The Study Desk

Not just in India then

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:28:40 -0700

So, this is not something that happens only in India. See here.

Although here, it did need some hackers to find out that politicians are porn watchers too.

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Sanjay at Narada Gana Sabha, Karthik fine arts

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:37:20 -0800

Sanjay Subrahmanyan-Nagai Sriram-Thanjavur Murugabhoopathy-S Karthick

Song list:

1. Chalamu-panthuvarali-kanda ata
2. Sakethanagaranatha-harikambhoji-rupakam(n,s)
3. Kaaba kannayiram-neelambari-adi
4. Evarikai-devamanohari-misra chapu(r)
5. Kamalambam bhajare-kalyani-adi(r,s,t)
6. Sarasa sama dana-kapinarayani-adi
7. RTP-Bhoopalam ("ethanai koti inbam vaithai iraiva iraiva iraiva"). Ragamalika swarms in huseni, sallapam(also known as surya)
8. Ethanai koti-desh-adi
9. Thillana-dwijavanti-adi

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What a good product and goodwill does to you

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 05:09:54 -0700

Dear Allan Odgaard, Author Of TextMate:

"Given the value that we get out of TextMate, it’s already grossly underpriced. Please let us give you more money."

Here's an example of what a good, some would say great product, does to its customers. The product had won all hearts back in 2006, when it released and seemed destined fr greater things. Although that next version of the product never came out. Still hasn't.

Imagine the number of companies using TextMate out there and raking in profits!

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Wanna feel your palms sweat? Watch this!

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:45:00 -0700

There used to be a time, when I wasn't scared of heights (not like this one). Wonder what I feel like now, on a tall tower!

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Kanavenum laksham kangal - Suruti

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:43:00 -0700

09 Kaanavenum Laksham - Suruti - Misra Chapu by Swarna Rethas Listen on Posterous

A recording from the Musri Chamber Concert, 2010.

Update: Accopanists- Karaikal Venkat (Violin), Tanjavur Praveenkumar (Mridangam)

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No, this blog is not dead

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 01:32:00 -0700

Some reading material on the latest drama that's happening in India. The Hazare story and some views.

FAQ: Why Anna Hazare is wrong and Lok Pal a bad idea—Nitin Pai
Of the few, by the few—Pratap Bhanu Mehta
The dangers of a movement—Ranjit Hoskote
The Making of an Authority: Anna Hazare in Ralegan Siddhi—Mukul Sharma
Spare Us the Gandhian Halo—Hartosh Singh Bal
The Anna Hazare Show—Manu Joseph
Time to Step Back—Pratap Bhanu Mehta

And also, here’s an interesting piece on Hazare’s media strategy.

All this is not to say, of course, that our government hasn’t behaved entirely ridiculously in all this. They’re also clowns. Such it goes.

Update: Also read this excellent piece by Gautam Patel: Rupees, Annas And Vice.

(Via India Uncut - Amit Varma)

Update 2: Just to add, my two cents, let me see the draft of the Lokpal Bill before I decide whether I want this to be passed or not. I am ambivalent about the whole thing, for now.

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Bang on!

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 04:49:31 -0700

“But to value every company as if they are the next Google, rather than valuing them all as if one of them might be, is pretty much the definition of a bubble.”

— Tim Worstall

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A worthwhile note on Sport

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 23:04:03 -0700

"All sports represent the collision of wills: people or teams who want the same thing and have to cause somebody pain in order to get it". It is easy, if you so choose, to find in this a metaphor for warfare, but the beauty of sport is that people rarely die playing it. Sportsmen compete fiercely and proudly, exhausting themselves mentally and physically in the pursuit of victory, and then the victor and vanquished walk off the field, shaking each other's hand, and often with the knowledge that no victory or loss is final. They will compete again tomorrow and there will be another shot at redemption. That is the essence of sport."

- From The Meaning of Sport, by Simon Barnes

How does everyone not get this? Or do they?

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Time for some pasta!

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:56:02 -0700

See the full gallery on Posterous

Spent Sunday evening with Aarabi making some pasta. First time we were cooking together and a sign of the days to come. :) The pasta ended up being simply awesome!

Here are some pictures.

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Rethas-Aarabi Nischayathartham

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 22:48:00 -0800

A wonderful and momentous day for Aarabi and me, we got engaged on February 9, 2011. Here are some photos of all the lovely and smiling people, who were all there!

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Volkswagon Commercial with kiddo Darth Vader

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 02:37:41 -0800

See this.

Funny commercial.

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Love this comment on Dropbox

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:29:00 -0800

This comment by Michael Wolfe here hits the nail on the head, real hard on why Dropbox is the best file, photos, music and other syncing application available today on the internet.

