It is not an attempt to draw more readership to this post.)

Books on Mathematics (Free)

While browsing the Internet, I found this list to act as a ready reckoner for myself and others who find my blog post (unlikely phenomenon). Thanks to the person who compiled this list.

Giving a real chance to environment friendly life-style ...

Somehow, I have a feeling that unless I switch to a life-style that minimally stresses the environment, I am not making the best use of my lifetime here. But surprisingly, and somewhat unfortunately, the real information, the real exemplary lives that demonstrate how to go about it are hard to find. This is the situation in the Bay Area, California. Frustration grips me.

I am looking for real people and advice that will set me on this path. I know my blog is not necessarily the best way to reach out (who reads my pointless ramblings, anyway :) ), but I have started trying out various avenues in my Quest.

I am sure one of the necessary (but not sufficient) things to do here is keeping your needs in check. I am prepared to do that. But how can I make a difference? Also, I am up for evolution, not revolution and I am (painfully) aware that I need to be patient as we soon will be 9 Billion people and any progress is going to be slow (and slower).

But I am becoming more and more melancholy every time I (have to) use/buy bottled water after a grueling cricket match, plastic merchandise at a social gathering, diapers and so on.

I am hopeful that humankind will prevail. We have taken millions (literally) of years to get here. We can't be wiped out clean because of environmental imbalance. But the future is murky. The life expectancy has improved a lot and that is likely to pose difficult problems.

Let me live the phrase "Charity begins at home". Can you help?