“How much market share does Linux have ??” — Windows fanboy trying to make a point.

“Quick question, who makes better music: Britney Spears or Mozart?” — someone who loves to look beyond

Priceless!!

Link.

It’s not the first time I am moving to a different place. I started moving around places since I was in my teens. But I never learned how to get over this sadness. I know you’ll tell me that it’s natural. I know that, too. However, I changed places so many times, it’d have been my second nature to get settled to a new place very fast. I’d often wondered if I could really call a place my home. But as soon as I move to a new place, I feel like the last one was the sweetest of all!

I guess I should stop my rant here and give it some time.
It’s time to explore!

A lot of time has passed since that post. So far I have played with other distros as well, for example Absolute Linux (which is derived from Slackware),    Damn Small Linux, OpenSuse, besides other distros with Ubuntu flavor, e.g. Xubuntu, Kubuntu. It’s true that I hardly had to spend any time on maintenance,  but the time that I saved was used on customization.  If you are in the loop, only then you can realize what it feels like to make things the way you want  it to be: I love the way I can customize my machine. Everything was not very smooth by the way; for example, I had to learn the hard way how to fix the boot-loader after it was swept away by a new distro that I installed — it was very painful. But other than that, I don’t remember if I had to spend another sleepless night just to fix my system. I spend just too much time using it — so it’s very important that I keep it running. However, at some point of time I realized I am just wasting my time! Sure, the learning experience is great but the bottom-line is I’m not utilizing my time for the things that I should be doing.

Not too long ago, I found that my computer was not playing any sound. If I poked the headphone port with a pin from one of my headphones it suddenly became alive again, but most of the time it did not make any sound other than the whirling of the fan. I called  the customer support just to find out that my warranty period had expired a few weeks ago! No point in pulling my hair now! It was time to get a new machine.

I was eying on the Macintosh computers for a long time — just because they are too fancy, but I always hesitated to buy one because of the huge price tag  (or in words of the Apple haters, “Apple tax”). I realized that I could do almost everything in Linux that I expect to do on a Mac, and I would be paying this  “Apple tax” for the fanciness! But at the same time, I also craved to play with the new system. And along came a Macbook with OSX 10.5 (Leopard) installed. It’s been about three months I have this new machine, but somehow I have found that I don’t have to spend too much time on maintenance. Neither do I have the need to customize it so much as to meet my expectations. It’s just a great system! Well, to be frank, I still spend some time everyday tweaking it, but those are  just minor ones. I feel that I have the perfect system to work with now!

To end today’s rant with a sweet note (!), let’s have a look at some of the funny  Mac vs. PC commercials. Just as a side note, I don’t hate any OS and I’m not a fanboy of any of them — they are just tools to get my work done.

And here’s the punchline:

Technorati Tags: mac, pc, linux, rant

On top of that I had about a day or two to prepare my talk for the final defense. However, during my presentation I felt a strange sense of confidence I never felt before while talking in public — which I guess comes after gaining a certain level of expertise. So, I guess after all I know ‘something’ in my field!

The only complaint that I got from my research committee was that my dissertation had a lot of typographical errors. Let me tell you a secret: I hardly had enough time to proofread it carefully! After finishing it up in such a short time, I just had enough time to run it through a spell checker. Shhhh! don’t tell it to anyone.

I am lucky (smart?) enough to get past the ordeal, but I would not suggest it to any one else.

Technorati Tags: phd, grad

The first encounter. The computer centers in my previous university had all the computers running Red Hat Linux on them. We all hated those computers because they would hang up very often, and it was not very easy to go to the graphical user interface (GUI). At that time GUI was the only thing that used to make me feel at home. I would laugh at my friend who installed some other distro of Linux on his personal computer at his dorm room, and every time he needed to do something or wanted to show us something he would have to type a whole bunch of commands to make it actually work. It did not make sense to me why someone would have to use the command line interface (CLI) — other than for finishing up the programming homework. I hated CLI because among other reasons I was lousy at typing. The only thing that I liked about GNU/ Linux (or any other Unix system that I had access to at that time) was the “talk” command (remember: Yahoo messenger was not that popular at that time in our university). One day I found that our dorm has a separate computer room equipped with several brand new machines and they all have a shiny operating system (OS) called Windows XP. The GUI on XP machines looked so nice and intuitive that I just instantly fell in love with it. The best thing was that I didn’t have to memorize the Madam Helena’s Book of Incantations (ref. Harry Potter et al.) in order to use it. For next five years I would install XP on machines which I had access to. The first computer that I owned was a Dell Inspiron 6000 which came with XP preinstalled.

