Time of your life

The Motorcycle Diaries (Part 2) - The Two Blunders

2010-06-28T00:30:00.011+05:30

Long long time ago, about 20 days ago (okay not so long ago), in the city of Nizams when weekends were boring and there were no new movies to be jeered at and nothing new to do except time to pass, 3 like minded fellows decided to take their horses err... bikes out for a ride rather than sleeping through the day. Anyway, the point of telling all this background is, just like that, me, Lord and SRK had decided to go to a far away place - the beautiful Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, about 175 km from Hyderabad on that fateful Saturday morning. Everything was so ominously set up for us, including the atmosphere as well. And then, with no real plan, no real map or exact directional route, no real inventory (first aid, mechanical kit) and not much currency in paper form, the fellowship of the bikers set on for the ride of their life (till date, that is). By the way, if you are reading this without reading the previous part of this series, please don't proceed ahead. You will only end up messing up your neurological circuits, trying to understand what this gibberish is all about. If you've already gone through that ordeal, then well, you're all set for the next part of the Motorcycle Diaries and the ensuing blunders.

1) Time Stamp - 12 June, 2010 (8:30 AM)
Place - Hyderabad outskirts, NH 9 begins.
Distance covered - 30 km

Having topped up the fuel tanks of the vehicles to the full capacity from an outside city petrol pump ("city ke baahar petrol sasta milta hai") and thankfully we paid it with SRK's credit card, it finally began. The weather was absolutely fantastic, with the sun shying and hiding behind the dark gray skies, but it never rained and with cool breeze hitting our faces while we pushed the bike to the highest gear - thus achieving the max throttle, that was a feeling to beat. Thankfully, the Hyderabad - Bangalore highway - NH 9 was surprisingly empty that day, at least early on in the morning. The kind of adrenalin rush you get, when you are driving at 100+ km/hr and that too for a period of more than 5 minutes at a stretch - its really unique and somewhat consciousness shattering. Some good news for those who have played Need For Speed Most Wanted- yes... the motion blur exists in the real world too... but please don't experience it for longer durations. And definitely not on corners. Extremely dangerous stuff, its like that one puff you take and forget it later, forever.

At around 10 AM after having covered around 120 kms, we stopped at a random place in between where we had a temple like structure on a hillock, which also offered us a dirt racing track with quite a steep incline. After testing our biking skills and some pretty narcissistic photos of us all, we then began the final stretch to Nagarjuna Sagar. It all turned out pretty awesome, just what we expected from this rage for speedy bike trips. The whole time some of the following bits and pieces of conversations popped out randomly and frequently -

Me: This is simply awesome man...
Lord: Kya jabardast view hai...
SRK: abe ulti feel aa gayi...

Me: abe ek bhi ATM kyu nahi aa raha??
SRK: load mat le, aage aa jayega...

2) Time Stamp - 12 June, 2010 (11:30 AM)
Place - Nagarjuna Sagar Dam/ Nagarjuna Sagar Lake
Distance covered - 180 km

And then it finally came in sight. And what a sight it was. Majestic, really. There is a reason why they call all the lakes in and around Hyderabad as Sagars. They are all unbelievably gigantic. (ok, not all of them, but most of them). Nagarjuna Sagar, true to its name was freaking huge and a pleasant surprise for us. My, the blues stretched towards the horizon as if it were a sea. And towards one far end lied a wall which obstructed this chunk of water body like the wall of Troy. Overall, pretty fantastic and worth 180 km and we felt great. The pain in the behinds suddenly went away and after having a decent enough lunch, visiting some panoramic view points and some more chai(tea) + limbu(lemon) /mosambi(sweet lime) sharbats(drink) later, we finally came down to the waters, down to those slippery rocks. And it was on these rocks, while SRK got full drenched, me half drenched and Lord still fooling around with his Nikon DSLR, that somehow we had the following conversation - which was basically was the foundation for "the Two Blunders". And it went on something like this:-

Timestamp (12 June, 2010 (3:30 PM))

(much time had passed while we loitered around in the clean waters of the Nagarjuna Sagar after having a refreshing lunch)

SRK: abe ek baat bolu?
Lord: ek kya, tu do baat bol... I'm very happy today !!
SRK: yaha se Srisailam kitna door hai?
Me: abe Srisailam is 240 km away from Hyderabad, and we've already covered 180, so its only 60 km away from here...
Lord: yes, that's correct, why what happened?
SRK: nahi, main soch raha may be we can visit that place as well since we have already come so far... what say?
Me: (after thinking really hard) lets go, it will be fun... we can still make it back by late night if we press hard...
Lord: yes, and the road to Srisailam is godly as well... it goes through this awesome forest reserve and its too good (google maps expert, we don't argue on this front with him)
SRK: okay, great !!

And thus, the fellowship decided to extend their trip further to Srisailam. Its a nice place where there is a very famous temple atop a gigantic mountain situated amidst a beautiful tiger sanctuary forest. The prospects of driving to and back from there was irresistible, in spite of the exhaustion. But before all this, one more blunder, a bit minor one was in store for us.

About 10 km from Nagarjuna Sagar, we had come to know that there existed a very famous waterfall by the name of Ethipothala. We decided to officially take a bath under it. But due to the lack of spare clothing, we were in a fix. No problem, we go to local village and buy everything (yes everything, right from towels to the undies) and get ready to be bombarded with vertical jets of water!!

3) Time Stamp - 12 June, 2010 (4:30 PM)
Place - Ethipothala Waterfalls
Distance covered - 190 km

After much huffing and puffing and admiring the scenery speeding past us, we arrived at the waterfalls. However, we were in for a blinder of a shock. This waterfall, yes, this very waterfall had made a super big fool of us all, mocked us and left us in total shambles. Why, you ask? Well, because it was just a waterfall you get to watch from about 200 meters away and there's no chance of getting underneath it - at least legally and without any danger to your life!! Goddamn!! And we spent half an hour in the market arguing and bargaining the price of those... Grrr... Disappointment and shocked that we were, we managed to hide it pretty well from the pretty faces present there and soon got out of there real quick to forget it. These waterfalls, even if they are not much pain for the eyes, they can mock you big time!!

4) Time Stamp - 12 June, 2010 (6:00 PM)
Place - Random T Point, some village
Distance covered - 210 km

Well, we were already 210 km, as far as our odometers were suggesting, but to add to our earlier feeling of shock and awe (Ethipothala waterfalls), we were wondering why we didn't pass through that super forest drive yet and why wasn't Srisailam any nearer still? We stopped for another Tea/ Bisleri Break and casually asked a person at the "tapri" (slang for tea stalls in India which can sell stuff you wont expect it to sell even in your dreams) about how far Srisailam was from here. Answer was - 160 km!! We were like "what the !@#$". We confirmed and we re-confirmed, the place was damn 160 km away... It took about 2 minutes for the fact to completely sink in and before any of us spoke again, as we were still in the process of recovering from the first blunder.

Now we had the following choices :-

--> head back to Hyderabad, a straight 210 km drive back, in all that growing darkness and torturing everything from top to bottom on that now very busy highway!! This also meant enduring a severe pain in the behinds since driving at night time meant reduced speeds.

--> Continue to Srisailam, try to reach there before dinner time, make a night stop over, explore the place next morning in peace and then return back to Hyderabad next afternoon. Seems like our earlier assumption of Hyderabad, Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam being 3 collinear points on a line stretching 240 km was not really factually correct. Hyderabad - Srisailam was 250 km, yes, but it was a totally different route altogether (see the map, that's the road we took during return journey)

Since the second option ensured more adventure than any sort of social life we could have had on the following day in Hyderabad, we just spontaneously decided to carry on. But seems like there were still more surprises in store for us. The thing is, Srisailam being situated in a dense forest, they stop entry and exit to/ from it at 9 pm at night. So this meant, we had to stop over even before Srisailam in a village called Dornala 50 kms earlier. According to the people in the village where we made this decision to go on, the road was not really driver's paradise and it goes through some Ghat sections (curvy, zig-zag, treacherous roads carved on the sides of mountains) as well. And being in complete darkness, the region was prone to Naxal attacks (dense AP forests + deserted roads + darkness = probable naxal attacks?) as well. Wow, this was scary indeed... What followed next that scary evening and the following day's unbelievably awesome morning, is actually the bestest and most amazing part of this whole journey. Please don't forget to read the concluding part, the finale of this series - The Motorcycle Diaries (Part 3) - The Return of the Awesomeness !!

The Motorcycle Diaries (Part 1) - The Fellowship of the Bikers

2010-06-24T23:44:00.016+05:30

Well, first of all, this blog post is not at all related to the iconic Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. But yes, this one is about a legendary, ultra awesome and super godly bike trip. Continuing my bad habit of finding time to blog only on special occasions, the reason for you reading this is - that I've survived successfully for 2 years in Hyderabad and it has been quite an enlightening experience both personally and professionally. While I will be happy to en-cash my 24th pay check at the end of this month, this has been a unique phase of life and has seen its fair share of crests and troughs. Hyderabad, Oracle, 205-Silpa Emerald - there are so many things from these 2 years which have turned me over, flipped me inside out and changed me to some extent but this blog is not about all those things. Its about 2 grand days when me, Lord and SRK (names modified for the sake of protecting... usual stuff) "planned" a bike trip to Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and what followed next on the weekend was indeed, a tragic comedy of errors - but being engineers and being used to last minute management (read chaos), we ended up enjoying it never the less !!

To make this sound sweet and short (very difficult for me) I will just split this up chronologically with respect to time, assumption and the resultant blunders interspersed with moments of awesomeness. Read ahead at your own risk.

1) Time stamp - 11 June, 2010 (8 PM)
Place - Random cubicle, 3rd Floor, Campus Phase 2, Oracle IDC - Hyderabad

Lord - "abe kal nagarjun sagar chal raha kya? SRK and me are going. Its about 175 kms from Hyderabad."
Me - "Oh yesss... I've been dying to go to that place, or rather any place which is far away and would let me drive for a long time !! lekin ek locha hai, I've something important to do tomorrow, can we go on sunday please?"
Lord - "abe we need to get MOCKed at on sunday, we need to go tomorrow only"
Me - (cursing) "hmm... wait... (calls A - gives the number of B, calls B - gives the number of A, apologies etc) chal locha resolved. I'm in !!"
Lord - "chalo abhi ghar jaate, kal subah 5 baje uthna (what a joke !!), me and SRK will rap you at 6 AM "sharp", okay ?"
Me - "wokay !!

2) Time Stamp - 11 June, 2010 (time unknown, probably late at night)
Place - Google Talk

this is a fictional but somewhat true reproduction of the possible conversation in author's own words, as he was not a part of this conspiracy...

SRK/Lord - "abe, Nagarjuna Sagar is effing 175 kms far away man, it will take super long to go and come back!!"
Lord/SRK - "we knew this already right ?"
SRK/Lord - "but now I'm having doubts whether we can actually survive on bikes for that long. It will be dee-fi-cult, you know..."
Lord/SRK - "ok, let's go to some place which is a bit closer, what about cool_place_abc ? Its about 50 kms only."
SRK/Lord - "great, that would be easy. What about Suyash?"
Lord/SRK - "we can't tell him right now. We will drop the bomb in the morning at 5 am regarding the change of plans. He wont even know what swept him over !!"
SRK/Lord - "awesome !!"

3) Time stamp - 12 June, 2010 (6:15 AM)
Place - 205, Silpa Emerald (via Vodafone cellular network)

Me - (after snoozing off the alarm for 15th time) "abe kya hua, tum log abhi tak aaye nahi? (as if I was all dressed up and ready), kitna late karoge ?"
Lord - "Yes, both me and SRK were unable to get up at 5 am (surprise !!). Abe Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is very far, apne ko poora din bhar lag jayega and it would be too tiring, lets go to cool_place_abc instead, what say?"
Me ---> got busy in putting convincing skills into play and after a few more phone calls to SRK...
Lord - "okay, we are going to Nagarjuna Sagar then... Lets start at 7 am."
Me - "wokay !!"

