Conviction With an Angle Is Upheld by Court of Appeals - New York Times

Conviction With an Angle Is Upheld by Court of Appeals - New York Times

Math and the law! See, high school math and trignometry comes in handy in real life. Cheers Pythagoras!

Tags: News

[Listening to: (Splash)Turn Twist - Jimmy Eat World - Wedding Crashers (4:11)]

Unknown cause of anxiety

The past couple of days, I've felt ansy and anxious. At first, it was hard to isolate the cause of this angst. It could be me missing some of the closest people to my heart, or the impending deadlines for graduate school, or the paper and poster due at the end of this semester about my research here. I usually had a great stress busting mechanism like playing racquetball, swing dancing, or just napping. I don't have many of those options now. Jenn and I practiced swing a lot but now both of us are getting busier as the semester is coming to an end, and we haven't done swing dancing in a while. There is no racquetball here to whack the ball to help vent frustration. Since I work all day, I can't nap in the afternoon. If I napped after a certain point, it's really hard to fall asleep in the night. Maybe, I haven't gotten enough sleep the last few days. I guess I need more than 6-7 hours of sleep.

I have been preoccupied with things that have to get accomplished in the next couple of weeks. When I have things floating in my head, I tend not to talk very much. It would seem rude, but I don't mean to be. I've had to react passively to stress as active attack is no longer viable.

I sure I feel better and happy soon. If I make enough progress, I just might. Noble aspirations!

Tags: Life

[Listening to: Amphetamines - Eve 6 - Horrorscope (2:46)]

Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Your IQ Is 135

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Exceptional

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Tags: Random

about good ol' Oak Ridge High and Coe's Flunk Day

I found a blog post called Censorship at rebunting. She does an in depth discussion about the article on censorship in a high school newspaper. Oak Ridge is famous for Oak Ridge National Lab where I am working this semester. It is supposed to have the greatest collection of genius scientific minds in this region.

I remember censorship came into play in Coe College's Flunk Day newspaper in fear of reprisals and lawsuits by parents. This isn't really free speech.

FYI: Coe's official description of Flunk Day is

Flunk Day: A Coe tradition begun in 1911. Classes are canceled for a day in the spring so the student body can enjoy an all-school picnic, outdoor activities and fun.

In reality, it's a day of drunken revelry for the drinking population of Coe ;).

I love Flunk Day!!

Here are a few pictures of Flunk Day at Coe:


That's my best friend, Britta. The backdrop is the Flunk Day Committee (2004-2005) on a bus.


The scene of Flunk Day 2003. My very first Flunk Day!



Tags: Opinion

[Listening to: Wreck of the Day - Anna Nalick - Wreck of the Day (4:06)]

String Quartet Tribute to Coldplay - Yellow

File details: mp3/48 kbps/1.3 MB

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Time for thanks and gluttony

Wow! It's been a while since I've done a personal update. Last weekend was wonderful. I got to spend a lot of time with Jenn. We went to a dressy jazz concert of Preservation Hall Jazz Ensemble from New Orleans. It was pretty darn good. They were an all-black band who played tons of moderate beat swing music. I was extremely happy that they called for people to dance to their last song. Jenn and I broke into swing and it was so much of fun. People were watching us as usual. I love it when people watch and are amazed to see youth into swing dancing. Sunday night, we went to a piano and viola concert. I don't really listen to classical music however I enjoyed this gig. It had one light piece and rest of it being dark and somber. Jenn was surprised that I actually liked the music. I recently found the string quartet's tribute to Cold Play, Evanescence, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nine Inch Nails. I love Cold Play's tribute! I might put a song up for taste.

