Three Years On...

One of the best ways I have of remembering my mother is through music. When we were little she used to sing us to sleep and it's mostly thanks to her that we're a very musical family (we start to sing at the drop of a hat, for example). Since it's been three years since she died I thought it would be nice to post a few videos of the songs that she really liked or that we used to sing a lot.

She was a big fan of Edith Piaf, for example, and her favourite Piaf song was 'Non, je ne regrette rien':

Her other favourite songs included Dean Martin's 'Under the Bridges of Paris', Harry Belafonte's 'Jamaica Farewell', and Frank Sinatra's 'Three Coins in a Fountain'. I'm sure there were others she liked, but these are the ones she knew the lyrics of and sang most often.

Here's Harry Belafonte singing 'Jamaica Farewell':

Bed Time Songs

A lot of the songs she sang us to sleep with were folk songs like 'Lavender Blue', 'Red River Valley', 'Danny Boy', and 'Tom Dooley'.

Here's a video of The Kingston Trio singing 'Tom Dooley':

And, since this is too good an opportunity to pass up, here's the Muppets version of 'Danny Boy':

I remember Ami having a good laugh over this when we first saw it :)

I believe she was more familiar with the Elvis version of this song, though, so here's the tribute video made for his 29th death anniversary that features it:

Travelling Songs

There were also a number of songs that we always sang in the car, particularly on long journeys. One of those was The Three Stooges song 'Swinging the Alphabet':

Other songs included 'The Animal Fair', 'Why Shouldn't My Goose', 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat', and 'Ten Green Bottles'. There were, of course, many more.

It's still hard to believe that she's gone...and I'm glad we have all this music to help keep her memory alive.

2008 LUMS B.Sc.'99 Class Notes

Calling all of my LUMS B.Sc. Class of 1999 classmates!

If you haven't read the news item I posted on our MyFamily.com site or seen the message I sent 50 of you on Facebook, please read this blog post.

It is time, once again, to write our class notes for the LUMS Alumni Annual. Like we did last year, we are going to do compile them using this wiki: http://bsc99.wetpaint.com/

So please: visit the site and update your (or anyone else's) class note entry. Oh, and make sure you do this before Monday, 26 May. On the 27th, I'll copy edit the notes (tweak grammar, flow, etc.) and will mail them off to the Alumni Relations Office.

Finally, please tell all our other classmates that you're in contact with to do this as well.

Thanks!

No "Consensus" on Climate Change?!

A couple of days ago Joseph Romm wrote an excellent article in Salon on The Cold Truth About Climate Change. In it he tackles the various arguments that climate change deniers use, including the argument that it's the sun -- and not us -- that is causing all this global warming (easily debunked, by the way).

The one he address up front, though, is the argument that there is no "consensus" in the scientific community about climate change. Romm's counter-argument? Er, there's no need for consensus when you have the data, stupid:

What matters is scientific findings -- data, not opinions. The [U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)] relies on the peer-reviewed scientific literature for its conclusions, which must meet the rigorous requirements of the scientific method and which are inevitably scrutinized by others seeking to disprove that work. That is why I cite and link to as much research as is possible, hundreds of studies in the case of this article. Opinions are irrelevant.

A little later, he continues:

How many studies? Well, the IPCC's definitive treatment of the subject, "Understanding and Attributing Climate Change," has 11 full pages of references, some 500 peer-reviewed studies. This is not a consensus of opinion. It is what scientific research and actual observations reveal.

Oh, and you know what? The IPCC report actually underestimates the potential future impacts of climate change because the models used in all those studies are actually simpler than what goes on in the real world (because they "omit key amplifying feedback in the carbon cycle"). Observations over the last eight years have helped clarify that since all the observed changes have been on the high side of model projections.

Ah, yes...we're in for a wild ride.

Australia Says Sorry

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd opened this morning's parliament session with an official apology to the Stolen Generation [BBC]. The Cerebral Mum wrote a great blog post on her views on this topic and also did a good roundup of what the Australian blogosphere has to say about it.

Mathematically, Waiting Better than Walking

As reported by IT Wire:

According to three U.S. mathematicians, if you are waiting for something, like a ride on a bus, and its late, keep on waiting rather than walk to the next bus stop.

[...]

They developed a mathematical formula that tells you how long you should wait before trying something different. They found that when both options seem reasonable, you should stay where you are and do nothing but continue waiting.

And with the exception of extreme cases:

[Even] if it is frustrating to continue waiting, you are better off doing so.

