Everyone wants to have their piece of the pie
Everyone's obsessed about how they'll survive
But do you pause to wonder
'Bout people grieving
Do you pause to think
You can have a piece of heaven
I believed that I could never tell a lie
But I deceive no one else when I deny
There are people in need
Crying, hurting, starving
Do you have to feel
Superhuman to help the dying?
If I were a leader
If I could be stronger
If I only were a li'l bit wiser
But I am not
And all I've got
Is this song and a drying clot
You chose to hide the people who've been deprived
They're cursed by God's will let them subside
The world will see no lepper
Nor retarded weaklings
This nation's blessed
God's bestowed gladdest tidings
Their pain I had never let it inside
I'd never dwelled upon the causes the why
I will give no quarter
To myself or others
Till I find myself
Helped make a better future
If I were a winner
And my dreams were richer
If I only glowed a li'l bit brighter
But I'm not
Still I've got
This will o' mine and an anecdote
Smart people of the world, you're cursed
Hey, people in the know, your lives only get worse
You know more than you were meant to
And you wish for dreams beyond you
You do your very best, for people you love
You weave your sad tale, of all that hurt
The world turned it's back on you
They only took what they wanted to
Smart people, you're cursed
Smart people, mercy on your souls
Smart people, you're cursed
You're cursed
Cursed
Smart people of the world you're chosen
You're the soulful seeds, the inspiration
But they drained your souls dry
Watched you break down and die
What you left unspoken will be revived
The legacies you left, they will survive
The old will feel your loss
And the young will remember 'cos
Smart people, you inspire
Smart people, you left the world afire
Smart people, you're cursed
You're cursed
Cursed
It is a subject that everyone fears breaching, and yet a lot of us quietly acknowledge. I have been wondering who would speak of it, or when. My hope was for those staking their careers on psychology and childcare to come forth and breach the subject, but it never happened. So, I am going to say something about it, to the extent of my limited knowledge.
Maldives has an inherent history of incest! Of the total number of Maldivian girls I know, more than half have been sexually abused by a family member. How many legal prosecutions have I heard of concerning incest? Not a single one.
I ask you welfare associations, childcare institutes and other relevant bodies, 'What have you done about it?'
I ask you readers, 'Do you have anything to say?'
This is the Internet, this is where anonymity will be assured and expositions are safe. Please voice out your concerns.
I have but a lowly blog to write this memo in and so it shall be posted here. This memo is about how Linux can be promoted and why it is prudent to take on such an endeavour.
To date, Linux has been one of two things for the Maldivian community: 1. an alternative to expensive proprietary options and 2. an amusement tool which is often used to boister one's ego. What our community has failed to grasp are the possibilities Linux - and various other open source software - offers beyond implementation cost cutdowns and bemusement. Two of the most important purposes that Linux fulfills in the general world of information technology are, long-term cost optimization and education.
Why promote Linux?
Long-term cost optimization
The difference between implementation cost cutdowns and long-term cost optimization is the former provides a temporary cashflow benefit while the latter provides a continuous one. Cost optimization is the process of streamlining the business processes and reducing the various cost-of-productions to generate higher periodic returns.
Linux helps in long-term cost optimization mainly due to the following reasons:
- Being a product of the community for the community, the knowledge-base for Linux is widely distributed and readily available.
- Software products for Linux are plentiful and mostly open-sourced.
- Linux, and its components, are almost always developed based on open and readily-available industry standards, which provides for an attractive learning curve.
- Today, there exist numerous support groups which can be contracted for reasonable prices, eliminating the need for in-house specialists and thus ensuring lower costs of ownership.
- SCO's case proves to the world that whilst Linux has infringed virtually no license whatsoever, their unthreatened open licenses will cater to the most customization-oriented of businesses.
It is sad to see that computer science is being replaced with the more hyped-about 'information technology' in the world of academia. Operating systems and the software which run on them are becoming more and more end-user friendly and less challenging to use, which, in concurrently increasing general computing awareness, has greatly reduced the opportunities for the specialization in their development and implementation. The fact that these operating systems are immensely closed and often proprietary has further detrimental effects.
Linux has a solution for the potential computer scientist: an open platform which readily shows the operating system anatomy to the curious. It is a platform that you can take apart and put together in any way you like, without consideration for any licensing. For the professionals concerned about their apprentices, or even the society in general, Linux holds the key to a more hands-on education in computer systems.
On top of being an educational platform, Linux can also become the tool for changing the society's outlook on matters of intellectual property rights. I believe Maldivians' insane lack of regard for intellectual property rights stems from their abuse of licenses. The prolonged practice of pirating software, movies, music and so many other intellectual properties has virtually eliminated the knowledge of the very meaning of 'intellectual property' - could even be a new Teletubbies sidekick as far as the typical Maldivian is concerned. Developing the habit of using Linux - and open source software - may eventually provide our community with their own sense of proprietorship.
