Monday, July 28, 2003


Kernel Programming: Security Considerations:

Interesting points to note

1. A common mistake is assuming that listing every possible value of an enum type provides protection. An enum is generally implemented as either a char or an int internally.

2. Another common mistake is to assume that you can dereference a pointer passed to your function by another function. You should always check for null pointers before dereferencing them - Don't we all know this?

3. Security is particularly important for kernel code that draws input from a network. Assumptions about packet size are frequently the cause of security problems. Always watch for packets that are too big and handle them in a reasonable way. Likewise, always verify checksums on packets.

Hmm - and I'm doing this while on vacation - I'm convinced that I'm a geek... ;)

Thursday, July 24, 2003


East Coast, I'm here

And it's hot and grimy in small itme New Brunswick, NJ. What I did since I arrived this morning - vegetated, slept, ate a tonna carbs :) I'm on vacation and I didn't even bring my work out shoes - woohoo!!

Wound up most of the work I needed to complete but as is the nature of work, some things still need to be done. I thought I'd do them while I was here but that possibility is very REMOTE. I'm here to have a good time and nothing can stop me now :) I do need to study a bit though, I'll accomplish that in the time off from partyin', chillin', eatin', drinkin', droolin', babe-watchin', yada yada yada! Anyone want nething from the East Coast yo?!

Chandk rulez - he's no more the wiry boy of yore, he's got some weight to back up the height. And he's as crazy as ever. The weekend looks good; drive to DC, hang in Jersey, listen to PIMP and eat the roti - me trying my hand at rhyming - what can I say, Ck's tarnished me with hip-hop - Now, there is no turning back.

Sunday, July 20, 2003


The Kobe Bryant Case Files

The Kobe Bryant story has 2140 disparate perspectives and opinions. (Google! News found 2140 stories related to the one I just read) In a country where the First Amendment secured the Free Press, I believe that journalism has gone awry. No time is wasted in scrutinizing the life of a person, especially a celebrity, to rake up the ratings and get the extra set of eyeballs believing what is, a most subjective opinion. One of the more pithy headlines reads - "Kobe Image Hit" - it makes me wonder about the connection behind Kobe's genius on the court and his off-court mannerisms. The media wastes no time in raising a bestowing iconic status on a mere mortal and likewise, doesn't think twice before engaging in a public dress-down of the very icon it created. I'll leave you with this piece of innuendo - Is this Laker a Faker? Only a trial will tell - and let you decide in your head what your feelings towards Kobe are... In the midst of this scandal, it amazes me how some analysts are already scratching their heads and crunching the numbers on how much Kobe stands to lose financially - ahh, the sweet scent of capitalism!


WMD

Looking for them weapons? Here's a link to the current stockpile

Ahh, a restful weekend

Listening to the soothing tunes in Nirvana Lounge, I am in an extremely sanguine state of being. I've had a restful but sleepless weekend, with crazy dreams and machinations keeping me awake but in a state of daze. The weekend started with me choosing to be at home and read on a Friday night. I think my unique diet is getting to me, I lost 6 pounds this past week but I take it most of it is glucose and water. Burning the fat is going to be hard, I know, but what is even harder is staying off the foods laden with carbohydrates - the same foods that I have eaten in the past, though in moderation - there is such a fine line between moderation and deprivation. The cravings are hard to keep at bay and I partially succumbed this past Friday, indulging in a little treat to alleviate the cravings. I had come precariously close to driving to the nearest bakery and eating as many pastries before barfing, the treat was my compromise and my ticket to sanity...

I think Saturday was the most complete day of the past week. No, it wasn't spectacular or anything, just did that I did a varied mix of things that gave me a feeling of accomplishment as I lay my head on the pillow last night. I played ultimate frisbee, went to Chop Suey to dance to the tunes spun by DJ Karsh Kala, hung with the boys and girls, read about the current state of affairs in Iraq and chilled out in whatever time remained - not necessarily in that order, the randomness reflecting the unstructured nature of the day. Last night was fun; after a year of not finding people to hang out with that were on my wavelength, I seem to have struck the mother lode. Vishal, Geni, Arun, Vijay and the many others make for a set varied enough for me to be able to do all the activities I engage in. The universal love we share for partying and hanging out in lounges sure adds to the camaraderie.

I'm gonna hit the East Coast this coming Thursday. A lot of plans need to be made, most revolving around where I'll stay and the places I will eventually visit. Was going to stay with Ayesha initially (she bailed - other guests), then Chandk, then go to Washington DC, then spend some time in New England and return back to more familiar environs next Monday night. It's a well deserved vacation... Before I leave, Nirvana Lounge has borrowed heavily from Indian tunes, most every song has Hindi, Punjabi lyrics with a lilting and dreamy score. If you get your hands on one of the Buddha Bar CDs, I'd recommend you giving the CD one listen.

Thursday, July 17, 2003


America waking up to the Horrors of Trans-Fat-I

kuro5hin.org || Food Industry Mulls Dropping Obesity-Linked Trans Fats

The only footnote in the article succinctly delivers a horrifying message:

"1 Vigorous exercise, however, can offset the impact of saturated fats, by burning some of them up. The situation is not so simple for trans fats, which the human body seems to be evolutionarily ill-equipped to process. (Indeed, this is the reason why trans fats are thought to interfere with and degrade a number of important physiological processes)."