My mentor was gone all last week. So, I was able to experiment independently. Everything went peachy till the last day last sample. I forgot to turn off one of the vacuum valves while venting almost killing the most expensive motor in the whole equipment. He emailed back today saying that it was a close call but the motor is alright. You can't imagine how scared shitless I was! If that had actually broken, it couldn't have been fixed for two months or more essentially killing the rest of the days I've left at ORNL

The past few days at Callie's has been great! Apart from the initial scare of being unable to find my keys, I'e had a lot of fun so far. We met Callie's best friend, ate tons of great thanksgiving food, watched a few movies, ate at a multicuisine restaraunt and an Indian restaraunt. I've had my fill of wonderful food that made up for the whole semester. I watched Crash last night. It was one of the most intricately assembled movie I've ever seen. It left me breathless. I can see why it was so critically acclaimed. I recommend watching it. It's racism and social hierarchy at it's most vibrant pinnacle. And to provide cosmic balance, we watched Just Friends. It was incredibly dumb yet funny at the same time. I had a tight stomach from laughing so hard.

I'm sad that this break is almost over. Next couple of weeks is going to be hell because I have a lot to accomplish.

Tags: Life

[Listening to: Three Days - Jane's Addiction - Ritual De Lo Habitual (10:48)]

Asians mimicking BSB

Asians mimicking BSB

Don't they look moronic? They must have a lot of time on their hands to choreograph something like that. Instant fame.

Tags: Random

Rules of the Road - India Humor

Rules of the Road - India Humor

Rules Of The Road, Indian Style

Traveling on Indian Roads is an almost hallucinatory potion of sound, spectacle and experience. It is frequently heart-rending, sometimes hilarious, mostly exhilarating, always unforgettable -- and, when you are on the roads, extremely dangerous.

Most Indian road users observe a version of the Highway Code based on a Sanskrit text. These 12 rules of the Indian road are published for the first time in English:

* ARTICLE I:

The assumption of immortality is required of all road users.

* ARTICLE II:

Indian traffic, like Indian society,is structured on a strict caste system. The following precedence must be accorded at all times. In descending order, give way to:

* Cows, elephants, heavy trucks, buses, official cars, camels, light trucks, buffalo, jeeps, ox-carts, private cars, motorcycles, scooters, auto-rickshaws, pigs, pedal rickshaws, goats, bicycles (goods-carrying), handcarts, bicycles (passenger-carrying), dogs, pedestrians.

* ARTICLE III:

All wheeled vehicles shall be driven in accordance with the maxim: to slow is to falter, to brake is to fail, to stop is defeat. This is the Indian drivers' mantra.

* ARTICLE IV:

Use of horn (also known as the sonic fender or aural amulet):

* Cars (IV,1,a-c):

1. Short blasts (urgent) indicate supremacy, IE in clearing dogs, rickshaws and pedestrians from path.
2. Long blasts (desperate) denote supplication, IE to oncoming truck: "I am going too fast to stop, so unless you slow down we shall both die". In extreme cases this may be accompanied by flashing of headlights (frantic).
3. Single blast (casual) means: "I have seen someone out of India's 870 million whom I recognise", "There is a bird in the road (which at this speed could go through my windscreen)" or "I have not blown my horn for several minutes."

* Trucks and buses (IV,2,a):

All horn signals have the same meaning, viz: "I have an all-up weight of approximately 12.5 tons and have no intention of stopping, even if I could." This signal may be emphasised by the use of headlamps.

Article IV remains subject to the provision of Order of Precedence in Article II above.

* ARTICLE V:

All manoeuvres, use of horn and evasive action shall be left until the last possible moment.

* ARTICLE VI:

In the absence of seat belts (which there is), car occupants shall wear garlands of marigolds. These should be kept fastened at all times.

* ARTICLE VII:

1. Rights of way:

Traffic entering a road from the left has priority. So has traffic from the right, and also traffic in the middle.

2. Lane discipline (VII,1):

All Indian traffic at all times and irrespective of direction of travel shall occupy the centre of the road.

* ARTICLE VIII:

Roundabouts: India has no roundabouts. Apparent traffic islands in the middle of crossroads have no traffic management function. Any other impression should be ignored.

* ARTICLE IX:

Overtaking is mandatory. Every moving vehicle is required to overtake every other moving vehicle, irrespective of whether it has just overtaken you.