Having tried Evernote, Simplenote and a few others myself, I have now settled on using Dropbox for all my sync needs between my Mac and iPhone. The free account for storage upto 2 GB is awesome. And the small increases in storage capacity, with referrals, is something that wins my vote.

Oh, and did I mention, I love the dropbox website design? Take a look.

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February 9, 2011

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:48:02 -0800

Thank you for the design, Nivi!

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Some caffeine to keep awake

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:15:04 -0800

No, this is not about the amount of coffee that I consume to stay up.

It's about this lovely little Mac utility, Caffeine, which keeps your mac from dimming away and slipping into screensaver mode or into deeper slumber. The application, I feel, keeps my laptop 'ready' at all times. Ready to check out that webpage, get that phone number, pause a track, note down that number and many more things. It's a part of my login items and is ON at all times!

I know you can disable the screen dimming option in your system preferences and so do you. But how many of you do it?

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Twitter #Lessambitiousmovies meme - WTF!

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:20:50 -0800

My Twitter timeline is filled by this crap right now. At first I din't even pay enough attention, to get it. And now, I do. It's not that funny. And now, it's apparently trending on twitter. Ugh!

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The December so far

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 19:27:00 -0800

As another December Music season comes by, you realize it's half over before you feel in the thick of things. But it's been an exciting month thus far.

Not sure what it is, but the season doesn't seem to have gathered momentum (and excitement) until the 15th or so. Whether this has anything to do with the Music Academy starting off it's programs or what, I do not know. But that seems to have now set it.
This has been the busiest season of concerts for me and made me look forward to each one of them heavily, right from the beginning. The need to take every opportunity and make it count was the focus.
Looking at it in 2 halves, the first half of my concerts are done now. The first was at Coimbatore (Rajalskhmi Fine Arts). I actually did feel relieved to be out of madras and the routine here, just to get some rest time and sing with a more clear frame of mind. The next one was at Brahma Gana Sabha. Well attended it was. Decided to go for the theme "Songs on Mahalakshmi by Muthuswamy Dikshitar" for the Mudhra concert. It was enjoyable, albeit a short concert. And as the screen went up, there stood reality, with countably 5 people in the audience! It did get slightly better going up to 20-25 people by the time I finished. Yesterday was the concert for SAFE, which was as a result of my winning the second place in a concert series (in memory of GNB) held by the same organization last year. Will try and upload some songs from these concerts soon.
Being at Sanjay's concerts all along has been wonderful too. His Begada at Margazhi Mahotsavam (Jaya TV) was top notch, filled with many intricacies to observe and learn. The Marga Hindolam RTP and Enna Rakshiso yesterday at Brahma Gana Sabha, Durbar alapana and Charukesi alapana at Karthik Fine Arts, Ivanaaro (Kambhoji) and I could go on...
Have a bit of a gap before my next concert now. You can take a look at my schedule here, if you haven't already.
Time to go attend some now!

Update: Just realized that my AIR concert broadcast is today at 11.30 AM on FM-GOLD (102.3 MHz)

(Photo shot by Sriram Guruswamy, at my concert at Brahma Gana Sabha)

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How to get Quicksilver to show up in all Spaces in Snow Leopard

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 22:31:59 -0700

I use the nifty app launcher Quicksilver quite a lot for more than just launching applications on my Macbook Pro running Snow Leopard. This morning, as I was trying to invoke Quicksilver on a different space other than the first one, it kept taking me back to the first space to show the application.

The way to get Quicksilver show up on the same space as you're on,

Go to Quicksilver >> Preferences
Check 'Show icon in Dock'
This will relaunch Quicksilver and I'm now able to do all my quicksilver actions from the same space I'm working on.

Note: Not sure, why checking this option makes it work, but more on that here. The article also mentions that you should be running the latest version of Quicksilver. I am now running v3840. And this works for me.

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The years in my life in reverse chronological order

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 01:28:00 -0700

2011 - Ok, let's step ahead into the future for a bit, because this could be the most important year in my life yet, on all counts. And to let the cat out, I'd turn 30 and be married!

2009 - Loss of my Ammumma (grandmother). Seemed like she knew it was about time.

2008 - Loss of Appa (father) due to a beast of a brain tumor that ended his life in June 2008 after an 8 month struggle. On the other hand, I'd started seeing the woman of my life by the end of the year.

2007 - Let's hold the thought, diagnosed appa's brain tumor and the topsy turvy events like surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy etc., that followed. Again, by the end of the year had seen the woman of my life lurking (back) in the city.

2004 - Began the two important things that have remained important in parallel until now, Started working at Tenmiles Corporation and Started performing in the December Music Season in Madras. Of course, sometimes like this.

1999 - Decided to fake being a nerd, with a undergrad degree in Math. Which also meant, it ended the most awesome years of my school life. Also fell in love for the first time, or so I thought.

