Crazy scriblings

2006-04-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

The UIC-IGSA(Univeristy of illinois at chicago-indian graduate student association) for the year 2005-2006... hmm i was also a part of it... so not so bad..

2006-04-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

At last i found ym home in madipakkam on google earth.. not at the best clarity... but still this is atleast better than nothing i suppose..

Gates, Jobs, & the Zen aesthetic

2005-12-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

Gates, Jobs, & the Zen aesthetic:

http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2005/11/the_zen_estheti.html

Well, serious i did take this thing seriously. 3 presentations so far. All done with keynote of course, using the minimum pictures and still lesser text

Believe me the first one i kinda stumbled upon what to say, cauz there as nothing in the screen. So the next time i had notes.

I love to present with keynote except for one issue, it doesnt support mousepose(http://www.boinx.com/mousepose/). Such a awesome piece of s/w and yet no keynote support. too bad.

So i had to convert them all into stupid powerpoint presentations. I hate to walk across the room to show something on the screen..

oh. end of the day, i know my presentation looked a lot better than what others did... a couple more trust me i will be as good as the man with the reality distortion himself in presentations of course

http://www.slate.com/id/2130480/

2005-11-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

well thanks Bidisha, for including my comments in your post...

Bidisha Banerjee

2005-11-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

well i have seen quite a few taj mahal shots.. but this one is quite different.. they have not pictured about symmetry here but instead a little to the left when you see it. this gives a nice view of the place, national geographic right what more to expect

Why firefox sucks

2005-11-13T03:24:00.000-08:00

Well, i am no supporter of firefox. As a matter of fact i would stay with IE sometimes. But whatever said and done, in the windows platform you cannot beat Opera.

I frequently use a dell(oh ya dell too sucks in the desktop/laptop area, more on that later). A combination on opera and naviscope(not many of you have heard about this, do a google search to leanr more abt it) just rocks.

No crap spyware, its crazy faster and the tabs behave so very well compared to firefox. i dont care for all those crazy extensions that you can do when opera has them within the browser. yes greasemonkey is cool but i dont need it everyday.

ya maybe some sites dont display good with opera but i dotn care abt that. sites that i want to see look good and i am happy with it. i would say this
if the kill bill browser is firefox, the kill bill 2 browser is opera

mac os x 10.4.4

2005-11-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

Hmm i guess from what i read in all those rumour sites... it could be a nice christmas present.. i hope it is.. but gosh i dont know where i can download a 100+mb file update in india and talking abt that.. its somewhere just short of a month before i go to india after i guess a long time a year and a half now.

and i am still guessing what i should be buying believe it or not..

2005-11-11T10:53:00.001-08:00

this was just a xerox copy of my hand.. but it looks nice

2005-11-11T10:53:00.000-08:00

the A after it got some photoshopping and scanned...

2005-11-11T10:52:00.002-08:00

my hand...

2005-11-11T10:52:00.001-08:00

i know its lame.. this is a A i drew

2005-11-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

last years insititute for the humanities brochure.. 2004 - 2005 outside cover

2005-11-11T10:51:00.001-08:00

last years insititute for the humanities brichure.. 2004 - 2005 inside cover

2005-11-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

sharon holland lecture piece.. guess what that white something on the right was actually the dvd cover of monsters ball - after a few smudges, polar twist, a few blurs and some dragging around provided a nice visual... and the black colour looked gorgeous

2005-11-11T10:49:00.001-08:00

this was my design.. austin sarat lecture piece.. hmm a simple sephia in iphoto can do a lot of changes to how a poster looks

2005-11-11T10:49:00.000-08:00

GWS lecture series poster for last year.. i didnt design it totally but i hope u get the phun intented here...

THis is why i donwload music (SPELLING MISTAKES NOTED)

2005-11-11T09:15:00.000-08:00

Time for a design change

2005-10-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

Well i guess i am impressed with the flock website. i mean not the browser(yet..?) but with their website.. all text no graphics, big fonts pretty neat. so i decided i am going to follow their lead and kind of redesign my website too. (http://www.uic.edu/~mvenka2)

lets see how long that project takes...

Technorati Tags: madhu, personal homepage of Madhu venkatesa, prethip, www.uic.edu/~mvenka2/

Flock

2005-10-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

Flock

Well like most of the world i got my flock invites today.. hmm its way better that firefox to me, but the interface seems like a ri off.. by the way the flock site was designed i had high expectations for the product.. but its a gr8 start point.

Flickr is paid. iknow a lot of the world uses it.. but why not integrate hello support esp for mac users... it would be gr8.. and also a few more interesting stuff like meetro would be nice.. and i still havent figured out how to access my bookmarks. i can create them but how do i see..

its a gr8 first try but its got refinements to do..

Technorati Tags: flock, madhu venkatesan

Qinghai-Tibet Railway: An Engineering Miracle

2005-10-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

Qinghai-Tibet Railway: An Engineering Miracle

Very very interesting - A big engineering miracle and the news about this is it is that the construction is now complete but you know how long it takes to get official go ahead to start running commercial service... impressive

SPECIAL REPORT

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway: An Engineering Miracle

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway: An Engineering Miracle
By staff reporter ZHANG HUA

Snow-capped mountains, grassland and yaks -- unique scenery along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
WHEN railway construction workers first came to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, they were amazed at the majesty of its snowfield scenery. Cut off from the outside world, everything on the plateau -- its snow-capped mountains, grassland, lamas, prayer banners, the Potala Palace, and the Tibetan people living 4,000 meters or more above sea level, has an aura of mystery.

Beautiful it may be, but Tibet lags behind other areas of China. Inadequate transportation facilities restrict its economic development, as it is only accessible by highway or air transportation. This is, to a certain extent, attributable to the harsh climate and geographical environment on the plateau, but it is obvious that if Tibet is to develop and catch up with other areas of China, it must have a railway.

With this in mind, the Ministry of Railways invited experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the State Seismological Bureau, the Ministry of Communications, and the Chinese Academy of Geology, to discuss the feasibility of constructing the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

In 2000, a report on constructing the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was passed to President Jiang Zemin by the Minister of Railways, Fu Zhenhuan.

President Jiang Zemin responded with three full pages of written instructions. He pointed out that construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway would benefit the development of Tibet's communications and tourism, and promote economic and cultural exchanges between Tibet and the interior. He said that this decision must be taken and expedited as China enters the new century.

Ordinary builders create a miracle by building the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
On June 29, 2001, construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway started at Golmud, Qinghai Province. The railway will traverse the Hoh Xil "no-man's land," cross the Kunlun Mountain Pass (4,767 meters above sea level), to enter the Northern Tibet Plateau, and then go on to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. Out of the 1,142 kilometers of railway, 960 kilometers are more than 4,000 meters above sea level and 550 kilometers are in areas of frozen earth. Thirty railway stations are to be built, among them Tangula Mountain station, which will be the highest-altitude railway station in the world. When the railway is complete, it will be possible to travel from Lhasa to Beijing in just 48 hours.

Construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will take six years, at a total investment of 26.2 billion yuan. There are unparalleled difficulties to address regarding terrain and environmental protection in this project. Its construction has consequently attracted worldwide attention, and been compared in magnitude to that of the Great Wall.

Building the highest-altitude ever railway to traverse the frozen earth zone is a first in the history of railway construction. It is testimony to the development of science and technology in China, and constitutes a scientific record of Chinese exploration on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Overcoming the Hidden Perils of Frozen Earth

Laying rails.
Scientists originally planned four possible railways to Tibet: the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, the Yunnan-Tibet Railway, and the Xinjiang-Tibet Railway. They settled on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway because, apart from the frozen earth aspect, it is much the best choice of the four as regards avoiding avalanches, desert, and marshland. It is nevertheless a project hitherto unequaled in engineering cost, project duration, and transportation capacity.

Building a railway over areas of frozen earth is a feat seldom attempted. A century ago, Russia built a railway on the frozen earth zone in Siberia, near the North Pole. Later, Canada, the United States and China's Northeast built railways of a total length of 20,000 kilometers over similarly frozen territory. These railways are, however, in high-latitude zones, where the frozen earth is stable. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway traverses a low-latitude zone, where the frozen earth is unstable owing to strong sunshine and a relatively high earth temperature. The railway presents, therefore, an engineering and ecological challenge of proportions no other country has ever had to face.

Zhang Luxin, aged 55, is leader of a group of experts from the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Construction General Headquarters, and doctorate supervisor at the Cold and Arid Area Environment and Engineering Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He began working at the CAS Institute of Glaciology and Cryopedology, famous for its research on the frozen earth along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, in his early 20s. As from 1974, Zhang Luxin spent four years trekking the 560-kilometer-long frozen earth zone on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, gathering first-hand data.

According to Zhang Luxin, frozen earth penetrates three to five meters below the earth's surface, where it is even harder than the surface earth. Beneath the frozen earth is permafrost, and on top of it is a seasonally thawing layer. These three layers form a kind of sandwich, with frozen earth as the filling. The frozen earth closest to the seasonally thawing layer is largely ice. In certain areas it is exclusively ice, and therefore sensitive to temperature changes in the seasonally thawing layer. It is thus clear that the seasonally thawing layer is of vital importance to preservation of the frozen earth on which the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is to be built.

Safety thoroughfares are left for Tibetan wild asses.
"The seasonally thawing layer is like a quilt over the frozen earth," said Zhang Luxin. "It stops hot air from the earth's surface filtering down to the frozen earth layer, preventing it from thawing and subsiding. The core of the problem is maintaining frozen earth heat stability. Protecting the seasonally thawing layer is, in a sense, a means of conserving the frozen earth."

Reducing the amount of heat descending from the earth's surface, thereby increasing reserves of frozen earth, is the ultimate aim of Zhang Luxin and his fellow scientists. In order to adapt to various frozen earth characteristics, different forms of roadbed have been adopted, such as the slab-stone ventilation roadbed, pipe ventilation roadbed, a sun-shaded roadbed, and a bridge-style road. The method most widely applied on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the slab-stone ventilation roadbed, Zhang Luxin's own invention.

One summer during the 1990s, Zhang Luxin and five doctorate students went out on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to collect slab-stones. They transported the stones to a 15-meter-long experimental roadbed, and piled them up to form a one-meter-deep slab-stone layer. On top of this they laid earth, sleepers, and rails, and thermometers were inserted in the crevices between the slab-stones, to test their effect and influence on the frozen earth.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a paradise for wildlife. Railway builders try their best not to affect the tranquil environment of black-necked cranes.
Why use slab-stones rather than gravel? According to Zhang Luxin, slab-stones are better than gravel at diffusing heat, and a one-meter-thick slab-stone layer keeps the rail a safe distance from the frozen earth. In warm seasons, the heat that descends and passes through crevices between the slab-stones dissipates more readily. In cold seasons, the crevices accelerate the flow of cold air down, thus preserving the frozen earth. This invention constitutes a major contribution by a Chinese scientist to cryopedological research.

