Obama declares the end of Iraq War!

Obama declares the end of Iraq war finally! He and his predecessor must be happy, now that the WMDs have been found in Iraq, Saddam killed and the country with its rich heritage has been ruined for good. We are happy too, now that we see some real leaders, who can take such wise and sensible decisions for the sake of World's betterment. Who cares how many we fool/kill along the way? That is all for a just cause. Thank you guys!

The Power of Slience

Silence is so powerful.

And I have been enjoying that, since my last post here :-)

One can communicate lot more in a much more effective manner
through silence, than through words (who have their own limitations
in expressing the ideas after a certain point).

Note: Be silent if the above doesn't make sense to you, and realization will dawn on you some day!

Hurrican Katrina - The Apathy of Bush Administration

What a nightmarish scenes Katrina has left behind?!!

And what an inefficient way it has been handled, to prevent the loss of life or dignity!

Whatever relief operations have been done so far are just an eyewash - the damage has already been done: to the lives of these victims, and to the confidence of american people in little bush's governance. When most of the soldiers and equipment are in Iraq on a useless mission, what else can he do than sit back and make some stupid statements like "the results are not acceptable", (as if it is not his responsibility to make things happen) or "we're going to help the people that need help" (when? it is too late already). May be that is what African-americans mean to him.


Here are some reactions:

"I think it puts into question all of the Homeland Security and Northern Command planning for the last four years, because if we can't respond faster than this to an event we saw coming across the Gulf for days, then why do we think we're prepared to respond to a nuclear or biological attack?" - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.


Transcript of radio interview with New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin

A Can't-Do Government - by Paul Krugman


"If you know that terror is approaching in terms of hurricanes, and you've already seen the damage they've done in Florida and elsewhere, what in God's name were you thinking?"..."I think a lot of it has to do with race and class. The people affected were largely poor people. Poor, black people." - Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, Harlem.

"Most cities have a hidden or not always talked about poor population, black and white, and most of the time we look past them. This is a moment in time when we can't look past them. Their plight is coming to the forefront now. They were the ones less able to hop in a car and less able to drive off." - Spencer R. Crew, president and CEO of the national Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati.

"Is this what the pioneers of the civil rights movement fought to achieve, a society where many black people are as trapped and isolated by their poverty as they were by segregation laws?"..."If Sept. 11 showed the power of a nation united in response to a devastating attack, Hurricane Katrina reveals the fault lines of a region and a nation, rent by profound social divisions." - Mark Naison, professor of African-American Studies at Fordham University, Bronx.

"Yet it has always been thus: poor people are in danger. That is what it means to be poor. It's dangerous to be poor. It's dangerous to be black. It's dangerous to be Latino." - Martín Espada, an English professor at the University of Massachusetts

Save Kannada: LMAO

What an entertainment over the weekend :-)

Came across this online petition to a local radio station in Bangalore, India by one person determined to save the local language Kannada. It says "We would appreciate, if you could emphasis on Kannada culture by implementing the above requests and also give the due respect to the local language so that the sentiments are not hurt".

And there were so many others who endorsed by signing it.

* Some say that the radio station save Kannada
* Some say it save the Kannada culture
* Some say because the broadcaster is located in Bangalore, they
should give weightage to Kannada
* Some others say that it respect the sentiments of Kannada people
* Some even say to learn to respect the local language

When they are talking about such a serious issue, why did it look so funny to me?!!

First, every business has its business plan as per the target audience, and plan the programs accordingly. So is with this radio station. Just because they are located in a place, they need not include local language programs, if it doesn't fit their target audience. In a cosmopolitan and multi-cultered city, they will lose their advertising revenues and much of their audience base if they start doing this. Obviously, they haven't told us that they are an NGO.

Second, how can one deduce that if they don't broadcast in a local language, they are disrepecting the feelings of local people? That argument doesn't hold logically.

Third, how can all these folks think that a rich and centuries-old culture and language gets affected just because one radio station doesn't broadcast in Kannada? Again, sounds stupid to me.

Fourth, go through this petition and figure out how much percentage of words are in Kannada. A paradox right there! Why blame others?

Fifth, how much percentage of those who signed, have done something for the local language or local culture (which they respect and are proud of) other than signing such petitions? Have they at least studied in Kannada instead of in English medium? If they have the energy and willpower, they need to contribute in the right way. Not like this.

Finally, i have nothing for or against any language whatsoever. The purpose of a language is to communicate, the purpose of a location is to live. The moment we attach ourselves too much to both these, that makes us become narrow-minded and distracts our vision. After that, we cannot think openly nor can we understand why they are irrelevant. Why divide ourselves further, when we already have enough social problems to keep us busy for the rest of our lives?

Have depth in life and thinking folks.

Solaris 10 SysAdmin Beta Exam Results

Here they are at last!

I passed Part I with 70% score and failed in Part II with 57% score.

Part I (310-200)
------------------
Number of Questions: 180
Time limit: 240 minutes
Passing Score: 61%
My Score: 70%
Test Status: Pass

Section Analysis:

Install Software: 71%
Manage File Systems: 72%
Perform System Boot and Shutdown
Procedures for SPARC and x86: 69%
Perform User and Security Admin: 80%
Manage Network Printers and
System Processes: 71%
Perform System Backups and Restores: 60%



Part II (310-202)
-------------------
Number of Questions: 171
Time limit: 240 minutes
Passing Score: 62%
My Score: 57%
Test Status: Fail

Section Analysis:

Describe Network Basics: 57%
Manage Virtual FSs and Core Dumps: 70%
Manage Storage Volumes: 70%
Control Access and Configure
System Messaging: 40%
Naming Services: 60%
Perform Advanced Install Procedures: 50%


Note: Actual certificatin exams have much lesser no of questions (around 60) per each part. More details here

Solaris 10 SysAdmin Part II Beta Exam

Though not having much time for Part-II preparation, I appeared for it today. Pls check my feedback here. Thanks to Sun for putting me on fast track in learning Solaris 10 this way! I am still playing with and exploring its new features.

Kanishka Verdict

Kanishka (a Boeing 747), started its flight from Toranto, Canada to Bombay, India enroute London and New Delhi on June 23rd 1985. But, even before it reached London, it crashed off mysteriously off the Irish coast. More than 300 passengers were on board, and none survived.

Today's verdict by Canadian court acquits both the suspects as the world looks amazed at the verdict. I am not sure if the Canadian courts did the right thing or not. Indian media has prominently covered this verdict today.

I still remember that tragic incident because India did lost an eminent scientist and former CSIR Director General Dr Y Nayudamma in that crash. Unfortunately, none of the media that I followed mentioned his name after this verdict. Is it because peoples' memories are short or is it because (despite his pioneering work and achievements), his name doesn't end with a gandhi or nehru? I am lost thinking about it...

More information can be found at:
http://www.flight182.com/
http://www.airdisaster.com/special/special-ai182.shtml
http://www.crdi.ca/nayudamma/