Carthik Sharma » 2003

Prof Update

Sunday, March 30, 2003

The Professor I do T.A. work for was released last wednesday, late in the evening. He turned up to take class on thursday, and then the meanest thing happened. In the middle of the class, a cop(?) with a camera started recording his class. The Prof got pissed off and left the class without saying anything. I have’nt been able to meet him at all. I hope and pray that he is alright. Tough times!

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The birds have vanished into

The birds have vanished into the sky,
And now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
Until only the mountain remains.

- Li T’ai-po (701-?)

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Nothingness

I have been doing absolutely nothing useful over the past few days. This is a very dangerous time to not do anything, since there are just three weeks left in this semester. I have two big projects to complete. If I start coding for the Evolutionary Computation project, I will be stuck to my computer for two weeks straight, that I definitely know. I played tennis yesterday, and I have been very irresponsible to myself. I have to buck up and study. It is just one of those troughs that I get myself into, that I find so difficult to come out of. I hope I come out of this one soon. I feel lonely at times, and then all I do is lie in my bed and trace shapes in the ceiling.
Too many dirty dishes in the sink. None of them were my contribution. I dont feel like cooking in a dirty kitchen, and so I have not been cooking lately, since I dont want to waste an hour tidying the kitchen first. It is a thankless job.

I got a couple of mails from very old friends. One of them is in Ontario now, and the other is now a pharmacist! I am a computer engineer. Nothing much to write home about.

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Hotel California - Kerala Style

Wednesday, March 26, 2003

For want of anything better to post!

This is a parody of Hotel California, digging fun at Kerala, the State in India I belong to. One of my roommates forwarded it to me, and though its not too imaginative, it is pretty evocative…

Hotel Kerala-fonia!

On a dark city one-way
‘Nariyal Tel’ in my hair
Warm smell of avial
Rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a green tube light
My tongue grew heavy, and my stomach grew thin
I had to stop for a bite
There he stood in the door way
Repairing the calling bell
And I was thinking to myself
This could be Ker-hella …..
Oh ! It is hell
Then he lit up a petromax
And cursed the electricity board away
There were some mallus down the corridor
Thought I heard them say
Welcome to the Hotel Kerala-fonia
Such a lousy place,
What a lousy place (background)
Such a lousy place
Many a bug at the Hotel Kerala-fonia
Any time of year
Any time of year (background)
A coil of Tortoise
You can find it here
The finger in his nose is definitely twisted
As three sneezes it sends
He makes a lot of weird, weird noises
When the finger bends
How they ‘kusthi’ in the courtyard
Sticky Mallu sweat
The man pleaded for mercy
While his wife whipped him with a belt
So I called up the deaf captain
Please tell me the time
He ran into
The kitchen and brought me beef fry, soda and lime
And still those voices were crying from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them pray
Save us from the Hotel Kerala-fonia
Such a lousy place,
What a lousy place (background)
Such a lousy place
Trying to live at the Hotel Kerala-fonia
No surprise
Those are real mice …
Of a dog’s size
blind man was feeling
Yesterdays sambhar on rice
And he said
We are all just pensioners here
In Silk Smitha-disguise
And in the dining chamber
we gathered for the feast
We stab it with our steely knives
But just can’t cut the meat
Last thing I remember
I was lying on the floor
The half eaten tapeworm in my snack made my tummy sore
RelaxFwd Hotel Kerala-fonia.ems said the moustached watchman
An enema you shall receive
they made me lie on my back
While my soul packed up to leave…

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My Professor in Jail

The professor I am a T.A. for is in jail. Its unbeleivable. He is just an innocent man unfortunate enough to have worked for two souls suspected of having terrorist links. I hope he gets out and cleared soon enough.

Feds arrest UCF professor

By Jim Leusner and Pedro Ruz Gutierrez
Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted March 20 2003

A computer-engineering professor at the University of Central Florida — an associate of two prominent Palestinians facing federal charges — was arrested Wednesday and charged with immigration violations.

Hussam Jubara, 42, also known as Hosam, was arrested at his home south of Orlando by FBI and immigration agents and Orange County deputy sheriffs.

Jubara, a visiting professor at UCF, was charged with making false statements on immigration forms used to fight U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service deportation proceedings in 1998, a federal affidavit says.

Prosecutors allege that Jubara lied about a prior marriage in 1984; misrepresented his immigration history; and failed to disclose other names he used. According to the affidavit, he also concealed $26,000 in “under the table” income paid him while working for an Orlando gift-shop chain in 1995 and 1996.

Jubara teaches one upper-level class in computer engineering at UCF, which hired him in 2000. UCF spokeswoman Linda Gray said FBI agents contacted university police looking for the professor earlier in the day.

She said Jubara, whose contract is up for review in May, will be allowed to teach until the charges are resolved.

