PC: The strangest of strange things

All of us bloggers use our PCs as if it were the most routine objects.We hardly stop a moment and think about what goes on inside it, do we?We yell at our ISP if our net connection isnt working, we yell at our PC customer care executives if there is the slightest of disturbance in it, without ever bothering how much effort and skill it takes from an engineer's side to be able to understand your problem, leave alone solving it.

Being an engineering student,I've not been able to delve deep into the PC knowledge, apart from a few parts which I find very "hip" to name,like the Mother Board, Processor, Graphics Card, lan card and the likes.People can boost up their download speeds to several times higher just by making a few internal changes to their systems. One can reduce the boot time considerably if he/she learns to identify the start up programs/applications that are not required.One can even control another system on the network through a far off workstation.

This post isnt about what goes on inside a system, as I hardly know 1% of the entire thing. It's just to give you an idea of how many millions of electronic circuits are at work to perform the simplest of operations. For example, when we hit a particular key, it appears on the screen.Most of us have no idea as to what engineering goes into making such a thing a reality.The very basics of a computer system, i.e. the Kernel, operating system, software, hardware,etc etc is a complex subject in itself and to integrate all of these to create such a magical machine is nothing short of miracle.The fact that we have such people who know how exactly a PC works and they actually design it, is astonishing to me!Just imagine someone who knows the entire electronics and electrical circuitry, the digital circuitry and the operating systems part and then they actually put all of these together to give us a wonderful magical box!!!

I know this post was rubbish but then that's what may sometimes happen when you're completely out of thoughts but want to write a post just for the sake of it,isn't it??

Time to slog!

Its 26th April,Saturday and I just attended the last DSP lecture of this sem.Soft Computing syllabus is already over, microprocessor lab is over too and we've even had the end sem exam for that(which means we'll be free on all mondays from now onwards).We were supposed to submit the synopsis for mini project today and god knows what's the status, as I've not done anything about it.Add to that another lab end sem coming up on wednesday, then TCS coming for campus placements on 2nd to 4th May, then demonstration of the mini project, then the third sessional tests and then the dreaded end sem examination.

Going by the kind of lifestyle I'm living you wouldn't get even a hint of what all lies in front of me and that's one of the reasons for this post,i.e. to vent out my frustration, plan out strategies and to demonstrate my anger at my inability to come to terms with studies.
Well, enough of ranting now and forgive the nonsensical contents of this post. :D

Tough weekend ahead

Its again Saturday!I just can't keep track of how time is flying.It seems as if you blink you eye and week after week passes away.Got to rush to college in less than two hours' time and then we have that all important cricket final in the evening.The paper seeing of the second sessional and the much awaited Chelsea vs Manchester United match is there in the evening as well. Oops!!! Didn't I mention studies at all?It's such kind of situation where I just cant' have enough of studies.The more I get into it, the better it will be as I can't even figure out how many subjects/topics I need to keep a track of simultaneously during the next fortnight with placements, third sessionals, mini project submission, lab test and all coming up.
However, as I always do, am staying positive and hoping for the best of results.
good luck to me!:)

IPL is here to stay!!!

Its been just over a week since the Indian Premier League Twenty 20 cricket started and even though I didnt support it much initially, I have to confess that it's the new sensation in International cricket.People might argue that the entire concept was taken up from the existing league in English Football but still, one must have the vision to see its future before implementing and Mr. Lalit Modi has excelled in that department.

The amount of talent that's on display from the top countries of the world is awe inspiring.The close matches that we've had recently and yesterday's phenomenal feat of Shane Warne knocking off Symonds for 4,6,6 off successive balls when his team needed 14 to win from four balls is simply breath taking.These are the kind of matches that draw the spectators to grounds and make sure those watching at home stay glued to the TV sets. The prospect of Shane Warne bowling to Andrew Symonds, McGrath bowling to Warne, Sehwag facing RP Singh was all hypothetical but only till this new phenomenon struck world cricket.