4) Time stamp - 12 June, 2010 (7:45 AM)
Place - Samrat Darshini, Kondapur
Distance Covered - 0.5 kms

while munching on plates of idli and wada sambhar with backpacks containing nothing but cameras and a water bottle, we chalked out the following "pee-lan" for the day...

Assumption #0 -

The place is about 175 kms away. Considering multiple stoppage points for chai and nature calls if any, we should be able to reach Nagarjuna Sagar at around 11:30 am something. We have dinner, we roam around the dam, then dish dash to the lake, get wet to get rid of the sweat and after some more rest, we head back ( I always knew there was a poet in me !!). If all goes well according to plan, we should be back to Hyderabad by lets say, 6:30 pm - 7 pm. Sounds great !! (alas, things happened so differently though :)

Blunder Sequence #0 -

We plan to get wet, but we don't take any spare clothes. We have a super long drive ahead, but we don't know how much fuel we have. We would be traveling to a remote place in AP and yet we decide to depend on ATM and Credit cards more than hard cash. (atm to har jagah hota hai, load kya hai ??) And of course, none of us is completely sure of the exact route as well, just a rough idea, we go with the google maps expert and depend on sun and helping people of AP as guides. I hope this should provide a somewhat translucent picture of the disasters which were waiting for us in the near future!! It took us about 45 minutes to get outside Hyderabad city and we topped up our fuel tanks to the max limit (by credit card, thank God) before hitting the highway to hell... err Nagarjuna Sagar i.e. on the expressway called NH 9.

And thus the fellowship of us 3 bikers with our trusted motorcycles - pulsar 150 cc (new one), an xcd 135 cc (unique piece) and another pulsar 150 cc (old one) began a very very eventful bike trip - which lay in store for us some really unforgettable memories. Since the entire trip ultimately stretched further beyond our present imagination, I need to continue this further in the sequel. Please do wait with bated breath for - The Motorcycle Diaries (Part 2) - The Two Blunders.

Life is an Agneepath

2010-02-01T00:13:00.004+05:30

Disclaimer: What follows next is a truly random, crappy and perhaps illogical post, written in an absolutely frustrated state of mind. Please don't bother to read or comment. There, you were warned.

24. The number is indeed special. It represents so many things. Its the number of hours we spend everyday on this planet. Its the number of hours the planet takes to rotate around itself. You may ask whats the difference, aren't they both one and same? Think again. One definitely needs a wake up call if he/she thinks that something extra ordinarily unique like a day from his/her life can be equated with a super repetitive natural phenomenon like the rotation of a 6 trillion trillion KGs of mass around a hypothetical rod of length 12000 km. 24, for me represents Life - and now that I'm have completed my 24th revolution around the sun today, I am being made aware of the quintessential fact, that Life does not remain a bed of roses forever. Its a path of fire or an Agneepath and everyone feels the heat sometime or later. I guess the heat was always there for me but the coals are getting just too hot now to ignore it anymore.

I never thought everything would suddenly change like the way it has from the last 18 months or so. Some changes were welcome and anticipated, some unexpected and ready-to-be-faced but to see the smooth machinery of my comfortable existence to be brought down to such a grinding halt like this is scaring. I thought I would get used to it soon, but seems like I don't really like the fact that someone has moved my cheese. It hurts and it pains big time, and there simply is no looking away from the fact. So what should one do next? Introspect and think of a solution to replace what you're missing while retaining what you like from the new life?

Why is it so difficult for some of us to forget the fading past and race ahead for that bright future? I guess the answer lies in what a person's Ikigai is. Ikigai - translated from Japanese literally means - "something important one lives for". I absolutely hate it when I see people deciding on almost every important course of their life based on the "economic prospects" instead of doing something they are passionate about. How can someone be truly happy from within and live a satisfying life if he is not doing something he enjoys? The very fact that almost everything that happens today is being controlled by the greedy capitalist economies that we live in, nauseates me. Look at us, how we have forgotten to enjoy God's best gift of "growing up" and instead slog for that Engineering / MBA degree. Instead of following the pursuit of happiness during the flagrant youth life that we had been looking forward to, most of the times we dedicate more than what we are expected to, to the "productive" part of our life craving for that promotion/ raise/ appraisal. If one should eat to live and not live to eat, then why do we live to work instead of working to live?

But Alas, its something for which we don't have a solution yet. After all, the very survival and satisfaction of our material needs depends on the world we live in. So accept it, we must, anyway it is. But in the end, its imperative to take out time for oneself every single day. Because if you don't do that today, thats 24 hours gone from your life like Keyser Soze disappears... poof... just like that. And its important to mention here that, unless proved otherwise, we have only one life. Damn it. Only One. And the length of this solitary life is beeping uncertain. As Mark Twain once said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn`t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore... Dream.. Discover". But the point here is that, does the world we live in allow us to do all these things at our will? Certainly not. We need to slog and work and learn and earn to do everything. Why does that sound like a vicious circle looping us into captivity forever? If ever there exists a "day of redemption", I hope I get an opportunity to clarify some of these issues with "Him".

The only thing we mortals can do is to just pick ourselves up from the fallen depths and try to rise from the ashes like that mystical phoenix. As to the challenges we face, perhaps they too are required in the long run or else how would we cope with the unexpected events? All said and done, I guess its only easy to speak and write about such stuff but terribly difficult to act upon. Or is it? If life is indeed meant to be an Agneepath then maybe that heat does act as a catalyst to surge us ahead or else we might just limp towards nothing. Its the fire that enables us but at the same time we need to carry that compressed CO2 Can with us to cool off things as frequently as we can. When things get bad, you should stop being sad and be awesome instead (True Story, Barney Stinson). When it seems that things are becoming impossible you need to shout back to the world, "It ain't over till I say its over. I'll be Back". And to top all the cliches that I've used so far, I would like to end it with what Hariwansh Rai Bacchhan once famously penned down and I now agree with:

Vriksh ho bhale khade, ho ghane, ho bade...
Ek patra chhav bhi mang mat, mang mat, mang mat...
Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath.

Tu na thakega kabhi, tu na thamega kabhi, tu na mudega kabhi...
Kar shapath, kar shapath, kar shapath...
Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath.

Ye mahaan drishya hai, chal raha manushya hai...
Ashru shwet raqt se lathpath, lathpath, lathpath...
Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath.

P.S.: I love the concept of Head Fakes (Randy Pausch - really achieving your Childhood dreams) and the head fake here is that the above blog post was actually meant only for me. The rest of the world reading this is just a bonus.

CBT CAT 09 - Evaluation and Ranking

2009-12-06T09:53:00.013+05:30

Update: I got a re-assuring reply from Professor Pankaj Chandra, Director IIM B, saying - "Sorry for the inconvenience caused to you. We will address the issues that you have raised in your email." Thank you Sir, it means the world to me for you taking out time to reply to my email. Hope everything is sorted out and resolved pretty soon so that everyone gets a fair chance to start their MBA from the IIMs !!

Also check out this TOI article.
End of Update

Following is the email which I've written to the directors of the prestigious IIMs regarding information for evaluation and ranking of scores obtained by students in the CBT CAT 09. Decided to post it in the blog sphere as well so as to know if there are others who share a similar concern.

Disclaimer : I'm not whining against CBT CAT 09 nor asking for a re-test / paper based test to be conducted again. Also those who have scored awesomely in this years CAT might be against the views expressed in this post and will definitely tell me to "adapt" to the changes and that this is the system and that we have to live with it. Okay, thanks in advance. And congrats to all of you for cracking CAT. Please spare me the lecture.

Respected Sir(s)

I, the undersigned, aspire to start my management studies in one of the prestigious IIMs from next year. I have appeared for CAT 09 on 5th Dec from Hyderabad and I have no complaints with respect to the actual test conduction process on a personal level since everything went smooth for me. There were no technical glitches or inconvenience of any type. I guess the situation has been improved drastically from what it was at the onset and I thank the quick measures taken for the same.

However, keeping asides all the other issues we have seen bogging CBT CAT 09 so far, I always thought that the greatest challenge of this year's exam was to arrive at 20 papers with questions having more or less similar difficulty level. This is based on the presumption that, the evaluation of candidates is going to remain constant as earlier years - i.e. - the "percentile" marking / grading system - where you rank students based on the "score" they obtain.

However, me and a very large number of students who have appeared for CAT 09 feel otherwise (that the difficulty level was different and waving in different slots) due to the following reasons:

1) Students who gave CAT in the earlier two days, though had to under go the trauma of delayed server responses and virus attacks, have reported that the level of questions was very easy and most of them managed to score 50+ out of 60 which was so unlike a CAT exam. Unless, it was intended that the CAT exam be brought down to a lower level, I feel this has really dented the image of CAT as an exam where scoring 50% of the total marks was considered as a daunting task earlier.

2) Students who gave CAT in the middle days reported that the questions were getting repeated from the earlier slots and also were being taken "as_it_is" from previous years CAT papers. This, I feel, was a big blow to those who took the tests earlier because they would never even have got wind of some of the difficult questions since they were actually attempting it for the first time. It might be unnecessary to point it out Sir, but even 3-4 questions solved in a minute just because of "prior knowledge" ensure that you make a quantum leap by saving time and dedicating it to other ques. Is this fair to all others who instead got unique questions ?

3) After the break out of all the above issues along with numerous others, it seems that the CAT has been brought back to being CAT on the last few days. Suddenly, the level of difficulty of questions in some sections has been steeped up making it really difficult to cross even the 45 mark !! I will admit, I might not be the brightest of the CAT aspirants, but then I am definitely not among the dumbest. Now we are seeing almost a no-show of repeat questions and no previous CAT questions. This is good from an exam point of view, but how do you justify the same happening for some students earlier, which clearly gives them advantage over others. As you know, a difference of a couple of questions make it a big deal of difference due to the current "percentile" based marking / grading.

The issue which I want to address through this letter is that how are we going to grade students appearing for CAT 09 based on questions with varying difficulty level ? Is it really fair to compare someone who got 50 correct in a easy paper (By easy I mean and include any / all of the following : easier questions lifted from database, questions repeated from earlier slots, questions taken from earlier slots, questions passed on by friends / teachers / forums etc) to someone who got 40 correct in a paper which did not have the above mentioned features ? Unless of course, there is going to be some sort of normalization based on the difficulty level, some sort of relative grading, I believe many are going to suffer from gross injustice and would only be left to regret at not being offered a fair shot at the IIMs.

From IIMs stand point I have heard that the argument being offered is that such things happen with other exams like GMAT as well and no body complains there. However, I would like to point out some key differences between the two, which I know you are definitely aware of :

- GMAT can definitely be taken more than once in a year in a testing window which is very large as compared to that of CAT 09. The point being, one can improve upon his / her score if he / she feels she got a bad deal. CAT 09, on the other hand can be given only once, and you just have to live with it and give it next year only.

- While GMAT also sometime may show up with repeat questions and different difficulty level questions, we can't forget its a "Computer Adaptive Test" - where the difficulty level depends on how many questions you answer correctly. The database is repeatedly updated to avoid repetitions. Even the scoring algorithm makes sure you can't skip to the next question until you answer the current one. Most importantly, the "result" is generated at the end of the test itself.

In the case of CAT which is a "Computer Based Test" - and most importantly - where the results are based on "%tile" and not "%tage", it really boils down to how many students you outscore / outperform. In such an evaluation scenario, how is it justified to have some students face a difficult paper and some an easy one (the demarcation of the above being done in Point 3) and on top of it, its just unbelievable to imagine that our futures will now be controlled via a random algorithm which is modified "midway" between the exam after glitches being pointed out by earlier CAT takers !!

