The Return of the Super-Senior

On September 2, my final year @ Mullana began. Two months of vacation had turned quite boring. The unsurmountable itch to go back to college was insatiable. So, I headed back to college just to get back to the sheer monotony I had become so used to. I stepped in the college bus, eager. Eager to get back to place which had become so familiar in the past three years. It was in the same college bus that it happened.

We were the Super Seniors, the senior most batch of our college (at least in engineering). The feeling hit me quite hard. Three years had passed and now...just after a few months...it would all be over.

No more bunking classes, no more parties in the canteen, no more pirated movies in the hostel. A vague sense of responsibility and maturity tried to take control of me. Of course, college life had made me immune to such thoughts by now. However, the apprehension did manage to make a back-door entry into my mind. Just nine more papers to go. After 10 months, a new life would begin. Frankly, such thoughts can really shake a person. One moment you are making jokes with your juniors and the next moment, you can see the future. The same bus, the same seats, the same characters. Not all are the same, though. The juniors you were with are all there with the addition of some new faces, only one person is missing. And that's you! Boy, that was enough to make me jump in my seat. I was day-dreaming a nightmare.

Anyhow, the situation depicted the truth. The carefree, reckless, audacious, sometimes creepy, relentless flirt would make his foray into the profession of his choice. What would happen next? After this degree is over, what would happen to me? What about my friends? In college, I have met some of the greatest people in the universe. Would we still be in touch ten years from now? I sound depressed, don't I? Well, I was sad...when I was writing this post.

Also, ISTE has a new president this year...Mr. Anurag Saxena. He has been a great follower, but is he a great leader? Can he leave a mark? If only there had been genuine competition for the post, things might have turned out differently. A great quotation sums things up: "FEAR IS THE MIND KILLER". My mind had decided to drive me crazy. All I could do was to sit back till the feeling passed.

For the umpteenth time, I decided that I was scared. Only one question seemed to lodged in my otherwise fully-functional brain:
What will be the shape of things to come?

Well, the next episode is about to begin...

Live Forever

The response I got from my colleagues for my last post was incredible. Seems like LIVE CDs were exactly what the doctor ordered. Quite a few have started looking at Linux without fear in their eyes and quiver in their voice.
Here's a little more about Ubuntu LIVE distribution:

The company behind Ubuntu (Canonical) believes that it should be FREE. No installation charges or service fees or anything of the sort. The latest release Ubuntu 8.0.4 aka Hardy Heron has met with a lot of success. So much that people actually want to install it permanently on their systems alongwith Windows.

Have you have tried Ubuntu?
Do you want to install it?
Are you afraid of the dangers of installing Linux without certified professial assistance?
Shifting partitons, creating swap partitions, making space available for Linux give you the creeps?
Are you scared that valuable data might be lost while trying to install Ubuntu on the hard disk?
Never fear, because Wubi's here.

Wubi comes with the Ubuntu release nowadays. It can also be downloaded from its site. As usual, hunt for the site's name (Hint: try "wubi installer for Ubuntu"). The minimum size for Ubuntu partition using Wubi is 4 GB.

If you have Ubuntu ISO image, copy the Wubi installer to the same folder. Run the executable.

• Enter the Username and password. This will be your user id and password to log into Ubuntu.
• Choose the installation drive.
• Specify the size of installation. This is the amount of space allocated on the harde disk.
• Click Install!

Once Ubuntu is installed, a folder will be created at the location specified during installation. An option to boot into Ubuntu will be available after restarting.

If you think that you are just not a Penguin lover, you can always uninstall Ubuntu from Windows by using the eternal Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel.

If you have any queries or suggestion, do leave them as comments. I'll reply as soon as possible.

Live Linux, Use Windows

When I first started writing a blog I had decided it would only contain things that mattered to me. Events that influenced me. However, there's more to me than just watching TV and laughing my head off at the news channels.
I also happen to be a software engineer.

Loving computers actually leads to the development of hatred towards Microsoft. Yes, Microsoft has done a lot of great deeds with the release of Windows. The tremendous growth of Windows enabled computers to become personal. An interface that was beckoning to newbies to usher in a new era in technology. Millions and millions of people worldwide use Windows. But there is a dark side too. In an attempt to snuff out the competition, Microsoft violated quite a few laws. A lot of companies were bought out by Bill Gates to ensure his monopoly. Many ideas were lifted without acknowledging the original authors. Even C# was blatantly copied from Java (And Vista (not including Aero) was copied from Mac OS X)!