The life of a Windows user. I was given a Dell desktop (also running XP) at my office besides an SGI workstaion. The previous user of the Dell machine had installed Red Hat Linux on a small partition. I thought it was just a waste of hard drive real estate. I ran partition magic from within XP in order to get rid of that “under-par” OS called Linux. It took a very long time. But the computer would not boot after that. I blamed Linux: had it not been there, I would not have tried to get rid of that in the first place! I had to reinstall my beloved OS, XP. Next day it crashed again. Another re-installation and the crash would come back every other day like a horrible nightmare. I again blamed Linux (for leaving behind its crappy trace)!

A few days later, while playing with my home computer I suddenly realized that all the shiny things had vanished and I was left with an ugly Windows-98-ish GUI and I didn’t have access to my CD/DVD drive, USB port and moreover I could not get online. Dell customer care determined that there was nothing wrong with my hardware (for which I had an extended warranty), and if I wanted support with the software I would have to pay $100. Ouch! Well, I needed a functional computer at home and without the internet and help from the online forums there was no way I could fix it myself without reinstalling the OS. I went away with agreeing to pay $100. For next two days I talked to the tech support for several hours, in vain. At last they decided that a reinstall is the only solution.

Great! Couldn’t I do that myself? Anyway, they agreed to return my money.

Somehow most of the windows services were turned off and I did not have any idea.Tracing my way back, however, I fixed it myself. The bottom line is that the windows system restore is not as omnipotent as I used to think.

This time I cursed my naiveté!

I had Norton Inter Security installed on my laptop. It would make a snail laugh at the speed at which my computer would run. However, I was told by several wise people that it was the only way to stay protected from online threats. I was happy with the feeling of living in a safe world. One day I received an instant message from one of my friends. There was a link in that message and he wanted me to check it out. I clicked at it and suddenly everything just froze up. As a typical windows user, I did a hard reboot and it took me about half an hour to finally be able to click on an icon on the desktop. There was several pop-ups. I just could not stop them coming up. Norton stopped working. I tried to update the virus definitions. It refused. There was no way I could work on this computer. Another reinstall.

This time I blamed my stupidity but my faith on Windows was definitely shaken.

There were several incidents afterwards (including one where MS Office would not let me save a 30 pages long article to be sent to a scientific journal after last six hours of my hard work!), but I don’t want to prolong the list. It made me wonder: how about using Linux again. I decided that I’d just use it to surf the internet (because all the problems come in windows through the internet) and for other things my ‘beloved’ XP! But I was afraid of repartitioning my hard drive which I would have to do to make room for a new OS.

Ubuntu: the first cup. One day I ran across an article on Ubuntu, a Linux distribution which lets users to try it in Windows through a software called Wubi — no partitioning required. I was so cautious that I installed it in an external hard drive. I was not expecting too much. I decided that if I could not get on to internet I’ll just get rid of it and move on. To my surprise, it detected all my drivers and got connected to internet automatically. Moreover, it was blazing fast! Of course it would not play DVD video, flash movies or mp3′s in the beginning, but after a few tinkering and a few visits to the Ubuntu forum I could do pretty much all that I would usually do sitting in front of a computer. I had used Wubi for about a week. Then I installed Ubuntu in my computer on a separate partition. The only reason I still have the windows partition is because I love Age of Empire and Age of Mythology which Ubuntu does not have any alternative (Wine does not work very well to make them run). Now I have three flavors of Ubuntu in three different machines: Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu. For my laptop I settled on Kubuntu because it is very pleasant to my eyes.

The war of OSs. I have seen many people who come to Ubuntu and stay with it starts bashing Windows at every possible chance they get. If you had the same impression about my post I must say I did not intend  to  do so. The only reason I mentioned those mishaps is because I just wanted to trace my steps toward Ubuntu.

 I remember some hotshot computer guy in 50s wondered, rather indignantly, why someone would want to have a computer in his/her home. But the surge that came in 90s changed everything — a computer has become a necessity for every household since then. Windows has played a big role in that — you just can’t deny it. I am saying this keeping in mind that Windows is a proprietary OS, and although it charges big money it does not always pay heed to users’ needs.

But the reason I have chosen Ubuntu as my primary OS is not just because it is “free” as in “freedom” or it has a GPL tag on it. It is because I found myself more comfortable using it — it has a good CLI (well, I had to get used to it for the line of work I chose), a stable GUI, and moreover there is no need to burden the computer with crapwares called antivirus. For my work I need a terminal (Konsole); to prepare any document I need to use LaTeX, an editor (vim) and a PDF viewer (Kpdf); to manage my emails I need an email client (Kontact); to surf internet I need a decent unobtrusive web browser (Firefox); to play audio/video I need a good media player (AmaroK/Dragon Player); and to talk to my folks overseas I need a VOIP (Skype) — and I found Ubuntu serves me well. Moreover, I feel I have more control over the system when I use Ubuntu.