I believe that there are many things which have gone the undesired way in CBT CAT 09. But the most serious issue according to me which needs to be addressed is how the "ranking" of students is now going to be done? Do we just have to live with the earlier ranking scheme based on %tiles and cut offs which will be same for everyone or are the IIMs going to take pain to make a definitive analysis of the different slots and come out with something which is just for all ?

By the way let me just repeat, I am not asking for a re-test / paper based test as some might perceive but I'm only asking for the right to know how will the grading and ranking be done and would it be fair to everyone given the above things which have hampered this year's CAT.

I don't know if this letter will even be "opened / read / thought upon" by the busy IIM directors since you must be receiving thousands of such emails / letters by now and one more student crying out aloud will just be like a drop in an ocean. They might even consider me treating CAT as sour grapes. But at least I will be in peace thinking that I did raise my voice / concern when I had the time and means and would avoid the regret in case I don't complete my MBA from an IIM.

I sincerely hope that I would get a fitting reply from some of the authorities responsible for CAT 09.

Thanks,
Suyash Joshi

Please feel free to comment and provide your feedback about the above "rant" by clicking here. Also read the disclaimer at the top of the post before posting your opinion on me / any views in the post.

Theft, Copyright Infringement, File Sharing and Piracy

2009-03-31T02:36:00.006+05:30

Please Click the picture to enlarge and view the "fine text" in between with greater detail.

Well, they say, pictures talk louder than words. I have nothing more to say on this super controversial topic. And of course, this does not mean that I endorse absolutely everything depicted in the above picture. But then, you must not misunderstand this as just another image since I might as well be echoing a very popular sentiment amongst one of the ever growing community in the world.

Avast matey, Shiver me timbers !! All hands on decks... Leave nothing behind. That by the way, in plain English means, please pour your heart with the comments about what you feel regarding this glaring issue by clicking here. Savvy, eh?

My Quarter Life Crisis

2009-03-28T12:16:00.004+05:30

Well, I officially turned 23 this year on 3rd Feb, 2009. No Big Deal, since I'm not traveling at speeds more than that of light, I'm going to age forward only. (For more info on this, do read "How to build a Time Machine" by Paul Davies, awesome book there...) Anyways, the point is, this birthday was unique since it was the first time probably that I "celebrated" this day away from my home and family. It kind of brought home some sort of awareness, since the last 9 months of my life have not been the same as they were for the last 22 years. Some things, or rather many things have changed after I left the cozy comfort of family, friends and college. This new life, where I go to "work" is not something I could take less seriously since with freedom and power comes greater responsibility and bigger challenges. And I'm not really sculpted for them yet. Though the iron hammer of life and the experiences I'm undergoing act as the required heat/catalyst to mold me as an individual (Don't think much about metallurgy references there), I realized that day, that indeed, I'm also undergoing some of the symptoms of the well known Quarter Life Crisis.

According to the Wiki, The quarterlife crisis (QLC) is a term applied to the period of life immediately following the major changes of adolescence, usually ranging from the early twenties to the early thirties. The term is named by analogy with mid-life crisis. This is what being in twenties something makes me think about.

It was only after I came to Oracle, Hyderabad and after I stopped going along with the crowd, I started realizing that there are many things about me that I didn't know and some of them were something that I myself don't like. Due to the things I feel I'm good at and due to the things I hate myself I did get me that mixed feeling of being confident and insecure at the same time about where I will be in a year or two. And then I get scared because I barely know what I'm capable of doing and what not.

I started realizing that some people are really selfish and would go to the extreme to achieve their ends and maybe some of the friends that I hanged out with earlier aren't really the greatest people living on Earth as I get to meet new people. Also, its a really sad thing to acknowledge that some of the friends with whom I lost touch with are those I am missing the most. Maybe everyone isn't really so cold, mean or insincere because even they might be undergoing this same state of confusion.

One thing that I like though is at least I got to choose the right job that I wanted. It would have been a personal disaster had I been working with something that was not even close to what I had planned. Although, it does make me aware of how vast the canvas of professional life can extend if everyone tries their level best to succeed, whether it's about PG programs, scaling up the ladder or becoming an entrepreneur!!

My opinions about some things have really gotten stronger. Whether it's about communism or equality, about balancing personal and professional life, about India as a country - (is it really united due to the religion diversity ?? ) or about my beliefs, I now really am looking out to find a purpose to my existence. And at the same time I'm questioning more and more about why the universe has formed the way it is and about meta physical things like God and Death. Someone needs to provide me these answers real fast or I'm soon going to suffer with insomnia!!

I can understand and judge other people why they are doing things in a certain way and I constantly update my list of things of what is acceptable and what is not. What is good and what is bad are really relative. And this scares me to no end.

Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I cry with the greatest force in my life over what's going on around me. Talk of being alone, confused and scared. Suddenly, change is the enemy and I try to refuse to come out of the shell that I hibernated in the last 22 years. But I can't really cling on to whats dear to me since the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

Some people affected by QLC get their heart broken and wonder how someone they loved could do such damage to them. Or they lie in bed and wonder why they can't meet anyone decent enough that they want to get to know better. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. They go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with their friends about the same topics because they cannot seem to make a decision. They worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now everyone would just like to be a contender!

I believe many people in their twenties something might relate to the QLC factor. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure out what really this whole thing called LIFE is all about.

Please let me know if anyone has some cure for this "Quarter Life Crisis". Please feel free to post your comments by clicking here.

World of GOO !!

2008-11-03T14:49:00.007+05:30

Ameya Khandekar writes:

I am glad to guest-blog here again, - Here is my earlier attempt.
I confess, I am not an avid gamer i.e. I don't go on downloading FIFA - 200X each year or install the latest version of NFS i.e. Carbon (you can see how outdated I am with my knowledge of EA's latest in racing). I don't detest gaming, in fact I would love to play all these games, but my PC isn't boosted with steroids such as NVIDIA-GEforce 8800. So when one of my friends suggested me a game compatible with my PC, I installed it. My experience with it ensues:

World of GOO is a game based on construction and physics, it is a game developed by a team of two people (amazing isn't it?). The game is 150 MB in size and should run on all of your PCs because it ran on mine. The game is basically a 2-d game but that doesn't take the fun aspect out of it. Each stage requires the player to build a structure made of GOO-balls (yep, GOO balls) and reach an exit point. The structures commonly would consist of bridges,towers etc (see the figure below).

And the amazing thing is the game keeps on surprising you with innovative stages. As can be seen from the figure the building blocks are goo-balls. Now, in this game there are various species of goo-balls such as flying ones (see the figure below), inflammable ones, explosive ones, sticky ones etc. So you can imagine how different structures can be constructed.

So if you want to indulge in some creativity and brainwork do play this game in it's entirety. I myself, am in the last stage currently. Most of the gaming websites such as IGN and Nintendo gaming world have given the game a rating of 9+. Also, the game has got a very humorous plot, animation that makes you laugh, and there are subtle witticisms throughout the game. You will know what I mean, when you play a stage named EUREKA, which requires you to make use of the Archimedes principle ;).

Reviews by some gaming sites :-

IGN (<---courtesy for images, hehe)

Eurogamer

And a very Hilarious Trailer on Youtube

P.S:- A GAME WHICH COMBINES THE ART OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND SANITATION !!! LOL !!!

P.S.2: - dont take the meaning of GOO in a derogatory way... It means Grease balls, I was just joking above.

Click here to write your comments to provide an ode to this fantastic game which is sure to rattle the grey matter in your brains and might make you revise engineering mechanics once again !!

Try to Beat this Resume !!

2008-09-13T18:00:00.003+05:30

The content of this post comes from one of the "FWD" type of mails. Generally, I don't support the popular trend of forwarding meaningless crappy mails unless they are really of some value. Some of my friends forward good interesting stuff and some forward stuff that they find funny, amusing or are "propelled" to mass mail it due to some kind of desire or threat(?) or for the betterment of their life!! I find it really hilarious as to how many people continue to fall trap to this kind of hypocrisy. Anyways, coming back to the post, this is something that really made my heart flutter and I hope will make yours too. If you've read this earlier, then do let others know about it. This Curriculum Vitae, is really top of the tops and something every Indian should be proud of. Someone really said it correctly, the cream is there only at the top of the milk !!

RESUME

EDUCATION/ QUALIFICATIONS

1950: Stood first in BA (Hons), Economics, Punjab University, Chandigarh
1952: Stood first in MA (Economics), Punjab University , Chandigarh
1954: Wright's Prize for distinguished performance at St John's College, Cambridge
1955, 1957: Wrenbury scholar, University of Cambridge
1957: DPhil ( Oxford ), DLitt (Honoris Causa), PhD thesis on India 's export competitiveness

OCCUPATION /Teaching Experience

1957-59: Senior lecturer, Economics, Punjab University, Chandigarh
1959-63: Reader, Economics
1963-65: Professor, Economics, Punjab University , Chandigarh
1969-71: Professor, International Trade, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi
1976: Honorary Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
1996: Honorary Professor, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi

POSITIONS /Working Experience

1) 1971-72: Economic Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Trade

2) 1972-76: Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance

3) 1976-80:

Director, Reserve Bank of India ;
Director, Industrial Development Bank of India;
Alternate governor for India, Board of governors, Asian Development Bank;
Alternate governor for India, Board of governors, IBRD

4) November 1976 - April 1980:

Secretary, Ministry of Finance (Department of economic affairs);
Member, finance, Atomic Energy Commission;
Member,finance, Space Commission

5) April 1980 - September 1982: Member-secretary, Planning Commission

6) 1980-83: Chairman(India), Indo-Japan Joint Study Committee

7) September 1982 - January 1985: Governor, Reserve Bank of India

8) 1982-85: Alternate Governor for India, Board of Governors, International Monetary Fund

9) 1983-84: Member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister

10) 1985: President, Indian Economic Association

11) January 1985 - July 1987: Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission

12) August 1987 - November 1990: Secretary-General and Commissioner, Geneva

13) December 1990 - March 1991: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Economic Affairs

14) March 1991 - June 1991: Chairman, UGC

15) June 1991 - May 1996: Union Finance Minister

16) October 1991: Elected to Rajya Sabha from Assam on Congress Ticket

17) June 1995: Re-elected to Rajya Sabha

18) 1996: Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Finance

19) August 1996 - December 1997: Chairman, Parliamentary standing committee on commerce

20) March 1998 onwards: Leader of the Opposition, Rajya Sabha

21) June 1998 onwards: Member, Committee on Finance

22) August 1998 onwards: Member, Committee on Rules

23) 1998-2001: Member, Committee of Privileges

24) 2000 onwards: Member, Executive Committee, Indian Parliamentary Group

25) June 2001: Re-elected to Rajya Sabha

26) August 2001 onwards: Member, General Purposes Committee

27) May 2004 onwards: Prime Minister of India !!

BOOKS

1964: India 's Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth - Clarendon Press, Oxford University
Also published a large number of articles in various economic journals.

OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Adam Smith Prize, University of Cambridge - 1956
Padma Vibhushan - 1987
Euro money Award, Finance Minister of the Year - 1993
Asia money Award, Finance Minister of the Year for Asia - 1993, 1994

INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS

1966: Economic Affairs Officer
1966-69: Chief, Financing for Trade Section, UNCTAD
1972-74: Deputy for India in IMF Committee International Monetary Reform
1977-79: Indian Delegation to Aid-India Consortium Meetings
1980-82: Indo-Soviet Joint Planning Group eeting
1982: Indo-Soviet Monitoring Group Meeting
1993: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Cyprus
1993: Human Rights World Conference, Vienna

RECREATION

Gymkhana Club, New Delhi; Life Member, India International Centre, New Delhi

PERSONAL DETAILS

Name: Dr Manmohan Singh

DOB: September 26, 1932

Place of Birth: Gah ( West Punjab )

Our Prime Minister seems to be the most qualified PM all over the world !! We are all proud of him !!