And thousands use Linux! Linus Torvalds had no idea that his kernel would spark a new revolution against the monopoly of Microsoft. If you want to join in the revolution without getting your hands dirty, let me tell you how.

Most people are scared of Linux. Its an entirely different interface, totally different coding and absolutely different perspective. Not to mention the different types of distributions available in the market. The perfect blend to make an average Windows user shudder with fear.

Let us suppose you are in love with computers. You have a plain desktop PC at home with the usual Windows and you like all the features it provides. However, you have heard a lot about Linux and want to try it. But there is a small problem! You do not want to let go of Windows. You haven't decided to make the switch to Linux and would like to use it on a trial basis before you actually decide to take the plunge.

The various organizations backing Linux saw this problem. And they came up with a novel idea. Why not install a Linux distribution to a CD so that whenever a person wants to use it, he/she can pop in the CD and boot from it. No installation necessary! Welcome to the world of LIVE CDs!
A LIVE CD contains an entire Linux distribution on it. The beauty of the thing is - No installation required! To use Linux use the following steps:

• In the BIOS setup (displayed by pressing F8 when the computer is started), the boot priority of CD should be above the Hard disk.
• Put the Live CD in the CD/DVD drive.
• Restart PC
• That's it!!

There are quite a few LIVE CDs available. Most of them are FREE. I'm mentioning just two of them here:

• Ubuntu
• Knoppix

The ISO images can be downloaded from their sites. Just to give you a sense of adventure, I'm not mentioning the name of the sites. Discover them yourself!
Once you have downloaded the ISO file which is almost 700 MB in size, just burn it to a CD. And you are ready to go!
So if you ever feel the need to explore the realm outside Windows, feel FREE to try Linux, LIVE!

If you have any queries or suggestion, do leave them as comments. I'll reply as soon as possible.

What an idea, Sirjee!

This small post is dedicated to the ingenious minds in the advertising business. A few days ago, I came across the most touching ad. The IDEA ad featuring Junior B as a priest!

The ad is pretty simple. A priest sees a poor girl being turned away by his school because the seats are full. Feeling sad for the children who can't attend school, he prays to God. And gets an IDEA. Soon, every village boy and girl is getting educated like their urban counterparts. How? By the use of mobile phones!

All children in the village gather at one spot. A mobile phone placed nearby connects them to teachers of a missionary school, undoubtedly overseen by the priest. So, besides teaching the students in the classroom, the teachers are also teaching children who otherwise wouldn't have been able to go to a real school. In the Annual Prize Distribution Ceremony, the girl who was initially turned away (in the beginning of the ad)wins the best student award.
The ad concludes with the priest looking up at the sky, smiling and saying, "What an idea, sirjee!"

The very first time I saw the ad, I felt a tear trickle down my right cheek. It touched a very deep chord. Why can't we all be more like the priest? We are supposed to be the new India. Why depend on octogenarians to resolve our issues when they can't even take care of their own knees...ehm...health.

I could blabber on about the state of the country, the deplorable conditions of the middle class but that's not the issue. As was once said by JFK (and quoted by millions): "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country!"

Kudos to the people who developed the IDEA ad (The ad company, the actors etc.)
Its brilliant...and maybe...just maybe...signifies the rise of the new India.

India TV...A Tribute (Definitely not the last)

This work is copied from an e-mail that landed a few days ago in my mailbox. Each picture is worth a 1000 words...








What? When? How?! Where!?


Oh crap!! Cows are missing!!! haaaaalp!!



Hats off India TV!!! What would we do without you!!?!?



I really REALLY like this animation!!



OH why not?!?! Coz bloody aliens will travel billions of lightyears so that they can drink delicious cow's milk on their long journey back!


Ha! why didn't I think of that before!? They must really worship our cows!! THAT's why they abduct them!!


Really!??!? You don't say!!!



Yes yes!! Our cows are being beamed by alien ships! The world is coming to an end!!! haaaaaalp!!



We better hide Indian cows!! Coz thats exactly what the aliens are looking for!! Quick QUICK!!



Oooooooooo! Flying cows!!!

And some more!


I told you aliens exist!!!! I was beamed too, when I was a child and I didn't believe in aliens!!!! HA! in your face!!! see the proof!!


Wow more proof!! HAIL India TV!


I dare you to spot the cow inside the encircled area!!
(psssst....it's flying!)

Go away alien freaks!!! Don't take our cows!!




Great reporting by a great channel. Keep it up, India TV... you couldn't sink any lower anyway!

Dilemma

Here's something from the archives. This poem was composed when I was in eighth. If you think that you have read these lines somewhere before, you're right. This poem derived heavily from the poems in our English syllabus. Stopping by the woods on a winter evening - Robert Frost, The Muddlehead - ?, some other poems were all parodied.