India sure is the driving force of world cricket when it comes to finance but then we've shown that we also have got the talent to match them, through players like R Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan, R Bhatia and the likes..
way to go IPL!!!

Barcelona vs Man U.... just can't wait for it!!!

Finally, the match of the season is here!If you're a soccer buff..or even if you're remotely interested in soccer... or(worst) you don't like soccer at all, I'd suggest you stay glued to ten sports tonight at 00.15am,IST.Its the Champions League semi final(first leg) and the teams involved are considered Giants in their respective countries,and even around Europe.

Starting with my favourites,Manchester United, it's a moment of reckoning for them. They have been considered the best in Europe and fairly, they've had critics playing them down, saying they're not strong enough to score against Spanish and the Italian giants. Over the past few seasons, they've been knocked out by the Italian powerhouse A.C. Milan but this time, our arch rivals Arsenal have done us a huge favour by sending them out of the competition fairly early. We're returning to the Nou Camp after 9 years,and the last time we were there, we scored twice in dying minutes to overturn a 0-1 deficit to win the Champions League. It was our treble year(1999) and though this time we're in the hunt for the Premiereship apart from the UEFA Champions League, we're strong enough to bring both the trophies to the Theatre of Dreams(the name given to our home stadium at Old Trafford by Sir Alex Fergusson). In my opinion, we're favourites because for a change, we've a fully fit squad to choose from at the closing end of the season, which is something we've never had in the previous few years.If I start describing the quality of players on both the sides, the blog would become too boring for those who don't follow soccer but still, Rooney and Ronaldo are worth mentioning.

A brief glance at Barcelona's season lately suggests that they're not quite at their peak,as they've not won a single match in the last four games.They'll be missing the services of superstar midfielder Ronaldinho and Messi's not fully fit, though he will take part in the match for sure but most probably he'll be substituted at some stage. Eto'o, Henry, Puyol, Valdes... the list goes on and on..

Just can't wait for the kick-off,which is about 170 minutes from now and I'll sign out on this note, and expect the few people who read it to experience the thrill of soccer themselves.

In a Pleasantly Unpleasant Situation...

The days are whizzing past like anything.The placements, tests and all that seemed so far away a week ago are staring me in the face now. And in spite of all that, all I do is play, watch, eat, drink and sleep.... CRICKET!!!

Yeah, it's another post about cricket and its not about the Indian Premiere League(IPL) or something, it's about the cricket tournament I've been playing in over the last month or so.The Shanthala Cup, as we like to call it, has resumed after we were done with our sessionals and thankfully, we're continuing our march towards the trophy.On a personal front, I've played three games in the last three days, failing in one of them and helping my team along to qualify for the next round in two of them. The pleasantly unpleasant situation I talked about is this.. I am playing for two teams and both had qualified for the semi finals. Over the last two days, both the teams had their respective semi final matches and guess what... both the teams are in the final now!That leaves me with the awkward situation of having to play against my old team, whichever team I choose to play for.

On a personal note, it's great to be in such a situation, having contributed in the wins of both the sides at some point or the other.I'll have to disappoint one of my good friends before the finals but then, that's not a problem as I expect both of them to be considerate enough.After failing for two years to make it to the next round of the tournament, it feels great to be in such a situation. Finally, the patience has paid off and I've found out not one, but two teams which don't depend completely upon me to deliver at all the time.

Its been really hectic and there was a time two weeks ago when I had to play four matches inside 24 hours!It really does take a toll on your body and you cant even think of studying once you get back to the hostel but then, over the last two days, I'm learning to get used to it and I'm trying to balance out all the things(which is quite difficult [:(] )

Happiness all the way!!!

Its the beginning(I hope) of some sort of a purple patch in my life here at Manipal. Blogging so frequently and not for sad reasons is unprecedented phenomenon and I really hope it continues this way.
The day began with my Micro p. lab end sem examination and I'll get through comfortably and when you add to it the fact that I'd studied for not more than half an hour for the test(prior to which we got 4 complete days off), it'd sound a pretty significant achievement.To add to that headache, we had three assignments to be submitted today, two of which were postponed, thanks to our C.R. and the remaining one was done(read copied) by me right after the lab.Went about meeting the other critiera,of filling up the Dream company for our placements today with relative ease, filling up Schneider Electric and GMR.