The bottom line. If you find Windows platform to stay productive — stay with it (but I would definitely suggest you to try out a Linux distro and see how that works for you). Somebody said that it really does not matter how big/ nice the thing that you possess is, the only thing that matters is what you do  with it.

Next Part:- Ubuntu: getting my hands dirty

I have Kubuntu 8.10 on my four-year-old Dell Inspiron, which by the way meets more than my computational and geeky needs, but I have never played with Kontact — until today.

It’s so awesome!

Besides all the ‘Outlookish’ features, it has integrated Kjots and Kjournal. I just love this one.

This, by the way, is coming from Kjournal!

I have never been too excited about an iPod (although I got myself one of the low-end iPods a couple of months ago). But it made me jump on my heels when I read about Amazon Kindle. It’s a thing designed especially for the people who do a lot of reading. I love to read books (especially novels), and I have piled a huge lot of books in my apartment. I don’t have a proper place to store them. Moreover, it is not easy for me to carry them with me wherever I’ll move in future. I cannot leave them behind either. The Kindlehas a memory device inside (I guess an SD card), which enables storing books in digital format. It makes organizing and storing your digital reading materials at the tip of your finger (not really, but on the Kindle!). In that sense, I feel, it is similar to an iPod. Keep in mind that iPod was not the first of its kind in the market, but it succeeded in making a revolution. Similarly, Kindle is not the first either, although I’m not expecting such a revolution with this device since more and more people are getting averted from reading books. Haven’t you heard people bragging about not reading anything besides their text books? Well, they are morons anyway, and I don’t care how they will react toward it.

The sexiest thing is that it makes reading a peace of mind. If you have tried reading a novel off a computer screen, then you know how stressful it might be for your eyes. The Kindle does not have a backlit LCD panel like computer screens, but it uses a different technology: it looks as if you are literally reading a paper page: this comes as a boon to your eyes. There are a lot of buttons for browsing, leaving notes, bookmarking, dog-earing, and all the things you would do with a typical paper book. It offers newspaper and blog subscription, too, which I’m not too interested right now: I can live without them on Kindle since I’m happy reading them on my laptop screen (in my feed aggregator). But storing and reading books is what attracts me the most.

It’s very costly at present: $399 is too much for me and it’s just the first generation. I’ll wait for probably another year to get my hands on it (when I’ll have enough money, hopefully, and there will be enough demand for it and the price will be dropped!).

I had a hard time putting my thoughts together: I knew I had something very important to do, but I could not remember it then. A painful headache would not let me think straight!

There had been a big party the previous night: my friend had been getting married! I swear to God, I had not poured too much of alcohol in my stomach. But I could not remember when I passed out!

OK, let’s think logically: the marriage was on Saturday, so today it has to be Sunday (no way I can sleep more than a day!), and tomorrow is Monday.

Fair enough, I reckoned.

Hang on! That means I have to teach tomorrow at 8.

F****! I should have finished my grading. The students wanted to take a look at the homework before taking the midterm.

“Don’t worry,” I assured myself, “I still have time until 8 in the morning! My office is not too far away and I can make it”

I was sleeping fully clothed, so there was no need to get dressed. Keys were in the right pocket, wallet in the back. Everything’s under control!

I slammed the door behind and headed for my car.

Hell! I forgot my glasses.

Well, I am not that blind and it was not too far that I was going, so it should be OK without the glasses! There was no point in going back to get the damn glasses.

“That’s my baby standing right in front of me”, I told myself, “it seems that I was not too drunk to find the closest parking spot last night!”

Funny! The door opened just at a click of the car-remote (so far I remembered, the batteries were long due to be replaced). You’d never know how these electronic gadgets would respond next time you use them! I arranged myself to get ready for the short ride.

And just then a black cat crossed my path.

My mom would have made me get back and start over again. I got rid of the idea very soon. It was getting late.

I released the parking brake and was groping for the ignition key hole. I could remember that it is usually my second nature to start the car at a flick. In an desperate effort to start the ignition quickly I pressed the key hard, and it dropped from my hand.

Great!

That was just plain irritating. However, to my great relief, I found it lying on the cup holder. After some more fiddling I could manage to start the engine. I stepped on the gas to get out of the parking lot fast.

Damn!!!

I slammed on the brake. Somebody was standing just in front of my car. I wished I could set him flying in the air. I thought of honking at him, but he moved away mumbling something to me. Enough of wasting time. “Let’s get going!”

