Spring 2010, A new semester....

Officially semester started for me this week and I have registered for only one class this semester.Cause I need to spend more time on my Thesis, If I want to graduate on time. Even after taking one subject, it feels so hectic. First week is yet to be over, and I am already looking forward towards the spring break, which allows me to sleep without an impending doom to wake up in the morning and goto class.

My class start at 11AM, so I need to pretty much getup at least by 10:20 ,so I can do the daily chore of brushing my teeth. I hope this time I do not miss my classes due to oversleep. Last semester I used to miss classes at 2 PM cause I overslept!! Well that is in the past and I am always thinking about the future!

yeah the future, lets c how it goes? Looks of it, I need to put alot of effort this semester apart from studying for my coursework. Keeping my fingers and Hoping for the best, waiting for God to do the rest! :P

Avatar 3D - The IMAX Experience

"Awesome & Spectacular" were the only words that I could blurt out after watching the movie Avatar in 3D. The story is not that different from a normal Bollywood/Kollywood movie, but it is made really interesting with spectacular special effects and awesome quality of the IMAX screen. The 3D adds a new dimension to view a film of this caliber.

Most movie reviews talk about the actors and their roles, but for me in this movie all of 'em took a back seat compared to the Director's vision in giving this film life that could not have been done by any other than Mr.James Cameron.

It seems that Cameron has enough story to go for a Trilogy... That is damn good and expecting the same breathe taking production quality & details for the two other movies slotted in the trilogy. The question is that ,Do we have to wait for another 13 Years?

let's hope, it is not like that... :)

-Alphy

It's that time of the year...

I recently switched my playlist from Rock/Rap/Heavy Metal to Christmas songs...cos it is that time of the year! Man... My Mom used to start her Christmas Playlist every year just one week after December starts and me 10,000 miles away playing the same playlist now makes me feel at Home. Nice isn't that just your senses could transport miles away on demand.

Well, it's that time when people turn to do good deeds to wipe out their bad debts accumulated over the year. It actually doesn't work that way, but who cares as long as a few needy people get something better than their usual stuff for Christmas. So at the end of the day, everyone is Happy, ain't that the Christmas spirit?

For me this Christmas is all about sleep and rest,cos I have a heavy, really heavy semester scheduled for me. Thesis is the heaviest of all that could sink my boat to the bottom, if I don't take care of it. Anyways...

Merry Christmas!! and Njoi the pleasures while it lasts...

-Alphy

End of a Semester...

So last week was the end of my Fall-2009 semester.Exams over and all set for a few weeks of rest before the entire cycle starts with Spring 2010. I took up two courses and one MS Thesis research last semester.It was hectic considering one of the courses was Algorithm, which had three midterms interleaved with four Homeworks. It was a hectic semester. To top it all off, I had to work on my Thesis research, but that was/is fun. Not much work done though, but at least am sure as to what I am supposed to implement and evaluate next semester before I defend my research work.

Working along with a PhD student, so I get to learn without making mistakes that could embarrass me. Hmm.. Some of my fnds have graduated this semester, and they are ecstatic that they are Master graduates!! Pretty cool huh.

Let me see,If I can post some of their graduation photos later this Saturday.

My fnd's ultimate sacrifice for love...

I have a close friend of mine who was & his deeply in love with a girl and viceversa. But they made the ultimate sacrifice for love by not getting married to each other. They did not want to wound their parent's heart and go forward with the marriage. Now... this was/is still a shock to me, but it seems to be more practical than any other available options. Who would want to wound their parents heart, whom had taken care of them for the past 20 odd years through joy & sorrow, pain & suffering and countless other situations.

This decision was mutual, if this would have been one sided, the other person would have felt let down. But this was the case where both of them are mature enough to admit the facts and took a decision that defined their lives that they have lived so far and their future.

Dude... I am really happy to have a friend like you!!

-Alphy

Cause to research...

