Sunday, June 22, 2008

The Great CompSci-ites

The first entry would be a surprise to some, but is necessary to maintain the sanctity of the post

5. AMEY PARULEKAR : A EEEite by discipline, he is paralelled, probably only by Soumyadeep, in his knowledge regarding computers. Having made this comparision, it would be wrong ( ethically ) yet necessary to mention that Amey and Soumyadeep share a lot in common, although they are completely distinct at a superficial level. Very open in his views and takes criticisms in a healthy manner ( at least with me ). Has yet to rediscover his potential and be more satisfied with his own achievements. One of the very few individuals I have and will ( hopefully ) always admire and respect. Always looking forward to learn more from you, Amey !

6. VINEET KESHARI : A kul dood by profession, he is one of the two individuals I was in constant contact with ( no pervert connotations, please ! ) in 1-1, leaving alone my wing members. Weren't at good terms after certain incidents, but made up in the summer holidays :P. I am a great fan of his blog and am seriously impressed by his .............no, I don't think I am. But, I still believe he has the potential to make it great and this is a very honest opinion.

7.VINEET PANDEY : Uncanny sense of fashion ( mine is still worse ). But that is totally irrelevant, for this guy knows what to do and when. Cannot say the same about the way he goes about doing it, but once that is taken care of, there is absolutely no stopping him. Pretty impulsive in response, but what many may not realise, is the heavy amount of processing that goes on in his brain before reacting. I just wish he would stick to what he loves and excel in it. Some distractions have shown to help him ( invoking Lucy ), while others haven't. The best thing about him is that he is always ready to learn and ego does not hinder this process.......a case with many others.

8. ADITH SWAMINATHAN : It was imperative for me to include this great individual. Most of you reading my blog may not know him, but simply clicking on the link or google-searching this name may provide enough information. A true genius and I mean it. Owing to my humongous ego, I rarely accept anybody to have a higher IQ than me ( mind y'all, IQ differs from knowledge ), but this guy has proved himself to be an exception. Adept at lying and very very good at it. Every facet about his personality is overwhelming. Maybe lookwise : NO, but talent-wise : YES, VERY YES. Other names to be given special mention in his context are NIKHIL HOODA ( appreciate him for his sheer honesty, truthfulness and intelligence ), KARTHIK RAMAN ( sad homepage but check out the CV...hilarious ), ASHWIN K.P. (he took a transfer to CSE in IITB, what more can I say......awesome brain power...and even better PJs) ( can't get his link, if anyone by any chance does get it, do check out his C.V. too )

9. GAURAV BHATELE : Ex-CompSci-ite, now will be doing mechanical in IITK most probably ( transfer, phew ! ). But as they say, "Once a BITSian, always a BITSian". Did, once in the last semester express his regret at leaving BITS-Pilani, but has now supposedly revised his opinion :P. But, while he was here, he truly was a sensation. He worked with me on AUXEL, and thats when we actually bonded. As he confesses, it is difficult for him to make mistakes and truly so. No matter what, he is surely making it big. Maybe not anymore as a CompSci-ite, but surely as an automobile engineer.

10.SWAPNIL GHIKE : I am surely getting at least one comment. Yes, here is one individual, our very own transfer material, who prides himself about knowing about everything. Following appropriately on the footsteps of his mentor, Rajat Bansal, he would surely taste success. Pairs up perfectly with his pals, Subhodip Ghosh and Rajat Tibrewal, who at their own capacities, deserve special mention. Especially Subhodip for his honesty, hardwork and zeal regarding his interests.( @ Subhodip : personal advice-> do be aware of who you are and what you are becoming, so that you do not regret not realising it earlier ). Can talk a lot more about Swapnil as much as he can talk about me :).
There are many other names I would like to mention, but can't as :
1. I am too bored with this topic, and so are you
2. Don't respect them as much, although I know they might outrun me ( literally, obviously )
3. Have to get ready to go for a movie

The Times They Are A-changing

Come gather 'round people,
wherever you roam,
And accept that the networks around you have grown,
And admit that software piracy you don't condone;
If your data to you is worth saving,
Then you better make backups,
On your Macs or PC clones,
For the times they are a-changin…

Come faculty and administrators,
please read your e-mail,
It's been there for months now and it's gettin stale,
Our attempts to get more disk space have failed,
The battle on campus is ragin;
Whether we will use Windows or Linux will prevail,
Yup, the times they are a-changin…

Come users and Sys Admins all over the LAN,
Your bandwidth requirements we don't understand,
Your digital desktops and cryptic commands;
Your multimedia stations,
Were not in the budget of our five year plan,
But the times they are a-changin…

With Ethernet, Token Ring and FDDI,
We've got the best network that money can buy,
With Internet access and registration on-line;
But yesterday when he was cleaning,
The janitor unplugged the power and all systems died,
Oh, the times they are a-changin…
Source: Internet :P

