Logical! Debunking the myth...

Yeah! Shaolin is back after a long time... you people guessed it right, I was deep buried in a zillion assignments... I'm through with yet another semester. And I think I'm still alive, sane and kicking a$$, more than ever before!

So what I have for you today... well this was just one of the many random stream of thoughts which I keep experiencing during mental turmoil of attaining harmony. Or, maybe it is a thought that takes birth as some random alpha particle from the outer space bombards the neurons; just the way it randomly flips a bit on memory bus running at near-optical speeds.

It, by no means, is as pristine as the original thought, but then... doesn't everything dilutes the moment it comes out of your mind! I still thought of putting it up here.

If you are tooooo technical, you tend to be come too logical! Wow! Ain't that good! I would argue otherwise! Well, almost. Why...being more logical is definitely a great plus, as long as you don't have to deal with "REAL" humans. What do I mean...

Haven't you ever been in a situation where you couldn't reason something... something that you couldn't explain despite the fact that you fully understood the situation. Get me one parent who has been successful in being absolutely logical with her kid EVERY single time! No! You won't find a single one! All the hard earned logic is not better than rat's sh_t when it comes to reasoning with kids! I think it's a little more clear that I want to say: You can't reason every single thing in your life every single time. Logic, as Akio said, HAS to take a backseat when dealing with humans.

Wish I had a good example to quote here, all that penned down for this post weren't good enough. I had to scrap them. So this might be too abstract and difficult to connect to, for some of you. Still I trudge on...

There are many such numerous situations where logic JUST takes the backseat. As Akio Morita, the founder and father of Sony sums it up nicely:

You can be totally rational with a machine. But if you work with people, logic often has to take a backseat to understanding.

After all, that's what makes us humans, each being bilogically the same (now medical students, don't argue on DNA, ok!) but radically different from the other. Otherwise, if every one was AS logical as machines, all the time, all the same, would we be any different from the machines!!! Ever read Roger Penrose's Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness?

Then... how do I fix it? At my job I HAVE to be logical... rational to earn my daily bread! Yes, by all means, be logical, be the MOST rational person you can become. But don't loose that human touch. The touch that makes you so human in the first place. When the need arises, become a human, again. And above all, be cognizant of the time you have to switch from one to another.

The only way to do that is to do something different every once a while (Note: Watching idiot-box as doing something different is NOT the answer. As the name suggests, watch too much of it, and it will turn you into one of it's species, Saggy, I know you are going to disagree :D ... but may be you are one of the few smart ones to know _what_ to watch on that idoit box!). One nice way is (now I can't bet my a$ on it that it works, but hey, it is logical that it works ;-) )... read novels, and play sports where you deal with LOTS of real humans. Get your a$$ of your routine once a while and do something completely different. Easier said than done, but hey, who said sanity comes free! I envy my brother who's dentist and has to deal with differnt patient every single day!!! He's far good at dealing with humans than I am.

Such hobbies makes you think differently every once a while, many a times not so rational. So pick a hobby, preferably where you interact with other humans and you have regained your identity, just what GOD wanted you to be! Probably you have gone bonkers by now :)

CMU ECE Hammerschlag Hall

Another photo of my adorable department, in peak winter season, CMU-ECE (Hammerschlag Hall)

Nice shot of Hammerschlag Hall in winter

Credits: Jay, aka Vish.

Updates: Moved to ECE, MS interview and more!

There's so much to update (just because I haven't posted for so long) that I don't know what to write and what to skip. Not-so-great midterm performance, 60+ hrs load of 15-410 OS alone (a course that won't even count towards my graduation requirements!) + 2 other heavy courses, one of which has writing a complete e2fsck (EXT2 filesystem consistency check utility) as an average complexity level project ~~~phew~~~ Can't complain, because I asked for it.

