tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112291722024-03-08T12:41:42.842+05:30Shakti BarAgnel Kurian's blog for anything in the miscellaneous category.Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-15472982902753254602010-12-22T08:53:00.003+05:302010-12-22T09:05:47.546+05:30What is the purpose of life?<span jsid="text"><div id="id_4d116f4d41b232f08752013" class="text_exposed_root text_exposed">(In reply to someone's post on FB.)</div><div id="id_4d116f4d41b232f08752013" class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><br /></div><div id="id_4d116f4d41b232f08752013" class="text_exposed_root text_exposed">Two theories I subscribe to:</div><div id="id_4d116f4d41b232f08752013" class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><br />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<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show"> 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.<br /><br />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: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_ship" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://en.wikipedia.org/wi</span><wbr><span class="word_break"></span>ki/Generation_ship</a></span></div><div id="id_4d116f4d41b232f08752013" class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><br /></div><div id="id_4d116f4d41b232f08752013" class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span jsid="text">There is also the theory that God created us so he could have a relationship with us. I find that very very disturbing.</span></div></span>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-60709740169747960372010-12-01T00:52:00.002+05:302010-12-01T00:54:53.954+05:30What a scoop!!<div>Dear Times of India,</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>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: "<a href="http://goo.gl/PFUod">Are we 'flexisexual'?</a>" THIS is what we call journalism. A textbook example of responsible reporting.</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div>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: "<a href="http://goo.gl/PFUod">Are you 'flexisexual'?</a>"</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Agnel C J Kurian</div>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-27035874421148507352007-07-06T17:30:00.000+05:302007-07-06T17:33:39.434+05:30More Zen-like stories...Google this: <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=intitle%3Athe.tao.of&btnG=Google+Search">intitle:the.tao.of</a><br /><br />Sample: <a href="http://www.taobackup.com/">The Tao of Backup</a>.Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-64564247232793538202007-07-06T17:14:00.000+05:302007-07-06T17:29:33.446+05:30Revenge of the Sikh<span style="font-size:100%;">Got this in the mail:<br /><p></p><blockquote><p>In the Diwali vacation, Jayant and a couple of his friends had gone to Delhi . </p> <p>They rented a taxi for local sight-seeing. The driver was an old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikh">Sardar</a>, and boys being boys, Jayant and his pals began cracking Sardarji jokes, just to insinuate the old man. </p> <p>But to their surprise, the fellow remained unperturbed. </p> <p>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." </p> <p>Jayant continued, "That one rupee coin is still with me. I couldn't find a single Sardar begging on the streets of Delhi ." </p> <p>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.</p></blockquote><p></p></span>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-4432051301738857392007-05-06T22:11:00.000+05:302007-05-27T20:49:09.910+05:30A Small Village in AustriaLet me take you straight to this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fucking%2C_Austria&oldid=128401759">article</a> [wiki] and also a related <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/15/austrian_signs/">news story</a> about a nice little village in Austria.Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-89865712102370777062007-05-06T19:38:00.001+05:302007-05-27T20:49:32.439+05:30St. Germain on FlickrSome neat <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbly/sets/72057594077170767/">snaps</a> of my school - St. Germain Boys' High School on Flickr.<br /><br /><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbly/88479212/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/88479212_3b8a095775_m.jpg" /></a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/zimbly/">zimblymallu</a>.Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-49160997848954930522007-05-06T12:47:00.000+05:302007-05-27T20:48:43.445+05:30Code Monkey<a href="http://www.jonathancoulton.com/music/thingaweek/CodeMonkey.mp3">Code Monkey</a> 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 <a href="http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/04/23/159227">slashdotted</a> over a year ago and has developed a pretty good following on the internet. And the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lLRBiEBRAc">Code Monkey dance</a> is pretty neat IMHO.