A recent list of billionaires published by Forbes shows that, there are more Indian US Dollar Billionaires than Chinese ones. Among the 793 US Dollar Billionaires of the world, 23 are Indian compared to 8 Chinese ones.
I looked through the list with quite an interest. As predicted, Lakshikant Mittal, the steel king, is the top Indian billionaire. But he's followed by Azim Premji of Wipro, the software company. Then there is the usual march of Ambanis, Birlas etc.
I was quite impressed to see Anurag Dikshit , a 33 year old IIT Delhi Grad. Apparently, he's the co-founder of PartyPoker.com , which makes his net worth at US $ 3.3 billion!! Who says coding doesn't pay!!!
Friday, March 10, 2006
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Squirrels love M&M!!!
As anyone living in the midwestern USA (I guess any where in USA) knows, Squirrels are quite pervasive here. They'd hang from trees, climb down to pick a nut, and occassionally fight among themselves, mess around with trash etc. I have often seen people feed them nuts.
Well, the other day, I found out that Squirrels do have a knack for sweet things as well. This is what happened:
I was coming out of the Illini Union, the student center at UIUC. I happened to have a pack of M & M's with me (if you haven't seen one, it's a kind of a chocolate). While I was unlocking my bike, I took one M&M out, and was planning to nibble on one. Suddenly, 2 squirrels came down from the tree next to my bike, and they sized me and the M&M out with interest. After a few seconds, they decided that I was a gullible one, and they can extort the sweet-smelling-nut-type-thing from me. So, literally, they stood up, and started waving to me. REally!!!! I wish I had my camera with me at that point, the scene was so funny, two squirrels standing up on their hind legs, and extending their hands!! Reminded me of how beggars in Bangladesh used to extort coins!
Anyway, I was so surprised and amused at the scene and their attempt to bully me into giving up the M&M, I spoke out in Bangla, (automatically) telling them "Dicchi baba dicchi" (wait please, I'll give you the nuts!!) (which reminded me again of my friend Suman's dialog in a similar situation on a train, India, in 2000)
So, I picked out 3/4 M&Ms, and gave them to the squirrels. They grabbed the chocolates, and finished them in 5 to 10 seconds. The way they devoured them, it looks like they really liked the M&Ms.
Ultimately, they managed to get 10-12 M&Ms from me that day. Next time, I'm taking my camera there, and will either get some stills or a video to show their "bullying tactics".
Well, the other day, I found out that Squirrels do have a knack for sweet things as well. This is what happened:
I was coming out of the Illini Union, the student center at UIUC. I happened to have a pack of M & M's with me (if you haven't seen one, it's a kind of a chocolate). While I was unlocking my bike, I took one M&M out, and was planning to nibble on one. Suddenly, 2 squirrels came down from the tree next to my bike, and they sized me and the M&M out with interest. After a few seconds, they decided that I was a gullible one, and they can extort the sweet-smelling-nut-type-thing from me. So, literally, they stood up, and started waving to me. REally!!!! I wish I had my camera with me at that point, the scene was so funny, two squirrels standing up on their hind legs, and extending their hands!! Reminded me of how beggars in Bangladesh used to extort coins!
Anyway, I was so surprised and amused at the scene and their attempt to bully me into giving up the M&M, I spoke out in Bangla, (automatically) telling them "Dicchi baba dicchi" (wait please, I'll give you the nuts!!) (which reminded me again of my friend Suman's dialog in a similar situation on a train, India, in 2000)
So, I picked out 3/4 M&Ms, and gave them to the squirrels. They grabbed the chocolates, and finished them in 5 to 10 seconds. The way they devoured them, it looks like they really liked the M&Ms.
Ultimately, they managed to get 10-12 M&Ms from me that day. Next time, I'm taking my camera there, and will either get some stills or a video to show their "bullying tactics".
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Pining for snow!
Usually, I'd be gloomy all through the midwest winter. Until I came to Illinois 3 years ago, the only ice I'd ever see was inside the freezer. The last to harsh winters had me wishing a relief from the snow for months.
But this year, things are different.
It only snowed for a day or two in December. That snowfall was quite heavy. But after that, there hasn't been any snow even as we reach the end of January.
