Michél Dalal's Homepage

When playing a CD becomes a "privilege," not a right: Here is more DMR (Digital Rights Management) stuff to worry about... this article reveals one music exec's frightening views. If this bothers you too, please consider joining the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
My Beef With Big Media: An interesting editorial from Ted Turner, the media mogul who started CNN. If you have ever noticed that the news is homogenized despite all the sources (e.g. broadcast TV, cable TV, the Internet, and radio), you should check out this article.
Censored 2005: The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2003-2004
Censored 2004: The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2002-2003
Freedom of Speech in Software
Use a Firewall, Go to Jail
US forces' use of Depleted Uranium Weapons is 'Illegal'
U.S. Lifts FBI Criminal Database Checks
The Electronic Frontier Foundation: The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DCMA") and other important topics.
What's Wrong With Content Protection: An e-mail from John Gilmore of the EFF.
Big Brother is watching you - and documenting: E-Bay's "flexible" privacy policy.
Imagine what could happen...
The RIAA using the DMCA to prevent scientific discussion!: The DMCA is quite possibly one of the worst laws passed by Congress in a long time. It gives way too much power to copyright holders. Just read about it for yourself. More disturbing DMCA stuff.

Personal / Friends / Family Links: Nevelex Corporation: Where I work.; My PGP Public Key (Key Info); My Wife's Personal Homepage; My Wife's Work Homepage; Tom and Terri's - Friends from Graduate School; Todd Squires' Homepage - Friend from my days at ClearBand and DirecTV. Author of e93, a great programmer's editor.; Chun-Jen's Homepage - Friend from Graduate School
Fun Robotics Links: Lego MindStorms; Food-Powered Robots!; BattleBots: Formerly a Comedy Central show too.
Amy and I went to see BattleBots on 5/25/2002. Look for us in the stands in reruns of Season 5.0.

Computer Programming

Yes, it is my job, but I do it for fun too.

Bicycling

Over the past few years, I started keeping track of my mileage. So here is a brief summary:

YEAR	MILEAGE	SUMMARY
2001	1,600	I started keeping track of my the milage in the second half of the year, so it is a rough guess. However, it is likely an underestimate.
2002	2,835	I ended up riding about 75 miles per week (excludes some weeks at the beginning and end of the year). When I wasn't spending every waking moment on projects (work and house related), I was averaging closer to 120 miles per week. I worked in that extra mileage by riding Page Mill Road, Kings Mountain Road, Old La Honda Road or Portola Valley Loop.
2003	3,002	Reached my goal of 3,000 on the last day of the year. Similar rides to 2002, but on a new bike. Now that I am riding in Minnesota, the ride profiles are a lot flatter. On the up side, my average speed has increased.
2004	3,104	Once again, I reached my goal of 3,100 on the last day of the year.
2005	4,100	Reached a new all-time single season record. I also started doing some organized rides which leave from Erik's Bike Shop.
2006	4,242	Yeah, another all-time single season record. Did lots of fun rides into St. Paul. We purchased Amy a nice road bike so we have started doing weekly rides together.
2007	4,001	With the birth of Yasmin, I've been riding a little less. I highly doubt I'll reach those old records for a little while, but she is definitely worth it. I rode in the Jesse James Bike Tour century ride this year as a Birthday present to myself. I did the entire ride in 5:54 (104.87 miles). I reached the 100 mile mark in 5:37. (as of 12/31/2007)

Volleyball

I play about once a week now. (07/07/2007) In Lakeville, I had been playing in one league:

Apple Valley Co-Rec A Division: We just won the Spring 2004 league.

In Sunnyvale, I played in a couple of leagues:

Sunnyvale Co-Rec A Division: We won this league three times in a row and four times altogether. We are no longer playing in this league, but we won our final season (Winter 2003). Here are some pictures. (03/12/2003)
IVL (Industrial Volleyball League): We won the IVL (Industrial Volleyball League) Co-Rec league in the Summer of 2002. We could not, however, repeat our rookie season success and usually lost in the championship game.

Reading

Fiction (mainly Sci-fi), biographies, and technical (computer related) books mainly. Amy says I need to branch out, but I like it.

Hiking

When we lived in CA, Amy and I liked to hike through the trails in the foothills surrounding Silicon Valley. In Minnesota, Amy does most of the walking, but I join her every once in a while.

Watch Sports, Nature Documentaries, and Sci-Fi

I always prefer to play, but I do watch Tennis, Volleyball (AVP, collegiate), Football, and Cycling (Tour de France).

Dictionary Pronunciation: m-shl
Combination of Two Words: me-shale