tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90787092012-02-12T23:50:11.312-08:00mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-10864895268212212752010-02-12T23:00:00.000-08:002010-02-12T23:00:03.266-08:00

One of my favorite scenes in the movie 'Saving Private Ryan' is towards the end, when the group is waiting for German forces to arrive after they find Ryan. Edith Piaf's opera 'Tu Es Partout' is playing on an old gramophone among ruins of a city. There is something very powerful about juxtaposition of classical music with war and its ruins. The same juxtaposition powers the Fallout-3 universe.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-78486371249323013832010-02-10T21:55:00.000-08:002010-02-10T22:33:14.424-08:00

I'm not a big fan of online social networks. I ended up opening accounts on Facebook and Orkut because I got invites from some friends. But I don't frequent these sites much and use the most stringent privacy settings they provide. After Facebook changed their privacy policy declaring certain information (like your profile picture) to be public by default, I deleted my profile picture. I'm always

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-23673310802463579612009-11-23T21:01:00.000-08:002009-11-23T21:15:52.272-08:00

The dinosaurs are gone. That was not inevitable. They could still have been masters of the planet.Some trees live for hundreds of years. But that's about it.The Roman Empire crumbled. The mighty British empire didn't last forever. The American empire seem to be the next mighty one on a downward slope.One day the Sun itself will be gone - ending its bright and illustrious life as a red dwarf.Life

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-9594470297449589142009-08-24T21:00:00.000-07:002009-08-25T01:14:03.736-07:00

(Part 1) I was looking at my bookshelves today. There is a one whole shelf dedicated to philosophy books - both western and eastern. I would have loved to get my hand on some of these books 15 years ago, when I was eager to read anything on Indian philosophy but couldn't get access to quality stuff. Now, I'm thinking about getting rid of some of these books. I've completely lost interest in Hindu

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-62450929070211224822009-08-15T22:12:00.000-07:002009-08-17T16:58:02.087-07:00

Let teachers and priests and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content. - Conan the Barbarian

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-34434122646156422642009-08-07T21:41:00.000-07:002009-08-08T08:59:45.254-07:00

Purchased 2 books from Amazon's Marketplaceo Achilles in the Quantum Universe: The Definitive History of Infinityo The Hindus: An Alternative HistoryTotal cost (including shippping) : $25.04Amazon Gift card : $25/Total Paid : $0.04. Might as well be pricelessI love my Amazon-Chase credit card. They send a $25/- Amazon gift card for every $2500/- spend. Thanks to that, I haven't paid more than

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-7442365462008996782009-07-28T23:51:00.000-07:002009-07-28T23:52:51.481-07:00

God does not play dice. - Albert EinsteinEinstein, stop telling God what to do. - Niels Bohr

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-43786405446713597192009-07-23T23:30:00.000-07:002009-07-23T23:43:52.610-07:00

I've been randomly reading few pages of Steven Weinberg's 'Dreams of a Final Theory' before sleeping. My worldview matches quite closely with his (He famously said in his other book 'The first three minutes' - "The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it seems pointless") and I find myself nodding often when reading his views on religion, god, evolution-religion wars, philosophy of

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-24836722972124713492009-07-20T22:38:00.000-07:002009-07-20T22:46:13.533-07:00

Great rendition of a traditional Sikh bhajan by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.When I was growing up, I used to get up around 7:30 am, usually to 'Koi Bole Ram Ram...' played by All India Radio's Kanpur station. My grandfather was very fond of radio and would listen to all the programs starting from 6:30 am. Usually he would be drinking lemon tea and shaving when I got up to get ready for school.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-90019820334915419492009-07-16T23:30:00.000-07:002009-07-17T07:46:50.248-07:00

It's been a while since I've finished a book. Right now there are at least 10 different books, in different stages of reading. Sometimes it's depressing. I can turn off the TV, but Internet is a real big distraction. Most of the time, I go to library or a Starbucks, if I want to read some serious book uninterrupted for few hours.But managed to finish Alastair Reynolds's sci-fi novel 'Chasm City'

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-26664065205665072792009-06-21T00:23:00.000-07:002009-06-21T00:42:56.283-07:00

I like Linkedin a lot. It's the only social networking site where I'm somewhat active and it has helped me land a job in past. Recently they have added a 'Reading List by Amazon' application, which is awesome and yet again highlights the fact that Internet-is-heaven-for-info-junkies. I don't know how I managed in pre-Web days. I've thought about adding my reading list there, but to be an accurate

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-75759645253643838142009-05-03T19:11:00.001-07:002009-05-03T19:18:21.173-07:00

Rapture of nerds is here. New 'Star Trek' movie starts this weekend and the new 'Terminator' sequel coming out on May 21st.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-18358475569497625702009-04-22T22:42:00.000-07:002009-04-22T23:15:28.575-07:00

Sometimes I think that the Truth behind universe maybe close to that depicted in 'The Matrix'. No, not that we're living inside computer simulation run by AI's we created, but it's possible that the whole known universe exists inside some Being's lab, or their computer. 14 billion years of our history may be a weekend project for this Being. It may have started on (their equivalent of) Friday

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-13382346439419688972009-04-18T23:00:00.000-07:002009-04-19T00:03:51.985-07:00

Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson, why? Why, why do you do it? Why, why get up? Why keep fighting?Do you believe you’re fighting for something, for more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is, do you even know? Is it freedom or truth, perhaps peace - could it be for love?Illusions, Mr. Anderson, vagaries of perception. Temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-75616613326635111492009-03-26T22:19:00.000-07:002009-03-26T22:39:11.224-07:00

Well, it sucked. Whole of season 4.x has been a suck-fest more or less and the final hour of BSG left a sour test in my mouth. They turned a great show into mystical-soap-opera-in-space-with-Luddites. Guess its too much to expect good scifi from Hollywood types. Speaking of good scifi, do yourself a favor and read Robert Charles Wilson's 'Spin'.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-79615128497820080452009-03-03T00:15:00.000-08:002009-03-03T22:20:31.641-08:00

There are some advantages of Depression 2.0. Though on the bad side it causes your startup to shut its doors and throw you in the unenviable situation of looking for jobs in a terrible market, on the plus side it gives you enough time to veg-out on the couch for 7-days straight and catch up to 90 episodes of 'Lost' on abc.com. That's roughly 3800 minutes of footage. Almost 65 hours. Watching it

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-59746805688922425392009-02-12T23:18:00.000-08:002009-02-12T23:22:22.495-08:00

What a voice. Love the accent.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-17823234543251879442009-02-08T01:10:00.000-08:002009-02-08T01:13:02.874-08:00

During last two episodes, BSG did what it does best - creating sophisticated drama based on sharply etched characters. The character and story-arch of Felix Gaeta had tragic character written all over it in a Shakespearean/Greek Tragedy sense - a character acting out of noble intentions, but causing grief and tragedy for others as well as himself.[I think as all the mysteries are revealed in next

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-89014132615718582682009-02-07T13:37:00.000-08:002009-02-07T18:21:12.446-08:00

Watched 'Dil Dosti etc' yesterday. People who have grown up India may relate to the college going experience and the friendships between male students depicted in the movie. The movie obviously has drawn from several real life characters and experiences and that provides a sense of freshness and authenticity to it. This is first effort for director Manish Tiwari and at times it clearly shows.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-51174346014117883232009-01-26T21:15:00.000-08:002009-02-08T01:13:33.217-08:00

Was watching Battlestar Galactica miniseries again this weekend. It's kind of interesting to see how the characters have changed physically over the four seasons. Now Cmdr. Adama looks like the person who has been through hell in last couple of years. Same goes for the look and condition of the ship itself. They have done a good job in that aspect. I still like the show and I think it's one of

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-90230408172343293122009-01-18T23:44:00.000-08:002009-01-19T00:00:13.957-08:00

Great movie. It's obviously famous for the sex scenes and NC-17 rating. It's kind of amusing, that in this day and age of porn at a click, movie sex scenes become such a big deal. And the scenes in this movie can hardly be classified as pure erotica, there is something raw, something sadistic about them. But movie can stand on its own as a great character study - into the treacherous, complex,

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-12548464938141825112009-01-15T21:27:00.001-08:002009-01-15T21:34:20.282-08:00

Ah, the joys of Internet and Wikipedia. Thanks for introducing me to H.P. Lovecraft. I was sold when I read following quote from him -The most merciful thing in the world... is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. This has shades of Nietzsche's brilliant - "Illusion and error about understanding life may be necessary for sustenance of life".

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-51116236997827277172009-01-14T23:14:00.000-08:002009-01-14T23:17:06.891-08:00

Highly recommended. I wouldn't have guessed that it won the Booker. Typically I associate Booker with more literary kind of books. This one feels raw. The picture it paints of India ain't pretty, but isn't that far from reality either.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-48039360117949386952009-01-12T23:03:00.000-08:002009-01-14T23:17:42.365-08:00

I've been trying to see this movie for a while but Netflix didn't have it. Finally, found a copy in local library (Bay area rules). I've always thought that it's a pity that Bollywood ignores such a rich material to draw from for it's creations - people and landscape of India (It can be source of some fun though). Even Indian cities with all their mess and chaos have a cinematic aspect to them (

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-76664945369388146772008-11-10T23:03:00.000-08:002009-07-18T08:31:14.414-07:00

If you could, what would you tell your younger self about life, universe and everything? My message in the bottle, to a 21 year old me, would be along following lines -1. Cynicism is to a large extent failed idealism. Both are striving for some ideal of humanity and society, and cynicism is an unconscious acknowledgment of failure of that ideal. But no one owes us an ideal human nature or society

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-44947198559551309112008-11-05T20:50:00.000-08:002009-07-18T06:22:37.380-07:00

1. Asian Gals2. South Indian restaurants3. People sitting next to you in restaurants talking about buffer overflow problem4. Great used book stores5. You actually see people in the science section of Borders6. Awesome Ethnic food choices7. The vibe at University Ave, Palo Alto8. Frys Electronics9. Thousands of nerds all around you10. You get to read 'India Today' in the local libraryYa, ya it's

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-36566659219909685072008-11-03T19:47:00.000-08:002009-11-23T21:18:31.591-08:00