There is a small turn that I take to get on to the University Drive. I almost instinctively took the turn with an easy swirl of the wheel. Next there would be a light from which I would have to take a right, then another couple of lights and in the third light a left turn, and I would be in the university.

What the hell??

There was no sign of a traffic light, and I could see lights far away from below! The front of the car was tilted down toward a cliff!!

Oh my God! Oh my dear God!

I couldn’t recall if there were even a hillock in this small university town.

Then, where am I?

I did not know. But I knew that I would be a dead meat if I did not come up with some way to get myself out of that place soon enough. I quickly shifted the gear to reverse, but the car would not buzz: it was slowly inching toward the cliff.

The weather was very bad: it would probably rain very soon. A nearby tree went on fire after being struck by a thunderbolt. In that light I could see the front of the car I was in. It was a red car.

Mine is a green Mazda!

The grogginess vanished from my head.

What’s happening to me?

Suddenly there was another thunderbolt and in that impact a big rock gave way from under the car. I started falling freely with the car.

Funny as it seemed, I could feel ‘g’, the omnipresent acceleration due to gravity!

Moments later the car hit another big rock and I was thrown out into the air (now you know why you should always buckle your seatbelt). My brain was totally empty.

Another couple of moments later, I felt that I was tumbling down very fast banging on all kinds rocks on my way.

At least, I’m not dead. I can feel it!

That was a big relief. But I could not stop myself from falling. I could not find anything to hold on to.

Suddenly something big hit my head from the back. I could feel the immediate oozing of blood from my broken crown filling my whole body. Soon everything became calm and dark.

I was at peace, ready for the exodus.

All of a sudden there was a huge noise.

“Here comes the messenger of death with the drum-roll,” I assumed.

But the sound was too loud. I finally woke up. Somebody was knocking at the door.

[Picture courtesy: http://blogs.jobdig.com/wwds/2007/08/23/joke-and-cartoon-day/]

After a long break, I hit the gym today, and to my utter dismay I found that almost all the equipments have been rearranged or replaced: I could not easily find the ones I was looking for. I came back frustrated to my apartment within half an hour. Why did they have to change everything?

A friend of mine who bought a brand new PC with shiny Windows Vista on it, was running Windows XP a few days later (he used to have XP on his old machine). Another friend was complaining why his famous electronics store had to move to a totally different place. Yet another friend’s girlfriend complained why he had changed his hairstyle!!

We change. Evolution is the biggest proof (unless you are a creationist!). But why do we have so much resistance against change itself?

Of course, I am justified in complaining if my landlord increases my rent, or my employer cuts down my salary. But we are talking about a different kind of change here, and I hope I made myself very clear on that. However, if the change is for worse, we are going to hate it and complain forever. But who gives the final verdict what’s better and what’s worse?

Inertia? You bet. “A physical body will remain at rest, or continue to move at a constant velocity, unless a net force acts upon it.” Not everyone is ready to embrace a change, learn a new language, or get an Apple (I’m still happy with my PC!).

My trip to India is almost over. I am waiting for going back to the groove once again (hopefully for the last time in my PhD career). As a norm I have had cold with a mild fever, and occasional problems with digestion (or rather, indigestion). At times I feel it’s really hard for me to cope with the virii thronging the Indian air. That’s like a typical NRI, isn’t it? (Well, I am not an NRI yet, but that label has already been stamped on my back). But let me tell you a secret: I was never good at getting over a weather change even before I left the country; so it has to be some problem with my immune system.

I did not want to start with my having a cold or a stomachache, but what can you do when you start writing with a running nose and a cramp in your stomach? I always wanted to write an article on homecoming, but it never took a shape. Lethargy: you might call it.

Well, first things first. I landed at Indira Gandhi National Airport (codenamed as DEL) on December 15. The immigration official (who was looking over my passport and making sure everything was in place) did not even bother to look at my face even though I said a “hi” when he took my papers and a “Thanks” when he allowed me enter my own country. Maybe he was too sleepy. Maybe he was overoworked. Who knows? But I, as others coming from “phoren”, was expecting a little more enthusiam. The sleepyhead poured water (ice?) all over!

The baggage claim area was a small place, yet I did not know where to find a cart and there was no sign telling me where I could find one (probably I had a little of the the people I had to deal with in last few years, who cannot act without being told what to do next). At last, I found a cart, and, thank God, all my bags were in place! I was all set to take a domestic flight to get to my final destination and the long journey of about twenty hours was about to end. There was no hassle in the customs checkpoint (read: there was no one in uniform asking for bribe to get past the point).

