For one of my cryptography assignments, I had to implement RSA encryption. I figured I’d use my current language of choice, Erlang, to try and tackle this challenge. After implementing some nicely optimized tail-recursive algorithms, I found that Erlang was very slow at doing large numerical operations. Feeling as if I’d hit a brick wall, I started looking into using other languages as libraries for the math operations. At first, I was looking at connecting Erlang to GMP though the ei library for data conversion. Alas, I was not really feeling like programming in C at the moment, and so I got really excited when I found JInterface, a java library to connect to Erlang nodes using the native networking protocol. After playing around with the code for a little, I ported most of the important BigInteger methods to an Erlang wrapper module javabignum, which would deal with starting the Java server, and handle all the communication to and from the server. This solution worked wonderfully, and I implemented a simple RSA cipher in less than 30 lines of Erlang code! To checkout the code, visit the SVN repository using the username ‘anonymous’ and the password ‘anonymous’.

Peace and chow,

Ranok

In 3 hours it will have been 4 weeks since the end of my fast, and 5 weeks since I’ve eaten meat, dairy, eggs, refined sugar or enriched flour. Overall I’ve really enjoyed it, so much so that I’ve going to keep with it ad nauseum adding only fish and eggs on rare occasions. Tonight Max and I are planning on doing something special to celebrate our 4 weeks, and I’m sure it’s going to entail the pint of rice ice cream sweetened with raw cane sugar that I picked up the other day.

Peace and chow,

Ranok

It’s officially been three weeks as a natural vegan! After my leg healed (an unrelated incident) I’ve been feeling very full of energy and find it easy to rise in the morning, and wake up refreshed. Last night (around 9:00) I felt so full of energy I went for a run through the ROTC trails in the dark, then up all 3 flights of stairs to the roof of CAMP. As far as food goes, simple foods have been a real hit, something like whole wheat pasta and tofu-tomato sauce. I have also been enjoying Amy’s Texan veggie burgers for a quick meal. Quinoa salad and curried quinoa remain favorites.

My weight has seemed to stabilize, after the fast, I was around 133lbs, and as I began eating, it jumped to 142lbs. Now that my body has adjusted, I have been between 136-137lbs. While I feel great, and not weak in the least, all of my clothes are quite a bit too big, and I need to punch a new hole in my belt. I think I’ll be getting some new clothes in the near future that don’t hang off me like drapes.

Max and I had a talk last night about our plans for after the month. He said he’ll return to being a free-a-tarian, eating meat only if he doesn’t pay for it. I’ve been thinking, and the only things I miss are eggs and fish. I think I’ll eat those rarely, but stay away from meat, milk products, refined sugars, and enriched flours. If I start to feel slowed down, I’ll return to my pure vegan diet.

Peace and chow,

Ranok

As the election draws ever closer and the vice presidential candidates have been chosen, I’ve decide to air my opinions for people to take as they see fit, and perhaps spark some intellectual conversation about my opinions. First, I’m going to announce that I’m an independent and neither party fully represents my beliefs, however, I will most likely vote for Obama and Biden come November.

Biden:

• Biden has a very sketchy voting record when it comes to his support for stronger surveillance and enforcement of file-sharing and other copyright infringement. He seems to lack the desire to reform copyright and had thrown his bid in with the RIAA and MPAA, who take to bullying the average citizen.
• He has foreign policy, something that Palin does not. (Sorry, you can’t count the fact that Alaska is near Russia). That makes him someone who can hopefully work to work for peace and rebuild faith from our allies.

Palin:

• No experience, being the mayor of a small town, then the governor of Alaska doesn’t cut in compared to Biden.
• A staunch fundamentalist, I think it’ll be hard for her to keep her beliefs out of our country’s direction if she already tried to ban books in her town library (seems like she doesn’t care about the freedom of speech). I’m honestly terrified of someone who thinks creationism should be taught next to evolution.
• Wants for people to be more independent, but wants to decide for all the citizens of the US that gay marriage is a sin and that abortion is horrific. (I say let the people/states decide)
• Is a hypocrite about so many things, she criticizes Obama for touting change, but McCain has been pretty change heavy himself. The flip-flopping earmarks and the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’. The resistance to being asked serious questions (until this week) and calling Biden on the same.
• Not knowing what a Veep does?!
• While this is not her fault, I think that her 17-year old daughter’s out-of-wedlock pregnancy shows that abstinence-only sex-ed (touted by Palin) doesn’t work all that well.

It’s a pity that women are going to vote for her, just because she’s a woman. I think it’s time for a woman to take charge in leading our nation, but I don’t think Palin is the one. McCain’s is getting on in age, and I’d be terrified to think of an ‘average hockey-mom’ being the most powerful person in the world. I look forward to learning more about her once she starts talking with the press.

Come out and vote in November,

Ranok

Well, it’s been about two weeks of eating as a vegan. I have stayed at a healthy weight, have been feeling pretty good asside from an alergic reaction to a medicine I was taking. I have been very good thus far, the only times I’ve bent the rules is to eat wheat flour (non-whole wheat) when it’s only a little bit. I enjoy the lightness of my meals and how I don’t feel bogged down after eating. However, being a college student, especially a lazy one is making cooking difficult and adventurous meals a rare occasion. I’ve been eating lots of quick meals, like quinoa salad and tomato avocado sandwiches. Max however has been very creative, making a vegan carrot cake (with raw sugar) and maple tofu icing and some delicious black bean burgers (picture, and another). I’ve also found that Amy’s food is both quick and fits in my diet, even though it is expensive, can be a great help when you want to eat on the go.

Peace and chow,

Ranok