The other day, at the eleventh hour, I learnt that a nearby theater will be playing Stanley Kubrick's [A Clockwork Orange](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066921/). It is based on Anthony Burgess' book of the same name. It is one of my favorite movies and I had never seen it in a theater. So, off I went for a dose of the ultraviolence.

The theater manager informed us that it was the largest turnout in their current series of classic films. The print was an original one, scratches and all. There was even a bit of trouble with it towards the end, which caused a pause in the show. That brought on comments, the likes of which are only heard when the audience comprises fans of a cult classic.

There are many cool things about this movie. The dialogues are peppered with [Nadsat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadsat), which Burgess invented. Some things made sense only on repeat viewing. That is probably one of the hallmarks of a cult movie, I guess. The movie is beautiful to look at, with lovely locations and colorful costumes. The performances are superb. But the best part, in my opinion, is the music. Beethoven's 9th Symphony forms a part of the story and is partially heard in Wendy Carlos' electronic rendition.

See it. Again.

I don’t have a radio. On many occasions I’ve heard people say good things about NPR and so recently I’ve been listening to some of the podcasts offered by them. They are excellent programs and I thought I’d recommend a couple to anyone interested in listening in.

The first is All Songs Considered. It is hosted by Bob Boilen (sometimes in conversation with guests) and features newly available music from various artists. The selection is eclectic and I’ve found some great new artists from listening to the show.

The second is Science Friday. It is hosted by Ira Flatow. He discusses various current issues in science with guests who are prominent members of the scientific community. The conversations are interesting and introduce me to a larger scientific domain than what I’m used to hearing about in the computer science area.

They are both weekly shows, so it’s not that hard to keep up. Check them out!

 [One of](https://www.flickr.com/photos/samgrover/62085754/) my photos created using the Holgafy technique described [here](https://tricks.onigo.net/2005/11/04/2-minute-tricks-14-holgafy/) has been selected amongst [six photos](https://tricks.onigo.net/2006/02/12/holgafy-contest-vote/) as a finalist in the current contest. Thanks Kent! You can [cast your vote](https://2minutetricks.com) for the best photo ;-)

Kent publishes a video and audio podcast of interesting Photoshop techniques and tutorials every week. It's quality stuff and I recommend checking it out at that site after casting your vote.

[](https://flickr.com/photos/samgrover/sets/72057594048405929/) My cousin sent me some scans of old photos. She is the little one in the pictures. These are from 1986/7 and were taken at our house in New Delhi. We all used to live as a joint family, ten to fifteen people spanning three generations in one house. Anyway, the photos brought back memories and I wrote about each one of them on flickr. See the [photoset](https://flickr.com/photos/samgrover/sets/72057594048405929/).

Photo mosaic made with fd’s Flickr Toys.

"The Search" by John Battelle is about the impact that search technology is having and will have on our culture. "Search" is defined quite broadly and includes the coming realm of ubiquitous computing. Google is a major focus of the book, and its influence and growth surely warrant that focus.

What motivated me to read this book was the concept of the "[Database of Intentions](https://battellemedia.com/archives/000063.php)". It refers to the ability of an ubiquitous search technology to extract the intention of one or more of its users by analyzing their interactions with a plethora of devices. That is absolutely fascinating and will be quite something when it is realized. Needless to say, it will be the Oracle of the information age. It is an update on the idea of the Memex described by Vannevar Bush in "As We May Think", which is cited in the book. A meta-Memex.

A good portion of the book, however, is devoted to the history of search technology and industry. That is quite interesting in and of itself as I like to read about such things. There are several anecdotes about the people and companies that played a part in these nascent times. I found it to be too detailed in some places, but the book is written such that one could easily skip those parts if one finds them too dull. I didn't.

The epilogue highlights that we remember people from history because they became immortal through records. In the future, everyone will be immortal because everything will be recorded. This blog is being recorded. All of it will add to the noise and one will have to shout or be referenced a lot to be seen clearly. Will you shout? What will you say? I think you should write a book while they are still in vogue ;-)

This has been a watershed year for my photography. I’ve always had a casual interest in it, but this year I invested time and money into practicing it. The time came from shunning TV. I don’t miss it. I recommend it. The money required was less than what would have been necessary in a pre-digital age. That made it affordable. flickr.com has been a great influence as it has provided me with a community with whom to share, discuss, and enjoy photography. Thanks to all of them! I’ve added two photos below that I liked a lot. You can click on them to see larger versions on flickr.



I recently read "[On Intelligence](https://www.onintelligence.org/)" by Jeff Hawkins. The book is about the author's efforts to understand the human brain's mechanism for intelligence and to apply it to machines. He presents a model of intelligence called the memory-prediction framework.

This was perhaps the first time I had read a somewhat detailed analysis of the possible mechanism that drives human intelligence. Some concepts that I found especially interesting were that of invariant and hierarchical memory. Also, the idea that the brain predicts all actions before they are executed was fascinating. If the subject interests you, I highly recommend it. It is quite readable.

Unfortunately, after all these days I have returned to find that blogger is lacking in features. On the other hand, wordpress.com has launched recently and that is looking pretty cool. So, I’m moving to samgrover.wordpress.com. Maybe I’ll be back or move somewhere else another day, leaving trails in cyberspace as time goes on.

Just moved here from samgrover.blogspot.com. Time to start afresh. Technorati Profile

I started this blog a while back and then stopped posting about fifteen months ago. Now I’m reviving it and will post stuff here occasionally. The feed is available through the new standard feed icon shown in the sidebar.