Friday, June 6, 2008

CompSci-2010@BITS-Pilani

Had this on my mind for a pretty long time. It is basic human tendency in this age to advise and predict about other things and persons irrespective of their own standing and elligibility. I too unnaturally( conceit? ) jump into the same bandwagon and shoot:
1.RACHIT CHANDRA : I have always had immense respect for this young entrepreneur of sorts, especially for his achievements, ever since I first met him for the Aditya Birla Scholarship .....eliminations as I would put it. He knows what to do and when to do it and if he improves upon his temper and attitude ( and certain habits many may not approve of ), he will be able to control his destiny with elan and style. Will surely make it to the top, with a little grip on himself.
2.HARSHA VARDHAN: Do not have much knowledge about this guy except that he too is considered to be of the same callibre as Rachit Chandra and with due respect to Soumyadeep's suggestion, have also put him on the list of the future BITSian greats. All I have seen is his dedication to his work and commend him for the same. His interaction with other people is immaculate and probably scores over Rachit in this department. If only he could string together his acts and organise himself a bit better, he would be a strong force to reckon with.
3.SOUMYADEEP GHOSH : Has proved his stand in the competition time and again, and according to me, is running way ahead in the race at the moment. He is one person who literally scares me and hence demands "hats-off"-type respect. As he would best describe himself, 'A Man Of Actions', a perfect POM textbook example (lone and monk have to agree ;)) and a very disturbing fellow football match viewer :P, he sure does hold a great future in the corporate world......ONLY IF he wanted to. Contrary to the other two maharathis, he detests entrepreneurship and the corporate line, and would rather spend his time in solitude and (implied?) poverty as a researcher ( the skills for which I suppose he doesn't possess )(waiting for you to disprove me !). His future depends solely on the decision he takes after his M.S.
4.MAYANK MOHTA : An employer's pet. My favorite CompSci great and sidee; he totally bowls me over with the simplicity and clarity of his thoughts and the measured hardwork he puts in. A firm believer in the saying-" You reap as you sow ", he is going on with his goal pretty smoothly and will surely scale the heights.
to be contd......

Thursday, May 8, 2008

REMINISCENCE

Staying in sync with this year's cactus flower ( our institute's annual magazine ), I present before you the lyrics of one of the most vengeful songs I have come across.....unleashing all the morbid thoughts in my mind:
Everything was perfect before I found my dream
You were the world to me
When I used to hate myself for trying
Now relying on you for direction seems so trite
Your attitude was quick to change when you thought
One minute might go by without being sought
Who do you think you are, manipulator
How did it get this far

I will make you pay for all the lives you've ruined
Pray you're able to breath while I strangle you

I'll stop at nothing, don't doubt me
You've reigned enough
The lies you've been telling me you've been caught
Your enemy is reality
Your fatal flaw, meeting me

I will make you pay for all the lives you've ruined
Pray you're able to breath while I strangle you
Pray for all the lives you've ruined

Everyone you have betrayed will watch you burn
Everyone you have deceived will watch you burn
Everyone will watch you burn

I will make you pay for all the lives you've ruined
Pray you're able to breath while I strangle you
( Courtesy : Pray for all - Chimaira )
Disclaimer : The preceeding lines have no link whatsoever to my state of mind presently....or maybe they do.....but just for a couple of minutes and then it'll be gone...no inferences are to be drawn or fingers raised on the author's or songwriter's integrity regarding the tone expressed.:P
NEMA

Monday, April 28, 2008

Third Angle View

Not that many people visit my blog....but for the very few who do..firstly, thank you very much !! The reason for my infrequent blogging is well...."Ghoting" - for the unenlightened (by BITSian standards obviously), here is the BITSLang library entry :
<-BITSLang.h->

void ghot (v) { A mysterious behaviour exhibited by a select few to attain a state of perfect sin achieved by the soul through seclusion and 'gyaan-praapti'. Supposed to be caused by a virus of a unique kind. Infects a majority of the population, especially during the months of December and May. Although most manage to recover, some may turn into the living dead. This strain of the virus stays mainly dormant in the individual and is spurred by the need for better grades. Symptoms are usually uninterrupted solitary self-confinement in the 'BITSLib' ( not to be confused with couples who are found in the same locations indulging in the practical study of the human anatomy ), involuntary loss of interest in the more enjoyable pursuits of life and slightly distinct external appearance in the form of a large removable appendage on the back that holds the books for the victims. Etymology : acronym for Generating Heat On Table. The resulting activity is alternately referred to as 'ghoting'. Usage: "Hey macha, how much did you ghot in the library today?";}
void ghot (n) { Any particular person who diligently dissolves oneself into the act of ghoting without reason and prior warning. In biological terms, the person is suspected to have been incurably affected by the virus. Puritan ghots can be identified by certain pointers such as regular class attendance, occupancy of the bench closest to the teacher (it is believed that these creatures are under the impression that the teacher says certain things useful for the examination under his/her breath that cannot be captured beyond a certain range), surge in attention given to them during examination periods and their consequent gloating and high-handedness regarding the same. People may even find them identical in looks to drug addicts. Suitable distance is supposed to be maintained from the patient and if infection is suspected, the victim is supposed to be exposed to various forms of entertainment to render the virus dormant again. Overdose may however aggravate the situation due to psychological guilt. usage: " Oh my God ! Do you know my friend soumyadeep ? He's such a big ghot.";}

