Bye 2006, Hello 2007

Happy New year Folks !!!

It has been an eventful year. A year with few interesting events.
I dont think i can really do a review of the year. Its just so tuf to recollect all of them.
I wud just like to highlight some of the events this year.

My B'day.
Probably the best ever bday i have ever heard. Unlike previous years, there was a lot of meaning to this bday. No flashy parties. A very peaceful bday. But i also happened to write 2 internal exams on that day. Ironically scored 17/50 in both. :)
Rating : 9

Visit to Hyderabad.
A great trip it was. Met some relatives of mine, whom i have never seen in the last 10 yrs. Was great to spend some time with them and roam arnd the beautiful city of hyderabad. It is one of the very few metros which is not yet spoiled by pollution and congestion. A very memorable trip though the purpose for which i went there was not fulfilled.
Rating: 7

Teletec Web Portal.
A truly memorable experience. Got introduced into the world of server side scripting for the first time. Was very interesting. The web rolled out on time with all functionalities implemented. It sure added a lot of color to Teletec 06. A very satisfying venture. Ironically, the entire team that developed the web portal ended up with duals in the same companies. :)
Rating: 8

Visits to Coimbatore.
There were just so many times this yr that i visited Coimbatore. That is another city i love so much. I was there to attend the symposiums at PSG & CIT. Well, made hell lotta money in those colleges. Met a guy from TI in one of those visits. Interesting events spawned from that meet. None materialized though. Met the CEO from Globals Inc. The most satisfying part of these visits happened to be the fact i got some time to spend with my friend there. V really had lotsa fun. Not to forget the TCS medical check up to coimbatore. Was damn damn funny.
Rating: 8

The Last Day @ College.
Well, what can i say ???? U just have to feel it. Words cant describe the emotions.
Rating: 9.5

The BackBenchBoys Celebration.
It was finally time for us, the BackBenchBoys to celebrate. Over a long period of 3 yrs, we were together as a team. We were a team right from day 1. We went thru ebbs and tides of life together. To celebrate all our efforts, TG & Rajiv threw a party. A truly unforgettable party.
Rating: 9

May !!!
That was one hell of a month. V had exams till may 22nd. The last set of exams in my entire life. [ I am pretty sure of not doing any more higher studies ]. Watched 270 episodes of my fav Dragonball Z cartoon. Got my TCS call for training, which i never attended. Underwent my Honeywell interviews. My final sem results were out too. Managed to walk out of college with 8.04. :)
Cant forget that month.
Ratings: 8

6.6.6
The worst possible day of the millennium. And thats when i got the official confirmation from Honeywell. What more can i say ? A ecstatic moment.
Rating: 8.5

One last time to Coimbatore.
This visit was a truly cherishable one. Wud go down in years as the one of the "best days" in my life. Fresh with offers in hand, me & my friend just decided to enjoy to the core. Eating, playin, roaming.. Chatting..
Rating: 9

G5
Finally, i got a vehicle of my own. My new Yamaha Libero G5. And, it was actually given as a surprise by my dad to me. So, it was sweeter.
Rating: 9


To be contd. [ later ]

C/C++ vs Rest of the World

This particular thought has been going on in my mind ever since i started programming "seriously". There have been numerous discussions on which language is the strongest. Which is the best ? I think, I have finally come to the answer.

U know, i wud like to broadly categorize the whole world of programming into two. System programming & Application programming. System programming refers to building the underlying architecture on which others can work on. And application programming refers to using that architecture to perform few operations, say word processing or listening to music etc.

When it comes to system programming, there aren't many competitors. To my knowledge, there is only one language which supports pointers.. which provides direct access to the underlying hardware.. which provides extremely fast executables.. which helps u in producing sleek and optimized codes.. which also happens to be a very tuf language to master. Ya, its ur good old C i am talking abt. Its down right simple. Just expressions and function calls.. And to make things stronger, u have C++.. Loaded with Object oriented functionalities.. But the size of the code becomes bigger when u use C++.. And u have to rely a lot on external packages to get things done. The language as such doesnt provide u with many functionalities. And 99% of the time, programmers dont have problem with the language but finding the appropriate libraries. Given these pros and cons, programmers prefer to use C when it comes to real time programming. The performance is unmatched. Java is at least 4 times slower than C. C/C++ really rule this area.