You learn something new every day, huh?

Geeky Home Cinemas

Deputy Dog has a list of 10 Stunning Ultra-Geeky Home Cinemas. Being a geek myself, I fully intend to build me one of those as soon as I can afford it -- though I probably won't go as far as these people have. Mine will based on the bridge of the Enterprise D, of course -- a bit like #5 on the list -- but it'll be a lot simpler and a lot more practical. Something like this, maybe:

Check back with me in about five years and I'll let you know how it turned out :)

The Arabization of Islam

Fatemeh Fakhraieon has written an excellent article on altmuslim on the Arabization of Islam:

Since the original Muslims were mostly Arab, everything associated with them - their culture, names, and family structures - has been associated with Islam. But this presents a problem since the vast majority of Muslims in our current world are not Arab. Passing off Arab culture as Islam in this regard is inaccurate, exclusionary, and disrespectful of other Muslims' cultures.

Converts to Islam illustrate the issue even further. If a Latina converts to Islam, for example, she may decide (or those at the local mosque may urge her) to take a "Muslim" name, like Fatima or Khadija (which are also Arab names). But why can't Lucinda be a Muslim name? What makes a name "Muslim"?

I know of many non-Arab converts who have taken Arab names upon their conversion. But why? What's wrong with the names their parents gave them? There isn't anything in the Holy Qur'an that mandates Muslims to have Arab names. Changing your name from Carmelita to Khadija isn't going to get you into Paradise any quicker. Changing one's name doesn't change one's ethnicity or personality. But having an Arab name makes one seem more "Muslim," because of the way Arab culture is seen as synonymous with Islam.

Another excellent example is clothing, which mostly affects Muslim women. The niqab (the face-veil) was rarely seen outside of the Arabian Gulf until recently. Most Muslims see the niqab as a byproduct of Arab culture. It is only recently that the niqab has been interpreted as religiously authentic instead of a cultural expression. A minority of women in Canada, the U.S., and Europe now wear niqab because they believe it is religiously mandated.

...

The real danger is that Islam is getting buried under all this cultural expression. It is possible to be Muslim without being Middle Eastern, without having a name like Mohammed, and without wearing dishdashas (the long robe worn by most men in the Arabian Gulf states) or niqabs. We should reconsider why Arab-ness is, all of a sudden, next to godliness.

Fakhraieon also runs Muslimah Media Watch and contributes to Racialicious, neither of which I knew about but both of which sound very interesting.

Of Tea and Tetris

Tea and Tetris are the master keys to my life.

Let's take tea first. What do I do to wake myself up? I have a cup of tea. What do I do to relax? I have a cup of tea. What do I do when I'm tired, I've eaten too much (or too little), I'm watching TV, am on the computer, or am working? At the start and end of things? In order to celebrate? When I'm getting really to have a really good discussion with someone? Or even when I have nothing to do? I have cup of tea. Tea is a constant. Tea is everything.

Yes, coffee, Pepsi, and Coke are all valid alternatives -- and they're sometimes exactly what I need and want -- but there's nothing quite as smooth and gentle, yet strong and powerful, and as...default as tea. Meanwhile, coffee can be bitter, harsh, overly strong, really weak, or really milky while carbonated drinks can be sharp and over-carbonated. And yes, tea can be weak or milky...but, dammit, cold or hot, milky or not, tea it's tea!

Oh, and if you want something even smoother and gentler than black tea, there's green tea, other types of tea (English breakfast, Earl Grey, etc.), and many, many flavoured teas to choose from.

Then there's Tetris: the be-all and end-all of work life. What do I do to energize myself for work? I play Tetris. What do I do to relax my brain? I play Tetris. What do I do when I'm on the phone, in order to stay awake, while I'm uploading/downloading large files, while listening to a podcast, or simply to mitigate boredom? I play Tetris.

Tea and Tetris: what would I do without them?

Thank you China/Burma/India and Alexey Pajitnov.

Excellent Health Advice

Some excellent health advice from Michael Pollan, author of 'In Defense of Food':

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

That's the advice journalist and author Michael Pollan offers in his new book, In Defense of Food.

"That's it. That is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy," Pollan tells Steve Inskeep.

Read the NPR article for more.

Benazir Bhutto Assassinated...

I can't think of anything to say. Besides, everyone else is already saying it -- and saying it much better than I ever could.

All political ramifications aside, though, my thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes go out to Bhutto's family. I know how hard it is to lose a loved one; especially a mother. And the more public that person is, the harder it must be for close family since any sendoff that you might want to give your loved one is inevitably hijacked by everyone else. I hope her family -- especially her children -- are hanging in there.

