Musings on the Human Condition

Check stuff like CPU temperature to determine if your computer is overheating. This is done via your computer's BIOS setup utility, typically enabled by pressing the "delete" key immediately upon powering up. Click here for details .

Use this nifty little resource to test your Internet bandwidth (speed) and compare with the averages for your region, country, and the rest of the world.

India is #12 on CPJ's 2010 Impunity Index .

Invaluable. 50 of the most commonly used Linux/Unix commands with examples .

A mega-list of Linux/Unix tutorials .

Don't miss Bloomberg Businessweek's 2010 Year in Review issue, currently on newsstands, packed with charts and other cool visuals summarizing the year that was.

An awesome visual of the progress made by the world over the last two centuries.

There was a biiig moon on the eastern horizon on Thursday, December 23, 2010! What makes the moon look so huge at times? Apparently, there actually is no good answer. The phenomenon is known as the moon illusion. If you're curious check out these links. http://www.howstuffwork ... s.com/question491.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wi ki/Moon_illusion

This is an excellent article on a topic that all software engineers ought to know more about.

Winning streak snapped at 14 last night by the Orlando Magic.

A nice video introduction to queuing theory . I recall seeing Erlang's recommended approach -- a single queue feeding multiple cashiers -- used at Marshall's, Panera Bread, and Barnes & Noble. Can you think of any others?

The NYT finally speaks up against the financial blockade of WikiLeaks.

I finally watched my first Hindi movie in a very long while. ROCKET SINGH is a very special film. This moving picture presents what is arguably the most wholesome Sikh protagonist ever created by Bollywood. The lead character, played admirably by Ranbir "Singh" Kapoor, is not that of a military man (Border), or a hothead (Sat Sri Akal, Singh Is King), or a martyr (various Bhagat Singh movies). Instead, refreshingly, this hero is an honest, hardworking and enterprising man -- a largely underplayed aspect of the Sikh ethos. Kudos to the entire team that gave us this gem of a movie!

Bunnahabhain (boon-a-havn). First step to heaven. The mildest of the Islay options, for those who wish to tread softly into peat and smoke. Glenmorangie (glen-mor-n-jey). The Lasanta. WOW! My default choice. Auchentoshan. Rare in many ways. One of the few distilleries operating in Scotland's Lowland region. Triple distilled. Subtle. The Famous Grouse. A blend, including The Macallan and Highland Park. Bowmore (boh-mor). Legend. 10 years old. Smokey extravaganza! One of the oldest distilleries in Scotland and the oldest Islay single malt. My favorite top-off after whatever whisky I'm drinking on a particular evening. Aberlour. An ultra-dark speyside, aged 12 years in oak and sherry casks. Ooooh so smooth! Old Pulteney. 12 years old. Clean and smooth as you would expect from a maritime offering. Tamdhu. A delicious Speyside offering that tastes a bit like my favorite Glenmorangie The Lasanta. Used extensively in blends, including The Famous Grouse, J&B, and...

I particularly like shots on goal taken from outside the penalty area. And they're even sweeter when they find the net. More often than not, they only work if they are executed with scorching speed and pinpoint accuracy. Some of the best practitioner of prior years include David Beckham and Roberto Carlos . I intend to use this space to document this World Cup's best goals or shots on goal from beyond the penalty box. So, here goes. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal v Ivory Coast, 10') Valter Birsa (Slovenia v US, 13') Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands v Japan, 53') Keisuke Honda (Japan v Denmark, 17') Yasuhito Endo (Japan v Denmark, 30') Chu-Young Park (South Korea v Uruguay, 5') Luis Suarez (Uruguay v South Korea, 80') Frank Lampard (England v Germany, 38' and 51') C Salcido (Mexico v Argentina, 8') Tevez (Argentina v Mexico, 52') Messi (Argentina v Mexico, 92') Diego Forlan (Uruguay v Ghana, 13' and 54') Xavi (Spain ...

I watched Sholay for the Nth time this weekend and enjoyed it just as much as I have on previous viewings. Sholay is perhaps India's most successful and memorable film of all time. The movie has several assets, which I have tried to rank as follows. Multi-super-star cast including Dharminder Deol (Veeru), Amitabh Bachchan (Jai), Sanjeev Kumar (Thakur), Amjad Khan (Gabbar), Hema Malini (Basanti), Jaya Bahaduri (Radha), Govardhan Asrani (Jailor), Helen, Sachin (Ahmed), Keshto Mukherjee (Hariram), Om Shivpuri, Mac Mohan (Sambha), Jagdeep (Soorma Bhopali) and many more. Stupendous writing (story and script) by the Salim-Javed pair (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). Tremendous music by Rahul Dev Burman. Superb direction by Ramesh Sippy. Among intangible reasons for the movie's success is the daring and tragic move to allow the co-leading character, Jai, to perish -- thereby causing Radha to be widowed a second time around. Furthermore, I've taken great pains to list below...

The soundtrack for Ishqiya is another wonderful result of the longstanding partnership between Sampooran Singh Kalra (aka Gulzar) and Vishal Bhardwaj. They have previously partnered to produce hit soundtracks such as Maachis and Omkara. Dil To Bachcha Hai Rahat Ali Khan does his usual magic. Ibn-E-Batuta Perhaps the most memorable of the film's songs, delivered inimitably by Sukhwinder Singh and Mika. The "phurrr" here is reminiscent of "dhan-tanaan-tanan-tanan" in Kaminey (also by Vishal Bhardwaj). The raw, verbally percussive impact of "phurr" and "dhan-tanaan" helps to recall Amit Trivedi 's brilliance in Chakkar Ghumyo and Phas Gaya (both from Aamir). Ab Mujhe Koi Badi Dheere Jali Both rendered exquisitely as only Rekha Bhardwaj can, with semi-classical underpinnings. And yet, they have enough populism built in to grow on you increasingly with each listen. Dil To Bachcha Hai (Remix) Ibn-E-Batuta Nucleya (Remix) Ibn-E-Batuta (Remix)