“The university has to be objective, cautious and fair until the police and court phase plays out,” Gray said.

Jubara was booked into the Orange County Jail and will have an initial appearance today in Orlando federal court.

Federal agents last arrested Jubara in 1996, when he was working in Orlando as an information-systems manager for Big Bargain World, owned by Palestinian-American businessman Jesse Maali. Immigration officials said Jubara was working illegally at another business in violation of his visa.

Jubara fought INS efforts to deport him. In 1998, an immigration judge allowed him to stay in the country.

Wednesday night’s charges allege that Jubara understated his income while working in 1995 and 1996 for Maali, whom prosecutors recently accused of money laundering and immigration fraud. Maali has denied the charges, along with suggestions by prosecutors that he has links to terrorist groups.

The agents who arrested Jubara are part of the same task force that investigated and arrested Maali in November.

As a Tampa student in 1988, Jubara helped found the Islamic Concern Project with Sami Al-Arian, the University of South Florida professor indicted last month on racketeering and terrorism-related charges.

Jubara served as a director and secretary of the organization, which federal prosecutors have characterized as a front for a Palestinian terrorist group. He stayed with the organization until 1995, when federal agents closed it down.

Federal officials have alleged that Al-Arian used ICP and a think tank, the World and Islamic Studies Enterprises, to funnel money to terrorist groups, particularly Palestine Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

Three other former ICP directors also have been accused of collaborating with terrorists. No such allegations have been made against Jubara, however.

The Orange County man has denied any association with the organization, but court and state corporate records link him to ICP and to Al-Arian.

Jubara and Al-Arian bought property together in Tampa in 1988 and co-signed a loan together. According to Jubara’s résumé, they co-wrote six articles on technical-computing issues.

However, they have not written together since 1992. Two business partnerships they founded have been disbanded, and in 1997 Jubara sold his interest to Al-Arian.

The USF professor was one of three personal references listed on the résumé Jubara submitted to UCF in 2000.

In addition to teaching at UCF, Jubara is president of US Ventures Realty in Orlando and has worked with Islamic charities.

A longtime friend of Jubara, who spoke on condition that his name not be used, said the arrest was not surprising because of the media attention given the case of Al-Arian, who was Jubara’s academic adviser at USF.

“The charges against him are bogus,” the friend said. “He’s resigned to the fact that he’s been set up.”

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The Trip

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

So me and my friend, girish went on a road trip of Florida. I got back yesterday, and normal life began today.

Girish and me rented a car at Enterprise, and was I surprised when they let him rent a car with just his Indian Drivers Licence!! I thought one needed a US licence to rent a car and drive it around. Anyways, Elizabeth at Enterprise was surprisingly nice to talk to, all cheerful and bubbly.

We went to Tampa on 20th, in the evening. Did not do much there, just visited a club, and then came back to Orlando. Oh, I forgot, before that I showed Girish round UCF .

The next day we headed to Daytona Beach, where spring break 2003 was in progress. Not surprisingly, not many spring breakers were on the beach, most of them were either in a bar or at a club. Like Elizabeth said of her friend who went to Key West for a break, and sat at a bar all day and got himself drunk, why go all that far, why not get drunk at a local bar? Well, I realy dont know why everyone is obsessed about getting drunk in places like Daytona Beach!

Daytona Beach was WILD, really really wild. There were beads all over the place, and girls flashing. We went to the club 600 North, and spent the major part of the night dancing to hip hop music. The real action though was outside by the pool. There was a Crystal Method concert in progress and trust me, its something else to listen to Crystal Method in a public place, over hi-fi speakers. The crowd was totally insane, and everyone was dancing like they were possesed or something. We left the place at 3 am, when it shut its doors. While we were waiting outside in line to enter, we met a American Born Confused Norwegian (his own words!) , Tim, who was going on and on about how good Indians are and how he loves India! Once inside, Girish and I promptly got around to staring wild eyed at the flashers and the dancers. The girls were crazy, scary in fact!

We drove south the same night, but after an hour on I95, both of us were sleepy and so we went to sleep in a rest area by the highway, in the car. We started out again at 10 AM and drove all the way to Key West. I drove a car for the first time in the US and it just turns out to be convenient that I drove down Highway number 1 , so I cant forget the highway I first drove on. Of course, I had only aan Indian Licence, but I made no mistakes and so the cops never bothered checking my licence.

Key West is paradise, or close. The houses there are so pretty! I wish i could live there, forever. It is a calm, serene, lazy place, with beaches, water-sports and Duval Street, which is where all the shops and people are at, at night.

We returned to Miami, and went to the Florida International University to meet Vinay Puri. Girish wanted to watch the Cricket World Cup Finals real bad and thats why we ended up there. The next day we visited South beach, Miami and a club. South Beach is just the way I had imagined it. The water was so blue, it was unbeleivable!!