When it comes to application programming, there are just too many competitors. U simply cant chalk them down. Be it java or the visual studios package.. There are just too much of competition in this area. One cant really analyze which one is stronger. C/C++ plays a very small part in this area. Visual C++ is a major factor to be considered in this area. But VC++ is a different animal all together.. One even wonders if he is still working on C++ when he codes in VC++.. The structure is completely different. Its lot tougher and requires a huge amount of understanding. And it is also restricted to the windows operating system only.

But this the bottom line. Be it any language u choose to develop ur application. In the end, it is only going to make use of the underlying platform.. gonna use system calls written in C/C++..
They aren't really that strong. They dont provide direct hardware access. All these packages only make the programmers job easier. And thats where they are successful. Programmers nowadays aren't really interested in looking at the size of the executable. All programmers interested are in easier learning of the language.. better put, faster learning of the language.. and more importantly, better productivity is wat they look for..

Finally, it is without doubt which is the strongest language. The strongest language doesnt mean it wud to suit to all situations. Fast is the keyword in today's market. And hence ppl tend to move to other packages to get their jobs done quickly.. As always, there is compromise.. performance vs speed of delivery.. performance vs ease of use..

So, its the final call of the programmer.. It depends how he looks at it.. There aren't any clear cut rules to exactly distinguish between languages.

About Google.. Again..

Well, there are so many things abt the google search engine.. It has reached an extent i doubt if u can really call it as a search engine.. here are few interesting things google.com can do apart from searching web pages..

Google as a calculator
Type 1+1 in the search engine and see wat u get !!!! or try (12%5)*((5-7)/(6+7)).. Interesting ain't it ????

Google knows mathematical constants
Type "pi" or "phi" in the search engine.. See wat the first result is !!!!

Google as a converter
Type "1 km in mile" or "2kg in pounds".. Dont be surprised.. this thing really rocks..

Google as a dictionary
Guess, most ppl know this.. u can always type "what is internet" to get web definitions..

Google as a glossary
U guys shud know this too.. Its too elementary.. type "define: black box testing".. he he he..

Google also lists facts :) *
Type "population china" or "president India" or "birthday bush".. It gives everything..

Google knows weather reports too.. :) *
Type "weather new york".. See wat u get..

Google is GIANT phone directory.. *
Type "john smith minneapolis mn".. It gives u the phone number.. And u can try the vice versa too.. Give the phone number.. Get the guy's details.. Wat more can u ask !!!!

Google answers the Ultimate qstns..
Well, this is the most weirdest part.. It answers really tuf qstns.. I haven't tried a lot of combinations thoug.. But came across this one in one web.. Type "what is the answer to life the universe and everything".. I mean, i haven't even heard of a thing like this before.. But Google seems to know better.. In case u guys, get such wierd combinations.. feel free to post in my blog..

Hats off to Google's creators.. U ppl rock..

* - Doesn't apply to all countries or all info.. It is currently improving its database.. The database now primarily contains info arising from the United States..

Google Products

Try out some of the products rolled out free by Google.

Google Desktop - Now u can use the Google search engine to search files in your system. Believe me its lot faster than your Windows search.

Google Videos - Not a product in the truest sense, but gives u access to loads to videos across the world. Just try searching for "bill gates" in Google videos. You get interesting videos to watch.

Picasa - A very good photo manager. Has few features for image editing. But still stands out as a good photo manager.

Google Page Creator - For all those amateur web designers out there, you can try this out. Its cool. Has very limited features for web creation. But good enough to launch a decent website. Based on the philosophy of WYSIWYG.

Google Calender - This is a really cool package. Lets you organize your schedule in a easy manner. It also lets u schedule meeting with others, Invite others and so on.

Google Spreadsheet - Again, this is a cool little package. It lets u maintain ur spread sheets online. Its no way comparable with Microsoft's Excel. It need to be improved a lot if it needs to attract people more.

Google Documents - Very similar to the spread sheet package. Needs loads of improved if it has to compete with the likes of Microsoft Office or Open Office.

Eminem's MOSH

For all u Eminem freaks out there..

Navjot Singh Siddhu - As proud as a cat's whiskers

These are some of the best quotes by the great Navjot Singh Siddhu..