Is this the global warming effect people have been dreading for long? I watched the movie "The Day after Tomorrow" recently, and the movie now seems more and more realistic.
Anyway, as a result 0f the snow-less winter, I'm kind of missing the flurries and powdery snows, and the funny way of walking on the snow. Strange!!!
But this year, things are different.
It only snowed for a day or two in December. That snowfall was quite heavy. But after that, there hasn't been any snow even as we reach the end of January.
Is this the global warming effect people have been dreading for long? I watched the movie "The Day after Tomorrow" recently, and the movie now seems more and more realistic.
Anyway, as a result 0f the snow-less winter, I'm kind of missing the flurries and powdery snows, and the funny way of walking on the snow. Strange!!!
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
My Linux History article
In this post, I'm going to look back at my article on the History of Linux. (also available from here ).
Ok, let me start with how it began. Back in 1999, I had just installed Linux, and was one of the first members of Bangladesh Linux Users Group (BDLUG). Back in those days, I had a rickety 19.2 kbps dial up connection, at cut-throat price ... taka 3 per minute. Yet, I spent probably a week looking for the History of Linux. Those were the days before Google became such a hot thing for search, so I think I probably used Yahoo! search. After learning the interesting History of Linux, and with the zeal of a newbie, I wrote a small article on the history of Linux.
First, I posted it in my free web host, hypermart.net. It was also mirrored at the BDLug site. It remained there, and I almost forgot about it, until I started getting mails from complete strangers regarding permission to use the article. Many of them wanted to use it for a course, or a LUG meeting, but several of the people wanted to use it for inclusion in a book. After thinking about the whole thing, I decided to release the article free for all non-commercial use.
Next, in 2000, I published the article in a local news paper, The Daily Star. I'd have to check to see if they kept an archive back to 2000, but I may have the copy of the news paper.
By this time, I got several requests from people, who wanted to translate it to other languages. The first one is probably from a Japanese guy, who translated it, and put it in his website. Following that, the article has been translated into 5 or 6 more languages. Here is a list of the different languages.
[Hebrew] | [Bulgarian] [Japanese] [Chinese] [Romanian] [Portuguese]
I recently released version 2.2.0. I wrote about Tanenbaum, Richard Stallman, and other people who were influential in providing the whole basis of Linux.
I keep expanding and enhancing the article on a regular basis. What makes me happy is that the article has proven to be useful to a lot of people, and also many instructors (at least 5 I know of) have used it for their university level courses.
Ok, let me start with how it began. Back in 1999, I had just installed Linux, and was one of the first members of Bangladesh Linux Users Group (BDLUG). Back in those days, I had a rickety 19.2 kbps dial up connection, at cut-throat price ... taka 3 per minute. Yet, I spent probably a week looking for the History of Linux. Those were the days before Google became such a hot thing for search, so I think I probably used Yahoo! search. After learning the interesting History of Linux, and with the zeal of a newbie, I wrote a small article on the history of Linux.
First, I posted it in my free web host, hypermart.net. It was also mirrored at the BDLug site. It remained there, and I almost forgot about it, until I started getting mails from complete strangers regarding permission to use the article. Many of them wanted to use it for a course, or a LUG meeting, but several of the people wanted to use it for inclusion in a book. After thinking about the whole thing, I decided to release the article free for all non-commercial use.
Next, in 2000, I published the article in a local news paper, The Daily Star. I'd have to check to see if they kept an archive back to 2000, but I may have the copy of the news paper.
By this time, I got several requests from people, who wanted to translate it to other languages. The first one is probably from a Japanese guy, who translated it, and put it in his website. Following that, the article has been translated into 5 or 6 more languages. Here is a list of the different languages.
[Hebrew] | [Bulgarian] [Japanese] [Chinese] [Romanian] [Portuguese]
I recently released version 2.2.0. I wrote about Tanenbaum, Richard Stallman, and other people who were influential in providing the whole basis of Linux.
I keep expanding and enhancing the article on a regular basis. What makes me happy is that the article has proven to be useful to a lot of people, and also many instructors (at least 5 I know of) have used it for their university level courses.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)