Checked Scott Aaronson's blog after a while. He has couple of interesting posts, including post titled 'Can We?'. Following is an interesting snippet -Firstly, it’s a truism that the cure for misery is to find something greater than yourself to worry about. (Quantum complexity research used to fill that role for me, and will hopefully do so again in the near future.) For someone who’s spent so

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-23763690755159173222008-10-27T20:24:00.000-07:002009-11-23T21:18:16.173-08:00

A while back, read a Woody Allen interview where he talked about still not getting over fear of death and terror of the void after all these years. He said that making movies is a way for him to deal with that terror. Totally understand where he is coming from. Terror of the void is a terrible thing. People who are conscious of it have different strategies to deal with it (if they don't want to

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-58431438678047434092008-09-07T00:24:00.001-07:002008-09-08T21:49:58.661-07:00

The other day, caught a bit of Bill Maher on CNN. He was answering a viewer's question about not being married and said, "..It's my experience that every decade you live, you're kind of a different person or you lead a different life. I led a very different life in my 20s, my 30s, my 40s. I don't know what my 50s are going to be..".I could relate to that a little. I'm certainly a different person

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-78445536752031167012008-07-29T23:06:00.001-07:002008-07-29T23:15:17.750-07:00

Great movie. From the opening shots of West Texan landscape and sad, melancholy voice over of Tommy Lee Jones (who turns in a great, understated performance), I was hooked. In wrong hands, this could just have been a run of the mill crime thriller, but Coen brothers elevated the material to the level of great Cinema. Thoroughly deserving of all the Oscars it picked up.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-27109219264848277212008-07-21T23:13:00.000-07:002008-07-21T23:31:03.543-07:00

Neal Stephenson's new novel 'Anathem' is due to come out in September. The book description at Amazon is quite mouth-watering. Looking forward to it.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-38804991129498180262008-07-21T21:13:00.000-07:002008-07-21T23:12:42.748-07:00

History- Aristotle's Children - Richard Rubenstein- The Closing of Western Mind - Charles FreemanI've always been interested in history of Christianity and understanding the impact of Roman empire on it's evolution. Both these books, though not primarily focused on that aspect of Christianity do a good job of providing some very useful information. Freeman's book is more focused on early history

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-77829048037413524922008-06-08T12:10:00.000-07:002009-02-08T01:13:46.996-08:00

One of the most irritating things in all of fiction (specially one peddled by Hollywood) is what I've started to call as 'Mortality Chauvinism' - feeling superior because we're mortal. It always manifests itself as some immortal being choosing to become mortal due to some reason, mostly love (talk about hormonal imbalances...if you're immortal and hopelessly in love, store her hair, blood sample

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-58973419368907753912008-06-07T01:15:00.000-07:002008-06-07T02:10:20.168-07:00

What's essentially an engineering/technical problem has been converted to "moral problem of our lifetimes" by morons on the Left. They display their dislike of capitalism and money in their rhetoric against big businesses. All the rants against Man who is destroying planet's ecosystem expose the hatred of industrialism, technology and science. Which is a little ironic, since tools of science are

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-80415262204161217102008-05-26T00:57:00.000-07:002009-02-08T01:14:01.113-08:00

I'm having trouble making up my mind about season 4 of BSG. It's still one of the best TV shows out there but the whole tenor of show is quite different from the debuting mini-series and season-1. There was a certain literary quality to the show back then - well etched out characters, a great overarching plot-line, complex, contemporary themes handled in a futuristic setting. Add to that a dark,

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-78484487701117416282008-05-20T23:15:00.000-07:002008-05-20T23:31:43.855-07:00

I've heard people, specially here in US, talk about how some places just feel like home. A while back heard a colleague say that he has never liked California but loves mid-West and whenever he gets there it feels like home, a place where he belongs. I had never felt any special bond with any place (though I've always been fond of Varanasi as a city, but it's not i-feel-i-belong-here kind of

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-91005954113305009442008-05-03T22:48:00.000-07:002010-02-10T23:27:51.787-08:00

This scene in Annie Hall always cracks me up. 'What's the point' is just too much. Wa Wa Woody!!

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-67531295270072093522008-04-12T01:43:00.000-07:002008-05-26T01:16:21.704-07:00

Sometimes it's good to take 30000-ft view. Helps clear up cobwebs. Following are currently accepted dates for some of the events in Human history-35000 BC - Neanderthal man replaced by Cro-magnons10000 BC - Evolution of Agriculture3000 BC - Epic of Gilgamesh1500 BC - Rig Veda1400 BC - BibleWe roamed the planet as hunter-gatherers for nearly 25000 years before we discovered agriculture and began

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-20533730604289792662008-03-22T23:00:00.000-07:002009-02-08T01:14:16.021-08:00

I feel a tremendous affection for thinking, sentient machines. I would love to see the dream of AI realized in my lifetime. So it's kind of disappointing to find man-at-war-with-AI's-he-created in most of the science fiction, both the print and celluloid versions. Though it is very telling clue about the human psyche. One of our defining trait is fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the other, fear

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-19384616771241120332008-03-16T17:00:00.000-07:002008-03-16T17:25:10.938-07:00