1. There is light at the end of the tunnel for India, but it's that of an incoming train which will run them over.
2. Experience is like a comb that life gives U when U are bald.
3. Sri Lankan score is running like an Indian taximeter.
4. He is like Indian three-wheeler, which will suck a lot of diesel but cannot go beyond 30!
5. The Indians are finding the gaps like a pin a haystack.
6. The pitch is as dead as a dodo.
7. Deep Dasgupta is as confused as a child is in a topless bar!
8. Deep Dasgupta is not a Wicket Keeper, he is a goalkeeper. He must be given a free transfer to Manchester United.
9. The way Indian wickets are falling reminds of the cycle stand at Rajendra Talkies in Patiala one falls & everything else falls!
10. U cannot make Omelets without breaking the eggs.
11. One, who doesn't throw the dice, can never expect to score a six.
12. The cat with gloves catches no mice.
13. Age has been perfect fire extinguisher for flaming youth.
14. He is like a one-legged man in a bum kicking competition.
15. The third umpires should be changed as often as nappies & for the same reason.
16. Kumble's bowling at the moment is flat as a Dosa.

Now these are the BEST EVER QUOTES one can think of.. [ Must Read ]

1. Statistics are like miniskirts, they reveal more than what they hide.
2. After marriage, the other man's wife looks more beautiful.
3. Indian team without Sachin is like giving Kiss without a Squeeze.
4. That ball went so high it could have got an air hostess down with it.
5. This quote was made after Ganguly called Dravid for a run & midway sent him back & Dravid was run out in the third test against the West Indies at Barbados."Ganguly has thrown a drowning man both ends of the rope."
6. Wickets are like wives - U never know which way they will turn!
7. As uncomfortable as a bum on a porcupine.
8. This quote was made after Eddie Nichols, the third umpire, ruled Shivnarine Chanderpaul 'NOT OUT' in the second test at Port of Spain T&T "Eddie ichols is a man who cannot find his own buttocks with his two hands.
9. U got to choose between tightening your belt or losing your pants.
10. Beware of the naked man who offers you his shirt.
11. The gap between the bat and pad is so much that I would have driven a car through it!

Festive Season Begins.

Probably one of the worst things i ever did in my life.
I went shopping 4 days from diwali. And my god, the entire population of the city seems to have gathered in the same place. Thats how crowded it was !!!
These guys who run the garments shop just enjoy this season. So, do ppl who own sweets shop. Now, i have gotta mention this. I am sure u wud have recieved loads of sweets from ur relatives and neighbors in yesteryears. The pack contains roughly half kilo of milk sweets in various colors. But i always wonder why they taste the same. And when u have 2 or 3 sweets, u kinda get bored with the taste.
Some people beg to differ and send u pack of haldiram sweets. Ya, they taste gud. And the saddest part is they get over so quickly.. I hope someone gives me a pack of Lays chips or Cadbury's celebration this time around.
One thing, that i have noticed, is the decreasing amount of crackers every year. Not long back, the cracker season sets in as early as month b4 diwali.. Over the years, it has steadily reduced, and this year the cracker season has not set in yet [ Atleast in my area ]. And it is only days away from diwali.
And unfortunately, for many ppl, diwali has fallen on a saturday this yr. Ppl wud want diwali to always fall on monday or friday.

Thats it for now, Happy Diwali !!!
Have fun.

List of Proxies

For all those ppl who are not able to access Orkut or other mailing services at their workplace, u gotta check these links. [ Word of caution. Some pages might contain explicit material ]

www.browseatwork.com
www.kproxy.com
www.ghostproxy.com
www.browseatwork.net
www.anonycat.com
www.birdsflyfast.com
www.cooltunnel.com
www.vtunnel.com
www.stupidcensorship.com
www.fishesswimfast.com
www.btunnel.com

Back Again !!!

Its been one of those days i've been waiting for a very long time. Ya, Its Vacation time. The last few months have been hectic to say the least. Its not long before these days of laziness comes to an end and the busy days start again.

Leave alone technical things that i have acquired in the last two months, there are many other things that i have become familiar with.