The article talks about how Kraft Foods was sued in California but the law-suit was dropped. The parent company of Kraft is Phillip Morris and I wonder how long it will take people to start suing Kraft, Kellogg and their kin on the basis of their using a product deemed to be harmful to the user just to make profits (through cost cutting). Sound familiar...

Why I stopped buying music

BW Online | July 16, 2003 | The Chili Peppers' Sour Grapes Over iTunes

"Sure, some bands, including the Chili Peppers, do work hard to craft albums whose span of titles are consistently good. But under pressure from their label, most artists and groups combine three or four quality songs with filler, a strategy that lets the industry justify the $15 to $20 price tag for CDs."

Honestly, I can't agree with this more. The last album I bought that compelled me to listen to every song time and again was Buddha Lounge (it's a great work by Claude Challe). Add stuff by Pink Floyd, Tool and Radiohead to that list and that about rounds up my set of albums with 10 or more memorable tracks. Actually, you should listen to my own compilations - who would know my taste better than myself eh?! :)

Wednesday, July 16, 2003


Another Day Goes by

I don't have to record the time or date of an update anymore, blogger keeps track of what I type, when. Kinda like big brother watching - the onset of paranoia - and it's hard to hide! Today's been a pretty eventful day, the highlight being Ultimate Frisbee in the evening with Vishal and a bunch of people I'd never met before. You'd wonder how running up and down for nearly 2 hours can be fun (it's more like death isn't it), but oh well, that's working out for you in a nutshell :) I might be influencing those reading this update into believing that working out isn't for them - that isn't the point I'm trying to convey - seriously, the endorphine rush that working out gives you is unparalleled.

I've been slacking at work this week, though I have one project to complete but procastrination is getting the better of me. I'm a little tired from the grind, actually, I'm trying to create a good balance between work and play. Right now, the scales are tipped heavily in favour of play, as they were tipped in favour of work for the last 3 months - now isn't that BALANCE?

The MAtkins diet - Manoj's twist on the Atkins phenom

I've embarked on a high protein, low carbohydrate diet since this Monday. It's tough, honestly - I can't eat most everything, especially given the fact that I'm vegetarian. I wish there was a switch that I could flip to alternate between being a vegetarian and non. Alas, there isn't - so I can't ever do with just 20g of carbs - but I'm doing my bit. It's too soon to notice any difference in physical appearance but I've already noticed some psychological changes - I'm crabby, a little low on energy and mercurial - serious sugar withdrawl symptoms.

What I thrive on

- Milk: Can't live without it
- Fresh Fruit and Vegetables
- Flax Protein Cereal: 3g of Carbs
- Atkins Protein Bars: 21g of Protein, my pick: Pralines 'n Cream
- Lentils: all types
- Cheese: Pepper Jack, Low Fat Sharp Cheddar, String Mozzarella
- Everything Soy: Nuts, Whey Protein, Milk (it's not even White), Tofu
- Atkins Protein Shakes
- Peanut Butter - Trader Joe's Crunchy Unsalted

Absolute NO-NOs

Sugar, Bread, Rice, Flour Products, Pasta, Kelloggs, Donuts and everything else on this earth - no more cakes, pastries, milk shakes (yumm)

The Ultimate Goal - being in top physical condition for Squash Nationals next March - I don't know if my will power is gonna take me through, but this is a great test... Besides, I have company, a bunch of my friends are doing the diet with me, so I know where to turn for motivation! You calling me an Atkins sellout yet?? Yo, it works - my dad is living proof and I'm sold on it... :)

Tuesday, July 15, 2003


Quote of the day

While reading "Linux, Microsoft and Munich"

What the Berlin Wall was to politics, Munich is to technology.

Prophetic? I wouldn't stretch it that far.
Poignant: very much.
Topical: unquestionably...

Monday, July 14, 2003


PopoutPrism

Using a new crazy browser called Popout Prism - it's the first application that has embedded the IE engine into a Java product. Of course, it has a tonna glitches, the most obvious and irritating being the slow keypress event processing. But you should check it out, it's quite a nifty little utility - it has a sidebar that contains the page you are currently browsing as a thumbnail. The sidebar tracks your current position on the page in real time by outlining the position on it's thumbnail. The actual innovation here is it's ability to Popout keywords... Say you are looking for a particular word on a page, for instance, protein; you can type the word into the Keyword bar and all instances of the word will be magnified and coloured on the page. You can then scroll the document through the sidebar (which is the document in condensed format) or on the main page (to the right) and focus your attention on the areas that contain the term protein. Pretty neat eh...


Random News Tidbits

U.S. shares end up for second straight session

This can only augur well for my stock in ESPP :)


This is my first post at blogSPOT - I wanna call this mPass - a Pass into M's world. Cheesy as it sounds, that is what this is, so I'm gonna do just that, and it's now official :). Hey, I like this blogger interface, it's pretty neat. I've gotten so used to using putty and vim but this is way better - IMO. It's always time for change, isn't it. Aite, over and out for now, time to get back to the daily grind...