‘It was a dark, stormy night.
Sitting near the fireplace provided great delight.’

So began the poem of mine,
About a boy who was nine

The poem was a compulsion, not a hobby
For a competition on creative poetry

I had a writer’s block; I knew not what to write
One can easily imagine the horror of my plight.
I could turn to no one for advice,
My condition; it seemed; was worse than mice.

I tried writing a poem full of humour
But it seemed to move from dumb to dumber.
Writing horror was my next try,
But it could only make the critics cry.

I circed the circ and looped the loop;
But what I wrote was just like soup.
All muddled, it had no head or tail,
In writing a poem, I did miserably fail

I have decided to write a poem
On the dilemma I was in
Thankfully this time it was not thrown
Into the garbage bin

On the first prize is my sight,
So I am writing this poem
So late into the night

The bed is cozy, warm and neat,
But I have homework to complete,

And a poem to write before I sleep
And a poem to write before I sleep

Ram-Setu

One of the most hotly debated topics of our time is related to religion. This post was triggered by the recent developments of the Ram Setu bridge. For the uninitiated, here's a brief recap, starting thousands of years ago in the era known as Traita yug.

Traita yug (A very long time ago):
Ram, the eldest son of King Dashrath of Ayodhya, was forced into fourteen years exile by Queen Kaikeyi to clear the throne for her son, Bharat. Ram obeys his father and leaves Ayodhya accompanied by his wife, Sita and brother Lakshman. Ravan, Emperor of Lanka sets his sights on Sita and kidnaps her to make her his own mistress. Shri Ram then gathers an army of apes and monkeys (featuring Hanuman, Jambavan, Sugreev etc). To reach Lanka, they need to cross a vast body of water. A bridge is constructed using rocks inscribed with Ram's name. Ravan's army is no match for the good guys. Sita is rescued and Shri Ram returns to Ayodhya for his coronation. Happy Ending!


2007 AD:
Modern day India governed by a coalition government called UPA. Spearheaded by the humble Dr. Manmohan Singh, reforms are introduced which although increase the GDP to a staggering 11%, leave the common man crying for mercy. Inflation is at an all-time high and the government; being a coalition; is constantly under the threat of collapse. One fine day, a suggestion is made. The expenditure by ships travelling between the eastern and western coasts can be significantly reduced if the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka is opened up. And thus, the proverbial can of worms was opened.

The hindu fanatics could not believe their ears. What the heck was the government talking about? The Rameshwaram bridge was a remnant of a glorious past. A reminder of the victory of good over evil. A place of worship. And the government was proposing to tear it down. Sacrilege!!
A nation-wide campaign was launched to discredit the government. Amidst the hue and cry, the government came up with proofs. The satellite images and findings by the Archaeological Survey of India confirmed that the "bridge" was in fact a coral formation. It had existed for a long time before Ram; the re-incarnation of Lord Vishnu; descended on this planet. Besides, another thing that the government had to whisper: The Ramayana is mythology, not history. There is no proof that the Ramayana isn't something similar to what Dan Brown writes. Why whisper? Because there is nothing that ties a person to his fellows like religion. Religion is what faith is all about. It binds the people together like a thread and has the power to make them destroy anything that does not conform. This includes crusades (mindless violence/bloodshed) in the name of God.
As expected, the decision had to be stalled. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court aginst the government for blasphemy and sacrilege. And the issue was put on the back-burner.

23 July 2008: (Today)
The government wins a confidence motion and can rest till the next General Elections; which are not too far anyway. Today in the court, the defense put forward the argument that according to Camb Ramayana (popular in south India), the Ram Setu bridge was destroyed by Shri Ram after the battle was won.
The prosecution and all the news channels proclaim: "The Camb Ramayan states that the Ram Setu was broken. It does not mention that Shri Ram did it!"

I say: "You dumbasses who call yourself true believers, listen to this. If everything that happens is an act of God or happens by His/Her will, that means the Ram Setu being destroyed was also the will of God. So, no matter who actually destroyed it, It was Ram who broke that bridge.
I'm angry with these pseudo-fanatics. Get a life, morons. You always make mountains out of molehills. Rameshwaram has great temples too. If you really want to worship, worship nature. Protect the environment. Use eco-friendly cars for your Rath-Yatras and clean up the Holy Ganga while you are at it. And instead of constructing a temple at Ram Janm Bhoomi, Why don't you build a charitable hospital there?"

PS. I'm a Hindu!