First, the different type of ppl here make life interesting. There are ppl from Kerala, Andhra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu (only a few ). And ppl from orissa, Delhi and West Bengal as well. As always, when u have a group of 100 ppl with u, u get all kinds of ppl in it. The highly intelligent, the absolutely lazy ( Of course datz me ), the highly disciplined, the innovative ones. A Kind of every breed.

The next thing that i have found very very interesting is the concept of Communication. [Not the technical one]. How important is it ??? They no longer call it Communication. They call it Careful Communication. Every word u speak/write is measured to a very deep extent. Info abt u are understood with every sentence u speak. Aggressive, Assertive & Acceptance. I just feel, inspite of severest of efforts, the educational system of India fails to provide a student with good communicational skills. I never get bored of telling it over and over again. We probably have the poorest form of educational system ever invented. The concept of making a student write a 3hr exam is out of sense. Somewhere down the line, this has to change.

As far as tech stuff is concerned, i just got uploaded with more and more of content. Be it Control systems or Normalization or PL/SQL or Avionics or Virtual Destructors, my tech knowledge has just grown by leaps and bounds. And i owe a lot to my trainers for that fact.

Ha. Before i forget. How much is Microsoft Office suite used in your office. My god, I never expected to use so much of Word, Excel, ppts. I seem to use a lot of Microsoft products. Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Visual Studios, Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft Communicator. Not to forget Windows Xp. Oooooh. Microsoft might just continue its dominance in this area forever, for i see very few ppl challenging in this area. But i DONT use Internet Explorer. That wil do abt my corporate life.

Now to the lighter side of life, Its festive time in India. Diwali comes again. Diwali, to me is, sweets, sweets & sweets. Laziness is always included..

Even as i write, the men in blue are finding answers for a seemingly very difficult question to answer. Why dont they play cricket properly ? Getting a team bowled out for 125.. Going into break with 55 runs on the board in 8 overs with 9 wickets in hand. How do u expect a team to end up scoring 126 losing 6 wickets. The pitch can be blamed to certain extent. But the performance was certainly below par.

World's shortest horror story

"When the world's last man was alone in his room, the door was knocked..."

The Corporate Beginning..

Ha, i'm finally into the corporate world.. and it is down right professional..

A couple of weeks ago during holidays, i wud wake up at 12 in the morning, have lunch [ break fast ??? ] at 1.. play racing games on the system for the rest of the day.. And then turn on the modem, get connected to the net, open gmail and orkut in two different tabs in mozilla and start browsing til late night.. Parallely, i wud also start a download of the video of "harry potter and the goblet of fire", courtesy bearshare.. Then sleep at around 2 or 3 in the night.. Then wake up again at twelve the next day and the cycle wud just go on again and again.. Not anymore..

Now, i have to be at office around 9 and rush to the training room to catch the front rows.. [ sounds strange isn't it ??? ].. ya thats wats happening.. Undergo training til 7 in the evening.. Travel back home fully tired.. Eat dinner, spend half an hour wit family and go back to sleep by 10 !!!.. thats how life changes within a week..

The transition has been rather abrupt.. And there are guys from different states around in my batch.. English is the only way to communicate.. Gettin acquainted with their culture..

As they say, "its always a part of the learning curve.."

For the love of friends.

I wud like to dedicate this poem to all my sweet friends in college..
Adios..

The things we did, the things we said
Keep coming back to me and make me smile again
You showed me how to face the truth
Everything that's good in me I owe to you

Though the distance that's between us
Now may seem to be too far
It will never separate us
Deep inside I know you are

Never gone, never far
In my heart is where you are
Always close, everyday
Every step along the way
Even though for now we've got to say goodbye
I know you will be forever in my life
Never gone

I walk alone these empty streets
There is not a second you're not here with me
The love you gave, the grace you've shown
Will always give me strength and be my cornerstone

Somehow you found a way
To see the best I have in me
As long as time goes on
I swear to you that you will be

Never gone from me
If there's one thing I believe
I will see you somewhere down the road again

Never gone, never far
In my heart is where you are
Always close, everyday
Every step along the way

Never gone, never far
In my heart is where you are

In case u ppl thot that i had written that poem.. LOL.. This one is one of my favourite backstreetboy's song.. from the album "Never gone"..