Building a roadbed is most difficult across unstable frozen earth zone -- a problem that has long perplexed scientists. Conditions in this zone inspired Zhang Luxin to invent his bridge-style railroad. This is a concept arising from the perspective of global warming in the coming decades that will make the frozen earth zone even more unstable. Zhang Luxin said, "Trains can travel over this 'bridge' as the pile foundation rests directly on permafrost, making it much easier to build a reliable roadbed." Beams used for the bridge, made by the No. 12 China Railway Engineering Bureau's Beam Factory, cost 200 million yuan. "It is incredible," said Zhang Luxin, "that just a few decades ago, it would have been impossible for a country lacking economic strength to undertake such a mammoth project."

In order to accomplish the experimental task of constructing the Qinghai-Tibet Railway more effectively, in 1997 the No. 1 Prospecting and Designing Institute under the Ministry of Railways, the Northwest China Academy of Sciences, the Beifang Communications University, the Shijiazhuang Railway Institute, and the Lanzhou Railway Institute chose Qingshuihe, which has frozen earth with a high ice content, as the experimental site for the roadbed, bridge and culvert. Experts experimented with different forms of roadbed along this 400-meter-long experimental site, and tested temperature changes on the various layers beneath the roadbeds.

The materials used in construction also aroused public interest. The PVC pipe used for pipe ventilation is a new application, and as PVC is a familiar, widely used material, its use avoids the cost of formulating new materials.

Protecting Plateau Wildlife

The roadbed advances.
Unique flora and endangered fauna, such as the Tibetan antelope, have their habitat within the harsh Qinghai-Tibet Plateau environment. Construction of the railway will inevitably affect their living environment, but scientists have tried their best to keep this impact to a minimum.

Ran Li, chief engineer of the No. 1 Prospecting and Designing Institute of the Ministry of Railways, also in charge of prospecting and designing the project, participated in compiling and editing the environmental impact evaluation report, a prerequisite for construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. According to Ran Li, hundreds of millions of yuan are to be invested in environmental protection when laying the railway -- a precedent in the history of Chinese railway construction.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway traverses Hoh Xil, known as "no-man's land" and a wildlife paradise. Each year, animals migrate here to mate, and with this in mind, engineers designed a bridge-like safety channel at the Wudaoliang Basin, spreading animal dung over it to encourage wild animals to pass through. Trains crossing this zone are prohibited from blowing their whistles.

Railway construction at the source of the three rivers (the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers) will use drilling machines without slurry to avoid polluting the river source.

There are 20,000 builders on the construction site along the railway who generate 5 tons of garbage daily. After six years, this garbage will amount to 7,000 tons. Each type must be dealt with separately. Degradable garbage that does not pollute water is buried on the spot, while daily sewage is sprinkled about to let it evaporate.

There will, however, be pollution problems of this kind to be faced after the railway opens. One train can carry over 1,000 passengers, and the handling of daily-life garbage along the line is a problem that must be resolved.

According to experts, the new train carriages will be enclosed, and opening their doors and windows will be prohibited, as will throwing out garbage along the railway line. Water-polluting garbage will be transported to Golmud or Lhasa for treatment.

Environmental protection requirements during construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway are of the highest level ever in the Chinese history of railway construction. In Premier Zhu Rongji's words, the time limit may be extended, but expansion of the construction site is not permitted. Every inch of green area must be protected.

Regarding Tibet's ecology, another salient point of view has been aired. According to certain experts, construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will not, in the long-term, damage the environment, but rather promote its protection. This is because, as Tibet is short of coal resources, averaging 6 kilograms per capita, the cost of transporting coal on the Qinghai-Tibet Highway is enormous. The high price of coal causes an irrational structure of energy consumption. The main fuels used for daily life in agricultural and pastoral areas are wood and animal dung, but in Northern Tibet, local inhabitants cut down pine trees that grow on the plateau slopes, and that need decades to mature, for fuel. Cutting down trees further damages the already fragile ecological environment. On completion of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, coal and petroleum can be transported into Tibet by train. This will favorably alter Tibet's structure of energy consumption, stop tree-felling, and thus protect the ecology.

Benefits Brought by the Railway

Development of the Qinghai Salt Lake will accelerate following construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
The Tibetan people have shown great enthusiasm for the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, and will benefit greatly from it. Losang Gyaincain, mayor of Lhasa City, said, "The Qinghai-Tibet Highway put an end to Tibet's complete isolation, and construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will bring Tibet into modern civilization, enabling its development to be realized in leaps and bounds. The old adage, 'It is easier to go abroad than enter Tibet' will soon be a myth."

Zhang Wansheng, director of the Tourism Administration of Tibet Autonomous Region, was visibly excited when talking about construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. He said that the railway opens another new route for tours of Tibet, which is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. At present, the main means of transportation to and from Tibet is by air, which is of limited capacity and high cost. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway will provide a much cheaper means of transportation, and passengers can enjoy the scenery along the way, as they gradually adapt to the plateau climate and altitude. It is certain that construction of the railway will bring considerable benefits to Tibet's tourism industry.

Experts point out that the railway has epoch-making significance in promoting economic development in Tibet. It will accelerate the blending of Tibet's plateau economy with that of the interior, and promote Tibet's products on the national and world markets. Tibet's mining, green drinks, medicine, agricultural and livestock products and ethnic handicrafts will all benefit from the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

The railway will also enhance development of the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai Province. It has already prompted the construction and development of large and medium-sized projects, such as the Qinghai Potash Fertilizer Plant, the Xitieshan Lead-Zinc Mine, the Qinghai Aluminum Plant, the Qinghai Oilfield, the Golmud Refinery, the Mangya Asbestos Mine, the Longyangxia Hydropower Station, and the Lijiaxia Hydropower Station. More than 85 percent of materials going to Tibet needs to be transported via Golmud, so the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will greatly improve both Qinghai's and Tibet's comprehensive transport capability, upgrading their overall transportation facilities and investment environment.

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AFS

2005-10-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

AFS-A fresh start

Ok here is the deal, i got 3 blogs for some strange reason i got so much enthu that i decided to keep them updated frequently..atleast for now.. maybe atleast in the weekends and a couple of days in the week..

So here is split..

Me,Myself and Madhu - http://prethip.blogspot.com - will have links and my comments of news
Crazy Scriblings - http://crazy-scriblings.blogspot.com - posts that i write with all enthu
MangaThoku -http://mangathoku.blogspot.com - pictures that i want to upload, be it mine or from flickr or something

lets c how long i hold this promise

btw i also write another blog IGSA - http://igsa.blogspot.com - its not a personal thing but a group blog of IGSA(Indian Grad Student Association) at Univ of Illinois/Chicago -UIC

Kid-free Hotels: A luxury or an outrage?

2005-10-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

Kid-free Hotels: A luxury or an outrage?

Boy >90% of the world would love to go there but so will 90% cry out loud against it.. a kid free hotel in australia..
way to go mate...

Das ParkHotel: Uber-minimalist lodging

2005-10-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

Das ParkHotel: Uber-minimalist lodging

Strange but exciting but... well how would you like to sleep inside a cylinder which has a bed and internet access but you got to drive a block to get to the shower for the night and people call this a camp-o-hotel, whatever but whats funny is that you get ur entry code to this thing by email...

onegoodmove: Choking the Hammer

2005-10-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

onegoodmove: Choking the Hammer

A good one

2005-10-14T13:29:00.002-07:00

thalaivar vazhga

2005-10-14T13:29:00.001-07:00

m & m on weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddddddddd

2005-10-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

i have heard of hammering but this is a little too much

2005-10-14T13:28:00.002-07:00

South india from a Ikanos satellite

2005-10-14T13:28:00.001-07:00

nice wallpaper

2005-10-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

i know i like star wars but this is a little too much

2005-10-14T13:27:00.004-07:00

lame...

2005-10-14T13:27:00.003-07:00

very true...

2005-10-14T13:27:00.002-07:00

the N word

2005-10-14T13:27:00.001-07:00

ferrari

2005-10-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

grow up dubya

2005-10-14T13:26:00.004-07:00

compare the difference

2005-10-14T13:26:00.003-07:00

ya.. we want beer

2005-10-14T13:26:00.002-07:00

very funny chart

2005-10-14T13:26:00.001-07:00

lame...

2005-10-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

i cannot do this

2005-10-14T13:25:00.001-07:00

cat on the wall

2005-10-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

if ibm built a g5 powerbook i wonder this is how it would look

2005-10-14T13:24:00.003-07:00

nice one

2005-10-14T13:24:00.002-07:00

guess what this driver did.. he was late for the subway

2005-10-14T13:24:00.001-07:00

old joke

2005-10-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

deep purple in rock

2005-10-14T13:23:00.002-07:00

one more chick(y) wallpaper

2005-10-14T13:23:00.001-07:00

hobbits bursting crackers... hehehehe...

2005-10-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

hey did dubya (oops god) coach u

2005-10-14T13:22:00.003-07:00

straight lines and dots

2005-10-14T13:22:00.002-07:00

if only surf started making ads like this

2005-10-14T13:22:00.001-07:00

kernel panic

2005-10-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

nice, funky weird wallpaper

2005-10-14T13:21:00.002-07:00

somewhere around the north pole from the ISS

2005-10-14T13:21:00.001-07:00

windows vista - new bugs welcome , what do u wanna smoke today..?

2005-10-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

hmm chick(y) wallpaper

2005-10-14T13:20:00.001-07:00

hmm maybe this is how people got dressed up to use IBM machines back in the sixties

2005-10-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

effects of being fat or is it pollution

2005-10-14T13:19:00.003-07:00

nice shoes hmm did i forget to mention the lace

2005-10-14T13:19:00.002-07:00

apple rocks...

2005-10-14T13:19:00.001-07:00

hmm sculpture i guess

2005-10-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

tea lovers desktop

2005-10-14T13:18:00.002-07:00

amazing picture this is how a bulb bursts

2005-10-14T13:18:00.001-07:00

now u know why windows vista too(hmm rheotorical.. did u have doubts) SUCKS

2005-10-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

pretty neat wallpaper for tea lovers

2005-10-14T13:17:00.001-07:00

nice skating idea

2005-10-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

messy room

some lame pictures

2005-10-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

time to kill so here comes some lame pics off nnm.ru.
i wont call it lame.. they r pretty interesting actually...
i dont have any comments on it.. but see it for urself...

Independence Day Celebrations

2005-08-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

It gives us great pleasure to bring to you the celebrations of 58th Indian Independance day. IGSA invites all of you to be a part of this auspicious occasion. Let us all get together to commemorate the consummation of the enormous amount of sacrifices endured by our great National Heroes.
The details of the event are as follows:

Venue: 'CCC Quad' ( The quadrangle right in front of CCC between the UH and SEL)
Day,Time: Monday (15th August ), 8:00 A.M.

Come lets celebrate the spirit of Indian freedom!!!!

Jai Hind!

P.S Follow CST and not IST for this... Most of us have work after that.

I am lazy

2005-08-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not i have used this same title 4 times. Yes i am lazy. But it is getting to a point where i am not able to do many things like i want to... i am going to change it and the change is happening starting tomorrow.. actually today since it is already 12 today. i get up early from now on and i do more work per day... yes i will and no more will this title come up.

not a moment to celebrate

2005-07-30T00:02:00.000-07:00

Well, good news and a bad news.... when i got my pocket pc a.k.a palm for myself i didnt know if i should celebrate because people in bombay where still in their office not able to go home and some of them infact died....

i sure do like this new little gizmo but i guess i am missing a bigger picture...

outsourcing the army

2005-07-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Marginal Revolution: In Defense of Mercenaries

nice article..