I have always thought ,that I had potential to do some research work & ofcourse in field of my interest computer science and it always been something elusive. Now it is final, I have to do Thesis to complete my Master's!!Nothing big like the stuff that they do in Phd, something thing in the similar line but really, I mean really small in comparison.

It basically means that I need to put more effort reading research papers and trying to comprehend the facts that the great minds in CS have laid forth. My work is gonna be in P2P & Overlay networks which I am really interested in.Hope I find something useful that could be used by others later.

Though I was hoping for an assistantship for this, but as luck would have it,I did not get it.But the best thing is my advisor.His name is Dr.Injong Rhee ,who had come up with BIC for TCP congestion control. This logic is used in all implemented TCP/IP setup, basically all computers. So it is pretty huge stuff for me to be his student.

So Fall 2009 has started and the days have started to roll by.Hope I do really well this semester and what not...Let's c..

-Alphy

Sandy's encounter with the Third gender....

**DISCLAIMER**
This is not meant in anyway to offend any gay/lesbians.Just putting the stuff that I saw into words.

We were playing pool and drinking in a near by bar cos It was one of my fnds treat.It was fun ,but it was more fun when we saw a gay guy trying to chatup sandy. They were like talking for more than a hour or so and Sandy did not realize that the other guy was trying to flirt with him( start an intimate conversation) .We saw this and were like LOAO... We realized that we had to stop this before sandy's decides to take this to the next level unwittingly.

We inform sandy that the other guy could be gay and Sandy should not accept to anything without thinking twice.After hearing this Sandy is shocked cos he was really bonding with that guy.After this discussion sandy does not talk with that guy afterwards.. Seems odd though so we ask him and the reason he gives...

"I don't like to say to NO to people,and if it comes to a situation the he asks me out,it would be awkward for me". So we are like thinking did sandy's encounter with the third gender wakeup his hidden feelings???

True/False We support you sandy... :)

-Tombstone

Meira Kumar, Speaker for the Lok Sabha

First politician whom I have heard, wants to increase the productive hours of the lower house.check out the article on The Hindu . I assume everyone of the politicians would like go for ministries such as Food, Petroleum and stuff like that, cos they could make money easily(Bribery). But our Speaker was Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment! No one takes up this Ministry unless they want to make a difference or did not have any choice.But I personally hope it is the former reason. It seems that each of the previous speakers have severed ties with their parties after being selected as "The Speaker" for the lower house and expected the same from her also ( by Deputy Leader,BJP) and the speaker retorts back,there ain't no constitutional requirement for this. Man!! I like a women who knows the Laws & by-laws. Is this an issue that needs a debate? there are far more important issues that needs to be addressed and they are talking about red tape. Democracy by itself seems so pure but into our hands ,it becomes as dirty as the politicians thoughts.

Man! they should have appraisal system like they have in companies for the politicians. If they are upto no good, they should not be allowed to file their nominations for consecutive terms.Even a employee earning 10K is subject to evaluation, then a person responsible for a constituency must be subject to much more detailed evaluation. Don't give me the crap that democracy takes care of that. The common man is as stupid as the sheep that goes to the slaughter house.

We are the largest democracy on the planet and maybe in the universe and we are allowed to have few chinks here and there.But if there are many as we have in our legislative, it is an indication to overhaul the entire system !!

Did you know this? which company employs the largest number of criminals? our parliament! Man!! are we open minded or plain old dumb idiots voting for people that are still in jail. Will a company like Wipro or TCS do that? No then why the hell should this desecration be allowed in our parliament?

I hope that the young and fresh blood that is fed into the system now will wash out the filth that clogs our legislative.Parliament ain't no place for soothsayers and well wishers but a place of work for decision makers.It is no place for an idiot to find his gold but a platform for a strong minded person to leave his mark on the society.

-Alphy

Being Stupid or Ethical

My midterm marks come out and I find that my marks reflected is 5 marks more than my actual marks.What should I do? Should I let it be or ask the TA to change it? I immediately send out a mail to the TA to change it and dropped my marks by 5 points.

