Sunday 30 November 2008

An Engineer's Heart !

Could not resist the temptation to put this online:
I guess you all know who is the man with this heart. :D

Friday 28 November 2008

Comment on Sudeep's article

i started this as a comment, and then switched on for a new post...



the whole article needs polishing...

and i agree with john on that line... its cool!


and what if i could write one detailed description of a day at CET for me?

classes,
dept library,
classes,
tech library
,classes,
Copy Park,
classes,
dept library reference section,
classes,
half an hour at home prioritizing the day's stuff to be completed,
then back to college,
reading ebooks and papers at CCF upto 8:30pm,
come back home lazily,
and flip through pages of texts for deciding pages to be at Copy Park the next day and sleep...
the cycle continues...

i wonder how it'll be like once i start working?????

and as i was mentioning to a few, i have loosened up a lot in these 3.5yrs.. and i'd really like to put in a lot of effort to be lazy for the next few months atleast... with God's grace i've been able to do anything i set myself on through dedicated work,... i wonder how much work i have to put in to be lazy, to not attend classes, to stop visiting the library, to start watching a lot-lot of movies, ah.. the list is endless....

desp! how can i even think of all that!

lemme imagine myself at my future workplace....

eatworkeatworkeatworkeatsleepeatworkeatworkeatworkeatsleepeatworkeatworkeatworkeatsleepeatworkeatworkeatworkeatsleepeatworkeatworkeatworkeatsleepeatworkeatworkeatworkeatsleepeatworkeatworkeatworkeatsleep

ah... the signs are showing.... instead of trying to complete a lengthy BMI assignment, i'm visiting AEIOhYou and ...................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This is what college life meant to us…

Guys.. me nd ln wrote this 2gthr 4 coll. mag. pls go thru it nd tell if its worth being published in coll mag. corrections are welcome.



Dreams show us the path ahead, dreams serve as an inspiration to move along. All of us had a dream, when we entered into this campus, three and a half years before. We were totally unaware of what was going on here. Now, some still pursue their dreams, some got diverted in between, some started to have more dreams, and some are in total chaos.
To which ever group you belong, the time that you spent in this campus is going to be the best and the most unforgettable in your life. This is where we realized that friends are for a lifetime and feelings are just for a moment.
***
Here we are, two fellow cetians, trying to describe a day of a typical cetian who is lazy, irresponsible, and careless.
***
On each and every morning, eyelids seem to be the heaviest thing on earth for me. Even heavier than what Karnam Malleshwari managed to lift to give us that Olympic medal. But I am a born fighter, that’s why I was able to reach here in CET. So I fight with it every day, and somehow open my eyes before 9 because that’s the time at which classes are supposed to start in our college (At least for those who can wake themselves up that early.)
***
I go past the main gate, there stands the main block. I have always loved it’s look. I get into the class, at 9.30 or so. The teacher allowes me to get in, which does not happen that often. I get thrown out every now and then, but I don’t really mind. After all, getting into classes is just a matter of getting attendance for cetians. Whatever is taught in the classes, we never worry about it. Have you ever heard the definition of a college professor? They are the ones who talk when all others are sleeping. That’s one thing in which most of the cetians firmly believe in, so we never try to forfeit it. I keep observing the class while the teacher is trying to explain something. A few are drawing pictures in their notebooks. May be of some of the girls sitting in the first bench, or of the teacher herself. Some are discussing some matters of immense importance, most probably a movie that released recently, yesterday’s English Premier League match or some other equally serious matter. One of my friends was sleeping. He got up when he was about to fall from the bench and looked around as if a new born baby was watching the world, totally confused. Various games like Bingo, Bull and cow etc. were going on in several benches.
In spite of all these, there are a few who take keen interest in what is being taught. They are all listening to the teacher, waiting for each and every word to fall from her mouth. They can also be classified into two, the ones with good technical knowledge, and the ones without it (Don’t underestimate them, some of them even write books on certain subjects even though they don’t know a thing.) But that doesn’t really matter as both groups score well in the exams.
During lunch time, cetians always love to spice things up a bit at Lords. Lords is the best restaurant near to the college, where things are served so quickly that we will even think of leaving a visiting card and getting back later. Sharja corner and Chechikkada are usually the options when the budget is low.
I don’t usually sit in the class in the afternoon, since I want to give my brain a break. I just walk around in the campus. There aren’t too many places in our campus to hang out except for the flirt-zone (Panchara kaadu as it is popularly called and there is no point in going there alone) and a small canteen. Our Library is an excellent one, (That’s what some tell. Haven’t had much of an experience) but that would be the last place to hang out. Even the guys who love to spend their free time in the library had told me that they hadn’t seen more than five (I know that five is a huge number) people in the reference section. Of course there is a large amount of knowledge there, the freshers bring a little in, seniors don't take much away, so knowledge sort of accumulates.
***
You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. Drink till sunrise. The work never ends, but college does...
Live every day to the fullest and take risks. As long as you are happy, nothing more is important. Tomorrow isn't promised, so make sure you make the best out of today.
Thanks to my parents that they put me in the best college! The three and a half years I spent in the college was ecstatic. Lots of memories are still hitting me like huge waves, but it is not possible to put everything in writing!! My college and College life Rocks!
We even have Mr. George W. Bush to back ourselves up. "To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the other students, I say you too may one day be president of the United States."
***