Alright, so to cut a long story short, I had a swell trip, thankyouverymuch!

You can see the snaps , I am too lazy to describe them, but i guess they are more or less self explanatory!

If you have any questions, feel free to drop by in my office. I am always available

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Back from a trip of

Monday, March 24, 2003

Back from a trip of Florida. Tampa, Daytona Beach, Miami, Key West. Too tired to type. I dont want to study. I want to be a beach bum. More later.

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A few common pics of

Monday, March 17, 2003

A few common pics of mine, and the pics from the UCF homecoming Spirit Splash Event. Trying out Grove Street Lets see if this one behaves properly!!
Thanks . I thought of uploading to grovestreet after I saw your peacenik photo!

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GATECH

She made it to the Ph.D. Program at Georgia Tech, with enough financial assistance to lend me some Life rocks, she rocks MAJORTIME!!

BINGO, and everything looks brighter! 127 days to go before I get to see her.

I have to crack 121 Coconuts at the Pazhavangadi Vinayaka Temple in Trivandrum.

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NIT Calicut

Thursday, March 13, 2003

I was pleasantly surprised to read about NIT Calicut at EdTechDev. NIT Calicut, Formerly known as REC Calicut, is one of the Government of India run Technical Institutions, another of which is NIT, Warangal.
The article mentions that there is a huge digital library resource available to the public, with a lot of e-books, at NIT Calicut.
Calicut is in Kerala, and it feels nice to hear that NIT Calicut (any NIT for that matter) is making waves!!
There are e-books related to Indian Folk Tales , and even the Vikram and Betal stories. I beleive its the first digital library that has these two works, which are part of every Indian’s childhood - almost like hansel and gretel and Hans Christian Anderson’s works are a part of everybody’s childhood.

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Lab

There is a refrigerator, microwave, coffee-maker, tape recorder-and-radio and now a TV in the lab where i work now. Alright, so its a color tv that has become a black and white tv, but its a tv still. So whats missing is some arrangement to sleep, and bathe - I could save my rent

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cell phone

got the cell phone today, at at&t . paid a 200 dollar deposit. remember to collect it back exactly after a year.

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my first, and i hope last, quiz

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Stolen from . I guess a lot of my LJ friends dont know me well enough, so I thought I’d do it this once…

basics….
x. name = obvious!

x. piercing = none

x. tattoos = none

x. height = 5′10

x. shoe size = 8 (geez I sound like a giant)

x. hair color = black

x. length = medium (if it’s the hair we are still at J )

last…
x. movie you rented = ah, well, its been a while….

x. song you listened to = Bookends theme – Simon and Garfunkel

x. song that was stuck in your head = “Killing in the name of God” RATM

x. cd you got = two mix cds from a friend

x. cd you listened to = the first mix cd

x. person you’ve called = its been a while since I called anyone.

x. person who’s called you = Girish…

do….
x. you have a bf or gf = yes

x. you wish you could live somewhere else = It’s the same everywhere, so nevermind

x. you think about suicide = no

x. you believe in online dating = dating? me?

x. others find you attractive = I wouldn’t know

x. you want more piercings = no

x. you want more tattoos = yes – just one.

x. you drink = yes

x. you do drugs = no

x. you like cleaning = Yes, I do.

x. you like roller coasters = yes

x. you write in cursive or print = cursive

for or against….
x. long distance relationships = definitely yes.

x. using someone = against

x. suicide = against.

x. killing people = against unless they are trying to kill me

x. teenage smoking = whatever

x. doing drugs = for, against, it depends on the person

x. premarital sex = whatever

x. driving drunk = against

x. gay/lesbian relationships = whatever.

x. soap operas = AGAINST

favorite…

x. food = Indian, especially Marathi, Gujarati

x. flower= Lily

x. song = hmm, El Condor Pasa, Little willow, loads of them I forget..

x. thing to do = travel, roam.

x. thing to talk about = anything, really

x. drinks = coffee, vodka

x. clothes = jeans, t shirt and well, the usual stuff

x. movies = a list of twelve at present….

x. band[s] = Floyd, Zep, CCR, Corrs, Shakti, Simon and G, G’nR, these are the ones I keep coming back to, there are more I cant remember…

x. holiday = look forward to going to a lot of places – the pacific, peru, scotland.

x. ever cried over a girl or guy = oh yes

x. ever been in a fist fight = Once

x. ever been arrested = no

what…

x. shampoo do you use = heads and shoulders

x. perfume do you use = I like obsession.

x. shoes do you wear = Avia.

number..

x. of times I have had my heart broken = twice

x. of hearts I have broken = none, I think.

x. of times I have been in love = stupid question. Love is different for different folks, so I’d say just once, this time, this one’s true, but I did love some people , or thought I did , for some time.

x. of girls I have kissed = One.

x. of continents I have lived on = two.

x. of people I would classify as true, could trust with my life type friends = 5.

x. of people I consider my enemies = none.

x. of people from high school that I stayed in contact with = many

x. of cd’s that I own = 72

x. of times my name has appeared in the newspaper = none?

x. of scars on my body = 2.

x. of things in my past that I regret = one, not trying hard enough to get into an IIT.