But it must be that all my stars were not in the right place: I missed the first air-bus which would take me to the domestic airport. There were hundreds of people outside the gate talking in different “phoren” accents why India is so far behind. I got to hear desi people from different ‘civilized’ countries lecture on how the things should be run here in India and how people should behave and maintain proper queue in the airports, railway stations theaters and every other public places. Having waited for about half an hour in the chilling cold of Delhi (others may not agree with the term “chilling”, but please keep in mind that I was in a not-so-chilly region before coming home), I asked a man in uniform when/ if the next bus is coming and he told me that it should be in another half an hour … if we are lucky. Well, it must be the other people’s luck combined together that made the bus come (although after 59 minutes; but that was OK!). But the fun was yet to begin.

No sooner had the driver parked the small bus near the airport gate, there was a big stampede of all those enlightened desi junta. Needless to say, there was no queue, and it was more like getting onto a Mumbai local train — harder you shove others easier you get on board. The huge number of bags made the situation worse. Soon there were jostling, verbal fights and calling one another names. “Welcome to India”, I whispered to a group of awestruck Belgians trying to get on the bus. The bus started slowly to take us to the domestic airport through the myriad of other vehicles blaring their horns in their highest pitch (FYI: it was 3 o’ clock in the morning).

After an hour or so the bus halted abruptly: some punk parked his car across the road blocking everyone’s path. When nobody came to get the damn car away, our driver gave the demonstration of how a five feet bus can be taken through a four feet opening. I was amazed (well, actually my mouth was totally dry and it was not because of cold). If I have enough money I will start a Nobel prize (or field medal, or academy award: I don’t care!) in driving, and this guy is going to be the first laureate. After dodging several cars, autorikshaws, bulls and dogs the bus dropped us near the domestic airport. We entered there getting ready for another journey.

But, can we always appreciate art? Let’s take an example: you are buying some pictures in a local art shop to decorate your house and suddenly you find that there are several ‘copies’ of the Last Supper along with a shabby version with a price tag of $150. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll go for the shabby one unless somebody whispers in your ear that it has been smuggled from the Louvre!

Washington Post did an experiment to see the outcome of a similar situation: they requested Joshua Bell, an eminent American violinist, to play incognito for about an hour at a Washington DC metro station during morning rush. He agreed.

He emerged from the metro at the L’Enfant Plaza station and positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play.

In normal circumstances, people would kill to get a $100 ticket to listen to his music in a concert; but to his utter surprise, he amassed only a meagre $32.17 (some people threw in some pennies too!).

“At a music hall, I’ll get upset if someone coughs or if someone’s cellphone goes off. But here, my expectations quickly diminished. I started to appreciate any acknowledgment, even a slight glance up. I was oddly grateful when someone threw in a dollar instead of change.” This is from a man whose talents can command $1,000 a minute.

The Washington Post reported that he played six classical pieces in 43 minutes while 1,097 people passed by (most of them were interviewed later). Only two of them were standing there to listen to the music, and at the end, another one recognized him (that’s when he stopped). Most of the passersby were educated and holding government jobs: they were all rushing to their respective jobs. Was Mr. Bell too out of context?

Read more: Pearls before breakfast

Joshua Bell in YouTube: Pourquoi me réveiller from Werther

This morning, about five miles outside of Roanoke, Va., I watched a Nissan pickup truck merge into traffic in front of us on the interstate. I noticed there was something written on the rear cab window. When we got closer, I was able to read what it was — just one word, written in white shoe polish on the glass: WHY? [The Daily Nightly]

Police is yet to find the real motives behind the massacre, although the killer mailed some video clips and messages to a news channel apparently justifying his cause. The cause? It was nothing but the rant of a psychopath blaming the world (more specifically, ‘rich people’). But no cause can justify the killing of innocent people; they were there to learn or teach something, and they caused no harm to anyone on earth: they didn’t deserve to be killed like that.

Shame on the killer(s)! Shame on the people who sell guns!
We don’t need guns in our lives.

I would always wonder why there have to be twelve inches in a foot, and why not ten because that would have been easier and more convenient.

You will definitely start groping for your calculator at once if I ask how many inches there are in 17 yards and 19 feet (1 yard = 36 inches) or else how many inches make a distance of 23.13 feet . It becomes a piece of cake if the units are from the metric system (17 m and 19 cm is equal to 17190 mm, and 23.13 cm is equal to 231.3 mm) . Why the hell did they even create that nasty system of units (in which 12 inches = 1 foot)? We are comfortable using metric units because to convert from one metric unit to another we just need to move the decimal point around, and we don’t see this in the foot-inch thingy. We are all happy with our metric system, or in other words, the power of ten.