Well during the 'ghoting' sessions I have had in the last couple of days, I noticed something spectacular. Usually while solving problems, one tends to fill up the page with obscure symbols and formulae and due to some inexplicable reason, doesn't wish to shift operations to the next page and hence keeps on filling up the gaps that seem to take up too much page-space. Then there ultimately comes a stage when you are absolutely convinced that no more can be written whatsoever. This is where I noticed that if you just rotate the page by a right angle, a lot more space pops up from nowhere into which you can fill more random stuff. Here, I do not wish to give mundane ideas to save paper and protect the earth stuff....but what needs to be actually read into, is the manner in which a simple change in the view angle brought up much more space which you had otherwise thought had been exhausted entirely. Similarly, having a different perspective towards a particular situation may pop up a whole range of new options that you had never thought would be possible. This definitely does not mean that you have to always strive to think differently than you already do. It just expects you to to reaffirm your decision and assess your existing options by giving the issue at hand, a THIRD ANGLE VIEW.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Not Worth A Chunni !

Many readers would be wondering what a chunni means......here is the explanation. Well, for all others who wouldn't bother ......pop goes the weasel.....
This blog unfortunately wouldn't be about me bickering about my PS-1 station ( for all those who are in the dark about the same: refer to pandey's interpretation , for the lazy ones: one of the great facilities offered by my even greater institute that shuttles it up the rankings inspite of nitwits like myself constituting its student population.). Actually, I have nothing to brag about....CIRT, pune, where it is heard they make you stand in the middle of the road and stare at the vehicles passing by. Nice passtime for a 3-year old kid (which qualifies it for me too), but my parents expect more. Pat comes the reply: "If you really do not appreciate this decision, then you should have studied and attempted for BARC". No, I DIDN'T; I REGRET, I ACCEPT. I regret not studying, I accept my station with renewed appreciation( its actually a nice place). And hence no post.
What I really wanted to write about is the significance of OOP concepts in the competitive life. Let me first enlist the main concepts:
1. Modularity
2. Encapsulation
3. Polymorphism
4. Inheritance
Now, lets deal with each concept individually:
Modularity: Something every successful person boasts of; one of the main indications of hard work and meticulous planning,
Encapsulation: Packaging oneself; abstracting the better points and concealing the not-so-good ones in a deft manner,
Polymorphism: Being a different person for every other individual; maintaining a log of each of your personalities and the level of truth in each. Differential approach adopted. As they say,"trust absolutely no one......and if needed, doubt even oneself"....just an overview of the same,
Inheritance: The continuous unconcious effort to emulate and follow another person. In the process, one tends to have properties of different role models. Successful individuals tend to inherit better traits. Identification and classification is the key.
Uncle Murphy just whispered into my ear.....oh yes......he was right all the while.....he always was.......
"Self-discovery is the worst form of aggression" .........and I am indulging and sinking into the same.
NEMA



Thursday, March 27, 2008

HO HUM !!

I AM desperately seeking attention for my dear old blog......the fact that it has been 'ressurected', does surely make it significant enough for a few precious comments from peers and fans alike ;).
Well, what do i have to blog about? no alter-egos i can boast of; nor inspiring adventures of imaginary characters; nor technological prowess which i can use to teach the world about 'rudimentary' computing terms; nor wonderful rhyme schemes and artistic skills adorning an extraordinarily wonderful blogpage; (:P to all) ......and yet i present.............another post.

Monday, March 24, 2008

BITSian Undertones !!