Taking Notes

I take a lot of notes. And I mean a lot of notes. I take notes for things like:

• Planning out a report, paper, or essay


• Brainstorming a website, business strategy problem, or a computer program/algorithm


• Taking notes during a class lecture or conference


• Even making a shopping list or a list of things to do

I like to think I take good notes and, since I'm a bit of a perfectionist (some would say I'm obsessive), over the years I have actively refined my note-taking technique. Here's how I take notes these days.

Note-Taking Tools

I start by making sure that I have good note-taking tools. These days I take notes with a mechanical pencil with 0.5 or 0.7mm 2B lead (i.e. softer but darker than the typical HB or #2 pencil; see Wikipedia entry on the pencil for details on gradation) on white, good quality, narrow-lined file paper. I also use a good quality eraser.

I use a pencil and eraser because I like clear and neat notes and diagrams (i.e. dark lines and no cross-outs). I use file paper because that gives me more flexibility in terms of storing, organizing, moving, and re-writing notes within subject-indexed, tab-separated file folders ('binders' for Americans).

May I geek out a bit? These days I'm using a Faber Castel Grip Matic pencil, the 2B lead that came with it, and a Staedtler Rasoplast eraser. The pencil's pretty old now so I need to buy a new one. I generally prefer Staedtler over Faber Castel -- I've been using the former's pens, pencils, lead, and erasers for about 16 years now -- but I haven't been able to find the right products in Australia so far. I guess I need to look harder. Oh, and Pilot and Uni products are good too; particularly the Uni SA-S fine ballpoint pen which I have been using exclusively for about 3 years now.

Note Organization

I organize my notes rather thoroughly: listing on each page the date, subject, page number, and, if in a meeting, the names of the participants in that meeting. To organize the notes themselves I use a series of headings and nested bullet points. Here's an example:



More recently I've started to take notes on my laptop. For that I use Microsoft Word with 12pt Georgia font and the same sets of headings and series of nested bulleted lists as I do on paper (except that those are now defined as MS Word Styles so they look a little different). This is what my electronic notes look like:



The Actual Notes

Then come the actual notes themselves. Since I write a lot, I've had to develop my own, mostly intuitive, shorthand to write things down quickly. For example: "this func. says nothing abt. price lvl.; dep. only on tech, labour & capital." Since I type quickly, I write full-ish sentences when typing notes, though. They may not be entirely grammatically correct, but I don't usually abbreviate words.

In the actual note-taking I try to write down as much as I can while still listening to the lecture/discussion, not missing anything going on (even at a deeper level), and participating in the discussion as well. It's not easy but I've been doing it for years so I'm used to it by now. Taking notes this way gives me a pretty accurate recording of what went on during the class (since that's what I developed my note-taking for) and, even if something isn't quite clear to me at that time, I can usually follow the logic and work it out later.

At the end of every note-taking session (e.g. at the end of every class) I try to review the notes to make sure I haven't missed anything. Then, usually while preparing for an assignment or just before an exam, I do one of two things. I either extract what is important from my notes (and in parallel from lecture slides and assigned readings) by re-writing them on a new sheet of paper or on my laptop. That is, I take notes of my notes. If not that, I make an index in which I identify what I've written and on which page that topic is located. The former helps me prepare for closed book exams and assignments. The latter helps me get ready for open book exams and meetings during which I might need to refer to my notes.

I don't follow any specific note-taking system like the Cornell system that the good folk at Student Tablet PC use [1], though that sounds like a really good methodology. Nor is my system as elaborate as Tim Ferriss' (via Kevin C. Tofel). I am interested in getting into mind maps like James Kendrick, but my note-taking style has always worked well for me so I haven't yet found a reason to change.

I do, however, use a mind map-type construction for breaking down complex problems. But, since I'm a stickler for writing things neatly, I use lists instead of diagrams. For example:



And that's about it. Oh, one last thing: storage. Since I have craploads on notes, I generally have a crapload of file folders to store all my notes in as well. And since I've been using, for the most part, the same system for about ten years now, my old notes still come in handy every now and then. The only problem is: I can't take all my old notes with me.

All of that, I guess, goes some way to demonstrate why the obsessive note-taker in me wants so desperately to get a tablet PC. I mean, seriously, how could I not want to get the ultimate note-taking tool? But, since I can't afford one now, I am so looking forward to getting one later and then scanning all my MBA notes into it so that they're ready for use any where, any time. In fact, I'm getting all excited just thinking about it now! Yes. I am a geek. I wrote a whole blog post on note-taking (with pictures and all), didn't I? :)

[1] The Student Tablet PC website has a whole category on note-taking.