How to promote Linux
The Maldivian Linux User Group (MLUG) has tried to introduce the novelty of Linux to the Maldivian community for some time, and they held a rather successful Linux Demo Day in the February of 2000. The highlight of the project was the introduction of clustering technology which, in my point of view, is too extravagant when it comes to the introduction of an already misunderstood and feared solution that was Linux. Then again, I do recognize that it did generate a lot of hype which in turn yielded a few die-hard fans who have persevered even till today. However, at the end of the day, Linux was not here to stay; not as an integral part of the Maldivian computing community.
What has to change?
What needs to change within the MLUG leadership is quite simply their perception of Linux, its uses and its promotion. MLUG has to understand that their success lies in the ultimate goal of the massive adoption of Linux within the Maldivian community. To this end, MLUG needs to fully appreciate the possibilities Linux offers and work on implementing these possibilities from the very basics.
Firstly, MLUG should define its mandate as far as Linux is concerned. My suggestion would be the following:
- Continuing documentation of Linux, its development, its implementations and various news it generates, and provide these documentations to the Maldivian community
- Implement a perpetual marketing campaign which actually reaches the Maldivian community with the tidings of Linux on a daily basis
- Document the possible adoptions of Linux with regards to the various compartmentalizations found within the Maldivian community - in terms of societies and businesses
- Approach the potential adopters with solutions
- Monitor the Linux users and adopters, gather their feedback and provide them with contiuning support and optimizations
Once a mandate has been ratified, the next step is to ensure the comprehensive division of labour. The only way MLUG will successfully accomplish any aspect of its mandate is by ensuring that enough people are involved in that particular venture. At the same time, there has to be uncompromising leadership spearheading these efforts.
What advice can I offer MLUG?
- Do away with preconceptions
- Start with the basics
- Create a mandate before the scope of possibilities overwhelms MLUG
- Follow the trends, especially those of the various Linux communities out their
- Linux is just another operating system, it is not a revelation
We have said it a million times
And regressed more often
We made a million promises
But only noticed unkept ones
And I am sorry for those
For not being the one
I long for you to find
Someone who makes you smile
I hope that you will smile someday
And this I say with a smile
Lets set ourselves free
Give each other freedom
I hope you will understand
I hope I am forgiven
For now I will pray
Wishing your ascension
And when you will find
Someone who makes you smile
I will be the first to say
'I'm glad to see you smile'
package THE_ANGER;
if ($they = <>) {
$misbehave = 'consult them';
$they =~ /(need guidance)/s;
my $opinion = 'they are human';
$in_their = $opinion.", you need to ".$misbehave;
$in_the_end = join ($1, "they will ", " and");
}
print "your message: ".$in_their.": ".times."\n";
print $in_the_end." your love\n";
You're the one who knew me
The one who truly knew
You saw me for who I am
With undeniable tolerance
You gave me your reckoning
Got me over self-doubt
You refused to accept weakness
Even though I was weak
You gave me back confidence
Slapped me back to life
You were kind to praise me
Praise I barely deserved
You've my undying gratitude
And my prayers go with
you, no matter where you are
I miss the dialogues
You and I had ages back
I will miss you
Simon and I have had a chat about instating a programming competition amongst Maldivian developers. We are thinking of holding an open competition amongst all types of coders, involved in scripting to firmware development (if there are any of those in this country).
The current intention is to make entrants compete in developing the most optimal solution for a problem (not restricting the tools for developing the solution). It is the type of problem that has to as yet be scoped.
What we would like from you is to leave a comment here indicating your interest, should you like to participate or offer your expertise. Also, we would like feedback from you about what sort of problem you'd like to ponder over.
After-thought: we should use the same hardware and software platform for all test-runs. Thus, I think we should get an idea of what the generally desired platforms are (processor, memory, OS, etc) from all you interested parties. From these reflections we will decide on the most aggregate platform combo.
After-after-thought: as Simon mentioned in one of the comments to this post, Simon, Shiyaz, Sofwath and myself (did I leave anyone out?) did hold a competition of this sort some years back on a smaller scale. The problem then was sorting a million random numbers. The outcome was that, by the official deadline, Simon won by a hairline with his Delphi-based solution. His was sub-.20 seconds, Shiyaz's and mine were sub-.40 seconds and Sofwath's VB-based solution was way over 1 second (all tests being done on two 600 MHz platforms, one with Windows and the other Linux). Shiyaz is the one who's been bugging us (Simon mostly) to get another contest organized.
Last night, a couple of mates and I were in a dialogue, the subject of which was 'how does one start tackling a programming problem?' This is a question plenty of beginners start off with and never really get a good answer for.
So what does bring about the great inspiration for solving problems? Why, preparation of course. The best solution to fixing unsureness is to 'train' the mind to get used to thinking about the most awkward and flabbergasting of problems - fantastic ones at that. If you ask me, some such problems could be:
- How would a conversation with your mate's flip-flops go?
- How would you live life as a fish?
- What would a journey through your cat's alimentary canal reveal?
- What would life be like as a hair follicle on Jenna Jameson's thigh?
- What would aliens look like, or say when we meet them?
Once you come up with that earth-shatteringly bothersome problem, go about solving it in the most creative way you can think of. The trick is to make up as many projections as possible. In fact, you can even make this a game between a bunch of fellow-accomplices - coming up with the most number of creative solutions in a given period of time for instance.