Here's a modest proposal posted on econoblog Marginal Revolution for how the U.S. army can deal with its recruiting problems: hire mercenaries.

Should we hire more mercenaries today? Our military already has hired more than thirty thousand non-citizens. Why not bypass residency entirely and go straight to Mexico, India and elsewhere to hire soldiers? If outsourcing is good for US firms then surely it is good for the US government. . . . Outsourcing the military has a number of advantages. The supply of labor is nearly limitless and the price is low. . . . Mercenarism may seem unusual today but in the 18th century a typical European army contained 20-30 percent foreign troops - mercenarism was the norm. It's hard to see how the United States has a comparative advantage in military labor so the future may resemble the past more than it does the present.

Here's a better idea. How about starting fewer wars?

What OS X should learn from windows..

2005-07-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

Keep scrolling down there r 6 things that this dude says should be but i want more...

1. i hate safari and opera for one thing they take a long time to load a web page.. look at opera for windows its so fast..

2. look at irfanview, i want something like that. an app so light weight, when i hit a image it just opens and to browse files in that directory just keep scrolling...

3. shortcuts in itunes should be changed more like winamp... f3 to search and more like it...

4. apps take a long time to open in general.. not everyone but most daily used one..

5. save button kinda looked lame to me i prefer command+s

6. to open a file command+o should be replaced by enter and enter for rename is pretty lame...

7. quicktime should come in with better wmv10 codec...

8. yahoo and msn messenger for mac sucks, instead ichat should come in with better support to include them like they did for jabber. there is a way for jabber to connect to both but still.. its not that good.

i think if apple is able to achieve this in leopord its going to be a big thing...

Apple Matters:

1) Compatible control keys. Switching between Mac and Windows this drives me nuts. I have to consciously think %u201Ccommand-C or control-C?%u201D It shouldn%u2019t have to be that way. And if you%u2019re running RDC or VPC and copying and pasting between OS X and Windows!! Sheesh!
The problem isn%u2019t the labeling, it%u2019s the location of the keys used. I had to use a Windows PC today and I kept pressing Alt-C to copy. This is why it%u2019s a problem. If it was simply a matter of labeling, no worries, mate. Apple - and the zealotry - need to concede that this battle is lost.
Implementing this would rock many people%u2019s boats, so if Apple did make this change it%u2019d have some serious domino affect on other keystrokes and applications that use them, but maybe it could be done with the switch to Intel, just to ease the pain slightly.
2) Save button on toolbars. I don%u2019t think any of the Apple software ever gives you the option to include a Save button. Print button yes, Save button no. A little test - raise your hand if you save your work more often than you print it? Ah, so I%u2019m not alone. Good. You can put your hands down. Thank you.
3) A multi button mouse. And you thought I%u2019d say two. Why stop at two? Especially with things like Expos�, Dashboard and Spotlight. They%u2019re just crying out for single click activation from a mouse. Ok. So this isn%u2019t a Windows feature per s�, but still is needed.
4) Only show relevant file types in open and save dialogs. For those who like seeing every file that%u2019s every existed in their Documents folder, give them a checkbox to show all files. But personally, if I am opening a Pages file, I don%u2019t want to see all my iMovie, Excel, iDVD etc files. And OS X already knows which are which because non-related ones are greyed out.
5) Sort folders to top of directory listings I know that we don%u2019t go folder mining as much since we got Spotlight, so I won%u2019t labor on about this one.
6) More context sensitive help. I notice since I first raised this two years ago, more of it has crept into OS X. So I guess at least I can%u2019t be flamed for this one!

MP3 ringtones

2005-07-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

as from engadget.com

Another great How-Tuesday! Oh my! This time around we’ll be doing something that I hope applies to everyone. I’m sure if you’re reading this, you have a cellphone. If you don’t then….scat. Just kidding! Today you’ll learn how to take any old MP3 file you have laying around, splice it apart and encode it properly on any (major) OS, and how to get it on your phone. So read on if you’ve been dying to get your personal ringtones on but don’t know how.

Allright, the first way we’ll do this is to deal with your OS. We’ll start with Mac OS X because that’s what I use. First you’ll want to get a few programs. These include Audacity (free), iTunes (free), and LAME-Encoder for iTunes (free). Next, you’ll need Bluetooth both on your phone and computer. If your phone doesn’t have bluetooth, then now is a good time to consider an upgrade, or you can just get a data cable, try to get it supported by OS X with some kind of software, etc. Due to the fact that there are about 1000 phones out there, I can’t cover every one obviously. Anyways, now that you’ve got everything ready, lets get encoding.

Pick out a song. Any song you like in MP3 format. Next up, open that file up in Audacity. Pick out a nice little 20 second clip. No more, maybe a little less if you wish. Cut it out and paste it in a new file. Now save the file as something easy to recognize. For instance, maybe you’re rocking out to the new All American Rejects, save the file as aar-ring01.aiff. Your file will still be stereo. Now in Audacity, see where it says the file name in really shoddy text? See that little black arrow? Click it. Now do “Split Stereo Track”. You’ll now have your audio file split in half via L and R. Delete either the Left or Right track of audio. It doesn’t matter which one you pick, but one may have more instruments or whatever in your clip so make sure you pick wisely. Ok great! We’re getting there! Save the file encoded at 22.500khz and quit Audacity. Now drag your AIFF file into iTunes, open up LAME and convert it to 32kbps, constant bit rate, with mono. Keep the quality low. If you need help on the commands, read the manual for it. It’s very helpful. Encode it into an MP3, use Bluetooth file transfer to transfer it to your phone, and sure enough, your ringtone will now be working just fine.

Now obviously, it seems complicated, but give it a few tries, you’ll nail it. I know you’ll get it. If your phone doesn’t support MP3s by now, then upgrade. No excuses.

Now if you’re a Linux or Windows user, you’re in luck…kind of. For Windows, the above Mac OS X instructions apply just the same considering that LAME, iTunes, and Audacity are all available for free for Windows. Do the same jazz and you’ll be set. In Linux however, you’ll only have Audacity. However you’re in luck. The biggest part is what Audacity does. You can try exporting the MP3 via Audacity properly. Whether it’ll work totally right or not is hit or miss unfortunately. Therefore I recommend you get a good MP3 encoder/converter and follow the same encoding steps for Mac OS X. Then transfer it with whatever Bluetooth method you’re used to geekily using.

Remember, not all phones demand this format. A lot of newer Pocket-PC phones will just take MP3s straight up. So just cut out a nice little 25 second clip and you’re set. Some newer phones such as my Blackberry 7290 however, can’t appreciate the awesomeness of an MP3 ringtone. My Blackberry enjoys beeps and blips. If you want, you can put an MP3 ringtone of crickets chirping on it. Just go outside at night….stand still…and…well, you get the idea.

Experiment! See how many MP3s you can throw onto your cellphone. Maybe your phone supports personalized ringtones for certain callers? What better way to know that your mother is calling than N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton”? Exactly. We knew you’d agree. Enjoy your new ringtones! Let us know which songs you ended up using!

Open source beer

2005-07-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

..::...Vores �L...::..

Open source beer.. can u beat it.... this rocks. Not that i am a big fan of beer, but the idea sure sounds great.. so whats next students on some remote college in tamil nadu coming up with open source thair sadam....

I got some work to do. Let me go back and think if i can come up with something to publish under the CCL.

Pakistan Times | Top Story: Police in UK swoops on South Asians after London Blasts

2005-07-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

Pakistan Times | Top Story: Police in UK swoops on South Asians after London
Blasts

Look at the way pakistan media says abt their 'esteemed citizens' in the britain. The suspected terrorists were south asians.... common they were pakis.

DMK/AIADMK - what kind of a funny thing...?

2005-07-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ok check out the spark

Let me clarify one thing to start with. I am in no way politically connected to anybody nor am i going to be biased. One thing i can tell u i am not a supporter of DMK atleast for one of their policies, they claim they act to promote social, economic and political interests of the Non-Brahmins. I mean thats a pretty lame statement to start with. And lets look at this Anti Hindi agitation thats like pathetic, how can u call urself a indian if u want to burn our constitution. doesnt matter if it is a page or a book.

and lets do a quick evaluation of the 2 websites dmk and aiadmk.
well hands down aiadmk website is a lot better than the dmk one. folks put some effort and get a neat site done. I know none of them in tamil nadu is ever gonna look at those 2 websites but just in case its a matter of your prestige for god's sake.

Review of D

2005-07-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

Review of Movie D - and a link to IndiaGlitz - D Bollywood Hindi Movie Review

Well one word the movie was sick. I can understand when vito corleone in god father orders the execution of his own brother fredo, but common a bollywood movie you cant be just killing people. It all starts with this dude.. i wonder who gave him the name deshu, this dude has nothing to do with my desh.

bollywood and underworld connections... i am sick of this...
grow up indian cinema.

Now i know what they do in sizzle india - inside soft outside crispy potato roast

2005-07-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

This is what i want to call us "Roast Spuds"

A hot potato, food writer Nigel Slater reckons, is "the culinary equivalent of a big fat hug". But forget fancy food writers. The difference between a nice hug and a sublime hug depends on putting in a little bit of extra effort. Here's a way to cook roast spuds that are not just a great hug - they're like a great big shagtastic shag. The secret trick is to make them really crispy outside while still soft inside by boiling them slightly first.
Step 1. Choose the right potato. Any type will do, and the best ones are the "red skin" lads because they are lovely and floury inside. Well, we tell a lie: baby new potatoes won't do.

(OK, you CAN roast baby newbies, but that's a different story: don't bother peeling them - just wash and dry them, sprinkle with olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, and simply roast them in an ovenproof dish in a 190C oven for about 35-45 minutes, turning them once or twice until they are cooked through - i.e. you can stick a fork easily through a test potato).

Step 2: Pre-heat the oven to 220 C or gasmark 6 and peel the potatoes. Now chop them into fairly large chunks (enough to make you need to take two bites at them).

Step 3: The next stage is essential for getting those lovely crispy edges. Plonk the spuds into a saucepan of cold water and bring it to the boil. Add half a teaspoon of salt. Carry on boiling for just eight or nine minutes, and try sticking a fork in. The aim isn't to cook the spuds right through - it's to soften their edges.

Step 4: Once the edges are going soft, take the pan off the stove, drain the water off, let the potatoes dry off a bit by allowing them to "let off steam" for a couple of minutes, and add about a teaspoon of olive oil. Next, give the pan a bloody good shake. With both hands. Really shake it hard for about 10 seconds. This will fluff the edges of the spuds up, so they'll be really crispy when they cook.

Step 5: Finally it's time to roast them. Tip them into a big tin (even the roasting tin you're doing the Christmas bird or joint in), and roll them around in a little bit of the fat. Olive oil is fine, butter will do, or duck fat if you're an organised fancypants gourmet chef. Let the spuds roast in the hot oven for 15 minutes at 220C, then turn the oven down to 190C and cook them for a further 45 to 50 minutes or even more until they are crisp and golden. You don't need to baste them or turn them - move them only once or twice during cooking if you really have to, otherwise their edges won't get crispy brown.