Nadia Graduates!

Nadia finished her MA a few months ago but her official graduation ceremony was held at the University yesterday afternoon.

The 'Conferring of Degrees', as it is called, was held at the Wilson Hall, and if you look closely at the following photograph, you can see Nadia walking back down the aisle after having received her degree for the Chancellor (the dude sitting in the big chair in the centre of the stage):

Note the Douglas Annand and Tom Bass mural, 'A Search for Truth' on the back wall -- yes, a naked man with a nicely chiseled butt (in 3-D, no less since it's part-sculpture) adorns the hall in which we graduate -- as well as the large pipe organ built into the top-left side of that wall.

Here are Nadia and Nuzhat, just before going into Wilson Hall (the lighting was harsh; it was two in the afternoon):

And here is Nadia once's she's gotten her degree. First showing off the arches of the Old Arts Centre (which was the original University central quadrangle in the 1880s):

And then posing in front of the University of Melbourne logo (behind the logo you can see the quadrangle's lawn and similar arches on the other side of the building):

So that's that. Nadia is now a double MA: her first in English Literature and now this one in Creative Writing.

Next up: a PhD!

Arthur Clarke Turns 90

Arthur C. Clarke, who really needs no introduction, turned 90 yesterday (Sunday, 16 December). Reuters has a story about this and he's posted a 90th birthday message on YouTube as well:

Arthur C. Clarke's 90th Birthday Reflections

If you're interested, also check out the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation.

[P.S. I so love Windows Live Writer. To embed this video, all I had to do was paste the YouTube URL in the body of this blog post.]

Rest in Peace, Marc Orchant

Marc Orchant -- a technology journalist, blogger, and writer whose work I enjoyed and regularly read on the Internet -- passed away in Albuquerque, NM yesterday. He'd suffered a massive heart attack on the 2nd and had been in the CCU since then. He never regained full consciousness and, considering the circumstances, passed on peacefully. Details maintained by Oliver Starr. Love and prayers to the Orchants at this most difficult time in their lives.

Dammit...

Here I am, working in my Negotiations take-home exam when what I would really rather be doing is protesting alongside my friends, family, and fellow activists in Islamabad.

They protested, over a thousand-strong, at Aabpara Chowk yesterday. After the usual games with the police, things turned a little ugly when the police started targeting female protestors. The crowd retaliated and there was a scuffle but, fortunately, things didn't get very much out of hand. You can read about it in the eyewitness account on the Emergency Times blog. You can also find photos from the protest there.

Meanwhile, LUMS has been surrounded by police who have barricaded the front entrance and are checking everyone who goes in or out. All that in an attempt to keep students from attending the Student Action Committee protest meeting at the Press Club in Lahore.

And in the usual, funny twist of events that occurs in situations such as these, the police issued FIRs [1] against LUMS students and faculty members, most of which are quite funny (again) as reported by the Emergency Times.

And while all this is going on back home, I am here working out strategies for collaborative negotiation.

Dammit.

[1] FIR = First Investigation Report. Basically, the first step in a police investigation since this officially opens a police investigation.

Life is Slower in Sandals

I bought a pair of really nice sandals last week. They're soft, flat, and comfortable. And is it just me or is life slower when you're wearing sandals?

That occurred to me as I was walking home last night. For starters, I was walking slower than usual...though that could have been because I was quite tired. Somehow, though, I felt like I was more connected to the Earth than I would have been had I been wearing shoes. When you're wearing shoes, it seems like you're walking above the ground. When you wear sandals -- depending on the kind of sandals, of course -- you feel as if you're walking on the ground.

At least that's what it felt like last night (i.e. with all other factors combined). Still, I know the sandals played a part. Any thoughts?

Aside: My Relationship With Sandals

I have a love-hate relationship with sandals. Well, actually that's not entirely true. I love sandals because I hate the heat, get really hot, and seriously appreciate the ventilation that sandals provide. On the other hand, my feet are -- rather unfortunately -- sensitive. That is, with a wrong pair of sandals (even slightly plasticky ones) my feet get ripped up -- almost literally -- pretty quickly. Yes, I have actually been wounded by a bad pair of sandals. So, while I love sandals (being barefoot in the library, woo hoo!), I hate badly designed or badly made sandals. Such is life.

