The Intellectual Masturbater

"Don't knock [intellectual] masturbation, it's [intellectual] sex with someone I love." -Woody Allen
"Blogging is intellectual masturbation." -The Intellectual Masturbater

Friday, April 21, 2006

The SonicWire Sculptor

Amit Pitaru has created something which absolutely blew my mind: The SonicWire Sculptor. It's something which combines drawing and sound. You actually draw sounds and can create all kinds of funky noise.

It doesn't look like this the first time Amit has tried to combine music with visualization. He also created this tool, which he calls the "Hammond Flower" and creates sounds using a visual interface.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

It's not the White House, but the Brown House

Apparently, in Albert Brooks' last film Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World there's someone in a call center in Delhi who answers the phone by saying: "This is the White House. How may I direct your call?"

Timothy Noah, a Slate columnist, writes that
According to a study released in March by the Government Accountability Office, 48 states "offshore" at least some administration of federally funded, state-administered government programs, most of it in India and most of it involving welfare benefits. The GAO also found that states were offshoring some administration of child support enforcement and—in what seems like a cruel joke at the expense of American workers displaced by cheap foreign labor—unemployment insurance!
That is ironic, indeed. But this also means that the call center business in India is booming. I'm quite skeptical about the long-term feasibility of the whole thing, though. Let me explain: Just the other day, I had a problem with my newly acquired Sony Vaio. The laptop was not detecting any wireless LAN. So I log in to chat with "Ricardo" who tells me (right off the bat) that I need to format my hard drive. I had just formatted it three days previously. To make a long story short, Ricardo didn't help at all. I figured out (through playing around) that the Vaio has its own Wireless Management Software and you have to activate the Wireless LAN using that software. That was my experience, but it's not just me. Apparently, a study performed to estimate people's satisfaction with telephone customer service found that 4% fewer people were satisfied than people given the same survey in 1976.

Maybe I'm just bitter, but I know that when I will be able to afford it, I'll pay for some quality customer support. Perhaps the call center phenom will subside for jobs which require some skill and knowledge (like computer support). Or perhaps the market will rise to the challenge. That remains to be seen. But right now, I'm pretty skeptical...

On the other hand, one thing that I'm certain about is that no matter how angry the American people get, THAT is definitely not going to be a factor in reducing outsourcing. Tibor Machan, a philosophy professor at Auburn University in Alabama writes:
One thing that underlies the complaints about globalization and capitalism is that these upset the status quo. Just after one has moved into a neighborhood, settled into a new home and placed one's kids into schools, joined a church, all of this can be turned upside down by an economic transition—the firm one works for is downsizing, is moving abroad, is outsourcing one's work, or something else akin to these. Not that this happens a lot but it can and that is scary to most folks.

Yet, at the same time, few people really prefer stagnation. When computers replaced typewriters, few protested. When CDs replaced cassettes, again there was but the faintest protest, mostly from those involved in manufacturing the obsolete product. ~And this has been going on for generations—the consuming public welcomes innovation, improvements on products and services that come from the encouraging conditions of free markets, while in some industries there is panic.
A clear-headed view of outsourcing and why its upsetting so many people here.

Postdocs and VoIP

No, I'm not talking about some groundbreaking research done by some postdocs to invent VoIP. I'm talking about two great bargains. They're both cheap and provide excellent value for money. Harvard economist Larry Freeman writes about what a great bargain postdocs are:
The United States could hardly ask for a more cost-effective way to advance knowledge and ultimately improve our lives. In a world where former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay (an economics Ph.D.!) paid himself millions of dollars before bankrupting his firm, postdocs deserve a round of huzzahs for creating so much of value and charging so little that they themselves are the ones risking bankruptcy. Huzzah! Huzzah!
*Sigh!* Alas, if only I shared his enthusiasm. For you see, as I mentioned earlier, my graduation is imminent and I have no prospective source of income yet. One possibility (and I shudder to accept this) I might consider is to do a post-doc. "But you should be happy!" you say, enthusiastically. I suppose I should. But the thought of being grossly overworked for meagre pay yet again is, to put it mildly, quite distressing.

