17 July 2004, terribly early in the morning
Sometimes I watch a movie, and my expectations are so low I am pleasantly surprised by what I end up seeing. The Butterfly Effect would be one such movie. The film is a sort of creepy drama about a man who can travel back through time by reading his old journal entries. Every time he goes back however, he ends up fucking things up. Carvill, Steph and I watched the film with my youngest brothers friends. We decided to watch the Directors cut, which I thought was pretty good. The ending it quite different then the theatrical releases ending, a bit more sad I suppose. I think Ashton Kutcher actually didn’t do that bad a job with this role. He didn’t come across as Kelso. Good for him.
The official the Butterfly Effect web site
[4] Movies
17 July 2004, terribly early in the morning
I liked I, Robot. I thought it was quite good. I would say the special effects were top notch, as was the story. I think the girl in the film is quite pretty. I wish that showers didn’t mist up so much when you take one. I think you should go watch this film, it is a very entertaining film.
I am linking to the Official I, Robot site
[7] Movies
14 July 2004, late at night
Today Steph, Simon and I went to Jump, a chic restaurant in downtown Toronto. During the Celebrate Toronto Street Festival a lot of fancy resturants offer up cheaper ‘summerlicious’ menus so that patrons like myself, broke and unemployed, can go and check them out. The same thing happens in the winter, and is called ‘winterlicious’.
Jump was excellent.
All the wait staff we dealt with at Jump were quite friendly. Our waitress was this friendly blonde girl who looked, talked and smiled exactly like Kirsten Dunst. I kid you not, the resemblance was uncanny. Simon eventually told her we thought she looked like Kirsten Dunst, and she replied her sister, who had just seen Spiderman, agreed with us. I think she was in fact Kirsten Dunst, training for a role.
The restaurant itself is quite nice. Half the restaurant is covered by a glass ceiling, so the whole restaurant is quite bright during the lunch hours. There was a small lounge and bar when you enter on your left, where you can drink while you wait for tables, and a private dining area in the back. The kitchen is more or less open, but tucked away in one corner of the restaurant. The general ambience of the restaurant is rather nice.
Yes, I did eat. I had a grilled Atlantic salmon for lunch, which was done quite well. Admittedly, it’s hard to mess up fish. Simon said he enjoyed his pasta as well. The chilled golden gazpacho with sweet chili and basil that Steph and I started with was really good as well. I’ve never had cold soup before, and I didn’t think I would like it, but I would have to say it was very interesting. For desert I had some home-made ice cream. The cookie they put in the ice cream was amazing.
I would definitely go back to Jump again. Well, as soon as I get myself a job.
An interesting side-note ( well interesting for friends anyway): Jump is actually owned by the company Oliver & Bonacini. Their most recent restaurant is the self-named Oliver & Bonacini Café and Grill in Bayview Village. Shima refuses to go there, but that’s a story for another day. They also own the very swanky and expensive Canoe.
[7] Restaurants and Bars | Life
14 July 2004, mid-afternoon
Gizmodo is a gadget site I’ve started reading more frequently. It is part of the same consortium of blogs owned by Nick Denton. The not-safe-for-work Fleshbot is my favourite. The last issue of Wired had an article about the man and his fleet of blogs.
Now, I had no intention of posting anything about this to my blog, till I read this line at Gizmodo on an article about Black iPods
My guess? I think the original iPods were black, and then were later changed to white, just like they did to Jesus.
Interesting Links | Weblogs
13 July 2004, evening time
I went out and bought myself a wireless router today. A Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router to be exact. My computer only has a 802.11b card, but I thought I may as well get the faster router just incase Ahilan decides to get a wireless card.
I am curious if people have answers to the following questions I have:
- I am pretty sure there are all sorts of third party firmware upgrades for the router made by linux-nuts. Anyone know where I can find stuff like that? And anyone use any thing like that?
- Is there any way to use WPA with an Apple Airport card.