When they're done (again, see if you can stab one easily with a fork - we like to pretend that it's a potato Eric Cantona), pour off any excess fat, drain the spuds on paper kitchen towels and serve with a pinch of salt. And there you have it: soft and crispy shaggable spuds.

Ok, This is what i want to call us "Roast Spuds", cauz that is how they called it in the site i found this recipe from - http://www.p45.net/ejitsguides/xm45_dinner/index.shtml

Shaiva Siddhantha Home Page

2005-07-03T00:53:00.000-07:00

Shaiva Siddhantha Home Page

Probably i got a little interested onto this page after i listened to ilayaraja`s Thiruvasakam in Symphony. After a long long time i accept it i paid for a copy of it. One piece on music that i didnt pirate. And i am proud of it. For such a geniune effort it makes sense to pay money to support it. I am not paying money for yet another music album from deva and co, who attempt to bring 'therkathiya isai to common folk' (read as copy western music into tamil as original tunes) but this one is gr8 attempt. And this page i am proud to say throws some light into the basic foundations of my religious beliefs and i am proud to be a part of it.

Why american sports suck

2005-07-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry, for the language in the title but accept it american sports suck. I am easpecially referring to the two most yuckiest sports, i dont want to call it a sport...
1. Baseball
2. Football - i am referring to the NFL

Come on how can you possibly call these two thigns as games. Look at it, this game baseball, is filled with curses of the bambino(incidentally thats a type of vermicilli in india....) and such teams like white/red/green/blue/black sox(es)... And there is a stupid lot of people who follow this game(again u dont call them as a sport u refer to them as a game). I can understand one thing, americans are dumb(U dont believe it enough of bushit) so they need a game that will not involve them intellectually but just run around, eat lots of beef and sausage, and hit people around.. i am tired of this crap. Think about cricket, how nice the sport is, how thrilling and entertaining. I can give a lot more reasons. One would call cricket at 11 fools playing 11 thousand fools watching but see this stupid baseball, u dont know how many people play but a hell a lot of dumbers watch this game. Still worse look at this american football, this is what i prefer to call as wrestling, there are a bunch of guys standing in the middle and when the whistle blows they all hit each other and run like crazy and when one bugger reaches the corner like after a lot of beatings and revenges had they kick the ball in disgust to get more points...

Compare cricket and baseball, this NFL football with the actual football and u know for sure cricket and soccer are a million times better.

Apple - disappointed

2005-04-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

Apple

I was standign in line to get into the apple store for the launch party of tiger and to get some freebies... and crap they give us one raffle card that gives me a free itunes song.. who wants it... crap... they give a demo and they just show the same old jazz they been bragging about for long and i have seen it.. and to make things worse tom wont give us tiger in the microstation after 6...

bad...

More on ritigaule

2005-04-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

< ahref="http://www.carnatic-music.com/ragas/ritigowla.txt"> from this article in carnati-music.com

Raga of the Week: RITIGOWLA/ NARIRITIGOWLA
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Janyam of Mela 22, Kharaharapriya
The namnetwork e of the 20th Asampoorna Melam : Nariritigowla
Arohanam: S G R G M N D M N N S
Avarohana: S N D M G M P M G R S
(Notes taken: Chatusruti Ri, Sadharana Ga, Suddha Ma
Chatusruti Dha, Kaishiki Ni-- in some samcharas
Suddha Dha also appears)
Ubhaya Vakra (both ascending and descending),
sampoorna ragam.
Bhashanga Ragam, where the Bhashanga note Suddha Dha
appears in some sancharas.
Ritigowla belons to the Dvitiya Ghana Panchaka
(second series of Ghana ragas) group.
Special features: Tristhayi ragam, Sarva kalikamm
Dirgha Kampita Ga ; Ga Ma Ni are Jiva swarams,
Avokes Karuna Rasam.

The Subbaraya Sastry composition `` Janani Ninuvina''
simply immortalizes this Ragam. A rare old recording
of M. D. Ramanathan has the Tyagaraja Krithi ``Paripalaya
Paripalaya'' in this Ragam.

Muthuswami Dikshitar uses the addresses the Goddess
in the Ragamudra phrase ``Riti Gowrave'' in his
Nilothpalamba Krithi in Nariritigowla.

(There are several ragas with the suffix ``Gowla'':
but no relationship to Ritigowla --
Gowla, Mayamalavagowla, Kannadagowla, Purva Gowla,
Chaya Gowla, Narayanagowla, and Kedaragowla)
The Nilothpalamba Gowlantha Krithis of Dikshitar
(all eight compositions on Goddess Nilothpalamba,
in eighr ragams with Gowla suffix, has one song
in (Nari)Ritigowla).

Compositions in Ritigola
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^'
Lakshya Gitam
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Isvari Lakkumi (Jhampa) - Venkatamakhin

Varnam
^^^^^^
Vanajaksha (Ata) - Vina Kuppayyar

Krithis
^^^^^^^
Moramanuni (Adi) - Vina Kuppayyar
Raga rathna (Rupakam) - Tyagaraja
Dvaithamu Sukhama (Adi) - Tyagaraja
Badalikadira (Adi) - Tyagaraja
Cherarava (Adi)- Tyagaraja
Bale Balendu (Adi) - Tyagaraja
Nannu Vidachi (Chapu) - Tyagaraja
Ni Dasya Galgute (Adi) - Tyagaraja
Badali Kadira (Adi) - Tyagaraja
Jo Jo Jo Rama (Adi) - Tyagaraja
Sadguru Swamiki (Adi) - Tyagaraja
Paripalaya paripalaya (Rupakam) - Tyagaraja
Sree Nilothpala Nayike (Rupakam) - Muthuswami Dikshitar
Nilothpalambam (Chapu) - Muthuswami Dikshitar
Janani Ninuvina (Rupakam) - Subbaraya Sastri
Parakala bala (Rupakam) - Annayya
Sadguru Swamiki (Adi) - Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar
Alamanaghah Vilambena (Jhampa) - Swathi Tirunal
Paripalaya Mam (Rupakam) - Swathi Tirunal
Angaraka Mangala Murthe (Rupakam) - Muthiah Bhagavathar
Dhira Shikhamani (Adi) - Muthiah Bhagavathar
Sakala Sampadprade (Jhampa) - Muthiah Bhagavathar
Sivanandam Brahmanandam (Adi) - Nilakantan Sivan
Tatwamariya Tarama (Adi) - Papanasam Sivan
Malarinai Thunai (Adi) - Papanasam Sivan
Nambinorai (Chapu) - Ambujam Krishna
Guruvayurappane (Adi) - Ambujam Krishna
Sarasa Dala Nayana (Adi) - N. S. Ramachandran
Pahimam Sri Varaha (Chapu) - Thulasevanam
Saranam Savesa (Rupakam) - Vedanayakam Pillai
Mama Hrdaye (Adi) - Mysore Vasudevachar
Arul Surandarul (Adi) - T. Lakshmanan Pillai
Varuvai Enre (Adi) - Periyasami Thuran
Swami Mukhya Prtana (Rupakam) - Purandharadasa
Thambulava Kollu (Adi) - Purandharadasa
Ninnu Vina Mari Galada- Syama Shasthri
Katha shravana mado - Purandara Dasa - sung by R.K. shrikanthan

Ritigowla features in several Ragamalikas,
Post pallavi ragamalika swarams, and even
used as a main Ragam tanam Pallavi piece.

Some OAQ (Once Asked Questions):
>I doubt the Bhashanga status of Rithigowla.
>
>I am Seriously thinking whether the suddha dhaivatham is later >inclution because if we notice the song,'Janani ninnuvina' and the=
>Chittai swaram in that song, suddha dhaivathamhas not been used at all.
>

Well, muttusvAmi dIkShitar, a contemporary of tyAgarAja, used shuddha
dhaivata - to the exclusion of other dhaivatas - in his nIlOtpalAmbA
kRtis in rItigauLa. shuddha dhaivata also features in his
interpretations of AbhErI, shuddha sAvEri etc.

L Ramakrishnan
ramki@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~ramakris
----------------------------------
rItigauLa is an interesting case... historically,
it has been associated with the 20th mELa in the
works of Venkatamakhi, Shahaji, Tulajaji, GovindAcArya...
and in other earlier/contemporaneous works has been
referred to as belonging to s'rI mELa or as having
pancas'ruti dhaivatam... the latter term having
been consistently used by a few writers for referring
to D2... i.e. catuss'ruti dhaivatam in current usage.

Now, in the "earlier" kanakAmbarI nomenclature, the
20th mEla was Bhairavi and rItigauLa belonged to
this mELa... in the "later" kanakAmbarI nomenclature
however, (nArI)rItigauLa itself became the 20th mELa,
with the "nAri" prefix chosen as per kaTapayAdi sankhya...

This nomenclature is called "later" since it is
significantly different from the former, and has
proper kaTapayAdi prefixes for all the 72 mELas...
in this, it seems to have been inspired by the 72
sampUrNa melakarta kanakAngI-ratnAngI scheme devised
by GovindacAryA in his Samgraha CuDAmaNi (~ mid 1700s).

The author of this "later" kanakAmbarI nomenclature
was most probably Muddu Venkatamakhi (a grandson of
Venkatamakhi) who lived in TiruviDaimarudUr (aka
mAdhyArjunam)... from him, Ramaswami Dikshitar
(1735-1817), the father of Muthuswami Dikshitar,
learnt the details of the 72 mEla system...

Probably, nArIrItigauLa was preferred for the 20th
mEla since D2's important role in BhairavI made its
positioning as the 20th mELa an uncomfortable choice...
clear demarcation of rAgas into mELa/rAganga ragas,
upAnga ragas, bhASAnga ragas, was becoming a strong
theoretical concern by then...

In any case, (nArI)rItigauLa, once it occupied the
20th mELa position, became exclusively identified
with s'uddha dhaivatam... this was probably a
"back-formation"... a case of sangIta s'Astra
affecting prayoga... we certainly have other examples
in Carnatic music... e.g. the 72 melakarta system itself.

(nArI)rItigauLa has continued as such in the Dikshitar
tradition... Dikshitar's
s'rI nIlotpala nAyike
is sung/played in this manner by members of the
Kallidakuricci family, and artistes like Smt.Kalpagam
Swaminathan who learnt from Kalli. Anantakrishna Iyer.
Balamurali has sung this kriti in more mainstream
rItigauLa... it is also very beautiful and evocative...

---------------------------------------------------------

>From a practical sense, various scholars (Sambamurti, SRJ,
etc...) have pointed out that the D in mainstream rItigauLa
is to be intoned flatter than D2... they throw in a term
tris'ruti dhaivatam here ;-)... also, the s'uddha dhaivatam
occurs in phrases like P D D M... it is there in the crucial
aTa tALa varNam "vanajAkSa" of vINa Kuppier... it is important
to note that such varNams are considered by most to be a
compendium of rAga lakSaNa...

Even so, the s'uddha dhaivatam is endorsed only half-heartedly...
and it is suggested that it may be dropped completely without
detriment to rAgabhAva...

The flip side of this is that at least a few people whose
musical sense I respect have mentioned upon hearing (nArI)
rItigauLa that even exclusive usage of s'uddha dhaivatam
is not very detrimental to the overall rAgabhAva... one of
these persons actually surmised it a-priori long before any of
us heard the nArIrItigauLa version... yes, yes, all this is
subjective, but there it is...

