i like this man and the things he has to say here :
ESR

some interesting snippets :
"...at IBM, it is now the policy of that company, announced by its president, that every new piece of software written at IBM must be issued under an open source license, unless the development managers can make a specific business case why that should not be."

"Most people's lives are taken up with a great many trivial things that they don't really care about, but which they feel they have to do. I just don't do that."

"When you concentrate on things you really love and care about, you do them really well. There is usually money waiting for anyone who can do something really well."

"Battling software patents will have to be someone else's problem, I'm afraid; I must concentrate on the parts of education and advocacy that I do well."

current reading : joy in the morning - p. g. wodehouse

i had some problems with internet connectivity at home. the connection used to die after about 10-15 minutes of activity, and then just stop. the cable modem seemed fine, the lights were glowing correctly, the router also seemed fine. after rebooting the modem, it becomes alright, but then again after 10-15 minutes, it used to die.
frustrated, i called up time-warner tech support.
after the usualk questions, he asked me which version of windows i am using. i told him i don't use windows. then he again asks me, 'no, no.. i mean which version of microsoft windows are u using.. is it 95/ 98/ 2000/ xp'. stupid fellow. again, i told him i don't use windows. had a hard time explaining to him that my laptop runs linux. hmm.. wonder how much longer it will take for linux to *really* get recognized....
i mean, it is well known in certain circles.. but it has not yet reached the masses.
and anyway.. we all know that tech support isn't really "techie" enough.

current music : i, me, mine - let it be - beatles
current mood : tired

sometimes i really wonder if the beatles were serious about their music... their music takes us all some place.. it feels like they are there with us all the time, but at the end of the song, you get the feeling that they left us long ago, are standing far away and laughing at us... seeing how easily they fooled us into listening to them...
difficult to explain.

totally vague collection of links.

http://sarovar.org - mallu site on linux. some crap code in python for generating LCS (?) under "code snippets"
PSTricks - some good stuff on graphics in tex. no documentation though. also see pdftricks, latexPrimer etc.
on a related note - a Tk based LateX editor, tle at http://conero.lrn.ru/
beware, russian site.
i just realised how degenrate i have become ! i forgot how to create links in a html page ! <href> a="mylink"</href> it seems ! eediot !

current music : 97.3 the planet.
current mood : tired.

ithaca place near new york. cornell university.

public linuxfree linux shell

the whole world is mad, and i'm the only one sane. i've said that before, and it's time to say it again. just got a new idea for this blog.. 'why kansas sucks'
this country is a funny place, to say the least. more so, kansas. i just remembered the ride from the kansas airport to the apartment on the day i landed here. 'what a sad looking place this is ! downright depressing !' and those thoughts haven't changed a bit six months later. i'm waiting to see if the winter can make it any worse than it already is.
current music : beatles - 'baby it's you' from 'please please me'
one thing is very obvious, this country is all about buying and selling. everyone keeps buying and selling.
the first day of my work in sprint, we got so much work done, it was something i had never seen before. the americans' attitude to work is so different from indians. they just want results. they don't care how you get it (so long as it's legal !)
and this thing continued for the next 6 months non-stop ! i can truly say i have worked more these six months than ever before.