Batman : The Dark Knight

2008-09-13T17:54:00.005+05:30

As I had said in my last post (which was ages ago), Batman: The Dark Knight is simply the most awesome and God level movie (It's a master piece) ever made till date. (Note the date: It's 13th Sept '08, unless Chris Nolan and Christian Bale have again teamed up together for Batman 3 at the time of reading). The list of adjectives that I can use is simply endless to praise it. In fact, the one word which is apt might be Ubercool!! The proof of this obvious statement can be judged by the fact that it stayed on #1 on IMDB for a couple of months (yeah, the internet movie database, I am really surprised so many people haven't heard about it yet !!) and while some people (who don't have a taste in anything other than classy non fictions or those who don't appreciate the super hero mythology) cried foul and said it would slid down are still amazed as to why its still #3 on IMDB... Of course, its based on perception, but you can't deny the fact that the movie is really class apart - which can be attributed to the unbelievably good direction and vision of Chris Nolan and the way his cast have been supporting him. The basic difference between Nolan's Batman and the earlier one can be credited to the one of the most fundamental attributes of Batman - the darkness within, the complicated chaos and the mindsets of characters involved in the storyline. My message to super hero film makers: "It's all about portraying the mythos and storyline as properly as it's done in comics". And that's where Batman: The Dark Knight and it's prequel (Batman Begins) score.

The movie obviously had an advantage of being a blockbuster even before it's scheduled release. It was riding high on the earlier prequel, Batman Begins' success and so the expectations were high. It had a really great ensemble of a cast. Plus the tragic death of Heath Ledger (who was really, really exceptionally brilliant in portraying the menacing Joker) put the movie in a lime light. Of course, as a super hero, Superman has always overshadowed Batman in terms of popularity and fan following, but I think this movie might as well reverse the trend (After all, I've always been a Batman fan, from the last 8 years when I had read the first DC Comics of my life ever).

To sum up the movie in brief, it begins with the sheer maniac and genius plan of the legendary Joker, who in Alfred's words is someone "who just wants to see the world burn" !! I mean, he is someone who believes that Gotham needs an altogether different class of criminals and this, coming from someone who believes in sending a message... "Everything Burns !!" and he really does torch a 15 feet high mound of cash... Insanity at its level best, must say that. He wants the end of Batman, by unmasking him and spins such a finely meshed web involving the mafia and the dark knight himself. In between the skirmish, Harvey Dent, the local super hero who makes a terrific effort to squash the crime in Gotham using his tremendous law skills, is entangled and life becomes messy for him. Another distinguishing highlight of this movie is that every charecter plays a hero - whether it is Alfred who continues to remove doubts from the fragile but impervious mind of Bruce Wayne or whether it is Det. Gordon who is simply superb yet again and you can't forget Morgan Freeman - who believes in certain sets of ethics and signs off in the end with style. Between all the punches, explosions and stunt-work is some great dialog work. All the actors have their moments and this list is endless.

Bale's Batman is THE definitive Batman because we see everything in this character finally on film. Martial arts skills, cunning, great tactical thinking, forensic application, technological genius to advance or improve Luscious Fox's inventions/technological breakthroughs, intimidating personality, and even a little swashbuckling.

As for Heath, yes he gets credit for his performance as the Joker. But you have to also recognize Jonathan and Chris Nolan for the writing and treatment of the character. It's not just the fact that Ledger makes the Joker so menacing, but the Nolans have given the character this great manifesto that drives its actions. The Joker's stance on chaos, order, anarchy, the morality of the average modern human being make the character so interesting psychologically. The Nolans have drafted a complex character and only a perfect performance could've pulled something like this off. That's how difficult of a role this was, and that's why Ledger's performance is so great.

An imperishable, spectacular and chaotically-brilliant movie. The Dark Knight possesses the essence that should always exist in the handover from comics to the big screen. Sequence after sequence, this is the absolute glory. A great movie that does not give even a single frame to breathe. An ode to chaos and anarchy, while shares are confronted inevitably lead to a path dirty, black and hostile. A real Gotham City, dominated by fear.

This is the best film of the all time. Simply put, The Dark Knight belongs to a category where no comic adaptation could enter before. Thanks Christopher Nolan. Thank you very much for a film that's a lot more than the typical film based on comic books. Please do post your views about what you felt about this legendary movie by clicking here.

Why so busy?

2008-07-15T15:01:00.008+05:30

As you must have figured out by now, I have not been much active on the blogging front from the last few weeks. I will be trying to give the reason for the same through this hurriedly typed post, so please excuse if there are any grammatical mistakes or typos. It seems that life is really a blur now, and quite routine which really contrasts what I had been living earlier. Its a new day, says Brian Adams, and how truly... Because the things around you are new, the people are new and the activities that define your life are new. Some of these aspects are pleasantly good, and at the same time, some of them are too bad to remind you of the luxuries you enjoyed earlier at home. If you are still with me, kindly proceed forward to read about the recent transition of ways, which I'm braving like a brave warrior caught unawares amidst an infinite sea on a black stormy night !! I know, I know, I am extremely good at Hyperboles :-)

Que.1) Exactly When and Where did I first become busy?

Day : 21st June 2008
Time: 11 PM
Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad
Occasion: Suyash Joshi arrives in the Tech Capital of India.
Status: Feeling sleepy...

Que.2) Why did I become busy?

Because after completing graduation and spending a glorious summer at home, I decided to join Oracle which is a multinational software company at Hyderabad, and about which you can read more on Wikipedia. I could have ranted more about Oracle, but if you remember, this post is about me being busy. So Later... :)
Status: Getting pumped up...

Que.3) What (was/am/will be) I busy in?

Pre-Induction and Joining Process - I've never done so much paper work in a span of 6 hours in my life. Joining formalities, Company policies, Finance, Accommodation, Bank Account, Mobile Connection... and many others - I gave a lot of autographs for sure that day !!

Setting up Desktop - Arranging for your own system and phone, stationaries and other facilities. Also includes opening and configuring many (yeah, many) accounts / login id's for various services, even the machine login

Interaction and getting to know more about the work and people around you - My team is a very good one, and I am fortunate enough to have got such cool friends right away. And then there are the experienced guys, the Manager and HR Representatives etc. Everybody sure makes it a point in Oracle to make freshers feel at home, and boy do they succeed. But then they say, everything is nice and a storm is just waiting for you in the next corner (work, after training)

Training - Ahh... Now that I am finished with this part, I'm really relieved. Some of our technical skills were "enhanced", some were entirely new and we also got to know more about what "eggjactly" we are supposed to do and how to it. Platform, Framework, Standards etc. Pretty boring stuff. Hopefully, when atmy workstation, I will be allowed lotsa extra curriculars (:D ...hehe... The only part that I hated was the duration. I mean, 8 hours a day - that equals a week's quota of classes what I attended while engineering. Seems like we are better off at self study (last night study, tu put it up in a better way). Thank God - It's August. Training over. Work Starts. And 31st of last month was my life's first Pay-Day. Feels good !!

Que.4) Proof that I was busy...?

- My last blog post was 41 days ago.
- I wasn't able to catch up with my regular quota of Gtalk"ing" and Orkut"ing".
- I missed the complete Asia Cricket Cup and also the India Sri-Lanka test match !!
- I was not able to communicate (in detail) with friends and relatives via mails / phone calls.
- I saw only 2 movies since I came to Hyderabad... :(
- Forget computer games... I don't yet own a laptop yet...
- I have not yet taken any pics of my workplace, Oracle or Hyderabad. Will be doing it today.
- I hardly got time to read news paper in the morning.It was rush rush for training everyday and in the night we slept late. These people who stay with me are night hawks !!
- I could finish up reading only one book in the entire month...
- We didn't spend much time shopping (now my new economical state played a role in that too...)
- and lots more for sure.

But come August '09 and things will change. A new era will begin. I might post a few more blogs to this infinitely expanding blogosphere and bore my readers even more. and amen to that [:D] !!

And before we depart, let me tell you. Batman - The Dark Knight is the most awesome superhero movie, in fact the most awesome movie ever made !! More on that in the next post...

If you wanna squabble or complain like me about how not to be busy, then please Click here and offer your feedback.

Home Sweet Home

2008-06-20T23:47:00.005+05:30

"Home! Sweet Home!" (also known as "Home, Sweet Home") is a song that has remained well-known for over 150 years. Adapted from the 1823 opera "Clari, Maid of Milan", the song's melody was composed by Englishman Sir Henry Bishop with lyrics by American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne. Key phrases from the song have been a cultural staple for several generations. The opening lines of the song have become very famous, worldwide. There is also another version of this song, sung by the Motley Crew, but I like the traditional version more. It's true after all that "Old is Gold". If you want to hear the melody tune for the song, it is available at the end of the lyrics. Before you sing the song posted below, in the end, I must say "There (really) is no place like home". Adios Nagpur... See ya soon !!

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,
Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain;
Oh, give me my lowly thatched cottage again!
The birds singing gayly, that come at my call --
Give me them -- and the peace of mind, dearer than all!
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

I gaze on the moon as I tread the drear wild,
And feel that my mother now thinks of her child,
As she looks on that moon from our own cottage door
Thro' the woodbine, whose fragrance shall cheer me no more.
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

How sweet 'tis to sit 'neath a fond father's smile,
And the caress of a mother to soothe and beguile!
Let others delight mid new pleasures to roam,
But give me, oh, give me, the pleasures of home.
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

To thee I'll return, overburdened with care;
The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there;
No more from that cottage again will I roam;
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
Home, home, sweet, sweet, home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

by John Howard Payne

Click here to download the tune for "Home Sweet Home"

Crazy Engineers.com interviews Suyash Joshi

2008-06-18T16:25:00.008+05:30

If you are an Engineer (by profession or by thought, inclination, aptitude etc) and still haven't heard of Crazy Engineers, you are surely missing something great. You can read more about the same from this earlier blog post of mine. Since I had nothing to post today, I felt like blowing my own trumpet for a while. (If you are thinking whats new in that, then maybe you are at loss... hehe) Anyways, instead of gloating over my likes and dislikes like I've done in my Orkut profile, I will only like you to kindly read my interview taken by CE which was a really good one. Hopefully, it covers almost everything you need to know more about me. It will be even great if you read the interview directly on the website, which will surely have you hooked on, since it is a vast resource of informative reading and knowledge storehouse!!

CEans, We all know CEan Suyash through his posts on CE Forums. CEan - Patty aka Prateek got in touch with Suyash and grilled him for "Know your CEan": Suyash, first of all, congratulations on completing your B.Tech. You have been an active member of CE for quite a time now. We would like to learn more about you for the benefit of the future generations of CE (and for the present too!) -

Q. What are your most memorable experiences in college?

Suyash: VNIT (Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology) has indeed been a great chapter in my life which has made me what I am today and I will continue to draw inspiration from the various events that occurred with me during the wonderful four years spent here. Amongst the most unforgettable experiences in college, I can list quite a few of them: hanging out with my friends, eleventh hour exam preparations and spending quality time to continuously upgrade my technological knowhow... and of course campus placements also have been an exciting phase in the final year !!

Q. Tell us something about your Engineering Trade i.e. Metallurgy and Material Science.
Suyash: Metallurgy and Materials Science Engineering (MME) has always bought me mixed feelings (mainly due to the highly theoretical approach in some courses and some of the really advanced modern applications of the others). Nanotechnology, which will definitely be at the core of the things to come in future, promises scientific breakthroughs never imagined before. Selection of Materials has never been so crucial before, given the stringent requirements based on modern applications. My final year engineering project too gave me a very critical insight into Materials Science and it will be really great if aspiring graduates turn up their sleeves for research and development in this field.

