the Unknown Citizen

Wordpress

2006-01-26T00:30:00.000+05:30

I have not blogged in a long long time. i had been busy ! anyway, i had been experimenting with a new blogging software. like everything , it has got its pros and cons! Well i think its time for me to graduate from Blogger to Wordpress. Oh, ya. did i mention i have graduated from the pathetic excuse of a operating system that windoz is to a more mature and more bleeding edge Linux. ok , agreed Linux can be difficult sometime, but thats because its a lot more powerful! Working on it is like being on an adventure. You learn things every second you use it! And its amazing how much u can change and screw around witht things! (i have renamed "yahoo messenger " as "talkie talkie", show me that on a windoz box). well the point is its more flexible. Ya, i still have to come back to XP for all my design work , but thats becouse so few people use linux that Autodesk never thought it wud be profitable to make a Linux port! well that will change soon ! and hopefully i wud never have to leave Linux again! anyway if u use Linux and know a CAD software that works there then lemme know!
Anyway , enough for tonight . check out my WP blog. and if u can then leave a messege !

The American traveler

2005-12-05T17:55:00.000+05:30

Traveling is fun. Its refreshing and calming and a good way to get away from the daily grind (Unless of course you are a traveling salesman) . But what's more fun is if u are a travel agent and come across a customer who is so dumb. He doest know his wee-wee from his wee-lee. Here's an apparently true incident that occurred with one such travel agent.

Quote:
A woman called to make reservations, "I want to go from Chicago to Hippopotamus, New York" The agent was at a loss for words. Finally, the agent: "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" "Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the customer. After some searching, the agent came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Hippopotamus anywhere." The customer retorted, "Oh don't be silly. Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" The agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?" "That's it! I knew it was a big animal!"

go here to find more such hilarious stories. True or not they make hilarious reading.

I am back

2005-12-05T17:49:00.000+05:30

Hi,
I am back. Its been a long time since I last blogged. I have been busy BlaBla etc. Anyway I am having my holidays and still am working in the holidays. But that's another story. I guess all that matters is that I am back and am planning on posting more often ! Amen.

What the hell, I and INDIVIDUALIST ?

2005-11-09T23:45:00.000+05:30

INDIVIDUALIST:
You make your own rules and boldly go where no one
has gone before. Some may think you are
arrogant and even rude, while others admire
your keen observations. Not that you really
care.

What kind of blogger are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

This is Sweet

2005-10-07T18:43:00.000+05:30

[Link]

LOL, i am in my prefinal year and as i watch most of my friends get ready to get a job for themselves there comes the news of a new employer ! Who else but Al Qaeda! LOL .... even cave dwellers are getting tech savvy. All u unemployed computer guys or people looking for an exciting careers seize the moment and u cud as well be on the next plane on your way to "high places". read this!

DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda has put job advertisements on the Internet asking for supporters to help put together its Web statements and video montages, an Arabic newspaper reported.
The London-based Asharq al-Awsat said on its Web site this week that al Qaeda had "vacant positions" for video production and editing statements, footage and international media coverage about militants in Iraq, the Palestinian territories, Chechnya and other conflict zones where militants are active.
The paper said the Global Islamic Media Front, an al Qaeda-linked Web-based organization, would "follow up with members interested in joining and contact them via email".
The paper did not say how applicants should contact the Global Islamic Media Front.
Al Qaeda supporters widely use the Internet to spread the group's statements through dozens of Islamist sites where anyone can post messages. Al Qaeda-linked groups also set up their own sites, which frequently have to move after being shut by Internet service providers.
The advertisements, however, could not be found on mainstream Islamist Web sites where al Qaeda and other affiliate groups post their statements.
Asharq al-Awsat said the advert did not specify salary amounts, but added: "Every Muslim knows his life is not his, since it belongs to this violated Islamic nation whose blood is being spilled. Nothing should take precedence over this."
The Front last month launched an Internet news broadcast called Voice of the Caliphate, which it said aimed to combat anti-Qaeda "lies and propaganda" on major international and Arab television channels such as CNN and Al Jazeera.
Al Qaeda and other groups have increasingly turned to the Internet to win young Muslims over to their war against Western-backed governments in Arab and Muslim countries.
Islamist insurgents fighting U.S. forces and the U.S.-backed government in Iraq have often posted slick montages of their military activities, including beheadings of hostages, on the Internet where they spread through dozens of Islamist sites.

Of Smarty-Pants and Dumb Asses!

2005-10-06T21:29:00.000+05:30

Well first of all Dumb Asses! U ask why ? They are just more fun! What can be a more compelling reason to discuss them first !

So we talk about dumb people and what's the first name that pops into your head! Yeah , ya I know u r a smarty, and yeah you are right ! Georgy boy of course! Looks like the media got the right news for a change! The news flash says "Bush: One of the worst disasters to hit the U.S.". How very true ! How very true! The reporter who put this up needs to be kissed :P

OK, now think of a dumb product ! Yeah, u nailed it again! Windoze , what else ! Only 2300 system errors.. and the estimate is on the conservative side! U are looking at the most innovative ad campaign ever! [get the sarcasm in my voice :P]

Ok enough with dumb people! Now to the human and animal ingenuity!

Insects are masters of disguise! Can u tell where the leaf ends and the insect begins ? Will someone please sign up the poor creature to the intelligence gathering mechanism of the army ?

They say necessity is the mother of invention! How very true! During the WW-2 rubber was scarce. But did that stop men from enjoying the little comforts of life, like shock-less biking? Of course not! Read this.

Roads less taken

2005-10-02T23:52:00.000+05:30

Mood: Brooding. Reflective.

Music: Take Away My Pain - Dream Theater.

Random Thought: Boy, my room could use some cleaning.

Accept it or not we Indians are not very adventurous people. We have this mindset which will direct us to take the most secure of all the solutions of any given problem. Security is what we crave most of all. And hence our lack of enthusiasm for adventure. We as a people will welcome changes least of all. [This is not a gross generalization of the Indian psyche. I agree there are adventurous Indians, but only a handful].

So my point is ? Well i was watching this movie called “Motorcycle Dairy”. Its an Spanish language film about a MD student and a Biochemist from Argentina, who set out on a trip across the Latin America to visit the lands that they “have only known through books”; on a motorcycle. The breathtaking landscape of untouched South America is simply awesome. They set out with little money which they soon spend out. Their motorcycle soon turns into junk which they have to sell. They continue traveling on the route chosen. For food they use their easy charm and a heady cocktail of flattery and white lies! They pass themselves as doctors of repute who are out to cure leprosy.

My life has been very average. Parents telling u
to study your ass off so that you can secure a future. I don't complain them having asked me to do that. They had all the good intension at heart. But till i get into college all i had done was study. That film made me realize what i have been missing out on. Someday i would like to let go of my secure position in life. I would like to travel the roads less taken. I would like that sense of not knowing what you are going to face next, that rush of adrenalin, those butterflies in the stomach, the discomfort at being out of a padded, planned and protective shell. I don't know if this ever going to come true. But its a wonderful feeling to dream, to plan that ultimate unplanned getaway. Wont it be just wonderful to stop living like everyone else! To stop having to worry about the mundane and start living like there is no tomorrow, to stop worrying about u and start listening to what strange people have to say, what his life is all about, to share his sorrows if only to forget yr own, to say a few kind words to someone who u don't owe anything to ! Well the thought of that day happening makes me smile!