Now take your metric ruler and tell me how you divide a line of length one centimeter into six equal parts. What? You can’t do that accurately? How about dividing it into four parts? I am sure that you can’t give me more than two significant figures (with last digit definitely being an approximation). I know you can’t divide it into three equal parts accurately either. Aren’t 1/3, 1/4 and 1/6 the fractions (besides 1/2) that we run across everyday?

The power of 12

You won’t face the same problem had I asked you to do the same for a line of length one foot using a foot ruler: you could divide it easily into 2, 3, 4, or 6 equal parts. Now let me tell you the fun part: if 1 cm were equal to 12 mm, you would not have faced the problem at all! Can you see the power of 12 now?

Convenience of decimal point shifting

My intention is not really to talk about different system of units (e.g. metric or British), but I just wanted to point out which number system, namely decimal (base 10) or dozenal (base 12) is more suitable for our daily life. But I know that you are still confident about the decimal system being better since we can do the decimal shifting and simplify calculations significantly. You would argue that 17 / 10 is 1.7 but 17/12 = 1.166…..; not only the second takes a while more to evaluate but also it’s not exact. 12 is useless!

Did you know that decimal shifting is common in all the systems (e.g. binary, hexadecimal, octal, decimal, and even dozenal) regardless of the base? We should not call it a decimal point if the system is not decimal, but manipulation by shifting the point can be done in other systems as well in the same fashion. Take binary number system for example: 11(b)/10(b) = 1.1 (b) or 101(b)*10(b) = 1010 (b). You can verify them by converting the numbers into their corresponding decimal analogues if you want. In case of 17/ 12 you came up with an awkward inexact fraction because we were still working within the realm of decimal system although we picked 12 as the divisor.

In order to avoid confusion and keep away from ambiguity we’ll use “b” for binary, “d” for decimal and “z” for dozenal system in case of a possibility of any such confusion. First a brief intro about the dozenal arithmetic and then we’ll come back to the problem of 17(d)/12(d).

The dozenal arithmetic and 17(d)/ 12(d)

The dozenal (or duodecimal) numeric symbols are as follows: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, X (ten) and E (eleven). Thus 12 in decimal system is 10 in dozenal (just like 2 in decimal is equal to 10 in binary). FYI:

• 0(z) = 0(d)
• 1(z) = 1(d)
• 9(z) = 9(d)
• X(z) = 10(d)
• E(z) = 11(d)
• 10(z) = 12(d)
• 11(z) = 10(z) + 1(z) = 12(d) + 1(d) = 13(d)
• 15(z) = 10(z) + 5(z) = 12(d) + 5(d) = 17(d)
• 2X(z) = 2(z)*10(z) + X(z) = 2(d)*12(d) + 10(d) = 34(d)
• X2(z) = X(z)*10(z) + 2(z) = 10(d)*12(d) + 2(d) = 122(d)
• XE(z) = X(z)*10(z) + E(z) = 10(d)*12(d) + 11(d) = 131(d)

Here’s an example to clarify the whole thing: 25 in decimal system means two tens and five; it also means two dozens and one which is 21 in dozenal system. Similarly 25 in dozenal system means two dozens and five which is equal to 2*12+5=29 in decimal system. Mathematically,

25(d) = 21(z)

25(z) = 29(d).

NOTE: The symbols “X” (ten) and “E” (eleven) are replaced by “*” and “#”, respectively, in US (since those symbols can be found on a telephone pad); and in Britain the Greek letter epsilon (cap) is used instead of E. The dozenal equivalent of the decimal point (.) is the semicolon (;) although I feel that this distinction is not really necessary.

Now let’s go back to the example of 17(d)/12(d) = 1.16….(d). This example actually shows the limitation of the decimal system and the better applicability of dozenal (I bet you had just the opposite impression). Let me show you how:

12(d) = 10(z)

17(d) = 12(d) + 5(d) = 10(z) + 5(z) = 15(z)

So, 17(d)/12(d) = 15(z)/ 10(z) = 1;5(z).

1;5(z) definitely looks far more manageable than inexact 1.166…..(d), doesn’t it?

The practical base

Twelve is not a magical number. It’s the total number of your finger joints if you count them by your thumb (you won’t count the joints on the thumb)! That maybe the origin of the base 12 but that’s not the reason why it is more practical. Look at the factors of 12: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12. the number of factors indicates that 12 is far more divisible than 10, meaning it’s easier to handle common fractions (e.g. 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 and 1/6) and there are fewer inexact dozenal fractions. That’s the reason why we have 12 hour clock and 12 inches in a foot.

Now we can get back to the first two questions: (1) how to convert 17 yards and 19 feet into inches and (2) how to convert 23.13 feet into inches. If we are within the framework of dozenal system, then

17 yards and 19 feet = 70 feet = 700 inches (since 1 ft = 10 inches in dozenal system)

and 23;13 feet = 231;3 inches.