Thanks to Netflix's movie recommendation feature, I've stumbled across several off-beat and quirky movies. Few interesting ones I've watched lately -- The Science of Sleep- Interstate 60- Cashback- A Scanner Darkly- He was a quiet man- The Fountain

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-8930291272474129652008-03-05T21:07:00.000-08:002008-03-05T21:26:20.693-08:00

Binary 'deathstar' has Earth in it's sightsIf you're a being with life-span of hundreds of thousands of years, now would be a good time to start panicking (but then what are you doing on Earth). If you're garden variety human, don't worry, you'll long dead before this happens (though you may want to start panicking just about that fact.)Interestingly, in Greg Egan's _Diaspora_ collapse of a

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-37842000937445747222008-02-14T22:07:00.000-08:002008-02-14T22:09:02.315-08:00

Instants - Jorge Luis BorgesIf I were able to live my life anew,In the next I would try to commit more errors.I would not try to be so perfect, I would relax more.I would be more foolish than I've been,In fact, I would take few things seriously.I would be less hygienic.I would run more risks,take more vacations,contemplate more sunsets,climb more mountains, swim more rivers.I would go to

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-74043518340354013262008-02-04T23:00:00.000-08:002008-02-04T23:04:47.953-08:00

I'd thought it would be a goofy Will Ferrell movie, but _Stranger than Fiction_ turned out to be a pleasant surprise. On one level, it can be taken as a crazy story about a man becoming aware of being a character in a novel, while on another level, it's an existentialist story about Man trying to come to terms with death, search for God and meaning in life. While I have some issues with the plot

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-73451300489139969892008-01-07T21:43:00.000-08:002008-01-08T01:47:44.867-08:00

Usually I stay away from Politics and TV news, but the current presidential race has become quite interesting post-Iowa. The most interesting aspect has been the rise of Obama and bursting of Hillary's inevitability bubble. During Saturday's ABC debate, it was interesting to see her expressions. There was a sense of sadness and fatigue written all over her. It's as if she can't believe that at

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-40899746805635323942008-01-04T21:00:00.000-08:002008-01-04T23:29:20.461-08:00

Is our world just a simulation? Are we living in a virtual reality? Check out an interesting paper from this site. What's interesting (and different compared to "Are we living in a Matrix?" type of papers), about this paper is that author tries to explain some of the puzzling aspects of Quantum Mechanics and Relativity theory by postulating that the world we live in may be a simulation, e.g. the

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-66476365868307964542008-01-02T22:27:00.000-08:002008-03-22T23:24:59.899-07:00

Thanks to all the quality time spent surfing web, I've recently discovered Greg Egan's science fiction. So far I've read _Diaspora_ and am in middle of _Permutation City_. His is the kind of sci-fi I'd been looking to read for a while. After all, how often one comes across a story where legal rights of software copies of people - which exist inside a virtual reality environment and run 17 times

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-6185704478140441702007-11-17T13:00:00.000-08:002009-02-08T01:14:33.694-08:00

Is complete destruction/genocide of a species acceptable, even if that species has been relentlessly trying to destroy Humanity? Star Trek - TNG confronted this question when they had a chance to destroy the Borg. Battlestar Galactica characters pondered over this when they came across a virus that could annihilate the Cylons. Both times when a character questioned the morality of the act, I was

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-44544470985697725072007-11-16T23:53:00.000-08:002009-02-08T01:14:54.876-08:00

Finally finished watching season 3 of Battlestar Galactica. What a season finale. Dylan's "All along the Watchtower" playing as the episode ends. WoW! This is one of the rare times when I've been impressed with quality of writing in a TV show (some episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation come to mind). In some aspects, it's actually worthy of good literature, like the characters of Dr. Baltar

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-8268286868803640952007-11-12T22:46:00.000-08:002009-02-08T01:15:07.525-08:00

One of the best TV shows. Period. The writing, character delineation, storyline everything is top notch. Though it belongs to SciFi genre, but as writers themselves have said - it's a drama set in space. And the Gayatri Mantra sung (in heavy western accent) at the beginning is super-cool too.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-15483572436757824822007-10-17T21:37:00.000-07:002007-10-17T21:56:42.180-07:00

Had been looking for this for a while - the title track of Shyam Benegal's 'Bharat ek Khoj'. Thank you You-tube. I'll pay if someone puts out a CD with the complete Vedic hymn in Sanskrit.BTW, doesn't the creation hymn blow your mind, specially following towards the end-************[...] Whence this creation has arisen– perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not –the One who looks down on it

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-22826782889668852472007-10-01T22:59:00.001-07:002007-10-01T23:14:23.289-07:00

Have been reading Edwin Bryant's fascinating book 'The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture'. Though I've read only couple of chapters so far, it's been very informative and insightful. I'd taken the Aryan migration theory to be true and the protests against it by Indian scholars as the rantings of xenophobic Hindu nationalists. But Edwin's book is an eye-opener. In first few chapters he does a

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-79617895567212753332007-09-26T23:54:00.000-07:002007-09-26T23:59:17.568-07:00