I hope i don't remain trapped in the world i create around myself! All this time i have been told to work hard so that i have a better tomorrow. It had all been planned and programmed for me! Most of the time i have meticulously planned my life out. I hope all this would serve as a means to an end and doesn't become the end itself. But if i end up being the typical Indian who is reluctant to give up his comfortable job and life for what he had once dreamed of .. then be it! At least i dreamt of it. If, when i am fifty and am still working - sitting behind a worn desk, thinking twice before deciding on weather i sud take tea or coffee ........ slap me across the face and make me read this!

Happy Birth Day!

2005-10-01T16:13:00.000+05:30

Today is the Birthday of a very Special friend of mine !! The AngeryButterfly ! Wishing you a very Happy and prosperous year ahead ! May you be the happiest person on earth.

[ If u r here today go to her place and wish her !! ]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AB !!

What if an engineer and a manager decided to make a movie

2005-09-25T17:43:00.000+05:30

Well, me and my friends were discussing how great Spielberg was. Who doesn't love a Spielberg movie. Then the topic moved on to how the books were even more colorful and picturesque than the films itself and how the films kind of looked pale when compared to the books. So this is what the conversation went on between Ankit DP and me.

DP : I am reading the Jurassic Park. The first few chapters give a really beautiful description of the island. I don't think the movie was able to show even a fraction of the beauty.

Ankit : tell me about it! That film "The War of Worlds" its so dull compared to what was in the book.

Me : oh .. That movie wasn't an exact replica of the book. Spielberg was trying to show how the dooms day is for a very average man. How his life and world changes. He wasn't showing what was happening all the world around. Just the perspective of one single guy. That's what his idea was!

Ankit : yah that or he was save up some money! After all those special effects cost money.

Me : he he .. Yah right !

DP : hey consider this what if a engineer and a manager decide to make a sci-fi like Spielberg. It will be technically sound(note : u definitely wont hear things like the terminal velocity is 9.8 m per sec squared ) and would not have the problems of excess expenditure.

Ankit : yah right that wud be something!

[ We all being engineers (well "to be" at least) and Ankit aspiring to be a manager... We set ourselves on production of the movie in our head ]

Me : u know what .. the movie sud be made simultaneously from both ends. This will reduce the production time. After all Time is money!

Ankit : yah that will cost us less that way. And when we run out of money .. We could just join both the ends together, take a few shots to fuzz out the transition of between the two and market our movie.

DP : yah we cud do a brilliant work at the fuzzing out part. 4 years in engineer coll has at least taught us so much. Confusing the audience cant be more difficult than confusing the electrical engineer prof in the end-of-the-sem Viva voce!

Me: ya right... when u cant convince , confuse !

(This is the part where we rolled on the floor laughing . u can do the same ). the day when u see a film that really confuses u somewhere in the middle .. chances are that it was a joint venture of a engineer and a manager.

The double lives that we lead !

2005-09-24T17:30:00.000+05:30

Mood: Totally Blank

Music: 3 Doors Down - Away from the sun.

Random Thing: Sumit is finally out of his room, but he is acting weird still.

I lead a double life. One is in real life the person that I am. And another is the person i become when i am behind closed doors hammering away on my keyboard. If u have been reading my posts you would think that i am a funny guy with a lot of funny things to say and do. But it may not be the same for the real life theBlueNibble. He is a different story altogather. Most of the time he is Blue. Well depressed is a more appropriate word. He turns into me to escape the reality i guess. When he first started this blog way back in June last year he intended this to be his secure place on the net. A virtual dairy where he cud chronicle his life and not having to worry that his friends would be reading it. So the blog remained private for over an year. Then he got the taste of being being read and being complimented. He spent his days writing pieces that would fetch him more number of eyes and more number of compliments. Thats how i was born. I was supposed to be the one who fetched him the attention! Anyway he on the other hand remained the same Blue person as always never changing, suffering from bouts of depression every few weeks. Though he loved his life , liked his work , he never found out why he used to tread the depression domain ever so often. He never got to know what made him sad. Maybe it was these bouts of sadness that helped him keep his sanity. People around of him are all mostly weirdos. Well isnt that whats to be expected when you have to take a test that makes sure u dont have a normal life , to get into this place? So he accepted that this was normal way to live and that it was his form of weirdness.(i will do a piece on the weirdness of everyone of my floor mates of my dorm ).

Isnt this the story of most bloggers. Dont we all lead double lives? Well ok , u might be saying “No, I dont. How dare you suggest the same”. Well then i guess you are an exception. I consider this as a place where you can speak your heart out without being interrupted. Where you can tell your mind without giving a crap about what the person on the other side thinks you are. This for me is freedom. This is the place where you can have and flaunt ideas that are different from others and be complimented. This is the space where i speak and you listen. And then i listen back to what you have to say. And we then agree to disagree all the same. This is the beauty of being anonymous on the net. Of being theBlueNibble. I can be what i want here. I dont expect everyone to have the patience to go through all the crap i wrote here. But then again who cares. If you have made it through to this long then i guess we see eye to eye on this or u think this is all pure BS. Either way i thank you for bearing with me.

Who Says Children Are Cute??

2005-09-22T15:12:00.000+05:30

What are u staring at?

Mr. Grumpy (Who ate my cheese :( )

What ??? As if u never had a bad hair day !!

I am finally proved right!

2005-09-22T14:56:00.000+05:30

LOL . i had long suspected i was a Nerd. Now i have the test results to prove it !! :) LOL . how nerdy is that :P So this is my result .

Your Score Summary

Overall, you scored as follows:

18% scored higher (more nerdy), and
82% scored lower (less nerdy).

What does this mean? Your nerdiness is:

High-Level Nerd. You are definitely *** (thats the name of a college) material, apply now!!!.

Food for thought!!

2005-09-22T13:30:00.000+05:30

Who doesnt like food and Garfeild!

What do you call this ---> @

2005-09-22T00:44:00.000+05:30

[Link]

I was going through this page about the Natural history @ . Here are a few interesting names given to it! What do you call it?

Afrikaans [South Africa] : "aapstert," [monkey's tail], also a term of endearment for someone who's made a silly mistake.
Czech (Czech Republic) : zavinac (pronounced ZAHV-in-ach), meaning "rollmops," or pickled herring. Perhaps the shape suggests herring packed tightly in a jar!
Danish : "alfa-tegn" [alpha-sign] or "snabel," [elephant's trunk]. "grisehale" [pig's tail].
Dutch : "een a met een slinger" [an a with a swing ] ,apestaart" or the diminutive "apestaartje" [(little) monkey's tail] or "slingeraap" [swinging monkey"] , "apeklootje" [little monkey's testicle].
English : "commercial-at." also heard : vortex , whirlpool , cyclone, snail, schnable, cabbage
Finnish : "kissanhnta [cat's tail], "miau merkki" [meow marks] , Some "computer people" use the English word "at." .
German : "Klammeraffe" [hanging monkey].
Hebrew : "shablul" or "shablool"[snail] or a " shtrudl" [strudel, that is, the pastry].
Hungarian : Hungarians evidently don't think much of e-mail, as they've elected to call the @ sign "kukac" pronounced KOO-kots [worm or maggot].
Indonesian : In Indonesian, @ doesn't really have a name. It's simply pronounced [ uh ] in e-mail addresses, like "username-uh-company-dot-com."
Norwegian : "kro/llalfa" [curly alpha].
Thai : " 'ai tua yiukyiu" [the wiggling worm-like character].
Turkish : "kulak" [ear] , Some have suggested calling @ "at" which sounds the same, of course, but in Turkish means "horse."