--------------------------------------------

-Srini.

Reply to above:

Interestingly, I gather from a lec-dem by S Ramanathan
that narayanagauLa and rItigauLa were considered as 'parambarai
sotthu' (ancestral property) of the vIna kuppaiyer clan ! Also
in the same lecture S Ramanathan talks of the peculiarity of
rItigauLa's nishadam. Says its called the 'septimal ni' in
scientific jargon and happens to be an overtone of the AdhAra
shadja and demonstrates very beautifully the peculiar resonance
of the nishadham and the shadjam by singing the nishadham again
and again. I am struck by the beauty of this ni ! rItigauLa has
always been a very beautiful raga, but such nuances seem to
highlight the raga even better ! SR goes on to say that the
effect is very prominent while tuning the tambura, and for a
new tambura, the septimal ni is so powerfully heard that it could
actually confuse the listener/tuner. In his own words, 'appadiyE
ALai mayakkidum' !! A couple of months ago, when I was visiting
Srini Pichumani, he gave a demonstration of this effect on the
tambura. Truthfully speaking, I heard the nishadham on and off,
more off than on ! :-) But somehow after listening to the lec-dem,
I would like more discussion on this in the net. To start some
discussion, here are some questions :

Other than rItigauLa and surati, what other ragas have this nishadam ?
Are these swaras recognised as seperate entities under the 22 swara scheme,
or are they clubbed under the generic kaisiki nishAdham ?
How is it different from the kaisiki nishAdham of (say) karaharapriya ?
In general, what are the other overtones that can be discerned as being
higher harmonics of shadja and panchama ?
How about other swaras like gandhara, rishaba etc...? Do these manifest
better in the tAra sthAyi than in madhya sthAyi ? (I think it would.. )

balaji/...
g.balaji@hqs.mid.gmeds.com

Contd: My search for Riti gowla

2005-04-24T13:06:00.001-07:00

Netjuke @ 64.172.181.219

On the same tracks as searching for more information about this raga i came across this site its awesome.. like musicindia for nice carnatic music except that it will work on any browser without ads and no spyware and popup ads...
way to go...

Contd: My search for Riti gowla

2005-04-24T13:06:00.000-07:00

The perfect business oppurtunity for an american university(with lots of desis)

2005-04-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

Lets just think of a situation here....

UIC - University of Illinois at Chicago.

A mess in an american university.

Lets get realistic. This would be the perfect business oppurtunity in the UIC campus.
with roughly over 700 desi students and atleast 300 from south india(more actually)
what more do u think is better than starting a mess.

What we will provide - a breakfast 3 ildis and a vada with some pongal
a limited packed lunch - typical south indian - rasam/sambar/2 vegetables/rice/curd/applam
a dinner - 2 diff rices and a tiffin varied by the day..
Lets do some math.
What do u need - roughly 50 customers on a regular basis, lets say we charge 300$ to them
that is 15000$ a month earnings.

what do we invest - a decent house on the campus, somewhere near aberdeen/polk/vernon park would be ideal
rent -1500$
then u need 2 people working in devon as cooks(most of them work illegaly.. lets do it legal here) 10$/an hour - 8hrs a day
thats 4800$, plus the stuff u need to cook and all that - 4000$ a month, electricity, misc - all around expenses 10k a month
Lets also make sure we dont promote the restauarant thing. instead pack the stuff up into neat packets and have a small counter in the house where all the patrons(students) sign and pick up.

Just imagine 5000$ a month profit will be a good 50k in ur pocket at the end of the year plus the money that u can spend on upgradations...

stuff that is not advisable to try...

1. serve for only monthly contracts.. start from 16th of every month... just so that every one can pay...
2. dont do the restaurant business that will be big expenditure...
3. get orders over phone or do stuff just for a single day kind of...

what do students get

1. no need for trips to devon to buy groceries...
2. no more cooking
3. no need to spend money, no cooking turns

all for 300 bucks a month... people here earn more than 1000$ a month on an avg... 300$ rent, 300$ monthly food..
they still have 600$ to do what they want...
wont even 50 guys in the 700 odd population take this risk...
i think i will.... lets c if someone else willl...?

101 Lame things to do in cyberspace - incomplete

2005-04-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

This list is incomplete.. if any one wants to help me complete.. feel free to drop a line..

This is a really big list which i seem to be compiling after about 10 years of doing lame things on the internet

101. keep checking websites like techbargains.com, deals2buy.com though you know for sure that you are not going to buy anything
100. login to your banks website and see what balance you have at the end of the month though u know the number is most probably a single or at max a double digit number
99. Sign in to yahoo or msn messenger and hope that someone shows up online to chat
98. still lamer IM someone to see if thye r invisible to u.
97. connect to the dude sitting next to u using remote desktop and log him out of the box
96. finger somebody and find out how long ago they chekced their email
95. If u r a mallu email dallasmallu04 in masalaboard and improve the mallu hotspot reps
94. read other dudes blogs
93. play some games on yahoo
92. check ur local weather
91. keep pinging microsoft.com to see how to the server can handle its load.
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12. read apple news from sites like appleinsider or thinksecret
11. go to google maps and find a beach, zoom to the max and see if u can see any @^*&%*($#()
10. Froogle a list that u want to buy
9. Do a google news search and see if you r famous.
8. do a google image search and see if any photo is related to u.
7. Do a google search for your name and see how many hits it gives you.
6. send urself a mail and time it.. how long does it take for u to get ur mail back
5. sit and read spam mails
4. type ur email in google and see if anything has been documented
3. Type ur name in google and see if any of the hits are related to you
2. Read my blog
1. Forward some crap to the same dude who forwarded u that crap.

My search for rithigowlai

2005-04-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

ritigowla ragam

Well my search for raga rithigowle has thrown up some interesting results.

One of the foremost discussuions was in the link above. My basic liking for this raga arose because of the song azhagana rakshasiye in Mudalvan which i happened to see a couple of days back after a long long time.

First few links were hayware when i was googling with an incorrect spelling hrithigowle... more refinement in google and a couple of songs turned up in musicindiaonline.com for a search of riti*, the second one which is rendered by lalgudi jayaraman on the violin.. This is a song janani ninnuvina in misra chapu thalam was quite appropriate to listen to on this nice sunday evening.

I did find some controversy on that page regarding the alazha... song from mudhalvan about what ragam the song is. I dont actually recal who told me this song was riti gowle(ya this apparently seems to be the right spelling for it yields a lot of hits on google) I look forward to hearing these songs

1)Chinna kannan - kavikuyil
2)thalyai kuniyum - ezhavathu manithan
3) raman kadi kellungal - sippikul muthu

which are by the maestro ilayaraja.. who it appears has handled this raga in a excellent way...

I wonder if i would get these songs on musicindia.. let me give it a try.

This page apparently (as listed in the forum above) has a beautiful searchable listing on songs based on ragas.

Nice attempt..
and btw i did find the china kuyil song in musicindia..
here

I am lazy

2005-04-09T10:26:00.000-07:00

I seem to be so lazy that i am bloggin from my bed half asleep at 12 in the morning.. btw i am yet to get up...

Of late i become sooo lazy that i go to office and classes late becuase i sleep too much.. oh gawd... why am i like this....

Whenever i get up in the morning i seem to tell myself.. let me get up now i will sleep early tonight to compensate for me getting up 'early'...

I am too lazy to post stuff onto my blog...

I am too lazy to hang up the washed clothes in my closet

I am too lazy to even wash my swimming suit

I am too lazy to put my shoes in the shoe rack

I am too lazy to vaccum my bedroom

I am too lazy to even bring back my bag from office

I am too lazy to study anything or do some homework

I am too lazy to do some graphic design

I am too lazy to apply for other internships(though i am really hoping that i will get that morningstar one)

I am too lazy to hang a pink floyd poster in the hall

I am too lazy to get some stuff from jewel to eat(can u beat this..?)

I am too lazy to put a band-aid in that small wound in my leg

I am too lazy to even get out of bed most times

I am too lazy to switch off that alarm when it rings in the morning

I am too lazy to even type this thing i am writing

I am too lazy to even write 'I am too lazy to ' in every line.. so i am copy pasting it...

I am too lazy to complete the articles in my other blog that i am half done

I am too lazy to do anything

Hmm... i need a panecea....
and i better find it soon...

starting tommoroow i am going to be energetic...
dont tell me I am too lazy to become energetic today....
cauz half of the day is already gone...

terror of blackgod

2005-04-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

Blackgod a.k.a Karrupusamy..

One of the most dreaded creatures ever encountered...
For any one who did schooling especially the 10 and 12th std in coimbatore this name should be quite familiar...
He is one man who made me get good marks in mathematics of course i just dont deny that but he was a big time crap in every other aspect.
To start of with this guy had one of the worst opinions about my school... d$*n you...
Well again not to complian the problem goes to this guy our correspondent who was behind money...
so a really dumb dude with loads of money could get into our school and cause a major pain to most of the teachers...
and of course its a tradition that most of these guys join this karupps tution and get our school name screwed..
still worse my batch got the reputation of a lovers park.. with couples around.. of course i dont blame these guys.. its there personal life let them do what they want... why in god's sake should this guy poke his nose into this... makes sense if the school's management wants to. they have a right to but why this guy....

The other issue was this stupid partiality... this guy kind of likes a few students in the class and they r the ones who get into big time favours and end up getting marks... just imagine u have to get up at 5 everyday go to this class with not a single chick to brighten up ur life and to make things worse u got to do HW(homework) and see this dude... and listen to his usually sleaze mixed with mathematics lecture.... i sure do remember u saying alge'bra' is a kilukilupana chapter u......

Well despite all this stupid initiatives of this guy i did score a nice mark in maths i just dont deny it... but the process i had to get thru was pathetic.....

Forwards - The Lamest thing a soul can do in cyberspace

2005-03-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

I am compiling a list of 101 lamest things that you can do one the internet and this seems to top the list.

Many people have a pretext of forwarding stuff just saying that its their way of staying in touch with somebody.

Back in the wonder years(read college days in india) with Hutch giving free SMS we used to send about 700 to a 1000 sms messages a day. Well my thumbs didnt go soar you know why i was forwarding messages that i got as forwards. You create a list of numbers usually in groups of 10s like class,friends,locals,just in case(so that u reach 1000 smses a day), girls, dudes,... and all such weird groups and when you hit forward just pick these groups and off Hutch`s sms server gets clogged and i made good use of my 300 buck once in 2 months prepaid card.

This reaches the heights on Lame(osity) when you are forwarded a message by someone to whom you forwarded the damn thing and the list continues...

Aint this pathetic....
In my opinion this is way lame than spam messages.

long time no c

2005-03-05T18:46:00.002-08:00

long time no c

A word of caution to anyone

2005-02-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

Please .. Please dont mistake me.. I swear i will never break into any computer to steal anything at all sensitive. I have been brought up by nice people whom i care for.

The stuff that i write here might be crazy it is nothing but informative. If any of you think it is provocative or not apt to be on a site one email from you will make sure that it is gone for ever....

Why i wrote these crazy articles here

2005-02-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

I in these pages(means the next few geeky computer stuffed pages), going to restrict myself from providing any funky materials that you might expect from any site, instead go ahead to prove my free lancing skills to the core. Though i have heavily borrowed some stuff from some other folks whom i may/may not know.