I got a Mac book pro a while back. I'd plans to learn about OS X and get into all things Mac. But then I went ahead and bought Civilization IV and Halo: Combat Edition and now I can't get anything else done, and sometimes that has included eating. Man, these games are addictive. Not recommended if you've a job, family or a life.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-65622523484444118042007-09-26T22:50:00.000-07:002007-09-26T23:52:19.634-07:00

Ridley Scott has to be one of the best movie makers out there. This is the guy that created 'Blade Runner'. That movie alone is enough to qualify you as a great artist. But he also has 'Alien', 'Gladiator' etc in his oeuvre. Add 'Black Hawk Down' to another crowning achievement. A no-nonsense, unsentimental, intense portrayal of one day in Somalia, where US troops were trapped fighting local

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-89711383440561917792007-09-03T12:19:00.000-07:002007-09-03T12:31:56.843-07:00

I've been fascinated with historical analysis of evolution of Hinduism's pantheon of gods ever since I read Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's great book 'Sanskriti ke Char Adhyaya'. Yesterday came across this interesting paper The origin of Ganapati Cult on one of the most popular gods in modern Hinduism - Ganesha, also called Ganapati, which literally means Chief of the Clan.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-90444313109711734592007-06-26T22:50:00.000-07:002009-07-18T06:00:48.940-07:00

aate hai'n gaib se ye mazaamii'n Khayaal me'n'Ghalib', sariir-e-Khaamaa navaa-e-sarosh hai [ These topics come into the mind from the hiddenGhalib, the scratching of the pen is the voice of an angel ](Gaib=hidden/mysterious, mazaamii'n=topics, sariir=scratching sound made by a pen,Khaama=pen, navaa=sound,sarosh=angel)He isn't just a poet, a mere word smith. The above sher can only come out of a

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-9851967028275998432007-06-06T21:41:00.000-07:002007-06-07T23:48:30.421-07:00

What do _Lord of the Rings_, _Star Wars_ and _Harry Potter_ have in common? And why do nerds in general love these works? I think the fascination can be explained by one word - magic. Magic!! what a childish notion, you might say. Well, may be you'll like me to rephrase - magic i.e. the power to control the world/environment/people by having access to an esoteric body of knowledge. Or if we want

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-4560097835278934372007-06-03T23:23:00.000-07:002007-06-04T22:29:01.282-07:00

Youtube is great. Like web, there is tons of pointless stuff there, but you can also find lots of interesting clips not available anywhere else (at least not on TV). Check out this 7-part video where Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were interviewed together. There are several funny moments, involving the latest MAC-PC ads and some quips between the two related to their rivalry, though the best one has

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-7187181668451629822007-06-03T01:39:00.000-07:002007-06-04T22:28:48.574-07:00

People love to post top-N lists on blogs (and then pass them on to fellow bloggers as a meme). Here is my top-5 list of people that I would have liked to meet/know. I feel a sense of affinity, sense of similar sensibilities about life and a sense of intellectual kinship with following men.1. Mirza Ghalib2. Nietzsche3. Douglas Adams4. Bob Dylan5. Siddhartha (before he became Buddha)Who would be on

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-3531468891768590372007-05-28T21:48:00.000-07:002009-11-23T21:19:00.991-08:00

But nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts - Bob DylanA while back was reading _Worlds Enough and Time_ by Dan Simmons (If you are into science fiction, check out his 'Hyperion' series). In the introduction to book he mentions struggling with depression and has following comments -I do have a recommendation here. If and when any of you suddenly find yourself in such a dark wood

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-12033973653554909312007-05-22T22:02:00.000-07:002007-05-22T22:26:24.757-07:00

The perfect antidote for philosophical confusions, existential angst, ennui etc. is a career in engineering, specially software/electronics engineering. - Who cares about meaning of life when you can hack Linux kernel to squeeze out 10 micro seconds of performance. - The religious/philosophical theories about reality being an illusion, limits to knowledge etc. appear frivolous when you see that

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-90527416338320739432007-05-07T22:59:00.000-07:002007-05-07T23:07:07.968-07:00

If there is any doubt that Google is the coolest technology company to work for now, it should be dispelled by the fact that Ken Thompson -yes that Ken, co-creator of Unix- and Rob Pike - another wizard from Bell Labs - now work at Google.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-47411186361183231212007-04-21T23:45:00.000-07:002007-04-21T23:58:17.185-07:00

All you touch and all you seeis all your life will ever be - Pink FloydIn western philosophy, German philosopher Immanuel Kant who lived in 18th century, occupies an important position. He is widely considered as one of the greatest philosophers to have ever lived. And in the post-quantum world, he is one of the most relevant philosophers. One can even say that his thought may have had an huge

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-5447383052963690082007-04-18T22:14:00.000-07:002007-04-18T22:17:51.891-07:00

Don't have stamina to write a long post, so once in a while will write few short ones on this topic.The concept of Maya in Indian philosophies, specifically Advaita Vedanta, used to fascinate me a lot. What is Maya? Simple answer is illusion. This world and reality we observe and live in is an illusion and hides the underlying Reality which is Brahman. Before I'd read books on Advaita Vedanta, I

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-6259587318896110962007-04-18T00:44:00.000-07:002007-06-04T22:29:25.304-07:00