Hope that was not too much for you.. I will try to keep the post shorter next time. I guess I cant help it because i havn't posted for so long

Bliss is ........

2005-09-21T20:16:00.000+05:30

Mood: Relieved

News: Yoo Hoooo exams over.

Random Thing: What happened of all the plans i had for after the exams. Lifes so boring with out challenges

I have been doing a bit of soul searching the last few days. Well not so much because I was wondering about the secrets of life but more so because my exams were going on and its always easier to concentrate on less important things than concentrate on things that should be really the focus. Anywho, I decided to jolt all the things that i thought were blissful on the side of the page where i was deriving the system equations of rigid bodies. And it was quiet a list. One can really achieve a lot of things if he is doing it to get his mind of something else. Anyway the list certainly doesn't reflect the depth of my thought but what the hell, since when blogging was only for the intellectual elite :). Again i guess these are the few things that you can do because you are in a dorm room.

So here goes! Feel free to add your hilarious definition of BLISS to this list through the comment.

Walking in the rain
Sleeping till 11:30 in the morning on a Tuesday because you don't have a class.
Sleeping till 11:30 in the morning on a Tuesday because you don't want to attend the crappy lecture
Sunday night special dinner after a week long of crappy food .
Completing an assignment way before time.
Convince the professor not to give the assignment in the first place.
Being able to chat with someone you like without your friends banging on your door every five minutes.
Receiving a mail written just for you. [ya, no Cc, Bcc and definitely informal]
Meeting a friend after three year and finding that he still remembers trivial details about you.
Talking to mom when you are down.
Listening to Comfortably Numb.
Finding a Rs.100 note in a book !
Just being able to talk without being judged.
ThumsUp!
Watching a Meg Ryan / Drew Barrymore / Julia Roberts flick.
Watching a Tom Hanks flick.
Watching Scrubs and Friends reruns.

Me

2005-09-12T16:53:00.000+05:30

Mood: Slightly depressed. Much better than yesterday

Noise: Rain outside.

Random Thing: Got exams on friday and have not even started the preparations. I am gonna be fine :)

One of my crazy friends actually convinced me to post a picture of mine on this blog! Well it wasn't actually convincing but more like arm twisting, more like a "I dare you" thing . Anyway I did it all the same. I don't know if actually saw my pic. Because if u did I think you were so scared of the person staring at you from the screen that you probably didn't have the nerve to leave a comment. So as my pact with this friend of mine is over I took it off this morning. Rest assured you are not seeing anymore scary pictures up here! I was actually using a really silly Avatar before I got on here and got myself a new avatar. Here is what it looked like :)

I am Back!

2005-09-11T21:30:00.000+05:30

No .. thats not the Terminator ... thats me ! I have been out of the blogging scene since quiet sometime! I had neither posted one of my own nor commented on anyone else's! So I guess I have lost all the people who used to visit me! LOL. I will have to wait for them to come back and comment... which to be frank is the only reason why I post in the first place. My life has been crazy in the past few weeks. A roller coaster ride is a good way to describe it. There have been heady highs and numbing and terrifying lows. Overall some of the best moments of my life are embedded in the last two weeks. And I have never been more terrified as I have been in these days. Of course u have no idea what I am talking about and I don't intend to tell u more than this! But there are things in life that you would not share for anything with anybody but will cherish it through out ! So I hope all those loyal friends I had online here who made my day with their comments will come back to visit me! And be with me through the highs and lows! Waiting for your comments !!

When Parents Visit !!

2005-08-29T04:05:00.000+05:30

Not everything bad happens when you are suicidal!! In fact sometimes good things happen when you are in that state of mind!!
My friend DP was feeling a bit low yesterday! He was having trouble concentrating on his studies and not every thing was going according to plan!! So feeling really low he rings up home and talks to mom! He tells about his blues and in the process paints a really black picture of his conditions to his mom! Thinking that sonny is really depressed and needs some loving auntie decides to come visit DP. So mom and pop catch the first train and make the 2 hour train journey and 15 mins journey by a rickshaw to reach here!! DP is really happy to see his parents at his doors on a fine Sunday morning. After the customary small talks DP decides to show his academic prowess to his parents. So he switches on his computer to show his work!! Our genius has done all the preparations to please his parents except to change his wallpaper! So there is Leticia Casta looking stunning on the screen and DP looking stunned at his computer!

After he gets himself out of his stupor he somehow distracts his parents (mom , dad , look what a beautiful view I have got of out the balcony there!!). And in the mean while he changes the wallpaper to something more conservative! And by any standards the picture below is conservative!

[Note: These screen shots were taken afterwards for reconstruction of the whole screwup :). ]

let this be a lesson for everyone ... When parents come visiting clean up all your dirt :)
And of course we reaped the harvests of DP's suicidal mood... in the form of a big box of assorted sweets,which his parents had brought for their depressed son!! So being suicidal isn't that bad after all .... well not for us at least !!

To Spam or Not to Spam!!

2005-08-26T16:45:00.000+05:30

SPAMMERS ARE EVIL (<~ understatement of the year.)

Ok so everyone knows that! So why am I talking about them now! Well because the spamming problem is more than just annoying comments and full inboxes.
There was this comment by Shari, about this little kid who has cancer. Well it was a really innocent request. Just to pass on a message so that other people can pray for her. Well I guess that's the least I can do for her.... Pray! But all her good intensions are lost on most of the people. Well its not exactly their fault. We all have been spammed so bad that most of the people are weary of chain requests. Well my dear friends is the evilest side of spamming. The internet which was supposed to be the best place to get help is no longer so because of some immoral businessman who make wrong use of the word freedom.
anyway here are a few messages that I have received from people that need real help and are not just spams

Steve said... Hey do me a favor and send a prayer over to Rebekahs Site. http://rebekahspage.blogspot.com They are facing some tough decisions on radiation and could use some support. Tell 5 new people about her! That's my challenge today!Thank you and God Bless! (sorry bout the copy and paste comment. Its the quickest way I can get prayer out! Hope you see I just am trying to get a little girl some much needed prayer!)

this is another link that helps poor people. I thought it was authentic
http://www.ekincaglar.com/coin/

I didnt want to place these messages in anyones commets because you may not like it , so I thought why not my blog!! So here it is!! So pray if u can!!

Google Talk !!