1996 - Represented TamilNadu in the Republic Day Parade in front of the President of the country, as a part of the NCC contingent. Ah, and the first death in the family from close quarters, the death of my maternal grandfather.

1995 - Hardly attended school and was worried about it. And yes, I failed a paper for the first time in my life! This might have also been the year that most of my current bunch of friends came together. You're, no we're awesome guys! BB is missing in this picture.

1990 - end of the 90's - All those years that made me play the sport I love - cricket, in all kinds of spaces - from vast grounds to small corridors. Remembering the times when the afternoons would be spent playing cricket in the 40 sq. feet area by the elevator in my apartment.

1986 - Moved to an apartment, which would be such a close part of growing up, for the first time.

1984 - Along with one of the heaviest rains to lash the city, my little brother was born. Have been told that this was also the year that my grandfather took my to a hotel to see and talk to the visiting West Indian team. The best team ever, at their peak. I apparently greeted Gomes, Marshall, Garner, Holding and the likes and even had a miniature bat autographed by the entire team. A pity I have no idea where it went!

1982 - Turned ONE. And it was no ordinary celebration.

1981 - Born on that day, October 5 at 2:36 PM. Was destined to be named Swarna Rethas, as I still wonder who and what Swarna Rethas will end up to be.

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Concert Schedule 2010

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 02:17:00 -0700

Here is a list of my upcoming concerts:

Sabha	Venue	Date	Time	Accompanists

Carnatica Bharath Sangeet Utsav	Narada Gana Sabha	November 8, 2010	3:00 - 5:00	V Sanjeev, Melakkaveri Balaji, N Guruprasad
AIR Live Relay- FM Gold		November 15, 2010	11:30 - 12:00
TAG Series	TAG Center, Alwarpet (on invitation)	November 15, 2010	7:00 - 9:00	B Ananthakrishnan, SJ Arjun Ganesh
Karthik Fine Arts	Karthik Fine Arts hall, Mandaveli	November 18, 2010	7:00 - 8:30	Anayampatti Venkatasubramaniam, Praveenkumar
Brahma Gana Sabha	Sivagami Petachi Auditorium, Alwarpet	December 10, 2010	3:45 - 5:45	B Ananthakrishnan, R Sankaranarayanan
Mudhra Shanti Arts Foundation (SAFE)	Infosys Hall, T Nagar Shastri Hall, Mylapore	December 12, 2010 December 15, 2010	2:00 - 3:15 4:00 - 6:00	B Ananthakrishnan, Praveenkumar Anayampatti Venkatasubramniam, Nirmal Narayan
Mylapore Fine arts Nada Inbam	Mylapore Fine Arts, Mylapore Ragasudha, Mylapore	December 24, 2010 December 25, 2010	1:30 - 3:00 4:00 - 6:00	M Rajeev, Gurubharadwaj
Charsur Arts Foundation	Narada Gana Sabha, Mini Hall, Alwarpet	December 26, 2010	6:30 - 8:30	VV Ravi, Madrimangalam Swaminathan, H Prasanna
Krishna Gana Sabha	Krishna Gana Sabha, T Nagar	December 28, 2010	2:00 - 4:00
Music Academy	Music Academy, Royapettah	Decemeber 31, 2010	12:00 - 1:30	Akkarai Swarnalatha, Tanjavur Praveenkumar
Narada Gana Sabha	Narada Gana Sabha, Alwarpet	January 1, 2011	2:00 - 4:00	Parur Ananthakrishnan, Arjun Ganesh
Nungambakkam Cultural	Rama Rao Kala Mantap, T Nagar	January 2, 2011	2:15 - 4:15	SP Ananthapadmanabha, Nirmal Narayan

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To MobileMe or not?

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:57:45 -0700

I have quite a history with MobileMe, the cloud service offered by Apple to sync contacts, mail, calendar and purportedly for docs syncing too. I once signed up for the 60-day free Trial. After all, it was free. Except that as the days to the end of my trial neared, I got busy with some other work and did not cancel my trial. And there I was, signed up for a year's service of MobileMe automatically (credit card information was requested on the trial signup itself). So, I was forced to use MobileMe for te next year. Surprisingly, it was quite seamless, syncing my iPhone contacts, calendars and mail wirelessly and keeping my phone, mac and the cloud synced at all times. I had to do nothing. Damn easy!

I eventually then deactivated the service after a year and have resorted to using Dropbox for my file storage on the cloud(which btw, works amazingly well) and simply syncing my mac and iPhone for my contacts and calendars.

However, this ("Why I'm finally paying for MobileMe") has gotten me thinking again now. May be I should get back on it.

P.S: I've tried syncing my Google Calendar with my mac/iPhone calendar and this just doesn't work. Has someone tried this?

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