History of C & C++

During 1950-1960, all computers used only high level Languages. FORTRAN was used by engineers and researchers. And COBOL for buisness. In 1960 ALGOL came into existence. It was too abstract and too general. And it was very difficult to understand. So in 1963 a new language called "CPL" (Combined Programming Language) was invented. Then Mr.Martin Richard, did some modification and made it simple and named it as "BCPL" (Basic Combined Programming Language) .It did not satisfy the programmers. In 1967,Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritche created a new os at Bell Laboratories. That OS was called UNIX. Meanwhile Mr.Ken Thompson also created a compiler for FORTRAN. At that time a new language grew. That was called "B". B was depended upon an Interpreter. that is, a translator was required to translate B.

In 1972, Dennis Ritche found a new language called "C" which was remake of "B". Then In 1980,Bjorne Stroustrup added some new concepts to "C". There was a lot of confusion in naming the new language. There were 2 groups. One said that "After C there is P in BCPL,So we name it as P". The other group said that, "After B and C, D is placed alphabetically. So we name it as D".
After consulting these 2 groups they decide to name it as "CDP"(C Double Plus).

So, C Double plus was written symbolically as C++.. And eventually people was started calling it "C plus plus"..

Hows that ??????

( Taken from one of the Orkut communities... )

Orkutting !!!!

Bad, bad server. No donut for you.

Unfortunately, the orkut.com server has acted out in an unexpected way. Hopefully, it will return to its helpful self if you try again in a few minutes.

It's likely that the server will behave this way on occasion during the coming months. We apologize for the inconvenience and for our server's lack of consideration for others.

This is probably one of the most frequently seen orkut page in case u login after 10 at night.. Every boy, girl who knows how to operate a system and has "very fast" broadband connection at their home login into Orkut to increase their circle of friends..

In a way, Orkut is a revolution in the making.. No one wud have dreamt of a method to get in touch with so many people across the globe.. Yahoo ! chat was quite popular for sometime.. But the entire Orkut database is so well structured.. it hardly takes u 10 mins to find a long lost friend of urs..

Some of the popular scraps..

"Hi there.. Do you remember me ?? I was ur class mate from 5th til 8th.. "

"Hi. I am XXX studying in YYY. I am currently recruited by ZZZ and wil be joining there next year. From ur profile i understand u are working in ZZZ too.. Can u pls tell how the working place is.. Scrap me back.. Regards.."

Ya, this is what orkut is all about.. It gives u the freedom to interact with people.. No restrictions.. No formalities.. It is not always easy to speak to a new person.. But very easy to scrap an unknown person and get acquainted wit them.. On the whole, the Orkut idea is a success in every sense of the word.. Unlike many other website, from my understanding, Orkut cud be easily handled by the administrators too.. There are very few security related issues as every thing is pretty much "open" in Orkut..

There is a popularly known concept..

"You can link two different people at different parts of the globe merely through a chain of 4 to 6 people"..

I hope u get the point.. Thats how simple this complicated world is.. And thats the principle behind Orkut's phenomenal success..

There are of course few funny things happening inside Orkut..

People have decided to throw away their last name.. Instead they use that particular column to flash news..

XXX placed in ZZZ

or

YYY leaving for chennai on 7th

Of course, yours truly has been following such practises right from its inception.. I wonder who invented such "innovative" practises.. But i am sure the person shud be an Indian.. Cuz only in India u get such "Out of the Box" thinking..

Worse.. People have started using their "about me" column to describe the news in detail.. Its really funny how such practises get accepted globally..

Some people get excited at the first look of Orkut.. then subsequently lose the interest.. But continue to use Orkut.. They dont just drop it.. Therefore the interest levels drop down considerably.. but not below a certain level that prevents them from using it..

The whole idea of community is excellent.. Ppl of similar interests get to meet each other..

There are few things which are rarely used.. For instance the Orkut mailbox.. Ppl hardly use such services.. The scrap book is frequently used..

Hats off to the creators of Orkut..

I am in pumphouse da..

"hi da.. i am in pump house.. dint study for the exam.. heard that u have studied 5th unit.. can u come half an hour prior to the exam and teach me that particular unit.."

for all those guys from my college and for those who had mobile phones, this msg wudn't be a surprise..

Probably the most frequent msg sent wud have been..