Q. How have you planned your future now that your graduation is over?

Suyash: Despite my engineering trade, I've always found myself fascinated with the world of Computers and programming in general (which can be associated to my penchant of playing games from a young age). As a result, after being placed in Oracle India Pvt. Ltd via the campus placements, I'll be looking forward to enhance the technical skills that I learnt during my engineering curriculum to the fullest extent. I've planned to complete an MBA program affiliated with Software Enterprise Management and then return back to IT industry. Ultimately, it would be dream come true if I could be a part of an organization which deals with high end gaming development for the PC platform!

Q. Tell us about your extra curricular activities in college.

Suyash: VNIT provided me a plethora of activities to indulge into and they have been a really great source of entertainment, learning centers as well as a pathway to let the academics heat out. I have been involved in managing and organizing of Aarohi - Cultural Festival (coordinator Quiz), Axis - Technical Festival (Manager - Lan Gaming Contest) as well as being part of the college Cricket team. Besides these, I am also involved in participation of quizzes, programming contests etc.

Q. When not studying, how does Suyash Joshi kill time?

Suyash: When I am not studying (which occupies the larger section of my 24 hours) I indulge myself with reading books ranging from fictional to biographical and other great works. I also heavily pass time by playing games on my PC, which I upgraded recently to give a performance boost. But Crysis still demands more juice out of my gaming rig L. Other than that recently I've developed a keen liking for solving puzzles (began during campus placements) and of course CE and other such great sites ensure that I never get bored. Watching movies and playing Cricket with friends ensures that not a single day of my life can be labeled as a boring one :)

Q. You ask(ed) people (your friends) to subscribe to your blog (Time of your life - Suyash Joshi). Why do you think people should read your blog & what makes you think that you are maverick - blogger?

Suyash: Ahem... I knew this one was coming [:D] . I think that in my blog I post articles based on absolutely anything, from my personal idiosyncrasies to diverse topics like sports, entertainment, computers and gaming, jokes and whacky ideas. Given the range of the crap that I post, I feel that my blog is an entertaining read for most of the people (my friends [:D] ) and hence the title "Maverick" - since I am someone who feels it's necessary to exhibit great independence in thoughts and actions. I ask(ed) people to subscribe to my blog via email so that they don't have to check my blog every now and then for a new post. Though, these days, services like Google reader serve the purpose very well, but still I feel email subscription is one of the best ways to keep your readership alive and kicking. Anyways, there is always an option of unsubscribing at a later date.

Okay here is a Rapid Question Round

Q. What do like the most about CE?

Suyash: CE - the conglomeration of crazy engineers from around the globe, gives me an opportunity to interact with some of the great brains of the world, to share ideas and actively participate in some really interesting chats about the latest path breaking technologies, scientific discussions and lets me have real fun, and most importantly, is one of the best platforms for an engineer to be himself.

Q. One thing you don't like about CE?

Suyash: Not much really. But it would be great if we can have a better participation from the elder generation of engineers (Since I feel that the majority of members on CE are youngsters like me or just about to be engineers). Having a record of the experience and wisdom of the tried and tested hands is always beneficial whenever you try to innovate or create something. But I'm sure, with the given track record, the average age of CEan's is definitely going soar real high in a matter of time.

Q. Name three CEans that you would like to meet in person

Suyash: Since I've already met Big K in my college, I feel it would be great if I get an opportunity to meet Kidakaka (hopefully in Hyderabad in the latter half of 2008), Maro (don't know when the trip to Egypt will materialize, at least in the near future) and Mahul (I'm still yet to complete the NFS MW Challenge Series dude, stuck on #61)

Q. Describe yourself in 1 word

Suyash: Maverick

Q. If not an Engineer then....

Suyash: I always wanted to be in the Indian Air Force, but certain unfortunate events made it sure that I became an engineer instead. In foresight, not a bad alternative career though.

Q. Your best achievement till date

Suyash: Campus Placement in Oracle India Pvt. Ltd.

Q. Your most embarrassing moment

Suyash: Scoring negative marks in Data Interpretation in one of the Mock CAT (Common Admission Test). That was a rare blunder though, which only happens when you give an exam in a sleepy state.

Q. One thing you would like to change about yourself

Suyash: It seems that the world wants me to be less impulsive in doing things the haphazard way, to think for a moment more before taking that last step, since I believe in the "never-fret-about-anything-ever" policy. Of course, I'm still trying to work on it.

Q. One thing you wish you would have invented or discovered

Suyash: It would be great, (and it's high time) if someone works with me to find a shielding material for the obstruction of disasters caused by nuclear radiations emitted by atomic bombs.

Q. Suyash is a Crazy Engineer because:

Suyash: There's no point in living life the ordinary way. And to obtain extra ordinary results, you have to be crazy enough to venture into that unexplored territory. Believe me, it's really a wonderful combo to be an engineer and be crazy to think about seemingly impossible ideas and to actually put them into action.

Patty: It was a pleasure talking to you and getting to know you better. Have a nice day and a great life ahead. And enjoy your vacations.
Suyash: Thanks for providing me space in "Know your CEan" section on CE. It's been a real pleasure to be a part of CE.

Do enter your comments and feedback (and doubts, if any, of course) by clicking here.

Con Jargon

2008-06-17T17:36:00.002+05:30

If you liked the article about the TV Series "Hustle" (to read it, click Here) and yourself enjoy the same, here's more food (?) for thought. Some of the people who have seen it complained that there are many "keywords" used in the grifter lingo, that they weren't able to comprehend. For eg: Do you know what "a mark" is? What would you do with a "cackle-bladder"? Don't be depressed, reader. The official BBC site has a solution which I will be shamelessly posting here, only for the benefit of the less privileged. Without any hurry, be ready to get the low-down on the world of the con and the jargon used in Hustle. Hope you enjoy the list and it adds to your vocabulary!!

# 'The mark' is the intended victim of the planned con.

# A 'short con' refers to taking 'the mark' for all the money he has on his person. It's an opportunist scam that isn't pre-planned to any great deal.

# A 'long con' or 'big con' refers to a more complex, planned con, whereby 'the mark' is sent to get more money or used to get more money than is just on his person.

# 'Putting him on the send' is another term for a 'long con' or 'big con'.

# The 'big con' is a form of theatre - "staged with minute naturalistic illusionism for an audience of one who is enlisted as part of the cast".

# 'A mark' is lured in by the conman by, in the first instance, by making money himself on one of their scams. Having gained 'the mark's' trust, the conmen 'sting' him for a load of money.

# There are two types of con settings, real life (ie. restaurants and hotel rooms) and 'The Big Store', where empty offices are rigged out to look like a real life setting.

# 'The Roper' is the 'Outsideman' - the man who identifies with 'the mark' (the victim) and gains their confidence.

# 'The Insideman' is the key player, the member of the con mob who stays near the 'big store' and receives 'the mark' (the victim) whom 'The Roper' brings.

# 'The Manager' manages the outfit and is often the bookmaker for the group.

# 'Extras' are unemployed conmen playing the role of extras in the con.

# 'Putting up the mark' refers to the process of locating a well-to-do victim.

# 'Playing the con for him' refers to gaining the victim's confidence.

# 'Roping the Mark' refers to steering him to meet the 'insideman' who will eventually fleece him.

# 'Giving him the convincer' refers to the process of allowing the victim to make a substantial profit on the first scam, thereby gaining his trust.

# 'Blowing him off' refers to the process of getting the victim out of the way as quickly as possible.

# 'Putting the fix' refers to forestalling action by the Law.

# 'Playing a man against the wall' refers to conning a man in a real setting, eg. a hotel room.

# 'Cackle-bladder' is a method of faking the death of one of the conmen. It involves filling a small receptacle with chicken blood which the conman conceals on his person for the fake gunshot.

# If 'the mark' 'beefs' then he's gone to the Police to grass up the conmen.

# 'The Fix' refers to the cooperation bought from the Police. A Fixer usually has political connections and is paid off by the conmen for fixing people in the banks, police, and the courts. Most con mobs can't exist without 'Fixers'.

It would be wrong on my part if I don't mention the actors who make up the best Grifter crew ever seen in the world at this juncture, since Hustle won't have come so far (not forgetting the writers, of course)...

The Legendary "Mickey Bricks" a.k.a. Micheal Stone played by Adrian Lester - He is the Leader and the Inside Man.
"Alby" a.k.a Albert Stroller played by Robert Vaughn - He is the Roper.
Ash "three socks" Morgan played by Robert Glenister - He is the Fixer.
"Stacie Monroe" played by Jaime Murray - She is the Lure.
"Dannie Blue" played by Marc Warren - He is the Inside Man and the Floater.
"Billy Bond" played by Ashley Walters - He is the Rookie.

If you have anything else to add to the list, feel free to do so. Click here to comment, add or to notify any correction with respect to the above data. And beware, don't ever be greedy and dishonest, you never know when somebody cons you !!

Super Sunday

2008-06-16T23:41:00.003+05:30

I came to Nagpur when I was about 6 years old or maybe just short of that. I can say that with total confidence because I had completed pre-primary education in Chandrapur till KG-I (that's kindergarten stage 1 (?) for those who missed it from their life) and I hadn't flunked even once before that. Anyways, the point behind all this crap is that now I'm 22 years old and that means I've spent more than 70% of my life span in the Orange City - Nagpur. It's only today, when there are just 5 days left for me to leave this beautiful city for another, that I have begun to appreciate my life here in my home city. As you all know (and damn you if you dont...hehe) I'll be leaving for Hyderabad soon to begin a new phase of my life. Must admit here, that this time which lies between post-engineering and pre-joining your workplace, is simply the best time of your life. And it was on 15th June, 2008 that I spent one of the coolest day ever with my family and friends, one which falls under that ideal day category and hence has been christened as "Super Sunday" by me...

Being an Engineer, generally I like to be technically correct. So this Super Sunday of mine begins at 12 noon. I wasn't asleep then, of course, but was busy surfing the net for some useful stuff (really, believe me), while simultaneously chatting up with night hawks like me on Google talk. Later on, just before sleeping I saw another great episode of a TV show called "Numb3rs" on my computer and then went to sleep when BSNL's free downloading zone (2 AM, IST) was initialized.

I woke up at 8 AM, to the loud voice of some irritating cartoon of "Shin Chan" being watched by my 16 year old brother... of course watching cartoons is not at all a bad thing, but I prefer the subtle ones like "Tom and Jerry" and "Batman" etc. After going through the newspapers (mainly the sports pages) I got a call from my cousin brother for playing Cricket with his friends!! Since I had been deprived of the fantastic sport from quite a few days, I decided to grab the opportunity hands on with no delay. But alas, I had to quickly devour a tasty break fast of hot and fresh "Idli Sambhar"... now delicious food and cricket always need to be adjusted delicately in balance, since neither of them can be compromised for the other. After a rather dismal performance on the field that day and saying Adios to fellow cricketers (since I won't be coming next weekend) I came back to home to find another surprise. My mother had prepared a great home made "Tomato Soup" for starters and "Palak Paneer" for the lunch and now did I realize why all the hustle and bustle that was going around during all the morning. On inquiring if I was missing something, my father told me that since it was the last Sunday that I was going to spend in Nagpur before leaving for Hyderabad, all of them wanted to make it a special sunday... and boy, the splendor of the day exceeded by leaps and bounds even beyond my own expectations !!

After eating to my heart's content, I settled down lazily in front of the TV to find my all time favorite movie "Swades" and decided to watch it again, if I am not wrong, for the eleventh time!! My father gave me company while shuffling between news papers, my mother took a deserving nap and my brother ran off to some friend's home to do something else. When the movie finished at 4 PM, I spent the next hour reading the book "The World is Flat" which I am trying to finish from the last two weeks. Not that it's bad, but it has many pages and a very small font...hehe... As if the special treatment so far was not enough, my mother offered me with another delicacy for evening snacks known as "Shankar Pale" (which by a definition given by my friend Kartik is - square shaped sweet flat cookies made out of wheat) which were gobbled up by everyone with tea/ coffee almost instantly.

