What is the purpose of life?

(In reply to someone's post on FB.)

Two theories I subscribe to:

1. We are part of a complex computation. Anyone into speculative fiction will have come across this theory. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy will give you a good example of what I mean. In that book, the Earth... and all of us are a computer which has been assigned to find the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. H2G2 may be a humourous take on this but underneath that humour, there are some very concrete answers to your question.

2. We are travelers. This is an answer that comes from a serious problem in space travel. The problem is that all living things have a limited life span. If one were to attempt space travel lasting several thousands of years, our range is limited by the life span of the traveller. So, we populate the ship with enough life forms to survive several generations. Even if the original travellers die, the descendants still have a good chance of making it to the intended destination. Read this wiki article for a clearer explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_ship

There is also the theory that God created us so he could have a relationship with us. I find that very very disturbing.

What a scoop!!

Dear Times of India,

We are so proud of you... and so are your families, your pets, your extended families, their pets and you yourselves. What a scoop!! A very important question facing Indian society today: "Are we 'flexisexual'?" THIS is what we call journalism. A textbook example of responsible reporting.

A couple of months back, this fella (chap called Craig Venter) created a living cell in his lab. (How boring. Cells have been around ever since Life first appeared on this rock.) Very recently some senior media persons were implicated brokering favors between political parties. (Boring. We already knew that.) And then let's not forget how Julian is so publicly sodomizing the high and mighty with the help of the amazing HyperText Transfer Protocol. (Geeks are boring by default.) Surrounded with such trivialities, it must be really tough to focus on things that really matter. Things like: "Are you 'flexisexual'?"

Let us all spare a moment to step back and tip our hats to the mighty TOI. India is ever proud of you. We are all flexisexual.

Agnel C J Kurian

More Zen-like stories...

Google this: intitle:the.tao.of

Sample: The Tao of Backup.

Revenge of the Sikh

Got this in the mail:

In the Diwali vacation, Jayant and a couple of his friends had gone to Delhi .

They rented a taxi for local sight-seeing. The driver was an old Sardar, and boys being boys, Jayant and his pals began cracking Sardarji jokes, just to insinuate the old man.

But to their surprise, the fellow remained unperturbed.

At the end of the sight-seeing, they paid up the hire-charges. The Sardar returned the change. Moreover, he gave each one of them one rupee extra and said, (in Hindi, of course) ''Son, since morning you have been telling Sardarji jokes. I listened to them all and let me tell you, some of them were in a very bad taste. Still, I don't mind coz I know that you are young blood and are yet to see the world. But I have just one request. Here I am giving you one rupee each. Give it to the first Sardar beggar that you come across in this city."

Jayant continued, "That one rupee coin is still with me. I couldn't find a single Sardar begging on the streets of Delhi ."

Friends, we all love sardar jokes. But the fact of matter is that Sikhs are one of the most prosperous and diversified communities in the world. The secret behind their universal success, according to me, is their willingness to do any job with utmost dedication. A Sardar will drive a truck or set up a roadside garage or a dhaba, but he will never beg on the streets.

A Small Village in Austria

Let me take you straight to this article [wiki] and also a related news story about a nice little village in Austria.

St. Germain on Flickr

Some neat snaps of my school - St. Germain Boys' High School on Flickr.


Originally uploaded by zimblymallu.

Code Monkey

Code Monkey is a song written and preformed by Jonathan Coulton which describes the life of a coder (who bears a very uncanny resemblance to...me!!). The song was slashdotted over a year ago and has developed a pretty good following on the internet. And the Code Monkey dance is pretty neat IMHO.

Do not Disturb

A 'Do not Disturb' list for India (to put an end to telemarketting calls). When you register your number on these sites the companies are under legal obligation to keep you out of their promotional campaigns.

Looking for Zen-like Stories

Simple. Google this: "approached the master"

Hacker Tales: Part 2

A Short History of Hacking at Neatorama.