I think you need an Apple Airport Express card to use WPA, but I was wondering if there is someway to use the better standard with the old Airport cards. Update: The old cards do work with WPA if they are running version 3.3+ of the airport software. You need to set your router to use WPA first. Once you do this, the option to enter a WPA password, will show up when you try to connect to the router.
I am currently using WPA to secure the network, not broadcasting the SSID of the router, and limiting access to my MAC address only. Normally I wouldn’t be so paranoid (well maybe that’s a lie) but our net connection at home already sucks ass without my neighbours mooching it. That old couple next door look a bit too techno-savvy for my liking.
[11] Life | Technology
13 July 2004, late afternoon
I basically stopped watching Smallville when I went back to Waterloo last year. I missed all of season 3. I also missed the second half of season 2 for the same reason. When I was in Waterloo living with Lien and Cathy I would end up watching reality television instead. I’ve been watching the DVDs for season 2, and have now reached the first episode I missed.
The first new episode I watched was the episode where Whitney returns from the war. The episode ends with Lex telling Helen, the drop kicking doctor, that he doesn’t want to become his father. I think it’s the first point in the show that you see Lex truly vulnerable. The scene plays out quite well. I think the actor who plays Lex does an excellent job with the character. He is definitely the most interesting person on the show.
I have about 13 more episodes left to watch for this season. I haven’t decided whether to wait for season 3 to come out on DVD, or to download them. I’m torn.
[3] Life | Television
12 July 2004, the wee hours
I watched Gangs of New York last night with Gary, Martha, Chris and Shima. I enjoyed the movie, though I did find it to be a bit on the long side. The characters, the setting and the story are so over the top the film feels quite surreal. I thought Daniel Day Lewis was excellent in the movie, though I suppose he rarely disappoints. The film is basically a revenge story, set in 19th centuary New York city, a place where crime is rampant. I would say the film is worth watching, you should check it out.
The official Gangs of New York web site
[2] Movies
10 July 2004, early evening
The dialogue still hasn’t improved, but at least the movie as a whole has. I watched Spiderman 2 this past friday with Gary and Shima—neither of them seemed too impressed with the film. I thought this sequel was a lot better then the first movie. The action sequences are superb. I enjoy watching all the Spideman flying around New York scenes, so I may have some sort or bias. Doc Oc is a cooler bad guy as well in my opinion. I think this movie is truer to the comic then the previous film. My hope is that they get better writers for the film. X-Men 2 remains the greatest comic book movie of all time.
The Official Spiderman 2 web site
[10] Movies
9 July 2004, mid-afternoon
Cost of sex with a girlfriend and wife calculator. The people at NoMarriage.com are have devised some formulas for determining how much you need to shell out to get a little nookie from your significant other.
The above is from what I thought would be a pretty tame FPP at MetaFilter. 90 comments later…
[2] Metafilter | Interesting Links
9 July 2004, early afternoon
Cold Mountain was a movie I had absolutely no desire to see. When the commercials were running on television many months ago I thought it looked like an unimpressive civil war film. Even when it started getting all sorts of accolades it never struck me as a film I’d want to watch. Steph rented the film yesterday, and her and Raylene watched it with Gary, Shima and I. I would have to say I am glad I got a chance to see it. The film is quite deserving of all the praise it has received. Cold Mountain reminded me a bit of the Odyssey by Homer. Jude Law’s character is fighting in the civil war, but decides to desert to return to Nicole Kidman’s character. The acting is superb, as is the general look of the film. The cinematography is great. The movie is a pleasure to watch.
[3] Movies
8 July 2004, terribly early in the morning
How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
I saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at the princess with Ryan, Martha and Shima. The main story line in the film is Jim Carrey erasing his ex-girlfriend from his memory. Steph, who had seen the film months ago, told me she thought the film presents relationships in a very realistic way. I’d have to agree with her. I’ve been waiting to see the movie for quite some time. The film was thoroughly enjoyable—I thought was incredible. I really can’t stress how impressed I was with this movie. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve seen a lot of movies. Go watch this one!