Now, one last question to you all.. “If you had a time machine and you were tossed back to the beginning of your college life, what one thing would you like to do which you haven’t done now? ”

Sunday 23 November 2008

The rain that brought some thoughts

Days seem so similar. Nothing much happens on a particular day. The things that I read and things that I scribble somewhere seem to be the only difference between today and yesterday. I do have a clear idea of what I want to do in my life (Of course, it has been changing from time to time). But I don’t feel like I am moving towards what I intend to achieve. “If you want to do something in your life, now is the only time to do it.” I remember reading so in a book written by Robin Sharma(Don’t exactly remember which one. The monk who sold his Ferrari, may be). That really makes sense, doesn’t it? Right now, I can’t decipher what my life is heading towards.

All these were the thoughts in my mind when I was lying on the bed last night, with total darkness around. It was 1.30 or so. My roommate was lying next to me, sleeping peacefully. Hostel was not fully asleep. There will always be someone awake at MH. I could hear a song being played somewhere.

Right then, I heard the sound of water pouring down and hitting the earth. It was raining. I got up and walked towards the window. Small water droplets were coming in. I stood there for a while, enjoying the rain, listening to the music embedded in it.

Nature beckons from outside, and I couldn’t resist it. I took my clothes off, wore a towel and ran out. In CET MH, grills are always open. So anyone could go out any time. I ran to the ground in front of the hostel and stood at the centre.

I looked back at the hostel, with the cool water refreshing both my mind and body. It was an obscure view of the notorious MH. CET men’s hostel, where I arrived with a lot of hope about my future, where I had to face the worst situations of my life (as far as studies were concerned.), where I learned to stand up and fight, where my dreams got mutilated and then reverted, where I earned a lot of close friends, where I tried to walk on eggshells when small fights occurred between my friends, where I met some audacious bunch of people doing crazy things consistently and above all, where I learned a lot about life, if not about engineering. These were the things that I achieved in these four years, I could achieve only this much.

I will have to bid adieu to this place, within a few months, being jobless. But in that poignant moment, I will never regret my decision to be a part of this hostel, not one bit (huh… Joker has influenced me pretty much). Besides all the difficulties that I had to face, I will cherish each and every moment that I spent here.

Rain had almost stopped. I walked back slowly.

Thursday 13 November 2008

Kung fu Panda

Best song from Kung-fu-Panda
http://rapidshare.com/files/163393779/Every_body_is_kung_fu_fighting.mp3

PS: This blog only provides some information about a file stored in Rapidshare. It is the personal choice of the readers to decide how to use it.Strictly for non-commercial purpose.

Tuesday 11 November 2008

Electrifying


As the rainclouds gathered outside, Hirosh was engrossed in the circuit he was designing. It was for the robot he was making , just for fun.

His name had come up in the newspaper the previous week. The newspaper had called him an "electrifying personality," though 'electrifying' was the last word one would use to describe his personality. It was that, electricity passed through him sans the slightest harm. The newspaper had a photo of him holding a glowing bulb for which electricity came through his hand. His face was brighter than the bulb, though.

Then, you may wonder why he was working on an electronic circuit. Ask him and he would say,"i have conquered large currents, now to the smaller ones." And you would think, what a stupid answer!

As he was testing the H-bridge ICs for the circuit, his hands accidentally touched the transformer of the power supply. He felt a funny tickle as the mains current passed through his body.

He paused for a moment to savor that feeling. A smile appeared slowly, but froze half way, as he saw a blinding flash of lightning outside..

Monday 10 November 2008

2 B A B

I C A B,
A B from C
A C of CB
CB can C
B Z "B A B"
I Z "O B U C,
me 2 A B"

when U C A B
U B A B or
B will P in I
B C A Q
B Z"R U A C of B? "
Q Z"S V R"
"I C U 2 R B"
2 B A CB
U go 2 C
when U C A C,
look 4 A CB
if  U C A CB
CB will C U 2
U will B A CB.
C U in C
A E I O U!!