Then comes the fun part and no prizes for guessing what it's going to be about... CRICKET!!! Our knock-out tournament resumed today after the sessionals and I was informed at 4.15 pm that we've the quarter final match at 4.30.Initially I wanted to refuse it but the insistent individual that Pradeep is, he came to pick me up from the hostel and we were literally laughing when we reached the ground, as we couldn't muster 11 players!We started fielding with 2 players short.The missing ones joined in soon and the match was a topsy turvy encounter until the last over. I faced the first ball of the over in which we had to score 12 to win and guess what... I hit the first ball over the long on rope:). We won with Johnnie's last-ball six and it was a really satisfying effort, considering that we went in without our best batsman and bowler.
Enough of cricket now!Its time for me to sleep as its already 4.09 am on the next morning of Earth Day and I've to finish up an assignment in the morning..

Windows Vista:Is it really worth the switch?

This is one question that must have been asked millions of times during the past year, ever since it was launched.Here I present to you a brief comparison of the features of Windows XP with Vista Home Premium(the edition I've been using for the best part of previous year).The ususal practice in any O.S. debate has been that Linux invariably comes into the picture so I'd like to refrain from the age old Linux vs Windows debate.

The reason I started using Vista Home Premium was simple enough: It came free with my laptop and at that time, the thrill of using an ORIGINAL software was reason enough, as I'd been using pirated versions of XP for a long time. I didn't go into too much debate as to whether it's advisable to switch on to Vista or not and decided to explore it myself.After all, the option of switching on to XP was always there as you can get the CD from anyone.

Merits:It contains revolutionary features such as the much improved search option(highly recommended), the aero interface(which doesnt add much value in terms of performance but it's good to have nevertheless), the windows sidebar(again an optional gadget, not too essential) and the much improved installation guide/the help and support system and the frequent warnings(it can get boring but then it keeps your computer secure). The C.P.U and RAM meter is the feature I like the most, alongwith the improved search and navigating through windows thing. It gives you a straightforward information about how badly are you screwing your processor and is a good indicator to keep a check on the no. of programs/applications you're using at a time.There is this "typing software" as well, which can type the words you speak but then I've not used it much and from whatever I've seen, there's scope for improvement.

Demerits:The major demerit that I've found out is the really long boot time. I use Vista Premium on a 1GB RAM compaq and it really takes at least twice the time taken by xp to boot.You can, of course reduce the boot time by chaging/removing the start up programs/applications but then it's not recommended until you're close to a geek(and if you were a geek, you wouldn't be reading this anyway!!). At times the CPU meter gets stuck on 100% and you need to shut off all the programs/applications to continue uninterrupted work.I think both these problems can be solved by getting extra ram(may be 1GB), something that I've planned to do in the near future.

All in all, Vista is the way forward, with a few shortcomings but then, all the good things come with a few glitches,don't they?

What a Day it turned out to be!!!

People mostly update their personal blogs when they're down,frustrated,sad and a hundred associated adjectives. And why talk about other people, even I've done that myself most of the times.One of the reasons for not updating when you're happy is that you get so many people to share your happiness with,but no one to share your sorrows. However, I'd like to suggest all such people(including myself, to an extent) that it feels great to take out some time for yourself when you're happy and blog!This is exactly what I'm feeling right now.

To take the curtain off the suspense,I've got many reasons to be happy.First of all,my team won the first prize in the podcasting contest that we participated in yesterday and it was something which all of us had least expected, as the other teams consisted a member(s) who were mass comm. students, who deal with sound recording, editing and stuff day in and day out!One girl, from the organising college, was put in our group but she opted for a separate group(and rightly so) as she had all her friends there.That was a discouragement for me on a personal front but meeting my team members,I knew that we could actually pull off something special,as the mood in the Sound Lab(where we worked) was really good and the voices were coming out better than expected through the mic.Still,I insist again that I didnt expect us to win.