2005-08-24T12:38:00.001+05:30

Appears like I am destined to bestow upon you the Google glory (or is it gory?). Anyway I had been hearing rumors for quiet sometime that google was going to launch a instant messenger of its own. And here it is -TAADAA -- Google Talk. This cute lil IM client is neat and light - much like most of googles things. And at 900kb it wont take u long to download and try. So go ahead. Try this new messenger and talk to me at @gmail.com . Want a gmail invitation . Mail me there with yr email id and I will dispatch one.

Why I am Who I Am!!

2005-08-23T16:27:00.000+05:30

Well this was long due. I saw Angry butterfly explain her name and thought I should do the same!! So here goes.
When I was in the first year of college I got into this craze of breaking into other people's computers. (This is one of the several ways of procrastination doing useful work and I have several more). Anyway so I spent long hours browsing the net and reading stupid tutorials which told you how to break into Windoz '95 boxes which no one uses anymore. After wasting a lot of time I realized what a colossal wastage of time it was to Hack !! All the same I was really impressed by a tutorial written by a hacker called thePinkNibble. (Obviously a lady). So my very imaginative mind thought now that pink is taken I could use Blue. So I became theBlueNibble. Yah I know its a dumb name but I have been using it for so long that its become my identity here. And yah my friends have often twisted the name to really evil things.
IN case you are wondering Nibble is a unit of information. The bits and the bytes make up all you see here. So 1 nibble=4 bits= half a byte. It is sometimes spelled nybble. and no it has nothing to do with what your dirty mind has been conjuring up till now

GOOGOL is the wor(l)d!!

2005-08-22T23:17:00.000+05:30

Ok have you seen that goofy result that google gives when you type in few key words. For example try these:
A) Type "failure" on the main google window and press on the "I'm feeling Lucky" button. And look at the fool staring you in the face with a stupid grin.(this was already on anamika's page , which I am shamelessly coping). A few years back when you typed in "weapons of mass destruction" it gave stupid results too. Its not there now. I donno why.
B) Now for more serious stuff. I must warn you that its all real and google is responsible for all that's present on the pages that you are about to now!!
1) Google is offering jobs. All those who are struck in dead end jobs and are likely to commit suicide due to it may apply. And what's more the job is on Moon. Click here for more info.
2) Ever wondered how Google gives you the result it does and how it does it soo fast? On public demand google has finally decided to let everyone have a look at its inner workings. Interested in knowing Click here! And please do not tell the PETA people. This may contain some graphic details of cruelty towards animals.
3) Tired of all the searching and having to type your keywords everytime you wanna search for something. Well try Google Gulp. Sit back enjoy the cool soothing drink and let googol do the rest.

C)here's something really naughty. All you big kids... DON'T TRY IT AT HOME!! Ready ?? GO!

1) go to google.com and click language tools (which is below Advance search)
2) Type, "MY MOM IS NICE AND COOL" and select English to Spanish and translate
3) copy the "translated text" and paste it into the translate testbox
4) This time, select Spanish to English and see the result and don't get offended

The final stuff and its a bit about googles dumbness : Google owns bloggger right?? But have u ever tried spellcheck. It always comes up with GOOGLE as a wrong spelling!! And suggests "googol". Now that's what you call supid . Cant googol just put "googol" in the spell check dictionary?

Tolby the Great!!

2005-08-21T04:23:00.000+05:30

I would like to place this post to thank our dear Tolbs for the infinite help he provided me. He spent a good deal of his precious time correcting the screw-ups that I had committed while trying to tweak my template. Once again THANK YOU Tolbs.

My Monitor and the Invasion of the Ants.

2005-08-20T16:14:00.000+05:30

Yes my monitor was invaded by the ants, of all gods sweet creatures. Since the past few days I had been had been having problems with some sort of random flickering of my screen. It was driving me crazy. After fiddling around with the power chord, the data a chord, and everything else ...including the legendary rap in the side of the box. This last technique actually works most of the time. And BTW I read somewhere "No mechanical problem is so difficult that it can be solved by brute force."
Anyway after trying everything I decided to look at the behind of my monitor (don't get any funny ideas). And then I saw it. A long line of red ants marching in a single file towards. I tried to find any ant that looked like Bush or Rice but couldn't find any so decided that they were not American. Its the invasion season after all.

Now I could see how those lil ants would be getting electrocuted and thus causing the screen to flicker. So armed with star headed screwdriver I got down to the task of removing the cover of the monitor and hoping to see a mass grave of ants. But NO !! They wont give me that pleasure . looking at the CRT I distinctly remember my father having once told me that it was dangerous to touch the CRT just after it has been unplugged for it contains huge residual voltage (which is way more than what you get off the plugs). So in my imagination (which by now was doing overtime) I could see the next days headlines "Ants used to assassinate budding engineer - Islamic extremist group Al Zafar suspected to have a hand" . (What .... thats very possible given the paranoia every where. And while I am on it ........ who will want to plant 400 bombs in Bangladesh . Thats an muslim dominated country with no occupying forces for gods sake.)
I didn't find a single ant any where in sight. So I presumed that they have all gone into hiding and I decided to "smoke them out of their holes".(I would like to take this opportunity to thank George W. for the quote). And very like Georgy I failed at the smokin 'em out act. So I resigned to their fate and decided to leave the monitor open for some time so that the ants could leave on their own. After a descent amount of time when I was about to screw the monitor back on I found them. There were millions of them all gathered up in a tiny corner almost invisible. So my smoking expedition having failed I decided to blow them out of the place. So that I did and my monitor has not flickered ever since. There you go George ... one more war strategy for you.

By the way I saw some shoot residue on the top of my monitor casing . how did that reach there?? My guess... the cobweb inside the monitor came in contact with the HOT CRT and burnt. Anyone had a better explanation??

Sa WHo??

2005-08-18T16:01:00.000+05:30

Yah I am supposed to be working today. I have got 3 papers to read and was just starting when I thought I sud let people know of the beautiful poem Sahoo (pronounced SaWho?? ) has written. This guy is one of the best persons I have ever known. The last 3 years you cold find him in my room for half of the semester because of test, assignments, projects etc etc. In fact he was seen soo much in my room that people would start to ask where is your room mate when he wasn't around. He is a perfect example that looks can be deceptive. At 6'2 he has the heart of a child. Anyway he is also a avid writer and reader. Does anyone know what's Dumbledore's father name? Ask him he might know. Anyway . He sent me this link to his blog yesterday and there was a poem there. Its really amazing how he got all that idea in the poem from raven. I guess the events in the poem take place in Ratnagiri, where we went this summer. Which by the way is like heaven on earth. That poem really reflects about the kind of people we have become. So go give him a visit.
Yesterday we had a wonderful discussion at FRITZs blog. G_samsa whom I have already mentioned in previous blogs has provided beautiful insights into the crisis of the Middle -East and the rest of the world. And of course Fritz is at her eloquent best. So read their blogs 2day. Hope I get time to write some more 2night

I got tagged!

2005-08-17T18:22:00.000+05:30

I got tagged by g_samsa. So i guess its now my turn to tag along.

Instruction:
List five songs that you are currently digging - it doesn't matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions and the five songs (with artist) in your blog. Then tag five people to see what they're listening to.

This is in fact a good tagging. I love listning to music so here goes. My taste keeps changing form time to time.