The following is a chat I had with one of my friends, yashoteja prabhu, who people might remember as a pretty accomplished student who not only excelled in his short BITSian life, but also cracked IIT-JEE in his second attempt....getting AIR-31 :
Yash:
So... Hws the 2nd year??
Mus b very hectic I s'pose??
Wat r the courses u r havin this sem??


binitranjan:
first semester was bad.....
this semester we have really nice courses
microprocessor programming
structures and properties of amterials
discrete structures
etc.
principles of management


Yash:
Hw com u hv a course tat basically belong to mech dept??


binitranjan:
thats how it is....
we are supposed to be well versed in the basics of all disciplines
isnt that the motive of all elite institutes?
complete engineers as they call it


Yash:
Dont think so.. Then wats the point in havin different branches..
?
Anyway its gud 2 hv a basic knowledge of the necessary fields..
Tats wat i feel ...


binitranjan:
it is not only good , it is NECESSARY
because in practical life all this knowledge is required
if i were to go by your point then you wouldnt require the 4 years of rigorous training you are goin through right now..
we already know programming..
just a crash course in computer hardware..
which also we have sufficient knowledge about
would do
that should officially be the end of our b.e. comp sci degree.
but then that is what sets apart institutes like bits-pilani and the iits


Yash:
Wel its all different views... But anyway to make it clear .. A broad basis is not an objective of our institution...
Rather its specialization in one's specific field...
One has to gain an expertise in watever they r doin...


binitranjan:
specialization in one's one field along with working knowledge in other fields is what we are supposed to strive for...
later in life, when faced with a problem of a miscallaneous kind....
which we obviously will....
we have our huge database, concepts to bank upon
in practicality we will never face a problem that is specialised to our discipline
and if we are not to face specialised problems, then simply having specialised training is not sufficient
yes there are certain topics which might have very vague significance in our future...but we cant downplay them either
it is probable that their significance is not apparent to us right now...
but when the necessary knowledge is sought it will sure come in handy
and that is when we will realise the importance
as it is said , we cant simply jump onto conclusions on the basis of naive assumptions that a particular course is not linked directly to our work requirements..


Sent at 10:59 PM on Tuesday
Yash:
To make myself clear... The arguments here r definitely not about whether or not to have the knowledge of all fields.. But rather it is about the stress laid upon the thing... Infact these first year courses like Chemistry , workshop, Eg , electrodynamics... These r all a must to have , in most of the engineering institutions ....


Sent at 11:04 PM on Tuesday
Yash:
But spending all the first year as wel as significant part of the further years too in this diversification is too much to bargain for ...
Tat too wen the 4 year time v hv is in itself too less to have a full outlook of a single branch...


binitranjan:
your point is surely valid to a certain extent
first of all
the institute wants to ensure a gradual transition from your 12th std syllabus to the present syllabus
they assume that we have no prior knowledge of the material that is being taught to us...
this i am afraid is a necessary assumption
because we, having been through rigorous training for the entrance examinations have some sort of idea and methodology set in our mind to tackle the advanced stuff being taught to us
but it wouldnt be suitable to assume the same level of understanding from all students
because they are from different backgrounds
and have different levels of preparation...
so we do need to start from the basics
as a matter of fact, one good thing done in this respect is that htey assume that we are well versed with things tought to us iun the cbse course
so after confirming the basics they need to build the actual foundation.....which is the basics of all fundamental engineering disciplines
this process to be comprehensively fulfilled does, i am afraid require 1.5 years in the case of bits-pilani...
secondly
coming to the issue of having a holistic view of the assigned/chosen discipline
i believe higher degrees cater to those needs
that is exactly the reason we go for m.s. and the like
to heavily specialise in our discipline...or whichever branch you are then interested in....
this flexibility, i think, allows a lot of decisions to be revised and rethought

Yash:
Ok then lemme draw the conclusion now... Study diversification is absolutely necessary... An' ofcourse to wat extent it is necessary this depends on the kinda job one prefers ...
Gotta go now ... Was very nice speaking to u ... Meet u some time later ....
See ya then ..\
:-)

Thursday, March 20, 2008

The 'but' shower??

Yes, I do feel extremely belittled when i am blogging in the presence of stalwarts like amey parulekar, soumyadeep ghosh, rachit chandra, vineet pandey......and the like.Well, that would surely be a lame reason.....but probably, the correct reason why i abandoned blogosphere in the first place. But now, having mustered up some courage, i write again........and yes, that means pandey will have to lift the [dead] tag off my link.
But then, what many people have made of this tool called blogging, exasperates me. This question has arisen time and again.....what do we blog for? who do we blog for?...i have a clear cut objective in mind, but whats yours?.....if it is for oneself, then why not just maintain a diary....or notepad.....you never know, you might actually be denying another eager fellow from using your fundoo link name.....not every one can come up with eye-catching page titles (well, that was one of the more flimsy arguments i would give to dissuade people from doing so)....and if that is not the case, then it would mean that one blogs for people to read and appreciate their thoughts.......and probably initiate a fruitful discussion hence. But, i do not see many people doing that either.......Maybe..............for future reference, as in, one would surely like to look back upon his/her past....and then realise how stupid he/she was, in doing certain things, or thinking in a particular way. Yeah, that makes some minute sense to me.....but i would rather that such things are kept only within my circle of of close friends.....and this brings us to the first possible reason i cited.........circular logic, huh!