The day passed off like any other holiday,with me wasting most part of it.Attended the last few talks of MMSC and rushed back to hostel,as it was my b'day treat two hours later and I had to prepare for that,being the host.That was the time when Karthik messaged that we'd won the first prize and I rushed to the venue to collect mine.I remember getting a first prize for a quiz in my 5th standard,and its been more than a decade, so it is really special to me.

After that, as if the script was written in the Heavens, we had a party(which was pre planned,even before I had got the prize).Got really good feedback from all the guests and that rounded off a pretty good day.The only glitch was the absense of my new friends. It was largely due to misunderstanding but then, its okay,I know what they've missed out on so its their bad luck :P

MMSC - Another feather in MIC's cap!

The valedictory function is still going on, I presume but I didn't see the need to attend it, as have attended most of MMSC during the last two days. Initially I thought of it as an event in which there'll be no space for engineering students and all that publicity done by the organisers(including the bloggers' meet) was just an effort to draw the crowd. There's no truth in the first part as I realised, anyone who's interested in media/podcasting/internet writing/ blogging could have attended it and those who didnt have interest surely would have some now, especially after the "making money online" presentation yesterday by Karthik. The second part of the previous sentence,though, I still believe has "some" truth but then, its the case with every event,isn't it?

It's the second event I attended of MIC and both the times, I've noticed that the volunteers come out with full spirit to make this "their" event, instead of just going through the motions and carrying out their "duties". The delegates(and to some extents, participants too ;) ) were looked after really well, right from providing conveyance to food,etc. Their smallest of demands(that of a mobile charger!!!) had been taken care of.

One of the organisers told me before the event that "I'll have to dance to the tunes of people who're 17 and 20 yr old." I met one of them yesterday and he really was the person to handle. I wished her "all the best with this guy!" via telepathy and it seemed to have worked,as the guy seemed a lot more civilised today :).Got to learn a lot from the podcasting workshop in which we(a team of 6) were given one hour to make a podcast of 10 mins. I wrote a part of the script and all of us took turns into recording their voices and it went off unexpectedly well. Made some good friends and thanks to Kenney, who invited us to Kerela for a free accomodation, free food, free conveyance holiday any time we pleased!Have a few grouses towards the attitude a few of the in-mates of MIC showed but that's nothing new,as it happens everywehre.

All in all, another successful event organised by them and felt really good to be a part of it. Hope to attend more of such events in the future.Have to sign off now as I've invited people to my party in two hours from now and I'm still to check the list of the guests.

New-found interest in blogging :)

I am still amazed at the time I spend on blogspot these days. I had my tests since 12th but still, I was visiting people's blogs(most of them random ones) religiously. Obviously, it took a toll(and a HEAVY one, I'm sure) on the tests, but now I CARE TWO HOOTS about marks. It all started about a fortnight ago, when I was scrapped randomly by a Anadi to attend a pre-event to the Manipal Blogger's Meet. It all started from there and then I went through to his blog itself, thinking, "Let me check if he himself is interested or not."(hehe.. sorry for that thought, man!).

It was then that this addiction started, as I found links to a lot of blogs on his page and, I must confess, most of them were really good. Today, I finally got rid of my exams(not that I was killing myself studying all this while but still...) and the first thing I did was to Blogroll the people I always wanted to, add a few gadgets to my blog and thought that this GRAND ocaasion(coz I've spent more than an hour on my own blog for the first time) DEMANDED a post so, here I am!

Thanks to my readers who've recently started visiting and the one and only who has stuck on all this while, even if I wasn't posting( Thanks a lot, Carra for the patience). Would try to keep it updated from time to time now.

ATTENTION Please comment whenever you read any of my posts so that I know that people are still visiting it.

P.S. This post was completely a random one so I apologise for the lack of sensible content!!