1. Artist: Green Day Album : American Idiot Song : Boulovard of broken dreams.
2. Artist: Maylynne Album : Welcome To the scene Song : Catch me.
3. Artist: Kenny Chesney Album : Me and You Song : Me and You.
4. Artist: 3 Doors Down Album : The Better Life Song : Kryptonite.
5. Artist: Pink Floyd Album : The Wall Song : Comfortably Numb.

Now about tagging some people. As this isnt too big a tag so i guess it wont annoy them and they in turn wont kill me.

1. Satyajeet
2. Ambuj Saxena
3. Chiffonesque
4. Onyx
5. One Of The Sheep

The Bond Grapher!

2005-08-16T23:11:00.000+05:30

Mood: Suicidal!

Noise: Linkin Park: Place in My Head

Random Thing: Hell!! Still Got that Hydraulics Assignment to do

Discovery: Rediscovered Hindi "Aa Tayar Ho Jaa" from Ashoka

Ever wondered what it would be like to have studied calculus from Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz or Laws of gravity from Sir Isaac Newton ? Well I don't know about Leibniz or Newton but I know Prof. Amalendu Mukehrjee. Prof who?? Well for the uninitiated he is one of the founding fathers of bond graph in India. He too is one of the leading bond graphers in the world. I am really fortunate to have taken up his course on introduction to Bond Graphs this sem.
Let me tell you how I ended up taking this course. Well people have been searching for a unified theory in physics which will explain everything in physics.. both in the micro and the MACRO world. They haven't found one yet. But if you are looking for a universal method to be able to model dynamic systems then bond graph is the prolly the closest tool you will find to that end. Irrespective to your field of interest, be it Mechanical, Chemical, thermodynamic or Electrical , you can use bond graphs to model the system. If there is a flow & effort in the system then bond graph is your tool. Even economics problems can be modeled. Anyway so I heard of Prof Mukherjee from a prof of my department. And as I virtually worship this professor I decide to take his advise and go for the course as an breadth course. So I go to the course page and look at the course content. Shit. That's the reaction to problem #1 staring right in my face. You need to take a freakin in Transform calculus (MA10023) . Ok I have done some Transform calculus in my structures class but not the course specified. Anyway I decide to ask Prof Muks weather I could take the course and that I don't satisfy the prerequisite. That out of the way I think about deciding upon my second breadth. My love for computers and previous good experience with programming subjects dictate that I take a programming course(I have always managed to score a A in such courses). Holy SHIT!! Yah that's the problem #2 slapping me in the face. If I take that BG course then all other programming lessons clash with its slot. So its a fight between heeding the prof's advice or taking a course that most probably will get me good grades.
the voice of the prof in my head wins and I decide to forego getting some good grades.
Ok so problem #2 taken I reach the Mech Engg dept to talk to prof Muks. Through the crack of a opening in the door I see a old man with almost no hairs sitting and talking to some other old man with equally less hair. Shitty Shit!! Yah you guessed it. Now the problem is that thinning crop of hair. Nobody ever has had much luck with almost bald Profs. From that theorem and the law of induction I deduced that I am screwed.

Almost on the verge of giving up the whole ideas I waited for the prof to finish his lil chit-chat. Having nothing better to do than stare at the floor or the ceiling I decided it would be better to read the notices on the board in front of his office. #$&^@$*^##% !!! Yah that's me cursing which for obvious reasons I censor out (what with children surfing the net without parental guidance). There is this list of the grades awarded to people who had taken this course in the previous sem. I try to find the number of people who have gotten a Ex (excellent) . NAUGHT. NO-ONE. ok lets look for an A. That proved as easy as finding an almost extinct species of shark in a vast ocean of C's and Ds. NOW I AM REALLY SCREWED. The idiot that I am I still stayed on to ask for permission to join the course.
I enter the room

me : ummm Sir , I wanted to take this course you are offering.

He:(with a broad smile , which BTW reminded me of the smile of that particular shark in Shark Tales) : you are most welcome. I would love to see some people from outside the dept taking my course

me:
thinking : yah some more meek sheep whom you can bore to death in class and give a D at the end of the sem
aloud : But sir umm .. there is a problem . I haven't taken the required pre-requisite. (half hoping that he would say what the hell are u doing asking for my permission when u are not qualified to take it)

he:(with the same Shark Tale grin) Its not a problem. You can learn it on your own . Self taught is better than spoon fed.

me :(ohh yah now I am completely screwed) thank you sir!

Well that was before. Then I started attending his classes. Once I started it was like being in fun school rather than a lecture. The depth of his knowledge and lucidity of his presentation was really mind blowing and eye opening. At least I know how it feels like learning a subject from a person who has practically invented it, rather than from people who have acquired their knowledge from books written by others. And wonder if Newton (the arrogant and quarrelsome self that he was) was half as good a educator as Prof Mukherjee is.

Happy Independence Day !!

2005-08-15T03:40:00.000+05:30

India turns 58 and in its only getting better with age. Wishing every Indian a
Happy Independence Day !!

g_samsa!!

2005-08-15T03:25:00.000+05:30

Mood: Bored to tears

Noise: Crickets Outside.

Random Thing: Wow. Thats a really nice flag.

In my last blog I had written about how poverty gives rise to terrorism. Well I thought I had written a good post till I read g_samsa's comments. Believe me his idea are way better than mine. Have a look at what he has to say. I could not agree more with him. Islam is struck in the medieval times and needs serious reforms and moderation. But I guess those reforms have to come from within the Islamic world. No external force can bring about that metamorphosis. Trying to attempt such kind of foolhardiness will only push the Muslims further back into their medieval shells. Whenever religion and politics mix the results are disastrous. We have seen that in India (look at the BJP - RSS-VHP alliance). We have seen that in the failed state of Pakistan and Afghanistan's. And we have seen that in medieval Europe when church and the law of the state were one and the same.
Ooo yah and handing out money to poor nations will only help line the pockets of loal politico.. with the needy receiving nothing.

Voila!!

2005-08-15T03:16:00.000+05:30

I just got my Blog a brand new look ! Did you notice? Tell me how it is. I spent one whole day which I could as well have spent on my thesis work on this. It better be worth the effort! Initially I had chosen a really grizzly one. Then I stumbled upon anti-ivy and the moment I set my eyes on the templates I knew I wanted them. Its such a pity that I don't have any source of income(yah I am still feeding off of my parents.) I would have definitely given her some donation. Till I earn some all I can do for them is give them some good wealthy referrals. Got to sleep . Have to do a lot of work tomorrow. Help me o god . Lead me through another day!

Space Tourism!