Once one gets acquainted with using plain english to describe solutions, one should start using the tools of the trade. Start off with a pseudo-language, such as a heavily mutilated english dialect which is just sufficient to convey the bare logic of one's musings. For instance, in the case of Jenna's hair follicle:
- Light creeps in
- Bright light hits
- Black hair greeting
- Is Jenna blond?
- If yes, barf!
The next step is the gradual use of standardized designing tools such as flowcharts, booch notations, UML, etc. The trick in using the tools is to break up the problem/scenario into as many basic components as possible and fitting together these components with the fewest interconnections. Once one gets familiar with solving unearthly problems using these modeling tools, one will find dealing with more realistic ones less taxing.
The real purpose of teaching yourself to be creative is to increase the ability of approaching a problem with more conviction. It is confidence that will really trigger those creative fluids, not just knowledge alone.
Sweet dishes
Creamy sweet dishes
Be with me
Oh caress me
Kind kisses
Send me all ye misses
Soothe me
Gently soothe me
I need your warmth
Gentle kind angels
Silent wise angels
Away riches
Doth not buy wishes
Buy not me
Nor buy it thee
Pray oh wishes
Thou art ferocious
Hold thee course
Lend her thy force
Be you with warmth
Gentle kind angel
Silent sweet angel
Pressure, run away from me
Pressure, you have to let me be
Pressure, I applied on me
That pressure, was drowning me
Pressure, I cursed you so
Pressure, walked out the door
Pressure, ain't here no more
That pressure, I was groomed for
Pressure, you were so right
Pressure, that held me tight
Pressure, unblocked the light
That pressure, that fled at night
Hear ye, hear ye, all ye Maldivians! The baddest cybercafe' has sprouted in town: Reload. It's 'destined' to be the first thorough-bred gaming spot in the country and boasts a plethora of high-tech gadgetry. From now on my budget is going to forego those coffees and buy me some real fun. If you want to bash me up in Counterstrike, Unreal Tournament or Battlefield2 (no FEAR!!!), call me (and leave some dough for side-bets).
~24 hours between 07/01/2006 (04:00pm) through 08/01/2006 (04:00pm)
Sleep: 38%
Cafe hopping: 19%
Girly time: 15%
Play: 16%
Work: 8%
Sick: 4%
Thus far hopeless! Gotta make amends soon.
This evening I had a conversation with a friend about how some people can appear to be more knowledgeable than they truly are. Often these appearances are not just incidental but rather carefully engineered.
What is it about some Maldivians which make them so arrogant and so self-important? That self-imposed question sent the sparks flying and I have come home to work on my first sociological theorem: the DDos Spectrum (no implied meanings whatsoever!). The following is the initial draft of a theorem meant to graphically summarize the megalomaniac's gameplan.
Suppose you have person A and person B: person B being somewhat smarter than person A. If you plot a bar graph which depicts the 'smartness' of both people in a horizontal knowledge spectrum (idiots ending on the left and the smart ones on the right), then we get the following graph for persons A and B.
Now let us superimpose onto this base spectrum a specialization: mathematics in this case. Also if we assume that person B is more knowledgeable in this specialization than A, we get the following graph:
Let us test the superimposition of one more specialization. This time we will take Sociology, at which person B again excels over person A.
Finally, if we superimpose the specialization that megalomaniacs excel at - deceit and cunningness - and if person A were a megalomaniac whilst person B was not, then we get the following - distinctly Maldivian - graph:
Conclusions
- Megalomaniacs will lie and cheat to appear socially and intellectually superior
- Megalomaniacs are inherently jealous folk
- If you are not a megalomaniac, and if you do away with deceit and cunningness, you are by default smarter than the megalomaniacs (just less cunning and deceitful)
I have decided that from tonight onwards I am going to put together a mechanism to log my utilization of my time. The purpose is not to make any dramatic changes, but rather to get prepped for those (as per Louis Gerstner change requires a great amount of 'theoretical data'). I'm hoping to prove to myself that it's time I got worried about how I live (which is 99% of the time the way I 'want' to, and not the way I 'choose' to).
I have regained happiness
Away dispair and loneliness
Mingling with hope and joy
Feeling life's mischievous ploy
Take away my uneasiness
My saviour a bonny lass
With an intellect to make envious
The likes of Sigmund Freud
Or any fictitious android
Or the morally challenged or pious
She brings hope to us
That people are boundless
When it comes to providence
Not all will say 'good riddance'
That some choose to be gracious
To thee I pledge allegiance
And know that I am anxious
To support all your ventures
Monolithic to trivial ones
I'm enthused beyond regress
Ere I ached with grievance
'Bout humanity's dying conscience
You prove there exists honesty
And perhaps even loyalty
That people still cherish in essense
I am sad
I am lonely
I feel a weight
Bearing on me
I wish changes
Were so easy
As years transition
To now from would-be
I feel for others
I feel for the sad
I am no less
But I fake this glee
Why hath self-pity
Found me?
Why not joy
Or constant ecstacy?
If this is how
My year begins
Why bother
I ask thee?