Results of OK Cupid Politics Test

You are a Social Liberal (88% permissive) and an... Economic Moderate (56% permissive) You are best described as a: Strong Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Truth is stranger than fiction - color printers with tracking code

Continuing on my recent post about news stories that sound suspiciously like conspiracy theories, here's something interesting I came across in today's early morning surfing.

Would you believe that many color printers (including those of HP and XEROX makes) sold in US in the past few years printed pages with tracking code in the form of millimeter sized yellow dots that can only be seen in blue light? And that these yellow dots, seemingly sprinkled randomly across the page form a pattern which can tell government authorites (and any one else who can crack the pattern!) the serial number of the printer, and the date and time the document was printed?

Well, it's true! It comes from authoritative sources, and today's not April 1st. Read on more about it at this Washington Post article.

I am not exactly sure whether to think of this breach of privacy as some thing totally sinister, or as a necessary evil needed to combat bigger problems such as counterfeiting. It also makes it a little easier to track down careless forgeries :)

What do you think?

One more way to fight splogging

Google made it very easy to blog, and the spammers have joined the party - uninvited. I think one feature that Google can implement very easily is to include word verification (through picture) when posting comments. The administrator of a blog should be able to enable or disable this option - or better yet, Google should make it mandatory. Obviously, this won't solve *all* the splogging problems, but it will at least get rid of most of those annoying fake comments.

Lack of progress on Vennela Veta audiobook

I have been suffering with mild cold and cough for more than 3 weeks now, and that's making it impossible for me to record the next part of this audiobook.

Speaking of cold though, I would like to post my obligatory rationalist/skeptic rant of the week :) Did you know that Linus Pauling, one of the most respected scientists of the Twentieth century, and the only person ever to receive two unshared Nobel prizes, is mostly responsible for the widespread myth that Vitamin C can cure cold effectively? I repeat - it's a myth folks! What's worse, some people keep taking Vitamin C in large doses *after* they catch cold thinking that the vitamin would somehow ease their symptoms. If you don't believe me, check this out: http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/pauling.html

Pandemic vs. Endemic

One word that we keep hearing a lot lately thanks to the Avian Flu scare is pandemic. As I told my friend Giri the other day, it sounds very similar to endemic, but has a nearly opposite meaning. But, I made a mental note right then to verify my knowledge, and to learn more about it. So, here we go..

Here are a few definitions of endemic:

• noun: a plant that is native to a certain limited area (Example: "It is an endemic found only this island")
• noun: a disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain class or in people living in a particular location
• adjective: of or relating to a disease (or anything resembling a disease) constantly present to greater or lesser extent in a particular locality (Example: "Diseases endemic to the tropics")
• adjective: native to or confined to a certain region (Example: "The islands have a number of interesting endemic species")
• adjective: originating where it is found (Example: "Endemic folkways")
  

Here are a few definitions of pandemic:

• noun: an epidemic that is geographically widespread; occurring throughout a region or even throughout the world
• adjective: epidemic over a wide geographical area (Example: "A pandemic outbreak of malaria")
• adjective: existing everywhere (Example: "Pandemic fear of nuclear war")
  

BTW, I just verified/improved my knowledge of these two words (and got the definitions above) by researching at the "Google of Dictionaries" - onelook.com. It's one of my most favorite sites - I have been using it since 1998. Instead of praising its many virtues, I just simply recommend you to pay it a visit the next time you are stumped about any word/name/acronym/etc.

vPod

I don't think I need to explain why I call it a vPod :) Any how, I can't understand why people would want to spend $250 for a nano when they can get a vPod for $300 that has 7 times more capacity, larger screen, plays video, and has a better/same battery life.

I think that the nano is too small to operate easily while running or driving. Even if you are not interested in its video capabilities, vPod is still the way to go!

On the other hand, Apple's keeping price low by taking out all the accessories that used to be standard, the charge-from-the-electric-outlet power cord, for example.

Vennela Veta - Unedited Part I

Hello folks,

I have made an audio recording of a part of Vennela Veta by Yerramsetti Sai. It runs for about 52 minutes.

Please bear in mind that I started doing this as a test for a just a few minutes, and then continued on to record for nearly an hour. So, there are some background noises initially, and some mistakes in pronunciation, reading, etc. I will correct these, and try to improve the overall quality of production in general.

Now, regarding the copyright. It's obviously owned by Yerramsetti Sai, one of my most favorite writers in Telugu. I made this recording without his permission. I don't intend make any profit out of this effort, and I hope to send him my completed audiobook to him. Perhaps, there is some potential here generate some revenue for him via such audiobooks. I don't see any harm in my effort yet, but please leave me your comments if you disagree.

Yerramsetti Sai can be reached at (I obtained this from a google search):

YERRAMSETTI SAI

Plot 68, L.B.Nagar HYDERABAD AP 500963

(40) 4037781,4031049

Technical details about the recording:

I recorded this audiobook in two ways. I have intially used the portable Sony Digital Audio Recorder, copied the files in Sony's own proprietary format onto my PC, converted them into WAV format using Sony's software (Digital Voice Editor 2). I then started to record directly on my PC using a microphone Creative Recorder software, and ended up with WAV files directly.

I then used Adobe's Audition 1.5 (30 day trial version) to combine all the WAV files together into a single WAV file. I then used Free CD to MP3 Converter 1.5 to convert the WAV file into an MP3 file. I intend to use Audition for editing the recording. I am not expert on Audition, and have never edited any sound file in my life. So, if any of you have more experience on how to do this, please let me know.

Here are the WAV file characteristics:

• Length: 52:19
• Size: 528MB
• Format: PCM
• Frequency: 44.1 KHz
• Channels: 2
• Bit: 16

Here are the MP3 file characteristics:

• Length: 52:19
• Size: 47.9 MB
• Frequency: 44.1 KHz
• Channels: 2
• Channel Mode: MPED 1 Layer 3
• Bit Rate: 128 Kbps
• Compression Ratio: 11 to 1 (9%)

Note: The amplitude of the WAV files generated from Sony recorder was consistently higher (2+ times) than the amplitude for the WAV files recorded directly on the PC. I will normalize them using Audition in my edited release. For now, you need to crank up the volume of your mp3 player when you see a sudden dip in sound at approximately half-way through the recording.

Do you believe in conspiracies?

My natural inclination leads me to question any conspiracy theory as soon as I hear it. Now, I do believe that this is a healthy habit, and I am not thinking about changing this general attitude anytime soon. But, it seems that the skepticism should be tempered with an extra bit of patience for more evidence in certain cases.

The skeptic in me dominated (and so he should have), for example, when I first heard about The Great Moon Hoax. I did not believe it even for a moment. Of course, I researched on the net to find out how such conspiracy theory might have come about, and a few rebuttals of the conspiracy. I did this for the same reason that I still read about the Scopes Monkey Trial - I enjoy witnessing battles in which Science/Rationalism/Skepticism are pitted against Religion/Irrationalism/. Of course, the former beats the latter hands down in each and every instance ;)

I tend to take the same attitude into analyzing any conspiracy theories I hear in the political sphere as well. If you were to tell me that India's ruling political cadres in 1970s were a hot bed of KGB paid cronies, my first reaction would have been to dismiss theory as far-fetched right away. I would have said that perhaps a few of them would be, but they would not be able to influence the course of Indian politics in any significant way. I feel that I should have been careful not to dismiss such theories with the same certainty with which I would dismiss Intelligent Design as a scientific theory. I should still be skeptical, but my skepticism should be tempered with the fact that when it comes to certain human endeavors, truth is some times stranger than fiction, and that I should be willing to wait for more evidence.

What do you think?