You don’t need a calculator now, do you?

Did you also notice that there are exactly 12 semitones (with equal separation in terms of frequency) when you jump from one octave to the next (“equal temperament“)?

Technorati Tags: numbers, math, base12, dozenal

A couple of days ago I stumbled upon a term, ‘writer’s block’. I know the fact that at times even a prolific writer may not be able to continue writing at the same pace, but I never knew there could be a phrase to describe that (in medical terms!). But there it is! So what is ‘writer’s block’? I’ll quote from Wikipedia:

Writer’s block is a phenomenon involving temporary loss of ability to continue writing, usually due to lack of inspiration or creativity.

You can see that I am not suffering from writer’s block. It’s just time, that I can’t find enough to work on my blogging. It seems that there are a few writers who suffered decades to get over the block.

The website of faculty of communication and culture at University of Calgary has pointed out several reasons for this:

• perfectionism, self criticism
• self consciousness
• lack of something to say, confused priorities
• trouble getting started
• lack of concentration or discipline
• procrastination

The Wikipedia article gave some remedies for it and I’m citing them just for the fun (you don’t need me or Wikipedia to tell you these if you are suffering from writer’s block!):

• Setting a time and write whatever comes to mind, without stopping, for that time.
• Using writers’ exercises such as “chunking”. They use many websites that contain numerous creative writing exercises. Writers read an exercise, and do it.
• Taking a break, meditating, or doing relaxation exercises to relieve any pressure on oneself and on the writing.
• Doing something out of the ordinary. If writer’s block comes from a lack of new ideas, attempts to spark creativity by going somewhere new or doing something different can be useful.
• Returning to the writing after a lapse of a day or two.
• Write a basic plot outline of the story, if having problems keeping the story on the rails.
• Write or type out a complete short story by one’s favorite author. By the end of ten to twenty pages, the mind is properly engaged to again be creative.
• Brainstorming at the beginning of the writing can help the writer by relating every point to another.
• Reading, watching movies or plays, or similar activities that might bring inspiration.
• If suffering from writer’s block, write about an experience of your own or of a person you know. It’s not the best strategy, but it will work if all else fails.
• Go on a walk in the presence of fresh air.
• Stay close to nature.You can walk around in a garden.

It may turn out to be chronic too. That’s scary, isn’t that?

Technorati Tags: blogging, writing, writer’s block

Let’s take an example: after a light rain when the weather is very soothing you are taking a stroll by the road (you might be listening to a music too, if you want) and all of a sudden a car swerves in the road out of no where and splashes the water all over you. C’mon, say the ‘f’ word! If there are a lot of people around, the odds are that you won’t say it!

Take another example: you went to take your history exam and in the exam room you found it was actually a math test. Oh sh**!! You probably won’t say it in front of your teacher, will you?

Will you say that “You look like a baboon in that dress” or “You sound like a hyena when you laugh”? No. Why? Doesn’t our freedom of speech allow us to say whatever comes to our mind?

We don’t want to sound rude in front of others. We don’t want to let others know what is being cooked in the cauldron of our minds. And we definitely don’t want to sound gross. Bottom line is: we want to showcase ourselves always in a brighter and better light.

Why can’t we be just ourselves and enjoy our freedom of speech? well, you don’t want to prove yourself to be rude, insolent or gross, because you don’t want to be isolated, or left out from a group. The whole idea of being nice can be traced back to the basic human nature of forming groups. In order for the group to sustain, the members must not fight with one another, and being nice to one another is just an effort to eliminate such a dire possibility. That’s why, my friend, you can’t always talk what comes to your mind.

Technorati Tags: freedom, tips, article

Procrastination does not depend on how much (or how less) work we have or how difficult (or how easy) it is. We spend time procrastinating either by doing an overkill of planning, or thinking that it’s so easy that it can be done during the last few moments before the deadline. You know what happens next: you either do a poor job in doing it or take longer than expected, or worst, leave it unfinished!

Let’s see where we are getting at it with this. It is often evident that one who procrastinates a lot has a poor time-management skill. You’ll see him turn up late in all the meetings, he has hard time finishing his work on time, and he often does a poor job on it even though he has the right expertise. You are a perfectionist, that’s fine; but your boss wants the job done on time and as long as you are not getting yourself to do it, you are risking yourself to humiliation of getting fired.