Overtaking should only be undertaken in suitable conditions, such as in the face of oncoming traffic, on blind bends, at junctions and in the middle of villages/city centres. No more than two inches should be allowed between your vehicle and the one you are passing -- and one inch in the case of bicycles or pedestrians.

* ARTICLE X:

Nirvana may be obtained through the head-on crash.

* ARTICLE XI:

Reversing: no longer applicable since no vehicle in India has reverse gear.

Here is something else about Indian traffic lights: Green: you can go. Yellow: You may still go. Red: you must absolutely go. I remember people honking if we stopped at red lights. God knows how we have fewer accidents than the US.

Tags: Blog Finds

[Listening to: Jacksonville - Sufjan Stevens - Live @ The Bluebird Theartre in Denver (7/30/05) (5:15)]

It's Time for some Truth About Terrorism

It's Time for some Truth About Terrorism

What is your opinion about this letter? I think he has some valid points. USA has an infamous history of hypocritical foreign policies and interventions. That's one of the major reasons of anti-American sentiments abroad.

Tags: Opinion

[Listening to: There Is A God - Hamell On Trial - Tough Love (2:50)]

Schneier on Security: Australian Minister's Sensible Comments on Airline Security Sparks Outcry

Schneier on Security: Australian Minister's Sensible Comments on Airline Security Sparks Outcry

I've always thought that the added airport security is more hassle than it should be. I hate the fact that I can't carry a bunch of batteries on board but i can carry butane lighters and aerosols which makes an incredibly effective flame thrower. I also think the amount of money going into security is wasteful. It would be understandable if it actually helped stem the problem, but it doesn't. Anyone who wants to be violent and hijack a plane still can using the tools around. An effective terrorist would be resourceful. Unfortunately, security and the officials think that terrorists are dumb. There will be more attacks and we haven't found a solution yet. However, that's not going to stop me from flying.

Tags: Opinion

[Listening to: Alone + Easy Target - Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters (4:05)]

Active Listening

Active Listening

I guess there is a term for what I do to make people open up and talk to me. It's active listening which involves listening without interrupting. More people need to listen because then you have everything you need to formulate a response. It's a useful trait to develop in a social, business or academic environment. It would prevent so many misunderstandings. Life would be more tranquil and tranquil is good ;).

Tags: Random

[Listening to: Come On - Ben Jelen - One Tree Hill - Enhanced Soundtrack Season 1 (3:42)]

White Flight: A growing concern?

WSJ.com - The New White Flight

The forementioned article addresses a growing concern. It talks about racism and stereotypes. I have come across the same stereotypes being implemented on me by Americans. They need to realize that they see a very narrow cross section of Asians and Asian-Americans. Not everyone in India is good in math and science. Actually, I've known several people who have issues with numbers and theory just like Americans. The only difference is that our high school education system is incredibly advanced. However with such heavy emphasis being laid on academics, we lose out on the finer parts of life. I love the fact that I can experience music, dance and art without comprising my academics. I could not have imagined a better education than what I have had now. I think I'm better rounded than most of the Indians studying in Indian universities because I have more options to explore. I am not limited to just studying. I learn about politics, history, economics, music and other topics which don't fall into my realm of academics expertise.

The parts that stand out in the article are:

Whites aren't quitting the schools because the schools are failing academically. Quite the contrary: Many white parents say they're leaving because the schools are too academically driven and too narrowly invested in subjects such as math and science at the expense of liberal arts and extracurriculars like sports and other personal interests.

The two schools, put another way that parents rarely articulate so bluntly, are too Asian.

..

But this modern incarnation is different. Across the country, Asian-Americans have by and large been successful and accepted into middle- and upper-class communities. Silicon Valley has kept Cupertino's economy stable, and the town is almost indistinguishable from many of the suburbs around it. The shrinking number of white students hasn't hurt the academic standards of Cupertino's schools -- in fact the opposite is true.