Have been in bay area since Sunday on a work related trip. Staying at Best Western. After checking in, came down to the lobby to use the hotel computer. For a moment I was disoriented, as the screen and menu looked totally different from the usual Windows stuff. Then I realized that the PC was running Linux and I couldn't stop laughing. Guess when computers in hotels are using Linux, you know you

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-77449483650485887772007-04-12T23:08:00.000-07:002007-06-04T22:29:49.948-07:00

One of my favorite writers, Kurt Vonnegut passed away. You take immediately to some writers. For me, Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, Milan Kundera, Rohinton Mistry, Joseph Conrad, Stanislaw Lem etc. are in that list. It's probably something to do with the sensibilities an artist possesses about life, universe and everything. RIP Mr Vonnegut.PS - Loved it when Jon Stewart paid tribute to Vonnegut on

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-65423322547588565842007-04-09T20:46:00.000-07:002007-04-09T21:02:20.626-07:00

I've recently started using netvibes as my Firefox home page. In past I've tried using RSS aggregators for a while to get feeds from all the blogs I read, but the convenience of getting all the content on your browser is unmatched. And there is much more to it then simple blog aggregator, you can add stock quotes, latest news headlines, separated into technology/science/finance sections from

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-16655483328951703212007-04-09T00:13:00.000-07:002007-04-09T20:56:42.218-07:00

A great Hindi movie. I rarely use that adjective for stuff coming out of Bollywood, but 'Khosla ka Ghosla' is a superb movie from a newbie director. On surface, it's just a comedy movie about a land-shark in Delhi occupying plot bought by a middle-class family and the reverse scam they pull on the goon to get their property back. Yes, it's a comedy and it's funny, but there is more to this movie

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-69479590859518050002007-04-03T23:51:00.000-07:002007-04-09T00:35:37.918-07:00

It's always fun to take these tests. You scored as Existentialism. Your life is guided by the conceptof Existentialism: You choose the meaning and purpose of your life.“Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.”“It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.”--Jean-Paul Sartre“It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-45521896858547397482007-03-03T22:40:00.000-08:002007-03-03T22:37:03.732-08:00

Maya of Advaita Vedanta, Sunya of Buddhist Madhyamika & Noumenon of Immanuel Kant. How these religious/philosophical concepts have become interesting again given what quantum physics has to say regarding nature of Reality - now that's a blog worth writing, if one can get over laziness.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1101969774424125842007-01-09T22:41:00.000-08:002007-06-26T22:54:01.774-07:00

I came across this nazm from Faiz recently. The first line kind of sounded familiar. Then I remembered - it was used in the popular Indian soap opera of 80's 'Hum log'.In fact, there is another very good, if rather tough, nazm by Faiz called 'Hum Log'. I wonder if that was the inspiration for name of the serial itself. If I can find a translation, I'll post it someday. Several Urdu words in that

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-68727562563285360552006-12-21T20:58:00.001-08:002007-06-26T22:55:01.474-07:00

Following nazm by Faiz is really beautiful - both the verse as well as Abida Parveen's rendition.Gul huyi jaati hai, afsurda sulagti hui shaamdhul ke nikle gi abhi chashme-e-mehtab se raatAur mushtaq nighaon ki suni jayegiAur un haathon se mas honge ye tarse hue haathUnka aanchal hai, ki rukhsar, ki pairhan haiKuch to hai jis se hui jaati hai chilman rangeenJaane us zulf ki mauhoom ghani chaaon

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1166079931197277742006-12-13T22:57:00.000-08:002006-12-13T23:08:42.783-08:00

Just got an IPod-Nano. It's going to end up as one of my favorite gadgets. Everything about it, including the packaging, the box it comes in, speaks of a company with excellent design and engineering skills. I'm probably on my way to becoming an Apple fanboy. Next stop is a Macbook Pro notebook.Loaded all my Bob Dylan CD's into ipod. Listened to _Visions of Johanna_ for the first time. Don't

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1165470021386976362006-12-06T21:35:00.000-08:002006-12-06T21:41:41.583-08:00

I'm quite fond of Robert Pirsig, author of one of my favorite books, "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance". He is a real recluse and it's very difficult to find any information about him. Even google fails. So was glad to find this recent interview he gave.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1162445995879803632006-11-01T21:29:00.000-08:002010-02-10T23:27:00.248-08:00

Have been reading _Confessions of a Philosopher_ by Bryan Magee. He talks extensively about Kant and Schopenhauer, two philosophers I've wanted to understand for a long time. Next I'll probably pick up his _The Philosophy of Schopenhauer_. He also talks a lot about death, the thought of death being always there at back of mind. Ten years back those passages would have resonated very strongly with

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1160249460731283502006-10-07T12:30:00.000-07:002006-10-07T12:31:00.756-07:00

What is a 'thing'? What does it mean to say that an object 'exists'? Are our concepts and language adequate to describe all of the reality or is there a limit to them? Does Moon really exist when no one is looking at it?These questions typically belong in a philosophy classroom or in a late-night college BS session. One doesn't expect to encounter them in science, least of all physics. But such

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1159321851324627042006-09-26T18:34:00.000-07:002006-09-26T18:54:34.026-07:00