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After a Break

Monday, March 10, 2003

I took a break this weekend, which means that I spent most of it sleeping. I started working again on Sunday evening.

I am not able to find a house to move out into. I hope I can find one soon and shift.
The spring break is coming up. There are no plans for the break, it will be good, though, to not have to worry about classes and concentrate on the work.

These are a few of the things that I expected when I came to America, that did not work out.
1. I thought graduate student life will be the perfect balance between professional progress and personal development, in the form of reading good books, and watching new movies, all in a peaceful, beautiful environment.
The way it has turned out, there is just the work.
2. America does not work weekends, so I thought my hours would be fixed, or that I will have at least the weekends to myself, away from work.
The way it works, most submissions are due on monday, and so the weekend is always as busy if not busier than the other days.
3. I thought I will find the time to immerse myself in local culture and get to know people from diverse backgrounds, develop friends from various parts of the world.
But now I see that everybody is preoccupied with work, and there is something against making friends at school. Friends and people you study with are different. As for diversity, 90% of the graduate students in my department are either Indian or Chinese. The Chinese (not all) have a problem with English, which prevents friendship from growing.
4. I thought I will live in a neat clean house, with a regular comforting pattern of events.
I got room mates for whom, graduate life is just another 1.5 years, and so who cares about keeping the house clean? I can understand why they think that way, I used to think that way when I was at college, and stayed in a hostel.
5. I never prepared myself for the level of loneliness that I feel now. Eye-contact with strangers is to be avoided generally, and talking to strangers is not the best thing you can do. What can I do if I end up here with everyone being perfect strangers to begin with?
6. I thought I will be free of the high degree of public scrutiny of the kind we have in India. Where every Tom, Dick and Harry takes upon himself the duty to pass judgement on your actions, tastes and preferences. My roommates must be thinking I am a freak, just because the things I like and dislike are so different from theirs. This is not different from the way I used to feel in College, in fact, each time I leave my friends behind, it takes a long time before I find people I like. This is the reason I am still hopeful, perhaps, with time, I will find great friends again. I already have at least 2 people I like a lot, and who could be good friends.

Life in America without a car is abnormal.

Three things I positively LOVE about america :

1. The couches - they are SO comfortable.
2. The perpetual hot water in the faucets and shower.
3. The professionalism, and the way everybody takes their duties seriously, without having to be told. Everybody does their job properly, at least most of them do.

That said, I have to concentrate on work now. I am sure that one of these days, I will have a regular lifestyle, with a fixed schedule. I am not sure how long it will be before I have a companion by my side.

My cousin’s wife told me when we met in Trivandrum, “Oh, everybody takes pleasure in getting all the material things they want, like gadgets and toys, and after a time, when you have all you need, you will feel very lonely, because you will have no one to share it with. Everything becomes meaningless without a loving companion.” She was right. I was wrong in thinking that I will be contented to live alone, for a few years.

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NSA Backdoor Keys.

Friday, March 7, 2003

Cryptography

Before the USA updated its U.S. Encryption Export Control Policy, all software programs using encyption using keys had to meet certain criterion. Basically they had to make it easier for the National Security Agency to use a brute-force (exhaustive search of all possible keys) approach to crack the key used, by implementing a back door in their software. This was done by encrypting 24 of the 64 bits in the cryptographic key for the NSA’s public key.

Adam Back discovered the public key by reverse engineering the dated Lotus Notes application. This is the surprising fact that he has to share with us…

“… I discovered that the NSA public key had an organizational name of “MiniTruth”, and a common name of “Big Brother”. Specifically what I saw in my debugger late one night, which was spooky for a short moment was:

O=MiniTruth CN=Big Brother

Literary note: for those who have not read Orwell’s prescient “1984″ the Ministry of Truth was the agency who’s job was propaganda and suppression of truths that did not suit the malignant fictional future government in the book, and “Big Brother” was the evil shadowy leader of this government.”

I guess the discovery would have made him a very happy man, for some time!!

All of George Orwell’s 1984 is available online, as i found out from Adam’s page

I ran into this page while searching for some details about the RSA cryptographic algorithm.

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Sunday, March 30, 2003

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Wednesday, March 26, 2003

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Tuesday, March 25, 2003

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Monday, March 17, 2003

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Wednesday, March 12, 2003

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