Is this cos I am a ethical person or cos I was afraid to get caught later? I have been through a situation similar to this (logically) and got burnt so badly that It took me weeks to recover just from the shock and It is going to take a long time to recover from the consequences, some parts of it are beyond recovery.

So am I right in doing this? or should I kept my mouth shut.Well life kinda works for me like this."Any mistake that I make,I would pay for it equal in proportion or greater ( never smaller ) surely in the future. So every action of mine has consequences and there ain't no repose.

u r comments are welcome.

-Alphy

My decision!

Ever been the sober guy among five drunks? It is tiring... Seen the effects of hard liquor on a guy who has a taste for hard liquor? He Hallucinates!! Man was it frightful and tiring just to ensure that no one gets hurt or shout loud enough ,giving the neighbors an excuse to call the cops.Believe me,Cops have been to my house thrice. Hallucination seems to be an important side effect... "Help! Help!" then he starts swimming on the floor. He does not even know how to swim when he is sober ! How is that for a fact.

Got to learn ,from my roomies ramblings... pretty intense & interesting stuff there!! Well I have made my decision to drink only beer and no hard liquor ever.Also never be in a company of guys once they start drinking hard liquor, cos then the company becomes overrated....

Back to sleep for me now...

Tombstone

Relieved?

Semester over,summer started ,for many it is vacation time, for some internship time and for some like me ,time to spend time lazily. This semester seems to have passed on really fast.Dunno about the reason, but surely ain't cos of the subjects taken. Three months of freedom with no deadlines , let's hope that I don't degenerate my brain furthermore than it already is. It seems booze destroys your brain cells and my fnds tell me that it ain't a problem for me cos I ain't got any. Phew.. that was a scare... let the booze keep flowing.

Visited Lake Wheeler yesterday with a Hangover from yesterday, had fun relaxing with theduck and caught a fish . ( Yummy.... ) Have to select and register for the Fall 2009 courses cos by the time I decide, all the good courses would have been taken. It seems that there are more than 180 Indians expected at NCState for Fall. That is far less compared to yester years due to the economic downturn. I hope that by the time ,I graduate, the economy should be going up instead of spiraling down!

Protectionism the next Capitalism?

US Prez has said ,companies that outsource cannot use the Stimulus package.Malaysia wants to send 60% of the immigrant workforce back to their homeland in order to provide work for their own work force. This is really a sad state of affairs for countries that depends on sending workers out to earn their bread :(.

Dubai is sending all of its construction workforce back, mostly Indians & Nepalese cos most of the construction work has stopped due to the economic downturn. So it is like the developed countries have used us when they needed the help and now chugging us down the drain once the work is complete. It feels like dusting the dirt of the shirt.

Are their actions correct? Can some one tell me!! The situation seems like one big bucket of quick sand. The more you struggle, the more you drown yourselves and you pull everyone near & dear along with you.

Blame the guys @ the banks for blowing hot air into balloons without knowing its limits. Punks! But finally it trickles down to our greed to earn money without hardwork which seems to be the fundamental reason and that is something no one can argue about.

There is no work like hardwork, it may pay in cents but is surely stronger than a dollar note.

-Alphy

Cowardice to my heart!

Back in India,while I was working, me and my fnd went out for booze and dinner after work about 12AM.It had been a hectic week at the office and we needed to chill out so we hung out and while we were having dinner inside the restaurant a person comes to me and says ,I have two rupees and I need one more rupee to buy a cup of coffee."I want one rupee", This is what he said.Me as usual got pissed whenever someone commanded me without authority and said "no change with me" so told him to buzz off. He just left the remaining two rupees on the table and sat in the next table.My fnd said don't look at him,cos if u interact they would try to exacerbate the situation.After a few verbal arguments ,my fnd turned around and asked him what is that he wants?

He explains that he has not eaten for the entire day and all he needs is one rupee for the coffee to fill his stomach.My fnd buys him a full dinner. I did not expect it turn like this.My fnd by doing this makes him content may be for that day but he would surely remember that for the rest of his life.

