toxic writes:
Why did they have that data? Why didn't they blind it? Why did they believe it was a competitive advantage to keep it, with all personally identifying data attached? Is it hubris, incompetence, laziness, or evil?
Google started anonymizing its server logs last year. They retain data only for 18 months. No idea whether this policy is applicable here; quite possible that the court order might require them to "un-anonymize" data, if... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 1:49 AM on July 4, 2008

I refuse to believe this dude is a playa. I've known playas, I don't understand their kind, but have met them on quite a few occasions, and have been told that one of the top tenets of their belief-system is to never leave a voice-message, much less two. Apparently, such an act of banal servitude messes up their game quite a bit or some such thing.

Instead, they leave SMS'es.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 8:46 AM on June 27, 2008

Some fact-check in the comments section. The article got a lots of details wrong, apparently.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 1:00 AM on June 25, 2008

Sigh.

Guess I got irritated by the wording on the website:
others may choose to follow the Kama Sutra, an ancient Hindu text that allows for homosexual behavior.
The Kama Sutra doesn't "allow or disallow" anything, it only describes, ummm, possibilities.

Pet peeve and I've posted on this before, but Kama Sutra is not nyaya (law); it's a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 12:07 AM on June 25, 2008

A Sanskrit word-cloud. The Hrdaya Sutra, really.
Nehru in word clouds.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 3:25 AM on June 23, 2008

juliebug: Prime Minister Brian Mulroney even went so far as to give his condolences to the Indian PM at the time of the bombing, wrongly assuming that a bunch of people flying Air India to an ultimate destination of Bombay, would, of course, be Indian citizens.

While it doesn't give any citations for this, the wikipedia article nevertheless seems to mention that none of the passengers on-board were Indian citizens. Only the crew... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 9:08 PM on June 22, 2008

.

Quite a coincidence that I discovered Cyd Charisse only a few weeks back, right here in the blue.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 9:06 PM on June 17, 2008

As much as I love my Nokia E51 (selected it over an unlocked iPhone 1.0), I must say that a 3G device with GPS and a touchscreen for less than SGD 500 would be game-changing. Most touchscreen phones go for about S$700 (except for the Sony Ericsson P1 that recently had a price-correction), so S$500 for an iPhone is a steal. Nokia's 6xxx Navigator phone went for about SGD 600 in December last, and it didn't have touchscreen.

[(USD 200 == SGD 260) + SGD 200-ish for the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 5:22 PM on June 9, 2008

I thought everyone knew what Obama is currently reading.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 2:31 AM on June 5, 2008

To everyone saying the Democratic primary process was fractitious or that it was too chaotic, here's an Indian/Asian perspective: save no-confidence motions in Westminister-style democracies, I can't think of a single instance where an intra-party election process was this elaborate, or even, where the "machine" candidate didn't win via the process.

The rule so far has been that, while political parties themselves may... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 8:59 AM on June 4, 2008

Personally, I prefer Sammy Davis Jr, Jr.. You never know when you'll need an Officious Seeing-Eye Bitch.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 1:46 AM on June 3, 2008

This is useless without links to corresponding YouTube vids.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 1:24 AM on May 14, 2008

Sad, but it's following the same pattern as other countries in the region, such as Thailand China and Singapore where those in power think they know better than you.

While I'll be the last person to be an apologist for Singapore Inc. (seeing as it is , that I've already posted here about books and movies banned in Singapore and Malaysia), the general impression I get is that Singapore is quite liberal with the net? In all my years here, I've seen... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 12:49 AM on April 9, 2008

No graph-agglomeration is complete without this analytical insight into contemporary cultural memes.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 8:02 PM on April 7, 2008

Some interesting videos being featured at Youtube's UK flavour. An interesting, almost-branding-free documentary on penguins at the BBC.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 4:29 AM on April 1, 2008

_{D'oh! Didn't notice that this was already posted. Sorry folks!}
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 4:30 AM on April 1, 2008

Just to pitch in with a totally off-topic Indian perspective, they just opened a new airport in Hyderabad and apparently, people are now going to the airport for a picnic.

Which, of course, is only slightly better than Changi Airport here in Singapore. In Singapore, many school-kids prepare for their exams and such at the airport; apparently, it's quite calming and peaceful for them.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 11:35 PM on March 31, 2008

.

_{(One of my guilty pleasures at Phnom Penh was to look-up buildings/ junctions from the movie, Killing Fields.)}
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 4:52 AM on March 31, 2008

For what it's worth, the sole Borders outlet in Singapore is in a fantastic location, offers decent prices, long hours (closes at 11PM or so) some great service and... no lattes. That is to say, all the Starbucks/ Coffee Bean's are all outside; there are mostly regular bibliophiles inside.