2005-08-14T20:16:00.000+05:30

Ya now people have got tired of littering the campsite next door and want to move on to higher places. As if space missions werent joke enough. Ok, being the scientific man that i am u can convince me that the space missions have to be undertaken so that in a few million when sun starts to cool down we could move to a new habitat. You will tell me that the small computers were invented for space purposes and then changed the way we communicate and work on this planet. Knowing full well that i wont be writing this peice if there were no computers i will even grant u that too is true. But space tourism?? Are you kidding me? Its just one more of those Boys-Toys. Ya i know u have worked hard (ya, operating sweat-shops in third world countries can be very tiring) to to earn those ton of money in your banks and you are entitled to spend it in anyway you see fit. But is it ethical to spend $55 mill just for a flight to moon and back when people are dying all around with no food to eat. 17 million people die world wide from curable diseases.
Now let me now try to how everyones problems are related. I will take the instance of what happens in the Kashmir valley. Its a classical example of the vicious cycle of terrorism and poverty. Due to the political instabilty of kashir since the independence of india there has been virtually no development work in Jammu and Kashmir. People in general are poor. The muslim extremist there use this as ruse to instigate anti indian feelings in the kashmiris. The pent up anger of the peolple is directed against the Indian army and government institution. continuous suicide bombings and insurgency makes it even more difficult to implement developmetal wprk in the state leading to furthur destitution of the poor and more people turning terrorist. Get the feel?
Wondered why america has been the target of all this violence by the islamic extremism? Well I have a theory. These cave dwellers somehow relate their sad state of affair with the capitalist nature of american foreign policy (i call it the war for oil policy). And of coarse if you back Israel when its buchering arabs and palestinians you only make things worse. So how is it related to space programms? Well modification of spelling rules may be an election issue in germany but in most of asia and africa its where the next meal is going to come from! issues like health, medicines, employment are more important in these parts of the world. So what the rich nations should do is help their poorer cousins to grow. This will subdue if not eleminate the anti rich feeling in the world. you may disagree. but that is what freedom is all about ... agreeing to disagree .
So Dennis Tito next time you decide to take a joy ride up into space think of this ...... Those people taking their last flight down could be well be crash-landing due to your lil trip.

Wake Me Up When September ends!!

2005-08-14T02:34:00.000+05:30

I had loved that song since the first time I heard it. Today I saw the music video. Its even more moving than the song. Green day with their pink lipstick and black eye shade not withstanding - the song is beautiful. The war scene is a tear jerker. Jokes aside the video sets you thinking.

Why are those young American soldiers getting themselves killed everyday in Iraq, in Afghanistan. What is their motivation? If Michel Moore is to be trusted then its mostly due to the money. Unemployment is not just an Indian problem. The army in the US goes from door to door like any recruiting people. They target the poor neighborhoods where chances of finding unemployed youths are better. So these poor Americans become the victim of the bullets and shrapnel in Iraq while the rich live the "American dream" at their expense only to pay them lip service for their gallantry. Of coarse telling that every American joining the army does that for money would be a gross generalization. Agreed that the army provides for lot more opportunities and not just 3 square meals a day. But isn't that plain exploitation?? You send them out to die just because they are poor. As Moore rightly points out .. how many of the American politicians have their children in the army. When they send those marines off to Iraq they should think weather would they have taken the same decision with equal ease if their sons and daughters had been on the frontline. Do u see bushes or dick Cheney dressing up their kids in fatigues and loading them up in APCs. I am not a person to decide weather the war on terror and the associated killing of innocent bystanders on both sides of the firing line is right or wrong - but then again when was war classified under such categories.

This is strange!!

2005-08-13T18:56:00.000+05:30

Well curious seeing Saddams pic on FRITZ's blog i took the test she had taken. ans here is the result. Can you beleive it?? The knuckle-heads on that site decided that i bore idological and mental resemblance to HITLER of all people ... but its fun. Tell who you are. Gaddafi anyone??

What Famous Leader Are You?

Procrastination: Dave Gorman style

2005-08-13T18:08:00.000+05:30

Have u seen google whack- the stand up comedy show by Dave Gorman?? Well for those who haven't here is the overall view of it : The actor-to-turn-author Dave Gorman decides to write his debut book. His publisher deposits a fat wad of cash in his account on the assurance that he is mature enough to write and he had a bushy beard to testify for it. So he sit down to write his first chapter and .....decides to check his mail first. One thing leads to another and he finds himself going round and round the world chasing wild goose.
So my point is?? Well my point is precisely that. I have to write a program that's proving to b more complex by the hour and have to come up with a topic for my thesis. I am chasing a Tuesday deadline. So my day starts something like this. Class -> lunch -> read some news -> siesta -> run to the lab. Well every thing is good till this. I reach the lab with full determination to write a substantial portion of the code this night. I reach the lab switch on the AC, the fan, the lights, the computers and get ready to start my program. It happens then --- "even the most trivial thing like checking the mail seems more important than writing those codes". What if someone is trying to contact me desperately.. so switch on the messenger and check on the mail. What happened today to the life of that police officer lady ... is her toe any better today ?? I must bank my gold in the dark throne. And then I must write this blog before I loose the idea. The list can go on and on and on and on and on. And sadly for the program it stays where it was a week before and sometime the progress is even negative when some bug that i had left finally starts biting me. I guess its not just my story. But its really killing me. As the faith that my professor put in me starts to wear thin I guess I will somehow find a way around my irrational list of priorities!

Programming

2005-08-11T12:18:00.000+05:30

Well its been two weeks since I last defined my problem. And since then I haven't shown my face to prof Sha. I met him today again... And the inevitable question "any progress?". Well no not much. Except that I have seen the code and devised a algorithm. I really need to start working on the program if I want him to retain his faith in me. I spent the whole night (well most of it) in the lab. When u have the control of yr machine from the lab its almost like being in the room. So I spent a lot of time tinkering around the system. I configured my account exactly as I like it. Well that took some effort. I used to love programming in school. I used write programs putting that notebook in between my books(like some ppl read their comics.) (I didn't have a computer at home ... but the who had!!). I guess we all love to do things that we are not supposed to do. There is some charm about forbidden things. Now that I am really supposed write programs I am not willing. Anyway I got to get down with my job. Hope to achieve some results in the next few days.

The Fox and the Voice from the Sky

2005-08-07T23:43:00.000+05:30

Well if u haven't guessed yet look at the links on the right. In case you are still wondering... they are Firefox and SETI@home . Firefox is a godsend for people who spend a lot of time on the net. Its the most customizable browser ever. You can add all the features u want by adding nifty extensions . The extensions in fact the best part. The browser is the fastest on planet. It loads pages a lot faster than IE6 by microsucks :P. Well if you knew that already then I guess you wont spend anymore time reading this miserly blog and go and try it out for yourself. Maybe sometime later I will put up a list of all the extensions that I use. One more great feature about firefox is that it provides for tabbed browsing. So instead of opening a dorzen windows for as many pages, you can do it all in a single window with a ton of tabs stacked neatly within. As a child I had read a story where a monkey tries to copy a man shaving and with disastrous results. Well a similar thing happened to MSIE when it tried to hurriedly "patch" up (as usual) its dumb browser. In its new release of MSIE 7 it suffers the fate of that poor monkey. Its a total disaster. It has the hallmark of all MS products .. instability. And you will be surprised to find no stop and reload button. No they didn't forget it... its tucked away obscurely besides the address bar. Considering the amount of time it took me to find out where the damn button was ... I guess my grand father wont ever find them. Its actually interesting to find MS coping features from Firefox and doing a mess of it all. Having the money it has cant it heir a few good programmers and creative heads. Just goes on to prove that not every thing can be bought I hope the way it muscled out Netscape by bundling its sub-standard browser free .... the same thing happens to it.