This time the effect is more subtle: Some Asians believe that the resulting lack of diversity creates an atmosphere that is too sheltering for their children, leaving then unprepared for life in a country that is only 4% Asian overall. Moreover, many Asians share some of their white counterpart's concerns. Both groups finger newer Asian immigrants for the schools' intense competitiveness.

Some whites fear that by avoiding schools with large Asian populations parents are short-changing their own children, giving them the idea that they can't compete with Asian kids. "My parents never let me think that because I'm Caucasian, I'm not going to succeed," says Jessie Hogin, a white Monta Vista graduate.

The white exodus clearly involves race-based presumptions, not all of which are positive. One example: Asian parents are too competitive. That sounds like racism to many of Cupertino's Asian residents, who resent the fact that their growing numbers and success are causing many white families to boycott the town altogether.

..

Some students struggle in Cupertino's high schools who might not elsewhere. Monta Vista's Academic Performance Index, which compares the academic performance of California's schools, reached an all-time high of 924 out of 1,000 this year, making it one of the highest-scoring high schools in Northern California. Grades are so high that a 'B' average puts a student in the bottom third of a class.

..

At Cupertino's top schools, administrators, parents and students say white students end up in the stereotyped role often applied to other minority groups: the underachievers.

..

On the second floor, in advanced-placement chemistry, only a couple of the 32 students are white and the rest are Asian. Some white parents, and even some students, say they suspect teachers don't take white kids as seriously as Asians.

"Many of my Asian friends were convinced that if you were Asian, you had to confirm you were smart. If you were white, you had to prove it," says Arar Han, a Monta Vista graduate who recently co-edited "Asian American X," a book of coming-of-age essays by young Asian-Americans.

Ms. Gatley, the Monta Vista PTA president, is more blunt: "White kids are thought of as the dumb kids," she says.

..

To many of Cupertino's Asians, some of the assumptions made by white parents -- that Asians are excessively competitive and single-minded -- play into stereotypes. Top schools in nearby, whiter Palo Alto, which also have very high test scores, also feature heavy course loads, long hours of homework and overly stressed students, says Denise Pope, director of Stressed Out Students, a Stanford University program that has worked with schools in both Palo Alto and Cupertino. But whites don't seem to be avoiding those institutions, or making the same negative generalizations, Asian families note, suggesting that it's not academic competition that makes white parents uncomfortable but academic competition with Asian-Americans.

Some of Cupertino's Asian residents say they don't blame white families for leaving. After all, many of the town's Asians are fretting about the same issues. While acknowledging that the term Asian embraces a wide diversity of countries, cultures and languages, they say there's some truth to the criticisms levied against new immigrant parents, particularly those from countries such as China and India, who often put a lot of academic pressure on their children.

Tags: Opinion

[Listening to: Joints and Jams - Black eyed peas - Bullworth Soundtrack (3:33)]

Puritan Blister - An mp3 blog

Puritan Blister

This is an mp3 blog with covers and mashups. And completely LEGAL music. So, download away!

Tags: Blog Finds

[Listening to: Summertime - Audio Adrenaline - X 2003 (disc 2) (3:05)]

My Mom�s Recipes And More

My Mom�s Recipes And More

** Israeli food blog ** It's The Taste Of My Home - Tasted - Step by Step Recipes Blog Welcome !

A fun blog find.

Tags: Blog Finds

[Listening to: Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dy - Fall Out Boy - From Under The Cork Tree (3:27)]

A random article I discovered in LinkFilter

Five questions non-Muslims would like answered

By Dennis Prager, Dennis Prager's nationally syndicated radio show is heard daily in Los Angeles on KRLA-AM (870). He may be contacted through his website: www.dennisprager.com.

THE RIOTING IN France by primarily Muslim youths and the hotel bombings in Jordan are the latest events to prompt sincere questions that law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam's sake, as well as for the sake of worried non-Muslims.

Here are five of them:

(1) Why are you so quiet?

