We are a private team - Luca di Montezemolo

That's what he says. link (via).

Reminds me of the time when the BCCI was dragged to court for financial impropriety and claimed the sportsmen who play test cricket under the aegis of the BCCI are not playing for India. That implies that India did not win the world cup in 1983, neither have any country won the world cup till now. Its only their parent bodies that have won the cups. It may be legally and technically correct, but it's still wrong!

Ferrari a private team - now that's a good joke.

Myopic View of ferrari funny

The jokes on me

According to nature.com, women like men who are funny and men like women who laugh at their jokes. link (via).

The idea that funny people are attractive may seem obvious. But there have been very few scientific studies to examine whether or not this is true.

The interesting question would be - why? Why do women like men who make jokes? Is it a form of bonding? Its seems pretty obvious why men like women how laugh at their jokes - gives them an ego boost.

Myopic View of love funny

Jethro Tull in Bangalore

A Tull concert here in bangalore. Got to know about it from here.

Immediately, went to del.icio.us and checked out tags on tull. Found the official website and confirmed that the concert was on. So, added the concert to upcoming.org as an event.

All in all, a good 5 mins work. Now to do something about the tickets. The blog above mentions that the concert tickets available at all Pizza Hut outlets. Need to confirm that though.

Need to find someone interested in going. hmmmm.

Myopic View of bangalore jethro tull concert

Photos from the Lalbagh Flower Show

Some photos that showcase the Lalbagh Flower Show are here and here.

Nice!!

Myopic View of bangalore lalbagh flower show

Minor Flowers to bloom

According to the Hindu, the traditional Jan 26th flower show at Lalbagh will showcase some "minor fruits and minor flowers". link.

For all the foodies, its expected that there will be plenty of sweets made of these minor fruits and flowers.

Myopic View of bangalore

Whats the difference between an Intel Mac and an Intel PC

A good analysis of the difference between the two is available here.

Myopic View of intel apple

Tsar Bomba

Since the cold war has ended, its been difficult to imagine how close we were to doomsday during the cold war. One of the biggest nuclear bombs ever denotated was set of by the soviets in the early sixties. Damn Interesting has an article about the Tsar Bomba. link.

As was pointed out by Tom Friedman, one point of view about Nuclear Deterrent, is that you can could on the other side loving life as much as you do and that you can trust the other side not to commit suicide in an attempt to destroy. Which is quite different from terrorism, where, the other side hates you so much that they don't value their own lives. Now imagine that the other side gets their hands on something like the Tsar Bomba and set it off in a way where there are no winners.

Someone once asked Einstein what he thought World War III would we fought with. He reply from the quotations page was

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.

That's poignant!!

Myopic View of nuclear history

New MacPro and iMac

Its finally here. Presenting the brand new, shiny, with a dual core Intel Processor, the MacBook Pro. link.

You’ve dreamed about it long enough. Now it has a name: MacBook Pro. Powered by a dual-core Intel engine. Up to four times the speed of the PowerBook G4. Eight times the graphics bandwidth. With built-in iSight for instant video conferencing on the move. And Front Row with Apple Remote to dazzle everyone in the room. Wait no more. MacBook Pro starts at just $1999.

Drool.... Unfortunately the price is even more jawdropping.

The iMac has also been given the Intel Treatment. link.

If there is ever a time for the open source guys to get one up on the traditional companies, this is a great time. Its going to be interesting to see how long it takes them to release software and how much faster these releases are going to be as compared to traditional software. Keep drooling.

Myopic View of apple intel laptop

Problems with reversing cars

Here's a hilarious story about a minivan being backed up over a fire hydrant. link (via).

A California woman accidentally backed the vehicle over the hydrant. The water pressure was so great that it lifted the tail off the ground.

Its amazing how the minivan could have been suspended in air. For similar stories and gender insensitive jokes about women drivers, visit the fark link to the story.

Myopic View of funny

Creativity Myths

Here's a post that debunks some of the Myth's about Creativity and what make people creative. link.

This is particularly true in software companies, where everyone has an idea on how to "fix" the creativity issues.

While not related to only creativity, couple of myths that people have about software engineering is -

1. Software Engineering is just a fancy word for Coding.
   
2. There is no difference between a Software Engineer and a Software Programmer
3. Gathering Requirements, and spending time on design is a waste of time
4. Following Software Process stifles Creativity
   

These myths are not only widespread in the Software Industry but there is also a lot of resistance in accepting these as myths. Here are a couple things that no software engineer would ever do in his real life

1. Buy a house that does not have a plan
2. Buy a car that is not certified to be safe
3. Buy clothes that look good but tear within an hour of putting it on.
4. Eat food that appears beautiful (a.k.a creative) but unhygienic.
   

Yet the same Software Engineer is more that willing to accept shortcuts in his/her professional life. Hypocrisy -thy truest practitioner is a Software Engineer

Myopic View of creativity

The History of Bangalore

With Bangalore's name to Bengaluru planned next year, there have been a number of articles in the newspapers, on the history of Bangalore and how the name came to be. An excellent article in the Deccan Herald is available here.

Myopic View of bangalore history

Wurz to be Williams Test Driver - Narain still has a chance

The BBC reports that Wurz is joining Williams as their test driver. link.

It was known for sometime that Wurz was looking for a race seat but to go from one test role to another is not a step up. It is not clear why he has left McLaren and what can Williams offer instead. Perhaps just a change in scenery?

In the meantime, Planet-F1 suggests that Narain still has a chance at Williams. link.

McLaren and Ferrari have multiple test drivers contracted to them and use them quite regularly. Since Williams is now using Cosworth engines and paying for them, having a paid driver will help reduce costs a bit and bring in another driver who can help out with the testing chores.

A large part of Ferrari's success has been due to their huge Test Programme. While Ferrari does not follow the other teams self-enforced 30 day test limit, it is unlikely that Williams will also choose to ignore the limit. In such a case, having a second test driver helps.

Myopic View of f1 formula1 news williams wurz narain

10 Web Trends that should die

Here's a rant on 10 of the annoying things we see on the net today. link.

I couldn't agree more with Item 3 on the list there - "Ignore the rest of the world". I see that everyday on the net and its really frustrating.

To add to that list, I have

1. Hype. Web2.0 this and Web2.0 that. A lot of companies went bust in Web1.0 and they are going to go bust in Web2.0 as well.
2. Odd numbers everywhere. 43 Folders, 43 Things are cool, but copying the name everywhere is not. A random search on google for different numbers gives you weird results.
   

Myopic View of web usability