Vacation Snaps

Snaps from my recent trip to Wayanad and Cochin. This time I took the more scenic route through Mysore, Gundulpet, Kalpetta (Wayanad) and Kozhikode to Cochin. It takes much longer to get to Cochin this way compared to the Salem, Coimbatore route but the terrain is far more interesting. Spent a day in Wayanad to see Edakkal caves and Pookode lake. There's lot's more to see if you are willing to trek and camp. The best time to go is between Jan and March. It was a 6 hour drive from Bangalore. Got to try the route through Nagarhole and Mananthavady next time.
I also found a secluded unspoilt stretch on Cherai beach to laze around. The more developed stretch has gained too much publicity of late and gets jam packed in the holiday season.

The Onion

Sometimes, people just don't get satire. It can get very comical at times, like when a Chinese daily printed a translation of an article from The Onion assuming it to be a credible news source. Another instance (though not exactly satire this time) was when the information on a website on di-hydrogen-monoxide was used by a city council to almost ban the use of this chemical in producing styrofoam cups.

The Personal Space Concept

Remember the MTV lift-man - the guy with the bald pate and missing teeth who would rant about the new generation and the stuff shown on MTV? A series of close encounters with the young college going crowd has made him my hero. Pity I couldn't find the guy's pic on the net.
My pet peeve so far had been about dull conversations being shoutcasted to all unwilling listeners at restaurants. But my experience at a dance fest yesterday makes this chitter chatter tolerable.
It happened at a dance fest called Prayog at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall yesterday. I had taken a seat right next to the aisle. There isn't much of a gap between rows of seats at this hall. This young thing comes in to take a seat somewhere in the middle of my row and I withdraw as much as possible to make way. Then she spots a friend in the the aisle. A long exchange of pleasantries begins. The nubile thing stands facing me. If I had a navel fetish I wouldn't be complaining (but I'm a pretty normal guy you see). For a minute or so I tried to act cool about it, fixing my gaze on random things on either side. When the giggle fest didn't show any signs of ending I decided to reclaim my rightful personal space. I finally looked up and asked her politely to either move in or out. The encroacher moved out with a sheepish grin.
Note to Kamath: The girl didn't say "Excuse me uncle" at any time during this incident - I was genuinely aggrieved. And I eagerly await your blog's launch.

Urban Legends

Can Coke dissolve nails? Should mobile phones be switched off near petrol pumps? Check out urban legends at snopes.com.

Smashing the Stack

A classic article on how to get a shell from an application with a buffer overrun: http://www.insecure.org/stf/smashstack.txt
Read the jargon file if you are interested in hacker slang, writing style and culture. Hacking need not anything to do with computers. The MIT Hack Gallery contains some interesting hacks.