[5] Movies
6 July 2004, the wee hours
I watched Dodgeball while I was in Ottawa this past weekend. There is something inherently funny about watching people get hit by balls and other objects. Ben Stiller is a wicked-funny man, and in this film his character has some brilliant one-liners. The entire cast of the film are quite funny to watch. The premise is simple enough, a group of losers have to play dodgeball to raise $50,000 dollars to save their gym from being bought by the evil Globo Gym corporation. If you liked Old School and Zoolander, you’ll definitely like this movie.
The official homepage of Dodgeball.
Movies
Limb by limb, tooth by tooth
Tearing up inside of me
Every day, every hour
I wish that I was bullet proof
—Bullet Proof … I Wish I Was by Radiohead
4 July 2004, late at night
Valblog is offering up a poem a day in an attempt to add some culture to your life. My favourite poem of the set he’s posted so far is who knows if the moon’s… by E.E. Cummings.
[3] Weblogs | Interesting Links
When I met you, you were so unique
You had a little thing I’d love to keep
Every movement carried much mystique
I knew right then I’d carry on, to you I knew my heart belonged
You, you give me something
Something that nobody else can give
And my heart, started thumpin’
You know now, you’re the one I truly know I dig
—You Give Me Something by Jamiroquai
28 June 2004, late evening
Today is election day in Canada. There are 5 national parties running in this election today, the Liberals, the Conservatives, the New Democratic Party, the Bloc Québécois, and the new kid on the block, the Green Party. This is the first time the Green party has got a person to run in every single riding in Canada.
The system we have in Canada is a First Past the Post system, which is common to colonies of the United Kingdom. The flaw in a system such as this is that popular support doesn’t always translate into seats in the House of Commons. (This would be the case if you have numerous ridings where the results will be close.) Of course, the problem with a simple proportional system in a country such as Canada is that it would most likely lead to minority governments. Generally no party ever gets more then 50% of the popular support. The US on the other hand, with its two party system, is a ripe candidate for some form of proportional representation of votes.
This election may be interesting because there is no forced media blackout, results will be reported as they are tallied. So for the first time, people in British Columbia will know the results in all of Atlantic Canada, a few hours before their polls close. Mind you, with the internet, this was possible last election as well. I am curious to see if people in British Columbia will vote differently given this extra information.
I voted for the NDP, who will probably have no chance of winning in my riding. I just want them to at least have some reasonable numbers for popular support. I suggest you vote for the party you think will do the best job. I’m not a fan of voting strategically, it seems to go against to the whole idea of voting and democracy. In my riding Derek Lee is going to win. I’m calling it now, a few hours before the election results are out. This is the first time my vote isn’t totally wasted, since the popular support each party gets will get translated into funding for their campaigns in the next election.
Update 9:30 PM: I’ll post little things on my mind through out the night I think—well at least this one time. Average voter turn out in Canada has historically been 74% (with a standard deviation of 5.7) [source]. Turn out has been down for the past three elections, since 1988. I am wondering if the fact that this election is predicted to be so tight will bring out the voters.
Update 10:16 PM: The NDP are showing good numbers so far, and their share of the popular vote has risen a fair amount. It’s still quite early, the results of many polls have yet to be shown. I wouldn’t mind a coalition government with the Liberals and the NDP. We might get something a little more left leaning out of our government than we have seen in quite some time.
Update 11:42 PM: Thank you Jesus! It looks like the NDP and the Liberals will form a coalition government. I just heard Layton and Broadbent give their respective victory speeches. I can’t stress how happy I am to see this situation. I only hope that the Liberals and the NDP can successfully work together. The Liberals under Martin are a lot further from the left then one would expect a liberal party to be.
Update 2:20 AM: I may have spoke to soon, but I sincerely hope I haven’t. Apparently the NDP and Liberal numbers have dropped to the point where they may not be able to get a majority of the votes in the house.