Now,Why was I acting like that? Was it my ego? or my cowardice not to get involved in anything that I cannot control or comprehend ? Now recollecting on those events make me realize the coward that I am. This is not about the testosterone running with my blood ,it is about the emotional state of my mind,fragile,ignorant and unwilling to break from routine of the world around me.Given a chance I would like to correct that acts of cowardice on my part.

Bravo my fnd,you stand as an argument for my change!

-Alphy

Stunted growth?

Immature and sluggish thoughts starts rambling through my mind when I consider 2008.It doesn't seem much different from 2007 or the year before that ,expect for the fact that I am growing older but none the wiser! Years seem to add its wrinkles to my forehead but none to my brain ( Which by the way,I meant as being wise!!)

Struggling through these thoughts,I realize the future or the past does matter for the present.Living life on the daily basis may seem like the hip thing to do... but it does not prolong your witty life other than for that single moment.Many live life for those sporadic moments and some for a lasting event.

I have been involved in an life altering accident,survived chicken pox with a lot of scars, quite literally and held accountable for a mistake that I did not make but paid for it dearly.That gives a pretty bleak picture of my past.Will there be a change from that in future? Does that reside with me to make that change? Will fate lend a hand to alter my perception on life?

will think on this and update soon....

-Alphy

Laugh about it...

Without purpose there does not seem to be a reason to live? With purpose there seems to be too much work to do! How many ways can a person be fickle minded like this? That is me for you and the plot still remains simple.I crave for stuff that is difficult to obtain and loose out on the stuff that I could have achieved easily.Well it would make sense ,if I had put enough effort to obtain something that I craved and actually got it.

But life it seems always need to teach me a lesson and uses the carrot and stick approach for everything.I am getting fed up due to this.

I have a lot of time to kill now and everything seems to move slowly...Miss my home and my family.It ain't about the food or the climate but it is more about the people I moved around with.

Job market looks really scary and I have to get an Internship ASAP,cause my dad is paying for my education and living expenses.Talk about being a burden on the family and it is me!! Being the eldest has a lot of responsibilities and I for one has not even tried meeting any!! When would I actually start taking steps to achieve not greater glory but self satisfaction of achieving something in life rather than trying to check If things can occur on their own or expecting things to be fed to me.

Well... I want to take a new year resolution this time and start living my life rather than allowing it pass on.I am no talking about going to parties and boozing till I pass out.I am talking about making use of the time that is very precious and much more valuable than all the precious metals in the world.

Have to catch a movie now...talk to u later....

-Alphy

Feeding violence to children

Recently read a report in BBC that Muslim children back in India protested against alleged Pakistan's involvement in Mumbai Massacre.The protested by burning the effigy of the Pakistan's Spy service ISI. Now it is just me or children burning something seems like an orchestrated event for public service.

Can an organization have an effigy? well getting down to my thoughts...Aren't we supposed to teach the children to be at peace with neighbors? If this is teaching for the young minds, no wonder our country is having internal gureilla's.

Violence begets violence but it is useful sometimes and not all times. It has casualties on both sides with only the dead winning the war.

Well...All that remains at the end of the day is a weary man getting ready to play (kill) another day!!

my thoughts...

-Alphy

Nostalgic again

Suddenly today I was thinking about the time I spent with my Dad just two days before I left for the US! We had lunch together outside at a Hotel.It wasn't a big place or this was not like the first time,but still this moment seems to be stuck in my brain!! like the last meal that I ate with my parents at home cooked by my mom before coming to US.

May be I am realizing all these stuff cos,I am really far away from it now!!What do u think?? It has been like just 2 1/2 months ,but feels like years have passed.Dunno if this bcos of the amount of work here or due to the feeling of Homesickness...

Well have a midterm tomorrow so I am off now.Just thought I should put my thoughts in words... and so I did!! :)

-Alphy

One Year ago

One year ago,yesterday I met with a horrible accident almost lost my life,saved only by the Helmet that I wore with the strap on! Still remember the auto that caused the accident and my blook soaked body after that ,screaming at the auto driver for his fallacious driving.My Bike got totalled and had to spend more than 6000/- Rupees for getting it repaired.

