Of the end of two contrasting legacies

Dennis Ritchie's death did not make a big news as that of Steve Jobs's. This is a perfect example of how our thoughts and beliefs are strongly governed by what we see or what we are made to see. We cannot compare these two geniuses as they were like apple and orange. Unlike Jobs, who was a college dropout, Ritchie was Ph.D, a Harvard University grad with degrees in Physics and Applied Mathematics. And instead of the gleaming Silicon Valley, he worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories. And Dennis developed "C" programming language without which I doubt there would be any android, iPhone, iMac, smart phones and all these beautifully crafted devices. Ritchie never sought/had the public's eye but his contributions and legacy in the computer world played a key role - including that of Apple's success. Contrastingly, Jobs was never an engineer. He democratize technology, bringing it out from the realms of geeks and engineers and programmers to common people in the form of iPod, iPhone, iMac and iPad. While Ritchie would have liked a quiet exit like that of a "C" program that would execute quickly without much flair printing "Goodbye World!" on the console, on the other hand, Jobs would have preferred a crisp, clear goodbye message that would pop up with a soft touch. RIP.


PS:- So, whenever you see an iPhone or an iMac, please remember that Dennis Ritchie is the other man standing with Steve Jobs residing in these devices.

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the harder the life the sweeter the song

Indeed, Crazy Heart is one of those movies which you can keep thinking over after hours of watching it.There are people who in the flow of life tend to have missed many essential things that he/she should have done.Only to recognize the mistake in the very end of their lives.But then its never too late to rectify those mistakes.
Talking about the movie,there were glimpses of "The Wrestler". And about the performance of Jeff Bridges in the movie, he played the character with a true crazy heart.But I would say he was lucky to have been nominated for Oscar in the year with not too many serious contenders. "The Weary kind" truly deserves the Oscar for the original song. The lyrics is simply irresistible.



Lyrics | Ryan Bingham - The Weary Kind lyrics

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The Turning Brain

"How many of you have seen a train ? Not in TV or newspaper, but in real." Well, many of you would be wondering what a stupid question that it is to ask in a country which boast of having the world's 2nd largest railroad network. This question was asked by my Hindi teacher years ago when I was in a primary class. He was just trying to explain the importance of railway in the economy of our country. And there were not many hands up in a class of some 40 students.

If you throw the very same question today, you would still find almost the same number of hands. The truth is that still there is no rail connectivity to Imphal. Every time the Rail Budget is announced, it gives hope which diminishes with the passing time. Proposals and plans are made, but hardly without any execution. Agree that the geographical structure does not allow an easy development but then how long the people of this state has to wait for that sound of a running train.

Manipur is a state with a population of only 2 million. Though, insurgency is the main factor which hinders any progress, but with a well connected rail and road network, many problems in the state can be solved. Emergence of small scale industries is a possibility which might create employments and who knows, it would just become a trend. Success and good work is infectious.
Though, it sounds like a fairy tale and a nice dream, but we need to do something to restore peace in the state. And its the Government who has to provide the initiative. No country can progress by leaving any state behind.

PS:-
The post was not intended to be preachy. And on a laughing note, from the Movie Zombieland:-

Little Rock: Who's Bill Murray?
Tallahassee: ...I've never hit a kid before... I mean, that's like asking who Gandhi is.
Little Rock: Who's Gandhi?

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The Catcher in the Rye

JD Salinger would have never liked the homage being paid to him after his death [link]. He would have simply called everyone a "Phony" in his own way. "The Catcher in the Rye", happened to be the first novel that I ever read and thus got acquainted to Holden Caulfield since then.

To the Holden Caulfield in each one of us.
Too Much Joy, from the album "Cereal Killers"

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Amidst ruins, miseries and cries, "miracles" like this[link] can only bring a vision of hope to this saddened country. Not always the human spirit is being challenged like this.

No Pakistani player being picked for this year's IPL ? If I remember, they are reigning champ of the Pyjama[Twenty20] Cricket. Not very fairly treated I would say. Cricket should have left alone. Ugly things do happen which could have been easily avoided.

PS:
You have to say "no" sometimes just because saying a "yes" every time becomes a weak trait. People tend to take you for granted and end up doing things without credit.

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Like A Rolling Stone

"She eloped with the other guy". All he could remember was all those numerous favors that he has done . He did whatever she had asked for. Sometimes he was "used" as an entertainer, sometimes as an escort. He helped her in finding a new job. Many warned him - "beware of the beautiful ones especially with the blue eyes". He felt embarrassed and discarded. And above all cheated and being "used". I remember him saying "I will wait for my time".

And the day has come, he called yesterday and without uttering any words, he started humming the following lines from the song "Like a rolling stones - Bob Dylan" :-

"How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?"

I just smiled.

For those who are still waiting for their time:-

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"All that is gold does not glitter"

Started reading "The LOTR" again. This time its the Strider whose character inspires me. Although Frodo and Gandalf have been my favourite but the Strider a.k.a Aragorn has the guts in him. He is the one who went to the mountain of death and convinced those who have abondoned. Neither does he panic in the times of peril. It was he who challenged the indominable army of Orcs at the Black Gate to divert the attention of Sauron so that Frodo and Sam can reach the mountain of doom to melt the One Ring.

Rightly, Gandalf had wriiten about him the following lines :-

"All that is gold does not glitter,
not all those who wander are lost;
the old that is strong does not wither,
deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
a light from the shadows shall spring;
renewed shall be blade that was broken,
the crownless again shall be king.”

-JRR Tolkien, LOTR

PS:
Some people are just like Aragorn. They remain quite and show their true qualities at difficult times. Lets hope that Michael Schumacher will hit the F1 track again like a champion. All the very best.

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