Update 3:18 AM: Well, the official numbers are in. The final standing is:
| Party |
Seats |
% of Votes |
| Lib |
135 |
36.71% |
| Con |
99 |
29.61% |
| BQ |
54 |
12.40% |
| NDP |
19 |
15.69% |
| NA |
1 |
0.13% |
| OTH |
0 |
5.47% |
This means that the Liberals and the NDP only have 154 seats if they vote together. So, the Liberals will have to work closely with the Bloc as well if they hope to stay in power for any period of time. Apparently the average life span of a minority government in Canada is on the order of 18 months. I expect another election soon.
In my riding, the numbers were also pretty much what I expected them to be:
| Candidate |
Party |
Votes |
% of Votes |
| Derek Lee |
LIB |
22114 |
57.32% |
| Raymond Cho |
IND |
6905 |
17.9% |
| Tony Backhurst |
CON |
5326 |
13.81% |
| Fauzia Khan |
NDP |
3557 |
9.22% |
| Kathryn Holloway |
GRN |
676 |
1.75% |
Derek Lee managed to get 57% of the vote in my riding. That wasn’t much of a surprise. I just find it hard to believe 18% of the people who live around me were stupid enough to vote for Raymond Cho.
You can look up the numbers for your riding at a few web sites. I was using Election Canada’s web site at first, though CBC also provides the same set of information and seemed to be updating it stats much later into the night.
[10] Life | Politics
27 June 2004, early evening
Andy Baio is putting up some videos for your viewing pleasure. The first up is something I’m sure some of my readers will enjoy:
First up, the best TV pilot you’ve never seen: Ben Stiller’s Heat Vision and Jack from 1999. Jack Black stars as Jack Austin, an astronaut on the run from NASA after a solar accident makes him the smartest man in the universe. Owen Wilson plays his talking motorcycle. Produced by Stiller, who also appears in the introduction and as a strip club DJ.
[4] Interesting Links
27 June 2004, terribly early in the morning
Ahilan got me the second season of Smallville on DVD today. I actually started watching the show during the second season. My friend Carvill also seemed to get hooked on the show during the second season. My friends bought me season one of Smallville for my birthday last year, which I managed to watch over the course of a few days in Waterloo. Gary watched the show with me at this time, and so he ended up getting hooked on the show as well. He promptly downloaded the second season, and started downloading the third season as the episodes came out. The show is about Superman as a teenager. I don’t know what it is about the show that makes people like it so much. I mean, really, it’s the kind of show I should hate. It’s like a Dawsons Creek or an O.C. or any other stupid teen drama. But, there’s just something about it that I think is brilliant.
I can’t wait to watch this season again. I’ve just finished all of Mezan’s CSI DVDs, so Ahilan’s timing couldn’t be more perfect.
[5] Life | Television
26 June 2004, terribly early in the morning
I can now say I have been to the nicest club in Toronto.
Tonight was Steph’s birthday. We celebrated by heading out to a new club, Lucid, that has filled the vacant space left after Pladium closed. Lucid is three stories, and looks like something out of a movie. Everything about the club is nice and slick. Whoever designed the place did a great job.
The club was empty mind you. Not totally empty, but it may as well have been. Pladium was huge; this club is also huge. The capacity on the first floor of the club was something like 1021 people, according to a sign on the wall. The club has two other floors that weren’t even open. Lucid is the sort of place you need a lot of people to show up to, or it’ll just look far too empty. Unfortunately for the owners, they didn’t get that critical mass of people needed to keep people in the club. While we were there we saw plenty of people walk in, take a look around, and then promptly walk out. If you show up to a place at midnight, you are expecting a party, not a 100 or so people standing on a dance floor that can accommodate ten times that many people.
All in all, I think Lucid is going to be one of the nicer spots in the city.
(Happy birthday Steph!)
Life
25 June 2004, late evening
I watched Fahrenheit 9/11 today with Steph and Simon. Moore is definitely on the attack, and holds no punches in his attempt to show the people of the US that their president and his cronies are basically korrupt with a k. The first half of the film looks at the numerous ties between the Bush family and the Bin Laden family, as well as the Saudi royal family. The second half looks at the war on Iraq, and how it has been presented to the people of America. Fahrenheit 9/11 was really quite amazing. Go watch this movie.