<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2lLRBiEBRAc" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-61786818954070097502007-04-24T13:32:00.000+05:302007-05-06T13:43:14.557+05:30Do not DisturbA <a href="http://www.donotdisturb.in/">'Do not Disturb</a>' 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.Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1162451024153505322006-11-02T12:28:00.000+05:302006-11-02T12:33:44.193+05:30Looking for Zen-like StoriesSimple. Google this: <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22approached+the+master%22">"approached the master"</a>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1158585479956259002006-09-18T18:46:00.000+05:302006-09-18T18:47:59.966+05:30Hacker Tales: Part 2<a href="http://www.neatorama.com/2006/08/28/a-short-history-of-hacking">A Short History of Hacking</a> at <a href="http://www.neatorama.com">Neatorama</a>.Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1150982968520219842006-06-22T18:51:00.000+05:302006-06-22T19:05:58.783+05:30Hacker Tales: Part 1<blockquote>"Hacking is the clever circumvention of imposed limits, whether imposed by your government, your IP server, your own personality, or the laws of physics." -St. Jude Milhon</blockquote><br /><br />I'm not much of a hacker myself but lately I've been very busy surfing hacker-related articles on Wikipedia. Hacking will never fail to captivate me. Starting with this post I'll be putting up links to anything interesting I can find.<br /><br />The most facinating hacker article I've ever come across so far: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hacker_War">The Great Hacker War</a>.<br /><br />Excerpt:<br /><blockquote>The Great Hacker War was a 1990–1991 conflict between two hacker groups; the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_Deception">Masters of Deception (MoD)</a> and a faction of the older guard hacker group <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Doom_%28hacking%29">Legion of Doom (LoD)</a>. Each side attempted to hack the other's computers, across Internet, X.25, and telephone networks around the world.</blockquote>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1150269630091860342006-06-14T12:38:00.000+05:302006-06-22T18:50:59.636+05:30The Tree of Ténéré<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4785/675/1600/Tree_of_Tenere.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4785/675/320/Tree_of_Tenere.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />This was once the most isolated tree on Earth — the only one within more than 400km. See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_Tenere">Arbre du Ténéré</a> [Wikipedia].Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1143049315197330142006-03-22T23:09:00.000+05:302006-05-18T15:03:01.436+05:30Major Attempts at Utopias in History<a href="http://www.trivia-library.com/major-attempts-at-utopias-in-history/index.htm">Here</a> is a set of brief articles describing major attempts at utopian societies in history. My favorite is the '<a href="http://www.trivia-library.com/a/attempted-utopias-society-captain-mission-pirate-utopia-part-1.htm">Captain Mission Pirate Utopia</a>' - a whole community on a ship. I'm surprised I could'nt find any related entries on Wikipedia!!<br /><br />Here's <a href="http://rocketjam.gnn.tv/blogs/13488/Captain_Mission_and_the_Liberal_Revolution">another post</a> about Captain Mission.Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1135323506350896252005-12-23T13:08:00.000+05:302005-12-23T13:18:29.326+05:30SQUID Labs :: Engineering Design and Technology Innovation<div xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#"> <p>Here's the concept: just like you can share know-how via open source software, you can also share any kind of engineering ideas via blueprints, manuals or other media. Build better mouse-traps and share them with others. Cool! Atleast some things are going the right way in this crazy world. (Hard to believe they got Bush for President!!! How come?!!)</p> <p> Read more at <a href="http://www.squid-labs.com/">www.squid-labs.com/</a> and <a href="http://www.instructables.com/">www.instructables.com</a> </p> </div>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1133964551683011032005-12-07T19:15:00.000+05:302005-12-08T08:15:38.683+05:30Omri's Computer Humour PageHere's a cool collection of geeky computer humour: <a href="http://www.cs.bgu.ac.il/~omri/Humor/index.html">Omri's Computer Humour Page</a>.<br />No lame computer jokes here. This is the cool stuff.<br /><br />Don't miss <a href="http://www.cs.bgu.ac.il/~omri/Humor/write_in_c.html">'Write in C'</a> -- the hacker version of the Beatles' <a href="http://dmbeatles.com/song.php?id=158">Let It Be</a>.Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1133799603702300512005-12-05T21:46:00.000+05:302005-12-05T21:54:28.326+05:30Wikipedia in the wrong hands<ul>Here are a few examples of what Wikipedia can do in the wrong hands:<br /><li><a href="http://www.lostremote.com/archives/006694.html">Wikipedia 'bio' has former Kennedy aide furious</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-11-29-wikipedia-edit_x.htm">A false Wikipedia 'biography'</a></ul><br />But then anything and everything that can be used for some good can also be used otherwise.Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1133496864372357732005-12-02T09:41:00.000+05:302005-12-20T09:45:52.773+05:30Drinking Too Much Beer<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4785/675/1600/effects_of_too_much_beer.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4785/675/320/effects_of_too_much_beer.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1132678183523013732005-11-22T22:01:00.000+05:302005-11-25T11:05:13.293+05:30Jack and the BeanstackThis one's an old favorite. If you've ever killed time running <span style="font-family:monospace;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_%28program%29">fortune</a></span> on a Unix shell, you just might have read this. I've pasted only a small extract here (with the author's permission) but you can read the whole piece on the <a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~misaak/jackbean.html">author's site</a>.<br /><br /><strong>Jack and the Beanstack</strong> <br />by Mark Isaak <br /><br /><blockquote>Once, in a finite state far away, there lived a JOVIAL character named Jack. Jack and his relations were poor. Often their hash table was bare. One day Jack's parent said to him, "Our matrices are sparse. You must go to the market to exchange our RAM for some BASICs." She compiled a linked list of items to retrieve and passed it to him. <br /><br />So Jack set Forth. But as he was walking along a Hamilton path, he met the traveling salesman. <br /><br />"Whither dost thy flow chart take thou?" prompted the salesman in high-level language.<br /><a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~misaak/jackbean.html">More...</a><br /></blockquote>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1132222189056041462005-11-17T15:34:00.000+05:302005-11-17T15:39:49.086+05:30Robert Howard's WorksFinally found <a href="http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Robert_E._Howard">the works of Robert E. Howard</a> after a very long search. Surprisingly I could not find a single copy of his stuff anywhere on Google and other search engines. Robert E. Howard happens to be the creator of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_The_Barbarian">Conan the Barbarian</a>.Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1131636544284432882005-11-10T20:52:00.000+05:302005-11-10T20:59:04.570+05:30Spline DoctorsNeat little blog by a group of animators.<br /><a href="http://www.gheehappy.com/gods/gods_page.htm">Spline Doctors - Animators by day Animation teachers by night.</a><br /><br />Also found a link to one <a href="http://www.gheehappy.com/info/info_page_new.htm">Sanjay Patel</a> whos created a neat lil <a href="http://www.gheehappy.com/gods/gods_page.htm">compilation of Hindu Gods</a>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1131600754650553892005-11-10T11:00:00.000+05:302005-11-10T11:02:34.650+05:30Darwin AwardsFrom Wikipedia:<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Awards">Darwin Awards</a><br /><blockquote>"A Darwin Award is an honor given to people who supposedly help to improve the human gene pool by 'removing themselves from it in a spectacularly stupid manner'..."<br /></blockquote>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1131599795043970382005-11-10T10:39:00.000+05:302005-11-10T10:46:35.043+05:30Unusual DeathsFound these on wikipedia:<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_deaths">List of unusual deaths</a><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_died_in_the_bathroom">List of people who died in the bathroom</a>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1131599159944876672005-11-10T10:31:00.000+05:302005-11-10T10:35:59.943+05:30New Age Ninja Worship!Firstly here's a sample: <a href="http://www.realultimatepower.net/ninja/scripts.htm">Scripts from www.realultimatepower.net</a><br /><br />Sure to get you totally pumped up!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.entertheninja.com/ninja_fun/coldhardfacts.shtml">Cold Hard Facts about Ninjas! I'm serious.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.realultimatepower.net/index4.htm">REAL ULTIMATE POWER</a>Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11229172.post-1109939521812518922005-03-04T17:54:00.000+05:302007-07-06T17:53:55.786+05:30This blog is about...Anything interesting I find on the web.<br />Nothing specific. Anything I feel like posting comes here. I surf the web a lot and I think I manage to scoop up some of the most interesting stuff on the web. Keep an eye on this space to know what 'interesting' means.<br /><br /><br /><code>/* Shakti Bar is the name of my favorite hang-out. I usually go there alone, have two whiskies, some chicken and some fried rice for dinner. If you're ever in Bangalore do drop in. Its right opposite Coles Park, Fraser Town. And don't miss the Biryani.*/<br /><br /></code><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update (7th July 2007):</span> Shakti Bar has been running under new management for nearly a year now. It has been renamed United Bar, it has had a lot of changes ...and it's no longer my favorite hang-out.Agnel CJ Kurianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108024180511317456noreply@blogger.com2