The Pensieve

XEmacs init.el It's been almost eleven years since when I was introduced to GNU EMACS. It came in as a DOS based editor which failed to load files that were over 640k. This was followed by DPMI support which provided flaky support to open files larger than than and unreliable under Windows 3.1. I then migrated to GNU EMACS on win32 and finally settled down with XEmacs on XP. Over the years, my (X)EMACS config file has and still undergoing changes and here is the latest configuration that I maintain. Note: I am not a lisp hacker, but have basically accumulated a list of handy configuration options and snippets that were indispensable during the course of my programming career. ;; ;; Shoban's XEmacs init.el ;; ;; ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ;; load paths ;(pushnew "~/.xemacs/xemacs-packages/dmacro" load-path :test 'equal) (pushnew "~/.xemacs/xemacs-packages" load-path :test 'equal) (setq Info-directory-list

del.icio.us A social bookmarking site which popularized tagging, where you assign keywords against bookmarks so that you can later retrieve them by the same keywords you are searching for. A dynamic bookmarking site where I maintain most of my favorite URLs

Hypermilers... One of my earlier post glanced upon the techniques to achieve better fuel economy while driving. And I chanced to stumble upon an article that has expert advise and a group obsessed with saving fuel. Some of their techniques match mine, but most seems specific to highway driving and/or driving a hybrid. But with a little effort, these can be applied to city-driving too and you may be able to reap some benefits while driving through the traffic laden routes at Chennai! A point to note: Safety comes first, fuel economy next. In the mean time, I am trying to layout a traffic simulation application, where you can try out different kinds on signals (the regular contdown style, more intelligent ones that can sense the traffic buildup) and to find the right timing and location to ensure your car / bike keeps running. Will post the architecture / design of this system when it is done...

Helmet and seat-belt mandated at TN Today morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see most bikers (along with pillion riders) traveling with their helmets on as TN geared itself from the 1st of June to make it mandatory to wear helmets for bikers and seat belts (for the front seat passengers) for car commuters. The FM radio RJs had been conducting on-the-road commentaries, catching helmet-less riders seeking justification on why they had not yet acquired one (the helmet) yet. The shamed few who got caught eventually were presented with a helmet. One the way (near Tirumangalam), I couldn't help notice people flocking near put-up helmet shops on the sidewalks, trying to acquire the license to ride a bike! Let's hope the momentum carries on...