Posts from November 2011

Some of my favourites from back when the sun was not actually a big fat dazzling liar.





This brilliant brittle white mushroom bunch looked like it had to be saturated with some calcium salt. @matthew and I wondered about the source.



Contrast that with this one - possibly filled with iron salts or rust.



It was such a happy day! Behold the cutest smile on the planet! :)




@paul taking the panoramic shots...


These great rotting branches reminded me of my muscle dissection days.


We plodded through a rustic-looking huge open field of fluffly little dandelion-like plants. We had fake "snowball" fights and all the little fluffy things ended up attacking me. I think @YesThatCasey totally incited the attack.


I (not so secretly) spied on @matthew-magic. :)

More emphatically now.. NO!!! the avatar Is TOTALLY not Rihanna.

I can't stand her awfully nasal bland emotionless voice. To me, she sounds like nails on chalkboard. And also very suspiciously like she is from Rochester.

Scratch that. Nails on chalkboard is actually bearable. But the second resemblance kind of ruins it for me.

It's bat for lashes in one of her quirky moods.

I spent around half hour yesterday getting an insight into how @paul thinks about the basics of programming. It was most enlightening. I wish I had been in one of @paul's programming classes (insert dodgy stalker grin here) and had a chance to learn all of it in a more structured format. I wondered how I might have turned out, if years before I had actually chosen to go to the engineering school I was selected for, instead of tramping down the completely diametric path I chose.

Who knows.

I believe it's not too late though. So I am going to learn, regardless of how long it takes to get to minimum proficiency.

Some basics that I sponged up

A variable: something that varies. It can be many types.

• Float (yeah, not the cruise one but just as fun: a number).
• Integer, a natural number (and organic to boot).
• String, a word which may or may not mean just that.
• Boolean, true or false and nothing else in between.
• Arrays, a collection of random stuff. (Also called lists in the R world).
• Objects: this has a sort of equivalent in R. When I define a logistic regression model in R, I am trying to describe how an outcome variable (say, any cancer yes/no) is related to many other variables (say, family history, alcohol consumption, body mass index etc.) Since it's a logistic regression, it has some properties or assumptions. The method of combination of my other variables is linear (there are no second or higher order terms in the equation). There are many options that you can put into this "model". How would the model accept other variables? How many variables can it accept before it becomes illogical or the power to say anything conclusively runs out? etc. Once this object or model is defined, you can change some variable in it, and see how the model changes - for example is a non-alcoholic as likely to respond as well to cancer chemotherapy as an alcoholic? If I run this model in R, I will get several properties of this model - that define how this model is behaving. So the model along with its defined and computed properties is a sort of "object": an artificial emulation of a slice of reality (or fantasy).

Indexing: helps in selecting and choosing particular variables that you have defined above Though we didn't talk about it yesterday, indexing in one key weapon in R that gets you out of many scrapes. In its most simple form, it is array[x], or data.frame[x], or list[x] where x is some number. x can be defined and derived in a million different ways. A tip of the hat to Tim Toady!

So many lands of might have beens. It's hard to keep count at this point. Every one of them strewn with some level of regret.

I am declaring outright war on a mass scale. Whoever comes in my path does so at their own peril. I WILL strike down all (always poor, ill-supported, circular and clear as mud) "reasoning" to the contrary, most ruthlessly and coldly. Everyone knows they need to brutally kick alcohol out of their lives completely at some point. And I will keep reaffirming this point till I am hoarse... and maybe even after with an unpleasantly hoarse voice.

I am appointing (some excellent song-writing by The Kinks) this song as THE anthem in my warpath.



And of course, I am writing my own lyrics. Come on now, whoever dares will sing the refrain with me (and try and stick to the tune!).
..

Oh demon, alcohol
Sad memories I CAN recall
You know what I am going to say
Slay the demon alcohol!

Beer, wine, pink gin,
You may NOT drink anything
Port, pernod or tequila,
Rum, scotch, vodka on the rocks,
I hate them ALL.

---

And this is MY blog and I reserve the right to heap insults and pull down whatever noxious influence that I deem worthy of my undying hatred. I don't think my complete disenchantment with this evil addictive substance that is wrecking live(r)s around me needs any moderation. I also don't need any balancing comments because you KNOW in your hearts that you are plain wrong if you are defending the demon alcohol. Just know that this is one issue that I am most irrevocably proud to hold a complete, clear and blanket one-sided view on.

I love cauliflower with caramelized onions and roasted tomatoes.

Add garlic, a couple jalapeños, minced ginger, cumin, coriander and toasted cashews. And you have a winner lunch that makes it feel like summer! :)

Make a tall man short
To see you act this way
Make a short man puke
The way you waste the day!

And this is why I love Lemmy...
and his humongous mole. :-)

I still love this song to shreds.


How can I trust you with your human nature
With all the dues that you don't want to pay
Between polarities of good and evil
You make decisions, trying to find your way

I'm coming back to you
Don't worry - I'll be coming over you

Don't you play this game of treason
It will all come back to you
So you better tell me no lies

You cannot fool me 'cause I know it better
I've seen it all, I've watched them come and go
I'm gonna be for you a painful lesson
I will fulfill for you the karmic law

I'm coming back to you
Don't worry - I'll be coming over you

Don't you play this game of treason
It will all come back to you
So you better tell me no lies
We will meet again next season
Then it will come back to you
So you better tell me no lies

I'm coming back to you
Don't worry - I'll be coming over you

Don't you play this game of treason
It will all come back to you
So you better tell me no lies
We will meet again next season
Then I'm coming over you
So you better tell me no lies
Don't you ever tell me no lies
---
Peavey and gang = Gods of metal.

Her voice is so beautiful it sends chills down my spine.



Deliver us!

Probably my most favourite song from that fantastic movie. I can't remember any other movie that has such a pitch perfect soundtrack... well, except The Incredible Hulk (but it was all instrumental).

And seriously, she owns Led Zep with this cover.

The skeleton of a "For loop"

1. Initialization
2. Test condition
3. Modification

I realized how much I depend on RStudio for learning R as I go along. I looked for a similar IDE for Perl, but none seems to be that elegant, awesome and well-thought out. I am trying Padre for now, but I find myself constantly comparing it with RStudio and I am not impressed.

---

PS: Totally unrelated but I hate the new Gmail look. I need to remember to download Stylish for Chrome the minute they make the new look permanent