Can't describe the turmoil my family had to go through after that incident and me physically incapable for more than week ,staying in Bed all the time.It was horrible.Now I am in US doing my Master's.Ain't is really different.

Still miss my bike though,zipping through at speeds exceeding 80Kmph between cars,the exhilirating feeling is exhuming!!The only thing that came close to that was at the rollercoaster rides at the theme park recently.

Dude I was riding the rollercoaster daily to work!!.Was caught for speeding once though.I was riding at 90 at a 40 zone.Wow was it a sight for the cops ,they stopped my vehicle and charged me for over speeding.I was speeding cos I need to reach the bank before closing time to get my bank statement which I had to send to the university for my Master's admmission.Once the cops tried to stop me but they were to lazy to chase me that they just turned on the sirens to alert me,by that time I was like more than a 1 Km away from them.so they stopped their sirens and went to rest.I know this cos,I stopped my bike after that and waited If they would come,but no one did...This has happened more than once for me.. :)I assume I was tooo fast and that is the reason to.

How does that look now? Dunno !!! Well I am still reminiscencing about the events before and after the accident to under why it all happened? Doesn't make much of sense to me then and even now it still remains the same.

Most of 'em think that I was drunk at the time,well I wasn't!! How could I be drunk.It was just after swimming ,I drove back from the pool to my house and got caught in this haywire.

Well let me wallow in my thoughts for now.just wanted to post this before I forget about it for the next year.

-Alphy

Venting out,quite literally

Yesterday,myself, my roomies and other fnds went to a theme park for the ride of a life time.We went on a roller coaster,that is the longest in the world.If I remember the figure correctly it is about 4012 feet long.It was dramatic and there was this drop zone ride.It was awesome!!!.you travel at the speed of 72 miles/hour for 5 seconds.It lift u !!! quite literally....Now I know how MAVERICK felt.

The finale was called the volcano.You literally shoot out of a hole vertically in complete darkness.Imagine that!! and you do this ride at temperatures nearing 13 degree Celsius.You heart starts pumping like a rattler on a mission.It was awesome!!

Think about this for a moment.for more than 11 hours of roller coaster rides continuously (with exception to one ride,You can subtract that from my list)

It was really an awesome experience.If there had been any blockage in my heart,the pressure created yesterday must have been enough to unblock em.

Almost forgot one.Have u ever felt how ham feels when it's roasted over an open fire.Well I did it with security that I will not get burnt.Spinning 360 degrees that to five times continuously is nerve rackingly horrifying to watch and even more retarded to be part of it!!

If you want to check out the photos,here is my Picasa link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/alphonse.anthony/20081012KingsDominion?authkey=DZQMme0hJHU

and some videos in YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcjea1GWUBw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w99jgSawzKQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbG4e2dZz3c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2ScoGR3m9g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM3bSCHi1sQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zna-pksGFhs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLDnDpHJxYY

Enjoy 'em ,it is awesome..... :)

-Alphy

Tapped up Physical Energy

Played football with some of my fnd here and hell it was exhilarating!!Though I have not be exercising or try to maintain my body,I was able to pump energy for short while and then dropped out of the game.Man oh Man,it is really tiresome in a good way.All my locked muscles must have got a electric shock of their cellular lives...

Need to bring up my stamina level.Replenish my muscles both physically and mentally.Especially my brain muscles to start with...

I am becoming a good cook also nowadays.I never been in a kitchen to make any thing other than rice and egg omelette.Now I am cooking potato fry and vegetable fry.Would you believe it?If I get married,my wife would be a lucky person!! I will be a chef If I continue at the same rate.Experience make a man seasoned and it is true....

well got to finish my assignments and my thoughts are getting drowned over the loud blast of Eminem's "Without Me".so chow...

-Alphy