Bigger collection in Kinokuniya or Page One (especially for them non-English Asian or European titles), but yeah, the Singapore Borders is perfect for weekend... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 8:32 PM on March 28, 2008

Gosh. :-D Can't blame y'all for missing this, but the it's them words that seem to be the point in Obama's video. The lines go something along the lines of, We [I] will love the fair girl secretly. Secretively, we'll tell her my heart's desire. And so on so forth. Additionally, the song is actually not Bollywood propah; it's from the Hollywood comedy, The Guru.

While I think it's missing the lulz factor by a wide... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 3:11 AM on March 24, 2008

I love the fact that you pronounce 'channel' as 'kanaal' in Swedish, and am mesmerized by the notion that you could rhyme 'Anna' and 'Ban' together. This opens a world of musical possibilities that I never knew existed.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 1:41 AM on March 9, 2008

A good time to link to a very interesting piece on carbon footprints. Executive summary: Calculating footprints is not trivially obvious.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 7:48 PM on March 6, 2008

This is the cover that converted me into their fanboi.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 7:08 AM on March 3, 2008

While it's true to say that she was mimicking stereotypes as opposed to actual accents, I think there's a reason; back when I was dabbling in a little theater, I was often told that your acting must be over-the-top and exaggerated in live performances, even if it is nuanced in film/TV. If your main oeuvre is stand-up, chances are that you will specialize in stereotypes, and not in 'accurate' depictions of how people speak. In that limited sense, Whitehouse's act 'works' in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 1:20 AM on March 2, 2008

IMHO, everyone opposing Nader (and I do fully appreciate that some Democrat supporters are irritated by Nader) should see what the real problem is: it is the silo-ed nature of the US presidential process. Splitting of vote-shares between a mere three candidates shouldn't technically matter that much in a 200 million population, but they do, because a few stray votes in Dullsville County, OH for example, can easily swing a state, and hence the election.

I'd, therefore,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 9:21 PM on February 24, 2008

The only thing I can gather from this article and, indeed, the thread, is that there could be a stark difference between following a genre and fandom.

Seeing that most of my female friends love speculative fiction, I really don't understand why it is noteworthy that many women, in fact, like this genre. (Or it could be that I, perhaps, am invariably drawn towards people with literary interests)

Or, on... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 7:54 PM on February 21, 2008

Oooh boy, that lifted my spirits on an otherwise bleh Friday morning! :-D

( Steps away from the keyboard to shake some booty)
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 6:14 PM on February 21, 2008

Can't say why, but I keep thinking that I'm being asked to take a virtual gun and fire at these bubbling creatures, perhaps to gain a few points and some secret powers which will be useful for me in a different level.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 1:39 AM on February 20, 2008

I think it's a cultural thing, like (straight) men (or women) holding hands with each other. Kamal Hassan always cries in his (gangster-oriented) movies, but Denzel Washington rarely does.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 10:02 PM on February 9, 2008

Bombay, Then and now. Wow.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 3:16 AM on February 9, 2008

Travelled much, but I didn't move.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 2:10 AM on February 7, 2008

Damn, for a moment I thought I forgot my medication...
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 4:20 AM on February 4, 2008

OMG, they have SICP on podcast. I've been at this tech thing for eight years, ladies and gentlemen, four in university and four outside, and yes, this was the high point of my short adventure with computers and technology. I don't think I've _ever_ felt the same adrenalin rush as I have while doing the SICP course at my alma mater (not Berkeley; many schools worldwide use the same textbook/ coursework).

And they have this on podcast now. God, I feel so... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 6:06 PM on January 29, 2008

One of the pictures in the collection is that of the La Martiniere College in Lucknow, one of the two educational institutions in the world to receive a battle-honour, for its students' role in the Revolt of 1857 ("The First War of Indian Independence"). They were under a seige, and showed enough ingenuity to build an amateur semaphore from instructions in an encyclopedia.

Trivia overload, and this is an absolute and complete navel-gazing effort, but found it... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 9:53 PM on January 23, 2008

Hadjiboy, your day and night pics for Chennai are for two different stations, Chennai Central and Egmore (Egmore has domes, Chennai Central has church-like rectangular roofs). A different station on a different route.

Which, naturally, would bring us to a fairly interesting point: suburban rail networks are often a good measure growing urban sprawl. Bombay's suburban network, for instance, is a 16-legged tarantula stretched across the Konkan Coast;... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 2:11 AM on January 22, 2008

Ubu: They probably went nuts with their trebuchets. :-D

Although, to be fair, I'd say "seige" and "lunatics" is actually an improvement (or not, depending on how you look at it); different age and time, the article would have said "gherao" (as in, "One is gheraoed by beggars at the waiting place")

The locality is a dump though. Was once a busy throughfare, a very thriving commercial district, everyone used... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 7:43 AM on January 22, 2008

So a quick headsup, everyone: how are the markets looking now? I'm presuming it's well into trading time in the Wall Street now.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 7:28 AM on January 22, 2008

Seen two of them (HK and Istanbul) and been on one (HK).