Kudlu Trip

As always, its been quite a while since I posted here. But, unlike all other occasions, I've had plenty to write about all this while.Will try to include the interesting bits here and keep the not-so-interesting byes out!


March 21:Trip to Kudlu Falls
It was a typical lazy MIT Sunday, i.e. you don't have anything to do apart from the tiny bit of lab work, no assignments, sessionals far faaaar away, and I was glued to online yahoo chess when Sagar barged into the room and ordered," Jayant, get ready, we're leaving for Kudlu Falls in half an hour."

My initial reaction was," Forget it! Someone or the other will say NO and the whole excitement will die sooner than it had been generated." I didn't utter any of these words to him, as something in his enthusiasm told me that this plan was going to be successful and, as he revealed microseconds later, "All are ready, we've to leave asap".

Soon enough, the five good men( Myself, Omveer, Sagar, APS and Anubhav) were on our way to Hebri and about two hours (and 8 bananas :) ) later, I found myself facing a taxi driver and Omveer negotiating with him. He was trying to explain to him how it will serve the 5 of us well if he brought his initial demand of Rs 600 down to 500. Finally he obliged and we set off for a (supposedly) 45- min drive to Kudlu. This was the time when the Devil in Omveer's mind spoke out:

"How about a night stay there? We can arrange for tents and all. It'll be exciting, wudn't it?"
"Wow!!!" Chuckled APS with unprecedented joy, which was quite a contrast to Anubhav (and to an extent, mine) reaction.
However, none of us objected and we drove to the Ranger's office, where they book tents in advance.

"NO GIRLS IN TENTS, OK?? Manipal has a bad reputation here." was the Rangers initial monologue upon knowing our college's name.
We all laughed his warning off and told each other, "How we wish we could join that club!" However, we had been passed eligible to stay there but then came the problem.He had only one tent left, and it could house two, at the max 3 ppl.

Even before we could start thinking of a solution, the exicted Jaat spoke out," Koi ni yaar, shift wise reh lenge. Sone thode hi na aaye hain". He had reached an agreement with the ranger, wherein he'd charge us the normal Rs 400 for the tent and half that amt for each extra person, making it Rs 1000. A bit more drama followed but finally it was a deal. We were supposed to stay there at night, once we came back from Kudlu.

Our taxi driver rushed us to the falls and it was 3pm when we got off the taxi(as it couldn't go any further) and set off on a 4km ordeal, with the kind taxi driver somehow agreeing to accompany us. at 3.30 he left us, saying," yeh raastha sidha chale jao.1 Km aur hai." Our requests of him accompanying us all the way through turned futile and we marched on.
at 4pm, we were supposed to be bathing in the falls but here we were, wriggling our way through the jungle, judging the right way, then realising 10 mins later that we were on the wrong way(as we had encountered a dead end), turning back, taking another way and the same story repeated. The supposedly "BEST TREKKER" amongst us, SAGAR, was the most bruised, slipping a few times and losing balance( and with it his cap :P). Add to all this the fact that all of us had changed to shorts due to the rain and we found leeches stuck to our legs every few minutes.(I still can't believe I had touched them with my fingers and pulled them out!!)
At 4.15pm, it was decided that the light was getting worse and going back would be the best decision, as there was always a danger of us losing way again on the return journey, so returning before dusk was always the better option. That was the time when we found few more Manipal-ites going towards the falls and a localite returning from the other side(which meant we were on the right way!).
That gave instant courage and energy to everyone to give it one final dash!We started on the way and reached the falls in 15 mins and had the best of sights awaiting us. All of us agreed that it was worth all the pain(I'm still not convinced on the leeches bit).
Bathing at the foot of a water fall in deafening noise of water hitting the rocks is one of the most amazing experiences you'll ever go through. It all ended well and by the time we came back to the taxi, we were all too tired to dare n stay in the jungle for the night. We decided to put end our trip just the way it had begun: in an unplanned manner!
Boarded the bus back to Manipal where we had Holi awaiting us the next morning..