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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Of the end of 2010

Ten years from today , I remember looking at the dark sky above on the same winter night - eve of a new year. It was the start of 2001. It has been a very long journey since then. Sometimes you don't make path, you happen to follow it. Back then, I didn't knew what I wanted to become. And even today, I don't. Never even in my wildest of dreams, I would have thought that I would be writing a computer program on the eve of another new year. But then, stranger things have happened in these years. Of all the things that happened, I took pride in having made not many friends but few chosen ones with whom I can share everything. Ten years is indeed a long period. Things get changed from the way you look to things you want. Let us welcome 2011 as a year to cherish and fulfill all those dreams and things that you have always desired. I wish you a very happy new year.

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Of 63rd aniversary of our Independence

Have you read this year's PM's Independence speech ? or for that matter how was the 63rd anniversary of Independence ? Anything different from last year's ? For me it was more or less the same. Last year it was a Saturday and this year a Sunday. Now, coming to the speech, the PM talks about many challenges the country is facing today. He cited about the conflicts in J & K, the north-eastern states , about Naxalites , strong relationship with Pakistan, food and social security, need to strengthen the education system , the inflation etc. But, the truth is that most of these issues are not new and 63 years is a long period. I think the same speech can be re-used for the years to come. But then we have to admit that India has come through a long way. It has made strides in many fields including corruption. Promises are many and in hope we live. Just iterating the following lines from the movie Shawshank Redemption "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

PS:
I am really looking forward to next year's Independence day. Not because I wanted to see whether the PM fulfills his promises but it will be a Monday resulting to a long weekend.

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Common Wealth Gains?

Just 61 days are left for the XIX Commonwealth Games, Delhi. But, instead of hearing how the atheletes are preparing and their prospects of winning medals, new allegations about corruption, leaky stadiums, incomplete infrastructure, budget overflow and other shits are making news. So, its no surprising that the poor are getting alienated - being evicted in the name of making the Capital clean. The games is being used as another medium to fill the already filled pockets of the few chosen elites. I fear this event may just turned out to do more bad than good to this country.

PS:-
"Desh Mera - from Indian Ocean - Peepli live". A song describing India - the lyrics of this song is quite fascinating. You can take it either way.

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Of honesty

Applied for 5 days leave. And gave the reason as "Attending a friend's marriage." This irked my boss. I could have easily given the reason as "Attending a cousin's marriage." That would have sounded more appropriate but I never thought it that way. Sometimes honesty does not pay yet I prefer to be honest.

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain .....
Pink Floyd on this rainy day -

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Of some random thoughts and the 3-iron

My old Maths teacher used to say that the worst thing in life is the regret of something not done when you knew how to do it. Like finding out after the exam that you have left a question whose answer you knew pretty well. Like finding out that your deeds have not been what your heart says.

Btw, I have been watching some strange movies lately. One of them is the Korean movie :3-iron directed by Kim Ki duk. It revolves around a guy who breaks into empty houses whose owners have gone for vacation. He would stay in the house for few days. At the same time he would repay the cost of his stay by washing clothes , mending electronic gadgets, watering the garden etc.The movie does not have many dialogues but just gestures.You will find yourself asking a lot of questions - and realised that the director has succeded in portraying what he wanted without actually making a fuss!!

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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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Memories cannot be erased .When we want to forget, we over-write it and when we want to remember we re-write it.

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