Which is curious in a sense, I suppose; traditionally, have never been on (or to) any of the locations mentioned in "best of"lists such as this. :-(
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 10:26 AM on January 20, 2008

Additionally, snowed for the first time in Baghdad in living memory. -16 C in some parts of Saudi Arabia.

(Not saying there are no changes in weather-systems influenced by increased worldwide carbon-emissions though. Just sharing something that I heard on radio yesterday evening.)
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 6:18 PM on January 17, 2008

387.

I need to wake-up, I'm a sleepy-head.

It's 12AM out here. I agree with the latter, I disagree with the former.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 8:06 AM on January 16, 2008

In a hurry, so I'll post a quick comment here: not a big deal. Manipuri society is traditionally very very suspicious of all "outsiders" (in the Imphal Valley, that typically means 'non-Meiteis') for a variety of reasons, some legit, some imagined. Yes, when you're dealing with sensitive issues such as AIDS, you must do your best to be completely transparent in your dealings, and yes, the NGO in question f-ed up big time.

That is to say, from what little I know... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 8:02 AM on January 16, 2008

What if you found something that was originally in print/film/etc, but now your only way of accessing it is online?
When I was in college (which was a mere four years back), I'd quote a digital copy of an old issue of The Economist, for example, like I would quote a regular hard-copy. That is to say, if I saw an old copy-paste of some useful article on, say, USENET, I'd look that one up again through Lexis-Nexis or any of the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 7:33 AM on January 15, 2008

_{Also, I fail at HTML tonight. Sorry about that; I have no idea as to why Mefi has been refusing to take my para tags in. Think there's a bug in the app? If you don't put in paragraph marks in your original draft, click "Preview", put the para tags and then click "Submit", then the tags somehow vanish. Tried "Preview" a couple of times, and each time the app ate my tags. :-( If it's any help, I'm on Windows 2003/ Opera 9.5.}
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 7:37 AM on January 15, 2008

You know, the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that the drought in 1876 was quite a pivotal moment in my own personal family narrative, and hence, as generalise-able as these things get, in the Deccan's contemporary socio-cultural historiography.

Now, truth be told, this is the first time I've heard about the drought in the Gregorian calendar; my grandmom (who is my official storyteller when it comes to family and related social history) often talks about... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 9:02 AM on January 12, 2008

There is only one reason that such nonsense happens in urban India. This is also the same reason why there is corruption, why politicians don't mind getting filmed taking bribes, why rabble-rousers continue to get crowds agitated on ethnic and religious lines, and why, say, dowry-deaths still persist even after some forty-odd years of laws against them.

It's called 'lack of consequences'. Not a heightened sense of morality, not repressed sexuality, not maladjusted... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 12:46 AM on January 3, 2008

Loch Ness Monster: Apologies for the late reply, but YES, if you read my post closely, that is the exact point I was making myself.

It's not just laws, or law-and-order mechanisms that we're talking about here; it is about a _breakdown_ of the old social structures that kept civility and public behaviour in check. The old ways in which society was policing itself ('social consequences') is fast unravelling itself, both because of demographic reasons (half of India is 25)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 8:51 AM on January 10, 2008

I was quickly skimming through the article before stopping at this:

"Today's bombing was to demoralise the Punjab police, but it will not. They have given their lives while performing their duty."

Which, of course, gave me a strange sense of deja-vu, given the Punjab insurgency in 80's. It was only after I read the next line that I realized that this happened in Pakistan, not India.

Terrible news. Scarier world. Sigh.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 3:58 AM on January 10, 2008

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Musharraf's rule wasn't bad for Pakistan in terms of governance - most of my (upper-middle) Pakistani friends actually like the army for their no-nonsense approach, and surely, the Pakistani media was and mostly is, free - but the real problem is in terms of alternatives.

The great thing about democracy isn't just about freedom, but that keeps churning out newer and newer... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 7:43 AM on December 27, 2007

Wait, Santa has an inflight-LCD screen thingy on his sleigh?! What's up with that?
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 8:47 PM on December 24, 2007

So I just spent two hours browsing through this awesome little site. My boss still doesn't know that he's paying me to re-live my childhood on the net.

No seriously, awesome linkage! :-D Thanks for sharing.
posted to MetaFilter by the cydonian at 5:17 AM on December 21, 2007