To start with I say that I am a kind of geek though not yet bi-spectacled, but some one who stares at my monitor for hours together and some times I have felt that I have not absolutely done anything at all. So I thought that being a writer I must write, in fact scribble something so that some one picks me up to do something for them. And For any such invitations I am always available. That said shall I proceed scribbling.

I have the collection of articles that I have written in these pages below. You could find that I have many things written about computing or something surrounding it. Do not blame me I just like that. Apart from that I have some of my projects published (or perhaps that site might still be under consideration), and then some concerning the general society and the environment surrounding us… though I say you one thing that I am not some guy who is prepared to talk about topics such as liberation of women, eradication of poverty or some thing spiritual. I do not say that I am not interested in them, all I can say is I care for them but have no patience enough to write about them…

Here is the list of various articles that I have written, most I try to condense in a single page, though I do not mind the number of pages that you might have on a single page, you might just have to scroll, scroll and scroll …. But you can find some thing use full, else why would you visit me here…?

I have a lot of pages mostly they are realted some how to computers and about hacking and stuff like that. And beware when i say hacking i do not men that i want to break into computers and steal some thing. Let me give try and give you a small idea in the next couple of paragraphs what hacking and phreaking really means.

Hacking,.. Hmm... that is one hot topic that people talk about these days. People say it is bad to do and they gasp and say u r a law breaker. Ok, Imagine this situation u find a big fat plate full of your favorite food on a table and everyone around is so busy not minding that the door to the room with the table is not locked so won't u be tempted to go in and have a quick gulp... that is the case here. And one more situation is that u have 2 doors in your house and one is kept locked and the other is kept unlocked. and u r said that u r not supposed to be in the unlocked room, won't u be tempted to go in. A little bit mix of both the situation leads to what is hacking. I am not against it, infact I support it. Hackers are the real Back Bone to computer Engineering. U are kindled to exploit the vast amount of knowledge that u have access to sitting and staring on a dumb terminal in your house.

Phreaking, this is the term coined to playing with telephones and using that to make free phone calls. The first time i got an multi-meter i never knew what it would do. But once while fixing the phone line i kept it in my mouth and i got a mild shock in my tongue and that is when i learnt that phone lines carry current and my next thing was i took a multimeter, grabbed an old phone disassembled it fully and i tested the various voltages that came when i pressed my buttons. I noted that and tried sending the same current by using a rheostat and an ammeter and that was when i did become a phreaker and from then onwards there was no stopping... or should i say i do not do them these days..

Adventures of Telnetting

2005-02-14T18:00:00.001-08:00

If you're anything like me; short, goofy looking, horny all the time, then you've probably spent a lot of time looking around the internet and phone networks to see what you could find. Some people like programming, some like cracking passwords, but me? I like adventures. I like driving around the information superhighway and seeing what can be seen, gathering all the information possible without actually breaking any laws (well not too many). Follow me now on this telnet adventure
It began at around one in the morning while I was riding high on a caffeine buzz and trying to find something to do besides watching the tube. I'm sure a lot of you will agree, the middle of the night is the best time for any hacking/phreaking adventures you may have. System operators have gone home in most cases, people's guards are down, and most importantly, it's something to kill the inescapable boredom of the pre-dawn hours. Well then, where to start? This is the same question I asked myself as I stared at my computer screen, watching as the putty.exe file opened before me. I knew perfectly well that more and more security prone systems were turning off port 23 so as to avoid brute force attacks, but undoubtedly someone out there would have it (or some other port) wide open. The only question was, where should I go? Instinctively, I opened a web browser and entered a google search for "astrology," knowing damn well sites of that nature are usually run by amateurs and are more prone to have port 23 open wider than a two dollar hooker.
Yes folks, it's time for that typical Alan Smithee/John Doe bullshit name, which is why I'm calling the site abc.com. Um upon realizing that site actually belongs to ABC television I'll use xyz.com er, ok that actually belongs to someone too. Ah fuck it, let's just say the site was xyx.com. Ok so I enter xyx.com into putty to see what I get in terms of telnet connectivity. Sure enough, port 23 opens and gives me a typical UNIX welcome message. (note that names have been changed to protect the brainless) Welcome to xyx.com SunOS 5.7
login:

Like anyone else who's read those old 1980's text philes I tried the typical "admin/admin" passwords that never seem to work, and sure enough this was no different. Alright let me stop, suppose one of those did and I got access to the system? Wouldn't that go against what I said above about not breaking the law? I won't lie to you, it most certainly would, but let's face it, anyone who's dumb enough to use a user/pass like that should have their head examined. I refuse to feel bad about gaining access when no security is in place whatsoever. Ok, on with the story. Once I knew port 23 was open, I decided to find out what other services might be available on this baby. I knew a portscan could possibly send up red flags so I decided to do things a bit quieter. Rather than scan every open port with my telnet client (and static IP) I decided it would be wiser to send packets from a different IP each time I connected to a port. True this is not a hundred percent secure, and anyone who can read log files will be able to spot an intrusion attempt, but I seriously doubted anyone would go through the trouble. With my laptop fired up, I dialed up into bluelight first and checked out port 25. It worked, but no expn command. Next I tried port 21 through netzero, once again a big fat nothing! They had no way of ftping files onto the server from a remote location, nor no ESMTP support. It was unusual, but not unbelievable. Sadly, for a site that had taken so much time and effort in their precautions they failed to close the most dangerous (IMO) port of all.
Finger. Yes, port 79 was open and waiting for me to call a request. I began trying root, admin, webmaster, and then finally a name I had seen on the site, mistressc.
B-I-N-G-O was his name-O! That returned a response.

Trying xxx.xx.xx.xx
Escape character is '^]'
mistressc
Login: mistressc Name: Mistress Catherine O'Day
Directory: /home/mistressc Shell: /usr/pkg/bin/bash
On since Wed April 18 22:21 (PDT) on ttyp2, idle 2 days 19:34, (messages off)
Last login Fri May 11 23:22 (PDT) on ttyq4 from xxxx

Not exactly enough information to get you in, unless of course mistressc was foolish enough to use her name as her password, but come on how many times does that happen? This information is interesting nonetheless, and I made sure to copy it all down incase I needed it later. Did my adventures in Telnetting end there you ask? Of course not!
Telnetting into nether.net, I settled in for a nice comfortable rest in my favorite shell in the whole world. To me, there's nothing like nether. Offering virtually all the services you would find on other UNIX boxes, nether allows you to really experience UNIX without setting up a database in your living room. Once in my directory I did what any other information-seeker would do, I typed out a whois.

whois -h whois.geektools.com xyx.com
Query: xyx.com
Registry: whois.networksolutions.com
Results:

Registrant:
XYX Corporation (XYX-DOM)
ADDRESS
Domain Name: xyx.com

Aministrative Contact
Catherine O'Day (CD1) mistressc@xyx.com
ADDRESS
PHONE NUMBER

The rest of the information, while extremely important when trying to gather reconnaissance, is useless in this particular case as a zone transfer was out of the question. I did do an nslookup, but found nothing of interest. So far, what was of interest to me was the fact that Miss O'Day was in charge of everything! Now I had her email (which I already had) as well as her phone number and address! Wow, the information sure was coming in now. The last thing I did, although not really relevant to the telnet theme of this article, was to do a google for Catherine O'Day. Sadly nothing came up, and the same could be said for all the resume sites out there that may have held information.
So after a long night of telnetting, I sat back and stared at all the information I had obtained. Of course you can always find a vulnerability, and maybe even write your own exploit that will allow you to gain access to a particular system, but sometimes it's fun to avoid the security all together. To gain all the legal information you can, and then use that to your advantage. Should I use SMTP and try to fake her out to gain access? Should I social engineer her over the phone? These things are possible, but considering my ethics I don't think I will. Sometimes it's better to just figure out how something can be done without actually doing it. Be aware that this article only touched upon a few of the things you can find using the internet. It was meant to be entertaining and show how someone can have all sorts of fun with a telnet prog, and not meant to show you all the ways you can gather info. With online databases on just about every human being out there, it's ridiculous to think that a malicious person would stop there in trying to find out more about you. Take that as advice.
And finally, be on the lookout for future articles of mine. Watch for "Adventures in Scanning," which should be coming soon.

Safe Hacking

2005-02-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

This is only for information

Guidlines For Safe Hacking!

There are a lot of text files on the web that talk about how to hack and
give you instructions on penetrating security systems, but what they don't
tell you is the things you should do before you start hacking. I'm talking
about security, your personal security. You should always be paranoid about
eveything you do when you are hacking, if you don't know what something is
it is safer to leave it alone a learn something about it first. Here are
some of the things you absoluty always should do before any illegal
activities, hehe.

1. Never leave your name or handle on the system.

This might sound logic but some people still choose to ignore it. If you
hack a website and you put your handle all over the website so that people
see who hacked it, you shouldn't be surprised when the Feds come knocking on
your door. How, well... that's what they're paid for. Anybody in a chatroom
or on a board could really be a FBI agent sittin in his office somewhere in
D.C. roaming the underground for people dumb enough to say "Oh yeah, I
hacked this site. Want proof, here's the root password." That's all it
takes, stupidity and you have a prison cell guaranteed.

2. Never use your real ISP.

Yes you heard me right, you should never use your Earthlink or Compuserve
account when hacking. All these ISPs that you pay for keep track of who is
using their connection at what time and what IP your computer is. So if you
try to hack lets say topsecretmilitaryfiles.gov and they notice that
somebody is poking around in their system they are able to see the IP that
connected to their site and then trace it back to whome it belongs. You
should always use a free ISP like NetZero and give them fake information
about yourself. That way they can't trace the IP to you.

3. Don't hack from your room.

Although this is not a rule it is a suggestion. If you have a laptop you
should use it and connect it to some phonlines like a payphone or your
neighbors phoneline that's hanging right there on the side of the house. Or
just forget all that and go to your local library and hack from there. Hack
from your schools library if your librarians aren't always checking up on
you. Anyhere but your home is the best place to hack.

4. Never delete a file unless...

One of the rules of hacking is that you never delete files or mess up the
system you're on. The thing that is o.k. to delete is a log file that tracks
the people that have been using the system. You should always deleted or
modify these if you can. Remember, our only goal is knowledge, we do not
destroy or vandalize systems. If you have to delete a file in order to keep
yourself safe than do it.

5. Keep all your hacking material safe.

If you have been a bad boy and ignored some of these safety rules you could
be facing Feds breaking down your door with a search warrant. In that case
you should have all your hacking material in a safe place where nobody can
find it. I'm not talking about Hacking guides and books and that kind of
stuff, that is just to which you have First Amendment right. When I say
hacking material I am talking about any files you might have copied from a
hacked system, any password file you might have saved, anything that is
proof that you have hacked something. You should always keep these kind of
files on a Floppy or CD and hide it somewhere impossible to find. Be
creative on this one. Use a place nobody would ever think of lookin for.
Don't store any files on your computer, they will be found very quickly.