Later on in the evening Pravin came to my home and we went to Chaitanya's place to see him off, since he would be going to Mumbai for his visa interview and we won't be meeting for quite a time. So we spent some quality time at his home (?) watching tv and discussing national and socio-political issues :) and culminated the meet with a hurried up gathering at a nearby food joint for one last "Kulfi" (flavoured frozen milk wrapped around a wooden stick) or cottage ice cream (this one from Ameya) and later we went home. That was because, my uncle and aunty wanted to treat me for the same reason which was responsible for most of the events on that day. And on top of that, I also got to take the family car for a long drive and the experience behind the wheel was a good one. The dinner was absolutely smashing which comprised of the conventional Suyash Joshi favorites - "Crispy Veg" as Starters along with, you guessed it right, "Cream of Tomato Soup" followed by the all time "Paneer Butter Masala" and "Aloo Mutter" along with a helping of "Steamed Rice" and "Dal Fry". What more does a man need, other than such feasts and a great happy family to chat up with !! The day began at 12 AM so when it ended, at midnight, at that moment I was busy enjoying the Matt Damon starrer and Oscar winner "Good Will Hunting" on my computer. Great movie indeed.

Later on that night, I really felt that it had really been a "Super Special Sunday" for me, as my father had remarked earlier. After all, who gets to have his cake and eat it too? If destiny permits, I would like to live my life this very same day - get up late, play cricket, eat tasty home made food, spend great time with friends and family and watch movies and read good books !! Alas, all this is going to change soon. I, suddenly, had this sinking feeling in my mind, that the world should go static, as in not in the literal sense, but everyone must remain of the same age as they are right now. No more growing up. That way, my loving parents never get old and I always get to spend this carefree life that I've taken for granted for so many years. But as Uncle Ben says, "With growing powers, come greater responsibilities" I must get ready to tackle this new phase of life with courage and common sense. However, life would have been good if I had got a job here at Nagpur only. Am I feeling homesick already?? None the less, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family and friends for this Super Sunday !! Simply loved it... :) I can assure you, there will be many more like these in future for sure.

Hustle - The CON is ON !!

2008-06-13T11:44:00.005+05:30

Previously on Time of your life : You read about Suyash's favorite game on PC i.e. the Need for Speed: Most Wanted. In this episode, err, in this blog post, you will read about my favorite TV show: Hustle. But a bit of flash back before I begin raving about Hustle. You can read about some other tv shows (American, mostly) which caught my eye while I was "busy" completing my engineering. But this one is different. First and foremost, its a British Series. And the next highlighting point is, its the only series which is a really good blend of brilliant direction, awesome acting powerhouses and unbelievable support from the background staff (writers, cinematographers etc). And its highly addictive for those who get a kick out of making a fool of others with a simultaneous application of unparalleled wit and intelligence. As Morpheus (from Matrix, the movie) says, "You gotta see it, to believe it". Get ready to be Hustled !!

Here's a compressed summary of what Hustle is all about (compiled from wiki and popular tv websites) : This is a story of a group of elite con artists, who each week pull off a complicated scam with several twists. A slick and stylish drama, Hustle is an action-packed blend of humour and intrigue, following the fortunes of a gang of expert cons on the loose in London. They are specialists in the way of the grifter and all are keen to liberate cash from the amoral and undeserving. From faking film sets and expensive paintings to double-crossing the duplicitous head of a bank's security system... they can pull off absolutely anything. Despite their chosen trade, they adhere to codes such as "bad behaviour breeds bad luck" and actually follow some rules that they've chalked out for themselves. Read carefully, for these are the rules of con:

You Can't Con An Honest Man - because an honest man doesn't want something for nothing.
Feed The Greed - the greedier the victim, the more the extraction.
Always Give The Mark An Out - part of the "convincer", just in case the "mark" feels something is fishy.
Never Give A Sucker An Even Break - hehe :)
"It's All In The Detail" - The great "Mickey Bricks" (you, always, must have a plan B)
Don't Have Anything In Your Life You Can't Walk Away From In A Second
Always Look Out For Number One
It's Not Just About The Money - And that's one thing that makes these grifters stand apart from the rest...

Each episode amounts to a confidence game played upon the viewers through the use of misdirection and hidden plot details that are revealed at the end of the story, only to leave you flabbergasted !! In addition to one long con, each episode features a number of short cons played by the major characters on members of the public. The short cons demonstrate the seemingly endless array of tricks professional con men possess and the ease with which short cons can be played. Not all cons depicted are successful, and some episodes focus on the characters dealing with the consequences of their actions. However, even if a con does fail, the characters usually come out on top in some way or other. It helps to illustrate why the life of a grifter isn’t as much fun as it may seem – it can undermine a person’s ability to ever lead a normal life.

All right, one will say, "what's the big deal? I've seen so many movies/series about confidence tricksters/ con artistes / con men that I know every damn trick out there." But Hustle has tons of surprises in store for you, in each of the episodes, which really stand out from the crowd. Hat's off to BBC for thinking of such "ethical grifters", who have this awesome gift of thinking on their feet in crunch situations, helping each other like family members (and thats the fundamaental difference betwwen them and the other crews, which are just crews" - as aptly quoted by Ash Morgan.) They exhibit superb team work who in the end have a joyous laugh on achieving yet another scoop of the richie block. I, like millions other fans of Hustle, like the concept because each story actually reflects the hard work put in by the script writers and the amazing detail level thought process which has been underway by the production crew. Since the characters have some moral obligations to follow, they are not really criminals, thus making them even more lovable, in addition to their spectacular prowess of pulling off each con with meticulous precision. These grifters do not resort to violence, or "force" to achieve their goals, instead it all depends on a really smooth plan. Add the humour element, a bit of dramatics, the Sherlock Holmes type suspense at the end and you have a perfect potboiler which keeps you grillled to your seat for an hour, and after 58 minutes, leaves you panting for more !!

If you haven't seen Hustle yet, you are certainly missing something. There have been 4 season's so far (each comprising of 6 episodes) and it's currently on a break now. Let's hope that the 5th season rolls out real soon with Adrian Lester back in action. Click here to post your comments about Hustle - because the CON is ON !!

Need for Speed Most Wanted

2008-06-07T19:38:00.027+05:30

Let me admit it first and foremost to everyone in this world, at least to those who aren't yet acquainted to me. I suffer from a compulsive disorder of gaming obsession. CDGO - That's a term coined by me, and is characterized by an excessive desire to try out on each and every genre of games on different platforms and never leaving it till you complete it. Next - hop on to another one. So far, I've played lots of games, but the one that will always stand out, rest games not the least neglected - Need for Speed: Most Wanted (Black Edition v1.3). Those who have completed the game 100% (career and challenge series) will agree that this is, unarguably, the best addictive car racing in the whole world, literally!!

Amongst all the games, racing genre has always had me hooked up the most, since its something that I can't do in real life. Driving at breakneck speed, at least in India, is strictly forbidden. Maybe, Autobahn, but next time... Initially, (before Y2K) it was Road Rash, and then I graduated to the marvelous creation of EA games (and thank you guys, you rock !!) - the NFS or Need for Speed series. NFS MW was the 9th glorious edition, and the improvements and hard work put in the series speaks volumes of itself by the sheer amount of amazing graphics, awesome gameplay, superb car dynamics and mind blowing physics engine along with the unbelievable engine sounds !! Add to it, a nerve wrenching story line packed with illegal street racing and cop chases and throw in a pretty girl, you have the best entertainment package at your fingertips.

According to Gamespot review, NFS MW follows the highly successful Underground series, and brings all the action to daylight and takes it to an even greater height. The actual racing hasn't changed too much, but the ever-present police make this game a whole lot more interesting. The game's career mode starts out with a hilarious bang. You take on the role of a nameless, faceless new racer attempting to hit the scene in the beautiful but shady city of Rockport. An underground ranking known as the Blacklist governs who can race who, and when. You almost immediately run into a punk named Razor, who's definitely the sort of dude that lives his life a quarter-mile at a time. He's at the bottom of the list, but a few races later, he's sabotaged your ride and has won it from you in a race. Meanwhile, you're carted off to jail. Left with nothing but some mysterious help from a stranger named Mia (played by the sexy Josie Maran, who sizzles your screen in many of the cutscenes), your task is to get back in the race game to work your way to the top of the Blacklist, which is now topped by Razor, who's using your old car to wipe out the competition.

The game actually has a great story hook at the beginning that makes you want to see the career mode through to completion. You'll have to see the story through to find out where everyone's allegiances lie. Working your way up the Blacklist is a multistep progress. Before you can challenge the next Blacklist racer, you have to satisfy a list of requirements. You'll have to win a set number of race events. And you'll have to reach a set number of pursuit milestones and earn enough bounty by riling up the police. The cops hate street racers and will give chase when they see you rolling around the open city.

Running from the cops is the best action the game has to offer. Chases usually start with just one car on your tail. But as you resist, you might find 20 cars giving chase, in addition to a chopper flying overhead. Losing the cops gets tougher as your heat level rises. Level one heat results in the appearance of just your standard squad cars. But by the time you get up to level five, you'll be dealing with roadblocks, spike strips, helicopters, and federal-driven Corvettes (and they are really wicked, believe me !!).

There's also a lot of racing in Most Wanted's career mode--almost too much, in fact. You'll engage in multilap circuit races, point-A-to-point-B sprint races, drag racing, checkpoint-driven tollbooth races, and speed trap, where the winner is the player that accumulates the most speed while passing by a handful of radar cameras spread throughout the track. The game has more than 30 licensed cars that you'll be able to purchase or win from other racers. We start out with a pretty weak Chevy Cobalt, but eventually we pick up a much faster Supra, a new Covette C6, and so on. You can also find the Ford GT, a Ford Mustang GT, and other cars from BMW, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Lotus, and more. Lamborghini Gallardo is my personal favorite, and I'm dying to own one some day !! You'll buy your first car, but as you move through the Blacklist, you'll get a shot at the pink slip of the other racer, letting you ease right into the driver's seat of a new, tuned vehicle. Buying them from scratch means you'll have to apply enhancements yourself. You can buy a lot of different performance gear and a ton of visual stuff, like body kits, spoilers, vinyls, and so on. Applying visual upgrades lowers your heat level, making them pretty useful once the cops take notice of your faster cars.

Aside from the career mode, there's also a challenge series that gives you a car and a specific goal. Race goals are fairly easy to understand, but the pursuit challenges ask you to achieve specific milestones, like blasting through five roadblocks or racking up a specific amount of property damage. You can also just dive into quick races, or take it online.

Graphically, the game looks great, overall. Actually speaking, the sleek car designs look quite exquisite set in the greatly architectured city of Rockport and its suburbs, which are really great to explore. On the sound side, the game has outstanding engine noises that change depending on which car you're in and which upgrades you have. The rest of the sound effects are also of excellent quality. The music included is the standard mix of rock and hip-hop you've come to expect from EA's games, including a few songs from Styles of Beyond.

Do write about what you feel about this legendary game, which I feel is even better as compared to its successors like Carbon and Pro-Street. Click here to enter about your experience with this Most Wanted game !!

B.Tech. today... Engineer for Life !!

2008-05-03T00:41:00.025+05:30

Hello everyone, as you can see from the title, its finally done. Yes, I don't know how it will change the world around you, but this day, will remain forever in my memories as one of the great days which you share with your grand children while sipping hot coffee in a comfy rock chair! Of course, there have been other such magical moments earlier too, when I felt really proud (Click here), and there will be others as well (Click here, in future), but this will forever be one of the greatest ever.