I Love Melbourne

I love Melbourne. Where else would the predicted daily minimum and maximum temperatures for the coming week look like this:

• Monday: 20 - 37 (fine, mainly sunny)
• Tuesday: 21 - 32 (afternoon changes, showers to follow)
• Wednesday: 15 - 19 (morning rain, showers or two)
• Thursday: 12 - 23 (becoming fine)
• Friday: 14 - 24 (fine)
• Saturday: 12 - 28 (fine)
• Sunday: 16 - 33 (fine)

Yes. As we head (very quickly) into summer temperatures -- with lows in the 20s and highs in the 30s -- two days of rains brings us down to an expected low of 12 and a high of 23!

Oh, and temperatures change quickly and drastically in the middle of the day, too. Yesterday, for example, it was hot and sunny in the morning as I went to university to attend a syndicate meeting. A few hours later, as I moved from one building to another to attend a class (yes, even on Saturday), it was chilly and cloudy. Three hours later, as I left to go home, it was hot and sunny again.

Ah, I love Melbourne. Especially the weather.

Blogs About Pakistan

With the situation in Pakistan being what it is, Pakistani blogs are becoming increasingly important both to people living in Pakistan and to those of us who are stuck outside. I've already written about a couple of these blogs. This here is a more comprehensive roundup of those two and some more useful blogs. Thanks in particular to Aman from bringing some of these to my notice.

First off we have four student blogs:

• LUMS Blog: Written by LUMS alumni about things concerning Pakistan and LUMS. I haven't contributed to this blog yet but this is the one that I'm associated with.


• FAST Rising: The excellent FAST-NU resistance blog.


• The Emergency Times: An independent student initiative that provides updates on the emergency situation and publishes a newsletter by the same name.


• ALE Xpressed!: This is a personal blog that doesn't "report" on events but approaches them from a personal perspective.

Then we have the two I talked about earlier:

• All Things Pakistan (Pakistaniat.com): The intention of this blog is to "talk about [Pakistan's] problems constructively and to celebrate enthusiastically that which deserves to be celebrated". It's not a news blog, but an excellent views blog.


• Watan Dost: This is both a news and opinion blog but is particularly good for news about Pakistan from all perspectives and from many, many sources.

And finally, we have the Metroblogging sites (the first two have more coverage than the third):

• Metroblogging Lahore


• Metroblogging Islamabad


• Metroblogging Karachi

Oh, another useful thing to do is to create a Google Alert with the search phrase "Pakistan" that sends you a daily e-mail with all news, blog, web, and video entries posted about Pakistan over the previous 24 hours. You can, of course, narrow your search term down to "Pakistan emergency" or something.

UPDATE

A few more resources have come my way:

• Emergency 2007 on Wikia


• Academics for Freedom


• Rise of Pakistan


• Emergency 2007 blog


• Pakistan Blackout


• Democracy and Freedom


• Pak Lawyer


• Pakistan Politics


• Pakistan Politics.net

Bush Gives Musharraf Tips on Eliminating Democracy

Andy Borowitz wrote a really funny "news report" for the Huffington Post yesterday. In it he says:

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Mr. Bush said that while he commended General Musharraf's impulse to eliminate democratic institutions, he felt that the military strongman was going about it the wrong way: "When you're getting rid of democracy, the last thing you want to do is tell people you're doing it."

Mr. Bush said that eliminating such things as privacy, freedom of speech and the constitution had to be done "very quietly and stealthy-like."

It's good to be able to laugh at a time like this. Actually, it's good to be able to laugh at any time.

Science Abuse: The Difference Myth

Over the last few years a lot of "scientific" literature (or, at least, science-based literature) has claimed that boys are girls are different because their brains are different. As it turns out, that's not true. Caryl Rivers and Rosalind C. Barnett write in the Boston Globe:

In the past decade, such claims have coalesced into an almost unshakable conventional wisdom: Boys and girls are different because their brains are different. This idea has driven bestsellers, parenting articles, and even - increasingly - American education.

The problem is, a hard look at the real data behind these claims suggests they are simply untrue. Some of them are baseless, using the language of science to cloak an absence of serious research; others are built on tenuous studies, with methodological flaws and narrow margins of significance. More and more, they are simply coating old-fashioned stereotypes with a veneer of scientific credibility.

It's a long-ish article but it makes a good read. The two authors are currently working on a book called "The Truth About Boys and Girls: How Gender Stereotypes Harm Our Children". That should also be good to read.