6. Don't send Viruses, Trojans or start DOS attacks.

This is why most kids out there are gettin busted. They find out how DOS
attacks work and they pick the biggest website to try it out on and of
course they get caught. Same thing goes for Viruses. Thoses kids that send
the love bug got lucky that their country didn't have any laws against it,
I'm not sure where they lived. Same thing goes for Trojans, although these
can be quite usefull and should be used by the advanced Hacker that knows
what he is doing. If you really want to be an script kiddie asshole and send
a virus, try not getting caught. How you ask?
Figure it out yourself if that is what you want to do.

Well, if you follow these guidelines for safe hacking you should be able to
evade any trails and convictions. Of course these are just guidelines that
you should always follow, there are many more specific ways to keep yourself
safe with different programs and systems. Also there are programs on the web
that have stealthy features to hide the IP and make your computer invisble.
As good as any program might be it is are never a substitution for the five
guidelines above. I do suggest that you find out everything about wingates
and how to use them. Safe Hacking!

p.s.:
If you totally ignore all this and do get busted (go figure), don't go
off snitchin on every other hackers that you know or have heard about to get
a couple of years less. I know nobody is going to do pass up the chance of
getting of easy but still, I had to say that.

Short - wave

2005-02-14T17:59:00.001-08:00

Sitting in the darkness of my room, at around 3 in the morning, I listened to the static that came through the speaker. After pressing a few buttons, the static was replaced with the voice of a Vietnamese woman. She spoke English, but the things she said were still very foreign to me. Talk of China, and far eastern lands that I had never seen with my own eyes. Yet even though I was thousands of miles away, her voice came through my small shortwave radio. The frequency was 5,950 Khz, and had quite a bit of static, but this was to be expected. It didn't bother me at all, as I was too caught up in what she was saying to even care.

For anyone who's ever listened to a shortwave radio you probably know what I'm talking about. There's something amazing about hearing voices from a foreign land coming through the air and into your room late at night. Have you ever tuned into the Voice of Russia (formerly Radio Moscow)? If not, I highly recommend giving it a try sometime. They can be found on various frequencies at different times of the day, but the best reception is always late at night. For more information, do a google search for "shortwave frequencies" and you're bound to come across numerous sites that can help you out. On the Voice of Russia, some of those American listeners are able to see a different perspective of the country in which they live. Rather than the typical Americanized view of the world, shortwave radio provides a much broader view that can possibly open your eyes to the truly important issues facing the world. Not just the new diet pills or what tv show is topping the charts.

Shortwave radio's are very inexpensive. The model I have is the WM-FM 465 from Sony. With a digital display, 12 band SW capabilities, and FM/AM as well it's a good deal at 70 dollars (on sale, 100 retail). The 12 bands are broken up by wavelength, for example: 120m covers frequencies 2300khz to 2495khz. For best reception, at a low price, a good trick is to take a long piece of copper wire and wrap it around the antenna and then extend it out into your backyard. The copper wire will actually act as an antenna and help you pick up more and clearer frequencies. The thing with shortwave is that you need to find just the right area of your house or room where the signal comes in the strongest. Some people find that sitting on their roof is the way to go, while others use their refrigerators as a grounding unit. Wherever you go, be sure to try all possible frequencies as one may have a better transmission than another. Be advised, shortwave radios are extremely sensitive to outside interference. Even the slightest EM emission from your computer will cause an incredible amount of static. Turn off all radios, televisions, computers, and microwaves before attempting to listen.

Foreign countries are not all you're hear however. For those of you that want something a bit more interesting, there's always something good on the NORAD frequencies, as well as the Navy. Also, if you're the type of phone phreak or radio nut who loves strange transmissions, check out the ever famous atomic clock in Fort Collins, Colorado. Of course you can call this marvel of modern technology at 303-499-7111 but it's so much more fun (and cheaper) to tune into frequencies 5,000khz, 10,000khz, 15,000khz, and 20,000khz to hear what the coordinated universal time is. This is also a great way of knowing when a particular program is going to air.
If you're a non-hacker and somewhat nervous about investing something you won't understand, fear not. A shortwave is just like any other radio. The frequencies may be a bit different, but you can find those online or in bookstores. Just tune in like you would to any other radio program. What's great about shortwave, when you're sick of listening to the same recorded DJ's going on and on about the dumbest things in the world you can tune in and listen to some real world news on your SW. And for those of you with that hacker frame of mind, I'm sure the mere thought of radio waves bouncing around the world to your receiver is enough to make you drool. Enjoy, and keep listening, you might learn something, sometime, it is just a matter of time you see,....

A Matter of Privacy

2005-02-14T17:59:00.000-08:00

In the digital world, few would argue that privacy is a sure thing. Whether you're on a cellular telephone, sending an email, or just storing files online, one of the most aggravating things is having someone else hearing or seeing your private info. What I would like to ask in this article though, is how much privacy do people have a right to expect?

When you change your clothes you probably pull down the shades and lock your door. With these reasonable precautions you expect to have privacy. But now let us suppose you forget to pull down your blinds, are you still entitled to your privacy? Of course a decent person walking down the street would never sit and stare up at someone's window, but who's to blame for the lack of privacy? The person who's looking, or the person who neglected to protect themselves?
Some may argue both are to blame, and this is usually so for several reasons. First off, the person changing their clothes was foolish in not closing their blinds and therefore shouldn't be surprised that someone looked in. After all, looking into a window is not a crime if done from a public place, such as the street. In contrast, some say the person looking in should have more respect and look away. Just because someone forgets to shut a blind does not mean you have the right to stare at them, it's simply unethical. There is some merit to this notion, mainly in the form of decency and morals. With this example in mind, let us examine how this relates to the digital world.

To begin, I will give you my opinion of the above situation so you are aware of where I stand. Keep in mind, even if you disagree the rest of this article is not moot. In a situation such as the one mentioned above, it is this writer's opinion that certain steps must be taken by individuals to ensure their own privacy. Expecting people to close their eyes, or make other exceptions for you is a ridiculous notion. I remind you that a person walking down the street completely naked has no privacy, nor should they expect any. The same can be said in your own home. If your windows are open, you're inviting the world to watch. Now, to examine the other side of this argument. What if a person does close their windows, does lock their door, and does take every possible step to ensure their privacy but someone uses a telephoto lens to zoom in and take a few pictures of them? In this situation, the extra step was taken by the person with the camera. The person changing their clothes took every precaution they could think of, and should not be to blame.

Let's now compare and contrast this scenario with the digital world. It's important to remember that the above example is not all-encompassing. First, I will examine a particular case I'm aware of where a friend of mine had horrible security on his ISP account. After telling him time and time again to not use the "Forgot Your Password?" feature I decided to see if he took my advice. Sadly, as was said in earlier issues, he did not. I was able to gain access, and should I have had the interest, could have read all his email. Being the good friend I am, I informed him of his security flaw and instructed him on how to fix it. For those of you that remember, he called me names for a good three days and accused me of an invasion of privacy (remember, just because someone says you can try to hack their account doesn't mean they really want you to!) To this day he has not fixed it, and anyone that has his dog's name can gain access and pretty much play hell with his life. With such horrible security, wasn't he basically leaving his window's open? Or did he take all the steps he could to protect himself, shoddy as they were? Did I use a telephoto lens by entering his dogs name, or was I simply looking through his open window? This is a choice I leave to you, but allow me to point out a few facts. 1. I warned him time and time again about this security problem. 2. He did nothing about it. 3. When told to correct the problem he became furious because he would have to take two minutes to fix his security, which he never did anyway. While I may have had to do a small amount of work to get in, was it really any different than turning my head and looking up? Or even using binoculars through an open window?

I could go into how cell phones can be cloned and/or scanned, but most of you already know all about that. I could also talk about storing files online, and how this can lead to problems, but I'll refrain. Instead I ask that you think about how much privacy you should really expect in our digital world, as well as how much you are entitled to. Is it fair to think that people won't get into your account or listen to your phone call simply because it's illegal? I don't think so, and if you do I beg you to reconsider. When you make a phone call using a radio frequency, people will hear. If a site is accessible by way of the internet, people will see. For these reasons, don't expect to have any privacy online. At the very least, do your part to keep yourself safe by using the best security possible. And remember, just because you leave your car door open doesn't give me the right to steal it…but it does give me the right to call you a moron.

Introduction to port - scanning

2005-02-14T17:58:00.002-08:00

Building up a profile of a remote system before approaching it as the stupid saying goes.
[Know your Enemy] Anyway, i've been messing =o) around with some IP Stack emulators and passive OS fingerprinting tools since.

Nmap --[
Nemesis --[

Snort --[

[NEEDED]
Libnet --[
Libpcap --[

Other tools you might want to look at are.

Hping --
SING --
ISIC --
Icmpush --
p0f --[

This article is a basic overview of what happens under the hood of a port scanner.
This article is for newbies and people who want to understand how portscanning works.
It's informative to some but not for the "experts" :P so go away if you are. =o)
NO FLAMING! :D

UDP Scanning
***********

First of all i'm going to scan port 111 on my computer that is not firewalled or filtered in any way, using Nmap -sU option.

slackware/# nmap -v -sU -P0 -g31337 127.0.0.1 -p111

The following is a UDP packet sent from Nmap to port 111[rpcinfo] captured using snort.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/05-13:15:57.165935 127.0.0.1:31337 -> 127.0.0.1:111
UDP TTL:49 TOS:0x0 ID:57588
Len: 8
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Nmap reports port 111 as open. As you can see, no packets were recieved back from my computer, so how does it know?
Well, lets use nmap to scan port 112[nothing] udp and see what it says.

slackware/# nmap -v -sU -P0 -g31337 127.0.0.1 -p112

Nmap reports port 112 as closed, this is how it knows.

Port 112 is closed because it sends and ICMP packet back with PORT UNREACHABLE message.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/05-13:20:57.165935 127.0.0.1:31337 -> 127.0.0.1:112
UDP TTL:49 TOS:0x0 ID:57588
Len: 8
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/05-13:21:01.727920 127.0.0.1 -> 127.0.0.1
ICMP TTL:255 TOS:0xC0 ID:24
DESTINATION UNREACHABLE: PORT UNREACHABLE
00 00 00 00 45 00 00 1C B5 65 00 00 31 11 D6 69 ....E....e..1..i
7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01 C7 22 00 8B 00 08 3A 2E ........."....:.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

There are many other ICMP messages that can be sent back, PORT FILTERED or TTL EXCEEDED for example.If we recieve no response from the port, it is open, if we recieve ICMP PORT UNREACHABLE it is closed.