Since I always like to leave on a good note I'll start with rough stuff...
One of the most !@#$ing thing that happened was that our 3rd roomie shut off the gas heater, just because _he_ didn't want it... while the temperature out here was freaking below minus 11C (-11C) and winds were blowing at more than 45kmph! With our house having lot of gaps near the wall-floor linings, indoors was more chilly than the actual temperature, it wasn't possible to even sit at home for a minute :( I'm just baffled how !@$#ing selfishly stupid a$$h__e someone can be!!! When I asked why, he shamelessly replied: "I didn't have a problem with shutting the heater. And I thought you guys wouldn't have objection to that as well"! Who the !@$#ing hell is ok with switching heater off in sub-zero temperatures!!! Do we look like some kind of God forsaken devils to grow thick fur over night just to combat chill! Every passing day my belief in 'Commonsense is not so very common' only gets stronger. He emailed us he wants to disconnect the heating, on questioning he doesn't reply and next day... ~~~poof~~~ heater is out! Had he approached us, I'm sure something could have been worked out. And above all, winter's going to last only a week or so now.

Our attempt to buy electric heater went futile because every salesperson (controlling his laughter!) told that they are sold out on electric heaters LONG back! They all almost meant what the hell are you talking, heater NOW??? So, I and Vish packed our bags and shifted to school (ECE lounge to be precise) for about a week, sleeping in cramped sofas, using our jackets as blankets and eating hotel-food, something we had NOT done in past 8 months! All the $s we saved by not eating in hotels got spent :( Meanwhile we managed to get gas heater re-connected, and we are back home-sweet-home! And just because of the same roomie, we had to live in hell at the onset of winter, just because he didn't turn on the gas connection with the agency. Since we had taken care of internet and electricity, gas connection was hit baby. He kept shunning it forever. That time too we used to wear thermals, 4 t-shirts, 2 sweaters, head-cap, socks, gloves, and still couldn't combat chill! He survived then because he was never at home. Baahh... it was pathetic!

But here we are, still alive! Touchwood! I trust it's sheer miracle that we are alive. And it's even much bigger a miracle that we didn't bash him up despite the fact that his actions inflicted unbearable suffering to us, TWICE! Ahimsa Parmo Dharma, my parents and gurudev taught me. But please don't test my patience.

On the lighter side...
After nurturing my long hair for 5 months, my desire to grow a ponytail faded, because it started taking inordinate amount of time to clean-comb-oil-and-maintain it! And taking the feedback from my loved ones on my last hair-cut, I decided to go for a haircut once again (Ouch! Oh sorry, that was a reaction from my wallet!) And we had another round of hair-cut! Vish flatly refuses to let me take his picture, but I'm more generous ;-) I know you all are dying to see my new haircut so that you can laugh your a$$es off again, for days... but this time I didn't opt for crew-cut. It's something better than that...

New haircut, better than last time's cut, isn't it!

But problems aside (really?)...
The most important development for me has been my switch from CMU-INI to CMU-ECE, something that I had been contemplating for very long and only materailzed at the start my current Spring'08 semester. Of many reasons, the top 3 reasons for the context switch are:

• I hate being compelled to take compulsory courses that don't spark my interest. I realized that I would have to take a lot of them at INI, so I moved to ECE where there is no compulsion on taking a particular course
• Second reason is that I didn't see much value out of taking 172 credits at INI as opposed to 96 in ECE. You might think more is better, but NO! People take filler courses _just_ to reach that 172 mark, meaning, they have to take courses that don't interest them, don't teach them much, and neither do they add significant value. And, NOM, but they have to do that A LOT! That's dreadful waste of precious time, at least for me. And remember, never waste time, for time is GOD's money!
  
• My first compulsory security course was a DISASTER, it sucked BIG time! So much so that I even had a one-to-one talk with Director of INI about it. And she's more or less already aware of this! I couldn't even drop the course because it was a compulsory course at INI. Not that I didn't fare well in it, but I couldn't learn much compared to the effort I put in. Neither did most of my class-mates. So it dawned upon me that I should switch departments and switch context to my first love: Systems Programming and Filesystem/Storage

Thanks to Vish for giving me insight into ECE's requirements, which don't make for an understandable reading.