So, what’s the remedy? It’s not very easy to get out of the habit of procrastination, but you are one step toward achieving it if you know that you waste time in procrastination. The best way to get out of it and be more productive is to make a daily schedule. Don’t forget to leave enough room for break. When you take the break don’t even think about the work that you were/ will be doing. On the other hand, keep pushing yourself during your work-hour (Keep saying “Do it”). This means you should have separate time-slots for checking your emails and browsing through news feeds, and they should not overlap with your actual work (assuming those are not your primary job responsibilities).

I feel that I am a lazy person and don’t work up to my full potential. I often find myself spending a lot time speculating and planning. I know for sure that I’ll be editing this entry several times before I publish this in my blog finally (or even after that!). I can’t really help myself with this: I can’t compromise! But I do have a way to restrain my thoughts and rectify them: I carry a pen and notepad (I somehow prefer the ones with spiral binding) wherever possible and take down important ideas that my mind generates. Once they are on my notes, I completly shut them off (at least, I try to) until I have any use for them.
I know it’s hard to keep up, but it’s the only way!

Technorati Tags: procrastination, tips, article, productivity

I did a reality check when I got a speeding ticket while I was driving twenty miles over the posted limit and a warning while driving eight miles over the limit. Some people need a big shock to realize something: the ticket and the warning were probably my eye-openers.

Let’s focus on the illusion about saving time. We generally come across three kinds of situation in our life – case 1: short distance driving (driving to the workplace ~ 20 miles), case 2: medium distance driving (driving to the nearby city (~50 miles), and case 3: driving long distance (~200miles)

Case 1: Short-distance (20 miles) driving (We can safely assume that the speed limit is 40 mph because you’ll be driving within a city)

Even if we assume that you can beat the lights, I don’t think you can drive 20 mph over the limit in the heavy city traffic during the office hour. You’ll be risking a ticket in order to save just 10 minutes! Does it worth the risk?

Case 2: Medium distance (50 miles) driving (assuming you are driving on the freeway, speed limit 70 mph)

This also does not look good: if you are driving 20 mph over the speed limit at a constant speed (meaning you may have to make up for slower traffic, bad road condition, bad weather, etc, by driving even faster!), you will just save 10 minutes. You may again want to ask yourself: does it worth the risk?

Case 3: Long-distance (200 miles) driving (assuming you are driving on the freeway, speed limit 70 mph)

Hmm, the last one looks good! But do you understand that all the cops must be sleeping if you get away with driving 20 mph over the posted limit for more than two hours at a stretch? In this case also, you may have to make up for slowing down due to slower traffic, bad road condition, bad weather, etc which will require you to drive faster than 90 mph at times!

Now let’s look at the risks of getting a ticket:

• 0-5 mph over the limit- you’ll probably be fine
• 5-10 mph over the limit -you may get a warning (it could be a ticket too!)
• 10-15 mph over – a ticket (if you are not careful enough!)
• More than 15 mph over the limit - a ticket, for sure (if you are not lucky enough)

But it’s not about getting a ticket. Have you ever considered that how much risk you are putting your life into by driving over 10 mph over the limit? What happens if the driver in the car just in front of you applies his brakes all of a sudden (because he realized that he should take the exit that he was about to miss) while you were driving at 85 mph in the freeway?

Let’s talk about the fun part that I mentioned in the beginning. The main reason one drives faster than the limit is because he’s late (I don’t think he’s in a fun mood then). If you do it in order to feel your adrenaline rush, then I don’t think you can enjoy the fun that we find in the very simplest of the things in life!

Let’s summarize all the financial risks here (so that you know for sure what may come on your way):

• Accident and risk of life
• Fuel: cost of increased consumption

As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas.

• Tickets: monetary loss
• Increase in auto insurance rate: more monetary loss
• Lost peace of mind.

Do you need any more reason for not willing to become a Michael Schumaker on the road?

Thank God I left blogger!

• Talking to oneself:To me, blogging is like talking to myself. Whenever I feel like talking my heart out, I blog. I love to write and that’s what makes me blog.
• Organizing oneself:There are a lot of things that go on in my brain while I am awake. I take every thought as potential topic and whenever I can I get hold of pen and pencil and jot down my thoughts in an organized way so that I can refer to it when write my blog.
• Expanding one’s knowledge:Whenever I write on a topic I make it a point to do some research (may it be in book or in internet) and that way I try to make sure what I am writing is worthwhile and not some kind of random or passing thoughts. Every time it makes me learn a lot of new things which I didn’t know yesterday.
• Socializing: If you are not very sociable (like me), blogging is the best way to communicate your thoughts to others. I often find it easier to write on a given topic than to talk about it.
• Creativity: I blog therefore I exist. I blog, thus I create. To me, blogging is like creating a new symphony, or like dabbing a brush on a canvas.

I can go on and on like this. But the point is that it’s like falling in love!