The Fahrenheit 9/11 official web site.
Reviews of the movie at Rotten Tomatoes.
[13] Movies
24 June 2004, mid-afternoon
My compilers professor, Gordan Cormack, has written an interesting article on detecting spam. The article has sparked this response. Both the original article, and the response have generated threads on slashdot.
Technology
23 June 2004, the wee hours
I attended a talk today by Henrik Lenstra on Escher and the Droste Effect. The talk examines the mathematics behind M.C. Escher’s print of a man viewing a painting in a gallery that turns in to the gallery itself. Escher left the middle of this print blank, thought it apparently need not be. The talk was quite interesting, and the art produced from the research is really quite amazing to see.
I was already aware of Lenstra from his work in cryptography. Lenstra seems to have been involved in number theory for quite some time. His name comes up when discussions turn to factoring integers, in particular the Number Field Sieve. The Number Field Sieve is the fastest algorithm to factor integers. It is based on another factoring method called Random Squares.
I think the notation used to talk about running times of algorithms similar to the Number Field Sieve was developed by Lenstra, though I could be mistaken on this. The running time for an algorithm is the number of primitive operations needed to solve an input problem of a given size. The running time for algorithms based on the Random Square method generally have the form e(c + o(1))(ln n)α(ln ln n)1-α, where α and c are constants, and n is the size of the input. This is usually abbreviated to Ln[α,c]. The running time of the Number Field Sieve is Ln[1/3,1.98], which is a sub-exponential algorithm.
[7] Mathematics | Life
22 June 2004, terribly early in the morning
I’ve been using GMail for a few weeks now, and I have to say I like it quite a bit. However, I don’t like having my mail just stored on Google’s server, I’d like a local copy. Also, I already have an email address which people know, and which I like, ramanan at funkaoshi dot com. So, what I’ve done is try and get the best of both worlds from my two email addresses.
My funkaoshi address is a POP3 address given to me by 1and1. 1and1 lets you attach three delivery destinations to an email address. So, in addition to the POP3 mailbox, I also have my mail forwarded to my GMail account. So, if people write to me at ramanan at funkaoshi dot com, the mail will also get sent to chungking at gmail dot com. I can check for email at my funkaoshi address anywhere now, by logging in to GMail.
In most cases a person receiving an email from my GMail account would simply reply to my GMail account. These emails would then need to be forwarded by me to my funkaoshi address, if I wanted a local copy. Luckily, in GMail you can specify a reply-to address. This is the address most users will see when you send them an email, and it is the address any replies will be sent too. I specify my reply-to address to be my funkaoshi email address. This way, I will get the mail in my funkaoshi mail box, and it will also get forwarded to GMail.
The one problem in this scheme is that emails I compose in GMail remain in GMail, unless I CC or BCC my funkaoshi address on all my outgoing mail. (Hopefully Google will add an option to always BCC an email address.) I then have my email client filter emails from myself into my sent mail folder. Of course, these emails would appear twice in my GMail account, once in the sent mail folder, and once in my Inbox. Regardless, this has been working out pretty well so far.
This is one way to have a web-mail address, and a normal POP3 mailbox work together quite well. You could do what I have done above with any number of web-mail services I would imagine.
Update: I’ve modified Micheal Sipey’s bookmarklet so now when I use it to compose mail in Gmail, my funkaoshi address is automagically BCC’d a copy of the message.
[9] Technology
21 June 2004, terribly early in the morning
Mystic River is a thoroughly depressing movie. The acting in the film is superb. Tim Robbins and Sean Penn definitely deserve their Oscars. I highly recommend you watch this film.
You can read proper reviews of Mystic River at Rotten Tomatoes.
[1] Movies
19 June 2004, early evening
I have graduated—officially. I guess that’s all I have to say really.
[2] Life