My new-found home: ECE Hammerschlag hall before dawn in winter

Second exciting thing that conspired was the much-coveted MS-Seattle trip. After a lot of contemplation (remember? I'm more of an Unix person and MS is diametrically opposite to that technology) I decided to sign up for MS interviews. I got myself scheduled after the midterms, in the Spring break so that I don't have to miss classes. As you all know, the to-and-fro air tickets are paid by MS, the hotel was booked by MS, food expenses would be covered too!!! Wow! Goodies don't stop here, MS asks you to stay back a day after (or before) your interviews so that you can explore Seattle! And the best part is, that additional day's traveling expense + food + hotel will also be covered by MS! Ain't that GREAT!

Yes, MS pampers their to-be-interns a lot! I won't talk much about the interview except that interviews were great, my skill-set to team matching was disappointing, and MS HQ is mind blowing: very huge, well maintained, and shuttles made out of very hi-tech environmentally Green cars! Money flowing alllllll around! And the receptionists were just .... oh GOD! Plus I met my old time college mate who works at MS. An hour's worth of talk with Buffy was quite refreshing and enlightening. For the first time she realized that I too can talk, a lot!

I, firsthand, experienced the MS Surface Computing. Video I shot doesn't do justice to it, so won't share it. But you can always Google it out.

MS Calling

~~~smooch~~~ Wish she were real....

Once in a blue moon

This stems from an passing remark one of my profs (I guess he has to be David Eckhardt) made during his lecture:

"Every once in a while occurs a million times in the processor!"

programmer B: Aahh... forget about that case, I wouldn't worry about it. It won't happen.
programmer A: What? Never? Are you sure? Really Never?
programmer B: Hmm... Well, what I meant was, it would happen only very very rarely. Once in a blue moon, you know. With negligibly low probability.
programmer A: How low, 1 in million, billion, trillion? (lets use billion for simplicity)
programmer B: Hmm... 1 in a billion, that is 1 followed by 9 zeroes, 1/10^9 == 0.000000001 ~~beaming with bright eyes~~~ Yes, I guess so. You see, it's really unlikely to happen. It'll be right 99.999999999% of the times!
programmer A: My dear friend, at blazing CPU speeds of 1 GHz, 1*10^9 => 1*10^9 == 1 billion intructions/actions happening every freaking second, your '1 in a billion' would occur once every second, 60 times every minute 3600 times every hour! And I'm not even taking about 24x7 servers!
programmer B: Darn! Holy s_!t

Just to illustrates why the job of a system programmer is so tough. He has to be right EVERY single time! 99.9999999999999... is next to useless! His program has to run correct a 100% of the times, PERIOD!

On a similar note...

A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.

-Mitch Radcliffe

Atul meets Ash!

Aahh... It's been VERY long I posted something...
I bet your a$$ you clicked on the link only because you thought I met Bollywood's Aishwarya Rai! See... there are many ways to lure people into visiting your blog :-P
I've NOT been able to post a lot of new things that I'm learning here at CMU, only because of the amount of time and rigor it takes to write a good post. I don't have time even to itch :D Already have a backlog of so many posts :(

Why this post then? That's because my brain's completely saturated right now and can't get a bit out of it... anyone taking 15-410 and working on P2 can understand what exactly do I mean!
Ok, so amidst this frenzied activities, my really really old hostel buddy Ashwin (aka Ash) came to Pitt.

Ash, blissfully happy, reading his GF's email on his blackberry!

Not a great timing, but we had an opportunity to re-unite maybe after a decade!!! Thanks to Ash that he reminded me a zillion times that he's coming down to Pitt, and we better meet. I promised him we'll meet, didn't know how will I make it. And he was here only over the weekend with plans to fly back on Monday. I won't mortify you guys with _how_ I managed it (Atul, thank you soooo much for saving us the pain to read that ;-) ) so here's the reunion photo:

Ash and Atul in SCS atrium (yes, I'm aiming at Jackie Chan's Drunken Master-2 hair style!)

It was after weeks that I was sitting chatting with a buddy wearing a completely relaxed demeanor! I bet others around must have doubted that I quit 15-410!