Since the first Israelis were targeted for death by Muslim terrorists blowing themselves up in the name of your religion and Palestinian nationalism, I have been praying to see Muslim demonstrations against these atrocities. Last week's protests in Jordan against the bombings, while welcome, were a rarity. What I have seen more often is mainstream Muslim spokesmen implicitly defending this terror on the grounds that Israel occupies Palestinian lands. We see torture and murder in the name of Allah, but we see no anti-torture and anti-murder demonstrations in the name of Allah.

There are a billion Muslims in the world. How is it possible that essentially none have demonstrated against evils perpetrated by Muslims in the name of Islam? This is true even of the millions of Muslims living in free Western societies. What are non-Muslims of goodwill supposed to conclude? When the Israeli government did not stop a Lebanese massacre of Palestinians in the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982, great crowds of Israeli Jews gathered to protest their country's moral failing. Why has there been no comparable public demonstration by Palestinians or other Muslims to morally condemn Palestinian or other Muslim-committed terror?

(2) Why are none of the Palestinian terrorists Christian?

If Israeli occupation is the reason for Muslim terror in Israel, why do no Christian Palestinians engage in terror? They are just as nationalistic and just as occupied as Muslim Palestinians.

(3) Why is only one of the 47 Muslim-majority countries a free country?

According to Freedom House, a Washington-based group that promotes democracy, of the world's 47 Muslim countries, only Mali is free. Sixty percent are not free, and 38% are partly free. Muslim-majority states account for a majority of the world's "not free" states. And of the 10 "worst of the worst," seven are Islamic states. Why is this?

(4) Why are so many atrocities committed and threatened by Muslims in the name of Islam?

Young girls in Indonesia were recently beheaded by Muslim murderers. Last year, Muslims — in the name of Islam — murdered hundreds of schoolchildren in Russia. While reciting Muslim prayers, Islamic terrorists take foreigners working to make Iraq free and slaughter them. Muslim daughters are murdered by their own families in the thousands in "honor killings." And the Muslim government in Iran has publicly called for the extermination of Israel.

(5) Why do countries governed by religious Muslims persecute other religions?

No church or synagogue is allowed in Saudi Arabia. The Taliban destroyed some of the greatest sculptures of the ancient world because they were Buddhist. Sudan's Islamic regime has murdered great numbers of Christians.

Instead of confronting these problems, too many of you deny them. Muslims call my radio show to tell me that even speaking of Muslim or Islamic terrorists is wrong. After all, they argue, Timothy McVeigh is never labeled a "Christian terrorist." As if McVeigh committed his terror as a churchgoing Christian and in the name of Christ, and as if there were Christian-based terror groups around the world.

As a member of the media for nearly 25 years, I have a long record of reaching out to Muslims. Muslim leaders have invited me to speak at major mosques. In addition, I have studied Arabic and Islam, have visited most Arab and many other Muslim countries and conducted interfaith dialogues with Muslims in the United Arab Emirates as well as in the U.S. Politically, I have supported creation of a Palestinian state and supported (mistakenly, I now believe) the Oslo accords.

Hundreds of millions of non-Muslims want honest answers to these questions, even if the only answer you offer is, "Yes, we have real problems in Islam." Such an acknowledgment is infinitely better — for you and for the world — than dismissing us as anti-Muslim.

We await your response.

Tags: Blog Finds

[Listening to: Most Of All - Fuel - Natural Selection (4:14)]

Autopia

Autopia

Idiots!

Tags: Random

[Listening to: Stupid - Oleander - February Son (3:51)]

Intelligence test

This is a funny coincidence. Arielle just told me about the types of intelligences and I found this Intelligence Test while perusing LinkFilter.

Here are my results:

Based on your input, you show definite strengths in the following areas of intelligence: Verbal, Logical/Mathematical, Visual/Spatial, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Intrapersonal, Intrapersonal

Verbal Intelligence

You prefer verbal intelligence, using it with comfort and ease.
Given an opportunity, you will usually select it.
Becoming an expert should be rewarding and fulfilling,
and will require little effort.

Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence

You use Musical/Rhythmic intelligence with some comfort and ease.
You could take or leave the application or use of this intelligence.
While you accept it, you do not embrace it.
Gaining expertise in this intelligence would be satisfying,
but would require considerable effort.

Logical/Mathematical Intelligence

You prefer Logical/Mathematical intelligence, using it with comfort and ease.
Given an opportunity, you will usually select it.
Becoming an expert should be rewarding and fulfilling,
and will require little effort.

Visual/Spatial Intelligence

You prefer Visual/Spatial intelligence, using it with comfort and ease.
Given an opportunity, you will usually select it.
Becoming an expert should be rewarding and fulfilling,
and will require little effort.

Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence

You prefer Bodily/Kinesthetic intelligence, using it with comfort and ease.
Given an opportunity, you will usually select it.
Becoming an expert should be rewarding and fulfilling,
and will require little effort.

Intrapersonal Intelligence

You prefer Intrapersonal intelligence, using it with comfort and ease.
Given an opportunity, you will usually select it.
Becoming an expert should be rewarding and fulfilling,
and will require little effort.

Interpersonal Intelligence

You prefer Interpersonal intelligence, using it with comfort and ease.
Given an opportunity, you will usually select it.
Becoming an expert should be rewarding and fulfilling,
and will require little effort.

Tags: Random

[Listening to: Lemon Parade - Tonic - Lemon Parade (3:42)]

Cool time-lapse figure drawing, from the skeleton out.

Cool time-lapse figure drawing, from the skeleton out. *Flash animation*

This is fascinating! You can speed it up if you don't want to wait that long.

(Via Geekpress)

Tags: Blog Finds

[Listening to: The Best Is Yet To Come Undone - Lit - A Place In The Sun (4:30)]

A few more good PostSecrets

Link: PostSecret

Tags: Blog Finds

[Listening to: Strangers Again - Ari Hest - Someone To Tell (4:04)]

Outsourcing and India

Outsourcing outrage Indian call-center workers suffer abuse

Now begins me getting mad:

Debalina Das, 22, a computer help-line agent in the city of Hyderabad in south India, punched the button last winter for a call from the United States.

The caller greeted her with a torrent of racial and sexual slurs, accused her of "roaming about naked without food and clothes" and asked, "What do you know about computers?"

The diatribe ended with the comment:"This company is just saving money by outsourcing to Third World countries like yours."

Is this how his parents taught him to talk to people? Where is the courtesy, where is the culture? This shows me how racists pigs like this need a reality check.

Not everyone is happy about the growing ties between the two nations. An anti-outsourcing movement has drawn wide support as layoffs continue to mount at such U.S. companies as IBM, which is cutting 13,000 jobs in Europe and the United States and adding 14,000 in India, according to the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers.

Okay, I guess with that move of jobs, IBM just saved 600 million dollars while increasing their profit margin. This could mean that the jobs that did survive are getting more money. Do people forget that capitalism that the US economy is based on functions on profit?

One of the episodes recreates a real-life exchange that occurred in January between an American and an Indian agent that has become notorious among the call center crowd here. On the Philadelphia radio show "Star and Buc Wild," host Troi Terrain phoned an Indian call center pretending to order hair beads for his daughter. The call quickly turned vicious.

"Listen to me, you dirty rat eater," Terrain growled, to muffled laughter in the studio. "I'll come out there and choke the -- out of you. You're a filthy rat eater. I'm calling about my American 6-year-old white girl. How dare you outsource my call?"

If I could meet this guy, he is going to get an earful from me. F*&#king racist pig.

Now, some real research from Deutsche Bank: Outsourcing to India: Crouching tiger set to pounce (Via New Economist) *WARNING: PDF file*

It's a fascinating read if you would like more information on ITO/BPO in India.

Here is a Wikipedia article: Wikipedia: Outsourcing

I wonder what your views on outsourcing are. I wouldn't mind a discussion on this topic.

Tags: Opinion

[Listening to: Way Away - Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue (3:21)]