Still, being of the resident alien variety means that I need sponsorship. And if only I had the consolation of Sigourney Weaver whooping my ass, but us aliens are not even given that luxury. Companies are loathe to provide sponsorship while universities are not. Also, my advisor might have some good contacts in academia which would make it easier for me to get a post-doc position.

And that's the state of affairs as they are...

Friday, April 14, 2006

Films Division Presents

Let's see a show of hands for those who remember the grainy black and white reels that used to be shown before movies in Indian cinemas in the 80s. Remember those reels by 'Films Division Presents'? I remember one on Hillary (not Clinton - the original one) and his conquest of Everest. Yes - they were reporting news that was over 30 years old. Ok, I'm lying. There was one on Hillary, and it did report his Everest expedition with Norgay, but it had more to do with his current activities of opening schools in Nepal.

Anyhow, I'm getting totally side-tracked here. The reason for this post, is that Ambimama discovered one of those old Films Division cartoons: 'Ek Aur Anek'. That one constituted 50% of the animated features shown in theatres.

The other one (I can't remember the name or anything much about it) had to do with a bunch of guys sitting around an apple tree and suddenly one of the apples falls and hits his head. He then scratches his head, makes a funny sound and starts eating the apple. I have no recollection of what happens after that, but the whole thing ends with the guys holding hands and dancing around the apple tree. Does anyone else remember this one? Can you locate a copy online?

The Buddha Machine (Bodhi Tree Not Included)

There is now a machine through which you can attain nirvana for only $23. It was only a matter of time, you know...

And, oh yeah, no mind-altering substances involved. Just a little ambient music.

Fitness Podcasts

For you distance-running, techno-lovers, I found this podcast from a runner-friendly DJ. DJ Steveboy creates 1-2 hour long podcasts, also listing the beats-per-minute of the track. Pretty cool.

Incidentally, there is pretty solid evidence that the right kind of music can enhance athletic performance. This meta-analytic study (that means an analysis of other people's analysis) in the Sports Journal says that it three ways:

1. Distraction from fatigue
2. Stimulation
3. Synchronicity of exercise rhythms with musical ones

Check out the article.

Long Time Gone

It's been a while since I posted, but since I read somewhere that blogging was defined as "talking to a brick wall," I figured that it would be ok.

Still, apologies to the regular viewer (note singular usage). I just got to know last week that my advisors are letting me defend in June/July sometime. So I went through the five-stage process following which it sank into my head:
1. Euphoria (1 day)
2. Panic (1 day)
3. Anxiety (2 days)
4. Frustration (2 days)
5. Some combination of Frustration and Anxiety

Incidentally, if you are a grad student. And you find yourself happy (i.e., not frustrated) for an extended period of time, I strongly suggest you stop and take heed. You're doing something wrong. Talk to your advisor or something.

The posts will now resume with (somewhat) regular frequency. I say "somewhat" because I have to now figure out what I'm going to do next with my life....

Thursday, April 06, 2006

It's not the White House, but the Brown House

Apparently, in Albert Brooks' last film Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World there's someone in a call center in Delhi who answers the phone by saying: "This is the White House. How may I direct your call?"

Timothy Noah, a Slate columnist, writes that
According to a study released in March by the Government Accountability Office, 48 states "offshore" at least some administration of federally funded, state-administered government programs, most of it in India and most of it involving welfare benefits. The GAO also found that states were offshoring some administration of child support enforcement and—in what seems like a cruel joke at the expense of American workers displaced by cheap foreign labor—unemployment insurance!
That is ironic, indeed. But this also means that the call center business in India is booming. I'm quite skeptical about the long-term feasibility of the whole thing, though. Let me explain: Just the other day, I had a problem with my newly acquired Sony Vaio. The laptop was not detecting any wireless LAN. So I log in to chat with "Ricardo" who tells me (right off the bat) that I need to format my hard drive. I had just formatted it three days previously. To make a long story short, Ricardo didn't help at all. I figured out (through playing around) that the Vaio has its own Wireless Management Software and you have to activate the Wireless LAN using that software. That was my experience, but it's not just me. Apparently, a study performed to estimate people's satisfaction with telephone customer service found that 4% fewer people were satisfied than people given the same survey in 1976.