Sorry Ash that I we couldn't have excellent Indian lunch that you promised to treat me with :( It's always so exciting to connect with old-timers! (read every one of those links, if you have time!)
Thanks a lot for being persistent and patient, Ash :-)

Bonus photo: Cool dude waiting for the shuttle!

Equipment: Sony W700i
Photo Credits: Self

Charlie Chaplin Speaks

Whoever thought the great Chaplin was demigod of just silent-films... Listen to this clip, and you might change your mind: He speaks well, maybe better than most contemprary actors! Before you rebuff it, remember there weren't any teleprompters in those days! He must have worked really hard for this shot.

Listen to every word of his: it's filled with bitter truth! And if you haven't had your morning black coffee yet, bet this' gonna substitute for your morning bitterness!

Fear of my first date!

Just what I fear would happen on my first date...

via: A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language: xkcd!

F@!#$ed up, yet again

... yes, I just don't seem to get along with keeping up on these birthdays thing :(

At times I get sucked up so much in my own little(???) (stupid) world, that I soon become disconnected from reality. WTF! Aaggrrhhh!!!! I forgot my sweetest little brother's birthday yesterday. In past 12+ years there wasn't a single birthday of his in which we didn't have a blast. And how the f!@$ can I forget it, all the while he was waiting that I'll call, or even better land up in India and give him the pleasantest of surprises! But alas, stupid me, completely forgot the day and finally he couldn't hold up himself any more and buzzed me to remind that it's his birthday.

Sometimes, we do stupid things... in our quest to make our closest happy, we completely forget the present moment and the small things that matter a lot :( But thank God, he's more forgiving than I am and so he has forgiven me, at least for the moment! Love you bro, muuaahh!

How dumb :'( How Cheap :'( How stupid :'( How !@#$ed up :'( I trust I'll soon become a legend on this :(

see also: Have I lost my minds?

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KOrganizer and Google Calendar Sync

Yet once again, due to compatibility issues, when my Thunderbird upgraded, Lightning stopped working!!! !@#$ and as usual, lost my calendar :( I was kinda liking the newer version of lightning for it looked more polished and had more controls, until it crashed.

Last time Shaw (aka Amit, but I prefer Shaw!) suggested using korganizer, it looked sleek but I wanted something that can now sync my calendar with online service, say Google Calendar. So if something crashes, I don't loose all my data. I failed to find a decent tutorial on how to do that. Until, today, totally frustrated, I Googl'ed harder. But this time around, it wasn't hard to find one. After failed attempts to get sync working with tips from 4-5 tutorials and already invested half a day in it, just before retiring the tought, I picked up one more tutorial. Just 2 para of how to get it working. DAMN! This seems cool!

So here I go.... and BINGO! Got the damn thing working! This means, even if my local app crashes, I would still have my online-calendar safe! Or so I think!

For the curious souls, here's an extremely short version of the original tutorial I read.

1. Download, un[tar|zip] GCALDaemon (requires JRE >= 1.5)
2. Execute /whatever_path/standalone-start.sh (if you are going to use it regularly, better add it to your startup scripts)
3. Find your private iCal URL by going to Google Calendar by clicking Settings -> Calendars -> Your Calendar and clicking the ICAL button at the bottom.
4. Replace http://www.google.com with http://localhost:9090
5. Create a new KOrganizer calendar by going to the Calendar tab, clicking the Add button, selecting "Calendar in Remote File,"
6. Past the private URL in the "Download to" and "Upload to" fields
7. Check Automatic Reload -> Regular Interval
8. Check Automatic Save -> On Every Change

From here on, the 2 calendars will be in sync! But note that it might take a few minutes to get the changes synced. But unlike what original tutorial mentioned, I could get all adds/mods/dels from both, KOrganizer and Google Calendar, working and reflected correctly!

Phew! Wish I don't have to loose my calendar anymore now!

For more details, you are directed to read Calendaring: Google Calendar and KOrganizer