Anyways, to come to the point straight away, let me first create the exact scenario. It was roughly 12:25 PM on 1st May, 2008 and the sound boomed loud and clear in my ears, "5 minutes remaining (and enter your roll no and tie your supplements, as if I ever use one !!)." It was then, that I gave up. I turned around carefully, to see my colleague scribbling something forcibly in his answer book and when I finally got "the moment" to speak to him, "Hey, please tell me the answer for the 4th and the 5th... and the... ahem... 6th fill-in-the-blank fast dude!!". The dude looked petty disturbed at this sudden late interjection of mine, which kind of obstructed the smooth flow with which he was drawing a diagram. After he kindly objected to my demand, thanking him dutifully, I later found out that I had not attempted one small question, which was placed as if it was some "conditions apply" type thing they have in the ads. As I frantically began to pen it down, the clock struck 12:30 PM (IST), and the examiner snatched my answer sheet from my desperate attempts to finish that one last answer !! After cursing him soundly along with my bad luck, I finally knew this, ultimately, was the end. After all, as Neo says, everything which has a beginning (16th August, 2004) has an end (1st May, 2008). And this was the way my stint as an Engineer in Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur (also sweetly referred as VNIT, in the local circles) was put to a grinding halt.

Soon, as the dust settled (i.e. when the examiners left the hall) all of us fellow warriors leapt out with a jubilant cry of victory. Yes... this was the class of '08 , which just had just finished with Metallurgical and Materials Engineering on an all time high... !! Some of the people hugged each other with delight, while others gave a thundering Hi-five; some of them laughed like monsters and some even had tears of nostalgia. Most of us had felt greatly relieved as the exam had ended while simultaneously knowing the fact that we are going to see very little of each other after this day. Truly, this bunch of 40 people, coming from different parts of the country, had become really one big ensemble of awesome friends and legendary memories shared in VNIT, which was going to be missed big time hereon. As everyone gushed with each other about how happy everyone was, there indeed was a feeling of void, as to how life will shape out for each of us ahead. With mixed feelings of joy and sadness, everyone spent this day like none other.

How I spent the rest of the day? In the aftermath of this event, we later went to a really expensive restaurant that day (out of sheer compulsion, since it was a local holiday that day) and ate to our hearts fill. Then most of us slept in the afternoon (to complete the sleep deprivation caused due to the night out yesterday, instead of the earlier thought of plan of watching the latest movie) and in the evening it was time to celebrate the euphoria again along with other batch mates!! The feeling that my family too was proud of me for the completion of B.Tech. gave me tremendous happiness which I will cherish forever. After all, this won't have been possible without their constant support, motivation and encouragement !!

It's indeed been my privilege to be graduating from such a prestigious institute, due to which, most of us have achieved what we have so far. Some of us have bagged great jobs; some have humbled the exams like GATE and CAT and GRE (the list is countless...) to continue with further education; while some have plans to become entrepreneurs !! Talent overflows like a tsunami here and I am grateful that I got to rub my shoulders with it. As someone said, "God Created the World. Engineers Created the Rest." And all of us, intend to add value to this statement, by contributing, in every possible measure by the application of the knowledge earned here. After all, in spite of the type of career or life style one chooses, once an Engineer, always an Engineer !! I'll be looking forward to joining my work place 2 months later in Hyderabad, but till then, I will ensure that these days, which shall never come back, are spent so that there are no regrets in future. The wheels of fate and destiny are now smoothly placed in motion and the steering wheel is in our hands to choose the freeway of our life to reach the destination. Here's congratulating the class of '08 once again, for achieving brilliantly, what we set out for 4 years ago and wishing all of us the really best in future!!

Adios VNIT !! I will miss you... [:(]

For posting your comments, views and sharing similar experiences, please click Here.

The most motivational video ever !!

2008-04-29T13:48:00.005+05:30

I am just a paper away from completing my engineering final exams, and during this troubled times of the year, I always surf the internet for some cool stuff to get my mind off the boring world of metals and materials (just a personal opinion, no offense meant to great researchers in the field). And on youtube, keying the words "motivational" (since thats the prime important thing, which people like me, who begin to study at the eleventh hour need :-) ), I found this video which has really inspired me... like anything... Seems like everyone must watch it at least once. What are you waiting for? Click the "play" button now !!

Its about What a man can do and and there is nothing called impossible in this world... Truly awesome stuff... Though the video seems to be an Indianised version of the original, it has many global facets as well. Enjoy watching the video !!

The song is "Ameno" by Era Group. And don't bother to look for translation. The song is just a collection of myriad sounds from a modified Latin format. Hope you liked it. Somehow one gets a feeling its been funded by Apple, but what the heck, its good anyway. Please do comment, which was "the" moment that touched your heart most in the video !! (for me, it was Gandhiji lifting the pinch of salt... quite a revolutionary moment which laid the foundations of not obeying the Imperial Rule).

Click here to post your views and comments. And don't quit because you think something is impossible !!

Restriction of number of foreign players in IPL teams...

2008-04-25T01:51:00.004+05:30

Yesterday, me and a friend of mine has a long and idealistic discussion about whether the restriction of the no of foreign players (currently 4) in the IPL (Indian Premier League) teams is justified or not.

While he was of the view that it gives a wider scope for Indian youngsters to play alongside other talented players from around the globe, I am of the opinion that since IPL is more about the global format of Cricket and not just a launch pad for selection of Indian national team and development of youth as it is perceived. Hence, I feel that the best possible playing 11 should be played, which is more healthy for the game and it will lead to an even more improvement in the skill level of the Indian players, since then, they will have to actually fight for their place in the team which will ultimately lead to an ever increasing talent pool... (and avoid the stagnancy created by the fact that an average player takes his position in the team for granted)

In fact, when it comes to national matches, such a player will be in a better position to compete against the foreigners, since he has actually proved his mettle against the same player in IPL and was not in the playing 11 because of some restriction...

Compare IPL with EPL (yes, soccer...) and you will know that EPL, despite being the largest contributing factor for the development of English soccer, has teams like Arsenal which, at one time played 11 French guys...

This system of restriction of foreign players to 4 simply beats me, since it doesn't let the best 11 on field and thus leads to wastage of talent literally warming the bench... For ex: Scott Styris, Hershelle Gibbs have to sit out from Deccan Chargers game, while they lose against other teams!!

On the other hand, the counter argument is that if there is no such restriction, an IPL team will play only the foreign players (if it has 11), and it wont lead to any scope for Indian youth to show their talent, but at least that will provide an opportunity for development of Indian Cricket at grass root level...

Calling all cricket aficionados to please post your comments, views and issues on this burning topic by clicking HERE.

IPL and Engineering Exams... HELP me !!

2008-04-23T23:01:00.012+05:30

Tomorrow (24th April, 2008) is my first paper of Financial Engineering (End Semester), and I'm watching a cracker of a match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians while shuffling through zerox pages of some numericals book related to the elective subject mentioned above...

Please do vote in this poll and make the world a better place to live... hehe...

I'm supposed to be engaged in the FINAL 8th Sem. Engg Exams but Indian Premier League has got me hooked up big time... ( surveys)

Please refer your friends, relatives and unknown personalities that you encounter and redirect them to this page to save me from this confusion...
and by the way this poll closes on 1st May, 2008, So HURRY !!

P.S.: Please click here if you can't see the poll. Thanks.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish

2008-04-09T23:55:00.004+05:30

I hope that along with changing the look of my blog (the theme remains the same - "stretch" - so as to accommodate maximum text in a line - so as to decrease the vertical height of the posts), there must be something special for this post. Hence, I would like to share with you a really special speech, which might be the first one I have heard without yawning and with rapt attention. Because it came from the legendary Steve Jobs, who has been the brains behind the likes of Apple and Pixar, which have pioneered innovative brilliance beyond all boundaries.

Just do yourselves and your life a favour by listening to the whole speech carefully, since such words of wisdom are rare to find. The ultimate message is delivered in the end, but for grabbing the essence of the whole talk, its imperative you listen the whole thing. Watch it and have the time of your life...

By the way, this was delivered at the Commencement of the 2005 academic session at Stanford University by Steve Jobs and is today regarded as one of the best speeches in the world. Just 3 simple stories... what a way to deliver a great punch !!

Some of the key highlights, which will make a big deal of difference in your life (I'm positive !!)

----> You can't connect the dots of your life looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots (events) will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach will never let you down, and it will make all the difference in your life.

----> Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

---->No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

----> Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Simply awesome, what do you have to say? Click here to share your views.

A little Math never hurt anyone...

2008-04-09T10:20:00.005+05:30

Hello everyone, I am just on the verge of finishing my engineering degree, but before that I'm really being wrecked by my final year project, but more on that later. In order to do some stress relieving, my favorite time pass has always been reading jokes. I feel things which tickle your funny bone really get you going for the next big task of the day. Now since I am not quite getting the time to blog about anything, I felt a compulsive and obsessive urge to share this great one with you. Official Disclaimer : You need to have a certain degree of mathematical sense of humour to understand the moral of humility behind the following story... hehe... Read on.

The cocky exponential function e^x is strolling along the road insulting the functions he sees walking by. He scoffs at a wandering polynomial for the shortness of its Taylor series. He snickers at a passing smooth function of compact support and its glaring lack of a convergent power series about many of its points. He positively laughs as he passes |x| for being non differentiable at the origin. He smiles, thinking to himself, "Damn, it's great to be e^x. I'm real analytic everywhere. I'm my own derivative. I blow up faster than anybody and shrink faster too. All the other functions suck."

Lost in his own egomania, he collides with the constant function 3, who is running in terror in the opposite direction.

"What's wrong with you? Why don't you look where you're going?" demands e^x. He then sees the fear in 3's eyes and says "You look terrified!"

"I am!" says the panicky 3. "There's a differential operator just around the corner. If he differentiates me, I'll be reduced to nothing! I've got to get away!" With that, 3 continues to dash off.

"Stupid constant," thinks e^x. "I've got nothing to fear from a differential operator. He can keep differentiating me as long as he wants, and I'll still be there."

So he scouts off to find the operator and gloat in his smooth glory. He rounds the corner and defiantly introduces himself to the operator. "Hi. I'm e^x."

"Hi. I'm d/dy."

If you are not rolling on floor with laughter, never mind, as the title says, a little math never hurt anyone. But even if you are a yet-to-pass-10th-class person stumbling up here, you can ask for explanation by writing a comment here. Just kidding. Have fun.

Social Networking : Who's better than the rest?

2008-03-20T00:12:00.006+05:30

After a long hiatus in my stint as a blogger, I am glad to announce that I'm BACK !! (well, not in the true sense though), since this is yet another edition of guest blogging. I'm privileged here to announce that my friend and fellow blogger, Ameya Khandekar, who is a great visionary and a GRE topper and always busy in thinking about whacky ideas, helped my blog to get rid of its hibernation by following up something that I was thinking upon a long time back. You will read that later. But, first of all, let me clarify that the views expressed below belong to the guest blogger and bear no resemblance to what I think or feel about the topic. Hence, if any of the mega corporates who feel annoyed by this post you can sue him directly. Or better still, you can visit his blog, but, after reading this article. Read on to get to know more about SNwS or Social Networking webSites.

-Suyash Joshi

Ameya Khandekar writes,

I and Suyash began blogging at around the same time,but it is indisputable as to, whose blog is popular. This blog has become so professional, that guest blogging is being introduced here. I feel privileged to be amongst the first ones to "guest-blog" here. Is the owner of the blog trying to pull a local Microsoft, by getting involved in such pseudo - acquisitions ??? Only time will tell.