TCP Scanning
***********
TCP port scanning is used to identify listening ports on a computer the quick and easy way.
The worst thing about multithreaded connect() port scanners is that they are too noisy.
Many people use programs on windows and *nix that monitor and log all incoming connections to their computer.Using Nmap -T option is similar to what most win9x portscanners do.

slackware/# nmap -v -sT localhost -p25

12/07-13:14:42.706934 127.0.0.1:1024 -> 127.0.0.1:25
TCP TTL:64 TOS:0x10 ID:19258 DF
**S***** Seq: 0xF3A14E87 Ack: 0x0 Win: 0x3CB0
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-13:14:42.707011 127.0.0.1:25 -> 127.0.0.1:1024
TCP TTL:64 TOS:0x0 ID:19259 DF
**S***A* Seq: 0xF3F0170E Ack: 0xF3A14E88 Win: 0x3CB0
TCP Options => MSS: 3884 SackOK TS: 304533 304533 NOP WS: 0
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-13:14:42.707046 127.0.0.1:1024 -> 127.0.0.1:25
TCP TTL:64 TOS:0x10 ID:19260 DF
******A* Seq: 0xF3A14E88 Ack: 0xF3F0170F Win: 0x3CB0
TCP Options => NOP NOP TS: 304533 304533
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-13:14:42.712326 127.0.0.1:25 -> 127.0.0.1:1024
TCP TTL:64 TOS:0x0 ID:19263 DF
*****PA* Seq: 0xF3F0170F Ack: 0xF3A14E88 Win: 0x3CB0
TCP Options => NOP NOP TS: 304533 304533
32 32 30 20 64 61 72 6B 73 74 61 72 20 45 53 4D 220 darkstar ESM
54 50 20 53 65 6E 64 6D 61 69 6C 20 38 2E 39 2E TP Sendmail 8.9.
33 2F 38 2E 39 2E 33 3B 20 54 68 75 2C 20 37 20 3/8.9.3; Thu, 7
44 65 63 20 32 30 30 30 20 31 33 3A 31 34 3A 34 Dec 2000 13:14:4
32 20 47 4D 54 0D 0A 2 GMT..
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-13:14:42.722279 127.0.0.1:1024 -> 127.0.0.1:25
TCP TTL:64 TOS:0x0 ID:33 DF
******A* Seq: 0x77411C81 Ack: 0x775935F6 Win: 0x3C69
TCP Options
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-13:14:42.722652 127.0.0.1:1024 -> 127.0.0.1:25
TCP TTL:64 TOS:0x0 ID:36 DF
****R*A* Seq: 0x77411C81 Ack: 0x775935F6 Win: 0x3CB0
TCP Options
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Nmap reports 25 as open.
*******************
A SYN packet is sent to port 25.
A SYN/ACK packet is sent back to Nmap, ACKnowleged request, waiting to connect.
Nmap ACKnowleges connecting to 25 waiting for data to be sent.
Port 25 sends PUSHes/ACK data packet.
Nmap ACKnowleges data was recieved.
Nmap closes the connection with RESET/ACK packet.

That is just an idea of what happens when using win9x portscanners.
Nmap has a better way of identifying whether it is open or not with -sS option.

TCP SYN (Half Open Scan)
********************
slackware/# nmap -v -sS -P0 -g31337 -p25 127.0.0.1

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-13:15:24.124062 127.0.0.1:31337 -> 127.0.0.1:25
TCP TTL:46 TOS:0x0 ID:53502
**S***** Seq: 0x22647000 Ack: 0x0 Win: 0x0
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-13:15:24.124308 127.0.0.1:25 -> 127.0.0.1:31337
TCP TTL:64 TOS:0x0 ID:19 DF
**S***A* Seq: 0x72C71D28 Ack: 0x22647001 Win: 0x3ED0
TCP Options => MSS: 536
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-13:15:24.124342 127.0.0.1:31337 -> 127.0.0.1:25
TCP TTL:255 TOS:0x0 ID:20
****R*** Seq: 0x22647001 Ack: 0x0 Win: 0x0

Nmap reports 25 as open.
*******************
A SYN packet is sent to port 25.
A SYN/ACK packet responds to Nmap, ACKnowleged request, waiting to connect.
Nmap sends a RESET packet closing the connection.

3 packets were all that was needed to verify whether the port was open or not.
The full connection is not made, we know its open and thats all we want to know.
This technique is more stealthier and un-detectable on some systems.
How do we know if its closed?
Identifying a port closed gets the same response using SYN or connect()
Look at the following scan on my computer for port 23 which is closed and see what is sent back, a packet with the RST[reset] flag is sent to me.

slackware/# nmap -v -sS -P0 localhost -p23

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-13:30:24.121736 127.0.0.1:31337 -> 127.0.0.1:23
TCP TTL:46 TOS:0x0 ID:18341
**S***** Seq: 0x22647000 Ack: 0x0 Win: 0xC00
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-13:30:24.121805 127.0.0.1:23 -> 127.0.0.1:31337
TCP TTL:255 TOS:0x0 ID:18
****R*A* Seq: 0x0 Ack: 0x22647001 Win: 0x0
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

It ACKnowleges the request but also terminates it with R flag and no Seq #.

Nmap reports 23 as closed.
********************
A SYN packet is sent to port 23.
Port 23 responds with RESET/ACK packet.

Assuming a remote host is not firewalled or configured to act differently we should get this response all the time.
But what if it is opened, and its just filtered? tough shit, i'm not going into it. =o)

PUSH scanning
***********
Using nemesis against my computer.

slackware/# nemesis-tcp -v -x31337 -y23 -fP -S127.0.0.1 -D127.0.0.1

Here, nemesis sends one packet with source port 31337 to port 23 with PUSH flag.

This reports back nothing. Look at the packet sent.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-16:05:26.124062 127.0.0.1:31337 -> 127.0.0.1:23
TCP TTL:253 TOS:0x0 ID:53502
*****P** Seq: 0x22647000 Ack: 0x0 Win: 0x0
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Now trying with port 139 snort captures one packet sent back with R/A flags.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-16:07:14.1424063 127.0.0.1:31337 -> 127.0.0.1:139
TCP TTL:253 TOS:0x0 ID:53502
*****P** Seq: 0x22647000 Ack: 0x0 Win: 0x0
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
12/07-13:30:24.121805 127.0.0.1:23 -> 127.0.0.1:31337
TCP TTL:255 TOS:0x0 ID:18
****R*A* Seq: 0x0 Ack: 0x22647001 Win: 0x0
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

We now know that port 23 is open and port 139 is closed.

FIN scanning port 139 on Redhat 6.1 sent an R/A packet, port 23[telnet] doesn't respond, but is open as a SYN scan indicates from a SYN/ACK sent back.

TTL:117 Here are some results of scanning NT-4 with Nemesis, 139 is open, 23 is closed.
U[URGE] packet to port 23 & 139 sends R/A packets.
R[RESET] packet to port 23 & 139 sent nothing.
F[FIN] packet to port 23 & 139 sends R/A packets.
P[PUSH] packet to both 23 & 139 sends R/A packets.
S[SYN] packet to 23 sends R/A packet.
S[SYN] packet to 139 sends S/A packet.
A[ACK] packet to both 23 & 139 sends R packets.
NULL packet to 23 sent R/A packet & nothing for port 139

TTL:52 Here are some results of scanning OpenBSD 2.4, port 80 is open, 800 is closed.
U[URGE] packet to port 80 & 800 sent nothing.
R[RESET] packet to port 80 & 800 sent nothing.
F[FIN] packet to port 80 & 800 sent nothing.
P[PUSH] packet to port 80 & 800 sent nothing.
S[SYN] packet to port 80 sends S/A packet, 800 sends R/A packet.
A[ACK] packet to port 80 & 800 sent R packet.
NULL packet to port 80 & 800 sent nothing.

TTL:239 Here are some results of scanning Solaris 2.6, port 80 is filtered, 800 is closed.
U[URGE] packet to port 80 & 800 sent nothing.
R[RESET] packet to port 80 & 800 sent nothing.
F[FIN] packet to port 80 & 800 sent nothing.
P[PUSH] packet to port 80 & 800 sent nothing.
S[SYN] packet to port 80 sent ICMP:PORT FILTERED message and the same with port 800.
A[ACK] packet to port 80 & 800 sent R packets.
NULL packet to port 80 sends nothing back, port 800 sends R packet.

From these results we can build up a very basic profile of the characteristics between each operating system.It is not accurate and very minimal, i know, its just to give you an idea
of how to identify a remote operating system, to be more accurate, udp,icmp,arp,rip protocols along with Sequence prediction,TTL length..etc should also be used.

Ofir Arkin has done some excellent articles on scanning techniques, check out the website for version 1 and 2.
This article of mine is not as accurate as it could be, Ofir has a more in depth discussion on using the icmp protocol to identify remote operating systems.
If you really want to see real time results, download the necessary programs
and experiment with them to find out your own.

I hope this article has been informative however short and un-interesting it may have been.

Phone Phreaking in the new world

2005-02-14T17:58:00.001-08:00

While traversing the internet one fine evening, I came upon an article that somewhat frightened me at first glance. After giving it a thorough read I realized there were a few flaws contained within, and I would like to address those here. Much to my, and possibly your dismay I don't have the article handy. Although I'm fairly certain you can find this topic scattered about the internet. To make up for this carelessness, I will try and relate the information from the article to you, along with my comments.

First off, the article discussed the future of telephony by explaining how more and more services will move online, a digital integration if you will between phones and computers. The author predicted that when the day arrives where we see our NIC's acting as phone jacks and our broadband connections being used to carry our everyday voice calls, the day of the phreak will have been long since past. Stating theories along with facts, the author seemed to conclude that the merging of two different technologies would bring about the end of the simplistic phone phreak because there would be little they could do. By "little they could do" the author referred to damage, because as we all know that's what hackers and phone phreaks are really about…financial gain and destroying things. So here we have an author stating there would be little for phone phreaks to do when these two systems become one, and who also has the nerve to say that little can be done with a regular phone nowadays anyway.

Let's examine this piece by piece, beginning with the final statement. There's little that can be done with a phone…well I suppose that's accurate to a certain degree. He does give notice to social engineering, which can be used to gain access to "privileged information," but makes it abundantly clear that he sees no danger from phone phreaks at this point in time. Which I suppose is a good thing, but let's not put the final nail in the coffin! I won't say how phone phreaks can cause harm, but I must disagree with anyone who claims that phone phreaks have no power whatsoever in a world moderated by IP numbers and encryption algorithms. A phone phreak is a person who understands how your calls are routed, and with said knowledge has more power than most anyone else. The power comes from understanding a system that few ever bother to learn, and this gives them the ability to make a call the way they want to. Again, I will not humor this author by explaining how this could be used for illegitimate purposes, though I'm sure you can see. Next up, the author claims that the new technology will make the phone phreak obsolete, but first please allow me to begin a new paragraph.

Phone phreaks may be considered by many to be a dying breed. With computers pushing the limits of technology few see a reason to play with their phone anymore, after all what can be accomplished? If you ask my humble opinion, I say this is something akin to techno-fear. Dreading progression and the future of technology because one is so preoccupied with its current state. But if we always remain in the past and present, what can we ever hope to learn from the future? If phone phreaks from the 70's and 80's hadn't begun playing with cell phones, would we know anything about cloning or how easily they could be listened in on today? Progression is what keeps things new, and this logic should be applied to the article I'm describing. To suggest that phone phreaks will have little power when phone calls are made through computers is absurd! Of course there will no longer be use for landline phones in your home, and many may miss that, but when computers are used for calls can you imagine all the new doors that will open? Calls traveling through computer routers which can be accessed from virtually any terminal in the world…things like that make my mouth water. Hackers will assist the phreaks in the computer stuff, assuming of course they don't already know, but it will be the phreaks that know how those calls are being made.

With that said, I hope everyone out there has found a new respect for the phone phreak. And perhaps most importantly, I hope that everyone has seen a few reasons why we mustn't believe that advancing technology means the destruction of older ways of hacking. After all, staying on top of the newest breakthroughs will always keep hackers and phone phreaks one step ahead of the game.