Checked Paul Graham's website after a while. As usual, he has couple of interesting essays, specially "Why Startups Condense in America". Some of the points in essay resonate with my thoughts regarding working in US as compared to working in India. There are couple of things I like about USOne can keep doing design and development engineering work even after decades of experience. In India, 10+

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1158733852420213412006-09-19T22:57:00.000-07:002006-09-20T00:00:33.636-07:00

1. On a lazy sunday afternoon, you sit in a Starbucks and read about how Einstein arrived at his special and general theory of relativity. Then you leave for home, stop at a red-light, and just marvel at the difference between this everyday, run-of-the-mill life and the pinnacle of abstract thought that is theory of relativity.2. On a busy labor day weekend, you visit Lake Tahoe. You embark on

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1157520752618000772006-09-05T22:32:00.000-07:002006-09-05T23:14:50.763-07:00

While waiting for driver to fill the entry register at sanctuary entrance, I think about the last time I was at this same spot. That was almost one and a half years ago. Then there were five of us and we'd hired a cab from the Kathgodam station itself. That was yet another trip in the Kumaon Himalayas and by now except for the destination, all other parts of our trips had become routine....

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1155115222565782142006-08-09T01:52:00.000-07:002006-08-09T02:23:21.400-07:00

During last few weeks I've gone on a book-shopping spree at Amazon. Now I need a new bookshelf and lots of free time. Long time back had made a post about starting a serious study of Quantum Mechanics. Seems like now I may actually do something about that. Also, I can never let go of my soft spot for mysticism and the non-dualistic Indian philosophies. Have bought few books on Advaita-Vedanta and

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1149229221084564062006-06-01T23:13:00.000-07:002007-09-12T13:11:51.133-07:00

For last few weeks, I've been having too much fun. During a discussion at work about TiVo, HDTV, evil-Hollywood, DMCA etc., my boss suggested building my own DVR using linux and mythtv. I started looking into it and very soon had a bookmarks folder dedicated to mythtv, video-capturing in linux and tips on building PC etc.(My DVR is basically a linux PC with a NTSC-capture card and appropriate

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1145503904683398222006-04-19T20:19:00.000-07:002006-04-19T21:40:21.576-07:00

The previous post brought back memories of a long train journey. There were 5-6 of us, going together to attend a friend's wedding. I'd brought Boris Pasternak's _Doctor Zhivago_ along with me. I didn't read much of it during the trip, though a poem at the end of the book did catch my attention. It was titled 'Hamlet'. (Translation by Eleanor Rowe)The rumbling has grown quiet. I walk out on the

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1145430970761835092006-04-19T00:00:00.000-07:002006-04-19T00:31:36.726-07:00

I consider Nietzsche to be one of the deepest and most original thinkers of all time. (That, of course, doesn't mean that everything he wrote was brilliant or right. I find his aristrocracy/master-race ideas hard to digest. But then, maybe, that's just because I'm too much of, what he calls, a last man.)Every now and then I pick up one of his books at random and read few pages. Couple of days

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1145060538723546052006-04-14T17:17:00.000-07:002006-04-14T17:22:18.746-07:00

All I need is a spacecraft, a sentient-AI on board, nano-bio technology for organ replacement/bio-maintenance AND access to google from space. Then I'm out of here.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1143528476721728672006-03-27T22:20:00.000-08:002006-06-26T22:29:56.173-07:00

One of my favorite authors Stanislaw Lem passed away today. Most people know him as author of the sci-fi book 'Solaris'. I got introduced to Lem only couple of years ago, and though so far I've read a small percentage of his books, I've highest respect for his intellect. It's easy to describe Lem's work with one word - cerebral. Typically, it takes me a while to digest all the ideas, insights and

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1141973916053235332006-03-09T22:41:00.000-08:002006-03-11T11:30:43.626-08:00

This isn't about a dialogue that happened between a liberal and a conservative. It's a dialogue that keeps happening within my mind. I hope to use next few posts to think out loud about some of the issues related to liberal vs. conservative theories of government - as related to economics. (On social issues, I'm decidely of liberal, or rather libertarian bent of mind. As things stand today in US,

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1138863799547346262006-02-01T22:49:00.000-08:002006-02-01T23:20:07.366-08:00

Philosophically, I'm a realist by instinct. Though I'm critical of non-realist/idealist world-views, but at the same time I'm also drawn to these theories. The concept of Maya, theories regarding fundamental limits on knowledge, limitations on cognition, the apparent world being an illusion etc. have always interested me.When I think about this cognitive dissonance, I'm reminded of Nietzsche's -

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1138513232288392792006-01-28T21:18:00.000-08:002006-12-24T00:39:06.059-08:00

Now my PC no longer runs the OneOS forged by the Dark Lord in rainforests of Redmond. I've erased Windows from my desktop machine and installed Linux. After some searching on web for best linux distribution, I settled on gentoo, as it's allows one to build linux from scratch. Probably not the best choice for average users, but perfect for hackers familiar with Linux.While setting up the system -

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1130230942877268192005-10-25T01:59:00.000-07:002005-10-25T02:02:22.886-07:00

An interesting perspective by Prof. John Wilkins.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1129001628461308262005-10-10T20:07:00.000-07:002005-10-10T22:09:08.843-07:00