Anyways, Suyash asked me to draw comparisons on Orkut and Facebook. He has the impression that I am well equipped to do so, since I while away my time on such social networking sites more than others. But let me make it very clear at the beginning, that I am able to comment on this subject because my visionary insight allows me to make astute observations in less time. So, my account follows :-

I didn't make much use of the internet before 2004 owing to slow speeds. I began using it in 2004 which, interestingly, is also the year of the launch of GMail, Orkut, Facebook etc. But these things were yet to become "hip" in India. I remember how one's mailbox would be full of "forwarded" emails most of them harboring photoshop edited images which are supposed to make you laugh. Those were also the days of IMs which were a pleasant change over stupid chat rooms (strangers with faked up ids).

The internet before 2004 wasn't tapped of it's abilities fully. They say Orkut and Facebook are part of WEB 2.0 - a technology for which the infrastructure was already there, but which was used only recently(i.e 2004). Orkut and Facebook are innovative cause these sites allow changes to be made by users which are visible to a large section of the members (blogging is also similar).
When it comes to popularity, Orkut was the undisputed winner in India (at least till mid-2007). Orkut employed Google's ethic of keeping things simple and fast to load. Facebook was hardly used by people I know, at that time. But, it is said that globally, Facebook comes on second spot after My-space (can't comment on My-space, never used it) with Orkut at third.

Facebook has gained popularity recently because of their decision to introduce a global platform (FBML-facebook markup language) on which users can develop their own applications. This had added more interactivity to the site. One can compare movie tastes with friends , play games , and do other stuff, all under one roof (rather one domain). Facebook has had tie-ups with many smaller sites to develop some of the most popular applications. Some of the notable ones being :- flixster(movies), chess.com(though I would recommend the original site rather than the app here), scrabulous(one can play scrabble here, but this one is in the news for the wrong reasons). There is an app for everything on Facebook. So much have these applications changed the meaning of internet that Orkut is also introducing similar applications on a platform called open-social. Here is testimony from the horse's mouth (Orkut blog):- the official announcement and an example of things to come.

Facebook has a big disadvantage of having a very cluttered page-layout, also application invites are the new spam these days. Let us see how Orkut implements these applications. At the same time, Orkut should fix some security issues(I have seen a Facebook app which allows one to access Orkut from Facebook!!!). Also scripts which allow scrap forwarding to multiple users has added yet another dimension to spamming. Orkut should take care, that they don't lose a user (urs truly) because of this unchecked spamming.

It would be interesting to see who wins this social networking battle which is similar to the cola wars and the MS-Google war. Watch our for the Orkut apps. I read that some users have already got access to those. Are you one of them ???

Post Script : (by the owner of the blog) According to me, it seems that the war of the social networking sites extends well beyond earning revenues for their parent companies and expands to ulterior (?) motives like being established as a super marketing platform, where an advertiser can exactly know more about his target audience, be it their likings, location etc. Orkut, which is soon going to go the Facebook way, might lose the simplicity that it was famous for. Ultimately, I feel that a good social networking site is one which allows you to Connect with friends and family using scraps and instant messaging, Discover new people through friends of friends and communities, Share your videos, pictures, and passions all in one place AND NOTHING ELSE ! The fact that this comes from Orkut's homepage should send a clear signal to the upcoming SNS's...

In case you too want to have your say, you can post your scraps on my blog wall by clicking here.

My new year resolutions

2008-01-21T21:15:00.000+05:30

When the clock strikes twelve on December 31st, people all over the world cheer and wish each other a very Happy New Year. For some, this event is no more than a change of a calendar. For others, the New Year symbolizes the beginning of a better tomorrow. So, if you look forward to a good year ahead, spread happiness with these wonderful New Year wishes.

But one thing that I find really amusing is the concept of new year resolutions !! Some say they are sweet, some they are meant to be broken... But this year, in 2008, I have decided to follow a very unusual list of resolutions. Yes, its not about getting thin or about being a better person and neither about scoring better in exams nor about indulging less in the time pass activities. Since this year will mark the end of my engineering education (?) where most of the time I have spent in gaming, this was the best that suited for me... Here you go !!

* My gaming resolutions *

1) I will not start playing games on the "easiest" difficulty level...

Yeah... when I finally get "Call of Duty 4" I wont be playing it on "greenhorn" level. Sometimes the temptation to select the easiest difficulty setting (prior to even experiencing how hard the game actually is) is just too overwhelming. This is especially true when you start to doubt your gaming skills and worry about the possibility of getting stuck indefinitely at some later point in the game. We've all been there, but we all also know the consequences of automatically picking the least difficult game setting: the game becomes too easy. You begin letting enemies wail on you because the damage you take is so infinitesimal, you stop caring about preserving ammunition/items, and you ultimately don't have as much fun because you're not faced with any real challenge.

2) I wont start a new game unless I complete the one I am playing currently...

For most gamers, it's unrealistic to think that we'll be able to complete 110% of every game we own, but if we put too many games on the backburner it's easy to completely lose interest in putting forth a decent effort to play through them. Just because Need for Speed - ProStreet was released doesn't mean we have to give up on the game(s) we're playing and run to the store, right? Complete the Need for Speed - Most Wanted's "Challenges" first, I can assure you, they will give you a run for your money !!

3) I wont rely on a single source before rating a game...

Be it GameSpot, IGN, or AmputeeGaming, we all have a favorite gaming pub, and sometimes we give too much credit to the reviewer's take on a specific game. Obviously, when GameSpot gives a game a "6.0," the game is more than likely a turd. But when a game that you're excited for receives a less than perfect score, do the right thing and check other media outlets and/or ask your friends. One of the best examples that I can quote here is "Marvel : ultimate alliance" suggested by a friend of mine and its a cool game though most of the gaming sites have rated it on the lower side. As SRK says, "Listen to your heart !!" or whatever...

4) I will limit the number of hours that I put in gaming so that I can get more out of the outdoor life...

The next GTA (yeah, GTA-4 is coming !!) is released and the only time you have to lay your hands over the game is after work. By the time you manage to slip out of the office/college, get your a** to downloading / buying it and you're minutes away from passing out from exhaustion. Before you know it, you're asleep with the controller in your hand and you're barely past the title screen. As a result, you call into work sick, skip college, cancel plans for the following day. Even we've done it at times, but this year we're going to try to keep the number of instances we devote to an entire day of gaming to a minimum. Though I don't fall short in terms of the fun that I have with friends and relatives, from this year I intend to explore even more !!

5) I will force myself to play different genres of game that I was hitherto not so interested in...

Who hasn't said one or more of the following?

"I don't have the patience to sit through the endless lines of dialogue to play RPGs." "First-person shooters make me nauseous, so I don't bother with them."
"Sports games are simply too much boring, same stuff infinite times"
"Racing games require skill, who wants to be a pro??"

And so on and so forth. We all have our favorite genre, but why limit your gaming experience simply because you're too stubborn to try something different? Hate RPGs? Try Mass Effect. Don't care for the mindless shooting of FPS games? Give BioShock a whirl. (though you will require a monster of a system to play them !!)

That's all on the gaming front for this year. Happy gaming to you too. Click here to post your comments.

The CAT is out of the bag !

2008-01-08T23:53:00.000+05:30

First of all Hearty Congratulations to those who cracked it and hard luck to those who got cracked by it... Its none other than the The Common Admission Test (CAT) which is an all-India test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as an entrance test for the management programmes of its six business schools and is considered (it really is...) the toughest exam to crack through after the prestigious IIT-JEE exam for engineering entrance to the Indian Institutes of Technology. Somehow the common words (II) in both of these have always struck a mesmerizing academic challenge to students in India with respect to their graduation and post graduation.

More than 200,000 (230,000 in the year 2007) students compete for about 1500 seats in the IIMs. This makes the IIMs even more selective than all the Ivy League Universities. Even with a top 1% score, a candidate must also cross the equally stringent hurdles of a group discussion and an individual interview. Hence, graduates all over the country always die to cross that 99 %tile hurdle so that one day they can earn hefty pay scales as investment banker and what not.

The CAT is one of the world's most demanding entrance examinations for any graduate institute. The test taker is expected to excel in arithmetical problem solving, geometry, statistics, data interpretation, logical reasoning in solving complex puzzles, and English Language skills. The test is held on the third Sunday of November for a duration of two and a half hours and everyone gets ready for the final take with his pencils, eraser and sharp mind on this day to bell the CAT.

It is neither expected, nor possible, that all the questions be answered, so the CAT also tests the candidates' ability to prioritise under pressure: a quality necessary in the competitive environment of IIMs' courses. And I experienced the trauma that is CAT, on 18th November last year. Why am I blogging about this stuff? Because the results are out. And I flunked... big time... But no worries. They allow you to give it more than once, and if you work somewhere in between, its said that its even better. So even those who flunked it are optimistic of a better future, thus making true of the words from Geeta, "Jo hota hai acche ke liye hi hota hai" (Whatever happens, happens for good).

Sometimes, I wonder how the trend of the Y-generation has shifted to management education, without actually realizing the importance of the same, irrespective of the judgement whether they actually have the orientation to excel in this chosen field, since the diversity in the aptitude of different people is very well known. Its the latest "rat-race" in education sector, which is being exploited by the ever rising coaching institutes which promise you a birth in IIMs with its last year's record and impeccable faculty stats etc. Its always better for a person to first plan his career in a systematic way and then try to achieve his post graduation in the desired field.

Basically, being an engineer, our lot is divided into five types :

a) the techno geeks : These opt for GATE and GRE to pursue M.Tech and M.S. respectively, and are the true technologists, who find the love in the discipline that they "engineered" themselves in. Honestly speaking, after 4 years of drudgery, these students must get a bravery award just for "carrying on" !!

b) the management kids : They are kids because I think its really silly to get into a "B-School" just after completing your graduation and without any exposure to absolutely any kind of business environment, wherein you can interact with the system and apply your know-how accordingly. Of course, the only force of attraction these days towards MBA as a fresher is the amount of green bucks that you earn and it would be dishonest of me to say that I would turn one down if I had got a call from a super B-School.

c) Job Crackers : These are usually toppers who dominate the placement scene from the word go and might figure in the earlier two categories too. Some of the exceptions, might sneak through the tight filter, but then its all about presenting (correctly) what you know and hiding (efficiently) what you don't. So I have always felt that peaking in this category isn't really a smart indicator of your brilliance, talent or the amount of grey matter in your cranium.

d) The Win-all league : No Comments on this category because I am ideologically against the existence of such people. But this being my blog, I must at least give the reason for my fury against these "envy-of-all" candidates : you just can't have it all, spare some for others too !!

e) The alternatives : Somehow these are the real champs of life. Some of them open up their own business venture. Some of them might end up earning money for doing what they like to do the most. Some of them go on to a really bizarre career like adventure tourism or music development etc but at least they do what they like. Indeed, you get one shot and you gotta hit it spot on.

To end this crap on a rather lighter note, let me show you how education might ruin the simplicity of human life. Consider this sample (which is fictitious of course and copied from orkut :-)), GRE and CAT aspirants tune up their verbal skills that ultimately its useless for the common soul.

NORMAL PERSON : People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
GRE scholar : Individuals who make their abodes in vitreous edifices would be advised to refrain from catapulting perilous projectiles.

NORMAL PERSON : Twinkle, twinkle, little star
GRE scholar : Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid minim.

NORMAL PERSON : All that glitters is not gold.
GRE scholar : All articles that coruscate with resplendence are not truly auriferous.

NORMAL PERSON : Beggars are not choosers.
GRE scholar : Sorting on the part of mendicants must be interdicted.

NORMAL PERSON : Dead men tell no tales.
GRE scholar : Male cadavers are incapable of rendering any testimony.

Hope you had a good laugh with your dictionary reading this awesome stuff. Click here to post your comments and views on entrance exams like CAT and JEE. Many love them and many sulk about them. What about you ??
P.S.: Please pardon me if the article went off the track in between, but I don't know what exactly I was writing on... hehe...