For those lower beings thinking that I am crazy:
I C A B,                      I see a bee
A B from C                 A bee from sea
A C of CB                     A sea of sea-bee
CB can C                      Sea-bee can see
B Z "B A B"                Bee said "Be a bee"
I Z "O B U C,              I said "Oh bee you see,
me 2 A B"                   me too a bee"

when U C A B            when you see a bee
U B A B or                 you be a bee or
B will P in I             bee will pee in eye

B C A Q                     Bee see a queue
B Z"R U A C of B? " Bee said "Are you a sea of bee?" 
Q Z"S V R"              Queue said "Yes we are"
"I C U 2 R B"           "I see, you too are bee"
2 B A CB                   To be a sea-bee
U go 2 C                   You go to sea
when U C A C,          when you see a sea
look 4 A CB              look for sea-bee
if  U C A CB               if you see a sea-bee
CB will C U 2             sea-bee will see you too
U will B A CB.          You will be a sea-bee
C U in C                   See you in sea
A E I O U!!              Aye I owe you!!

Pardon me for posting this...

Sunday 9 November 2008

My Experiments with Linux

People find it hard to believe that Windows wasn't the first Operating system with complete graphical user interface. But I do, because I'd seen one before Windows existed. My vague memory says it had an X shaped mouse pointer.

Why bother typing in a terminal when the same can be done with a mouse click? This is the question encountered by the crowd when they are up against any linux distribution. Mark my word, the current distros can do more than 'the same' by the click of a mouse. The customisations possible in linux is limitless. You'll just have to search for the right software. There's the difference - you can either choose to be spoon fed or search for a better alternative.

The above paragraph may sound like me being an open source fan. I do not deny to be one, but still use XP and do agree that I find it easier to use than linux. Then why support open software? Because I believe linux is the way forward. It's past time that we ditch the policy of stringent software licensing except in the case of custom made commercial/business softwares. I feel PC users should have the freedom to utilise their computer in the best possible way.

My experiences in past few days had been kind of a revelation. I had installed Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) in dual-boot with XP. Few months ago, I reinstalled XP and grub (bootloader) was lost. I din't give much thought to recovering Ubuntu and had been using XP only since. Recently I started following the progress of next version of Ubuntu - 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex). I had to have it. Then I remembered that I still had not formatted the linux drives. Was there any way to recover it? I searched the net and voila - the fix was simple. Just three terminal commands later, the grub was back up and running. That's when I realised the power of terminal and wish there was something similar in Windows (Windows command prompt is nowhere close). I bet most of us would have had to reinstall the OS if it was Windows. I've done it more than once and lost all files in C:\.

All was going well right until I got the Xubuntu-8.10 CD in my hands. I tried upgrading directly, but i guess direct upgrading from Ubuntu 8.04 to Xubuntu 8.10 is not supported. I cudn't give up and started installing the OS part by part from CD (another thing I dont think Windows installer can do). Slowly my desktop changed from Gnome (Ubuntu's Desktop Environment) to the lightweight XfCe (Xubuntu's Desktop Environment). To the untrained eye this might look like changing Operating Systems but actually it's just something on the outside, the kernel remains Linux. But finally I went one step too much. I'm not sure what happened and I ended up fixing what wasn't broken - with GUI not loading. Tried out a few solutions I got from net, but nothing worked. So..

I did a clean installation of Xubuntu this time around. You expect a happy ending? Sorry my system's still broken.:-) But I know the solution's out there somewhere and the knowledge that I can do it myself without being a pirate gives me the inspiration to try again. The real joy in using linux comes from the fact that you actually get a feeling of being closer to YOUR PC.

Update (13-11-08): I've managed to successfully break and make (using linux live CD) the system for the past 4 days. I've virtually become an expert in system recovery without data loss..

Suggested softwares for system recovery:
In Linux OS:
1. testdisk - very powerful, i was able to backup everything before fixing the boot sector, the mbr and checking the disk for errors.
2. ms-sys: this software can be used to fix problems with XP (and many other OS) boot sector (mbr) and even write a new one.
In Windows:
there is a repair option in install CD.
try fixmbr and chkdsk

Never lose hope and re-install the system if you have important data without giving a try at system recovery. There are numerous options out there..

Tuesday 4 November 2008

Some moments that I can't forget

** I mean nothing serious.. absolutely nothing.. just enjoy the little jokes **

Sitting in the classes has become so much of a boring thing for me. I never expected that classes would be held on such a regular basis in s7. We used to have more free hours in s6 than this.. didn't we?

Today, we did the presentation regarding our project. KK had taught me something (he's my fellow project mate) and I ended up telling something(else...??) in front of Biji jacob sir. Me and Balu tried our best to deliver whatever we knew, but still, he complained about one-man show(when KK is around, that is unavoidable, isn't it??).