Maybe I'm just bitter, but I know that when I will be able to afford it, I'll pay for some quality customer support. Perhaps the call center phenom will subside for jobs which require some skill and knowledge (like computer support). Or perhaps the market will rise to the challenge. That remains to be seen. But right now, I'm pretty skeptical...

Goddamn Findings Fail To Support Researcher's Hypothesis

The Onion - America's Finest News Source does it again. You researchers out there will surely appreciate this one...

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

01:02:03, 04/05/06

Did you miss the momentous occasion? Last night in the US, at one hour, two minutes and three seconds past midnight, was the only time in this century that the clock said 01:02:03, 04/05/06. Wow. And I slept through the whole thing. Maybe a country was destroyed or something...

Here's what Wired News had to say on this piece by David Pogue about the whole 01,02,03,04,05,06 deal.

Police probes and hasty cover-ups

No, I'm not talking about Tom DeLay or Jack Abramoff. I'm talking about "wardrobe malfunctions" that took place during Bombay Fashion Week. It seems one model Carol Gracias' top slipped off exposing her breasts and another model's zipper split, leaving her bare butt exposed. There was an immediate police inquiry and much to everyone's relief the Deputy CM of Mahrashtra made a statement confirming that these events were accidents. Why, he even went so far as to commend the models on their behavior in quickly covering up the slip-ups. It's bad enough they're using police resources for this crap when there are other issues like, oh say for example, the rampant CORRUPTION! What's worse, the Shiv Sena, of course, has its own view:
A senior leader of the right wing Shiv Sena party, Pramod Navalkar, was among the legislators upset not just by the two controversial incidents, but by the whole tone of last week's event.

"In these fashion shows the majority of the body was exposed and very little was covered," Mr Navalkar told the BBC.

"Such exploitation of a woman's body for commercial purposes is not acceptable to us."

Mr Navalkar said he believed the "wardrobe malfunction" incidents were planned, so that an inquiry was needed.

"I am keen on women's organisations getting together and protesting... the sanctity of Indian culture should be maintained," he said.
Indeed, it should Mr. Navalkar. Perhaps you might also want to say that to Mr. Thakeray who is currently sharing a bed with his daughter-in-law?

Bridging the Mac-PC Divide

First Apple started putting Intel processors into Macs. Now, it seems they've launched software to run Windows XP on the Intel-based Macs. That's a leap. Here's a website which outlines the whole Mac vs. Windows debate. I always thought that the Windows GUI came out of the Mac OS, which was always GUI-based with the desktop with icons, etc. as opposed to the MS-DOS type OS which had a prompt and blinking cursor.

T-Mobile's Personal Coverage Check

T-Mobile offers you the chance to check the kind of signal coverage you can get where you live or where you're going to vacation or whatever. Pretty neat tool. Someone on the Pogue's Posts section of NYT had this interesting story:
Most people immediately check for coverage strength at their home, their work, friends and family addresses, etc. It's also handy for people going on vacation, to see where they will get coverage. I've even heard of a businessman who went onto PCC, found a hotel where there was NO coverage, and booked his vacation there so his boss couldn't reach him!
Good story. Now, if only I had bothered to check this site BEFORE I bought my T-Mobile phone...

30 Years of Apple Products

Wired News gives us a history of Apple products over the last 30 years. Interesting. We've come a long way in a relatively short period of time...

The Romantic Fools at Google

This was funny and I can only assume was an April Fool's joke. The Press Release is dated April 1. And the idea of "Contextual Dating"...well...you be the judge...
6. What is Contextual Dating?
It’s a free date plus the added accrued value of the past decade’s worth of post-Industrial Age online marketing genius, all tied into a real-time, video-based, GPS-tracked, psychographically astute and environmentally pervasive promotional system.
Check out more on the Google Romance FAQ page.