Friendship Day!!

2005-08-07T21:43:00.000+05:30

Well Happy Friendship day to you too! Well my day started with a friends call from back home. VA was in my school. From being a tiny boy back in school he has grown up to be a fine business man while I sit here on my ass typing. But that's not the point. I woke up to his voice on the phone. I was glad to hear from him. I was flooded with message form my "connected" friends at about midnight but I didn't return anyone's wishes. Well that's because I am not such a great fan of Hallmark holidays. Anyway those forwarded messages were impersonal anyway .. so I decided not to irritate anybody else with then and let them die on my screen.
But that phone call early in the morning really moved me. There was this guy whom I never cared to ring up in all these years he rings up with warm wishes. Maybe I should start paying them more attention. Well isn't that what friendship is all about? Well post shave and shower it was time for getting back with friends from yesteryear. My old wingies from first year had a nice party at LS. It was kinda cool. Well but I guess my tummy and 3/4 of a chicken I consumed for lunch will beg to differ. But who listen to them. :D.
the grind starts over again tomorrow. I hate Mondays. They are so yucky. Well I must seriously start studying and working on that programmer. I am kind of stretching Sha sirs patience. I must mend my ways before they are stretched beyond repair. So studies it is from tomorrow on.

BOINC

2005-08-05T23:19:00.000+05:30

For the uninitiated BOINC stands for Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing . Let me explain it. Computers have made repetitive and mindlessly huge jobs easier to solve. So if u have a computaionally intensive job then you divide your work into small parts and send it around the world to complete strangers to who will be more than glad to do the work for you. Well that's what is called distributed computing. What Boinc does is provide a engine that performs these mind numbingly infinite computations for you. For instance take the example of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). Daily we broadcast out tons of radio and TV signals. Most of them get reflected from the ionosphere and come back down . But some of them escape into the space beyond. These signals travel far and wide into the unknown universe. These waves carry a part of our identity , proof of our intelligence into the infinite universe. Well SETI is based on this principle. So if there is an intelligent life form out there then they must know the use of radiowaves for communication. This is a bold assumption, which on reflection may sound too farfetched. But nonetheless.
So what the SETI project does is :

Collect the feeble radio signals coming from outer space through an array of very powerful telescopes.
stores this data.
sends out data packages to BOINC clients running on millions of computers worldwide.
the BOINC clients analyze these signals and find if they contain any intelligent signatures.
the most promising chunks of data are analyzed by human analysts.

Given the huge amount of data by those telescopes all day through it would not be possible humanly to analyze the data by any private lab let alone human analysts. So the answer was simple. People ordinarily have very powerful machines installed at homes that use only a miniscule amount of computing power available. So the BOINC client uses those idle CPU cycles of your computer to do something better. I have been crunching SETI work units for about 2 years now. Thanks to me and people like me SETI has now been able to analyze millions of years equivalent of data... which it could never have done on its own even if it had the funds to heir computation time ... which it didn't have.

Dysphoria!!

2005-08-01T20:32:00.000+05:30

Depression:
Well that's another word for depression isn't it?? And that exactly how I have been feeling this whole day! Got up in the morning at 7:30 and still didn't attend a single lecture. Treated myself to sleep till noon . Had lunch and slept some more. Tried getting some work done .. and then got down to writing this. This is not the first time I have felt the blues ... when I described these symptoms to a friend of mine she immediately jumped to the conclusion that I was depressed. To be honest I think all this psychiatric hocus pocus is jut an extension of mans desire to blame things on someone else ... to rationalize. Asked for my opinion I would say ... Well I was lazy to have missed classes. Quiet easily explained :D.

Future definition :
I have been giving my future so much thought lately and more I think of it the more confused I get. Last summer as I worked under Arup da I was really inspired . I knew this is what I wanted to do all my life. But I went for the training and got to see the ground realities. In the manufacturing sector the work is tough and the pay is not so good . So I guess I have to go into services in the shipping business. How I wished someone could take all the decisions for me. But when was life so easy. Apparently outsourcing is not an option. I used to b so in control of my life a few years back. Somewhere down the line I let go of the straps that held my life together. I never had the wish to earn a ton of money. But I think that the basic need of life. People are hypocrites when they say that they don't want money. I am sick of studying. That's all I have done whole of my life. Isn't that what generally bright kids from the middle class do. I just want to get a job ... Be able to support my family; see a bit of smile on my parents face. If I am going to study anymore then I will make sure that it adds some value to my life. studying without value addition is complete wastage of time.

Life Number

2005-07-31T01:26:00.000+05:30

Your Life Path Number Is 7

Well those who know me best will testify that i dont beleive in generalized profecies about anyone ... u know the way the the astrology things work.. anyway i came across this and it asked me for my date of birth and viola the charaterastics that it spewed out match me one for onre... well almost all of them. try out yrs and tell me if its any good or whas it just a fluke?

7

You are a peaceful and affectionate soul... and by nature rather reserved and analytical.

The overwhelming strength of the number 7 is reflected in the depth of thinking that is shown.

You will garner knowledge from practically every source that you find.

Intellectual, scientific and studious, you don't accept a premise until you have dissected the subject and arrived at you own independent conclusion.

This is a very spiritual number and it often denotes a sort of spiritual wisdom that becomes apparent at a fairly early age. You need a good deal of quiet time to be with your own inner thoughts and dreams.

You dislike crowds, noise and confusion.

You are very thorough and complete in your work, the perfectionist who expects everyone else to be a meet a high standard of performance, too.

You evaluate situations very quickly and with amazing accuracy.

You rely heavily on your experiences and your intuition, rather than accepting advice from someone.

Your hunches usually prove to be very accurate, and knowing this, you are one who tends to follow the directions they seem to guide.

It's easy for you to detect deception and recognize insincere people.

You aren't one to have a wide circle of friends, but once you accept someone as a friend, it's for life.

You really aren't a very social person, and your reserve is often taken to be aloofness.

You actually like being alone, away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.

In many ways, you would have fit in better in much earlier times when the pace of life was less hectic.

In the most negative use of the 7 energies, you can become very pessimistic, lackadaisical, quarrelsome, and secretive.

A Life Path 7 individual who is not living life fully and gaining through experiences.

A negative 7 is a hard person to live with because of a serious lack of consideration.

The negative 7 is very selfish and spoiled.

If you have any of the negative traits they are very difficult to get rid of.

At your worst, you feel that the world really does owe you something - or in some way you aren't being fairly treated.

Fortunately, the negative 7 is not the typical 7, at least not without some mitigating positive traits.

This number is one that seems to have some major shifts from highs to lows.

Stability in feelings may be elusive for you.

What Is Your Life Path Number?

Inflation and deflation of egos!

2005-07-29T00:41:00.000+05:30

Well this is how it is. I have a friend of mine and mind u a good friend at that but he seriously has got a huge ego problem. He has got this God complexion ... the feeling that he is above all. He will expect you to do things for him that he would not do in return for you. I will give him this .. he is hard working and deserves whatever he has got .. but that doesn't make other people any lower or less worthy and definitely not worth the way you treat them.
Anyway I just realized what a two colored person I really am. A few days back I was telling my mom not to discuss people and here I am discussing my own friend. Well now that I have written all that I wont let it go down the drain and publish it anyway :P. Till I find better things to write about .....I will sign off.