But I was very happy that I knew at least something about my main project. In the case of mini project, things were different. I knew almost nothing about it. (Of course, it was my fault.. to be very honest, I never made any sincere effort). Umesh,Bachi and Surji were my mates then. My contributions were limited to visiting Bach's house(Only to have lunch,tea etc. and to display my counter strike skills while others tried to make that thing work),buying components from thakarapparambu etc. But at last, we had to go to the exam hall with someone else's project since ours didn't work. Bachi somehow managed to get a similar project from one of his friends in some other college. Quite unfortunately, their external examiner happened to be ours also.(Now that's what bad luck is.. can u just imagine the probability of such a thing to happen? Seriously, it's too small ya..). He kept telling us that he had seen exactly the same project somewhere else. What could we do about that huh??

Even though all these happened, I never had any doubt regarding the intellect of my project mates, especially Bach. He even showed me some weird and unique symbols during last microprocessor lab that only one person in this world could do. All those appeared on the screen when Bach wrote a program by himself and we tried to execute it. Symbols, that I haven't seen even among Greek or Roman letters.. That was an unforgettable experience.. not only the symbols, but the face expression of Bach also when all those appeared.. Man.. I didn't have a cam with me to capture that golden moment...!!!

Saturday 1 November 2008

The Tachometer story

**Pals, here I am going to tell you a story,which actually happened in our electrical machines lab.It happened during our university exam.I am going to describe it in first person because it will make it more funny.I will not tell you the name of the real hero due to his persuasion(threats). **
(This doesn't deny the possibility of that brave soul being me.. ok??)

Well.. guys, as always it is, I rarely had any interest in attending classes during s6 also.Let it be theory classes, or labs, those ain't bothering me. But still, I had to get into machines lab several times for attendance. Since their department was notorious for giving lowest internal marks, friends persuaded me to get in. sometimes, I yielded, sometimes I didn't.
But of course, I never allowed anything to affect my reputation. I was deeply engaged in my own businesses when all those dirty machines worked and others took readings...

But, as usual, when the exam was coming near, I found myself at sea.(that has become so regular!!) Just one day before the exam, I started to study so hard. I didn't feel as if I've ever seen any of those machines.Dc series,shunt, and all that crap. I tried to make out how each machine looked like, how to make all those connections and all that.


Next day, I entered into the exam hall with full confidence.I got an experiment and somehow I managed to write down all the stuff.(I don't even remember which one.. Why should I? Human brain doesn't have unlimited storage like gmail inbox).

I went to fetch components. I wasn't very sure if all those were the right components since I was seeing them for the first time.(Or atleast, i felt so..) The component list consisted of one thing called tachometer.I had a clear idea of how it was used. My friend had explained everything with hand gestures since it was impossible to have a real instrument. Right then, a question came towards me.
"You want a digital tachometer or an analog one?"
Well... that was a situation which I had never thought of.I didn't even know that two types existed.I was so confused as if a child was asked to choose between his mom and dad.
Now lemme tell you guys, when such a crisis occurs in your life, try to be purely logical, listen to your brain..
And that was exactly what I did..
Analog and digital.. Both of them revolved around my head.. digital.. means what? only ones and zeros.. thats much better.. isn't it?
I thought of the two subjects that we studied in 4th semester.. Analog and digital.. I thought of the way in which I miserably failed in one of them and managed to secure passmark in the other.. wow!! That was the most logical thing that I had ever thought of..
I said in a firm voice "digital..."

Somhow, I managed to make all the connections. I turned the machine on. I had to measure the number of rotations of the machine. So, that was where tachometer came into play. I tried to memorise what my friends explained to me. Tachometer had to be inserted at one end of the rotating part. I looked at the end of the tachometer and the hole in the machine.

"Naa... this isn't gonna make it"

I was pretty sure about that. The hole was too small. I walked to the other side of the machine. The hole on that side was slightly bigger. But still, I was confused like a baby in a topless bar. I was very sure that this was the way in which a tachometer was used. May be, I'll have to insert it forcefully, I thought.

I took two steps backwards. With all my strength, I tried to insert the tachometer.

"No... Not like that !!!!"

There came a roar from behind. When turned back, I saw the lab attender running towards me. He grabbed the tachometer.

"Is this your first time here?"

He said in a grim voice. I shrugged as if I was being accused of something which I never knew about. He gave me an angry look and showed me how to use the digital tachometer. For the rest of the experiment, it was him who took the readings. May be he shuddered that I would damage anything.

When I told this to all my friends later, they were all laughing just like they were watching a Jim carry movie or something. What is there to laugh so much... huh?? I handled it very well eventhough I didn't know a thing about all those machines and instruments.didn't I??
What do you guys say??