"Dai.. i am caught in this railway gate da.. has the class started ???"

Of course the time this msg normally sent is between 9 - 9.15 am.. after the first hour has started..

You know, i wudn't call my college "the best college in tamil nadu".. Neverthless, it proved to be a gud place in more than one way.. I am pretty sure there wud be bloggers who feel the other way around.. Ya, the coin has two sides and so does our college.. But this is my blog and i write the things i feel..

More than the college leaving an gud impression, its the students studying here make the college a wonderful place to be.. You get all sort of guys here.. The techies.. The "to be MBAs".. the annoying characters.. and of course, the road side romeos.. the "gud for nothing" banda parties.. name it and u'll find a sample in my college..

The entire college life had a brand new color with the invasion of mobile phones.. Communication had never been easier.. Of course, the majority of the msgs flew between the two hostels.. :)

I really dont understand why administrations ban mobile phones inside college campuses.. I mean, using mobile during the class hours cud be banned.. but why ban the "carrying of mobile phones" inside the campus.. for god sakes, i studied communication engineerin for 4 damn yrs and ppl who teach actually ban the usage of mobile phones !!!!! no wonder there have been numerous pre placement trainings with GDs titled "Should mobile phones banned inside college".. Its time ppl put an end to this and start looking at the broader spectrum..

Coming back to the golden memories of the college days, the first thing that wud come to one's mind are the Industrial visits.. Ha ha ha.. Industrial visit.. It shud be called a tour or something.. where the hell do v visit industries.. It is all abt screaming in the bus, singing in the bus, and to some extent dancing in the bus... taking a digital camera along wit u and taking 'n' number of snaps wit ur friends.. Of course, there wud b that great discussion of which place to visit.. If two classes were going together, all hell breaks loose on deciding the city.. the girls point to a city.. the boys point to a city.. and finally come to a conclusion and decide on the city, the college intervenes and says "try some other city".. the representatives of the class wud have the worst part of his lifetime tryin to convince the students and the college.. Finally when the city has been decided, then comes the problem of taking a staff along with us.. All these and more, make an industrial visit an adventorous and memorable one..

The canteen and the pump house are the spots to hang out.. the place where u can kill time in case u have bunked a lab.. the official place for u to write records, observations and to copy assignments.. Speakin of records and assignments, its time ppl put an end to the whole "observation, record and assignment" stuff.. Ppl copy observation from senior's record and eventually copy it in their record.. Any person on earth can do it.. whats the great fun in doing it.. Long has been forgotten the fact that, "education shud refine people".. Education in college just requires you to aimlessly take notes of whatever is taught in the class.. Take xerox of the prescribed book 3 days before the internals.. Do some group studies the day before the internal.. write records and observations week after week.. Copy down assignments week after week.. Download some paper from the net and present under ur name in intra college and inter college events.. Where has the whole concept of "originality" gone ???? I entered into college with the whole desire to prone my skills.. But where wud i find time for proning my skills, if records and assignments eat all my time.. This is why we Indians are "Jack of all trades and king of none".. V push in the working of an optical directional coupler when v hardly understand 9th grade optics... Sometimes one never understands why v ever learn such things..

Then there is ofcourse the concept of throwing treats.. the truth is, no one actually throws a treat.. But there is always everybody to ask for a treat.. Ppl ask a treat for winning a prize in an inter departmental comp in which only 10 ppl participated.. Ppl ask for a treat when u buy something new.. Ppl ask for a treat on ur birthday.. the worst part comes when girls ask a treat for wearing the same color.. "same same sweet, give me treat"..

You know, u get a beautiful mixture when u put bubblin youth, mobile phones, IVs, birthday parties and stern education system together.. Thats the color of college life..

Further color has been added with the inclusion of websites such as orkut.. Guys and gals take it again as a opportunity to "interface" wit each other.. Funny.. and of course, the management wud always be there to ban it.. And our "young and brilliant" students wud prove themselves by finding websites such as Kproxy and continue wit their orkutting.. It is always fun being a part of it.. But looking from the outside, one gets the feeling "something somewhere is going wrong"..

there r ofcourse many more things that make college life greater.. Thanks to my poor memory am not able to recollect them.. Pls feel free to comment..


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Here cometh the man

I am online now.. And am creating my first ever blog