Hydraulics

2005-07-29T00:24:00.000+05:30

So i have taken up hydraulics as a breadth this sem. i did the first class.. missed the second ...was threatened to be thrown out of the class in the third for not having wored out a problem ( well me and 95%of the class :D). Then in the fourth I found out what a real lecture feels like ya and u guessed it ... it was really boring. I know most of the things and there is virtually no interaction between the prof and me so yes its really boring. for almost 2 yrs i had been accostomed to being in small classes where u can virtually intorrogate the prof on each and every line. Now i find my wandering freely in such a vast class filled with sleepy second yrs . So life is not so good.
But on the other hand System and Control is amazing. It feels like a story telling class. The prof is simply amazing. .. quiet in cntrast with the hydraulics one.. even with a class of about 100 he manages to keep the subject interesting. Of coarse if u ask SN he will swear that the hydraulics coarse is going to be life defining. But wasnt he the same person who told that the training wud make similar things happen!! So his testimonials dont really count. And you know whats ironic he finally agreed that the training wasnt such a good idea after all ... the thing that i always knew and said. And of coarse I rubbed it in when he finaly admitted it :D . I got to write the program to find iso-Gaussian curvature lines. I havent started yet .. its gonna take a long time but i need some motivation . well the over enthusiasm that i have shwn over the last few years have taken their toll and i am left completely disillusioned. Hope i gan make a fresh beginning and call a spade a spade the next time I see it :D

loose motion and control

2004-11-23T02:23:00.000+05:30

MoNCo : well thats the subject we had a test on today. it went pretty well. the paper was relatively easy. i didnt remember the formulas quiet well. one think i like most about this sem is that i have finally started geting some respect from ppl. so now its not just SN ...... even my opinion is sort after. it feels like i am back in school again .... man, those were the days. after the exam i havnt studied. hope i start doing that soon. u might b wondering why i had this strange title for this blog. well we have been jokingly calling the subject by that name all this sem. and finally during the exam today i had lot of pain in the stomach ...... and i had to control the pain and go on with it , how very apt :D . anyway next we have structures. i have a lot of studing to do. i have basically got highest marks in my class in all the papers. hope i get a descent CG this sem. Amen.

lessons learnt

2004-10-12T02:05:00.000+05:30

well i wrote and wrote and wrote ... poured my heart out... and then i pressed publish.....and i lost it alll. well handsome here is the lesson . always copy the blog b4 publishing it. these r the lessons that life teaches u. will b going home oon sat . hope everythig is gr8 there. when i had got some money i had thought to buy daddy an aftershave ... now i am not so sure. lemme c . gotto sleep . got a long day 2morrow. arupda is coming back.. so get ready to get screwed again:( . i sud really work.
work done : completed MO&CO updating till pre-midsem.
to be done 2morrow: MO&co till the end..
and get out of step ASAP.

Silver Lining

2004-07-16T02:54:00.000+05:30

hi all. r u amazed that i am still doing it?? well dont be becoz i will keep writing till it becomes really unmanageble.
The Screwup: Arup da for the sake of simplicity had made numerous changes.brought the chine down to the innerbottom level. his partner in crime was neeraj. well the so called faired lines plan frm NSTL had some gross mistakes. anyway it was finally decied to go for them. we spent the entire day comparing the two drawings and finding whether the underwater portion of the hull was same for both the dwgs. and fortunately it was. the frames will now b changed.to make thing worse for us the pplotter stopped working just when we were about to wind up..........so new installation, renewed doubt upon our ability to workand stuffs related. anyway we finally printed the body plan and submitted the drawings.whew ....... what a day!!!

Return of the dictionary: today pani came back. its nice to have him back. did i tell u how ankit told us he has arrived?? well it was 3:15 am and i was fast asleep. he came and banged in my door and i had to ge up. anyway i am really not happy with the fact that the classes r gonna start in a few days. it will b back to the regular grind over again. i have decieded to stop swearing. talked to mia. she had told that she wont b able to make it. but she was there.

still doing it!!

2004-07-14T23:15:00.000+05:30

Upset Stomach: Since quiet a few days I have been waking up with a upset stomach. it pains a lot but the lazy person that i am stops me from going to the hospital. Hope its nothing serious, atleast nothing that mom says could happen with irregular eating habits.
My resolutions: Since quiet a long time i have been trying to stop doing ceertain things and to start doing certain others. well i have been totally unsuccessful in both . I always drag things to the extreme. "if it werent for the 11th hour nothing wud ever b completed"--- applies especially to my life. A little more organisation cud help. I wud like to live by the rules i set for myself.
Such a long day: Its been quiet a long day. we did no work in the morning. in the after noon i got to know a litte bit about Structural Design. also discovered discripancies in NSTL drawings. Moral Of The Story: try to get a drawing ratified by yr client b4 starting productions. Arup Da was a bit rude 2day. i think he is under a lot of tension. so help him lord.
Resolutions for 2morrow: If possible i will try to reduce the number of ............ I also wud like to start oiling my hair (i will do that presently). I also think i need to pray be4 my meals. its really selfish if u dont do that but i keep forgetting.(hope to do this things 2morrow)
I heard u can get HDD for 3500 (80 GB) and 2500(40 GB). cant actually build up my corage to talk to daddy about this. Mia I really envy u :p . will Sir really pay us anything ?? If he has any intention he is not showing it. I have my fingers and toes crossed :)

Started Writing

2004-07-14T13:03:00.000+05:30

Well i am gonna maintain a log of all i do form 2day on (well as far as i can continue:)). well i was told 2day of the uses of writing down what u do daily.
8:30 AM : got up and prepare to go to STEP.
9:30 AM : reached STEP. got down to work with SumiNibble. we have received new drawings and so took off all the offsets to modify the new fore profile.made some mistakes in taking offsets. so gor into mess. 2morrow the tech guy will come to repair abosenibb's comp. leant how to make nameplates are to b made . the name , drawing no., checked by are put in the box. the modifications are put on top of it.the reasons for modifications and the person authorizing it sud b stated and signed. before production starts it is very imp to get the drawings signed and approved. the frames have been made for the aft region and we completed the fore dwgs. soon we hope to start production. during production it is very imp to keep checking the frames for distortins. the wood absorps moisture and expands and contracts. there can b bending and twisting of the frame.
1:00 PM: we went to lunch with AB and SCM.
5:30 PM: the frames drawing s r all complete. we sit back and organize the work to b done in near future. hopefully we will b working through the semester. this is oneway good. hope it doesnt drag my CG further down. We talk to SCM and he gives us the brilliant idea of maintaining this log. hope its worth the effort.
7:00 PM: went to PrOPS's place and setup his system.
9:00 PM: back in my room after dinner.had Paratha and omlette and sabji . well i read the mesage frm mia on KOC.
things are looking all rosy till now. SN can b a bit trying at times but thats all he is. i really am glad to b in the compony of the men i am in. hope for the best
Time to sleep

2004-02-20T20:28:00.000+05:30

c u soon when my exms r over and get a chance to update this