Got Scorsese's documentary on Bob Dylan - 'No Direction Home'. I'm a little disappointed. Firstly, he covered Bob's career till 1966 only. Also, I was hoping for more discussion about his poetry, his concept of 'mathematical music' etc. But the focus of the film was on early phase of Dylan's career, the folk/protest song phase and all the controversy surrounding his later evolution as someone not

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1128575442344043792005-10-05T22:05:00.000-07:002010-02-10T23:27:37.942-08:00

From Woody Allen's movie, 'September'.Peter: You feel so sure of that when you look out on a clear night like tonight and see all those millions of stars? That none of it matters? Lloyd: I think it’s just as beautiful as you do, and vaguely evocative of some deep truth that always just keeps slipping away, but then my professional perspective overcomes me, a less wishful, more penetrating

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1127447095489868592005-09-22T20:34:00.000-07:002005-09-24T13:06:43.723-07:00

The deep question is not "What's the purpose of life?", but "Why are you asking that question?" IMO, most of the time we confuse psychological questions for philosophical inquiries. (Here by philosophy, I don't mean specific philosophical areas like epistemology or philosophy of science, but generic 'what's the purpose of all this' kind of philosophy.) Sure, there can be genuine inquiries into

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1127006272214875762005-09-17T17:56:00.000-07:002009-07-18T06:28:02.012-07:00

1. Reading Vonnegut's _The Sirens of Titan_, I realized (again) that now I've moved to a new phase in life, theologically speaking, Apatheism. The earlier obsession with death and with eternal questions of life is now replaced by apathy. I feel I've become indifferent to all the godly questions. Most probably it's just a defense-mechanism of psyche, trying to cope with lack of meaning and

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1125899717697795732005-09-04T22:47:00.000-07:002005-09-12T18:42:47.160-07:00

Blogspot should have a feature, where cobwebs start appearing on the main-page if a new entry hasn't been posted in a while. Haven't felt like writing in ages. Had started writing a travelogue on Binsar, but that has been sitting as a half-completed draft for weeks now. This long weekend, initially was planning a long-drive along US-1 but then laziness took over. Am now vegging-out in front of TV

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1121063455245161582005-07-10T22:43:00.000-07:002005-07-12T20:23:54.146-07:00

After a long hiatus wanderlust is back. The trigger came a month back at a office BBQ party, held at a ranch up in the mountains. We were a big group, but while eating lunch, for a short while everyone became quite. I'd a great view of the ranges and the valley in front of me, there was a mild, cool breeze flowing and it became very peaceful and quiet as it typically does in mountains. Once again

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1118550529020469872005-06-11T21:18:00.000-07:002006-12-24T00:39:56.928-08:00

They should do an episode of South Park, where our gang goes to see 'Star Wars III'. I'm sure Cartman's response will be - 'Lame'. That's how I feel about the movie, specially the transformation of Anakin into Darth Vader. First of all that guy is a horrible actor. Shahrukh Khan may have done a better job there (if Hayden has any idea who SRK is, he may become terminally depressed reading this).

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1118208899274522572005-06-07T22:13:00.000-07:002007-06-26T22:54:44.003-07:00

Two gems from Mirza sahib -phir vazah-e-ehtiyaat se rukne laga hai dam barso'n hue hai'n chaak girebaa'n kiye hue[ I'm again feeling suffocated due to living life carefully,It's been ages since collar of my shirt has been torn ]nakarda gunaho'n ko bhi hasrat ki mile daad,ya raab, agar in karda gunaho'n ki sazaa hai[O Lord, if this is all a punishment for commited sins,then there should atleast

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1116727460575638662005-05-21T18:59:00.000-07:002007-11-19T01:45:32.895-08:00

Because only on slashdot, you'll get to read a comment (It's about rights of AI's and holodeck simulation-programs in Star-Trek. you've been warned) like this.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1116053513624796482005-05-13T23:20:00.000-07:002005-05-14T00:13:18.110-07:00

I've a project for myself. Study Quantum Mechanics. For real. That means staying away from touchy-feely books like, "Dancing Wu Li masters" or "Schrodinger's Kittens". Waste of time and money. And that means dealing with all the math, which, I think, is the only way to approach this subject.Spent about 20 minutes at Amazon. After reading different reviews and descriptions have zeroed in on

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1115954180997685592005-05-12T20:08:00.000-07:002005-05-13T22:34:18.696-07:00

In this post about creationists, John Wilkins hits the nail right on head.[...] Again I note that the battle here is not for control over science, but for control over education. They want this stuff taught in schools. They want this so that people won't be informed enough to reject their religious views, so they can control public debate. This is not about science and it's not about philosophy.

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078709.post-1114909489496338172005-04-30T16:54:00.000-07:002005-05-02T00:35:06.066-07:00

Last movie which made me scratch my head was David Lynch's "Mulholland Dr". I went to bed thinking about what happened, trying to come up with some explanation. Saw the movie again next day to confirm my theories. Then finally this excellent review cleared up remaining doubts. Now comes Primer, a story about two engineers who accidently invent a time machine. I've already seen it twice in last 3

mp_cnbnoreply@blogger.com5